TAG SEARCH RESULTS FOR: ""

Garth Brooks Talks A&E Documentary On “Good Morning America”

Posted on by Bob Ballard

Garth Brooks stopped by “Good Morning America” yesterday to discuss his upcoming A&E documentary “Garth Brooks: The Road I’m On,” which is set to air December 2nd and 3rd as part of what the network is calling “Garth Week”

“To see it all kind of put within a period of time on TV it all kind of comes as fast as it did when you were living it,” Garth said. “Every artist should get this wonderful treat to get to sit down and look at the things you got to be a part of and enjoy it.”

In addition to focusing on his career, the documentary delves into Garth’s family life, and his ex-wife Sandy is even interviewed. He says those personal scenes definitely touched him while watching. “You can’t help but sit there and cry and weep. But it’s good,” he shares. “It’s one of those things that once everybody sees it on our side, we’re all going to get a lot tighter afterward too because you get to hear things that maybe you’ve been running too fast to say to each other.”

Garth also discussed his recent CMA win for Entertainer of the Year, and he admits even he thought Carrie Underwood was going to walk away with the award. “It was the year of the women so we were all expecting Carrie anyway and she justly deserved it as well as the other nominees,” he said, admitting that he was caught off guard when he won. “We were sitting there talking [and] boom, your name gets called and you don’t have anything prepared or nothing, so you pretty much just tell them what you thought of the show.”

 

Source: Good Morning America

Posted on by Bob Ballard

This day in 1961″ “Big Bad John” took Jimmy Dean to #1 on the Billboard country chart.

“Big Bad John” is a country song originally performed by Jimmy Dean, who wrote and composed it in collaboration with Roy Acuff. It was released in September 1961 and by the beginning of November it had gone to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It won Dean the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

The song and its sequels tell a story typical of American folklore, reminiscent of Paul Bunyan or John Henry. Big Bad John was also the title of a 1990 television movie starring Dean.

The song tells the story of a mysterious and quiet miner who earned the nickname Big John because of his height, weight, and muscular physique. (“He stood six foot six and weighed 245”.) He supposedly came from New Orleans, where, with “a crashin’ blow from a huge right hand”, he allegedly killed a man over a Cajun Queen.

One day, a support timber cracked at the mine where John worked. The situation looked hopeless until John “grabbed a saggin’ timber, gave out with a groan / and like a giant oak tree just stood there alone”, then “gave a mighty shove”, opening a passage and allowing the 20 other miners to escape the mine. Just as the other miners were about to re-enter the mine with the tools necessary to save him, the mine fully collapsed and John was believed to have died in the depths of the mine. The mine itself was never reopened, but a marble stand was placed in front of it, with the words “At the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man – Big John.” (Some versions of the song change the last line to “lies a big, big man” to replace what was at the time considered to be borderline profane language.)

Its 1962 sequel, “The Cajun Queen”, describes the arrival of “Queenie”, Big John’s Cajun Queen, who rescues John from the mine and marries him. Eventually, they have “110 grandchildren”. The sequel’s events are more exaggerated than the first, extending the story into the realm of tall tales.

In June 1962, the story continued (and evidently concludes) with the arrival of “Little Bitty Big John”, the flip side to “Steel Men” on Columbia 4-42483, learning about his father’s act of heroism.

In October 1961, Dottie West recorded a sequel to the song called “My Big John”. This song was told from the point of view of the “Cajun Queen” that drove John away – her search for him, then discovering about his death.

Columbia Records was considering dropping Dean before the release of this million-selling single, as he had not had a hit in years. Dean wrote the beginnings of the song on a flight from New York to Nashville because he realized he needed a fourth song for his recording session. Roy Acuff later helped him polish it.

The inspiration for the character of Big John was an actor, John Minto, that Dean met in a summer stock play, Destry Rides Again, who was 6’5″. Dean would call him “Big John” and grew to like the rolling sound of the phrase.

Country pianist Floyd Cramer, who was hired to play piano on the song, came up with the idea to use a hammer and a piece of steel instead. This became a distinctive characteristic of the recording.

There are several known recordings of the song by Dean.

 

Source: Wikipedia

 

Luke Combs Tops Album & Country Airplay Charts

Posted on by Bob Ballard

Luke Combs’s latest album “What You See Is What You Get,” tops the all-genre “Billboard” 200 Album chart, so of course that means he also tops the Top Country Album chart this week.

The album is now Luke’s third Country Album number one, and his sales were helped by a concert ticket/album bundle.

Luke previously topped the Country Album chart with his debut album, “This One’s For You,” which spent 50 weeks at number one, tying Shania Twain’s record for the most weeks on top. He also went to number one with his EP “The Prequel.”

