Flashback To Today's Date- May 2, 2003- The Dixie Chicks EW Cover

Two months after Natalie Maines' infamous remark about President Bush, the Dixie Chicks literally bared all about the war, the backlash, and their future. It remains Entertainment Weekly’s most controversial and celebrated cover to date.

That Nashville Sound Food Corner- Dolly Parton Cookies

With the kid's Little League games rained out today in Northern California, we just might have to bake these Dolly Parton Cookies. Check out this “how-to” video of making these “top heavy” delicious-looking cookies…

Dolly Parton Cookie recipe

Reba McEntire Releases New Line Of "Reba" Apparel At Dillard's

One of the grand dames of country music, Reba McEntire, just released her newest season of “Reba” clothing line & accessories with a celebration and autograph signing at Dillards in Dallas, Texas. McEntire's exclusive range of clothing, shoes, bath and home products are available exclusively at Dillard's stores. According to the press release, here’s the description of the two collections…

The "Citrus Garden" collection features casual pieces in comfortable burnout cotton fabrics with innovative multicolor sublimation designs. Casual denim jackets, crisp white shirts and solid knit tees are embellished on the back with rhinestone-encrusted scrolls or embroidered crosses.

The "Santa Fe" collection features blue/khaki vintage paisley button-front shirts and flowy skirts. Bold designs in papaya, tropical blue and khaki create a contemporary feel. Super-soft embellished sweaters and feminine embroidery enhance the group. Pants feature detailed appliques and jackets with contrast topstitching detail. Buttery-soft sweaters are decorated with embellished V-necklines. Collared polo tops with sublimation designs look great paired with indigo denim jeans or sand-color embroidered pants.

"They've (my fans) been loyal to my music career and they've equally responded to my line." What's next for the "Queen of Country"? A line of luggage is in the works set to rollout during the holidays at Dillard's.

Zac Brown Band Working On New Live And Studio Albums

After their latest album, The Foundation, was recently certified gold for retail shipments of 500,000 units, the Zac Brown Band is looking ahead to not one, but two new albums in the next year. A live album will be released later this year, according to an interview with Billboard magazine. Brown also said a new studio album will be released in 2010 and that the band has more than 20 songs recorded for the project. "But if you come out and see us, a 90-minute or two-hour show, we pretty much do that next record live," he said.

That Nashville Sound Wishes Tim McGraw Happy Birthday

Tim McGraw is famous for he shares a birthday with my wife… okay… maybe for more than that…

That Nashville Sound would like to wish Tim McGraw a warm birthday wish- he turns 42 today.

McGraw has had eleven consecutive albums to debut at Number One on the Billboard albums charts; Twenty-one singles to hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country 100 chart; three singles named the #1 country song of the year; ("It's Your Love", "Just To See You Smile", and "Live Like You Were Dying") Won 3 Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards and 3 People's Choice Awards. Ranked as one of the top five in all genres of music, his Soul2Soul II tour with Faith Hill became the highest-grossing tour in country music history.

Happy Birthday To A Legend- Willie Nelson

That Nashville Sound wishes Willie Nelson a very happy 76th birthday today.

Although he didn't become a star until the mid-'70s, Nelson spent the '60s writing songs that became hits for stars like Ray Price ("Night Life"), Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), Faron Young ("Hello Walls"), and Billy Walker ("Funny How Time Slips Away") as well as releasing a series of records on Liberty and RCA that earned him a small, but devoted, cult following. During the early '70s, Willie aligned himself with Waylon Jennings and the burgeoning outlaw country movement that made him into a star in 1975. Following the crossover success of that year's The Red Headed Stranger and "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," Nelson was a genuine star, as recognizable in pop circles as he was to the country audience; in addition to recording, he also launched an acting career in the early '80s. Willie never played it safe musically. Instead, he borrowed from a wide variety of styles, including traditional pop, Western swing, jazz, traditional country, cowboy songs, honky tonk, rock & roll, folk, and the blues, creating a distinctive, elastic hybrid. Nelson remained at the top of the country charts until the mid-'80s. He has remained a vital icon in country music, having greatly influenced the new country, new traditionalist, and alternative country movements of the '80s and '90s & into this decade as well as leaving behind a legacy of classic songs and recordings.

Celebrate his big day with a watch of one of our very favorite Willie songs… Seven Spanish Angels with Ray Charles here…

1988 Flashback- Rodney Crowell & Roseanne Cash

On this date in 1988 - Rodney Crowell and Rosanne Cash' s "It' s Such A Small World," went to #1. You can watch it here...

