John Schneider To Release New Album On April 2 To Benefit Truckers

Artist: John Schneider

Album: Truck On

Label: BFD/Audium Nashville

Release date: April 2

From iconic car chases through Hazzard County as Bo Duke to traveling across the country as a touring musician, acclaimed actor and musician John Schneider has spent years on the road, and now with the title track to his new album, Schneider is saluting the American truck driver in "Truck On." The album is available for pre-order and will be released April 2 through BFD/Audium Nashville and Maven Entertainment. The single and album will benefit St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that helps over-the-road/regional semi-truck drivers and their families. 

The album's title track was co-written by Schneider and Keith Burns, which drives home the central message of the entire project, trucking on. Schneider created the project to tip his hat to all those highway heroes explaining, “If it weren’t for our truck drivers during this last year or so, we wouldn’t have been able to survive. As songs like 'Convoy' and 'Six Days on the Road' and many of the great trucking songs of the 70’s, it’s about time we wave their flag and say thank you.”

St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that helps over-the-road/regional semi-truck drivers and their families who are out of work due to a recent illness or injury. Assistance may be in the form of direct payment to providers for household living expenses such as, rent/mortgage, utilities, vehicle payments, and insurance. The SCF also provides health and wellness programs such as free vaccines, smoking cessation and diabetes prevention. St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund has assisted more than 3,000 drivers with more than 3 million dollars. For more information, visit TruckersFund.org. 

Truck On Track Listing:
1. Truck On
2. Roy
3. Born At A Truck Stop 
4. Cowboys Don’t Get Old 
5. Drinking Buddy 
6. Bottom Of The 5th 
7. Comin’ To 
8. Haulin’ Hell and Bayou Bound 
9. Free Born Man 
10. Stand On It 
11. Behind Closed Doors 

Deep Cut Challenge Making The Rounds Around Country Music

Tim McGraw decided to create his own internet web challenge called the #DeepCutsChallenge. He first posted a video over the weekend explaining that all artists have a song they love to sing or jam out to when alone, even if it may not be a very popular song to perform. These songs are more commonly referred to as "deep cuts" or songs on an album that never made it to radio and are therefore not very well known or popular.

McGraw sang his favorite song "Take the Long Way Home" by John Schneider and then nominated Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, and Kenny Chesney to sing one of their favorite "deep cuts" and post it to Instagram while tagging other artists to also participate. It's gone on to include the likes of Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Vince Gill & more.  Here's a collection of some of the performances and the songs they chose- click on the song title to watch/hear the performances. 

Tim McGraw - John Schneider's "Take The Long Way Home"

Vince Gill - Bob McDill's "Last Dance At The Old Texas Moon"

Luke Combs - Chris Stapleton's "What Are You Listening To?"

Morgan Wallen - Jason Aldean's "Water Tower"

Brad Paisley - Steve Wariner's "What I Didn't Do"

Darius Rucker - Foster and Lloyd's "You Can Come Cryin' To Me"

Charles Kelley - Temple of the Dog - "Call Me A Dog"

Russell Dickerson - Tim McGraw's "Seventeen"

Thomas Rhett - Hank Williams, Jr's "Blues Man"

And keep an eye on Faith Hill's Instagram account this week. She was the most recent to be nominated by Vince Gill... 

New Music Video From John Schneider - "Outta This Town"

That Nashville Sound Sunday Newsbytes

I've been on the road this week so I'm sorry for the lighter-than-normal battery of new posts. But in my absence, there's been lots of great new album announcements and a couple of other nuggets that are important to share. So here you go, a special TNS Newsbyte Sunday feature.

* I feel blessed to be included with some names I admire a lot as one of the 89 writers that contribute to Nashville Scene's 17th Annual Country Music Critics' Poll. This marks about a decade I've contributed and the results are always really remarkable. This year was decidedly a female-dominated affair with names like Brandy Clark, Miranda Lambert, Margo Price, Maren Morris and Lori McKenna making their mark at the top of some of the lists.  Click HERE to read the series of feature articles.

