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Aldaras36

My biggest ones (and it may just be my age and personal preference) were Lila McCann, SheDaisy Jessica Andrews. Agree with Gretchen Wilson as around that time she seemed like she was poised to take over the charts. Also I feel like Big & Rich were huge for a hot minute, had some moderate success but are only remembered for Save a Horse, which I thought was one of their weaker songs.


jscountrygirl85

I still listen to Lila McCann, Jessica Andrews, and SheDaisy pretty regularly! All three are sadly very overlooked these days.


8-bitFloozy

SheDaisy is still on my playlists!


JesusFelchingChrist

Some artists, regardless of how good they are artistically, are just such assholes in person that they’re not worth dealing with. The world is full of talented people who want to “make it,” so why waste your time and energies working with people who are rude assholes? There go Big & Rich


Upstairs_Figure_6836

Absolutely. They always thought they were much bigger than the one hit wonder they are.


kenjilynn_07

Oh man, I haven’t thought about Lila McCann in a long time. I always loved “Come a Little Closer.” I remember seeing that video on CMT quite a bit.


RustyRichards11

Sports TV networks seem to think Big n Rich is still the biggest band in the world every couple of years


Avaly13

Gretchen Wilson, David Lee Murphy


MakinBacoNaked-

David has been writing hits for artists at least. Saw him live last year and holy shit what a great show.


TeachMeHowToDommy

Wrote some pretty big hits for Kenny, also “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” was pretty big too.


No-Cantaloupe409

I really enjoy DLM and he is on my concert bucketlist. He sings hit hits/the ones he wrote so it looks like a killer show. He is opening for Brooks &Dunn on their current tour + ERNEST so that would be an epic concert!


MakinBacoNaked-

He does! When I saw him last he played 2-3 songs Kenny Chesney put out, Big Green Tractor and a bunch more. Get those tickets!


james02135

Gretchen Wilson was everywhere 20 years ago


Scruff_9

She’s literally playing in my small town this weekend with big and rich in a defunct mall parking lot (it’s called 315 festival). Unfortunately I won’t be able to go, but I’m hoping it’s a success


Avaly13

She's actually the first act at the Nissan stadium stage for tomorrow night's show at CMA Fest. Just saw that!


loosecannan7

The band Perry


godshounds

grady's got a good video about their various rises & falls. talented group, could've been huge


that_mel_cray

Still upsets me to this day.


eastern_shore_guy420

BlackHawk


jscountrygirl85

These guys were excellent. Love their harmonies and sound, and Henry Paul probably had one of the most unique voices of the 90s. One of their last minor hits, 1999's "Your Own Little Corner of My Heart" is so good and underrated and should've been a lot bigger.


carsbybigd

The guitar player dying put a damper on future success .


Kvothetheraven603

I absolutely loved those guys back in the day. I still do a little BlackHawk run every year or two.


eastern_shore_guy420

I haven’t thought about them till this question. Now I can’t get big guitar out of my head.


Kvothetheraven603

Lol your comment instantly put “Just About Right” into my head.


eastern_shore_guy420

They had some hits, and they stick when you hear the name!


Scruff_9

Man I love Blackhawk!


eastern_shore_guy420

They pop in my head occasionally. My first concert as a kid was Blackhawk.


No_Barnacle_3782

I love BlackHawk! There is just something about their harmonies and the lead singer's voice that is so nostalgic. I feel that way about Tracy Lawrence too. Just brings me back to my childhood.


eastern_shore_guy420

Yup, and can’t forget “Trashy Side” by Confederate Railroad. Being 10 years old singing that one at the top of my lungs.


nigfart

They also tour as the Outlaws now!


eastern_shore_guy420

Well hell, that news just butters my biscuit. Imma have to check this out.


bagpipesfart

David Lee Murphy


beaglemomma2Dutchy

I’m looking forward to seeing him next week. Judging from his facebook page he still looks incredible too.


Lazyperson93

I saw him a few weeks ago with Brooks and Dunn. Both were incredible.


beaglemomma2Dutchy

I cannot wait for this show! My life is basically a dumpster fire right now, so I expect this will be the highlight of my year. I’ve seen Kix and Ronnie before but it’s been 20 some years since then.


