Today's Country Tidbits

Last night, Montgomery Gentry led a salute to America’s heroes with a special performance at the Grand Ole Opry. About the special military appreciation night they said, “We just don’t thank them enough. When you see our American heroes, man, they are just totally awesome!” You’re totally right, guys!

Garth Brooks and Troy Aikman have teamed up to raise money for special facilities at children’s hospitals, and they dedicated one last week. The two superstars showed up at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Ft. Worth Texas to dedicate the Child Life Zone. It offers young patients an arcade and a professional recording suite, where kids can record their own music videos and songs. Garth and Troy spent hours at the facility, making kids’ smiles broader than cowboy hat brims.

Rascal Flatts and Farmers Insurance have teamed up to make a lot of Rascal Flatts fans very happy, and two fans will be over the moon! The “Star For A Day” contest is up and running, and 10 fans per Rascal Flatts tour stop will win tickets, a private meet & greet with the band, dinner at the crew catering tables, a private backstage dressing room and a package of tour merchandise. Everyone who enters is also in the hat for the grand prize tickets to the CMA and another Rascal Flatts meet and greet. Go get entered quick – the tour kicks off in June!

Big & Rich have new music out, and Saturday they hit the road for a summer tour. The video for “That’s Why I Pray” was released yesterday and you can hear the song and see the video here…



Taylor Swift is the top country nominee for the Teen Choice 2012 Awards. She nominated in four categories, including the all-genre Female Artist category. Blake Shelton is nominated in three categories, including the all-genre Male Artist category. The awards will be handed out on July 22nd.

Three country cuties landed on the Maxim 2012 Hot 100 list. Taylor Swift is the 26th hottest, Julianne Hough is at #47 and Kellie Pickler landed at #72. Topping the list is supermodel Bar Fefaeli.

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s announcement of Tim McGraw’s new label comes another country music label change. Joe Nichols and Show Dog Universal have parted ways. Joe tweeted, “I’m very thankful for Show Dog and what they have done for me.” Stay tuned for where he will land – I’ll let you know.

New music out this week includes Ronnie Dunn’s special Cracker Barrel release. “Ronnie Dunn – Special Edition” includes a couple of previously unreleased tracks, and a portion of the proceeds benefits the Wounded Warriors Project. Ronnie says the song “Singer in a Cowboy Band” describes him to a “T”: “I mean hey I’ve played all those states – I played all those bars, all those holes in the wall, that’s just part of the process coming up through the deal. At the end of the day I’m just a singer in a cowboy band, or a wannabe singer in a cowboy band. However you want to interpret that.”

Scotty McCreery is on American Idol tonight.

Happy birthday to Jewel, who turns 38 today.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: “I just heard the worst song ever. It was pitched to Blake. People actually finish songs that shi**y and then demo them? Why?”

Today's Country Tidbits

Got your tickets for the CMA Music Festival yet? More acts have been announced, including Brad Paisley, who loves playing the annual summer event: “These are the hardest core of the hardcore. They come out to shows when you play. They’re the first to buy tickets to your concerts. They’re the first to buy your album. They don’t take any convincing. They love you sort of no matter what. I really look forward to getting out there and looking at their faces.” Who else will be there? Carrie, Blake, Alan, Faith, Jason, Zac, TBP, Lady A and most of country music's royalty. June 7 through 10, Nashville is the center of the music world.

Also adding performers is the ACM Award show. Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean were just announced as musical talent on the show, and Jason is excited about performing and about his Entertainer of the Year nomination. What does it mean to him? “I’m sure everybody can make their case about what they think it is or what it should entail but to me I think it’s a pure live award. Based on your show, your live performance and being an entertainer.” Jason's up against Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley on the fan-voted award. You can vote for your favorite starting March 19th - there'll be a link to the voting page here. The show is April first on CBS.

Jennifer Nettles will join Kelly Clarkson, Lionel Richie and Robin Thicke on a summer replacement series, "Duets." The artists will travel around the country looking for singers to be their duet partners. They'll perform in front of a live audience, competing until only one person - the winner - remains.

Told you this time last year about the sunglasses that Kenny Chesney designed. He sold them at his Goin' Coastal tour stops, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Coastal Conservation Association. He just presented a check for $50,000 to them.

Jewel is on The Talk on CBS.

Happy birthday to Mickey Gilley, who is 76 today. Tomorrow, Carrie Underwood turns 29 and Sunday, Jimmy Fortune of the Statler Brothers turns 57.

The tweet of the day is from Uncle Kracker: "Common sense is alot like deodorant. The people who need it most, don't use it. Goodnite twitter!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Rodney Atkins dropped a bombshell in an interview with the Associated Press. Rodney, who was adopted as an infant, finally met his birth mother and her family in 2008. He won't reveal her name, for privacy purposes, but did say that she got pregnant when she was 19 on what she described as a traumatic first date. She hid the pregnancy and gave her son up for adoption. Rodney was raised by Allan and Margaret Atkins, who were supportive of the meeting and have become close with Rodney's birth mom. He's the spokesperson for the National Council for Adoption.

A couple of days ago Toby Keith's video for "Red Solo Cup" showed up on this blog. If you saw it, you saw a lot of heavy-hitters having fun with Toby's song. How did he talk them all into it? “I called all my friends and said, ‘Everybody do something stupid with a red Solo cup with your phone cam and send it to me.’ And, so I’ve got Sammy Hagar, Ted Nugent, Craig Ferguson, Larry Bird and Carrot Top. I actually talked a bunch of people I feel are important into doing something really dumb, and I love it.” In case you missed it, here it is again, complete with a language alert.

The Bayou Country Superfest is back for the third year, and it's bigger than ever. Who's there? Might be easier to say who's not going to be performing. The Superfest will include Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Sara Evans, Little Big Town, Joe Nichols, and Jerrod Niemann. The event happens at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA on May 26th and 27th, 2012.

Tim McGraw will headline the Tour for the Troops concert at Camp Pendleton in California. The November 13th show is free for military and Department of Defense ID holders. Civilians can see the show for $55 each.

It could be called the Bluest Eyes Tour, but instead it's George Strait with Martina McBride. The tour starts January 27th and so far, 11 stops have been announced. How does Martina feel about touring with George? “I love George Strait and, you know, I’ve made no secret of that. We all love George and have grown up with his music, and I’ve been fortunate enough to tour with him before and to, um, even sing on stage with him. And it’s just, he’s just, one of those artists that is just so consistent and so great.”

