The biggest names in country made some BIG bucks this past year!  According to the Los Angeles Times, if you combine record and concert ticket sales, Kenny Chesney took in a whopping $96.8 million dollars to finish second behind Usher on their list of the Top 10 U.S. acts of 2004.  With $95.2 million earned, Toby Keith finished third; Tim McGraw raked in $81.7 million to take seventh place; and Shania Twain finished tenth with a mere $70.7 million earned.

A South Bend, Indiana television station reported that Brooks & Dunn’s Ronnie Dunn was in their city on Tuesday to testify in Federal court in an illegal deer hunting case.  According to WSBT-TV, Dunn told the court about hunting trips that he had made to a farm near Peru, Indiana where the illegal hunts were alleged to have taken place.  The farm’s owner, Russ Bellar, is accused of allowing clients to shoot deer that had been drugged. Prosecutors claims that as many as 50 illegal hunts have occurred on the farm and the manager of the property has already pleaded guilty and will testify later this week.

Funny thing about careers … it seems that no matter how big of a year you’ve had, how many goals you’ve hit, people always pressure you to do bigger and better things.  Take Kenny Chesney for instance. What does he have up his sleeve for a bigger and better 2005?  (Cut 1 – “Well, people ask me that a lot, ‘What are you going to do to top this year?’  And they said the same thing after we did 2003.  And I don’t really know what the answer is, we’re just gonna go out and have fun.  And I don’t know if it’s a realistic thing to say, ‘OK, we were number two in ticket sales behind Prince, we’re gonna be #1 next year, that’s how I top it.’   I’m not gonna put that kind of pressure on me, my organization, my band, my managers, you know, my record label. I’m not gonna put that kind of pressure on anybody because to be quite honest with you, we didn’t know we were doing that until somebody printed it.  We knew that a lot of people were coming to see us and we knew that there was a sea of thousands of people out there that were passionate about our music every night that were having fun and feeding off what we were doing, but we didn’t know that we were gonna end up as the number two ticket seller in the world.  You just can’t predict that kind of thing and you shouldn’t set that kind of goal for yourself [laughs]. “

Rolling Stone magazine has ranked Gretchen Wilson’s Here For The Party as one of their Top 50 Records of 2004 in a special year-end issue, writing "her anthem 'Redneck Woman,' with its big 'Hell, yeah!' established her character, and the rest of her debut fulfills its promise and features some amazing singing."  And Entertainment Weekly listed her at #8 in their Top 12 Entertainers of the Year alongside Mel Gibson, Jamie Foxx, Prince and the cast of "Desperate Housewives."

Shania Twain's Greatest Hits remains at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, followed by Toby Keith's Greatest Hits 2, Tim McGraw's Live Like You Were Dying and Gretchen Wilson's Here for the Party.

Brad Paisley has donated to an effort to build a skate park in his home state of West Virginia after receiving a letter from a 15-year-old boy who told him kids have nowhere to skate. Paisley, who enjoys skateboarding from time to time, made the donation to the Wheeling Skate Park Committee in response to a letter from Nathan Mey. Paisley, a Glen Dale, WV native, doesn't want the amount of his donation released, said committee member Kathi Fader. The 20,000-square-feet facility, estimated to cost between $200,000 and $250,000, would be the first free concrete skate park in West Virginia. In addition to this donation, Paisley will hold a benefit concert January 15 in Wheeling to aide victims of September's flooding in the Ohio Valley.

