Box Office Results - Addams Family 2

New This Week -  New James Bond – No Time To Die

HBO Max – The Saints Of Newark - is a major hit!

Next Week - Dune  (Also HBO Max)  /  Ron's Gone Wrong  (animated)

Netflix - Squid Games is NOW the most watched show – Highly violent game from Korea (3 weeks) (Story)

Here's a GREAT new song by two of our biggest new stars:

Grab a coffee and take a listen

Since I am on vacation, I thought it would be a great time to catch up on some of my recent articles on Country Music Memory Lane. ICYMI

So get comfy, get ear buds and thanks for reading

Charly McClain

Jo Dee Messina

Not A Concert, An Event

Brooks And Dunn

Rosanne Cash

80's Ladies

John Michael Montgomery

We use these things all the time, and we think we know what we're doing. But do we really?

Hey, some do and that's great, but here are some fun facts about the Tape Measure!

The Tape Measure

OK, this is completely out ot hand.  How GREAT does this look?

I have to admit, IM IN!!!

Let Make THIS!!!

Blueberry-Lemon Upside Down Thing!

Box Office Results - Chang Chi  (#1 Four Weeks) 

NEXT WEEK OCTOBER 8! - New James Bond

New This Week (October 1)  - Addams Family 2  

HBO Max  -   The Many Saints Of Newark

More Marvel – Hawkeye trailer is out, movie soon

Laurie Loughlin - Has a new job, actually an old job - returning to her series When Hope Calls and will air December 18 on a new network GAC Family  (Story)

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

Jackie asked me about an artist I haven't thought about in a very long time. She asked about Charly McClain and what happened to her.  Actually, her name is Charlotte Denise McClain, but we all knew her as Charly. In the 1980's she had a nice run of hits, had a following, in addition to an enviable, beautiful, soft, angelic voice that was her absolute calling card. That voice made her as popular as any woman of her era.  Then she did something not many do, one day she just walked away.  I played all her songs for many years on great stations all across the country.

Breakthrough Song! (#1)

She was in the same era of Janie Fricke, Crystal Gayle, Sylvia, Tanya, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly, Shelly West, Rosanne Cash, a young Reba and others. She had a very unique voice that in some ways was not as powerful or as loud as the others, but there was an incredible, and alluring vulnerability in it, and the more "country" the song, the better she sounded. I always loved to hear Charly McClain sing a slow, gentle love song, she was really good at it. In fact, she would be my pick to sing such a song, top of the list. Funny, that we got to know her from her first number one hit, Who's Cheatin' Who in 1981 that was a real punchy number, Alan Jackson took that same song to number one a few years later, but McClain had it first.

Great Song As I First Got Into Country Radio

That era of country has been a bit forgotten. Time has not been very kind to the early and mid 1980's and I think that's too bad. No doubt country was struggling after the Urban Cowboy  phase and the the Neo-Traditionalists had not shown up yet. Things were just rudderless for a while.  I was playing these songs on the radio, but the trouble was, we just were not deep enough. Sure we had some stars, but the core style of music being recorded was a bit off center. McClain though was country, and I always respected that when many other were still recording songs with more of a pop audience still in mind first.  She went on to score three number one songs, but she had a ton of hits, and was a staple on the radio.

Listeners Loved This Song  (#7)

Very Much Loved Song At The Time  (#5)

She started very young and had a few albums in the mid 70's to no avail. But in 1981 she hit, and went on about a six year run of big songs. She was beautiful, and did some acting on 1980's TV as well, then married soap opera star Wayne Massey in 1984 and they recorded some songs together on the country charts. But no matter what she was doing in life, TV or on the charts, her songs were radio popular.  The song, With You was a real wedding favorite at the time for those lucky enough to have discovered us.

Great Hurtin' Song  (Very Underrated Song)  (#3) 

She had a way with the right song that made you listen.  She was not this soaring vocalist, she sang eloquently and directly from her heart and you could feel it. She recorded with many people, including Mickey Gilley and they had a couple of hits including, Paradise Tonight, which was a number one, but I never felt that was what she did best.  Her best songs were the vulnerable, love songs that came from deep within. In fact, not many have done it better in that regard.  I always felt that in some ways, her delivery was the predecessor to Alison Krause with her soft style, even though the music was quite different. 

Big Number ONE!

McClain didn't really care for the lonely life on the road and there was even a special made for TV about it on HBO.  And after a few years of really nice success, about 1990 she just stopped.  She went home and made a new life for herself and her family.  The format, and music had changed dramatically and she just decided that part of her life was behind her.

Top Five Song  (#3)

There have been some compilation albums where her music is available and that's great. If you have never really heard her sing, you should. You should get to know the amazing Charly McClain.

Check out some other 80's Ladies I have written about

Darn good win from the Browns this week and now we are in good shape after the week one loss to Kansas City. The Chiefs have lost 2 straight and are 1-2 and we are 2-1.  Now, we don't play the Chiefs directly the rest of the season, but we could see them in January like last year, when it really matters.  And I want that game here.

The next two games especially, are big games for the Browns. The Vikings know our coach Kevin Stefanski well as he was a coach there for many years. They are good and they will want to beat him. Then we have the Chargers who just beat the Chiefs. Both of these games are on the road.  Tough duty here. These next two games are games that teams that have big time late season and post season dreams win.  Staying ahead of the Chiefs is a big deal too, since we would lose a tiebreaker to them, plus we don't also want to lose a tiebreaker to the Chargers.

