Kenneth Bouchard
Born	(1955-04-06) April 6, 1955 (age 57) Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Awards	1988 Rookie of the Year voted one of NASCAR Modified’s 50 Greatest Drivers of All-Time
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
33 race(s) run over 5 year(s)
Best finish	25th - 1988 (Winston Cup)
First race	1987 Miller American 400 (Michigan)
Last race	1994 Hooters 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 1

Ken Bouchard (pronounced BOO-shard, born April 6, 1955, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts) is an American former NASCAR driver. His brother Ron Bouchard was the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year and one time Winston Cup race winner.

Modified career[link]

Before he came to NASCAR, he was a successful modified racer in the Northeast. He won eleven NASCAR modified races in one season. He was voted one of NASCAR Modified’s 50 Greatest Drivers of All-Time. He then ran a part-time Busch Series schedule. Ken has one daughter, Olivia. Olivia is a phenomenal athlete who plays college lacrosse for Bentley University in Walthm, MA. He has driven for legendary car owners such as Buddy Koszela #15, and Len Bohler #3.Bouchard had much success driving the Tolman Construction #55 in which he won several races and championships.

Winston Cup career[link]

He made his Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) debut in 1987 at the Miller American 400 at Michigan, finishing 32nd after suffering oil pressure problems. The next year, he raced full time in Winston Cup in an unsponsored car owned by Bob Whitcomb. Despite this, he finished 8th at North Carolina Speedway and defeated promising rivals Ernie Irvan and Brad Noffsinger to become the 1988 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. In 1989, however, he was released from his ride after just four races. He returned in 1993, running three races for Thee Dixon in his #85 Safety-Kleen/Burger King Ford. He ran his last Winston Cup race in 1994 at the Hooters 500, where his #67 Ford expired after 280 laps because of valve trouble, finishing 29th. Since then, Bouchard has competed in 5 Craftsman Truck Series races. He also attempted several Winston Cup events, but failed to qualify for each of them, the last of which was the 1999 Pepsi 400, in the #84 Chevy sponsored by Island Oasis.

Driving instructor career[link]

Bouchard now operates the Drive to Victory Lane Racing School at Thompson International Speedway. He finished 13th in the "Icebreaker 2006" NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at the track.

External links[link]

• Official Website of Bouchard's racing school
• Driver statistics at racing-reference.info

Nikolai Volkoff
Volkoff in 2008.
Ring name(s)	Nikolai Volkoff[1] Bepo Mongol[2] Boris Breznikoff
Billed height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Billed weight	143 kg (313 lb)[2]
Born	(1947-10-14) October 14, 1947 (age 64)[2] SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
Resides	Glen Arm, Maryland
Billed from	Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union[2]
Trained by	Stu Hart[1]
Debut	1967

Josip Nikolai Peruzović (born October 14, 1947), better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation. Although the Volkoff character is portrayed as Russian, Peruzović actually originated from Croatia and had a mixed background that was not entirely Russian.

Early life[link]

Peruzović grew up in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, which was then part of the Yugoslavia, a Communist country. His mother is Italian and his father was Croatian. He was on the Yugoslavian weightlifting team until 1967, when he defected to Canada while at a weightlifting tournament in Vienna, Austria. He received training in Calgary from the legendary Stu Hart, followed by his arrival in the United States in 1970.

Professional wrestling career[link]

World Wide Wrestling Federation[link]

As soon as he arrived, he began wrestling in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (currently known as WWE). Wrestling as Bepo Mongol, managed by "Captain" Lou Albano and partnered with Geto Mongol, he captured the WWF International Tag Team Titles from Tony Marino and Victor Rivera on June 15, 1970.^[2] After losing the titles to Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler in a match that unified the WWF International and WWF World Tag Team Titles, Peruzovic went on to singles competition under the name Nikolai Volkoff.^[2]

In 1974, Volkoff appeared in a memorable match at a sold out Madison Square Garden and wrestled one of the sport's most famous champions, the great Bruno Sammartino.^[2] Volkoff chased the WWF title for the majority of his early career and was always given a considerable number of title shots from whoever was the current WWF Champion.

American Wrestling Association; Mid-South[link]

Late in 1974, Volkoff moved to the AWA where he wrestled under the name of Boris Breznikoff; managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, he used the same gimmick with a different ring name. He reverted back to the Volkoff name in his WWF return in 1976. During this time in the WWF, Volkoff was announced as being from Mongolia. He enjoyed a very successful feud with Bruno Sammartino. The feud started when Volkoff attacked Sammartino during an interview segment. They sold out arenas all throughout the Northeast. Also during this tenure, Volkoff began a ring gimmick where he would crush a fresh apple with one hand as a sign of what he would do to his opponents.

