Since I was a bit confused by this year's CMA nominations - I wasn't sure if the list was from 2008 or 1998 - I thought I'd take a look at the nominees from ten years ago, just to see what was up way back then....when I was still fairly young, thin, and still had that dewy, line-free complexion.
Oh, and the music was better, too.
One thing I noted, right off the bat, is that they had fewer categories! That's a plus! Let's stop muddying the waters, I say. You can have 538 categories, and that still doesn't mask the fact that the music today is crummy.*
*The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author. The CMA takes no responsibility for the words that may or may not be typed on this page. Side affects include headache, nausea, diarrhea, extreme hunger pangs, listlessness, difficulty sleeping, difficulty breathing, black, tarry stools, indigestion, night sweats, day sweats, rosacea, clinical depression, anxiety, and conditions yet to be discovered. Your mileage may vary.
So, without further a-dew, here are the 1998 CMA nominations:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Garth Brooks*
Vince Gill
Tim McGraw
George Strait
*Remember when Garth Brooks was relevant? See 1989 - 2001, Chris Gaines, some concert in Central Park, dismissed Capitol Records executives, striped Roper shirts.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Garth Brooks
Vince Gill
Tim McGraw
Collin Raye
George Strait*
*Remember when George Strait was relevant? See 1981 - present, legends of country music, will most likely never be topped, at least 56 number one songs, awards too numerous to mention, the post-modern granddaddy of country music, what all those other guys wish they could be.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Faith Hill
Patty Loveless
Martina McBride
Lee Ann Womack
Trisha Yearwood*
*Remember when Trisha Yearwood was one of the most admired female country music singers? One of those who actually could sing? Guess what - she still is.
HORIZON AWARD
Trace Adkins
Dixie Chicks*
Jo Dee Messina
Michael Peterson
Lee Ann Womack
*Remember when the Dixie Chicks were nice?* Before they got all strident?
*The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author. The Dixie Chicks take no responsibility for the words that may or may not be typed on this page. Side affects include angry protests, placard carrying, sign-waving, bitter blog scribblings, left-wing Grammy award winnings, country music abandonment, and self-righteousness. If symptoms persist, please see your duly-elected President. Your mileage may vary.
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Alabama
Diamond Rio
Dixie Chicks*
The Mavericks
Sawyer Brown
*See above.
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Bellamy Brothers
Brooks & Dunn*
The Kinleys
The Lynns
Thrasher Shiver (is this a typo? Who the...?)
*Remember when somebody other than Brooks & Dunn won this award? I don't.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Come On Over - Shania Twain
Everywhere - Tim McGraw*
Long Stretch of Lonesome - Patty Loveless
One Step At A Time - George Strait
Sevens - Garth Brooks
*What?
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Eddie Bayers - drums
Paul Franklin - steel guitar (hey! they still used them then!)
Brent Mason - guitar*
Matt Rollings - keyboards
Brent Rowan - guitar
*I could be wrong, and frankly, I'm too lazy to look back at my previous post, but aren't the musician nominees the same in 2008 as they were in 1998?
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
A Broken Wing - Martina McBride
Holes In The Floor Of Heaven - Steve Wariner*
I Just Want To Dance With You - George Strait
This Kiss - Faith Hill
You Don't Seem To Miss Me - Patty Loveless (with George Jones)
*Remember this song? I barely do.
VOCAL EVENT/VIDEO
Still don't care* *
*If it involves Faith Hill in any way, then I'm better off not knowing.
SONG OF THE YEAR
A Broken Wing (Sam Hogin/Roger Cook)
Holes In The Floor Of Heaven (Billy Kirsch/Steve Wariner)*
How Do I Live (Diane Warren)
I Just Want To Dance With You (John Prine/Roger Cook)
It's Your Love (Stephony Smith)
*Considering the other nominees, I can't really complain about this one. Can you?
Okay, maybe I looked back a bit too fondly to 1998. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.
But, you know, you have to take the CMA's with a grain of salt. There's a whole bunch of politics and back-room finagling, and tit-for-tat, going on. I don't exactly know what that means, but it sounds plausible.
But, in perusing the hits of 1998, I found one that didn't get any nominations, but, believe me, is WAY better than anything that Tim McGraw or Brooks 'n Dunn, or Garth Brooks, for that matter, released.
So, for your video enjoyment, I offer this:
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