Artist holds true to ‘traditional’

Tim Culpepper’s new CD, Pourin’ Whiskey on Pain’, is real country music
Tim Culpepper may not be a name you know. But for those of you who enjoy real country music, Tim Culpepper is a name you are going to want to remember. Tim sings country music. The kind of country music we heard back in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Tim’s music is what filled radio airwaves and the stage of the Grand Ole Opry back when it only took one word to describe the genre – country! What you will hear from Tim Culpepper could not be labeled ‘country/rock’ or ‘country/pop’ or ‘country/soul’. People who might choose to use more than one word to describe the music Tim sings, would tell you he sings ‘traditional country.’
Tim’s debut album is titled “Pourin’ Whiskey on Pain,’ which is also the title of one of the songs on the CD. The 13 songs are Ghost, One More for the Road, Toss and Turn, Gettin’ on With Gettin’ Over You, Pourin’ Whiskey On Pain, When Misery Finds Company, You Can’t Say That Again, His Old Boots, That’s When I’ll Stop (The Waffle House Song), The Storm, Hangin’ On, The One, and Too Good of a Day (to Say Goodbye).
Nearly every song on this CD is close to (or more than) four minutes long. And, for most country music fans, that just may not be long enough. The music gets your attention the minute the song begins.When the vocals start, you will discover that the lyrics grab you from the first word and keep you pulled in until the last. Tim does what country music is supposed to do. He tells stories.
While his vocals may make the listener think of people like Keith Whitley, Tracy Lawrence, George Jones or Randy Travis, there is still a uniqueness in Tim Culpepper that makes his music his own.
The first song on the CD is Ghost. It is definitely one of those ‘Listen up, guys, I have a story to tell you’ kind of songs. “You’re just a Ghost of a love that’s dead and gone, A cold shadow on these walls, A memory that keeps hangin ‘round, To watch my teardrops fall‘. You will probably find yourself wondering if it could possibly get any better than that. Then you find out, it does.
When Ghost finishes, you’ll hear “One More for the Road.” That one is followed with “Toss and Turn”, and then we have“Getting’ On with Getting’ Over You.” By the time you get to the second or third track – you may want to put your boots on and go to a concert, or a honky tonk, or even the bar on the corner to drop a few dollars in the juke box and hope this is the sound that comes out.
Tim Culpepper and his producer Elbert West have found something that works.. And, with this CD, HonkyTone Records has given us a collection of music that is 100 percent country. Every song on the CD is radio-ready! Whether it is uptempo, ballad, or somewhere in the middle, the songs stay country from start to finish.
The “About” section on Tim’s Facebook page paints a picture of who Tim Culpepper is, and why he does what he does. The following is a brief exert from that biography on Facebook.
“Tim’s journey began as kind of a love story, with the marriage of his Mother Judy, to his father, country entertainer/musician, Forrest Culpepper, or “Curly”, as he had come to be known by those who frequented the honkytonk scene in and around Montgomery, Alabama. The birth of Tim, soon after, would complete an already accomplished family of singers and musicians that, at the time, included such close friends as Hank Williams, Sr. (who had passed, before Tim’s birth), and Marty Robbins.
While most children began life experiencing a mostly subdued environment, young Culpepper was backstage with the likes of Hank, Jr., Marty and Johnny Cash, or in the audience with his Mother, while his father was performing. On one occasion, while sharing stories of her son’s early childhood, Judy fondly recalled one particular night during a Hank Jr. performance, when songwriter and manager, Merle Kilgore, was charged with babysitting Tim while she got up to 2 step, “It wasn’t the ‘Brady Bunch!’” she laughs. “But we sure were a family!”
If anyone thinks real country music is a thing of the past, they need to hear listen to Pourin’ Whiskey on Pain. Without a doubt, they will change their mind about the disappearance of country music. Tim’s CD can be purchased through his web site, at amazon.com, and other online sites.
Visit Tim’s web site at timculpeppermusic.com, and listen to some of his music. You can follow him on Twitter @TimCulpepperMusic, too. For the latest in country music news, tour information and CD releases for all of your favorite country artists, visit www.countryschatter.com.