The Country Vibe News

George Strait

George Strait will celebrate his 61st birthday tomorrow, and he’s on the verge of celebrating his 60th #1 song of his career, which gives him more #1 songs than any other artist in history, including Elvis and the Beatles.  When George thinks about what he’s done right to get him to this point in his career he says, “I don’t really know exactly how to answer it because I think the most important thing is the songs.  That’s what this business is all about.”  So he gives a lot of the credit to the incredible songwriters who have given him so many of his hits.  And once he has the songs, he says, “We go out and tour we just try to do the best shows we can.  I’ve had great fans.  They’ve been so loyal over the years and I’ll see fans sometimes that have come out during the 80’s and they’re still coming out and that’s pretty special.”

Plenty of other artists cite George as one of their musical heroes, idols, influences, whatever you want to call it and they have incredible respect and admiration for his career so far.

Justin Moore says, “George I’ve seen a number of times and he’s kind of like Elvis Presley.  He don’t move near as much but what I mean by that is he can stand there and do any little thing and nobody takes their eyes off of him.  Whatever ‘it’ is, obviously he has it, to go along with an incredible sense of what songs to cut and write and he sings the snot out of ‘em.  He to me is the prime example of what country music should be.  He’s everything good about country music.”

Eric Church shares one of his favorite memories involving George Strait that perfectly illustrates why he is the King of Country Music.  He says, “My wife and I one night, we’re both huge music fans and George Strait fans, and we sat down one night and we tried to name songs, whether they’ve been number ones or top fives or top tens or our favorite song.  We tried to go back and forth all night long and before we did it we got out a bottle of Jack Daniels and we were going back and forth.  And you know you’ve had a successful career and you’ve made your mark when the Jack ran out long before we’d even covered a third of the songs that had impacted our lives from George.  I think there’s a reason he’s called King George.  I am a fan.  I will always be a fan and I’m indebted to the impact he’s made on my music and on all music.”

Dierks Bentley considers George Strait one of his musical heroes and he says, “I love George Strait as much as anyone else in this town and he still typifies what’s cool about country music.  I think he’s the coolest thing there is as far as country music goes and it’s just good to see that he’s still going strong – still making great records, still cutting great songs.”

Brian of Florida Georgia Line wears his love for George Strait … a lot.  “I’ve got this vintage George Strait shirt and I get yelled at all the time because I wear it just about every other show,” he laughs.  “But I got it off eBay.  I think it’s from the 1991 tour and it’s all just shredded up basically.”  But he loves the shirt because he says, “When I think of George Strait I think of country music and he’s just got that voice.  You know immediately it’s George Strait and it’s kind of always been that way.  He’s a legend for sure.”

Darius Rucker has a lot of favorite George Strait songs, but if he was forced to pick just one ultimate favorite he says, “I guess my favorite is ‘Give It Away.’  I wish I’d written that song.  I wish I’d cut that song.  Some day 15 years from now, 10 years from now, I may cut that song.  It’s the perfect country song and the way he sings it, his delivery, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything countrier than that.”

