KUDOS:


To former NASCAR Champion Darrell Waltrip who gave a decorated Iraq war veteran a car after the soldier lost $5500 in an internet scam.
Jay Stobino of Franklin, Tennessee paid the money for a Honda Accord he found on Craigslist, and was left with No money and no car.
John Gallagher, general manager of DW's car dealership recommended the giveaway, and on Tuesday Waltrip presented Stobino with the keys to a 2004 Honda Accord valued at $13,000.
Stobino was wounded in a firefight south of Bagdhad in 2004, and was awarded he Silver Star, the nations 3rd highest military honor.









A couple of weeks ago I posted a screed that ended by begging for the return of Lee Ann Womack.  Well, it worked I guess.
Within the next few days radio stations will have a new Lee Ann Womack song from an album to be released in the fall.
The single is titled "Last Call," and it's a good country song (ne'er-do-well guy calls significant other from a bar-she's  she's heard it all before, and ain't gonna take it no more.  
I think BIG RADIO will give it a chance if only because Womack's been away for so long.

AND,

Randy Owen has a new single and it doesn't sound like a new ALABAMA release.  BIG RADIO will probably give "Like I Never Broke Her Heart" a chance for the same reason they'll play The Lee Ann Womack tune.


I also recommend JEFF BATES latest single "Riverbank."  Not gonna tell you about the song, but here's the hook;  'Wish this was a riverbank instead of a graveyard.'

Bates is on an 'Indie' after losing his major label deal, so we can only hope that BR is paying attention.





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After more than two years of being a guest and featured artist on Country Turnpike  I finally got to meet Leland Martin in person.
He had a meet and greet at the Petro's Truck Stop in Knoxviille, and since it's only a few miles from my home I took advantage of the opportunity, and I'm glad I did.
I already knew that Leland was a fine songwriter and entertainer, and now I know that he is also one of the most friendly and outgoing enterainers I've ever met.  Unlike so many in the music business, he genuinely enjoys meeting people.  No fake interest. None of the darting eyes and distracted demeanor that tells you "I just want to get outta here."
Leland stayed longer than his scheduled time to speak with everyone who wanted to see him.           
Afterwards, he spent extra time with myself, Mike and Mike's fellow Wal-Mart driver and aspiring singer Jodi Lynn Bailey.
I took home a video collection with 6 of his songs, which I watched as soon as my TV warmed up.
One of my favorite songs is "Stone Cold Fingers," and  the video of the song is very good.  But the one that really grabbed me was "Our American Heroes."  While I was familiar with the song because we've played it on the show many times, hearing it is one thing, but watching it being played out on video was very powerful and moving for me.  For the first time, I realized what a great tribute it is to those who have served and died to protect our way of life.  
If you're not familiar with Leland Martin's work, then you've been derelict in your duty to listen to Country Turnpike, Wednesday at 8PM eastern on WHAY 98.3 and online at www.hay98.com 
An equally good choice is to go to www.lelandmartin.com and buy the video, and his new CD "You Pick The Guitar, I'll Drive the Truck."  
It was good to finally get acquainted with Leland, and now I look forward to an opportunity to catch his live show.
And you should too.



DON'T LOOK FOR BRAD PAISLEY'S NEW SINGLE ON HIS LATEST ALBUM.

It isn't there.  Brad has gone back to the previous album "Time Well Wasted"  for his new single, "Waitin' On A Woman."
So don't waste time reading the label on "5th Gear," because you'll need to spend that time looking for the older album.  It shouldn't be too hard to find since it's only a couple of years old.

If you're planning on a weekend trip to Nashville in the next few months, make it the first weekend of the month and you'll have a chance to see a true country music/steel guitar legend perform.
Don Helms, at 90 years old and still pickin', is the only surviving member of Hank Williams' 'Drifting Cowboys'.
He'll be performing the first Sunday of each month at Roberts Western world on Lower Broadway.
Helms' steel guitar work is featured on two of Hank's most popular recordings, "Your Cheatin' Heart," and "Cold, Cold Heart."

