The Country Network (TCN) is a Boca Raton, Florida-based country music broadcast television network. It began life as the Artists & Fans Network (AFN) on January 7, 2009, airing the Kid Rock video "All Summer Long" as its inaugural broadcast on DirecTV.

In August 2009, founder Warren Hansen purchased all the assets of the company, changed its name to American Music Video Network (AMV), and rolled out the programming with a new look and feel. On February 15, 2010, the company was renamed, "The Country Network" to clearly represent its focus and core business model.

The Country Network's slogan is "It's your country". The network's playlist of country music videos extends from the 1980s through today. It is a music video network and as such airs country music videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with the exception of three hours a week on Saturday morning, during which the station is required by federal law to interrupt its programming to air educational children's shows (it meets this mandate by airing Gina D's Kids Club). The channel is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida with programming and production facilities in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Country Network signed a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group in August 2010 to be carried on digital subchannels of Sinclair stations in most of its media markets.^[1] The station launched on October 10, 2010 and is currently available on over 40 TV stations (34+ million households) across the US and is the only Broadcast network that provides a 24/7 live simulcast of its broadcast through the web, mobile, and other devices.

Affiliates[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

This article about a television station in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

Barossa Valley, South Australia, an area noted for vineyards

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas of land that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture and there may be less air and water pollution than in an urban area. The degree to which areas of wilderness are included in the term varies; very large wilderness areas are not likely to be described by the term in most contexts.

In most parts of the world rural areas have been declining since the 19th century or earlier, both as a proportion of land area, and in terms of the proportion of the population living in them. Urbanization encroaches on rural land, and the mechanization of agriculture has reduced the number of workers needed to work the land, while alternative employment is typically easier to obtain in cities. In parts of the developed world urban sprawl has greatly reduced the areas that can be called rural, and land use planning measures are used to protect the character of rural areas in various ways.

United States[link]

Aerial photograph of a rural area with mixed land use

Sign in a rural area in Dalarna, Sweden

About 91 percent of the American rural population now earn salaried incomes, often in urban areas. The 10 percent who still produce resources generate 20 percent of the world’s coal, copper, and oil; 10 percent of its wheat, 20 percent of its meat, and 50 percent of its corn. The efficiency of these farms is due in large part to the industrialization of the farming industry, and not single family operations.^[1]

84 percent of the United States' inhabitants live in suburban and urban areas,^[2] but cities occupy only 10 percent of the country. Rural areas occupy the remaining 90 percent.^[1]The U.S. Census Bureau, the USDA's Economic Research Service, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have come together to help define rural areas.;United States Census Bureau:The Census Bureau definitions (new to the 2000 census), which are based on population density, defines rural areas as all territory outside of Census Bureau-defined urbanized areas and urban clusters.:*An urbanized area consists of a central surrounding areas whose population ("urban nucleus") is greater than 50,000. They may or may not contain individual cities with 50,000 or more; rather, they must have a core with a population density generally exceeding 1,000 persons per square mile; and may contain adjoining territory with at least 500 persons per square mile (other towns outside of an urbanized area whose population exceeds 2,500).:*Thus, rural areas comprise open country and settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents; areas designated as rural can have population densities as high as 999 per square mile or as low as 1 person per square mile.^[3];USDA:* The USDA's Office of Rural Development may define rural by various population thresholds. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 6020) defined rural and rural area as any area other than (1) a city or town that has a population of greater than 50,000 inhabitants, and (2) the urbanized areas contiguous and adjacent to such a city or town.:* The rural-urban continuum codes, urban influence codes, and rural county typology codes developed by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) allow researchers to break out the standard metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas into smaller residential groups.^[3]  For example, a metropolitan county is one that contains an urbanized area, or one that has a twenty-five percent commuter rate to an urbanized area regardless of population.;OMB: Under the Core Based Statistical Areas used by the OMB,::* a metropolitan county, or Metropolitan Statistical Area, consists of (1) central counties with one or more urbanized areas (as defined by the Census Bureau) and (2) outlying counties that are economically tied to the core counties as measured by worker commuting data (i.e. if 25% of workers living there commute to the core counties, or if 25% of the employment in the county consists of workers coming from the central counties).::* Non-metro counties are outside the boundaries of metro areas and are further subdivided into Micropolitan Statistical Areas centered on urban clusters of 10,000-50,000 residents, and all remaining non-core counties.^[3][4]

