Friday, July 25, 2008

MOOOO-ving some records….

Taylor Swift is not too far removed from studying history, and now she’s making it. Her two albums, Beautiful Eyes, and Taylor Swift, sit at number 1 and number 2 respectively on the Billboard Country albums chart. Taylor is the only artist this decade to accomplish such a feat. Her latest, one-store exclusive CD/DVD release moved 44,652 copies. The self-titled debut moved another 34,622 copies making that CD number two in sales. Makes you wonder how the upcoming compilation CD Princess Disneymania Volume 1 will do when it comes out on September 30th. Taylor and Carrie Underwood are a part of this one. They are the only country artists on the set with Carrie recording “So This Is Love” from the movie Cinderella and Taylor cutting “Home” from Beauty & The Beast.

Country music around the web this Feel Good Friday finds Randy Owen’s daughter moooo-ving livestock. Randy and wife Kelly were there as proud parents last week when daughter Randa’s Hereford cow entry, Purple Clover L25T, was chosen as the Champion in the “Horned Owned Heifer” category at the 2008 Junior National Hereford Expo in Kansas City. Randa has been showing cattle since she was a child, and she is now a high school senior.

Chris Cagle has been found not guilty of all domestic violence charges. The ruling came after Chris’s girlfriend, Jennifer Tant, invoked the 5th amendment and refused to testify. The charges stemmed from an altercation Cagle and Tant had in May while reportedly intoxicated. Cagle alleged in police reports he was hit on the head by an umbrella, and subsequently pushed Tant to protect himself. Officers found bruises on Tant's arms, as well as a cut lip, and charges were filed against both of them. Cagle has since come forward apologizing for the incident but insisting he was not drunk. After the court hearing and trial were held in Davidson County, TN, this statement was issued by Cagle's Attorney, Bill Ramsey: "It's a shame these charges were ever brought. PERIOD! Chris was not, and never was, guilty of domestic violence, abuse or assault and the Judge properly found him 'Not Guilty.' Chris is relieved the accuracy of the matter has been revealed and the ordeal is over." While the books are now closed on this case, Cagle still faces a different trial in the fall. He's due in a Tucscon, Ariz. courtroom on September 23 to face assault charges stemming from a fight outside a nightclub last December.

Hope and Tennessee have been set free. Two 14-week old American Bald Eagles named by Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus were set free into the wild. The eagles, named Tennessee (after the Cyrus family's home state) and Hope (after Miley's given middle name before she legally changed it), were set free from Dolly Parton's Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, TN and into the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Billy and Miley weren’t there in person to watch their release, but American Eagle Foundation reports that there were plenty of fans present to witness the eagles take flight. The bald eagle, once on the brink of extinction, was removed from the endangered species list last year. More than 90 eagles have been released from Dollywood since the 1990s.

And finally, a Friday can’t end without more on Vince Gill. He’s temporarily traded his putter for a pen, addressing his love for the game of golf in the current issue of Sports Illustrated. Vince notes that his 7-year old daughter Corrina has recently taken up the sport, adding that any time he takes her to the course he's mindful of advice he received from pro-golfer Johnny Miller, who told him to always make golf fun for the kids. Now, this isn’t golf, but it is fun. Vince Gill and Amy Grant are getting their own street – Grant Gill Lane in Wichita Fall, TX. A Habitat for Humanity home has been named after the couple, as has the entire road. Vince and Amy have been continually active with the charity throughout the years, donating time and money to building homes for underprivileged families. They donated all proceeds from a Wichita Falls concert to Habitat for Humanity a few years back, which helped build their now namesake home.

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