  George Strait will celebrate his 61st birthday tomorrow, and he’s on the verge of celebrating his 60th #1 song of his career, which gives him more #1 songs than any other artist in history, including Elvis and the Beatles.  When George thinks about what he’s done right to get him to this point in his career he says, “I don’t really know exactly how to answer it because I think the most important thing is the songs.  That’s what this business is all about.”  So he gives a lot of the credit to the incredible songwriters who have given him so many of his hits.  And once he has the songs, he says, “We go out and tour we just try to do the best shows we can.  I’ve had great fans.  They’ve been so loyal over the years and I’ll see fans sometimes that have come out during the 80’s and they’re still coming out and that’s pretty special.”   Plenty of other artists cite George as one of their musical heroes, idols, influences, whatever you want to call it and they have incredible respect and admiration for his career so far.   Justin Moore says, “George I’ve seen a number of times and he’s kind of like Elvis Presley.  He don’t move near as much but what I mean by that is he can stand there and do any little thing and nobody takes their eyes off of him.  Whatever ‘it’ is, obviously he has it, to go along with an incredible sense of what songs to cut and write and he sings the snot out of ‘em.  He to me is the prime example of what country music should be.  He’s everything good about country music.”   Eric Church shares one of his favorite memories involving George Strait that perfectly illustrates why he is the King of Country Music.  He says, “My wife and I one night, we’re both huge music fans and George Strait fans, and we sat down one night and we tried to name songs, whether they’ve been number ones or top fives or top tens or our favorite song.  We tried to go back and forth all night long and before we did it we got out a bottle of Jack Daniels and we were going back and forth.  And you know you’ve had a successful career and you’ve made your mark when the Jack ran out long before we’d even covered a third of the songs that had impacted our lives from George.  I think there’s a reason he’s called King George.  I am a fan.  I will always be a fan and I’m indebted to the impact he’s made on my music and on all music.”   Dierks Bentley considers George Strait one of his musical heroes and he says, “I love George Strait as much as anyone else in this town and he still typifies what’s cool about country music.  I think he’s the coolest thing there is as far as country music goes and it’s just good to see that he’s still going strong – still making great records, still cutting great songs.”   Brian of Florida Georgia Line wears his love for George Strait … a lot.  “I’ve got this vintage George Strait shirt and I get yelled at all the time because I wear it just about every other show,” he laughs.  “But I got it off eBay.  I think it’s from the 1991 tour and it’s all just shredded up basically.”  But he loves the shirt because he says, “When I think of George Strait I think of country music and he’s just got that voice.  You know immediately it’s George Strait and it’s kind of always been that way.  He’s a legend for sure.”   Darius Rucker has a lot of favorite George Strait songs, but if he was forced to pick just one ultimate favorite he says, “I guess my favorite is ‘Give It Away.’  I wish I’d written that song.  I wish I’d cut that song.  Some day 15 years from now, 10 years from now, I may cut that song.  It’s the perfect country song and the way he sings it, his delivery, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything countrier than that.”

Trace Adkins

Trace Adkins will find out if he can beat out Penn Jillette for the title of All-Star Celebrity Apprentice when the finale airs Sunday night on NBC.  This is the second season that Trace has made it to the finals.  The first time he was runner-up to Piers Morgan, and he says the only real difference this time around is that he knew what he was getting into.  On his first season he says, “I just kind of felt my way through the first few weeks that I was there.  This time I knew that was not going to be an option because everybody that was there had played the game before.  So I walked in day one and said, ‘I’m in charge and I’m going to be the project manager on the first task and I’m the man and y’all are all gonna have to beat me.’”  Trace says he was also brutally honest on the first day with his fellow contestants.   Someone was complaining about something and Trace told everybody, “Okay, let’s just get this out of the way right now.  If any of our careers were going great, none of us would be here.  So I don’t want to hear any of this divanashvi, prima donna bull*** from any of y’all.  I ain’t gonna put up with it for one second.  If I’d have had a hit last year, I wouldn’t be here.”

Going into Celebrity Apprentice All-Stars Trace predicted the outcome would be just as it is, with him competing against Penn Jillette for the title.  “I know Penn.  I’ve been around him, I’ve been to his show, been backstage and hung out with him, I’ve watched him on television,” says Trace.  “I’ve been familiar with him over the years, and from day one I figured if I was gonna win this thing, I’d have to go through him, and that’s the way it turned out.”

The finale of Celebrity Apprentice All-Stars will air Sunday night at 9pm ET/8pm CT on NBC.

Trace Adkins will find out if he can beat out Penn Jillette for the title of All-Star Celebrity Apprentice when the finale airs Sunday night on NBC.  This is the second season that Trace has made it to the finals.  The first time he was runner-up to Piers Morgan, and he says the only real difference this time around is that he knew what he was getting into.  On his first season he says, “I just kind of felt my way through the first few weeks that I was there.  This time I knew that was not going to be an option because everybody that was there had played the game before.  So I walked in day one and said, ‘I’m in charge and I’m going to be the project manager on the first task and I’m the man and y’all are all gonna have to beat me.’”  Trace says he was also brutally honest on the first day with his fellow contestants.   Someone was complaining about something and Trace told everybody, “Okay, let’s just get this out of the way right now.  If any of our careers were going great, none of us would be here.  So I don’t want to hear any of this divanashvi, prima donna bull*** from any of y’all.  I ain’t gonna put up with it for one second.  If I’d have had a hit last year, I wouldn’t be here.”   Going into Celebrity Apprentice All-Stars Trace predicted the outcome would be just as it is, with him competing against Penn Jillette for the title.  “I know Penn.  I’ve been around him, I’ve been to his show, been backstage and hung out with him, I’ve watched him on television,” says Trace.  “I’ve been familiar with him over the years, and from day one I figured if I was gonna win this thing, I’d have to go through him, and that’s the way it turned out.”   The finale of Celebrity Apprentice All-Stars will air Sunday night at 9pm ET/8pm CT on NBC.