Luke also holds the number one song on the Country Airplay chart with “Even Though I’m Leaving,” making it his record-extending seventh straight career-opening number one.


Elsewhere on the chart…

Dan + Shay’s “10,000 Hours,” featuring Justin Bieber, tops the Hot Country Songs chart for a sixth week.

Thomas Rhett’s “Remember You Young” lands at six on the Hot Country Songs chart this week, his 14th Top Ten hit.

Lady Antebellum’s “What If I Never Get Over You” jumps to seven on the Hot Country Songs chart, their 14th Top Ten hit.

Jon Pardi’s “Heartache Medication” is at seven on the Country Airplay chart, his fifth Top Ten hit.

Dustin Lynch has his sixth Country Airplay Top Ten with “Ridin’ Roads,” which is at 10.

 

 

Big Machine Denies Taylor Swift’s Claims, Taylor Fights Back

Posted on by Bob Ballard

As we previously told you, Taylor Swift recently went public about her ongoing feud with Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun, claiming they won’t allow her to perform her old songs on the American Music Awards, and they’ve refused to okay the use of her music in an upcoming Netflix documentary. Well, now the two men have fired back.

In a statement they say they are “shocked” by Taylor’s claims, noting, “At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special.” They also add, “we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere,” and they insist that since her departure from Big Machine Label Group they “have continued to honor all of her requests to license her catalog to third parties as she promotes her current record in which we do not financially participate.”

They also claim Taylor owes them “millions of dollars and multiple assets to our company,” and suggests they almost had a deal to settle all their issues before Taylor “made a unilateral decision last night to enlist her fanbase in a calculated manner that greatly affects the safety of our employees and their families.”

They added, “Taylor, the narrative you have created does not exist. All we ask is to have a direct and honest conversation.”

But Taylor’s rep is shooting down their statement, and even provided emails proving that Big Machine denied her license request for the AMAs, Netflix and even her recent Alibaba Singles day concert. The rep notes that Taylor stuck to songs from “Lover” because of the denial. The rep adds, “Scott Borchetta… flatly denied the request for both American Music Awards and Netflix.” They also deny suggestions Taylor owes the label money, and adds the label actually owes her “$7.9 million of unpaid royalties over several years.”

As for those possible threats to Braun and Borchetta, one report claimed Braun’s Nashville office was closed Friday because of threats received based on Taylor’s post. The Blast claims in one instance a “voicemail was left for an employee with their exact address and a threat to kill them at their home,” while another person threatened to “shoot up the place.”

Source: Rolling Stone

This day in 1970: Jerry Lee Lewis divorces his second wife (and cousin)

Posted on by Bob Ballard

This day in 1970: Jerry Lee Lewis and his second wife, Myra – who was also his cousin – were divorced. Their 1958 wedding, which took place when she was just 13 years old, caused such a scandal that it effectively ruined his career. In fact, the only thing illegal about the marriage was the fact that Jerry hadn’t divorced his first wife when he wed Myra.

 

 

Here’s What You Didn’t See On The CMA Awards

Posted on by Bob Ballard

The CMA Awards went down in Nashville earlier this week, and while it was certainly a great show, there was a lot going on in Bridgestone Arena that folks at home didn’t get to see.

For instance, “People” reports that when it comes to exes Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, it seems they’ve learned to at least co-exist at the same award show. Insiders say Blake and girlfriend Gwen Stefani were seen bobbing their heads during Miranda’s performance of “It All Comes Out In The Wash,” while Miranda and hubby Brendan McLoughlin did the same during Blake’s performance of “God’s Country.”

Of course it’s still not a love fest. While both couples did clap for each other, they didn’t exactly join the rest of the audience who gave each performance a standing ovation.

Other behind-the-scenes things you may have missed…

During a run backstage to change gowns, host Carrie Underwood tripped, although she quickly caught herself.

Thomas Rhett’s four-year-old daughter Willa Gray was in the audience for the entire three-hour show, and was very well behaved, even waving a cell-phone flashlight during her dad’s performance of “Remember You Young.” While two-year-old Ada James walked the red carpet, she didn’t stick around to watch the show.

Pink’s nearly three-year-old son Jameson wasn’t as well behaved, and didn’t last long sitting in the front row with mom and dad.

When Luke Combs won his award for Male Vocalist of the Year the audience was cheering “Luke,” not boo, as some watching on TV may have thought.

At the end of their “Rainbow Connection” performance, Kacey blew Willie Nelson a kiss, and once the cameras were off them Willie blew one back.

 

This day in 1980, Kenny Rogers topped the pop singles chart with “Lady.”

Posted on by Bob Ballard

Today in 1980, Kenny Rogers topped the pop singles chart with “Lady.”