Rural schools[link]

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) revised its definition of rural schools in 2006 after working with the Census Bureau to create a new locale classification system to capitalize on improved geocoding technology and the 2000 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions of metro areas that rely less on population size and county boundaries than proximity of an address to an urbanized area. The new classification system has four major local categories— city, suburban, town, and rural —each of which is subdivided into three subcategories. Cities and suburbs are subdivided into the categories small, midsize, or large; towns and rural areas are subdivided by their proximity to an urbanized area into the categories fringe, distant, or remote. These twelve categories are based on several key concepts that Census uses to define an area's urbanicity: principal city, urbanized area, and urban cluster. Rural areas are designated by census as those areas that do not lie inside an urbanized area or urban cluster. NCES has classified all schools into one of these twelve categories based on schools' actual addresses and their corresponding coordinates of latitude and longitude. Not only does this mean that the location of any school can be identified precisely, but also that distance measures can be used to identify town and rural subtypes.”

Rural health[link]

Rural health definitions can be different for establishing under-served areas or health care accessibility in rural areas of the United States. According to the handbook, Definitions of Rural: A Handbook for Health Policy Makers and Researchers, “Residents of metropolitan counties are generally thought to have easy access to the relatively concentrated health services of the county’s central areas. However, some metropolitan counties are so large that they contain small towns and rural, sparsely populated areas that are isolated from these central clusters and their corresponding health services by physical barriers.” To address this type of rural area, “Harold Goldsmith, Dena Puskin, and Dianne Stiles (1992) described a methodology to identify small towns and rural areas within large metropolitan counties (LMCs) that were isolated from central areas by distance or other physical features.”  This became the Goldsmith Modification definition of rural. “Bhoomeet rural education The Goldsmith Modification has been useful for expanding the eligibility for federal programs that assist rural populations—to include the isolated rural populations of large metropolitan counties.”

United Kingdom[link]

In Britain, "rural" is defined^[5] by the government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), using population data from the latest census, such as the United Kingdom Census 2001. These definitions have various grades, but the upper point is any local government area with less than 26% of its population living in a market town ("market town" being defined as any settlement which has permission to hold a street market). The British countryside, especially in the south of England, is perceived as under threat, and a number of measures including green belts are used to protect it.

Rural health[link]

An NHS patient is defined as rural if they live more than 5 km (3.1 mi) from either a doctor or a dispensing chemist. This is important for defining whether the patient is expected to collect their own medicines. While doctors' surgeries in towns will not have a dispensing chemist, instead expecting patients to use a high-street chemist to purchase their prescription medicines, in rural village surgeries, an NHS dispensary will be built into the same building.

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

1. Definitions of Rural: A Handbook for Health Policy Makers and Researchers.PDF (6.12 MiB) Thomas C. Ricketts, Karen D. Johnson-Webb, Patricia Taylor. Chapel Hill: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina, 1998. 13 p.

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (June 2010)

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Country life

Look up rural or countryside in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• e-Agriculture promoting rural development
• Census 2000 Urban and Rural Classification
• Center for Rural Affairs
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Measuring Rurality
• Navigating Resources for Rural Schools
• North West Rural Affairs Forum (England)
• Rural America
• Rural Information Center
• Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin
• Canadian Rural Partnership

Chris Bartley (April 17, 1947^[1] – October 26, 2009) was an American R&B singer. Bartley grew up listening to '50s soul and doo wop, and formed his own group in the early 1960s with William Graham, Henry Powell, Sam Nesbitt, and Ronald Marshall. The group was initially called The Soulful Inspirations, but changed names several times, including a stint as The Mindbenders.