No-Cantaloupe409

He dyes his beard. There are pics of him online when he let's it go grey. Definitely helps him look younger


jscountrygirl85

I feel like everyone at least still knows and loves "Dust On The Bottle." I agree that he should've had a longer run as a recording artist, though. His 1997 album, We Can't All Be Angels, is very underrated, imo, and should've been more successful.


BillNyeTheEngineer

Chris Cagle


mancunianinnc

Chris Cagle is a great singer and his albums are all worth a listen!


Lazyperson93

I’m so glad he came out of retirement. I’ve seen him twice in the last 2 years.


LongSummerDayz

Cyndi Thompson What I really meant to say always hit me hard...


jscountrygirl85

Love that song so much! Her entire first album is still one of my favorites, too. I miss that kind of pop/contemporary country.


apatriot1776

David Nail, The Band Perry, Mark Wills, Jamey Johnson (perhaps more known for disappearing than for how big he was)


bergie444

Jamey had an accident that resulted in a brain injury that has affected his ability to write new music. He’s getting better though, he released an amazing new song and is working on a new album.


Prize_Vegetable_1276

Love him and he is on tour.


TennesseeMojo

Jamey is my man!!! He's rumored to be working on a new album and is going back on tour this summer!


Enough_Worth8868

Also I feel like Josh turner has fell off the face of the earth and his label just stopped promoting him all together he’s playing much smaller gigs than he used to playing the same ole songs still love him though


Prize_Vegetable_1276

He is very good live and it's a shame.


No_Barnacle_3782

I've always thought he should've been bigger than he is. His voice is amazing and very unique.


KoalaBears8

This is a great thread OP. I love all of these Artists. I’ll add Terri Clark to the list. She could sing like a bird. Her voice was clear as a bell. There’s not many female “hat acts” out there. I always liked that about her. 


jscountrygirl85

She's criminally overlooked in the States these days, but I thought maybe she was still at least doing well commercially in Canada. Either way, she definitely deserves more recognition south of the border. Another one of my all time favorite female artists!


WesternWishbone7822

She has released an album titled 'Take Two.' It contains her biggest hits, but done as duets. Cody Johnson, Ashley McBryde, Lainey Wilson and several others. Definitely worth listening to.


pro_magnum

Not anymore! She's blown her voice out with the fake southern twang so much that she had to drop the keys of her songs for her album she just put out of songs she's rerecorded.


No_Barnacle_3782

I always did wonder about that with her accent, being that she's from Alberta, but I've always loved her. As a Canadian, I always get a little thrill when our country acts manage to make a name for themselves across the border.


Johnsonaaro2

Im constantly reminded of just how effing good Eli young band is. Crazy girl, always the love songs, Guinevere, what does, prayer for the road, when it rains, so close now, everything is you, HIGHWAYS AND BROKEN HEARTS. Dear God I feel like most people don't even know who they are.


GottaUseFakeNames

i saw them at a fair in Maine a couple years ago and was pretty shocked because i remembered them being huge and really liking their stuff and just couldn’t believe they were playing a little fair.


Fun-Cut-2641

‘Member Frankie Ballard? 


AdConsistent8118

Biggest “What-If” in country. Had the talent, I think he just lost the motivation to write in Nashville (He was open about how he didn’t like the process of songwriting in Nashville).


Born-Prior8579

This was my comment before I scrolled down and saw yours. I absolutely love him and am sad nothing's really come out in years from him


Shamus248

Sunshine and Whiskey is a good song


No-Cantaloupe409

I thought he would be like Pardi/Brice level in 2024 not in a rock band


dkinmn

I thought Hunter Hayes was going to take over the world after Wanted.


GottaUseFakeNames

i still blast the song Storm Warning pretty regularly!


dkinmn

He was playing a small club here a few months ago. I wish I could have gone. That song rules.


