Country Music Blog: 2008 March

Editor’s note: In the days leading up to the 2008 CMT Music Awards, Taylor Swift is sharing some of her favorite photos she has recently taken.

Hi, I'm Taylor. And this is my dog, Bug. He's a mini pinscher, and I'm in love with him. I got him in a mall in California a few years ago, and he's been my main guy ever since. He's like an attack dog, but smaller.

If you thought the line for Hannah Montana concert tickets was long, wait until April 6. That's the day of the open casting call for extras who want to play a part in the Hannah Montana movie.

Replicated right down to the tin of baby powder, Dolly Parton's one-room cabin of a childhood home is on display in Dollywood, and now on this blog.

Alt-country fans, take note. Shout! Factory has acquired the catalog of HighTone Records, once home to Buddy Miller and Dale Watson.

See the Dancing With the Stars team of Julianne Hough and funnyman Adam Corolla interview each other in this clip from The Insider.

And if you really like reality TV, set your DVRs for Wednesday night when Dolly Parton takes the stage on American Idol, as well as former finalist Phil Stacey.

As Carrie Underwood readies herself to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry, it's time we paid some attention to its oldest member -- Little Jimmy Dickens. He's a virtually untapped treasury of country music lore, and he's not going to be around to recount the old days forever. A member of the Opry since 1948, Dickens is 87.

Although there have been hundreds of articles written about him, I don't believe he's ever been the subject of a full-scale and scholarly biography. Yet here's a man whose performing skills were so impressive that the mighty Roy Acuff got him into the Opry even before Dickens had his first hit record. The diminutive (4'11") West Virginian was there to welcome Hank Williams to the Opry in 1949 and subsequently toured with him.

It was probably his small stature that drove Dickens toward the novelty songs by which he's primarily known, pieces such as "Take an Old Cold Tater (And Wait)," "Out Behind the Barn" and "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose." But he's also a first-rate ballad singer who can rivet an audience with something like "We Could" or bring it to tears with a recitation like "(You've Been a Good Doll) Raggedy Ann." Younger Opry stars, notably Vince Gill and Brad Paisley, have recognized Dickens' still formidable talents and featured him in some of their music videos. But more needs to be done.

Somebody at the Country Music Hall of Fame (of which Dickens has been a member since 1983) ought to sit down with him and record every story, joke and obscure lyric he can recall. There aren't many memories of his era still around.

It was completely unintentional. It's not like I went into rehab to kick my country-music habit. What I did was go away for 10 days and didn't hear any country music. Not one single solitary song. No fiddle. No banjo. No stories about drinkin' and cheatin' and fishin'. It never occurred to me how hard the withdrawal symptoms would be.

When we arrived in California (alive and well despite my fears), I realized I'd forgotten my iPod. Surely there would be some good country stations out there, I thought. But since our rental car had two major drawbacks -- no DVD player and no third-row seat -- that meant all three of my kids were about four inches from my head with their own portable DVD player blaring. That was the one thing that kept them quiet on our excellent adventure driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. So, no country radio.

Still, I assumed the beach towns we visited would be filled with a little Kenny Chesney or some other tropical-leaning country. By the time we got to San Francisco, I saw a man busking with a violin and I thought I'd finally hear some good, down-home stuff. But he had different stuff in mind, like the entire soundtrack from Phantom of the Opera. Nice, but not when you're craving Keith Urban, Sara Evans and Jason Aldean.

The minute we got home yesterday, I turned on our local country radio station. Trace Adkins, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Jack Ingram coursed through my veins and instantly cured me of my symptoms and put me back into a state of country euphoria. That certainly must qualify me as an official addict. I'm totally OK with that. Of all the things to get hooked on these days, country music's probably the healthiest one.

I've always been a fan of popular TV show, The Apprentice, as well as country music superstar Trace Adkins. When I found out he was going to be a part of the celebrity cast, it was a must-see. From the beginning, I greatly admired the way Adkins dealt with the rest of his fellow famous cast mates, especially Season One's conniving Omarosa and oftentimes uncouth America's Got Talent judge and eventual winner, Piers Morgan. Though Adkins' hard work and courteous demeanor did not get him officially "hired", he managed to always show the qualities of a true Southern gentleman.

Not once did Adkins belittle another teammate, nor attempt to win a task through conspiring against the opposing team like many of the others. (Did someone say, "Piers"?) He played the game with class, charisma and flair. I've always thought Donald Trump made appropriate decisions in the boardroom, but not this time. I think that a competitor's principles and behavior throughout the entire season should be taken into account, not simply who has tallied the most wins.

Trace Adkins is quite the force to be reckoned with, both musically and personally. With his tall, firm stature, deep baritone voice and Southern hospitality, Trace Adkins is truly a man that country music can be proud of. No, he may not have been crowned Celebrity Apprentice, but he did have something even the winner was lacking. Adkins walked away with his moral compass. You've made us proud, Trace. Great work. We were behind you all the way.

