CMT Blog: George Strait

For years I've been curious about the CMA Songwriters Series in New York City and since it coincided with this trip, I caught the early show last night (Nov. 5) at Joe's Pub. The lineup was pretty remarkable: host Bob DiPiero, Jessi Alexander, Jon Randall and Mark D. Sanders. DiPiero opened with "Blue Clear Sky," co-written by Sanders and recorded by George Strait. On his next time through, he played "Southern Voice," the new single from Tim McGraw. Randall offered a new song he co-wrote with Brad Paisley and Bill Anderson, "If You Can't Make Money, Make Love," an incredibly catchy and fun tune. Sanders told the audience that songwriters always know they're onto something when the crowd sings along with a song they've never heard before, which is exactly what happened.

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Could this contest possibly have any more prizes? This week kicks off the CMT on Tour With Jamey Johnson sweepstakes, and I just did some research on it. Even though I'm not eligible to enter, I can still pine for the grand prize, right? The winner gets a trip for two to see Johnson in 2010 in the city closest to him/her. (That includes airfare because the city closest to you may not actually be all that close.) Plus, you get two nights at a hotel, the two concert tickets AND an autographed guitar. I think the only way this sweepstakes could get any better is if they were giving away Johnson's actual guitar, which is autographed by Willie Nelson, George Strait and about 10 other artists he admires. The contest ends Dec. 6, so enter soon.

Good news for people who think that today's country music isn't really all that country: George Jones agrees with you. He isn't loving where the genre has moved in recent years. So when he was asked about some of the pop-influenced country stars that are so hot right now, Jones said, "They (Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift) had to use something that was established already, and that's traditional country music. So what they need to do really, I think, is find their own title, because they're definitely not traditional country music." He does think that Alan Jackson and George Strait are still good for that traditional sound. "We still have it, and there's quite a few of us that are going to hope that it comes back one of these days," he said. In the meantime, though, any suggestions for what that new title should be?

You know that game "Would You Rather"? Imagine being able to play that with country stars. That's what this feature from CMT Mobile is kind of like. It's called CMT Minute. But it's not impossible-to-answer questions like, "Would you rather eat Rocky Mountain oysters or spend the day with Kayne West?" This is just 60 seconds of easy questions for your favorite country singers. Luke Bryan ends up choosing "Dixieland Delight" over "Mountain Music," fishing over hunting and sweet tea over regular tea, but he never really answers the toughie: cornbread or biscuits? Then Carrie Underwood chooses Garth Brooks over George Strait for a duet. And shoes over clothes and heels over flats and football over hockey. Miranda Lambert goes with hunting over shopping, Law & Order: SVU over Law & Order: Criminal Intent, gun over bow, cowboy boots over heels and four-wheelin' over a day at the spa. When it comes to the Brooks vs. Strait question, though, she says she can't answer.

When you have a career as long and well-documented as George Strait's, there's really no real news. It's always the same, right? Singles shoot straight to the top of the charts, concerts sell out, awards are bestowed ... blah, blah, blah.

Plus, Strait has never been too big on interviews. He's like the anti-overexposure kind of celeb. That's why this long, long, long story in Cowboys & Indians (the magazine, not the little-boy game) is so impressive.

It's not all about the music. There's plenty of talk about growing up in Pearsall, Texas, spending summers on the ranch and how you never ask a rancher how much land he owns or how many cattle he has. Strait then said, "I'll just say I've got enough to keep us busy."

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She's Oprah. And she's wearing a cowboy hat. There's really not much I can add to that. God love her, in her ruffle-front blouse, a yellow cardigan, jeans and a black cowboy hat that I'm pretty sure she borrowed from George Strait. You can see from the pictures that not even Martina McBride got all gussied country-style like Winfrey did for her episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show just taped at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. McBride was the musical guest, and I'm sure she did a great job singing on that outdoor stage. No word yet on when that episode will air, but don't forget that Taylor Swift is on Oprah today (Oct. 14), so set those DVRs.

Photo credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

As much as I raved yesterday about the crowd at Chicago's Country Music Festival loving Miranda Lambert's new music, I have to add that the fans were just as enthusiastic about Jamey Johnson's old music. And by "old music," I don't mean That Lonesome Song from last year. I mean old-school old. Like Vern Gosdin's "Set 'Em Up Joe" and George Jones' "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?" He also covered George Strait's "Give It Away," but I'm not lumping that it with the other classics because it's only three years old and because Johnson had a hand in writing that one.

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Some folks would say that Twitter, the rapid-fire social networking craze, is just a way for people to hear themselves talk. Others might say it's just a marketing gimmick. But Blake Shelton uses the hell out of Twitter anyway he damn well pleases. His girlfriend, Miranda Lambert, is catching on, too, and told EW.com she looks at Twitter as a window for people to get to know you. "I'm not gonna be like, 'OK, getting dressed now! Everything's perfect! Buy my record!' That's not what Twitter's for," she said. So what then, is it for? "Twitter's for us to just be crazy idiots and say whatever we want," Lambert said. I don't know if they come across as crazy idiots or not, but their stream-of-consciousness mini-monologues are definitely random. Like one of Shelton's last Tweets, that read: "If you don't like George Strait you probably have naked pictures of your grandpa ..."

Tomorrow at 10 a.m.? Thursday at 10 a.m.? Or Saturday at 10 a.m.? There are so many presales and promotions going on for the CMA Awards tickets that my head is spinning. That's good, though, right? That means there are a lot of opportunities to see this must-see show live in Nashville on Nov. 11. Ticketmaster doesn't give you a whole lot of relevant info. Like tickets prices. Or the necessary super special secret codes to get into these presales. Sometimes it's a fan club thing. But I don't know that I'd recommend joining several fan clubs just to get CMA tickets because, generally, fan clubs don't guarantee that you'll get good seats. You may be sitting next to Jennifer Nettles or George Strait, but then again you may run the risk of sitting where altitude sickness is a very real possibility. It's your choice. But once you decide, please let us know which ticket on-sale date you used and what kind of tickets you scored.

Updated 4:15 p.m. ET, Tuesday (Sept. 15)

The promotional code to be used for access to CMT's CMA Awards Tickets Presale on Sept. 16-18 is CMT2009. The presale expires at 11 p.m. ET on Friday (Sept. 18). Regular ticket sales begin on Saturday (Sept. 19).

I'm kind of a big deal for my '80s country playlists. OK, not really. Just among my friends who can name the lead singer of Highway 101 and just how many Forester Sisters there were. Two decades later, it seems a little strange to listen to these tunes on an iPod -- or even a CD for that matter. However, I've managed to get 45 of my favorite songs to fit on two discs. Perfect for parties! (Depending on the party, it might clear a room at the end of the night, too.) Here's the first half. I'll post Volume 2 on Monday. And yes, you can have this dance for this rest of your life.

"Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)," Alabama
"Could I Have This Dance," Anne Murray
"I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool," Barbara Mandrell with George Jones
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