With Labor Day behind us, Eric Church remembers working the graveyard shift for the Shop at Home network when he first moved to Nashville. As he recalls, “Anytime somebody calls you at 3 or 4AM and needs two-hundred knives for $19.95, it’s automatically an alarming situation. And I just, I was young and I’d been in a lot of these people’s shoes. I knew they were drunk. I knew what they had done. They’d just come home from the bar, flipped on Shop at Home and said, ‘You know what? I need that.’ So the reason the job didn’t last long for me is that I was maybe the worst salesmen in history because I ended up talking a lot of these people out of it, I’d say, ‘I’ll tell you what man, go to bed, call me, I’ll be here in the morning. If you get up in the morning and want these knives you call me back.’”

Trace Adkins played the Republican National Convention and shared his new song, “Tough People Do.” It was a huge hit with the delegates, who called it a GOP anthem. Not so, says Trace, "If a liberal politician is OK with the line, 'Tough people pull themselves up by the bootstraps when they hit hard luck/And they stay strong and keep fighting like they don't know how to lose, then by all means, play the song." You can see the performance here – language alert in the first 15 seconds, but then it’s family-friendly.



Carrie Underwood said at the #1 party for “Good Girl” last week in Nashville that she had to choose between going shopping for new clothes in LA or having a songwriting session with co-writers Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley. She picked songwriting and said that “Good Girl” came out fast and fun. By the end of the day, not only had they written the song but had worked it up and Carrie left with a demo in hand. She’s in Nashville now, rehearsing for her “Blown Away” tour.

Little Big Town’s “Tornado” comes out a week from today, and according to the band, they made it in seven days, thanks to producer Jay Joyce, who also produced Eric Church’s “Chief.” LBT rehearsed for four days and recorded for three, but didn’t hear anything at all until they finished recording on the third day. Then Jay surprised them with the finished mixes on all of the songs, to which Kimberly Schlapman said, “Doggone it! It sounds like we just made a record.” Because it only took a week to make the album, the band got four days off once they heard “Tornado’s” tracks, an unheard-of luxury for artists. In other LBT news, the band has the honor of performing at the 37th Annual TJ Martell Foundation Honors Gala October 23rd in New York.

Miranda Lambert’s potential television show will apparently eventually find a broadcast home. She was initially working with ABC Family, but now NBC has the treatment and is developing a show inspired by Miranda’s childhood, growing up with private investigators for parents. No word on when an episode might air.

LeAnn Rimes is apparently doing well at the rehab facility she checked herself into last week. She committed to a 30-day, in-patient treatment, trying to cope with anxiety and stress. She will, however, keep her scheduled performances, leaving the facility and then returning to treatment immediately afterwards. In other LeAnn news, she’s filed suit against Kimberly and Lexi Smiley, two woman she claims illegally recorded a phone call with her and shared it on the internet. LeAnn says she called them to ask them to quit spreading negative things about her online.

Road trip alert – Capitol Records’ 5th Annual Street Party will happen October 17th in Nashville. No line-up details yet, but streets will be closed near Music Row for a free night of country music concerts.

Taylor Swift is on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today.

Today's Country Tidbits

Blake Shelton's version of "Footloose" is a little bit countrified, but still a little bit too pop for some country music fans. Blake's reaction? Predictable: “And I expected it to be polarizing, ya know, whenever I signed up for it. But, that’s, I’m that guy, so who else to do that and piss people off than me? Ya know?” The movie comes out October 14th. The movie soundtrack is out today.

Justin Moore celebrated the success of his song, "If Heaven Wasn't so Far Away" yesterday at a #1 party in Nashville. Justin and his wife Kate have something else to celebrate, too. They are two months away from having their second baby daughter, and have revealed that her name will be Kennedy Faye Moore. Ella Kole is looking forward to being a big sister before she's two, and how does Justin feel about it? “We were nervous with our first one. I mean, it’s such a huge, you know, life changing thing, obviously, right at the point I was enjoying some success. So, I was gone a lot, and, and didn’t get to be as big a part of the whole process as I, I would like to have been. And, uh, I don’t think my wife and I really took the time to enjoy the whole process either. So, we’re trying to do so this time.”

