Emotional Win For Steven Curtis Chapman At Dove Awards

Veteran Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman capped an emotional year by winning artist of the year during the Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards. Chapman took home Thursday night's top honor for the seventh time in his two-decade career. He has collected five Grammy Awards and 56 Dove Awards. The awards were televised live on the Gospel Music Channel and held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, TN.

Steven Curtis Chapman, who is used to making Dove Awards history, having already received more Dove Awards than any other artist in the awards show’s 40 years, was named Artist of the Year for the seventh time and Songwriter of the Year for the 10th time. His 2008-09 worldwide hit “Cinderella” not only brought Chapman praise for his always consummate songwriting skills, it became a worldwide hit and sentimental favorite because of the tragic loss he and his family experienced nearly a year ago, when five-year-old Maria, one of three Chinese-adopted daughters who inspired “Cinderella,” died in an accident. Introduced by current tour mate Michael W. Smith and joined on stage in his band by sons Will Franklin and Caleb, Chapman’s performance of “Cinderella” brought the audience to tears and to their feet.

"It was awkward in a way to receive these awards, because I know a lot of it has to do with people wanting to say, 'We love you and are with you,'" said Chapman backstage at the Doves, acknowledging the prayers and support his family has following Maria's death on May 21, 2008 when their teenage son, Will Franklin, accidentally ran over her while backing the family's SUV out of the driveway. The Chapmans have three biological children -- Emily, Caleb and Will Franklin, and have adopted three daughters from China -- Shaohannah, Stevie Joy and Maria.

"I know a lot of the reasons why I'm standing here has a lot to do with what we've been through this past year," he continued in the Doves' press room. "There's a lot of mixed emotions. I never wanted to be here doing this acceptance speech under these circumstances ... but my family knows this is one more encouragement from the Lord to say how loved we are."

Chapman's performance elicited a tearful and prolonged standing ovation from the audience in Nashville's famed Grand Ole Opry house. Later in the show, his wife, Mary Beth, was by his side as he accepted his seventh Dove award in the Artist of the Year category. (Chapman is the most awarded artist in Dove history, including 10 wins in the Songwriter of the Year category.)

The Tractors Ready New Album For 5/19/09

15 years after their sole top 10 hit, the country-rock band known as The Tractors are releasing a new album of all new material on May 19th. In 1994, the group released its self-titled debut album. The album, which produced the single "Baby Likes to Rock It (Like A Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train)", soon became the fastest-selling debut album from a country group to go platinum; it also became the top-selling country music album of 1994. The album is called Trade Union and you can listen to it below…

1. Up Jumped the Boogie Listen
2. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down Listen
3. Rhythm Bone Listen
4. Good Old Days Listen
5. There's Gonna Be Some Changes Made Listen
6. My Blue Heart Listen
7. What Makes Love Go Bad Listen
8. That's Where It Hurts Listen
9. Midnight Train Listen
10. It's Only Love Listen

Joey+Rory Release Second Single And Music Video

Watch the fun music video for Joey+Rory's newest single here. The song appears on their album "The Life Of A Song." Here's hoping it gets legs...

Cher & Marc Cohn- Walking In Memphis

A fan named Dino has edited two versions of the same song and music videos and put them together in one clip. So now, we can hear and see Cher and Marc Cohn sing "Walking in Memphis" together… it’s pretty cool… watch it here…

Happy Birthday To Rebecca Lynn Howard- 30 Today

That Nashville Sound wishes one of our favorite underrated artists a very happy birthday wish today- Rebecca Lynn Howard turns the big 3-0.

Howard (born in Salyersville, Kentucky) has charted seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and has released three studio albums. Her highest-charting single, "Forgive", peaked at #12 on the country music charts in 2002. One of her singles, "I Don't Paint Myself into Corners", was also released by Trisha Yearwood. Howard's accolades also include winning two Grammy Awards - the first in 1998 for her recording of "Softly & Tenderly" for the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to the Robert Duvall film, The Apostle. Howard earned her second Grammy in 2003 for "If I Could Only Win Your Love," a duet with Ronnie Dunn featured on the Grammy-winning album, Livin', Lovin' Losin' - Songs of the Louvin Brothers.

