Tom's Country View

It's been over 20 years since Tim McGraw has released his first album ("Tim McGraw", 1993 ). And this makes him one of the few, who is still being played on the radio in 2014. And Tim McGraw, the singer and by-now actor (a.o. " The Blind Side " with Sandra Bullock , 2009) can still be found on the charts! With some 40 million units sold in the US, Tim McGraw is the something like number 8 on a list of best selling solo artists across all genres. Only very few have managed to stay successful over such a long time span, and re-invent themselves. But maybe that is the secret to his success! Not only can he display a body at 47, which should could be the envy of Superman, as well as a successful marriage with singer Faith Hill , but he also managed to keep his music full of surprises. To draft his 20-years career in the entertainment business would not fit in this one blog entry, so I am going to focus on his most recent outputs, to see what makes him so suc...

I have been following Country Music now for over 30 years (as unbelievable as it sounds). I discovered it, when Alabama was starting to rise to fame. Their No.1 country single ' Take Me Down ' become one of their biggest pop hits going all the way to No. 18 on the Hot 100. It was the 80s, when the movie " Urban Cowboy " propelled country music to the forefront of pop music with artists like Eddie Rabbit , Kenny Rogers , Ronnie Milsap or Crystal Gayle who were successfully recording pop-influenced songs. And from the very first contact I had with country music, I was confronted with heated debates about what is country music and what is not. Purists and traditionalists, as they are called, were complaining about the music leaving its roots behind and catering to pop audiences and therefore not belonging on country radio. Ever since the 80s (or even before I started listening to country music) these people have complained that the old stars are not being played o...