Forever and Ever Amen by Randy Travis
Remeber When by Alan Jackson
Letter to Me by Brad Paisley
Some People Change by Montgomery Gentry
Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels Band
Every Mile a Memory by Dierks Bentley
You're Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins
Blame It On Your Heart by Patty Loveless
Poor Poor Pitiful Me by Terri Clark
Wasted by Carrie Underwood
She's In Love with the Boy by Trisha Yearwood
What You Give Away by Vince Gill
Jolene by Dolly Parton
Kawliga by Charley Pride
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Randy Travis is a very influential voice in country music. Randy Travis brought country music back to it's roots and was very popular before the rise of other country men, like Garth Brooks. The live performance of this song from The Grand Ole Opry portrays the how 'country' Randy Travis is. The sonic components are mainly the guitar that Travis and his two back-ups are using. In the live version you get more of an acoustic sound that brings out the country sound in the song, which is why I used the song. The sonic elements in a live performance are much more noticeable than when listening to a digital track.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Travis
Randy Travis is a very influential voice in country music. Randy Travis brought country music back to it's roots and was very popular before the rise of other country men, like Garth Brooks. The live performance of this song from The Grand Ole Opry portrays the how 'country' Randy Travis is. The sonic components are mainly the guitar that Travis and his two back-ups are using. In the live version you get more of an acoustic sound that brings out the country sound in the song, which is why I used the song. The sonic elements in a live performance are much more noticeable than when listening to a digital track.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Travis
Alan Jackson, who became popular in the 1990's, is still a driving force in country music. The music that Jackson creates is rooted in the sounds of the classic honky tonk music with a taste of contemporary country, which makes his sound different than other artists today. In this live version of this song, Jackson is very intimate which is why I put this song on my playlist. The music is mainly his guitar, which makes the song much more personal. Since this song is meant to be a personal song, you really get that feeling when you see the live performance of the song because Jackson does a very good job of making it seem as though he is singing only to you, even though there is a hall full of people.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/2508518
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Brad Paisley is an artist that is also considered to be a contemporary country musician. Most of the music that Brad Paisley creates relate to very 'country' themes. His songs all relate to manhood and activities that men enjoy. In the live version of this song, Paisley gets more intimate. With just him and his guitar on the stage, it brings a new light to the song and what Paisley is trying to portray to his younger self. I picked this song because it is much different from what Paisley usually sings about. A majority of Paisley's songs are more about jokes, or poking fun at people. For example, in his song "Celebrity" he pokes fun at the ways in which celebrities act and how they treat others. I liked that Paisley got more in touch with himself and the ways in which he tells his audience about his past through his letter in his song.
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/paisley_brad/bio.jhtml
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Montgomery Gentry is a duo that takes country to more of a rock level. Their influences are country rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Charlie Daniels. There music is full over emotion, but with faster tempos and harder sounds that make it seem more like rock. In this live version, you can really feel the emotion that they are trying to portray in their song. Compared to a studio version you get more of the feeling of the song, and the importance the song has to the duo. I put this song in my playlist because I felt as though they were trying to get a point across as to not judge a book by it's cover, so to speak. With this song, their feelings come through in the ways that people are judged and how judgements are wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Gentry.
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Charlie Daniels Band is a rock inspired country group. Charlie Daniels uses the influences from southern rock and blues in his music. Daniels is known for his use of the string instruments, mainly his fiddle. The song, "Devil Went Down to Georgia" is based on the fiddle, and how well Daniels can fiddle. In this live version you get to hear the strong sound and force of the fiddle. You can also hear the other string influences also throughout this live version. Also in the live version, and the reason I chose this song, is that you get to watch the techniques and the motions that Daniels uses while playing his fiddle, and how taxing performing this song can be because of the large part that the fiddle plays, and how draining it is for Daniels to play the fiddle while singing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Daniels_Band.
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Dierks Bentley is a very popular male musician in the modern day world of country music. Bentley stays true to the country roots with the sonic elements that he uses in his music. In the performance version of this song, sonically you can really hear the strings that are used. During the live version you get more of the country sound than that that is portrayed in the recorded versions of the song. Also the intimacy factor of a live performance really amplifies the 'country' sound of the song. I chose this song because I thought that it was a good country song that portrayed the changes in peoples lives, and how distance can affect a person, and even though you try to separate yourself, you still have the memories you made with that person in your mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dierks_Bentley.
