Country Music News

TRACY LAWRENCE

Attention: Tracy Lawrence fans. There is a wonderful, if brief, interview with Tracy online at CMT.

About recording "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, Tracy says: We've all been friends for years. We've talked about it off and on -- for a long time -- of us doing something together. I sang on a track on one of Chesney's albums a couple of years ago with George Jones, and we bounce around and do those things periodically. I thought it would be real cool for the three of us to get together. I thought the lyrics of the song applied so much because they've had their whole deal with the horse.

[Chesney gained national media attention in 2000 when he rode away on a deputy's horse at the New York State Fair. McGraw was charged with attacking the deputies as they tried to corral Chesney and the horse.]

Kenny's had his bumps in the media, and everybody has, but we all met at the same time early on in our careers. And to see everyone succeed to the level that we all have is really pretty amazing -- for three kids to have met all those years ago and still actually have a good relationship with each other. When my vocal was done on the record, I burned copies of it and sent it to both of them. We talked on the phone a couple days later. They loved it and said it was a good idea. We booked a studio and everybody got together to finish up a record.


WILLIE NELSON

Attention: Willie Nelson fans. An awesome, Willie Nelson three-part interview with David Breskin in Musician magazine in 1982 is available online.

Part 1 http://stillisstillmoving.com/?p=1919
Part 2 http://stillisstillmoving.com/?p=1932
Part 3 http://stillisstillmoving.com/?p=1947

CMT

CMT has a new blog for country music lovers at http://blog.cmt.com/ Categories include albums, news, tours and, of course, CMT shows. Also a handful of artist under "Popular Topics." It is worth a look.

COUNTRY MUSIC FAN CLUBS

Your favorite country music fan clubs are included in the BLACK BOOK GUIDE TO OFFICIAL COUNTRY MUSIC FAN CLUBS: THE TOP 100, FROM TRACE ADKINS TO TRISHA YEARWOOD. Now available at amazon.com

Country Music: Billboard Top 10

Big and Rich have the number one song in country music this week, according to Billboard (7-28-07):

1. Big & Rich - Lost in this Moment
2. Kenny Chesney - Never Wanted Nothing More
3. Keith Urban - I Told You So
4. George Strait - Wrapped
5. Taylor Swift - Teardrops on My Guitar
6. Jake Owen - Startin' With Me
7. Montgomery Gentry - Lucky Man
8. Rodney Atkins - These Are My People
9. Jason Aldean - Johnny Cash
10. Bucky Covington - A Different World

It is good to see some of the new country music voices holding their own on the charts.

Billboard's Top Country Albums are:

1. Brad Paisley - 5th Gear
2. Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift
3. Toby Keith - Big Dog Daddy
4. Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts
5. Big & Rich - Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace
6. Tim McGraw - Let It Go
7. Jason Aldean - Relentless
8. Rascal Flatts - Me & My Gang
9. Sugarland - Enjoy the Ride
10. Keith Urban - Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing

Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" is #18 on the Billboard Top 100 chart this week, down one. Still, the unmistakeably country song has crossed over onto the mainstream chart for 46 weeks now!

Big & Rich's "Lost in This Moment" stays at #38 on the Hot 100, with 17 weeks on the chart.

Taylor Swift's "Teardrops On My Guitar" is up one spot to #40 on the Hot 100, with 19 weeks on the chart.

Tim McGraw & Faith Hill's "I Need You" is up four to #50 on the Top 100, with 9 weeks on the chart.

Country Music at Live Earth

The 7/7/07 Live Earth concert for the planet was seen in more than 100 countries and included a taste of country music

KEITH URBAN sang an awesome rock duet of "Gimme Shelter" with Alicia Keys, then went on to play "Days Go By," "Stupid Boy" and "I Told You So." CLICK HERE to see the "Gimme Shelter" video.

BON JOVI sang a mixed set that included "Lost Highway" and "Who Says You Can't Go Home."

KELLY CLARKSON sang rock - no shade of her REBA duet.

You can catch all of the concerts online at http://www.liveearth.org/

COUNTRY MUSIC: REBA & KELLY CLARKSON

REBA & KELLY CLARKSON DUET

Did you see the REBA and KELLY CLARKSON Crossroads show on CMT last week? If not, it is sure to be rerun.

