As we head into a long Labor Day weekend, here's a round-up of some of the jobs held by country stars, and how they felt about those jobs:
Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley talks about some of the jobs he had before becoming a big star. “I used to do lawn care every summer. Oh, man, I do not miss that. Just glad those days are over. I get out here and play music for a living. It’s a lot more fun. But yeah, I used to do that, and I used to work as a bag boy at a golf course once. I did that for a couple of summers. I had a lot of crummy jobs.”
Luke Bryan talks about the jobs he had growing up in Georgia. “At age 12 thru 13, I worked at Rubos IGA Supermarket in Leesburg, GA. I worked during the summers on Monday and Tuesday. I stocked and cleaned up the produce. Let’s see, when I was 15, I worked at K-Mart for two months, and then I reverted back to Rubos because it didn’t really make sense for me to drive all the way into Albany and work for K-Mart.”
Jake Owen’s dad still worries about him, even though he now has a successful country music career. “Now, to be able to have conversations with my dad where he’s not constantly asking me how much money I have in the bank. When I say that, I mean he used to worry about like, ‘are you okay, man?’ ‘Cause I would never take anything from him. I wanted to prove to him that I could do it. I know he knew! ‘Cause I was going through it. You know, he’d call me when I had sixty-seven dollars in my bank account a four-hundred fifty dollar rent payment to make four days later!”
Kellie Pickler used to help her grandfather with his electrical work. “My grandfather is an electrician, and you know, my dad was an electrician, and he, I mean, they built houses from the ground up. So, I’m very hands-on when it comes to house stuff like that. I love to build things and whatnot. So, if it comes to putting carpet down, I’m all for it. Painting – I love to paint. I can wire a house and hook up your thermostat.”
Alan Jackson says that workingman values have always been a part of his music. “I’ve always written songs and recorded songs, other people’s songs, about workin’ people, and workin’, the workin’ life ’cause I mean, that’s where I’m from. I’d already had jobs and worked as a grown person before I ever even thought about bein’ in the music business.”
Darius Rucker remembers one of his worst jobs before starting a music career. “I was fifteen, and I worked at a pizza place, and the guy decided that at fifteen that I could not only clean the floors and wash the dishes, but I also had to make pizza. So, for two months, he taught me how to make pizza.”
Danny Gokey reveals his truck-driving past. “The truck driving thing, yeah, a lot of people don’t know about it because they didn’t highlight that on American Idol. But, it’s part of who I am. I did two years of truck driving. And if the bus ever did break down, I could be qualified to run the tour bus. I might just start doing it to save money.”
Billy Currington “I started when I was about 16 roofin’ houses. And that was probably one of my toughest jobs, cause down there in South Georgia, it gets hot! So, doin’ that everyday…all summer long. The concrete job was my least favorite of all. Six years of that and I couldn’t take it no more.”
It was Taylor Swift's turn to be featured on "YouTube Presents"...enjoy!
Tim McGraw has been known to kick fans out of his concert for being out of control, but Eric Church has one up on Tim...he kicked a security guard out of one of his shows! A woman came to the stage, took off her boot and asked Eric to sign it. The security guy grabbed her and tried to hustle her away from the stage, and Eric threw the boot at him, trying to get him to release the female fan. Eric invited her to bring him the boot again, at which point the security guard grabbed her again, and Eric had him removed from the show. Don't mess with Tim, and don't mess with Eric!
Colt Ford got to celebrate last week, as his song, "Dirt Road Anthem," was feted at a #1 party. Jason Aldean took the Colt Ford/Brantley Gilbert collaboration to the top of the chart, and Colt was the center of attention at the party.
From the "not surprised" department, Faith Hill will be the theme singer for NBC's Sunday Night Football. It's her 5th year of singing a different song each Sunday night, with the first game September 11th, as the Dallas Cowboys face off against the New York Jets.
Tracy Lawrence is the voice for FOX Sports South college football coverage this fall. "Saturday in the South" is the song that will be featured in coverage of SEC, ACC, Conference USA, Big 12 and Pac-12 games this fall.
Two legends are about to tour together. Kicking off in January, George Strait and Martina McBride will wow the crowds. Dates and markets haven't been finalized yet, but I'll have a link here for you when they are.
Darius Rucker is about to embark on his first country music headlining tour. Rodney Atkins, Justin Moore, Thompson Square and Frankie Ballard will all be part of the tour on different dates. The fun starts October 6th in Glens Falls, New York. Darius has been touring with Brad Paisley, and says of his friend, “You know, when you’re on tour, you hang out a lot. We’re hanging out a lot. We’re having a beer together, playing golf together, and stuff.” Darius' music has just earned him some heavy metal - "Alright" has been certified platinum, and gold certification has been awarded for "Come Back Song," "This," "It Won't Be Like This for Long" and "Don't Think I Don't Think About It."
Vince Gill and Sting are paired up for the next CMT Crossroads, premiering in November. The taping will happen in New York City. Both artists, with 36 Grammy awards between them, have wanted to do Crossroads for years and are delighted to be sharing the stage.
Ashton Shepherd is scheduled to have her baby next week. I'll keep you posted...she's excited to hold her baby with her arms, not her belly.
The Band Perry is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight.
The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride "I am texting with my husband...and it's really romantic...For real..."
