DigitalRodeo.com Country News

Phil Vassar Goes Back Home in "Origins"

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/15/2008 12:00:37 PM

Today at 12:00 PM

Phil Vassar is the Artist of the Month on GAC, where he recently debuted a special, "Origins: Phil Vassar — Prayer Of A Common Man."

The program captures Phil’s private concert at Nashville’s Ocean Way Studios, where he recorded his first two albums, plus his return trip to his hometown, Lynchburg, Va., including the home he referenced in the lyrics of his hit "American Child."

"I went back to 419 Lakewood Street, and now Lynchburg College actually owns the house," he told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "I got to meet some fans who were actually at the house taking pictures as we were shooting our GAC special, which was actually a weird thing, weird timing. And I got to see my principal, my coaches, a lot of teachers I had. I went to my old high school. I went to some of my old haunts. It was really great to see old friends and family."

If you missed the premiere, you can still catch Phil’s Origins installment. The show airs again at 8 p.m ET Monday, May 19; at midnight, 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 20; and at 9 p.m. ET Thursday, May 22.

Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton Lead Hall of Fame Class

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/15/2008 11:15:37 AM

Today at 11:15 AM

Banjo legend Earl Scruggs and country music ambassador Dolly Parton are among the artists who’ve been tapped to enter the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame in Wilkesboro, N.C., when the Wilkes Heritage Museum holds an induction ceremony June 13.

Established in 2006, the Hall of Fame recognizes artists who’ve contributed to the area’s artistic and cultural heritage, which is closely associated with country music. Others in the class of inductees include the pioneering trio the Carter Family, Grammy-winning acoustic musician Doc Watson, old-time fiddler Tommy Jarrell and Ralph Rinzler, who managed the late Bill Monroe. Also being honored are David Johnson, Ralph Epperson, Wayne Henderson and Sam Love Queen Jr.

The induction ceremony is in conjunction with a new exhibit of the same title, "Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame." For more information, visit wilkesheritagemuseum.com.

Jake Owen Makes Up To Mom At ACMs

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/15/2008 10:35:37 AM

Today at 10:35 AM

Jake Owen planned to take his mom to the Country Music Association Awards last November, but it wasn’t meant to be. In a rather fitting turn of events, he now gets to escort her just one week after Mother’s Day to the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas.

Why the delay? His mother, Mitzi, suffered a heart attack last November the night before the CMA ceremony. She spent the next five days in the hospital, and the whole ordeal was a huge disappointment — not just because of the physical setback, but also because she was unable to help celebrate Jake’s career progress.

"I always told her that if I ever got to walk down one of the red carpets, that I wanted her to be my date," Jake told The Tennessean. "She was so excited, and she had been working out and lost all this weight, and she’d been sending me pictures of her in her dress."

So this Sunday’s awards have a lot of meaning for Jake. Not only is he up for Top New Male Vocalist, but he’ll be making memories with someone who’s obviously proud of his accomplishments.

"We’re going to make an event out of it," he noted. "I really want to win, but if I don’t, we can say we were out in Las Vegas, and I was nominated for an award and we got to spend this awesome time together. These days, I don’t get to do that enough."

Jake’s competition for Top New Male is Luke Bryan and Jack Ingram.

Brooks & Dunn Release "Slim & Howdy" Book

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/14/2008 11:30:11 AM

5/14/2008 11:30 AM

Brooks & Dunn’s first novel, "The Adventures Of Slim & Howdy," is now in bookstores, thanks to their co-writer, Bill Fitzhugh, who did most of the work on the project.

The characters, Slim and Howdy, grew out of the small western stories the duo has written for the liner notes of its albums, but the characters’ story grew significantly with the creation of the new book. In fact, the plot took several turns, since Kix and Ronnie got Bill to do three or four different rewrites. It seems he took their original suggestion — to make it feel like Pulp Fiction — a little farther than they intended.

"He took it dark," Ronnie told Dial-Global. "It’s hard. I don’t know how he can do it. If it weren’t directly related to what we do, I might go with that ‘R’ rating or something. He’s crazy, kind of wacky. But I’ve never done some of those things he wrote."

Which is, of course, why they call it fiction. Filled with lots of capers and strange twists, the book finds the two characters — Slim & Dusty, not Kix and Ronnie! encountering angry boyfriends and dangerous card sharks in a 272-page read. There is some talk of possibly turning the book into a movie.

Alan Jackson Finds His Own "Space" Online

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/14/2008 10:45:11 AM

5/14/2008 10:45 AM

Alan Jackson is not the biggest fan of the Internet. His associates say he refuses to use e-mail, and Alan says his biggest reason for being online is to find old cars or auto parts.

His slow-to-accept-it view of technology influences one of the songs on his latest album, "I Still Like Bologna," and it was part of his humorous 1999 hit "www.memory." As it turns out, Alan is so uninterested in the web that he was stunned when disc jockeys started asking him in interviews about his MySpace page.

"They asked me what I thought, and I said, ‘I didn’t even know I had a MySpace,’" he told The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "I had to go on [the Internet] and look at it. But somebody had set it up, and then my fan club got involved and took it over."

