Shoulda Been a Hit

You could argue that I should have chosen Julie Roberts debut single, "Break Down Here," for this column.  While that song put Roberts on the country music map, it topped out at mile marker #18 on the country charts.  Loved that song.  But I loved this one more.

I have been writing this column for months now at WBKR.com and I believe that THIS is a first.  Typically, when I discuss a song that shoulda been a hit, it at least came close.  All my selections to date have charted on the Billboard Country Chart.  They just haven't charted high enough to be considered a hit.  This week's song didn't chart AT ALL!  And, the fact that "What Kind of Woman Wou

This is one of those songs.  And by "one of those songs" I mean a tune that would be a HUGE hit if it was released right now.  But, the funny thing with a song like Blake Shelton's "All Over Me" is that it was released before Blake was a bona fide country music superstar.  That said, his very first single, "Austin" landed at number one on the Billboard Country chart. 

I don't get it.  That's pretty much the common thread in this column every week, right?  To me, there are songs that SHOULD have been hits that weren't.  And, sometimes, they belong to artists who ALWAYS have hit songs.  In those instances it's even more difficult to imagine a song NOT cracking the Top Ten.  Take, for instance, "Drugs or Jesus" by Tim McGraw.  At the time of its release,

This week's Shoulda Been a Hit column is going to look a little different.  Normally, I include the official video for the song that I choose, but, given Garth's disdain for YouTube and ITunes, that's just not going to happen.  And, now, I know what you're thinking . . . "Garth Brooks had a song that wasn't a hit?"  He sure did.  It was "When You Come Back to Me Again," which p

Did you know that Chely Wright only had one top ten hit in her career?  It's true.  She reached #1 in 1999 with the huge smash "Single White Female," but didn't have another song to break the Top Ten on the Billboard charts.  I suppose, because of that fact, I could easily have written about "Shut Up and Drive" in this week's Should Been a Hit column.  After all, that's one of

Mindy McCready.  In a hot tub.  Riding a snowmobile.  Building a snowman.  Flirting with her real-life boyfriend at the time, Dean Cain.  And this wasn't a hit?  WHAT???   In 1996, Mindy McCready just sprinted out the blocks and recording studio to race straight up the Billboard country chart.  Her first single, "Ten Thousand Angels," peaked at #6.  Her follow-up, "Guys Do it All th

On Project Runway each week, Heidi Klum says that, in the world of fashion, "One day you're in.  The next day, you're out."  The same thing can actually be said of country music.  Just ask 90's country superstar Trisha Yearwood, who totally ran out of chart steam as she headed into the year 2000.  Yep.  even Trisha Yearwood fell out of favor with country radio!!  In 1991, she came out of

Remember the name Brad Martin?  If you don't, I'm not surprised.  But, now that I say that, I'd be more surprised if you DO remember that name.  But about ten years ago, Brad Martin had all the makings of a country star.  He was a guitar-playing singer-songwriter with a great voice and a look reminiscent of a Rebel Without a Cause James Dean.  In 2002, Brad released his debut CD, Wings of a Honky-