Big Country Notes for APR 5

TIM McGRAW HITS TOP OF CHARTS WITH NEW ALBUM “LET IT GO”

Tim McGraw really let it go this week – the singer debuted at number one at the top of the “Billboard” 200 all-genre chart with his new album “Let It Go.” Tim’s album scanned 325-thousand copies, giving him his fourth number-one on this chart and his ninth chart topper on “Billboard’s” country chart. The disc has 13 tracks, including his hit single “Last Dollar” and a couple duets with wife Faith Hill. McGraw says he’s very proud of the new project and the fact that his band once again played on it.
In other country activity on the album charts, Alabama’s “Songs of Inspiration II” bowed at number 33 on the “Billboard” 200 and Jack Ingram’s “This is It” came in at number 34. Alabama debuted on the “Billboard” country charts at number three while Ingram came in at number four. It’s his highest debut on the country charts.

KEITH URBAN SAYS MUSIC HAS BEEN HIS THERAPY THROUGH LIFE

Keith Urban says music has helped him through the toughest points in his life. He says, quote, “In so many ways it’s been an outlet for me in a cathartic way to get things out that otherwise would have continued to wear me down. It’s like the therapists couch.” Urban says he’s been fortunate that music has always been a part of his life. Keith says one fortunate incident in his life happened when a woman came into his parents general store and asked what it would cost to put an ad in the window for music lessons. Urban says, quote, “My parents told her if she could each me to play she could put the ad in the window for free.” The triple-threat performer – singer, songwriter and musician – says it’s one thing to have an instrument but another to learn to play it. Earlier this week, Urban told a group of students at the W.O. Smith Music School in Nashville, quote, “When I was a kid everyone else was out at the oval playing cricket. I was the kid in the music room playing guitar.” He adds, quote, “Music has saved my life. It’s been a guiding force, it’s kept me going.”
Urban says he’s been involved in the W.O. Smith Music School for several years. He says he sought out a program that gives children the opportunity to learn music and follow their dreams. Keith was the celebrity speaker at a groundbreaking for the school’s new location in Nashville on Tuesday. The facility will open in Spring of 2008.

BIG & RICH DESIGN NEW PEPSI COLA CAN

John Rich and Kenny Alphin of Big & Rich have an additional job description. The two men have created a unique design for the new Pepsi Cola can. The duo says, quote, "When Pepsi presented this opportunity to us, we thought it would be a great way to share our love of music with everyone while they're enjoying a Pepsi." The design will be on grocery shelves and other stores in the next few months. The duo adds, quote, "Our very own Pepsi can will be seen around the country and turned up high by millions in the coming months.” They join the pop band All-American Rejects and rapper/producer Pharrell Williams as celebrity designers for Pepsi’s new look. The three newly designed cans will feature a website address that will take fans to exclusive footage of the artists and information about their new projects. These designs are a part of Pepsi's global brand restyle. In its 109-year existence, Pepsi-Cola's look has changed just ten times, but this year alone, it will change more than 35 times.
In addition to his designing talents, John has been in the studio with Jewel producing her first country album. He told “The Tennessean,” quote, “"Her lyrics are unbelievably brilliant. She is more of a country singer than she is a pop singer.” He adds, quote, “She has all the breaks in her voice like Tammy Wynette; she has the emotion of Patsy Cline. I didn't even realize how great she was until we got in there." Rich also wore his producer’s hat when he went in the studio with Cowboy Troy to co-produce his June release, “Black in the Saddle.” John sings on the project, as does this year’s “Nashville Star” winner Angela Hacker and rock group Avenged Sevenfold.

BILLY RAY CYRUS A FAMILY MAN DESPITE NEW CELEBRITY

Billy Ray Cyrus plays a single father on his daughter Miley’s sitcom “Hannah Montana,” but in real life he and his wife Leticia have a combined family of six children. Cyrus told “Family Circle” in its April issue, quote, “Some of my favorite things to do are just hang out with the kids at home.” He says he loves to cook hamburgers on the grill and, quote, “try not to burn them to bad. I’m not a gourmet chef – I just try not to burn them too bad.” Cyrus told the magazine the last time he and Leticia had a date they went to a movie but left in the middle of it. He says, “We came home and played Ping-Pong and shot pool with the kids for hours, which was much more entertaining.” Billy Ray has been pretty entertaining himself recently on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Of his experience he says, quote, “It’s one of the most painful things I’ve ever been through. This is the sorest my body has ever been.” He adds, quote, “All this dancing has left me with an achy breaky butt.” Cyrus and his partner Karina Smirnoff will dance the paso doble to the southern rock hit “Black Betty” on next week’s show.