Country Music Loses The Voice- Vern Gosdin

Vern Gosdin (aged 74), whose "Chiseled in Stone" became a classic in country music and was known simply as "the Voice," recently suffered a stroke and died on Tuesday in a Nashville hospital.

A native of Woodland, Alabama, Gosdin idolized The Louvin Brothers and The Blue Sky Boys as a young man and sang in a gospel quartet called The Gosdin Brothers. Nicknamed "The Voice," an inheritor of the soulful honky tonk style of Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard rose to the top of the business and notched hit after barroom hit. Some of these scored hits in the 1970s and 1980s, included "Set 'em Up Joe," "I'm Still Crazy," "That Just About Does It," "If You're Gonna Do Me Wrong (Do It Right)," "Today My World Slipped Away," "Slow Burning Memory," "This Ain't My First Rodeo," "Way Down Deep" and "I Can Tell By The Way You Dance (You're Gonna Love Me Tonight)." He and Rex, who died in 1983, moved to California and joined the bluegrass group the Golden State Boys. The duo later had a country hit in 1967 with "Hangin' On."

In 1972, he moved to Atlanta, raised a family, operated a business and performed sporadically in local clubs. His career resumed in 1976 with the help of old friend Emmylou Harris, who spearheaded a revival of more traditional country music.

Gosdin's "Chiseled in Stone" won the Country Music Association Song of the Year award in 1989. He finished his career with three #1’s and two certified gold albums.

You can hear him sing his classic “Chiseled In Stone” here…

Bryan Adams & Jason Aldean To Do CMT Crossroads

CMT has announced that "Canadian rock legend Bryan Adams will join Jason Aldean for a new episode of CMT Crossroads scheduled to premiere June 26. The show will be taped before an invitation-only audience in Nashville in early May. A singer-songwriter who still tours more than 150 days annually, Adams is best known for hits such as "Summer of '69," "Run to You," "18 'Til I Die," "It's Only Love," "Somebody," "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You." He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and has been inducted into the Canadian Juno Hall of Fame and Canada's Walkway of Stars. After selling more than 2 million copies of his first two albums, Aldean recently released Wide Open, which sold more than 100,000 during its first week of release. His string of hits includes "Hicktown," "Why," "Amarillo Sky," "Johnny Cash," "Laughed Until We Cried" and his current single, "She's Country.""

American Idol's Taylor Hicks Next Country Crossover Artist

A familiar face will returning to American Idol tonight with their season 5 champion Taylor Hicks returning to sing his latest single which will be hitting country music radio stations in May. His fifth single, “Seven Mile Breakown,” has a country southern-rock music flavor. This will be his first foray into country music as all of his previous singles were released on the Adult Contemporary format. You can listen to the song set to a photo montage here...

Zac Brown Band On Leno Tonight

Zac Brown Band will be performing on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" tonight- Wednesday, April 29th at 11:35pm/10:35pmC- on NBC. Tune in and watch ZBB perform their new single "Whatever It Is!"

Oak Ridge Boys Hit QVC To Launch New Album

The Oak Ridge Boys are scheduled to make their QVC debut Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 PM (ET) during a special QVC Presents The Oak Ridge Boys Qsessions Live show. During the broadcast, the group will perform a selection of songs from their from their much-anticipated release ‘The Boys Are Back’ (Spring Hill Music Group/EMI), including a cover of The White Stripes’ "Seven Nation Army," the first cover song performed by a country artist, and the poignant "Mama’s Table."

Shoppers will also have the opportunity to purchase the album, which has been specially-packed with a five-track bonus CD, more than two weeks before street date. ‘The Boys Are Back’ features 12 new tracks, including songs penned by ACM Award Winner Jamey Johnson, Shooter Jennings and Jack White of The White Stripes.

"We are excited to debut this critically-acclaimed release on QVC," said Paul Sizelove, Vice President of the Spring Hill Music Group. "As a household name, The Oak Ridge Boys have enjoyed consistent television successes over the years and we feel they are a natural fit for the QVC audience."

Produced by acclaimed pop producer Dave Cobb (Waylon Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Brooke White), ‘The Boys Are Back’ revisits familiar Oaks harmonies while injecting a new energy into their sound. The Dallas Morning News music critic Mario Tarradell has even stated that the new album "features a more stripped-down sound a la what Rick Rubin did with the late Johnny Cash."

The Oak Ridge Boys join an impressive list of successful QVC album launches, including James Taylor, Randy Travis, LeAnn Rimes, Ray Charles and more.

