Outlaws, Horses, and Teen Queens

Top o’ the Monday to you. It’s Monday Music Madness today, so tune in for your chance to win a copy of Mark Chesnutt’s latest CD Rollin’ With the Flow. You’ll also notice a couple new features in the left sidebar. Sheila’s Spotlight Artist gives you a chance to get to know a topical artist a little better. First you’ll meet Darryl Worley. He’s got a hot, err, make that cool new single on the air this week, “Tequila On Ice.” Listen for it. You’ll also see the Hanson Happy Hour Humor. It’s Dana, y’all. Expect off the cuff quips and anecdotes, but you may also get an interesting thought to ponder every once in a while. Check back often. Now, country music around the web.

Bocephus did it. Lisa Marie Presley did it. Now Shooter’s done it. He joins the class of second generation artists who have recorded with deceased parents. For Shooter Jennings, it was a project that began in 1995. "I was 16 years old and way into Nine Inch Nails and Guns N' Roses, but [Dad] was really excited to do something together. So I came up with all these ideas for new arrangements of his songs and a few covers." At the time, Shooter’s dad, Waylon Jennings, recorded the vocal tracks for the album he intended to record with his son. The project was put on hold, and then Waylon passed on in 2002 with the project unfinished and unreleased -- until now. Shooter completed the project with his band, The .357s, and says that he was inspired to do a slowed-down version of his dad's classic, 'Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand' after hearing Johnny Cash's plaintive take on Nine Inch Nails 'Hurt.' But for the younger Jennings, who memorably portrayed his dad in the Oscar-winning film Walk the Line, the most important aspect of the process now seems to be relishing the time he had with his father. "I may not have appreciated it as much as I should have then," he says, "but I couldn't be happier to be doing a record with him now. It's like I'm finishing the job we started together." Waylon Forever is a nine-song collection of Waylon originals and unique covers that reflect Shooter's edgier musical taste in the Nineties. The CD should be out later in the summer.

With the movie Beer For My Horses just two weeks away, if you don’t see Toby Keith on TV, you’re surfing channels too fast. The media mania begins for Toby tonight, when he makes his third appearance on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. He’s got a full day of radio interviews on Tuesday. Tomorrow night, he’ll be on CNN Headline News with Glenn Beck. Wednesday includes a stop at Fox and Friends, Nick News, and Thursday, Toby will perform on ABC’s mid-morning talk-fest The View. Next week, Toby’s appearances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. The movie finally makes it to the theatre for everyone to see on August 8th.

Lastly, Miss Taylor. While most local high school seniors received their coveted pieces of paper in May, Taylor Swift just received her diploma – in the mail. "Education has always been at the forefront of my priorities, so I'm really glad to have my diploma," the 18-year-old singer-songwriter said Friday. Taylor attended public school for 9th and 10th grade, but when her career took off, she needed more flexibility and switched to Aaron Academy, a private Christian school that offered home schooling. "I never expected that my senior year would go the way it has," she said. "There's something really exciting about getting to live your dream and continue your education at the same time." That book education is over for the time being. While her peers prepare to move into dorms across the country, Taylor is out on tour with Rascal Flatts, and has a sophomore album coming out in the fall.