Want to send a message to the league? The TV networks? The Chiefs?  Win these next two games and get to 4-1. Go to Minnesota and win, and then to California and win! Plus, you're beating good teams.  I know I sound like I'm demanding of the Browns, but we need to be.  You can't win every game, but you need to win games every year that are tough and put you in position for later this season. And these are two of them.  There's a big difference between being 4-1 than being 3-2 or 2-3.

We are in a place we are not used to, and there are NO MORE moral victories, we are beyond that, it's time to be the Chiefs. It's time to beat good teams, and it's time to win on the road. Now that we are ahead of the Chiefs, it's time to stay ahead of them. In a way it's like we playing the Chiefs every week. Keep that mindset and the season will take care of itself.

Go Browns! 

Read Previous Articles

Last Weeks Browns Piece

Beat The Elite

Season Preview

Box Office Results - Chang Chi (about 6 milion) 3 weeks!

New This Week - Dear Evan Hanson

More Marvel – Hawkeye -  trailer is out, movie soon.

New Poll - 50 of the best horror movies ever made, including “Paranormal Activity,” “A Quiet Place,” Stephen King’s “It,” “Halloween” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”   (Story)  

Two Weeks   -  (Moved up)   Bond - No Time To Die 

Erin asked if I could write about Jo Dee Messina. You bet and proud to do it.  What a compelling career she had. There aren't many country singers from the Boston area, but she is. And one listen to her songs, you'll understand you're hearing someone very unique. I emceed a number of her shows, including a huge charity show here at WQMX and Country Fest, and she is terrific!

Great Debut Song - A Real Favorite!

The beginning was interesting as her amazing talent and Tim McGraw were instrumental in getting her a record deal, as he produced her first album. I proudly played all of her songs on great stations for years, she was a breath of fresh air with her redder than red hair, and her carefree spirit. There are times that in country we take our music too seriously. What I mean is, songs that are too deep, off point, trying to make some kind of statement, or songs that are better suited for another format. A little bit of all of that goes a very long way.  That was NOT JDM.  Her songs were on point, and her ability to confidently sail through a song with power, passion and endless energy is simply unmatched. 

Hit Single Two - Great Song!

When JDM busted on the scene in 1996, country was riding a huge wave.  Country women were really riding high as Shania, Pam Tillis, Suzy Bogguss, Terri Clark, Faith, Martina, Reba, LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood, Lorrie Morgan, Lee Ann Womack and others were having big success.  JDM came out of the box hot with Heads Carolina, Tails California and she fit right in. JDM was a tornado of energy and you could feel it through her music. That was her absolute gift to us, an unapologetic burst of power that was a real separator from the pack.

This Broke Her Through - First Number One!

Her song choices were bold, and fearless. She was not concerned with soaring vocals, reaching and holding high notes for a ridiculous amount of time, or showing off some overdone vocal calisthenics. She never tried to out sing the song. She chose good songs that fit her perfectly and ran with them, as they were tidy and to the point, and you knew it was her.  She knew the song was a fit, so she just poured her passion into the song's delivery and message and didn't try to dress it up with a bunch of vocal lipstick. Something that always jumped out at me with her was she made the song her very own.  The songs also were constructed perfectly around her, and I'm not sure that has ever been done better for a single artist.

Big Song -  Remake Of An Old Dottie West Classic - Big Favorite

She went on a real nice run starting in 1996 that essentially ran through 2005 for her commercial and charting success. She had six number one songs and a bunch more top tens, including three more number two hits as she was a consistent hit maker. JDM became the first woman in country to have three multiple week number one songs from the same album. She is another example of just how difficult it can be to have long term success in this or any format, because things change in the format and in culture. But for the time she was a force, I was a big fan.

This Was Her Crown Jewel - (#1 - Four Weeks)

Her debut album, Jo Dee Messina was great with two big songs, and another that should have been.  Heads Carolina, and You're Not In Kansas Anymore were hits, and I always felt You Wanna Make Something Of It  (the third single) should have been, as it fell short, but was a slick video and a great song.  But that didn't slow her down as bigger things were just ahead. The I'm Alright album in 1998 was an absolute smash with five big hit songs on it and the next album, Burn was a gigantic success with more hits and airplay.

Her Final Number One

JDM's career had a bump or two with some well publicized financial issues early on that nearly derailed everything. Some health issues later as well.  But as a survivor of life and the business her music reflected it. I always felt that you could feel the hard work in her music.  It never sounded like someone handed her a song and said "Here, sing this."  I could feel the work ethic, and the drive in her voice as she seemed to live inside the song. In short, she possessed that one rare thing that all great vocalists have, I believed her every word. I can't say that about every everyone. She had/has the gift of it.

BONUS - This Should Have Been A Big Hit!

Her successful chart run ended with her last big song, My Give A Damns Busted that went number one, written by the late Joe Diffie.  And today, she still sings and tours I'm sure with a great passion. But JDM should be hailed as a singer that did something very difficult to do. In an era of absolute and unparalleled success by country men and women of the 1990's, with a menu of A-listers a mile long, she not only competed, she cut through and made you know you were hearing a Jo Dee Messina song.

Big, Big Song - 

A truly unique and big time talent, the incredible Jo Dee Messina.