1/27 – Lafayette, LA

1/28 – Bossier City, LA

2/3 – Phoenix, AZ

2/4 – Las Vegas, NV

2/10 – Atlanta, GA

2/11 – Orlando, FL

2/16 – Tulsa, OK

2/17 – St. Louis, MO

2/18 – Wichita, KS

2/24 – Des Moines, IA

2/25 – Kansas City, MO

More performances have been announced for the CMA Award Show. Rascal Flatts & Natasha Bedingfield will sing their duet, "Easy," and Kenny Chesney will duet with Grace Potter on "You and Tequila." Show hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will perform their song, "Remind Me," for the first time in front of an audience that night, too. The show airs November 9th on ABC, and tickets are on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets.

Jewel's been a mom for three months, and was asked by Perez Hilton to share some parenting tips...and she shared some good ones, plus gives insight into the way she and rodeo hubby Ty Murray are raising their son Kase.

Congratulations to Scotty McCreery. The American Idol winner has the #1 album on the Billboard Top 200 and the Billboard Country charts. He's the youngest male artist to debut at the top of the all-genre 200.

Martina McBride is on the Late Show with David Letterman, Taylor Swift s on Good Morning America and Live with Regis and Kelly and Lauren Alaina is also on Live with Regis and Kelly.

Happy birthday to Rhett Akins, who is 42, and Marie Osmond, who turns 52.

The tweet of the day is from James Otto: "Feeling motivated to change some bad habits lately. Sometimes my biggest obstacle is me. Good to have that knowledge."

Today's Country Tidbits

The American Music Awards nominees have been announced, and Taylor Swift and The Band Perry lead the country nominees with three each. Jason Aldean is nominated in two categories, and Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum and Thompson Square are also nominated. The show airs live on Sunday, November the 20th, but you can vote now.

2011 American Music Awards Country Nominees

Artist of the Year

Taylor Swift

Lady Gaga

Adele

Lil Wayne

Katy Perry

Country Male Artist

Jason Aldean

Brad Paisley

Blake Shelton

Country Female Artist

Sara Evans

Miranda Lambert

Taylor Swift

Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group

The Band Perry

Zac Brown Band

Lady Antebellum

Country Album

Jason Aldean’s My Kinda Party

Taylor Swift’s Speak Now

The Band Perry’s self-titled debut

Sprint New Artist Award

The Band Perry

Thompson Square

Foster the People

Hot Chelle Rae

LMFAO

Wiz Khalifa

Miguel

Marsha Ambrosius

The Billboard Women in Music event happens on December 3rd in New York, but we already know who wins the top award of "Woman of the Year"...Taylor Swift. She's the youngest woman ever to be given the honor, which is awarded for songwriting, performance and sales excellence.

In the "better late than never" file, the third annual "We're All for the Hall" benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is on for January 18th at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Keith Urban is organizing and headlining the show, and Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town and the Oak Ridge Boys are all signed up for the show at this point. There'll probably be more artists confirmed between now and then.

What does Alan Jackson like to do on a crisp fall day? With a collection of dozens of classic cars, bet you can guess! “At certain times of year, ya know, like, up here in the fall, when it’s really pretty, and the, the temperature’s come up, I’ll, I’ll get out just about any day as I can and take a little drive, and run a old car or something out in the country. And, that, that’s some of the most relaxing time for me.”

Jake Owen and tennis star Serena Williams...an item? According to Serena, no, it was just a dinner with friends. The two were spotted having dinner together in Los Angeles. Jake's great buddies with another tennis great - Mardy Fish - and the two host a charity event together annually. Serena tweeted, “I am not dating [Jake Owen],” she posted on her Twitter feed. “He is a great guy with a super amazing girlfriend.”

Toby Keith rounded up a bunch of stars - Eric Church, Joe Nichols, Craig Ferguson, Ted Nugent, Larry Bird, Roger Clemens and Carrot Top - and did a video for a very fun song, "Red Solo Cup." It's on his new "Clancy's Tavern" cd, but you can see and hear it here...

Did you miss Keith Urban on Ellen? The two got together and produced a commercial for his new fragrance...and it's hot!

Happy birthday to Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks - she turns 42 today.

Jewel is on Live with Regis & Kelly and Glen Campbell is on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

The tweet of the day is from Danny Gokey: "Just watched the movie "Courageous". Call me sensitive but I dropped some tears at least 4 or 5 different times. Go see it! Especially men!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Rascal Flatts spent yesterday in Dallas, performing at the invitation of President Bush. The show was a benefit for the Wounded Warriors fund and was a private concert. As Joe Don put it, "so blessed to be an American."

The town of Mineral, Virginia, near the epicenter of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled the east coast on August 23rd, rallied and won a free Alan Jackson concert. More than 31,000 votes were cast by the town with a population of 478, and they're looking at putting the show in their high school football stadium. The date is to be announced, but Alan himself is delighted with their win.

Dierks Bentley's Chicago "Miles & Music for Kids" event brought in nearly $150,000 for the local children's hosptal. The concert included Dierks, Eli Young Band, Jerrod Niemann, Tyler Reeve and Matt Mason.

When Keith Urban hit the stage at the Staples Center in LA, Jack Black ended up on stage with him. Check out the magic on "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

When Hank Williams Jr. is irritated, grass doesn't grow under his feet. He has a new song out, written last Friday morning and recorded Friday afternoon, and it's available for free at his website. The song is reaction to his Fox Morning News appearance, plus his and ESPN's parting of the ways. It's called "Keep the Change," and in true Bocephus form, it pulls no punches. Hear it here now...

A bit of heavy metal was handed out over the weekend - The Band Perry's "If I Die Young" has achieved triple platinum status, and Scotty McCreery's "I Love You This Big" has gone gold.

Congrats to Keith Urban - his "Long Hot Summer" is the #1 country song in America this week. Co-written by Keith and his friend Richard Marx, the song is one that came from a fairly rushed writing session. According to Keith, “We hadn’t written together for a while, and I love writing with Richard. He came to Nashville and we had just a few hours to try and come up with something, and lo and behold this song came out of the session…fairly easily, thank goodness!”

