CMT Blog: Gretchen Wilson

Like a lot of country fans, I have (well, had) this fantasy image of Nashville in my head — with artists, songwriters, producers and label folks out and about, talking about good country music and eating barbecue at Jack’s on Lower Broadway and grabbing a Goo Goo Cluster before they head into the studio. Like it’s all music, all the time.

Then I went to The Brass Stables. Fantasy shattered. Seeing a naked woman dance around a pole to Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” has changed the way I will hear that song. Forever.

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Want that coveted T-shirt from Kenny Chesney’s rescheduled show in Dallas? You know, the black one that says “There’s Something Sexy About the Rain, Lightning and a Dallas, Texas Make-Up Show.” Even if you weren’t there, now you can pretend you were. The merchandise people at Richards & Southern have set up a Facebook page to make it even tougher to resist the country souvenirs we all love. Like Jamey Johnson, Gretchen Wilson and Sugarland T-shirts, Conway Twitty cookbooks, Julianne Hough pink sling bags and Kellie Pickler necklaces. And those are just the items on the first page. So now, in between thinking up witty status updates and untagging yourself in pictures, you can do a little virtual shopping.

One of the bad things about loving country music for any length of time is that some of the artists you love take time off — often just when you were starting to dig them. But just when you thought you were so ready to move on, they come back.

Such is the case with Brady Seals, Gretchen Wilson and Gary Allan. Three of my favorites, they’re all ready to dole out new music this summer.

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Last week, there were reports that Gretchen Wilson was thinking about spending Mother’s Day by — get this — reaching out to her estranged mother. So far, I cannot find any follow-up reports on whether she did or didn’t. I do remember, though, after reading Wilson’s book, Redneck Woman, thinking that Wilson’s mom sounded like she was behind her music from the minute she heard her little girl sing. “By the time I was 4 or 5, mom would set up little impromptu concerts in the middle of Kmart on a Saturday afternoon. Mom would plant me on a box. … I would then belt out a Patsy Cline tune a cappella,” Wilson says in the book. Now that Wilson has her own daughter (Grace, 8), maybe she’s more willing to overlook some of the mistakes her own mother made during her adolescence. Forgiveness always makes a really nice Mother’s Day gift.

What is going on in our nation’s capital? First, Gretchen Wilson is testifying at a hearing today (May 5) on adult education. And now Brad Paisley’s about to head east for the swanky, black-tie White House Correspondents Association Dinner. The WHCA was formed in 1914, and every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the annual dinner. I’m glad politicians are taking notice of country stars who might guide the future of our country. Or at the very least, bring something interesting to the table. Paisley will be at this special dinner on Saturday (May 9) with his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley as guests of Chief White House Correspondent Bob Schieffer. CBS star Julia Louis-Dreyfus will also be there, and since we know how much Toby Keith digs her, maybe he’ll score an invite, too.

Give the girl a high school diploma, and the next thing you know, she’s testifying in front of some kind of subcommittee in the nation’s capital. That’s what Gretchen Wilson will be doing on Tuesday (May 5). She’s going to get about five minutes to sum up why adult education and family literacy are so vital. And she should know. Wilson received her GED at age 34 after dropping out of high school when she was a teenager. She will be joined by other big shots on the committee who are joining forces to find new and better ways to stay committed to the Workforce Investment Act. I’m sure her voice of experience will go a long way with the decision makers in Washington. As long as she doesn’t go there all jacked up with a Skoal ring, saying she’s one Bud wiser.

The first time I got hate mail because of this blog, I think I cried. Then I got pissed. Then I cried again. Then someone talked me down off the ledge. Since then, my skin has thickened and my anger has waned. But I still read every single e-mail I get: the good, the bad and the downright un-Christian. I have always responded to the nice ones, but the mean ones get deleted. Some, though, I have saved for a day like today. One where I can respond in a public forum. So if you have ever sent me an e-mail that you’d be ashamed to show your own mother, I have your answers right here:

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If there’s such a thing as love at first sight, then I’m pretty sure it’s possible to fall in love with a song the first time you hear it. It doesn’t happen often, but a handful of tunes out there have stopped me in my tracks about 20 seconds in. Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman” was such a song. As was “Long Black Train” and “Hicktown.” And “Chicken Fried” and “Takin’ Off This Pain.” But it’s not always the debut singles that get me. The first time I heard Keith Urban’s “You Look Good in My Shirt,” I was out the door to buy the CD before the song was even over. That happened years ago with the Dixie Chicks‘ “Without You,” and more recently with Brooks & Dunn’s “Cowgirls Don’t Cry.”

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When I first started listening to country music, it was all about the guys. Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, George Strait. Maybe a little Martina McBride. Maybe some Faith Hill. But mostly, I was buying that whole cowboy thing the guys were selling.

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Enough already. Enough looking back at what 2008 was all about, music-wise. The new year is three days away, so I think it’s about time we started looking forward. And there is plenty to get excited about.

Jessica Andrews will be back on the radio, God willing, with her new single, “Everything.” Lee Brice will have some new music, too. Jason Michael Carroll’s “Where I’m From” will be up and running soon. Luke Bryan is working on a sophomore album, and has a song from it coming out in February. Jamie O’Neal’s new label is going to try to make her new “Like a Woman” a big hit. Jason Aldean has an album due out in the spring. Jack Ingram’s next album should be out in the early part of the year. And Eric Church’s newest tune will be on the radio right around Jan. 12.

But it’s not just newer artists who are pushing into 2009 with enthusiasm. Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Pat Green and Dierks Bentley are going to be releasing new albums pretty soon. Miranda Lambert and Gretchen Wilson are said to be working on new music, too. And in the collaboration of all collaborations, Kellie Pickler and Taylor Swift co-wrote the kiss-off girl-power anthem “The Best Days of Our Life” which will help Pickler get her new year off to a sweet start.

So on Wednesday night, raise a glass to Auld Lang Syne. And raise another one to all the good country music up ahead.