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Women Rule Country's Biggest Night
Females scored wins for Entertainer, Single, Song, Horizon, Video and Group of the Year, leaving behind only Album and Duo for the men. Shania Twain's win as Entertainer of the Year marked not only her first CMA Award ever, but also the first time a woman received the CMA's top honor since Reba McEntire captured the trophy 13 years ago. And in a sweet twist of fate, it was Reba herself who presented the trophy to her. "Reba presenting the award meant more to me than the award itself," said Shania backstage. "I've had an exciting year and a half. This is the icing and the cherry on the cake." Shania also walked away with the CMA International Artist Achievement Award, given to
recognize her record-breaking worldwide success.
SHeDAISY's debut album release, The Whole SHeBANG, was certified gold Tuesday (Nov. 16), signifying sales of 500,000 albums. "SHeZAMM!" says Lyric Street Records President Randy Goodman. "Seriously, achieving this level of sales success within the current climate is nothing short of extraordinary."
SHeDAISY's first single, "Little Goodbyes," climbed to No. 3 and their current single, "This Woman Needs," is in the in the Top 30 and climbing.
The Osborn sisters were by no means at a loss for words. Kristyn: "We're thrilled that after so many years our music has finally found it's niche." Kelsi: "We can't believe that over half a million people decided to listen." Kassidy: "And they weren't even all our relatives."
A busy year sends Pam Tillis around the world
"I'm not good at conforming," shrugs Pam, curled up in a chair at her Nashville record label. Pam asked her ex-husband, songwriter Bob DiPiero, to produce her new single, "After a Kiss." The song is on the soundtrack of a new movie called Happy, Texas. "Oh, there was a clause in the divorce that I had to do some records with him," deadpans Pam
about working with ex-husband DiPiero, to whom she'd been married for seven years until
divorcing in 1998. Then she breaks into a smile. "No, he's great.
But now John feels Wildest Dreams, his new album on the Lyric Street Records label, is his best work yet. "I love it. I think it's the most 'me' record I've ever done. I think I'll call it . . . 'Mini-Me,' " he says,
slipping in a reference to the summer's hit movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. "I
think it's a remarkable record. I'm thrilled with how it sounds. My producer, Mark Spiro, really
raised the bar when it came to song selection. Wildest Dreams is very uplifting, fun and positive."
Honky-Tonk Heaven -- Alan Jackson rediscovers some pure-country treasures
But not Alan Jackson. The superstar recently returned to his barroom past to pick out the songs for his new album, Under the Influence -- and in doing so, he serves up a slice of pure honky-tonk heaven. "What I tried to do was to get songs that really did it for me," he explains. "I wanted to make an album that honored the artists and songwriters I loved the best. "I've wanted to do an album like this ever since I started making records. It would have been easy
to put the obvious songs, the monster hits, on this record. But I wanted to record the ones that
mean something to me personally -- songs that I liked or heard on a record that I have sung in my
career before I was making records."
Get ready to guffaw! The new movie Happy, Texas is a laugh-out-loud romp -- and its Arista soundtrack fits the hilarious modern-day Western comedy like a custom pair of boots. Your first tip-off that the film isn't your ordinary flick should be that one of the lead characters is named Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr. If that doesn't do it for you, there's the convoluted storyline about some escaped prisoners mistaken for gay beauty- pageant directors, who are keeping a suspicious eye on the local bank. The soundtrack isn't ordinary, either, with 16 songs as freewheeling as a wooden roller coaster. The artists showcased include Pam Tillis, Lee Roy Parnell, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Robert Earl Keen, BR5-49, Randy Scruggs, Kim Richey and newcomers Brad Paisley and Shannon Brown. Pam's gem, "After a Kiss," is also her latest single.
BR5-49's bus paused recently on its tour route so upright-bass player Jay McDowell, who'd just rolled out of his bunk, could dash into Walgreens to buy some cigarettes. Bandmate Gary Bennett dared Jay to shop just the way he was dressed -- in his boxer shorts and T-shirt. "I offered to buy the cigarettes for him if he'd do it," says Gary. "And he did it!"
