Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

Blake Shelton has always been on the shy side, not one to speak his mind or crack a joke. Okay, okay…I’m kidding! That may be BS, but it ain’t Blake.

You can guarantee that who he is when we aren’t looking, is the same person we see in the spotlight! Just ask soon-to-be Mrs. Shelton, Miranda Lambert. While the dust is settling from their country wedding in Texas, you can get your dose of BS on a special Backstory: Blake Shelton, Sunday night at 10/9c!

This week’s GAC Trivia Time* is all about Blake! Check out these fun facts.

Jun 18, 1976 – Blake Shelton born in Ada, Oklahoma. Beginning with his 2001 debut, “Austin,” he mixes ballads with biting humor on his way to a 2010 Country Music Association award as Male Vocalist of the Year

Dec 25, 1992 – Blake Shelton’s parents give him a Remington 243 rifle as a Christmas present

May 5, 2001 – Blake Shelton sings “Austin” during his debut on the Grand Ole Opry

Jul 31, 2002 – On the one-year anniversary of the album’s release, Blake Shelton’s self-titled debut goes gold

Jun 24, 2003 – Blake Shelton’s pet turkey, named Turkey, dies of heat stroke on his farm in Centerville, Tennessee

Jun 6, 2006 – Reba McEntire‘s husband, Narvel Blackstock, has re-opened Starstruck Entertainment’s management division. Their first client: Blake Shelton

Apr 12, 2007 – Blake Shelton shows up on FOX-TV’s American Idol

Jul 9, 2007 – Blake Shelton helps apprehend a thief at his uncle’s house in Ada, Oklahoma. Shelton keeps the intruder on the porch until the arrival of the police, who book him for burglary and public intoxication

Dec 24, 2007 – Blake Shelton gives his girlfriend, Miranda Lambert, a 31-inch mini-horse for Christmas at her home in Oklahoma. Lambert names the pony Annie   

Dec 1, 2008 – Blake Shelton is hailed as the “sexiest country singer” in People magazine’s annual “Sexiest Men” issue.

Feb 12, 2009 – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton raise $70,000 to build an animal shelter in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, with a concert at Murray State College

May 9, 2010 – Blake Shelton proposes to Miranda Lambert in the woods near her home in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. She says yes

* Blake Shelton trivia courtesy of RolandNote.com, the ultimate country music database!

ShareThis

Martina Mcbride photo by Kristin Barlowe, courtesy of RCA Nashville.

This one’s for the girls! Just in time for Mother’s Day, this week’s trivia is all about Martina McBride! With three daughters, she’s learned a few things over the years and shares her wisdom in songs like “In My Daughter’s Eyes” and her current hit, “Teenage Daughters.”

You can catch Martina and all three of her girls on this week’s episode of Top 20 Country Countdown, premiering tonight at 8/7c!

Think you know everything about Mrs. McBride? Check out these fun facts and you might just learn something new!

May 15, 1988 – With her marriage to John McBride in Wichita, Kansas, Martina Schiff becomes Martina McBride

Jun 2, 1992 – Martina McBride begins her first major concert tour, opening for Garth Brooks in Denver, Colorado

Dec 22, 1994 – Martina McBride delivers her first baby, a 6-pound, 4-ounce girl, Delaney Katharine Continue Reading

ShareThis

LeAnn Rimes photo courtesy of Curb Records.

LeAnn Rimes scored her first hit at the young age of 13 and hasn’t left the spotlight since, keeping our attention with a steady stream of hits and headlines.

The singer, songwriter, actress and author opens up about the tumultuous early years, the truth behind the tabloid headlines and how she’s found peace in our 90-minute biodoc, Backstory: LeAnn Rimes,  airing Sunday, April 24 at 8/7c on GAC.

For this week’s GAC Trivia Time*, take a walk down memory lane for the highs and lows of a celebrated career.

