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Radney Foster Inspires Title Of New Darius Rucker Release Scheduled For October

Darius Rucker will release the follow up to his platinum selling album debut country album on October 12th. The album, titled Charleston, SC 1966, will feature 12 brand new tracks- selected out of a total of 77 songs he wrote for the album.

One would think it would be tough to choose just 12 songs out of 77, but Rucker says it was simple.

“We just listened to them and saw what was rising to the top,” Rucker said. “When I say that, people say to me, ‘Man, that must be a hard decision.’ No, not really. The best songs really rise to the top.”

The album’s title plays homage to Rucker’s hometown and birth-year and is also a tribute to Radney Foster’s first solo album, Del Rio, TX 1959. Rucker credits Foster’s music for helping him realize he could sing country music.

“It was his voice,” Rucker said. “It was really the first time where I had heard country music where I thought, ‘Man, I could sing that.’ I always liked it, but it was always, I never really knew I could play it. But then I heard Radney and it was like, ‘Wow, that guy’s amazing.’”

“I don’t think it’s going to be light-years different [from Learn To Live],” Rucker said. “I don’t think we set out to reinvent the wheel or do a new sound. I think this record is more of an expansion of the last record than anything else. It’s like picking up where the last record left off.”
Rucker says some really good songs didn't make the cut because they didn't fit what he was looking for on the album. He has begun offering them to others, something he didn't do with the first album.

"I think it was one of those things where I think the last record it would've been hard to have somebody cut a song that we wrote," Rucker said. "I was just so new. It was like, 'Who wants a Darius Rucker castoff?' They might want one now."

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New Music Video From Katie Armiger- "Leaving Home"

Two-Time PGA Major Champion John Daly Releases New Country Music Album

Iconic and often unpredictable golfer, John Daly, has added a new shot to his repertoire, releasing an album of heartfelt and semi-autobiographical songs through Nashville-based digital label, GMV Nashville.

His latest effort, titled I Only Know One Way, is Daly’s second album release and features a mix of Country and blues-infused rockers (“Hit It Hard,” “Big John”), contemplative ballads (“Wrong Directions,” “Lost Souls”) and the occasional cover song (Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”). The insightful “I Only Know One Way” features chart-topping former Hootie and the Blowfish front man and current Country star, Darius Rucker. Rucker also helped Daly co-write the title track.

“The album itself is really my life,” said Daly in a recent interview with Airplay Direct. “All of the songs have a meaning to them… Most of the record is happening – or has happened in my life. I hope people can relate to some of the troubles I have had along the way. Everyone around the world has problems, and I want to connect with those people.”

I Only Know One Way is currently available as a digital album through GMV Nashville (www.GMVNashville.com), an online record label that specializes in releases from classic and contemporary Country artists, such as Charlie Daniels, Toy Caldwell, Lane Brody and more. Much of the label’s catalog is out-of-print or hard to find titles. GMV also features special projects like Daly’s I Only Know One Way and the epic three-disc patriotic collection, This Is My America.

Following his debut release, My Life, Daly was encouraged to record a follow-up album by friend and Nashville industry veteran, Herky Williams. Williams connected Daly with songwriter and record producer David Malloy (Reba McEntire, Eddie Rabbitt, Tim McGraw, Julianne Hough), who produced the 11-track collection in Nashville.

For more information or to purchase I Only Know One Way, visit www.GMVNashville.com.

New Music Video From Toby Keith- "Trailerhood"

Singer/Songwriter Hank Cochran Passes Away

Hank Cochran, one of country music’s most prolific songwriters (he's in the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame) passed away this morning. From the press release:

Last night, Jamey Johnson, Billy Ray Cyrus and Buddy Cannon dropped by to sing songs with Hank, and this morning the legendary songwriter was surrounded by family and friends when he passed away at his Hendersonville, Tennessee home. A private, family memorial will be held in the near future, and a public service will follow. Details will be forthcoming.

The family asks that you respect their privacy at this time and, in lieu of flowers, request those wishing to honor Hank make donations to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation.
Hank was inducted in to the Nashville Songwriters Association International Hall of Fame by unanimous vote in 1974, and was honored by B.M.I. in June 2009 for his six-decade long career of hits, that includes country classics: “I Fall To Pieces,” “Make The World Go Away,” “Ocean Front Property,” “The Chair” and “Don’t You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me.”

