Nashville Anthems: Dissecting 80s & 90s Country Music

Melody, harmony, and lyrics all meticulously and perfectly set a specifically bittersweet tone on Billy Dean's 1991 classic: "Somewhere in My Broken Heart".  One listen to this cut will tell you that it's a beautiful song.  But why?  What specific, nuanced details of this tune and these words strike such a distinct chord with us, both literally and figuratively?

Also, here's a link Dean's interview by The Tennessean that we reference several times in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEuHk54daVg.

Things turns all kinds of Yacht Rock as we sail away with one of the biggest hits of the 1980s, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's iconic duet, "Islands in the Stream".  We're not even sure what they're talking about, but when a song is this catchy and fun, who cares?  But why is that?  What is it about this country pop classic that has kept it in our collective heads for 40 years?  And why do Kenny & Dolly work so well as a pair?

Bonus episode!  For the Fourth of July, we had to turn to Lee Greenwood's towering, uber-patriotic, 1984 single, "God Bless the U.S.A."  That he's proud to be an American no one can doubt, but what richer depths might we find undergirding that sentiment upon closer examination?  And what do fireworks have to do with it?

Reba McEntire helps us connect some of the dots that comprise the specific mid-90s MCA sound, as she narrates the complexities of adulthood as only she can, in her 1995 hit "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter".  We relate to the loneliness mentioned in the title, but is that all that's going on here?  And what do major 9th chords have to do with this song's lyrical richness?

We cruise down to southwestern Louisiana to encounter Sammy Kershaw and his debut single, "Cadillac Style".  We've all always known there was a lot of Jones in Kershaw, but is there something deeper to that connection than just the voice?  And what possible connection could there be between Cadillac Style and one that's often considered the greatest country song of all time?

Little Texas continue to blend musical streams with their only #1 single, 1994's "My Love".  This song is more than just the video, and this band is more than just the hair.  But they aren't less than that either.  Listen to find out what 80s hair metal and 70s California rock have to do with this song's specific sound.  How much is Heart, and how much is Restless Heart?  And what does Janis Joplin have to do with it?

Also, here's the Brady Seals's solo version that we reference in the episode.

In this episode, we dance across the familiar ground of 12-bar blues, as the energetic shuffle of Tanya Tucker's 1993  hit "It's a Little Too Late" convinces us to kick up a little sawdust while we re-evaluating some of our life choices. It's a fun song, but how does the melding of persona and reality make this early 90s dance number particularly memorable?

We take a shot of an all-time classic, John Anderson's "Straight Tequila Night".  Anderson's signature breathy vocals anchor a particularly textural take on neotradional honky-tonk, but why does this song have a certain uncanny sound, and what does the number 440 have to do with it?

We search through another early Brooks & Dunn hit, 1992's "Lost and Found". It's all about the flow, as this song always seems to take us exactly where we want to go, measure after perfect little measure. But we already knew Kix Brooks could write a great cut, so how exactly does this one nail the feeling of a frantic search, and what does Brooks & Dunn's signature honky-tonk sound have to do with it?

90s icon Shania Twain takes us right back to the world of 90s feminism with her half-arena-rock / half-honky-tonk hit, "Honey, I'm Home". Twain played big, and this song plays big, but where we do get irony in her particular brand of subversion, and what musical touchpoints does this song have with a couple of hits from 20 years before?