Taylor Swift  - You Belong With Me  - 2009 -  (Album  -  Fearless)

  No matter how big of a star you are, you can have a song in the Forgotten Jukebox.  There is little doubt this song lives on at her mega concerts, but as far as country singles and airplay go, many of her country singles from years ago have been shelved.   But this is a great song from her country days.  She was just coming into her own as a star and was on tour with other "bigger stars" (seems laughable now), where she wrote the Fearless album, and this single was on it.  I loved this song, inspired by an overheard phone conversation, plus the video sent a message to the rest of Nashville this was not business as usual. No one could have seen coming what we see today, but there was no doubt there was something different about her, I knew it then.  She was honest, vulnerable, straight forward and singing her absolute truth.  The undeniable strength of Taylor Swift, still today is that she knows exactly who she is singing to, who they are, what they want to hear, and what they would want to say if they were in her position within the song.  She is as influential as any star we have ever had, and her influence will continue far beyond the Era's Tour.  It will be felt for years to come.  As influential as she is, there will always only be one Taylor Swift.  Great song and strong video here.

Last Weeks Selection

Today 3 new members of the Country Music Hall Of Fame were announced. Two giants from different era's and both very instrumental to today's Country.  Plus one of Nashville's best musicians!

John Anderson -Click to read my profile on him!

Immensely influential to future stars for many years.  As influential as any over the past 40 years.  A real fan favorite, and a true traditionalist.

Toby Keith - Click to read my profile on him!

Incredible talent, and dominated the charts and format for many years. Sadly passing away way too soon.  A true Mega Star in our format by any measure.

And Touring Musician  -  James Burton

 In all honesty, what can really be said about this gem of a song?  When this was out, we couldn't play it enough. This is so amazingly relatable to everyone on the planet.  The importance of this song is in the writing of Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. Inspired from a real life misdiagnosis of a friend of those two and how it made them feel. The song went from pen, to demo to McGraw, in a few short days, very unusual.  Not often has a song been written that was so powerful, honest and poignant, as it makes you feel sad, happy, hopeful and in the end proud to be a human.  Of course it's not often our mortality is written and celebrated in song.  This song also struck people outside of country and introduced Tim and us to a whole bunch of new fans, as this song is universal.  One thing we all have in common is death. Both our own and those close to us.  This song plants the seed that maybe we all can  - and will face our own demise with the strength and courage stated here.  A seven week #1, millions sold, video honored, and Single of the Year and Song of the Year in 2004 from the CMA, and ACM, and 2004 Grammy for Best Country Song. With the written song, the timeless musical arrangement and McGraw's performance, this song will played on country stations for decades.  Seldom are hit songs this big.

Last Week #39

My Full Profile On Tim McGraw

In case you missed some of my articles this week from WQMX.com, here is a recap.  Grab some coffee and earbuds and let's get you caught up!

Thanks for reading and listening every day!

BROWNS - Joe Had To Go!

Eat Of The Week

3 New Hall Of Famers

50 Most Important Country Songs 1980-Today #39

Forgotten Jukebox SM-10

CMML - Trisha Yearwood (Revisit)

Wynn At The Movies And More!

Box Office Results - Kung Fu Panda 4 (30 million )

#2 -Dune 2 (29 million)

#3 - Arthur The King (8 Million)

New This Week – Ghostbusers; Frozen Empire / Immaculate (Sydney Sweeney)  / Sleeping Dogs

NEXT WEEK -

This Weekend – Check out my Country Music Memory Lane   (Link)

Also - 50 Most Important Country Songs 1980 – Today #39 (Link)

 Last years Browns savior, the ageless Joe Flacco got a new job this week with the Indianapolis Colts and is not coming back to the Browns.  I love what Flacco did last year as he took us on a fun ride that got us into the playoffs.  I am also glad for Browns nation that he is not coming back.  Don't get me wrong, he could be on my team, but I don't run the Browns. Guys that are trying to stay employed are.  And their future is 100% tied to Deshaun Watson.

