Cecily Wilborn Enters New Generation Chart At #34

Daddy B. Nice's #35 ranked Southern Soul Artist

"Southern Man (The Single)"

Cecily Wilborn Enters New Generation Chart At #34

Composed by Cecily Wilborn

September 21, 2024:

NEW ALBUM ALERT!

KUNTRY GIRL PLAYLIST TRACK LIST:

Daddy B. Nice notes:

Daddy B. Nice's Profile:

"Wow!! Never been a country music lover but damn!!"

This is a comment from a YouTube music video for "Back Roads" by Curt The Country Man (aka GMB Li Curt), one of Cecily Wilborn's peers in demolishing the longstanding boundary between southern soul and country music this year. The comment could just as well be the southern soul audience's reaction to Wilborn's own career breakthrough, which has been much more exhaustive and sophisticated than Curt's, beginning with her major hit and signature song "Southern Man," currently viewed over 3 million times on its various YouTube streams (one featuring the popular West Love), followed by a sequence of new singles culminating in the very first southern soul/country hybrid album, Kuntry Gurl Playlist.

"Never been a country music lover" certainly defines my own tastes, with a few isolated exceptions mainly in the rock and roll era, and yet those crossover hits ("Spirit In The Sky," "Wolverton Mountain," "Silver Thread & Golden Needles," "Battle Of New Orleans" and anything from the first two albums by The Band) had huge musical attractions due to their originality. That's similar to the impacts of the singles by Wilborn, Curt The Country Man, Ciddy Boi P and others in 2024. And from a southern soul perspective, this cloning of southern soul and country is really no different than the absorption of zydeco and hip-hop in previous eras. It just seems stranger, like wading through shallow water and encountering a shelf drop-off of deeper water.

I was reminded of my mild aversion to country music as a genre listening to KUNTRY GURL PLAYLIST in its entirety. I found it difficult to enjoy the country formats, track after track, in a long-play collection, as opposed to the individual country-crossover triumphs like "Red Cup Blues" and "Party". Maybe it's this tepidity (antipathy is too strong a word) to country as a whole that makes its influences and techniques all the more exotic when it works in a southern soul context. "Southern Man," which unfortunately isn't included in the set, is dominated by un-country-like piano instrumentation (as is, coincidently, Curt's "Back Roads"). It's the country-style vocals that make the songs unique. And isn't that what makes "Red Cup Blues," perhaps Cecily's most rigorously country project, so powerful?

It's also fascinating to gauge the artists' conceptions of their own work. Do they call it southern soul or do they call it country? Wilborn pointedly abstains from the term "southern soul" in her biographical information, yet uses it constantly in normal conversation. The male artists go with "southern soul" without even thinking about it. Well (you might think) who else is going to play this youthful black country?

What cannot be disputed is that Cecily Wilborn is head-and-shoulders above any of the above-noted male artists in terms of both what she has accomplished and what she is poised to accomplish. Assisted by her husband/producer, she has evolved from an amorphous and tentatively-defined newcomer (a few years ago) into a sharply-etched performer whose every project legitimately attracts attention and streams. She has mastered that indefinable and rarely attainable transformation from unknown into a genuine "brand". She may be bringing a country vibe to southern soul, but she is indisputably a southern soul singer. As she sings in her new single, "Living For The Weekend," "Play me some Johnnie Taylor or some Marvin Sease."


---Daddy B. Nice

--Daddy B. Nice

About Cecily Wilborn Enters New Generation Chart At #34

Cecily Wilborn is a native of Marianna, Arkansas. Here is an excerpt from her own bio (2024):

Cecily is an Arkansas artist and Music Production Grad from Full Sail University. Known for her hit single “Southern Man” which she wrote, recorded, and produced on her own and reached 4 million streams worldwide in the first year. She has shared the stage with many celebrities such as King George, West Love, Jeter Jones, and more. A few of her favorite performances come from the BB King’s Stage in Memphis, TN, at the Essence festival in New Orleans, The Apollo in NYC, and the Memphis vs Lakers game at the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis, TN. Her versatility and wide range of musical talents and skills creates a unique blend of Blues, RnB, Country, Pop, Gospel and Southern Flavor. Cecily is making her own way in the industry as an independent artist under the management of her family built brand alongside her husband, JayWil Entertainment. Now partnering with the largest Southern Soul Distributor in the industry, OneRPM, Cecily is preparing to launch her new Album, Kuntry Gurl Playlist, which will include her most recent releases, Party and Red Cup Blues, and collection of new material.

Listen to Ena Esco interviewing Cecily Wilborn: "Rising Star Cecily Wilborn: From Small-Town Arkansas to 4M Streams & Beyond" on YouTube.

Tidbits

1.

Best Collaboration:

"He got a smooth walk / He kinda growl when he talk..." Impactful as it was late in 2022, Cecily Wilborn's anthem took off like a second-stage rocket with this timely 2023 pairing.

"Southern Man" ----- Cecily Wilborn & West Love

2.

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Daddy B. Nice's News & Notes

Will Southern Soul Deejays Play Country Western/Southern Soul?

Honorary "B" Side

"Red Cup Blues"