BILLY JOE SHAVER TURNS SELF INTO TEXAS AUTHORITIES, OUT ON BOND

Billy Joe Shaver is out on bond after surrendering to police Tuesday. The singer/songwriter was wanted on a charge of assault and on a weapons charge. Shaver shot a man in the face Saturday night at Papa Joe’s Texas Saloon in Lorena, TX, near Waco. He says the man followed him outside the club and had a knife and the shooting was in self-defense. Shaver posted a 50-thousand dollar bail after turning himself into the McLennan County jail in Waco. Shaver has had many of his songs cut by country singers, among them John Anderson’s hit “I’m Just an old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be a Diamond Someday).” The singer just released his first “Greatest Hits” album this week.

JUDGE REQUIRES DOUG SUPERNAW TO UNDERGO PSYCHIATRIC TESTING

Doug Supernaw told a Texas judge Tuesday that he was the subject of police conspiracy. Starpulse.com reports that the Brazos County Court judge in Bryan ordered the singer to report for psychiatric evaluation after he made the statement in a pretrial hearing. Supernaw was in court on a misdemeanor charge of evading arrest after a 2004 confrontation with a police officer. The singer explained to the judge that the conspiracy had kept him from having a career in music and also from a career in baseball. Supernaw has faced numerous drug-related arrests in the past few years. He is best known for his 1990’s hits “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” and “Reno.”

QUICK BITES

Gretchen Wilson’s 10-city coast-to-coast “Back to the Bars” tour raised over one-and-a-half million dollars for charity. Of the tour Gretchen says, quote, “My musical roots are in clubs and bars. We’ve done all these huge arenas and stadiums over the past three years – which has been amazing, but there’s nothing like playing for people standing just a few feet away.” She adds, quote, “It was really rewarding to be able to go back to these cities and these radio stations who supported us from the very beginning and give something back.”

Sugarland says their favorite place to visit in Nashville sells popsicles. Jennifer Nettles explains, quote, "Las Paletas. It's a popsicle shop with gourmet kinds, and fruit kinds and ice cream kinds and crazy flavors like wasabi and tamarind and all sorts of fun different flavors." Says Kristian Bush, quote, "You forget how much fun it is to just sit down and eat a popsicle. If that's not Sugarland, what is?"

Tiffany Fallon, wife of Rascal Flatts group member Joe Don Rooney, will co-host ""IFL Battleground." The show airs on MyNetwork Monday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern. Her co-host will be martial arts guru Bas Rutten.

Several artists will perform for the Rock Your Style concert series at different motor speedways this year. Julie Roberts visits Phoenix International Raceway April 21st; Joe Nichols, Talladega, April 29th; Shooter Jennings, Michigan, June 1st and the Daytona International Speedway on July 7th; and Uncle Kracker, Richmond International Raceway, September 8th.

The Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center will host Dr. Ralph Stanley’s 80th Birthday Dinner and Fundraiser at the Meadowview Convention Center in Kingsport, TN, tomorrow. Stanley will perform and promises a few surprise guests. All proceeds from this dinner will be used to support the Ralph Stanley Museum & Traditional Mountain Music Center’s operating and programming needs. Stanley duets with Josh Turner on his single “Me and God.”

Laura Bryna performed as the opening act for Emmylou Harris at United Cerebral Palsy of Central Maryland’s Black Tie & Blue Jeans Concert in Boston last weekend.

Emmylou Harris is being honored by the Humane Society of the United States for her work in fostering dogs who would otherwise be put to sleep. The association is encouraging contributions to The Keeta Fund, set up in honor of Emmylou's mixed-breed dog, Keeta. Donations assist the Humane Society's disaster programs for dislocated animals. Donations will be taken through the end of April at www.hsus.org/keetafund.

Trisha Yearwood and Vince Gill will be featured on next month’s cover of “Ladies Home Journal.”

Jack Ingram will co-host “Southern Fried Flicks” with Hazel Smith Sunday. He will perform live on the CBS Saturday Early Show on April 14th. The singer will be the focus of his own AOL Sessions later this month.

Bucky Covington will visit with Lance Smith on the set of CMT's “Top 20 Countdown” today to talk about his debut video "A Different World"

Josh Gracin joins former NFL gridiron great Eddie George and Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson as a judge on CMT's Karaoke-Dokey tomorrow.

Sarah Buxton appears on “Nashville Music & More” Saturday on Nashville’s WSMV-TV to talk about her upcoming album and her experiences as a songwriter.