DJ Ray

LYRICS TO PONDER...

It's FRIDAY JANUARY 22nd...Welcome to another edition of "COUNTRY STARS", featuring some of the greatest NEW COUNTRY music from the early 2000s, all the way up to the latest chart busters... Today's stars are an American female country music duo composed of Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye (both of whom are singers, songwriters, and guitarists). The duo was signed to Dot Records in 2014, and their debut album, "Start Here", was released on August 28th 2015. This album includes t...he popular singles "Girl in a Country Song", "Fly", "Sierra" and the song you're seconds away from hearing. Following the closure of Dot, they signed to Mercury Nashville (in 2018) and released their 2nd studio album, "The Way It Feels" in April 2020. The cute country jingle I chose for today peaked at #23 and #30 on Billboard's Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, respectively. Released on November 2nd 2015, from the album, "Start Here", here's MADDIE & TAE with "SHUT UP & FISH"...

It's FRIDAY JANUARY 22nd, and time for another edition of "LOST LEGENDS", as we remember some of the greatest music icons who have passed away on THIS VERY DAY... Today's LL was a Scottish singer and songwriter who was born in Dundee, Scotland on March 27th, 1957. Known for his distinctive high tenor voice, he was the co-founder and lead singer of post-punk and new wave band, The ASSOCIATES. He also had a brief solo career releasing his debut album, "Outernational" (1992) whi...ch was the only solo album issued during his lifetime. On this very day, JANUARY 22nd 1997, he overdosed on a combination of paracetamol and prescription medication in the garden shed of his father's house. Depression and the death of his mother are believed to have contributed to his suicide. He was 39 years old. Performing their 1981 U.K. hit single, "PARTY FEARS TWO", here are The Associates with their late lead man, BILLY MacKENZIE...

It's FRIDAY JANUARY 22nd, and time for another edition of "POP TITANS" featuring the most popular artists from the new millennium... Today's titans are a South Korean multinational girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of six members including: Miyeon, Minnie, Soojin, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua. They debuted on May 2nd, 2018, with their first extended play, "I Am" and its lead single, "Latata". Since their inception, this group has released 6 exten...ded plays and 8 singles including "Latata", "Hann (Alone)", "Senorita", "Uh-Oh", "Lion", "Oh My God", "Dumdi Dumdi" and today's song choice. In conjunction with the release of their 3rd EP, "I Trust" (2020), the group signed with American record label, Republic Records, to pursue expansion into the U.S. marketplace. Upon its release, they set the highest record for a South Korean girl group to top the iTunes Albums chart. Their 2020 single album, "Dumdi Dumdi" has become the second best-selling girl group single album of all time. Today's international pop tune sings about the pain of love, using burning fire and colourful flowers in the cold winter sensibility as a metaphor. It debuted at #1 on South Korea's Realtime music chart and has already reached the Billboard charts in the U.S.. Just released on January 11th 2021, from the EP, "I Burn", here's GI-DLE with "HWAA"...

HAPPY 72nd BIRTHDAY to STEVE PERRY...Born today on JANUARY 22nd, 1949

It's WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 25th....Welcome to "COUNTRY STARS", featuring some of the greatest NEW COUNTRY music from the early 2000s, all the way up to the latest chart busters... Today's star is an American country music singer who was born in Southfield, Michigan on September 21st, 1991. As a child, she learned to play piano and drums while also participating in high school choir competitions at Rock Canyon High School (located in Colorado, where she grew up). Eventually, she ...moved to Nashville, Tennessee where she began writing songs for artists such as Sam Hunt, Alicia Keys and Charli XCX. In 2018, she signed with Warner Nashville, and in 2019, she debuted with the single you're about to hear. This easy listening country tune serves as the lead-off single to her debut album, "Lady Like". It peaked at #3 and #5 on Billboard's Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, respectively. Released on July 8th 2019, here's INGRID ANDRESS with "MORE HEARTS THAN MINE"...

LYRICS TO LIVE BY...

