This Date in Country Music History

• 2020 – “I Swear” songwriter Gary Baker was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame
• 2014 – Luke Bryan topped the charts for the first of 5 weeks with “Drink a Beer”
• 2005 – Kenny Chesney released his album Be As You Are (Songs From an Old Blue Chair)
• 2005 – Blaine Larsen released his debut album Off To Join The World
• 2005 – LeAnn Rimes released her album This Woman
• 1999 – Terri Clark released her single “Everytime I Cry”
• 1994 – John Michael Montgomery released his album Kickin’ It Up
• 1993 – Garth Brooks released his single “Learning to Live Again”
• 1992 – Emmylou Harris became a member of the Grand Ole Opry
• 1992 – Tracy Lawrence scored his first career #1 hit with “Sticks and Stones”

HCM Content

• 2024 – HCM Daily Country Music News – January 25th, 2024
• 2023 – HCM Daily Country Music News – January 25th, 2023
• 2022 – HCM Daily News – January 25th, 2022

Today’s Photo Flashback

• Alan Jackson – 1/25/09 – Kiss Country Chili Cookoff in Pembroke Pines, FL
• Brad Paisley – 1/25/15 – Kiss Country Chili Cookoff in Pembroke Pines, FL
• Eli Young Band – 1/25/12 – South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach, FL
• Jason Aldean – 1/25/09 – Kiss Country Chili Cookoff in Pembroke Pines, FL
• Jerrod Niemann – 1/25/15 – Kiss Country Chili Cookoff – Pembroke Pines, FL
• Jessica Simpson – 1/25/09 – Kiss Country Chili Cookoff in Pembroke Pines, FL
• Little Big Town – 1/25/09 – Kiss Country Chili Cookoff in Pembroke Pines, FL
• The Band Perry – 1/25/15 – Kiss Country Chili Cookoff in Pembroke Pines, FL
• The Cadillac Three – 1/25/15 – Kiss Country Chili Cookoff in Pembroke Pines, FL
• The Swon Brothers – 1/25/15 Kiss Country Chili Cookoff in Pembroke Pines, FL

This Date in Country Music History

• 2016 – Morgan Evans proposed to Kelsea Ballerini
• 2004 – Blake Shelton scored a #1 hit with “Some Beach”
• 1999 – Faith Hill tops the charts for the first of 6 weeks with “Breathe”
• 1982 – John Anderson scored his first career #1 hit with “Wild and Blue”
• 1976 – The Gatlin Brothers became members of the Grand Ole Opry
• 1976 – Emmylou Harris scored a # 1 hit with “Sweet Dreams”

HCM Content

• Today’s Birthdays – December 25th

Artist Name: Tragicomics
Hometown:  Manchester/Liverpool

What project(s) are you currently working on?

We have a series of singles planned for release throughout the year, and we’re busy working on artwork and videos for them. And finally getting out to play some festivals! We haven’t done that in a while. I think Toby (guitar) is also working hard on an exciting crochet project, but I couldn’t possibly comment on that.

What inspired you to pursue a career in music and when did you know?

Like many other angst-ridden and overdramatic teenagers, I spent most of my time on the twin pursuits of writing flowery prose and navel gazing. And then in my early teens, having started learning guitar, I started exploring song structure and melody. And lo! Suddenly I had all three elements of being a pretentious songwriter. After that it was just a foregone conclusion, really. Making sense of the world and my emotions through song is the only thing that settles my soul. It would be foolish to pursue anything else. We all feel the same.

If you weren’t pursuing a career in music, what would you be doing for a living?

I make a mean bowl of pasta. Seriously, I very nearly owned a Pasta Van. It’s a long story.

What is your favorite downtime activity?

I was a fan of video games Before They Were Cool and they are a useful distraction between working on songs. I also cook overelaborate meals, that take several times longer to make than they do to eat, for no other reason than I enjoy throwing things into pans and occasionally narrating in the style of Jamie Oliver. Sad but true.

Who is your biggest celebrity crush?

