Joe Nichols Finds Inspiration For New Single "Believers" From Iraq Trip

Joe Nichols spent 10 days in Iraq performing for U.S. servicemen and women earlier this summer and developed an incredible video of our military personnel talking about why they’re “Believers.” It’s the title of his new single at radio and when he found the stories from the enlisted personnel, he felt it important to share their stories.

Inspired by what he heard, Nichols had the video crew documenting his tour of Iraq interview the soldiers and ask them what they believed in. The result is an emotional and inspiring video that Nichols has posted on YouTube for all to see. You can watch it below.

"I think it's really important for people to hear what our men and women in the military have to say," Nichols said. "I recorded the song 'Believers' because I feel the song has a strong and much needed message. We all need encouragement and something to believe in.”

My 9513 Interview With Ronnie Milsap

In an almost unbeliev-able tally, Ronnie Milsap has had more top country hits than anyone except George Strait and the late Conway Twitty. Over his career, he has sold more than 25 million records and has had 40 #1 hits. He and I had a great conversation this week that I’ve shared with the readers of the other site I contribute to, The9513.com. Read the interview by clicking HERE…

"I said, “Mr. Ray Charles, my name is Ronnie Milsap and I love your music. I emulate what you do and I’ve bought all the records I could find of yours that you’ve recorded. I’m at a little dilemma in my life. I want to be in the music business but all my counselors at school tell me I need to go on to law school.” There was a piano in the dressing room, which was convenient, and he told me to go play something. So I played him three songs and after that there was about a ten second pause. He said, “You know, you can become a lawyer if you want to, but there’s a lot of music in your heart. And if I was you, I’d follow what my heart tells me to do.”"

Brad Paisley’s New Video For "Welcome To The Future"

Brad has done it again- making another TERRIFIC video for his new single at radio, “Welcome To The Future.” Watch it below...



Email subscribers can click on the headline to watch the video online.

Lady Antebellum Sings Don Henley’s “Boys Of Summer”

If you’re a big fan of Lady Antebellum, here’s a great video of them covering Don Henley’s “Boys Of Summer” last month at the Staples Center.



Email subscribers can click on the headline to watch the video online.

Toby Keith Skewers American Hypocrisy In New Video

If you’ve ever seen the genius JibJab movies and loved them as I do, you’ll dig the new Toby Keith video for “American Ride.”

Guitar Legend Les Paul Passes Away

The sound of the Les Paul electric guitar permeates every musical genre. From punk to pop, reggae to rock, the iconic guitar has been played and revered by many top musicians, including Eric Clapton, Slash, Steve Jones, Keith Urban and the Edge.

But the influence of Les Paul, the man, stretches further than the distinctive sound and curve of his iconic instrument. Announcing his death, a spokesperson from Gibson, producer of the guitar, called Mr Paul "one of the foremost influences on 20th-Century sound".

Mr Paul pioneered the shift from acoustic to electric guitar and invented multi-track recording, as well as having a string of hits himself. Paul's innovative guitar, "The Log", built in 1939, was one of the first solid-body electric guitars. Gibson Guitars designed a guitar incorporating Paul's suggestions in the early fifties, and presented it to him to try. He was impressed enough to sign a contract for what became the "Les Paul" model (originally only in a "gold top" version), and agreed never to be seen playing in public, or be photographed, with anything other than a Gibson guitar.

Rock and roll, country and blues music would never be the same...

From the words of Keith Urban:

“I have a mix of emotions today. On one hand, I am deeply saddened at Les Paul’s passing, and on the other a feeling of incredible gratitude and awe for his unquantifiable contribution to the world of music. His name adorns so many of the creations that I communicate through every night out here on the road...He is also very present every time I set foot in the studio and am able to lay multiple tracks as I record, when I use echo, etc., the list of his inventions, in addition to his famous signature model Gibson, are extraordinary. I also feel that even in his nineties, the fact he was still playing every Monday night in New York is perhaps the most beautiful and inspiring achievement of all. As Vince Gill would say, “Go rest high on that mountain Les...cause son, your work on earth is done.”