Catch Toby Keith on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Blake Shelton on Dancing With the Stars, Hank Williams Jr. on The View, Hunter Hayes on David Letterman, Vince Gill on QVC and Lauren Alaina on Good Morning America.

New music out today includes Martina McBride's "Elevens," Hunter Hayes' self-titled debut and Taylor Swift's concert DVD, "Taylor Swift's Journey to Fearless."

Happy birthday to Gene Watson, who is 68, and to Paulette Carlson of Highway 101, who turns 59.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel: "I kinda feel like a exotic animal in a fish bowl here at the dentist. Every single person in the office has come by to peek at me"

Today's Country Tidbits

For all of his career, it's been Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors. Now, it looks like they may have parted ways. A message from Tim on his Facebook page reads, “As some of you might know, there have been some recent changes in my band. Change can be hard, and it’s not something you come to lightly. I couldn’t be more proud of the music we’ve created together over the years, and I’ll treasure the memories. I know you will join me in wishing everyone only the best in their future endeavors. Thanks for all the unwavering support you’ve shown me over the years, and I can’t wait to continue our journey … See you all soon!” Tim's website still shows his Dancehall Doctors' photos and bios, so not sure what's up, but I'll keep you posted.

Alan Jackson played a street party in Nashville last night and killed it. Eric Church was also part of the fun as the two performed the annual Capitol Records Street Party. It's a free appreciation event for the city of Nashville. Eric's been trying to stay pretty close to home, as he and wife Katherine are expecting their first child any day. According to Eric, “We’ve been trying to get him used to the bus, even though we’ve not had him yet. Katherine’s been riding the bus a lot, getting used to the shaking and movin’ so. It’s funny now, he’s a bit of a kicker and puncher. He’s fine if she’s movin’. If she stops movin’, he’s kickin’ and punchin’, which is ironic because I punch a lot on stage. So, we’ll see what happens with that in a few years.”

Keith Urban is excited about the CMA Awards. No, not because he might win Male Vocalist of the Year or Entertainer of the Year, but because he gets to strap on a guitar. “I look forward to being able to play on award shows. That is the absolute that matters most to me is getting to play, ‘cause the other stuff is – I don’t know about the other stuff – I know about playing and that’s the only thing I know about.” He's got about six weeks more to wait, as awards night is November 9th.

Got a Wii game console? Then you probably want to check out Country Dance 2, which is due out this holiday season. More than 30 of the hottest country songs will be part of it, including Brad Paisley's “Old Alabama,” Dierks Bentley's “Sideways,” Jason Aldean's “My Kinda Party,” Keith Urban's “Better Life” and Luke Bryan's “Country Girl (Shake It For Me.)”

Just in time for stuffing the stocking of the Taylor Swift fan in your life, she'll release a "Speak Now World Tour - Live" cd/dvd set on November 21st.

Are you a huge Jamey Johnson fan? If so, break out the plastic or checkbook and get set to pony up $125 this Sunday. "This Ride...In Color, and in Pictures" is a photo book by Melinda J.P. Harlan, featuring stories, quotes and observations from some of Jamey's closest friends and idols. The book is a rare peek into the life of the man who says, "My dream already came true...all I ever wanted was to get to just ride around and sing country music." A portion of the proceeds will be donated to five charities: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Hatch Show Print, Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center, Southeastern Beefmaster Breeders Assoc. College Scholarship Fund, Alabama School of the Deaf and Blind's Music Education Program and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. There will only be 2,500 copies of the book released on the 25th, and each one is signed and numbered.

Jake Owen's "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" has just been certified platinum for over a million in sales.

And from the "no surprise there" department, Lady Antebellum's new cd, "Own the Night," is not just the top-selling country cd, it's also #1 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 347,000 in the past week.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel: "I drove! To town! By myself! The baby is with a sitter! My first time away! Ok, its just to get my teeth cleaned, but still- kinda crazy -ha"

Today's Country Tidbits

Tim McGraw is walking around in an orthopedic boot because he broke a bone in his foot. Problem is, he has no idea how he did it. He thinks it could have happened while on stage, because he's pretty active, running around and jumping off the speakers. He kept up the tour schedule and his daily runs for a couple of weeks, until the pain got so bad he couldn't walk. That's when Faith convinced him to see a doctor. It's a fracture, not a complete break, and the doctor has told him no more running for a few weeks. He's using a seated elliptical machine twice a day to try to keep those muscles in tone, and when he's on stage, he's seen sporting a cane to get around.

Miranda Lambert is excited to share her new music with fans, debuting "Baggage Claim" on stage at a show in South Carolina.

The new cd, "Four the Record," drops November 1.

Taylor Swift is in Canada on her "Speak Now" tour, and paid tribute to Canadian singers with this medley...

Jason Aldean is proud of his record label, Broken Bow Records, for backing his 7th #1 single, "Dirt Road Anthem." As Jason explains, “Dirt Road was almost the first single from this record. We thought about coming out with that as the lead single. And to the credit of my record company—they’ve always been really cool at letting me talk ‘em into things that they may not necessarily be 100 percent on, but they were behind this song. To their credit, they dug it. And I love that about them, is that they’re not scared to let us go out and be a little different and try some new things.”

Add The Band Perry to the list of artists working on Christmas albums this month. They're cutting holiday classics, including "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." No release date yet, but it'll be before Christmas, for sure!

Even though she's just had her new son, Jewel is on the cover of Fit Pregnancy magazine. Pick it up and see how she managed to stay fit while pregnant with her frst child and how she's bouncing back after delivery.

Happy birthday to Radney Foster, who turns 52 today, and T.G. Sheppard, who is 67.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel: "Tweets! Been in a daily heaven with my angel boy... Not much sleep but high on love....what a sweet thing to be a part of"

Today's Country Tidbits

Taylor Swift is on a roll in her career, and her fan base is pretty dedicated. When Taylor started writing some of her lyrics on her arms and hands, some of her fans followed suit in a more permanent way - tattoos! According to Taylor, fans show her “Lots of lyric tattoos...I was seated next to a seat filler at the Billboard Awards. She said, ‘Hey, check it out!’ She had ‘Fearless’ tattooed on her wrist. You know, there are girls who tattooed lyrics like, there was this girl who had on one arm, ‘I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale.’ And then, there are people who like, actually go for the face! They just, like, tattoo my face on parts of their body.”

