Were the clues in CSI?

Get used to this girl: Taylor Swift shows signs of near Springsteen-levelstaying power

My favorite performance by country music's new "It" girl, Taylor Swift, is one she most certainly won't duplicate during her two-night concert stay in Houston. It was not her 2006 debut single, "Tim McGraw", from her multi-platinum, self-titled first album, nor any of the country chart-topping country singles (take your pick, "Love Story", "You Belong With Me") from the follow-up album Fearless.

That album has arguably been the most successful album of the last two years, settling in for an 11-week stay atop the Billboard 200 album charts when it was released near the end of 2008 and breaking sales and radio play records for a female solo country artist that were once only thought possible for Shania Twain.

In addition to selling over six million copies of Fearless in the United States, Swift sold about 15 or 20 million more internationally and took the album to the top of the country charts in countries from Canada to Turkey.

(Sidenote: I would love to get a hold of an extended version of the Turkish country album chart and see who Swift's competition was for that accolade.)

Perhaps most amazing was that 13 songs from Fearless charted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart ... out of a possible 13 songs.

Take that Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles and — especially, Garth Brooks.

(After all the positioning Brooks did in the '90s to cement himself as the pre-eminent county star of all-time and Nashville's equivalent to Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley rolled into ... I like to believe that every time a young talent like Swift knocks him down a peg an angel gets their wings.)

So what, pray tell, could Swift have done to surpass this magnificent climb to the top of Music Row Mountain at the ripe old age of 20 years-old?

It was her guest starring role in a 2009 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigations in which Swift plays Haley Jones, a troubled teen who, through a complicated butterfly effect watches the people around her die and eventually completes the dark, forensic circle through her own demise.

Her acting was nuanced, subtle and memorable which told me a couple things about Taylor Swift:

1) Unlike Shania Twain, she is not going be a lyrical Frankenstein created in a lab by a team of producers, session players and makeup assistants.

2) Don't expect Swift to fade away like so many "It" girls after reaching the pinnacle. My guess is that she will continue to surprise with every album and a variety of other projects.

In other words, enjoy this early pop ride while it lasts. Much like that CSI performance, her career is about to get much more nuanced, complicated and interesting.

Pop stardom should only be the tip of the top.

Taylor Swift, 7p.m. at the Toyota Center tonight & Wednesday

Tickets: $25 - $59.50.

unspecified

In Memoriam

Legendary Texas singer-songwriter Joe Ely dies at 78

Joe Ely/Facebook

Joe Ely was a major figure in Texas' progressive country scene.

Joe Ely, the legendary songwriter, singer and storyteller whose career spanned more than five decades, has died from complications related to Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and pneumonia. He was 78.

In a statement posted to his Facebook page, Ely died at his home in Taos, New Mexico, with his wife, Sharon, and daughter, Marie, at his side.

Born February 9, 1947, in Amarillo, Texas, Ely was raised in Lubbock and became a central figure among a generation of influential West Texas musicians. He later settled in Austin, helping shape the city’s reputation as a hub for live music.

As with many local legends, it's hard to tease out what specifically made Ely's time in Austin so great; Austin treasures its live music staples, so being around and staying authentic from the early days is often the most important thing an artist can do.

Ely got his local start at One Knight Tavern, which later became Stubb's BBQ — the artist and the famous venue share a hometown of Lubbock. He alternated nights with emerging guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughn. He built his own recording studio in Dripping Springs, and kept close relationships with other Texas musicians. Later in his career, Ely brought fans into the live music experience, publishing excerpts from his journal and musings on the road in Bonfire of Roadmaps (2010), and was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2022. Austin blues icon Marcia Ball was among Ely's friends who played the induction show.

"Joe Ely performed American roots music with the fervor of a true believer who knew music could transport souls," said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

In the 1970s, Ely signed with MCA Records, launching a career that included decades of recording and touring around the world. His work and performances left a lasting impact on the music scene and influenced a wide range of artists, including the Clash and Bruce Springsteen, according to Rolling Stone.

"His distinctive musical style could only have emerged from Texas, with its southwestern blend of honky-tonk, rock & roll, roadhouse blues, western swing, and conjunto. He began his career in the Flatlanders, with fellow Lubbock natives Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, and he would mix their songs with his through 50 years of critically acclaimed recordings. [...]"

Read the full story at KVUE.com. CultureMap has added two paragraphs of context about the Austin portion of Ely's career.

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