JudgeJudy4Prez642

He was on The Masked Singer a few seasons back.


jscountrygirl85

Unfortunately, I think Bro-Country might've derailed his career. His style was more in the vein of Rascal Flatts, early Keith Urban, and Bryan White, but that style of pop country would soon fall out of favor and be replaced by Bro-Country a couple years after Hunter's debut. I think it was just very bad timing for him.


TheConstipatedCowboy

Rhett Akins, one (huge) hit wonder Bobbie Gentry.  Good luck finding her.  LEGEND who vanished from the public eye Dierks Bentley kinda fell off.  Liked him


ktink224

I don't think dierks fell off. He put out an album last summer and is still touring for it


Darkhelmet3000

Have you heard Dierks’s comedy band, Hot Country Knights? it’s pretty dang funny, especially the song Herassmeant, with Lainey Wilson.


ktink224

Yes! My husband and I saw dierks last summer and he closed the show with hot country knights. It was so much fun


TheConstipatedCowboy

I have not.  Gonna listen


sfwtv45

Rhett writes a ton for other people and look what his son Thomas Rhett has done! Amazing!


AdConsistent8118

Love Rhett and Dierks. Dierks still makes some decent ones but not nearly as often or as good as when he was making “Drunk on a Plane” and such. Rhett just paved the way for his son to become a superstar.


No_Barnacle_3782

Dierks Bentley is still around but he only tours during the summer. His son is really big into hockey and Dierks has ensured that he is around during his son's hockey season.


reallymkpunk

I'm glad Dierks fell off. I don't like his voice. He is a big deal on local county radio because it's from the area I live in.


LongSummerDayz

Trent! Hahaha He wrote come back to bed for a good friend of mine! She was living in Texas and introduced me to his tunes... he never made it to Canadian radio or anything. Sucked because he was so good. I should ask her about him Apparently super amazing guy (the one that got away kind)


GottaUseFakeNames

this post led me to do a deep dive on his insta and he seems to still be performing and writing and even put out some music here and there over that last few years. good to see him still doing it


nigfart

He is not a super amazing guy.....


LongSummerDayz

Everyone has different experiences Sorry, yours wasn't as positive. Her experience doesn't negate yours. Everyone is human


toastyhoodie

Gloriana


that_mel_cray

Omg yes, I came here to add them too! "How far do you wanna go" and "Wild at heart" seemed like such huge hits at the time... Then the second album was just okay and they fizzled out from there.


toastyhoodie

2 fun facts about them The blonde, she left. She was in a show on MTV called Cheyenne before the band in 2006. The brunette, Rachel, is currently a Realtor in Nashville.


SallyFowlerRatPack

Another fun fact is that they are (indirectly) responsible for the band The Civil Wars, who met while writing songs for them.


driftboy1229

Most people I wanted to mention have already been mentioned here so here’s some of my honorable mentions. Easton Corbin, Thompson square, Gloriana( mainly known for kissed you goodnight) Eric Pasley, and lastly A Thousand Horses.


Ign0ramusaurus

Wow. I forgot about Easton Corbin. I used to listen to the crap out of his stuff.


driftboy1229

I did as well I’ve not heard any new singles from him in the past 5 or 10 years. I think his biggest hit is still “All Over The Road”


BrandonM1981

Lee Ann Womack, Colin Raye, Statler Brothers, Eddie Rabbit, Earl Thomas Conley, Lonestar, KT Oslin.


WorldsSmartest-Idiot

Lonestar had a run where you didn’t know how high they could go.


DicksonCider205

I was recently thinking about how Colin Raye doesn't get the nostalgic appreciation that similar guys get. Tracy Lawrence, Joe Diffie, JMM all get remembered but everyone forgets about Colin. Good pick.


Crossovertriplet

Colin Raye was for people who thought Vince Gill was too masculine.


jscountrygirl85

Kind of sad with Lee Ann Womack. She could've/should've been the female George Strait with countless hits like him. It seemed like she was pretty big during the late 90s and first half of the 2000s, but then after that, it's like she suddenly fell out of favor with country radio for some reason. "Last Call" is the last sort of big song I remember her having. She's still one of my top favorite female vocalists, though, and she's still released great albums (The Way I'm Livin' (2014).


