Ronnie Milsap recorded Ralph Murphy’s “He Got You,” and it went to #1. We talked with Murphy about writing hits, thinking about the listeners during their worst time of day, and what he’s looking for as a judge for Ronnie Milsap’s “Country Cut” Contest. Enter the contest for a chance to have Milsap cut one of your songs.

You started off as a musician, in the Slade Brothers, before moving on to writing psychedelic pop and then country songs. How has your attitude towards songwriting developed through all those changes?

I was playing mostly at 10 o’clock at night. At 10 o’clock at night, you can do whatever you want because people are there, number one, for your personality, and number two, for the atmosphere. Part of that is the music, but it’s a part of a many many things. I didn’t realize that. I thought they were coming for the songs. Once I started looking for songs that would resonate with people, I realized there was a different expectation. I wasn’t giving the listener the information the way they expected to receive it.

What changed everything was that a producer signed me to a record deal. His name was Tony Hatch. Tony wrote “Downtown” and “Don’t Sleep in the Subway.” He also produced a lot of hit acts at the time. The songs I was playing at 10 o’clock on The King’s Road and in different clubs, those weren’t the songs they needed. That was the first time that it had been graphically written out for me that there was a “time of day” factor. First of all, seven in the morning is drive time. People don’t seek new music at seven in the morning. They want local news, traffic, and a familiar song. A new song is an intrusion.

Read the entire interview here.

Glen Campbell Cancels Tour Dates With Kenny Rogers, Releases Video For “A Better Place”

The Rhinestone Cowboy, Glen Campbell, has been forced to cancel his Australian tour dates with Kenny Rogers. The Gympie Times reports that Campbell pulled out due to illness and believes his Alzheimer’s has progressed to a point where he is unfit for travel.

Replacements for next month’s shows include Australian country music stars John Williamson, Beccy Cole, Lee Kernaghan, Troy Cassar-Daley and Sara Storer. These replacements were announced on Kenny Rogers’ official website and he did not want to speak about Campbell’s tour absence during an interview.

The news of Campbell’s Alzheimer’s came back in June 2011, along with the announcement of his final album, Ghost on the Canvas, and his Goodbye tour.

Just this week, Campbell released a music video for the song “A Better Place.” It is a farewell video that features Campbell looking back at his life and career. The video also includes a personal message to his fans and his wife Kimberly. “My love goes out to Kim, my amazing grace. You’ve been by my side through these changing times, and it means the world to me.”

Colt Ford recently took some time to chat with us about country music radio, getting songs cut by other artists, and big-time collaborations on his upcoming album:

The new album is called Declaration Of Independence. Tell us about the meaning and how this album is different from your older material.

I went backwards so to speak. I went back to the roots of my first record. When I didn’t know any rules about what they wanted in Nashville. They wanted a certain length song or they didn’t want you to say this or that. I just went back to saying whatever I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it, the way I would say it, and just be as honest and real and open as I can. That’s what I did.

Some of the things Eric Church says like, “I like music that chooses sides.” I’m like that, too. I want you to know who I am when you hear these songs. I think it’s the best record I’ve ever made.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Zac Brown Band
Uncaged
(Atlantic/Home Grown/Bigger Picture)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

