Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	Country music
Color	white
Bgcolor	brown
Stylistic origins	Appalachian folk music, Maritime folk music, Gospel, Anglo, and Old-time music
Cultural origins	Early 20th century Atlantic Canada and the Southern United States
Instruments	Guitar - Dobro - Steel Guitar - Pedal steel guitar - Mandolin - Banjo - Bass Fiddle - Fiddle - Click Drums - Vocals
Popularity	1920s–present
Derivatives	Rock and Roll, Dansband, Roots rock, Southern rock, Heartland rock
Subgenrelist	List of country genres
Subgenres	Bakersfield sound - Bluegrass - Close harmony - Honky tonk - Jug band - Lubbock sound - Nashville sound - Neotraditional country - Outlaw country - Red Dirt - Western swing - Texas country
Fusiongenres	Alternative country - Country rock - Psychobilly - Rockabilly - Gothabilly - Cowpunk - Country-rap - Country pop - Country soul - Southern soul
Other topics	Country musicians - List of years in country music

Country music (or country and Western) is a blend of traditional and popular musical forms traditionally found in the Southern United States and the Canadian Maritimes that evolved rapidly beginning in the 1920s. Distinctive variations of the genre have also emerged elsewhere including Australian country music.

The term country music gained popularity in the 1940s when the earlier term hillbilly music came to be seen as denigrating. Country music was widely embraced in the 1970s, while country and Western has declined in use since that time, except in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it is still commonly used. went on to become a defining figure in the emergence of rock and roll. With 129.5 million albums sold, Presley is the top-domestic-selling solo artist in U.S. history. Contemporary musician Garth Brooks, with 128 million albums sold, is the second best-selling solo artist in U.S. history.

While album sales of most musical genres have declined since about 2005, country music experienced one of its best years in 2006, when, during the first six months, U.S. sales of country albums increased by 17.7 percent to 36 million. Moreover, country music listening nationwide has remained steady for almost a decade, reaching 77.3 million adults every week, according to the radio-ratings agency Arbitron, Inc.

Early history

Immigrants to the Maritime Provinces and Southern Appalachian Mountains of North America brought the music and instruments of the Old World along with them for nearly 300 years. They brought some of their most important valuables with them, and to most of them this was an instrument: “Early Scottish settlers enjoyed the fiddle because it could be played to sound sad and mournful or bright and bouncy” The Irish fiddle, the German derived dulcimer, the Italian mandolin, the Spanish guitar, and the West African banjo were the most common musical instruments. The interactions among musicians from different ethnic groups produced music unique to this region of North America. Appalachian string bands of the early 20th century primarily consisted of the fiddle, guitar, and banjo. This early country music along with early recorded country music is often referred to as old-time music.

According to Bill Malone in Country Music U.S.A, country music was “introduced to the world as a southern phenomenon." In the South, folk music was a combination of cultural strains, combining musical traditions of a variety of ethnic groups in the region. For example, some instrumental pieces from Anglo-British and Irish immigrants were the basis of folk songs and ballads that form what is now known as old time music, from which country music descended. It is commonly thought that British and Irish folk music influenced the development of old time music. British and Irish arrivals to the Southern U.S. included immigrants from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and England.

Often, when many people think or hear country music, they think of it as a creation of European-Americans. However, a great deal of style—and of course, the banjo, a major instrument in most early American folk songs—came from African Americans. One of the reasons country music was created by African-Americans, as well as European-Americans, is because blacks and whites in rural communities in the south often worked and played together, just as recollected by DeFord Bailey in the PBS documentary, DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost.

Throughout the 19th century, several immigrant groups from Europe, most notably from Ireland, Germany, Spain, and Italy moved to Texas. These groups interacted with Mexican and Native American, and U.S. communities that were already established in Texas. As a result of this cohabitation and extended contact, Texas has developed unique cultural traits that are rooted in the culture of all of its founding communities.

1920s

Local performers from Atlanta and Fort Worth were being played on radio stations in 1922. Along with local performers, barn-dance programs became popular among radio stations as well. Some record companies in Georgia turned away early artists such as Fiddlin' John Carson; while others realized that his music would fit perfectly with the lifestyle of the countries agricultural employees. The first commercial recording of what was considered country music was "Sallie Gooden" by fiddlist A.C. (Eck) Robertson in 1922 for Victor Records. Columbia Records began issuing records with "hillbilly" music (series 15000D "Old Familiar Tunes") as early as 1924.

A year earlier on June 14, 1923, Fiddlin' John Carson recorded "Little Log Cabin in the Lane" for Okeh Records. Vernon Dalhart was the first country singer to have a nationwide hit in May 1924 with "Wreck of the Old '97". The flip side of the record was "Lonesome Road Blues," which also became very popular. In April 1924, "Aunt" Samantha Bumgarner and Eva Davis became the first female musicians to record and release country songs.

Many "hillbilly" musicians, such as Cliff Carlisle, recorded blues songs throughout the decade and into the 30s. Other important early recording artists were Riley Puckett, Don Richardson, Fiddlin' John Carson, Al Hopkins, Ernest V. Stoneman, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers and The Skillet Lickers. The steel guitar entered country music as early as 1922, when Jimmie Tarlton met famed Hawaiian guitarist Frank Ferera on the West Coast.

Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family are widely considered to be important early country musicians. Their songs were first captured at a historic recording session in Bristol on August 1, 1927, where Ralph Peer was the talent scout and sound recordist. A scene in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? (film) depicts a similar occurrence in the same timeframe.

Rodgers fused hillbilly country, gospel, jazz, blues, pop, cowboy, and folk; and many of his best songs were his compositions, including “Blue Yodel”, which sold over a million records and established Rodgers as the premier singer of early country music.

Beginning in 1927, and for the next 17 years the Carters recorded some 300 old-time ballads, traditional tunes, country songs and Gospel hymns, all representative of America's southeastern folklore and heritage.

1930s–1940s

One effect of the Great Depression was to reduce the number of records that could be sold. Radio, and broadcasting, became a popular source of entertainment, and "barn dance" shows featuring country music were started all over the South, as far north as Chicago, and as far west as California.

The most important was the Grand Ole Opry, aired starting in 1925 by WSM-AM in Nashville to the present day. Some of the early stars on the Opry were Uncle Dave Macon, Roy Acuff and African American harmonica player DeFord Bailey. WSM's 50,000 watt signal (1934) could often be heard across the country,

Many musicians performed and recorded songs in any number of styles. Moon Mullican, for example, played Western swing, but also recorded songs that can be called rockabilly. Bill Haley sang cowboy songs, and was at one time a cowboy yodeler. Haley became most famous as an early player of rock n roll, adding Jimmie Rodgers-stylings to his environment, thus creating a sound that was very much his own. Between 1947 and 1949, country crooner Eddy Arnold placed eight songs in the top 10.

Singing cowboys and Western swing

During the 1930s and 1940s, cowboy songs, or Western music, which had been recorded since the 1920s, were popularized by films made in Hollywood. Some of the popular singing cowboys from the era were Gene Autry, the Sons of the Pioneers and Roy Rogers.

And it wasn't only cowboys; cowgirls contributed to the sound in various family groups. Patsy Montana opened the door for female artists with her history making song "I Want To Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart". This would begin a movement toward opportunities for women to have successful solo careers.

Bob Wills was another country musician from the Lower Great Plains who had become very popular as the leader of a “hot string band,” and who also appeared in Hollywood Westerns. His mix of country and jazz, which started out as dance hall music, would become known as Western swing. Spade Cooley and Tex Williams also had very popular bands and appeared in films. At its height, Western swing rivaled the popularity of other big band jazz.

Changing instrumentation

Drums were scorned by early country musicians as being "too loud" and "not pure," but by 1935 Western swing big band leader Bob Wills had added drums to the Texas Playboys. In the mid 1940s, the Grand Ole Opry did not want the Playboys’ drummer to appear on stage. Although drums were commonly used by rockabilly groups by 1955, the less-conservative-than-the-Grand Ole Opry Louisiana Hayride kept its infrequently used drummer back stage as late as 1956. By the early 1960s, however, it was rare that a country band didn't have a drummer.

Bob Wills was one of the first country musicians known to have added an electric guitar to his band, in 1938. A decade later (1948) Arthur Smith achieved top 10 US country chart success with his MGM Records recording of "Guitar Boogie", which crossed over to the US pop chart, introducing many people to the potential of the electric guitar. For several decades Nashville session players preferred the warm tones of the Gibson and Gretsch archtop electrics, but a “hot” Fender style, utilizing guitars which became available beginning in the early 1950s, eventually prevailed as the signature guitar sound of country.

Hillbilly boogie

Country musicians began recording boogie in 1939, shortly after it had been played at Carnegie Hall, when Johnny Barfield recorded "Boogie Woogie." The trickle of what was initially called hillbilly boogie, or okie boogie (later to be renamed country boogie), became a flood beginning in late 1945. One notable release from this period was the Delmore Brothers' "Freight Train Boogie," considered to be part of the combined evolution of country music and blues towards rockabilly. In 1948, Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith achieved top ten US country chart success with his MGM Records recordings of "Guitar Boogie" and "Banjo Boogie," with the former crossing over to the US pop charts. Other country boogie artists included Merrill Moore and Tennessee Ernie Ford. The hillbilly boogie period lasted into the 1950s and remains one of many subgenres of country into the 21st century.

Bluegrass, folk and gospel

By the end of World War II, "mountaineer" string band music known as bluegrass had emerged when Bill Monroe joined with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, introduced by Roy Acuff at the Grand Ole Opry. Gospel music, too, remained a popular component of country music. Red Foley, the biggest country star following World War II, had one of the first million-selling gospel hits ("Peace In The Valley") and also sang boogie, blues and rockabilly.

In the post-war period, country music was called "folk" in the trades, and "hillbilly" within the industry. In 1944, The Billboard replaced the term "hillbilly" with "folk songs and blues," and switched to "country" or "country and Western" in 1949.

Honky tonk

Another type of stripped down and raw music with a variety of moods and a basic ensemble of guitar, bass, dobro or steel guitar (and later) drums became popular, especially among poor white southerners. It became known as honky tonk and had its roots in Texas. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys personified this music which has been described as "a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, a little bit of black and a little bit of white...just loud enough to keep you from thinking too much and to go right on ordering the whiskey." East Texan Al Dexter had a hit with "Honky Tonk Blues," and seven years later "Pistol Packin' Mama". These "honky tonk" songs associated barrooms, were performed by the likes of Ernest Tubb, Ted Daffan, Floyd Tillman, and the Maddox Brothers and Rose, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams, would later be called "traditional" country. Williams' influence in particular would prove to be enormous, inspiring many of the pioneers of rock and roll, such as Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as Chuck Berry and Ike Turner, while providing a framework for emerging honky tonk talents like George Jones. Webb Pierce was the top-charting country artist of the 1950s, with 13 of his singles spending 113 weeks at number one. He charted 48 singles during the decade; 31 reached the top ten and 26 reached the top four.

1950s–1960s

By the early 1950s a blend of Western swing, country boogie, and honky tonk was played by most country bands, but a new style was about to become popular.

Rockabilly

Rockabilly was most popular with country fans in the 1950s, and 1956 could be called the year of rockabilly in country music. Rockabilly was a mixture of rock-and-roll and hillbilly music. During this period Elvis Presley converted over to country music. He played a huge role in the music industry during this time. The number two, three and four songs on Billboard's charts for that year were Elvis Presley, "Heartbreak Hotel"; Johnny Cash, "I Walk the Line"; and Carl Perkins, "Blue Suede Shoes".

Cash and Presley placed songs in the top 5 in 1958 with No. 3 "Guess Things Happen That Way/Come In, Stranger" by Cash, and No. 5 by Presley "Don't/I Beg Of You." Presley acknowledged the influence of rhythm and blues artists and his style, saying "The colored folk been singin' and playin' it just the way I'm doin' it now, man for more years than I know." But he also said, "My stuff is just hopped-up country."

The late 1950s saw the emergence of the Lubbock sound, but by the end of the decade, backlash as well as traditional artists such as Ray Price, Marty Robbins, and Johnny Horton began to shift the industry away from the rock n' roll influences of the mid-50s.

The Nashville and countrypolitan sounds

Beginning in the mid 1950s, and reaching its peak during the early 1960s, the Nashville sound turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered in Nashville, Tennessee. Under the direction of producers such as Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley, and later Billy Sherrill, the sound brought country music to a diverse audience and helped revive country as it emerged from a commercially fallow period.

This subgenre was notable for borrowing from 1950s pop stylings: a prominent and "smooth" vocal, backed by a string section and vocal chorus. Instrumental soloing was de-emphasized in favor of trademark "licks". Leading artists in this genre included Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold. The "slip note" piano style of session musician Floyd Cramer was an important component of this style.

