Today's Country Tidbits

Trace Adkins gave himself a birthday present yesterday. He signed a new record deal with Show Dog Records, the label Toby Keith started in 2005. Now America's Toughest Tour has become America's Toughest Labelmates.

Carrie Underwood is a class act. She has given her cell phone number to every American Idol contestant, in case they need some advice or coaching to get through the stress of the competition. And for the top 10 finalists this year, she's having Tiffany & Co. make custom dog-tags for each of them.

Forbes Magazine is out with a list of Hollywood's top-earning couples, based on the time period of June 2008 to June 2009. Number 12 on the list, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are reported to have earned $28 million, and with $17 million, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman land in 15th place.

Last Saturday night, while Brad Paisley's tour was in Wichita, an arena employee suffered a heart attack. A former firefighter and EMT, Doug Paisley, Brad's Dad, administered CPR until medics arrived. He shuns any talk of being a hero, saying “If the man’s life was saved, it was because a lot of things came together. There’s nothing heroic about this. Heroic is when you’re standing on the front lines in Afghanistan or Iraq."

Steve Azar will be part of the fun of the 51st annual Bob Hope Golf Classic next week in Palm Springs. Golf Digest rates him as one of their Top 5 Musician-Golfers.

Oh, to be in New York when the songwriters flock there. March 25th at Joe's Pub in New York City, Dierks Bentley, David Lee Murphy, Jim Beavers and Bob DiPiero will host an informal evening of picking, chatting and showcasing the magic of a well-written song. These four men are responsible for millions in sales from the hits they've written.

Alan Jackson's next cd, "Freight Train," hits the street on March 30th. It includes a tribute to the late Vern Gosdin, whom Alan truly admired. Vern's classic duet with Janie Fricke, "Til the End," is one of the songs, with Alan enlisting Lee Ann Womack as his duet partner on the song.

Just added to the MerleFest 2010 lineup for Thursday, April 29th - the Zac Brown Band and Taj Mahal, the legendary blues band. The full lineup for the weekend is here.

Years from now, Taylor Swift plans to write her autobiography. She says she's taking careful notes about all of the things she's doing now, all of the access she has, all of the craziness that's going on around her, and it'll all be a book someday.

Around midnight last night, Trisha Yearwood tweeted, "Veggie night at the Brooks casa! Roasted carrots, asparagus, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, and meatloaf. Meatloaf is a veggie, right?"

Friday night, catch Reba as a guest star on the season 2 premiere of "The Singing Bee" on CMT.

Saturday night on CBS, Gretchen Wilson sings the National Anthem and performs the halftime show at the AFC Divisional Championship game, between the Colts and the Ravens.

Please donate $10 to the massive relief effort in Haiti by texting DISASTER to 90999. You can also call 800-Red Cross to donate, or donate online.