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Darius Rucker shares some "Beers & Sunshine" with Lady A, as he grabs his tenth #1

• No Comments • Country Music News

David McClisterThis week, it’s all “Beers and Sunshine” for Darius Rucker, as he claims his tenth number one as a solo country artist. 

And if you think he takes it for granted, the pop superstar who most recently reunited with Hootie & the Blowfish for a new album and tour in 2019 says you couldn’t be more wrong. 

“Are you kidding me? It probably means more to me now than it ever has. Man, I’m 54!” he laughs. “It goes back to when [Lady A‘s] Charles [Kelley] called me when George Strait retired, and told me I was the oldest guy on country radio.”

“It’s [even] better now,” Darius reflects. “And after really not being on the radio for two years… I was busy going with Hootie for two years and I didn’t know what was gonna happen when I came back.”

In fact, Darius’ close friend Charles, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood do the background vocals on “Beers and Sunshine.” 

“I remember we finished the demo,” Darius explains, “and I sent it to Charles to find out what he thought of the song.”

“And Charles texted me back,” he continues, “‘Man, you should get us on it.’ I was like… “I was gonna ask you if you guys would come and sing on it.'” 

“… And they do it, and then they make it great,” Darius adds.

Lady A’s also on Darius’ 2013 smash, “Wagon Wheel,” and he couldn’t be happier to share the credit for a couple of his most-loved songs.

“If Lou Rawls had sung with the Jordanaires, it would have been like that…” he suggests. “Dave comes up with some stuff that’s just so great, and I would have never thought of it. And I hear them singing and I get chills. I mean, I really do.”

By Stephen Hubbard 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Miranda Lambert teases new collaboration with Elle King

• No Comments • Country Music News

ABCIt appears that Miranda Lambert and Elle King have another collaboration in the works. 

The two singers turned to Twitter on Monday to tease the new song, Billboard confirms, Miranda posting a photo of the two with big hair and puffy 80s style dresses, with Elle wearing a white wedding dress while Miranda dons metallic pink. The “Bluebird” singer tagged Elle in the post, alongside the shifty eyes emoji. 

Meanwhile, Elle shared another shot of the two wearing suits, Miranda in mint green and Elle in powder blue writing, “The whiskey goes down better when they don’t know who you are…” both using #DRUNK in their posts. 

This isn’t the first time the two have worked together. Elle was one of the opening acts on Miranda’s all-female lineup for her 2019 Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour. She was also featured alongside Miranda and fellow opening acts Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes and Caylee Hammack on “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” which was named Music Event of the Year at the 2020 ACM Awards. 

Elle also has a #1 country hit with Dierks Bentley on “Different For Girls.” 

 

 

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

"Love Story (Taylor's Version)" is Taylor Swift's first number-one debut…on the country chart

• No Comments • Country Music News

Beth GarrabrantTaylor Swift has just accomplished something that only country icon and American treasure Dolly Parton has managed to do before: Hit number-one twice with two different versions of the same song.

As Billboard reports, “Love Story (Taylor’s Version),” the re-recorded version of Taylor’s 2008 hit, has debuted at number-one on the publication’s Hot Country Songs chart.  It’s her first number-one debut on this chart, and her eighth number-one on the chart overall. 

But this also marks the second time that “Love Story” has been number one on this chart.  The first time was, of course, in 2008, when “Love Story” was first released, and Taylor was a huge country star.  The only other time this has happened is with Dolly Parton’s classic song “I Will Always Love You.”

The original version of Dolly’s song was number-one on the Hot Country Songs chart in 1974, and then again in 1982, in a new version Dolly recorded for the soundtrack of her movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

In a statement, Taylor tells Billboard, “This is my first time having a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and I’m so grateful to the fans for making this a possibility. They’re the ones who emboldened me to reclaim my music and they really showed up this week to see it through.”

“It blows me away that they’ve sent a song to No. 1 that had its first life over a decade ago,” she adds. “I couldn’t be happier that it happened now, and in this way.”

Taylor’s re-recording is also being played on pop radio stations.

By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

CMA partners with Nashville chefs to feed music industry personnel

• No Comments • Country Music News

Country Music Association The Country Music Association is launching a new platform to support musicians in need. 

CMA is expanding its Music Industry COVID Support initiative to partner with nonprofit Touring Professionals Alliance to fund the Touring Professionals Alliance Kitchen program that provides meals to employees in the live music industry who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Over the course of a month, the program brings together a range of chefs from Nashville-based restaurants including Chopped judge Maneet Chauhan of Chaatable and Sean Brock, chef at his flagship restaurant Audrey. 

Each week from February 24 though March 24, music industry professionals can sign up to receive a meal from the participating restaurant.  

“The aid provided through the Touring Professionals Alliance Kitchen goes so much deeper than simply offering meals to industry professionals in need—TPA has created an environment for our friends to come together for a brief moment of relief in what has been an incredibly difficult year,” CMA CEO Sarah Trahern says in a statement.  

Touring Professionals Alliance Kitchen is also accepting donations here. 

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Chase Bryant shares his story of attempted suicide

• No Comments • Country Music News

Jeff Ray Chase Bryant is opening up about his experience with attempted suicide.  

In a video titled “This Is Me,” Chase emotionally shares how he took a three-year hiatus from the music business after scoring two top 10 singles “Take it On Back” and “Little Bit of You” in 2015, referring to himself as “very confused” and “very sick” as he battled depression and anxiety during his rise to fame.

“I was chasing success…I wasn’t chasing happiness,” Chase recalls to People. “I was trying to be something I wasn’t.”

One night in 2018, Chase got in his truck with a long hand-written note and a .357 revolver with six bullets in it and drove to a gas station. He placed the gun to his head and screamed “sorry” at the top of his lungs before pulling the trigger. But when he looked down, he found that the gun only had five bullets in it. 

“I realized that life is too short, don’t make it any shorter,” Chase recalls of what he thought when he got out of his truck that night. “Be yourself, love the people around you, and don’t ever forget your upbringing.”

Soon after, Chase returned to his roots in his home state of Texas, which inspired his new collection of music, including the single “Upbringing” that will be released on Friday. 

“What we’re doing here is a brand new beginning. The old me will never be forgotten, that’ll always be a picture in the back of my mind,” the singer says. “But the new me is the person I’ll get to live the rest of my life with.”

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone. 

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.