How hot is Taylor Swift? Her new song, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," is the #1 most downloaded song in 29 countries! Meanwhile, she gets set for the September release of her new perfume, Wonderstruck Enchanted, and the release of her new album, Red, in October with this new ad for the perfume. Note the clever use of the color red in it.

Dierks Bentley has had three #1 songs in a row from his Home cd, and he admits that his new song, “Tip It On Back,” nearly didn’t make it onto the album: “‘Tip It On Back’ was actually the last song that I really heard for the album. You kinda reach a place where you’re like, ‘I’ve listened to every song out there. There’s no more songs to listen to,’ and then you hear one like that, and you’re like, ‘Man, this is a great song.’” His college tour kicked off last night at the University of Georgia.

Luke Bryan’s 4th annual Farm Tour will kick off October 3rd in Claxton, Georgia and hit Clemson, SC, Valdosta, GA and Auburn, AL before it ends October 13th. Luke enjoys the small-town vibe and says, “I just love the fact that people can come out and have a big time, listen to some music and um...it’s just a fun experience all the way around and I wanna continue to do what I can to keep it rockin’.” This small-town tour raises money so kids from local farming families can go to college. Here’s the list of tour stops:

10/3 - Claxton (Statesboro), GA
10/4 - Clemson, SC
10/5 - Auburn, AL
10/6 - Valdosta, GA
10/10 - Villa Rica, GA
10/11 - Colbert (Athens), GA
10/12 - Tallahassee, FL
10/13 - Macon, GA

David Nail is also doing a series of smaller tour stops, focusing on small venues and featuring scaled-down shows. They’ll be special, though, because he understands the power of his fans: “You can’t help but not reference the people who came out to our shows when ‘Red Light’ was #36 – not even Top 20. Those people have kind of stayed with us, and it’s definitely helped our show a lot.” Here’s the list of his tour stops:

9/6 Cincinnati, OH
9/7 Marietta, OH
9/8 Cleveland, OH
9/9 Arcola, IL
9/13 Knoxville, TN
9/14 Richmond, VA
9/15 Philadelphia, PA
9/16 Baltimore, MD
9/18 New York, NY
9/26 Pittsburgh, PA
9/27 Ridgefield, CT
9/28 W. Springfield, MA
9/29 Boston, MA
10/1 Winston-Salem, NC
10/4 Southaven, MS
10/6 Houston, TX
10/10 Oklahoma City, OK
10/11 Dallas, TX
10/18 Minneapolis, MN
10/19 Milwaukee, WI
10/20 Chicago, IL
10/25 Carbondale, IL
10/26 Columbia, MO
11/2 Birmingham, AL
11/3 Biloxi, MS

Kix Brooks’ latest single, “New To This Town,” is climbing the charts. Wonder how he got Joe Walsh to be his guest on it? Wonder no more – according to Kix, “My manager and Joe’s manager Irving Azoff, who manages The Eagles, are partners. Actually an engineer from my radio show said ‘Man that’d sound great with some Joe Walsh-like guitar on it!’ And I go ‘Wow! I wonder if I could actually…maybe…’” And he found out the answer was “yes.” Kix releases his solo debut album on September 11th.

Singer/songwriter Dustin Lynch, who has his first single climbing the charts, loves to write. “Cowboys and Angels” is just one of the tons of songs he’s written lately: “Ahh, hundreds and hundreds. I’ve written hundreds of songs the past few years. It’s so funny, people are like, ‘Why did you write so many songs?!’ You know, when I woke up one morning and realized I was getting paid to write songs which is what I used to do for fun—you know I just love it! It’s so much fun for me to go into a room with nothing and come out with possibly something that could change my life or mean something to somebody else.”

Tim McGraw will answer fan questions on Pennzoil’s Facebook page this Friday. You can submit questions now, and if one of yours gets answered, you get autographed goodies from Tim.

Another country artist has been added to the Republican National Convention. Rodney Atkins will headline the official welcome party this Sunday in Petersburg Florida.

Dierks Bentley’s Country & Cold Cans EP is out today, as is the self-titled debut album by Dustin Lynch. The Dierks EP includes a special version of “Tip It On Back.”

Today's Country Tidbits

Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney kick off their “Brothers of the Sun” tour tomorrow and Kenny wants his fans to be protected. Well, their eyes, anyway! He and Costa Sunglasses just released five new custom sunglass designs, all with his signature and palm tree logo inside the frame. Part of the proceeds goes to the Coastal Conservation Association. About touring with Tim, Kenny says, “I think it’s going to be very special for us. But the people that are going to benefit the most are the people that have lived with our music for a while now. And see that we’re being all mixed into one stage, everything we’ve been through to get to that point in our lives and our career. That doesn’t happen in everybody’s life and career.”

Dierks Bentley headed for Washington DC tomorrow, where he’ll perform after the Washington Nationals play baseball, hosting the Atlanta Braves. One song that’s a fan favorite already is “Home,” and according to Dierks, there’s a special group of fans who love it the most: “One of the first times I played this song, a girl came up to me that had been in the Navy and told me just how much the lyrics meant to her and since then as the song has gone up the charts more and more, just hearing from so many different fans in the military saying how much the lyrics really affect them, so it’s just awesome to have a song out there that we can sing to our fans and they can sing back to us, and we can really honor those families that are making a huge sacrifice for all of us.”

The next CMT Crossroads is star-studded. Joe Walsh picked “some old friends and some new friends” to share the stage with him. The show will include Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Sara Evans and Hunter Hayes, and it will air on June 23rd.

Martina McBride is in the current issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine, telling about her first experience with drinking wine. She confesses to “drinking Tickle Pink by Boone’s Farm, while riding around the Kansas dirt roads with friends listening to Def Leppard or Journey.” Her palate has grown more sophisticated, and she says she likes to have champagne on hand for special occasions.