From the words of Aerosmith's Joe Perry:

"As a guitarist and a fan of music in general, I know the amazing contributions Les Paul made in his lifetime to the art of making music. I think if the general public knew how much of that influence is heard every day in the music that they listen to, they would be amazed. He was a true genius. The few times that I had met him, he made me feel like I had known him forever. He was always sharp, ready to rock and he was always talking about his next gig. Knowing that he is not walking the earth anymore is sad and I have lost a friend. But every time I pick up a guitar I’ll know that his spirit is alive and well right next to me."

From BB King:

"Les Paul was truly a 'one of a kind.' We owe many of his inventions that made the rock 'n roll sound of today to him, and he was the founding father of modern music. This is a huge loss to the music community and the world. I am honored to have known him."

Country Music Hall Of Fame Bequethed Legacy Of Cindy Walker

At a donation ceremony wreathed with her songs, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum yesterday paid tribute to 1997 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Cindy Walker for an SRO audience of invited guests and Museum visitors.

Museum Director Kyle Young announced that when Walker died on March 23, 2006, she bequeathed the writer’s share of her 500-song catalog to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “The largest percentage of our holdings has been donated,” Young said. “We are accustomed to gifts documenting or recalling the work of country music luminaries, but this is the first time we have ever received the actual work.”

Walker’s bequest included files and notebooks related to the songs, sheet music, photographs and business documents. Young explained that Walker, who was once married briefly and had no children, thought of her songs as her “babies.” In one of her files, Museum curators found Walker’s farewell note to her songs.

“Goodbye my darling,” she wrote. “You have been so good to me. You have made me rich and famous. I love you, you are the reason I am, and you are in the Hall of Fame. I will miss you. Goodbye, your girl, Cindy Walker.”

“Few things have served as a more emotional reminder of our responsibilities here than Cindy Walker’s note to her ‘babies,’” Young said.

Museum trustee David Conrad described the Museum’s plans for the Walker songs. Crediting the idea to Sony/ATV Music Publishing President-CEO Troy Tomlinson, also a member of the Museum’s Board of Officers and Trustees, Conrad announced plans for a 12-song Walker demo to be directed to film and television music supervisors. With Conrad as executive producer, volunteer producers Tony Brown, Fred Foster and Vince Gill will each produce four songs for the project.

“Each producer will choose artists from different music genres, who will be invited to create new arrangements of both Cindy’s immortal songs and some that are not so well known,” Conrad said. To pitch the songs, the Museum will take a list of 450 film and television supervisors, provided by Sony/ATV, and lead them to the demo recordings on a MySpace page. Conrad said that publishers of the selected songs will be invited to contribute to the recording budget. “Publishers will also be asked to either allow the Museum to negotiate sync rights, or to commit to making themselves readily accessible should the prospect of a deal arise,” he said.

Accompanied by images of Walker at various stages of her career, Young recounted her life from her youth in Waco, Texas, to her arrival and early professional career in Hollywood, and from her return to Texas and concomitant and fruitful embrace of the Nashville music scene to her death in 2003. He screened two of her Soundies, Election Day and Seven Beers with the Wrong Man. These were three-minute song-and-dance dramas that were screened between western movie double-features and played on video jukeboxes in the early 1940s. Walker helped pioneer these precursors of today’s music videos.

The celebration concluded with a musical salute to Walker presented by Nashville’s premier western swing unit, the Time Jumpers, who have kept a 10-year Monday night residency at the Station Inn that has fans lined up around the block before show time each week. Crowded close together in an intimate bluegrass style, the big swing band presented four songs from their standard repertoire including “Sugar Moon” with Kenny Sears on vocals, “You Don’t Know Me” with vocals by Carolyn Martin, “Miss Molly” with vocals by Ranger Doug, and “I Don’t Care” featuring the voice of Dawn Sears. Museum President Vince Gill joined the Time Jumpers to sing “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream).”

