Words For Wednesday

Taylor Swift will premiere the music video for her new single, “Mine,” in a live special event, August 27th on CMT. Taylor will sit down with CMT Insider host Katie Cook to discuss the music video locations, and share behind-the-scenes footage from making the video. ….. Kenny Chesney has broken his own record for the largest number of opening week downloads by a male country artist with his new single “The Boys of Fall.” The song sold over 82,000 downloads within the first week, beating his 2009 hit “Out Last Night,” which held the record with 71,000 downloads. ….. Lady Antebellum has released a seven song EP on iTunes featuring fan-favorite songs and a cover of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers song, “Learning To Fly.” The performance was recorded during a studio session in Nashville in the Spring. ….. The final nominees for this year's CMA Awards will be announced on August 31st and September 1st. Justin Moore and Chris Young will read nominees in seven CMA categories at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on August 31st. Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert will be on Good Morning America on September 1st to reveal the nominees in five additional categories. ….. Similarly, the nominees for the 53rd annual Grammy Awards will be revealed during a live concert from past winners and nominees on CBS on December 1st. The award show itself will take place in Los Angeles on February 13th, 2011......Darius Rucker is featured in the latest issue of Golf Digest discussing the annual “Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am,” an event begun 17 years ago by Darius and his former Hootie & The Blowfish bandmates. The event is hosted in Myrtle Beach in April for golf-obsessed musicians like Darius, who, himself, plays more than 200 rounds a year. It’s his only hobby. Darius’ Pro-Am has raised over five-million dollars for various charities over the years

And finally, speaking of awards, a couple of country’s greats are to be receiving prestigious awards. Coming up on Saturday, George Jones will be inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, along with Al Dexter and Ray Winkler. George is being honored as one of the most influential singers in country music history, and he is also being recognized for his influence on Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell. Meanwhile, Dolly Parton will receive the 2010 James D. Vaughan Impact Award from the Southern Gospel Music Association for her significant impact on the Southern gospel music industry. The Executive Director of the Association said, “Dolly is the most honored female country performer of all time. Her efforts on behalf of our music at Dollywood have been instrumental in the establishment of our museum and Hall of Fame.” Dolly will appear in person to accept the award on September 29th at Dollywood.

More Fan Fare Tonight

The CMT Music Awards take place tonight, and as with all award shows, some surprises are in store. Rumors have been circulating that Taylor Swift will be appearing with rapper T-Pain; she will not confirm or deny the speculations, saying only that everyone should watch to find out. And in CMT’s continuing efforts to broaden country music’s appeal, tonight you’ll see presenters from all fields of entertainment: sports, rock stars, models, rappers, comedians, and TV personalities. There may even be some country music on the show. The show starts at 5 in our time zone with the red carpet arrivals, followed by the award show from 6 – 8:30pm.

It’s also interesting to note that this year CMT is getting away from the gift bags full of expensive indulgences that are traditionally given to celebrities at award shows. Instead, CMT One Country will be giving the gift of food to 130 school-aged children. With the donation of 20-thousand dollars to their non-profit partner, Feeding America, CMT One Country will be able to feed those children for the entire 2009-2010 school year through the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee’s BackPack Program. The 2009 CMT Music Awards sponsors, Sears and Land’s End, also donated backpacks which will also be autographed by artists and auctioned for another CMT One Country benefit.

News From Around The Country
Last week, Jack Ingram, Jason Aldean, Jason Meadows, and Trent Willmon participated in an artist steer riding contest with the Championship Bull Riding League. After lasting just three seconds, Jack was thrown and landed flat on his back. No serious injuries for him or the other artists, but Jack admitted that it would be his first and last time taking an 8-second ride. Josh Turner has recently presented a young woman from his high school in South Carolina with the first scholarship from the Josh Turner Fund for the Arts. Martina McBride helped raise 72-thousand dollars through an auction on Saturday for the YWCA. PETA has revealed the winners of its Sexiest Vegetarians Poll and Kellie Pickler tied with Heroes' Milo Ventimiglia for first place. George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is among 25 recordings from various genres that will be added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry this year.

Holiday Preparations

One week until it's time to give thanks for the year's blessings. Don't forget Trace Adkins and Darius Rucker are among those scheduled to be a part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.


Just short of the holiday, Trace Adkins will release his tenth studio album, appropriately titled X on Tuesday. The same day, Trace Adkins: X (ten) Days will air on GAC, documenting Trace's ten-day USO trip to the middle east to entertain the troops. Trace spent time with troops in some of the most isolated areas of Iraq and Afghanistan, performing 11 shows at forward operating bases. The special includes concert footage, one-on-one conversations with the soldiers at the front and a personal reunion between J.W. Williams, of Trace’s management team, and son Trey Williams, currently serving in the sand. How cool is that? Parents everywhere pray for letters from the front lines, it's not often that a parent gets to personally visit their child in that setting.


