Thomas s. Kane

Thomas L. Kane (1822–1883), a crusader for antislavery, women’s rights, and the downtrodden, rose to prominence in his day as the most ardent and persuasive defender of Mormons’ religious liberty. Though not a Mormon, Kane sought to defend the much-reviled group from the “Holy War” waged against them by evangelical America. His courageous personal intervention averted a potentially catastrophic bloody conflict between federal troops and Mormon settlers in the now nearly forgotten Utah War of 1857–58.

It only took two albums for Kane Brown to become one of country music's biggest stars. His third finds the singer in the mood for love songs—about his wife and family, his home state, his life—and willing to try on a few new guises. The record opens with chiming church bells and mournful strings as Kane announces "Bury me in Georgia," then gets very specific about where he wants that to be: miles out of Chattanooga, south of the Tennessee state line, on a "no-name road off Highway 2 just past the Welcome sign." It's more of a hard, swampy Southern rocker than Brown usually traffics in, and it's exciting to hear his usually cool voice getting fiery against strident guitar. The same goes for the raw-edged title track, a duet that finds him and Blake Shelton trading verses about toiling as line workers but wondering: What if they were actually made to be on the stage?

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