Unpublished was my take on the rewards and frustrations of writing for country music. My take: "I can’t help but draw some comparisons to country music and the political cheese grater that all of the nation went through over the last year. Even without being a political science major, I can see how much of our nation’s left and right have wrapped themselves up in “their sides” of political ideology and come hell or high water, defend that corner vehemently and blindly without analysis or thoughtful discussion. Both sides rip the other to shreds without stopping to provide context and critique to issues, agendas and policies. Unfortunately, I think the short-attention span Twitter-verse that we live in today has created much of that same lack of careful analysis of music in general. As a result, listeners wrap themselves up with just what’s heard on the radio dial or just a sub-genre like honkytonk, bluegrass, traditional country or Red Dirt music and claim it’s the best around while disparaging all other kinds of country music. With fewer and fewer places that are taking the time to provide true careful deconstruction of all kinds of songs, it becomes easier to criticize the person doing the critique rather than contribute to the conversation. The reality is that no matter where you sit on the country music spectrum, there’s good music being released and there’s stuff that’s not very good. Our job as bloggers and music critics is to search it out and provide a healthy place for discourse on it without simply regurgitating the PR machines. Finding that place in the middle seems harder and harder to do these days and there’s fewer places on the web that are doing it well."

* Dukes of Hazzard star and country music singer John Schneider has a brand new album out this week inspired by his beloved studio ranch in South Louisiana that was hit by the devastating floods and the community that bounced back and helped like a "phoenix rising from the ashes." This album was recorded in his flooded home, where friends from all over appeared to help.

“This is really the first time that the music that I’m doing is representative of life rather than thinking ‘Oh, this is a good song,” he insists. “I’ve lived every one of these songs, so it’s an entirely different kind of an album. People’s responses have been great. I guess they are hearing a truth. I don’t guess there is any such thing as ‘the’ truth, but there is a truth, and it’s ringing true.”

On his new song "How Do You Stop The Water:" “You don’t realize it until you’ve actually cut the song, but when I listened to it back – I recorded the song just a few minutes after I found out my mother had passed away. So, there’s something very tangible about the sorrow in that song – but when I heard the song back, I thought ‘I would put this song up with ‘he Stopped Loving Her Today,’ ‘Miss Emily’s Picture,’ or ‘Live Like You Were Dying.’ I think it’s that kind of a song. It’s an experience. It’s not just a tune.”

* Former One Flew South member and singer/songwriter Chris Roberts performed an incredible dedication to the late George Michael at his St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in Nashville. Roberts' solo The Way West was one of our favorite albums of 2015 and this cover of "They Won't Go When I Go" shows just how versatile and interpretive this former Broadway star can be. Listen to the captured live track HERE.

* The SteelDrivers are back in the studio recording their next project. Hear a snippet HERE.

* March 10 is the long-awaited release date for Josh Turner's long-delayed sixth studio album, Deep South.

“I’m really proud of this album,” says Turner. “It was really important for me to expand creatively and explore in new ways for this record. The way I pick songs is different now. There are so many things in my life and career that have matured me as an artist.” He adds, “I’ve had another child since my last project!”

* One of That Nashville Sound's very-favorite artists (and people) is Jason Eady and we're thrilled with the announcement that he'll be releasing his next singer/songwriter self-titled project on April 21 via Thirty Tigers.

“At the beginning I told everyone I wanted to make a record where, if the power went out, we could still sit down and play all the songs the exact same way,” says Eady, who points out that steel guitar is the only electric instrument featured on the album.

 

“I’ve always been drawn to writing that’s got a simplicity to it, where you’re digging deep into real day-to-day life,” he notes. Here, that means touching on such matters as turning 40 (on the reflective, soul-stirring “40 Years”), his daughter’s growing up and going off to college (on the sweetly heartbreaking “Not Too Loud”), and the everyday struggle to “embrace the messy parts of life instead of trying to get the point where you’ve somehow fixed all your problems” (on “Rain,” a joyfully determined anthem featuring SteelDrivers fiddler Tammy Rogers). Throughout the album, Eady’s soulfully rugged voice blends in beautiful harmonies with his wife, singer/songwriter Courtney Patton. And on "No Genie in This Bottle," the legendary Vince Gill adds his harmony vocals alongside Eady.

