Home

TTR News Center

“What’s Your Country Song?” Thomas Rhett teases a new single, due next week

• No Comments • Country Music News

Courtesy of The Valory Music Co.Thomas Rhett is back, and he’s bringing a new chapter of music with him.

The singer has announced that he’ll return next week with a new single, “What’s Your Country Song,” which comes out on Wednesday. It’s the first taste of the “Beer Can’t Fix” star’s upcoming fifth studio album.

Thomas penned “What’s Your Country Song” alongside some of Nashville’s most in-demand songwriters, including his dad, Rhett Akins. It’s a feel-good anthem that the singer’s hoping will bring together fans from across the country.

“We wrote this song on the road last year in Dallas, Texas,” Thomas explains. “It’s really about how I was noticing that no matter where you live or where you’re from, everyone has a little bit of country inside their bones.”

Fans can expect to see a whole lot of Thomas next week: On the same day he releases the song, he’s also set to perform his “Be a Light” at the 2020 CMA Awards.  Also on Wednesday, the singer’s planning to make a stop on ABC’s Good Morning America.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Darius Rucker looks back on Charley Pride’s influence as a Black country artist

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABC/Alysse GafkjenDarius Rucker, the South Carolina native who first found fame with pop-rock group Hootie & the Blowfish, is no stranger to encountering racism.

“And you know, getting older and doing the things I was doing, in the world I was doing it in, I would say to myself, ‘That’s just the way it is,’” he explains in a new episode of the Color Me Country with Rissi Palmer podcast.

When he entered country music in 2008, Darius says he thought about another country performer who had broken down race barriers in the genre before him: Charley Pride.

“I remember saying to myself, ‘You can put up with whatever happens here because whatever happens to you is not going to be 1/10th, 1/100th of what Charley Pride went through,’” Rucker recalls.

When Darius co-hosts the 2020 CMA Awards next week, that inspiration will come full circle when Charley accepts the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I remember having a Charley Pride record in my mom’s collection that I don’t think my mom ever put on, but she bought that record because he was a Black man singing country music,” Darius recalls, going on to remember watching Charley perform on Hee Haw.

“And now, decades and decades later, to be part of him getting an award…There’s nobody that deserves it more than Charley. Nobody,” Darius declares.

Darius also says recently, he’s felt compelled to be more vocal against racism.

“It was Charlottesville, it was a whole bunch of stuff. Just watching the world we knew change,” the singer reflects. “I just felt like it was time for me to say something, because I was feeling different.”

Listen to Darius’ full conversation with host Rissi Palmer on Sunday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET on Apple Music Country.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“Don’t call it a comeback”: Billy Ray Cyrus covers LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”

• No Comments • Country Music News

BBR Music GroupWith the release of Billy Ray Cyrus’ genre-bending new EP, The Singin’ Hills Sessions — Mojave, the singer delivers his banjo-driven take on a hip-hop classic.

That track is a country version of “Mama Said Knock You Out,” rapper LL Cool J’s Grammy-winning release from 1990. Billy says that reinterpreting the beloved classic was particularly satisfying in the wake of his success with Lil Nas X, remixing the latter artist’s 2019 global megahit, “Old Town Road.”

“I’ve always loved that song [‘Mama Said Knock You Out’] — as well as fellow Kentucky native, Muhammed Ali — and just the concept of persistence and believing in yourself,” notes Billy. “Countrifying it was a joy and I feel like this song is the next segment of my circle following ‘Old Town Road.’”

The Singin’ Hills Sessions — Mojave takes its title from the Mojave Desert, where the five-song project was primarily recorded. It’s the second volume of Billy’s Singin’ Hills material, following the project’s first installment, which came out in January.

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Keith Urban, Dolly Parton and many more featured on Barry Gibb’s country and bluegrass duets project

• No Comments • Country Music News

Capitol RecordsSinger-songwriter, producer and former Bee Gees member Barry Gibb has plans for a new album featuring guest spots from some of the biggest names in the country and bluegrass genres. Called Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Vol. 1, the album is due out January 8.

Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town are just a few names from the stacked guest list for the project, which was recorded in Nashville’s famed RCA Studios and produced by Dave Cobb.

Others lending their voices to Greenfields include Alison Krauss, Brandi Carlile, David Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Jay Buchanan, Olivia Newton-John and Tommy Emmanuel.

Ahead of the album’s release date, you can hear “Words of a Fool,” a duet with Jason Isbell that, per Rolling Stone, Gibb originally wrote for a 1986 solo album that he never wound up releasing.

Greenfields consists of reimagined hits from Gibb’s catalogue with his late brothers and Bee Gees band mates, Robin and Maurice, who died in 2012 and 2003, respectively. Classics like “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You” and “How Deep is Your Love” get the re-imagined treatment on the new project.

“I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to work with Dave and all the artists who stopped by,” Gibb notes. “…They inspired me more than words can express. I feel deep down that Maurice and Robin would have loved this album for different reasons. I wish we could have all been together to do it…but I think we were.”

Here’s the full track list for Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook Vol. 1:

“I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You” (with Keith Urban)
“Words of a Fool” (with Jason Isbell)
“Run to Me” (with Brandi Carlile)
“Too Much Heaven” (with Alison Krauss)
“Lonely Days” (with Little Big Town)
“Words” (with Dolly Parton)
“Jive Talkin” (with Miranda Lambert and Jay Buchanan)
“How Deep is Your Love” (with Tommy Emmanuel and Little Big Town)
“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” (with Sheryl Crow)
“To Love Somebody” (with Jay Buchanan)
“Rest Your Love on Me” (with Olivia Newton-John)
“Butterly” (with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings)

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Lee Brice previews 'Hey World' with two more tracks, including the R&B-tinged “Soul

• No Comments • Country Music News

Curb RecordsAs Lee Brice nears the release of his new album, Hey World, the singer is sharing two more tunes off the project.

Those are the steamy “Do Not Disturb” and the playful, R&B-flavored “Soul,” two love songs that celebrate time spent alone appreciating someone special. It’s a pivot from some of the other tracks on his Hey World project, such as its searing and sorrowful title track piano ballad.

“Soul,” on the other hand, dips its toe into Motown influences, with lyrics that offer a near-religious appreciation for a love interest’s beauty.

“And I’ll be singin’, holy mother of Moses / I just wanna buy you roses / Open every door that closes / Kiss you from your head to your toeses,” Lee sings in the playful chorus. “I like your soul, baby / You got that heart made of gold, baby / I’m gonna love you ‘til I’m old, baby…”

Due out on November 20, Hey World includes previously released tracks such as Lee’s chart-topping “One of Them Girls” and his duet with Carly Pearce, “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” which also reached the top spot on country radio after Carly dropped it as a single.

Lee will celebrate Hey World’s release with a livestream event on Facebook Live and YouTube Live on November 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET. During the free virtual release party, Lee and his band will perform songs off the new album as well as sharing stories behind the songs and giving fans a peek into the album-making process.

Before then, though, the singer’s got another big performance coming up: He’ll take the stage at next week’s 2020 CMA Awards.


By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.