Allison Krauss, Robert Plant and T-Bone Burnett (far right)
Texas artists landed 30 nominations in 20 categories when the contenders for the 51st annual Grammy Awards were announced today, including all five nominees for Best Tejano Album and four of the five Best Norteno Album contenders. All of this year's nominations are in what pols would call down-ballot categories, though.
The only Texan up for any of the four major awards - Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Best
Led Zeppelin shouter Robert Plant and country/pop vocalist Alison Krauss seem like a highly unlikely duo. When I heard they'd made an album together called Raising Sand, the pairing seemed so odd I didn't really even want to hear it. I thought their two voices would clash like Lucinda Williams and Robbie Fulks.
But the woman in my life, a pretty fair vocalist in her own right, kept telling me I had to listen to it. Now she and I don't exactly listen in lockstep; she likes Rufus Wainright and Jul
Photos courtesy New West Records
Stephen Bruton, one of Austin's great pickers, songwriters, and good citizens, died Saturday of throat cancer, which he had battled for years, according to a press release by his label, New West Records.
The 60-year-old Bruton came out of the school of influential Fort Worth roots-rockers: Delbert McClinton, Jerry Lynn Williams, T-Bone Burnett and countless others. He was working on a film with Burnett in Los Angeles when his health deteriorated and he passed awa
William Michael SmithLance Smith (left) and Mike Stinson
LOM grew up in the oil patch, made a good living in it, saw the world because of it. So it made sense to want our son, Lance, to grow up to be a petroleum engineer. Alas, it was not to be.
Now he's a guitar player.
Two years into the petroleum engineering program at University of Houston, LOM and the wife pulled the plug on Lance's financing. The logic? Exxon doesn't hire engineers with C averages who majored in frat party and skirt-cha
[Note: This week Rocks Off is looking at the musical heritage, highs and lows, for each of the five possible states that might result should Texas secede from the U.S. like Gov. Rick Perry wants it to. Yesterday we began with the Panhandle/West Texas "Palo Duro" territory; today it's northeastern quadrant "Trinity."]
View Five States of Texas in a larger map
Trinity
Capital: Dallas
Patron Saint: Blind Lemon Jefferson
Lesser Icons: T-Bone Walker, Alex Moore, Old 97's, Pantera, The D.O.C., Ray