Celebrate her big day with a watch of her playing a great acoustic tune of her last Time Life album No Rules, “The Life Of A Dollar” here…

Up & Coming New Nashville- Matt King (with Exclusive Interview)

Music has always played an important part in the Matt King and his family's lifestyle in Asheville, NC. Both of the singer/songwriter's parents had musical interests, in addition to holding down regular jobs. Mom Bernadette, who earned a paycheck in a real estate office, was a piano player who enjoyed gospel music. When he wasn't strumming a bluegrass tune on his guitar, dad Jerry supported the family with jobs as an auctioneer, a mason, and a barber. Together they were part of a bluegrass-gospel band and even recorded a bit. King and sibling Tanya, who grew up listening to nothing but gospel and bluegrass, often sang along with their parents to old Baptist numbers. By the age of six, music was so important to King that he was trying to craft his own songs and get them down on paper. He met Bill Monroe four years later, and the meeting made an indelible impression on his young mind. He started learning how to play the guitar, working on numbers like "Sweet Home Alabama." Music became even more important to King when his parents' marriage went bust in another three years. With his family divided, and not amicably, he learned to console himself with music. In his late teens, the future country singer became involved with a string of rock groups. None, however, would allow the guitar player to sing so much as a note, thanks to the inherent country-music quality of his voice, not to mention the twangy accent. Later, with a couple of albums under his belt, including the debut Five O'Clock Hero, that same twangy accent and country-music sound landed King on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. He also participated in a Johnny Russell tribute at the Opry alongside Earl Scruggs, Roy Clark, Ricky Skaggs, and Vince Gill. Also part of the tribute's lineup was Mac Wiseman, a bluegrass tenor who had been a particular favorite of King's dad, bringing the singer/songwriter full circle and back to his roots.

It's taken an entire lifetime of experiences to fuel Matt King to create Rube, his forthcoming full-length release for Montage Music Group. For the Nashville-based singer/songwriter/guitarist, the record is the sum total of King's childhood passions and his obsession with the gritty, all-too-often untold tales of history's common man. Setting these tales to towering, high-volume alternative rock, King has forged a musical style impervious to simple classifications and labels, with a keen edge sure to captivate rockers both young and old. "I'm a frustrated guitar player who somehow had the ability to sing as well," King admits. "When I was a kid I wanted to be in the circus—I wanted to be a clown. I was riding a unicycle. I was a carnie from 8 years old. So [Rube] is a culmination of everything that intrigued me as a child….I have always been trying to return to that place of inspiration, and have found that it's a time when I was fascinated with Lon Chaney, magicians and circuses." Harnessing that creative inspiration, King has forged Rube into an ever-engaging collection of evocative tales and personal revelations. Although he didn't know it at the time, King's investigations into his family history several years ago set him on a course that has become the guiding influence for Rube's journey into forgotten America.

"My dad told me one of my great grandfathers was a Hatfield, from the Hatfields and McCoys," King recalls. "He told me stories generations back: my grandfather tarred and feathered a man; my great aunt taped her husband to a chair, boarded the windows shut, and burned the house down around him…. In the mountains people have their own brand of justice and their own way of life. I really wanted to explore those themes on this album. "

He explores the dark corners of a violent relationship on one of our favorite new songs, “Cursing The Ohio.” Catch the video here…

We had a chance to sit down with the always-interesting Mr. King for a few interview questions and this is what he had to say…

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

Matt King- My Dad's Jeep Willys and Bluegrass music.

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

MK- Well, I suppose it's a salute to misfits and margins of society, I'm a fan of underdogs. I won't say that my music has a mission, only because this is what I do, a mission has a beginning and an end.

TNS- What might people be surprised to find out about you?

MK- I build things to record with out of junk and I'm a reader....as in bookish.

TNS- What kind of music are you listening to? What's in your iPod?

MK- Today I'm listening to The Move and Danny Barnes. I gave my ipod away and started buying vinyl again!

TNS- If you had a crystal ball and looked forward ten years, what do you see for yourself?

MK Hopefully gratitude, health, serenity and a dash of mischief.

TNS- Okay, a few quickfire questions… Opry or Opera?

MK- Both are equally gratifying

TNS- Record stores or downloads?

MK- Record stores that sell vinyl with a free download inside the packaging.

TNS- Fine dining or southern cooking?

MK- Is this a double entendre or an oxymoron?

TNS- Baseball or fishing?

MK- Dumpster diving

TNS- West Coast or East Coast?

MK- The Northern parts of each are my favorite places in this country.