Faith Hill was doing an interview for TV Guide at a Nashville hotel. Her cell phone rang. It was Gracie, her 2-year-old daughter. "Yes, baby, I know daddy [who is, of course, Tim McGraw] has a guitar," Faith says patiently. "You want a watermelon? Baby, mommy's doing an interview and then she's coming home, OK?" Gracie's call illustrates something Faith and Tim truly believe: parenting, first -- stardom, second.
When newcomer Jessica Andrews wrapped up her opening slot on Faith Hill's This Kiss Tour, she made a mess of things -- and had a blast doing it. A cake was delivered to Faith's dressing room but ended up all over the band, crew, Jessica and Faith. "It was the biggest, messiest cake fight I have ever seen," declares the talented teen. "Faith had cake all over her stage clothes and face. Then her guitar player poured orange juice on her, too! I don't know if I would have done that if I were him -- but I have pictures!" Oh, yeah, Jessica? Let's see 'em!
So what does Garth Brooks' family think about him sharing his mind, body and soul with his rockin' alter-ego Chris Gaines? Asked recently, Garth looked at a poster of himself as the pouting, sensual rock star. "My wife keeps asking me," he said, "if I'm going to come home looking like that."
OK, listen up -- Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks gives the inside story on the hot trio's eye-popping onstage outfits. "We always feel like musicians, but we also feel like performers. Being onstage performing is a favorite part of what we do. The flashy and sparkly outfits give us the look we're happy with. And they add an exciting visual element to our show, instead of us standing there wearing jeans, boots, T-shirts and cowboy hats. We have so much fun dressing up for our shows that Halloween is boring, fashion-wise, for us," she says with a laugh.
If you're heading to Music City this month, you gotta catch the divine musical comedy Smoke on the Mountain at the historic Ryman Auditorium. The blend of good-natured yuks, Bible verses and bluegrass gospel is enchanting. You'll walk away with soaring spirits. The show, highlighted by perfect casting, runs through Oct. 31. Call (615) 889-3060 for tickets.
"The performance part was real easy, but the acting part was a little nerve-racking," admits Gary Allan, in discussing his role as '50s rocker Eddie Cochran in the CBS mini-series Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story. "I think I did well, though," he says with a chuckle, "but that's something you can't judge until you see it on television." Get your Gary Allan scorecards out for the show's premiere, Nov. 7 and 10.
Mark Wills, who's scored hits with tearjerkers "Wish You Were Here" and "Don't Laugh at Me," declares he doesn't purposely choose sad songs. "People have been asking me about my songs saying, 'They're so sad,' " confides Mark. "I counter that George Jones' 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' -- probably one of radio's most requested songs -- is a sad song. It's about a man who loves somebody so much, he basically takes his love for that person to the grave. To me, that's an honor! I just try to put songs out that touch people like that. I think that's what music is about -- emotion."
Earlier this year, Chad Brock had a smash debut single with "Ordinary Life," about a man who bails on his marriage only to realize he now longs for the joys of "ordinary" wedded life. Well, Chad's now grabbed him some of that married bliss in his real life. He wed Marleda "Marty" Upton in a small chapel near Bowling Green, Ky., at a ceremony attended by family and friends. Congratulations to the new bride and groom!
When Chely Wright's "Single White Female" recently knocked Lonestar's "Amazed" out of the top spot after eight weeks at No. 1, a twist of fate put Chely and Lonestar at the same show. Lonestar's lead singer, Richie McDonald, immediately declared he couldn't be happier for Chely. But as the performers were leaving the gig, Chely's bus got stuck in wet sand. "They didn't see me behind the bus with the water hose," jokes Richie. "But, hey, there's really no hard feelings." |
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Women stood tall at the 33rd annual CMA Awards Sept. 22, taking home most of the evening's
trophies and marking the strongest female showing in CMA history.
Pam Tillis could be the most secure woman in country music. How else could she shift so
comfortably between working with her ex-husband on her new single, performing on Broadway,
then playing in Branson?
John Berry readily admits that his music has come a long way. After all, it had nowhere to go but
up after his first record 20 years ago. "I can't listen to it now," John says. "It's awful. I recorded it in
the basement of my parents' house in a four-track studio. My first three or four albums were all
these really bad songs that I wrote. It was just that acoustic-guitar-player- singer/songwriter kind of
thing."
Most stars who paid their dues in humble, hardscrabble honky-tonks are eager to leave those
days behind.
