Forefathers Pick The Hits

Gettin’ ready for the 4th of July? Feeling patriotic? Check out this promotional ad for one of the most popular records that is playing on The Country Station. Can you guess who it is? Normally, we don’t re-post the gazillions of promotional ads that come across our desk, but this is one is too funny to resist. Kudos to our friends at Lyric Street Records for their creativity with the campaign: “Our Forefathers agree, ‘A Father’s Love’ is a hit.” Did you guess that that’s Bucky Covington hanging out with the founders of our country?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we are getting very excited about the free show from Clay Walker, Sunday night as part of the city’s 4th of July festivities. (We should start a campaign to get Bucky next year – as long as he’ll wear the robe! LOL. It’s going to be one of those days. Can you tell?) Tune in today for the chance to win a copy of Clay’s latest CD, She Won’t Be Lonely Long, and don’t miss the chance to hear from Clay on the air tomorrow. Sunday afternoon, for those that can’t make the concert, and for those who will be on their way to the concert, don’t miss the 4th of July special, hosted by Clay Walker, airing on The Country Station.

News From Around The Country
Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus and his wife, CMT Personality, Allison DeMarcus are anticipating the birth of their first child in January of 2011. Joe Don Rooney and his wife, Tiffany Fallon, are expecting their second child in September. Looks like the Wives Flatts have something to commiserate about other than their husbands being on the road all the time. Well, not all the time…… Travis Tritt is planning to launch his own record label to release his next album. Travis will handle the creative side of the label, but he is seeking financial partners. Travis’ most recent album, The Storm, was released on Category 5 Records in 2007, but he sued the label later that year for alleging breach of contract and fraud. …. And finally, big note for Josh Thompson, who performed his first sold-out show as a headlining act in Minneapolis this past weekend. The audience didn’t leave until Josh came back for an encore, where he told the crowd he was going to try a brand-new song he had written just two weeks ago. By the end of the song, the crowd was singing along to the chorus. Josh is currently touring with Brad Paisley on the H20 World Tour.

Caution: Hot Bachelors Ahead

Yesterday, it was revealed that Gary Allan took the lion’s share of the votes to become Country Weekly’s hottest bachelor. The rest of the Top 10 have been announced. Are you ready?

Gary Allan – is it the tattoos or just something sexy about getting off on the pain?
Chris Young – always ranked highly, it will be a devastation to the voting public if Chris ever marries.
Josh Thompson – ladies are lovin’ a man that can bring home the beer.
Chuck Wicks – six words: dance routines in the silk jammies.
Keith Anderson – who doesn’t love Mr. XXL?
Danny Gokey – last year’s Idol voters are still fresh in practice for their man.
Jake Owen – a man that promises an 8 second ride cannot NOT get the ladies attention.
Bucky Covington - Buckaneers love their man. Just wait, the country audience in general hasn’t even heard his sexy song yet.
Phil Vassar – the piano man is still tinkling the ivories of the voter’s hearts.
Stephen Barker Liles – from Love & Theft. One third of the group is married; the other third will surely be envious of this title.

News From Around The Country
Joe Nichols has been named the new face of Roper Apparel and will soon be featured in the company’s advertising and marketing campaign. ….. Toby Keith will embark on a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour later this month with seventeen shows in eleven days for U.S. troops. Toby will be visiting Afghanistan, and his band will be supporting him on several of the shows. On these USO Tours, Toby says he breaks out the funs songs for the soldiers, “My songs for the troops are a little different, they are a little humorous. I’ve got my own little group of songs. She didn’t say no, she said hell no, I try to entertain the troops with a smile.” Toby recently received the Distinguished Service Award from the Military Officers Association of America which recognizes civilians who give back to military personnel. ….. And finally, it you wanted a better look at the childhood videos that were playing behind Lady Antebellum when they performed on the recent ACM Awards, you can see them in their latest Webisode Wednesday video.

Slow Start To A Big CRS Week

If the news starts out slowly this week, it won't stay that way for long. It's CRS Week in Nashville. (The acronym stands for Country Radio Seminar; although given enough parties by the end of the week, many attendees may argue that it stands for "can't remember stuff.") Radio professionals from around the country will be gathering in Nashville for the annual lovefest between artists and the medium that plays their music. Forthcoming news should be abundent. Bookmark this page. Your humble scribe will be reporting from Nashville this week.

Meanwhile, back at home, The Country Station is giving away Zac Brown Band tickets this week. The show is March 4th at the Pan Am Center. Where is your recipe for fried chicken?

News From Around The Country
Alan Jackson’s new video for “It’s Just That Way” premiere’s today. Alan solicited ideas for the video from top directors, but in the end, he used the idea presented by his oldest daughter, Mattie. Alan’s new album, Freight Train, will be out March 30th. ..... As of last Friday, the charitable bids for Taylor Swift's guitar have reached $8000. That figure will surely be higher by the time the auction ends this Friday. Proceeds of the online auction will benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. ..... Emily Robison and Martie Maguire have been talking about their upcoming album, Court Yard Hounds. The two sisters from the Dixie Chicks aren’t sure how fans are going to react, but Emily feels that even if they have just 10 percent of the people who reacted to them before, or only new fans, the two can still make something from that. You can pre-order the duos debut album on their official website and immediately download four songs off the purchased album

And finally, here’s are some fun facts about “Beer on the Table” singer, Josh Thompson. Like many artists, Josh played sports when he was younger. He was a competitive gymnast. Doctors advised his parents to start him in the sport because of he was so hyper active. Josh says, “I was in it for about ten years. I won our state championship twice and then it just got to be too much. I was at that age where I wanted to go fishing and hang out with girls and it was six days a week, four hours a night.” Now Josh is traveling the country for his Jagermeister Country tour. But unlike most country stars who hit the road in a big tour bus equipped with all the comforts of home, Josh travels in his trusty 18 passenger van. Josh has been piling his band and crew into what he affectionately calls his “Van-a-White” for three years now. A passenger van is not that unusual for home-based acts trying to make a living. But for a signed artist with a hit on the radio and a debut album coming out tomorrow, it’s refreshingly humble.