Worst songs on country radio

[crainbebo]

Those "i'm so country" songs (like Justin Moore's Bait A Hook, etc) They're becoming worse than pop country.

I actually like those, as long as they're country. "She's Country" isn't.

Amen vchimpanzee! "She's Country", even though it's been mentioned a thousand times here, is still playing all the time on country FMs, and sounds like country-hard rock. Not a fan at ALL.

-crainbebo

[scott salvatori]

"Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus.  If it hasn't already gotten a mention, it's probably only because it's no longer getting airplay! 

  i was so irate that such a debacle of a pathetic song like achy breaky could get airplay, let alone become a mega hit back in early 93.  so, i hit the phones to discuss/rant the matter with my seattle country station program/music directors.   as i recall, it was dewey boyington(wow, theres a winner of a radio name) on KRPM 106FM(station,no longer around), who fired back at me with an angry voice, what a fool i was for my views about the song.   ironically, just a few days later, nashville country star, travis tritt had a rant about the same thing.  as you may recall, his rant went extremely public, and caused a big rift in the industry.  travis pointed his finger at the radio gate keepers, just as i did, along with the music video business.  i was so proud of travis for this rare slam against this song and the business.  when i called up that dewey character, from KRPM after travis tritts rant made the news, he just hung up on me, unable to discuss the matter further.   within the next month,  achy breakys mega rotation, burned out, never to be heard again.  perhaps, it should never have been touched in the first place.  shame on you idiots!   yep, i hated the song so much, i acquired the rare record album version of billy rays "some gave all".   why?  only to start up and then slow down/off the song a couple times on a bluegrass country show i was doin' back then for a college station.  oh well, it got a laugh or two..     

[TheBigA]

ironically, just a few days later, nashville country star, travis tritt had a rant about the same thing.  as you may recall, his rant went extremely public, and caused a big rift in the industry.  travis pointed his finger at the radio gate keepers, just as i did, along with the music video business.  i was so proud of travis for this rare slam against this song and the business.      

It really came across as sour grapes from Travis, and didn't help his career.  Both he & Billy weren't really country singers, but southern rock singers.  Both had high powered managers, both had charisma, and had lots of similiarities.  It was about jeolousy and ego, and Travis is loaded with both.

As far as "gate-keepers," radio had no reason to play this song.  It had already stiffed when it was released by the Marcy Brothers, and Billy was a nobody from Flatwoods Kentucky.  The only reason this song was a hit was because of the fans.  I followed Billy around for a story I was doing, and this was all driven by the fans.  If radio didn't play this song, they would have been burned down.

[scott salvatori]

"A" you got some knowledge, so let me ask this:  didnt del reeves have an issue with achey breaky?  i think he recorded it, before billy ray, and was set to release it.  i think he sued the song writers or record company?

travis also accused the record company of assembling a mass group of wild yelling fans for the video,portraying billy ray as a big star, when he was an unknown.   

 but, all that said, in my opinion, the album sucked, the production sucked, and so did billy rays singin'.

billy ray did put out a better album release in aug 96, called "trail of tears".  the title track/single actually had some tasty bluegrass production style, but did not become a big hit.

travis and billy ray have long made up over the achy breaky issue.  but, we the listener/broadcaster in 2012, are stuck with achy breaky style songs getting airplay and hit status on a regualr basis.....

[TheBigA]

"A" you got some knowledge, so let me ask this:  didnt del reeves have an issue with achey breaky?  i think he recorded it, before billy ray, and was set to release it.  i think he sued the song writers or record company?

That's an interesting question.  Del was not recording at that time, so I have no reason to believe he recorded it.   

HOWEVER, he DID sue Billy in 1992, claiming he got him his record deal.  Billy's manager, Jack McFadden denied it.  The matter went to court, and Del apparently got some money out of the deal.  The power of that one song helped Billy sell more than 9 million copies of his debut album, and the album continued to sell despite the lack of quality singles after the first two.  My point about it is that radio played the song because of listener demand.  The song also won the CMA Single of the Year. 

[scott salvatori]

The power of that one song helped Billy sell more than 9 million copies of his debut album, and the album continued to sell despite the lack of quality singles after the first two. 

thanks for the accurate details above, but i wonder how much of them 9 million "some gave all" albums sold was on vinyl?  i got two of them.  one still sealed in the wrapper.  very rare??

[vchimpanzee]

The power of that one song helped Billy sell more than 9 million copies of his debut album, and the album continued to sell despite the lack of quality singles after the first two. 

thanks for the accurate details above, but i wonder how much of them 9 million "some gave all" albums sold was on vinyl?  i got two of them.  one still sealed in the wrapper.  very rare??

I must be one of the half dozen people who had heard "Some Gave All" before "Achy Breaky Heart".

That song doesn't seem so bad now.

[jfrancispastirchak]

BIG A nailed it.  Like it or not, a song succeeds on it's quality only sometimes.  Ultimately, consumer-fan demand drives a song's success.  A song I mentioned on another thread, Swede's early '70s rip-off of BJ Thomas' Hooked On A Feeling tripped up skeptics coast-to-coast.  Listeners called request lines demanding it, so stations played it. 

[firepoint525]

"Achy Breaky Heart" was one of those strange ones.  I remember getting requests for it literally before I had ever even heard it!  But when listener demand for something is that strong, that fast, there is usually an equally strong backlash against it.  That might explain why you don't hear "Achy Breaky Heart" anymore.  That and the fact that it is 20 years old now!

And J. Francis, I actually preferred the Blue Swede version of "Hooked on a Feeling."  That is probably because I am 48 now, thus making me 10 years old when it was a hit.  But even if you took out the "ooga chagas" (which is what initially "hooked" me), I just thought that their delivery was better.  But nothing against B.J. Thomas.  I actually prefer his version of the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby," and I'm a Beach Boys fan!

[Ted Cramer]

I may be wrong but I thought the reason we program music was for the fans. What we as programmers personally think of the song matters not, it is what the listeners like that matters. I personally can't stand Red Solo Cup but it is a heavy current because it is so popular and Achy Breaky Heart is in normal rotation as a library cut.....If I programmed what I liked, the station wouldn't be something that an audience would enjoy. We program the stations for them, we program our CD's or Ipods for us....