It's THURSDAY NOVEMBER 19th....Welcome to "COUNTRY STARS", featuring some of the greatest NEW COUNTRY music from the early 2000s, all the way up to the latest chart busters... Today's spotlight falls on a country legend and a (not so country) super diva who collaborated to release a new hit single. This song recently received a nomination from the American Music Awards for "Favorite Country Song" at the 2020 ceremony. In the U.S., it peaked at #18 on Billboard's Hot 100, and ...reached #1 on the Digital Songs chart. It also charted in Canada where it has been certified platinum. The video you're about to watch serves as a glimpse into this couple's day-to-day life, and has been described as romantic and adorable by critics. Released on January 21st 2020, from the album "Fully Loaded: God's Country", here's BLAKE SHELTON and GWEN STEFANI with "NOBODY BUT YOU"... See more

He passed away 13 years ago today on NOVEMBER 19th, 2007....R.I.P. KEVIN DuBROW from "Quiet Riot"

He passed away 46 years ago today on NOVEMBER 25th, 1974....R.I.P. NICK DRAKE

It's THURSDAY NOVEMBER 19th, and time for another edition of "LOST LEGENDS", as we remember some of the greatest musicians who have passed away on THIS VERY DAY... Today's lost legend was an American heavy metal singer who was born in Hollywood, California on October 29th, 1955. He was best known for being lead vocalist of the heavy metal band QUIET RIOT from 1975 until 1987 (and again from 1990 until his death in 2007). His first band consisted of a group of 11-year-olds who... played only one gig, to an audience of senior citizens (who were not particularly fond of loud rock music). By the time he was in his mid-teens, he had developed an appreciation for a number of British rock acts including the Small Faces, Queen, Spooky Tooth, Rod Stewart and Humble Pie. On this very day, NOVEMBER 19th 2007, he was found dead at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. The cause of death was established to be a fatal overdose by a combination of cocaine, painkillers and alcohol. It was also determined that he had died six days prior to being found. He was 52 years old. Performing their 1983 hit single, "CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE", here's Quiet Riot with the late, KEVIN DuBROW on vocals...

It's WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 25th, and time for another edition of "LOST LEGENDS", as we remember some of the greatest musicians who have passed away on THIS VERY DAY... Today's LL was an English singer, songwriter and musician who was born in Rangoon, Burma on June 19th, 1948. Known for his acoustic guitar-based songs, he signed to Island Records when he was 20 years old. Shortly after (in 1969) he released his debut album, "Five Leaves Left". By 1972, he had recorded two more al...bums"Bryter Layter" and "Pink Moon". His reluctance to perform live (or be interviewed) contributed to his lack of commercial success. There is no known video footage of today's artist, and he was only ever captured in still photographs or home footage from his childhood years. By the early 1990s, he had posthumously come to represent a certain type of "doomed romantic" musician (in the U.K.) and was frequently cited as an influence by artists like Kate Bush, Paul Weller, Aimee Mann, Beck and The Black Crowes. He suffered from depression, particularly during the latter part of his life, a fact often reflected in his lyrics. On completion of his 3rd album, "Pink Moon", he withdrew from both live performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. On this very day, NOVEMBER 25th 1974, he died from an overdose of amitriptyline. The coroner stated that the cause of death was "Acute amitriptyline poisoningself-administered when suffering from a depressive illness" (and concluded a verdict of suicide). Performing his 1969 single, "DAY IS DONE", here's the late "NICK DRAKE"...

It's THURSDAY NOVEMBER 19th, and time for another edition of "POP TITANS" featuring the most popular artists of the new millennium... Today's titan is an English singer and songwriter who was born on April 7th, 1991 in East Tilbury, Essex, England. Her debut studio album "Speak Your Mind" was released on April 27th 2018, and peaked at #3 on the U.K. Albums Chart. She has attained several hits on the U.K. Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's "Rockabye" (2016), "Alarm" (2016...), "Ciao Adios" (2017), "Friends" (2018) and the song you're moments away from hearing. She was also nominated 4 times at the 2019 Brit Awards, including "Best British Female Solo Artist". The song I have decided to go with for today peaked at #3 on the U.K. Singles Chart, becoming this artist's fourth Top 10 single, and her highest-charting song in the country (as a lead artist). Released on April 20th 2018, from the album, "Speak Your Mind", here's ANNE-MARIE with "2002"...

It's WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 25th, and time again for another edition of "POP TITANS" featuring the most popular artists of the new millennium... Today's titan is an American singer and songwriter who was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 16th, 1994. After moving across several states to pursue a music career, she eventually signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, where she released the song "Sweet but Psycho" (in August 2018). This song became her breakthrough single after p...eaking at #1 in 22 countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand and the U.K.. It also peaked at #10 in the U.S. on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Recently, on September 18th, 2020, she released her debut studio album, "Heaven & Hell" which features our song choice of the day.. This song can be found on many current charts, and is presently sitting at #13 on Billboard's Hot 100. Released on March 12th 2020, here's AVA MAX with "KINGS & QUEENS"...