Once again REBA shows herself to be the a fantastic performer, capable of soulful country and rock. And Kelly held her own with her idol, Reba.

One difference in their singing - Kelly says Reba can hit the low notes she can't, and Reba says Kelly can hit the high notes.

Together, they made some beautiful and memorable music.

You can watch the video of the REBA & KELLY CLARKSON duet of "Because of You" online at YouTube and CMT.

The CD version is online, too. CLICK HERE.

the live performance of REBA and KELLY singing "Since U Been Gone."

the live performance of REBA and KELLY singing "Does He Love You."

the REBA and KELLY Crossroads interview.

Lyrics to BECAUSE OF YOU
by Reba McEntire featuring Kelly Clarkson
(Lyrics & Music by: Kelly Clarkson/David Hodges/Ben Moody)

I will not make
The same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break
The way you did
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far

Chorus
Because of you
I never strayed too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me
But everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh
Every day of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with

Because of you
I never strayed too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me
But everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

I watched you die (I watched you die)
I heard you cry
Every night in your sleep (in your sleep)
I was so young (I was too young)
You should have known better
Than to lean on me (lean on me)
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain (you never saw me)
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For that same damn thing

Because of you
I never strayed too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you I find it hard to trust
Not only me
But everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid

Because of you (oooh)
Oooh Because of you (oooh)

CARRIE UNDERWOOD FAN CLUB NEWS

CARRIE UNDERWOOD FAN CLUB NEWS

The official fan club website for American Idol winner and country music superstar Carrie Underwood is www.carrieunderwood.fm . (NOTE the URL if .fm, not .com.)

The cost to join Carrie's fan club is only $24.95 a year.

The benefits are many, including:

• Meet and greet opportunities (subject to availability).
• Pre-sale ticketing opportunities.
• Members only t-shirt.
• Members only sticker.
• Members only photo.
• Exclusive web content, including audio, video and photos
• Personalized @carrieunderwood.fm email address.
• Private message boards, blogs and chats.
• Carrie's online journal, and more.
• Join the Carrie Underwood fan club community and when you are online your login is on the home page, so other members know who is available to chat.

The snailmail address is:

The Official Carrie Underwood Fan Club PO Box 8639 Emeryville, CA 94662

Carrie is a wonderful role model for young women. In a world where the media is obsessed with bad-girl images like Paris and Lindsay, Carrie is a talented breath of fresh air. Show Carrie you appreciate her by joining the fan club today. Better yet, give a young female freind, sister or daughter a membership.

You can see Carrie live in Canada at the Merritt Mountain Music Festival in Merritt, BC, on July 13, and at the Craven County Jamboree on July 15.

Additional upcoming appearances:

07/19/07 Twin Lakes, WI, US Country Thunder

07/21/07 Harrington, DE, US Delaware State Fair

07/28/07 Dixon, CA, US Dixon May Fairgrounds

08/02/07 Detroit Lakes, MN, US WE Fest

08/04/07 Camrose, AB, CA Big Valley Jamboree

08/26/07 Syracuse, NY, US New York State Fair

09/02/07 Allentown, PA, US Great Allentown Fair

09/08/07 York, PA, US York Fair

Country Music Fan Club Interviews On the Radio

Catch my radio interviews about country music fans clubs:

WYTZ, Y97.5 Country, in S.W. Michigan, with morning man WILD BILL. And he is wild! Thursday, June 21, between 6 - 10 a.m.

WKKG, Indiana Country 101.5, with Joy Reynolds. Check out her Big & Rich photos online.

Call in with your fan club story and you could win a free copy of the Black Book Guide to Official Country Music Fan Clubs: The Top 100.

Keep the tradition alive - JOIN A FAN CLUB TODAY!

Toby Keith Interview

Photo: Toby on USO Tour, 2007

Published in the Palm Beach Post

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Toby Keith called his new album "Big Dog Daddy," and yes, it's more bravado from the brash country star.