Tim McGraw To Release Southern Voice October 20th

Country music singer Tim McGraw has set his release date for his new Southern Voice album for October 20th and released the album artwork for the new album.It will be McGraw's first album release since 2007's "Let It Go". It will feature 12 tracks in total. The lead single, "It's a Business Doing Pleasure With You", was written by Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger and Nashville songwriter Brett James.Additional tracks on the album include "Still", "Ghost Town Train", "Good Girls", "I Didn't Know It At The Time" and "If I Died Today".

McGraw is also set to star in the film "The Blind Side", which has been scheduled for a November 20 release.

Tracy Lawrence Hospitalized

BREAKING NEWS- Suffering from a respiratory infection, country recording artist Tracy Lawrence (Rocky Comfort Records) was hospitalized yesterday in Nashville. The physicians have diagnosed him with early signs of pneumonia for which he is currently receiving treatment. Regrettably, Tracy's health condition and hospitalization have forced him to cancel his August 13 scheduled appearance at the Wildhorse Saloon in Lufkin, TX. The status of his remaining shows this weekend in San Antonio, TX and Norman, OK will be determined early Thursday.

Lady Antebellum Unveils New Single

Lady Antebellum's new single, "Need You Now," from their NEW forthcoming album is now available on iTunes. You can preview the full length song on their blog below...

Lady Antebellum: Need You Now!

Holly Williams Unveils New Music Video For “Alone”

Up & Coming New Nashville- The Harters (With Exclusive Interview)

Family. Love. Harmony. They’re three simple words that can mean anything to pretty much everybody. But for The Harters, they embody a way of life that means just about everything. First and foremost, Michael, Leslie and Scott are siblings. And as brothers and sister, they share a familial love rooted in a lifetime of music. So far, pretty simple. Yet as country music has begun to discover – and their forthcoming debut album proves – The Harters play and sing together with a sound that soars beyond mere ‘harmonizing’ to the place where breakthrough artists are born. “Family, love and harmony all mean the same thing to us,” explains older brother Michael. “We’re three different people with one unifying approach. We don’t write, play, or sing conventionally, and our music can’t be ‘airbrushed’. We are,” he says with a laugh, “incapable of being anything other than exactly who we are.”

It’s who The Harters are – individually and collectively – that make all the difference. “None of it would work without each one of us,” says sister Leslie. “Michael brings the traditional country sound. Scott’s comes from a more rock background. I listen to and love everything. And when we get together, there’s this weird magic that happens.” For younger brother Scott, it’s their diverse influences and personalities that create the unifying thread. “We’re all stubborn to a certain degree,” he explains, “and none of us are willing to be part of something we don’t believe in. I think of us as three circles that meet. Where they overlap is where our music is.”

The Harters were virtually born into music in their Arizona home, where their earliest childhood memories are of their father playing guitar and singing Beatles and Hank Williams songs. “We’d sit around the living room with our two older sisters Shannon and Brandy, listening to our dad, ” Leslie remembers. “After every song, the five of us would yell, ‘Do it again!’ Our mom is a really talented writer who taught us the importance of words and lyrics. Me, Michael and Scott just absorbed it all.” And while the Harter kids loved to bang on the family’s old upright piano, it was at their cabin on the outskirts of Flagstaff where the siblings’ true music gifts would coalesce. “We’d go there every weekend and all summer,” says Michael. “After our parents’ divorce, the cabin was our only constant.” By their early teens, they had begun to forge their indelible harmony – musical and otherwise – around a nearly constant campfire. “From the time we got up until the time we went to sleep, we would light a bonfire and sing,” Leslie says. “We still do. The cabin is a place that grounds you immediately to who you are and where you come from. ”

