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'If It Wasn't for Trucks' and dogs and mom and dad's backyard: Riley Green shoots his own cover

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Big MachineTo realize how authentic Riley Green is, all you need to do is check out the cover of his new EP, If It Wasn’t for Trucks. 

Hailing from Northeast Alabama, Riley was around all the trappings of country music, but he didn’t know much about the business until he released “There Was This Girl” in 2018.

“I’d never done a real photo shoot,” he explains, “and Big Machine gets this place… and there’s cows and a farm and all this. Then the next one is somewhat similar. We drive 40 minutes out of town to some place where there’s a barn and some old wood and a sawmill…”

“We start shooting music videos,” he continues, “and it’s like, ‘Man, we need an old truck…’ And I finally realized that I can go, ‘Hey, hold on a second. Have y’all been to my house? I’ve got literally everything we’re driving out here and paying for.'”

For the front of the new EP, Riley already had it covered. 

“We were talking about what we needed…” he recalls. “‘Man, it’d be good if it was like this and that, whatever.” And I said, ‘Well, hang on.'”

“So I sent ’em this picture, and they’re like, ‘Where did you get that?'” Riley says. “I’m like, ‘That’s in my mom and dad’s backyard. That’s my dog and my truck. I took that like eight years ago. It’s on my Instagram…'”

“So it’s really cool for me, as opposed to just going and getting some kind of random artwork, to have something that actually has a tie to one of my very first trucks,” he adds. 

The ACM New Male Artist of the Year is set to perform on Wednesday’s Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS, following the release of his EP on Friday. 

By Stephen Hubbard
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

'Hey World', Lee Brice has got a new album in the works

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Curb RecordsIt’s been almost three years since Lee Brice last released an album, but the singer’s got big news to share: This week, he announced his fifth studio album, Hey World, which is due for release on November 20.

The project’s title should sound familiar to fans, since Lee dropped an emotional ballad of that name back in May. Written as a plea for a tumultuous world to stop changing, if only for a second, “Hey World” was penned in March — when the COVID-19 pandemic was just ramping up in the U.S.

“We wrote this song from an introspective, truthful place and probably what most people were actually feeling right now,” Lee explained when he first shared the song.

It’s safe to assume that “Hey World” made its way onto his next album’s track list, but Lee says that after he first released it, he went back and made some exciting additions to the song.

Fans will be able to hear the new version of “Hey World” this Friday, he explained on Twitter, and pop singer-songwriter Blessing Offor will be a guest artist on the track. That same day, Hey World will become available for pre-order.

“Hey World” isn’t the only new track Lee has shared this year. His new single, “One of Them Girls,” is currently a top-five hit.

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

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Dolly Parton expands her chart domination with latest number-one hit, “There Was Jesus”

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ABC/Image Group LADolly Parton is back on top of the charts again this week, and this time, she’s making waves on Billboard’s Christian Airplay Chart. Her duet with Zach Williams, “There Was Jesus,” hit the top spot on the chart dated September 12.

That makes Dolly the first artist to have had songs topping five separate Billboard charts: Adult Contemporary, Christian AC Songs, Christian Airplay, Dance/Mix Show Airplay and, of course, Country Airplay.

Dolly’s history with Billboard charts dates all the way back to January 1967, when her “Dumb Blonde” sat at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart. Over her career, she’s earned 25 number-one hits on that chart — more than any other female artist.

“I don’t even hardly know what to say about all the [number-ones] in all the different fields of music,” the singer tells Billboard. “Thank you God, thank you fans and thank you everyone who has worked so hard to make this possible.”

But Dolly added that she’s especially touched to have a Christian Airplay hit right now, during what has been a tumultuous and difficult year.

“Having a [number-one] record at any time is a great thing, but having a [number-one] faith-based record during these crazy times is even greater,” she explains. “I feel humbled and blessed to be a part of this song with Zach Williams. It does my heart good to know that we have touched the lives of so many people.”

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

Gabby Barrett’s 'Goldmine' of a debut album is now available on vinyl

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Warner Music NashvilleUp-and-comer Gabby Barrett undeniably took her career to the next level this summer when she dropped her debut album, Goldmine.

The 12-song collection scored the highest-ever number of first-week streams for a debuting country act following its June 19 release, and also leapt into the Top 5 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.

Of course, that wasn’t the first time Gabby’s music had broken records: She notched her first number-one radio hit with the album’s leading single, “I Hope,” a song that also scored a record-breaking 10 million single-week streams.

Now, just four months after her massively successful first album came out, Gabby’s revisiting the project in a very special way. She dropped Goldmine on vinyl this week, with the record pressed on a signature gold-colored disc.

Gabby’s newest single, “The Good Ones,” is currently climbing the country charts. She’s also nominated for two trophies at the upcoming 2020 CMA Awards, and there are exciting developments happening in her personal life, too: Gabby and her husband, Cade Foehner, are expecting their first child.

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

ESPN won’t use Hank Williams Jr.’s “Monday Night Football” open this season

• No Comments • Country Music News

Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Rock the South FestivalFor the past three seasons, Hank Williams Jr. has helmed ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” open with a football-themed twist on one of his biggest hits, “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night.”

But according to Sports Business Daily, ESPN has decided to move away from the song. That decision is due to the fact that “all my rowdy friends” will not, in fact, be getting together to watch football this season. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the games will be taking place primarily in empty stadiums.

Instead, the new “Monday Night Football” open will be a variation of Little Richard’s “Rip it Up,” with additional instrumentals from a band called Butcher Brown.

It’s unclear whether ESPN will return to Hank Jr.’s theme song after the pandemic ends.

The country star has a long but somewhat fraught history with “Monday Night Football.” He first adapted his lyrics for the pregame song in 1989, but in 2011, ESPN dropped its association with him after Hank Jr. made a series of controversial comments, including comparing President Barack Obama to Hitler.

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