Country Music Blog: Craig Morgan

In two separate bits of industry news, Craig Morgan has signed with Sony BMG Nashville, and former Lonestar lead vocalist Richie McDonald's first solo album will be a contemporary Christian project. Lonestar left the Sony BMG roster last year, and McDonald confirmed shortly thereafter that he was leaving the band.

Morgan recently announced that he had decided to leave the independent Broken Bow label, where he enjoyed a string of hits that includes "Almost Home," "Redneck Yacht Club," "That's What I Love About Sunday," "Little Bit of Life," "Tough" and "International Harvester." Broken Bow remains Jason Aldean's label home.

Morgan had previously recorded for Atlantic, and there was speculation on Music Row about where he would land after exiting Broken Bow. That speculation ended Thursday night (March 6) during the Sony BMG's annual party on the General Jackson showboat, an annual event during Country Radio Seminar in Nashville. No word on which Sony BMG label -- Arista, BNA, Columbia or RCA -- will be releasing Morgan's upcoming music, but an album is expected this fall.

As for McDonald, the contemporary Christian album probably comes as no surprise to his former bandmates in Lonestar. In several interviews, they blamed him for the decline in the band's record sales because of his insistence in releasing a series singles centering on family values. Two of those, "My Front Porch Looking In" and "Mr. Mom," are frequently cited as prime examples of what has become known in the music industry as "sippy-cup songs."

McDonald's solo album, I Turn to You, was produced by songwriter Frank Myers. Distributed by Lucid Artist, it will be available at retail outlets nationwide.

Craig Morgan recently announced that he's exercising a stipulation in his contract that allows him to leave Broken Bow Records, the Nashville-based indie that has served as his label home during a series of recent hits, including "That's What I Love About Sunday," "Redneck Yacht Club" and "Almost Home."

On his Web site, Morgan says, "This is a pivotal time for the music industry, and I'm really looking forward to exciting and innovative new opportunities to bring my music to the fans." Who knows that means or what's really behind his decision, but rest assured that Morgan is not naive about the ways of the music business.

One of his singles, "I Want Us Back," was just beginning to gain some chart momentum in 2001 when his label at the time -- Atlantic Nashville -- closed immediately after the corporate office in New York announced a sudden decision to shut down its entire country music division.

And if you think that's cold, I recall that one of the country radio promotion reps for Atlantic learned of the news only when his corporate American Express card was declined at an airport in a major U.S. city while he was accompanying another Atlantic artist to a series of radio stations. The suits turned off his card that fast. Just remember, kids: They don't call it the music business for nothing.

Country music is a diverse genre, and if you have any doubts about that, just take a look at two artists who turn 50 this week. You would have a difficult time arguing that Mary Chapin Carpenter and Sammy Kershaw are anything but polar opposites.

Carpenter (born Feb. 21, 1958) hails from Princeton, N.J., lived during her youth in Japan, attended an Ivy League school and emerged in country music with a sound derived from folk music. There's not an ounce of twang in her understated vocal presence, and her politics are decidedly blue: At the height of her popularity in the early-1990s, she raised money and awareness for AIDS charities; and in 2000, she performed at the Democratic National Convention.

Kershaw (born Feb. 24, 1958) grew up in Kaplan, La., chose the club circuit over college and got his first hits by singing love songs with car metaphors and references to secluded country lakes. With a vocal style that borrows heavily from George Jones, he is one of the twangiest vocalists to appear nationally in the last 20 years, and his politics are decidedly red: He ran as a Republican for lieutenant governor of Louisiana last year, though he found himself having to insist to reporters he was serious about his candidacy.

The beauty of this dichotomy is that these two artists co-existed quite nicely on country radio for years. Carpenter brought an intellectual presence to the genre along with a wry sense of humor (her "I Feel Lucky" depiction of a barroom scene in which Lyle Lovett and Dwight Yoakam compete for her affections is still chuckle-worthy). When she turned to others for material, she was apt to draw on the talents of alt-country figure Lucinda Williams ("Passionate Kisses") or rocker Mark Knopfler ("The Bug").

Kershaw lent a raw, manly air to country, and the titles of some of his singles -- "Yard Sale," "Queen of My Double Wide Trailer," "Your Tattoo" -- show his artistic penchant for songs drawn from the lower end of the economic scale. He ran his career by the book, recording in Nashville and drawing from some of Music City's most-respected songwriters, including Bob McDill ("She Don't Know She's Beautiful") and Mark D. Sanders ("Vidalia").

One could show similar contrasts among current country hitmakers -- Taylor Swift and Craig Morgan, for example; or Rascal Flatts versus Alan Jackson. Critics slam country as one-dimensional hillbilly fare, but there's actually a lot of room for a lot of different characters in the format.

Caught on film at Madison Square Garden, Keith Urban is guilty of bringing his music, his guitar and a sense of generosity out into the crowd.

Send all of your special Valentine's love down to Sara Evans for all the good work she's doing to help repair the damage caused by the recent storms around Nashville.

Broken Bow says bye-bye to Craig Morgan, as he leaves the record label to find more innovative ways to bring his music to the fans.

She's almost country. Jessica Simpson's dad says her country album is just about done, with guest vocals from Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Charley Pride.

Carrie Underwood is getting used to the sound of her own voice, after 24 years of hating it.