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Trace Adkins is a country musician that uses the sounds of honky tonk country combined with sounds from blues and rock music. From the live performance of this song, Adkins is able to portray the different influences that he has in his music. In this song he uses the drumset, and also the string instruments to combine the sounds of rock and country together. Even though the drums are used in the song, you can still hear the distinct sounds of the guitar and strings that are used in the live performance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trace_Adkins.
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Patty Loveless is a female singer who took the sounds of honky tonk country music and combined it with the sounds of soft rock to create a distinct sound that she produces in her music. Loveless has been compared to the great country star Patsy Cline, although she has made a name for herself with her southern voice and sonic elements. In the live version of this song, there is an underlying beat that is keeping the tempo and pushing the song forward. There is also the presence of the 'country' string sounds that are very popular in her music. The distinct sound of the guitar in the song, along with the propelling drumbeat are amplied from the fact that the performance is live and you can better hear these sounds throughout the song.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Loveless.
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Terri Clark has success in country music both in Canada and the United States. Clark had trouble getting established in the country scene in the United States, but she did have hits that were very popular here and she did make it as a member in The Grand Ole Opry.
I chose this song because I liked the live performance given by Clark. I like that she was very involved with the crowd and how lively her performance was. I also like the music of the song. I was really drawn to the tamborine that had a strong underlying beat throughout the song.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Clark
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Carrie Underwood was a suprise inductee into the Grand Ole Opry when she became a member in 2008. Before Carrie made it into the big leagues of country music, she sang in her church and in school plays as a child. Underwood is also a past contestant and winner of American Idol in 2005. Since then Carrie Underwood has produced many hits for country music and has become very popular in the genre. I chose "Wasted" because it was on of the songs that I really enjoyed from the album. Hearing it live, I think that Underwood's voice is much clearer and more powerful sounding. Also in this track Underwood's voice is more powerful than the music, although the constant underlying sounds of the guitar and the violin add to the overall sound of the song.
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/underwood__carrie/bio.jhtml.
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Travis Tritt became popular in the early 1990's and he brought a new kind of southern rock that also had a blues influence into the genre. Tritt had a hard time fitting in in Nashville because of the large influence and rock and roll sound that his music portrayed.
I chose this Travis Tritt song because it is such as well known song to people who listen to country music and some people who don't regularly listen to country muisc. The live version adds to the song because Tritt is speaking about his life and what he is going through and with the live version you get a better experience of how this song relates to Tritt and what it really means to him.
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/tritt_travis/bio.jhtml
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Trisha Yearwood got her start singing in the music industry by being a back-up singer for the great Garth Brooks. After singing with Brooks, she moved on to debut her first album. Since then she has produced many more records and the hit "How Do I Live" for the movie Con Air. In the live version of the song, Trisha Yearwood's voice stands out more than it does in the recorded versions. I feel as though the background music in the live version is much more suttle than it is in the recorded version of the song. I also like that Yearwood puts some of her personality in the song, and some of her voice changes that are used in the live version that are different than those of the recorded version.
I chose this song by Trisha Yearwood because it is one of those feel good songs for me. I like the fast tempo of the song and the tempo of the song that makes you want to sing along to it.
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/yearwood_trisha/bio.jhtml.
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Vince Gill, a popular country musician, started out singing music with more of a bluegrass influence. He also was a mutli-instrumentalist, playing different types of instruments to help develop his music. In the live version of this song Vince Gill plays his guitar while singing. He also uses a couple different background singers that add to the sound and depth of his voice. The distinct voices and the instruments in this song are very well portrayed in this live version because you can hear each distinct element that makes up the song which is why I chose to do this song by Vince Gill.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Gill.
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Dolly Parton, the queen of country music, exemplifies the sounds of country music and what it is that is considered to be country music. In the live version of this song, you can hear the raspy side of Dolly Parton's voice. Also, the music in the song sounds very natural, and the music propels you forward throughout the song. The impact that the guitars have on the over sound of the song. Also the underlying constant beat in the song really keeps you moving and is a constant force in the tempo of the song.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Parton.
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The song written by Hank Williams, performed here by Charley Pride is a different kind of country music. There are sonic elements in this song that are sounds not native to that of country music. Pride makes noises while singing that seem to be native from something other than country music. The other sonic elements in the song are very 'country' in the fact that there are many different string instruments involved. In the live version, it amplifies the distinct sounds and the music that is used in the song. These sounds are better heard and identified in the live version, and you can also here the southern twang that Pride uses in his singing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Pride
