Alabama: The Nostalgic Anthem of the Southern Soul
## The Kings of the Country BandBefore Alabama exploded onto the scene in the late 1970s and 1980s, country music…
CONG NGUYEN VAN TU
CONG NGUYEN VAN TU Randy Travis: Defining the Ultimate Country Love Song
## A Return to the RootsIn the mid-1980s, country music had become heavily infused with pop production, synthesizers, and crossover…
Reba McEntire: The Defiant Rise of a Southern Survivor
## A Controversial MasterpieceOriginally written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry in 1969, ‘Fancy’ tells the unapologetically dark and controversial story…
Martina McBride: The Silent Tragedy of the Concrete Angel
## The Voice of the VulnerableMartina McBride possesses one of the most powerful soprano voices in country music history. She…
Brad Paisley: The Promise of a Tearless Heaven
## A Heavenly PerspectiveSongs about death are common in country music, but ‘When I Get Where I’m Going’ offered a…
Brooks & Dunn: A Song of Unshakeable Faith
## An Unlikely Source of InspirationCraig Wiseman, one of Nashville’s premier songwriters, was inspired to write ‘Believe’ by the memory…
Whiskey Lullaby: A Masterclass in Country Tragedy
## A Song Too Dark to TouchThere is a long-standing tradition in country music of the ‘murder ballad’ or the…
John Conlee: The Painful Reality Behind the Rose Colored Glasses
## An Unconventional StartJohn Conlee didn’t follow the typical path to country music stardom. Before he was a singer, he…
Willie Nelson: The Masterpiece Written on an Airsick Bag
## A Movie CommissionBy 1980, Willie Nelson was the face of Outlaw Country and a bona fide superstar. He was…
Kenny Rogers: The Castaway Song That Built an Empire
## A Song Nobody WantedWritten in August 1976 by a 23-year-old songwriter named Don Schlitz, ‘The Gambler’ is a narrative…