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Raelyn Nelson Band

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raelyn-nelson-band-albumIt is safe to say that the Raelyn Nelson Band, led by granddaughter of Willie Nelson, has taken the same initiative as The Cowboy Junkies did in the 80’s. Raelyn and her band members have taken the road less travelled by as they place a new spin, and maybe even genre, into the country music she grew up with. Given that their remarkable sound came after Raelyn’s collaborating with Jonathan Bright, it’s definitely something to look out for.

Origins of the Raelyn Nelson Band

Raelyn has been singing all her life, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. Since she was a little girl she was used to big concerts and music. From there she learnt how to play guitar at the age of 14, thanks to Willie who gave her a Martin acoustic which she still plays. For the most part she sticked to traditional country music, although her influences weren’t exclusive. As her skills with the guitar developed she started writing her own folk and country songs.

Introduction with Jonathan Bright

Just like every aspiring musician, Raelyn started looking for a place to record her songs. As fate would have it, she was introduced to Jonathan through a mutual friend. Jonathan has made quite a name for himself as a veteran musician and producer in the underground punk/rock scene. His chance meeting with Raelyn sparked something that would produce a sound unlike what country fans are used to hearing. He recorded Raelyn’s songs and afterward they decided to write a few together. They loved it so much that he asked his own band members Paulie Simmons and Preach Rutherford to join them.

Recording and Releasing their First EP

As the Raelyn Nelson Band stepped into the studio it wasn’t hard to guess that something different would be created. The band raelyn-nelson-bandrefers to their songs as country/garage rock, and it’s a spot on reference. Predominantly rock and punk, the touch of country flows through every track, especially the slower songs and the duet Raelyn sings with Papa Willie. What the band does quite well is switching between the more aggressive songs to the more sentimental tunes. For instance “Do You” and “Careless” is built on powerfully driven vocals while “Moon Song” takes a more controlled style. If anything this EP can be considered to be an experiment. It touches base on what they are capable of and where they plan to take it.


Some Background Info

For Raelyn tragedy struck rather early in her life when her father, Willie Nelson, Jr. “Billy”, died. She was only 7 and it might also be why her passion for music is so distinct. She also strongly believes in fighting against cruelty to animals, joining her aunt Amy in grabbing public and political attention as often as possible. For those who want to check out some life performances from the band then be sure to look at the concert they took part in last year June. It was the 80th birthday of her grandfather Willie and the whole family contributed including Willie himself.

The Raelyn Nelson Band is a rising entity that’s breathing new life into the popular country genre and generating fans from across the spectrum.

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The Life, Death, and Legacy of Mindy McCready

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Mindy McCready’s self titled album.

Mindy McCready is the latest in the long list of celebrities whose young life ended in tragedy after a long battle with substance abuse and personal issues. Tragically, the troubled 37 year old country singer took her own life on February 17, 2013, leaving behind two young sons.

The Early Years

Malinda Gayle McCready was born on November 30, 1975 in Fort Myers, Florida. By the age of three, Mindy was already performing at her local Pentacostal church. At the age of nine, Mindy took an interest in opera and began training with a retired professor from Juilliard. However, being a big fan of Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood, Mindy later decided that her true calling was country music and made the decision to pursue a professional singing career.

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McCready’s debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, went double platinum.

This decision prompted McCready to make a move to Nashville after graduating high school. The decision proved to be a wise one, as Mindy was signed with BNA Records at the tender age of seventeen, with her first album being released in 1996. A double platinum success, Ten Thousand Angels spawned the popular country hits, the title track “Ten Thousand Angels”, and “Guys Do It All The Time“. McCready now found herself on top of the world, with a successful debut album, and opening for country greats such as George Strait and Tim McGraw.

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At seventeen, McCready was signed to BNG.

Unfortunately, McCready’s chart topping success didn’t continue with her next album releases, with her second album from 1997 only reaching gold status, and the third album from 1999 falling victim to poor sales. This resulted in Mindy being dropped from the BNA label. She went on to sign with Capitol Records, releasing a self titled 2002 album that also sold poorly. Facing yet another career disappointment, Mindy was then dropped from the Capitol label.

Personal Problems Take Over

Even though Mindy’s career had taken some severe blows, there were even bigger issues going on in her personal life. The year 2004 resulted in an arrest for McCready after she had been caught using phony prescriptions to obtain OxyContin, a narcotic. With this came a hefty fine of $4,000, as well as three years of probation. Even after this incident, the troubles were not over, as 2005 brought with it another arrest for driving with a suspended license while under the influence.

Drugs, alcohol, and brushes with the law were not her only issues. Mindy’s personal life was in turmoil when she was nearly beaten and nearly choked to death by her on and off abusive boyfriend, Billy McKnight, who was placed under arrest for the incident. McCready later admitted this was not the first episode of physical abuse she had endured at McKnight’s hand, but even after obtaining a restraining order against him, Mindy violated it in order to leave the state to visit McKnight.

In 2005, more troubles with the law over charges of identity theft, hindering prosecution, and unlawful imprisonment plagued the troubled singer, resulting in two suicide attempts that year. On the first attempt, McCready was found unconscious in a lobby of a hotel, and later that year was hospitalized for overdosing on antidepressants in her second attempt at suicide.

