Country Music News, Gossip, Commentary: Show Dog Records, Brad Paisley

TOBY KEITH'S SHOW DOG RECORDS

TOBY Keith fans will want to check out the website for his new Show Dog Records label at http://www.showdogrecords.com/ . You'll find all of the latest TOBY news, including upcoming events.

Also on the site are links to Show Dog Records artists -- Rushlow Harris, Broken Bridges, Lindsey Haun and Flynnville Train.

BRAD PAISLEY

Click here for a review of BRAD PAISLEY'S concert in Chattanooga.

CHARLIE DANIELS HONORED

From the Equestrian News Release Wire

FORT WORTH, Texas —The American Paint Horse Association (APHA) recently awarded renowned country music entertainer Charlie Daniels with its Legendary Achievement Award.

Daniels was honored for his work over the past 25 years in breeding American Paint Horses and spotlighting their beauty, versatility and athletic talents. APHA also issued him a lifetime membership certificate.
Daniels raises horses on his Twin Pines Ranch in Tennessee.

Photo: Charlie Daniels & Brenda Lee.

CMA Award Show Performers, Bucky Covington, Billy Ray Cyrus

CMA AWARDS SHOW PERFORMERS

Jason Aldean, Vince Gill, Little Big Town, Josh Turner and Taylor Swift have joined the line-up of performers at the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards show.

Also on the show are: Rodney Atkins, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire with special guest Kelly Clarkson.

The 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards show airs live at 8 p.m. on May 15 on CBS.

BUCKY'S DEBUT

Country Standard Time reports that BUCKY COVINGTON's self-titled debut CD opens at number 1 on Nielsen Soundscan's Country Top 75 chart with 61,000 units sold. Covington's debut CD also enters the all genre top 200 chart in fourth and is the only new country act to open inside the top five this year. The sales figure is the best first week sales and highest Top 200 debut for any new male country artist since Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.

BILLY RAY CYRUS

Speaking of BILLY RAY CYRUS, he is still dancing his way to acclaim on Dancing With the Stars. Catch him on the ABC show on Monday at 8 p.m. The results are aired on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. Even when he misses a step he still looks like he is having the time of his life. Vote BILLY!

Country Music News, Gossip & Commentary: Amy Grant, Big & Rich, Billy Dean

AMY GRANT COLLECTS FOOD FOR AMERICA’S SECOND HARVEST

AMY GRANT helped kick off a one million meal drive for America’s Second Harvest in New York yesterday. The singer has long been associated with program and spreadthesharing.com, which collects stories of sharing. (Photo: Dima Gavrysh, America’s Second Harvest.)

CRUISE WITH BILLY DEAN & JULIE ROBERTS

BILLY DEAN and JULIE ROBERTS are headlining a country music cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas. The ship leaves from Philadelphia and goes to Bermuda for seven nights on September 29. Make your reservations early. For more information, visit Billy’s website at http://www.billydean.com/


FROM THE AP NEWSWIRE: BIG & RICH CANCEL SHOW

HIGHLAND, Calif. -- Big & Rich left fans disappointed after they backed out of an April 12 concert at the last minute because of a dispute over a young guest.

The country music duo of "Big Kenny" Alphin and former Lonestar singer John Rich had been set to perform at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino.

To accommodate the wishes of an ill 5-year-old girl, a local radio station had arranged for the young fan and her family to meet Big & Rich and see the show. But the casino, which bans anyone under 21, wasn't notified.

"While we are sympathetic to the request from the young fan, we are held accountable to the requirements that prevent anyone under the age of 21 from entering our facility at any time," Steve Lengel, director of casino operations, said in a statement.

Big & Rich then canceled the show.About 1,600 people were allegedly kept waiting in the arena for over an hour before it was announced that Big & Rich wouldn't perform. Refunds were offered.

"This was an unfortunate incident and caused great inconvenience for our guests," Lengel said.

Rich said in a statement that he was concerned about offending fans.

"We did have the opportunity to spend some quality time with the young girl and her family on our bus that evening. I am sorry for the girl, the family and all our fans that did not get to see the show," Rich said.

2007 CMT Award Winners

CARRIE UNDERWOOD, KENNY CHESNEY, RASCAL FLATTS, SUGARLAND, JACK INGRAM & TAYLOR SWIFT Take Home Top Honors

The fans have voted, and the belt buckle goes to….

American Idol CARRIE UNDERWOOD was queen of the 2007 Country Music Television Awards last night in Nashville, taking home the Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for her anger-fuel hit single “Before He Cheats.”

Said Underwood, “Thank you, fans. I've had such an amazing, blessed two years. I started out on a fan-based show, and you guys have continued to support me throughout everything. ... Everybody around me has been so amazing. We're so blessed. I hope we continue to be blessed because this is awesome."

KENNY CHESNEY won the Male Video of the Year for “You Save Me.”

RASCAL FLATTS was awarded the Group Video Award for the smash hit “What Hurt the Most.”