Nashville's pop song structure became more pronounced and it morphed into what was called countrypolitan. Countrypolitan was aimed straight at mainstream markets and it sold well throughout the later 1960s into the early 1970s. Top artists included Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich.

Country soul - crossover

In 1962, Ray Charles surprised the pop world by turning his attention to country and western music, topping the charts and rating number three for the year on Billboard's pop chart with the "I Can't Stop Loving You" single, and recording the landmark album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.

The Bakersfield sound

Another genre of country music grew out of hardcore honky tonk with elements of Western swing and originated north-northwest of Los Angeles in Bakersfield, California. Influenced by one-time West Coast residents Bob Wills and Lefty Frizzell, by 1966 it was known as the Bakersfield sound. It relied on electric instruments and amplification, in particular the Telecaster electric guitar, more than other subgenres of country of the era, and can be described as having a sharp, hard, driving, no-frills, edgy flavor. Leading practitioners of this style were Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Tommy Collins, Dwight Yoakam and Wynn Stewart, each of whom had his own style.

Country rock

The late 1960s in American music produced a unique blend as a result of traditionalist backlash within separate genres. In the aftermath of the British Invasion, many desired a return to the "old values" of rock n' roll. At the same time there was a lack of enthusiasm in the country sector for Nashville-produced music. What resulted was a crossbred genre known as country rock. influenced rock musicians from The Rolling Stones to The Byrds in the late 1960s]]

Early innovators in this new style of music in the 60s and 70s included rock n' roll icon band The Byrds and its spin-off The Flying Burrito Brothers (both featuring Gram Parsons), guitarist Clarence White, Michael Nesmith (Monkees and First National Band), the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Commander Cody, The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, Poco, Buffalo Springfield, and The Eagles among many. The Rolling Stones also got into the act with songs like "Honky Tonk Women" and "Dead Flowers".

Described by Allmusic as the "father of country-rock", Gram Parsons' work in the early '70s was acclaimed for its purity and for his appreciation for aspects of traditional country music. Though his career was cut tragically short by his 1973 death, his legacy was carried on by his mentee and duet partner Emmylou Harris; Harris would release her debut solo in 1975, an amalgamation of country, rock and roll, folk, blues and pop.

Subsequent to the initial blending of the two polar opposite genres, other offspring soon resulted, including Southern rock, heartland rock and in more recent years, alternative country.

In the decades that followed, artists such as Juice Newton, Alabama, Hank Williams, Jr., Gary Allan, Shania Twain, Brooks & Dunn, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle, Dolly Parton, Rosanne Cash and Linda Ronstadt moved country further towards rock influence.

1970s–1980s

Outlaw country

Derived from the traditional and honky tonk sounds of the late 1950s and 1960s, including Ray Price (whose band, the "Cherokee Cowboys", included Willie Nelson and Roger Miller) and mixed with the anger of an alienated subculture of the nation during the period, outlaw country revolutionized the genre of country music.

"After I left Nashville (the early 70s), I wanted to relax and play the music that I wanted to play, and just stay around Texas, maybe Oklahoma. Waylon and I had that outlaw image going, and when it caught on at colleges and we started selling records, we were O.K. The whole outlaw thing, it had nothing to do with the music, it was something that got written in an article, and the young people said, 'Well, that's pretty cool.' And started listening." (Willie Nelson)

The term outlaw country is traditionally associated with Hank Williams, Jr, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, David Allan Coe, John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver, Gary Stewart, Townes Van Zandt and with a few female vocalists such as Jessi Colter and Sammi Smith. It was encapsulated in the 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws. A related subgenre is Red Dirt.

Country pop

Country pop or soft pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to adult contemporary music. It started with pop music singers like Michael Nesmith, The Bellamy Brothers, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Olivia Newton-John, Marie Osmond, B. J. Thomas and Anne Murray having hits on the country charts. Campbell's "Rhinestone Cowboy" was one of the biggest crossover hits in country music history.

in concert]]

In 1974, Newton-John, an Australian pop singer, won the "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" as well as the Country Music Association's most coveted award for females, "Female Vocalist of the Year". In the same year, a group of artists, troubled by this trend, formed the short-lived Association of Country Entertainers. The debate raged into 1975, and reached its apex at that year's Country Music Association Awards when reigning Entertainer of the Year Charlie Rich (who himself had a series of crossover hits) presented the award to his successor, John Denver. As he read Denver's name, Rich set fire to the envelope with a cigarette lighter. The action was taken as a protest against the increasing pop style in country music.

During the mid-1970s, Dolly Parton, a highly successful mainstream country artist since the late '60s, mounted a high profile campaign to crossover to pop music, culminating in her 1977 hit "Here You Come Again", which topped the U.S. country singles chart, and also reached No. 3 on the pop singles charts. Parton's male counterpart, Kenny Rogers came from the opposite direction, aiming his music at the country charts, after a successful career in pop, rock and folk music, achieving success the same year with "Lucille", which topped the country charts and reached No. 5 on the U.S. pop singles charts. Parton and Rogers would both continue to have success on both country and pop charts simultaneously, well into the 1980s. Artists like Crystal Gayle, Ronnie Milsap and Barbara Mandrell would also find success on the pop charts with their records as well.

In 1975, author Paul Hemphill stated in the Saturday Evening Post, “Country music isn’t really country anymore; it is a hybrid of nearly every form of popular music in America.”

During the early 1980s, country artists continued to see their records perform well on the pop charts. Willie Nelson and Juice Newton each had two songs in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the early eighties: Nelson charted "Always On My Mind" (No. 5, 1982) and "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" (No. 5, 1984), and Newton achieved success with "Queen of Hearts" (No. 2, 1981) and "Angel of the Morning" (No. 4, 1981). Four country songs topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1980s: "Lady" by Kenny Rogers, from the late fall of 1980; "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton, "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbitt (these two back-to-back at the top in early 1981); and "Islands in the Stream", a duet by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers in 1983, a pop-country crossover hit written by Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees. Newton's "Queen of Hearts" almost reached No. 1, but was kept out of the spot by the pop ballad juggernaut "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. Although there were few crossover hits in the latter half of the 1980s, one song — Roy Orbison's "You Got It", from 1989 — made the top 10 of both the Billboard Hot Country Singles" and Hot 100 charts.

The record-setting, multi-platinum group, Alabama, was named Arist of the Decade for the 1980s by the Academy of Country Music.

Neocountry

In 1980, a style of "neocountry disco music" was popularized by the film Urban Cowboy, which also included more traditional songs such as "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band. A related subgenre is Texas country music.

Sales in record stores rocketed to $250 million in 1981; by 1984, 900 radio stations began programming country or neocountry pop full time. As with most sudden trends, however, by 1984 sales had dropped below 1979 figures. and is a fusion of honky tonk, country-rock and Bakersfield Sound. It has the tempo of country-rock and the emotion of honky-tonk, Truck driving country songs often deal with trucks and love.

Neotraditionalist movement

During the mid-1980s, a group of new artists began to emerge who rejected the more polished country-pop sound that had been prominent on radio and the charts, in favor of more, traditional, "back-to-basics" production. Led by Randy Travis, whose 1986 debut album Storms of Life, sold four million copies and was Billboard's year-end top country album of 1987, many of the artists during the latter half of the '80s drew on traditional honky tonk, bluegrass, folk and western swing. Artists who typified this sound included Travis Tritt, Ricky Skaggs, Kathy Mattea, George Strait and The Judds.

1990s

With his debut on the national country music scene in 1989, singer and songwriter Clint Black would usher in a new sound that would define much of country music for the 1990s and beyond.

In the 1990s, country music became a worldwide phenomenon thanks to Billy Ray Cyrus and Garth Brooks. The latter enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the decade. The RIAA has certified his recordings at a combined (128× platinum), denoting roughly 113 million U.S. shipments.

In the mid 1990s, country western music was influenced by the popularity of line dancing. This influence was so great that Chet Atkins was quoted as saying "The music has gotten pretty bad, I think. It's all that damn line dancing." By the end of the decade, however, at least one line dance choreographer complained that good country line dance music was no longer being released.

Alternative country

In the 1990s, alternative country came to refer to a diverse group of musicians and singers operating outside the traditions and industry of mainstream country music. In general, they eschewed the high production values and pop outlook of the Nashville-dominated industry, to produce music with a lo-fi sound, frequently infused with a strong punk and alternative aesthetic, bending the traditional rules of country music. Lyrics were often bleak, gothic or socially aware. Other initiators include Old 97's, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Ryan Adams, My Morning Jacket, Blitzen Trapper, Or, The Whale and Drive-By Truckers.

2000s

Several rock and pop stars have ventured into country music. In 2000, Richard Marx made a brief cross-over with his Days In Avalon album, which features five country songs and several singers and musicians. Alison Krauss sang background vocals to Marx's single "Straight From My Heart." Also, Bon Jovi had a hit single, "Who Says You Can't Go Home", with Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. Other rock stars who featured a country song on their albums were Don Henley and Poison.

One infrequent, but consistent theme in modern country music is that of proud, stubborn individualism. "Country Boy Can Survive" and "Copperhead Road" are two of the more serious songs along those lines; while "Some Girls Do" and "Redneck Woman" are more light-hearted variations on the theme.

In 2005, country singer Carrie Underwood rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol and became a multi-platinum selling recording artist and multiple Grammy Award winner. Underwood also made history by becoming the seventh woman to win Entertainer Of The Year for the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the first woman in history to win Entertainer of the Year for the Academy of Country Music Awards twice, as well as twice consecutively. Underwood's debut album, "Some Hearts", was not only the fastest-selling debut album by any country artist in history, but was ranked by Billboard.com as the #1 Country Album of the 2000-2009 decade.

In 2008, Taylor Swift rose as a major country-pop artist, with her single "Love Story" becoming the first country song to reach No. 1 one on the Nielsen BDS CHR/Top 40 chart. Another of her singles, "You Belong with Me", also reached No. 1, making Swift the only country artist to have two No. 1 singles atop the chart. Both "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me" became the best-selling country song of all time, with "Love Story" in the first position with a domestic total of 4.4 million digital copies sold, and "You Belong with Me" in the second with 3.4 million sales, respectively. In 2010, Swift's sophomore album "Fearless" was awarded the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, becoming the first album in history to win the American Music Award (AMA), Academy of Country Music Award (ACM), Country Music Association Award (CMA), and the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in the same year.

In the same year, Hootie & the Blowfish vocalist Darius Rucker released his second solo album and country music debut, Learn to Live. The first three singles from that album all debuted at No. 1, making Rucker the first solo artist to debut with three No. 1 hits in over a decade. He is also the first African American with a No. 1 country hit since Charley Pride in 1983.

In 2009, George Strait was named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music.

Country music outside the United States

Canada

Outside of the US, Canada has the largest country music fan and artist base. Mainstream country music is culturally ingrained in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba: areas with large numbers of rural residents. Canadian country music originated in Atlantic Canada in the form of British and Irish folk music popular amongst Irish and Scottish immigrants to Canada's Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island). It's no surprise that Canadian country's roots are in this region which draws many parallels to the US south and Appalachia. All three regions are of heavy British Isles stock and rural. The development of country music in the Maritimes mirrored the development of country music in the US south and Appalachia.

Don Messer's Jubilee was a Halifax, Nova Scotia based country/folk variety television show that was broadcast nationally from 1957 to 1969. It out drew the Ed Sullivan Show from the United States and became the #1 rated television show in Canada throughout much of the 1960s. Don Messer's Jubilee followed a consistent format throughout its years, beginning with a tune named "Goin' to the Barndance Tonight", followed by fiddle tunes by Messer, songs from some of his "Islanders" including singers Marg Osburne and Charlie Chamberlain, the featured guest performance, and a closing hymn. It ended with "Till We Meet Again".

The guest performance slot gave national exposure to numerous Canadian folk musicians, including Stompin' Tom Connors and Catherine McKinnon. Some Maritime country performers went on to further fame beyond Canada. Hank Snow, Wilf Carter (also known as Montana Slim), and Anne Murray are the three most notable.

The cancellation of the show by the public broadcaster in 1969 caused a nationwide protest, including the raising of questions in the Canadian parliament.

Despite country's roots in the Maritimes, many traditional country artists are present in Eastern and Western Canada. They make common use of fiddle and pedal steel guitar styles. Some notable Canadian country artists include: Shania Twain, Blue Rodeo, Marg Osburne, Hank Snow, Johnny Mooring, Don Messer, Doc Walker, Emerson Drive, Paul Brandt, The Wilkinsons, Wilf Carter, Michelle Wright, Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans, Stompin' Tom Connors, Terri Clark, Crystal Shawanda, Shane Yellowbird, The Road Hammers, and Anne Murray.

Australia

singing in Sydney in 2008.]] .]]

