To heed the excitement for the August 7th album release of Colt Ford’sDeclaration of Independence, AOL Music is offering fans an exclusive weeklong album listening party.
Beginning yesterday, fans can access full song streams including his new single, “Back” with Jake Owen, HERE. The new single, co-written by Ford, Shannon Houchins and Noah Gordon, was recently released to country radio and has sold over 50k digital downloads in less than five weeks. The accompanying video has been added to GAC and CMT with a recent debut on CMT’s Top 20 Countdown as a bonus video.
Declaration of Independence is available for pre-order exclusively on iTunes until August 6th, with the Standard 11-track and the Deluxe 15-track versions priced on SALE for $7.99 and $9.99. Both versions come complete with a digital booklet. To pre-order the new album, click HERE.
I was beginning to wonder when Jamey Johnson was going to get around to releasing a new album, and now we know.
Jamey Johnson's next album won't be a solo effort, but rather a collaborative celebration of Hank Cochran’s music with Jamey singing duets with some really big names.
“Livin’ for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran” will include artists such as Willie Nelson, George Strait, Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello and many others, each singing a duet on one of Cochran's biggest hits with Johnson. The album will hit stores September 25 on vinyl and October 16 in all other formats. The album will feature 16 tracks.
Cochran passed away in 2010 at the age of 74.
Full (AKA really, really long) press release after the jump.....
Celebrity comes with lots of perks including wealth, fame, ability to wreck your car lots of times and never get your driver's license revoked (I'm looking at you Lindsay), but one thing that I would never want to deal with that most celebrities do at one time or another is a stalker.
One of the newest celebs in court trying to keep a crazed fan away is Sheryl Crow who back in April discovered that there was a delusional fella on Facebook making threats against her.
Phillip Gordon Sparks, 45, allegedly has been posting things like Sheryl has "stolen money from him," "tried to have him arrested" and "had broken into his house because [she] was looking for his gun." According to 'Entertainment Tonight', he even threatened to shoot her.
Now Sheryl has gone to court to obtain a temporary restraining order and has a hearing scheduled for August 14 to possibly make it permanent.
Sheryl recently revealed that she has a benign brain tumor, so this stress can't be helping matters. Hopefully she gets her permanent restraining order and this alleged nut job disappears back into the hole he crawled out of.
You may have heard already, but Carrie Underwood and Dierks Bentley will be performing this August for 'Teachers Rock' - a special tribute concert celebrating teachers and education.
The special was originally going to air August 18th but has now been rescheduled to broadcast from the Nokia Theatre L.A. live Friday, August 17 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS.
'Teachers Rock' will honor American teachers and will feature personal recollections from the stars who are taking part in the special. The show will also double as a benefit concert to raise money for three nonprofit organizations: DonorsChoose.org, Feeding America and Teach for America.
So we are currently day #5 of Blake Shelton versus the turtle lovers of the world after his now infamous tweet on Friday about running over a turtle -- a tweet that wasn't actually based on real events but rather was just meant as a silly joke.
Now Ellen DeGeneres, usually the sweetest person on the planet -- at least she appears that way on television -- has put her 2 cents in, tweeting Blake yesterday:
While most of the world's focus has been on the possibility that Taylor Swift was dating The Ahnuld's single son, and Kennedy family member, Patrick Schwarzenegger, it appears there may possibly have been a different Kennedy in Taylor's sight....Conor Kennedy.
The pair have been spotted all over Massachusetts at pizza shops and on the beach and at house parties and various other places.
Conor just turned 18 last week and is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, brother of former president John F. Kennedy.
Taylor and Conor are more than likely just friends, but spies have claimed to have seen the couple kissing and holding hands and the various other canoodling activities that celebrity spies usually claim to witness.
Of course, there are pictures of Conor with his arm around Taylor so maybe, just maybe, Conor really is Taylor's future song inspiration.
Photo of Taylor leaving a pizza shop with Conor here and a picture of Conor with his arm around Taylor here (just click the arrows, there's a whole slew of pics) and a picture of Taylor and Conor holding hands here.
I so wish all of Jason Aldean's weekend tweets could just be about the music. But after a man was shot after Aldean's concert in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday (July 27), the singer had to say something.
"There's no excuse 4 things getting that heated in traffic leavin a show. I'm prayin 4 the fan who was injured and thanx to the Raleigh police for acting so quickly," he wrote.
And of course, he's right. He probably could've stayed on Twitter all night lecturing his fans about right and wrong, and maybe they would listen, and maybe it would help. (And by the way, who brings a gun to a concert? And if the venue is so hell-bent on searching fans for alcohol and drugs on their way in, wouldn't they have noticed a gun?)
The shooting took place after the concert outside the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion as fans were walking to their cars. The victim was taken to a local hospital by ambulance, but his injuries were not life-threatening. Still, just like Aldean, I'm praying for him.
If you've ever had a gallbladder attack, you'll know it's one of the most painful things in the world. I have a deep respect for anyone who has these attacks and can keep going on without having immediate surgery.
I had two attacks back in 1999 and was begging the doctor to get that monster-pain-maker out of me, which thankfully they did with little argument.
According to Got Country, Toby Keith's set to become gallbladder-less sometime this week.
Toby Keith will be undergoing a minor medical outpatient procedure to have his Gallbladder removed this week.
Albright & O’Malley was told that Toby has been in significant pain for sometime now and decided to have the Gallbladder removed.
He has rescheduled his August 2nd performance at Fort McCoy for August 30th due to the surgery but will resume his regular schedule this Saturday August 3rd.
Dude is definitely badass if he's been living with that kind of pain for any amount of time.
Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, who is probably best known as the mother of his twins and as a frequent visitor to various rehab programs around the country, is apparently dating Jaron Lowenstein of Jaron And The Long Road To Love.
Yeah, this might not end well.
According to TMZ, Brooke and Jaron have known each other for about a year but only recently started dating.
Apparently they met at a party last year when Brooke and Charlie Sheen were attempting to reconcile. Realizing it was a pointless endeavor, Brooke gave her number to Jaron. The two kept in touch but only recently decided to give dating a try.
Let's hope for Jaron's sake (and her twins, of course), that Brooke is finally free of the drugs and finished with rehab.
Hold onto your hats because Miranda has finally released the new music video for Fastest Girl in Town and it's a fun one.
Enjoy.
Oh, and in case you're wondering (and yes, there are some who haven't heard yet), Miranda's co-star in the video is racecar driving diva, Danica Patrick.
'American Idol' seems to be in some sort of free fall right now. Yesterday, the former reality show juggernaut failed to receive an Emmy nomination for Best Competition Reality Show, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler have both quit or been fired depending on what report you read, and the ratings have been lacking lately from my understanding.