Florida Georgia Line, David Nail, Scotty McCreery, Brett Eldredge, Greg Bates, Lauren Alaina, Phil Vassar and Craig Campbell are among the artists who will be participating in this year’s City of Hope’s 23rd annual Celebrity Softball Challenge, which will happen June 8th, the Saturday of CMA Music Festival.  The annual softball game is often full of fun and mischief, all in the name of raising money for City of Hope, a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.  Tickets for the game are available now through Ticketmaster.

For more information about the 23rd annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge visit cityofhope.org/softball.

Florida Georgia Line, David Nail, Scotty McCreery, Brett Eldredge, Greg Bates, Lauren Alaina, Phil Vassar and Craig Campbell are among the artists who will be participating in this year’s City of Hope’s 23rd annual Celebrity Softball Challenge, which will happen June 8th, the Saturday of CMA Music Festival.  The annual softball game is often full of fun and mischief, all in the name of raising money for City of Hope, a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.  Tickets for the game are available now through Ticketmaster.   For more information about the 23rd annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge visit cityofhope.org/softball.

George Strait has one date left on the first leg of his farewell “The Cowboy Rides Away Tour,” on June 1st at San Antonio’s Alamodome, and he hints there could be some big things in store for the second leg, which will kick off in 2014.  He recently told Country Countdown USA, “We’ve got some surprises up our sleeve, so next year’s gonna be fun.”  One of those surprises could be Kenny Chesney.  George teased, “Kenny and I have been friends for a long time, we worked together in the stadium days, and other times too. Don’t be surprised if you see him out next year with us somewhere. We’ve got some big plans.”

George and Kenny recorded the duet “Shiftwork” together back in 2007, and Kenny opened for George 13 years ago as part of the George Strait Country Music Festival, so it would not be a surprise at all if Kenny wanted to be part of the George’s final performances.  You can get more details about The Cowboy Rides Away Tour on GeorgeStrait.com.

George Strait has one date left on the first leg of his farewell “The Cowboy Rides Away Tour,” on June 1st at San Antonio’s Alamodome, and he hints there could be some big things in store for the second leg, which will kick off in 2014.  He recently told Country Countdown USA, “We’ve got some surprises up our sleeve, so next year’s gonna be fun.”  One of those surprises could be Kenny Chesney.  George teased, “Kenny and I have been friends for a long time, we worked together in the stadium days, and other times too. Don’t be surprised if you see him out next year with us somewhere. We’ve got some big plans.”   George and Kenny recorded the duet “Shiftwork” together back in 2007, and Kenny opened for George 13 years ago as part of the George Strait Country Music Festival, so it would not be a surprise at all if Kenny wanted to be part of the George’s final performances.  You can get more details about The Cowboy Rides Away Tour on GeorgeStrait.com.

A lot of artists who are single will tell you there’s no time for love because their time is consumed by their career, but Hunter Hayes is not one of those artists.  He tells The Country Vibe, “Talk about time, I don’t know, there’s always time for that.  There’s always time for a good relationship that’s working.”  For him, it’s a matter of finding the right person.  “I’m searching for that, trying to figure out what that means, trying to figure out what I can contribute,” he says.  “I don’t want to waste anybody’s time and I don’t want to get into a relationship and be just a pain… I want to contribute to a relationship as much as anyone else does, if not more.  And I want it to be mutual and I want it to work.”

Hunter’s first three singles – “Wanted,” “Somebody’s Heartbreak” and “I Want Crazy” have all been about love.  “I’m sort of searching, I’m sort of trying to figure things out.  And to be totally honest, I haven’t figured out a thing yet,” he laughs.  “But I’m still searching and these songs are sort of my way of trying to figure that out.  That’s my way of saying, this is what’s up.”

Meanwhile, Hunter says it’s the search for love that continues to inspire him musically.  More of that inspiration will likely show up on his forthcoming album, Encore, which is a deluxe edition of his debut CD, featuring eight new songs, including duets with pop star Jason Mraz and Pistol Annie‘s Ashley Monroe.  Encore is available now for pre-order here and will be released on June 18th.