Happy Birthday To The Big O- Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison (4/23/36 – 12/6/88) was an influential Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, guitarist and a pioneer of many genres of music including country music and whose recording career spanned more than four decades. Orbison is best known for the songs, "Only the Lonely," "In Dreams," "Oh, Pretty Woman," "Crying," "Running Scared," and "You Got It". He was known for his smooth high baritone voice, with a range of at least two and a half octaves. In 1973, Orbison contract signed a new contract with Mercury Records and released a country(ish) album on the label entitled I'm Still In Love With You. His first single off that album was Sweet Mama Blue- watch him sing it here…

Lorrie Morgan Readies Release Of New Album- I Walk Alone

Lorrie Morgan’s latest offering, I Walk Alone, is a labor of love that has been a lifetime in the making. The thirteen songs she co-wrote and co-produced for I Walk Alone find Lorrie in a particularly introspective and vulnerable place in her life. Cuts including “Mirror, Mirror,” “Woman Thing,” and the title cut offer Lorrie’s fans a rare look into the life of the woman whose life has quite literally been lived out on stage. Always an over-achiever, Lorrie has also completed an album of “evergreen” classics, complete with an all-star cast of musicians and guests. Recorded entirely live in the studio with producer Wally Wilson at the controls, "A Moment In Time" captures the essence of Lorrie’s sultry, flawless vocals as she delivers timeless classics including “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “After the Fire is Gone” (duet with Tracy Lawrence, and “Easy Lovin’” (duet with Raul Malo). Larry King once asked Lorrie about her turbulent lifestyle and she told him “drama is something that lets you know you’re alive.” Although she’s had her share of drama in both music and her personal life, Lorrie has taken it all in stride. Lorrie Morgan’s trophy room is adorned with reminders of milestones that include fourteen top-ten hits, twelve albums, seven of which have gone gold and platinum, and four Female Vocalist of the Year awards.

Lorrie Morgan will autograph copies of her new CD, I Walk Alone, at the new Opry Originals in Nashville store at 9:00 p.m. immediately following the Opry Classics show tonight.

Martina McBride & Blackbird Vineyards Join Forces On New Wine

Martina McBride own recording facility is called the Blackbird recording studio, so when it came to partnering with a wine company, it was only natural to partner with one with the same name. The beautiful songstress is joining with Napa Valley’s Blackbird Vineyards to introduce a Signature Series wine.

The wine, which blends Cabernet Sauvignon with two other reds, is being offered to members of Martina’s fan club through her website. It’s a pricey line — $60 for a 750 ml bottle — but Martina’s always had an exquisite level of taste.

"I've been able to taste incredible wines while travelling the world on tour," she says. "I sampled Blackbird Vineyards' wines while on a trip to Napa Valley and loved them. I'm thrilled to collaborate with Blackbird on this inaugural Signature Series."

Happy Birthday To Glen Campbell Today

That Nashville Sound would like to wish one of country's biggest icons a very warm birthday wish today- Glen Campbell turns even par today at age 72.

He owns trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the CMA and the ACM, and took the CMA's top honor as Entertainer of the Year. During his 50 years in show business, Campbell has released more than 70 albums. He has sold 45 million records and racked up 12 RIAA Gold albums, 4 Platinum albums and 1 Double-Platinum album. Of his 75 trips up the charts, 27 landed in the Top 10. In 2005, he was elected to the Country Music Hall Of Fame.
Celebrate his big day with a watch of him singing one of his most famous songs, “Rhinestone Cowboy” here…

Chely Wright Video Blogs About Performing For The Troops & Upcoming CD

Hear all what’s been going on in her life lately here…

Wright signed to Vanguard Records in 2008. She will release her seventh full album, Notes to the Coroner, later in 2009.

Montgomery Gentry Make A Pitch For Opry Membership

Montgomery Gentry have achieved numerous goals throughout their long career, with awards, hit songs, and platinum-selling albums to their credit. They still have one major one to achieve- Grand Ole Opry membership. Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry are gunning for membership in a rather exclusive club, as Gentry tells us: "We've been on the Opry for many years. well, ever since we've been in the business. We always try to make it our business to get in there and play the Opry, so that's probably the next biggest milestone Eddie and I would like to accomplish is to become members of the Grand Ole Opry, and I think it'd be a great honor cause it is kind of an elite club to be a member of and it'd be very flattering and honoring to be a part of that club."

