Artist · chart history
Hiss Golden Messenger
Band Durham United States Formed 2007
Hiss Golden Messenger formed in 2007 in Durham, United States. Hiss Golden Messenger has 30 chart appearances on 25 radio countdowns from 11 stations on RockLists, spanning 2014–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Sanctuary”, which appears on 10 lists with a best position of #5. The station that charted Hiss Golden Messenger most often is The Colorado Sound (Fort Collins–Denver, CO), with 8 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2021.
Hiss Golden Messenger rose from the ashes of the Court and Spark, the alternative country band M.C. Taylor and Scott Hirsch had shared, and in 2007 the pair started over in Durham, North Carolina, with Taylor writing and singing. The early records came out on Taylor's own Heaven & Earth Magic Recording Company, starting with Country Hai East Cotton in 2009, pressed in an edition of just 500.
Bad Debt carried them beyond American shores in 2010 via Black Maps, Poor Moon drew warm notices on the North Carolina label Paradise of Bachelors in 2012, and Haw followed on April 2, 2013. Merge signed them in April 2014 and released Lateness of Dancers on September 9 that year, the start of a long run on the label.
The songs are folk and country rock with the blues seeping up through the floorboards, porch music with a restless soul. Heart Like a Levee, in 2016, carried "Biloxi", loose-limbed and rolling, and Jump for Joy in 2023 brought "Nu Grape", as sunny and swinging as its title. The circle around Taylor has grown wide, with players including Phil Cook, Brad Cook, Chris Boerner and Matt McCaughan.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Hiss Golden Messenger on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanctuary | 10 | #5 | – | 2021 | |
| 2 | Biloxi | 6 | #76 | – | 2016 | |
| 3 | Heart Like A Levee | 3 | #273 | – | – | |
| 4 | Nu Grape | 3 | #53 | – | 2023 | |
| 5 | Happy Birthday Baby | 2 | #16 | – | 2020 | |
| 6 | I Need A Teacher | 3 | #71 | – | 2019 | |
| 7 | Saturday's Song | 1 | #56 | – | 2014 | |
| 8 | In The Middle Of It | 1 | #965 | – | – | |
| 9 | Hardlytown | 1 | #84 | – | 2021 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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