Kid Rock threw himself a birthday party at Hotel on Rivington in New York, and among the 200 guests were Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert. They enjoyed rock shrimp tacos, sipped on Kid Rock's o

wn American Badass beer and headed for the roof to take in the New York skyline at night, hand in hand.

August 7th is the air date for the three-hour ABC-TV special, "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock." Performers include all of the top country artists who were in Nashville for the CMA Music Festival in June, so yes, that means your favorite is bound to be part of the show.

Dierks Bentley is the star performer at the Franklin Fire Company benefit concert in Pennsylvania tomorrow night. It's a sure bet that the firefighters and their friends will "feel that fire" when Dierks takes the stage. Tickets to the show are available at the door on Friday evening and at the local high school during the day tomorrow.

Cheyenne Kimball, who up until this past weekend was a member of Gloriana, tweeted that she is now engaged. Her intended is musician Benji White, and the two celebrated their happiness at the popular Nashville night spot, 3rd and Lindsley. Cheyenne has been engaged once before, last fall, but that relationship broke up shortly after the engagement was announced.

It's the Hats Off to the Opry Sweepstakes, and you can win his and her Stetson outfits plus a trip to Nashville. Brad Paisley, Stetson and the Grand Ole Opry have teamed up to give you a shot a really fun prize. Enter once a day until September 5th for your chance to win.

Little Big Town has a weekly video feature called "Scattered, Smothered and Covered" where they cover another artist's song. Showing off their amazing vocal ability, this week they tackle Jessie J's "Price Tag" and nailed it!

And Jaron and the Long Road to Love (aka Jaron Lowenstein) was on Extra, performing "Beautiful Lies."

America is exporting a couple of hot tours north of the border this weekend. Taylor Swift resumes her "Speak Now" tour tonight in Montreal, and Kenny Chesney's "Goin' Coastal" tour heads for Canada this weekend, too.

Congratulations to Justin Moore who has the #1 country song in America with "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away."

And further congrats to Easton Corbin, whose first two singles have both gone gold. He's the first male solo artist in 17 years to have that happen, since Clay Walker did it in 1993 with "What's It To You" followed by "Live a Little." Easton did it with "I'm a Little More Country Than That" and "Roll With It." How is Easton feeling about the accomplishment? Humble. He says, “You know, I was just goin’ in there and cuttin’ music I believed in and…and uh, you know, again I’m so fortunate for all the fans in radio and the industry to get behind me and, and really be supportive!”

It's a re-run, but Steel Magnolia is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel, tweeting about her newborn son: "1 little piece of heaven broke ranks from the sky and fell into my arms...he smells like a peach, warmed by the sun..."

Today's Country Tidbits

There's a new little country bundle of joy - Jewel and hubby Ty Murray welcomed their first child into the world on Monday in Texas. Kase Townes Murray weighed in at 7 lbs., 6 oz. Says Jewel, “Ty and I are so pleased to welcome our new baby boy into the world. We are overcome with happiness – it really is as great as everyone told us it would be – better even!” The couple have been trying for a long time to get pregnant, and when she was 5 months along, Jewel was in a bad car crash. Luckily, neither mom or child was injured. With a professional bull rider as a daddy and a singer/songwriter as a mommy, Kase is sure to be one talented little country kid!

Chris Young celebrated the release of his new cd, "Neon," on Good Morning America yesterday. Here's the live version of his current hit, "Tomorrow."

Blake Shelton is making the rounds of the tv talk shows, chatting up his new cd, "Red River Blue." He jokingly threw Miranda Lambert under the bus while talking to Jimmy Fallon about songs they've written together, saying, “Finally, you know, it was like…it came down to time to record and it was like, ‘Hey babe, are you thinking about cutting this song?’ ‘Yes…why?’ ‘Oh, no reason.’ So, anything we write…she gets first pick of and it’s usually the only ones that are worth a crap.” He posted his musings on music yesterday...shameless plug for his new cd included.

And Craig Campbell's new song, "Fish," has a video. Be prepared to laugh...this is a funny, sort of bawdy song...

Cosmopolitan magazine compiled a list of the hottest men on tour, and Kenny Chesney made the cut. There are 15 guys on the list and 11 pictures in the photo spread, though only one of Kenny.

Happy birthday to Louise Mandrell, who turns 57 today.

Blake Shelton is on LIVE! With Regis & Kelly this morning and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight. VH1 goes behind the music with Miranda Lambert tonight, and Billy Ray Cyrus is on The View.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "I'm so drunk right now I just announced to the hotel lobby "Listen up people!! I have a bomb in my pants.. Now, who wants to disarm it?!""

Today's Country Tidbits

Reba is just blown away by how far her Dad, Clark McEntire, has come since suffering a debilitating stroke in March. Doctors didn't expect him to make it, and according to Reba, “I’m not kidding, we had planned the funeral three times. We’ve selected songs, we’ve picked out where he’s going to be buried, and now he’s just done a complete turnaround.” She knew he was out of the woods when she called her Mom at the rehabilitation facility where her Dad is receiving treatment, to tell her about her son's Grand-Am race in Alabama. Reba's Mom told her to tell it to her Dad, and held the phone for him. “I talked and I talked and pretty soon I heard him clear his throat, and I stopped talking and he said, ‘Well, does it look like he’s got a chance?’ I almost dropped the phone. He’s lucid. He knows what he’s talking about, and he asked me a question. I said, ‘Well yeah, Daddy, he might have a chance.’ And he said, ‘Well alright, tell him to drive fast and safe.’” Reba's got her fingers crossed that he'll be able to make the trip to Nashville this October to see her inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Darius Rucker must be the neighborhood's most fun Dad. Not only do his kids get to go to his Monday After the Masters charity golf tournament if they want to, they just might get a trip to Disney World soon. “My kids have the deal, where if I get a number one, they get a trip to Disney. And I forgot that I told him that, and my son says to me the other day, ‘Daddy, where’s, how’s ‘This’ doing on the charts?’ And I’m like ‘Ahh, it’s doing good buddy, its number five.’ He’s like, ‘Yessss!’ I was like, ‘What?!’ He was like, ‘Disney World!’ I said, ‘Not yet, buddy!” The way "This" is racing up the charts, it could happen very soon!