So what's a seemingly struggling former monster hit reality singing competetion to do?
Hire one of your most popular competitors ever if possible.
Reportedly, the show has reached out to Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, Taylor Hicks, and Adam Lambert to possibly come back as judges or in some other sort of capacity.
"Idol is reaching out to try and gauge the interest of former contestants coming back on the show to participate in some way. They wouldn't necessarily be in judging positions, but the show wants them involved."
Carrie Underwood would definitely be a great choice, but I can't imagine she'd take the job. Too bad Shania's busy. She was great when she was on the show as a special guest.
Kelly Clarkson has spoken up about not wanting to be a judge but she thinks Carrie would be perfect. She tells Us Magazine:
"She would! Didn't she major in journalism or something?" Clarkson said of the 29-year-old country singer. Indeed, Underwood did graduate from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla. in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in mass communication with an emphasis in journalism. "And she can have that face . . . that bluff face! She can put that on! She would be good."
I definitely think at least one former 'American Idol' contestant who has successfully made it post Idol would be a great addition. I mean, who better to help current contestants out than someone who has been through the stress of the show and succeeded in the real world?
Back in January, I told you about the California man who was accused of shooting his son. The reason for the shooting was that the 50-year-old son, William Carr Jr., wouldn't quit singing country music on his karaoke machine and visit with his father.
The father, William Carr Oller Sr., 70, told police that his son wouldn't shut up and stop singing so he went out to his pickup and grabbed a pistol with the intention of scaring his son into shutting up.
A fight ensued between the two and both ended up shot by the time police showed up. The son and the father both made a full recovery, although I have a feeling their relationship was probably not so lucky.
Now the senior Carr is charged with attempted murder and on Tuesday was ordered to stand trial.
Aaron Williams, the father's attorney, argued there was no evidence showing the shooting was intentional, saying because both men were shot his client could have been acting in self defense. His client, who faces a potential life sentence if convicted, is due back in court at the end of the month.
The younger Oller attended the Tuesday hearing, saying afterward he wished his father "the best" and hoped the district attorney's office would not pursue the matter.
"But that's up to the D.A.," he told The Record.
So what song was the son singing that threw his father into such a bullet-flinging tizzy? Well that's still a mystery.
"Maybe it will come out in trial," attorney Aaron Williams said.
You know darn well if it was Taylor Swift the son wouldn't stop singing, no jury in the land's going to convict this man.
Hank Williams, Jr. has the top selling independent album in the country with his new CD, Old School, New Rules. The new CD debuts at #4 on Billboard's Country Albums chart and #12 on Billboard's Top U.S. Albums chart. This gives the country music legend the highest peak position of his career on the overall chart, surpassing his previous high of #16 achieved by 1964's "Your Cheatin' Heart" and the 2006 compilation, "That's How They Do It In Dixie: The Essential Collection."
"Old School, New Rules" is the first album on Hank Williams, Jr.'s new label imprint, Bocephus Records, licensed to Blaster Records with distribution by Warner Music Nashville.
As I told you earlier, a promoter at this weekend's Jukebox Music Festival in Anderson, California unceremoniously told Alan Jackson this morning that he wasn't invited to perform any longer at the festival because apparently Jackson's rescheduled concert on Friday had messed up ticket sales for his performance tonight at the festival.
At least that was the story Jackson's crew was given.
But if that wasn't strange enough, the promoters of the festival actually shut the festival down hours early without giving other performers the chance to perform as scheduled, leaving thousands of paying fans disappointed.
And they had the gall -- GALL I say! -- to interrupt Ms. Pam Tillis when she was trying to perform for her fans.
So, so strange.
According to the Anderson Valley Post, the meltdown began at about 2:30 in the afternoon shortly after Ricky Skaggs had done his sound check and Pam Tillis was about to take the stage to do the same. Suddenly one of the promoters took the stage and announced to the crowd that “we are shutting down the festival.”
No explanation at all. He then went on to say, “The venue is now closed. Please go home.”
They then shut all the sound equipment down on the festival's two stages. Pam Tillis wasn't having it and announced to the crowd that she would stay as long as fans were willing to stay and started singing Amazing Grace with the crowd singing along with her.
That's when uniformed security guards took the stage and told everyone to get out.
“I thought Pam Tillis was great and trying to do what she could for all her fans. I am very disappointed in the promoter. I think a better solution could have been found for Sunday's performance,” said Robbie Ennis of Cottonwood, who witnessed the event.
At 3 p.m., a statement was sent out stating:
"We are very grateful for those of you who were able to join us on Friday and Saturday at the Jukebox Music Festival,” the statement read.
“Despite the hard work and dedication of countless volunteers, community supporters and generous sponsors, we are saddened to have to close the gates on our inaugural festival at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 22.
"We are very sorry to have not been able to fulfill our dream. We hope you all enjoyed the two-and-a-half-days of music, dancing and eating.
"For more information send us an email at jukeboxrefund@gmail.com. Please allow two weeks for response while we sort this out,” the statement continued.
Wow. Just wow.
For a full account of what happened throughout the Sunday Jukebox mess, head over to the Anderson Valley Post.
"To answer that fan question" is the part of NashvilleGab where I take the sometimes funny things readers have ended up on the website searching for and actually answer them in a somewhat coherent way.
The Teen Choice Awards aired last night and because Taylor Swift's love life is usually a hot topic, many fans are wondering just who the handsome fella in the suit was that Taylor was sitting with.
Well fans, don't get too excited because the dapper young man was none other than Taylor's bro, Austin, who often accompanies his big sis to these sorts of events.
Last weekend Billy Ray Cyrus tweeted a photo of his son Braison in the hospital hooked up to all kinds of wires and holding a container filled with blood. It was gross and pretty scary. Billy Ray's only explanation was:
Braison had mentioned on his own Twitter that he had tonsil surgery earlier in the week and then ended up bleeding a lot which sent him to the hospital.
Now Tish, Billy Ray's wife and mother to Braison, Miley, and the rest of the bunch, has explained just what went down.
Kellie Pickler is on the cover and in the pages of Maxim magazine's special Salute to the Military issue and the girl is totally smoking hot!
Kellie isn't just a pinup in the magazine, though, she also has an interview. A few of the highlights include:
On what inspired her to get involved in the USO tour:
"I comes from a military family. My grandfather is a retired Marine, and I've always had a great deal of respect for anyone who serves our country. It really does take someone special to sacrifice everything. I don't mean just their lives, either. There are men who are sacrificing the chance to hold their newborn baby!"