‘The Boys Are Back’, packaged with special five-track bonus disc, will be available through QVC starting April 29 at 800.345.1515.

Rounder Records Celebrates Bluegrass Month With Prizes

Rounder Records celebrates Bluegrass Month with new releases, special discounts, and EXCLUSIVE PRIZES! Enter your email address to sign up for the Rounder email list, and you'll be entered to win one of the following great prizes:

Grand Prize- 1 lucky winner will receive a Deering "Goodtime 2" banjo autographed by Steve Martin!

First Place- 5 First Prize Packages: $50 Rounder Gift Certificate good toward purchases from Rounder.com and Rounder artist merchandise autographed by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Blue Highway, Michael Cleveland, The Grascals, Dailey & Vincent, and the SteelDrivers

Second Place- 3 Second Prize Packages: • $50 Rounder Gift Certificate, Free 1 year subscription to Bluegrass Unlimited and Rounder logo T-shirt

Click here to go enter for these prizes.

Jerry Lee Lewis To Receive Highway Honor

Jerry Lee Lewis, the piano-pounding rock 'n' roller known as "The Killer," has been honored by Tennessee legislators who voted to name a stretch of road after him. A proposal unanimously approved Monday evening by the House designates a stretch of Getwell Road in Shelby County as the Jerry Lee Lewis Highway. The section runs from the Mississippi state line to Interstate 240.

Lewis, well-known for his hit "Great Balls of Fire," said "it's not every day you get a street named after you - it's a great honor." A companion bill unanimously passed the Senate earlier this month and now goes to Gov. Phil Bredesen for his consideration.

New Music Video For Darryl Worley- Sounds Like Life To Me

Watch it here...

Jason Michael Carroll's New Album Hits Today

Growing Up Is Getting Old, the brand new album from hot country star Jason Michael Carroll, will be in stores today, April 28. The disc reunites Carroll with noted producer Don Gehman (Hootie & The Blowfish, John Mellencamp), who helmed Carroll’s debut disc, Waitin’ in the Country, that debuted at #1 on the country charts and produced two back-to-back Top 5 hits with "Alyssa Lies" and "Livin' Our Love Song." The album's lead single is "Where I'm From," his latest Top 20 hit that's still heating up the charts.

New Music Video From Love and Theft

"Don't Wake Me" is the first music video from Love and Theft's upcoming album World Wide Open. The band is composed of Brian Bandas (lead vocals, guitar), Stephen Barker Liles (lead vocals, guitar), and Eric Gunderson (lead vocals, guitar). The group made its debut with a live EP titled "Live in Savannah" recorded while on tour with Taylor Swift. Watch the video here...

Def Leppard To Perform At CMT Awards

When you think of the CMT awards, I’m sure the first thing you think of is… Def Leppard?

Last week Def Leppard, received three first round CMT Award nominations. Today they were named as performers at the awards ceremony. The 2009 CMT MUSIC AWARDS will premiere LIVE on Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT on CMT and CMT.com. Def Leppard received two first round nominations for their performance of Photograph with Taylor Swift, from CMT Crossroads: Def Leppard and Taylor Swift; one for CMT Performance Of The Year and the other for Wide Open Country Video Of The Year. Their collaboration with Tim McGraw on Nine Lives, also received a nomination as the Wide Open Country Video Of The Year.

New Music From Steve Azar Today

Steve Azar, one of country music's most talented and soulful singer-songwriters, will release "Moo La Moo" to country radio today and to digital media outlets tomorrow.

Written by Azar and hit songwriters A.J. Masters and Jim Femino, "Moo La Moo" is an upbeat song that will put a smile on your face and a groove in your step, even if you're faced with the dilemma of being broke long before payday comes. While that's something almost everyone can relate to these days, Azar claims the lyrics weren't inspired by the recent economic downturn.
"We wrote this song more than four years ago--and not because of the times we all seem to be going through right now," explains Azar. "The times have just caught up with the song."

"Moo La Moo" is the brand new single from Azar's yet-to-be titled album, scheduled for release this summer on Ride Records.

Listen To Dierks Bentley Live On NPR

Each weekday, National Public Radio hosts country, folk and Americana artists from around the globe to perform on a stage they call Mountain Stage. This last week, they hosted country star Dierks Bentley.

In this performance, Bentley plays songs from his fourth studio album, Feel That Fire. Selections include the title track, one of his most personal songs ("Better Believer") and another soft ballad, "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes." His latest single, "Sideways," closes out the set. Feel That Fire debuted at the top spot on the Billboard Country Albums chart.

Stream this live concert here...