Canadian country songstress Shania Twain took to twitter to debut the cover art for her upcoming album. The record, simply titled “NOW” is set to release on September 29th, 2017, while the first single from the album is expected to impact country radio nationwide tomorrow, June 16th. Take a look at the cover art below and let us know what you think!
Few musical performers epitomize the American spirit with more passion and fervor than Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie Daniels. The singer, who has sung of his unabashed patriotism time in and time out during his career, is showcasing his love of the Red, White, and Blue once again in his latest recording that will be available for sale digitally on July 4th via iTunes, Amazon, Google Play among other digital platforms. Daniels has recorded a stirring version of the Johnny Cash standard “Ragged Old Flag.” Written and recorded by “The Man In Black,” the song hit No. 31 on the Billboard Country Singles chart in 1974. The song still garners airplay during the summer months on Classic Country stations nationwide, particularly around the Fourth of July. Recording this song allowed Charlie to combine two of his biggest passions – his country and his love of Johnny Cash. Charlie is joined on this track by Mark “Oz” Geist, Benghazi Warrior/Survivor and co-author of “13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi.” “These lyrics are just as timely today as they were when Johnny originally recorded them over four decades ago,” said the Grand Ole Opry star. “The song demonstrates the passion and the love that we all should have for this country – and the freedoms that we enjoy with it,” he said. “Of course, it is always a joy to record a song written by the great Johnny Cash. He was an American original, and someone that I consider myself humbled and honored to call friend. Good songs, such as his, continue to remain in style.” Having just turned 80 last fall – just a few weeks after his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Daniels is not slowing down in the slightest. He continues to tour across the country, and will release a new book, Never Look At The Empty Seats on October 24. The book will document his legendary career, as well as several of his many trips abroad in support of the United States Military.
Gretchen Wilson‘s new album Ready To Get ROWDY goes on sale this Friday, June 16, and today her Redneck Records label distributed her new single “Summertime Town” to Country radio via PlayMPE. “Sometimes a song idea is as simple as a great title,” said Gretchen about the single she wrote with Rob Hatch and Bridgette Tatum. “When you picture a summertime town in your head, you begin to imagine the romance and the heartache that could be attached to a place like that.” Gretchen wrote or co-wrote all 12 songs on Ready To Get ROWDY with some of Nashville’s best and most seasoned songwriters, and she produced the album with Blake Chancey (Dixie Chicks, Montgomery Gentry, Kellie Pickler.) Presale of the new album is available now at iTunes. About Gretchen Wilson: Gretchen Wilson exploded onto the country music scene with her smash hit “Redneck Woman” and has since scored three #1 albums. The critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter has won virtually every award for which she’s been nominated, including trophies from the Grammys, ACM, CMA, AMA and more. Her first book, the autobiographical “Redneck Woman: Stories from My Life,” landed her on the prestigious New York Times Best Seller List. She formed her own record company, Redneck Records, in 2009, and her I Got Your Country Right Here CD received two Grammy nominations. She released three albums in 2013: a new Country album entitled Right On Time, a 13-song Rock covers record Under The Covers, and her Christmas In My Heart holiday collection. After an almost three-year hiatus, she is back with her new album Ready to Get ROWDY, and her nationwide tour kicked off in Las Vegas last night. For more information, tour dates and more, visit www.GretchenWilson.com. Keep up with Gretchen at: www.Facebook.com/GretchenWilson https://twitter.com/gw27
DARIUS RUCKER SCORES EIGHTH NO. 1 WITH “IF I TOLD YOU” TO CAP OFF MOMENTOUS CMA FEST WEEK NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As Darius Rucker scores yet another No. 1 at Country radio with “If I Told You,” the first single from his forthcoming fifth studio album on Capitol Records Nashville, he looks back on a banner week. “If I Told You” is the eighth No. 1 single for Rucker since his debut in country music in 2008 and comes just a week after another milestone moment for the three-time GRAMMY Award winner, who reached the $1.2 million mark with his yearly kickoff to CMA Fest, the “Darius and Friends” concert and golf tournament to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. Friends including Brooks & Dunn, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, John Oates of legendary pop duo Hall & Oates were among those who helped the event reach its record-breaking achievement. On Wednesday morning Rucker visited TODAY’s Kathie Lee and Hoda at Honky Tonk Central in Nashville, presenting two worthy recipients of new homes through his partnership with Ply Gem and Habitat for Humanity’s Home Builders Blitz and serenading the crowd with a performance of “If I Told You.” “If I Told You” marks Rucker’s first collaboration with producer Ross Copperman. The song was written with Copperman’s co-writers Jon Nite and Shane McAnally. “I love this time in country music,” Rucker said. “It’s so wide in range and to have this song — a ballad and one I’ve loved and related to since first hearing the worktape — is pretty incredible.” On Wednesday evening the CMT Performance of the Year nominated star helped kick off the awards show as he joined Jason Aldean and Charles Kelley for a rendition of “Midnight Rider” in tribute to Gregg Allman, as well as reprising his role as CMT president for the second year in a skit airing at the top of the show. Acting as CMT president follows a long list of acting accolades Rucker has collected this year, including playing Johnny Bragg, lead singer of the Prisonaires on CMT’s Sun Records and a career criminal on Hawaii Five-0. Rucker closed out 2017’s CMA Music Fest with performances dedicated to the fans that make the week so special, performing at the HGTV Lodge on Sunday morning and Nissan Stadium Sunday evening. In celebration of the imminent No. 1 status of the first offering of his fall 2017 album, Rucker welcomed Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild for a compelling duet of “If I Told You,” expressing to the crowd, “Thank you for believing in this song!” The emotional rendition had the crowd on their feet and in tears as Rucker and Fairchild crooned “I’ll love you anyway” to each other from either side of the stadium stage. Rucker’s as-yet-untitled fifth Capitol Records Nashville album will be released later this year with Copperman at the helm. It will be yet another signature moment in the multiplatinum career of one of music’s most beloved figures. Rucker has never been busier while working on his new album with a slate of television appearances this spring and summer that show just how popular he is, including his own CMT Crossroads episode with John Mellencamp. He also appeared Continue reading Darius Rucker Finishes CMA Week Strong With Eighth Number One Hit