Given the opportunity, I would give Louis Theroux a really good cuddle. Does that count?

Who is your favorite sports team(s)?

Accrington Stanley (not a meme I’m actually from there for real)

What is the last movie that you watched?

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. I think Nicholas Cage was in it.

What is the last album you listened to?

And In the Darkness Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood. It’s remarkably good.

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Metal Machine Music by Lou Reed. If I have to listen to one record forever I will go mad. Might as well just embrace it ASAP.

What is the greatest country song of all time?

Lovesick Blues, I reckon. Or possibly Folsom Prison Blues (doesn’t everybody say that?)

What has been your favorite city/town that you’ve visited out on the road?

I love Bristol and frequently forget how pretty it is. We’re looking forward to visiting Paris and some other European hotspots in the not too distant.

What is your favorite meal?

Give me a Caesar Salad, made in the traditional way and in its mostly unhealthy incarnation. Give me two. Then leave.

Who is your dream duet partner?

I would crumble into pieces of joy were I given the chance to duet with Emmylou Harris or Gillian Welch.

Who would you like to go on tour with?

Anybody who has a decent beverage selection on their rider.

What is your ultimate career goal(s)?

To make music that means something to somebody, somewhere, in the same way it means something to us. Songs are just an ancient language. A connection. If somebody finds something in our music that moves them, then job done. Also to get those sweet, sweet streaming royalties (Spotify does not pay artists a reasonable recompense for their work).

Thankyou and goodnight.

• Artist Name:  Phillip Vonesh of The Spare Parts
• Hometown: East-End of Toronto, Canada!

What project(s) are you currently working on? 

My band The Spare Parts have our debut album Infatuation coming out on June 4th! The latest single “Life Moves Fast” is an upbeat Country / Rockabilly tune. The Spare Parts are currently working on a follow-up EP and I am working on a new solo album. No rest for the wicked!

What inspired you to pursue a career in music and when did you know?

I started writing songs when I was about twelve years old, but I was always too scared to pursue a career in music. It was always something I would do ‘someday’. Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like the end of a seven year relationship, which was what my first solo EP Lost Our Way was inspired by.

If you weren’t pursuing a career in music, what would you be doing for a living?

Unfortunately playing music generally costs more than it pays, so I bartend, serve, and cook. I’ve been a barista, fixed speakers, and worked general labour for construction, arborists and stone masons. I would love to open my own cafe / bar someday that was also a live music venue.

What is your favorite downtime activity?

I really love to walk! I find it meditative, I love exploring new neighbourhoods and new cities. I am actually an Urban Studies dropout and am still very passionate about cities and how they function.

Who is your biggest celebrity crush?

I’ll lead with Kacey Musgraves. She is beautiful and such a talented writer, singer and performer. I’ll also throw Kendall Jenner in there; she’s objectively less talented, but very pretty.

Who is your favorite sports team(s)?

I am a big Toronto Maple Leafs fan, and I also get into the Blue Jays when they are competitive. My dad is from Chicago, so I root for the Blackhawks and Cubs as well.

What is the last movie that you watched?

ASCENDANT with Amy Adams, I don’t usually go for aliens and Sci-Fi but it was really good!

What is the last album you listened to?

I just got a CD player in my car! So I can listen to CDs while I drive now. I was listening to Voyageur by Kathleen Edwards. It’s a really fantastic album! I know she was just doing some co-writing recently with Maren Morris as well.

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I’m a big Springsteen guy, my coming of age album was Born To Run, and I think that would have to be the album. It’s just such a good record front to back and reminds me of walking home in the summer rain, wondering what it would be like to fall in love.

What is the greatest country song of all time?

So I don’t think I am in a position to say which is the greatest Country song of all time.. A few classics I love are “Fist City” by Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash’s version of “The Long Black Veil”. More recently I can’t stop singing Clay Pigeons.

What has been your favorite city/town that you’ve visited out on the road?

In Canada, Montreal is definitely my favourite. Amazing food, people and culture. I have visited 39 of the lower 48 and been to a lot of American cities. I love Chicago (In the summer), I love New York and I love New Orleans. Austin and Tulsa were also really good to me.