Oh, and while you're in the area you can hop over to the Ernest Tubb Record Shop and pick up that Brad Paisley CD.


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The difference between genius and stupidity is that Genius has its limits--Albert Einstien



Checking out at the grocery store recently, I had just a few items.  The lady behind me put her things on the belt close to my stuff, so I picked up one of those 'dividers' and put it between our stuff so they wouldn't get mixed together.  After the girl scanned all of my things, she picked up the 'divider' looked all over it  searching for a bar code.  Not finding one she asked me if I knew how much it cost.  I said, "I've changed my mind, I don't think I'll buy that right now.  She said "OK"
I paid her and left the store leaving her clueless to what had just happened.


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THE SONG


We've all heard it countless times, "it starts with the song."  And the song starts with the songwriter.
Songwriters are those behind-the-scenes people who get little or no recognition, in spite of the essentiality of their work.

Whitey(Sanger D.) Shafer is one of the most successful of the Nashville songwriters you may never have heard  of.
I was reminded of Shafer through a short item on CMT.COM that Shafer has been selected by the Country Music Hall of Fame has to be spotlighted on it's Poets and Prophets songwriting series.
The 73 year old songsmith came to Nashville in the 1950's as a performer, but has been most successful behind the pen rather than the microphone.
Shafer's catalog  includes "That's The Way Love Goes,"  hits for Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Rodriguez and Merle Haggard, "I Never Go Around Mirrors," Frizzell, Keith Whitley and many others.  He also penned the George Strait hits "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross YOu Mind," and "All  My Ex's Live In Texas."
Shafers songs have been recorded by Moe Bandy, Kenny Chesney, John Michael Montgomery, Johnny Russell, Oak Ridge Boys, Connie Smith, Rhonda Vincent and Lee Ann Womack among others.

So, whenever you hear a great song give the artist credit for the performance and songwriter for the song.








                                                            

Regular listeners to Country Turnpike are very (some say painfully) aware that Mike and me are completely biased toward all people and things relating to Waylon Jennings.
Well, here's one more.
A trio of sisters whose parents are Barny and Carter Robertson, former members of Waylon's travelling show, are taking a shot at the music business. 

Becky, Emily and Joanna Robertson are Carter's Chord.  They're on Toby Keith's Showdog Records and released their first single "Young Love" last October.  The song enjoyed moderate success on the Country Charts.  
Their self titled debut album will be available thru download on June 17, and the packaged CD will be released July 1.

I've  listened to samples of the songs and can tell you that it's a mixed bag of styles that showcase their versatility.  
There's some pop country, some bluesy country, a couple of pretty tunes and angry guitars are rarely heard.  Not any traditional country, but  I don't mind that at all.  Waylon wasn't exactly traditional, and he did okay. 
I give big kudos to producers Toby Keith and Barny Robertson for not falling into the trap of overproducing like so many other, even veteran, producers do.  Keith and Robertson have overseen an uncluttered album of songs that put the artist, not the producers out front.
Carter's Chord members wrote 9 of the 10 songs on the album, seperately and together.  The other, "Summer, Early 60's" was written by their mother, Carter Robertson.

You can hear song samples and watch Carter's Chord's videos at www.carterschord.com

And yes, I'll acknowledge my bias and tell you that I like Carter's Chord a lot, and hope they are hugely successful for  a very long time.

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VARIOUS STUFF



One of the things I most respect about the country music industry is that even though the usual suspects took home most of the honors at the recent ACM awards, they still recognized the people who came before. 
Before the national television broadcast Brenda Lee, Oak Ridge Boys the late Conway Twitty and Porter Wagoner recieved the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award.  The award honors individuals who have been at the forefront in the development of the country music genre.  Past reciepents inculde;  Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Tex Ritter, Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams Sr, Dolly Parton, George Jones and Alabama.

.