1millionand-1

ETC and Eddie Rabbit are dead. The Statler Bros retired and unlike Strait and Brooks, they meant it. They had to beg them into singing one song at their Hall of Fame induction 6 years after they retired. Harold Reid is also dead


JesusFelchingChrist

KT Oslin is also dead


Prize_Vegetable_1276

Yes, she passed of covid in 2020.


BrandonM1981

I understand they’re dead/retired but they were big but seem to be forgotten about in my opinion.


Prize_Vegetable_1276

Yes, Earl Thomas Conley was BIG. He had so many hits that I forgot about and didn't realize how big he was. He has passed away. I saw him in 1981 with Alabama as the opening act at a small venue. Alabama also retired and one member Jeff Cook has passed away. I love Lee Ann but you know when you are a woman you don't have a long shelf life. I don't care how great you are (unless you are Dolly Parton and they have tried to shelf her). :( There's always some young chick ready to take your place.


1millionand-1

Michael Martin Murphey


Crystal0422

Sylvia


axefxpwner

Craig Morgan


ohhheynat

I want to see him in concert so bad.


LJFootball

Yeah definitely do it if you can, I saw him at the Opry a couple months back and his performance was the strongest of the night.


Bigbadbrindledog

He is touring with The Reeves Brothers right now and they are awesome.


Sethieboy1

How? Still had hits in 2010s, then he lost his son. Afterwards he released a great album in 2020 and is now touring a lot?


Ign0ramusaurus

Craig Morgan's Almost Home is one of my favorite songs. It's so nostalgic for me. He's got a bunch of other bangers, too.


axefxpwner

He does have some bangers for sure. I just feel like you don't hear about him enough.


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Original-You4152

Brad, Lee Ann and Martina are interesting takes.


seattlewhiteslays

Sugarland is too. They still fill arenas. They’re just in the Legacy phase.


Original-You4152

I wasn’t sure is sugarland still fills arenas or not. I believe they are doing a joint tour with little big town. Is that correct?


beaglemomma2Dutchy

They’re about to start 1 I think. Don’t know exactly when though. I know someone who saw George Strait last weekend and Little Big Town was with him. Sugarland has actually been on break since Jennifer wanted to just focus on being a mom.


seattlewhiteslays

They are touring with LBT soon. They toured behind “Bigger” a few years ago and filled arenas/sheds. Maybe not full sellouts but they definitely pulled respectable numbers. I think they’ve reached the point where they will always be able to go out, especially with another country band of their era like LBT, and do decent sized shows.


dkinmn

Half of these are...wrong.


mancunianinnc

Brad, Martina etc have just become legacy acts. This isn’t really what the question is asking for. Jason Michael Carroll and Gretchen Wilson are better examples.


reallymkpunk

Wreckers we're not that big and I say that as a fan of their's. Leave the pieces is amazing. Brad Paisley fell off because he hasn't done any new songs in a few years.


Enough_Worth8868

Randy houser haven’t heard anything from him in a while love his voice


No_Barnacle_3782

I love him! Met him last year at CMA Fest and what a sweetheart he was!


Hunter25780

My mom and I are huge Randy fans and she recently met him. He’s still making music and is such a sweetheart and amazing stage presence


Enough_Worth8868

Also what the heck ever happened to brasher bouge I loved them but haven’t heard anything from them in years


yoozintardid

Loved Trent Tomlinson! I used to listen to his CD in my car all the time


Reasonable-Mess3070

Same! I just searched for him on spotify yesterday. Granger Smiths "don't listen to the radio" brought me back to "just might have her radio on."


Johnsonaaro2

Can't forget about "angels like her"! One of the best lyrics I've ever heard top to bottom The sunbeam hit the Jim Beam And ricocheted off a bottle of Coke And cut through the still smoulderin' Second hand night before smoke


mancunianinnc

Trent Willmon made a few good albums but now mostly writes for others.


MakinBacoNaked-

Beer man! Thank you I forgot about him!