On her tattoos:
"My grandmother would be mortified if she knew I had these. She's passed away now, but she would say, 'Tattoos are the devil!' So my first tattoo, of course, was my grandma's name. I also have stars on my left arm for my USO tours, but I'm missing two."
On whether small town girls can be trouble:
"We might be, but we can also talk out way out of it. A country girl can talk her way out of a ticket. Not that I've ever been pulled over..."
For the first time in the history of the Nielsen SoundScan's tracking (starting in 1991), old albums have begun to sell more than new albums. According to MSN Music, in the first half of 2012, albums released more than 18 months ago sold 76.6 million copies compared to 73.9 million of more current albums sold.
One of the best selling of the over-18-month-old "catalog" albums is Taylor Swift's 'Speak Now' which was released in October of 2010. According to Wikipedia, as of 2012 (date unknown), the album has sold 4,005,000 copies in the United States.
So why are so many old albums being sold compared to new ones? According to Nielsen analyst David Bakula, it probably has to do with price. "I really, truly do believe that there probably is a consumer that is buying music here that wasn't buying music in the past," Bakula told the OC Weekly.
When a new CD runs $13-$18 and an older one runs $5.99 and $10.99, I can definitely see the appeal of going with a classic.
“Selling out arenas, I remember we were at the club two years ago just down the street,” he says.
Yeah, Eric Church has sold about a half a million tickets on his current tour, filling arenas across the country. But it's still hard for Eric to believe.
“What’s weird is playing a lot of these cities now, selling out arenas and I remember we were at the club two years ago just down the street. It’s just weird for me to be out there and see that and go, ‘What the hell happened? Where did you people come from?’
“It’ll never feel normal for me because I’ll always feel like we’re the underdog a little bit," he said. "I’ll always feel like we’ve got to fight harder than everybody else, that we have to give it more than everybody else.
“I mean, I never thought I’d have a No. 1 anything so to have the No. 1 album and the second No. 1 single off this record, it’s just bizarre.”
RaeLynn's first public performance as an artist on Republic Nashville happens July 29, with some of her labelmates, at the NASCAR race that day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Looks like the country star enjoys a shirtless pre-show workout wherever he goes this summer.
Far be it from CountryWeekly.com to publish a picture of a shirtless country hunk just to get clicks on our website. We're just covering the news, people!
And the news from over the weekend is that Tim McGraw has found a way to work out and promote his new single, "Truck Yeah," at the same time.
Before his show in Southern California Friday night (July 13), Tim—without a shirt on—worked out in the parking lot by pushing a truck tire around.
Of course, the pre-show workout is nothing new for Tim this summer. Before his Brothers of the Sun appearance in Nashville, Tim—again with no shirt—took a run around downtown, spurring dozens of fans to take out cellphone cameras to capture the moment.
“I heard they were going to do one of my tunes, and I figured I should come over and do it with him,” Steve says.
Kenny Chesney, playing to a packed stadium Sunday night (July 15) in Oakland, Calif., told the crowd, "It's always great to get to play music with someone who was one of your heroes."
And Steve Miller came onto the stage, hugged Kenny and kicked into the 1976 classic "Rock'n Me." But that's not all. Steve stayed onstage for a second song, and introduced it this way, according to Kenny's website:
"You know, one of the nicest things an artist can do is share his stage with another artist. Kenny has always been so generous that way. I heard they were going to do one of my tunes, and I figured I should come over and do it with him."
And Kenny and Steve did Steve's 1974 No. 1 smash "The Joker," with Kenny changing some lyrics to Come on, California, we're gonna show you a good time.
“It just kind of caught on. It’s doing pretty good so far. It’s kind of blowing up,” Dierks says.
Maybe Toby Keith has started a trend with his "Red Solo Cup" hit, which Toby first called “very, very stupid.”
Turns out Dierks Bentley wasn't so thrilled initially with his “5-1-5-0” hit either.
Dierks said the song got started when he used the expression “51-50”—police code for psychiatric emergency—in front of his friend and co-writer Jim Beavers.
“And the next day I saw him at the gym and he was singing ‘5-1-5-0, somebody call the po-po,’” Dierks told reporters recently.
“So he came up with that line, and I thought it was the stupidest thing I’d heard in my life, but every time I’d see him, he’d sing that. He’d be like ‘Man, my kids keep—they can't get that out of their heads, it stuck. We got to write it.’”
Dierks didn't exactly jump on it—until they got stuck in a writing session later.
“I was like, ‘Alright, let’s pull out 5-1-5-0,’ and we wrote it, and it just kind of caught on. It’s doing pretty good so far,” Dierks said. “It’s kind of blowing up.”
"We call it an eight-year overnight success because we had been dreaming about moving to Nashville for a long time," says Hannah Blaylock, who relocated to Nashville with bandmates Dean Berner and Cherrill Green in 2007. The Arkansas natives met through mutual friends.
"The other day, I actually looked at Cherrill and was like, 'Do you remember when we would drive around in Russellville, Ark.?" Blaylock recalls. "We'd say, 'Man, it's going to be so cool someday to move to Nashville and do what we love.' We'd just sit there and dream about it to each other."
Once in Nashville, they kept their performances private -- with most shows taking place in the living room of the house they shared in East Nashville. By hiding out and working on their music, they say they were able to develop under the radar and curb any outside influences from seeping into their sound.
Well-established songwriter Kye Fleming encouraged them to move from Arkansas to Music City after hearing material they submitted for a songwriting competition. And she continued to champion and mentor them upon their arrival. When Fleming was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009 with credits like Barbara Mandrell's "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool," Ronnie Milsap's "Smoky Mountain Rain" and Sylvia's "Nobody," she asked the band to perform a medley of her compositions at the induction ceremony.
"It was such a special night for us," says Green. "We had not at that point been playing out in Nashville at all, so it was really a showcase for us to the music industry. The entire music industry goes to those things."
That very night, Big Machine Records' CEO Scott Borchetta walked up and scheduled a meeting. When they arrived in his office the next morning, he offered them a record deal.
Yet looking back, they realize they almost missed their shot at the big time.
"Do you remember the night of the [Songwriters Hall of Fame] awards show?" Berner asks his bandmates. "There was a video on Tammy Wynette, and we were supposed to go backstage during that. Someone was going to come get us and take us backstage, and it didn't happen. We looked at each other like, 'We're supposed to be back there.' We headed backstage, and we had to run all the way across the backstage and grab our instruments. We didn't have time to think about anything, about getting nervous before our performance.
"We walked out, we plugged in, and they were like, '... and here's Edens Edge.' We played the medley of Kye's songs, and it was actually fortunate that we didn't have any time to prepare because we would've probably gotten nervous. We just showed up and did it," Berner added.