In addition to headlining their own shows, Montgomery Gentry will join Kenny Chesney's Sun City Carnival stadium dates this summer. Their first show on the tour will be May 30th at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.

CD Reviews- Collin Raye- Never Going Back

The Background:
Mixing up the laid back rock and folk of mid-seventies Southern California with country and rock n’ roll, Collin Raye has always blended the lines of pop and country. On the 4/28 release Never Going Back, Raye has evoked the spirit of the day when an artist could record an album and perform it just as it sounds in a smoky club or on a stadium stage. “Before this, I’d never done an album where I’ve wanted to immediately go out and perform the whole thing,” explains Raye. Recorded in Alabama’s historic Muscle Shoals, the album feels guided by the ghosts of the country, rock, blues and pop albums that the region cultivated throughout the 70s. “This is the album I’ve always wanted to do,” says Raye, a weighty statement from the man who has four #1 Billboard country singles, 21 Top 10, four platinum albums, three AC hits, several CMA and ACM nominations and years of sold out tours already under his belt. And true to his word, he’ll head out on tour right as Never Going Back is released, ready to play every single track onstage each night.

The Review:
This album is everything you've come to expect from Collin Raye. The big ballads, the 'message' songs, and that tenor voice that make Raye one of the most recognizable artists on country radio. It’s not classic country, although he has never pretended it to be. Even the title of the album speaks of his creative freedom that he’s been granted at his new label (Time Life). The production is very slick- at times almost too synthetic. The instrumentation does feel late 70’s and early 80’s- but not in a classic way. Unfortunately, it makes it feel like something was missing in the studio. The first single released off the album, “Mid Life Chrysler” is neither catchy, humorous, introspective or has any other connectivity to the listener on a personal level. The songs lean toward pop and rock, with the exception of one little gem that truly made the entire album worth listening to… “She’s With Me.” It’s a beautiful and touching ballad that drew me before I even heard the back-story to the song. Once I heard the back-story, it made it one of the highlights of 2009.

“She’s With Me is a tribute to my granddaughter, Hailey, very, very special - and very ill with a neurological condition that no one’s been able to diagnose, and it’s regressive … for six years, I’ve been having this in my heart,” says Raye. “It’s very hard to write about things like this, because nothing is ever good enough for her, and it’s hard to put into words how you feel. The idea of “She’s With Me” struck me about a year or so ago. Thinking in this life she can’t do anything for herself. She comes and goes because she’s with me, and then I related it to the afterlife thinking, well, if I’m lucky enough to ever be standing in front of the Lord or St. Peter … maybe, she’ll be standing there and say, “Well, it’s okay, because he’s with me.” Collin has been a tireless advocate for Hailey and realizes the extraordinary toll that a child’s medical condition and the resulting expenses can place on a family - especially in such a terrible economy. That is why he has joined with OK to raise funds for organizations helping these children and families to be able to get treatment, transportation and housing dictated by often long, expensive hospital stays. Collin has teamed up with Operation Kids to help him use his new song “She’s With Me” to raise funds for a cause near and dear to his heart: children and families facing extraordinary medical conditions. $5 helps a child facing extraordinary medical expenses & gets you a complimentary download of his new song “She’s With Me.” (Those interested should go to http://tinyurl.com/d5famh)

Sounds Like:
Middle Aged Rascal Flatts

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):

She’s With Me

The Verdict:

She’s With Me Song- Five Out Of Five Stars
Rest Of Album- Two Stars Out Of Five

Lee Ann Womack's New Movie Noble Things Premieres Today

A brand new independent film debuts today at the Nashville Film Festival, starring beautiful country star, Lee Ann Womack. The movie description:

Noble Things is a story of love, of loyalty, and of what happens when painful secrets become too heavy to bear. Jimmy Wayne Collins (BRETT MOSES) is well on his way to becoming the next big country music star out of Blackwater, Texas. He and his older brother Kyle (RYAN HURST), a rebel, are reared under the watchful eyes of local Sheriff, Pete Collins (MICHAEL PARKS) and his loyal Chief Deputy, Claire Wades (LEE ANN WOMACK). Jimmy, Kyle and their gang of loyal friends The Boys, constantly push the envelope in search of high-risk thrills. However, one fate-filled night, the brothers push too far. The bonds of family and friendships will be tested and the consequences will haunt the promising star. Four years later, with only the distant memories of stardom, Jimmy returns home to face his terminally ill father, an imprisoned brother, his ex-girlfriend (DOMINIQUE SWAIN) and the life he left behind. Wounds will be healed. A secret will be revealed. A choice will be made.

