New Music Video From Dolly Parton - "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" ft. Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah & Reba McEntire

Write You A Song Podcast - An Interview With Singer/Songwriter Jessi Alexander

Today, we share another new podcast from host Tom Mailey from Bonneville radio station New Country 105.1 KNCI in Sacramento. Tom is a country radio veteran with over 30 years of experience in Seattle and Sacramento and a key partner in our Golf & Guitars Children's Charity Music Festival, a little event in our thirteenth year that has raised well north of a million bucks for kids and individuals with disabilities. It highlights the songwriters in our industry and is entitled Write You a Song.

It's his hope that this podcast will shine a little overdue spotlight on the talented men and women who, mostly behind the scenes, write the songs that become part of our lives. You know their words and music, but maybe not their names: Write You a Song will feature some of country music’s biggest songwriters--like Jeffrey Steele, Brett Warren, Ashley McBryde, Tim Nichols and more.

Songwriter Jessi Alexander joined us during the 2nd week of the Covid 19 quarantine- which also happened to be the week when her solo album dropped. Busy homeschooling her kids and trying to promote a new record, she still found time to talk on the podcast about smash hits she's written for others, including "Drive Your Truck" for Lee Brice, "Mine Would Be You" for Blake Shelton and Miley Cyrus' anthem, "The Climb."

Nashville Singer/Songwriter Jessi Alexander Announces Decatur County Red Out March 27

Artist: Jessi Alexander
Album: Decatur County Red
Recorded: Southern Ground Studios
Release date: March 27, 2020

GRAMMY-nominated, CMA and ACM Award-winning songwriter and one of Nashville’s most prolific lyricists — will return to her roots on March 27th with the release of Decatur County Red, her first new album since 2014. This celebrated singer-songwriter’s album was inspired by her muse: a cabin in Tennessee River in Decatur County left to her by her Grandmother. Dedicated to “the folks that love sad songs, beer joints, pedal steel, and country music."

Her first release off of the project is the song “Mama Drank”, co-written by Alexander and her husband Jon Randall (Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley). The track is a testament to her own experience as a mom-of-three with the “working mom blues” and the “delicate dance working like a man, while you’re keeping your apron tied”.

Decatur County Red features eight new songs that blend stories of hell-raising, blue-collar characters like the barn-burner “Country Music Made Me Do It” feat. Randy Houser, with more sultry, fragile numbers like “I Should Probably Go Now”, where Alexander fearlessly wears her heart on her sleeve to create a candid snapshot of two lovers coping with infidelity. The album takes a more personal turn as she dives into her time grinding on Music Row with “Damn Country Music” and “How I’m Going Out”, where she reflects on the loss of her friend and fellow songwriter Andrew Dorff and all other ghosts that live on Music Row.

To immaculately capture these deeply personal stories and characters, Alexander turned to collaborators like The Brothers Osborne, husband Jon Randall (Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley), Josh Thompson (Jason Aldean, Maddie & Tae, Luke Combs), Glen Worff and more, resulting in this intoxicating hybrid of Americana-tinged country. 

Born in Jackson, TN and now Nashville-based, Alexander is the voice behind country’s Top 40 men and some of pop’s leading ladies, writing more than 70 hits from acts like Celine Dion (“Didn’t You Know”), Miley Cyrus (“The Climb”), Morgan Wallen (“The Way I Talk”, “Gone Girl”), Blake Shelton (“Mine Would Be You”, “Drink On It”, “Turnin’ Me On”), and Lee Brice (“I Drive Your Truck”) to name a few.

New Live Performance Music Video - Dolly Parton's Grammy Awards Tribute

During Sunday night’s Grammy awards, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Little Big Town all took the stage to honor the one and only country superstar Dolly Parton in a tribute performance to the eight-time Grammy winner.

Musgraves and Perry kicked off the tribute with Parton’s hit “Here You Come Again.” Moments into the song, Parton herself took the stage to join Musgraves and Perry, standing out between the two scarlet-clad singers in her sheer, spangled white dress. Next up, Cyrus performed her well-known cover of Parton’s smash “Jolene.”  Morris appeared next onstage, joining Cyrus and Parton to sing “After the Gold Rush.” Parton then performed “Red Shoes Girl” with Little Big Town, a new song from the motion picture soundtrack to Netflix’s Dumplin‘, which tells the story of a small-town girl who turns to Parton’s music for inspiration. Parton was then joined again by Perry, Cyrus, Musgraves, Morris and Little Big Town as they performed her hit “9 to 5.”

That Nashville Sound Saturday Newsbytes: New Music Videos and New Albums From Eddie Bush & Katie Armiger

A handful of new music videos and key musical performances popped up on the web yesterday as well as announcements from two country music veterans:

~  Former One Flew South member and guitar virtuoso Eddie Bush is releasing a new solo album on November 2 titled Love That Remains The Same Vol.1. Eddie became a veteran of the South Carolina music scene with 17 different album releases including his debut Infinity Nashville album, Eddie Bush. The disc produced the Billboard Hot Country Single “Hard To Stop A Train." By 2006 Eddie had become a member of the harmony group One Flew South, created and produced by GRAMMY® winning hit songwriter Marcus Hummon. The band was featured on the soundtrack of Disney’s The Fox & The Hound 2, and signed to Decca Records/UMG in November the same year. One Flew South’s full length disc Last Of The Good Guys produced the top 40 Billboard Hot Country Singles “My Kind Of Beautiful" and "Life."