Australian country music has a long tradition. Influenced by American country music it has developed a distinct style, shaped by British and Irish folk ballads and Australian bush balladeers like Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Country instruments, including the guitar, banjo, fiddle and harmonica create the distinctive sound of country music in Australia and accompany songs with strong storyline and memorable chorus.

Folk songs sung in Australia between the 1780s and 1920s based around such themes as the struggle against government tyranny, or the lives of bushrangers, swagmen, drovers, stockmen and shearers continue to influence the genre. This strain of Australian country, with lyrics focusing on Australian subjects, is generally known as "bush music" or "bush band music". Waltzing Matilda, often regarded as Australia's unofficial National anthem, is a quintessential Australian country song, influenced more by British and Irish folk ballads than by American Country and Western music. The lyrics were composed by the poet Banjo Paterson in 1895. Other popular songs from this tradition include The Wild Colonial Boy, Click Go The Shears, The Queensland Drover and The Dying Stockman. Later themes which endure to the present include the experiences of war, of droughts and flooding rains, of Aboriginality and of the railways and trucking routes which link Australia's vast distances.

Pioneers of a more Americanised popular country music in Australia included Tex Morton (known as The Father of Australian Country Music) in the 1930s and other early stars like Buddy Williams, Shirley Thoms and Smoky Dawson. In 1952, Dawson began a radio show, and went on to national stardom as a singing cowboy of radio, TV and film.

Slim Dusty (1927–2003) was known as the King of Australian Country Music, and helped to popularise the Australian bush ballad. His successful career spanned almost six decades and his 1957 hit "A Pub With No Beer" was the biggest-selling record by an Australian to that time, and with over seven million record sales in Australia he is the most successful artist in Australian musical history Dusty recorded and released his one-hundredth album in the year 2000 and was given the honour of singing Waltzing Matilda in the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Dusty's wife Joy McKean penned several of his most popular songs.

Chad Morgan, who began recording in the 1950s has represented a vaudeville style of comic Australian country; Frank Ifield achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Charts and Reg Lindsay was one of the first Australians to perform at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry in 1974. Eric Bogle's 1972 folk lament to the Gallipoli campaign "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" recalled the British and Irish origins of Australian folk-country. Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly whose music style straddles folk, rock, and country is often described as the poet laureate of Australian music.

By the 1990s, Country music had attained cross-over success in the pop charts with artists like James Blundell and James Reyne singing "Way Out West", and country star Kasey Chambers winning the ARIA for Best Female Artist in 2003. The cross-over influence of Australian country is also evident in the music of successful contemporary bands The Waifs and The John Butler Trio. Nick Cave has been heavily influenced by the country artist Johnny Cash. In 2000, Cash, covered Cave's "The Mercy Seat" on the album American III: Solitary Man, seemingly repaying Cave for the compliment he paid by covering Cash's "The Singer" (originally "The Folk Singer") on his Kicking Against the Pricks album. Subsequently, Cave cut a duet with Cash on a version of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" for Cash's album (2002).

Popular contemporary performers of Australian country music include: John Williamson (who wrote the iconic "True Blue"), Lee Kernaghan (whose hits include "Boys From the Bush" and "the Outback Club"), Gina Jeffreys and Sara Storer. In the USA, Olivia Newton John, Sherrié Austin and Keith Urban have attained great success.

at the 2009 Tamworth Country Music Festival. Country music has been a particularly popular form of musical and political expression among Indigenous Australians.]]

Country music has also been a particularly popular form of musical expression among Indigenous Australians. Troy Cassar-Daley is among Australia's successful contemporary indigenous performers Aboriginal artists and Kev Carmody and Archie Roach employ a combination of folk-rock and country music to sing about Aboriginal rights issues.

The Tamworth Country Music Festival began in 1973 and now attracts up to a 100,000 visitors annually. Held in Tamworth, New South Wales (Country music capital of Australia), it celebrates the culture and heritage of Australian country music. During the festival the CMAA holds the Country Music Awards of Australia ceremony awarding the Golden Guitar trophies.

Other significant country music festivals include the Whittlesea Country Music Festival (near Melbourne) and Boyup Brook Country Music Festival (Western Australia) in February; the Bamera Country Music Festival in June (South Australia), the National Country Muster held in Gympie during August, Mildura Country Music Festival for "independent" performers during October and the Canberra Country Music Festival held in the national capital during November. Some festivals are quite unique in their location: Grabine State Park in New South Wales promotes Australian country through the Grabine Music Muster Festival; Marilyns Country Music Festival is a unique event held in South Australia's Smoky Bay in September and is the only music festival in the world using an oyster barge as a stage.

Country HQ showcases new talent on the rise in the country music scene downunder. CMC (the Country Music Channel), a 24 hour music channel dedicated to non-stop country music, can be viewed on pay tv and features once a year the Golden Guitar Awards, CMAs and CCMAs alongside international shows such as The Wilkinsons, The Road Hammers, and Country Music Across America.

Other international country music

Tom Roland, from the Country Music Association International, explains Country Music’s global popularity: “In this respect, at least, Country Music listeners around the globe have something in common with those in the United States. In Germany, for instance, Rohrbach identifies three general groups that gravitate to the genre: people intrigued with the American cowboy icon, middle-aged fans who seek an alternative to harder rock music and younger listeners drawn to the pop-influenced sound that underscores many current Country hits.” Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban, and Dwight Yoakam have also made numerous international tours.

The Country Music Association undertakes various initiatives to promote country music internationally. takes places in the town of San Pedro, Argentina. The festival features bands from different places of Argentina, as well as international artist from Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Peru and the United States.

In Ireland TG4 began a quest for Ireland's next country star called Glór Tíre, translated as Country Voice, it is now in its 6th season and is one of TG4 most watched TV shows. A recent success in the Irish arena has been Crystal Swing.

Rhodesia during the 1970s had an active country and western music scene. Many songs combined country ballads with patriotic or military inspired lyrics. For example, Clem Tholet's Rhodesians Never Die rose to the top of the Rhodesian pop charts.

Performers and shows

US cable television

Four U.S. cable networks are at least partly devoted to the genre: CMT and CMT Pure Country (both owned by Viacom), Rural Free Delivery TV (owned by Rural Media Group) and GAC (owned by The E. W. Scripps Company). The first American country music video cable channel was The Nashville Network, launched in the early 1980s. In 2000, the channel was renamed and reformatted as The National Network, a general-interest network, and eventually became Spike TV.

Canadian television

Only one television channel is currently dedicated to country music in Canada and that is CMT (Canada) owned by Corus Entertainment (90%) and Viacom (10%). But in the past the show Don Messer's Jubilee had great impact on country music in Canada in fact it is the program that launched Anne Murray's career.

Australian cable television

The only network dedicated to Country Music in Australia is the Country Music Channel owned by XYZnetworks.

See also

Academy of Country Music

Australian country music

Canadian Country Music Association

Country and Western dance

Country Music Association

Country Music Hall of Fame

Country and Irish

Grand Ole Opry

Great American Country

List of Billboard Hot Country Songs chart achievements

List of country genres

Música sertaneja

Southern Culture

Tejano: country music performed in Spanish to a polka beat

Western Music Association

Western music (North America)

WSM Radio

Further reading

Notes

External links

The Country Music Association - Nashville, Tennessee(CMA)

Western Music Association (WMA)

Country Internet Radio

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum - Nashville, Tennessee

Texas Country Music Hall of Fame & Tex Ritter Museum - Carthage, Texas

Heart of Texas Country Music Association - Brady, Texas

Country Chart Music Reviews

Grand Ole Opry - Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation

TIME Archive of country music's progression

Xroad.virginia.edu, alt country from American Studies at the University of Virginia

Country Online Radio

Category:Culture of the Southern United States Category:Radio formats Category:Western (genre) Category:African American music Category:American styles of music

Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	Brad Paisley
Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Brad Douglas Paisley
Born	October 28, 1972
Origin	Glen Dale, West Virginia,United States
Instrument	Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin
Genre	Country
Occupation	Singer-songwriterGuitarist
Years active	1997–present
Label	Arista Nashville
Associated acts	David KershAlison KraussDolly PartonCarrie UnderwoodChely WrightDierks BentleyKeith UrbanDarius Rucker
Url	BradPaisley.com
Notable instruments	Bill Crook TelecastersFender Telecasters

Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer-songwriter and country guitarist. His style crosses between traditional country and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references.

Paisley was the 2008 CMA and ACM Male Vocalist of the Year winner. Starting with the release of his 1999 album Who Needs Pictures, Paisley has recorded seven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashville label, with all of his albums certified gold or higher by the RIAA. In addition, he has charted 25 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 15 of which have reached #1 with a record 10 consecutive singles reaching the top spot on the chart. On November 10, 2010, Brad Paisley won the Entertainer of the Year award at the 44th annual CMA Awards.

Biography

Early years

Paisley was born on October 28, 1972 in Wheeling, West Virginia to Douglas Edward "Doug" Paisley, who worked for the West Virginia Department of Transportation, and Sandra Jean "Sandy" (née Jarvis) Paisley, a teacher. He was raised in Glen Dale, West Virginia. He has stated that his love of country music stems from his maternal grandfather, Warren Jarvis, who gave Paisley his first guitar, a Sears Danelectro Silvertone at 8-years-old and taught him how to play. At age 10, he performed for the first time in public by singing in his church. He later recalled that, "Pretty soon, I was performing at every Christmas party and Mother's Day event. The neat thing about a small town is that when you want to be an artist, by golly, they'll make you one".

Paisley graduated from John Marshall High School in Glen Dale, West Virginia in 1991, studied for 2 years at West Liberty University (WV) and later was awarded a full-paid ASCAP scholarship to Belmont University, in Nashville, Tennessee (from 1993 to 1995). He interned at ASCAP, Atlantic Records, and the Fitzgerald-Hartley management firm. While in college, he met Frank Rogers, a fellow student who went on to serve as his producer. Paisley also met Kelley Lovelace, who became his songwriting partner. He also met Chris DuBois in college, and he too would write songs for him.

1999–2001: Who Needs Pictures

His debut as a singer was with the label Arista Nashville, with the song "Who Needs Pictures" (released February 22, 1999). In May of that same year, he made his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. We Danced also was a hit for Paisley off the debut album, reaching #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. By February 2001, the album was certified platinum.

In 2000, Paisley's mainstream notoriety received a huge boost when he was exposed to his first national non-country music oriented audience on the TLC special, "Route 66: Main Street America." Producer, Todd Baker, tapped the young musician to appear on this show when he was a relative unknown outside the world of country music. It featured Paisley and band doing rare live and acoustic versions of Route 66. The international and home video versions of this program end with a full, un-cut acoustic rendition of the piece, which was performed live on Rainbow Bridge in Riverton, KS. The show accurately predicted that Paisley would become a legendary musician, and also featured blues artist, Buddy Guy.

Later in 2000, Paisley won the Country Music Association's (CMA) Horizon Award and the Academy of Country Music's best new male vocalist trophy. He received his first Grammy Award nomination a year later for Best New Artist. On February 17, 2001, Paisley was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry

2001–2003: Part II

In 2002, he won the CMA Music Video of the Year for "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)." Several celebrities made notable guest appearances in the video, including Little Jimmy Dickens, Kimberly Williams, Dan Patrick, and Jerry Springer. His three other singles off the Part II album, "I Wish You'd Stay", "Wrapped Around", and "Two People Fell in Love", all charted in the top 10. The album stayed in the charts for more than 70 weeks and was certified platinum in August 2002. To support his album, he toured the country as the opening act for Lonestar.

2003–2005: Mud on the Tires

Paisley released his third album, Mud on the Tires (2003), following Who Needs Pictures and Part II. The album features the hit song "Celebrity", the video of which parodies reality shows such as Fear Factor, American Idol, The Bachelorette and According to Jim, and included such celebrities as Jason Alexander, James Belushi, Little Jimmy Dickens, Trista Rehn and William Shatner. (Paisley later contributed to Shatner's album Has Been.) The album's title track, "Mud on the Tires", reached Billboard #1 in 2004.

In addition, the third track from Mud on the Tires, "Whiskey Lullaby", a duet with Alison Krauss reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, and #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for Whiskey Lullaby also won several awards and was rated #2 on the 100 Greatest Music Videos by CMT in 2008. The album would be certified double platinum. "Online" featured the Brentwood High School marching band playing toward the end of the song. Throttleneck would also reach number one, which would get Paisley his first Grammy.

The fifth single from 5th Gear actually came from a reissued version of the album – a new recording of "Waitin' on a Woman", a track cut from Time Well Wasted. The reissued version received unsolicited airplay in late 2006, and features less prominent string guitar and violin parts and a more "muted" musical tone. For the chart week of September 20, 2008, the song became Paisley's twelfth number-one single and his eighth straight number-one hit, making him the artist with the most consecutive Number One country hits since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990.

