I'm off for a few days, we will have a new article next Thursday.  Let's get caught up on some of my recent ones in case you missed them he first time.

Thanks for reading and listening! And check out the BONUS at the bottom!

Desert Island Albums Part 1

Desert Island Albums Part 2

1989

Best Debut Songs Part 1

Best Debut Songs Part 2

Earl Thomas Conley

Great Country Women

Truckin' Songs

BONUS - Joe, Michael And The Coliseum

We would like to invite you to our first ever WQMX Charity Golf Outing!

It's August 16th  (A Monday)  and it's at Rain Tree between Akron and Canton. Proceeds benefit WQMX Charities -  Bosom Buddies and The WQMX Tree Of Lights.  VERY AFFORDABLE and you get three meals!

Sign Up Here!

For the last 12 years I have been the Honorary Chair for the Habitat For Humanity of Summit County golf outing.  The annual Home In One Golf Outing is a big fundraiser for them and it is a great time.  This is a first class operation and outing, as it was at the incredible Gleneagles in Twinsburg.

WQMX Team This Year

Make plans next year to play and support Habitat.

Habitat - These are people worth supporting.  Very proud to have my name next to theirs.

Gleneagles - GREAT Course!  Play there!

Country has a long history of songs that are so incredibly unique and so off the beaten path, they cut through and are instant smashes.  Enter Fancy Like by Walker Hayes, which is an instant favorite on WQMX.  It is reminiscent of really fun songs from years past, going back decades.

Also, in Country, many times these songs go on to be big chart hits, and drum up a ton of requests and calls. This song right how is quite popular, and has a ridiculous amount of internet hits

Very Fun New Song - And YOU Love It!

Some others on that list  (But there are many more)

Elvira - Oak Ridge Boys

Bobby Sue - Oak Ridge Boys

Red Solo Cup - Toby Keith

I Wanna Talk About Me - Toby Keith

Rednecker - Hardy

Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus

Gonna Hire A Wino To Decorate Our Home - David Frizzell

She Got The Goldmine, I Got The Shaft - Jerry Reed

About Half – Of us feel good about returning to a movie theater (Cinamasafe)

Box Office Results - Space Jam 2 (32 MILLION)   Bad reviews -  but kids like it!

New This Week - Joe Bell / Old / Snake Eyes

Next Week -  Stillwater  (Matt Damon) 

Black Widow – Has the biggest box office loss ever- for Disney down 67% in a week!  (Story)

HBO Max - Is making a Batgirl movie – casting is underway  (Story)

Antonio Bandaras - Has Joined the cast of Indiana Jones 5  (Story)

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies - Prequel series officially ordered by Paramount+.  (Story)

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

Check out my Song Of The Week - (Link)

New Song / New Artist

Smart move - Debut song with good energy, direct and to the point, and nice and tidy at about 2:38.  I always think that's a good move for debut songs. Leave us wanting more.  This is pretty fun!

Walker Country  - Bits And Pieces

There are many things to write about as far as Country Music Memories are concerned.  This week, Part 2 of Desert Island Country Albums.  The ones you would choose if you were marooned on a desert island to listen to, (ALA - Tom Hanks In Castaway).  I'll list some of mine, and I will pick one for each article from each decade starting with 1980, up until 2019, and a Wild Card album which can be from any decade. So each installment, there will be 5 to list. I'll do four parts, so 20 should about cover it. 

If your favorite doesn't make the list this week, chances are it will make future lists on this subject, so let's have some fun.  (Here's Part One)  if you missed it!

Desert Island Country Island Albums - Part  2

The 1980's -  (1989)  Clint Black - Killin' Time

This album is terrific and was pivotal in starting the huge groundswell of 1989.  This multi - multi-platinum album had five big songs off of it, with four going number one. What fans really loved about this album was he and his sound reminded people of a young Merle Haggard with an absolute contemporary flair.  Black was charismatic, had a big smile and fans gravitated to him and his sound right away. This album had Nashville buzzing before and after its release, and sent shock waves through the format in general that gigantic things were on the way.  This amazing album to me is mandatory owning not simply because of how great it is, but how important it was leading off the class of 1989.

Singles - Better Man #1  /  Killin' Time #1  /  Nobody's Home #1  /  Walkin' Away #1 /  Nothings News #4

Walkin' Away - Fourth Single From This Incredible Album

The 1990's -  (1997)  Shania Twain  - Come On Over

Whether you are aware of this or not, this is on the list as one of the largest selling albums of any kind of all time. This is in the 40 million range. For context, its ninth all time, and has sold more than any single Beatles album and more than the Eagles, Hotel California.  Her third album -  this really defied the odds and showed us all she was here to stay.  I always think when you have a breakthrough album like hers, The Woman In Me (1995) which was a big, big hit, the next album decides if you hang around or not.  This album in every way was way bigger.  She also proved the point that you need to cut through to really get noticed.  When Shania was on the radio, or in a video, there was no doubt who it was. She had a sound, a style, a way, and arrangements that were distinct and unique. This album had a ton of hits of of it, ten of the sixteen songs charted, and had three number ones. Simply incredible and the zenith of her remarkable career!

Singles  - Love Gets Me Every Time #1  / Don't Be Stupid #6  /  Still The One #1  /  From This Moment On #6  / Honey I'm Home #1  /  That Don't Impress Me Much #8  /  Man, I Feel Like A Woman #4  /  You've Got A Way #13  /  Come On Over #6  / 

Big Hit -  This Video Has Been Viewed 262 MILLION Times!