Rodney Atkins headlines the second annual “Music City Gives Back” benefit concert for the American Red Cross June 5th on Lower Broadway between Second and Fourth Avenues in Nashville. In addition to Rodney, Lee Brice, Thompson Square, Josh Thompson, Clint Black, The Farm, Jana Kramer, Mallary Hope and The Willis Clan are part of the show. The concert is free – the Red Cross will be taking donations – and the Wrangler Facebook page will webcast the show live starting at 5pm Central.

Happy birthday to Ronny Dunn, who turns 59 today.

Today's Country Tidbits

Country stars spent yesterday honoring fallen soldiers – here are their thoughts on Memorial Day…

Luke Bryan: “My dad served in Vietnam and it’s so cool that he can always walk around for the rest of his life and say, ‘I went to Vietnam, and I served.’ I hate that I’ll never be able to say that, but I guess kinda my way of serving is getting down here and trying to play for the troops.”

Craig Morgan: “There’s two things that are important in my life and that’s security of my nation, and the security of my family. And the security of my nation comes first. Most people would not appreciate or understand that, but without the security of this nation I can’t take care of my family.”

Kip Moore: “Both of my grandparents, on my mom and my dad’s side, were both in the war and protected this country. So I’ve always had a patriotic side to me, and I don’t think sometimes we grasp how lucky we are.”

Kiefer Thompson of Thompson Square: “We’ve always been big supporters of the military. My dad was in the Army. Shawna’s daddy was a Vietnam vet. Her cousin’s been in Afghanistan and Iraq both – two tours. It’s just...we love our country you know? Every time, if something comes up, if we can do it, we do it!”

And here are some thoughts from country stars on performing for the military…

Toby Keith: “They mean everything to me. They show up at my show every night. Their families show up. I represent a piece of American pie for them. It’s way more special than I ever intended or thought it ever could be.”

Craig Morgan: “I remember being in Korea and having Sawyer Brown and Charlie Daniels. It was very impacting; it takes away a little bit of aggravation and tension for a few minutes. You get a taste of home, and there’s nothing like that.”

Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry: “I just love it more and more every time I go. Me and T we talk about it all the time, every time we go we wanna do more and stay longer. We just don’t thank them enough. When you see our America heroes man, they’re totally awesome.”

George Strait has been named one of the 21 sexiest men over 50 by AARP. Ya think??

Well, they’ve been married a week now – hope all is still well in the newleyweds’ world. Angaleena Presley of Pistol Annies married her boyfriend Jordan Powell one week ago today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The tweet of the day is from Rodney Atkins: “Grateful to the men & women past & present & their families for their courage & many sacrifices not just today but everyday God Bless y'all”

Today's Country Tidbits

Carrie Underwood likes kids, but she's not ready to have any yet, so she stopped by PS22 in Staten Island, New York to sing with the school chorus. The kids nailed her song, "Good Girl," and the drummer has mad skills!

Keith Urban is launching a new video feature, and episode one is online. In the first Urban Chat, he's backstage with Seal, Kelly Clarkson and David Foster.

Colt Ford had a rough night last night - he didn't see a bank of speakers, tripped and fell off the stage. He's got "a few broke ribs and hurt knee," as he put it on Twitter, but says he'll be alright. He was doing a show in Danville, Virginia on Friday and kept his date in West Virginia on Saturday night.

Saturday in Nashville it was the St. Jude Marathon, and country music (of course!) was involved. Danny Gokey was one of the runners and Rodney Atkins and Gloriana provided the post-race entertainment.

Blake Shelton performs his new single, "Over," on The Voice tonight.

Tonight, Carrie Underwood will be on the David Letterman show, and Thursday night she'll perform on American Idol. Her cd, "Blown Away," comes out tomorrow.

Happy birthday to Willie Nelson, who is 79 today. He's in Maui, where he likes to spend Monday nights with friends: “We play in Maui, I have a little hideout out in the back of the house next to the ocean out there where we play poker a lot.  Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson and a lot of my friends from Maui, we’ll get together on Monday nights or whenever and play poker.”

The tweet of the day is from John Rich: "I'm being very inappropriate right now."

Today's Country Tidbits

A judge in Tennessee has ordered Rodney Atkins to do 30 hours of community service and stay out of trouble for 11 months and 29 days, and if he does, the domestic assault charge his wife filed against him will be expunged from the record. Tammy Atkins claimed that he tried to smother her with a pillow and threw her down the hallway on November 21st. Rodney got to cool his heels in jail that night and filed for divorce shortly after getting out the next day. He and Tammy are sharing custody of their son Elijah and are working out the details of a permanent custody arrangement.

Jason Aldean watched the Super Bowl, but made a point to watch Kelly Clarkson sing the National Anthem, and he was nervous for his "Don't You Wanna Stay" duet partner. How did he think she did? “I was blown away. You rarely ever hear anybody do it justice. I mean, everybody tries to put their spin on it, and more times than not—it doesn’t work. With me, I’ve done it a couple of times, but it’s not something, you know—I’m always scared I’m gonna mess it up. I was watching her and I thought she, I texted her right away and said ‘You just killed it! That was one of the best renditions I’ve ever heard.’”

Trace Adkins has partnered with the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. He's performing the audio version of the book "Owney: Tales from the Rails." It's a childrens book and is the story of a dog that rides the rails, visiting post offices across the country. Check out the project on the Owney website.

The Grammy Awards are getting more and more country - word came out yesterday Reba will present an award. Already planning to be there are Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, The Band Perry, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, Glen Campbell and Kelly Clarkson.

"Act of Valor" had it's Nashville premier on Tuesday night and Keith Urban and Jake Owen were on hand to soak it in. Keith contributed an original song, "For You," to the soundtrack, which also includes Lady Antebellum, Trace Adkins, Sugarland, Josh Kelley and Hunter Hayes. The movie opens for the rest of us February 24th.

Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" keeps getting bigger. It's sold nearly a million and a half downloads so far, and Toby's surprised - and not surprised. “I knew it was gonna be successful and I knew that it was gonna be big in my show. I didn’t know it was gonna be a...like a household drinking vessel.”

Tim McGraw's "Emotional Traffic" is the top-selling country cd for the second week in a row. About his success, Tim says, “You know any chance you get—and what I’ve been lucky with throughout my career, in music, movies, songwriting, and books, everything—is working with fantastic people whom you learn something from every time you do a project.”

Ever wonder how Faith Hill stays so trim? In an article in Self magazine, she says she watches what she eats, but splurges on sweet tea. And she doesn't skip her daily workout, which she says gives her more energy throughout the day and has a positive impact on her life.

Watch for Clay Walker on the AT&T Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament from Pebble Beach today.

Happy birthday to Travis Tritt, who turns 49 today.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "Ahhhh!! Thanks to @nbcsvu I got to check something off my bucket list. Acting on my favorite show! I can't stop screaming like a 3 year old!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Taylor Swift doesn't quite top this list, but she's doing really well to come in second. Forbes' list of the Top Earning Women in Music is out, and Taylor's at #2, just behind Lady GaGa. Carrie Underwood is also on the list, at #7. Taylor earned $45 million in the last 12 months, and Carrie earned $20 million.

Oh, dear...country music has a new scandal. Rodney Atkins was arrested and booked on domestic assault charges on November 21st, though the story just broke late yesterday morning. His wife, Tammy Jo Atkins, says that he tried to smother her with a pillow, and then threw her down the hallway, all in front of their son. He says she's lying, and he's filed for divorce. A hearing for the divorce case is scheduled for December 20th, and there's no word on when or if Rodney will have to stand trial for the events of November 21st. They were married in April of 1998 and have a 10-year old son, Elijah.

Also in November, Shania Twain's stalker pleaded guilty. The 51-year-old former doctor agreed to stay away from her. But yesterday, Joe Palumbo appealed his own guilty plea in the hopes of being acquitted in a new trial. Currently, he has to stay half a kilometer from Shania. His medical license was suspended in May of this year after he broke an agreement to stay away from her.

Jason Aldean has given Taylor Swift a big gift this holiday season - the gift of recognition for what she's doing for country music. In an interview with USA Today, Jason said, “Taylor has gone out and brought a whole new fanbase to our world. All these teenage girls that might not have listened to country before, she has brought them all into our genre. Nobody else is really doing that.” With two daughters, Jason's probably very familiar with the appeal of Taylor to the young, female crowd.

Brad Paisley is getting set to kick off his Camobunga tour in January, and is planning a bunch of "oh-wow" effects for fans. He says his camo inspiration was Porter Wagoner, who a young Brad saw leave the Opry building not in his famous sparkly Nudie suit, but in camo. “He comes out and he’s wearing a camo hat, and a Bass Pro Shops camo shirt, and camo pants, and that’s what he wore outta here. I remember thinking, ‘Well, that is just perfect!’ There’s something about it that’s very country.”

Montgomery Gentry and the Professional Championship Bull Riders are teaming up for a 2012 arena tour. Each stop includes a concert, followed by bullriding competitions.

On a tiny NASCAR note, congratulations to David Ragan and his new fiance, Jacquelyn Butler. They were engaged yesterday. Wedding details are to be announced.

Vince Gill is on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight and Craig Campbell is on Fox & Friends Weekend tomorrow.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Just found out the hard way that its not legal to relieve yourself in your yard in LA... Even though I was gonna pick it up!!!"

Today's Country Tidbits

The opening song of the CMA Music Awards next Wednesday night will be Kenny Loggins and Blake Shelton performing "Footloose." When Blake was pitched the concept of being part of the "Footloose" soundtrack, producers came to him with another song. But it was only the Kenny Loggins classic that Blake was interested in covering. “I wanted to do ‘Footloose’ or I wasn’t gonna be a part of the soundtrack, you know? And, it wasn’t like, ‘By God...’ I just said, that’s the only one I’d be interested in doin’.” Other collaborations that night include Kenny Chesney & Grace Potter, Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts & Natasha Bedingfield, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban, Little Big Town and Lionel Ritchie and Darius Rucker with Rascal Flatts. The show is a sell-out, filling 17,000 seats at Bridgestone Arena for next Wednesday night's show.

Brad Paisley's book, "Diary of a Player," came out yesterday, and the idea of it was born a year ago as he and co-author David Wild were writing the 2010 CMA Award show. “Last year, when we were writing the CMAs...he said ‘You should write a book about some of these things!’ And I realized that I needed to be able to read something like this when I was ten. There wasn’t anything like that that basically said, ‘Here’s what you can do if you practice,’ which is really what this book ought to be called…‘Brad Paisley: Here’s What You Can Do If You Practice.”

Congratulations to Toby Keith, who has the #1 country album this week with "Clancy's Tavern." The album is named after his Grandma Clancy, who had to work hard to raise her family after her husband died. According to Toby, “Nan moved off to Fort Smith, and in the late 40s, early 50s, became the first plant manager at Dixie Cup Factory…dominated a men’s world in the 50s. And then, she worked part-time taking cover charge at Billy Garner’s Supper Club. She bought her first house, she was a widow still, and she was working at that nightclub when she saw the opportunity to buy Billy’s out after working there for years.” And rumor has it that his song "Red Solo Cup" is about to get the Glee treatment - it's going to be featured in an upcoming episode.

Trace Adkins wants you to "like" BC Powder's Facebook page for a chance at prizes and to change the world. For each "like," BC will donate $1 to the Wounded Warrior Project. You can also leave suggestions on how to make the world a less painful place and sign up for prizes, including a VIP trip to see Trace in concert.

Willie Nelson is putting on his way-back hat, covering classics from the 40's, 50's and 60's in a new album, "Remember Me, Vol. 1" coming out November 21st. Willie will give his take on songs made famous by Ernest Tubb, Rosemary Cloony, Kris Kristofferson and many other icons.

The 85th Anniversary Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will feature Rodney Atkins and Scotty McCreery.

Did you miss Brad Paisley on Nightline Tuesday night? He talked about getting pulled over for a suspected DUI with his kids in the car, and what they thought about it. Check it out...

Eli Young Band is on the Late Show with David Letterman and Brad Paisley is on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight.

The tweet of the day is from Miranda Lambert: "So my husband just texted me "can I cook you dinner tonight?" how awesome is that! Four The Record celebration!"

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

Hank Williams Jr. kicked up a firestorm when he showed up on Fox Morning News yesterday talking politics. Discussing the president, Bocephus compared Obama to Hitler. After doing that, he was cut out of last night's Monday Night Football opener, a gig he's had for two decades. Here's the footage:

Hank issued a statement late in the day yesterday - here's what he had to say:

"Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme - but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me - how ludicrous that pairing was. They're polar opposites and it made no sense. They don't see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the President. Every time the media brings up the tea party it's painted as racist and extremists - but there's never a backlash - no outrage to those comparisons… Working class people are hurting - and it doesn't seem like anybody cares. When both sides are high-fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job - it makes a whole lot of us angry. Something has to change. The policies have to change." - Hank Williams, Jr.

Martina McBride is celebrating her album release next week in New York. "Eleven" comes out on October 11th, and on the 14th she'll be atop the Empire State Building flipping the switch to turn it pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Martina explains, “Later that night, we’re doing a concert on top of the Empire State Building. It’s just going to be a really powerful moment, I think, to perform at the Empire State Building surrounded by breast cancer survivors, and their loved ones, and people that are doing things to further research and awareness. And especially performing “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” I think that’s gonna be a powerful moment.”

An apparently drunk driver plowed into the decorative fencing around LeAnn Rimes' California home. She wasn't there, and the driver wasn't hurt. The 20-year-old also hit a light pole, and was driving on a suspended license. Oops...!

Congratulations to Toby Keith, who has the #1 song this week with "Made In America." It's another "America" song for him, and was almost left off the new album, "Clancy's Tavern," which streets October 24th. Toby explains, “You gotta keep in mind that I get hit with a lot of ideas about writing songs about America, and I pass on 999 of them. But, once in a while, something comes along that is a different take on it then I’ve done, and it’s smart…and it’s a good idea.”

New music in stores today includes Rodney Atkins' "Take a Back Road" and Scotty McCreery's "Clear As Day."

Scotty McCreery is on Live with Regis & Kelly, Kellie Pickler is on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and LeAnn Rimes is on the Tonight Show with ay Leno.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "If the first step is admitting I have problem then here goes.... My drink is empty!!!!!!!"

Today's Country Tidbits

Toby Keith was doing an interview with Allison DeMarcus for CMT Insider, and the topic of gays, gay weddings and gays in the military came up. Toby's take? "That whole gay issue thing, that's never bothered me. I've never seen what that affects and why anybody should care, and they never do affect me." He went on to say, "First of all, we're going to stop somebody from getting a marriage license because they're gay? You won't stop them from living together, so what have you accomplished? ... Wasting a lot of money here and a lot of time that could be spent working on this deficit that we're under ... I never saw the reasoning behind getting in people's personal lives." About "don't ask, don't tell," Toby said, "The military is a tough thing. I don't worry as much about the heterosexual people fighting as I do about the gays. In the military or any class in life, you have people who have problems with it, and I'm wondering how that's going to be compatible on the battlefield. That's the only question I have, other than that, I don't care. It's just such a big issue that people make such a big stink about 'don't ask, don't tell.' And that sounds like our government: 'We'll fix it by saying, "Don't ask, don't tell." Everybody agree, raise your hands. All right, let's go get a snack!"

In other Toby news, he's part of "The Wayman Tisdale Story," a documentary about the life of the late NBA star and jazz musician. Toby and Wayman were close friends, and Toby's song "Cryin' for Me" was written as a eulogy for Wayman. The DVD will be out November 22nd.

Rodney Atkins' new album, "Take a Back Road," streets tomorrow, and he's excited to share a new sound with his fans. He's got a goal for the project - “To sell one million copies. It’s just, I’m really proud of this album. We’ve tried some different things and production wise, I mean ‘Take a Back Road,’ when we first played it for people it sounded different. Some of the stuff is simplified, but it’s meant to not just lightly tap on the door, you know, it’s to shake you up a little bit.”

Trace Adkins is in North Carolina, filming his part in the upcoming movie, "The Healer." How did he learn to act? “Movies are just like music videos. You sit around and wait for ‘em to set up the next shot, and light it, and all that kind of stuff. You’re there a long time but you don’t really work that much.”

Lady Antebellum performed on Saturday Night Live - didja miss it? Here you go!

Blake Shelton tweeted his tour announcement yesterday, saying that his "Well Lit and Amplified" tour kicks off in January. He'll be taking along Justin Moore and Dia Frampton, a finalist on "The Voice." It'll hit 27 cities, with those locations being rolled out on Blake's website as they get closer.

Congratulations are in order for John Rich and his wife Joan. Their second son was born last Thursday, and the official birth announcement happened on Twitter early yesterday morning. Here's what John tweeted: “Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome to the world.. ‘Colt Daniel Rich!’ 7lbs14ozs, born 9-29-11....He's a real ‘Son of a Gun!’ VERY Proud!!”

Condolences to Trisha Yearwood, who lost her mom over the weekend. Gwen Yearwood had been battling breast cancer for several years. Both of her daughters were at her side when she died.