In July 2006, producer Todd Baker tapped Brad for a television appearance as an animated character in The Wonder Pets, Daddy Armadillo. The yet-to-be-broadcast episode features Brad's wife, Kimberly Williams, as Mama Armadillo.

Paisley toured April 26, 2007 through February 24, 2008 in support of 5th Gear on the Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour. The tour visited 94 cities over a 10 month period and played for over 1,000,000 fans. The tour was so successful that it was extended past its original end date to February 2008. Some of the opening acts who appeared during the tour were Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, Jack Ingram, Rodney Atkins and Chuck Wicks.

Paisley was nominated for three 2008 Grammy Awards related to 5th Gear: Best Country Album (for 5th Gear), Best Country Collaboration (for "Oh Love" with Carrie Underwood), and Best Country Instrumental (for "Throttleneck"). On February 10, 2008, he won his first Grammy award for Best Country Instrumental for "Throttleneck".

In March 2008, Brad Paisley announced his next tour, "The Paisley Party," a 42-date tour sponsored by Hershey's. The tour kicked off on June 11, 2008, in Albuquerque, New Mexico with Chuck Wicks, Julianne Hough and Jewel as the opening acts. Brad Paisley and Keith Urban released to country radio their first duet together on September 8, 2008, "Start a Band." It was the first and only single from Play, and it went on to become Paisley's thirteenth number one hit and his ninth in a row. The album also features collaborations with James Burton, Little Jimmy Dickens, Vince Gill, John Jorgensen, B.B. King, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Buck Owens, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner. Paisley and Urban both received Entertainer of the Year nominations from the CMA on September 10, 2008. On November 12, 2008 Brad Paisley won Male Vocalist of the Year and Music Video of the Year for "Waitin' on a Woman" during the CMA's.

2009–2010: American Saturday Night

Brad Paisley announced on January 26, 2009 his new tour named "American Saturday Night." Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne will be opening in the majority of the shows. Brad Paisley's newest album, American Saturday Night was released on June 30, 2009. The album's lead off single, "Then" was released in March 2009 and performed for the first time on American Idol on March 18. It went on to become Paisley's 14th number one single and his tenth in a row.

On May 6, 2009, Paisley gave an exclusive performance to a small group of members from his fan club in Studio A of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN as he and his band taped an episode of CMT Invitation Only. The show gives fans a chance to see their favorite artists in a more intimate setting up close and personal. There was a Q & A session and interaction between Paisley and his fans. The show aired on Monday, August 3 at 9:00 p.m. on CMT.

On July 21, 2009, Paisley performed at the White House in celebration of country music. "Country Music at the White House " was streamed live on the White House web-site as well as a special on Great American Country.

On November 11, 2009, Paisley co-hosted the CMA Awards for the second straight year. He also performed Welcome to the Future, and won both Male Vocalist of the Year and Musical Event of the Year for Start a Band with Keith Urban.

On March 1, 2010, Paisley was the first musical performance with "American Saturday Night" for the second tenure of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

On Friday March 5, 2010, Paisley slipped and fell performing his last song of the set, "Alcohol," at a concert at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, South Carolina, on the final date of the American Saturday Night Tour. Fearing a broken rib, he was held overnight at an area hospital, but was released when a CT scan was negative.

On July 31, 2010 Brad performed alongside Carrie Underwood at the inaugural Greenbrier Classic PGA Tour Event in Lewisburg, W.Va. An estimated 60,000 people attended the out door event to watch Carrie and Brad perform in the pouring rain.

2010: Hits Alive

On August 4, 2010, it was announced on his official website that Paisley would release his first official greatest hits package, entitled Hits Alive. Released on November 2, 2010, Hits Alive is a double-disc collection, with one disc containing studio versions of Paisley's hit singles, while the companion disc features previously unreleased live versions of his songs.

Brad Paisley cohosted the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010, where he was also awarded the CMA's top award, Entertainer of the Year. During his acceptance speech, Paisley emotionally honored his grandfather, who inspired him to play the guitar.

2011: This Is Country Music

In December 2010, Paisley released "This Is Country Music" as the title track to his upcoming 2011 studio album, to be released April 19.

Tours

''Brooks & Dunn's Neon Circus & Wild West Show 2003

Mud & Suds Tour 2004 (w/ Sara Evans, Andy Griggs)

Two Hats & A Redhead Tour 2005 (w/ Reba McEntire, Terri Clark)

Time Well Wasted Tour 2006 (w/ Sara Evans, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Jake Owen, Josh Turner, Billy Currington)

Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour 2007–2008 (w/ Taylor Swift, Jack Ingram, Kellie Pickler, Rodney Atkins, Chuck Wicks)

The Paisley Party Tour 2008 (w/ Chuck Wicks, Julianne Hough, Jewel)

The Paisley Party Tour 2009 (w/ Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker, Crystal Shawanda)

American Saturday Night Tour 2009 (w/ Dierks Bentley, Jimmy Wayne)

American Saturday Night Tour 2010 (w/ Miranda Lambert, Justin Moore)

The H2O Tour 2010 (w/ Darius Rucker, Justin Moore, Easton Corbin, Steel Magnolia, Josh Thompson)

The H2O Frozen Over Tour 2011 (w/ Darius Rucker, Jerrod Niemann)

Band

Paisley records his studio albums, in most part, with the backing of his live band, The Drama Kings. Their first gig together was May 7, 1999. The only changes have been Randel Currie's addition on the steel guitar in 2000 and Jimmy Heffernan's departure in 2001. Also, Jody Harris worked as Paisley's guitar tech until officially becoming a bandmember for the American Saturday Night Tour. As of 2010, the lineup is:

Brad Paisley – Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar

Gary Hooker – Rhythm Guitar

Randle Currie – Steel Guitar

Kendal Marcy – Keyboards, Banjo, Mandolin

Justin Williamson – Fiddle, Mandolin

Kenny Lewis – Bass

Ben Sesar – Drums

Personal life

Paisley had seen Father of the Bride with a former girlfriend. They broke up, but when Father of the Bride Part II was released, he went to see the sequel alone. He said that he watched Kimberly Williams' performance and "thought, She seems like a great girl — smart and funny and all those things that are so hard to find." Their second son, Jasper Warren (named after his grandfather who bought Brad his first guitar), was born on April 17, 2009.

Paisley is a member of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, and a Noble of the AAONMS, also known as Shriners. He was accompanied by his father, Doug Paisley (32º), for the ceremony on October 28, 2006. He also invited former Browns Quarterback Brady Quinn to a concert at the Blossom Music Center, in 2008.

Paisley is also a fan of West Virginia University athletics and the Boston Red Sox. He can even be seen occasionally on stage playing a custom guitar with the WVU logo and school colors or in a Red Sox shirt.

In fall of 2009, it was announced in Variety that Paisley would enter the world of scripted television as an executive producer of a new hour-long drama series for The CW network called, appropriately, Nashville. The plot was written and created by Neal Dodson and Matt Bomer (an actor on the USA Network series, White Collar). The creator of the series One Tree Hill, Mark Schwahn will direct the pilot and oversee the series. Star Trek and Heroes actor Zachary Quinto is also an executive producer on the series, along with Dodson, Bomer, and Corey Moosa.

As of July 2010, the series is not on the CW's fall schedule or mid-season schedule for 2010–2011 and the status of the project is unknown.

For equipment, he currently uses custom Bill Crook and Fender Telecasters, along with Dr. Z Amplifiers.

Discography

Albums

1999: Who Needs Pictures

2001: Part II

2003: Mud on the Tires

2005: Time Well Wasted

2006: Brad Paisley Christmas

2007: 5th Gear

2008: Play

2009: American Saturday Night

2010: Hits Alive

2011: This Is Country Music

Awards

Brad Paisley has won the following awards:

Academy of Country Music

* 1999 – Top New Male Vocalist of the Year

* 2004 – Vocal Event of the Year ("Whiskey Lullaby")

* 2004 – Video of the Year ("Whiskey Lullaby")

* 2005 – Album of the Year ("Time Well Wasted")

* 2005 – Vocal Event of the Year ("When I Get Where I'm Going")

* 2005 – Video of the Year ("When I Get Where I'm Going")

* 2007 – Top Male Vocalist of the Year

* 2008 – Top Male Vocalist of the Year

* 2008 – Video of the Year ("Online")

* 2009 – Video of the Year ("Waitin' on a Woman")

* 2009 – Vocal Event of the Year ("Start a Band")

* 2009 – Top Male Vocalist of the Year

* 2010 – Top Male Vocalist of the Year

Country Music Association Awards

* 2000 – Horizon Award

* 2001 – Vocal Event of the Year ("Too Country")

* 2002 – Music Video of the Year ("I'm Gonna Miss Her")

* 2004 – Musical Event of the Year ("Whiskey Lullaby")

* 2004 – Music Video of the Year ("Whiskey Lullaby")

* 2006 – Album of the Year (Time Well Wasted)

* 2006 – Musical Event of the Year ("When I Get Where I'm Going")

* 2007 – Music Video of the Year ("Online" – director Jason Alexander)

* 2007 – Male Vocalist of the Year

* 2008 – Music Video of the Year ("Waitin' on a Woman")

* 2008 – Male Vocalist of the Year

* 2009 – Male Vocalist of the Year

* 2009 – Musical Event of the Year ("Start A Band" with Keith Urban)

* 2010 – Entertainer of the Year

Grammy Awards

* 2008 – Best Country Instrumental Performance ("Throttleneck")

* 2009 – Best Country Instrumental Performance ("Cluster Pluck")

* 2009 – Best Male Country Vocal Performance ("Letter to Me")

Country Weekly Presents the TNN Music Awards

* 2000 – The Discovery Award

* 2000 – Song of the Year ("He Didn't Have to Be")

* 2000 – CMT Music Video of the Year ("He Didn't Have to Be")

Flameworthy Awards/CMT Music Awards

* 2002 – Concept Video of the Year ("I'm Gonna Miss Her")

* 2005 – Collaborative Video of the Year ("Whiskey Lullaby")

* 2006 – Most Inspiring Video of the Year ("When I Get Where I'm Going")

* 2008 – Comedy Video of the Year ("Online")

* 2009 – CMT Performance of the Year ("Country Boy")

* 2009 – Collaborative Video of the Year ("Start a Band")

* 2009 – Male Video of the Year ("Waitin' On a Woman")

American Music Awards

* 2008 – Favorite Country Male Artist

* 2010 – Favorite Country Male Artist

American Country Awards

* 2010 – Artist of the Year - Male

Orville H. Gibson Guitar Award

* 2002 – Best Country Guitarist (Male)

Nashville Songwriters Association International Award

* 2002 – Songwriter/Artist of the Year

* 2005 – Songwriter/Artist of the Year

ASCAP Country Music Award

* 2004 – Songwriter/Artist of the Year

References

External links

Official Website

Brad Paisley's UK Website

Category:1972 births Category:American country guitarists Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:Arista Records artists Category:Belmont University alumni Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Living people Category:People from Marshall County, West Virginia Category:Musicians from West Virginia

Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	Willie Nelson
Landscape	no
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Willie Hugh Nelson
Born	April 30, 1933Abbott, TexasUnited States is an American country singer-songwriter, author, poet, actor and activist. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, and remains iconic, especially in American popular culture.
Name	Nelson, Willie Hugh
|short description	American entertainer and songwriter
|date of birth	April 30, 1933 |
Place of birth	Abbott, Texas, United States of America |
Date of death	|
Place of death	|

Category:1933 births Category:Living people Category:9/11 conspiracy theorists Category:Abilene, Texas Category:American activists Category:American actors Category:American country guitarists Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:Artists from Louisiana Category:Baylor University alumni Category:Cannabis culture Category:American taekwondo practitioners Category:Challenge Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Lafayette, Louisiana Category:Liberty Records artists Category:Musicians from Texas Category:Psychedelic drug advocates Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Lost Highway Records artists Category:The Highwaymen (country supergroup) members

Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	Rodney Atkins
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Rodney Atkins
Born	March 28, 1969
Origin	Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar
Genre	Country
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1997–present
Label	Curb
Associated acts	Ted Hewitt
Url	http://www.rodneyatkins.com/

Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969, in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records since 1996, Atkins charted his first single on the Billboard country charts that year, but did not release an album until 2003's Honesty, which included the Top 5 hit "Honesty (Write Me a List)."

If You're Going Through Hell, his second album, was released in 2006. Its first two singles, "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" and "Watching You", each spent four weeks at the top of the country music charts. Both songs were also named as the Number One country song of the year by Billboard magazine ("If You're Going Through Hell" in 2006, and "Watching You" in 2007). The album, which has since been certified platinum in the United States, has produced two more Number One singles in "These Are My People" and "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)" as well as "Invisibly Shaken" which peaked at #41. A twelfth single, "It's America," was released in November 2008 as the first release from his third album It's America and the song became his fifth Number One charting single and was performed on numerous awards shows and national TV shows. In the summer of 2010, Atkins released “Farmer’s Daughter” that is on 2009's It's America and the September 2010 special release from Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, Rodney Atkins.