 

“When you first get started making music, your ideas are grandiose and more about the big picture. But the longer I’ve done this, the more I’ve realized that the real joy comes from the process rather than the end goal,” he says. “Now it’s about getting better and finding more of myself with every album."

 

New Projects From Collin Raye, LeAnn Rimes and The Dukes of Hazzard Boys

90's country star Collin Raye is returning with a brand new collection of studio recordings, a collection of some of his favorite ballads and cover songs. From the press release:
"Raye s superb voice lends breathtaking emotion to such powerful songs as Dan Fogelberg s classic Same Old Lang Syne, Phil Collins Against All Odds, Bryan Adams (Everything I Do) I Do It For You and a whole lot more!"           

Release date: December 2, 2014

Track Listing:

 

1. Divine Everlasting Love
2. Say Hello To Heaven
3. How Deep Is Your Love
4. Against All Odds
5. Love Song For A Vampire
6. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
7. Marie
8. If
9. We re All Alone
10. She s Got A Way
11. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
12. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You
13. Same Old Lang Syne

 

LeAnn Rimes is back with new music- this time a six-song Christmas EP called One Christmas: Chapter 1. It is also the first in a set of three Christmas EPs or albums that will be released over the next couple of years - one in 2015 and the final in 2016.

"I made a Christmas record a long time ago, and this time," Rimes says, "I decided I wanted to spread it out over three years so I didn't have to stop making Christmas music. We had so much fun making this first EP. I tried to play around with it as far as things you don't typically hear me do. A lot of the vocals sound very live, and it's just a really cool piece of music. It's very eclectic. It has a lot of soul, and it sounds really organic."

Release date: October 28, 2014
Track listing:

1. Silent Night Holy Night
2. I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas
3. Blue Christmas
4. Someday at Christmas
5. Hard Candy Christmas
6. Carol of the Bells

25 years after the Dukes of Hazzard ended its run as one of America's favorite television shows, the brothers Duke, John Schneider and Tom Wopat, are back together again with a Christmas album called Home for Christmas. The pair, currently starring in a national TV advertising campaign for AutoTrader.com, have performed in concert over the years, but this marks their first full recording together. Mixing immediately recognizable Christmas standards with lesser-known holiday songs, the album combines a bright and brassy big band, lush strings, and rustic country sounds and laces it all together with humorous banter that reflects over three decades of friendship. Home for Christmas is produced by David Finck with arrangements by John Oddo, Tedd Firth and Rob Mounsey.

Home for Christmas is a collection of swinging seasonable treats to get you ready for holiday cheer. "I think this is a fresh take on the Christmas album," says Tom. "Jazz fans and serious musicians will appreciate what we've done with theses tunes. Our arranger John Oddo has a true affinity for that classic 50s and 60s sound. He really nails it. Tedd Firth is a major talent and a creative voice. And, of course, I love singing with John Schneider. The timbre of our voices match, the harmonies blend so easily. Plus, he's a barrel of laughs." Schneider adds, "Tom and I really bring out the best in each other. We may not sound alike when we talk, but when we sing sometimes you can't tell us apart. In the studio, I put him first and he puts me first. If that's not friendship, I don't know what is."

Release date: October 28, 2014
Track listing:
1. Merry Christmas
2. "Christmas Time is Here"
3. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
4. "Cool Yule"
5. "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
6. "Even the Snow (Falls for You)"
7. Love
8. "Sleigh Ride"
9. "Christmas Waltz"
10. "Johnny, It's Cold Outside"
11. "The Secret of Christmas"
12. Coal
13. "Blue Xmas"
14. "Holiday Season"
15. Ponch & John
16. "On a Quiet Christmas Morn"
17. "Silver Bells"
18. Egg Nog