When the Browns were convinced to give Watson all that guaranteed money, they lost all previous recent identity and took on a new one.  Giving up and at the same time restarting the short term future by banking on Watson.  Flacco made us fans happy and made the Browns team look great.  He made the front office look real bad.  His ability to make this offense look that good in a week or two was a real wake up call for all.  The same players, same game, way different result with a real adult at the helm.  We've haven't looked that good with anyone in 20 years.  His remarkable play, made a lot of people very nervous. A guy off the couch, 39 years old, paying him NFL pennies.

Having Flacco back has no benefit.  This fan base would be screaming at the stadium for Flacco to play the first sign of a struggling offense.  It would divide the fans loudly, the locker room quietly, coaching staff privately, and the local and national media endlessly.  And that would only be because of how well Flacco played and made us look, and how he made us feel.  You see, with the Browns job keeping seekers leaders, it's not really about winning.  It's about winning with Watson.  They're firing successful coaches for it, and making everything just so.  So a new backup has been signed and the pressure is off.  We, and he, won't be hearing Flacco's name being chanted by 70,000 when we don't play well.

I'm not saying Flacco is the answer because he's 39 years old, and does have a limit.  But here I feel there would be no mentoring wanted, accepted or even tolerated.  Joe is too good a dude not to be respected and looked up to, he is a Superbowl Champion, and a very good human.  He now is in a great place, backing up a very young QB who needs mentoring and needs to learn to stay healthy, as he too is coming off shoulder surgery.  I feel there's a very good chance Flacco plays a lot for the Colts this year.  Flacco, indoors, warm, on a fast track with some nice young players, could be fun.  If he would have signed here, he would never, ever see the field unless we had the same situation as last year.

And that's what this year will be about.  Watson will play every single game, even if we are the worst team in the league.  That won't happen clearly, but this is where we are. The Browns will ride with him no matter what, and now they can with no Joe on the sidelines.  The path has been cleared.  If a backup is needed for most of the season, the Browns are not going anywhere.  BUT if a backup is needed for a few weeks to win important games that could get you in the playoffs?  There's no Joe.

The Browns have put themselves in a very tough situation. Almost everything they are doing is just buying more time for themselves.  New coaches, new offense, be patient, new way of doing things, these things take time, all that word salad stuff they are famous for.  Many, just trying to stay employed and hoping they haven't wasted a quarter of a BILLION dollars on a single guy and traded away the teams future.  There is only one way out for them.  A Superbowl title - especially before the Texans who we have done an amazing job rebuilding.  If that doesn't happen in the next three years, they will all be out.  For the next three years, here it's not about winning per say.  It's about them being right.

Sadly for fans, Joe had to go.  Good luck Joe, and thanks!

Keep On Lovin' You  - Steel Magnolia  - 2010

 I liked this when it was out, and I liked them a lot too.  But in music, many times artists don't get to stay for the whole party, but merely a cup of coffee.  That's what happened to Steel Magnolia.  We did a few shows with this duo, including a promotion at Put-In-Bay as I think that was our first show there.  This song was a real breath of fresh air.  Megan and Josh, who made up this duet were engaged in real life and their voices blended together perfectly like DNA siblings can.  There was a real edge to them, especially Megan whose voice I have admired for years.  So bluesy, and full of that muddy water Louisiana sound. This great song written by Trent Willmon and a then unknown Chris Stapleton landed in the right place with SM.  This single went to #4 on the charts on an album with Big Machine Records their future looked great.  Sadly, the award nominated duo split up both on stage and in life as many of life's circumstances caught up to them.  I remember emceeing them at the Wayne County Fair in 2011, and there was no doubt there was something wrong there, as they both were very different than the many times I had worked with them before.  But they had a cool look, image and sound and I was sad to see this not work out.  I thought at the time, they had the stuff to contend. Megan still is a very cool vocalist and they have both since pursued solo careers.  But here  - what a song!

Last Weeks Selection

 As we get older entering different stages of life, things change.  Some are physical, some mental, and some are the things outside of those.  Possessions. Stuff you've had for years and now it's time to let go.  And as silly as this is going to sound, that's where I am with an old couch I have.  I know it's time, and I'm fine with it.