Biography

Rodney Atkins was born in Tennessee, and put up for adoption not long after his birth. As an infant at the Holston Methodist Home for Children in Greeneville, Tennessee, he was so sick that two couples who had taken him home returned him a few days later. A third couple, Margaret and Allan Atkins from Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, adopted him as well and, even though his ailments worsened, refused to give him up. His adoptive mother had been raised in a coal mining family near a tannery camp, and his dad survived an upbringing marked by poverty and episodes of abuse.

He attended high school at Powell Valley High in Speedwell, TN. During high school, Atkins played guitar in his spare time at events and festivals. He went to college at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tennessee, where he worked various jobs in order to pay for his education as well as playing baseball. He also went into Nashville to play gigs and write songs. however, after deciding that he was not satisfied with the album's contents at that point, he asked Mike Curb (the label's president) to allow him more time to work on the album. For two more years, Atkins continued to work on his debut album, although it was never released.

Family and personal life

Atkins is married to Tammy Jo (who can be seen in Rodney's video "Farmer's Daughter") and has a son named Elijah, who appears in the video for "Watching You". Atkins also has two stepdaughters, Lindsey and Morgan, from Tammy's previous relationship. |- | 2009 | style="text-align:left;"| It's America

Release date: March 31, 2009

Label: Curb Records

| 3 | 15 | — | 8 | 84 | |- | colspan="10" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |}

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

Official Website

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:Curb Records artists Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:People from Greeneville, Tennessee Category:American adoptees

Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	Lee Kernaghan
Img alt	Man in black hat sitting on ground
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Lee Raymond Kernaghan
Born	April 15, 1964in Corryong, Victoria
Origin	Australia
Genre	Country
Occupation	Songwriter, composer, musician
Years active	1969–present
Label	Universal, ABC
Associated acts	The Blue DevilsFiona KernaghanRay KernaghanTania Kernaghan
Url	http://www.leekernaghan.com.au/

Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964 in Corryong, Victoria) is an Australian country music singer and songwriter. He was the 2008 Australian of the Year.

Honours

Kernaghan was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1994.

In 2008 he was Australian of the Year.

Discography

Albums

The Outback Club (1992)

Three Chain Road (1993)

1959 (1995)

Hat Town (1997)

The Christmas Album (1999)

Rules Of The Road (2000)

Electric Rodeo (2003)

The Big Ones – Greatest Hits Vol.1 (2004)

The New Bush (2006)

Spirit of the Bush (2007)

Planet Country (2009)

References

External links

Lee Kernaghan's Official website

Category:1964 births Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian country singer-songwriters Category:Australian male singers Category:Australian musical theatre actors Category:Australian of the Year Award winners Category:Living people Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia

Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	LeAnn Rimes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Margaret LeAnn Rimes
Born	August 28, 1982
Origin	Pearl, Mississippi, United States
Genre	Country popCountry
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, actress, Author
Years active	1994 - present
Label	Asylum-Curb
Associated acts	Bon Jovi, Elton John, Ronan Keating, Brian McFadden, Marc Broussard
Url	Official Website

Margaret LeAnn Rimes (born August 28, 1982) is an American Country singer-songwriter, actress, and author. She is best known for her rich vocals similar to country music singer Patsy Cline, and her rise to fame at the age of 13, becoming the youngest country music star since Tanya Tucker in 1972.

Rimes made her breakthrough into country music in 1996. Her debut album, Blue, reached Number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart and was certified "multi-platinum" in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album's lead single of the same name (originally intended to be recorded by Patsy Cline in the early 1960s) became a Top 10 hit. With immediate success, Rimes attained widespread national acclaim for her similarities to Cline's vocal style. When Rimes released her sophomore studio effort in 1997, , Rimes went more towards country pop material, which would set the trend for a string of albums that would be released into the next decade.

Since her debut, Rimes has won many major industry awards, which include two Grammys, three ACMs, one CMA, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and one American Music award. In addition, Rimes has also released ten studio albums and four compilation albums through her record label of 13 years, Asylum-Curb, and placed over 40 singles on American and international charts since 1996. She has sold over 37 million records worldwide.

Early life

Born Margaret LeAnn Rimes (in Pearl, Mississippi); the only child of Belinda Butler Rimes and Wilbur Rimes. The family relocated to Garland, Texas when she was six years old, where Rimes was raised. She was singing by the age of two, was enrolled into vocal and dance training, and by the age of five was performing at local talent shows.One of her best friends, Jordan Villarreal, supported her when she sang. Rimes initially began her career in musical theatre, performing in a Dallas, Texas production of A Christmas Carol, and almost landed the lead part in the Broadway production of Annie. However, after appearing on the network television competition show, Star Search, Rimes decided to pursue a career in country music. Following her national television appearance, Rimes made a number of appearances on Johnnie High's Country Music Revue in Arlington, Texas, which garnered the attention of national talent scouts. While Curb was releasing "Blue," a claim was also sent out that Mack had been waiting over 30 years to find the perfect artist to record "Blue." However, the story was later found to be an exaggeration, as it was discovered that "Blue" had already been recorded by three different artists. Mack himself and Kenny Roberts both released versions of the song on Starday Records in the 1960s. In 1993, Australian artist Catherine Britt released her own version as a single in her native country. The story, though, was continually spread throughout the national press, adding to the idea that Rimes was the successor to Patsy Cline's legacy. Allmusic considered the album to be "delightful" and that it could "help inspire other young teens." Rimes followed up the single with several charting country singles from her 1996 album, starting with "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)", which reached Number 1 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1996. She also released a duet single with Eddy Arnold from the album, a remake of his 1955 hit "The Cattle Call". Rimes' version of the title track became a major country hit in early 1997 and helped increase sales for the album. The album sold over four million copies in the United States, certifying 4× Multi-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album contained the single "How Do I Live", which became a major pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching Number 2.

Rimes released her third album for Curb in May 1998, Sittin' on Top of the World. The album leaned more progressively towards Adult Contemporary and mid-tempo pop music. It included pop material written by Carol Bayer Sager and David Foster. Rolling Stone said Rimes vocal style "holds her own in the more popular style of Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, wherein a spectacular voice upstages a song, grins and goes on about her business." Upon its release, Sittin' on Top of the World debuted at Number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart, and Number 3 on the Billboard 200, and sold over a million copies in the United States, certifying "Platinum" in sales by the RIAA. The album covered songs mainly by Patsy Cline – which included "Crazy", "I Fall to Pieces", and "She's Got You" – that were primarily taken from her 12 Greatest Hits album. The album also covered Marty Robbins's "Don't Worry" and Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee". The album included one new song, "Big Deal". The song gained many positive reviews. Allmusic called the song, "a return to her roots" and "a salute to one of her idols, Patsy Cline." The album in general received much praise. Allmusic called the album one of her "better" efforts, since they had disliked her previous releases. Entertainment Weekly gave the album a positive review and said that Rimes's voice, "dares listeners to take note of what is missing in her interpretations -- the gutsiness and gut-wrenching urgency of performers who felt what they sang." The album was a major success like her previous releases, debuting at Number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, topping the country albums chart for two weeks. In addition, it also peaked at Number 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album also sold over one million copies in the United States, and was certified "Platinum" in sales by the RIAA. Despite very little praise from critics, the album was sold well, certifying "Gold" in sales by the RIAA. was originally recorded for the TV movie Jesus.

2002–2004: I Need You, Twisted Angel, Greatest Hits

In February 2002 Rimes re-released the I Need You album with 9 of the songs originally released on the album, an extended version of the song You Are, the song Light the Fire Within which she sang at the Olympics the previous year and 4 bonus remixes. Rimes would later that year release her seventh album (sixth studio album) titled Twisted Angel, which contained more adult material. Instead, Rimes executive produced the album. A month following the album's release, Twisted Angel was certified "Gold" by the RIAA, her second Gold-certified album. The album peaked at Number 3 on the Top Country Albums chart and Number 12 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Three singles were spawned from the album between 2002 and 2003, however none of the singles were Top 40 hits on the country or pop charts. The lead single, "Life Goes on", reached the Top 40 only on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, peaking at Number 19. The second single, "Tic Toc" was a Top 40 Dance club hit in 2003. Featured on the album was the single, We Can, which was originally released on the soundtrack of Legally Blonde 2 in July 2003. The album would eventually be certified "Platinum" in 2007 The following year in October 2004, Rimes issued her first holiday-themed album titled, What a Wonderful World. reaching Number 3 on the Billboard 200 and Number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart in 2005, selling more than 100,000 copies within its first week. Rimes explained to the Chicago Sun-Times that the album helped mature her as a person, "I have 10 years of experience, so it's tough to get anything past me in this business. I've become a very strong woman because of all I've gone through, good and bad."

Rimes would release one final single in the US from her album This Woman in August 2006 called "Some People" which would peak at 34 on the US country charts.

2007-2009: Family

Rimes took a two-year break, and then released her next studio album in October 2007, Family. The album was a mix of country, pop, and rock music, and included a duet with Bon Jovi, "Til We Ain't Strangers Anymore". Allmusic gave Family four out of five stars and said that the album, "illustrates her range as a singer along with some true strength as a writer." The album helped nominate Rimes for the Academy of Country Music's "Top Female Vocalist" award in 2008.

In 2008, Rimes toured with Kenny Chesney where she opened every show on his 2008 Poets and Pirates Tour, along with other artists on select dates such as Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, Gary Allan, Big & Rich, and Luke Bryan. In late 2008, Rimes was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "What I Cannot Change", the third single from the album. In 2008, she recorded For Good with Delta Goodrem for the Wicked 5th Anniversary album. LeAnn teamed up with Joss Stone for a CMT Crossroads special aired in fall 2007.

2010-present: Lady And Gentlemen

Despite singing new material at several live shows earlier in the year, it was announced on May 24, 2010 by Rimes via her Twitter account that her new studio album would be a cover album of country songs, entitled Lady and Gentlemen. The first single from the album is a cover of John Anderson's 1983 single, "Swingin'. LeAnn first debuted the song at the 2010 CMT Music Awards. The single was released on June 8, 2010. According to LeAnn Rimes' official website, she is planning on re-recording her hit,"Blue" for the new album. She stated that she wants "the album to be perfect." Since she is doing this, the album would take a longer waiting time to come out. It will not come out October 5, 2010. On November 8, 2010, LeAnn released her second single, "Crazy Women" to radio. Crazy Women along with a re-recorded version of Blue and Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down were announced in the same post as the 3 extra tracks that LeAnn went back in the studio to add to the album. Before the CMA Awards 2010, LeAnn stated that the album is currently going to come out in March 2011.

Books

On October 13, 1997 LeAnn Rimes and Tom Carter released her first book "Holiday in Your Heart" and it was made into a TV Movie. In 2003 and 2004 LeAnn along with Richard Bernal released two Children's Books. "Jag" and "Jag's New Friend". LeAnn and Darrel Brown released "What I Cannot Change" on April 14, 2009.

Musicianship

Vocal ability and musical stylings

Since her debut in 1996, Rimes' voice and vocal style have often been compared to and identified with Patsy Cline. Cline showed distinctive emotional expression in most of her material. Rimes has also used distinctive emotional expression in many of her songs, most notably her first single, "Blue", which was sung in the style of Cline. Rimes' vocal similarities to Cline had brought wide interest to the idea that Rimes was the successor to Cline's legacy, and brought her novelty appeal. Many music critics have argued that Rimes' vocals were only a reproduction of Cline's original sound, while others have disagreed. Rimes has stated the main influence on her career is Patsy Cline. She has covered many of Cline's hit songs since the beginning of her career. Her 1999 self-titled album is primarily a tribute to Cline, as Rimes recorded five out of ten songs for the album that had been hits for Cline years before. She made her official film debut in 2001 for Coyote Ugly, providing the singing voice for Piper Perabo's character Violet Sanford and making a cameo appearance towards the end of the film. In addition, she also recorded four songs for the film's soundtrack, including the Top 20 Pop hit, "Can't Fight the Moonlight." Rimes played in the movie Good Intentions with her friend Elaine Hendricks which is filming near Atlanta, Georgia. Rimes plays Meg Galligan in the made for TV movie, Northern Lights, based on the Nora Roberts novel of the same name. The film aired on the Lifetime network on March 12, 2009.