You can watch the movie trailer here…

New Music Videos From Two New Artists- Sarah Darling & Megan Mullins

There are two new exciting artists on the horizon- both of which That Nashville Sound is excited to see live in concert this next month. Both have new videos out trying to find a place on GAC and CMT as well as looking for a way up the radio charts. You might recognize Sarah Darling as the mannequin in Big & Rich’s own music video, Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy. And the beautiful Megan Mullins (pictured) is one of the top musicians in Nashville- she’s proficient in an amazing 9 different instruments. Check out both new videos here…

The new video for Sarah Darling's debut single, "Jack of Hearts”…



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA9CmFbugMU

Megan Mullins "Ain't What it Used to Be"



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXntlDdLeFo

Happy Birthday To Wade Hayes- Turns 40 Today

Happy Birthday wishes go out today to another one of country's current unsung hero's- Wade Hayes. Signed to Columbia Records in 1994, he made his debut that year 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, and three more singles from it all reached Top Ten as well.

Hayes' second album, 1996's On a Good Night, was also certified gold, although its #2-peaking title track was the only Top 40 hit from it. When the Wrong One Loves You Right, his third album, produced two more singles, including the #5 "The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)", although he left the label by 1999. A year later, he signed to the Monument roster, where he released Highways & Heartaches, his final solo album. This album produced no Top 40 country hits, however, and was his last solo album. He has since joined the backing band for former Alabama lead singer Randy Owen.

Celebrate his big day with a watch of his music video for "What I Meant To Say..."

CD Review- Sara Watkins- Sara Watkins

The Background
Sara Watkins debuted in 1989 as the fiddler of the progressive bluegrass group, Nickel Creek, which consists of herself and her elder brother, Sean, as well as mandolinist Chris Thile. As a band, they are notable for three wide-released albums: Nickel Creek, This Side, and Why Should the Fire Die?. Aside from singing and fiddling, she can play the ukulele and the guitar. With Nickel Creek, she has released five studio albums, one compilation album, and seven singles. Nickel Creek are currently on hiatus to branch off into new projects, and Sara is pursuing a solo career, having released her debut, Sara Watkins, on Nonesuch Records on April 7, 2009

The Review
Could it be that a bluegrass-country album full of songs fit for the back porch of a small town general store could both harken back to another era and be more relevant and stylish because of it? Produced by Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones (who had performed with Watkins in the band Mutual Admiration Society), the album is filled with rich instrumentalization and a guest list of major bluegrass players. It’s diverse in style, covering classic country, modern country, bluegrass, folk and Americana without boundaries. “In terms of song selection,” Watkins explains, “I didn’t have a goal of making this a country record or a folk record. I didn’t want to avoid anything- except faking it. This was a chance to make a record that doesn’t represent anyone else but me.” Whether it’s the sparse orchestrations without ever feeling empty on “All This Time”, the surprise falsetto and rocking drum tempo on “Long Hot Summer Days”, the haunting dobro on “My Friend”, Watkins master fiddle-playing on Frieiderick, the album Sara Watkins has a surprise on nearly every song. She channels her inner Jeannie Seely and Jean Shepard playing the classic country tune “Any Old Time” and has a modern day western campfire song on my favorite tune, “Pony.” Outside of National Public Radio, this is an album, today’s country music radio will largely ignore. It’s a shame- like those back porch general store jams, it’s a loss of a musical realness & richness for the masses.

Sounds Like
Alison Krauss & Jewel

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
Lord Won’t You Help Me
Long Hot Summer Days
Pony

The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five

Three Unreleased Kenny Chesney Collaborations & Covers

Kenny Chesney surprises with a lot of guests when out touring live. Who else would bring in Eddie Van Halen as a guest guitarist at a concert in Texas and finish his set with Van Halen’s famous rock song, “Jump.” We’ve gathered three fun never-released-on-CD songs for you to listen on this lazy Sunday…

Kenny Chesney & Gretchen Wilson singing John Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good”



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8PUprRC39o

Kenny Chesney & Kid Rock singing Waylon Jennings’ “Luckenbach, Texas”



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjDmdiE-Bvg

Kenny Chesney sings George Strait’s “Amarillo By Morning”



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU5wnQBli2c