What is your favorite meal?

It’s got to be the BBQ Shrimp at Deanie’s in New Orleans.

Who is your dream duet partner?

It’s got to be Emmylou Harris, such a beautiful voice.

Who would you like to go on tour with?

I’d love to go on tour with Lucinda Williams, she’s one of my favourite writers and performers.

What is your ultimate career goal(s)?

I want to write great songs that people connect with. I want to play great shows that people connect with, and I’d like to make a bit of money doing it.

• Artist Name: Nelson Sobral
• Hometown: Toronto

What project(s) are you currently working on?

– I’m continuously working on new material in my home studio which I was beyond grateful got finished up right as the pandemic set in so I had somewhere to direct my energy properly and currently putting together my full length album due out early next year which mostly involves making sure what songs out of the bunch that I’ve been recording belong together on an album instead of just having a bunch of songs on there because I played/recorded/wrote ’em.

What inspired you to pursue a career in music and when did you know?

– I don’t remember a time in my life without music being the guiding light to all that I do. I’ve designed my life in a way to accommodate me being able to facilitate living as a musician from the place I call home and the people I surround myself with.  This is just what I am and what I do so I don’t view it so much as pursuing a career in music but just doing what makes me happy and living the life I was meant to. I know it sounds a little heady or esoteric but it’s just my truth.

 If you weren’t pursuing a career in music, what would you be doing for a living?

– I teach Brazilian Jujitsu & Kickboxing and used to have a life as a Pro Fighter and then as it took its toll on me I transitioned into being a corner-man/coach. It’s Another way that I keep happy & fed.

What is your favorite downtime activity?

– other than hanging with my wife and preparing for our son to come into this world i love sitting around working on songs & recording. I firmly believe in the muse visiting you and bringing you gifts of creativity but I also believe you have to be there and ready and welcoming for it to bestow its gifts upon you so I like to always be present and have a guitar nearby to answer the call.

Who is your biggest celebrity crush?

– my wife

Who is your favorite sports team(s)?

– don’t care

What is the last movie that you watched?

– The Mule (Clint Eastwood)

What is the last album you listened to?

– Chris Whitely: Dirt Floor & Tim Baker: Forever Overhead

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

– Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson and/or Southern Harmony & Musical Companion by The Black Crowes

What is the greatest country song of all time?

– Keep On The Sunny Side (trad.) The Carter Family an old traditional Country song but I also think Wille Nelson’s “On The Road Again’ has gone beyond being just a Country song and has affected almost every musician that tours/plays live and yet it still never loses its credibility as an actual Country tune.

What has been your favorite city/town that you’ve visited out on the road?

– as cliche as it is Nashville has such an amazing energy and history that it’s hard to deny. I had the opportunity to play a couple songwriters circles at The Belcourt Taps as well as playing at The Bluebird TWICE in one night; I played solo as well as backed up a friend on guitar & backup vocals. Here in Canada, Montreal is always a good time and they really support live music and I have to give a shoutout to a little town called Wakefield in Quebec. I was on tour with a band and we had a stop there at a place called Kaffe 1870 and I just fell in love with the place, its a village paradise snuggled in the mountains.

What is your favorite meal?

– pizza and also Indian food

Who is your dream duet partner?

– EmmyLou Harris. Her work with Gram Parsons is breathtaking and I love the way she intertwines her voice with his making it sound like a harmony as well as another lead vocal without distracting from the actual song.

Who would you like to go on tour with?

– I know The Black Crowes were set to go out and tour the 30th anniversary of “Shake Your Moneymaker” (their debut album) and I just love the band and their catalogue so it would be amazing to be able to open up for them.

What is your ultimate career goal(s)?

– playing, writing, performing, recording music for as long as I’m capable is the ultimate life goal. Playing on some tours with my list of favourite acts is definitely a goal as getting a chance to play in the circle at The Grand Ole Opry someday would be beyond incredible.