Country Cornerstones-”Coat of Many Colors”

Just so all of you readers know, I am a big Dolly Parton fan.  Dolly has wrote many incredible songs over the years (It is hard to find a bad Dolly song), and this is one of her very best.  “Coat of Many Colors” is a story of Parton’s childhood.  Her mother makes her a coat out of old rags, while reading Dolly the story of Joseph from the Bible.  Dolly loves the coat, but at school her classmates laugh and make fun of her.  Still, the Dolly because it was made with love, and therefore she is rich.  In the song’s final chorus, she sings one of my favorite lines of all time, “One is only poor only if they choose to be.”  This song is purely autobiographical, as are a good number of Dolly’s songs.  This fact and the song’s message of what true wealth is make this one of my favorite songs of all time.

Artist: Dolly Parton

Album: Coat of Many Colors

Writer: Dolly Parton

Year: 1971

Country Cornerstones-”The Gambler”

Kenny Rogers has a lot of great songs and this is one of his best (and one that often comes to mind when i play cards, even though I don’t gamble. It is a tale of an old man (the gambler) who gives his advice to a traveler in exchange for whiskey. The advice perhaps applies to both gambling with cards and to life. The old man “breaks even”, which is generally assumed to mean that he dies, in the second verse. The narrator realizes that in the old man’s final words “he found an ace to keep”.

Artist: Kenny Rogers

Album: The Gambler

Writer: Don Schlitz

Year: 1978

 

Single Review-Miranda Lambert’s “Baggage Claim”

Miranda Lambert’s new single features an interesting metaphor that is executed well. All her signature spark is there and it is different than anything else on country radio. That’s a compliment, of course.  It can be classified as alt-country, but still can appeal to mainstream country fans as well. It’s a great song.

Rating: 4.5/5

New Projects From Miranda Lambert

 

Miranda Lambert currently has two albums in the works. One is her trio(with Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe), The Pistol Annies’ debut. It will be released on August 23, 2011. The other, her fourth solo album, titled Four The Record, will be released on November 1, 2011. I know I am excited about hearing new music from Miranda.

Country Trivia-Road Trip

Alright! Time’s up. The answers are in itlaics.

1. What movie did the Willie Nelson hit “On The Road Again” appear in?

A. Urban Cowboy B. Honeysuckle Rose C. Coal Miner’s Daughter D. Smokey and the Bandit

2. Who first recorded the classic country song, “King of The Road”?

A. Waylon Jennings B. Merle Haggard C. Hank Williams, Jr. D. Roger Miller

3. Rascal Flatts had a big hit with their version of Life is A Highway. Who recorded the original version?

A. Chris Ledoux B. Billy Ray Cyrus C. Tom Cochrane D. Def Leppard

4. What is the name of the truck driver in Kathy Mattea’s hit, “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses”?

A. Charlie B. Jim C. Edwin D. Billy

5. What brand of vehicle is George Strait known for driving?

A. Honda B. Chevrolet C. Ford D. Dodge

Staff?

I am the only current staff member here at 5 Star Country. If you, are interested in writing here at 5 Star Country, please leave a comment on any given post and I will get back to you as soon as possible, most likely with an e-mail. Thank you.

Country Cornerstones-”Walking The Floor Over You”

This is by far the oldest song I have talked about on this feature to date, being released  in 1941 by Country Pioneer Ernest Tubb. It was a big hit and sold over a million copies. an impressive feat for the time. It has been called the first honky tonk song and helped launch the honky tonk subgenre of country music. Ernest continued to release hit songs, though he would eventually fade away from the charts. Tubb  passed away in 1984. If you are interested, I may have a Featured Artist article on him in the future.

Artist: Ernest Tubb

Album: When it was first released, it didn’t have an accompanying album.

