Blue Ribbon Country

Blue Ribbon Country The definitive media brand for classic country music.

09/17/2026

ON THIS DATE - SEPTEMBER 17

Hiram King “Hank” Williams was born in Mount Olive, Alabama, in 1923. In only twenty-nine years, he left behind “Lovesick Blues,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Hey, Good Lookin'” and “Your Cheatin' Heart.”

September 17 is also observed as International Country Music Day - a fitting date for the man whose songs still form part of the music's foundation.

Play one Hank Williams record today. Which one?

09/17/2026

Hank Williams was born on this date in 1923. Decades later, another voice from Ashland, Kentucky, carried mountain music, blues and gospel back onto country radio.

Wynonna never sounded like she was trying to be traditional. She sounded traditional because all of those roots were already inside the voice.

09/17/2026

Not your favorite Wynonna song - her greatest vocal performance.

The one where the power, phrasing and emotion all meet in the same three minutes.

What record are you nominating?

09/16/2026

The hits introduced the voice. The album cuts show what it could really do.

Our Wynonna playlist goes deeper—blues, gospel, duets and the records that live just beyond the usual greatest-hits package.

Listen: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4qloeNkXRWOd06rHje0aUG

If you know exactly who these two are before reading another word, you're my kind of country fan. 🤠
09/16/2026

If you know exactly who these two are before reading another word, you're my kind of country fan. 🤠

09/16/2026

The safest move would have been to imitate the sound that had already sold millions.

Instead, the new record leaned harder into blues, rock and soul. Producer Tony Brown helped build a sound around that enormous contralto rather than asking it to behave.

The first single went to number one. So did the second. Then the third.

“She Is His Only Need.”

“I Saw the Light.”

“No One Else on Earth.”

The singer was Wynonna. The album carried only her first name. And by the end of 1992, nobody needed the last one.

And now you know... the rest of the story.

09/16/2026

ON THIS DATE - SEPTEMBER 16

Born this day in 1946: Sonny LeMaire, bassist and singer for Exile - the Kentucky band that crossed from pop success into a long run of country hits.

“Kiss You All Over” opened the door. “I Don't Want to Be a Memory,” “Give Me One More Chance” and “She's a Miracle” helped make Exile a country-radio fixture.

What is your favorite Exile record?

09/16/2026

In 1992, Wynonna did something almost nobody manages: she launched a solo career without sounding like a smaller version of the act she had left.

“She Is His Only Need.” “I Saw the Light.” “No One Else on Earth.”

Three singles. Three number ones. And a five-million-selling debut album that sounded tougher, funkier and entirely her own.

09/16/2026

The Judds gave us the harmony. Wynonna's solo years gave us the full force of the voice.

Which side of the catalog do you reach for first - The Judds or solo Wynonna?

There is no wrong answer. But there may be a loud argument below.

Nashville may soon welcome the world beneath Dolly Parton’s name. BNA’s board voted unanimously to begin renaming the ai...
09/15/2026

Nashville may soon welcome the world beneath Dolly Parton’s name. BNA’s board voted unanimously to begin renaming the airport in her honor—a lasting tribute at Music City’s front door.

https://x.com/Fly_Nashville/status/2098431114629046575

Photo: Carrie Walker

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