This Weekend on Wide Open Country – May 20th

Coming up this week on WIDE OPEN COUNTRY…

The year is 1974, and the #1 album on the Country music charts this week falls under the genre on “Swamp Pop”.  Not to be confused with “Swamp Rock”, a genre made popular by acts like Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Swamp Pop” is a mixture of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues meets Texas Country & Western.  Certified Gold with over 1 million units sold, Freddy Fender’s “Before The Next Teardrop Falls” spurned two chart toppers including the title track and “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights”.

On this date in 1980, RCA Nashville releases the debut album from a band that would set the standard for Country supergroups and become the Artist of the Decade for the 80’s.  The Album?  “My Home’s in Alabama” by, you guessed it, Alabama!

The Oak Ridge Boys released their 10th studio album “Deliver” on this day in 1983.  The collection yielded two hit singles for the boys including “Ozark Mountain Jubilee” and the #1 song "I Guess It Never Hurts to Hurt Sometimes".

Very few artists ever have a #1 single.   Even fewer can string 4-in-a-row and up until 1990, no one had ever done that with their first four releases.   That is until Clint Black came along.  Standing on top of the Country music album charts on this date in 1990, Clint immediately became one the biggest stars in the Nashville sky with hits such as "A Better Man", "Walking Away", "Nobody's Home", and the title song "Killin' Time".  Clint will be in Western NY on August 12 at Jam At The Ridge in LeRoy.

It’s 1994 and there’s a new blockbuster in movie theaters this weekend.  “Maverick” starring James Garner as Marshal Zane Cooper spins off the TV series of old with Hollywood superstars Mel Gibson as Bret Maverick and Jodie Foster as Annabelle...but Country music fans have lots of cameos to keep their eyes open for...including Clint Black, Kathy Mattea, Hal Ketchum, Waylon Jennings, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, and more.   The soundtrack also gives us hit singles from Black and Tracy Lawrence and an ramped-up All-Star version of the gospel classic “Amazing Grace”.

Topping the Billboard Country Singles chart on this date in 2000, from the CD “Breathe” was Faith Hill’s “The Way You Love Me”.  Faith will be in Buffalo with the man who loves her, husband Tim McGraw, this October.

Don’t miss WIDE OPEN COUNTRY, brought to you by JOE BASIL COMMERCIAL TRUCKS in Depew, Saturday mornings from 6-9am on Country 106.5 WYRK!