CMT Blog: Vince Gill

The 2008 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) awards show kicked off with a bang last night. The Steep Canyon Rangers opened the show with their bluegrass chart-topper “Lovin’ Pretty Women” and toward the end of the song, the Shoefly Girls came out on stage clogging! It set the tone for a fun show. Del McCoury stepped on stage, and in his own witty way, yelled, “Hey everybody!” He then went on to tell the history of the Ryman Auditorium and how it began as a Baptist tabernacle in May of 1890. Del joked he had a gig at the world famous Station Inn that night.

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I would rather be bored stiff staring at my dentist’s waiting room walls than pick up a Golf Digest magazine. But now they’ve done something that piqued even my interest. They ranked musicians who golf, and guess who made the list. A long line of country stars? Vince Gill’s the best, with a 0.8 handicap. But singer-songwriter Steve Azar is right behind him with 1.3. Clay Walker made the prestigious list, too, with a handicap of 7. And country rookie Darius Rucker, who is reportedly pals with Tiger Woods, is next. Kix Brooks and Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney, both with a 10 handicap, round out the country representation in the Top 40.
Well played, guys.
http://www.golfdigest.com/rankings/musicians

It took me a while to dig further into The Imus Ranch Record because I couldn’t stop myself from playing the first track over and over and over - Patty Loveless‘ exquisite rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs.” However, now that I’ve overcome that minor hurdle, I find myself hung up on several other tracks by the likes of Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Randy Travis and even Little Richard! (Sorry, I can’t help it. I always have to put an exclamation point after Little Richard!)

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Picture a diesel locomotive barrelling its way across the continent, mighty in its rhythm and unstoppable in its momentum - you may now have an idea of the musical force that Michael Cleveland packs. When he bears down on that fiddle, or chops out a deep groove, it’s hard not to feel like you’re riding that journey with him as the engine roars and the tracks disappear underneath you. It’s for that reason he has guested on albums by Vince Gill, Rhonda Vincent and many others.

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In a couple of hours, I am leaving town for a funeral. My father’s.

And when anyone in my life passes away, my thoughts always turn to the perfect eulogy. Which then turns my thoughts to the lyrics of country music. Even if you aren’t a fan of the music itself, it’s hard to deny the poetry that lives in the songs. Especially when it comes to mourning. That’s why, when I wrote my mother’s eulogy two years ago, I managed to work a Brad Paisley lyric into the end. The one from “When I Get Where I’m Going” that says, “When I get where I’m going, there’ll be only happy tears/I will love and have no fear.”

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A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to talk to Darius Rucker about his debut country album, Learn to Live, and because of that, I’ve also been listening to the record for a while now. There is no doubt in my mind that it offers a lot of the things that make me a fan of country music. There are songs about reflection, living in the moment, women that deserve a cautious approach and bad decisions made before the sun comes up. And to me, Rucker’s voice needs no introduction. Its power and that hint of a growl that you heard in Hootie & the Blowfish are unmistakable and in full force on Learn to Live. Now, for a limited time, you can listen to it in its entirety on CMT.com.

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After all these years, I figured there couldn’t be any lost duets between George Jones and Tammy Wynette. So imagine my surprise to find the previously unheard “Lovin’ You, Lovin’ Me” on Jones’ new album, Burn Your Playhouse Down: The Unreleased Duets. The production sounds a little bit hokey, since it was recorded in 1977, but I still find myself joyously singing along (with George’s part, that is). It’s at the end of the album, and you can listen to the likes of Dolly Parton, Shelby Lynne and Vince Gill along the way.

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For someone like me, who thinks the sun rises and sets with Garth Brooks, I long assumed he was the only artist to record “Dixie Chicken.” Until a friend heard it and told me that was an old Little Feat song. Who? I have to admit, I’d never heard of them at the time, but I came to realize that they were — and are — an influence on a lot of the country artists. In fact, Vince Gill, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, Emmylou Harris and others have joined the current group for the new album Little Feat and Friends: Join the Band. On it, Gill sings that “Dixie Chicken” song I love so much, and I’m sure his take will sound just as good as the cuts that came before his.

Melissa Lawson is the winner of the 2008 Nashville Star Series.

Hi everyone! I am HOME! After 3 months on Nashville Star and 2 AMAZING whirlwind weeks after winning, I am finally HOME! =) I get to spend a couple of weeks with my family, no cameras, no interviews, just us Lawsons hanging out and lovin’ on each other. I am really looking forward to this time to recharge my batteries and get ready for the Nashville Star tour kicking off Sept. 12 in St. Louis and to begin working on the album, which will be released around the first of the year. Now let me tell you about what you really want to know about … CHINA! WOW! I thought Nashville Star was great, but it can’t even compare to the last 2 weeks of my life.

View photos from Melissa’s trip.

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Sigh. Brad Paisley has a new album coming out in early September and to be honest, I couldn’t care less. Because it’s an instrumental album called Play. Even though he’s the CMA’s male vocalist of the year, he won’t be singing on the majority of the tracks. He’ll just be playing guitar. And to make matters worse, he won’t even be limiting himself to country guitar. There’s allegedly some jazz and metal songs on there, too.

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