Personal life

and Laura Bush listen to LeAnn Rimes perform in the East Room of the White House in a performance honoring the Dance Theatre of Harlem on February 6, 2006]]

Lawsuits

On May 21, 2000, Rimes filed a lawsuit against her father, Wilbur Rimes, and her former manager, Lyle Walker in Dallas, Texas. Rimes claimed that her father and former manager took over seven million dollars from her in the preceding five years. Rimes also alleged that both men made unreasonable fees and took advantage of Rimes's label, Asylum-Curb, in order to acquire financial gain. Rimes sought unspecified damages because her attorney was not sure of how much money had been lost in the preceding five years. According to Rimes's lawyer, her mother hired two accountants to investigate how much was taken from Rimes's fortune, and it was estimated that the men acquired around eight million dollars in royalties.

In November 2000, Rimes filed a second lawsuit against her label, Asylum-Curb. Rimes wanted permission to be released from the contract that was signed by her parents on Rimes's behalf when she originally signed with the label in 1995. She also wanted her label to turn over the rights of her music, video work, and publishing interests, and omit all of her recordings that were currently being distributed at the time of the lawsuit. Part of Rimes's legal battles ended in December 2001, when Asylum-Curb started a new contract with Rimes. The divorce was finalized on June 19, 2010, exactly six months after Sheremet filed divorce documents for dissolution of marriage.

Rimes is currently involved in a relationship with her Northern Lights co-star Eddie Cibrian, with whom she had a well-publicized extra-marital affair prior to the split from her own husband. Cibrian, the father of two children, left his wife for Rimes and filed for divorce in August 2009, after ten years of marriage. In June 2010 Rimes spoke for the first time about the end of her marriage, stating that, while she was sorry that people were hurt, she had no regrets about the outcome of the affair. On December 27, 2010, it was announced via Billboard that Rimes and Cibrian were engaged.

Philanthropy

In 2008, she opened up about her lifelong struggle with the autoimmune disease psoriasis. She participated in a PSA to raise awareness about the disease.

Rimes lent her voice to the 2008 song Just Stand Up. The proceeds benefited Stand Up to Cancer. As a result of SU2C fundraising endeavors, the SU2C scientific advisory committee, overseen by the American Association for Cancer Research, was able to award $73.6 million towards cancer research.

In 2011, Rimes will be the star in a congressional Republican freshman fundraiser, where lobbyists, political action committee managers and others paying the $2,500 ticket price will be treated to a private performance (a $50,000 package includes a block of eight tickets and a “VIP suite” at the W).

Wealth

According to "Celebrity Net Worth", Rimes has a current estimated net worth of $38 million as of 2010, is one of the richest female country singers in America.

Discography

;Studio albums

1994: All That

1996: Blue

1997:

1997:

1998: Sittin' on Top of the World

1999: LeAnn Rimes

2001: I Need You

2002: Twisted Angel

2004: What a Wonderful World

2005: This Woman

2006: Whatever We Wanna

2007: Family

2011: Lady and Gentlemen

;Compilation albums

2001: God Bless America

2003: Greatest Hits

2004: The Best of LeAnn Rimes

Filmography

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center" ! Year ! Name ! Role ! Other notes |- | rowspan="2"| 1997 | Holiday in Your Heart | Herself | Main Role |- | "Moesha" | Herself | |- | 1998 | Days of Our Lives | Madison | Episode 1 |- | 2000 | Coyote Ugly | Herself | cameo appearance/singing voice:Piper Perabo |- | 2003 | American Dreams | Connie Francis | Season 3 episode; "Where the Boys Are" |- | 2004 | Extreme Makeover Home Edition | Herself | Cox Family; guest star |- | 2006 | | Kelly Deegan | TV film |- | 2008 | Good Intentions | Pam |Released on DVD March 9, 2010 |- | rowspan="2" | 2009 | Northern Lights | Meg Galligan | TV film Released on DVD October 6, 2009 |- |I Get That a Lot |Waitress |Television special (1 episode) |}

Awards

Country Music Association awards

Academy of Country Music awards

Grammy awards

American music awards

CMT music awards

References

External links

Official International Website

Official UK Website

Official Myspace: LeAnn Rimes

Official Facebook: LeAnn Rimes

Official Twitter: LeAnn Rimes

Official Northern Lights movie site starring LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian at myLifetime.com

Category:1982 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American country singers Category:American female singers Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American pop singers Category:Curb Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musicians from Texas Category:Actors from Texas Category:People from Garland, Texas Category:People from Rankin County, Mississippi Category:Musicians from Mississippi Category:Actors from Mississippi Category:Living people

Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	Little Jimmy Dickens
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	James Cecil Dickens
Alias	Little Jimmy Dickens
Born	December 19, 1920
Origin	Bolt, West Virginia, United States
Instrument	Guitar
Genre	Country
Years active	late 1930s – Present
Label	Columbia Records, Decca Records, United Artists Records

James Cecil Dickens (born December 19, 1920), better known as Little Jimmy Dickens, is an American country music singer famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size, 4'11" (150 cm), and his rhinestone-studded outfits. He has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 60 years and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Biography

Born in Bolt, West Virginia, Dickens, who is related to Charles Dickens, began his musical career in the late 1930s, performing on a local radio station while attending West Virginia University. He soon quit school to pursue a full-time music career, and travelled the country performing on various local radio stations under the name "Jimmy the Kid."

In 1948, Dickens was heard performing on a radio station in Saginaw, Michigan by Roy Acuff, who introduced him to Art Satherly at Columbia Records and officials from the Grand Ole Opry. Dickens signed with Columbia in September and joined the Opry in August. Around this time he began using the nickname, Little Jimmy Dickens, inspired by his short stature.

Dickens recorded many novelty songs for Columbia, including "Country Boy," "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed" and "I'm Little But I'm Loud." His song "Take an Old Cold Tater (And Wait)" inspired Hank Williams to nickname him "Tater". Later, telling Jimmy he needed a hit, Williams penned "Hey Good Lookin'" specifically for Dickens in only 20 minutes while on a Grand Ole Opry tour bus. A week later Williams cut the song himself, jokingly telling him, "That song's too good for you!"

In 1950 he formed the Country Boys with musicians Jabbo Arrington, Grady Martin, Bob Moore and Thumbs Carllile and. It was during this time that he discovered future Hall of Famer Marty Robbins at a Phoenix, Arizona television station while on tour with Grand Ole Opry road show. In 1957, Dickens left the Grand Ole Opry to tour with the Philip Morris Country Music Show.

In 1962 Dickens released "The Violet and the Rose," his first top ten single in 12 years. During 1964 he became the first country artist to circle the globe while on tour, and also made numerous TV appearances including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. In 1965 he released his biggest hit, "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose," reaching number one on the country chart and number fifteen on the pop chart.

In the late 1960s he left Columbia for Decca Records, before moving again to United Artists in 1971. That same year he married his wife, Mona, and in 1975 he returned to the Grand Ole Opry. In 1983 Dickens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

He joined producers Randall Franks and Alan Autry for the In the Heat of the Night cast CD “Christmas Time’s A Comin’” performing "Jingle Bells" with the cast on the CD released on Sonlite and MGM/UA for one of the most popular Christmas releases of 1991 and 1992 with Southern retailers.

Recently, Dickens has made appearances in a number of music videos by fellow country musician and West Virginia native Brad Paisley. He has also been featured on several of Paisley's albums in bonus comedy tracks along with other Opry mainstays such as George Jones and Bill Anderson. They are collectively referred to as the Kung-Pao Buckaroos.

With the passing of Hank Locklin in March 2009, Dickens became the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry at the age of 90. He still makes regular appearances as a host at the Opry, often with the self-deprecating joke that he is also known as "Willie Nelson ."

Discography

Studio albums

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center; |- ! rowspan=2| Year ! rowspan=2| Album details ! colspan=1| Chart positions |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width=60| US Country |- | 1954 | align=left| Old Country Church

Released: 1954

Label: Columbia

| — |- | 1960 | align=left| Big Songs by Little Jimmy Dickens

Released: September 1960

Label: Columbia

| — |- | 1962 | align=left| Little Jimmy Dickens Sings Out Behind the Barn

Released: September 1962

Label: Columbia

| — |- | rowspan=2| 1965 | align=left| Handle with Care

Released: February 1965

Label: Columbia

| — |- | align=left| May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose

Released: November 1965

Label: Columbia

| 4 |- | rowspan=2| 1968 | align=left| Big Man in Country Music

Released: 1968

Label: Columbia

| — |- | align=left| Little Jimmy Dickens Sings

Released: March 1968

Label: Decca

| — |- | 1969 | align=left| Jimmy Dickens Comes Callin'

Released: February 1969

Label: Decca

| — |- | align="center" colspan="3" style="font-size: 8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. |- |}

Compilation albums

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center; |- ! rowspan=2| Year ! rowspan=2| Album details ! colspan=1| Chart positions |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width=60| US Country |- | 1957 | align=left| Raisin' the Dickens

Released: November 1957

Label: Columbia

| — |- | 1966 | align=left| Little Jimmy Dickens' Greatest Hits

Released: 1966

Label: Columbia

| 39 |- | 1969 | align=left| Greatest Hits

Released: 1969

Label: Decca

| — |- | 1976 | align=left| Hymns of the Hour

Released: 1976

Label: Quantum

| — |- | 1983 | align=left| Historic Edition

Released: 1983

Label: Columbia

| — |- | align="center" colspan="3" style="font-size: 8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. |- |}

Singles

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center; |- ! rowspan=2| Year ! rowspan=2| Song ! colspan=2| Peak positions ! rowspan=2| Album |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width=50| US Country ! width=50| US |- | rowspan=4| 1949 | align=left| "Take an Old Cold 'Tater (And Wait)" | 7 | — | align=left rowspan=2| Raisin' the Dickens |- | align=left| "Country Boy" | 7 | — |- | align=left| "My Heart's Bouquet" | 10 | — | align=left| Big Songs by Little Jimmy Dickens |- | align=left| "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed" | 6 | — | align=left| Raisin' the Dickens |- | rowspan=6| 1950 | align=left| "A Rose From Bride's Bouquet" | — | — | align=left rowspan=5| non-album singles |- | align=left| "Hillbilly Fever" | 3 | — |- | align=left| "F-o-o-l-i-sh Me" | — | — |- | align=left| "Walk Chicken, Walk" | — | — |- | align=left| "Out of Business" | — | — |- | align=left| "I'm Little, But I'm Loud" | — | — | align=left| Raisin' the Dickens |- | rowspan=5| 1951 | align=left| "Cold Feet" | — | — | align=left rowspan=9| non-album singles |- | align=left| "What About You" | — | — |- | align=left| "Sign of the Highway" | — | — |- | align=left| "Poor Little Darlin'" | — | — |- | align=left| "Old Rugged Cross" (with the Johnson Family Singers) | — | — |- | rowspan=7| 1952 | align=left| "They Locked God Outside the Iron Curtain" | — | — |- | align=left| "Lola Lee" | — | — |- | align=left| "Hot Diggity Dog" | — | — |- | align=left| "Waitress, Waitress" | — | — |- | align=left| "Take Up Thy' Cross" | — | — | align=left rowspan=2| Old Country Church |- | align=left| "No Tears in Heaven" | — | — |- | align=left| "Wedding Bell Waltz" | — | — | align=left| non-album single |- | rowspan=5| 1953 | align=left| "I Shall Not Be Moved" | — | — | align=left| Old Country Church |- | align=left| "Sidemeat and Cabbage" | — | — | align=left rowspan=4| non-album singles |- | align=left| "I'm Making Love to a Stranger" | — | — |- | align=left| "Thick and Thin" | — | — |- | align=left| "No Place Like Home on Christmas" | — | — |- | rowspan=6| 1954 | align=left| "That Little Old Country Church House" | — | — | align=left| Old Country Church |- | align=left| "Y'All Come Home" | — | — | align=left rowspan=2| non-album singles |- | align=left| "You Better Not Do That" | — | — |- | align=left| "Out Behind the Barn" | 9 | — | align=left| Raisin' the Dickens |- | align=left| "Blackeyed Joe's" | — | — | align=left rowspan=19| non-album singles |- | align=left| "Stinky Pass That Hat Around" | — | — |- | rowspan=3| 1955 | align=left| "Salty Boogie" | — | — |- | align=left| "We Could" | — | — |- | align=left| "I'm Braver Now" | — | — |- | rowspan=6| 1956 | align=left| "Hey Worm (You Wanna Wiggle)" | — | — |- | align=left| "Big Sandy" | — | — |- | align=left| "Country Boy Bounce" (with The Country Boys) | — | — |- | align=left| "Cornbread and Buttermilk" | — | — |- | align=left| "Say It Now" | — | — |- | align=left| "Raisin' the Dickens" (with The Country Boys) | — | — |- | rowspan=3| 1957 | align=left| "I Never Had the Blues" | — | — |- | align=left| "Makin' the Rounds" | — | — |- | align=left| "Family Reunion" | — | — |- | 1958 | align=left| "(I Got a) Hole in My Pocket" | — | — |- | rowspan=3| 1959 | align=left| "When Your House Is Not a Home" | — | — |- | align=left| "Hannah" | — | — |- | align=left| "Hey Ma (Hide the Daughter)" | — | — |- | rowspan=2| 1960 | align=left| "We Lived It Up" | — | — |- | align=left| "Fireball Mail" | — | — | align=left| Big Songs by Little Jimmy Dickens |- | 1961 | align=left| "Talking to the Wall" | — | — | align=left| non-album single |- | rowspan=3| 1962 | align=left| "Twenty Cigarettes" | — | — | align=left rowspan=2| Out Behind the Barn |- | align=left| "The Violet and the Rose" | 10 | — |- | align=left| "Police, Police" | — | — | align=left| non-album single |- | 1963 | align=left| "Another Bridge to Burn" | 28 | — | align=left rowspan=4| ''Handle with Care' |- | rowspan=2| 1964 | align=left| "I Leaned Over Backwards for You" | — | — |- | align=left| "Is Goodbye That Easy to Say" | — | — |- | rowspan=2| 1965 | align=left| "He Stands Real Tall" | 21 | — |- | align=left| "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose"^[A] | 1 | 15 | align=left| May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose |- | rowspan=3| 1966 | align=left| "When the Ship Hit the Sand" | 27 | 103 | align=left| Greatest Hits |- | align=left| "Who Licked the Red Off Your Candy" | 41 | — | align=left rowspan=4| Big Man in Country Music |- | align=left| "Where the Buffalo Trud" | — | — |- | rowspan=3| 1967 | align=left| "Country Music Lover" | 23 | — |- | align=left| "Johnny Needs a G-String (For Her Old Guitar)" | — | — |- | align=left| "Daddy and the Wine" | — | — | align=left rowspan=2| Little Jimmy Dickens Sings |- | rowspan=4| 1968 | align=left| "I Love Lucy Brown" | — | — |- | align=left| "How to Catch an African Skeeter Alive" | 69 | — | align=left rowspan=2| Little Jimmy Dickens Comes Callin' |- | align=left| "Someday You'll Call My Name" | — | — |- | align=left| "When You're Seventeen" | 55 | — | align=left| Greatest Hits (1966) |- | 1969 | align=left| "Times Are Gonna Get Better" | — | — | align=left rowspan=8| non-album singles |- | rowspan=2| 1970 | align=left| "(You've Been Quite a Doll) Raggedy Ann" | 75 | — |- | align=left| "Everyday Family Man" | 70 | — |- | rowspan=2| 1971 | align=left| "Here It Comes Again" | — | — |- | align=left| "You Only Want Me for My Body" | — | — |- | rowspan=2| 1972 | align=left| "Try It, You'll Like It" | 61 | — |- | align=left| "Alabam" | — | — |- | 1976 | align=left| "Preacherman" | — | — |- | align="center" colspan="5" style="font-size: 8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. |- |}