One night at their grandmother’s house, the current road became visible. “I’d moved back from Nashville,” Michael recalls, “and Leslie and I were thinking about being a duo. Scott had just come home from San Diego with some songs he’d written. The three of us started harmonizing on a song out on the back patio. After a while, my dad said, ‘I don’t know why you three don’t just sing together as a group.’ To our minds, the three of us singing and playing together was always just something we did around the campfire. Why would we try to do that professionally?” Still unsure, the three began a tentative collaboration. “When we first started doing this, we still didn’t know what we were,” says Scott. “Then came a song called ‘We All Fall Down’. The three of us sat down and wrote it, and these harmony parts just emerged. It was totally different from anything we’d ever done before. We’d found our sound. Suddenly we’d figured out that we didn’t have to be like anybody else. We could be us.”

What The Harters had found was a sound totally original and rooted in a bond that was wholly unbreakable. The three soon realized they were instinctive songwriters, able to craft inventive melodies and imaginative lyrics through some mystery combination of DNA and ESP. “When we get together, it just happens,” says Michael. “In fact, the majority of the album was written around the campfire in Flagstaff.” Scott and Michael lay down instrumentation both elegiac and insistent, Michael on their grandfather’s acoustic guitar and Scott on acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin and bouzouki. Individually, their vocals are as distinctive as their personalities – Michael’s clear and confident twang, reminiscent of vintage Garth; Scott’s warm yet versatile power, fusing back porch and barroom; and Leslie’s fearless melisma that channels a childhood obsession with her mom’s Patsy Cline records via Annie Lennox and The Cranberries. But it’s when the three come together in harmony that they create ‘The Harters’ Sound’: A pure country choral that can convey joy, pain and hope, often all within the same song. It is a startlingly beautiful and seamlessly natural harmony that surprises nobody more than The Harters themselves. “I’m not sure how the harmonies happen,” Leslie says. “If someone came along and asked us to teach them, we couldn’t. It’s always been second nature to us, and technically we don’t even sing harmony correctly. But it works like nothing else we’ve heard.”

Superstar songwriter/producer Keith Stegall would soon agree. “They played for me, and it was all there,” he says simply. “There were a lot of similarities to great records I grew up with, almost a reinvention of The Mamas & The Papas. Most of all, I liked their songs.” Stegall, producer of over 70 million records sold – including 14 albums by Alan Jackson – decided to record the group’s vocals at Compass Point in The Bahamas, the world famous studio used to create classic albums by Bob Marley, Shania Twain, The Rolling Stones, Wynonna Judd and U2. “There’s no ‘arranging’ of The Harters’ harmonies,” Keith says. “What they do is spontaneous. Sometimes things theoretically aren’t exciting if there’s no tension between the notes. The beauty of The Harters is just letting them do what they do instinctively.”

As the release date of The Harters approaches, Michael, Scott and Leslie continue to write, sing, play, bicker, love and dream, in harmony, as family. “They have a unique optimism and an undying commitment to singing, and they don’t make it much harder than that,” says Keith Stegall. “They just want to get out there and entertain. It’s music and it’s fun. That’s what they communicate, and that’s what I think we’ve captured.” And as the debut single ‘Jenny’ continues to rack up impressive downloads, Scott believes that their debut speaks for itself. “Our intent was never to make a record that sounded different from anything else,” he says. “The goal was to make a record that sounded like us.” For Michael, that integrity remains The Harters’ greatest gift of all. “We can’t sell-out who we are to be something we’re not,” he says. “Our sound may be different, but our roots are pure country. And being able to do what we’re doing now, we’re already living the dream.” Leslie will gladly share the secret to their success with reasoning as natural and altogether exceptional as The Harters themselves. “We’re siblings and we’re best friends, and there’s nothing hard about doing what you love,” she says. “When people ask me, ‘what kind of music do you guys sing?’ I say ‘the good kind’. And when they ask to describe our sound, I tell them that our sound is ‘home’. It really does come back to those three words: Family, love and harmony describe everything we are.”



