David Cantwell

Way back at the dawn of his career, a shocking 15 years of hair loss ago now, Dwight Yoakam looked to be crossover big. Riffing on Buck Owens and Don Rich, Yoakam and longtime collaborator Pete Anderson were presented as hard-core country traditionalists who had simultaneously been blessed with the

Bruce Henderson's backing band is the New York-based High Plains Drifters, an outfit that includes Saturday Night Live's G.E Smith (the one who looks like Skeletor) on guitar and Paul Ossola (the one who looks like Thoreau) on bass. To their credit, Smith and Ossola,

Porter Wagoner is one of the most significant figures in the history of post-Hank Williams country music. Along with host Red Foley, Wagoner was a star on the legendary late-50s radio show Ozark Jubilee, which had Springfield, Missouri, challenging Nashville several years before Bakersfield got on the map. Later, as

Charlie Rich was always such a humble singer. He never showed off or drew attention to himself at the expense of the song. He caressed his lyrics; he worked his one-of-a-kind voice over the words so carefully, the better to feel their meaning, and then he let loose his discoveries

More than anything Bloodshot Records has ever released, Daddys Farm pushes the envelope of what might be called insurgent country. A four-piece from Wichita, Kansas, Scroat Belly is actually closer to a breakneck metal band than an alternative country outfit. Mind you, this isnt a criticism. In fact, the albums