"One of the biggest challenges of performing is not letting your mind get the best of you. We were fortunate that we didn't have time to get nervous," Blaylock says. "The best thing that you can do is turn your brain off, just not think about it. Don't think about the people that are out there. Don't think about what anybody else thinks. Just have fun in the bliss of hearing the music that you're making, not only with each other but that you're making inside of your own body and your own fingers."
Blaylock stands front-and-center as the lead singer, but the band's sound is rooted in three-part harmony and unique instrumental lineup. Berner's Dobro licks and Green's mandolin skill give their music almost an old-time feel, even as the songs and singing are quite contemporary.
Green says growing up in a family bluegrass band helped prepare her for the big stage.
"I think my first festival I was about 2 weeks old, so I just grew up around music constantly. At festivals, you're always going to these little jam sessions where you're just walking along with your instrument and you just sit down and someone starts playing," she says.
"Also, it was my chance to play in front of people. I grew up with a family in a bluegrass band, so being onstage in front of people was one of the most valuable things in becoming an artist and performer. It's learning to wipe away the fact that you're standing up in front of all these people. When you've been around it, it feels more and more natural."
With their debut single, "Amen," making waves at country radio in 2011, the trio hit the road with Reba McEntire, Lady Antebellum and Brad Paisley. Their dramatic video for "Too Good to Be True" is now on CMT.com, and a deluxe edition of their album is available at Cracker Barrel.
People are already approaching the band with questions on how to break into the business.
"I had a fan email me and was like, 'What did you do in your life to get to where you are today?'" Blaylock recalls. "I started listing different things that I did, and it was overwhelming to read it all at once. I finally said, 'I'm sorry if I've overwhelmed you, but honestly what I was doing was just doing what I loved. ... So if it's a passion for you, you don't need to worry about it. You'll want to do it when opportunities come and God will open the doors for you.' It was crazy to see the list because it's really proved to me that I love what I do."
The Farm's self-titled debut album leads the list of new country releases on Tuesday (July 17). Released by All In Records and Elektra Nashville, the project includes their Top 20 debut single, "Home Sweet Home." They played a record release show at Fontanel near Nashville on Monday night (July 16). Other new releases include old-time string band Old Crow Medicine Show's Carry Me Home, Texas legend Billy Joe Shaver's Live at Billy Bob's, classic country band Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show's Take Me Back and Australian singer-songwriter Angus Stone's Broken Brights.
Country Music Hall of Fame Member's Groundbreaking Hits Include "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels"
July 16, 2012; Written by Ronnie Pugh
Kitty Wells
The Queen of Country Music, Kitty Wells, died Monday (July 16) at her home in Madison, Tenn., at age 92.
Her husband of more than 70 years, country singer Johnnie Wright, died Sept. 27, 2011, at age 97.
Wright essentially managed his wife's famous career and made her the feature attraction as the Kitty Wells-Johnnie Wright Family Show. In many ways a reluctant star, Wells became the first female country artist to find consistent success, beginning with her huge 1952 Decca hit, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." Hence her near-universal acclamation as the Queen of Country Music, a title bestowed on her years before the 1960s heyday of women singers in the field, including Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton and others.
One of the few early stars native to Nashville, she was born Aug. 30, 1919, as Muriel Deason. She dropped out of school during the Depression to take a factory job, but with two sisters and a cousin sang as the Deason Sisters on Nashville radio station WSIX. In 1937, the 18-year-old Deason married Wright, a fellow Nashville radio hopeful, who immediately put his new wife into his act (along with his sister Louise) as Johnnie Wright & the Harmony Girls.
Soon Wright added a brother-in-law, Louise's husband Jack Anglin, to the troupe, and in that era of duet acts, they became the featured tandem, Johnnie & Jack. Anglin's military service in World War II only interrupted their long march to stardom by way of such places as Charleston, W.Va., Knoxville, Tenn. and Shreveport, La. The duo finally got a second shot at Nashville's prestigious Grand Ole Opry in 1952 on the strength of their RCA Victor hits "Poison Love" and "Ashes of Love."
By this time, Muriel Deason Wright was the mother of three children -- Ruby, Carol Sue and Bobby -- but she remained in the touring act, even recording gospel and heart songs in 1949 and 1950 for RCA Victor under the name she'd been given in Knoxville -- Kitty Wells. (The name came from the title of an old Pickard Family recording.) Her RCA records didn't sell, and it was only with repeated pleadings that Johnnie Wright convinced Decca Records producer Paul Cohen in 1952 to give Wells a chance on that label. Wells agreed to try it mainly for the $125 session fee. (Johnnie & Jack and their Tennessee Mountain Boys also earned a few dollars as the session band.)
The featured song of that May 1952 session at Nashville's Tulane Hotel was J.D. Miller's answer to Hank Thompson's red-hot "The Wild Side of Life." Expressing the age-old woman's point of view that cheating men are responsible for fallen women, the song was "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." (Thompson's chorus said, "I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels.") Wells' record sold some 800,000 copies in spite of -- or perhaps because of -- being banned from play on the NBC Network and hence from live performance on the NBC-affiliated Grand Ole Opry.
Soon enough, Wells recorded more hits of plaintive heartbreak from the woman's point of view, many dealing quite frankly with modern social problems in the process: "Release Me," "I Heard the Juke Box Playing," "I Gave My Wedding Dress Away," "Making Believe," "Paying for That Back Street Affair," "Your Wild Life's Gonna Get You Down," "Mommy for a Day" and "Heartbreak USA." Wells' plaintive, heartfelt singing voice proved the perfect vehicle for this type of song, suitably framed in most cases by Shot Jackson's crying steel guitar. (He normally played Dobro on Johnnie & Jack's sessions.)
Usually dressed in the billowy gingham of a bygone era, Well's stage presence and her quiet, happy family life seemed to belie so many of her hit song themes -- most often the pain and heartbreak of weak, sinful, sometimes worldly-wise and often victimized womanhood. Never eloquent discussing her success, Wells would just demurely smile or defer to Wright when questioned about such an obvious contrast while taking the money to the bank as sums from record sales and touring which very soon dwarfed that initial $125 recording session fee.
By the mid-1950s, Wells also scored duet hits with the field's biggest male stars -- Decca labelmates Red Foley ("One by One" in 1954) and Roy Acuff ("Goodbye Mr. Brown" in 1955). For a time, Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys toured with Johnnie & Jack, Wells and the Tennessee Mountain Boys. (What could be more natural than the pairing of the King and Queen of Country Music?)
Still, it was Acuff who at one point advised Johnnie Wright against making Kitty Wells his headline act, telling him, "Women can't headline a country music show." Acuff's observation echoed another erroneous piece of traditional wisdom -- that women singers couldn't sell country records. Before long, the field boasted a veritable galaxy of headline female stars, like Jean Shepard, Patsy Cline, Skeeter Davis, Loretta Lynn, Melba Montgomery, Tammy Wynette, Norma Jean, Dolly Parton and Jan Howard. Wells' success had changed the face of country music forever.
Of her 84 singles which charted in Billboard magazine, 38 made the Top 10. Her last major hit came in 1971, but she recorded for years afterwards, leaving Decca/MCA for a short stint on Capricorn Records before settling onto the family-owned Ruboca label.
Jack Anglin's tragic death in a 1963 auto accident turned Wright into a solo singer, while the couple's son, Bobby Wright, had the most success of the children, both as a country singer and as an actor, working in the '60s as a cast member of the popular McHale's Navy TV show.
Wells was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1976. In 1989, she recorded the "Honky-Tonk Angels Medley" with K.D. Lang, Loretta Lynn and Brenda Lee, her final major recording project and a Grammy-nominated performance. In 1991, she was presented the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award -- the first female country star so honored and only the third country artist who had received the honor (after Roy Acuff and Hank Williams).
Wells and Wright still played selected dates in the late 1990s and performed their farewell concert on Jan. 31, 2000, in Nashville.
Funeral services will be held Friday (July 20) at 1 p.m. at the Hendersonville Church of Christ in Hendersonville, Tenn.
Toby Keith's single "Red Solo Cup" has been certified double platinum by the RIAA to signify two million digital downloads. "Red Solo Cup" became Keith's first platinum single in January and is now the best-selling single of his career. In addition, Luke Bryan's 2010 single "Rain Is a Good Thing" and Billy Currington's 2007 single "Good Directions" have been certified as platinum for one million digital downloads. Both of those singles reached No. 1 on Billboard's country airplay chart.
Fans really seem to be excited for this three-song EP for one specific reason....David Nail singing Adele.
From UMG:
David's 3-song piano vocal EP '1979' is available today exclusively at iTunes!
1979 features David's cover of Adele's "Someone Like You," and piano vocal versions of "The Sound Of A Million Dreams" and "Half Mile Hill" - preview and download here: http://bit.ly/DavidNail1979
After severe weather forced a crowd of 10,000+ to evacuate the Bluefield, WV show at Mitchell Stadium on Friday, June 29, Eric Church and Second Chance Learning Center have announced the concert has been rescheduled for Sunday, August 26.
Previously purchased general admission and VIP tickets will be honored, and for those unable to attend the rescheduled date, full refunds will be made available at point of purchase by contacting Ticketmaster.
In addition, Church is pleased to announce Jake Owen will return with him as a special guest. Doors and show times are TBD.
Lady Antebellum were the opening act on Saturday for Bruce Springsteen at London's Hyde Park and the group was giddy with excitement, with Hillary Scott tweeting the above picture along with:
Four giddy musicians got to meet one of our heroes @Springsteen!!
Unfortunately for concertgoers, the awesome evening ended on sort of a sour note when citing noise curfew rules, a surprise duet between Bruce Springsteen and Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney was cut short by organizers who actually had the balls to cut power to the microphone because the show ran 10 minutes late.
Can you imagine!?!
Live Nation released a statement that said the show had to be cut short because of "health and safety" issues.
But in the middle of an epic duet?
Hillary Scott said on Monday about the crazy moment, "I'm sure there was definitely a reason. I hear that they had a very strict curfew in Hyde Park."
Yeah, a reason like they're a bunch of music loving spoil sports.
Just about a week ago, it was announced that Michael Buble had joined Blake Shelton's team on The Voice as an adviser to Blake's team members/contestants. Now a second adviser has been announced, this time for Adam Levine's team.
Mary J. Blige has been announced as the newest Team Levine (sounds better than Team Adam to me) mentor and will be joining the show to help Adam's contestants be the best that they can be.
So far the show is keeping Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green's team mentors a secret.
The third season of The Voice is currently filming and will premiere September 10 on NBC.
Glen Campbell is currently on his Goodbye Tour, hitting various spots around the country to perform one last time for family, friends, and fans before his recently diagnosed Alzheimer's makes touring impossible.
But it appears the touring he's been doing over the last year or so may finally be taking a toll on legend.
Campbell was scheduled to hit Australia in August with friend Kenny Rogers for multiple shows, but was recently forced to pull out due to illness, but most people seem to agree that it's probably Campbell's progressing Alzheimer's that has made him unable to travel the long distance to Australia.
According to Kenny Rogers' official website, multiple Australian country music stars will take Campbell's place on the tour including John Williamson, Beccy Cole, Lee Kernaghan, Troy Cassar-Daley and Sara Storer.
Campbell currently has 8 stops left on his Goodbye Tour with the last being October 20 in Torrington, CT. So far only his Australian shows have been canceled.
Blake Shelton is currently in the process of recording a Christmas album -- hopefully fueled by lots of strong eggnog -- and yesterday Blake took to his Twitter to show how serious the process has become.
Wish all of y'all could be here for this moment. We're recording the orchestra for my Christmas album!!!!pic.twitter.com/lEF0G2sp
No prerecorded Christmas jingles for Blake, they've brought out the big guns now.
Usually, it's an artist from another genre going country or making a "country mix" of an otherwise not-very-country song. (As in, "Let's add four seconds of banjo and then send it to country radio.") But this time, it's a country band that's gone a little R&B. Or, as Zac Brown put it, "I'm about to get tender on ya'." The track he's referring to is "Overnight," and it's one he describes as straight-up R&B, baby. "It's definitely us. It sounds like us. But the arrangement and everything is straight-up R&B," he said. The sound of it -- and lyrics like, "We gonna get this bed rockin'" -- make the tune feel very Marvin Gaye, circa 1973. Brown also said of the band's new album, Uncaged, "We spent hours and hours writing the songs and hours and hours arranging them and recording them and everything," he told CMT Radio. "We work harder than a lot of other bands, I think." And while I do love the sexy "Overnight" tune, I have some other favorites: "Goodbye in Her Eyes," "Day That I Die," and "Lance's Song" (about Atlanta-based drummer Lance Tilton, who died in a car accident in 2010).
Jason Aldean has released a new single, "Take a Little Ride," as the lead single from his upcoming album. Written by Dylan Altman, Rodney Clawson and Jim McCormick, the track is now available at iTunes. His fifth studio album, which has not yet been titled, is scheduled for a fall release. Describing the new album, Aldean said, "I tried to find the best songs that I could and also ones that fit what I do in my live show. There's a little bit of everything, including some more traditional country stuff and some songs that might raise a few eyebrows."
As I'm sure you've heard already, Jewel is playing June Carter Cash in the upcoming Lifetime movie, 'The June Carter Cash Story', which is based on John Carter Cash's telling of his mother's life.
'Entertainment Tonight' in Canada recently caught up with the singer and talked with her about portraying the iconic singer in the movie.
'The June Carter Cash Story' will air on Lifetime but hasn't gotten an official air date yet.
Craig Morgan will celebrate his birthday and make his scripted acting debut tomorrow, July 17th, when he appears on TNT’s drama “Rizzoli & Isles.” Morgan makes a guest appearance as Dr. Billy Ray Higgins, a medical examiner who comes to Boston for the Bullet and Blast Injuries Symposium. While visiting, he helps Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander) with a murder case. Tune in to TNT to catch the premiere at 9:00pm ET. Learn more about the show and the episode at http://www.tntdrama.com/series/rizzoliandisles/.
Morgan’s new album THIS OLE BOY, featuring the latest single “Corn Star,” is available now everywhere music is sold.
Oh sure, famous people tend to die just as easily as the rest of us, but honestly, just because someone named Taylor died doesn't mean it was THAT Taylor or THAT one either.
Over the weekend a fan named Taylor Nesseth was found unconscious at a Warped Tour stop and was later pronounced dead.
I guess a Taylor dying at a concert automatically had people thinking it was Taylor Swift and people started tweeting #RIPTaylor and sending out well wishes to Taylor's family.
It's actually kind of funny because you can follow the tweets and see how twitter death hoaxes probably start. I have this feeling that they're not started maliciously for the most part, it's just equal parts mistake and people jumping to conclusions.
At the same time people were realizing it wasn't Taylor Swift who had died, people started panicking that it was Taylor Lautner and #RIPTaylor's started going out for him.
I'm sure the poor kids out there who are fans of both Taylors had quite the upsetting Sunday morning.
You can follow a little bit of the Twitter death mix-up over on Twitchy. It's kind of entertaining in a really sad way.
I used to watch 'Weeds' on Showtime and one of my favorite things about it was the Little Boxes theme song. During all that time, I didn't realize the song was an actual song and not just the theme song for the show, but it is.
I haven't watched the show in years, but was happy nonetheless when I heard that they were resurrecting that cute little song and Dierks Bentley was one of those chosen to sing it.
This season is the show's 8th and final season so they've decided to go out in style -- with loads of stars singing their Little Boxes theme song. Ben Folds, Dierks Bentley, Kevin Nealon and Steve Martin, Mariachi El Bronx, Mountain Goats, Bomb the Music Industry!, Tomoya Takaishi, and Hunter Parrish will all take turns singing the song for various episodes.
Dierks' version will air before episode 9, I believe.
I've tried to embed Dierks' version but haven't had any luck so just head over to his Facebook page and take a listen. It's really great.
I'm absolutely fascinated by the Zac Brown Band's newest CD cover for 'Uncaged' and believe that the cover artwork may come to be as well known as the music it represents. I know it's definitely a piece that has people talking. I've already had one post about the cover, but knowing who the artist is and the name of the picture didn't really answer my question of just how this particular artwork came to be the CD cover art.
Now we have the answer to that question. The artist of the painting, which is called Our Lady of Merciful Fate, Brandon Maldonado, recently spoke with the ABQ Journal and told them the story of how Zac Brown found him.
“The boys were doing some local sightseeing in Old Town, and they just happened to go into Johnny Salas’ shop ‘Santisima’,” he said. “I wasn’t there but my work was and Zac picked up a few pieces and contacted me shortly after and made it clear that he wanted me to do work for their next album cover. It’s kind of funny that it was about a week before he even released his second album.”
Sending out my condolences to Jake Owen who lost a very special person in his life yesterday, his Godmother Pearl.
Last night, Jake sent out a tweet saying: I appreciate everyones thoughts and prayers for my angel in life, Pearl. She's passed on to a greater life. Ride the wind, til we meet again
Many people wondered just who Pearl was. After a little digging, I found this quote Jake gave to Popwatch back in '09:
Your best communal moviegoing experience? Rocky. Pearl [shows the tattoo of her name on the inside of his wrist] is like the angel of my life and she’s my godmother. She’s 66 now, but she cusses like a sailor, drinks like a fish, and smokes like a chimney. I’ll never forget when she took me to see Rocky. Rocky was gettin’ his ass kicked, and then he comes back and starts beatin’ that guy, and Pearl stood up in the middle of the theater and goes, "Kick his f—in’ ass, Rocky!" As though it was happening right there right then. Here I was, like, eight-years-old, and I’m lookin’ up at her. I’ll never forget that. People are screamin’ at the screen.
As mentioned above, Jake has Pearl's name tattooed on his left wrist. You can see a picture here.
Again, sending out well wishes and condolences to Jake.
. . .tonight
Tune in tonight to see Jana Kramer perform “Why Ya Wanna” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC 11:35/10:35c). The debut single, “Why Ya Wanna,” has climbed the charts at a record pace, currently sitting at No. 13.
The New York Times praised the single noting, “Her breakthrough hit “Why Ya Wanna” is a wounded plea to an ex to keep his distance; weakness is its selling point, and it’s an effective sell.”
Kramer released her self-titled debut album June 5th 2012 on Elektra Nashville, debuting at No. 5 on the Country Chart and as the No. 2 top selling digital artist. Kramer is currently on Brad Paisley’s “Virtual Reality Tour” performing on the Virtual Opry Stage – dates run through the Fall and can be found on her website www.JanaKramer.com.
If you could pick any celebrity to travel with, who would you pick?
If you're Canadian, chances are you'd pick Shania Twain. In fact, nearly one-fifth of our neighbors to the north (out of 1234 Canadian adults surveyed) say that they would choose Shania according to a new survey.
According to Canoe.ca, a new Travelocity.ca survey found that 17% of respondents would like to travel with Shania and 38% of those said they'd like it to be a romantic trip. I wonder how Shania's new hubby feels about that?
At a far second place was Oprah Winfrey who came in with 9% of the vote followed by Celine Dion and Ryan Gosling.
In last place was poor Justin Bieber who only got 1% of the vote.
I guess your choice probably depends on your age bracket.
Awww, too bad for fans. Miranda Lambert had hoped to be back performing by now after overextending her voice last week and being placed on vocal rest. It just wasn't to be, though, and a new message posted to her website reads:
Miranda Lambert’s physician is keeping her on vocal rest for another week, forcing the postponement of this weekend’s shows. The shows are being rescheduled for October 4, 5 and 6. “I’m so sorry to disappoint the fans that have already bought tickets to see me,” Miranda wrote in a statement. “I’m taking care of my voice and I can’t wait to get on the road again and bring you a hell of a show.”
Rescheduled dates are:
Orange Beach, AL – October 4
Atlanta, GA – October 5
Pelham, AL – October 6
Well at least Miranda was able to find time this year to reschedule and fans won't have to wait until 2013 to see the show.
So I guess family dysfunction doesn't only run on the female side of the Judds family.
After announcing that she hadn't invited her sister or mom to her wedding because she wanted the day all to herself (I'm paraphrasing, of course), it's been revealed that Wynonna Judd is now suing a man who claims to be her father to get him out of a home she paid for back in 1994.
In papers obtained by WDRB, it's revealed that Wynonna is trying to evict Michael Ciminella from his home in Louisville, Kentucky, claiming he owes her more than $200,000 on the property.
Apparently Ciminella purchased the property back in July of 1994 with the help of Wynonna and Wynonna held the promissory note saying Ciminella would pay her back. In September of 2011, Judd demanded payment in full of the entire outstanding balance. When Ciminella didn't pay, Wynonna filed suit to foreclose on the property and evict him.
"As of February 2012, the amount due under the Loan Documents in favor of Judd is $242,317, representing the principal balance, plus accrued interest and late fees," the suit indicates. "Interest continues to accrue at the maximum rate as set forth in the Loan Documents until paid in full."
WDRB spoke with Ciminella's attorney, Jeffrey D. Thompson, who said that his client maintains that the money for the property was a gift. The attorney also said that although it's never been proven that Ciminella is Wy's father, he's listed on her birth certificate as such. He added one last dig saying that she's only after the money to "compensate for her own diminishing career."
"Now that she needs money, she is attempting to come and get it back," he said.
Ouch.
I guess being Naomi and not being invited to your daughter's wedding isn't the worst that could happen in this parent/child relationship afterall.
Kellie Pickler was recently featured on GAC's Day Jobs, but rather than following Kellie to her old day job, they let her pick a job she would be doing if she wasn't in the music industry....working with animals. In this case, it wasn't just any animals Kellie got to work with, it was elephants at the awesome The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.
Kellie was a real trooper, even when confronted with a really big pile of poo.
. . . with Uncle Kracker, Greg Bates, & Brian Davis -- Hell on Wheels
While still reveling in the excitement of his second consecutive #1 hit, “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do,” Brantley Gilbert announced his first headlining tour today. The HELL ON WHEELSTOUR will kick off Thursday, September 27 in Lafayette, IN. Special guest Uncle Kracker, Greg Bates and Brian Davis will be featured on various dates.
Wanna know why so many men write songs about trucks in country music?
They're hoping to get a free truck.
Duh.
Congrats to Lee Brice who accomplished just that recently.
From an email I received....
When country star Lee Brice sings, “I Drive Your Truck,” from his chart-topping album, ”Hard 2 Love,” he’ll be talking about his new fully loaded 2012 Chevy Silverado truck from Nashville’s Carl Black Chevrolet! Brice joins a select group of country artists endorsed by Carl Black Chevrolet to drive off the lot with a new ride.
Commenting on the new partnership, Brice said, “This is my dream truck, and I’m excited to represent Carl Black Chevrolet.”
“We are so glad to have Lee join the Carl Black family,” said PD Sumner, Vice President, Carl Black Automotive Group. “We feel that his music is a perfect fit with what we are all about.” Brice’s music will be used in Carl Black’s radio advertising in their market areas of Nashville, Atlanta and Orlando. In addition, fans can expect to see Brice perform at Carl Black’s “Live on the Lot” concerts and acoustic performances in the upcoming months.
It was announced that Truck Yeah debuted at #22 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart and #25 on the Mediabase/Country Aircheck Chart, making this Tim's highest solo chart debut ever.
EVER!
That's so crazy awesome for Tim.
"Country radio has given me an amazing career already," said McGraw. "I'm 20 years into it, so to be having my highest chart debut ever is such a cool thing. I can't thank everyone in radio enough for the support they've shown me over the years and especially now as I'm starting a new chapter with a new label. It means more to me than ever...the best is really yet to come!"
Looks like changing things up this late in his career has really had a positive effect on Tim. Hopefully he can get his whole Curb Records mess behind him and move on to bigger and better things.
Martina took to her blog on Sunday to let fans know about her family's plans for this summer which includes heading to Los Angeles for a few weeks so that her daughter can pursue her acting dream.
From Martina's blog...
Hey everybody
Our family is getting ready to embark on a great adventure and I wanted to share it with all of you. We are moving to Los Angeles for the next few weeks! My middle daughter, Emma, has always wanted to try her hand at acting and so we have enrolled her in a couple of acting classes and workshops in LA this month so that she can see if it's something she wants to pursue.This could be the beginning of realizing her dream, which is a beautiful thing. I know how supportive my parents were at her age and how they did everything possible to help me be able to sing wherever and whenever I could and I'm happy we can do the same for her.
We just landed not long ago and got to check out the house we are renting while we are here. We love it! We are also excited about the food, the shopping, and the glorious weather. Especially the food and the shopping!
I am also working some while we are thre and I'm excited about being a part of the show Opening Act for E! Channel. It debuts Monday night, July 9, at 10/9 Central on E! I think it's a really cool show and idea. I love being part of making someone's dreams come true!
Anyway, I just wanted to share our latest news with you. The idea of picking up and moving somewhere new is kind of crazy and kind of amazing! will be tweeting and updating you on how everything is going over the next month so you can share in our journey. I have a feeling something really magical is going to happen, not only for Emma, but for all of us.
Stay tuned....
Love
Martina
What a wonderful thing to be able to do for your kid. If my mom had been able to do this for me when I was a kid, I might have become the mime I know I was always meant to be.
Lady Antebellum has partnered with Lipton Iced Tea and their “Drink Positive” campaign to bring fans inspiring music, refreshing tea and now a chance to meet the band! One winner of the Drink Positive with Lady Antebellum sweepstakes will receive a 4 day/3 night trip for two to Nashville to meet Lady Antebellum. Enter here for a chance to win: http://antlrapp.com/lipton-ladya.
Also, fans can enter their code from specially marked packages of Lipton Iced Tea for a chance to win an exclusive live version of Lady Antebellum’s hit single “We Owned the Night!” Enter code on Lipton Iced Tea US’s Facebook for a chance to win.
Jake Owen is gonna be a daddy! According to People.com, newlyweds Jake Owen and Lacey Buchanan will welcome a baby girl in November. The couple were just wed in this past May after Jake proposed on stage in April.
“We actually found out Lacey was pregnant after I had asked her dad for his permission,” the country crooner tells PEOPLE.
