The Country Music Times

08/09/2025

Kelly Clarkson just canceled her shows. The real reason came with heartbreaking news about her ex-husband. We’re all behind you, Kelly.

Kelly Clarkson's show cancellations were tied to heartbreaking news as her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, passed away at 48 after a three-year battle with cancer.

08/09/2025

I hear you loud and clear. Now, I’m all for artists stretching their creative muscles, but let’s be honest, country music and rap are like biscuits and motor oil. You can technically put ’em together, but why in the world would you? Country has its own rhythm, its own heartbeat. It’s born from front porch pickin’, late-night drives on dirt roads, and stories passed down like family heirlooms. Rap, on the other hand, thrives on a completely different beat and flow. Both can be great in their own worlds, but when you mash them together, it usually ends up feeling forced instead of natural.

Real country doesn’t need a rap verse to make it interesting, it needs sincerity, strong storytelling, and that unmistakable twang of a steel guitar. I’d rather hear a three-chord song sung from the heart than a “country” track trying to ride the coattails of another genre just to get radio play. Call me old-fashioned, but if I wanted to hear rap, I’d listen to rap. If I want country, I want it pure, like a well-aged bourbon, not watered down and mixed with something it was never meant to be.

Because in the end, country music isn’t just about sound. It’s about soul. And you can’t fake soul with a drum machine.

08/09/2025

LeAnn Rimes didn’t just sing ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’—she poured her heart into it at the Opry. Grab a tissue (or two)—this one hits deep.

LeAnn Rimes delivers a deeply emotional performance of George Jones' He Stopped Loving Her Today at the Grand Ole Opry, showcasing her heartfelt connection to the classic.

08/08/2025

At just nine, Anna Faith Howell sang ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ like she poured her whole soul into it—and yep, the crowd was downright speechless.

Nine-year-old Anna Faith Howell moved the crowd with her heartfelt rendition of George Jones’ classic “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

08/08/2025

When Charley Pride’s legacy gets a loving duet in a cozy Texas tavern—his son and Lorrie Morgan turn ‘Kiss An Angel Good Morning’ into something that feels way more like home than a stage.

Dion Pride and Lorrie Morgan honor Charlie Pride’s legacy through their rendition of “Kiss an Angel Good Morning.”

08/08/2025

Watch this tiny legend ditch her grapes and bust out the most adorable two-step to Blake Shelton—pure joy on tiny feet!

Consider yourself warned because this is too cute to handle.  This little girl minded her own business in the middle of their kitchen, enjoying a bag of grapes – which she refused to let go of when her mother tried taking it away. However, the moment she heard Blake Shelton singing “Red red red...

08/08/2025

When legends speak through silence… Alan Jackson quietly walked out during Beyoncé’s 2016 CMA set—not to make noise, but to silently remind us where the heart of country truly lies. Deep roots don’t need flash; they just stand tall.

Alan Jackson walked out of the 2016 CMAs during Beyoncé’s performance, a stand for traditional country music values amidst pop influences.

08/08/2025

Ain’t that the truth? Alan Jackson and George Strait aren’t just country legends, they’re the living, breathing proof that traditional country music still has a pulse. In a world where the genre keeps getting dressed up in pop glitter and rap beats, these two walked right past the trends, tipped their hats, and kept doing what they do best: telling real stories with steel guitars, fiddles, and honesty you can’t fake.

George Strait is the “King of Country” for a reason. The man’s got a catalog longer than a Texas highway and not a single weak mile on it. He can take a simple lyric and turn it into something you carry around in your heart for years. And Alan Jackson? He’s the poet laureate of small towns and working folks. Whether he’s singing about love, loss, or that September morning we’ll never forget, he has a way of making you feel like he’s telling your story.

Together, they’ve done more than just make great music, they’ve kept the backbone of country from snapping under the weight of trends. They’ve shown that you don’t need to chase the charts when you can win over generations with nothing more than truth, melody, and a little twang.

If country music were a campfire, Alan and George are the ones making sure the flame never dies out. And as long as they’re still playing, real country will never be just a memory

08/08/2025

Oh, Nashville… we love you like family, but lately it feels like we don’t even recognize you.