Gary Busey was fired last night on The Celebrity Apprentice, after he led the men's Team Backbone to a loss in the Omaha Steak challenge. According to John Rich, who is one of three men left on the show, “The stuff that Gary Busey does off-camera is worse than what he does on camera. He tries to make you crazy and he does make you a little bit crazy.”

Rascal Flatts is being sued by their former mamagement team at Turner Nichols. The suit was filed early last week, seeking continued commission on income from deals negotiated while Turner Nichols was representing Rascal Flatts. A touring agreement which runs through 2013 was negotiated, and the managment company wants royalties from the ABC television special, DVD sales and proceeds from recording agreements and tour sponsorships. Publicist Jessie Schmidt had this two-sentence response from Rascal Flatts: "We are disappointed they have chosen to file, as we had hoped to address these issues privately. However, we hope that this can be resolved amicably."

Joe Nichols played a charity concert at Billy Bob's Texas on Saturday, raising money for the Red Cross relief efforts in Japan. The $10 per ticket show was sold out, and additional donations poured in from attendees. The day before that show, he performed his latest single, "The Shape I'm In," at a USO show in Washington DC. He's pledged all of the profits from that song to the USO to help soldiers returning from the war with broken bodies and minds. The show in DC raised nearly $575,000 for the USO of Metropolitan Washington.

Joe's wasn't the only big show in Texas over the weekend. Jewel threw a free concert for her fans, who came from as far away as Australia, France and Great Britian. For the fans who couldn't be there, she streamed the show live on her website, and also will have cds of the show available on her site. She played for three and a half hours, pulling out album cuts, some of which she had never performed live before. TexFest, as the show was called, was her way of thanking her fans for their support, whether or not her songs land high on the charts.

David Nail was busy doing a show and Randy Owen showed up to sing along...

Danny Gokey, his brother Charles and sister Angie and friend Ruben Burgos had a little a capella fun with doo wop.

Colt Ford has a new tv show on the Outdoor Channel called Mud Slingers. They visit Trucks Gone Wild events across the country, filming the action and Colt busts out a song or two.

Toby Keith will play two songs tomorrow night on "Dancing With the Stars."

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "Not sure about this new @NASCAR tandem racing at Talladega. I haven't seen this much adolescent bumping and grinding since prom."

Today's Country Tidbits

The name of Ronnie Dunn's first solo album in the post-Brooks & Dunn era is "Ronnie Dunn." The release date is June 7th, and according to Ronnie, it's a very autobiographal body of work. "There is something in each song that I've lived or that I'm living. I'm hoping that you'll find something to take with you as you listen, as well. We all bleed red, ya know." Ronnie will sing the first single from the album, "Bleed Red," on the ACM awards.

In addition to Ronnie Dunn, ACM performers just announced include Martina McBride, Reba, Zac Brown Band with James Taylor, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Alabama, Sara Evans and Dierks Bentley. All of the Entertainer of the Year nominees will also perform - Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean and Keith Urban. The show airs live from Las Vegas April 3rd at 8pm Eastern on CBS.

Sara Evans would love to welcome child #8 into her life with husband Jay Barker. He has four children from a previous marriage and she has three from her earlier union, and she wants a baby with Jay. The sticking point - she wants a surrogate to carry the baby and Jay says "no way." They rarely disagree, according to Sara, but when they do, she wants a lot of conversation. Said Sara, “I’m like, no. I have to like get it out, and then work it all the way around back to why it happened, how I feel about it, how do you feel about it, are we good? I’m just really that way.” The baby stale-mate continues, apparently.

Shania Twain's show will debut on May 8th on the Oprah Winfrey Network. "Why Not? With Shania Twain" will air at 11pm Eastern, following the season finale of "The Judds."

Remember a few weeks ago when Craig Morgan was returning home, saw a house fire and stopped to put it out, saving at least two people from the burning home? His efforts have been recognized by the Tennessee City Volunteer Fire Department. They've made him an honorary lifetime member, giving him a custom helmet, complete with his department ID, number 565. Said Craig, "I'm humbled by this kind of recognition. They are the real hometown heroes."

Congratulations to Luke Bryan for his 3rd #1 song in a row. He held a #1 party yesterday in Nashville, and talked about his vision for "Someone Else Calling You Baby." According to Luke, “I thought it was going to be the lead single so the fact that ‘Someone Else Calling You Baby’ became a number one kind of validates me internally. At least I knew it was good enough to be a number one, so, I was happy about that.”

Congratulations to Billy Currington, who scores his 6th #1 song with "Let Me Down Easy." It's his 4th #1 song in a row, following "People Are Crazy," "That's How Country Boys Roll" and "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer."

Jerrod Niemann was on stage, singing his latest song, "What Do You Want." Carrie Underwood sidled up and lent a hand, making an already haunting song magical.

Up for a country cover of a Madonna song? Check out Sugarland and Little Big Town's version of Madonna's "Like a Prayer."

Foster & Lloyd will release their first studio album in 21 years on April 19th. According to Radney Foster, "We decided to start getting together once a month to write. Soon the songs were pouring out and we knew we needed to get back in the studio." "It's Already Tomorrow" is available for pre-order now.

Josh Kelley's first country album, "Georgia Clay," is out today.

Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers are on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight, and Billy Ray Cyrus is on Good MOrning America tomorrow morning.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel: "Windy day, so I'm doing what any sensitive chic-singer would do...Stay inside & clean my hand gun"

Today's Country Tidbits

Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown Band have been rehearsing over the last few days, working up the songs they'll do together when the "Goin' Coastal" tour hits stadiums. The tour kicks off Thursday in West Palm Beach and the first stadium show is in Tampa this weekend. Says Kenny, "Zac and I are working through the things we're going to do together. We'll catch each other grinning because we know this is going to be really fun for us, the fans and everybody involved."

Love Kenny Chesney? Love Hooters? There's not an app for that - yet! - but there is a tie-in that allows fans to win cool prizes in each city of Kenny Chesney's tour, along with giving one fan and a guest a VIP trip to the final stop on the "Goin' Coastal" tour - Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachussetts.

And in more Kenny news, he's designed a line of sunglasses, just in time for the "Goin' Coastal" tour. Pick up Caballito, Hammerhead, Little Harbor, Howler or Rincon at the Costa Del Mar website or at one of Kenny's shows. $10 from each pair sold goes to the Coastal Conservation Association.

Hot off his Australian tour, Alan Jackson will play the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo this Friday night. While there, he'll be inducted into the Star Trail of Fame. That honor is reserved for artists who've played to more than a million fans at the Houston Rodeo.

Fan voting is going on now for the ACM New Artist and Entertainer of the Year awards. For New Artist, your choices are The Band Perry and Eric Church. Voting in that category goes on through 5pm April 3rd, the day of the awards. Up for Entertainer of the Year are Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Toby Keith and Jason Aldean. Voting in that category will go on up until the 3rd hour of the awards show.

Taylor Swift is out with a new song today. "Mean" is the third single from her "Speak Now" cd, and she says that fame has brought her not just some wonderful perks, but also some pretty mean criticism. Says Taylor, “There are different kinds of ways to criticize someone. There’s constructive criticism, there’s professional criticism and then there’s just being mean. And there’s a line that you cross when you just start to attack everything about a person. No matter how old you are, no matter what your job is, no matter what your place is in life, there’s always going to be someone who’s just mean to you. And dealing with that is all that you can control.”

There's good news for Reba and her family - her Dad is awake and doing well after suffering a stroke. According to Reba's sister Susie, he is pain-free, suffered no paralysis and is alert and responsive. The family set up a Facebook page for fans and friends to follow along in his progress.

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the darkest day in Reba's life - the day that a plane crash near San Diego claimed the lives of most of her band. She was supposed to be on the flight, but husband Narvel Blackstock convinced her to stay behind and get a good night's sleep. Lost in the crash were road manager Jim Hammon, guitarist Chris Austin, backup singer Paula Kaye Evans, bassist Terry Jackson, bandleader Kirk Cappello, guitarist Michael Thomas, drummer Tony Saputo and keyboardist Joey Cigainero. All of the airplane's crew perished in the crash, too. People Magazine did a story about the incident 20 years ago, and interviewed Reba for it.

Told you via Twitter about Jewel's car accident just after it happened on Friday.

Photograpic evidence of just how lucky she is to be alive and ok after the crash is here. She tweeted that the Cadillac she was in save her life, along with the life of her unborn baby, and she was going to buy another one. She's sore and bruised, but otherwise unhurt.

Little Big Town was part of the unveiling of the newest CMA initiative: CMA EDU is a program that gives college students the opportunity to meet and learn from music industry professionals. Said Kimberly Schlapman, “If someone grows up lovin’ country music then they want to be more of a part of it whether they’re an artist, a songwriter, a manager, a record label president, you know. Probably, the love of the music is where it all starts, that’s where it started for us. We grew up on country music and we always wanted to be a part of it.” The project is underway at Belmont University in Nashville and will be rolled out at campuses across the country later this year.

Congratulations to Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, who sit atop the country charts again this week with "Don't You Wanna Stay."

And congratulations to Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams Paisley, who are celebrating their 8th wedding anniversary today.

Condolences to the family and friends of songwriter Todd Cerney, responsible for many beautiful songs, including "Good Morning Beautiful" and "I'll Still be Loving You." Todd lost his battle with melanoma in the early hours of Monday morning.

New music today from David St. Romain, a finalist in season 7 of "Nashville Star." His cd is "All I Really Wanted to Say." Also out is the 10th anniversary American Idol Greatest Hits album, featuring 12 songs from some of the best contestants on the show. Of course Carrie Underwood is on it - "Before He Cheats" is her contribution to the collection.

Kenny Rogers is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum: "Watching the news this morning in tears praying for Japan. I encourage you all over the world to please do what you can to help! ~hills"

Today's Country Tidbits

Miranda Lambert is flying high, but there's not a chance that all this success will go to her head. She says her family and friends keep her grounded, adding, “my mom would kill me if I got diva on her.” Miranda's Grammy performance of "The House That Built Me" is available for download on iTunes.

Road trip alert - and you've gotta be quick about it! Today in Nashville at the Center Stage Theatre, a TV special is being taped. No word on which network is filming, nor what the show will be called, but the show includes Luke Bryan, Kid Rock, Gretchen Wilson and Sheryl Crow in concert. Filming begins at 12:30 Central time with Luke on stage first. This is a free show, first come, first seated, but you have to be wearing summer clothes. Space is limited, so if this sounds like fun to you, get moving and good luck!

Gloriana has been invited to be part of a concert at the White House in celebration of Black History Month and Motown Records' legacy. The concert, "The Motown Sound: In Performance at the White House" will be filmed, is set to air March 1 on PBS, and also features Smokey Robinson, Sheryl Crow, Natasha Bedingfield, Jamie Foxx and John Legend.

Have you seen the new GE commercial where people are line-dancing around the world to Alan Jackson's "Good Time?" Well, here's your chance to organize a dance to it, too, and win a big prize. There's a $10,000 home appliance makeover being offered up by GE, along with 20 years of drinking water to developing countries through "Charity: Water." Get your friends dancing and upload the video to the special YouTube page to be entered to win. Good luck, and happy dancing!

Jewel and hubby Ty Murray are working on a name for their little cowboy, due in early July. It's the couple's first child, and they've been trying for a few years, so have a baby name list a mile long. When asked who she hopes her son will take after most, Jewel replied, "My husband's a bull rider and I'm a musician ... hopefully he'll take after me because I don't want him riding bulls! It's just so dangerous.”

Did you miss Darius Rucker on Good Morning America? Here he is, performing "This."

Congrats to Jason Aldean, who is at the top of the Billboard Country Album Chart again this week with "My Kinda Party."

And congrats to talented newcomer Randy Montana, who will be part of the pre-race festivities at the Daytona 500 on Sunday. He'll play a concert in the midway outside the track, so the show is free and open to the public.

Keith Urban is on Good Morning America this morning, and Clay Walker is on HGTV's "Selling New York" tonight, looking for a slick city condo, but shocked at the huge price tags,

Happy birthday to Bryan White and Larry the Cable Guy today.

The tweet of the day comes from Josh Thompson: "Aaaaand were Florida bound. Well, we gotta get the bus started first but then were out of here"

Today's Country Tidbits

If it's January, most of the Nashville studios must be packed with country stars working on new cd's. Booking studio time right now could be tough, with Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, Jake Owen, Kellie Pickler, Little Big Town, Gloriana, Justin Moore and Love and Theft all logging some time behind the mics. Lady A's Charles Kelley says, of their touring experience last fall, "We wrote almost every day, and I feel like we've got some great material. It's so funny because somehow in the busiest year of our lives we were able to write more. I really don't know how we slept." Will keep you posted on album release dates, but it looks to be an exciting year for country music!

Congratulations to The Band Perry, who celebrated their first #1 hit yesterday in Nashville. "If I Die Young" topped the chart for them, and got the attention of Tim McGraw, who invited them to tour with him this summer. How have the three siblings managed their success? Their Mom is their road manager and home-school teacher, and their Dad stays home to pay for their dreams. For that reason, Kimberly Perry calls their #1 accomplishment a family victory. “You know, it’s a really wonderful thing and our… our family, our parents as well, have poured a lot of financial support, spiritual support, emotional support into the last decade. And so, truly, today is like the pinnacle moment of true celebration of a lot of hard work as a family.”

The CMA usually hands out awards, but on May 17th, they'll be receiving an award. The Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award will be given to the CMA in recognition of the leadership that organization shows in both music and philanthropic avenues.

A week from today, Miranda Lambert and Ronnie Dunn will meet ath the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville at 7:30 in the morning to announce the nominees for the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The show airs live on April 3rd from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on CBS, co-hosted by Reba and Blake Shelton.

Jewel and her rodeo hubby Ty Murray are expecting a baby boy. Jewel told People magazine that Ty even did a little dance as they left the doctor's office. No exact due date has been announced, but Jewel is in her second trimester, so the nursery should be full of a bundle of joy by June.

And if you thought the Zac Brown Band was a litte quiet right now, you're right. They're taking a little break while Zac and his wife await the arrival of their 4th daughter, due around Valentine's Day.

In stores today, Joe Nichols Greatest Hits, which includes his current hit, "The Shape I'm In." Online today, get a three-song preview of Thompson Square's self-titled debut, set for release on February 8th.

Wynonna is busy today, showing up on the Today Show, Access Hollywood and the Joy Behar Show.

The tweet of the day is from Brad Paisley: "Nope. Never. Absolutely no way. Not once. Woops. Other than this. RT @michunte: @BradPaisley do you ever tweet your fans :)???"

Today's Country Tidbits

From the "it had to happen" file, a teen has invited Taylor Swift to be his prom date. He did it in style, with a YouTube video of him performing her song, "Our Song," re-lyriced to "Our Prom."

Was that a hint about an upcoming baby in Keith Urban's liner notes on "Get Closer?" “I continue to be brought to my knees by this love of ours,” Keith wrote to Nicole. “I just want to be a better man, for you, and father for our heavenly Sunday Rose…all we need is faith.” And Faith was born just before the turn of the year. Hmmmmmm...coincidence?

Did you catch Martina McBride and Joe Nichols at last night's Steelers/Jets game? Martina sang the National Anthem and Joe performed during the halftime show. Pittsburg prevailed, and that's the third time Martina has sung the Anthem at a Steelers playoff game and they won, so she's 3 and 0. The Superbowl is on February 6th in Dallas, and will be Steelers vs. Packers. Keith Urban is part of the pre-game fun on Superbowl weekend.

Joe Nichols' video for "The Shape I'm In" is released today, and Joe included some of his heroes in the video. Meet the heroes and learn about The Survivor Foundation.

And maybe it was just what the team needed to get fired up for their victory yesterday - Thursday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Brad Paisley was joined on stage by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for "I'm Still a Guy." Aaron was supposed to sing a line of the song, but had trouble hearing, so just started high-fiving people onstage. Later, Aaron and a whole bunch of other Packers hit the stage for the encore, "Alcohol." The Packers soundly beat the Bears yesterday afternoon.

The JaneDear Girls debut cd hits stores February first, but you can hear the tracks now on their Facebook page.

Joe Nichols' greatest hits package will be released tomorrow.

Happy birthday to Ray Stevens, who turns 72 today.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel, who gets extra credit for the creative hashtag: "Ok. Seriously. I am a writer. I swear. I will write. A song. I wont procrastinate watching another NCSI marathon. #pickupyourguitardamnit"

Today's Country Tidbits

Army veteran Craig Morgan is packing for his 9th tour to entertain troops stationed overseas. The "Not Alone" tour is organized by Stars For Stripes, and Craig will be performing for service members in Kuwait and Iraq late this month and early in February.

If you happen to run into George Jones, Josh Turner, Joe Nichols, Charlie Daniels, Gretchen Wilson, Lee Greenwood, Jamie O'Neal, Chuck Wicks, Colt Ford, the Eli Young Band or the Randy Rogers Band, look down. Bet they'll have boots on. They're all part of The Boot Campaign, created by th Lone Survivor Foundation. The Boot Campaign encourages people to wear boots in their everyday lives to show support for military personnel and their families.

Taylor Swift is now 12 for 12. Starting in December of 2006, when her first single, "Tim McGraw," made it into the top 10 on Billboard's chart, she's released 12 singles. All 12 have reached the top 10. "Back to December" had a huge week in sales and listener growth, moving from #11 last week to #9 this week. In other Taylor news, a comic book series featuring the blonde one is in the works. The first issue of "Fame: Taylor Swift" will be in stores in May.

Speaking of Tim McGraw, his new fragrance is doing well, and you can win a limited edition belt buckle along with a bottle of it. How does Tim describe Tim McGraw Silver? “I know from my experience that my woman doesn’t want me to smell like a flower (laughs). I try to, you know, make stuff that a man could feel comfortable smelling. For me, I wanted something really clean and masculine. I feel like that that’s what we nailed with this one.”

What are Carrie Underwood's top five food cravings? Here they are, from the latest issue of "Women's Health" magazine, which features Carrie:

1. “I’m addicted to Hostess 100-Calorie Packs. I love sweet stuff after meals.”

2. Boca Meatless Burgers - “MorningStar Farms also makes great veggie burgers.”

3. “I love Kashi. I eat cereal like a little kid. I carry it in my purse.”

