I don’t pretend to be an expert on any genre of music and that *really* applies to country music. Like most kids as they grew up I shunned country music for the typical teenage sounds of punk, rock and metal. That said, my father and all my uncles (I come from the typical LARGE and close southern family) listened to country music throughout my childhood, so I am familiar with a shit ton of songs but I have no idea who wrote them. Enter Highway 101. I got a copy of country classics the other day and thought it was a new band. Turns out, I know damn near every song on the CD via the soundtrack of my childhood. So, I felt like putting up a few of their songs in case there was anyone else out there like me who grew into country music and doesn’t really know who their father was listening to. Well, turns out, some of it was Highway 101.

Highway 101 – Cry, Cry, Cry
Highway 101 – The Bed You Made For Me
Highway 101 – Somewhere Between Gone and Goodbye

from Wikipedia:

The band’s sound was established after recording “The Bed You Made For Me”, which prompted Warner Bros. Records to turn their single’s recording contract into an album deal. By 1986, the group was in Nashville finishing up with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s producer Paul Worley on their self-titled debut. The album also yielded four top 5 hits, including two number ones: “Somewhere Tonight” and “Cry, Cry, Cry”. As the group’s popularity grew, their appearances on both stage and TV increased, including a North American tours with Randy Travis and George Strait, as well as a debut television appearance at the 1987 Country Music Association awards with Hank Williams Jr.

The band’s commercial success continued with their sophomore release Highway 1012, which spawned four top 10 singles including the number one hit “(Do You Love Me) Just Say Yes”. In 1988, the band won “Vocal Group Of The Year” from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. They were also nominated for Grammys for “Album of the Year” and “Single of the Year”, but did not win.

By 1989, the group was still enjoying mainstream popularity with their third album titled Paint The Town, which yielded another number one single titled “Who’s Lonely Now”. The band also won another “Vocal Group of the Year” award from the ACM and CMA.

Paulette Carlson left the band in 1990, but the band continued forward, fronted by Nikki Nelson. In 1991 the band released the album Bing, Bang, Boom on the Warner Brothers label. The title song from this album became the fastest rising top 10 hit in the band’s history. The group was again nominated for “Vocal Group of the Year” by both the ACM and the CMA, but failed to win either award.

Highway 101 Official Site , Buy Highway 101 cds.