A lot of artists who are single will tell you there’s no time for love because their time is consumed by their career, but Hunter Hayes is not one of those artists.  He tells The Country Vibe, “Talk about time, I don’t know, there’s always time for that.  There’s always time for a good relationship that’s working.”  For him, it’s a matter of finding the right person.  “I’m searching for that, trying to figure out what that means, trying to figure out what I can contribute,” he says.  “I don’t want to waste anybody’s time and I don’t want to get into a relationship and be just a pain… I want to contribute to a relationship as much as anyone else does, if not more.  And I want it to be mutual and I want it to work.”   Hunter’s first three singles – “Wanted,” “Somebody’s Heartbreak” and “I Want Crazy” have all been about love.  “I’m sort of searching, I’m sort of trying to figure things out.  And to be totally honest, I haven’t figured out a thing yet,” he laughs.  “But I’m still searching and these songs are sort of my way of trying to figure that out.  That’s my way of saying, this is what’s up.”   Meanwhile, Hunter says it’s the search for love that continues to inspire him musically.  More of that inspiration will likely show up on his forthcoming album, Encore, which is a deluxe edition of his debut CD, featuring eight new songs, including duets with pop star Jason Mraz and Pistol Annie‘s Ashley Monroe.  Encore is available now for pre-order here and will be released on June 18th.

Florida Georgia Line, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and Shania Twain all be presenters on this Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards.  They’ll join performers Taylor Swift, The Band Perry and Kacey Musgraves, in representing country music on the show that will air live from Las Vegas at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC.

Florida Georgia Line, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and Shania Twain all be presenters on this Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards.  They’ll join performers Taylor Swift, The Band Perry and Kacey Musgraves, in representing country music on the show that will air live from Las Vegas at 8pm ET/7pm CT on ABC.

Carrie Underwood confesses in the new issue of Marie Claire, “I’m not a mushy person at all.”  She’d rather see a horror flick than a chick flick and she says growing up, “We were never a huggy family or a ‘let’s talk it out’ family.”  She has two sisters, but because they are 10 and 13 years older than her (Carrie readily admits that she was “an accident”) she says, “I have the only-child syndrome going on.  I’m a little more selfish, a little more independent, a little closed.”  She does wish she were softer and able to form relationships better, but she laughs and says, “I’m not a sociopath.”

Besides not really being a people person, according to her mom, Carrie is also a pretty un-phased person when it comes to her celebrity and success.  For instance, her family has a storage unit where they keep some of her career memorabilia and stage clothes but Carrie says, “Maybe my kids will have fun playing dress up in the clothes.  But I can’t see saving the stuff for a museum, some giant monument to my awesomeness. That’s Dolly. That’s Loretta. Not me.”

Some might say she comes by her humility honestly.  Despite all of her success which affords her just about any luxury she might want, her parents still live in the same modest house where she was raised because they won’t let her buy them a new one.  Carrie even says she once got in trouble for buying her dad a $400 generator for Christmas.  “My parents are really great people who want nothing to do with any of this.”  In fact, the last time she brought her tour to Oklahoma her dad didn’t go to the show because it was hunting season.   Carrie jokes, “I’m the black sheep of the family.  The black-crystal sheep. Swarovski.”

You can read more in the June issue of Marie Claire, which features Carrie on the cover, when it hits stands on Tuesday.

Carrie Underwood confesses in the new issue of Marie Claire, “I’m not a mushy person at all.”  She’d rather see a horror flick than a chick flick and she says growing up, “We were never a huggy family or a ‘let’s talk it out’ family.”  She has two sisters, but because they are 10 and 13 years older than her (Carrie readily admits that she was “an accident”) she says, “I have the only-child syndrome going on.  I’m a little more selfish, a little more independent, a little closed.”  She does wish she were softer and able to form relationships better, but she laughs and says, “I’m not a sociopath.”   Besides not really being a people person, according to her mom, Carrie is also a pretty un-phased person when it comes to her celebrity and success.  For instance, her family has a storage unit where they keep some of her career memorabilia and stage clothes but Carrie says, “Maybe my kids will have fun playing dress up in the clothes.  But I can’t see saving the stuff for a museum, some giant monument to my awesomeness. That’s Dolly. That’s Loretta. Not me.”   Some might say she comes by her humility honestly.  Despite all of her success which affords her just about any luxury she might want, her parents still live in the same modest house where she was raised because they won’t let her buy them a new one.  Carrie even says she once got in trouble for buying her dad a $400 generator for Christmas.  “My parents are really great people who want nothing to do with any of this.”  In fact, the last time she brought her tour to Oklahoma her dad didn’t go to the show because it was hunting season.   Carrie jokes, “I’m the black sheep of the family.  The black-crystal sheep. Swarovski.”   You can read more in the June issue of Marie Claire, which features Carrie on the cover, when it hits stands on Tuesday.

