Thursday, October 06, 2005

A Little Education

I'd like to start a new trend here on the Nashville Bound blog, I'd like to teach a little country music appreciation! I want to start with my all time favorite singer, Martina McBride. There is a full biography on this site that tracks her string of number one hits. From her second album released in 1992, The Way that I Am, she finally received her first number one hit "My Baby Loves Me" This is a fun fast tempo song that talks about how her man loves her just the way she is. Also on this album, she released her first "women's power" song (as I like to call them). "Independence Day" wasn't a number one track, but it did introduce a way for women to speak about spousal abuse through song. She continued to speak for strong women with the release of her forth album "Evolution" in 1997. My all-time favorite song is on this CD, it's "A Broken Wing." It too speaks about a women who has been abused and finally leaves her husband. Her music isn't all depressing, On this album she also has "Happy Girl."
This song is an upbeat cute song talking about how she used to be shy and stayed away
from a crowd but now is happy and loves to smile. It's a fun girlie song.
In 1999, she released her Emotion album, which she and Paul Worley produced under
BMG Entertainment on the RCA label. Now that I'm in school and learning about production, I really look up to Martina for getting involved in her creative work. Since she isn't involved in the writing of her songs, and neither would I, this is an equally fulfilling way to be involved in the marketable work.
She has released at least four more complete albums after the few I have mentioned and is still going strong with her new album, "Timeless." This too was produced by McBride and is unlike any album she has recorded, celebrating her place in a genre she holds dear while reminiscing and paying homage to the songs where her journey began. It is an entire album dedicated to some of the most revered country classics of our time.
Some of the other reasons Martina is my personal favorite, is her wonderful and giving spirit. She is married and has, I think, three daughters. She is a TINY women but has the power of a gospel singer in a traditional Baptist church. Every time I have ever seen her perform, she was flawless! Never out of breath or flat on one note! She is the perfect role model for any artist to strive to be compared to.
I want to end today's lesson with a bit of lyrics from "It's My Time" released in the Emotions CD.



There's a time to stand and the time is now or never
A time to fly, a time to let go forever
A time to grow and a time to discover
Life is precious, every second
You've wasted mine, and it's my time!

2 comments:

Michael Nast said...

Martina is the woMAN!! Thanks for the lesson :)

OldHorsetailSnake said...

Thanks for the eddicatin', Cowgirl. I always like to smarten up.