CD Reviews- Elizabeth Cook- Welder

The Background:
From Elizabeth’s own mouth: For my fifth all grown up studio album, I’m enjoying the journey more and I see how welding continues to shape my life. This record was really tough to make in some ways and really easy in others. It was a cool breeze and a real high to work with Don Was. Like Rodney Crowell before him, he helps me continue to break out of jail. So I bought him a nice key chain. The eclectic cast of pickers on Welder, not only pros, but friends, united to record at last. We all hung out and worked oblivious to the red light pressure. I barely noticed the days of rain while we recorded. Just a week long party with nice carpet and tiny lights, wires knobs and buttons, a stocked fridge, love and luck all around me, plus one really good coffee pot. I drew in, and struck like lightning. From a material standpoint, I’ve never had more to write about…didn’t have to dig too deep at all. For instance, I never thought I’d be singing about my Mama’s funeral. Just never thought I’d write, much less sing, about that. But here it is on Welder…alongside other tales of the harshness and delicacies of romantic and familial love (“Not California”, “Heroin Addict Sister”, “Girlfriend Tonight”), occasionally indulging in the rush of being inappropriate (“El Camino”, “Snake In The Bed”, “Yes To Booty”). As wild a ride as it is, this is the hand the last three years since release of the Balls album has dealt me. Welder is my way of bringing it all together. And it’s just the truth. Though emotional whiplash is a serious condition, as an artist, I’m grateful for experiences that have grown me up a little bit, even if it hurts like hell. And although I didn’t really want to, the fact that I “couldn’t help but look” is what made Welder possible. It’s my damnation and my salvation. And it’s my job. I have to look. I hope the musical journey on Welder brings the condolences that come with sharing, through commiserating about life, in laughter and in tears, for the old fans, the newly added, and the all around music loving public, to whom I’m so grateful, each and every one.

The Review:
This release is a bit of a family affair. A quirky family. “I’m Beginning to Forget’ was penned by Cook’s mother. ‘Heroin Addict Sister’ is one of the stronger (and somber) cuts of the year as it reveals the fears and tribulations of a wayward sibling. And ‘Mama’s Funeral’ is a melancholy look at a day of loss, but not without some southern revelations. But that’s only half of the story- and half of the album. While Welder does a good job of revealing a family of closet skeletons, it’s when she gets silly that she shines the best. “El Camino” is one of my favorite tracks of the year- a 1970’s tale of falling in love with a guy that won’t give up his bell-bottomed mojo. It’s inspired with several lyrics that bring a smile including, “And if I wake up married I’ll have to annul it, right now my hands are in his mullet.” It’s trashy and loose- and genius. She crosses between country and rock and roll seamlessly and benefits from Don Was’ slow rock(ish) production on “Not California.” The only constant on the album is its lack of consistency. But that’s truly okay in this case as each track is unique and engaging enough to stand on its own. And perhaps that was Cook’s goal in tying it together all along.

Sounds Like:
A rockier- and sometimes whispier- Sarah Buxton

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
El Camino
Mama’s Funeral
Heroin Addict Sister
Not California

The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five

Roseanne Cash To Release New Memoir In August- Composed

Acclaimed singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash will be releasing a new memoir, Composed on Viking Press- on-sale August 10, 2010.

Here's the details from the press release:

Composed is full of personal recollections and anecdotes. Moving, inspirational, honest, and witty, Rosanne writes compellingly about her own upbringing in Southern California with a father who was often absent, and at the time struggling with drugs, and about her relationships with her mother, Vivian Liberto, and later, her stepmother, June Carter Cash. She writes about her teenage years and a hilarious stint working for Columbia Records in London; recording her first album; gradually working her way to chart-topping success and what that notoriety cost her; her marriage to Rodney Crowell, a union that made them Nashville’s premier couple at the time; taking a new direction in her music and leaving Nashville for New York, moving there permanently in 1991; the process of songwriting; her life-changing ordeal with brain surgery; balancing her roles as recording artist and mother to five children; dealing with the painful loss of her parents; and the fulfillment she has found with her husband, the Grammy Award-winning producer and musician John Leventhal.

Cash is the author of Bodies of Water and the children’s book Penelope Jane: A Fairy’s Tale. Her essays and fiction have been published in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and New York magazine. She lives in New York City with her husband and children.

Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself on PBS

A new episodeof the PBS series American Masters will highlight the life and career of legendary country singer Merle Haggard.

This documentary follows singer Merle Haggard as he describes his life and career and includes interviews with his family and friends in and out of the country music business. Haggard has had an eventful life, which he talks about openly to the cameras and to his fans.

“I’m living proof that things go wrong in America and I’m also living proof that things can go right,” Haggard says. Haggard was a troubled kid and teenager. His problems began with the death of his beloved father. Soon after his father passed away, Haggard went down a path of personal destruction. He was a delinquent, in simple terms.