The often-controversial always-deep-digging journalist team over at Vice’s “Noisey” division have been diving into music history as they take a hard look at the outlaws of country music and explore the way they influence the industry today. Shooter Jennings and Sam Hunt join in on the conversation as they talk about how Waylon, Willie, Johnny, and Merle are to this day the driving force behind stepping outside of the Nashville template and finding a unique sound in the country music world. *Please note there is strong language and drug use in this video which means you may not want to watch it at work, but let’s not pretend our country forefathers weren’t doing the same things 😉 The Noisey documentary series, Under the Influence, takes a deeper look at the stories and lasting impacts of the world’s most influential music scenes. Sponsored by Pandora Premium, Noisey interviews today’s outlaws including Margo Price, Nikki Lane, Shooter Jennings, Jelly Roll and more to understand the genre’s origins in the American West to now. The documentary spotlights the influential original outlaws including Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. Noisey travels with Margo Price to Denver to the Sundance Cultivation Center, a medical marijuana facility inspired by Willie nelson’s career on the road. Margo explains what drew her to Outlaw Country and why she relates to Willie Nelson as she self-medicates. Waylon Jennings’ son, Shooter, speaks on his father being a pioneer influencer while his grandson, Struggle Jennings, shows how he combines country and hip-hop with the rapper Jelly Roll. Keeping its independent spirit alive today, these artists explain what the term “outlaw” means to them and how the new generation is finding success by combing country music with R&B, Rap, Rock and other genres. How Outlaw Country Keeps the Renegade Independent Spirit Alive: https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/under-the-influence-outlaw-country Listen to Noisey’s Outlaw Country mixtape on Pandora. Save Save
When asked who his dream Opry duet partner was in an interview, Blake Shelton answered “Steve Wariner.” It’s not surprising as Wariner has had one of the longest-lasting and most influential careers in country music history. On Thursday night, during a special star-packed CMA Week Opry performance, the pair sang a duet on “Lynda” — one of the singer/songwriter’s 22 No. 1 hits. 2017 also marks the 30th Anniversary of the song released in 1987. “I am humbled by Blake’s answer to that question and singing with him on the Grand Ole Opry stage was a heck of a time. He’s one of the giants of today so I am glad we got to do this,” said Steve Wariner.
Miranda Lambert is at it again as she shares her sass and class all at once with her playful performance of “Pink Sunglasses” LIVE from the 2017 CMT Music Awards! Take a look and listen right here at Country Music News Blog.
Check out this stunning tribute to Greg Allman as Jason Aldean, Charles Kelley, Darius Rucker and Derek Trucks bring us their rendition of the classic hit “Midnight Rider” LIVE from the 2017 CMT Music Awards!
Nashville’s own Charles Esten kicks off the 2017 CMT Music Awards with a bit of comedy to get the party going. Take a peek here and tune back in later for a full list of tonight’s big winners!
Who among us hasn’t been both embarrassed and enthralled when our parents pull out the old photo album and start walking us through the pictures of our past? Things aren’t much different when we start paging through the moments that made up country music history. Some are legendary moments in the making while others are disasters just waiting to unfold, but they are all a part of where we came from. Join me, WhiskeyChick, as I take a look today through the story of the CMT Music Awards! While the award show has had its roots in Nashville since 1967, first as the Music City News Awards, then later as the The Nashville Network’s Viewer’s Choice Awards, then finally as the CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards the ceremony is now known as simply the CMT Music Awards. These awards separate themselves from other established awards shows by putting the main focus on fan voting and on in-show performances with the actual presentation of trophies taking a back seat. Over the years those performances have been nothing short of amazing, so let’s take a look at a few: When CMT took over the award show they were trying to cross over the mainstream audience from their sister station MTV and this is obvious in the focus they put on flashy pop-styled performances. This of course turned a lot of the more traditional fans away from the show all together but cemented the CMT Awards as an influence in the younger markets. Shania Twain – 2002 CMT Music Awards – “I’m Gonna Get You Good” Brooks & Dunn feat. ZZ Top – 2002 CMT Music Awards – “Only In America” As the awards grew up alongside technology, the balance between pop and flash and classic country crooning started to settle into more epic showcases of modern talent. Keith Urban – 2004 CMT Music Awards – Opening the show with “Who Wouldn’t Want To Me” Rascal Flatts – 2004 CMT Music Awards – “I Melt” Eventually the channel realized they had an opportunity with this younger audience to have a lot more fun than those other stuffed-shirt formal affairs and started showing their softer side with comedic hosts like Jeff Foxworthy to kick things off. 2005 CMT Music Awards opener But don’t let all that fun and funny fool you… they’re still all about the performance here! Carrie Underwood – 2006 CMT Music Awards – “Before He Cheats” Of course some of those moments are ones the country bloggers tend to sweep under the rug, but can we all take a moment and admit that this pairing got all us parents misty-eyed JUST long enough to forget about Billy Ray’s achey breaky heart after watching his baby girl swinging on a wrecking ball? Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus – 2008 CMT Music Awards – “Ready, Set, Don’t Go” Of course, who can forget the moment another teenage sweetheart took over country radio in a way nobody saw coming! Taylor Swift – 2009 CMT Continue reading A Look Back At The History Of The CMT Music Awards
