BRETT’S COUNTRY MUSIC NEWS:
TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY:
1950: The Grand Ole Opry was televised for the first time from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
1953: DEBORAH ALLEN was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Her biggest hit was Baby, I Lied, which reached #4 in 1983, but she also co-wrote hits for JOHN CONLEE, TANYA TUCKER and PATTY LOVELESS.
1958: MARTY STUART was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi. His best-known hits include Hillbilly Rock, Tempted and duets with TRAVIS TRITT like This One’s Gonna Hurt You (For A Long, Long Time) and The Whiskey Ain’t Workin.’
1963: EDDIE MONTGOMERY was born in Danville, Kentucky. One half of the duo MONTGOMERY GENTRY, Eddie and Troy Gentry won the Duo of the Year award in 2000 from both the ACM and CMA.
1992: VINCE GILL and GARTH BROOKS were double winners at the Country Music Association Awards held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
2006: GEORGE STRAIT scored his 41st number one hit with Give It Away, giving him the most number one hits by any country artist.
IN THE NEWS:
BLAKE GOES DELUXE:
BLAKE SHELTON has announced plans for a deluxe version of his album, Body Language to be released December 3. While the full track list is not yet available, Blake’s next single, Come Back As A Country Boy will be the first release from the project.
PISTOL ANNIES TO RELEASE CHRISTMAS ALBUM:
The trio PISTOL ANNIES, comprised of MIRANDA LAMBERT, ASHLEY MONROE and ANGALEENA PRESLEY will release their first Christmas album, Hell Of A Holiday on October 22. The 13-tracks include a cover of MERLE HAGGARD’s If We Make It Through December, Sleigh Ride and Auld Lang Syne along with ten originals.
RANDY TRAVIS HONORED WITH AWARD OF A LIFETIME:
The CMT Artists of the Year special will see RANDY TRAVIS honored with the Award of a Lifetime honoring his many accomplishments in country music. Randy joins a list of previous recipients that includes MERLE HAGGARD, LORETTA LYNN, KENNY ROGERS and REBA MCENTIRE.
MANDY BARNETT TO JOIN THE OPRY:
While she’s never had much chart success, MANDY BARNETT has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry more than 500 times and has long been a lover of classic country music, even releasing an album of covers called Nashville Songbook. Now, she’s been invited to join the Grand Ole Opry and will be inducted later this year.
THE HIT TRACY LAWRENCE NEVER LIKED:
It may surprise you to know that TRACY LAWRENCE’s hit, Texas Tornado was never one of his favorites. In fact, he cut a deal with his record label to record it. Tracy wanted to take more of a hands-on approach in producing his music, so he agreed to record the song if the label would allow him more creative freedom.