Can you prove that you are Keith Urban's biggest fan? If so, enter a new sweepstakes on his Web site.

Kenny Chesney rustles up his famous friends for this 40th birthday celebration. Check out the guest list.

Mindy McCready seems to have a lot going on, like filming a reality TV show and coming up with awful nicknames. ("Flem"? Accch.)

Toby Keith remakes the Barry White classic, "Never Gonna Give You Up," as a duet with former NBA player Wayman Tisdale.

Narvel Blackstock, Reba McEntire's husband, possesses a secret talent - interior design.

Who among us hasn't fantasized about being married to a country music star? We all do it. Men. Women. Teenagers. Seniors. No one is immune to that cowboy-take-me-away fantasy. I know, because I've seen the marriage proposals on signs at concerts. And I've heard people wondering out loud what life would be like on the other side of Nashville.

That got me thinking.... What is it really like to be hitched to a country star? Like when his latest single tops the Billboard chart, would he ignore your requests to take out the garbage? When a promoter writes a check for an 85-city tour, would you still question why she needs yet another pair of True Religion jeans? And when he's named one of the Sexiest Men Alive by People magazine, would you still be too tired for sex? God only knows what happens when two stars are married to each other. Does the one with the most awards get free back rubs for a month?

Certainly, there's a point in your musical career when household chores become someone else's job. But what about all those common courtesies that spouses do for one another? Brad Paisley knows all about those. He even wrote a song about one. How what his wife wants -- more than jewels, fancy cars and romantic dinners -- is for him to just put the toilet seat down. Little things like that could wreak havoc on a star-studded relationship. I wonder if being married to Kenny Chesney would mean he'd roll his eyes when you asked him to put the peanut butter back in the pantry. As if to say, "I'm the CMA Entertainer of the Year. Do you really expect me to clean up after myself?"

For a short time in the ‘80s, a friend of mine was the mayor of Sarepta, La., a community whose population usually hovers somewhere just below 1,000. In 1996, years after my friend's political career fizzled, I asked him if he'd ever heard of Trace Adkins, a Sarepta native who had just scored a Top 10 hit with "Every Light in the House."

"Tracy Adkins?" my friend gasped. "You mean to tell me that he's a country music star?"

Well, Adkins wasn't really a star then, but the fact that my friend still knew him as Tracy -- his given name -- reminds me that it's a long, long way from a little town in northwest Louisiana to hanging out with Donald Trump in a boardroom on the popular TV series, The Celebrity Apprentice. Believe me, the stretch of U.S. Highway 371 running through Sarepta is about as different from Fifth Avenue and Times Square as you could possibly imagine.

I'm sure the other Celebrity Apprentice contestants immediately underestimated Adkins because they thought he was a redneck. Most of us from the South aren't too concerned about being branded as rednecks, but we do have a big problem when we're perceived as possessing low IQs, bad teeth and a lengthy list of unspeakable vices. On the TV show, Adkins did a lot to dispel those stereotypes by conducting himself with true dignity and repeatedly demonstrating that just because you have a Southern accent, it doesn't mean you're stupid. Or lazy. Or unsophisticated.

Piers Morgan, a British tabloid editor and TV personality, managed to win the Celebrity Apprentice competition by outpacing the other contestants in fundraising activities, but those of us from the South owe Trace Adkins our gratitude for carrying himself in a manner that made us all look good.

See his new video, "You're Gonna Miss This."

"Teardrops on My Guitar" is still striking a chord - even prompting a letter to the advice columnist, Ask Amy. (Love ya, Amy!)

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift says she wrote a new song with good pal Kellie Pickler, and that she always knows when Kellie calls her.

From the CMT Lifestyles blog archive, Trace Adkins talks about his daughter's food allergy. Good luck tonight on Celebrity Apprentice, dude.

A New York radio station goes country... for 50 hours, anyway. Props to WKCR for devoting two hours to Hank Williams.

And if you're into Gram Parsons, and live in St. Louis, this tribute show might be pretty cool.

I think anyone with any liking at all for the music of one or all of the three Hanks (the original Hank, Hank Jr. and Hank III Williamses, that is) will like the new Family Tradition exhibit that opens at the Country Music Hall of Fame on Friday, Mar. 28. It includes numerous artifacts from all of the Williams families. The Hall has more and more in recent years been emphasizing the human elements of its subjects, moving away from including only official artifacts and awards and trophies. In this case, any Williams fan would enjoy seeing big Hank's silk pajamas, III's skateboard, and Jr.'s guns. And there's other neat stuff, including lots of music memorabilia. The personal details always cinch it for me, though.