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Join the Oldies Online Music Panel...click hereTop 10 Country Songs on Billboard  Country Music Links Looking for a link to your favorite country artist? Click on our Other Links page and look under Country Artist for your favorite performer's link! Oldies Music Links Looking for a link to your favorite Oldies artist? Click on our Other Links page and look under Oldies for your favorite performer's link! Dave's Diner Enjoy listening to Dave's Diner? Well, now you can visit it - virtually, that is. Click here and visit with Officer Mahoney, Sal from Manilla (the chef), Paula Molive (dishwasher), and of course, Earline - your waitress. ABC Special for the Troops 
Toby Keith, Jessica Simpson, Clint Black and Joe Nichols will be featured in an ABC special titled America United: In Support of Our Troops airing Sept. 7. The two-hour special will also feature appearances and performances by Janet Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Pam Anderson, D.L. Hughley, ZZ Top, Kathy Griffin, Ne-Yo, Girls Next Door, Ali Landry (former Miss America), Carlos Mencia, Shawne Merriman (San Diego Charters linebacker), Jordin Sparks, Sam Moore (Sam & Dave) and Charlie Wilson (the Gap Band). (courtesy of cmt.com) Adkins Heading to Persian Gulf 
Trace Adkins is planning another trip to the Persian Gulf to visit U.S. troops as part of a tour sponsored by the USO and Armed Forces Entertainment. His previous USO tour of the Persian Gulf took place in 2002, and he also headlined the entertainment at the USO World Gala in Washington, D.C. He was awarded the USO Merit Award in 2007. "I'm really humbled by the opportunity to spend more time with our nation's finest," Adkins said. "This is such an honor for me to be able to visit with our military and tell them how much we truly appreciate all the sacrifices they make for our country and our freedom." (courtesy of cmt.com) Pickler in Top 20 
Kellie Pickler gives a repeat performance this week, remaining at the top of the chart on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, guest-hosted by comedian Henry Cho. Kellie’s ranking comes for her video "Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful," a song that’s positive and uplifting and aims to make listeners consider their best qualities.
"Everybody needs to be complimented," she told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "Everyone needs to be told that they’re loved, and everyone needs to be shown affection and told that they’re beautiful. Because I think in today’s society — especially women, as well as men — we suffer with such low self-esteem, and we constantly compare ourselves to other people and other things and want what we don’t have, and that’s just human nature. So it’s nice to really get a message out there that it’s not about all those things." Top 20 Country Countdown counts down the week's top country videos from No. 20 to No. 1 as voted by viewers on each week on GACTV.com. A new countdown premieres every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on GAC and airs again Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET; Sundays at 1 p.m. ET; and Mondays at 10 a.m. ET. Viewers can vote for their favorite videos, as well as purchase Top 20 artists' albums and ringtones at GACTV.com. (courtesy of gactv.com) Trace's Holiday Film 
An American Carol, Trace Adkins' first feature film, has been scheduled for an Oct. 3 theatrical release. Adkins portrays Angel of Death, one of three ghosts that shows a filmmaker (who happens to look exactly like Michael Moore) the error of his ways. "I'm the guy who performs the same function that the Grim Reaper did in the Charles Dickens tale. He's showing this guy what the future could possibly look like and is trying to scare him straight," says Adkins. "It was really cool playing a character who holds life and death in his hands." The film is being directed by David Zucker (Airplane!, The Naked Gun, Scary Movie 3 & 4). Co-stars include Kevin Farley, Kelsey Grammer, Leslie Neilsen, Dennis Hopper, James Woods, Robert Davi, Geoffrey Arend, Serdar Kalsin and Jon Voight. (courtesy of cmt.com) Taylor Sells Out London 
Taylor Swift will perform a sold-out concert at London's King's College on Wednesday night (Sept. 3), marking her first European performance. She will also meet the staff of Universal Music Group, which will release her upcoming album, Fearless, worldwide next year. In addition, Swift will appear on MTV's Video Music Awards on Sunday (Sept. 7) in Los Angeles, on the pre-taped ABC special CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock on Monday (Sept. 8) and on Good Morning America on Sept. 10 in New York City, where she will join Rascal Flatts to announce this year's CMA Award nominations. (courtesy of cmt.com) Visits to the Opry 
The Grand Ole Opry will have plenty of new blood coursing through its veins this weekend. Jessica Simpson, about to release her first country album, makes her debut on the legendary show on Saturday while the Canadian band the Road Hammers stops by for the first time on Friday.