Written by Lionel Richie and first recorded by American country artist Kenny Rogers, it was released in September 1980 on the album Kenny Rogers’ Greatest Hits.

It is listed at #60 on Billboard’s All Time Top 100. Rogers once told an interviewer, “The idea was that Lionel would come from R&B and I’d come from country, and we’d meet somewhere in pop.”

The success of “Lady” also boosted Richie’s career. The production work on the song was his first outside the Commodores and foreshadowed his success as a solo act during the 1980s. Rogers was also a featured vocalist on “We Are the World”, co-written by Richie. Richie performed the song himself on his 1998 album, Time, and he and Rogers performed the song as a duet on Richie’s 2012 release Tuskegee. Lionel Richie had originally pitched this song to the Commodores and they turned it down. Then later, it was given to Kenny Rogers to record and it became the biggest selling hit single for him as a solo artist.

Source: Wikipedia

Garth wins CMA Entertainer of the Year award

Posted on by Bob Ballard

We all knew the spotlight would be on the “women of country” at last night’s “53rd Annual CMA Awards”, and it was . . . until the end, when GARTH BROOKS won Entertainer of the Year.

That last female to win that award was Taylor Swift in 2011. The favorite this year seemed to be CARRIE UNDERWOOD. She launched an all-female tour, worked hard promoting her album, but didn’t win a thing. She was up for three awards.

The CMAs did come through with a solid show. It opened with an all-female medley that started with Carrie and her co-hosts, DOLLY PARTON, and REBA MCENTIRE.

And then came Jennifer Nettles, Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild, The Highwomen, Tanya Tucker, Gretchen Wilson, Crystal Gayle, Terri Clark, Sara Evans, and Martina McBride . . . who all took turns honoring decades of female country songs.

That could’ve been a tough moment to follow but Carrie, Dolly, and Reba rolled into the monologue without missing a beat. They didn’t do any long and involved comedy bits, like Carrie did with Brad Paisley, but they didn’t need them. They’re pros.

As for the performances: MIRANDA LAMBERT had a spark in her eye while singing “It All Comes Out in the Wash”. I think marriage agrees with her. Speaking of that: How many years before she and Blake Shelton shake hands and make nice?

We were treated to PINK and CHRIS STAPLETON doing “Love Me Anyway”. It was one of those performances that remind you why awards shows can be so awesome. It got a standing ovation.

OLD DOMINION performed “One Man Band” and it was subdued but really good. Even better, later on in the show they won their second Vocal Group of the Year award.

Hey, LUKE COMBS did a wardrobe change. He was all dressed-up when he accepted Song of the Year for “Beautiful Crazy”, but when he returned later to sing “Beer Never Broke My Heart” he was in short sleeves and a cap. And then the suit came back when he won Male Vocalist of the Year. For some reason, I love that.

KELSEA BALLERINI went solo with her guitar while performing “Homecoming Queen?”. And then she launched into “Girl Crush”, which kicked off another succession of female performers that included Lindsay Ell, Runaway June, Maddie & Tae, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce . . . and Little Big Town.

The LADY ANTEBELLUM and HALSEY collaboration featured stripped-down versions of Lady A’s “What If I Never Get Over You”, and Halsey’s “Graveyard”. They sounded great together. How about an album?

The guitars came out and the volume turned up when BROTHERS OSBORNE joined BROOKS & DUNN for “Hard Workin’ Man”.

A night dedicated to women in country music seemed right for a pregnant MAREN MORRIS to perform her song “Girl”. She also won Album of the Year for “Girl”.

Blake Shelton did a nice thing while performing “God’s Country”. He showcased his fiddle player Jenee Fleenor, which was cool for two reasons. She won CMA Musician of the Year, and, believe it or not, she was the first woman to ever win that award.

Hands down, the sweetest moment of the night was when KACEY MUSGRAVES and her hero WILLIE NELSON performed “The Muppet Movie” song “Rainbow Connection”. Unfortunately, Willie’s voice was wavering, but that’s okay.

 

Here’s your complete list of winners . . .

 

Entertainer of the Year: Garth Brooks

Male Vocalist of the Year: Luke Combs

Female Vocalist of the Year: Kacey Musgraves

Vocal Duo of the Year: Dan + Shay

Vocal Group of the Year: Old Dominion

New Artist of the Year: Ashley McBryde

Album of the Year: “Girl”, Maren Morris

Song of the Year: “Beautiful Crazy”, Luke Combs. It’s a songwriter’s award so he shares it with Wyatt B. Durrette III, and Robert Williford.

Single of the Year: “God’s Country”, Blake Shelton

Musical Event of the Year: “Old Town Road (Remix)”, Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

Music Video of the Year: “Rainbow”, Kacey Musgraves

 

 

NEWSLETTER

Stay updated, sign up for our newsletter.