Here you will find some of our favorte songs from the year so far, they run the gamut from traditional to modern to new to pop. One thing's for sure, we enjoy quite a wide variety of tunes and we hope you enjoy this playlist as much as we do. feel free to add your own favorites to the comments below.
1. The Weary Kind – Ryan Bingham: Ryan Bingham was asked if he’d like to write a song for the film Crazy Heart and after watching an early cut of the film, the artist crafted a song that fit the story to a T. Finished off with T. Bone Burnett, this single has gone on to win a Golden Globe and is nominated for an Oscar Award. It’s also a great example of how music can enhance a ‘biopic,’ even if the biopic is an amalgam of three different artists (Waylon, Merle and Kris).
2. Pray For You – Jaron & The Long Road To Love: Just picked up by Big Machine Records for radio promotion, this ‘can do’ single has a peppy melody that can’t help but bring a smile to your face. Paired with lyrics that are wry without ever feeling malicious, the song has been a hit at Roughstock’s offices for months now. Hopefully radio fans will hear more and more of it soon.
3. Giddy On Up – Laura Bell Bundy: A veteran of Broadway and Hollywood productions, Laura Bell Bundy is a Kentucky girl through and through and her country roots come shining through on this fun track that recalls Shania Twain.
4. Highway 20 Ride – Zac Brown Band: This track is as sweet as it is heartwrenching. It’s one of the best tracks on the Best New Artist Grammy Winner’s debut The Foundation and it’s one of the best songs on country radio.
5. Jenny – The Harters: This song may be new to radio but we’ve enjoyed this sterling showcase of family harmony since hearing it earlier in the winter.
6. American Saturday Night – Brad Paisley: This hit single may not be as good to our ears as “Welcome To The Future” was but it’s still a strongly-written fun little number that’s perfect to get you out of the winter blues.
7. The Man I Want To Be – Chris Young: This track is helping ensure that Chris Young will not become another one hit wonder after scoring a #1 with “Getting You Home (The Black Dress Song) last year. Take a listen to it here and enjoy one of Country’s most promising traditional-leaning voices.
8. (I Like My) Cowboys Dirty – Bridgette Tatum: Rockin, rockin’, rockin! This song, from one of the co-writers of “She’s Country” is so much fun to listen to that we included Bridgett Tatum on our “Ones to Watch” in 2010 list. Take a listen to the song to find a unique and very talented singer on the verge of stardom.
9. Rain is a Good Thing – Luke Bryan: This is a very fun song that is chock-full-o-charm. If you don’t agree then you probably don’t like charming, country songs or singers.
10. Blue Sky – Emily West (Feat. Keith Urban): a great song from her digital EP from 2008, the song has actually been enhanced by Keith Urban. The song is a stunner and if this song doesn’t become a radio hit for Emily, nothing will.
11. Hello World – Lady Antebellum: From the very first moment we heard this song we were enthralled with it. We still think it’s the likeliest song to score the group some more award show hardware.
12. Outside My Window – Sarah Buxton: Charming, fun and infections, this single has finally gotten Sarah Buxton an album release date and this time it’s really gonna happen. Here’s hoping this tune (with an $80 video) gets into the Top 10.
13. Who Invented The Wheel – Blackberry Smoke: This track, written by Anthony Smith, has been recorded by Trisha Yearwood and Smith himself. While this version isn’t quite as good as either of those versions, this version of the album showcases the talent that Blackberry Smoke has.
14. The House That Built Me – Miranda Lambert: While not written by the singer/songwriter, it sure feels in both performance and production that the song is indeed part of her own songwriting canon. It’s simply a stunning song and hopefully it will give her another big ole hit from the great Revolution album.
15. Gotta Get To You – George Strait: Let’s face it. “Twang” wasn’t the best of single choices for ol King George. It even broke his streak of Top 10 singles at seven years! But have no fear, King George is back with a classic sounding mid-tempo full of fiddle and steel and co-written by Jim Lauderdale, Jimmy Ritchey and Blaine Larsen.
16. Dying Day – Brandi Carlile: Her first official country radio single, “Dying Day” is a nice rumination of everlasting love after it ends. It’s a tasty rootsy confection that likely won’t be much bigger than a middling chart hit but that doesn’t make it one of the best singles of 2010 so far.
17. Humboldt- I See Hawks In LA: This is a charming ode to California ‘bud’ from the peculiarly named California band. It’s rootsy Americana just the way we like it.
18. Sunshine – Steve Azar: Here’s a little tune that scores in every conceivable way. The song is romantic, melodic and just plain awesome. Too bad that it’s finding a home at radio because it certainly is a song that would work well on this valentine’s day.
19. I Wanna Live Like That – Cathy-Anne McClintock w/Tim O’Brien: This track is one of the many fine songs that are on McClintock’s recently released debut album and any song that includes Bluegrass/Americana icon Tim O’Brien will easily warm our hearts but this one’s extra special .
20. 99 Bottles- Zane Williams: A fantastic songwriter, this song showcases just why as he takes the old cliché’d “99 bottles of Beer” and turns it into a rollicking honky tonk party track that will likely find a home on a Nashville-based artist’s record if Zane doesn’t score a hit with it himself first.
0 Comments