CMT Blog: Craig Morgan

Not to sound like a public service announcement, but did you know that 88 percent of wildfires are started by humans? And in the past 10 years, about 6.5 million acres of land were burned annually. So that rowdy little "Bonfire" that Craig Morgan sings about in his latest tune? It could actually be the culprit. Maybe that's why he teamed up with another celeb, Smokey Bear, to teach radio listeners how to put those fires out once the party's over. Bear's tune is the same one he's had since 1944: "Only you can prevent forest fires." Morgan admits that bonfires are built for good times, although he stresses, "But anybody who knows me knows that I'm a big outdoors guy, and any time you build any sort of fire outside, safety has to be your number one concern."

In new videos screened for the CMT New Music Video Evaluation Team this week, George Strait is as live as he ever gets, Craig Morgan takes his song to some unlikely locales and Matt Stillwell squeezes out a little more summer.

Artist: George Strait
Video: "Livin' for the Night"
Director: Shaun Silva

George Strait does here what he does best. He gets up on a stage and sings a good country song, as he's done for decades. Straight-ahead. No frills.

Panelists' comments: "Yum!" "I love that." "It's George Strait. It's already classic." "What else can you say? It's George."

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In the opening scene of Craig Morgan's video for "Bonfire," he and his band look like a boxing entourage heading to the ring for a fight. That's about the last thing that looks serious in this one, though, as Morgan drops in to various everyday places and serenades folks who have no idea what's going on. Imagine being at work around 3 p.m. holding back a mid-afternoon yawn, when in through the door bursts a camera crew and a bunch of guys singing and dancing around. Reactions range from elation to awkward indifference, but it seems like they end up making more friends than enemies, except maybe that lifeguard. Or maybe this is Morgan's new recession-proof side job -- "I'll wake up your whole office for $20!"

When a new song comes on the radio, do you ever get the artist wrong? Like when you thought for sure it was Tim McGraw but then you realize it's Rodney Atkins? Or when you start singing along with what you think is a Trisha Yearwood single and the DJ announces it is the latest from Martina McBride? Same with the soundalikes of Tracy Lawrence and Tracy Byrd, Craig Morgan and Billy Currington, Trace Adkins and Josh Turner and Kellie Pickler and newcomer Whitney Duncan. Not to take away from any of those voices. They are all brilliant and powerful and wonderful. But then there are those signature voices in country music that are undeniably unique.

Like Jennifer Nettles. There is just no way you'd ever not know it was her singing. You'd never hear a twangy Sugarland song and think, "Is that Faith Hill?" I am starting to feel that way about a handful of other voices, too. Lady Antebellum's Charles Kelley comes to mind, with the way he can sound soulful and deep even when he's singing about a one-night stand like he does on "Lookin' for a Good Time."

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No, I was not one of the lucky 35,000 fans who got to see Alan Jackson perform at Aquapalooza. But I did manage to haul my family up to a little lake in Wisconsin for some of our own water fun, complete with pontoon boats, fishing gear, swimming pools, Coronas, greasy cheeseburgers, arcade rooms and plenty of other nuances that make life occasionally resemble a country song. And this was the digital mix tape I took along for the ride:

"Chattahoochee," Alan Jackson
"Water," Brad Paisley
"Young," Kenny Chesney
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It's no Chattahoochee. But this Saturday (July 25), if you can navigate your boat over to the Kowaliga area of Lake Martin in Alabama, you will be able to watch Alan Jackson perform for AquaPalooza. It's also known as the world's largest boating party. Or a gigantic "raft-up." I'm sort of picturing the images from Craig Morgan's "Redneck Yacht Club" and Jackson's "Chattahoochee" videos, only with one legendary headliner on a stage fronting the water. They say you don't even need a boat and that any old inner tube will do. You do have to come by water, though, as no vehicle parking will be provided. And if, like me, you can't rationalize a trip to Alabama right now, you can watch the show when it airs on CMT on Sept. 4.

I'm sure a lot of you, like me, get sick of the songs at the top of the charts if you hear them over and over and over again on the radio. Like when they say, "Here's the brand new one from Keith Urban" and they play "Kiss a Girl," which is not new at all. So what I did this weekend was checked out the songs on the lower end of the charts. And here's what came out on the top of the bottom for me:

"Bonfire," Craig Morgan
"Address in the Stars," Caitlin & Will
"Up to Him," Tracy Lawrence
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If you stumble upon country star John Michael Montgomery in a new infomercial, don't assume he's after Billy Mays' job. He is selling something much better than OxiClean and Mighty Putty. Montgomery is the new pitchman for Time Life's Country Music Explosion. This boxed set of CDs has 160 songs from household names like Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Sugarland, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Craig Morgan, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Then there's Montgomery's own biggies, like "I Can Love You Like That", "I Swear" and "I Love the Way You Love Me." I can't find the price tag for this Explosion on the Time Life Web site yet, but whatever it costs, getting 160 hit country songs has to be worth it.

Decisions, decisions. Who will you ever chose to leave your outgoing voicemail message? Should it be Dierks Bentley? Taylor Swift? Luke Bryan? Eric Church? Craig Morgan? Kellie Pickler? Keith Anderson? Or, if you're really aiming high, Garth Brooks? It is just about the coolest thing a country fan can put on his/her cell phone. Each one says something like "Hey y'all this is (big country star) and my friend can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave her (or him) a message, she (or he) will get back to you as soon as she (or he) can. Thanks and have a great day." The directions are pretty high tech, so I couldn't get all the right-clickiness to work. I just recorded mine the old fashioned way: with my phone's microphone held up close to my laptop's speaker. But for folks out there who know their way around MP3s, it should be a no-brainer.

Photo credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The CMT New Video Evaluation Team looked at three new music videos this week. John Rich tees off on Washington and Wall Street for abandoning the Motor City with "Shuttin' Detroit Down." Raul Malo waxes melodic in a barroom in "Hello Again." And newcomer Sarah Darling plucks on the heartstrings with "Jack of Hearts."

Artist: John Rich
Video: "Shuttin' Detroit Down"
Director: Steve Lamar

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