"I'm incredibly honored to be singing... on this stage which has such a rich and amazing history," Jessica observes. "I get chill bumps just thinking about it." Jessica will perform a pair of songs, "Come On Over" and "Remember That," from Do You Know, which reaches stores on Tuesday. She’ll appear in an Opry segment that also features Loretta Lynn, Patty Loveless and Crystal Shawanda — and it all gets captured on GAC’s Opry Live beginning at 9 p.m. ET. The Road Hammers earned their first major attention in the U.S. this year with the release of their album Blood, Sweat & Steel and through their GAC reality series, directed by Jason Priestley. "As a lifelong country music fan, the Grand Ole Opry is a mecca to me," band member Jason McCoy says. "With the passing of Jerry Reed, one of my true heroes, it will make it that much more special to pay tribute to him with our version of ‘East Bound and Down.’ He will be missed by all, but his incredible legacy will live on in country music forever." The Road Hammers’ current single, "Girl On The Billboard," is a cover of a song made famous by a late Grand Ole Opry star, North Carolina native Del Reeves. (courtesy of gactv.com) McGraw's Greatest Hits 
Tim McGraw will include live versions of "If You're Reading This" and "Real Good Man" on his Greatest Hits 3 album to be released on Oct. 7. The 12-track compilation also includes his collaborations with Def Leppard on "Nine Lives" (first released on the band's Songs From the Sparkle Lounge project) and his work with Tracy Lawrence and Kenny Chesney on "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" (which originally appeared on Lawrence's For the Love album). McGraw's first two greatest hits albums have sold a combined total of almost 8 million copies. (courtesy of cmt.com) New Currington Album 
Billy Currington's third album, Little Bit of Everything, will be released on Oct. 14 by Mercury Nashville. Currington co-produced the album with Carson Chamberlain and co-wrote five of the 12 songs. He recently filmed the video for his latest single, "Don't." "People kept asking what kind of music they'd hear on this next album, whether it was going to be R&B, pop, country or rock, and I seemed to keep saying the same thing," said Currington. "It's going to be a little bit of everything, I guess." Currington has topped the country singles chart with "Good Directions" and "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right." (courtesy of cmt.com) Reba Gets Boxed 
Reba McEntire has placed her name on the national country singles charts more than 90 times in her career, and she’s impressively honored with a three-disc retrospective this fall titled 50 Greatest Hits. Set for release Oct. 21, the compilation covers the MCA portion of her resume, beginning with the 1984 album My Kind Of Country and extending through last year’s Duets. The Mercury period in her history, which ran from 1975-1984, gets passed over in this rather significant collection, which features liner notes penned by Reba herself.