Tm McGraw is on the Today Show and LIVE! with Regis and Kelly this morning. Scotty McCreery is on the Today show this morning.

The tweet of the day is from Martina McBride: "Standing with all those courageous cancer survivors while I sang the anthem was amazing. Powerful way to kick off BCA month. Way to go @nfl."

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

The ACM Honors were last night at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and Reba, Garth and Taylor were treated to special performances in their honor. Joe Nichols hosted the event, and Ronnie Dunn presented Reba's Career Achievement Award. Reba told the story of a childhood visit to the Ryman, where she got sick on the outside steps. Jerrod Niemann sang "Good Ride Cowboy" in Garth Brooks' honor as he was presented with the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award. Taylor Swift was her usual gracious self, talking with every film crew along the red carpet and personally greeting every fan lined up on 5th Avenue, signing autographs and posing for photos. She was honored with the Jim Reeves International Award for spreading country music worldwide, and she remarked, “Getting to go all these places I’d never dreamed I’d even get to see in my life and play arena shows there, it’s been an amazing, amazing year. You know, what I love the most is that all these people they speak different languages, but they knew all the words to our songs. It was so wonderful to get to see that first hand.”

Camera crews from CBS's "60 Minutes" followed Taylor Swift around Nashville last weekend as she staged two sold-out shows in her home town then was honored last night. The profile will air sometime in November.

Toby Keith was interviewed by the Boston Herald, and among the questions asked was why he carried a gun. Toby's reply? “If somebody asked me, ‘Why do you have one? What are you afraid of?’ I’d say, ‘I ain’t afraid of nothing. I carry so I don’t have to be.’”

Rodney Atkins takes over the top spot on the country music charts with his latest hit, "Take A Back Road." It's his 6th #1 song, and he credits songwriters Rhett Akins and Luke Laird for this success: “What makes this town so special are the songwriters, that’s where it all comes from. We wouldn’t have anything to sing without ‘em. My first love with…with music once I started playing music, I wanted to write songs. That was the best part of it.”

PollStar's Top 20 Tour list has juggled just a bit, with Kenny Chesney pulling ahead of Taylor Swift in total money raked in on tour so far this year. Seven of the top 20 touring acts are country: Keith Urban at 19, Sugarland at 18, Jason Aldean at 14, Rascal Flatts at 11, Brad Paisley at 9, Taylor at 3 and Kenny Chesney in second place, behind U2. Here's the list of the top 20, with gross revenues and average ticket price:

1) U2 - $6.9 mil. / $95.46

2) Kenny Chesney - $2.2 mil. / $75.18

3) Taylor Swift - $2.1 mil. / $73.70

4) Glee Live! In Concert! - $1.5 mil. / $84.10

5) Sade - $1.3 mil. / $97.93

6) Phish - $1.1 mil. / $52.95

7) Britney Spears - $928,133 / $83.23

8) New Kids on the Block w/ Backstreet Boys - $854,610 / $72.89

9) Brad Paisley - $692,410 / $37.29

10) Rush - $688,049 / $72.51

11) Rascal Flatts - $634,271 / $35.63

12) Michael Buble - $566,789 / $76.04

13) Motley Crue - $528,602 / $55.68

14) Jason Aldean - $522,061 / $30.98

15) Katy Perry - $490,625 / $42.24

16) Train w/ Maroon 5 - $489,043 / $42.31

17) American Idols Live - $486,495 / $54.52

18) Sugarland - $418,274 / $48.90

19) Keith Urban - $414,439 / $52.63

20) Luis Miguel - $358,164 / $92.72

Tony Bennett's Duets II album is out today, featuring duets with Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Willie Nelson, and artists from other musical genres.

Kelly Clarkson is on the Tonight show.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "Congratulations to AT&T on their 1 billionth dropped call!!! And that's just on MY phone..."

Today's Country Tidbits

Jason Aldean's song "My Kinda Party" is the ACC Network's theme song this year, and Jason's pumped. Not just because they're using his song...he's more practical than that. “I’m just hoping to get some free tickets out of the deal, man. Some sideline passes and, ya know, I actually rewrote, some of the lyrics and stuff to kinda fit what they’re doing with it and, ya know, it’s cool, ‘cause I’ve watched it and I’ve seen Brooks & Dunn and all those guys doing the same deal. Ya know, it’s cool that they want your music, ya know, that they want your song to kinda be that.” Each ACC game's television coverage will begin with a video montage set to Jason's music. In other Jason news, he had a #1 party for "Dirt Road Anthem" yesterday in Nashville.

Toby Keith's song "Made in America" is climbing the charts, and he's following in Trace Adkins' footsteps, trying to ensure that all of his merchandise is made in America. About the decision, Toby says, “It’s difficult to get everything American made. We try. It’s a mentality. You have to change your way of thinking to be American made and buy American made.” He goes on to say that even though it's tough, it's worth doing, for the future of our country, and Toby reminds us, “we could all do better.”

Miranda Lambert's musical taste is all over the board - Adele, Brandi, Beyonce...Merle Haggard? Yep, he's her musical hero, and according to Miranda, “I got to meet Merle Haggard. And most people don’t get to meet their heroes, you know? It’s very rare that people actually get to meet – face-to-face – their heroes and that was really, really special. I said like two-hundred words in 30 seconds just like ‘blah blah blah blah blah’ everything I’ve ever wanted to say to him. He signed my guitar, and he was so nice. You know, I was honestly scared to meet him because meeting your hero is like, ‘Well, what if they’re in a bad mood? And I’m crushed for my lifetime?’ But he was…he was awesome.”

Between concerts, the guys from Rascal Flatts are in the studio, working on an album. Jay DeMarcus has been tweeting about writing with his band-mates and working with producer Dan Huff. The project has no name and no release date, though it's targeted for a spring 2012 release.

Speaking of new releases, Mr. Carrie Underwood, Mike Fisher, is the subject of a new book out. Entitled "Defender of Faith: The Mike Fisher Story," it follows his rise to fame and life of faith, and of course includes discussion of his marriage to Carrie. Author Kim Washburn worked with Mike to get the tone and stories just right in the book that's available now.

If you or your favorite country guy likes serious country style, there's a new store to check out. Gary Allan and his styist, Renee Layher, have partnered to open a wonderland of men's country style in Nashville. "The Label" is on 12th Street in NashVegas and offers custom suits, shirts, leather jackets, jewelry and furniture. The shop opens tomorrow, and Gary says that's not a minute too soon. “I’ve worked with Renee a long time and I’ve always paid her to fly someplace to find my stuff, and it’s hard to find people that do really custom stuff just so that you’re not wearing something that somebody else is wearing, and still feel like it’s a flavor you want. Yeah, I feel like there’s a big hole for that here.” Road trip for a shopping session? On it!!

Rodney Atkins had a great time in East Tennessee last week. He taped a "CMT Origins" special, played for fans at Bristol Motor Speedway, was given the key to his hometown of Harrogate, TN and spent time at the Holston Children's Home, where he lived as a child before he was adopted. “This is such an honor for me,” says Atkins. “I will always be thankful for my upbringing and the opportunities my parents and this town afforded me. I will always remember the creek bed fishing, the long days at the ball park, as well as the hard knocks, but this town keeps a strong hold on my heart and I am honored to be holding the key to this city.”

Have you seen the video to Steve Holy's new song, "Love Don't Run?" It's awesome...like the song...

Tags: Love Don't Run, Steve Holy, Steve Holy Videos

Tracy Lawrence is out of legal hot water. He was charged early this month with disorderly conduct after he and a concert promoter got into it in a muddy backstage area. Tracy wanted his bus towed out of the mire, and the promoter took a swing or few, sending Tracy to the doctor for stitches in his face. According to Tracy's attorney, the charges were dropped because the evidence clearly "showed [Tracy] wasn't the aggressor and that he didn't do anything improper after he was punched.”

Jake Owens' "Barefoot Bluejean Nght" is in stores today.

The tweet of the day is from Jerrod Niemann, who appears to be taking a page from Blake Shelton's tweetbook: "Alright, don't touch my damn cooler unless you are a cooler DJ & know how to mix it up. I need a variety on my liver's dance floor."

Today's Country Tidbits

The Country Music Association has a new award, and Kenny Chesney's keyboard player won it. The CMA Touring Musician Award goes to Wyatt Beard, who's been tickling the black & whites for Kenny for 14 years. The award was given on stage Saturday night at the closing show of the "Goin' Coastal" tour at Gillette Stadium in Massachussetts. According to Wyatt, "This is a once in a lifetime ride that I will never even comprehend for another 20 years or so. I try to enjoy the moment."

This year, the big NFL season kick-off concert secret seems to have leaked. Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5 are said to be the performers at the New Orleans/Green Bay game on September 8th. Also in the very detailed rumor, Kid Rock will be part of the show and Jill Scott singing the National Anthem. The NFL addressed the rumors this way: “When we have something to announce, we will announce it. Until then, this is all speculation with some great acts thrown in the mix.” If you check their tour schedules, not a single one of those acts is booked for anything else on 9/8. Hmmmmmm.....

Country music is generally family-friendly, but some artists take that a step further. Rodney Atkins brings his son Elijah with him on tour, and brings along the Super Mario game to keep him happy. Justin Moore takess his wife Kate and daughter Ella Kole along on tour, and loves the fact that tourmate Rascal Flatts' Gary LeVox likes to play with Ella. According to Justin, “It’s a lot of fun. I mean, those guys are great. Obviously they have kids, and I know Gary was playing with my daughter quite a bit. I think he’s got a soft spot in his heart for little girls. I know he’s got one or two, but yeah, it’s a kid-friendly tour so it’s a lot of fun.” Next summer's tour will be even more kid-friendly, since Ella Kole is about to get a little brother or sister in November.

Some people go all-out for their favorite country stars, but this could be a first - the owner of a corn field in Shelby, NC has sculped his acreage into a Jason Aldean corn maze. The maze will be open Septemer 17th through October 30th, and starting October 7th, it'll be a haunted corn maze. No word on whether Jason himself will be stopping by when he does a show in NC in two weeks.

Oh, yay for Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, and yay for me, too. Their duet, "Remind Me," hit the top of both of the major country music charts - Billboard and Country Aircheck - and that's great for them. As for me, if you'll remember last week I predicted it would be #1 this week, and if not, I'd eat crow. Phew...chicken for dinner tonight, please! It's Brad's 20th #1 song and Carrie's 14th.

Sugarland was on the Ellen DeGeneres show yesterday, performing "Stuck Like Glue."

Did you watch the Brad and Miranda video posted in yesterday's blog? If not, you missed their latest collaboration, so scroll down and check it out. Here's the rest of the story. Brad and Miranda are making an album together - Neal McCoy's album. They're producing it for him, "XII." It won't be out until January of 2012, but the first single, "A-OK," will be out in October.

In case you missed it, Miranda Lambert was on Dateline NBC last night, and in her conversation with Hoda Kotb, said about guns, "If it's legal in your state, I probably have one in my purse."

It was a hit last year, so it's happening again this year. The CMA Country Christmas tv special will tape November 10th at Bridgestone Arena, the day after the CMA Awards. Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland will host the show again this year, and it'll air on ABC during the holidays.

The show Punk'd is coming back this fall, with Justin Bieber as part of the first episode. He punk'd Taylor Swift in LA last week, so she's the season's first victim. No word on what the prank was, and a firm air date for that episode hasn't been announced yet.

Happy birthday to Kitty Wells, who turns 92 today.

Scotty McCreery is on Live with Regis and Kelly today.

The tweet of the day is from Sara Evans: "Sooo excited about football season! All the boys have started! Favorite time of year!"

Today's Country Tidbits

The 8th Annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic raised more than $650,000 to support the construction of the OK Kids Corral for pediatric cancer patients at the Oklahoma University Medical Center Children's Hospital. Top auction items were the private dinner with Toby, which went for $52,000 to the top two bidders and an elk hunt with private jet transportation. Nothing went for less than $7,000 which is a new record for this event. You can still donate, if you'd like.

Sugarland and Little Big Town have teamed up to raise money for tornado relief, using the song "Stand Up" and iTunes as the vehicles. Grab the song and all proceeds go to the American Red Cross.

Rodney Atkins is headlining the free Music City Gives Back benefit concert on June 7th, with the proceeds going to tornado relief through the American Red Cross. How will they make any money with a free concert? Oh, you can help now.

As part of next week's CMA Festival, Country Weekly is hosting their 5th annual Fashion Show and Concert. Rocketown is the location, and participants include Steel Magnolia, Bucky Covington, Ty Herndon, Sarah Darling, Burns & Poe, Joey+Rory and more.

Little Big Town is in the studio, working on a Christmas cd.

Congrats to Brad Paisley, who holds the top spot on the country singles chart with "Old Alabama" again this week.

It was on this day in 1999 that a star was born - or anyway, his career was. Brad Paisley's first album, "Who Needs Pictures," was released on the Arista label.

Lauren Alaina is on Live with Regis and Kelly today.

Happy birthday to Ronnie Dunn, who turns 58 today, to Andy Griffith, who turns 85 and to Pat Boone, who is 77.

The tweet of the day is from Dolly Parton:

"I think that all creative people are a little bit nuts." -Dolly :)

Today's Country Tidbits

The Grammys were good to Lady Antebellum. Not only did they win 5 and perform on the show, they've had a really nice sales bump in the last week and a half. Sales of "Need You Now" have taken them back to #1 on the Billboard Country Album chart, as another 85,000 copies were snatched up since the Grammys. This brings their total sales of their second album to 3.2 million...and counting!

Last year, Carrie Underwood pledged to donate 36 cents from each ticket sold on her "Play On" tour between September and December to "Save the Children." This week, Carrie handed over the loot - $140,125.68. Her song "Change" was the inspiration for the donation.

This week, Tim McGraw treated some service men and women to a good hot meal. He and Outback Steakhouse served lunch Wednesday to 300 service members at the Texas National Guard Armory. It was part of Outback's "Thanks for Giving" campaign, tied in with the "Red, White and Bloomin'" special menu in March, with $1,000,000 to be donated to "Operation Homefront." Tim was involved with this last year, too, and is honored to be helping support our military. In other Tim news, he appeared on CNN's "American Morning" and was asked about running for elective office, something he's mentioned previously. His answer was a resounding "maybe." "That would be something that would be a long way away," he said. "You can't rule anything out. I think this is a great country, and it's given me so many opportunities and given me such a wonderful life that if somewhere down the line I felt that I could give back, I certainly wouldn't say no to it. But it would have to be a while and my kids would have to be grown up because I certainly don't want my closet to be opened up any time soon."

Willie Nelson has teamed up with rapper Snoop Dogg for a track on Dogg's upcoming album, "Doggumentary." The song is "Superman" and it's not the first time the two have collaborated. Here they are, performing the song in Amsterdam in 2008.

Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland likes to cook. Actually, she loves to cook, and is featured in Food & Wine magazine, surrounded by her soup creations.

Toby Keith has teamed up with Shaw-Ross Importers and is rolling out Toby Keith's Wild Shot Mezcal next Thursday in Nashville. True to tradition, there will be a worm in every bottle, which is there to be eaten, not just as a decoration. Ewwwwwww...

Meanwhile, Rodney Atkins has teamed up with Massey Ferguson Tractors to help raise brand awareness there. Let's see...what rhymes with "Massey Ferguson?"

Lee Brice is part of the show with Hazel Smith on "Southern Fried Flicks" on CMT this weekend, and James Wesley performs at the NASCAR Basha Supermarket 200 on ESPN2 tomorrow.

Happy birthday to Ralph Stanley, who is 84 today.

The tweet of the day is from Darius Rucker: "Hey, it's Darius. This is my first official tweet- Just want everyone to know I DOMINATED Paisley's camp at poker tonight... DOMINATED.."

Today's Country Tidbits

Congratulations to Rodney Atkins, Billy Currington and Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry. They've been named to Nashville Lifestyle's list of 2010's Most Beautiful People.

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw decorated a Fender Stratocaster that's being auctioned off to help put music in schools across the country. The Little Kids Rock auction includes a total of 29 Stratocasters, and the auction runs until October 21st.

Darius Rucker is hosting a songwriting contest. He's asking writers to send their best, and the winner gets a mentoring session with Darius.

And Randy Houser is offering up an autographed guitar in his contest.

Also helping out a good cause, Montgomery Gentry has painted their website pink for October. Real men Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry are lending their support for breast cancer awareness month, and a re-designed website will be unveiled on November 1.

Looking for Kenny Chesney's "The Boys of Fall" documentary on DVD? It won't ship until November 9th, but you can pre-order it now.

Jimmy Wayne's book, "Paper Angels," will be released soon. It was in the works before his walk across America, and he signed the book deal during the walk. He's proof-reading it a couple of times before it goes to the printer, and is very excited at the progress of the project.

New music out tomorrow includes Toby Keith's "Bullets in the Gun." He says he's put his heart and soul into this cd: “I just feel rejuvenated as a writer. I’m writing all the time, and instead of just writing fifteen or twenty things, so I have a lot more songs to select from on this album.”

Kenny Chesney is on the Ellen Degeneres show today.

The tweet of the day is from Jack Ingram, who's been staying up reeeeeallly late: "2 sunrises in a row... Good weekend. Good shows. Hung w/Charlie Daniels... Good 2 b home. Good 2 b."

Today's Country Tidbits

Keith Urban is bubbling over with excitement about his upcoming cd, "Get Closer" and the lead-off single, "Put You in a Song." He co-wrote it with Sarah Buxton and Jedd Hughes and hopes it will be his next number one song. “It’s an amazing feeling to, I think, anybody that gets their number one. It’s an incredible feeling. Absolutely. It’s hard to do, you know? It’s very hard.” "Get Closer" drops November 16th.

Wanna see some of what makes Keith Urban a great nominee for Entertainer of the Year? Check out this clip from a show in Allentown, PA over the weekend, where he was giving the audience singing and songwriting lessons.

September 20th in Nashville is the date for the ACM Honors, and Keith Urban is one of the honorees, along with Mel Tillis and Marty Robbins. Among the artists who will appear and pay tribute to the honorees are Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Randy Travis, Marty Stuart and Kenny Rogers. For the first time ever, tickets are available to the public.

What does a big star like Taylor Swift do over Labor Day weekend? She and her little brother Austin were in the stands for the Notre Dame football game. She wanted to sit in the student section, but security concerns sent Taylor, her brother and her friend Selena Gomez down to the sidelines to see the game. And Notre Dame won, so it was a great day in Swift-land.

And as we get closer to the MTV Video Music Awards this year, the Kanye/Taylor controversy from last year keeps coming up. Will the two do something together on stage? Will Kanye serenade Taylor with the song he wrote for her? We'll just have to wait and see, but we don't have to wait long. They air this Sunday night at 9 eastern.

Going to a Miranda Lambert concert? Mind your manners - she had to stop another show because two people got into a fight while she was performing, and she chastised them from the stage. Later she tweeted about the situation, saying “Tonight some idiots got in a fight on the front row at my show. I had to stop and call them out. Funny part…it was during ‘Only Prettier.’” Now that is funny!

There's a "making of Only Prettier" video on Miranda Lambert's website...fun!

Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson helped their friend Dierks Bentley with a song on his "Up On the Ridge" cd. That song, "Bad Angel," is up for a CMA for Musical Event of the Year. Here's the video they made for it.

Dierks Bentley More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Rodney Atkins Cracker Barrel cd is available now. It includes 4 #1 songs and an unreleased track.

If you were looking forward to getting Steel Magnolia's debut cd on the 21st of this month, I have sad news for you - the release has been pushed back to January 11, 2011.

Pick up a copy of American Songwriter magazine if you're a Zac Brown Band fan - they're on the cover and featured in a 6-page story.

The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "For sale: 1976 bladder, needs some work, tends to leak late at night. Will trade for liver or better hearing..."

Today's Country Tidbits

Legendary Nashville songwriter Hank Cochran passed away yesterday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. His prolific songwriting career spawned scores of number one songs for most of country music's top stars over the last several decades. His hits included "I Fall to Pieces," "She's Got You," "Make the World Go Away," "Oceanfront Property" and "The Chair." He's also the person who discovered Willie Nelson and helped him become a country music star. Hank Cochran was 74.

Taylor Swift has been in the studios, working on her next cd, but she's taking time out this coming Tuesday for a live webcast discussion with her fans. It'll be on Taylorswift.com, MySpace, Facebook and Ustream, with links to send in questions from each platform. Taylor says, "I've gotten so many questions from fans ... I want them to be the first to know about my new music, and I can't wait to talk to everybody as directly as I can!"

Congrats to Little Big Town, whose 4th annual Ride for the Cure raised over $50,000 last weekend. It's a benefit for the cancer research programs at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville.

Darius Rucker is a big golf fan, and also pals with some of the top golfers, who play in his charity golf tournament just after the Masters each year. Now, he's lending his writing ability and voice to golfer John Daley's digital country album, "I Only Know One Way." Darius co-wrote and sings on the title track of the cd, which is available for download.

The auction of the late Roy Rogers memorabilia happened yesterday, and two of his modes of transportation raked in over half a million bucks. Trigger, his stuffed Palomino, sold for $266,500 to RFD-TV owner Patrick Gottsch, and his silver-dollar-encrusted 1964 Bonneville convertible sold for $254,500. Bidders were in a buying mood, with most items going for well over their auction estimate. The auction continues today, in case you want a part of the collection.

The Rascal Flatts tour stopped off in Lake Tahoe, Nevada last night, and opening act Chris Young spent the night at the casino. In the pre-dawn hours, he proclaimed via Twitter that he was up big at the casino, and was done gambling. Nice night...play a gig and make some dough, then hit the casinos and make some more!

The Rowdy Friends Tour decided to stay rowdy for a while longer. Hank Williams Jr. and tour-mates Gretchen Wilson, Jamey Johnson, Josh Thompson, Lee Brice, Eric Church, Colt Ford, Sunny Sweeney and the Grascals will hit cities across America from September 17th through October 23rd.

Could it be that more people are willing to try out for American Idol now that Simon won't be part of it? People lined up by the thousands in Nashville's heat yesterday, vying for a chance to audition for the show. Tenneseean.com has a photo gallery of the fun.

When you watch the video for Rodney Atkins' new song, "Farmer's Daughter," pay attention to the woman playing the farmer's daughter. That's Rodney's real-life wife, Tammy Jo, playing the part.

Don't forget to pick up a copy of People magazine today for all the Carrie Underwood wedding details and photos.

Want to re-live Jimmy Buffet's "Live From the Gulf Coast" concert? CMT will re-air it Saturday night.

The tweet of the day is from Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts: "They call it golf because all other four-letter curse words were taken..."

Happy birthday to Craig Morgan, who turns 46 today.

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.