B-sides

{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center; |- ! rowspan=2| Year ! rowspan=2| Song ! colspan=1| Peak positions ! rowspan=2| A-Side Single |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width=60| US Country |- | 1949 | align=left| "Pennies for Papa" | 12 | align=left| "Take an Old Cold 'Tater (And Wait)" |- |}

External links

Watch Little Jimmy Dickens, "Hannah", on Ozark Jubilee, August 1, 1959 (Flash player)

Dickens in the Country Music Hall of Fame

Grand Ole Opry member

[ Allmusic]

Category:1920 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Raleigh County, West Virginia Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Columbia Records artists

Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	Gwyneth Paltrow
Caption	Paltrow at the launch of Estée Lauder's Sensuous perfume, July 2008
Birth name	Gwyneth Kate Paltrow
Birth date	September 27, 1972
Birth place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, Singer, Guitarist
Years active	1990–present
Spouse	}}

Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress.

Paltrow made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. She gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en (1995), Emma (1996), in which she played the title role, and Sliding Doors (1998). She garnered worldwide recognition through her performance in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, for Outstanding Lead Actress and as a member of the Outstanding Cast. Since then, Paltrow has portrayed supporting as well as lead roles in films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Shallow Hal (2001) and Proof (2005), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama. In 2008, she appeared in the highest grossing movie of her career, the superhero film Iron Man (2008), and then reprised her role as Pepper Potts in its sequel, Iron Man 2 (2010). Paltrow has been the face of Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume since 2005. She is married to Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of Coldplay.

Early life

Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Blythe Danner, an actress, and Bruce Paltrow, a film and television director and producer. Paltrow's father was of Ashkenazi Russian Jewish descent and her mother is a Quaker of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. Paltrow's paternal great-grandfather, whose surname was "Paltrowicz", was a rabbi in Nowogród, Poland. Paltrow was raised in Santa Monica, where she attended Crossroads School, before moving and enrolling in The Spence School, a private girls' school in New York City. Later, she briefly studied art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, before dropping out to act. Paltrow has a younger brother, Jake Paltrow, and is a half-cousin of actress Katherine Moennig, and a second cousin of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-08). She is an "adopted daughter" of Talavera de la Reina (Spain), where at 15 she spent a year as an exchange student and learned to speak Spanish. Paltrow is a childhood friend of Saturday Night Live's Maya Rudolph.

Career

Early work, 1990–1996

Paltrow made her professional stage debut in 1990. Her film debut followed next year with Shout (1991), starring John Travolta; later that year, she appeared in Hook (1991), as Young Wendy. Paltrow then had minor roles in Malice (1993) and Flesh and Bone (1993). She was next cast in a supporting role in Se7en (1995) alongside Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, which earned her a Satellite Award nomination. In 1996, she played the title character in Emma to critical acclaim, particularly in the United Kingdom, where her perfection of the English accent was appreciated.

Worldwide recognition, 1998–2003

In 1998, Paltrow starred in Shakespeare in Love, portraying the fictional love of William Shakespeare, played by Joseph Fiennes. The film earned more than US$100 million in box office receipts in the United States and Paltrow gained critical acclaim for her portrayal. Entertainment Weekly commented, "Best of all is Gwyneth Paltrow, who, at long last, has a movie to star in that's as radiant as she is." The New York Times summed up her turn as Viola as such: "Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first great, fully realized starring performance, makes a heroine so breathtaking that she seems utterly plausible as the playwright's guiding light." The award-winning Shakespeare in Love earned Paltrow the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role from the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy Award for Best Actress, among other honors. She said she was unequipped for the pressure, leading to several bad movie choices, agreeing with peers who believe the win is, in some ways, a curse. In The Guardian, she said she divided her career into movies for love and films for money: The Royal Tenenbaums, Proof, and Sylvia fell into the former category, while she did View from the Top and Shallow Hal for the latter. The film is her largest grossing movie ever, earning more than US$ 585 million at the worldwide box office. Paltrow said she was hesitant to appear in a big-budget project but she was won over by Robert Downey Jr., the film's lead, and director Jon Favreau. Paltrow recalled a conversation with Downey, saying:

In 2010, she reprised her role in the sequel to Iron Man, Iron Man 2. Later in 2010, she appeared in the country musical, Country Strong, where she also recorded the song Country Strong for the films' soundtrack. The song was released to country radio in August 2010. Paltrow will next shoot for Steven Soderbergh's virus thriller Contagion, in which she is part of an ensemble cast. She also appeared in Fox's Glee, as a substitute teacher who fills in for Matthew Morrison's character Will when he falls ill. She sang "Nowadays" from the musical Chicago with Lea Michele, Cee Lo Green's "Forget You", plus a mash-up of "Singin' In the Rain" and Rihanna's "Umbrella" with Morrison, Mark Salling and Chris Colfer in the episode.

Other projects

Paltrow is a Save the Children artist ambassador, raising awareness about World Pneumonia Day. She is on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization that works to alleviate poverty in New York City. In February 2009, Paltrow received a Grammy nomination for her reading of the classic bear books of author Bill Martin, Jr..

Paltrow had her singing debut in the 2000 film Duets, in which she performed a cover version of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'". The song was released as a single. The song went to number one in Australia, while Paltrow's rendition of the Kim Carnes classic "Bette Davis Eyes" reached number three. In the 2006 film Infamous, she sang "What Is This Thing Called Love". On September 27, 2006, Paltrow sang with rapper Jay-Z during his concert at Royal Albert Hall. She sang the chorus for "Song Cry", from the rapper's album Blueprint. In an interview, she said she would be at the concert but not that she would perform. She was quoted as saying "I'm a Jay-Z fan. He's my best friend."

In May 2005, Paltrow became the face of Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume. She appeared in Chicago on 17 August 2007, to sign bottles of the perfume, and on 8 July 2008, she promoted Lauder's Sensuous perfume in New York with the company's three other models. Estée Lauder donates a minimum of $500,000 of sales of items from the 'Pleasures Gwyneth Paltrow' collection to breast cancer research. In 2006, she became the face for Bean Pole International, a Korean fashion brand.

In October 2007, she signed for a PBS television series Spain... on the road Again with Mario Batali that showcases the food and culture of Spain. In September 2008, she launched a weekly lifestyle newsletter, Goop, encouraging readers to 'nourish the inner aspect'. The website's title is derived from the initials of her first and last names. Each week, the newsletter focuses on an action: Make, Go, Get, Do, Be, and See. It has been ridiculed by E-Online, Vanity Fair, The Independent, and the UK's Daily Mirror.

Personal life

In her early 20s, Paltrow was engaged for six months to Brad Pitt, whom she dated from December 1994 to May 1997. The engagement was called off, according to Paltrow, because she wasn't ready for marriage and later felt responsible for hurting Pitt since she was "such a mess" during that time in her life. Paltrow has since said that as this was her first high-profile relationship with another celebrity, it taught her the need for public discretion about her romantic life; she told Biography magazine, "I said things about being in a relationship [with Brad Pitt] that felt wrong to me even as I was saying them."

Paltrow had an on-off three year relationship with Ben Affleck from 1997 to late 2000. They first dated from November 1997 to January 1999. Soon after their breakup, Paltrow convinced Affleck to work in the film Bounce with her; during the making of the film, which was shot in mid 1999, the couple started dating again and eventually broke up in October 2000.

In October 2002, Paltrow met Chris Martin of the British rock group Coldplay backstage at a gig just three weeks after the death of her father Bruce Paltrow. They married on December 5, 2003 in a ceremony at a hotel in Southern California. On 14 May 2004, the couple had their first child, a girl named Apple Blythe Alison Martin. Paltrow explained the unusual first name on Oprah, saying: "It sounded so sweet and it conjured such a lovely picture for me – you know, apples are so sweet and they're wholesome and it's biblical – and I just thought it sounded so lovely and … clean! And I just thought, 'Perfect!'" The child's godfathers are Simon Pegg and Martin's bandmate, Jonny Buckland.

Her second child, a boy named Moses Bruce Anthony Martin, was born on 8 April 2006, in New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital. Her son's first name was explained as the song, entitled "Moses", that her husband wrote for her before their wedding. She has also said that she suffered from depression after the death of her father Paltrow is friends with Madonna Paltrow denied making the statements attributed to her and told People magazine that she never gave an interview to a Portuguese publication, but instead had tried to say in Spanish, during a press conference, that Europe was an "older culture" and Americans "live to work". Diário de Notícias said in their 6 December 2006 edition that it had obtained the quotes from English-language articles that are still referenced online, though Paltrow has insisted that she was misquoted, declaring in 2007: "I love America, and I'm an American through and through." ! width="35"| US AC ! width="35"| USCountry ! width="35"| AUS ! width="35"| CAN ! width="35"| IRL ! width="35"| NZ |- | rowspan="2"| 2000 | align="left"| "Cruisin'" (with Huey Lewis) | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | align="left"| AUS: 2× Platinum | rowspan="2"| Duets (soundtrack) |- | align="left"| "Bette Davis Eyes" | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | align="left"| AUS: Platinum | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | rowspan="2"|Non-album singles |- | align="left"| "Singing in the Rain / Umbrella" (with Glee Cast) | 18 | — | — | 23 | 20 | 27 | — | |- | colspan="11" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. |- |}

Music videos

References

External links

Gwyneth Paltrow's Newsletter, Goop

Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:American film actors Category:American female singers Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners

Category:Musicians from California Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Actors from Los Angeles, California Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Jewish actors Category:American Jews Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:American people of Russian descent Category:American people of German descent Category:University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent

Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	Del Reeves |
Background	solo_singer |
Birth name	Franklin Delano Reeves |
Born	July 14, 1932 |
Died	January 01, 2007 |
Origin	Sparta, North Carolina |
Genre	country |
Occupation	singer songwriter |
Years active	1961–2007 |
Label	United Artists Decca Records Columbia Records Capitol Records Reprise Records |
Associated acts	Dick Curless Red Simpson Red Steagall Bobby Goldsboro Penny DeHaven Billie Jo Spears |

Franklin Delano Reeves (July 14, 1932–January 1, 2007), better known as Del Reeves, was an American country music singer, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty songs of the 1960s including "Girl on the Billboard" and "The Belles of Southern Bell". He is also known for his 1968 trucker's anthem, "Looking At The World Through A Windshield", which demonstrated he was capable more than just novelty songs. He became one of the most successful male country singers of the 1960s.