The record business has complained for a number of years about the loss of album sales to online downloading, but Alan figures he’s a bit lucky since many country fans still want the physical CD in their hands. People who do download music often just buy just a single or a few tracks, instead of an entire album, and that’s hurting the sales for a lot of artists in every genre.

"The thing about country music is there are a lot of people who still buy the albums, and they’re less likely to download," he said. "But I think for really young people, that’s just the way they access music. My kids don’t download illegally, but they listen to all styles of music, and they don’t go out and buy CDs. They just download the songs they like. And sadly, that’s what’s affecting all the record sales that drive the business."

Whatever it’s doing to music sales, concert ticket sales in country music are going gangbusters. Alan’s next slated appearance is June 7 at Nashville’s LP Field during the CMA Music Festival. He’ll be joined on the bill that night by Trace Adkins, Rodney Atkins, Craig Morgan, Kenny Rogers and Little Big Town.

Southern Gospel Star Dottie Rambo Dies

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/14/2008 10:00:11 AM

5/14/2008 10:00 AM

Southern gospel singer-songwriter Dottie Rambo — whose material was recorded by the likes of Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and Barbara Mandrell — died yesterday in a bus accident near Mount Vernon, Mo., the Associated Press reported. The passing was the most recent in a rash of country-related deaths.

"I know Dottie is in Heaven in the arms of God right now, but our earth angel will surely be missed," Dolly Parton said in a statement. "Dottie was a dear friend, a fellow singer, songwriter and entertainer, and — as of late — my duet singing partner."

Dottie’s next album, Sheltered In The Arms Of God, was set for release this summer, featuring a duet with the late Porter Wagoner, Nashville TV station WKRN reported. Dottie was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame last year and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

Several other country artists and related figures have breathed their final breaths during the first two weeks of May. Jim Hager, of the Hee Haw duo the Hagers, died May 1 following a suspected heart attack. Former Jim Reeves guitarist Leo Jackson committed suicide May 4, and Jerry Wallace — who earned a No. 1 hit in 1972 with "If You Leave Me Tonight I’ll Cry" — died the following day. Country Music Hall of Fame member Eddy Arnold died Thursday.

In addition, John Radney Foster, the father of singer-songwriter Radney Foster (author of Sara Evans’ "A Real Fine Place To Start" and half of the former country duo, Foster & Lloyd), died Friday at age 77 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. Services will be held in both San Antonio and Del Rio, Texas.

Jennifer Hanson Readies Sophomore CD

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/14/2008 8:14:11 AM

5/14/2008 8:14 AM

When she released her first album in 2002, Jennifer Hanson notched a hit with "Beautiful Goodbye" and picked up a nomination for Top New Female Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music.

It’s been a long wait, but her sophomore album will finally hit the streets June 3, when the album Thankful is released digitally. It includes her current single, "‘73," and has Vince Gill singing the backing vocals on the title track. The album was a real act of commitment: When she recorded it, she had no record label and financed the entire project on her own.

"I knew I had to make the record and just go on faith that I would somehow be able to get it out there to the music fans," Jennifer says. "That’s just what happened when I played what I had done for Mark Wright and Fletcher Foster [at Universal South]. They heard what I was trying to do with this album and jumped on board. And for that, I am thankful."

Jennifer’s also thankful that a couple of other acts showed an interest in her material. While she was putting the album together, she earned hits as a songwriter of the Wreckers’ "Leave The Pieces" and Bucky Covington’s "A Different World."

Jewel's Homegrown Influences

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/13/2008 10:30:10 AM

5/13/2008 10:30 AM

Parents are the most influential role models most children have, and in the case of singer-songwriter Jewel, her mom and dad had a huge influence on her choice of music as a career. It was something they pursued for a living, and she caught the bug at a very young age.

"They sang in a hotel for tourists," she told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "They did a variety show where they were like a gold miner and a floozy, a can-can girl. And then my dad sang his original material, and they practiced all the time at the house, working out harmonies. And I remember being a little kid about five years old, listening to my parents practice, and it fascinated me. It was like a math problem."

Her dad quickly became Jewel’s teacher and helped her develop her skills.

"I started learning how to yodel from my dad at a very young age, and I didn’t even know about performing yet," she noted. "I was, for some reason, fascinated with trying to get perfect. That really became an interesting thing to me. And eventually I became part of the family show, and I yodeled on stage, and it kind of went from there."

Jewel established herself nationally as a pop singer in 1996, but she’s currently gearing up for the release of her first country album, Perfectly Clear, June 3. Two nights later, she’ll perform at LP Field in Nashville during the first night of the CMA Music Festival, alongside Sugarland, Montgomery Gentry, Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler. On June 9, she’ll begin a run as a judge on NBC’s "Nashville Star," with host Billy Ray Cyrus and fellow judges John Rich and Jeffrey Steele. And on June 11, she’ll begin working as an opening act on Brad Paisley’s summer tour in Albuqerque, N.M.

Toby Keith, LeAnn Rimes Head ACM Additions

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/12/2008 10:45:43 AM

5/12/2008 10:45 AM

The list of performers for the 43rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards continues to grow. Toby Keith, LeAnn Rimes and Kellie Pickler have been added to the roster for the Las Vegas production, along with Kenny Chesney and George Strait, who’ll perform "Shiftwork" live for the first time.