That Nashville Sound- What brought you to music in the first place?

Leslie Harter- What brought me into music in the first place would have to be our family. There was always music being played in our house. When I turned 18 it just hit me one day that this is what I was going do. It was pretty strange cause it's been go go go, do whatever you can, ever since. There seems to be an invisible driving force.

Scott Harter- It's hard to say what brought me to music; I guess all the same things that keep me doing it every day. It's just always been in me. I was writing songs when I was like 12 years old, long before I had any goals of making something out of it, just because I enjoyed creating music.

Michael Harter- I really can't remember a time when music was not around. Our Dad, older sister, and grandpa all played and sang. Although I guess I never thought of it at the time as a way to make a living, music just came naturally. I started messing around with Dads guitar, the piano, and I even remember there being an autoharp in the house. I finally got to a place where I could play and sing entire songs and even write. I fell in love with being able to entertain people and by the age of 15 I was playing the honky tonks all over Arizona.

TNS- Describe your music, what's the mission behind the music?

LH- The best way to describe our music is family harmony. It's got a little bit of everything mixed together with our country foundation. Each song that we write is so different from the next because we write off pure truth and inspiration. Our mission in all this is to be ourselves and to be happy and as you know happiness is contagious.

SH- Our music is hard to describe, I actually don't like describing it. I like for it to speak for itself and I really don't know how to categorize it because I feel like there is such a vast group of influences in the music. I can say that it is genuinely us. We just let it happen organically. Everything that's in us is in our music, emotionally and spiritually. We don't like to put any boundaries on it. And the common thread is our vocal harmonies I guess. We really just want to write songs that are going make people sing along and feel something. If we can spread a positive message along the way then we did it all.

MH- Usually, when people ask this question, I don't have an answer- simply because there isn't one to me. Our music doesn’t really sound like anything else. It’s its own thing. There are hints of early influences like the The Eagles, The Beatles, and Keith Whitley, but I would never say we sound like one in particular. I think this is because the three of us each brings a bundle of different influences. Our mission is to have fun and hopefully make music that touches people’s lives. As long as God keeps us singing we will be.

TNS- What is it like performing as a family? Did any of you ever have aspirations of performing individually opposed as all together?

LH- Performing as a family is about as easy as it gets. We seem to have this strange ESP thing going on at all times, so it makes it real easy to follow each other no matter what happens on stage. When I was younger I stared out wanting to do my own thing cause let’s face it, who thinks it's cool to be in a family band when they are 18. Plus that thought had never even crossed my mind until my dad mentioned the idea of the 3 of us years later. I wouldn't change a thing, I love working with my brothers and I feel like the luckiest person in the world.

SH- Being in a band with your family, obviously has its rough patches, Just like doing anything with your siblings. But when it comes to performing we are better together than any of us could be alone. It's so easy because we feed off of each other and rely on each other. It gives us the ability to be spontaneous, carefree and comfortable on stage and I think people can feel that. All three of us had aspirations of performing individually prior to starting the band. I personally played in small clubs, mostly just with one guitar. I wrote a lot of songs and loved the recording process. I was still very green to all of it when we first started. But I have no doubt we all would have ended up in the music world somewhere, had we not done it together.

MH- I absolutely love performing, writing, recording, and traveling with my siblings. We are best friends and know each other better than any of us know ourselves. And we keep each other in check. Up until three years ago I never thought about singing with Scott and Les. I had a solo record deal on Broken Bow Records in 2001. Although I did manage to have the first top forty hit for the label with a song called "Hard Call to Make", something just wasn't right. I left Broken Bow shortly thereafter and moved back to Arizona where I started a synthetic grass company with my brother and brother in law. Being back home allowed me to play and sing with Scott and Leslie more and we just grew from there.