Later in the 1960s, Bartley and Marshall auditioned as a duo with Van McCoy, and McCoy elected to sign Bartley to a solo deal with Cameo-Parkway subsidiary Vando Records. Bartley hit the pop charts with the McCoy-penned single "The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven", peaking at #10 on the US R&B Singles chart and #32 on the Billboard pop charts in 1967.^[2] Bartley released a full album behind the single and toured both in America and England following the song's success.^[1] When Vando Records folded, Bartley signed with Buddah Records, but the resulting single "Baby I'm Yours" did not chart. Bartley left the music industry in the early 1970s as a result of family health problems ^[1], but re-emereged a few years later by joining The Ad-Libs.

Chris Bartley died of kidney failure on October 26, 2009 at age 62.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• The Sweetest Thing This Side Of Heaven / Love My Baby—Vando 101—7/67
• Baby It's Wonderful / I'll Be Loving You—Vando 3000—10/67
• For You / You Get Next To My Heart—Vando 3001—12/67
• Truer Words Were Never Spoken / This Feeling You Give Me—Vando 14000—1968
• I Found A Goodie / Be Mine Forever—Vando 14001—1968
• Baby I'm Yours / I'll Take The Blame—Buddah 93—1969
• One Wonderful Girl / I Know We Can Work It Out—Buddah 115—1969
• A Man, A Woman / Tomorrow Keeps Shining On Me—Musicor 1437—5/71

Albums[link]

• The Sweetest Thing This Side Of Heaven—Vando VA-60000 (Mono)/VAS-60000 (Stereo) -- 1967

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bartley songs on YouTube

Scotty McCreery
Scotty McCreery performing in June 2011
Background information
Birth name	Scott Cooke McCreery
Born	(1993-10-09) October 9, 1993 (age 18) Garner, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	2011–present
Labels	19/Interscope/Mercury Nashville[1]
Website	Official Site

Scott Cooke "Scotty" McCreery (born October 9, 1993) is an American singer from Garner, North Carolina. He won the tenth season of American Idol on May 25, 2011. His debut studio album, Clear as Day, was released in October 2011 and was certified platinum in the United States. The album includes the top 20 country songs, "I Love You This Big" and "The Trouble with Girls".

Early life[link]

McCreery was born in 1993 to Judy (née Cooke) and Michael McCreery in Garner, North Carolina.^[2][3] His mother works as a real estate agent,^[4] and his father works as a manufacturing systems analyst.^[5] His father was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican mother from San Juan and an American father.^[6] His mother is the daughter of a retired school teacher from Gates County, NC. He attended Timber Drive Elementary School in Garner,^[5] and later West Lake Middle School where he sang at his graduation. He also attended Garner Magnet High School^[7] where he joined a vocal ensemble, Die Meistersingers, that performs across the United States.^[8] He started out singing tenor.

McCreery won a singing contest called "Clayton Idol" at the Clayton Harvest Festival in Clayton, North Carolina,^[9] and was one of 36 finalists in a "Rip the Hallways" contest featuring teenage vocalists in North Carolina.^[10] He has performed at various local events.^[11] He also attended Caswell Youth Retreat in the summer of 2009, and participated in the talent show there singing Long Black Train by Josh Turner.^[12]

[edit] American Idol

Overview[link]

McCreery auditioned for the tenth season of American Idol in Milwaukee. In the Hollywood group round, he joined the "Guaps" and became embroiled in the drama when fellow group member Clint Jun Gamboa expelled Jacee Badeaux from the group. He later expressed regret for not standing up for Jacee. He was one of the five male vote getters in the semi-final round to advance to the Top 13. In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, McCreery confirmed that he has Puerto Rican ancestry. "Yes, I'm Puerto Rican," said McCreery with a smile. "I have a little bit of J.Lo in me."^[13]

Performances/Results[link]

• ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Casey Abrams, the Top 11 remained intact for another week, when two contestants were eliminated.