Biography

Rise to fame

Reeves was born in Sparta, North Carolina in 1932. He was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had been nominated by the Democratic Party to be their presidential nominee just a few days before he was born.

In 1954, he signed on with Capitol Records. Later in the 1950s, he recorded for Decca Records, as well as Reprise Records and Columbia Records.

1960s–1970s

Everything began to change when Reeves signed with United Artists Records. The work he did for United Artists is probably his best-known work. He finally scored big in 1961 with the hit song "Be Quiet Mind". Later in 1965, he had his first #1 hit with "The Girl On The Billboard". His follow-up, "The Belles of the Southern Belle" made the country top five. During this time, he and his wife became a songwriting team and wrote songs for the likes of Rose Maddox, Carl Smith and Roy Drusky, to name a few.

His success continued throughout the rest of the 1960s. Songs that became hits during this time are "Be Glad" and "Good Time Charlie's". In the late 1960s, he recorded an album paying tribute to Jim Reeves (no relation) and also appeared in several Hollywood films, including a starring role in "Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers", and a supporting role in Burt Reynolds' first big movie "Sam Whiskey".

In the 1970s, he released a series of duets with Bobby Goldsboro and Penny DeHaven. He also returned to television, hosting the syndicated TV program, Del Reeves' Country Carnival.

His last big hit was "The Philadelphia Fillies". His career declined in the mid-70s and then started to slowly move away from country music, although he recorded some duets with Billie Jo Spears in 1976.

Decline

In 1979, Reeves left his musical career to pursue a career as a music executive and played a big role in the signing of Billy Ray Cyrus. He continued to record in the 1980s, just not as much and for smaller labels.

Reeves joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1966, where he continued to perform until his final years. His last Opry performance was in August 2002. He died from emphysema on New Year's Day, 2007.

Discography

Albums

Singles

^APeaked at #96 on Billboard Hot 100 and #31 on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada.

Notes

References

Allmusic

Trott, Walt. (1998). "Del Reeves." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 434.

Wolff, Kurt. Country Music: The Rough Guide.

External links

Del Reeves At CMT.com

Del Reeves, Grand Ole Opry member known for country hit "Girl on the Billboard", dies at 74

Category:1932 births Category:2007 deaths Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:Deaths from emphysema Category:Musicians from North Carolina Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:United Artists Records artists

Coordinates	14°16′43″N121°5′48″N
Name	Clay Walker
Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Ernest Clayton Walker Jr.
Born	August 19, 1969
Origin	Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Genre	Country
Occupation	Singer
Years active	1993–present
Label	Giant, Warner Bros., RCA, Asylum-Curb
Associated acts	Doug JohnsonKeith StegallJames StroudChely Wright
Url	http://www.claywalker.com

Ernest Clayton "Clay" Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single "What's It to You," which reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, as did its follow-up, 1994's "Live Until I Die." Both singles were included on Walker's self-titled debut album, also released in 1993 via Giant Records. He stayed with the label until its 2001 closure, later recording for Warner Bros. Records and RCA Records before joining his current label, Asylum-Curb Records, in 2007.

Walker has released a total of eleven albums, including a greatest hits package and an album of Christmas music. His first four studio albums all achieved platinum certification in the United States, and his greatest hits collection and fifth studio album were each certified gold. In addition, he has charted thirty singles on the country charts, including four more Number One hits for a total of six: "Dreaming with My Eyes Open," "If I Could Make a Living," "This Woman and This Man" and "Rumor Has It." His most recent album, She Won't Be Lonely Long, was released in mid-2010.

Biography

Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. was born on August 19, 1969 in Beaumont, Texas to Ernest and Danna Walker. The oldest of five children, Walker lived in Vidor with his father, who gave him a guitar when he was nine years old.

After graduating from Vidor High School in 1987, Walker began working at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant. An additional cut from the album, "White Palace," charted at #67 on the country charts without being released as a single. It peaked at #8 on Top Country Albums, #2 on Top Heatseekers and #52 on the Billboard 200. Larry Powell of Allmusic gave the album a four-and-a-half star rating, saying that Walker had a "high-energy" voice reminiscent of Conway Twitty. Walker also received two award nominations in 1994: Star of Tomorrow award from TNN/Music City News and Top New Male Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music.

1994–96: If I Could Make a Living and Hypnotize the Moon

If I Could Make a Living was the title of Walker's second album, released in 1994.) and 1995's "This Woman and This Man." This latter song spent two weeks at Number One, accounting for his first multi-week Number One hit. Walker also began touring in 1995 as a headlining act, in support of this album.

Late in 1995, Walker released his third studio album, titled Hypnotize the Moon. Although none of its singles reached Number One, Hypnotize the Moon produced two consecutive #2 hits in "Who Needs You Baby" (which Walker co-wrote) and the title track, followed by the #5 "Only on Days That End in 'Y'" and #18 "Bury the Shovel." Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly thought that Walker did not show a distinct musical personality, but considered the song selection strong and gave it a "B+." Richard McVey II of Country Standard Time considered it a "throwback" in sound to Walker's debut, while USA Today said that it lacked the "verve" of that album.

1996–97: Rumor Has It

Having just completed the tracks for his fourth album in 1996, Walker was playing basketball with a friend, when he began to experience numbness, facial spasms, and double vision. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed that he had multiple sclerosis (MS). Walker subsequently began changing his diet and treating the disease with a daily injection of Copaxone, sending his MS into an arrested state. He then released his fourth album, 1997's Rumor Has It, which he co-produced with Stroud. Thom Owens of Allmusic also thought that it was formulaic, but said that Walker was "able to make even mediocre material sound good," rating it three stars out of five.

1998–2000: Greatest Hits and Live, Laugh, Love

In April 1998, Walker charted with a live rendition of Earl Thomas Conley's 1983 single "Holding Her and Loving You." This rendition spent nine weeks on the charts and peaked at #68. Regarding its production and promotion, the label's senior director of marketing Connie Baer said that she wanted to raise Walker's profile as an artist, as both she and Johnson thought that he did not have the same level of recognition as other artists with similar album sales and chart success. After this song came the title track at #11 country and #65 pop.

Erlewine gave the album three stars on Allmusic, where he wrote that it "never really distinguishes itself from its predecessors" but "has its moments." Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time also thought that the album was inconsistent, saying that "She's Always Right," "The Chain of Love" and the Conley cover were its strongest tracks, but that the rest "treads no new ground." Deborah Evans Price of Billboard was more favorable, saying that it showed the energy of his live shows, and that he "cut loose" with soul singing on "This Time Love." These two tracks — a cover version of Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" and the original song "Cowboy Christmas" — both made appearances on the country charts, reaching #51 and #70, respectively. Country Standard Time critic Mike Clark considered it a transition to a more country pop-oriented sound, describing the album as being "full of bad lyrics and overwrought production clichés."

In 2002, Walker wrote and recorded a song for the National Football League's newest expansion team at the time, the Houston Texans. Titled "Football Time in Houston," the song was used as the team's official fight song during its inaugural season. In an interview with CMT, he said that he donated the song to the city of Houston, and that he sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the team's opening game every season. Warner Bros. released a Christmas music album entitled Christmas in September of the same year. It included a cover of José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad," which Walker took to #49 on the country charts in January 2003. This was the first single from his only RCA album, also titled A Few Questions. Its second single, the Chely Wright co-write "I Can't Sleep," Dan McIntosh gave a mostly-negative review for Country Standard Time, where he wrote that "even his passionate singing cannot rise above this album's predictable lyrics and lame arrangements."

2005–08: Fall

Walker was signed his third record deal in July 2005, this time with the Asylum-Curb division of Curb Records. His first single for the label, "'Fore She Was Mama," reached a peak of #21 in March 2007. It was the second single release from Fall, going to #5 on the country charts and #55 on the Hot 100. Walker and Fender recorded this duet in early 2006; Fender died of lung cancer in October of the same year. The 9513 reviewer Brady Vercher rated it three stars out of five, praising Walker's vocal performance but saying that the song selection "seemed to be lacking in everything but fluff."

2009–present: She Won't Be Lonely Long

Walker's second album for Asylum-Curb was first announced in June 2009. Its first single, "She Won't Be Lonely Long," was given an official release date of December 2009, although it had already entered the country charts in late November. In advance of his ninth album, Walker released an extended play titled She Won't Be Lonely Long. The album, also titled She Won't Be Lonely Long, was released on June 8, 2010. It includes a cover of Alabama's 1980 single "Feels So Right" with a backing vocal from Alabama's lead singer, Randy Owen.

"She Won't Be Lonely Long" peaked at #4 on the country charts in mid-2010. The album's second single, "Where Do I Go from You", was released to radio on August 2, 2010.

Musical image and influences

In 1994, Bob Cannon of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Walker's image of a "Resistol hat, sturdy cowpoke face, and very tight jeans" seemed to be from a "Country Music Handbook for Success," but also said that he "ignores the danger of being dismissed as just another hunk in a hat." They also called his music "relatively tame" but said that "his Texas bar-room roots remain clearly visible in his voice and songs."

Walker described his voice to CMT as "raspy [and] rugged." He cites George Jones (also a Beaumont native) as a primary influence, as well as James Taylor and Bob Seger; he has also said that, because he grew up in a largely African-American neighborhood, his singing style was influenced by rhythm and blues music. In addition, he said that after his diagnosis, he realized that "you need to love your family" and said that, because he considered his songs positive in nature, he felt that he could connect to younger listeners. They had two daughters: MaClay DaLayne, born on January 14, 1996, The couple divorced in 2003. He married model Jessica Craig on September 28, 2007 and had two more children with her: a son named William Clayton, born August 5, 2008 and a daughter named Mary Elizabeth, born December 27, 2009.

Walker has participated in several forms of charity to help raise awareness of MS, including his own non-profit charity, Band Against MS, which he founded in 2003. In 2008, he received a Humanitarian Award for his charitable efforts in relations to MS and participated in a charity golf tournament benefiting his organization.

Discography

Albums

Clay Walker (1993)

If I Could Make a Living (1994)

Hypnotize the Moon (1995)

Rumor Has It (1997)

Greatest Hits (1998)

Live, Laugh, Love (1999)

Say No More (2001)

Christmas (2002)

A Few Questions (2003)

Fall (2007)

She Won't Be Lonely Long (2010)

Number-one singles

"What's It to You" (1993)

"Live Until I Die" (1993–1994)

"Dreaming with My Eyes Open" (1994)

"If I Could Make a Living" (1994)

"This Woman and This Man" (1995)

"Rumor Has It" (1997)

Awards

References

External links

Clay Walker Official Website

Band Against MS

Category:1969 births Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:Curb Records artists Category:Giant Records (Warner) artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Texas Category:People from Beaumont, Texas Category:People with multiple sclerosis Category:RCA Records artists

For the professional baseball player & manager, see Billy Arnold (baseball)

Billy Arnold (December 16, 1905 Chicago, Illinois – November 10, 1976 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) won the 1930 Indianapolis 500 after leading all but first two laps of the race, the most ever by a winner of the race. He was 24 years old at the time.

Married to LaFrance Arnold.

Arnold earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois and, following his racing career, a Ph.D. from the Michigan Institute of Technology (MIT).

During WWII, he served with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as Chief of Maintenance for the U.S. 8th Air Force and left the service in 1945 as a one-star general.

Following the war, Arnold owned an automobile dealership after the war and entered the construction business. Between 1950-58, he developed water skis and was among the pioneers of the sport.

Arnold died November 10, 1976 of a cerebral hemorrhage, aged 66. He is buried at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery in Oklahoma City, OK.

Indy 500 results

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !Year !Car !Start !Qual !Rank !Finish !Laps !Led !Retired |- !1928 |43 |20 |111.926 |12 |7 |200 |0 |Running |- !1929 |9 |7 |114.752 |8 |8 |200 |0 |Running |- !1930 |4 |style="background:green;color:white"|1 |113.268 |style="background:green;color:white"|1 |style="background:green;color:white"|1 |200 |198 |Running |- !1931 |1 |18 |116.080 |style="background:green;color:white"|1 |19 |162 |155 |Crash T4 |- !1932 |5 |2 |116.290 |2 |31 |59 |57 |Crash T3 |- |colspan=6|Totals |821 |410 | |}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !Starts |5 |- !Poles |1 |- !Front Row |2 |- !Wins |1 |- !Top 5 |1 |- !Top 10 |3 |- !Retired |2 |}

Category:1905 births Category:1976 deaths Category:American racecar drivers Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers Category:Indy 500 pole-sitters Category:Indy 500 winners