Troubles With Men

Mindy became pregnant by Billy McKnight, the man who abused her, claiming she still loved him and could not stay away. Their son, Zander, was born in March of 2006. Because of her previous violations of her probation, even motherhood didn’t take away her legal problems and she served 30 days in jail after the birth of her son.mindy_mccready_sexy_waste

In 2008, her long term affair with a married baseball player, Roger Clemens, broke in the news, causing scandal. More scandal surfaced for McCready in 2010, when a sex tape of her with an old boyfriend was released.
With all of this, and the fact that a Florida judge would not grant her an emergency order to regain custody of her son, who was in the custody of her mother, Mindy once again attempted suicide by overdose.

Trying To Deal With It All

McCready made a public attempt to get her life back together by appearing on the third season of Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. Mindy also believed she has found her soul mate in music producer David Wilson, with whom she had a second son, Zayne, in April of 2012. However, McCready’s happiness with Wilson would be short lived due to his suicide in January of 2013 after only two years together.

The Breaking Point

After losing Wilson, family members expressed concern for Mindy. Her children were removed from her care after a judge had ordered an evaluation for alcohol abuse and mental health. Apparently, mindy_mccready_mug_shotafter the years of dealing with an abusive boyfriend, a scandalous affair, the embarrassment of the sex tape, various arrests, drug and alcohol issues, suicide attempts, and the death of her soul mate, and now having her children taken from her, Mindy McCready became the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Life, Death, and Legacy of Mindy McCready

At the age of 37, McCready was discovered dead on her front porch, a mere five weeks after the death of her youngest son’s father. McCready leaves behind two young sons, one of whom is now an orphan before the age of one. She leaves behind the reminders of how a troubled past can hamper future happiness, and of how even the most successful people have inner demons that can get the best of them.

McCready will always be remembered for her powerful country singing voice and her popular hits, as well as for her personal problems. The life, death, and legacy of Mindy McCready, is a life filled with turmoil that ended way too soon and leaves two young sons without their mother.

Guys Do It All The Time – Music Video

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Super Hits

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I’m Still Here

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If I Don’t Stay The Night

Gary Morris

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Gary MorrisGary Gwyn Morris (born December 7, 1948) is an American country music artist who charted a string of countrypolitan-styled hit songs throughout the 1980s.

Morris is known for the 1983 ballad “The Wind Beneath My Wings“, although his credits include more than twenty-five other chart singles on the Billboard country charts, including five No. 1 hits. He has also released nine studio albums, with his 1983 album Why Lady Why having earned a gold certification from the RIAA.

Willie Nelson

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Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 30, 1933)[1] is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed at the end of the 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.

Born during the Great Depression, and raised by his grandparents, Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. During high school, he toured locally with the Bohemian Fiddlers as their lead singer and guitar player. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems. After his return, Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music. During this time, he worked as a disc jockey in Texas radio stations and a singer in honky tonks. Nelson moved to Vancouver, Washington, where he wrote “Family Bible” and recorded the song “Lumberjack” in 1956. In 1960, he signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price’s band as a bassist. During that time, he wrote songs that would become country standards, including “Funny How Time Slips Away“, “Hello Walls“, “Pretty Paper“, and “Crazy“. In 1962, he recorded his first album, And Then I Wrote. Due to this success, Nelson signed in 1964 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year. After mid-chart hits during the end of 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, and the failure to succeed in music, Nelson retired in 1972 and moved to Austin, Texas. The rise of the popularity of Hippie music in Austin motivated Nelson to return from retirement, performing frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters.

In 1973, after signing with Atlantic Records, Nelson turned to outlaw country, including albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages. In 1975, he switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed album, Red Headed Stranger. The same year, he recorded another outlaw country album, Wanted! The Outlaws, which he recorded with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. During the mid 1980s, while creating hit albums like Honeysuckle Rose and recording hit songs like “On the Road Again“, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before“, and “Pancho & Lefty“, he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with fellow singers, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. During 1990 Nelson’s assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service, that claimed that he owed US $32,000,000. It was later discovered that his accountants, Price Waterhouse did not pay Nelson’s taxes for years. The impossibility of Nelson to pay his outstanding debt was aggravated by weak investments made by him during the 1980s. Nelson released in 1991 The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories?, the profits of the double album, destined to the IRS and the auction of Nelson’s assets cleared his debt by 1993. During the 1990s and 2000s, Nelson continued touring extensively, and released albums every year. Reviews ranged from positive to mixed. Nelson explored genres such as reggae, blues, jazz, and folk. Nelson made his first movie appearance in the 1979 film, The Electric Horseman, followed by other appearances in movies and on television.

Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which is in favor of marijuana legalization. On the environmental front, Nelson owns the bio-diesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel, which is made from vegetable oil. Nelson is also the honorary chairman of the Advisory Board of the Texas Music Project, the official music charity of the state of Texas.

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Willie Nelson Peace In The Valley
with Willie Nelson, Jr.