Top Country Songs

One of country music’s best new bands of the last year, The Band Perry, keeps fans and critics happy with the style of lyrics and music with their latest single. The Alabama trio stays on top this week with All Your Life .

They arrived last week as the #1 song and are in no hurry to give up the top position. This is the second song to reach the top of the Billboard Hot Country Charts after their epic hit – If I Die Young.

The All Your Life video shows the band as an act as part of a carnival called the Purveyor’s of Performance. It is a simple theme and works well as a backdrop for the music.

Kimberly Perry has always been the frontperson of the band, with brothers Reid and Neil playing and singing backups. Her pretty face and calm controlled vocal style make them easy to listen to and watch.

To date they have only released one album – “The Band Perry”. It’s nice that have had plenty of success with their release from 2009, but they are due to get back into the recording studio and produce some more hits.

The Band Perry Poll

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OK, so maybe Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck and Kip Moore aren’t out to change the country music world. Moore produces the country equivalent of comfort food — pleasing, easy to digest and deliberately unchallenging.

“Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck” is Moore’s second single and broke the Top 40 on Billboard’s country charts. It’s a catchy song just aching to be made into a beer commercial, or a truck commercial, or in these days of megacommercial symmetry, both. Expect the rest of his soon-to-be-released debut album, “Drive Me Crazy,” to have the same slick sound. There is nothing wrong with recording music that people like.

What makes “There’s Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck” so listenable is the singer’s refusal to take himself seriously. There’s a welcome playfulness to the tune (and even moreso in the video) that cuts through the good ol’ boy cliches. The song is also undeniably sexy, with the girl consuming a cold one before climbing into the dropped hatch of that sturdy old truck for a kiss that’s sure to lead to more. All this to the slinky, slightly dirty sound of classic slide guitar. Yes, it turns out that trucks are an aphrodisiac. Who knew?

Kip Moore grew up in Tifton, Georgia, listening to Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen and Willie Nelson. He took up guitar in college but after graduation chose to spend some time surfing and backpacking in Hawaii, something most of us would love to do, a long way from home and an even longer way from his eventual destination of Nashville. Judging from “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck,” Kip Moore has found his true home and is aiming to settle in.

If you want to keep up with the sometime surfing/backpacking, but mostly tour bus riding singer, you can check out his website @ the Universal Music Group Nashville.

Singer-songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White received a pleasant surprise at the Grammys Sunday evening, with the announcement that The Civil Wars win Best Country Duo/Group Performance — “Barton Hollow”. The Civil Wars beat out such country stars as Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, and Grace Potter, who were also nominated in this category. Williams and White received another award for Best Folk Album, the genre in which they are typically categorized.

The Civil Wars are clearly a success story when it comes to straddling more than one musical genre. Their simple, clear sound matched with honest, powerful vocals can’t be clearly categorized. Though this is their first full-length album, the duo has already seemed to find a comfortable fit in their unique voice.

At first it may seem that there really is not much in the sound of their music that ties The Civil Wars to contemporary country music, but the lyrics and singing and chanting have plenty of roots in the Appalachian Mountain region folk songs, otherwise known as Old-time music, that are considered to be the start of modern Country/Western music. Their heartfelt vocals have helped with their acceptance into the genre and also to the warm welcome from country music fans.

The duo’s award-winning album, Barton Hollow, draws much of its power from the sheer intimacy of the musical simplicity. Only after several tracks does the listener realize Williams and White’s voices are backed only by acoustic guitar on most of the songs. The artful harmonies and folk tones of the singers’ voices are what drive the songs, not overpowering or twangy instrumentals. The Civil Wars have taken the sincerity of folk and the storytelling of country and produced an album with a beautifully blended personality of its own.

You can visit the bands official website @ thecivilwars.com to stay up with the Grammy award winning band.

Martina McBride has a hit with her song – I’m Gonna Love You Through It. The singer/songwriter is a country music veteran, having won the Country Music Association’s award for Female Vocalist of the year four times, a record she shares with the legendary Reba McEntire. “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” is the first single off McBride’s newest album, “Eleven.” The album’s title refers to the fact that this is her eleventh full-length release.

The country crooner has always been known for bringing a particularly feminine point of view to Nashville, and her latest hit is no exception. “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” is sung in the voice of a 38-year-old mother of three who has just been diagnosed with cancer. It affirms her husband’s love and support through the hard times ahead. A heartfelt inspirational ballad, it cuts through any potential cheesiness with an extra helping of earnest feeling. It’s quickly become an anthem for cancer survivors in general and those suffering from breast cancer in particular.

This week the song has climbed inside the top ten on the country music charts and has been steadily climbing since it first found it’s way into the top 20 list.

Martina is 44 and is not a breast cancer survivor herself, although she is the mother of three children. In addition, although she fully inhabits the song, she did not write it — songwriters Ben Hayslip, Jimmy Yeary Sonya Isaacs collaborated on it in honor if Isaacs’ mother.

McBride has also released an accompanying video that features the testimonials of cancer survivors and activists including Katie Couric and Sheryl Crow. Many of the other women tell of the family and friends that came to support them.

The Kansas native has been a favorite of country music fans since she first started recording and in 2011 the Academy of Country Music gave her the Honorary Award. This just means that they felt a need to give praise to Martina McBride in some way for all she has achieved so far in her career. The girl will continue to tour and record as long as she can. “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” shows how she continues to grow as a person and connects with her fans.

Most country music and American Idol fans have been pleasently surprised with the single from Scotty McCreery labeled, “The Trouble With Girls.” Not only does the song have a great beat for the listener to dance to, but the words are meaningful and something that most individuals can relate to, which is vital for music to have in order to be popular and gain listeners.

Scotty McCreery sings about “The Trouble With Girls“ in the video and he shares his story of how he basically loves girls and cannot stand being around them. The title is perfect for the song because it almost makes you laugh because he is saying that the only trouble with girls is that he loves them so much and cannot help but love them.

Most country fans really enjoy the song, not only because it makes them think and laugh, but because Scotty McCreery has an amazing voice. He did not win American Idol just because of a crowd of screaming girls cheering him on, but because he proved that he could sing, even in his young age. He truly does have a nice soothing voice that sounds well above the age that he actually is.

The next time that you are looking for a fun, entertaining and very clean song to listen to, turn on Scotty McCreery and listen to him vocalize about his trouble with girls and it will be sure to raise your spirits. The style of music and vocals and lyrics is right down the crountry crooners alley, and is probably a good indicator of the type of music you can expect to hear from the North Carolina native.

It seems that the Academy of Country Music has not missed out on the popularity of Scotty. He is up for the the Country Music’s Best New Artist Award and looks to be a frontrunner to win the contest.