Whazzup with Steel Magnolia? Something, because Meghan Linsey has been performing shows solo after cancelling last week's tour stops. A message posted on the duo's website reads, “Dear Fans, We are really sad we had to cancel several shows this week. We were very much looking forward to seeing each and every one of you…but at this time, Josh is unable to perform. We really appreciate your thoughts and prayers.” For now, it looks like Meghan will play Steel Magnolia's shows solo, singing material off of their debut cd.

Dierks Bentley's next single, "Home," is just coming out, and the video hasn't been finalized yet. To tide you over, here's a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of the song.

Have you seen the video for Rodney Atkins' new song, "Take a Back Road?" Here you go...

And how about Eric Church's video for "Drink in My Hand?"

Congratulations to Rodney Atkins, who has the #1 country song in America again this week with "Take a Back Road." It's his 6th #1 song - does the feeling get old? Not according to Rodney: “You really realize after, after, a while just how much work: how many people; how…the stars in alignment; divine intervention; luck; it just, the fact that you get the song when you get it at that certain point of time; and all the, all the folks. And I’m knocked out, I really can’t express the way it makes you feel and I’m more in awe than I’ve ever been.”

LeAnn Rimes has a new cd out today, "Lady and Gentlemen." It's a collection of classic country covers.

Glen Campbell is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight.

The tweet of the day is from David Nail: "Couldn't wait to have a back yard! Just watched my two dogs chase each other non stop for 10 minutes! Random things I enjoy while home!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Love Miranda Lambert? Love homeless pets? There's a party for that. The "4th Annual Cause for the Paws" benefit concert, hosted and headlined by Miranda Lambert, will be on April 30th in Tyler, TX. Also performing are Stoney LaRue and Josh Kelly, though if it's anything like last year, expect to see Blake Shelton make an appearance, too. Oh, and a comparison of Blake and Miranda's tour schedules shows that Blake has one show on May 6th and Miranda has no shows in May. Her first June show is on the 9th and his is on the 14th. Some time between May 6th and June 9th, expect the two to tie the knot.

Apparently LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian are scouting ranches in Montana, hoping to rent one in the May/June time period so they can be married there. No official word, but the rumors are swirling.

Now it can be told...the reason Kellie Pickler's hubby has forbidden her (jokingly, apparently) from being on the Ellen Degeneres Show ever again is because yesterday's show turned into a bachelorette party for Kellie, complete with buff, scantily-clad dancers.

If you want a momento of Kellie Pickler's wedding to Kyle Jacobs on January first of this year, head to iTunes for video of the event set to the song "Say I Do."

No momentos being offered, but Brad Paisley's oldest son, Huck, celebrated his 4th birthday with a party at the Nashville Zoo. Kimberly, Brad's wife, does a lot of work on fund-raising for the Zoo, and the party allowed the kids to have special access to some of the animals. According to Brad, the day was very smooth and fun, with no one getting scared at their closeness to the big animals. And also according to Brad, Huck already has his first crush: Carrie Underwood. He picked out roses for her and dictated a Valentine message for his Mom to write to go along with them. When he met Carrie for the first time last week, he demonstrated his amazing 4-year-old arm strength by holding couch pillows over his head and saying, "see how strong I am?" When asked, he says "I don't like girls." But when Dad Brad asked, "What about Carrie?" Huck's answer was "Oh, I like her music."

And Brad Paisley has a new pre-show routine this year: stretching. Last year during the H2O tour he suffered from intense lower back pain, which he thinks may have contributed to his fall on stage. He's had a cortisone injection in his spine and is working with a physical therapist, who recommended the pre-show stretches. According to Brad, “I realized, here I am going out cold for a two-hour show where I run around like an idiot in a pair of cowboy boots, without warming up or anything, carrying around a 10-pound guitar. It’s not good for you."

People.com has a photo spread of Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman and their daughter, Sunday Rose. Only an iPhone shot of Faith Margaret so far.

It's a star-studded weekend at the Grand Ole Opry this weekend. Grammy winners invade the stage, with the Doobie Brothers making their Opry debut. Also performing this weekend are Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Gretchen Wilson, Montgomery Gentry, Neal McCoy, Marty Stuart, Keb' Mo', Dan Tyminski and many more. You can probably still get tickets if you hurry.

Happy birthday to Sammy Kershaw, who turns 53 today.

The tweet of the day is from Jaron of Jaron and the Long Road to Love: "And on the 8th day God made coffee. The end."

Today's Country Tidbits

What do you do on Christmas vacation if you're Taylor Swift? You and your family head to the islands. Specifically, the Turks and Caicos, near the Bahamas. They spent Christmas playing in the sun before boarding a private jet back to Nashville, where winter white is what they found. Taylor's "Speak Now" world tour begins February 9th in Singapore.

It's official - LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian are engaged. The rumors were flying around Thanksgiving, and yesterday LeAnn confirmed them via Twitter. No word on wedding details.

Two more lists from Billboard Magazine, capping the year in country music:

BILLBOARD’S TOP COUNTRY ALBUMS OF 2010

1) Need You Now – Lady Antebellum

2) Fearless – Taylor Swift

3) Speak Now – Taylor Swift

4) Play On – Carrie Underwood

5) The Foundation – Zac Brown Band

6) Lady Antebellum – Lady Antebellum

7) Revolution – Miranda Lambert

8) Wide Open – Jason Aldean

9) Southern Voice – Tim McGraw

10) The Incredible Machine – Sugarland

BILLBOARD’S HOT COUNTRY SONGS OF 2010

1) “Love Like Crazy” – Lee Brice

2) “Rain is a Good Thing” – Luke Bryan

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

4) “All Over Me” – Josh Turner

5) “The Man I Want to Be” – Chris Young

6) “Roll With It” – Easton Corbin

7) “Gimme That Girl” – Joe Nichols

8) “All About Tonight” – Blake Shelton

9) “Come Back Song” – Darius Rucker

10) “She Won’t Be Lonely Long” – Clay Walker

Happy birthday to Marty Roe of Diamond Rio, who turns 50 today, Mike McGuire of Shenandoah who is 52, and Joe Diffie, who turns 52.

The tweet of the day is from Chris Young: "Ok. Who wants to go to the gym for me. Not feeling it today. :)"

Today's country tidbits...

Seeing stars in crazy places, part one: Keith Urban will be doing an acoustic performance at the Verizon Wireless store in Franklin, TN at 2 pm central time this Friday. He'll do a meet and greet, play a few songs, and then answer questions from fans. Admission is free, so expect it to be one big crowded frenzy.

Seeing stars in crazy places, part 2: Alan Jackson's doing an in-store appearance at the Cracker Barrel store in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee next Monday morning. He'll be there from 9 to 11, central, and you can start lining up at 6 for your numbered place in line. Alan is doing this to debut his 40-item collection of lifestyle items - clothes, kitchen goodies and music - available only at Cracker Barrell. He'll be meeting fans, signing autographs and probably hugging a lot of necks.

Details are out on how scalped tickets will be caught and canceled for the Garth Brooks shows: when the tickets are sold, the purchaser has to provide their name and address, which will be checked against a list when the person tries to see the Garth show. If the information doesn't match, the person with the ticket doesn't get in. They'll get back the face value of the ticket, but a quick check of the internet shows scalpers are asking a LOT more than $143 for tickets to the show. Some are in the thousands. Spread the word...people who buy scalped tickets to the Garth shows in Vegas will lose, big time.

Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum is usually surrounded by guys...her two band-mates, plus the rest of the musicians, stage-hands and drivers that travel with them. So she was in heaven sharing the Kenny Chesney tour with Miranda Lambert. The two have become great friends, even having sleep-overs in Miranda's tour bus, movie nights and toasting with their favorite cocktail: Bacardi and Sprite Zero.

Luke Bryan has decided to barn-storm for a month and a half...his Doin' My Thing tour will stop in 18 cities over 42 days, mostly in the eastern United States.

Gloriana is up for the Breakthrough Artist Award at the American Music Awards. The show is on November 22, but you can vote for your favorite in the category now. Carrie Underwood will be one of the performers on the show.

Now the presenters are being revealed for the 43rd Annual CMA Awards. Country artists Julianne Hough, Randy Houser, Jake Owen, Kellie Pickler and LeAnn Rimes are on the list, and celebrities Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Neil Flynn, Patricia Heaton and Good Morning America's Robin Roberts are, too. Love and Theft are the host for the CMA Broadcast Awards, which are handed out before the award show telecast begins.

Keith Urban's next single will be "Til Summer Comes Around" and you can see him perform it at the Indiana State Fair. Amatuer video, but a great shot of the ferris wheel!