In the early 1980s, Volkoff wrestled for Cowboy Bill Watts in the Mid South region.

World Wrestling Federation[link]

In 1984, Volkoff returned to the now WWF and teamed with the Iron Sheik.^[2] It was at this point that Volkoff really pushed the envelope and began to sing the national anthem of the Soviet Union before every match, in order to gain even more heat for being a foreign heel.^[2]

The new team of Volkoff and The Iron Sheik captured the coveted WWF Tag Team Championship from The U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) at WrestleMania, on March 31, 1985.^[2] After losing the titles back to Rotundo and Windham three months later, Volkoff began to wrestle more in singles competition, picking up a notable feud with Corporal Kirchner. They faced off in a flag match at WrestleMania 2, which Kirschner won.^[2]

In the fall of 1986, Volkoff's manager Classy Freddy Blassie sold half interest in his stable of superstars to the “Doctor of Style,” Slick (kayfabe).^[2] Giving Slick co-managerial rights to Nikolai Volkoff, Classy Freddy Blassie also shared the contracts of the Iron Sheik and Hercules. Blassie eventually retired in the fall of 1986. Sheik and Volkoff feuded with WWF newcomer Jim Duggan for the majority of 1987.

In late 1987, Volkoff was teamed with Boris Zukhov, another alleged Russian (actually an American), to form The Bolsheviks^[2]. However, this tag team combination for Volkoff did not gain the success as did his partnership with The Iron Sheik. As they lost the public eye due to many losses, they eventually lost their manager Slick. The Bolsheviks never held any titles together, and are perhaps best remembered for being defeated in 19 seconds by The Hart Foundation at WrestleMania VI.^[2] Eventually, by 1990, The Bolsheviks split up. Volkoff publicly ended the partnership prior to a match where he confronted Zukhov and then started singing "The Star-Spangled Banner", drawing loud cheers from the audience and turning face in the process.

A short time after The Bolsheviks split, Volkoff became a fan favorite for the first time in his career. His gimmick was now that of a recently liberated Lithuanian, following the fall of the Soviet Union; he became very pro-west which led to a feud with Sgt. Slaughter who was involved in an Iraqi sympathizer role and teamed with the Iron Sheik, who had recently began an Iraqi gimmick as opposed to his actual Iranian heritage.^[2] After this feud was over, Volkoff's popularity declined and he left WWF in 1992.

In 1994, Volkoff again returned to the WWF and became a sympathetic heel by playing the whipping-boy of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation.^[2] Volkoff had kayfabe fallen on hard times and was forced to take a job working for DiBiase and his new Corporation. As low man in the group he was forced to wrestle matches no one else wanted to or sent out to "soften up" opponents for other members of the stable as the sacrificial lamb of the group. The disrespect even extended to renaming him "Nickel & Dime" Volkoff and DiBiase forcing him to place a ¢ on his trunks where the Russian sickle once was along with a sign on his ring attire that read "Property Of The Million Dollar Man". Following this last run in the WWF, Volkoff entered a semi-retirement.

Semi-retirement[link]

Volkoff made a brief cameo on an episode of Shotgun Saturday Night where Todd Pettengill discovered him homeless sleeping in a box on the streets of New York. He also appeared at WrestleMania X-Seven in the Gimmick Battle Royal.

On February 3, 2005, Volkoff was announced as one of the WWE Hall of Fame inductees for the Class of 2005. He was inducted on April 2, 2005 by Jim Ross in the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.

In 2006, Volkoff took part in the World Wrestling Legends pay-per-view 6:05 The Reunion. Managed by the Iron Sheik, he wrestled a match against "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. Before the match, he once again sang the national anthem of the Soviet Union and riled up the crowd.

Volkoff made his first appearance on WWE television in over 2 years on the August 13, 2007 edition of Raw as a contestant on WWE Idol, a parody of American Idol. Volkoff appeared alongside the Iron Sheik and Howard Finkel, although Volkoff was the only one who sang. Volkoff sang the Soviet Union national anthem, receiving boos from the crowd (despite being a face) and was insulted by judge William Regal, although judges Mick Foley and Maria both praised the performance. In response, Sheik, who was also insulted, went on a tirade until both he and Volkoff were escorted out of the building by security.

