Big Kenny photo courtesy of Bigger Picture Group.

For Big & Rich’s Big Kenny, the best Christmas gift he’s ever received is a simple piece of paper with very potent words written on it. His father gave him a letter full of memories and advice a few years back that Big Kenny cherishes.

“He spoke of all of his memories of my life through my ups and downs,” Big Kenny said. “He told me he was proud and loved me through it all and his greatest words come in the last paragraph, ‘…be at Peace with yourself, be at Peace with everyone around you and most important be at Peace with God.’”

Fruit cake isn’t usually a favorite when it comes to Christmas desserts, but Big Kenny is the exception to the rule. His grandmother’s fruit cake was one of his favorites, if for no other reason than the memories it holds. “My grandmother would always make homemade Fruit Cakes,” he said. “They were as dense as an energy bar and chewy as beef jerky. I miss my Grandmas and Christmas always brings their tremendous strong spirits back so close to my heart.”

The father of two young boys, ages 6 and 2, Big Kenny has a Christmas tradition from his childhood that he plans to pass down to them. “I will never forget being about the age of my boys now and sitting on my Daddy’s lap and watching Burl Ives’ version of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer,” he said. “And I’m gonna love on my kids as much as I can and watch it with them again this year.” Continue Reading

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John Rich photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

John Rich recently held a benefit concert at his Nashville home for the Dickson County Family YMCA reports the Tennessean. John, who lived in Dickson for 9 months and graduated from Dickson High School, made lifelong friends during his time there and used the event as a way to pay it forward.  The fundraiser was part of the YMCA’s campaign to raise $150,000 for operating expenses for the next three years. After tickets were sold, the YMCA was still $10,000 short of their goal. John announced during the event that he would contribute the last $10,000.

John’s mother, Judy, is a native of Dickson County. While John spent most of his life in Amarillo, Texas, he and his family returned to Tennessee around 1990 and settled in Cheatham County. After his parents divorced, John’s mother moved the family to Dickson where John started a new school his senior year and met his best friends.

“It was huge,” John said. “It was a huge school. I didn’t know anybody in the school. I walked in just blind. It was pretty scary. It was a pretty wild situation. Right out of the box, I met a couple of guys.” Those ‘guys’ were Jody Barrett, Marcus Peters and Kyle Steranka, who have remained John’s closest friends over the years.

John, whose father taught him to play guitar, counts the high school’s choir teacher Cindy Freeman as his first critic. “I learned real quick that criticism is a valuable thing,” he said. “Mrs. Freeman critiqued me very sternly many times and I probably deserved most of them. Not that she was ever down on my singing. She was just down on my brazen level of singing. I wasn’t one that liked to blend in.” Continue Reading

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Big Kenny photo courtesy of Bigger Picture Group.

Big Kenny will release The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy: The Whole Experience Deluxe Edition, a new multimedia experience of his 2009 release, on October 11. The Whole Experience will include Big Kenny’s original album, remastered with new transitions, as well as a 15-page digital booklet and 40-minute sing-a-long video album.

Big Kenny enlisted the help of good friend and visual artist Ric Stultz to aid in the creation of The Whole Experience. Ric recreated original paintings for each song which are featured with lyrics and note for each track in the digital booklet. “I love the place I am when I’m sitting there writing a song,” Big Kenny said. “and I hope with this release to bring my fans a little closer to it.” Continue Reading

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Brett Eldredge photo courtesy of WMG Nashville.

When Brett Eldredge woke up the morning of September 11, 2001, he was on edge. He hadn’t studied for a math exam scheduled for that day and was concerned with showing his mother what he was certain would be a failing grade. Halfway through the test, the first plane hit the World Trace Center.

“I was very nervous the morning of September 11, 2001, simply because I had hardly studied for a high school algebra test, and knew I was about to fail it,” Brett said. “ I remember feeling like it was the end of the world and all I could see was my mother’s disappointed face when I showed her a big, circled, “F” on the paper. Then our teacher turned on the TV and that’s when I saw the first tower in flames. Suddenly a little ole math test didn’t even matter, in fact, I don’t even know if we finished the test.”

The feeling in his high school class room as they watched the tragedy unfold on television is one Brett will never forget. “I remember every single student in the room had their eyes glued to the TV, all watching together, almost like a family, worried for their brothers and sisters who were going through something unimaginable,” he said. “I remember the hurt, the anger, and most of all, the unity that every one of us shared as we went through this together.” Continue Reading

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Martina McBride photo courtesy of Republic Nashville.

Martina McBride helped the YWCA Celebrity Auction bring in over $153,000 on Sunday, June 12, a 50% increase over last year’s total.  Martina has hosted the event since 1995 and it was the dress she wore at the Grand Ole Opry re-opening following the Nashville floods that brought in the highest bid of the night, when a fan from Texas paid $27,000 for it.

“I am always amazed at the big hearts of country music fans,” Martina said. “Even in these tough economic times, they realize there is a need to help these women and children who have taken the first step toward getting out of a bad situation and are starting their life over. Their compassion and generosity inspires me.”

“It is Martina’s genuine support and the devotion of her fans that help make the auction so successful each year,” Pat Shea, CEO of the YWCA, said. “She not only raised these dollars, but helped educate the audience about domestic violence as she encouraged their support. It is so amazing to me that Martina and her fans helped us raise over $150,000 in a few hours. