Big Ol Changes

Howdy Coal Country! Well, well, well...if you have been hiding under a rock (no pun intended) I will let you know that there have been some BIG OL CHANGES on the BIG OL MORNING SHOW. Tia has moved on to our rock station Z-Rock 107.5, she is hosting an evening drive show from 3pm-6pm Monday thru Friday. Jammin' Jamey is my new PIC (partner in crime) on the Big Ol Morning Show. I know that it is gonna take some getting used to, but change is good! Just hang in there while we work the kinks out of the show! Now on to the good stuff.....Let's hear it again for Keith Urban and Taylor Swift, last week's song and album champions. They continue to top the Billboard country charts with "Sweet Thing" & Fearless, respectively. Conditions are similarly static farther down the charts. There are no new albums and just four new songs to report. The latter are Billy Currington's "People Are Crazy" (No. 48), Holly Williams' "Keep the Change" (No. 56), Toby Keith's "Lost You Anyway" (No. 57) and Phil Vassar's "Prayer of a Common Man" (No. 60).Re-entering the albums chart are Phil Stacey (No. 49), Randy Travis' Around the Bend (No. 71), Playlist: The Very Best of John Denver (No. 73), Patty Loveless' Sleepless Nights (No. 74) and One Flew South's Last of the Good Guys (No. 75).It bears noting that Swift's Fearless sold more than 52,000 copies in this its 17th week out, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and is very close to reaching total sales of 3 million units. For more than a year now, Swift has been the country record industry's most triumphant story.Completing the Top 5 albums list are Robert Plan and Alison Krauss' Raising Sand, Darius Rucker's Learn to Live, the Zac Brown Band's The Foundation and Taylor Swift, in that order.The No. 2 through No. 5 songs are Rucker's "It Won't Be Like This For Long," Brooks & Dunn's "Cowgirls Don't Cry" (with Reba McEntire), Toby Keith's "God Love Her" and George Strait's "River of Love."Strait's Classic Christmas made the greatest sales gain this week, more than doubling the number of copies it moved across the scanner the week before. Santa never sleeps. Until next time,

Uncle Rock
--"if you wanna make it, you can't fake it...you gotta LIVE IT!!!"

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY....????

Well I gotta tell ya Coal Country, in my 31 years of life I have never celebrated Valentines Day. Until 2009, as Bob Segar says I "turned the page"! Was it awesome? HECK YEAH! I don't want to get too personal so I will leave it at that...now on to the good stuff! Dierks Bently strides in like a conqueror this week to take command of both Billboard's country album and country songs charts. Bentley's Feel That Fire CD topples Taylor Swift's Fearless from the throne it has occupied for the past three months, while his latest single -- also dubbed "Feel That Fire" -- ends the two-week tenure of Blake Shelton's "She Wouldn't Be Gone" It's worth noting too that Feel That Fire debuts at a very strong No. 3 on Billboard's all-genre listing of the week's 200 best-selling albums. There are four other first-time albums: Wynonna's Sing Chapter 1 (sweeping in at No. 5), Willie Nelson and Asleep At The Wheel's Willie & the Wheel (No. 15), Colt Ford's Ride Through the Country (No. 64) and Aaron Tippin's trucker tribute, In Overdrive (No. 73). Tim McGraw's Let It Go re-enters the chart at No. 74.Only two new songs have come aboard: Justin Moore's "Small Town USA" (No. 55) and Jamey Johnson's "High Cost of Living" (No. 60). Matt Stillwell's "Shine" returns to action at No. 58.Swift's Fearless slips to No. 2, but her self-titled collection (now 120 weeks on the chart) hangs in at No. 3. Darius Rucker's Learn to Live moves up to No. 4 to round out this edition's Top 5 albums. Trailing Bentley within the Top 5 songs list are Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally's "Down the Road," Keith Urban's "Sweet THANG", Toby Keith's "God Love Her" and Shelton's "She Wouldn't Be Gone," in that order. More pushing and leapfrogging on the charts when we next meet. Until then,

Uncle Rock
--"if you wanna make it, you can't fake it...you gotta LIVE IT!!!"

Big Ol Game Day!!!!

Well Coal Country, I gotta tell ya...I can't believe it's time for the Super Bowl! I clearly remember watching the first week of NFL action while on vacation in the Orient. It is hard to believe that it is all over this Sunday, so anyways for the record, I'm going with the Steelers by 8 points (don't call Vegas or anything). Don't forget the Big Ol Game Day Countdown Show only on WXCC 96.5 this Sunday from 4pm - 6pm! Now on to the good stuff...Mark it up as 10 straight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's county albums chart for Taylor Swift's Fearless. It's also the current bestseller on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, holding Beyonce's I Am ... Sasha Fierce firmly at No. 2.While Swift all but installs seat belts to keep her grip on the throne, another breather of rarefied air, Alan Jackson, ambles to No. 1 on the songs chart with his self-penned "Country Boy" The one new album this week is Undone: A Musicfest Tribute to Robert Earl Keen, a multi-artist collection that comes aboard at No. 66.Returning albums are George Strait's 22 More Hits (No. 58), Patty Loveless' Sleepless Nights (No. 62), Sara Evans' Greatest Hits (No. 68), the eponymous Randy Rogers Band (No. 71) and Keith Anderson's C'Mon! (No. 74).The highest charting new song is Carrie Underwood's cover of Randy Travis' "I Told You So." It enters at No. 37. Travis' original recording of the song (a composition he also wrote) reached No. 1 on June 11, 1988, after an 18-week sojourn up the chart.Here's a tad more history: Songs in the second through fifth position that long-ago week were the Desert Rose Band's "He's Back and I'm Blue," Tanya Tucker's "If It Don't Come Easy," the Gatlin Brothers' "Love of a Lifetime" and Don Williams' "Another Place, Another Time." How many of these can you hum? Only two artists on the chart that week are also on this week, almost 21 years later: George Strait and Reba McEntire. No surprise there.One more archival bit: The song that achieved the highest entry point that week of June 11, 1988, was The Judds' "Give a Little Love."OK, back to now. This week's other newly arriving songs are Lady Antebellum's "I Run to You" (No. 50), Carrie Underwood's "The More Boys I Meet" (No. 52), Chuck Wicks's "Man of the House" (No. 59) and Keith Anderson's "She Could've Been Mine" (No. 60).Bunching up behind Fearless in the Top 5 albums, in descending order, are Taylor Swift, Sugarland's Love on the Inside, the Zac Brown Band's The Foundation and Rascal Flatts' Greatest Hits, Vol. 1.In the Top 5 songs, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban's "Start a Band"" drops from the summit to No. 2. Blake Shelton's "She Wouldn't Be Gone" arches from No. 9 to No. 2. Billy Currington's "Don't" holds at No. 4 for the second week, and Dierks Bentley's "Feel That Fire" sprints from No. 8 to No. 5.Tim McGraw's "Nothin' to Die For" makes the week's greatest advance, vaulting from No. 31 to No. 24.

Will Taylor tumble or Alan anchor? Tune in next week. Until then,

Uncle Rock

--"if you wanna make it, you can't fake it...you gotta LIVE IT!!!"

IS IT REALLY 2009?????

Happy New Year Coal Country! Well I gotta tell you, 2009 started out REEEEEALLLY BAD for Ol Hop Along Rock....My Tennessee Titans were defeated by the refs 13-10 in the AFC Playoffs. Trust me gang, I was there and the officiating was HORRIBLE! But anyways, lets get to the good stuff, Country Music News. How about that? Christmas goes away and the charts light up. There are eight new songs on the Billboard chart this week and another eight re-entries. Album wise, Taylor Swift is still queen. Her new CD, Fearless, tops both the country and the all-formats list. Sugarland's "Already Gone" is now the nation's No. 1 country song. Trace Adkins' "Marry for Money" is the highest-debuting single, coming in at No. 49. The remaining first-timers are Trent Tomlinson's "That's How It Still Oughta Be" (No. 51), Richie McDonald's "How Do I Just Stop" (No. 53) and Craig Morgan's "God Must Really Love Me" (No. 54).Also Point of Grace's "I Wish" (No. 55), Steve Azar's "You're My Life" (No. 57), Crystal Shawanda's "My Roots Are Showing" (No. 58) and Rehab's "Bartender Song," featuring Hank Williams Jr (No. 60).The returnees are Josh Gracin's "Telluride" (No. 45), Little Big Town's "Good Lord Willing" (No. 46), Jessica Andrew's "Everything" (No. 47), Melissa Lawson's "What If It All Goes Right" (No. 48).And Jamie O'Neal's "Like a Woman" (No. 50), Matt Stillwell's "Shine" (No. 52), Steve Holy's "Might Have Been" (No. 56) and Tracy Lawrence's "You Can't Hide Redneck" (No. 59).There aren't any new albums this week, but NBC Sounds of the Season: The Julianne Hough Holiday Collection vaults from No. 16 to No. 2 in what must surely be its last surge of the season.In its seventh week out, Randy Houser's Anything Goes also takes a giant step, stretching from No. 56 to No. 38.Six albums stage comebacks: McDonald's I Turn to You (No. 66), Playlist: The Very Best of Johnny Cash (No. 68), Keith Anderson's C'mon (No. 69), Patty Loveless' Sleepless Nights (No. 70), Randy Owen's One on One (No.73) and Playlist: The Very Best of John Denver (No. 74).Rounding out the Top 5 albums are Taylor Swift, Sugarland's Love on the Inside and Rascal Flatts' Greatest Hits Volume 1, in that order.Songs No. 2 through No. 5 are Rascal Flatts' "Here," Brad Paisley and Keith Uran's "Start a Band," the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" and Montgomery Gentry's "Roll With Me." You look exhausted. Let's stop right here.

Until next time,

Uncle Rock

--"if you wanna make it, you can't fake it...you gotta LIVE IT!!!"

Christmas is gone already???

If your Christmas wish was that my blog would finally stop effusing about Taylor Swift, prepare to grit your teeth. Her blonde perkiness still prevails -- and without mussing her hair -- as 2008 slides into the dustbin of publicity statistics. Thus let it be noted that Swift's Fearless not only crowns Billboard's country albums chart this week for the fifth consecutive time but also rockets back to the top of the magazine's all-genre listing, elbowing aside Britney Spears' Circus in the nicest possible way.For the second week, Montgomery Gentry's "Roll With Me" holds the No. 1 spot on the songs chart.No new country albums surface this week although a couple return: Tim McGraw's Limited Edition: Greatest Hits: Volumes 1, 2 & 3 (at No. 61) and Bill & Gloria Gaither with Homecoming Friends' Bill Gaither Presents: Country Bluegrass Homecoming, Volume One (No. 73). Obviously, the department of snappy titles was out to lunch when these two verbal mutants were minted.Four new songs make their bow: Carrie Underwood's "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (No. 54), Josh Gracin's "Telluride" (No. 58), Faith Hill's "Little Drummer Boy" (No. 59) and Steve Holy's "Might Have Been" (No. 60).The remaining Top 5 albums, in descending sequence, are Hill's Joy to the World, Elvis Presley's Christmas Duets, Rascal Flatts' Greatest Hits, Volume 1 and Taylor Swift.Nipping at Montgomery Gentry's heels in the Top 5 songs are Rascal Flatts' "Here," the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried," Sugarland's "Already Gone" and Brad Paisley and Keith Urban's "Start a Band." The rest is silence. Until next time,

Uncle Rock
--"if you wanna make it, you can't fake it...you gotta LIVE IT!!!"

HO HO HO....and all that jazz!!!!!

HAPPY HO HO HO COAL COUNTRY! Five fresh Christmas carols twinkle onto the latest Billboard country song chart, while Taylor Swift's Fearless and the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" continue as the No. 1 album and song. It's the third straight week at the top for Swift and the second for ZBB. Trace Adkins'X (Ten) is the highest debuting album, coming aboard at No. 7 on first-week sales of nearly 37,000 copies. The only other new album is Elvis Presley's Collector's Edition: Elvis Inspirational Memories, which bows at No. 70.The re-entries are Faith Hill's The Hits, encoring at No. 48, and Waylong Jennings & the 357's Waylon Forever (No. 75).Charting highest among the new Christmas songs is Rascal Flatts' "Jingle Bell Rock" (No. 45). Also arriving from Flatts are "White Christmas" (No. 52) and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (No. 58). Rounding out the holiday sentiments are Hill's "A Baby Changes Everything" (No. 57) and the Presley/"THE LOVELY" Carrie Underwood/Ball (hey it's Christmas, it doesn't hurt to dream) duet, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (No. 60).The remaining new songs are Swift's "White Horse" (No. 37) and Jessica Andrews' "Everything" (No. 59).Albums No. 2 through No. 5, in that order, are Hill's Joy to the World, Sugarland's Love on the Inside, Presley's Christmas Duets and the unsinkable Taylor Swift, which has now been on the chart for 110 weeks. Trailing "Chicken Fried" in the week's Top 5 songs are Tim McGraw's "Let It Go," Montgomery Gentry's "Roll With Me," Rascal Flatts' "Here" and Sugarland's "Already Gone." Here's a tip for those loan-seeking car companies: Try Kenny Chesney! Until next time,

Uncle Rock

--"if you wanna make it, you can't fake it....you gotta LIVE IT!!!"

PS Check out Uncle Rocks Blog this weekend for the Top 10 Country Albums of 2008!!!!

Taylor Swift is FEARLESS!!!!!

Now we know why Taylor Swift called her new album Fearless. It has absolutely thumped the competition, selling 592,304 copies its first week out, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and thus landing at the top of both Billboard's country and all-genre Billboard 200 charts. To put it another way, Swift sold approximately one-sixth of all albums purchased in the U.S. last week. Compounding the good news for the blonde tsunami is the fact that her latest single, "Love Story," is spending its second consecutive week at No. 1 on the country chart. It's a good thing the holidays are upon us. We chroniclers of the music scene can use the down time to discover new superlatives to apply to Swift's runaway success. Two other new albums grace the charts: a various artists compilation called Country Love Songs (breaking the ribbon at No. 59) and Kevin Costner & Modern West's Untold Truths (squeaking in at No. 75). Returning titles are George Strait's 22 More Hits (No. 70) and Emmylou Harris' All I Intended to Be (No. 71). There are three new songs to note: Kellie Pickler's "Best Days of Your Life" (No. 56), Rodney Atkins' "It's America" (No. 57) and Emerson Drive's "Belongs to You" (No. 60). Directly following Swift's new entry within the Top 5 albums are Rascal Flatts' Greatest Hits, Volume 1 Kenny Chesney's Lucky Old Sun, Sugarland's Love on the Inside and -- OMG! -- Taylor Swift's Taylor Swift. The remaining Top 5 songs (also in descending order) are the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried," Montgomery Gentry's "Roll With Me," Tim McGraw's "Let It Go" and Sugarland's "Already Gone."George Strait's "River of Love," which he performed on last week's CMA Awards show, takes a big leap from No. 45 to No. 33. OK, can we agree that Fearless has left us breathless? Until next time,

Uncle Rock
--"if you wanna make it, you can't fake it...you gotta LIVE IT!!!"