TNS- What kind of music are you listening to?

LH- I listen to all different styles of music and what I’m listening to really depends on my mood and what I’m doing at the time. When I workout; Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Cranberries, Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash, Shania Twain, Cold Play, John Mayer just to name a few. In the Tub; Enya (yes that’s right I said Enya!), The Phantom of the Opera, Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman ect. On the road; Shenandoah, Nickel Creek, BlackHawk, Bob Marley just to name a few, you get the idea. I’m all over the map but all in all I love music that makes me feel something!

SH- Well, as I write this right now I am literally listening to Coldplay's new album. But usually, What I'm listening to at any given period can be very different. Whatever is inspiring to me at the time. I go in waves, I will listen to the same album for a month straight and then not listen to it for another year. I am always looking for new music or old music that is just new to me. I am listening to basically all types of music, except rap. I don't listen to all that much rap. Some of my favorites just to list a few would be Coldplay, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Bob Seger, Chris Ledoux, Ryan Adams and few new bands like the Fleet Foxes and the Perishers.

MH- What's next for you? Where do you hope to be career-wise a couple years from now?

LH- In the next couple of years I hope to have some #1's under our belt. Mostly I hope to be as happy as I am now. I can't believe that every day I get to make a living doing what I love and most importantly I know that right where you are is right where you belong.

SH- Well, we are going to release our single and hope that some people connect with the song and us as a band. Then, a couple years from now, I hope we have 3 number one hits under our belt and are out on a major tour.

MH- Next we hit the road running. Ready to do whatever it takes to get this thing off the ground. Two years from now I would love to be on our third record and touring with a major artist.

Sara Evans' Fictional Book Comes Out Today

Sara Evans has inked a four-book deal with Thomas Nelson Fiction and "The Sweet By and By" is set to be released today, August 11. Sara has called her novel an "emotional, Southern-flavored, multi-generational tale, featuring a compelling love story." "I believe there is power in great stories," said Evans. "This is the kind of book I love to read and share."

Here's the description of the story...

Jade Fitzgerald left the pain of her past in the dust when she headed out for college a decade ago. Now she's thriving in her career and glowing in the light of Max Benson's love. But then Jade's hippie mother, Beryl Hill, arrives in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee, for Jade's wedding along with Willow, her wild younger sister. Their arrival forces Jade to throw open the dark closets of her past--the insecurity of living with a restless, wandering mother, the silence of her absent father, and the heart-ripping pain of first-love's rejection. Turns out Beryl has a secret of her own. She needs reconciliation with her oldest daughter before illness takes her life. In the final days leading to the wedding, Jade meets the One who shows her that the past has no hold on her future. With a little grace, they'll meet in the middle, maybe even before that sweet by and by.

New Song Revealed From The Clark Brothers

A new song by the Clark Brothers (winners of The Next Great American Band and former members of The Clark Family Experience- famous for “Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch) has hit MySpace. Adam, Ashley & Austin Clark are currently signed to Universal South and are expected to have an album ready by the end of 2009. The new song is called “You And Me.” It’s undetermined whether this song (which sounds as if it was recorded live) will be on the upcoming album. Click HERE to listen to the song.

Brooks and Dunn To Split Up in 2010

BREAKING NEWS- Brooks and Dunn will be splitting up in 2010- this directly from their website:

"After 20 years of making music and riding this trail together, we have agreed as a duo that it's time call it a day. This ride has been everything and more than we could ever have dreamed.... We owe it all to you, the fans. If you hear rumors, don't believe them, it's just time.

We will release our #1's and then some" on September 8th and bid you farewell one last time in 2010, with The Last Rodeo Tour...(dates to be announced).