It’s only the latest best-of album slated for this year’s Christmas buying season. Also on the docket are Rascal Flatts’ Greatest Hits and Tim McGraw’s Greatest Hits 3. Reba can be seen this weekend on the 43rd annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Other acts scheduled include Tracy Lawrence, Jimmy Wayne, Kid Rock, Sugarland, 3 Doors Down, Starship, Celine Dion and Gloria Gaynor. Billy Gilman is one of the co-hosts for the event, which last year raised a whopping $63.8 million for the fight against muscular dystrophy. The telethon begins at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday and runs until 6:30 p.m. Monday. (courtesy of gactv.com) Bus Accident for Jewel's Band 
A bus carrying Jewel's band crashed into a ditch after a show in Virginia Beach, Va., on Sunday night (Aug. 31) when the driver passed out. No injuries were reported. Jewel posted a blog entry on her MySpace page about the accident, saying that one of her band members was getting a Diet Coke requested by the driver when the bus crashed into a grassy ditch between the interstate lanes. However, the bus, which was also carrying a trailer, did not flip. The band members returned to Nashville on buses belonging to the other artists on the tour, including Brad Paisley, Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough. Jewel and her husband, Ty Murray, flew home after the show and were not with her band at the time of the accident. Paisley also flew home after the show, and many of Jewel's band members were able to board his nearly empty bus. (courtesy of cmt.com) Little Big Town Adding Songs to Latest Album 
Little Big Town will re-release its third album, A Place to Land, on Oct. 14 on Capitol Nashville, with new artwork and four additional songs. The project was initially released last November on Equity Records. However, the band owned the masters to the album and negotiated the new deal with Capitol after completing their two-album deal with Equity. The band will also keep the masters to the albums they record for Capitol Nashville. The first two singles from A Place to Land were "I'm With the Band" and "Fine Line." Capitol Nashville also plans to re-release The Road to Here, the band's first album for Equity. Their self-titled debut was issued by Monument Records in 2002. Little Big Town will tour with Carrie Underwood this fall. (courtesy of cmt.com) Jerry Reed Passes Away 
Jerry Reed, the singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor whose No. 1 country hits include "When You're Hot, You're Hot," "Lord, Mr. Ford" and "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)," died Sunday (Aug. 31). He had been diagnosed with emphysema and was in hospice care. Although he was nicknamed "The Guitar Man," Reed was also known for his comedic roles in the films Smokey and the Bandit and The Waterboy. Elvis Presley recorded two of Reed's songs, "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man," and was invited by Presley's producer to play his distinctive "claw-style" guitar licks on the studio recordings as well. Reed's other hits as a performer include "East Bound and Down" (from Smokey and the Bandit) and "The Bird" (which included impressions of Willie Nelson and George Jones). (courtesy of cmt.com) Official WCUB House Band 
Introducing the Official AM 980 House Band, Ricky Raybine & the Rays! From country to 50's & 60's rock'n'roll, they can make your next party better. Great entertainment for weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, corporate or non-profit events. Book the band by calling Karen at 920-946-8388.To find out more about Ricky Raybine & the Rays, click here. Featured Artist of the Week... 
The country vocal quartet Little Big Town began with Kimberly Roads and Karen Fairchild, who began singing together at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. Fairchild moved to Nashville in 1994 to work for a booking agent on Music Row. Roads moved a year later. After they reunited, they invited Jimi Westbrook (a friend of Fairchild's) to sing with them and accompany them on guitar. He moved to Nashville in 1998. Through one of Fairchild's co-writers, they met another singer-guitarist, Phillip Sweet, who solidified the quartet in 1998.
The quartet found a supporter in the CAA booking agency, which helped them secure a contract with Mercury Records. They made their public debut on the Grand Ole Opry in 1999. However, the Mercury deal fell apart although they had landed publishing deals to sustain them. In time, they signed to Sony's Monument Records, but the label dropped them after the release of the group's 2002 album. In their personal lives, Westbrook's father died. Sweet and Fairchild both divorced, and Roads' husband Steven died unexpectedly of a heart attack. (A lawyer, he had assisted with many of the quartet's legal contracts.) The group did not disband, but Westbrook, Sweet and Fairchild all returned to day jobs. However, songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick offered to pay for a new recording. They agreed. Top musicians such as Gordon Kennedy (guitar), Jimmy Lee Sloas (bass), Mountain Heart's Adam Steffey (mandolin), Union Station's Jerry Douglas (Dobro) and Ron Block (banjo) pitched in. Equity Records (co-owned by Clint Black) released their second album in 2005, The Road to Here, which included the hit "Boondocks." The following year, the album was certified gold. Westbrook and Fairchild married in 2006. The ensemble also received their first CMA nominations that year, for Horizon Award and vocal group. (courtesy of cmt.com) Return to the CUB COUNTRY Homepage |