The 2000's -  (2001)   Brooks And Dunn - Steers And Stripes

This album to me is the best Brooks And Dunn Album ever, and they have had a few great ones. I just came to WQMX when this came out, and there are great memories about that here. There were three number ones off this album, and the biggest single they ever had, (Ain't Nothin' About You). This was their seventh album and they had racked up tons of big songs and sold out shows, but this album kept a great thing going and to me, signaled a change in them that they continued to develope for the next number of years.  It was a six week number one album. Only In America, the lead cut on this album to me, is the best song of their career.  They were so great for so long, they may have been a bit taken for granted, but make no mistake, they were fantastic and were and are still universally loved.  Terrific project.

Singles -  Ain't Nothin' About You #1   /  Only In America #1  /  The Long Goodbye #1  /  My Heart Is Lost To You #5  /  Every River #1

Hard Not To Love This Gem!

The 2010's  -  (2016)   Jon Pardi -  California Sunrise

For a guy who stumbled out of the box with really no chart success with his first album, this made up for it.  I always say the second album decides if you are gonna stay around for a while, and this is further proof. It is puzzling how sometimes something just clicks and it all falls into place. Pardi is a traditionalist and his fans love him for that. I love every song on this album and the singles are among the best that were on the radio for those couple of years.  To me, not only is this mandatory owning, but this is a very important album too.  It really spoke to and energized the traditional fans as a successful new hat act in a time when we needed one. Still today, Pardi and Luke Combs really identify with our deep country fans and listeners.  In a time where there were some newer acts that were  "pop country" or "sorta country"  - Jon Pardi left no doubt where he stood on that subject with this project.  One of the best albums of this new century.

Singles  -  Head Over Boots #4  /  Dirt On My Boots #2  /  Heartache On The Dance Floor #5  /  She Ain't In It #23  / Night Shift #8

This Song Is So Good - Should Have Been A #1

Wild Card  -  (1994)  David Ball -  Thinkin' Problem

He was a bit older and somewhat different than the other big stars of that time, and this album was a country masterpiece.  David Ball (my article on him) only really hit with this album, but he certainly knew his way around a country song. (Private Malone came a number of years later) .  When I (or you) want to really hear some pure, deep country this is the album to go to.  This is multi-platinum and is a flat out work of art.  Five singles from this album, and a signature song that virtually every person that has ever listened to country knows by heart with Thinkin' Problem, which leads the album off.  This album does not get enough credit for being one of the real great "rooty" country albums of its era, or any era.  This album is sort of a forgotten gem of the 1990's and it's terrific!

Singles  - Thinkin' Problem #2  /  When The Thought Of You Catches Up With Me #7  (very underrated song)  /  Look What Followed Me Home #11 /

Browns training camp opens next week, and we are all getting ready for what we hope will be a great season. Since the Browns returned in 1999, there has been no off season excitement like this. They have done many things on paper that look great, now it's winning time and time to stay healthy.

I hear all these ESPN peeps and local sports radio and TV peeps talking about the great season the Browns will have and we are only gonna lose 3 games, 4 games and go to the Superbowl.  And hey, that might be right.  But this is writing is not about that. If any of the above is going to happen, one other thing has to happen. The Browns MUST beat the Steelers TWICE this season.  All of the above are so confident that the Steelers are going to stink. And they just might.

Whether we as Browns fans like it or not, the Steelers are the best organization in all of pro sports.  50 years of real winning says so.  They have great owners, are coached well, and know how to win, plus they have a style that is uniquely theirs. They will not be phased by adversity, and on the Browns game days with them, they will let the Browns shoulder all the pressure. I know they are old, they say Ben is broken down, and have salary cap issues and blah blah blah.... All of the same peeps are saying they are done for this season and you can just mark up two Browns wins against them.

I hope that's true, because that's what you have to do. The Steelers in essence have only played a 14 game schedule the past 20 years, because they had two guaranteed wins a year against the Browns. Beating the Steelers twice helps in every way. Helps you win the division, playoffs, helps get home field advantage, and all that stuff.  The Browns can have no more moral victories against them. We are surging, and they are seemingly ripe for the picking.  There is no other acceptable outcome.  If not now - when?

The Steelers are in a very unfamiliar position.  They are here to be the spoilers, the underdogs.  They are a proud bunch with a GREAT coach, and winning is what they know. I wish everyone would stop telling this incredibly strong franchise they can't win this year, that's like jet fuel with an open flame.  The Browns are in a position to help them stink by beating them, like they have beaten us for 20 years.  There is only one way to get where you want to go this year.  Win the games you're supposed to win, and beat these guys twice!  I'll tell you this. The Browns are going no further than they went last year unless they beat them twice this year. It's good for the record, the standings and most importantly, for the mindset.  The mindset is the key for the team and the fan base.  So go do it!

Will the Browns be very good? Yes!  Will the Steelers stink? I'll believe that, when I see it.

OK, I think I've heard everything now, but here comes a new life hack.  I have done my own laundry my whole adult life. I'm not saying I'm any good at it, but it gets done.  I've ruined a number of pieces of clothing in various ways, and shrinking them, well that's just one of them.

But now there seems to be a way to fix even that debacle.  Who knew?

Helpful hints. Let me know it this works!

Click Here To Un-shrink Clothes!

About Half – Of us feel good about returning to a movie theater (Cinamasafe)

Box Office Results - Black Widow 80 Million in USA

New This Week - Space Jam 2

Legally Blonde - Turns 20 this week. Also the first choice to play Elle Woods was Cristina Applegate  (Story)

Wellington - There is a movie being filmed there this week, a Netflix movie called White Noise - 2^nd time in 2 years! (movie is about a train wreck)  (Story) 

Cedric the Entertainer - Will host this year's Emmy Awards, which will take place September 19th.  (Story)

Jordin Sparks - Will star in The Christmas Treasure, a new addition to the Hallmark Channel's ever-growing library of holiday movies.  (Story)

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