The March 10, 2008 edition of WWE Raw, featured rematches from previous WrestleManias. The Iron Sheik appeared along with Nikolai Volkoff to face off against the U.S. Express in a rematch from the first WrestleMania. The match was cut short however by Jillian Hall, who came out to sing "Born in the U.S.A."

On the November 15, 2010, edition of Raw, as part of the Old School theme, Volkoff appeared with the Iron Sheik, singing the Soviet national anthem before being interrupted by Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov, the latter of whom then sung a duet with Volkoff of the Russian National anthem.

Currently, Volkoff works for various independent promotions throughout North America.

Personal life[link]

Peruzovic has been married for 35 years and has two daughters.^[3] In his autobiography "Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks", Freddie Blassie describes Peruzovic as a good family man who helped Blassie reconnect with a daughter with whom he had been estranged for many years.

In a 2009 shoot interview released by Pro Wrestling Diary on DVD, Peruzovic discusses in-depth his history with Fred Blassie as well as helping Blassie re-connect with his daughter. In 2010, he appeared along with wrestler Jimmy Cicero on Karlos Borloff's pop internet TV show Monster Madhouse.

Peruzovic is working as a code enforcement officer in Baltimore County, Maryland. He still wrestles independent shows occasionally.^[4]

Political involvement[link]

He ran unsuccessfully in the 2006 Maryland Republican Primary for State Delegate in District 7 (representing parts of Baltimore & Harford County) in Maryland.^[5]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Bearhug^[1][6]
  • Boston crab^[6][7]
  • Lifting backbreaker^[1][6]
  • Russian Sickle (Lariat to an opponent's neck)^[6]

• Managers
  • Slick
  • Bobby Heenan
  • Ted DiBiase
  • Captain Lou Albano
  • Classy Freddie Blassie
  • Nikita Breznikov

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Championship Wrestling from Florida
  • NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ivan Koloff
• Georgia Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Maryland Championship Wrestling
  • MCW Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)^[8]
• Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Chris Markoff
• Mid-South Wrestling
  • Mid-South North American Championship (1 time)
• North American Wrestling
  • NAW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[9]
• Northeast Championship Wrestling (Tom Janette)
  • NCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[9]
• NWA Detroit
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) (1 time) - with Boris Volkoff
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him # 136 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
  • PWI ranked him # 96 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with the Iron Sheik in 2003.
• Universal Wrestling Association
  • UWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[9]
• World Wide Wrestling Alliance

• WWWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[9]

• World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Iron Sheik
  • WWWF International Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Geto Mongol (2) and Johnny De Fazio (1)
  • Slammy Award for Most Ignominious (1986)
  • Slammy Award for Best Personal Hygiene (1987) with Boris Zhukov and Slick
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)
• World Wrestling Association
  • WWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Angelo Poffo (1) and Boris Volkoff (1)^[10]
• World Wrestling Association (Larry Sharpe)

• WWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nikolai Volkoff

• WWE Hall of Fame Profile of Nikolai Volkoff
• Another Former Pro Wrestler Seeks Political Fortune, FoxNews.com, 03/25/2006

Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley performing on August 19, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Brad Douglas Paisley
Born	(1972-10-28) October 28, 1972 (age 39)
Origin	Glen Dale, West Virginia, United States
Genres	Country, Country Rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, mandolin
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Arista Nashville
Associated acts	Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, Chely Wright, Scotty McCreery
Website	BradPaisley.com

Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music 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.^[1] In addition, he has charted 25 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 16 of which have reached #1 with a record 10 consecutive singles reaching the top spot on the chart.^[2] On November 10, 2010, Paisley won the Entertainer of the Year award at the 44th annual CMA Awards.^[3]

Biography[link]

Paisley was born on October 28, 1972 in Glen Dale, 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.^[4] 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^[5] 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".^[5] At age 12, Paisley wrote his first song, entitled, "Born on Christmas Day".^[5] He had been taking lessons with local guitarist Clarence "Hank" Goddard.^[5] By age 13, Goddard and Paisley formed a band called "Brad Paisley and the C-Notes", with the addition of two of Paisley's adult friends.^[5]

While in junior high, his principal heard him perform "Born On Christmas Day" and invited him to play at the local Rotary Club meeting. In attendance was Tom Miller, the program director of a radio station in Wheeling, West Virginia. Miller asked him if he would like to be a guest on Jamboree USA. After his first performance, he was asked to become a member of the show's weekly lineup. For the next eight years, he opened for country singers such as The Judds, Ricky Skaggs and George Jones. He would become the youngest person inducted into the Jamboree USA Hall of Fame. He also performed at the Jamboree in the Hills.^[6]

