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December 5, 2025      —–     Chart #327 Hello Music Friends, Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. There are songs that sound like a warm blanket, a sunset, or a memory. California Dreamin’ sounds like all three, even if you’re listening to it in February while scraping ice off a windshield in Little Rock. It’s one of the great American singles — part folk, part pop, part fever dream — delivered by… Read more: CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’

November 28, 2025      —–     Chart #326 Hello Music Friends, Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Some songs make you want to roll the windows down, ease off the gas, and let the world go by at about the speed of a Sunday afternoon golf cart. Long May You Run is one of those — Neil Young in his wistful-poet mode, humming along like a man who’s thinking about old friends,… Read more: LONG MAY YOU RUN

November 21, 2025      —–     Chart #325 Hello Music Friends, Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Every now and then a song comes along that makes you tilt your head like a Labrador trying to understand a crossword puzzle. If I Had a Boat is that song — a perfectly Texan blend of charm, wit, daydreaming, and “Well now… where exactly is this going?” Nobody does that better than Lyle Lovett,… Read more: IF I HAD A BOAT

November 14, 2025      —–     Chart #324 There are those moments when a song lifts you gently and unexpectedly into a quieter space—like a soft breeze on a busy day. That’s what “Anywhere Like Heaven” does. It’s not the headline grabber from Sweet Baby James, but side two of the record holds its own kind of magic. Written and sung by James Taylor, “Anywhere Like Heaven” debuted in 1970 as the B-side to the soaring single… Read more: ANYWHERE LIKE HEAVEN

November 7, 2025      —–     Chart #323 Howdy Music Friends, Some songs cut through the airwaves like sunshine through water—bright, unexpected, and instantly uplifting. That’s exactly what happened when The Dirt Band (yes, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band wearing a streamlined name in the early 1980s) conjured up “Make a Little Magic.” Written by Jeff Hanna, Bob Carpenter, and Richard Hathaway, the song emerged in 1980 as the title track from their Make a Little Magic… Read more: MAKE A LITTLE MAGIC

October 31, 2025      —–     Chart #322 Howdy Music Friends, Sometimes a song comes along that feels like a private late-night conversation—sharp, honest, and just a bit bittersweet. That’s what Bob Dylan served up with “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” A song wrapped in folk tradition, complete with a folk-picking melody, and words that feel like they were scooped right out of a broken heart. Bob wrote this one in 1962, during a quiet but… Read more: DON’T THINK TWICE, IT’S ALL RIGHT

October 24, 2025      —–     Chart #321 Howdy Music Friends, There comes a moment in a songwriter’s career when everything clicks: the right melody, the right words, the perfect woman. For Billy Joel, that moment came with “She’s Always a Woman,” where confessional piano meets timeless lyric, wrapped in the warmth of admiration… and maybe a dash of awe. Written entirely by Billy Joel, the song appeared on his 1977 breakthrough album The Stranger. Joel released… Read more: SHE’S ALWAYS A WOMAN TO ME

October 17, 2025      —–     Chart #320 Howdy Music Friends, Every once in a while, a song leaps across genre lines like a well-tuned lasso and finds a home in your heart—whether it’s draped in gospel, R&B, or country-southern charm. That’s what “Stand By Me” did when Mickey Gilley made it his own in 1980: it sashayed from Ben E. King’s soulful roots into honky-tonk legend, and just like that, it became the soundtrack to an… Read more: STAND BY ME (MICKEY GILLEY)

October 10, 2025      —–     Chart #319 Hello Music Friends, Downtown blues, teenage longing, and that unmistakable Midwestern glow—“Mainstreet” has that rare power to catch you in the heart before the first chorus hits. If you didn’t grow up in the Rust Belt, Seger makes you feel like you did. And if you already did, this one gives your soul a familiar tap on the shoulder. This smoky, soul-struck whisper of a song was written by… Read more: MAINSTREET

October 3, 2025      —–     Chart #318 Every so often a song sneaks into everybody’s soul—even if you grew up in New York City or on a sailboat—and you just know it. That’s what “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” does. The moment those opening chords hit, you’re transported to a dusty dance hall where “country music” becomes less of a genre and more of a laid-back state of mind. Released on April 11,… Read more: LUCKENBACH, TEXAS (BACK TO THE BASICS OF LOVE)

September 26, 2025      —–     Chart #317 Howdy, folks! This week we’re stepping a little outside our usual time capsule and visiting a tune from a slightly younger crowd’s playlist. Now, you all know me: I usually hang my hat somewhere between the ’50s and ’70s, where the chords are familiar and the songs are the soundtrack of my youth. But every once in a while, a newer gem sneaks in that’s just too good to… Read more: 3AM

September 19, 2025      —–     Chart #316 Howdy, music-loving friends! This week we’re boarding a flight of pure nostalgia with a song that’s taken off more times than a well-loved 747. “Leaving on a Jet Plane” is one of those tunes that just about everyone can hum along to, whether you first heard it around a campfire or on the radio as you packed your bags. Let’s start with the man behind the melody: John Denver… Read more: LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

Howdy, friends! This week we’re setting sail on a timeless tune that’s crossed more waters than a well-traveled sailor. “The Water Is Wide” is a song with roots so deep, they practically touch the bedrock of folk music. And while Karla Bonoff might be our featured artist, she’s just one of many who’ve taken this beautiful traditional song and given it a new life. First things first, a little fact-checking on the origins: “The Water… Read more: THE WATER IS WIDE

September 5, 2025      —–     Chart #314 Howdy folks! This week we’re taking a little stroll down the wistful side of memory lane with a song that’s as tender as a country breeze and as bittersweet as a secret crush. “You Don’t Know Me” is one of those classics that’ll have you nodding along and maybe shedding a nostalgic tear or two. Originally co-written by country legend Eddy Arnold and the talented Cindy Walker in 1955,… Read more: YOU DON’T KNOW ME

August 29, 2025      —–     Chart #313 Howdy, friends! It’s time for another musical ride down memory lane, and this week we’re hitching a ride with Glen Campbell on that long and winding road to Phoenix. Now, before we even dive into the song, let me just tip my hat to a fellow Arkansan. I grew up in Little Rock, and Glen Campbell hails from a little town called Delight, Arkansas. It’s always a treat to… Read more: BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX