Country music CMT News: News in Brief

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Julianne Hough Releases Debut Album


Julianne Hough, of Dancing With the Stars, released her self-titled debut album on Tuesday (May 20) on Mercury Nashville. She will appear on the season finale of Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday night and will perform the first single, "That Song in My Head," on Good Morning America and The View on Thursday (May 22). The album was produced by David Malloy. Hough will also appear on Brad Paisley's next tour, which begins June 11 in Albuquerque, N.M.

 

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Phil Stacey's Christian Roots Anchor His Country Album Debut
Former American Idol Finalist Worked with Little Big Town's Producer
Written by Edward Morris

Phil Stacey

American Idol alumnus Phil Stacey has combined his Christian upbringing and a passion for country music on his new self-titled album for Lyric Street Records. As a consequence, the album is being worked in both musical formats.

"If You Didn't Love Me" has already climbed to No. 32 on Billboard's country singles chart, while "Identity," an introspective album cut, is being programmed on several contemporary Christian radio stations. EMI Christian Music Group is distributing the album to Christian music outlets.

"I sing Christian songs on my country record," Stacey says, a point rendered apparent by a close reading of the lyrics, many of which could allude equally well to earthly or spiritual love.

The son and grandson of ministers, Stacey was born 30 years ago in the tiny Harlan County hamlet of Loyal, Ky. During Stacey's youth, his father moved to other pastorates in Kentucky and Ohio before settling into a ministry in Wichita, Kan., where Stacey attended both junior high and senior high school.

Stacey says he was always attracted to music -- from the Hank Williams, Roy Acuff and Bill Monroe records his parents played to such contemporary Christian luminaries as Rich Mullins, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith.

With a musical career in mind, Stacey enrolled at Lee University, a Christian-oriented liberal arts college in Cleveland, Tenn. In his freshman year, he joined the school's highly-regarded Lee Singers and performed with them on their appearances in China. After graduating from Lee in 2002, Stacey moved briefly to Nashville in search of a record deal. He soon journeyed on to Denver, where he spent six months working as a music minister.

During this early post-college period, Stacey made some independent records, but he recalls that his ambitions were modest at the time. "I didn't dream that I'd be on this level," he notes.

In an effort to fuse his musical aspirations with his desire to serve his country -- his dad was a veteran of Vietnam -- Stacey joined the Navy. While stationed in Jacksonville, Fla., he became the lead singer of the Navy's rock band. At the same time, he says, he and his buddies had another band on the side.

He auditioned for and won his spot on American Idol during his Navy tenure in Jacksonville. After a 12-week run on Idol, Stacey did a 55-city tour of the U.S. in 2007 with the show's other finalists. That same year, he completed his Navy stint and signed with Lyric Street.

Whether performing, recording, producing, engineering or building sound studios, Stacey says he's always earned his living through music.

Stacey picked Wayne Kirkpatrick to produce his debut album, largely, he says, because of his work with Little Big Town. "He likes that raw sound," Stacey explains, "that traditional instrumentation with kind of a rock feel." Stacey says he was also aware of Kirkpatrick's high standing in the contemporary Christian music scene.

For material, Stacey and Kirkpatrick turned to such tried-and-true Music Row songwriters as Rivers Rutherford, Wendell Mobley, Neil Thrasher, Tony Martin, Jason Sellers, Kirkpatrick, the members of Little Big Town and Rascal Flatts lead singer Gary LeVox.

Stacey says he'd hoped to co-write with some of Nashville's top composers for his album, but the demands of the Idol tour prevented him from doing so.

Traditionalists hearing the adventurous melodies and gauzy lyrics of Stacey's album for the first time may question if it should even be classified as country music. But the singer has no doubt about its identity.

"It's honest," he asserts. "That's what I think of as country music -- real life, real honest stories. But it definitely has more of a contemporary edge."

 

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2006
Josh Turner claims the first two gold singles of his career, for "Long Black Train" and "Your Man"
2006
Rascal Flatts wins a gold single for "What Hurts The Most"
2002
Mary Chapin Carpenter marries contractor Timmy Smith in Batesville, Virginia. In attendance: Terri Clark, actor Sissy Spacek, rocker Dave Matthews, and songwriters Beth Nielsen Chapman and Annie Roboff
1999
Arista releases Brad Paisley's debut album, "Who Needs Pictures"
1994
Restless Heart performs at the opening of The Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Marty Stuart and Tanya Tucker. Among the acts that become the house band at the venue: Lonestar, Ricochet and Sons of the Desert
1993
Sawyer Brown receives its first gold album, for "The Dirt Road"
1991
Diamond Rio scores its first #1 single on the Billboard country chart with "Meet In The Middle"
1974
Ronnie Milsap earns the first #1 single of his career with "Pure Love," written by Eddie Rabbitt
1964
Dolly Parton moves to Nashville a day after her high school graduation, and meets her future husband, Carl Dean, at a laundromat
1953
Ronnie Dunn born in Coleman, Oklahoma. The lanky singer teams with Kix Brooks to form the harmony-laden Brooks & Dunn, whose mix of honky-tonk with rock influences makes them the dominant duo in country for more than 15 years starting in 1991

 

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How I Survived the Today Show (and Learned to Love Kenny Chesney Fans)
New York Journalist Provides the Lowdown on Attending a Free Concert in Rockefeller Plaza
June 13, 2008; Written by Jim Allen

Kenny Chesney
Photo Credit: Scott Gries/Getty Images

Editor's note: Kenny Chesney performed early Friday morning (June 13) in New York's Rockefeller Plaza during the Today show's summer concert series. Most of us have never attended one of these free outdoor performances, so we asked New York-based journalist Jim Allen to provide blow-by-blow description of what it takes to be a face in the crowd.

6:00 a.m.
If it weren't for the light breeze that's keeping the temperature from getting too unbearable, this unassuming crowd of faithful, bleary-eyed Kenny Chesney admirers could easily turn ugly at a moment's notice. The fresh-faced group of teens in matching orange T-shirts emblazoned with the name of some do-gooding organization or other. The fortysomething parents thumbing through complimentary hotel copies of USA Today while shepherding their brood, who in turn are holding up the "#1 Kenny Chesney Fan" signs Sirius satellite radio has been passing around. They've all turned out for one of the Today show's early morning, first-come/first-serve free outdoor concerts in the middle of New York's Rockefeller Plaza. Since this one happens to feature the aforementioned country superstar, there are currently more Southern accents and un-ironic cowboy hats per square foot on this midtown Manhattan block than there have probably ever been before.

6:20 a.m.
The line stretches around three sides of the block that encapsulates Rockefeller Center, lining the east, north and south sides with hopeful, (presumably) hardcore Chesneyites. The lucky folks at the front of the queue arrived at 4 a.m. for the privilege of getting closer to their hero than they'd ever be in a concert setting. The line moves forward in maddeningly miniscule increments, the crowd advancing clump by clump, about five feet at a time. A strapping young man in a checked shirt and straw hat betrays a Midwestern twang while wondering aloud if he'll actually get in to see the Man of the Morning, and he's thoughtfully reassured by his mates in waiting. Rockefeller Center shills wander up and down the line, handing out coupons for their observation deck to the captive audience.

6:30 a.m.
The fatigue is just starting to show on some of the faithful. Back muscles are pulled tight in stretching motions, long yawns can be heard from far down the line, and we're still two block-lengths away from the site of the performance. As we finally round the corner of Lacoste and American Girl Place (that is, 49th Street and Fifth Avenue), a hefty gent in a "Some Beach!" shirt looks longingly at the still-closed TGI Friday's. A bruiser in a red Dale Earnhardt Jr. tee is grumpily texting someone a progress update. A weary-looking man offering flyers from a nearby eatery to the passersby shouts, "I'll be here all day."

6:45 a.m.
We've rounded the final corner onto 48th Street, and the promised land is in sight. As the subway grates blow up unwelcome gusts of warm air, we can hear the band warming up in the distance. We get closer to the sonic source, but the music is suddenly obscured by the overwhelming rumble of a Chock Full o' Nuts truck dispensing coffee to the morning crowd.

6:50 a.m.
We can hear the guitarist teasing the melody of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" before the band launches into the season-appropriate Chesney hit, "Summertime." Oh, no, they're starting early, and we're still not within sight of the stage! A palpable anxiety seizes the would-be audience as we hear whoops and cheers from those who've already gotten close enough to see what's going on.

6:55 a.m.
Luck is being a lady this morning, and the last leg of the line's journey accelerates at an unprecedented pace. Before we know it, a string of security guards usher us between the portable railings and into the plaza, where several hundred people are squeezed into a space roughly 200 feet by 300 feet. Kids are hiked up on parents' shoulders, and camera phones are everywhere, raised aloft and snapping away, which is pretty much the only way to get anything approximating a clear view of the stage. The sight lines are arranged to accommodate the TV cameras first and the audience a distant second. Chesney, looking casual in a T-shirt and ball cap, launches into "Better as a Memory" as blinding spotlights pan the crowd and a crane camera swings up and down. An overheated teen nearby is heard to utter "Mom, I think I'm gonna pass out." By the time Chesney kicks off "Never Wanted Nothing More," a realization emerges that something seems out of place. The band is surprisingly laissez-faire for a television broadcast, messing around between songs. And Chesney is curiously uncommunicative to the crowd, not uttering a word after each tune ends. Gradually the epiphany hits us all, like an elephant sitting on an egg: This is just the sound check!

8:45 a.m.
With aching feet and sweaty brows, our patience is finally rewarded as Chesney, now duded up in a proper shirt and a black cowboy hat, runs through hearty performances of ... yes, that's right ... the same three songs we heard twice each over the course of the sound check. No ones seems to mind too much about that, though. Everyone's just happy to be there. The three blonde sisters with matching Statue of Liberty sunglasses, the two blond Nebraskan teens scrolling through Chesney song titles on their iPhone, the folks who dutifully wave signs saying everything from "I love you Kenny!" to "Happy Birthday Uncle Al!" when the cameras pan over them. Chesney's voice booms out of the speakers on either side of the plaza, belting big and strong. And from banjo to acoustic guitar, every element of the mix comes out shockingly clear for an outdoor show. Then, some 15 minutes after it started, it's over as Kenny bids a quick goodbye and hops off the stage, and those who came to hear him slowly file out onto the street. A surprising number stay behind, though, to hear the rest of the show piped into the plaza over the sound system and wait for their split second of fame when the cameras cross their paths. Were they not here for the music at all to begin with, or did they just decide to hang around a while and make a morning of it to make a better story for the folks back home? Whatever the answer, they seem completely content to settle in for the duration, as they brave the 85-degree heat to hear about the hottest new gift tips for Father's Day.

 

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Bonnaroo Music Festival in Full Tilt in Tennessee
June 13, 2008
Willie Nelson was scheduled to perform Friday night (June 13) as one of the headliners at the 2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. The four-day festival began Thursday (June 12) on a 700-acre farm located 65 miles southeast of Nashville. Although the festival's biggest attractions are rock acts and jam bands, Friday's schedule included performances by Drive By Truckers and the Bluegrass All-Stars, a band featuring Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Bryan Sutton and Luke Bulla. The Avett Brothers and Levon Helm perform Saturday, followed by appearances Sunday by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Pat Green and Solomon Burke. Others appearing this weekend include Metallica, Kanye West, Pearl Jam, B.B. King, My Morning Jacket and Chris Rock.

 

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Sara Evans Set for Peggy Fleming Skating Special
June 13, 2008
Sara Evans and skating legend Peggy Fleming will tape an NBC special in Bloomington, Ind., on Oct. 15. Skating for Life, which will be hosted by Fleming, will air Oct. 25. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Participating skaters include Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen, three-time U.S. National champ Johnny Weir, U.S. National champ Rudy Galindo, U.S. National bronze medalist Emily Hughes, six-time Canadian National champ Jennifer Robinson and eight-time British champ Steven Cousins, as well as Sylvia Fontana and the teams of John Baldwin and Rena Inou, and Jenni Meno and Todd Sand. Tickets go on sale Aug. 16.

 

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Vince Gill, Amy Grant Promote Family Golf Month
June 13, 2008
Vince Gill, Amy Grant and their 7-year-old daughter, Corrina Grant Gill, will serve as the "spokesfamily" for Family Golf Month in July. It marks their second year to promote the campaign. Participating facilities will offer golf clinics and play days for a nominal fee and teach families to learn how to play. "Golf has always been a great activity for families to get outdoors and enjoy themselves," Gill said. "I don't think children are ever too young to enjoy the game of golf. Johnny Miller gave me the great advice to make it fun every time you take your kids out there, so that is what we do with Corrina."

 

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Fender Introduces Terri Clark Signature Guitar
June 13, 2008
A Terri Clark signature acoustic guitar has been introduced by Fender Musical Instruments. The company, which markets signature electric guitars endorsed by Eric Clapton, John Mayer and others, recently introduced a Buddy Miller acoustic model designed in cooperation with the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The Clark guitar features a traditional design with her initials inlayed in abalone and pearl on the headstock. Clark says her guitar playing has helped sustain her throughout her career. "I truly believe I may not have achieved what I have if I had not been a player," she notes. "I accompanied myself through every live label and publishing audition and played for tips so I could buy bread and milk when I first moved to Nashville."

 

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Funeral Services Held for Broadcast Executive Elmer Alley
June 13, 2008
Funeral services were held Thursday (June 12) in Nashville for Elmer Alley, a veteran broadcast executive who was involved in the launches of Opryland, Fan Fair and The Nashville Network. Alley, who died Monday (June 9) at age 87, joined Nashville radio station WSM-AM at age 18 and later hired Ralph Emery for the disc jockey's first television show, Opry Almanac, which premiered on WSM-TV in 1963. In his book, Air Castle of the South: WSM and the Making of Music City, journalist and historian Craig Havighurst details the story of Alley writing a memo to WSM Inc. president Irving Waugh outlining the initial concept for the Opryland theme park that opened in Nashville in 1972.

 

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2006
Big Machine releases Taylor Swift's debut single, "Tim McGraw"
2006
Gretchen Wilson and Josh Gracin perform for president George W. Bush among 6,000 guests at the President's Dinner at the Washington Convention Center
2005
Big & Rich are made honorary marshals of Deadwood, South Dakota
2004
Keith Urban's "Raining On Sunday" ranks at #1 when CMT presents "40 Sexiest Videos"
2003
Alabama's "For The Record" two-album set is certified quintuple-platinum
1999
George Strait posts a #1 single in Billboard with "Write This Down"
1993
Patty Loveless tops the Billboard country chart with "Blame It On Your Heart"
1986
Ricky Van Shelton showcases for CBS executives Rick Blackburn and Steve Buckingham at The Stockyard, singing Ernest Tubb's "Thanks A Lot" and Merle Haggard's "Hungry Eyes"
1982
Conway Twitty's version of "Slow Hand" grabs the top position on the Billboard country singles chart
1971
Jerry Reed lights up the #1 position on the Billboard country chart with "When You're Hot, You're Hot"
1956
Doug Brooks born in Atlanta, Georgia. After changing his name to Doug Stone (to avoid confusion with Garth Brooks), he reels off more than a dozen consecutive hits in the 1990s, including "I'd Be Better Off (In A Pine Box)" and "Warning Labels"
​

 

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Caitlin Lynn and Will Snyder Revel in Can You Duet Win
They Look Forward to Making More Friends and Releasing a Debut Album
June 18, 2008; Written by Ashton Lynch

Caitlin Lynn & Will Snyder
Photo Credit: Ben Wilder

Hearing them finish each other's sentences, you'd never guess that Caitlin Lynn and Will Snyder were strangers just a few months ago. As the winners of CMT's Can You Duet competition, they're now an up-and-coming country duo filled with optimism about what their future holds.

During a visit to CMT's offices earlier this week, Lynn, a 22-year-old resident of Glen Burnie, Md., beamed as she laid out the details of her journey, in awe of the opportunities ahead. She reminisced about her Can You Duet experience, remembering her first audition with Jennifer Van Meter, her partner of seven years in the Maryland-based duo, Eighty1 South. As it turned out, Lynn's friend did not make it through the initial trial.

"If I hadn't had her support, I wouldn't have been able to do it," Lynn said. As she advanced through the first audition, Lynn was eventually placed with Snyder for her duet that came together in perfect harmony.

Anyone would be drawn to the gentle persona that Snyder radiates. Throughout the interview, the 22-year-old from London, Ky., sat back comfortably in his chair, smiling and recalling his start on Can You Duet. Similar to Lynn's story, Belvis Morgan, Snyder's cousin and original duet partner, did not make the cut after his first appearance in front of the judges.

"I never pictured me and him winning the contest," Snyder said, adding, "I never pictured me winning the contest."

Ultimately, Lynn's talent complemented Snyder's, and the duo excelled to out-sing and out-perform the other competitors to gain a record deal with Sony BMG. Now side by side and emerging into the country music scene, Lynn and Snyder are fulfilling what they've worked their entire lives to achieve.

With most viewers of the show familiar with their performance of "Even Now," Lynn describes their upcoming album as "a cross between Keith Urban and us." She explained, "You are going to be able to dance, you are going to be able to cry, and you are going to be able to rip out your soul and throw it against the wall because it's just so emotional."

In addition to their skills as performers, Lynn and Snyder also show promise as songwriters. They performed original material on Can You Duet, and you can expect to hear more of their songwriting on the upcoming album.

Lynn is particularly proud of "Address in the Stars," a personal and deeply moving song she co-wrote with Can You Duet judge Aimee Mayo, a Nashville songwriter whose credits include Lonestar's "Amazed" and other hits recorded by Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Martina McBride and others. A tribute to Lynn's aunt and Mayo's father and grandmother who have passed away, "Address in the Stars" moved even Snyder to tears.

"I was just captivated by it," he said. "It's just one of those that stops you in your tracks. ... There is a melody that will stop you ... and the lyric of it is really powerful. It just draws you in and makes you want to listen to it over and over."

Looking ahead, Lynn said, "I'm hoping people just take our music for what it is. I'm really praying we touch people, as other artists have touched me and affected me."

Lynn and Snyder were overwhelmed with the strong response to Snyder's blog on CMT.com and the support they've received from fans -- or, as the duo would prefer to call them, friends.

"We as artists know what it's like to be fans," Snyder said.

"We know how much we take pride in the artists we love and respect," Lynn added.

"I mean, I know what other artists mean to me," Snyder noted. "To be able to mean that to someone else, it's the world. It's a friendship."

 

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Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus Nominated for Teen Choice Awards
June 18, 2008
Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are among the nominees for Teen Choice 2008, a fan-voted awards show airing Aug. 4 on the Fox network. In the music category, Swift is nominated for the breakout artist in a field that also includes Colbie Caillat, Flo Rida, Jordin Sparks and Leona Lewis. Cyrus, who will host the 10th annual awards show at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., is nominated for multiple awards, including female music artist alongside Britney Spears, Fergie, Mariah Carey and Rihanna. Also in the music division, Cyrus' "See You Again" is nominated for top single. Cyrus received another nomination for top TV actress for her work in Hannah Montana, the Disney Channel series that is nominated in the TV comedy category.

 

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Vanderbilt Business Students to Study Eric Church's Career
June 18, 2008
Eric Church's career has been chosen as one of the topics to be examined during a summer program sponsored by the Owen Graduate School of Management at Nashville's Vanderbilt University. A select group of 100 students are enrolled in Accelerator 2008, Vanderbilt's Summer Business Institute. They will develop and propose solutions to various business challenges faced by the program's corporate partners, including American Airlines, Bridgestone and Caterpillar Financial. The William Morris Agency, which books Church's concerts, offered the singer-songwriter as one of the subjects for the summer program. Carolina, Church's second album for Capitol Nashville, will be released this fall. Vanderbilt professor Kimberly Pace noted that Church's involvement in the program will provide unique opportunities for the students. "They are used to solving business problems for big companies, but this is more personal," she said. "Using the business tools they have been taught will help them create a solid marketing campaign."

 

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Rascal Flatts Performing With Boston Pops on July 4
June 18, 2008
Rascal Flatts will expand their sound when they join conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra on the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, a TV special airing July 4 on CBS. Rascal Flatts will perform several of their hits with the orchestra during the live telecast from the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. The special will be hosted by Craig Ferguson, the Scottish-born late night talk show host who became a U.S. citizen earlier this year. ... In related news, Jerry Lee Lewis, Huey Lewis & the News and American Idol winner Taylor Hicks are among those performing on the PBS special, A Capitol Fourth. Actor Jimmy Smits will host the program live from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The July 4 telecast will also feature Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, classical vocalists Hayley Westenra and Harolyn Blackwell and the National Symphony Orchestra.