4. Healthy Choice ice cream sandwich bars – “But that’s pretty naughty for me.”

5. “When in doubt, head for Subway; you can’t go wrong with the veggie sub.”

Dierks Bentley confesses to some drunk and disorderly activities as he retrieves his lost credit card in the latest DBTV episode:

No word on who the country stars are, but a Tennessee man was arrested for making death threats against several, along with threatening to blow up Sony Music Nashville's building. Miles Ledbetter Jr. apparently even identified himself during the phone call to Sony's switchboard, though he said he lived in Calhoun, GA. He said during the call that the music had caused him to lose his job and ruined his marriage. He's charged with two counts of harassment.

Rascal Flatts will tape their Friday night performance in St. Paul, Minnesota for an ABC television special. It's scheduled to air on March 12th.

On February 5th, Faith Hill and the Pretenders will team up for a live "CMT Crossroads" during the NFL Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam. The only other time that a live Crossroads happened was also during the Super Bowl run-up. The year was 2004 and the acts were Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.

Dolly Parton is working on the songs for a children's musical. According to Dolly, it's about a mountain girl who makes good. She's also still thinking about doing a country version of "Hello, Dolly!"

Congratulations to Kenny Chesney, who tops the charts this week with "Somewhere With You."

Darius Rucker is on the David Letterman Show tonight.

Happy birthday to Dolly Parton, who is 65 today. The Tenneseean.com has a photo gallery spanning the decades of Dolly's career.

The tweet of the day is from Jewel, who is in the second trimester of pregnancy: "didn't bring snacks on this flight. Who am I?! I ALWAYS have food hidden. I'm usually the 1 who cld live for 3 months on what's in my purse"

Today's Country Tidbits

Alan Jackson is a hot ticket in Australia. Tickets to his third show sold out in only 23 minutes. That show was added after tickets to the first two sold out quickly. It's his first time headlining in Australia and he's looking forward to meeting his Down Under fans. The tour starts March 4th and includes Miranda Lambert and Australian Jasmine Rae.

Congrats to Jewel and her bull-riding hubby Ty Murray. They are expecting their first child later this year. Married since 2008, the two have been trying to start a family with no success, and Jewel waited until she was in her second trimester to announce the news. The couple live on a ranch in Texas and are converting the guest room into a nursery.

If you're in Virginia and see a familiar face on tv with your Governor, you're not seeing things - that is Garth Brooks in a public service announcement, talking about the natural beauty of Virginia. He was there to work on the Lifetime Network movie "Unanswered Prayers" which was filmed entirely in Virginia. That song was #1 on this day in 1991.

The ACM Awards are coming up in April, and this year there's a big change. After solo-hosting the show for the last 12 years, Reba will have a partner this year - Blake Shelton. The two are great friends, plus Reba's son is Blake's manager, so the pairing is a natural. The awards will air on April 3rd live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The Bellamy Brothers are crying foul, saying that the new Brittny Spears song is a bit too close to their big hit, "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me." Her song is called "Hold It Against Me" and the theme is pretty much the same - in a bar, pick up line. According to the Bellamys, they feel ripped off. No word from the Spears camp, but one listen will tell you that both were probably inspired by the same lame pick-up line, and the Bellamy Brothers song is by far the better one.

Here's maybe the final year-end list for 2010. It's late because the company keeps tabs right up through New Year's Eve. Here's the list of th Top 10 Country Dance Club hits of 2010, according to Marco Club Connection:

1) “Stuck Like Glue” – Sugarland

2) “All About Tonight” – Blake Shelton

3) “Hillbilly Bone” – Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins

4) “Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum

5) “Giddy On Up” – Laura Bell Bundy

6) “Country Done Come To Town” – John Rich

7) “Roll With It” – Easton Corbin

8) “Why Don’t We Just Dance” – Josh Turner

9) “Turn On The Radio” – Reba

10) “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer” – Billy Currington

And Keith Urban has made an interesting list - he's the only country artist on Runhundred.com's list of the best workout songs of January 2011. "Put You In A Song" will help you keep that New Year's resolution about working out, so load it up and get going!

There's a new country music magazine out. Look for Country Music Profiles in music stores. The premier edition features Rodney Atkins on the cover and includes an interview with Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery-Gentry.

Tours re-starting this weekend include Rascal Flatts' "Nothing Like This" tour and the George Strait/Reba/Lee Ann Womack tour.

Catch Faith Hill on the Today show this morning and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight. She's making the rounds talking about her new partnership with Teleflora. Blake Shelton was supposed to be on the David Letterman show tonight but couldn't get to New York because of the snow storm.

Happy birthday to Ray Price, who is 87, William Lee Golden of the Oak Ridge Boys who is 72, Ricky Van Shelton who turns 59 and Keith Anderson, who is 42 today

The tweet of the day is from The Band Perry: "Photo-shooting with our pups and Purina. Should it hurt our feelings that Dakota/Addie/Mose are more photogenic than us three??"

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

Taylor Swift' live webcast, scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Eastern time, is all about her new album, the process of songwriting and what fans can expect from this next project. She's decided to take over the internet with it, with the chat available on TaylorSwift.com, Ustream.tv/taylorswift, MySpace.com/TaylorSwift and Facebook.com/TaylorSwift. All of the sites allow fans to interact via a chat window on all sites.

Billy Currington has been spending a lot of time in Hawaii, and has picked up a new talent - ukelele. “All my friends that I meet over there, they all play the ukulele so they’ve been showing me some cords and I gotta friend over here in the U.S. that’s been teaching me lately. I’m right now like the beginning stage like I was when I first started playing guitar at 17. I’m just starting to get the cords down, cause it’s so different than playing guitar. And uh, it’s been fun playing that thing.”

Jewel and her husband, bull-rider Ty Murray, are embarking on a two-month motorcycle trip across America. Jewel calls it a once in a lifetime adventure. Knowing her, there'll be updates from the road, so watch for news of their travels here.

There's a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute album out today, featuring country artists covering southern rock classics. "Sweet Home Alabama: The Country Music Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd" features Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Eric Church and more. Flynnville Train's "Redemption" is also out today.

Tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Just saw "the house that built me" video by ML..... Never felt more pride in my life...."

Happy birthday to Radney Foster, who turns 51 today.