Brooks & Dunn"

Love And Theft To Release Debut Album "World Wide Open" On August 25

After moving from Austin, Texas, Charlotte, North Carolina and Palm Harbor, Florida in 2005 to pursue their country music dreams, Love And Theft's Brian Bandas, Eric Gunderson and Stephen Barker Liles met through songwriter's nights and mutual friends in Nashville. Their shared musical chemistry has been apparent from the very beginning, with harmonies that blended effortlessly and immediately.

Fast forward three and a half years into the story of Love And Theft and the trio is set to release its debut album, World Wide Open, on August 25th on Disney's Carolwood Records.

After opening shows for Taylor Swift in 2008, Love And Theft is currently on the road playing shows and promoting their debut single, "Runaway." Love And Theft has been featured on Access Hollywood and in the pages of People magazine and has had its music featured in promos for ABC's daytime programming. Check out the video for their first single, “Runaway,” below:

Clint Black To Produce Country Story Song Television Series

Clint Black has been tapped to produce a country-music anthology television series called "American Storytellers." The series, which will adapt famous country songs into dramatic stories for television, will be distributed by ITV Studios, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Roberts/David Films.

Black will be one of the show's executive producers, along with Mark Roberts and Lorena David—who originally pitched the project to ITV Studios—and Joel High of Creative Control Entertainment.

It has not been announced what network will broadcast the shows, but producers hope to get prominent country musicians to work both in front of and behind the camera on the series' episodes.

Black released his first record, "Killin' Time," in 1989. It reached number one on "Billboard" magazine's Top Country Albums chart. Since then, he has released 10 more albums, the most recent being 2005's "Drinkin' Songs and Other Logic," which reached number 36 on the Top Country chart.

The country star has also earned fame as an actor, first getting recognition for a bit part in the 1994 western-comedy, "Maverick." He has also appeared in several television shows, including "Wings" and "The Larry Sanders Show," and appeared briefly in the 2003 film, "Anger Management."

CD Reviews- Wade Hayes- Place To Turn Around

The Background:
Wade Hayes made his debut in 1994 on Columbia Records with his gold-certified album Old Enough to Know Better. Its title track, which served as his debut single, reached Number One on the Billboard charts. Three more singles from it all reached Top Ten as well including “I’m Still Dancing With You,” “Don’t Stop,” and “What I Really Meant To Say.” He also had a big hit with 1996's “On a Good Night.” Recently, he has been playing guitar and singing harmony for Alabama’s Randy Owen out on tour. Hayes has just released his 5th album on 7/29/09 entitled Place To Turn Around.

The Review:
With apologies to Yogi Berra, it’s time to rediscover Wade Hayes for the first time. Place To Turn Around is everything that is great about indie records. Imagine hanging around your favorite honkytonk bar and hearing an artist singing great neo-traditional country music with acoustic guitars, fiddle and steel and buying an album at the side of the stage following the performance. And then imagine that the artist you were listening wasn’t some unknown band, but a road-tested Nashville songwriter and musician with many hits under his belt. That is the experience of listening to Wade Hayes brand new album. With an emotive voice and meaningful storytelling lyrics, this is country music that is getting very little representation on the radio dial. It’s everything Jason Aldean isn’t. What might have not been that unique in the 80’s and early 90’s is fresh and new. Hayes’ emotive baritone voice is a bit throaty and breathless when he sings higher notes or with power. But that so-called-fault in his voice only gives the songs more emotion and feeling. On songs like “Every Time I Give The Devil A Ride” and “Good Day To Go Crazy,” we’re reminded what a great guitarist and underrated instrumentalist that Hayes has always been. His picking is as skilled as anything Brad Paisley has put out on these two tracks. The production is focused on more acoustic sound than the current country music landscape and is beautiful as well. From the beautiful mandolin “singing” harmony on the title track to the terrific pleading lyrics for God to perform a healing miracle on “What’s A Broken Heart For You,” this album is an unexpected gem and one of our favorite top ten albums released thus far into 2009.

