With five minutes in the middle of the ACM Awards last Sunday night, Trace Adkins managed to showcase a powerful song with a restrained vocal performance that hopefully will help make our radio friends realize that Trace Adkins is more than just the singer of silly songs like “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” and “Marry For Money.” On a show where vocalists were constantly overrun with their backing band’s music, Adkins didn’t succumb to such pedestrian problems as he caressed “‘Til The Last Shot’s Fired,” a song that makes almost every other modern ‘war’ song pale in comparison.
Adkins gives a master class-worthy vocal while singing Rob Crosby and Doug Johnson’s lyrics and when the West Point Cadet Glee Club joins in on the final chorus, the song gets an added emphasis as these are future soldiers who are singing lyrics about the pride they have for serving their country and the honor they have to serve, even if it is in God’s plan for them to die. It is songs like “’Til The Last Shot’s Fired” and “I Can’t Outrun You” and 2009 Single of the Year “You’re Gonna Miss This” where Trace Adkins truly shines. If radio programmers would just listen to the album, they would realize that, while fun, the constant playing of silly songs don’t allow one of Contemporary country music’s most emotive vocalists showcase his vocal chops.
Given the response to “’Til The Last Shot’s Fired” from the ACM’s, perhaps Radio will force Capitol Records to release this valiant song like they did Tim McGraw’s “If You’re Reading This” and Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).” When people ask me why I like country music, it’s easy to play any of these songs to show them why. This is real and speaks of real life, even if that real life situation isn’t all sunshine and roses and is telling a story of a fallen soldier instead.
Fans are encouraged to support the Wounded Warrior Project by purchasing the live version of this song from iTunes (click here) or by going to the Wounded Warrior Project's website (click here) to donate.
Watch the video (click here). Listen to the audio (click here).
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