But in fairness, this to me isn't an ordinary couch.  It has a story as I look back on that's pretty cool and that's why it's been with me all these years.  You see in 1983 I was a very young broadcaster who moved to Columbus just starting off on my own and had zero money.  So I built this couch, because I couldn't afford to buy a real one, and it served me well for the next 40 years or so.  As I look at it today, it amazes me that I made it.  I made a matching chest too and that's in Florida at my house there full of pool toys.  But the couch was first.  It's what I could  - sort of afford.

I designed this humble couch as a day bed type of thing, and it was measured to fit the dumpy apartment I was living in.  I drove to my moms farm house in Berea late one Friday night and spent the weekend with her.  I used her -  I think -  70 year old table saw in the scary basement that was my "Grandpa Doc's" for the majority if not the entirety of the 20th century that I'm not sure was at all safe.  I cut all the pieces and there was a ton of them, labeling them with pen.  That took most of the weekend, then I loaded all the pieces up in my Buick Skyhawk and drove back home to my one bedroom apartment in the worst part of town along with some tools. I assembled it in my living room while watching the World Series over the course of a few nights with wood glue and nails.

Every Piece Was Labled

I belt sanded the entire thing, completely trashing my place for a couple of days. After the frame was together I nailed and glued on the platform, only to discover I had nailed in a drop cloth that was an old table cloth to the under frame and it's still there.  I bought an expensive piece ($15) of 4" foam that has lasted wonderfully. (The guy said it would and it did)  After I stained the couch, I covered the foam with a piece of tan herculon I stapled on that's still on there.  That was it.  Whole thing I think cost me $45 to make as that's what I could afford, if I even could then.  Sheesh!

Drop Cloth Nailed And Glued Under By Accident

That couch has been used for all these decades, mostly as a window sill couch after the first few years. My friends kids have slept on it, I have slept on it, company has slept on it, it survived party's, in short it has done its job.  That couch moved with me to Richmond, then to Jefferson City (2 addresses) then to Lakeland (2 addresses) then back here, (3 addresses). A few of the decorative pieces have had to be re-glued back on a few times.  Movers have loaded it on and off trucks and been in storage sheds and now it sits in the basement, warm and dry where it's been for the past 4 years.  The truth is, it just outlived its time. It's still in great shape, and I hate to part with it. But I get it, it's the memory of a different time that's the issue.

Am I proud of it?  I guess, it's not a classic piece of work, but it was my work as a broke 22 year old.  I had zero idea in 1983, I'd be writing about this is 2024, I guess I should be proud it lasted all these years and lived an exciting life - for a couch.

When I think about it, it lived my life too.  - Thanks old couch.  Maybe you'll find a new home.  (BTW it's PERFECT as a window sill couch)

In case you missed any of my articles this week from WQMX.com , here is a recap. Grab a coffee and earbuds anbd let's get you caught up.

BROWNS - People Are Different

Eat Of The Week

50 Most Important Country Songs 1980-Today #40

Forgotten Jukebox - CM-02

CMML - Terri Clark (Revisit)

Wynn At The Movies And More

Box Office Results - Kung Fu Panda 4 - (59 Million)

#2 – Dune 2  -  (46 Million)

#3 - Imaginary  -  (10 Million)

New This Week - Arthur The King  / Knox Goes Away / Snack Shack

Oscars - Oppenheimer wins 7

Razzies - Winnie The Pooh Blood And Honey 2 (sweeps)

Neve Campbell – Will be in Scream 7 – got the money worked out she skipped Scream 6

The Batman Part II, - With Robert Pattinson, postponed a year, It will now open on October 2026 instead of October 2025

WOW! - Screenwriter Simon Stephenson accusing the makers of Holdovers of plagiarism. Says he has evidence Holdovers screenplay was "plagiarized line-by-line" from his screenplay for a movie script called Frisco

This Weekend – Check out my Country Music Memory Lane (link)

Also - 50 Most Important Country Songs 1980 – Today #40 (Link)