Sounds Like:
Tracy Lawrence and Alan Jackson

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
The Best Part
What’s A Broken Heart For You
Place To Turn Around
Every Time I Give The Devil A Ride

The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five

Bill Anderson Putting Finishing Touches On New Album

Country Music Hall Of Famer & longtime Opry member Bill Anderson teamed up with his producer/engineer, Rex Schnelle this week to begin recording a new CD at studios in Nashville. Anderson notes that the album will contain songs he has written with such collaborators as Jamey Johnson, the Grascals, Brad Paisley, Jon Randall, Rivers Rutherford, Buddy Cannon, Tim Nichols, Barry Dean, and Casey Beathard.

The new album is expected to be available before Christmas in select stores and at billanderson.com.

Free Country Music Downloads From People Magazine

PEOPLE Magazine has teamed up with iTunes to offer a free download from a number of the largest and hottest acts in country music. Artists giving fans free music this week include Dolly Parton, Jack Ingram, the Harters, Jonathan Singleton & the Grove, Kate & Kacey, Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel, Tracy Lawrence and Darryl Worley. Click on the artist’s name to see more information on each artist and the song. Click HERE to go download your free music.

Jack Ingram -->Barefoot and Crazy

Jonathan Singleton & The Grove -->Livin' in Paradise

Kate & Kacey -->Dreaming Love

Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel -->Hesitation Blues

Darryl Worley -->Sounds Like Life to Me

Dolly Parton -->Backwoods Barbie

The Harters -->Jenny

Tracy Lawrence -->The Rock

Johnny Cash Makes An Appearance On Guitar Hero 5

The Man In Black is back- albeit on the video game Guitar Hero 5. You can get your Johnny Cash fix today by watching a somewhat visually spooky version of him doing Ring Of Fire below...

CMT's Can You Duet Has A Winner In Steel Magnolia

After watching thousands of hopefuls audition and judging weekly performances in front of a live audience, the judges of the second season of the CMT music competition series CAN YOU DUET, have picked a winning duo with hopes of becoming country’s next great duo. Announced in last night’s finale episode of CAN YOU DUET, the winning duo is Steel Magnolia - Meghan Linsey of Ponshatoula, La. and Joshua Scott Jones, of Charleston Il., who leave the competition with a recording contract from Big Machine Records.

Steel Magnolia’s win was something they never would have dreamed of when they started their CAN YOU DUET journey. A couple both on and off the stage, the Nashville residents won the hearts of the judges, country superstar Naomi Judd, Big Kenny from the duo Big & Rich, and Big Machine Records’ President Scott Borchetta.

“From their very first screening performance through to last night’s amazing performance of ‘Keep On Lovin’ You,’ Steel Magnolia delivered every week and set the bar from the outset as one of the duo’s to beat,” said Borchetta. “Each week they upped the level and they are the deserved champions.”



A native of Ponchatoula, La., 23-year-old Meghan Linsey formed Steel Magnolia with her boyfriend of three years, Joshua Scott Jones. Before entering the competition Meghan was a karaoke host at a Nashville karaoke bar, which is where she met Joshua. Meghan’s musical influences include Bekka Bramlett, Aretha Franklin and Bonnie Raitt. Not afraid to refer to himself as a starving artist, 28-year-old Joshua Scott Jones, from Charleston, Illinois, has said that becoming a musician was never something he had to choose – it simply came naturally to him. Joshua’s musical influences include Waylon Jennings and The Beatles.

Steel Magnolia’s debut single, “Keep On Loving You,” -- the song that dazzled the judges and fans alike on last night’s season finale -- is now available for purchase at iTunes, and was digitally delivered to Country radio for immediate airplay. Next week will be a whirlwind for Steel Magnolia as the duo has a full day of media at CMT on Monday, will shoot their first-ever music video on Tuesday and then on Wednesday will hit the road to start an intensive tour of Country radio stations. The media blitz will also include multiple TV appearances, newspaper and online interviews as well as fan meet and greets.