Country hottie Dierks Bentley may have found himself a new girlfriend. Nashville’s newspaper, The Tennessean, reports that he met a Tennessee Titans cheerleader while on hand to perform the National Anthem before the Titans Monday night match-up back on December 12.  Seems that when Dierks made his way up to his stadium suite and mentioned that he had just met a wonderful cheerleader named Stephanie, some of her friends were also in the suite and gladly passed along Stephanie’s phone number. Funny thing, Dierks had just mentioned to X Radio Networks how tough it was to find a date in Nashville – (Cut 2 – “I come off the road just like anybody else, you know, I'm so busy out there and I come off the road and I have two days here in town.  I mean it gets kinda lonely, I mean you're so busy but then you go home at night and say, 'Man, it would be really nice to go out and grab a bite to eat with somebody, go see a movie with somebody.'  But it's really hard to try and maintain any sort of relationships here in Nashville when you're gone all the time, so.")  If you would like to see Dierks’ taste in ladies, you can check out “Stephanie A.” on the Titans website at titansonline.com.

Andy Griggs knew after hearing the demo for “If Heaven” that this was a song that he needed to record for his new CD This I Gotta See.  It reminded him of the people that he had lost in his life and how he hoped to be together with them again someday.  Griggs describes to X Radio Networks the feelings that the song brought out in him – (Cut 3 – “I’ve lost a lot in my life, you know.  All of us have lost; it’s just a matter of how much you have lost.  The closest people in my life were my brother and my dad, and it’s just left me and my momma.  So immediately the first time I heard this song, I reflected on how happy things used to be when my daddy would come in from work and grab all of us and pick us up.  And Mason [his brother] was in the corner playing the guitar. My life and my memories were flawless. You grow up and things change, you know, and you lose people.  All of the sudden your life isn’t flawless anymore, there are problems, there are heartaches, and there’s holes that will never be refilled – man, that’s a part of life.  ‘If Heaven’ is about those holes will be filled some day, you know, and that’s what I long for.”)  The song has also tapped the emotions of listeners across the country as Andy receives letters and emails every day from people telling him just what the song means to them.  “If Heaven” continues to do well on the charts and finds itself just inside the Top 20 this week.

How has Phil Vassar been able to survive the ups and downs of the music business over the years?  “I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer very well,” Phil tells CMA Close Up magazine.  In the early days of his career, Vassar unsuccessfully shopped a demo packed with songs including "I'm Alright," "Carlene," "Bye Bye," "My Next Thirty Years" and "Little Red Rodeo."  "Nobody saw any future in those songs whatsoever," he said. But then after they all were recorded by some of the biggest names in the business, Phil’s phone was ringing!  "People were digging through my catalog like crazy," he said, adding that many early demo tracks went on to be big songs a decade later for Alan Jackson ("Right on the Money"), Tim McGraw ("My Next Thirty Years" and "For a Little While"), Jo Dee Messina ("Bye,Bye" and "I'm Alright"), Collin Raye ("Little Red Rodeo").  After snagging another #1 last month with “In A Real Love,” Phil says his career is working out just as he'd hoped. "I'm a performer first," he said. "I was always the one to get on stage and play.  Songwriting is a very close second,” he admits. Every day he observes situations that seem to be begging to be turned into songs. "The key," Vassar said, "is to come up with something that interests you and is also interesting to somebody else, (something) that makes them feel like 'Dude, you're looking in my window. That's my life.”

Buddy Jewell helped raise over $10,000 with his "A Cure for Cameron" celebrity auction.  When his four-year old son Joshua's best friend, Cameron, was recently diagnosed with leukemia, Buddy decided to hold the auction to help off-set the costly treatments and enlisted the help of his celebrity pals who donated autographed items to help Cameron and his family.   Fans bid on items from Buddy, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, Charlie Daniels and many others.  "I'm overwhelmed at the response by all of the other artists," says Buddy.  "We as artists have been blessed with the rare opportunities to use our 'celebrity' to make a big difference in other people's lives...and I personally believe that is the biggest reason that God has put me in this position."

Eddy Arnold, Jerry Lee Lewis and the original members of the Carter Family (Alvin P. "A.P." Carter, Sara Carter, and Maybelle Carter) are among the list of artists to receive The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award during the 47^th Annual Grammy Awards in February.  Arnold, arguably the most popular country performer in the 20th century, had 28 No. 1 singles and spent more weeks at the top of the charts than any other artist. The Carter Family became one of the most influential groups in country music history and A.P. is widely considered the father of bluegrass. 

Coyote Calhoun Elected To The Country Music Disc Jockey Hall Of Fame. Congratulation Coyote from Now That's Country!    Read More 

Word is Tim McGraw just might cut a video with Nelly for their chart-topping pop single "Over and Over."  While some were surprised to learn that the country superstar was teaming up with the rapper for the track, from Nelly's album Suit, Tim says it really isn't a stretch, telling Billboard.com that he "loved the song" and that he and Nelly are friends.  He explains, "We're kind of the same guy but just come from different places.  When we were working on the song, we had a good feeling about it."  As you may have noticed Thanksgiving Eve, Nelly was kind enough to appear in Tim’s NBC special last week.

Alan Jackson has come a long way from when he and family his family lived in a basement apartment in Nashville.  The Jacksons now live in a spacious home in Music City and own a few others, but according to countrystars.com, Alan says he’d be okay if he had to go back to living modestly with just his wife and daughters.
Alan explains, "Now I could give up all these toys and the house, the big house and all that kind of stuff and live in a small home and be just as happy, more happy sometimes to have some loved ones -- whether they're your children or just whoever -- people that you love that'll take care of ya and share your life with you."

While Shania Twain and Toby Keith didn’t sell as many albums this past week as they did their first week out, but cash registers went ka-ching enough help them maintain their spots on the Billboard Country Albums chart.  It looks like a replica of last week’s chart with Shania Twain’s Greatest Hits at #1, Toby Keith’s Greatest Hits 2 coming in at #2 and George Strait’s 50 Number Ones landing at #3.  Shania’s album has sold over 760,000 copies in just two weeks.

Speaking of Shania, Twain reportedly headed South to Oaxaca, Mexico area to shoot the video for "Don't," one of the new songs on her Greatest Hits album.  Countrynation.com reports the clip was directed by Wayne Isham, the guy behind video projects for artists such as Metallica, Britney Spears, Ricky Martin and Michael Jackson.

It looks like Gretchen Wilson has another hit on her hands as her current single “When I Think About Cheatin’ continues along it’s way up the country charts.  Gretchen, who co-wrote this song with her buddy John Rich, who is one half of the new duo Big & Rich, tells X Radio Networks that like many of her tunes, this one was inspired by a real life situation – (Cut 1 – “The original story was, you know it’s a true story.  A lot of the songs that we write are true stories.  They’re not all my stories and this one in particular isn’t my story and I won’t tell you who’s it is.  But I can tell you that it was something that I definitely related to growing up in a small town and, you know, spending a lot of time in taverns. You see all sorts of things.  You see a lot of things; you learn a lot about life’s lessons at an early age just observing other people.  And this song is just something that I had seen happen a lot of times in bars and in other situations.  You know there’s been a lot of songs written about cheatin’, I haven’t really heard one with a positive outcome and this is a good story, this is what you’re supposed to do when temptation knocks at your door and that’s why I think it’s such a really classic song.”)

Brad Paisley was uncertain at first about including his hit "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)" on his album Part II.  It seems the interest expressed in recording the song by other artists including George Strait, Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson may have helped Brad make up his mind that he needed to cut the song.  Brad tells Country Weekly, "Alan had called and said, 'Hey, are you going to let me have that fishing song?'  I told him, 'Hell, no!'"

Country music fans will have the opportunity early next year to enjoy a Caribbean cruise with four members of the Grand Ole Opry, including Terri Clark!  Joining Terri on board the Grand Ole Opry Caribbean Cruise January 22-29 will be Trace Adkins, Bill Anderson and Little Jimmy Dickens.

Here’s your chance to bid on an autographed script from Reba McEntire’s sitcom Reba on the WB.  This episode, which aired last season is called "The Cat's Meow."  Monies raised will help support the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame.  Log on to CMTAuctions.com for more information.