- Miley Cyrus's performance of "Man of Constant Sorrow" at George Clooney's American Film Institute's 46th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute earlier this summer was made public.

~ Riley Green has a new music video for his new single "There Was This Girl."

~ Shawn Mendes and Zac Brown Band debuted their first performance video from their CMT Crossroads performance together, a song called "In My Blood."

~ William Michael Morgan released a cover of Merle Haggard's "Ramblin' Fever."

~ Katie Armiger departed from her traditional country looks and country sound on a new EP released yesterday entitled Keep It All Together.

Dolly Parton & Miley Cyrus Sing Together Celebrating 25 Years Of Dollywood

Bret Michaels In Critical Condition After Brain Hemorrhage

Bret Michaels is in critical condition suffering from a brain hemorrhage, his publicist said Friday. Joann Mignano confirmed a report on People magazine's website Friday that said the former Poison frontman was rushed to intensive care late Thursday after a severe headache. The report said doctors discovered bleeding at the base of his brain stem.

Mignano said tests are being conducted and that no further information was available.
The 47-year-old reality TV star had an emergency appendectomy last week after complaining of stomach pains. He had said on his website that though the surgery "has taken its toll," doctors expected him to make a full recovery.

The former Poison frontman recently released a new country music single called "Nothing to Lose" from his upcoming new studio album titled "Custom Built". The song featured the guest vocals of Miley Cyrus.

Poison's Frontman Bret Michaels Sings New Country Song With Miley Cyrus

Iconic rocker Bret Michaels, lead vocalist of Poison, reality TV star, actor, and solo musician, has just released the single "Nothing To Lose." On the track Michaels taps into his melodic prowess and knack for composing epic ballads and delivers a song that will easily find a home amongst rock, pop and country music fans. Knowing that "Nothing To Lose" had potential to cross genres Michaels recorded it a number of ways; solo, acoustic, and as a duet with Disney star Miley Cyrus.

The concept of pairing the two household names may seem out of left field but the two come together beautifully on the track. "Bret and I had a great time in the studio together just hanging out and making music," Miley was quoted saying. "He's so passionate about music and it shows. I think it's such a rad collaboration because it shows that two artists that seem so different on the outside can come together and organically create something that we are both proud of."

With the Internet buzz around the track, Michaels sat down with US Magazine to set the record straight, for anyone who was questioning the lyrical content of the song and Miley's participation on it, "I never sat down and said, 'Look at the content. Look at the lyrical content... There is nothing I have to be defensive about," he said, "I just thought it was a beautiful song."

All five versions of the country-rock ballad "Nothing To Lose" are now available on CD at the singer's website and the single featuring Miley Cyrus will be hitting iTunes Tuesday March 2nd. To get the latest info on Bret Michaels, including his upcoming appearance on Celebrity Apprentice visit his official website www.BretMichaels.com! Listen to the song below...

New Video- Thrill Billy From Billy Ray Cyrus

Billy Ray Cyrus just premiered his latest single and music video (this one starring his daughter Miley) called Thrill Billy. Watch it here…

Miley & Billy Ray Cyrus Perform A Musical Rarity

This week, Miley Cyrus debuts with "The Climb" (Walt Disney/Hollywood/Lyric Street) at No. 48 and father Billy Ray bows with "Back to Tennessee" (Walt Disney/Lyric Street) at No. 59 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Both songs will appear on the Walt Disney Records soundtrack, due March 24 and in the Walt Disney Pictures film, "Hannah Montana The Movie," which opens nationwide in theaters April 10. Back To Tennessee is also the title track of Cyrus's upcoming CD, which will be released on April 7. This marks the first time in nearly twenty years that a father and daughter have appeared on the chart with separate solo singles. (Johnny and Rosanne Cash had separate singles on October 5, 1990.)

"The Climb" (Walt Disney/Hollywood/Lyric Street) has been added to over 140 stations in 4 formats of radio in just 3 weeks, making it one of the most quickly added records of the year. It has hit the Top 30 on the Top 40 radio charts and is climbing rapidly at country and Hot AC formats.

After a string of hit songs at country radio and the recent top five smash "Ready, Set, Don't Go," Billy Ray Cyrus's latest effort "Back To Tennessee" is climbing the country radio charts. Produced by Mark Bright (Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood), the album features 12 new tracks. Billy Ray co-wrote two of the tracks on the new project. In addition, country powerhouse writers Jeffrey Steele, Neil Thrasher, Craig Wiseman, Rivers Rutherford, Blair Daly, Troy Verges and Casey Beathard all contribute tunes to the new record.

A musical highpoint in "Hannah Montana The Movie," Billy Ray (as his character Robby Ray Stewart) performs "Back To Tennessee." Written by Cyrus, Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder, it is inspired by Billy Ray's longing to return to his roots and breathe the sweet southern air of his home state.

Back To Tennessee will also contain a special extended version (4:44) of the father/daughter duet "Butterfly, Fly Away," which was produced by Glen Ballard. A 3:11 version of the duet appears in the film and on the soundtrack.

Watch New Miley Cyrus New Country Music Video

Miley Cyrus of Hannah Montana fame hit the country charts this past year with a duet with her father, Billy Ray. Next week, her first country single as a solo artist hits country radio with "The Climb." If Taylor Swift's massive success with the teen crowd is any indicator, this thing will be huge. It's actually a really solid first effort (did I just say that?)...

Watch the new music video here...