Writer(s): Ernest Tubb

Year: 1941

Check out this video of Tubb performing the song:

Single Review-Reba Mcentire’s “Somebody’s Chelsea”

This is the 4th single from Reba’s All The Women I Am album. I must say that Turn on The Radio (3/5) was just alright and If I Were a Boy (3/5) was a rather pointless cover. However, the 3rd single, When Love Gets A Hold of You, while not perfect, was a fairly good song. (4/5) This song is about a woman talking to a woman who just lost his wife that meant so much to him and how she wants to mean that much to somebody, too. And while I was kind of wishing Reba would add more of a twist, and would share more of her own feelings and experiences with the man in the song, this is still a good, respectable single in my opinion. It won’t go down in history  as one of her great songs, but it’s still fairly good. Plus, as usual, she sings great. Then again, Reba always has had a great voice and she is one of my favorite singers ever.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Featured Artist-Tanya Tucker

When she released her debut single “Delta Dawn” in 1972, she was only 13. Yet she had such a mature and unique voice. The song, like several of hers, was a story song. She would have a lot of hits in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. These included “Love’s The Answer”, Pecos Promenade”, “Blood Red and Going Down”, “What’s Your Mama’s Name”, “San Antonio Stroll”, Without You(What Do I Do With Me”, “Lizzie and The Rainman”, the controversial ”Would You Lay With Me In A Field of Stone”, “Just Another Love”, and many more. She is considered to be the first female outlaw and later would introduce elements of rock n’ roll into her music, to mixed thoughts. Tanya, now 52, continues to record today. Her older sister Lacosta also had a few hits in the ’70s. She is without a doubt a very important figure in country music and has helped influence artist such as Gretchen Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Sunny Sweeney, and even Leann Rimes.

Best Greatest Hits: There are a bunch of Tucker hits compilations currently available. Unfortunately, none of them cover her entire career, just the parts on that label. I reccomend buying these four.

16 Biggest Hits-Covers her early years, which were spent on Columbia Records. The title is slightly misleading because these are only songs from that label. 10 of these were actual hits. The other six were not, but are still great songs worthy of being included.

20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection: Best of Tanya Tucker: Covers Tanya’s most overlooked period, her years with MCA. Includes some great songs, though. Some of them are classics.

20 Greatest Hits-Covers the 90s part of her period on Capitol Records, perhaps her most successful period.

Greatest Hits (1989)-Covers the 80s part of her period on Capitol Records

If you don’t feel like buying all four, listen to the samples on Amazon or itunes and pick the one you like best. It takes all four of them to include all of the main parts of the Tucker story, however.

If you still want more after buying all four of those Greatest Hits albums, keep reading.

Best Studio Albums: Delta Dawn,What’s Your Mama’s Name, Would You Lay With Me(In a Field of Stone), Complicated, Soon, What Do I Do With Me, My Turn, Strong Enough To Bend, Love Me Like You Used To, Girls Like Me, Tanya Tucker, Tennessee Woman

For Tanya’s Complete Discography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanya_Tucker_albums_discography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanya_Tucker_singles_discography

5 Quick n’ Easy Single Reviews

Jo Dee Messina- Carry Me

The song’s lyrics are okay, but I’d like more of them. It’s melody is just alright. It’s a kind of boring song, but she does sing it well. It’s at least for a good cause. (The Holy Trinity Montessori in Nashville).

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Rascal Flatts (duet w/ Natasha Bedingfield)-Easy

 This one is pretty good. It’s sort of like a signature Rascal Flatts ballad, but with a less bombastic approach. British Pop Singer Natasha Bedingfield may seem like a strange choice for a duet partner on a country song, but she really does a good job and has a great, unique voice that really makes the song even better.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Eden’s Edge-Amen

A Great melody, Good Production, and a Great, Fun Performance make for a Great Song from this talented new group.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Ronnie Dunn- Cost of Livin’

A wonderful and very well-written song that the majority of Americans can definitely resonate with.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Martina McBride-I’m Gonna Love You Through It

A beautiful and sad song sung by one of Country’s most gifted vocalists.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars