Big Country Notes for Mar 29

BRAD PAISLEY CHOOSES PERFECT NAME FOR HIS NEW SON—WILLIAM HUCKLEBERRY

When Brad Paisley and his wife Kim were considering names for their new son, the couple knew they wanted to go with William -- for his wife’s side of the family. Brad wanted his middle name to be Warren after his grandfather, but Kim vetoed that. They settled on Huckleberry. Brad says, quote, “We wanted something that signified adventure and sorta free thinking and all those things. It seems like Huckleberry Finn was exactly that.” Huckleberry is special to Brad – one of his favorite books of all-time is “Huckleberry Finn” and one of his favorite writers is Mark Twain. The singer says they call his son Will, but his band has already started calling him Huck.

STRAIT, JACKSON AND BUFFETT CONCERT IN THE WORKS FOR A LONG TIME

When you try to get three legends together for a concert, it’s not an easy thing to do. George Strait, Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett came together on May 29th, 2004 to record “Live At Texas Stadium” concert. According to Strait, the idea of doing a concert had been in the works for a while, but finally took shape while on a fishing trip. The singer says, quote, “Alan and I were touring together, and we took some time off. He likes to fish and I do too. We met up in the Bahamas on one of those islands and I’ll be danged if Jimmy Buffett wasn’t there.” During the trip, the three singers talked about doing a show -- the results can be found on “Live At Texas Stadium” album, in stores Tuesday.

SHERYL CROW HAS HIGH PRAISE FOR VINCE GILL

Sheryl Crow is a guest vocalist on Vince Gill’s latest single “What You Give Away.” She enjoyed her experience singing with Gill, saying, quote, “There is no one more soulful to sing with, no one more fun to work with and no better musician to play with than Vince Gill. Crows adds, quote, “He’s the best of the best.” Vince – who co-wrote the song – says, quote, “I love the lyric. It’s basically saying that you can’t take all this with you. All you really take is what you give away.” The tune appears on his Platinum disc “These Days.” This isn’t the first time the two have sung together on record. Both provided vocals on Brooks & Dunn’s hit “Building Bridges.”

RODNEY ATKINS CELEBRATES NUMBER ONE SINGLE AND BIRTHDAY LAST NIGHT

Rodney Atkins had a lot to celebrate last night. Broadcast Music Inc. threw a party to celebrate his number one single “Watching You” and his Platinum album “If You’re Going Through Hell.” After multiple presentations and congratulations, BMI also brought out a birthday cake and invited everyone to sing “Happy Birthday” to the surprised singer, whose birthday was yesterday. The president of Atkins’ label, Mike Curb, also gave Rodney a special birthday present. The same International Scout has been in both of the singer’s videos and Curb told Atkins to look out the front glass doors of BMI – there sat the green Scout. Curb had someone track down the owner and bought it for Atkins!

DANIELLE PECK BENEFIT FOR SAFE HAVEN A SUCCESS

A number of stars and several surprise guests helped make “An Evening with Danielle Peck and Friends” an overwhelming success Monday night in Nashville. Danielle’s surprise guests included Jo Dee Messina, Bucky Covington and Deana Carter. They joined previously announced singers Keith Anderson, Blue County, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Julie Roberts for a night of entertainment. The evening was a benefit for Safe Haven Family Shelter – whose mission is to empower homeless families to become independent through social, financial and faith-based guidance. Peck was touched by the turnout saying, quote, “It makes me happy to have so many good friends – all of whom are so talented – to help me bring people out in support of this organization. Fans came from so many different places to be there, in the audience, and to support Safe Haven.

WYNONNA JUDD AND EMMYLOU HARRIS AMONG INDUCTEES INTO MUSIC CITY WALK OF FAME

Wynonna Judd, Emmylou Harris, the Crickets and John Hiatt are among the second class of inductees to the Music City Walk of Fame. The honorees will be recognized with the unveiling of commemorative sidewalk markers. The ceremony will take place April 22nd in the Hall of Fame Park in downtown Nashville. Reba McEntire, Ronnie Milsap and Roy Orbison were among the original inductees.

CATHERINE BRITT EXPERIENCES A “LIFE MOMENT”

Catherine Britt enjoyed a big career highlight this past weekend. While performing a show in San Jose, California, the entire crowd began singing back her current single “What I Did Last Night” to Britt who was overcome with emotion. She even did an encore of the song with the same response. She says, quote, “This was by far one of the Top Ten greatest moments of my life. As a performer you work so hard to get a response from the audience and when you get that kind of response on a song that you wrote…it is an unbelievable feeling.” No doubt she’ll experience another “life moment” when she opens for the Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson tour which kicks off in May. Jake Owen is also on the bill.
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QUICK BITES

Angela Hacker, “Nashville Star” season five winner, will make her debut on the Grand Ole Opry Saturday night. She’s in the studio this week adding her vocals to “Crash ‘N Burn” and “Hick Chick,” two songs from Cowboy Troy’s upcoming disc “Black in the Saddle.”

Rascal Flatts’ video for their current hit “Stand” premieres today on CMT’s “Top 20 Countdown.”

The animated film “Charlotte’s Web” is coming to DVD. The cast includes Reba McEntire --the voice of Betty the cow--Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, John Cleese and more, arrives in stores next Tuesday.

Steve Azar will join Hootie & the Blowfish for their annual “Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf” tournament. The event takes place in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on April 9th.