The 1-to-10 does not claim credit for any images or links that appear on this site. If you own a copryright to any content that appears in one of these posts, and you do not wish for it to be used, just send me an e-mail and I will be glad to remove it.
If you would like to submit music to be reviewed on this site, the 1-to-10 takes submissions through ReviewShine. If you would like to mail a physical CD, you can let me know by email. (Ben1Foster@gmail.com)
Hi, my name is Ben Foster, and my home is in the hills of Kentucky. My favorite country artists are Sara Evans, Patty Loveless, Pam Tillis, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, and Lorrie Morgan. My favorite non-country artists are Fleetwood Mac, Gloria Estefan, Stevie Nicks, and Aretha Franklin.I was introduced to country music at a very young age. Ironically, my parents didn't listen to very much country when I was young. But among their collection of 80s rock and pop, a few country albums would occasionally be found. Of all the music that was played in our living room, Garth Brooks and Lorrie Morgan were the only artists that I took a strong liking to. In later years, their country collection expanded to include LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, and the Dixie Chicks. It was actually fairly recently that I became a die-hard country music superfan. When I was 14 years old, I discovered my local country radio station, and began reading Country Weekly. It was at that point that quickly became connected with all the goings-on in the world of country music.
Originally, I mainly listened to contemporary country music, but I soon became increasingly interested in traditional country as well. Now my iPod is stacked with classic songs by everyone from Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline to Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.
I more recently began reading country blogs such as the the 9513, Country Universe, and My Kind of Country. That inspired me to begin writing my own single reviews to express my thoughts about current country radio releases. I wrote several single reviews, and mailed them to my local newspaper in hopes of getting them published, but I never heard back from the paper. Eventually, I decided to start a country music blog site of my own as a way to get my reviews read. Since I watch Dancing with the Stars religiously, I had become familiar with the concept of scoring something on a scale of 1-to-10. I've always favored that approach because it allows me to easily take into account positive and negative qualities. Thus, I adopted that scoring system, and I named my blog "The 1-to-10 Country Music Review."
On Wednesday, April 14, 2010, I published my first blog post - a review of Miranda Lambert's "The House That Built Me." Since then, the 1-to-10 continues to grow. I'm very appreciative to everyone who takes the time to read what I've written. I'm always thrilled when people leave comments, and I read every single one of them.
Thanks for reading the 1-to-10! Enjoy!
You can e-mail me at ben.countryreview@gmail.com.