Lee Brice

Lee Brice tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Sarah Reevely about three and a half weeks ago.  The two have known each other and dated off and on for over a dozen years and they have a three year old son together named Takoda, but even with so much history, Lee says something has changed now that they are officially married.  “After saying ‘I do,’ it was like a relief for me because I had been getting to a point in my life where I was like so ready for that… This last year I’ve just been so anxious… So to know now that we’re here and we’re ready and we can now take steps forward to start this whole new adventure it’s like a relief.  It’s like, ‘Alright, we got here.  Now we can start.  We can really, really start.’”  They were engaged for about 16 months but Lee confesses, “As a man, when you ask a woman to marry you, like I was ready then.  I could have married her the next day and I would have been ready.”

One other thing that has changed for Lee with married life is the ring he now sports on his left hand.  He’s not sure what it’s made of, but it’s a dark metal, like some sort of graphite or titanium and Lee reveals that in a round-about way he had a hand in designing it.  “I got big ‘ol fat, big hands and so I have to wear big rings,” he explains.  “So we went in to look at rings together and these had these kind of bands and I was like, ‘Man, that’s just gonna look so puny on my hand.’  So I said, ‘Can you call the guy that makes these rings and ask if he can make one wider?’  And they said, ‘Well we don’t make them wider.’  And so then I asked them, ‘Can you just put two together?’  So he just put two together to make it wide enough for me and put a couple of little diamonds in there.  So it’s just a black kind of thing and they said it would be tough and rough because I beat stuff up.”

  Lee Brice tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Sarah Reevely about three and a half weeks ago.  The two have known each other and dated off and on for over a dozen years and they have a three year old son together named Takoda, but even with so much history, Lee says something has changed now that they are officially married.  “After saying ‘I do,’ it was like a relief for me because I had been getting to a point in my life where I was like so ready for that… This last year I’ve just been so anxious… So to know now that we’re here and we’re ready and we can now take steps forward to start this whole new adventure it’s like a relief.  It’s like, ‘Alright, we got here.  Now we can start.  We can really, really start.’”  They were engaged for about 16 months but Lee confesses, “As a man, when you ask a woman to marry you, like I was ready then.  I could have married her the next day and I would have been ready.”   One other thing that has changed for Lee with married life is the ring he now sports on his left hand.  He’s not sure what it’s made of, but it’s a dark metal, like some sort of graphite or titanium and Lee reveals that in a round-about way he had a hand in designing it.  “I got big ‘ol fat, big hands and so I have to wear big rings,” he explains.  “So we went in to look at rings together and these had these kind of bands and I was like, ‘Man, that’s just gonna look so puny on my hand.’  So I said, ‘Can you call the guy that makes these rings and ask if he can make one wider?’  And they said, ‘Well we don’t make them wider.’  And so then I asked them, ‘Can you just put two together?’  So he just put two together to make it wide enough for me and put a couple of little diamonds in there.  So it’s just a black kind of thing and they said it would be tough and rough because I beat stuff up.”

The Henningsens

The Henningsens had planned to release their debut album on July 2nd, but instead, in order to more music to fans sooner, they’re going to release a self-titled, four-song EP on May 28th.  “With the single doing so well and the Brad tour underway, we really wanted to be able to have something that we could share with fans right now,” says Clara Henningsen.

The family trio co-wrote all four songs on the EP – “American Beautiful,” “I Miss You,” “To Believe” and “The Color Red” with some of Nashville’s top songwriters.  They’ll continue to work on their debut album, which will be rescheduled for a new release date to be announced.

  The Henningsens had planned to release their debut album on July 2nd, but instead, in order to more music to fans sooner, they’re going to release a self-titled, four-song EP on May 28th.  “With the single doing so well and the Brad tour underway, we really wanted to be able to have something that we could share with fans right now,” says Clara Henningsen.   The family trio co-wrote all four songs on the EP – “American Beautiful,” “I Miss You,” “To Believe” and “The Color Red” with some of Nashville’s top songwriters.  They’ll continue to work on their debut album, which will be rescheduled for a new release date to be announced.