Paisley graduated from John Marshall High School in Glen Dale, West Virginia in 1991,^[7] 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.^[6]

After graduating from Belmont with a Bachelor's degree in music business, within a week Paisley signed a songwriting contract with EMI Music Publishing;^[6] and, he wrote David Kersh's "Top 5" hit, "Another You", as well as David Ball's 1999 single, "Watching My Baby Not Come Back." The latter song was also co-written by Ball.^[8]

[edit] 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.^[1] Seven months later he had his first #1 hit with "He Didn't Have to Be," which detailed the story of Paisley's frequent co-writer Kelley Lovelace and Lovelace's stepson, McCain Merren.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11] The show accurately predicted that Paisley would become a legendary musician, and also featured blues artist, Buddy Guy.^[12]

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^[1] He was 28 when he accepted the invitation, and was the youngest member ever to join. PBS did a 75th anniversary concert special, which saw Paisley pair up with Chely Wright and sing a song called Hard to Be a Husband, Hard to Be a Wife, and would be included on the album Backstage at the Opry, It would get a CMA nomination for Vocal Event of the Year.^[13]

[edit] 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.^[14]

[edit] 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.^[15]

In addition, the ninth 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.^[14]

[edit] 2005–2007: Time Well Wasted

In 2005, after touring with Reba McEntire and Terri Clark on the "Two Hats and a Redhead Tour," he released Time Well Wasted, containing 15 tracks. This album includes "Alcohol," two duets — "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Dolly Parton and "Out in the Parking Lot" with Alan Jackson — and a bonus track, "Cornography." On November 6, 2006, the album "Time Well Wasted" won the Country Music Association CMA Award for Best Album. "Time Well Wasted" also won album of the year at the 2006 ACM Awards.

Paisley also contributed two original songs to the Disney film Cars. These can be found on the film's soundtrack. This was in recognition of his contribution to the "Route 66: Main Street America" television special.

At the 2006 Grammy Awards, Paisley received four nominations: Best Country Album (for Time Well Wasted), Best Country Song (for "Alcohol"), Best Country Instrumental (for "Time Warp") and Best Country Vocal, Male (for "Alcohol").

[edit] 2007–2008: 5th Gear

Paisley's fifth studio album, 5th Gear, was released in the United States on June 19, 2007. The first four singles from the album, "Ticks", "Online", "Letter to Me", and "I'm Still a Guy", all reached number one on the country music single charts, making seven straight number one hits for Paisley."^[16] "Online" featured the Brentwood High School marching band playing toward the end of the song, a cameo by Jason Alexander, and again featured a cameo by William Shatner. Throttleneck would also reach number one, which would get Paisley his first Grammy.^[17]

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.^[18]

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.^[16]

[edit] 2008–2009: Play

A sixth, largely instrumental album, titled Play, was released on November 4, 2008.^[19] 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 Jorgenson, 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.

[edit] 2009–2010: American Saturday Night

Brad Paisley performing at the White House.

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^[20] 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.^[21]

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 outdoor event to watch Carrie and Brad perform in the pouring rain.

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.^[22]

Brad Paisley cohosted the 44th Annual CMA Awards on November 10, 2010, where he was also awarded the CMA's top award, Entertainer of the Year.^[23] During his acceptance speech, Paisley emotionally honored his grandfather, who inspired him to play the guitar.

In 2012, MSN.com listed American Saturday Night as one of the 21 Essential 21st-Century Albums.^[24]

[edit] 2011-present: This Is Country Music

In December 2010, Paisley released "This Is Country Music" as the title track to his eighth studio album, released May 23, 2011. The album's second single, "Old Alabama" (with Alabama), released to country radio on March 14, 2011 and became Paisley's nineteenth number one hit. "Remind Me," with Carrie Underwood, was released May 23, 2011 to radio.

On March 22, 2011, Paisley's website announced a new beta game titled "Brad Paisley World." The game is modeled after other Facebook games such as Farmville or Mafia Wars and features original animation. The game provides a new way for fans to interact with each other and view exclusive material that would otherwise be unavailable.

On May 12, 2011, Paisley's website announced that he would release two songs on the soundtrack for the film Cars 2. One of them would be a collaboration with British pop singer Robbie Williams.

On October 19, 2011, Paisley made a voice cameo as various background characters in the South Park episode "Bass to Mouth". ^[25]

On January 14, 2012, Paisley was a guest on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, during which he did a rendition of "Life's Railway to Heaven" by Charles Davis Tillman.^[26]

Brad also tweeted that he has started recording his upcoming album.

