We’re all seeing year end lists of every sort this week. We have a few of our own. Maybe at the end of 2014 we can publish a Top 10 list of Top 10 lists.
Most of these represent the subjective reflections of the various authors, and lots of people enjoy reading them, myself included.
The primary reason we created our Bluegrass Today Airplay Chart was to offer an objective ranking for radio play, collated from the actual playlists of more than 100 bluegrass radio programmers.
So… based on the results of our 52 Weekly Airplay Charts this year, here is the definitive bluegrass Top 30 for 2013.
- What’ll I Do – Terry Baucom (John Boy & Billy); writers: Milan Miller, Mark Winchester
- Steel Driving Man – Dailey & Vincent (Rounder); writer: Jamie Dailey
- They Called It Music – Gibson Brothers (Compass); writers: Eric Gibson, Joe Newberry
- Old McDonald Sold The Farm – Mark Newton & Steve Thomas (Pinecastle); writers: Kenny Boudreau, Darryl Landry, Ryan Roberts
- That Janie Baker – Marty Raybon (Rural Rhythm); writers: Marty Raybon, John Fountain
- Dixie Road – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (Crossroads); writers:Donald C. Goodman, Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose
- Putting On My Leaving Shoes – Big Country Bluegrass (Rebel); writers: Dixie Hall, Tom T. Hall, Troy Engle
- The Story Of The Day That I Died – Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice (Rebel); writer: Ashby Frank
- This Old Guitar & Me – Grasstowne w/Ronnie Bowman (Mountain Fever); writer: Dave Carroll
- That’s All She Wrote – Peter Rowan (Compass); writer: Peter Rowan
- You Took All The Ramblin’ – The Boxcars (Mountain Home); writer: Jerry Hubbard
- Big Blue Roses – Feller and Hill & The Bluegrass Buckaroos (Blue Circle); writers: Tom T. Hall, Dixie Hall
- Lonely Comes Easy – Chris Jones & The Night Driver (Rebel); writer: Chris Jones
- That’s Kentucky – Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road (Pinecastle); writers: Dixie Hall, Tom T. Hall, Troy Engle
- The Mountains My Baby And Me – Grass Cats (New Time); writers: Russell Johnson, Rick LaFleur
- Rich Man’s Daughter – Volume 5 (Mountain Fever); writer: Colby Laney
- Brothers Of The Highway – Dailey & Vincent (Rounder); writers: Doug Johnson, Kim Williams, Nicole Marie Witt
- Colder December – Blue Moon Rising (Blue Moon); writers: Tony Mowell, David Mowell, Cory Wharton
- Wearin A Hole – The Steeldrivers (Rounder); writer: Mike Henderson
- Papertown – Balsam Range (Mountain Home); writer: Milan Miller
- If I Was A Carpenter – Shannon and Heather Slaughter & County Clare (Shannon Slaughter); writer: Tim Hardin
- Slowly (I’m Falling) – Marty Raybon (Rural Rhythm); writers: Webb Pierce, Tommy Hill
- See The Big Man Cry – Volume 5 (Mountain Fever); writer: Ed Bruce
- John Dig A Hole – Cumberland Gap Connection (Mountain Fever); writer: Norman Scalf
- Why Did You Call – Kenny & Amanda Smith Band (Farm Boy); writer: Jason Owen
- Blue Night – Ricky Skaggs (Skaggs Family); writer: David Kirk McGee
- The Mountain Doctor – Don Rigsby (Rebel); writers: Larry Cordle, Don Rigsby
- If That Was Love – Chris Jones & The Night Drivers (Rebel); writers: Chris Jones, Jon Weisberger
- The Darker The Night – Gibson Brothers (Compass); writer: Joe Newberry
- Some Kind Of War – Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers (Rebel); writers: Bill Anderson, Coley McCabe, John Wiggins
Many thanks to the DJs who report to us each week, and to Terry Herd and Eric Tapp for getting the chart together and posted without fail.
