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 01/25/26 thru 01/31/26. Man Like Me by Johnny McGuire Released 12/01/2023 Intro by Gene Johns Maybe it’s the easy-going melody and the lyrics. It could be the singer's vocal artistry or the enchanting sound of the steel guitar masterfully played in the background. Or, perhaps it’s just the romantic in me. Whatever it is, probably all of the above, I absolutely love this song, and I believe you will too.  “Man Like Me” is performed by its co-writer, contemporary country music artist Johnny McGuire. A quick internet search (using the Brave browser) turned up a description of Johnny McGuire's style and artistry. It read: “His music blends the twang and lyrical content of classic country music with the energy of heartland rock ‘n’ roll.” This song doesn’t have a “traditional” country music sound. However, Johnny M...

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 01/18/26 thru 01/24/26. Hold Your Horses   by Anne Wilson Released 10/17/25 Intro by Gene Johns   Anne Wilson is a bit of an anomaly for Essie Country. Anne has achieved notable success with her Southern twang-style voice, but not in country music. She is an American Christian singer with a Grammy nomination, as well as a two-time GMA Dove Award winner and a three-time K-Love Fan Award winner.    Her Christian singles have performed well on the Christian charts, including a number five hit, “Sunday Sermons,” a number four hit, “Strong,” and a chart-topping single, “My Jesus.” She has six other singles that made it into the Top 50 of Christian charts.    This twenty-three-year-old Lexington, Kentucky-born artist hasn’t produced many country songs. She caught my attention when I discovered ...

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 01/11/26 thru 01/17/26. All a Man Needs by Brian Callihan Released 11/27/2020 Intro by Gene Johns In just 3 minutes and 28 seconds, Brian Callihan makes a case that it doesn’t take a lot to be happy and content because he has all a man needs. And you know, I can relate to his philosophy.  Compared to many, I don’t have much. But I’m relatively debt free (I still owe on my POV), and I have a big screen tv with one of those little gadgets that changes the channel for me. I have unlimited access to real country music. I have a laptop computer that is virus free, and a good woman by my side. So Brian, I hear you. I have all a man needs. What does catching overpopulated wild hogs on the weekend and Brian Callihan have in common? That’s easy. He bought his first guitar from the extra money he earned catching those wild hogs...

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 01/04/26 thru 01/10/26 Far From Good by Triston Marez Released 10/18/2019 Intro by Gene John’s Way back in July and August of 2024, Triston Marez became the first and only artist whose songs Essie Country selected for two consecutive weeks as Essie Country’s 21st Century Real Country Music Song of the Week. Those two exceptional country songs were “Until I Found You” and “Where Rivers Are Red and Cowboys Are Blue.”   It’s hard to believe it’s been that long since we selected a song by Triston Marez for our song of the week. Triston is one of the best 21st-century real country music artists in America today. His song library would complement anyone’s collection of real country music.    Marez, a Houston, Texas native, was born into a musical family from Oklahoma. Triston began playing the guitar at age six, a...