Essie Country’s Song of the Week

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 12/28/25 thru 01/03/26 Happy Nashville New Year by Charles Esten Released 12/30/2016 Intro by Gene Johns   There aren’t many country songs with a New Year’s Eve theme. If there are, I didn’t find them. But I was fortunate to discover an entertaining New Year’s Eve-themed song, “Happy Nashville New Year,” written and performed by Charles Esten.   It’s a slightly jazzed-up country song with a hint of old “rock and roll,” while still keeping it country! It’s a good song and an energetic performance by sixty-year-old Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native Charles Esten.   Who is Charles Esten? Wikipedia lists his occupations as actor, musician, singer, songwriter, and comedian. According to Wikipedia, “Charles Esten played the role of country singer Deacon Claybourne on the drama Nashville from 2012 to 2018, which sub...

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 12/20/25 thru 12/27/25 It’s Christmas Y’all by Scotty Inman Released 11/01/2025 Intro by Gene Johns   Bluegrass and Southern Gospel music are closely associated with traditional country music, so it isn’t unusual for a singer from one of those two genres to migrate to country music.    For example, Zach Top, a rising country music star, has a strong bluegrass background. Scotty Inman, this week’s artist featured in our real country music song of the week, “It’s Christmas Y’all,” has spent the last two decades as a member of the Southern Gospel group, the Triumphant Quartet.    Forty-three-year-old Scotty Inman is an American singer and songwriter based in Nashville, TN. He left the Triumphant Quartet in 2023 to focus on his solo career. Today, Scotty’s solo career blends Southern Gospel with a coun...

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 12/14/25 thru 12/20/25 Even the Snow is Falling  by Ryan Hinkle Released 11/14/2017 Intro by Gene Johns I couldn’t find much information about Ryan Hinkle, the artist performing this week's Essie Country’s 21st Century Real Country Music Christmas Song of the Week, “Even the Snow is Falling.”    His Facebook page is inactive, and his page listing tour dates shows no upcoming shows. It’s like he has disappeared from the face of the Earth. I found some information about legal troubles he had, but since I couldn’t verify that information, I won’t say what those problems were.    While there isn’t any information about the artist Ryan Hinkle, I do know one thing: his style and artistry earned him and his song a spot in this year's Essie Country’s Celebration of Christmas.    This Christmas ...

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 12/07/25 thru 12/13/25 Wrapped by Logan Mize & Jill Martin Released 12/01/2023 Intro by Gene Johns “Wrapped” is an excellent Christmas holiday song to kick off Essie Country’s three-week celebration of the 2025 Christmas season. Logan and Jill blend  Relaxed and harmonious vocals with the lyrics and melody of a song that will warm your heart like a crackling fireplace on Christmas Eve. “Wrapped” is a love song wrapped in the magic of the Christmas season. It is one of the best new non-traditional Christmas songs I’ve heard in a long time. That’s why I’ve chosen “Wrapped” to be the first of three Christmas songs selected for Essie Country’s 21st Century Real Country Music Christmas Song of the Week, for the 2025 Christmas season.    Cowritten with Daniel Agee and performed by Logan Mize & Jill ...