At this point in their career, with a pair of platinum albums, a hit live record, and enough Top Five country hits to fill a best-of collection, the Zac Brown Band has grown accustomed to dealing with the weight of expectations — so much so that the title of their fifth full-length, Uncaged, could be read as a winking aside to fans afraid they’ll start tinkering with their eclectic chart-topping formula, or as a warning to country purists who don’t appreciate the band’s willingness to color outside the genre lines. Neither camp will have its expectations challenged by this 11-song set, which lives up to Brown’s half-joking assertion that it’s “your basic country Southern rock-bluegrass-reggae-jam record” while never coming anywhere near the unbridled experimentation it implies. More than anything, Uncaged is an album that proves a successful country artist really can have it all — that it’s possible to tastefully blend the sensitive singer/songwriter tropes of Laurel Canyon artists like James Taylor, the faux Caribbean pandering of Jimmy Buffett, the deeply felt roots excursions of the Avett Brothers, and the smartly crafted pop concessions of Jason Mraz (who co-pens the leadoff track, “Jump Right In”). Basically, Brown gets to have his cake and eat it too, stooping to lines about preacher’s daughters and tiki bars while retaining the genuine good ol’ boy charm that’s made the ZBB such a breath of fresh air on country radio. And if the record never works up much of a sweat, that’s okay; this is music for relaxing and enjoying the good times, after all, delivered with just enough abandon to make sure you know these guys can really play — and more than enough hooks to keep the hit songs coming.

Check out this fun animated video from Zac Brown Band, for their latest single “The Wind.” Directed by Mike Judge (King of the Hill, Beavis and Butt Head) it features a robot version of Zac Brown competing in a sort of impromptu hillbilly Olympics.

The song hails from their upcoming album Uncaged, out July 10 on Atlantic/Southern Ground Records. Read due our 2010 cover story on Zac Brown Band here.

Don Williams
And So It Goes
(Sugar Hill)
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Even when he was at his hit-churning 70s and 80s peak, laconic country singer Don Williams sounded like a grizzled but tender old soul. Now that he is one, the “Gentle Giant” hasn’t changed a whisker on his first album in eight years. Alison Krauss, Vince Gill and Keith Urban guest on backing vocals but they don’t distract from Williams’ key strength; his everyman, low key delivery and mellow tempo, stripped down songs. Tunes such as “I Just Come Here for the Music” exemplify the singer’s homespun sincere simplicity which is the core of pure country music. At 10 tracks clocking in at about 35 minutes, it leaves you wanting more which, if you are new to Don Williams’ bulging catalog, there is plenty of. And it all sounds just as easy rolling and honest as this.

Free Download: The Country Way Digital, Vol. 3

In conjunction with our new country music issue, American Songwriter proudly presents The Country Way Digital Volume 3, featuring 12 must-hear tracks from some of our favorite artists. And the best thing about it? It’s free!

Download The Album Here

A Decade Of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: Part One

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. To celebrate, American Songwriter’s Jaymie Baxley examines the beloved record in this special multi-part series.

In part one, we’ll look at the first major upset of Foxtrot’s tumultuous recording process; the replacement of original drummer Ken Coomer with Glenn Kotche. This chapter also includes a brief history of Numbers Stations and outlines a conspiracy theory claiming Foxtrot prophesied the 9/11 terrorist attacks…

Continue reading the article here.

Win Tickets To See Sharon Van Etten In Nashville

Enter now for your chance to see Sharon Van Etten at The Mercy Lounge in Nashville this Thursday, April 26th.

Van Etten’s latest album, Tramp, pushes her into the next phase of her songwriting career. Writer Max Blau states, “While Van Etten’s introspective songwriting earned her critical raves, she’s stepped outside her creative comfort zone with her third album, expanding her musical and lyrical boundaries.” Read the full article here.

Visit Mercy Lounge for ticket info on this show.

Click here to enter the contest.

Marty Stuart: Nashville Vol. 1, Tear The Woodpile Down

Marty Stuart returns with this marvelous, if frustratingly brief, 30 minute album of traditional styled county originals. His appropriately named Fabulous Superlatives touring band is joined by a few guests, but this batch of wonderful songs that wrap themselves around oft-recorded C&W topics of truck driving, heartaches and lots of loneliness captures a rootsy groove that’ll make you forget all of Nashville’s slick qualities and love country and western all over again. In that sense it’s a continuation of Stuart’s career. The singer is in fine voice and seems inspired by this outlaw move to revive the time-honored music he loved when he first hit Nashville as an impressionistic kid in 1972.