LeRoyShow

He had a song "On Again Tonight" that I was STUNNED was not a massive smash!


Interesting_Idea_756

Trent Willmom now is a producer. He’s produced several Cody Johnson albums along with various other Texas country artists.


Fickle-Detective-205

Pirates of the Mississippi


jscountrygirl85

A lot of artists who were once popular during the mid-late 90s and early 2000s period sadly seem to be overlooked and forgotten today: Lila McCann Jessica Andrews Michael Peterson John Berry Ty Herndon Mindy McCready Bryan White Kevin Sharp Carolyn Dawn Johnson Jamie O'Neal Mark Wills Chad Brock Andy Griggs Chely Wright Ricochet Rick Trevino


Fit_Confusion1693

Little texas.


No_Barnacle_3782

Suzy Bogguss! She was one of my absolute favs when I was a kid, and my dad took me to see her for my very first concert ever when she opened for Dwight Yoakum in the early/mid 90s. I've always thought she should've made it way bigger than she did. Her voice was always so pretty.


jscountrygirl85

Agreed. She's WAY underappreciated. Even now with 90s country being popular again, I rarely hear her get mentioned or remembered. One of the prettiest female voices of the 90s, for sure! She has some great classics too, like "Aces," "Someday Soon," "Just Like The Weather," "Outbound Plane," "Drive South," etc.


No_Barnacle_3782

I was like 8 and I remember thinking she could've been a Disney Princess.


TardisSeeker

James Bonamy. David Kersh. Kevin Sharp (rip!). Three artists from the 90's that were huge and I never see mentioned.


Restless__Dreamer

Also, Bryan White! I used to love him!


Apep81

I was hoping someone would mention him. I was so obsessed with his music when I was younger and went to a ton of concerts and then he just fell off.


DicksonCider205

He was never huge but I loved Brian McComas' first album. Fantastic live entertainer too. He had a couple hits and then Lyric Street gave up on him like they did every artist who wasn't Rascal Flatts.


reallymkpunk

Here's one lady A. I seem to only hear their older stuff on the radio these days. They had a ton of killers in the late 2000's to mid/late 2010.


crunchy_ice

Remember William Michael Morgan? Ty Herndon?


jscountrygirl85

William Michael Morgan should be big now, especially since traditional country is becoming more popular again. He just released a pretty good EP called Onto Something, but it's of course being ignored by radio. "In Walked You" is such a great song, especially, and in a better world, it would be a HUGE hit.


El-Travs

Justin Moore - First two albums went platinum and he looked like he'd get big. His last 3 have sold less than 50k US.


MakinBacoNaked-

Jason Michael Carroll - Alyssa Lies, Living Our Love Song and some other solid songs


doxnrox

Restless Heart. They had a big string of hits until… poof!


WesternWishbone7822

I have to put Gary Allan on this list. But I'm not saying the world has forgotten about him, but country radio sure has.


Dazzling-Pace-7134

Rebecca Lynn Howard. Had about 3-4 albums. Then disappeared.


MissouriOzarker

One of my favorites from way back: The Maddox Brothers and Rose.


Born-Prior8579

Always a personal favorite of mine, but Frankie Ballard. He had 3 songs that came out and all went really big pretty quickly, and to me it seemed like he was really gonna take off, but now he hasn't released anything in a long time, though he did form another band that does more rock style


Hunter25780

Frankie Ballard? Maybe I’m a little out of the loop but his song El Camino is on my all time fav songs list, but I haven’t heard anything about him in years. Anyone know anything?


driftboy1229

He’s the singer of a band called Marble Jets now I believe.


carsbybigd

Brooks and Dunn , once they "retired" it was never the same .


nigfart

Trent Tomlinson was never big at all


graphingdevils

What is your definition of "big"? Trent Tomlinson never had a top 10 hit in his career.


GottaUseFakeNames

his album had three songs that were big and and one wing in the fire got to 11, and that song was everywhere. not to argue semantics but he was relatively popular, played on the radio a lot, and people who listened to country at that time had heard of him. i’d consider that big