My Page: R. Keith Rugg

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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]

Rugged Stuff

Alan Jackson’s latest album, Good Time, is just that- a good time. But, mind you, not a great time. Some tracks on this album that have the feel that they were just churned out to fill up some space on the disc. Granted, Jackson writes all of this stuff himself, so after so many albums and so many years of music making, there’s bound to be some filler material.

[more]

Rugged Stuff

Neal McCoy has a distinctive ethnic heritage of Filipino on his mother’s side and Texas-Irish on his father’s side, and he refers to himself as a ‘Texapino.’ (He’s in good company, as Ruggs with roots in the Philippines can be found from the balmy Bay Area on up to the frozen wastes of Minnesota.) [more]

Rugged Stuff

In a country-musical landscape full of drugstore cowboys and wannabe rednecks, there’s a singer from east Texas who is the real McCoy. (Yeah, yeah, I know, I had to grimace even as I wrote the tail-end of that intro line. But like it or not, corn is my bread and butter.) [more]

Rugged Stuff

John Rich is perfectly entitled to write and perform a song promoting John McCain, and you and I are perfectly entitled to be influenced not one whit by Rich’s support of McCain. (And don’t think that by this statement, you can infer my political leanings. Unless you know me pretty darned well, and probably even then, whatever you think about where I stand politically, you’re wrong.) [more]

Rugged Stuff

As much as I like country music (and I really like country music), I’m not quite as hard-core as the gal in The Blues Brothers, who says they’ve got both kinds of music: country and Western. Instead, I’ll occasionally flip the radio dial over to some smooth jazz, or classic rock, even ambient and new age once in a while. (Yes, radio dial… the CD player in my vehicle is broken.) [more]

Rugged Stuff

Country music-maker Jerry Reed passed away recently. Rugged Stuff remembers the late Guitar Man, from his roles as an entertainer to his interesting, if convoluted, connections to the Rocky Mountain region. [more]

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