SUGARLAND continues their meteoric rise with Duo Video of the Year for “Want To.”

JACK INGRAM won the Wide Open Country Video for the clever “Love You.”

And newcomer TAYLOR SWIFT picked up the Breakthrough Award for a single named for a previous buckle winner, “Tim McGraw.”

These superstars and more are included in the Black Book Guide to Official Country Music Fans Clubs: The Top 100. Click here buy the book at Amazon.com

Click here to check out the 2007 CMT Awards photo gallery.

Ain't No Hos in Country Music

Ain't No Hos in Country Music

The question is not: Should Don Imus have been fired -- for a bad joke or a racist remark, you choose. The question is: Why perpetuate a culture that makes a living on the backs of hos and bad jokes about them in the first place?

The Rev. Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, the NAACP and other civil rights groups were up in arms last week over Imus. Nappy headed hos! Them’s fightin’ words. Imus apologized. CBS folded and fired him.

So why are these same critics and CBS still making a profit on those fighting words, today as they did yesterday? Rap and hip-hop music is a business that makes millions of dollars singing about bitches and hos. The genre objectifies women and glorifies the use of drugs and alcohol and guns. Show me the money. Show me the bling. And if it comes with a scantily clad woman dancing beside me, so much the better.

Of the Don Imus firing, infamous rapper Snoop Dogg said, "It's a completely different scenario. [Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about hos that's in the 'hood that ain't doing sh*t, that's trying to get a nigg* for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them muthaf*ckas say we are in the same league as him. Kick him off the air forever."

Well, of course, that explains it.

But it doesn’t explain why comics on urban The Steve Harvey Morning Show can regularly do a bit parodying southern rednecks that would make a ho blush, and no one says a word.

That’s because, as civil right attorney Constance Rice puts it, it is what he does.

“But there’s also no basis for firing him [Imus] or ending his show. Firing Mr. Imus for racist riffs would like firing Liberace for flamboyance. It is what he does,” said Rice.

Other than evoking an out-dated reference to the long past Las Vegas entertainer, I agree with Ms. Rice. It is what Imus does – he’s a equal-opportunity mouth, and in America he should be free to speak as he pleases. If you don’t like what he says, change the channel. That's what I do when Steve Harvey makes fun of rednecks.

There ain’t no hos in country music. That’s because if there were, country music fans would turn the dial. It’s a choice.

Save your self-righteous indignation, Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Jackson and Snoop Dogg and CBS. Until you stop encouraging rappers to sing about bitches and hos by making it profitable, you are as bad as those you accuse.

In Country Muisc News Today: Johnny Cash, Kenny Chesney, Tracy Lawrence, Little Texas

JOHNNY CASH

The former home of JOHNNY and JUNE CARTER CASH, now owned by BeeGee Barry Gibb, was destroyed by fire Tuesday.

Only the stone chimneys remained of the 13,880-square-foot house in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The cause of the blaze is unknown.

The Johnny and June Carter Cash family lived in the lakeside home from 1968 until their deaths in 2003. Scenes from cash's last video "Hurt" were shot at the house. (Photo: Reuters)

KENNY CHESNEY TOUR

KENNY CHESNEY kicks off his Flip Flop Summer Tour 2007 in Omaha tonight.

The tour name comes from Kenny's philosophy for living. In an interview with CMT, he said: "I have a friend that lives down in the islands. He's 60 years old and has never worn a pair of shoes in his whole life. He's either been barefoot or wearing flip-flops, and I thought, "I wish I could live like that." And then I thought for a second, "Well, you kind of do live like that." (laughs) ... It just creates a great atmosphere, and so I try really hard to bring a lot of the way I live my life into my music and especially into my tour. It's just another example."

Click here to read the CMT interview.

KENNY CHESNEY is featured in the Black Book Guide to Official Country Music Fan Clubs: The Top 100.

TRACY LAWRENCE INTERVIEW

TRACY LAWRENCE fans will want to check out CountryInterviewsOnline for an interview about his new album For the Love, recorded on his own label, Rock Comfort Records.

When asked about influences for the new album, which mixes traditional country, honky-tonk and rock, Tracy said: "What I really drew from was that I really wanted to go back to my early motivation with music, from when I first came to Nashville. I wanted to cut a more traditional album, but I didn’t want it to be dated. So I really looked for a lot more positive lyrics, more up-tempo stuff. I just wanted to get away from chasing the pop direction like everyone’s done so much of in the last several years. I guess I just wanted to go back to the basics and cut an album that was true to me."

LITTLE TEXAS Missing Years

LITTLE TEXAS has a new album, aptly named Missing Years, coming out on June 12.

Country Music Goes Pop Culture

COUNTRY GOES POP CULTURE

Country stars are stepping into the mainstream celebrity pop culture in a big way. Look for BIG & RICH tonight on the "Dancing with the Stars." They will sing "Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy" and "Lost in this Moment." The big question of the night: Will BILLY RAY CYRUS stay to dance another waltz or has America voted him off the show?