On April 25, 2012, Paisley was featured on the South Park episode "Cartman Finds Love", in which he voiced himself,^[27] sang "The National Anthem", and helped Cartman sing the 90's hit song "I Swear", which was popularized in 1994 by the country musician John Michael Montgomery and the pop group All-4-One. ^[28]

Paisley extended his "Virtual Realty" tour throughout the summer of 2012. He will be touring the country and making pit stops at local country music festivals. The goal of these outdoor concerts is to give the audience the full experience of Brad Paisley's music, as many of his songs contain outdoor elements. ^[29]

Tours[link]

• 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)
• H2O II: Wetter and Wilder World Tour (w/ Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Jerrod Niemann, Sunny Sweeney, The JaneDear Girls, Brent Anderson, Edens Edge)
• Virtual Reality Tour 2012 (w/ The Band Perry, Scotty McCreery)

Band[link]

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 guitar
• Ben Sesar – drums

Personal life[link]

Paisley performing in 2006.

Brad Paisley has been married to actress Kimberly Williams since 2003. Paisley had first seen Kimberley Williams in Father of the Bride with a former girlfriend. Brad and his former girlfriend broke up prior to the release of Father of the Bride Part II, which Brad went to see alone.^[30] Brad has stated 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."^[30]

Paisley and Williams began dating in 2001. In 2002, Williams appeared in a video for the song "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)," the last release from his Part II album. The two married on March 15, 2003, at Stauffer Chapel on the campus of Pepperdine University after a nine month engagement. They live in Franklin, Tennessee, and have another home in Malibu.

Paisley and Williams first son, William Huckleberry, or "Huck", was born on February 22, 2007, in Nashville, Tennessee.^[31] Their second son, Jasper Warren (named after his grandfather who bought Brad his first guitar), was born on April 17, 2009.^[32]

In the last months of 2000, Paisley had a relationship with fellow country music singer Chely Wright,^[33][34][35] even though Wright and her female lover had moved together into a new home earlier in the year. Wright was touring together with Paisley, with whom she had co-written one song the previous year, and he had been enamored of her ever since. Although she felt no sexual attraction to Paisley, as to all men,^[36][37] she recounts why Paisley was the man she decided to have a relationship with, "he’s wickedly smart, which is one of the reasons why I made the decision to spend time with him. I loved Brad. I never had the capacity to fall in love with him, but I figured if I’m gonna live a less than satisfied life, this is the guy I could live my life with. If I’m gonna be with a boy, this is the boy."^[38] Her actions were further fueled by the fact that she held him in high esteem and great affection in every way other than sexual attraction.^[36][39] In her autobiography she expresses remorse for how she treated him.^[40]

Paisley is a member of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry,^[41] and a Noble of the AAONMS,^[42] also known as Shriners. He was accompanied by his father, Doug Paisley (32º), for the ceremony on October 28, 2006.^[41]

He is also a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Browns. Paisley sang the national anthem before a game during the 1999 season, and stated in an interview, with ESPN his dream job would be to play football for them.^[43] He also invited former Browns Quarterback Brady Quinn to a concert at the Blossom Music Center, in 2008.^[44]

Paisley is also a fan of West Virginia University athletics and the Boston Red Sox.^[45]

In late 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.^[46] The plot was written and created by Neal Dodson and actor Matt Bomer. The creator of the series One Tree Hill, Mark Schwahn will direct the pilot and oversee the series. Actor Zachary Quinto is also an executive producer on the series, along with Dodson, Bomer, and Corey Moosa.^[47] The pilot was not picked up for a series when The CW's fall schedule was announced in May 2010.

Gear[link]

Paisley's first guitar, a gift from his grandfather, was a Silvertone Danelectro 1451, which came with a "amp-in-case".^[48] His next guitar, which he got at the age of 10 or 11, also from his grandfather, was a Sekova copy of a Gibson ES-335, with a Fender Deluxe Reverb. The instrument most often associated with him is a 1968 Pink Paisley Fender Telecaster.^[48]

Like many Nashville-based musicians, he lost a lot of instruments and other gear in the 2010 flood in Nashville, including a 1970s Gibson Les Paul and the prototype for a Z Wreck, one of the signature Paisley Dr. Z amplifiers. The insurance money, however, allowed him to buy (from George Gruhn's store) an exclusive 1937 herringbone Martin D-28.^[48]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Studio 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
• 2011: This Is Country Music