I read an online story that Keith Urban took his wife, Nicole Kidman to a Cracker Barrel restaurant for lunch recently and she went ballistic and called it low class.  
Reminds me of the saying,  'the pot calling the kettle black.'
As for Urban, I'm not exactly a big fan, but  he does have good taste.  (pun intended)





If you live or have lived in 'coal country', I think you'll like(enjoy is not a good word here) Kathy Mattea's latest album "Coal."
More of a labor of love than a commercial enterprise, Mattea who is a native of West Virgina and grew up in a family of miners gets it right.  My favorites;  "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore," "Coal Tattoo," and "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive."
"Coal" also includes  "Green rolling Hills" and "Dark as a Dungeon."
Dark is an apt description of this album, and considering the conditions miners and their families worked and lived under during most of the 20th century and before it could not be presented any other way.

You can listen to samples from "Coal" at www.kathymattea.com
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Two giants of the Music Industry, Eddy Arnold and Gospel legend Dottie Rambo died recently and the media appropiately gave significant coverage to both, so you may have missed the news that we lost another artist that same week.
Jerry Wallace, a successful pop and country artist from the 1950's to the mid-70's, died Monday May 5 from congestive heart failure at the age of 79.
Jerry Wallace began his career as a pop-music artist and scored hits "Primrose Lane," and "InThe Misty Moonlight," and "Shutters and Boards."
He switched to Country and scored 4 top ten hits between 1965-1974, hitting #1 in 1972 with "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry"  and was also 'CMA Male Vocalist of the Year' for 1972.  
Wallace's other top hits were "Do You Know What It's Like To Be Lonesome" (#2/72) "Don't Give Up On Me" (#3/73) and "My Wife's House" (#9/74).
Jerry Wallace was also an actor who appeared in many television plays and shows, including "Night Gallery" and "Hec Ramsey."

I understand that Eddy Arnold and Dottie Rambo were more successful and influential than Jerry Wallace, but I just wanted to give another great entertainer his due.  

The recent story of Toby Keith and band having a show in Afghanistan interrupted by a mortar attack should remind us of the risk that all entertainers take when they go into combat zones to play for the troops.
As a former 'troop' I have utmost respect for these people, whether or not I'm a fan.  So, I want to salute all the entertainers who risk life, limb and health to bring a little bit of home to those who have volunteered  to serve and protect our country.     

This is by no means a complete list, but the more recent and high profile entertainers who have gone to Afghanistan and the
Persian Gulf:

COUNTRY ARTISTS 

Trace Adkins
Kix Brooks
Charlie Daniels & CDB
Larry Gatlin
Toby Keith
Neal McCoy
Montgomery Gentry
Craig Morgan
Kelly Pickler
Aaron Tippin
Randy Travis
Carrie Underwood
Mark Wills
Leann Womack
Darryle Worley


OTHERS

Ann-Margaret
Wayne Newton
Ted Nugent
Tom Petty & Heartbreakers
Gary Sinise & Lieutenant Dan
Robin Williams

All of the above have been there or have a tour scheduled.  Some have been multiple times.
Thanks and God Bless You  All.


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Taylor Swift is one of the artists featured on the cover of 'Rolling Stone Magazine's "Best of Rock" edition.
Does this mean that 'she ain't country'?



The more I listen to country radio, the better I like Bluegrass.

I've never been a big bluegrass fan, although I do like it in small doses. Those doses are getting bigger all the time.
Country radio, and radio in general, has always been about the latest-greatest, but  the latest is not always the greatest.  Just too much pop and rock-lite for my taste lately. 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a purge, but a little balance would be nice.  But knowing the radio culture as I do, being a former member of that pack, balance is not a part of the plan. 
So, I've been listening to and liking bluegrass a lot more lately.   
If you'd like to join me, here's a link to a site that features several internet radio stations. 
Or you can listen to WHAY 98.3  for some good programs, which include Bluegrass and More Revue with Larry Davis and Gospel Bluegrass with Miss Violet.
Of course, there's also Americana, Classic Country on Hap's Place, and Country Turnpike.
The days and times for these shows are yours for the clicking at www.hay98.com.

I didn't intend for this to be a promo, but I'm not sorry that it is.
Maybe these choices will see us through until the day some courageous BIG RADIO program director  starts a trend by working to please all country music fans.


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