“From the day I met her, there was no doubt in my mind I wanted to marry her, and we always knew we wanted a family.”
“The way we saw it, the baby news was a bonus on top of the engagement, but we didn’t want anyone to think we were getting married because Lacey was pregnant, and we wanted to celebrate our wedding first.”
The couple tried predicting the sex of their bundle of joy using Chinese birth calendars, but all that went out the window when the ultra sound technician gave them the news that what they thought was a he will be a bouncing baby girl.
“Not only do I have a beautiful wife I get to spend my life with, I’m getting a baby too!” he says. “You know with other people’s babies, they’ll say, ‘Do you want to hold the baby?’ And I always am excited to do that, but then you have to give the baby back. Now we get to keep the baby!”
Who wore it best among besties? In this totally fabricated face-off from E! Online, good pals Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez are going up against each other in a fashion feud. But the truth is there's no war at all. They look like they are getting along just fine strolling outside somewhere in Malibu. Better than fine, actually.
That said, though, I'd have to pick Swift if I was voting for the most adorable look. She's gone very retro with a pastel sleeveless shirtwaist dress (do they still call them that?) and wayfarer sunglasses. She even has a little headscarf, which E! thinks is her way of getting some June Carter Cash into the look. I just think she always keeps it classy, even if that means going back in time to an era when almost every woman kept it classy.
Brad Paisley will perform a USO concert on the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday (July 4) as a salute to the military. The one-hour concert will be streamed lived on the White House website at 8:10 p.m. ET. "The Fourth of July has always been about family, freedom and celebration. I am so honored to be spending my holiday performing a USO concert for our troops and their families and to be celebrating those freedoms with the men and women who put everything on the line to defend them," Paisley said.
Eric Church will reveal the emotional backstory to his hit song and video "Springsteen" with the premiere of Mixtape on CMT on Saturday (July 7) at 10:15 a.m. ET/PT. The special will repeat Sunday at 8:15 a.m. ET/PT. The 30-minute short film will air commercial-free. Fans can watch Mixtape on demand at CMT.com following the network premiere.
Mixtape was written by Peter Zavadil and Roger Vaughn and produced by Taillight TV. Zavadil has worked with Church on the videos for "Springsteen," "Drink in My Hand,""Homeboy,""Smoke a Little Smoke" and "Two Pink Lines." Church co-wrote "Springsteen," which is the third single and second No. 1 from his platinum-certified album Chief.
"I am very excited to share Mixtape with everyone. I've gotten a lot of questions about the music video, asking about the actors, where did the scenes come from, what did they pertain to? Well, this movie will clear everything up," said Church. "Peter Zavadil crafted an art representation that adds a whole new emotional element to the song and video. In fact, it essentially inspired the video. I'm honored to show it on CMT."
In conjunction with the premiere, Church will host an online contest to win two tickets to see and meet him live on his Blood, Sweat & Beers tour. For rules and details on how to enter, visit Church's website or his Facebook page.
(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)
Slowly but surely, Carrie Underwood has been co-writing more and more songs. And I thought they'd been for her own albums. But Lauren Alaina's newest tune, "Eighteen Inches," was co-written by Underwood, Kelley Lovelace and Ashley Gorley.
And when I met newcomer Rachel Holder last month, she told me Underwood had written a song on her debut album, too. It's called "Lord Help Me." Underwood co-wrote that one with Katrina Elam and Ashley Monroe, and it has a "Lord help me, I'm fallin' in love" kind of vibe. I think Holder's voice will be perfect for it. But then again, so would Underwood's.
It always makes me wonder how songwriters decide which songs to keep and which ones to give away. I know with "Eighteen Inches," Underwood is glad Alaina is the one singing it.
"It's so wonderful when a song you had a hand in writing finds the perfect home," Underwood said. "Lauren's voice tells the story of 'Eighteen Inches' beautifully. What an incredible talent!" The song, about how there are 18 inches from your head to your heart, goes to radio on July 16.
If you have one of those applause apps on your smartphone, this would be a good time to push the button -- and hold it.
That's because Kenny Chesney has rocketed to the top of the Billboard country albums chart with Welcome to the Fishbowl via first-week sales of 193,453 copies, as reported by Nielsen SoundScan.
Impressive as those sales were, they earned Chesney only a second-place slot on the Billboard 200 all-genres chart. There he was beaten out by some chap named Bieber, whose first-week total was 374,264 units. A plague on that upstart!
Luke Bryan's "Drunk on You" rolls in as the No. 1 country song, a victory that took him 20 weeks to achieve.
Apart from Chesney's, there are two other new albums to note: Don Williams' And So It Goes (No. 20) and the Grass Roots EP from Big Smo (No. 71). Big Smo? Quick! Time for a Google search!
Montgomery Gentry's Rebels on the Run returns to the charts at No. 70, and Lyle Lovett's Release Me comes back on at No. 73.
We count three new songs: Eric Church's "Creepin'" (No. 54), Kip Moore's "Beer Money" (No. 57) and Maggie Rose's "I Ain't Your Mama" (No. 59).
Filing in behind Welcome to the Fishbowl within the Top 5 albums group are Bryan's Tailgates & Tanlines, Alan Jackson's Thirty Miles West, the various-artists anthology Now That's What I Call Country, Vol. 5 and Carrie Underwood's Blown Away, in that order.
Ash Bowers – Shake It Off
Track Listing:
1. What Are We Waitin' For | 2. Red | 3. Look At Me Loving You | 4. Green Light | 5. Shake It Off | 6. Picture This | 7. Justice | 8. Country Girls Love | 9. That Made a Believer | 10. Get Your...
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Carrie Underwood
Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
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Kree Harrison is one heck of a vocalist.
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"Bittersweet"
George Strait
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. . . for the '2013 CMT Music Awards'
The party for the 2013 CMT MUSIC AWARDS is underway as Hunter Hayes, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Pistol Annies and Taylor Swift are set to perform during this year's live show....
Miranda's mom spills the beans
Miranda and her mom photo courtesy MirandaLambert.com
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Tim McGraw
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The Carter Family
Nominations for the 85th annual...
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So it's now 2013, and a brand new year for country music, but I bet you're still thinking about 2012 and wondering who really came out on top in 2012. Billboard have compiled a...
You Don't Want To Miss This
You may have heard of Walk Off The Earth before, as they're pretty famous on YouTube for doing inventive and creative and amazing covers of popular songs, including an awe-inspiring version of Gotye's...
Scary ... Intruder arrested at Taylor Swift's Nashville home
Well this certainly isn't going to put Taylor Swift's mind at ease.
Taylor recently told Cosmopolitan UK that she has a stalker problem but that she...
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