Aug 28, 1982 – LeAnn Rimes born in Jackson, Mississippi

Jul 5, 1995 – A Davidson County judge signs an order setting aside 12-year-old LeAnn Rimes’ minority status, allowing her to sign with Curb Records

Jun 4, 1996 – LeAnn Rimes’ debut single, “Blue,” appears in record stores, selling 100,000 copies its first day

Aug 13, 1996 – LeAnn Rimes, at 13, becomes the youngest nominee in CMA history

Feb 26, 1997 – LeAnn Rimes wins two trophies–Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for “Blue”–during the 39th annual Grammy Awards at New York’s Madison Square Garden

Aug 6, 1997 – LeAnn Rimes visits a seven-year-old girl who has been in a Reno, Nevada, hospital with a coma since she was injured in a car accident. Rimes sings “Blue” to the girl, who shows eye movement during the visit and soon returns to health Continue Reading

ShareThis

Reba McEntire & Blake Shelton, co-hosts of the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

This week country music takes over Las Vegas for the 46^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, but it hasn’t always been that way. From Tinsel Town to Sin City, the ‘Academy of Country & Western Music awards,’ as it was called back then, has seen its fair share of superstars through the decades.

In this week’s GAC Trivia Time, we travel back in time to  Hollywood for the first ACM Awards show in 1966, then follow the history all the way to this year!

Mar 28, 1966 - Roger Miller, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens are double-winners at the inaugural Academy of Country & Western Music Awards, held at the Palladium in Hollywood. Miller is named Man of the Year and Top Songwriter

Mar 22, 1971 – Merle Haggard wins a trio of honors in the sixth Academy Of Country & Western Music Awards at the Hollywood Palladium, giving him a lucky 13 total in his career.

Mar 27, 1975 - Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard win two honors apiece during the 10th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Roger Miller at Los Angeles’ Aquarius Theater. Lynn claims Top Female Vocalist and shares Top Vocal Group with Conway Twitty

Apr 27, 1978 - Kenny Rogers dominates the 13th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium, winning four honors: Top Male Vocalist; Album of the Year, for Kenny Rogers; and Single Record and Song of the Year, for “Lucille”

May 9, 1983 - Willie Nelson is a double-winner, claiming Single Record of the Year, for “Always On My Mind,” and Album of the Year for an LP of the same name during the 18th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards, aired on NBC from Knott’s Berry Farm in California Continue Reading

ShareThis

Trace Adkins photo courtesy of Show Dog-Universal Music.

Trace Adkins has never been afraid to try new things…in life or in music. Sometimes his music makes you think, while other times you might want to “shut your mouth and slap your grandma,” all while shaking your “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.” (Sorry Grandma!)

His journey to the top has been anything but ordinary.  In fact, he’s lucky to even be alive. He’s gone from operating rooms to Donald Trump’s boardroom and from the Grand Ole Opry stage to the silver screen. It’s not hard to understand why “Ladies Love Country Boys,” and this one in particular.

Here at GAC, we love him too! Don’t miss Part 2 of The Collection: Trace Adkins airing TONIGHT on GAC at 8/7c! What’s your favorite Trace Adkins video? Leave a comment below and let us know!

In honor of The Collection: Trace Adkins, this week’s GAC Trivia Time* is all about Trace:

Sep 11, 1983 – Trace Adkins rides out Hurricane Chantal on an oil rig in the Caribbean

Feb 21, 1994 – Trace Adkins’ first wife shoots him with a .38-caliber revolver, the bullet penetrating both lungs and both chambers of his heart

Jun 25, 1996 – Capitol releases Trace Adkins’ debut album, Dreamin’ Out Loud

Nov 23, 1996 -Trace Adkins makes his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. After singing “Every Light In The House,” he drops to one knee, calls out girlfriend Rhonda Forlaw and asks her to marry him. She says yes Continue Reading

ShareThis

Troy Olsen photo by Jim Wright, courtesy of EMI Records Nashville.

When Troy Olsen made his Grand Ole Opry last August, it was a dream come true. But it didn’t happen overnight.

“When I first moved to Nashville, I made a little promise to myself that I wouldn’t go to the Opry until I was asked to play it,” Troy explained. “So I would watch it on TV or listen to it in my truck and as one year turned to two years, and two turned to five, it began to feel like a dumb idea because I had missed a lot of cool shows!”

