Essie Country’s Song of the Week

Greetings to fans of real country   music, and welcome to this week’s   Halloween 🎃 Edition of  Essie Country’s 21st Century Real  Country Music Song   of the Week for the week of   10/26/25 thru 11/01/25 Somebody’s Knockin’ 👺 by Summer Dean Released 01/31/2025 Introduction by Gene Johns In October 1980, country music artist Terri Gibbs released “Somebody’s Knockin’.” It peaked at number eight on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart and number 13 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.  Forty-five years later, contemporary real country music artist Summer Dean releases her version of Terri Gibbs’ crossover hit, “Somebody’s Knockin’.” Summer’s cover of this song is the first time I’ve heard anyone other than Terri Gibbs sing “Someone’s Knockin’.” Summer does a fantastic job! Summer was recently named the Female Artist of the Year at the Texas Country Music Awards. Once again, Texas is proving it can be the current hub of true country music, not Nashville. Many...

Greetings to the fans of real country music. Essie Country’s 21st Century Real Country Music  Song of the Week for  the week of:  10/19/25 thru 10/25/25 Looking Back With You Performed by Ben McPeak Released 08/23/2019 Intro by Gene Johns “Looking Back With You,” performed by Ben McPeak, is a joyous love song that only a true country artist like Ben can deliver to the stage and touch the hearts of country music fans that enjoy authentic country music.  Ben grew up in Texas, but country music was in his blood; he was born in Tennessee. He started performing professionally the day after he graduated from high school. He is now a Professor of Real Country Music, teaching others how country music should be done.  In a previous Essie Country’s 21st Century Real Country Music Song of the Week by Ben, he impressed me with his heartfelt performance of, “Lonely Leave Me Alone.” That song and his brilliant rendition have made it a favorite of mine.  Well, he did it a...

Greetings to fans of real country   music, and welcome to this week’s   Essie Country’s 21st Century Real  Country Music Song   of the Week for the week of   10/12/25 thru 10/18/25 Ain’t That Lonely Yet Performed by Brit Taylor Released 07/09/2021 Intro by Gene Johns I recently listened to a Brit Taylor cover of Dwight Yoakam’s hit, “Ain’t That Lonely Yet.” His song peaked at number two on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles Chart on June 5, 1993. The song that prevented it from being number one was Toby Keith’s first chart-topping hit, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.”  Brit delivers a soulful rendition of one of my favorite Dwight Yoakam songs, which is why I’ve chosen “Ain’t That Lonely Yet,” by Brit Taylor, for Essie Country’s 21st Century Real Country Music Song of the Week. To introduce this week’s Song of the Week, I crafted a fictional story inspired by that song. The story revolves around the end of a relationship between a couple. The broken relationship has...

Greetings to fans of real country   music, and welcome to this week’s   Essie Country’s 21st Century Real Country Music Song   of the Week for the week of   10/05/25 thru 10/11/25 Flip Flop Cowritten & Performed by Zach Top Released 08/29/2025 Intro by Gene Johns Zach Top is one of the hottest traditional country music artists in the country today. He broke through the gauntlet of fake country music with his song “I Never Lie,” making it onto Billboard’s Hot Country Top 40 chart in October of 2024, peaking at number 6.    The song also reached number 2 on the Country Airplay Chart.  Additionally, he has been nominated for Country Music Association’s 2025 Male Vocalist of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Single of the Year for “I Never Lie,” and Song of the Year (again for “I Never Lie”). My vote is for Zach for all four of those awards! The CMA awards will air November 18th, at 8 pm on ABC. Zach’s hit, “I Never Lie,” was featured as Essie Country’...