Keith, a pitchman for Ford trucks, was asked to come down to Dallas to unveil the new F-450 Super Duty. "I walked up on it, got in it and one of the Ford guys said, 'Well, what do you think, Big Dog?' And I said, 'This is a Big Dog Daddy.'"

The line got such a laugh that Keith decided to write a song around it.

Of course, Keith being Keith ("How Do You Like Me Now," "I Wanna Talk About Me"), he made it a first-person chest-thumper about a guy who's "got 'em all screaming from here to Cincinnati."

For the first time in his career, Keith produced most of the new disc on his own, and "Big Dog Daddy" might be the first in any musical genre to include a song about an oil pump jack.

Released on his own Show Dog Nashville Records, it finds Keith returning to more familiar territory after experimenting with horns and R&B rhythms on his last record. The first single, "High Maintenance Woman," is No. 7 on the Billboard chart.

The 45-year-old Oklahoman spoke with The Associated Press recently about his music, his politics and why it's not such a good idea to bounce song ideas off your spouse.

AP: This is the first album you've produced on your own. Is that something you've wanted to do for a while?
Keith: I never thought I had the time or energy. I'm at a point in my life where it's time to do it. If I had gotten halfway in and felt I didn't need to be doing this, I would called a friend and got them to do it.

But it went well.

AP: Do you ask your family for their opinion on songs?
Keith: Once it's done, I'll play it for them. But I never let it influence what songs I record. What if you play something racy for your wife? To me, that muddies the process in what you're trying to do creatively. If I play a song like "High Maintenance Woman" about a guy stalking a woman, and my family goes "I don't know about that" — and I don't record it — I'm not being very true to my music.

AP: Are they surprised by your choices sometimes?
Keith: Even in your own family, you're not going to make everybody happy. Even my closest fans are not going to like everything I do.

AP: You recorded two songs by outside writers on this album, "Love Me if You Can" and "White Rose." That's rare for you.
Keith: Both are so damn good I couldn't resist. They're very well-written. I've been sitting on "White Rose" for five or six years. Craig Wiseman wrote "Love Me if You Can," and the amazing thing is it's exactly where I stand, word for word. I couldn't have written it any truer. When one of those comes along, once in a while you have to record it. I think your ego is too big if you don't.

AP: You do a lot of shows for the troops overseas. Have you ever had any close calls?
Keith: I set the standard for other artists to go there. I want the troops coming home and talking about where they saw me and they can't believe I was there. Maybe other acts will be inspired to do it, but I don't want to scare them off either.

AP: How close to battle were you?
Keith: We spent three or four nights on the Pakistani border in small tents. Most artists have to worry about mortar attacks. We stayed at a camp where you had to worry about getting hit in the head by sniper fire. But you don't have to do what I do. You can go to the green zones or stay in the country and go to the military hospitals.

AP: Do you consider yourself a traditional country singer?
Keith: I'm one of the only guys who've sold as many records as I have in our business and never had a crossover hit. Tim (McGraw) and Faith (Hill) and Shania (Twain) and Keith (Urban) and Kenny (Chesney) have all had crossover hits. I've sold 30 million records and written enough songs to be in the 50 million airplays club, which is the Bee Gees, Elton John, John Lennon. And not one time have I ever had a pop spin. So the pop world doesn't view me that way. I take a lot of pride in that.

AP: People view you as being very outspoken. What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
Keith: I supported the ousting of the Taliban (in Afghanistan) 100 percent. My 9/11 song ("Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue") was all about that. But the far left won't allow that to be. They have to plug me into every pro-war thing they can find. I'm not a political person (Keith describes himself as a lifelong Democrat more interested in "right or wrong" than "left or right"). I get painted that way. I never said I support the Iraq war, but I never said I didn't either.

AP: Do you support the war?
Keith: That war has been over since 48 hours after it started. Our military disarmed them in two days. The dictator has been ousted. They (Iraq) need to step up with their oil money and fund it on their own. I don't say we shouldn't be in there. I say we should be there and step back and let them have their own fight. The U.S. should stand back and make sure the Syrians and the Iranians and the Saudi Arabians don't get involved and allow it to unfold.

Check out Toby's fanclub online at http://www.tobykeith.com/.