Country Mike Blog

90's Nostalgia

Mike Sudhalter  |  March 21, 2009

The other day, I went on YouTube and started watching videos of 1990's country artists. Where did they all go? A lot of times, those songs bring me back to another time and place - a more innocent time in my life and in our nation.

Names like Ken Mellons, Wade Hayes, Ricochet and David Kersh came to mind. Many won't remember their brief success in country music, but they were all on the top of the charts for a time near when I began listening to country.

The late 1990's were a tough time for someone who's preferences lean traditional. Shania Twain and Faith Hill dominated the charts in an era I'd just as soon forget.

I also recalled going to several country music festivals during the 1990's, such as the annual concert that Boston radio station WKLB would put on each year. In the summer of 1999, my friend and I drove to Hartford, Conn. to see Brooks & Dunn, Trace Adkins, The Warren Brothers, The Wikinsons and four new artists that unfortunately never panned out - Susan Ashton (who was previously a gospel artist before trying her hand at country), Claudia Church (Rodney Crowell's beautiful wife), Julie Reeves ("Trouble Is A Woman" was a hit for her) and one other that I can't remember.

When it comes to Texas Music, I watched two Ziegenbock Festivals last year, and those are 12-hour events, as opposed to the usually 6 or 7 hour country festival.