Jimmy Wayne has finally fulfilled a life-long fantasy. At a recent show in Huntsville, Alabama, he was introduced to pop icons Hall & Oates.  Jimmy tells X Radio Networks about his meet & greet with two of his musical heroes – (Cut 2 – “I always wanted the opportunity to meet them.  I’ve seen them before but never, you know, got the opportunity to sit and talk to them.  I got to go backstage and hooked up with Darryl Hall and John Oates and got their autograph.  I asked them, I said, ‘You know, did you ever get an opportunity to hear that song that I recorded, a song called “Sara Smile” that ya’ll wrote that actually got me a record deal?’  They both kind of laughed and said, ‘Yeah, we heard that.’  And I said, ‘I’m sorry, please don’t hold that against me.’  You know, we laughed about it a little bit.”) Jimmy reports that the show was “absolutely awesome,” adding, “The guys couldn’t have been more gracious to me.”

You've heard Jamie O'Neal singing that 'trying to find the perfect man is like trying to find Atlantis" in her latest single. But have you heard that an American researcher claims that he has, in fact, found the famous lost city? Robert Sarmast, who's been searching for more than two years, says he's certain that the ruins he found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, off the island of Cyprus is the very same city that Plato wrote about in 350 BC -- a beautiful, almost magical place that disappeared underwater one day.  Could it be?  Cyprus's chief government archaeologist is skeptical.  Women 'trying to find the perfect man' are hopeful.  Even though Jamie is happily married now, she tells X Radio Networks she hasn’t forgotten how difficult dating can be – (Cut 3 – “I think the worst thing though is when you go out with someone and it’s your first date and you go out to dinner and you realize about halfway through dinner, ‘How am I gonna get out of this?  [laughs]  What am I going to do here?’ -- especially, I think, you know, one can tell when the other person is into it more than you are.  I mean, one of the worst things I guess is just the driving home thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, is he gonna try to kiss me?  Oh no, what am I gonna do when he moves in?’ – ahhh, you know, all that sort of thing, when he moves in for the kiss!”)      

The December issue of Performing Songwriter includes a feature on country’s dynamic piano man, Phil Vassar, who recently topped the charts with his multi-week #1 smash, “In a Real Love.”  Vassar’s latest CD, Shaken Not Stirred, earned high praise in People magazine, which raved, “Vassar decorates his vocals with his keyboard work in a way that evokes the best singer-pianists, from Nat ‘King’ Cole and Hoagy Carmichael to Ronnie Milsap and Diana Krall.”

Jimmy Buffett enjoyed a #1 pop and country album with his most recent collection, License to Chill, and tomorrow marks the release of Jimmy’s fourth novel, A Salty Piece of Land.  In support of his new book, Jimmy will be making multiple appearances including CNN later today (at 2:45 PM, ET) and an appearance on NBC’s Today show tomorrow morning, where he plans to perform the song that became the book’s title.  Then on Thursday, Buffett stops in for a visit with Live with Regis and Kelly.

Brad Cotter will return from his Thanksgiving Holiday USO Tour with a full schedule, performing dates with Gretchen Wilson, Travis Tritt, Buddy Jewell, and Josh Gracin. In addition to touring throughout the holiday season, Cotter hopes to spend time with family, friends, and loved ones.  “This time of year allows me to reflect on all the blessings He’s given me.  I’ve had such an amazing year, and visiting with the troops has reminded me of the gifts I taken for granted.”  Cotter’s message to fans throughout this busy time: “I want to remind everyone to take time to enjoy what you’ve been given, because we truly are fortunate.”

Sawyer Brown will make an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on December 16 to debut their new single "Mission Temple Fireworks Stand.”  "It's crazy the way people respond to this song," says Miller. "We worked it up for our tour this summer -- just to have something new and fun in the show -- and the people were chanting for it after they'd heard it once.”  Mark continues, “Still, to be able to debut the song on The Tonight Show?  That's just insane, and cool, and amazing.”   

Rebecca Lynn Howard guests on Lorianne Crook’s Celebrity Kitchen, airing on GAC today at 11 AM, ET.

Country Kickers Issue #2991

Shania Twain will make a surprise guest performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show today.  The subject is "Fantasy Wedding Dreams Come True."  In other Shania news, Twain tripped the first brick at "Domino Day 2004" in the Netherlands on Friday -- the beginning of what would be a new world domino toppling record (3,992,397).  As part of the festivities, Shania performed her single "Party For Two" on the Dutch TV show Domino Day.

So, how does Kenny Chesney feel about winning his first ever CMA and AMA awards within a week of each other?  "This has been one amazing week," Chesney allows. "There's a part of me that wonders if I'm gonna wake up… cause it's almost too much to be believed. To win your first CMA Awards and have 'em be Album and Entertainer of the Year -- or to win your first AMA and have it be both fan-voted and across all the genres, well, it just kinda takes your breath away.  And like I've been telling people for two years now: when I take that stage and hear those fans, THAT'S like being named Entertainer of the Year every single night."  Kenny shares that it’s been his busiest year yet – (Cut 1 – “Our tour just kept getting momentum and kept getting steam and the more that happened, the more it just fed my energy and fed me and the guys’ fire, you know, I mean, because any entertainer will tell you that they feed off of the crowd and that’s what we do.  They feed off of us, we feed off them – all of their energy, all our energy and when those two things met, and it was an amazing thing to feel and see, and it made us want to work even harder.”)

Last year when Jimmy Buffett was laying down the tracks for his License To Chill album, he invited Martina McBride to visit his studios in Florida so the two could record their duet “Trip Around the Sun” together.  Unfortunately, Martina was in the middle of her Christmas tour and was unable to take Buffett up on his invitation, so she had to record her track for the single in Nashville.  Martina says she was pleased with the outcome – (Cut 2 – “Well I think it’s a really cool song.  I think it’s a neat way to say, you know, about looking back over the year and not having any regrets and just taking each day as it comes and realizing that there’s pretty much nothing you can do about a lot of it anyway so, rolling with the flow.”)  In other Martina news – look for McBride on the cover of the current issue of Redbook.  Among the subjects that Martina discusses in the cover story:  her favorite date nights, her love of laundry, and her secret longing for twins.

AMA Male Vocalist Toby Keith confesses to CMT.com that he played “complete dumps” in Oklahoma while he was working his way up to stardom, describing the clubs as having “little, old, puke, whiskey-stained carpets. ...Just dumps.”  He recalls, “I think we got $25 a night and some beer, per man. We would play weekends, so we would get like 50 bucks and a six-pack each of cold beer.  You'd just get up there and you'd jam.  We played everything. We played Seger, Creedence, the Eagles, Hank, Merle, Willie, just everything... Just get up there and jam, drink cold beer, and people in the audience would buy you shots once in a while.  No bouncer in the house, just a big ol' full bunch of rednecks.  If a fight broke out, you were just on your own.”  Toby adds that once they went regional, for about three or four years, they traveled 51 weeks a year and played four or five nights a week.

Patty Loveless was happy to have been asked to sing on Alan Jackson’s newest single “Monday Morning Church” and thinks this could be another big song in Jackson’s career – (Cut 3 – “I’ve always wanted sing with him, do something with him.  And he told me that this particular song, when it came to him, that he could hear me, he could hear my voice on this record.  They called me up and asked me and I was just so glad that I was close by to get the opportunity to sing on the record with him because I think it’s a wonderful song.  I think it’s a hit for him.  I really do.  I hope it is.”)  You will find “Monday Morning Church” on Jackson’s latest CD What I Do, in stores now.

Kudos to Sara Evans whose Born to Fly album has been certified Double Platinum.  Sara co-produced the collection, which generated Top 5 hits including the title track, "I Could Not Ask For More," and "I Keep Looking." 

Lonestar remains the top dog for a second week on both the Billboard and Radio & Records Country Albums charts with their hit “Mr. Mom.”  

Terri Clark has been spending a lot of time in front of the cameras lately.  Terri just finished the photo shoot for her next studio album and the video shoot for her single, "The World Needs A Drink."  Check out exclusive photos from both shoots at www.terriclark.com.

On Sunday, November 21, Trace Adkins will perform in front of a sell-out crowd at Homestead-Miami Speedway along with millions watching on national television, as he is set to sing the National Anthem prior to the Ford 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season finale.  "I'm really excited about being at the last NASCAR Nextel Cup Race of the year,” said Adkins, himself a fan of NASCAR Nextel Cup racing.  "The points are down to the wire and it could be anybody's win, so this is going to be one incredibly competitive race!"  Trace is currently enjoying the success of his Greatest Hits Collection that entered the country album charts at #1 and is nearing Platinum status. Adkins will release another new studio album in late March.

Eddie Montgomery will once again be involved in a special Toys For Tots fundraiser in Danville, KY.  Next Saturday afternoon, November 27, Eddie will be hosting a meet and greet with fans, and for a $5 donation plus a toy, they will get to go onboard the tour buses of the stars belonging to Montgomery Gentry, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Britney Spears and more.  We hear some of their stage clothing will be on display as well.  {Thanks to The Moo Crew at WBUL/Lexington, KY for the tip!}

Andy Griggs will be lending his support to the Toys For Tots effort too.  Andy will be on hand Friday in Washington, D.C. to launch the national campaign for the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots annual toy drive.  Andy will perform for the many campaign supporters, including corporate sponsors, U.S. Marines and children, at the kick-off event.  "Celebrities have an obligation to help folks who need a hand, especially kids,” says Griggs, ”so I'm honored to be a spokesman for the toy drive this year."  Also bringing special meaning to his holiday season this year, is Andy’s new music video for "If Heaven," which truly comes from Andy's heart.  The clip, which debuts on CMT this week, features home video footage of his late musical mentors: father, Darrell, and brother, Mason.

On tonight’s new episode of Country Music Across America, Josh Turner returns home to Hannah, South Carolina, where he shows off his childhood bedroom, complete with cowprint couch and matching wallpaper.  "Pretty tacky, but I thought it was cool at the time," says Josh.  Plus, fashion awards are handed out on the CMA red carpet, and Trace Adkins finds himself in hot water. "There's this girl here, with nothing on her back!" -- Trace grins, referring to the revealing dress worn by Trick Pony's Keith Burns' date, Brandi. "Isn't that your pregnant wife behind you?" asks CMAA host, Storme Warren. After a long pause, Trace responds, "Uh, yeah."  Also on the show, Toby Keith reacts to his snub at the CMA's.  Tune in to GAC at 10 PM, ET.

LeAnn Rimes will be among the musical performers spreading holiday cheer during the TNT concert special Christmas in Washington.  The show, which is set to air Dec. 15, will be hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and his wife, Robin.

Jimmy Buffett will give a special New Orleans performance next month, at which he'll read excerpts from his forthcoming novel A Salty Piece Of Land, perform a short set with his "beach band" and take questions from the audience.  The show, scheduled for Dec. 8, will be broadcast to Regal Cinemas nationwide.  At press time, the movie theater chain hadn't announced which of its cinemas would be presenting the show, but the information should surface soon on the company's website.

Check out the January, 2005 issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine that features a full page news article on Brad Paisley’s 5 million party.  It's on stands now!

Mark Chesnutt teamed with a Knoxville radio station and the karaoke cafe last Wednesday night to raise money for the Kodak Montessori Academy in Kodak, TN.  Chesnutt performed an acoustic show that raised more than $5,000 dollars for the school, which was in need of a new sprinkler system for their building.  Without a new installation, the school was in danger of being shut down.  In appreciation, allaboutcountry.com reports that the school presented Chesnutt with a hand painted sign from the children and will dedicate an area of the school in his name.

 


                                          Country Kickers Issue #2991