There was a time when Music City was the beating heart of country music, where songs were cut straight from the fabric of real life. You could walk down Lower Broadway and hear fiddles, steel guitars, and voices that carried the weight of truth in every note. Back then, “real country” wasn’t just a genre; it was a way of telling the world who you were and where you came from.

Now? Sometimes it feels like Nashville’s traded its boots for designer sneakers and its storytelling for catchy slogans. Sure, the production’s shinier, the stages flashier, and the charts friendlier to crossover hits, but somewhere in that chase for the mainstream spotlight, the grit and soul that made country legendary got pushed to the back row.

I’m not saying there isn’t great music still being made, there are artists out there fighting the good fight, carrying on the traditions of Haggard, Strait, and Cash. But they’re swimming against a tide of radio singles that sound more like beach party playlists than front porch confessionals. And that’s a shame, because country music’s magic is in its honesty. It’s in telling the truth, even when it hurts.

So, hello Nashville, we’re not mad. We’re just asking you to look in the mirror, dust off that old guitar, and remember the sound that made the world fall in love with you in the first place. Real country music isn’t gone… but it sure could use a louder stage.

08/08/2025

Do I still listen to Johnny Cash? Friend, that’s like asking if the sun still rises in the morning. Of course I do and I’ll keep on doing it until the day I hang up my boots for good.

Johnny Cash wasn’t just a singer; he was a storyteller, a poet, and a man who could put more truth into a three-minute song than most folks could fit into a lifetime. His voice carried the weight of every mistake, every lesson, and every ounce of redemption a person could live through. When Cash sang, you didn’t just hear it, you felt it.

“The Man in Black” didn’t need auto-tune, didn’t need a wall of sound behind him, and sure didn’t need to chase trends. He sang for the working man, the prisoner, the forgotten, and the sinner trying to find the light. That’s why his music is timeless. You can put on “Folsom Prison Blues” or “Ring of Fire” today and it still cuts straight to the bone, same as it did decades ago.

And here’s the thing, listening to Johnny Cash isn’t just about nostalgia. It’s about keeping a standard alive. In a world where some “country” songs can barely tell a story beyond a tailgate and a beer can, Cash reminds us that country music is supposed to mean something. It’s supposed to be real.

So yes, I listen to him. I listen when I’m driving, when I’m working, when life’s heavy, and when it’s light. Because some voices never fade and Johnny Cash’s is one of them.

08/08/2025

Ain’t it the truth? That photo of Alan Jackson, tall, hat tipped just right, mustache calm as a Sunday morning, it’s practically a gateway to the good stuff. Every time it floats across someone’s screen, another soul escapes the grip of overproduced noise and stumbles into the arms of real country music.

Alan Jackson didn’t just sing country, he embodied it. He never needed fireworks, smoke machines, or half-rapped lyrics to get his message across. No sir. He let the steel guitar do the talking and his lyrics do the healing. Whether it was “Drive (For Daddy Gene),” “Remember When,” or “Here in the Real World,” that man painted life with a six-string and a Southern drawl. His music didn’t try to reinvent the wheel, it just kept it rolling, smooth and true.

And it’s funny how that picture, just a snapshot, ends up being a compass for lost country hearts. Some kid sees it, gets curious, hits play on a song like “Chattahoochee,” and suddenly their whole idea of “country” shifts. Next thing you know, they’re digging through George Strait, Randy Travis, Reba, and before long, they’re quoting Keith Whitley lyrics like scripture.

See, Alan didn’t just keep it country, he protected it. While the genre got tugged and twisted in every direction, he stood tall in the middle like a country lighthouse, reminding folks what it sounds like when a song tells the truth. Not everyone listened, but those who did? They felt it. And once you feel it, you don’t go back.

So yeah, every time that photo pops up, another Spotify algorithm gets confused, another kid trades beats for banjos, and another heart finds its way home. Because that’s what Alan Jackson does, he don’t just sing songs. He rescues people from the noise and brings 'em back to where country music lives.

08/08/2025

Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband Brandon Blackstock has died at 48 following a private cancer battle. May his family find peace and strength.

Brandon Blackstock, Kelly Clarkson's ex-husband and former talent manager, passed away at 48 after a private battle with melanoma, leaving behind four children and a grandson.