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My Page: R. Keith Rugg

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Rugged Stuff

Let me set the scene for you- A cool Tucson evening, out in the foothills with the saguaro cactus silhouetted against the indigo sky and the lights of the city. A Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in hand as you’re settled down on a bale of straw near a kerosene space heater. And Nicholas Cage and his band decked out in authentic Western outfits as they play a few sets of good, good country music. [more]

The trivia question was, What Western family owned-and-operated business that started up in the late 1940s had the tag line, for a time, “Where one tree is cut, another is planted.” ?

All of the submissions guessed the same company- Weyerhaeuser, one of the largest timber companies in the world. [more]

Rugged Stuff

Toby Keith’s ’10 under 10’ list includes things like an official Toby Keith iPod Nano cover (“It's made of an ultra soft rubber material to protect your Nano, plus it wears the Official Toby Keith Fan Club logo and Toby Keith signature! Last few remaining at this closeout price!”), but Tracy Byrd’s list includes something I thought was worth calling a bit more attention to. [more]

Rugged Stuff

So I downloaded Bob Wire's "Go Butte!" last night, and it brought back memories that haven't surfaced in decades. And as I pulled out the mental drawer labeled 'Butte' and shuffled through it, I found that the city with the Richest Hill on Earth has played a larger part in my life than I had realized. [more]

Rugged Stuff

The Ruggs have been a Leanin’ Tree kind of family for a long, long time. And in addition to sending and receiving a truckload of Leanin’ Tree cards over the years, I have written in the past about the Leanin’ Tree Museum of Western Art. (In fact, watch this space for an updated article on ol’ Edward Trumble’s art collection.)

So when Twila Green, Leanin’ Tree's customer service manager, shot me an e-mail the other day about this season’s holiday cards, I thought I’d pass a little bit of the info on to y’all. [more]

Rugged Stuff

In my review of Lee Ann Womack's recently released album, Call Me Crazy, I refrained from including one of the tracks in my grading of the disc. “The Bees,” I said, brings to my mind imagery from Stephen King’s Misery. Keith Urban's contribution to the song notwithstanding, I have yet to hear from anyone disagreeing with my assessment (other than a friend at MCA/Mercury), so I'm going to take the silence as assent.

And lest you think that linking country music with America's premiere living storyteller- Stephen King- is too much of a stretch, I'm here to make the connection even stronger, via King's latest offering, Duma Key, now out in paperback. [more]

Rugged Stuff

Speaking of Lee Greenwood (and I did, last week) he’s had quite an honor tossed his way. He has been appointed to the National Council on the Arts. President Bush made the appointment, the Senate has confirmed the appointment, and Greenwood is scheduled to be sworn in on November 17. [more]

Rugged Stuff

So this morning, as I'm getting ready to head to the polls, I get curious about country music and the presidential election right here and right now on Election Day. The perception is still pretty strong that the Republicans have the lion's share of the country music support, but what's the reality?

Now, between voting and getting to work on time, I didn't have a whole heck of a lot of time to put into this, so I turned to the poor man's Gallup poll, my old friend Mr. Google. I punched in a few different variations of search words and let the old Boolean algorithm go to work. [more]

Rugged Stuff

Since you’re reading a blog about country music, you are probably already aware of Lee Greenwood and his signature song, “God Bless the USA.”

In fact, even if you never tuned in to a country music station in your life, you’re probably aware of the song. Greenwood’s publicity people claim that God Bless the USA has been voted the most recognizable patriotic song in America, taking the top honor over God Bless America and the Star-Spangled Banner. I haven’t seen any data on this, so I’m not prepared to back that claim up, but then again, I’m not going to say that it’s inaccurate, either. [more]

Rugged Stuff

Later this month, Lee Ann Womack’s latest album— Call Me Crazy— hits the stores. It’s her seventh studio album, and her first since 2005’s There’s More Where That Came From.

This is an exceptional album. That in itself shouldn’t be a big surprise; Womack has a pair of Grammy awards to her credit, as well as several other accolades, and is well-respected in the industry as a performer of good, solid country music.

But even so, this album stands out as a really great collection of Womack at her best. [more]

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