Kenny and George are in the running with that song for Vocal Event of the Year, one of 11 of Kenny’s field-leading 11 nominations. Other new names who’ve been added to the lineup during the presentation include Clint Black, Sara Evans, Lady Antebellum, Trisha Yearwood, Jewel, Clay Walker, Randy Owen, John Rich, Little Big Town and Emerson Drive vocalist Brad Mates. Non-singers who’ll appear include Criss Angel, Kaley Cuoco and Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw.

Kellie’s performance will introduce her new single, "Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful." Sugarland, whose performance was previously announced, will also debut its new single, though the official title hasn’t yet been released.

Others who were already on the bill include Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Rodney Atkins, Garth Brooks, Rascal Flatts, Trace Adkins, Miranda Lambert and Montgomery Gentry. Reba McEntire will host the ACMs for the 10th time in her career May 18.

Trace Adkins' Hollywood Romance Continues

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/12/2008 10:00:43 AM

5/12/2008 10:00 AM

Thanks in great part to his participation in "The Celebrity Apprentice," Trace Adkins has garnered plenty of interest in film and TV. The latest development, according to the Associated Press, finds him performing the theme song to "Black Gold," a series that will debut on truTV June 18.

The program will highlight life in the oil business — something Trace knows about, since he used to work on offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Trace wrote the song, adding yet another chapter to his 2008 Hollywood resume. He appeared recently on the soap opera "The Young & The Restless," filmed a part in a satirical movie called American Carol, and was featured in a horror picture — Trailer Park Of Terror — that was shown recently at the Nashville Film Festival.

Trace’s interest in visual mediums has evolved, in part, because it’s not really his area of expertise.

"It’s something I’m not really comfortable doing," he told Dial-Global. "That’s why I enjoy it. You do need to constantly challenge yourself to do new and fun things. When you do something and you know it doesn’t come naturally to you, you kinda work harder at it."

Trace isn’t the only country artist who’s flirted with the film business. Josh Turner recently shot a small part, as gospel singer George Beverly Shea, for the Billy Graham biopic Billy: The Early Years. Josh has no interest in a reality TV series, but he was intrigued by his movie work.

"I’m not aspiring to be an actor, but if the right role comes along, I might consider it," he told The Arizona Daily Star. "But I’m not going to be out there looking for another acting role. My focus is on the music, and that’s where my heart is."

Likewise, Taylor Swift has generated some interest in film circles, even winning the Superstar of Tomorrow honor at the recent Young Hollywood Awards. But Taylor remains cautious about that business.

"I’ll approach it like I approach everything else," she told Dial-Global. "I mean, I will go for it if there’s a perfect opportunity, you know. I try to pursue things that are right at the time. So we’ll see what happens."

In the meantime, Dwight Yoakam has one of his boots firmly planted in movies. Having recently worked on the picture Four Christmases, which will also feature Tim McGraw, he’s part of this month’s shooting for Crank 2: High Voltage.

It's Official! Carrie Underwood Joins Grand Ole Opry

DigitalRodeo.com — 5/12/2008 8:27:43 AM

5/12/2008 8:27 AM

Growing up in Oklahoma, Carrie Underwood used to watch the Grand Ole Opry at her grandparents' house. Now, just three years after her career began, she's officially a member of the Opry — and it's a dream come true for the country superstar.

None other than Garth Brooks inducted an emotional Carrie. "I can't imagine what you're feeling right now," Garth told Carrie onstage. "I cried like a baby the whole time," he said, referring to his own 1990 Opry induction. "But this is all about you. This is tough stuff. But being around you five minutes, I know you get it. Coming from Oklahoma, I know you're sharp as a whip, of course.

"You will be rained with awards from the CMA, ACM, Grammys and all that stuff," continued Garth. "Nothing will last as long or be more important than this award right here tonight. Congratulations."

"Everything that Garth just said is completely true," said Carrie, wiping away the tears. "This [award] is gonna hold a very special place in my awards case. I just want to thank everybody at the Opry for having me as a part of your family — because it really seems like a great family to be a part of. It means a lot to me. I promise that I'll do everything I possibly can to make you not regret it — and to make you guys not regret it!" she said, pointing to her fans. "Thank you. I am so blessed!"

In the audience during Carrie's induction were her mom and dad, and one of her sisters and her niece. Carrie opened the Opry broadcast with her latest single, "My Last Name." Just before she was inducted, she sang her hit, "All-American Girl." Closing the show with her debut No. 1, "Jesus Take the Wheel," Carrie was joined by another fellow Okie, Opry member Vince Gill, who sang harmony.

Opry star Randy Travis surprised Carrie on March 15 with an invitation to be the next member of the hallowed institution. "The Grand Ole Opry is so synonymous with country music," Carrie told Opry Live! host Nan Kelley just before her induction. "Country music is wonderful and there are a lot of great people who do a lot of great things for the fans. And the Grand Ole Opry is at the center of that."

Check back with GACTV.com to see photos and video clips from Carrie's Opry induction!