Troy didn’t break his promise to himself, and his patience finally paid off. Continue Reading

ShareThis

Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Sugarland hit the scene with “Baby Girl” and have been making their own rules ever since.  Their shows are electric and their tunes have a way of getting stuck in your head … “whoa-oh, whoa-oh, stuck like glue…” Whether they bring you to your feet or your knees, Sugarland knows how to make fans feel something different.

Have you seen this dynamic duo live? If you haven’t, you don’t want to miss the premiere of Sugarland: The Incredible Machine TONIGHT – Monday, March 14 at 10/9c! Get your sneak peek HERE!

In this week’s GAC Trivia Time*, we thought we’d give you some fun facts about Jennifer Nettles & Kristian Bush:

Jul 26, 2002 – Singer-songwriter Kristian Bush asks his wife for one more year to pursue music as a career. Some 362 days later, his band Sugarland does a showcase that nets a recording deal, preventing him from settling for life as a website designer

Aug 8, 2002 – Sugarland makes its first public appearance onstage, singing the only four numbers that the band knows

Sep 16, 2003 – Sugarland signs a recording deal with Mercury Records

Nov 12, 2004 – Sugarland performs “Baby Girl” during its Grand Ole Opry debut Continue Reading

ShareThis

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers perform at Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Years at The MGM Grand at Foxwoods on April 10, 2010. Photo credit: Rahav Segev/ Retna Ltd.

Only one man can say he’s had Oprah Winfrey and Dolly Parton sing background vocals for him…and even at the same time. Kenny Rogers has lived an extraordinary life and if you missed the premiere of Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Years, we’ve got you covered. You can catch it this Sunday, March 13 at 8 p.m. Eastern. See other air times here!

Think you know everything about The Gambler? We bet you just might learn something new in this week’s GAC Trivia Time.*

Aug 21, 1938 – Kenny Rogers was born in St. Joseph’s Infirmary in Houston

Jul 11, 1967 – One day after leaving The New Christy Minstrels, Kenny Rogers forms The First Edition with Thelma Camacho, Mike Settle and Terry Williams

Mar 27, 1973 – Kenny Rogers & The First Edition’s “Greatest Hits” album goes gold

Aug 5, 1976 – Kenny records “Lucille” during an afternoon session at the American Studio in Nashville

Jun 3, 1977 – A 10-piece string section is overdubbed onto Kenny Rogers’ recording of “Sweet Music Man” during a 6 p.m. session at the Jack Clement Studios in Nashville

Jun 16, 1978 – Kenny records “The Gambler” in a morning session at Nashville’s Jack Clement Studio, returning in the late-afternoon to cut “All I Ever Need Is You” with Dottie West Continue Reading

ShareThis

Reba McEntire photo courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

From barrel racing to Broadway, humble beginnings to the Country Music Hall of Fame… Reba McEntire’s journey to the top has been anything but ordinary. This week’s Trivia Time* features Reba, just in time for the premiere of Backstory: Reba McEntire, an intimate look at her life and career on Saturday at 9/8 CT. Get a sneak peek HERE! 

Nov 11, 1975 – Reba signs her first recording contract, with Mercury Records 

Dec 16, 1976 – Reba graduates from Southeastern Oklahoma State with a degree in elementary education  Continue Reading

ShareThis

GAC's Acoustic Green Room Stage includes performances from (clockwise from top left): Randy Montana, Katie Armiger, Blake Wise & Sarah Darling.

Each October, nearly 55,000 FFA members and guests attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN from all across the country, flooding the downtown streets with blue corduroy jackets.  It’s a tradition 83 years in the making, and GAC is proud to be part of this inspiring event for the second year.

FFA members participate in general sessions, competitive events, educational tours, leadership workshops, a career show and expo, volunteer activities and much more. It is one of the largest annual student conventions in the country.

GAC will have the Acoustic Green Room stage, located in the heart of the Career Show. The music lineup this year includes hot rising stars Due West, Katie Armiger, Sarah Darling, Brett Eldredge, Randy Montana, Wyatt McCubbin and Blake Wise. The superstar fun continues for FFA members on Wednesday night with a Lady Antebellum and Easton Corbin concert! Continue Reading

ShareThis