American Idol and country darling CARRIE UNDERWOOD is gracing the cover of the May issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. In the accompanying article Carrie talks about her meteoric career, dieting and romance. May Cosmo hits the newsstands today. Carrie's "Before He Cheats" is #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. The album, "Some Hearts," is #17 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart.

TIM McGRAW TOPS 3 BILLBOARD CHARTS

TIM McGRAW hit a triple this week claiming the top spot on the Billboard Country Album Chart and Top 200 Album Chart with "Let it Go," and the Billboard Hot Country Songs with "LAst Dollar (Fly "Away)."

Country Music News: Tim McGraw, Bucky Covington, Merle Haggard, Allman Brothers

TIM McGRAW TOPS BILLBOARD CHARTS

Country music superstar Tim McGraw tops both the Billboard album chart and song chart this week. "Let It Go" debuts at #1 with 330,000 sold copies last week. Breakout single "Last Dollar" is the at the top of the song charts.

BUCKY COVINGTON FANS

For all you Bucky Covington fans, check out the Team Covington Blog. The former American Idol's self-titled debut album hits stores April 17.

MERLE HAGGARD WEBCASTS

Who knew Merle Haggard was so technologically advanced? He is selling webcasts now on his website http://www.merlehaggard.com/. Most are $15, but there are two free ones available: a blooper (with Marty Stuart) and a Christmas greeting.


ALLMAN BROTHERS TOUR

The ALLMAN BROTHERS are headed to Live Oak, Florida, for the annual Wanee Festival, April 13 - 14.

Other cites on the Southern rockers' itinerary include:

May 4 - Memphis, TN - Beale Street Music Festival
MAy 5 - New Orleans, LA - Jazz & Heritage Festival
July 31 - Rama, Ontario - Casino Rama
August 3 - Gilford, NH - Meadowbrook Farm
August 4 - Newport, RI - Newport Folk Festival
August 7, 8 - Boston, MA - Bank Boston Pavilion
August 14 - Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion (w/ Ratdog)
August 15 - Burgettstown, PA - Post-Gazette Pavilion (w/ Ratdog)
August 17 - Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center (w/ Ratdog)
August 18 - Bushkill, PA - Mountain Laurel Center (w/ Ratdog)
August 19 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center (w/ Ratdog)
August 21 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater (w/ Ratdog)
August 22 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center (w/ Ratdog)
September 2 - Snowmass Village, CO - Jazz Aspen

Country Music News

BILLY JOE SHAVER

From the CMT Newswire: Billy Joe Shaver turned himself in at a Waco, Texas, jail on Tuesday (April 3) after he shot a man at an area bar on Saturday night (March 31). After posting $50,000 bond, Shaver was released. His attorney stated that Shaver acted in self-defense after an aggressive drunk man followed Shaver out of the bar with a knife. Click here to read more...

LITTLE BIG TOWN

LITTLE BIG TOWN's album The Road to Here went platinum, with more than 1 million copies sold! Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild said, "The only reason we're here is that we've kept showing up." We hope they continue to make musictheir own way, because it is working!

LITTLE BIG TOWN is this week Fan Club of the Week.


DOLLY PARTON will receive the Johnny Mercer award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner in New York on June 7. A legendary songwriter herself, DOLLY well deserves the honor.

Talent Search, Billy Joe Shaver in Shooting, Free Gretchen Wilson Concert

Capitol Records to Launch Country Music Talent Search

Capitol Records Nashville is launching an online country music talent search called “The Road to Nashville,” with the winner receiving $50,000 and a chance to record three demos in Nashville.

Starting today, contestants can audition online.

BILLY JOE SHAVER Involved in Shooting

BILLY JOE SHAVER shot a man in the parking lot of a bar Saturday night in Lorena, Texas. The country singer says it was in self-defense after a drunken stranger confronted him with a knife in the parking lot.

GRETCHEN WILSON Free Concert

GRETCHEN WILSON is set to perform a free concert at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas on May 13. The concert coincides with the debut of her new album, One of the Boys.

Books Go Country

From CMT News in Brief, DENISE JACKSON, wife of country superstar ALAN JACKSON, has written a memoir about their life together and the rediscovery of her faith after the near-failure of their marriage. It's All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life will be published in July by Thomas Nelson Publishers. Denise Jackson co-wrote the book with Ellen Vaughn. Alan Jackson wrote the foreword and recorded two songs on a bonus CD specifically for the project. The book will also include photos of the couple and their family.

From Country Standard Time, CHARLIE DANIELS is releasing his book "Growing Up Country: What Makes Country Life Country" Tuesday. Daniels will appear on the nationally televised Fox News TV shows Hannity & Colmes on April 3 and Fox & Friends on April 4.

Both ALAN JACKSON and CHARLIE DANIELS are in the Black Book Press Guide to Official Country Music Fan Clubs: The Top 100.