[edit] Post-Idol

McCreery released his coronation single "I Love You This Big" immediately after winning the tenth season of American Idol. The song entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at number 32, becoming the highest debut for a debut single since the chart converted to BDS data the week of January 20, 1990.^[14] The song sold 171,404 units in its first week,^[15] and was certified gold on August 25, 2011. A music video for the song, shot on Angels Point near Dodger Stadium, was released on August 9, 2011.^[16][17]

He signed with Mercury Nashville,^[18] earning a contract that gave him over $250,000 in advances for recording the first album.^[19]

Both McCreery and Lauren Alaina were invited to present at the CMT Music Awards on June 8, 2011,^[20] and they also both performed on the Grand Ole Opry on June 10.^[21][22] McCreery performed "I Love You This Big" and George Strait's song "Check Yes or No." ^[23] Their trip to Nashville was also featured later in an ABC Special CMA Music Fest: Country’s Night to Rock where McCreery performed "Your Man" with Josh Turner at the CMA Music Festival.^[24]

McCreery toured with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, which began in West Valley City, Utah on July 6, 2011 and ended in Manila,Philippines on September 21, 2011.

GAC premiered a TV special, Introducing: Scotty McCreery, on October 3, 2011, the day before his debut album is expected to be released.^[25]

On October 19, 2011, McCreery sang the National Anthem in Game 1 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

On November 9, 2011, McCreery performed "Walk in the Country" and announced the CMA Radio Stations of the Year honors at the 45th Annual Country Music Association Awards ^[26]

On November 10, 2011, McCreery joined other country stars in Nashville to tape the CMA Country Christmas special that aired on ABC on December 1.^[27]

On Thanksgiving day of 2011, McCreery performed his second single The Trouble with Girls at the 85th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City then headlined the Macy’s Great Tree Lighting at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta in the evening.^[28]

McCreery performed his second single at the 2nd Annual American Country Awards ^[29] on December 5, 2011 and won in the New Artist category ^[29][30]

McCreery performed "The First Noel" during the first annual CMA Country Christmas.^[31]

McCreery performed on the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade at Walt Disney World on December 25, 2011.^[32]

In 2012, he opened for Brad Paisley along with The Band Perry. The tour kicked off on January 12 with tour dates announced for the first quarter of 2012.^[33]

[edit] Clear as Day (2011)

McCreery's first album, titled Clear as Day, was released on October 4, 2011.^[34] Tracks from the album include a song from Keith Urban,^[35] and the title track "Clear as Day".^[36] A single from this album, "The Trouble With Girls" was premiered on radio on August 30, 2011,^[37][38] and released onto iTunes on September 1, 2011. An exclusive pre-order package on the album was offered in his website on August 8, 2011.^[39] He is the first artist to be featured in Deluxe Edition Of 'ZinePak available exclusively at Walmart.^[40]

The album sold 197,000 on its debut week, and Scotty McCreery made history as the first country act to debut at No. 1 on Billboard 200 with their first studio album, as well as the youngest man to open at the top of the chart with his debut release.^[41] It reached No. 1 on five separate Billboard charts - Billboard 200, Top Current Albums, Digital Albums, Internet Albums, and Top Country Albums.

McCreery's appearance on Today on November 23, 2011 coincided with the news that his debut album Clear as Day had been officially certified as gold.^[42]

Clear as Day was certified platinum with over 1 million units shipped.^[43]

With McCreery's debut album Clear as Day reaching number one on the Billboard 200, he joins Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry (Daughtry) as the only Idol contestants to have a number one album.

McCreery recorded Tim McGraw's "Please Remember Me" and it was released on March 8, 2012. Also, it is used as the exit song on the eleventh season of American Idol.^[44]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

• ^ACurrent single.^[61]

Other songs[link]

Music videos[link]

Personal life[link]

McCreery is a professed Christian.^[65][66][67]

McCreery will soon be attending North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.^[68]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site on Scotty McCreery
• Scotty McCreery on American Idol
• Scotty McCreery on IMDb.com