The Next Best Thing to Elvis

Top of a Tuesday to you. It’s merely the middle of August, yet can you believe that it’s almost time for the CMA Award Nominations? Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts will do the honors September 10th in Times Square. The major nominations will be telecast live on Good Morning America in New York, and then the action will switch to a special live edition of CMT Insider in Nashville where hosts Katie Cook and Lance Smith will be joined by rising stars Lady Antebellum and James Otto for a complete list of nominees. Bucky Covington and Chuck Wicks will handle the announcement of nominees and winners for the broadcast awards, including Radio Station of the Year.
The 42nd Annual CMA Awards will be on ABC on November 12th.

New CD’s are released today, including the soundtrack to the not-so-highly grossing Beer For My Horses. It shouldn’t be a surprise that a film released in a mere 10 cities would only gross $226,000, or about $2,483 per theater. But to be fair, that’s still a disappointing figure for a release of this size according to the expectations of the filmmakers. The next decision for the movie's distributor, Roadside Attractions, is whether to move forward with a wider release, or go directly to DVD.

The rest of the day’s news covers a myriad of topics. Brad Paisley has announced a November 4th release date for his 15-track instrumental CD Play. It will include guest vocal and guitar performances from B.B. King, Steve Wariner and the late Buck Owens. Country music fans and horse lovers will love October 14th. A new book called Horse Country: A Celebration of Country Music and the Love of Horses is coming out. Artists such as George Jones, Charlie Daniels, Tanya Tucker, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Heidi Newfield, Chris Cagle, and Eddie Montgomery will share their love of horses through personal stories and photos. Keith Urban and LeAnn Rimes’ likenesses were among those chosen for a new Nintendo Wii game called Celebrity Sports Showdown.

Taylor Swift has been nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the Best New Artist Category. Taylor also donated $100,000 to the Red Cross to aid flood relief in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was the first concert following the historic floods of just two months ago. Taylor was so moved by the people of a devastated city coming out to her sold out concert, she was compelled to make the gesture. Other country stars are also in a philanthropic mood of sorts. Willie Nelson, Vince Gill and Kris Kristofferson are on board to help Merle Haggard promote living a green lifestyle when The Green Train travels to 28 states next spring to display different ways to help the environment.

Elvis Week continues in Memphis and here on the Country Station. Don’t forget to take note of the daily Elvis Password out of the Spotlight Artist section. You will need it this afternoon when you call in to win the Elvis #1 Hit Performances DVD. Meanwhile, in Memphis, Elvis fan club president’s from around the world met yesterday to promote the greater good and memory of all things Elvis. And to continue the festival atmosphere, devotees were allowed to gather on the lawn of Graceland for the first of a two-part Music and Movies Event. Yes, fans gather on lawn chairs and blankets to listen to live music and watch Elvis movies under the stars.


Elvis Week Video of the Day: Trent Carlini as Elvis. Winner of TV's The Next Best Thing