Today's Country Tidbits

This fall is a country music lover's dream - new cd's from Taylor Swift, Toby Keith, Reba, Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, Little Big Town, Sugarland, The Band Perry, Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker and the Zac Brown Band.

Music that's already out there is earning some wall bling for the musicians. Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" is double-platinum. Brad Paisley's "Then" and Kellie Pickler's "Best Days of Your Life" have gone platinum. Kenny Chesney's "I'm Alive," Jamey Johnson's "In Color," Joe Nichols "Gimme That Girl," Josh Turner's "Why Don't We Just Dance" and Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home" have all gone gold for sales of half a million copies.

Congratulations to Luke Bryan, who's song "Rain is a Good Thing" is number one again this week.

Jewel is the cover girl on a special edition of Self magazine, designed for the Lilith Fair. It's a behind-the-scenes look at the tour, with bios of many of the artists, a cd, a packet of seeds and a magnetic photo frame.

Condolences to Deana Carter and her family on the loss of her Dad, legendary session musician Fred Carter Jr. He played on songs by Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and more. He also was a prolific songwriter and artists as diverse as Chet Atkins, Dean Martin and Burl Ives recorded his songs. He passed away Saturday of stroke-related disorders at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was 76.

The tweet of the day is from Zac Brown: "If you ever want a good laugh, watch VH1 Classic during what they call "Metal Mania." 50%+ of the videos made me cry I was laughing so hard."

Happy birthday to Brad Mates, lead vocalist of Emerson Drive.

Today's Country Tidbits

Reba has some fat-wallet fans. This week at a Celebrity Fight Night fund-raiser for Parkinson's Disease research, three men bid nearly a million dollars to have lunch with Reba. Nice donation!

In the upcoming issue of Country Weekly, Charlie Daniels defends Taylor Swift, saying that "She is a very very decent young woman who is a much better role model than some of these that are held up to admiration. She’s always been very down to earth and very humble. I like people who can handle a certain degree of stardom without taking themselves too seriously." He goes on to say to those who complain about her singing that she's a singer/songwriter in the folk music vein, and that she's a great storyteller for her generation. And Charlie knows a little something about story-telling! He's recovering well after the stroke he suffered late last year, by the way.

Dierks Bentley won't be in the audience for the ACM Awards on April 18th. He'll be in Minneapolis, headlining the Dow Live Earth Run for Water concert. The 100-city, same-day worldwide 6k run/walk aims to raise money and awareness for the need for clean water.

Two weeks from today, Kenny Chesney will be on the Oprah show, giving fans a sneak peek of his "Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D" movie. He says he's been surprised at himself the last three times he's visited with Oprah, opening up to her more than he thought he could, and even learning things about himself.

One of the films that Brad Paisley will screen at the Nashville Film Festival on April 22nd started out as a prank on his wife, Kimberly. She was traveling on business, and Brad bought a life-sized doll to appear as his two-year old son, Huck. In the short film, the doll rides a horse, goes careening down a hill in a runaway stroller, shoots a revolver at a target and does several other not-Mom-approved activities. Titled "When Mom's Away," Brad left it on the table for Kimberly to find. The note said, "Press play." According to Brad, the film is "horrifying, but hilarious."

Kellie Pickler has decided to abolish her fan club. Current members will get prorated refunds of their club dues, and fan club meet & greets will be honored through June. Starting next month, her website will have no special "fan club only" areas - all of the site will be open to everyone. She's excited that now everyone who's interested in her music will be able to afford to be part of it. Free is a great price!

Congrats to Emerson Drive's Brad Mates and his wife Jana. They're expecting their first child in the next few weeks. Brad wonders if it's too soon to take future son Tyler out on the golf course with him.

In the "well, who hasn't?" category, word is out via Us Weekly that Leann Rimes once dated Tiger Woods. Apparently this was eight years ago, before either was married.

Headed for Orlando for spring break next week? Rascal Flatts will be there, taping an episode of the Ellen DeGeneres show, so be on the lookout for them. The show will air a week from today.

Tomorrow night, Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards show airs, and Taylor Swift is up for two: Favorite Female Singer and Favorite Song, for "You Belong With Me."

Happy birthday today to Kenny Chesney, who turns 42, and also to Reba and Rodney Atkins...they both celebrate on Sunday.