 

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Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney in the Saddle for Another Week

Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney in the Saddle for Another Week
Dan Tyminski, Carter's Chord, Rebecca Lynn Howard Chart New CDs
June 28, 2008; Written by Edward Morris

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney bestride Billboard's country albums and songs charts, respectively, for another week, while Dan Tyminski and Rascal Flatts (you won't see that juxtaposition often) boast the week's top new CD and single.

Also signing in with new music are Carter's Chord, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Marcel and Lee Brice.

In its 87th week on the charts, Taylor Swift sold 27,000 albums to keep its perch at No. 1. By contrast, Tyminski's new CD, Wheels, moved a mere 2,700 copies to seize the No. 32 berth. (Tyminski, you may recall, is the steady sideman in Alison Krauss' band, Union Station, and lead singer of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? hit "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow," a tune officially attributed to the mythical Soggy Bottom Boys.)

Chesney's self-abnegating "Better as a Memory" continues its reign as the nation's most-played country song.

Carter's Chord self-titled collection comes aboard at No. 59, while Howard's No Rules bows in at No. 69. Re-entering albums are Whiskey Falls (No. 46), Little Big Town's A Place to Land (No. 62), Clay Walker's Fall (No. 65) and Rodney Carrington's King of the Mountains (No. 75).

Rascal Flatts lead the new-song arrivals with "Bob That Head" (No. 56), followed by Marcel's "I Love This Song" (No. 58) and Brice's "Upper Middle Class White Trash" (No. 60). (Marcel, whose last name is Chagnon, last graced the charts in 2002 with "Country Rock Star," when he was on Mercury Records. He is now signed to Lyric Street.)

After Swift, the Top 5 albums, in descending order, are Toby Keith's 35 Biggest Hits, Jewel's Perfectly Clear, Emmylou Harris' All I Intended to Be and Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride.

Directly behind Chesney on the songs chart are Blake Shelton's "Home," Montgomery Gentry's "Back When I Knew It All," Underwood's "Last Name" and Alan Jackson's "Good Time."

Coming up fast is Keith Urban's "You Look Good in My Shirt," which flaps from No. 22 to No. 14.

Stay cool. Somewhere somebody's recording a Christmas album.

 

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Merle Haggard Sings Country Stars Back Home at Ryman Show
Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Gretchen Wilson in Audience
June 27, 2008; Written by Craig Shelburne

Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard played to a sold-out crowd at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday night (June 25) with a compact 75-minute set filled with country classics like "Sing Me Back Home" and "Mama Tried." Not one to linger, the final note of "The Fightin' Side of Me" had barely dissipated when Haggard strolled off stage and the house lights came up.

Although there was no encore, Haggard still delivered a potent show at the Mother Church of Country Music, with stars like Martina McBride, John Anderson, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Gretchen Wilson cheering him on. The crowd loudly sang along with the choruses of the most familiar songs, turning the esteemed venue into just another honky-tonk on Lower Broadway. Fortunately, Haggard kept singing, too, rather than let the audience take it. At age 71, he remains a strong, expressive singer with plenty of charisma.

Even with dozens of hits in his set, Haggard seemed most excited to tackle his beloved Western swing. He kicked off his performance with "Old Fashioned Love," a track from his 1970 tribute album to Bob Wills, and his face lit up during his rendition of "I Had a Little Gal" (his version of the Bob Wills/Milton Brown classic, "I Had a Little Mule"). Whenever he crossed the stage to pick up his fiddle, you could detect a swing in his step. He's not exactly a virtuoso on the instrument, but luckily he was surrounded by the Strangers, his commendable 10-piece band that bolstered his performance. They were all dressed elegantly in suits, while Haggard sauntered around the famous stage in a casual Hawaiian shirt, blue jeans, a black hat and sunglasses.

Musical highlights include "That's the Way Love Goes," "Silver Wings," "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink," "Are the Good Times Really Over?", "The Bottle Let Me Down," "Workin' Man Blues," "Kern River," "The Way I Am" and "The Fugitive." He also featured "Down to Earth," an exquisite track from Last of the Breed, the album he released with Willie Nelson and Ray Price last year. Always an astute observer of the ups and downs of love, Haggard also made it easy to chuckle at the simple truths of romance in one of his new songs, "Love's Always Pretty When It's New."