Merle Haggard was sent to several different juvenile detention facilities, but always managed to escape. He was beaten in the facilities and developed a rugged philosophy about life. Then he was sent to San Quentin prison where the hard-core prisoners spend time and where many have been executed. Haggard was dumped in the middle of this tough prison, and it was there he decided to turn his life around.

His hard life helped him with his career. At first he emulated his singing idols, but soon developed a style of his own.

“I would’ve become a lifetime criminal if music hadn’t saved my ass,” Haggard confesses. While many people feel music is for the soul, Haggard is the first to admit it saved his soul.

Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself premiers Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 9 pm ET on PBS.

Blackberry Smoke: Q&A With Vocalist/Guitarist/Songwriter Charlie Starr

Noting that you change set lists from night to night, how do you decide upon them? Do you change it during the course of a show, depending on how the performance (or audience) develops?

CHARLIE STARR: “To be honest with you, ever since we started playing together, I’ve written the set lists about an hour or so before show time, sometimes less. We like to change it up to keep it fresh and interesting. Some songs will appear in similar order nightly because they flow well together, but I don’t want the show to get too formulaic. Some nights I’ll call an audible during the show according to what the audience is up to.”

You recently had a fan pick a whole set list. How did that come about?

CHARLIE: “One particular fan posted a ‘wish’ set list on our website’s message board and it was a damn good one, so we did it that night.”

As reflected on the songs on the current BLACKBERRY SMOKE album LITTLE PIECE OF DIXIE, your music is a mixture of the great elements of rock, country and blues. When you’re writing, rehearsing and/or recording music, is there any discussion on the direction of the song, or does it come organically?

CHARLIE: “The song itself will usually determine that. They’re usually born with a feel of their own in my opinion. Sometimes it’s interesting to shake it up a bit. Me and the boys seem to think alike when it comes to that kind of thing.”

What were the pivotal albums in your lives growing up? What are you listening to now?

CHARLIE: “Exile on Main Street is the greatest album in the universe. Manassas’ first one is way up there. Allman Bros. At Fillmore East. The first four Little Feat albums. Flying Burrito Bros’ Gilded Palace of Sin, Aerosmith Rocks. All of Hank Williams recorded material. Lynyrd Skynyrd Pronounced… and Second Helping. Marshall Tucker Band Searchin’ for a Rainbow. Frankie Miller Full House. Right now, NRBQ Live at Yankee Stadium. Too many to list.”

You worked with producer Dann Huff on Little Piece of Dixie. What do you feel he added to the record that you would not have been able to achieve with another producer?

CHARLIE: “Dann and Justin Niebank turned us loose to make a straight ahead record. No bells and whistles…well, one whistle in ‘Like I Am.’ Dann saw us live and said ‘I wanna make a record that sounds exactly like that. Same gear, same guys, same vibe.’”

Tell us about “Yesterday’s Wine,” the collaboration with George Jones and Jamey Johnson (a bonus track on the new version of LITTLE PIECE OF DIXIE). How did that all come about? Whose idea was it?

CHARLIE: “I have to be honest, it was my idea. I’m proud of that. I was listening to George and Merle’s version of it and I asked Jamey if he wanted to record it with us. He said yes. James Stroud said he’d produce it. Ronnie Gilley brought Mr. George Jones in to sing on it. What a fucking day! Unreal. We laid down the music in two takes, then George, Jamie and I sang it together. What a fantastic job by everyone involved!”

You have had the opportunity to work with some of the most highly respected musicians in rock and country music. What’s the single best piece of advice have been given?

CHARLIE: “’Don’t ever change’ by Lee Roy Parnell. ‘Get some good lookin’ boots’ by Billy F. Gibbons.”

If you could collaborate with a musician of a different genre than Blackberry Smoke, who would it be?

CHARLIE: “To hell with genres…Marty Stuart. Maybe sing one with Pink. So many…”

What do you do to kill time while on the road?

CHARLIE: “Truck stops, pawn shops, cigarettes and coffee, flea markets, bowling, movies, readin’ books, falling down the Wikipedia rabbit hole, all of it set to music.”

Tell us something about one of your bandmates that few people know. You can be brutally honest.

CHARLIE: “My bandmates are insane. They refer to their bunk blankets as ‘woobies’ or ‘binkies.’ Paul cries on planes.”

What’s your favorite thing about performing live? Is there a certain part of the show that you look forward to?

CHARLIE: “I love every single thing about performing live. It is the reason I wake up in the morning. I look forward to every aspect of it.”

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