Released recently, here's a holiday gift idea for the horse lovers on your list - Horse Country: A Celebration of Country Music and the Love of Horses by Lisa Wysocky. This 224-page hardcover book tells the private stories of country music stars and their horses. Included in the read: George Jones, Charlie Daniels, Lynn Anderson, Tanya Tucker, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Hal Ketchum, Chris Cagle, Eddie Montgomery, Tracy Byrd, and Todd Fritsch.

It's Like Kenny In Your Living Room

The rack of new CD’s released today offer quite a bit of bonus music. The first crack at the new Kenny Chesney CD is the Deluxe Edition of Lucky Old Sun, which contains four bonus tracks that will not be on next week’s regular edition. Expect the latest album to have more of a stripped down feel as opposed to the party theme of the last record. Little Big Town offers A Place to Land – part two – today. It’s the new and improved version of an album that failed to materialize substantial hits when it was released on a smaller label. The band switched record labels, added four new tracks, and now the collection has been given a second wind. Included on the upgraded disc is the collaborative single “Life In A Northern Town.” The track can now be found on Sugarland’s latest CD, Love On The Inside and Little Big Town’s CD. One would imagine that Jake Owen will get a turn to put the song on his next CD as well. Other notable new releases are Billy Currington A Little Bit of Everything, and John Michael Montgomery Time Flies. As the title suggests, you’ll hear a little bit of country, a little bit of pop, and some soulful tracks on the new Currington CD. The new JMM project allows fans to catch up through song on how the 90’s hitmaker has been feeling in the last few years. As with all CDs, a few of the tracks are purely for fun, but there are one of two tracks that really take the listener back to the familiar era of big John Michael Montgomery ballads.

News from Around The Country
George Jones is planning to build a country music-themed attraction in Dothan, Alabama, that will include an 11,000-seat amphitheatre, museum, and casino. George envisions the attraction to be like Branson, MO, with additional restaurants and theatres. George and his wife also plan to build a home in the area. Willie Nelson is planning an album of western swing music. Collaborating with Asleep At The Wheel, look for Willie and The Wheel in February 2009. Taylor Swift is becoming quite the world traveler. She recently performed in Europe, now she’s scheduled to perform at the CMC Rocks Festival in Australia next March.

Ladies Day

Ladies, (and gentlemen) it's Half Off Wednesday. Today you can save half at Masters of Hair Design. Beginning at 6 am, you can click the link here or on the main page and pick up these popular certificates while supplies last.

Here’s another little treat, ladies. Eye candy. Country Weekly readers have voted The Top 10 Sexiest Men in Country Music. Complete rankings in the latest issue.

Tim McGraw
Blake Shelton
Keith Anderson
Jeff Bates
Keith Urban
5. Jack Ingram
4. Chris Young


3. Toby Keith
2. Gary Allan
1. Trace Adkins

George Jones, Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will be honored at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors. The annual ceremony recognizes lifetime achievements in the performing arts. President Bush will present the medals December 7th in Washington. George first hit the charts in 1955 and since then has won two Grammys, numerous CMA and ACM Awards, has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and still headlines nearly 100 shows a year. "I am completely overwhelmed to be the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors," said George. "I can't believe that I have been included in the same company as previous winners that are country music legends: Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Roy Acuff and Willie Nelson. "Since I was a young man, I have just done what I love and that is sing country music, and I never dreamed that something this special would happen to me. I am completely humbled and will be proud to accept the award!"

Emerson Drive joins the roster at the Valory Music Company and becomes part of the CCMA All-star Band. The Valory roster includes multi-platinum recording artist Jewel, Jimmy Wayne and Justin Moore. “On behalf of all the guys in the band, we are excited about this new agreement between Emerson Drive, The Valory Music Co. and Midas Records and feel that this opportunity will boost Emerson Drive to the next level of our career,” states Emerson Drive’s Brad Mates. The next album is out in early 2009, and a new single should be on its way to The Country Station in the coming months. Meanwhile, as part of Canada’s Country Music Week, The CCMA held their annual Industry Dinner & Gala followed by the All-Star Band Awards & Jam Session. Emerson Drive members were named to the “cream of the crop” of Canadian musicians. Dale Wallace (keyboards), David Pichette (fiddle), and Mike Melancon (drums) were all named to the 2008 CCMA All-Star Band. This makes Wallace’s 4th (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008), Pichette’s 3rd (2005, 2006 and 2008) and Melancon’s 2nd time as a member of the CCMA All-Star Band.