I have spent entire afternoons listening to Merle Haggard at home, so of course I have some songs I wish he'd sung, including "Swinging Doors," "Branded Man," "Hungry Eyes," "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde," "Carolyn," "If We Make It Through December" and "My Favorite Memory." He also dropped one of his most famous songs, "Okie From Muskogee," from his set list. However, I did enjoy the newer songs such as "If I Could Only Fly" and "Half of My Garden Is for Willie." (Take a guess what that farmer is planting.)

Haggard has notched 38 No. 1 hits on the Billboard charts between 1963 and 1988, along with many more Top 10 hits. Thus, I wish he'd been on the stage from the get-go, then taken an intermission and come back for more. Instead, the show started at 7:30 with a string of performers, including Haggard's son Noel Haggard, two cartoonish men dressed in county-western costumes and another guy who said he was the roommate of the sound engineer.

All the same, it was certainly a thrill for country fans to hear one of the most important singer-songwriters in country music history sing them back home.

 

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Country Sings Disney Features Faith Hill, Tim McGraw
June 27, 2008
A new compilation, Country Sings Disney, will feature Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Trisha Yearwood and will be released on July 8. The collection features country artists singing songs from films like Bambi II (Alison Krauss, Martina McBride) and Cars (Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts). Other artists include Bucky Covington, Josh Gracin, Little Big Town, Bonnie Raitt, SHeDAISY and Phil Stacey, as well as the Billy Ray Cyrus-Miley Cyrus duet, "Ready, Set, Don't Go."

 

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Dierks Bentley Battles Fans on Xbox 360's Game With Fame
June 27, 2008
Dierks Bentley is the first country artist to participate in the Xbox 360 promotion, Game With Fame, where he played Halo 3 with online fans and gamers. Xbox Live has 12 million members worldwide. Other artists who have participated in the game include Ludacris, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Fall Out Boy, Maroon 5, Kanye West, Korn and Velvet Revolver, as well as athletes such as Andy Roddick, Brady Quinn, Larry Johnson and Jason Giambi.

 

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Waylon Jennings' Band Members Form Tribute Band
June 27, 2008
Former members of Waylon Jennings' touring band have formed a tribute band, Waymore's Outlaws, featuring singer Tommy Townsend, bass player-tour manager Jerry "Jigger" Bridges, drummer Richie Albright, steel guitarist Fred Newell and guitarist Eugene Moles. The band will make its debut on July 4 in Franklin, Tenn. "We're all really excited about getting out and playing this music that was such a big part of our lives, and I think Waylon's fans will really like Tommy's talents and energy on stage," said Bridges. "We wouldn't do this without the blessing of Jessi [Colter, Jennings' wife], and we plan to make her and the entire family proud.

 

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Powered by:
2007
Brad Paisley's "Ticks" scratches its way to #1 on the Billboard country chart
2005
Josh Gracin's "Stay With Me (Brass Bed)" video and Craig Morgan's "Redneck Yacht Club" debut on CMT
2005
Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney gets engaged to Tiffany Fallon while aboard a cruise ship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
2004
Brad Paisley's Rick Schroder-directed video for "Whiskey Lullaby," his duet with Alison Krauss, debuts on CMT
2001
Chet Atkins dies at home after a long bout with cancer. An influential guitarist and producer who helped create "The Nashville Sound," he entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973 and earned a Lifetime Achievement award from the Grammys
1995
Garth Brooks receives a star in front of Capitol Records on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He buries the masters to "The Hits" underneath the star
1993
Kenny Chesney signs his first recording contract, with Capricorn Records
1987
RCA releases K.T. Oslin's "80's Ladies" album
1963
Guitarist Dwayne O'Brien born in Ada, Oklahoma. He joins the harmony-rich Little Texas, performing on the pop-influenced singles "What Might Have Been," "You And Forever And Me" and "God Blessed Texas"
1922
The first country record is made in New York, by Eck Robertson and Henry Gilliland. The two collaborate on "Arkansas Traveller"