Blown Away like a Tornado when The Thunder Rolls in Colder Weather because Rain Is A Good Thing

It’s Monday (as if I had to remind you) and while Princess Nagger is back to school after a lovely relaxing Spring Break, today starts Spring Break for both Little Dude and the hubby.  Which means way more interruptions will be taking place this week compared to last week – you know how boys can be.  Ahem.

So let’s dive right in to today’s musical foray – the theme for this week was selected by our very own Becca of Everyday Life, who held last week’s Spotlight Dancer title.  She suggested “Songs about the weather or the word weather in the title”.  And away we go!

Let’s start with one of my favorite artists from her fourth studio album that debuted at number one on Billboard 200, making her the third female to chart at number one on the Billboard 200 with three country albums, tying her with Linda Ronstadt and Faith Hill.  

The artist took her time working on this particular album, since she “wanted to change things up”, and she needed to step away from the “celebrity bubble” to “have real things to write about and real things to sing about.” 

Those of you familiar with her will have noticed that this album contains material that is different from her previous efforts.  The album itself combines country, pop and rock genres.  You  know, because she’s multi-talented like that.

Here’s Carrie Underwood with “Blown Away”:

Next up is a group that caught my attention last summer with their boat song, and with this one they jumped out of the boat and into the storm.   Together since 1998, the quartet’s long road to success was littered with radio roadblocks and label detours.  They released five albums before they achieved validation in the form of their first Number One song (the boat one I was referring to).

After almost 15 years together, the secret to reaching such sweet success of their first Grammy and Country Music Association award wins was banning perfectionism from the studio while making their latest album of which this particular song hails from.

They had actually all returned to their day jobs to earn money to put the album out, and their perseverance paid off.  What I like most about them is they truly worked hard to become successful, and they genuinely appreciate where they are now.

Give a listen to Little Big Town with “Tornado”:

Next up is an artist who was one of the first ones I listened to when my best friend was trying to convince me that country music was even better than before.  To this day, I still prefer ‘New Country’ over the old style stuff.

This artist, frustrated by conflicts between his career and family, retired from recording and performing until his youngest daughter turned 18.  This year marks his big comeback to recording and touring – I think it’s very admirable he put his family first.

Here’s Garth Brooks with “The Thunder Rolls”:

Next up is a band that started back in 2002, with the lead plus a drummer and bass player traveling with a heavy tour schedule of approximately 200 dates a year.  The following year the lead started his own label, and the year after that he opened a music club and restaurant with his father in Georgia, and when a developer bought the restaurant, the artist bought a tour bus and began touring full-time playing rock and country clubs, along with folk and jam band festivals.  

A few more talented musicians were added to the band, and they haven’t slowed down since.

Here’s Zac Brown Band with “Colder Weather”:

Last, but certainly not least, is an artist who began his musical career in the mid-2000’s, writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington.  After signing with Capitol Records in Nashville TN in 2007 with his cousin, he released several albums, his fourth released last August (2013), which garnered him the Academy of Country Music Awards’ Entertainer of the Year award.  

He’s in the running this year for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year – since I’m writing this post before the ACM Awards air, I’ll have to come back in and edit to let you know if he wins any of those awards this evening.

Without further ado, here’s Luke Bryan with “Rain Is A Good Thing”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday!

Now on to the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:

I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohorts, Callie from JAmericanSpice, Cathy from Cathy Kennedy’s Blog, and Naila Moon at Just the Stuff Ya Know.  Naila will be on vacation (lucky girl) for a little while, so our friend Danielle from Royalegacy will be helping us out.  And a big thank you to Becca from Everyday Life for picking up the slack whilst my co-hort in crime Cathy and I were in absentia.

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!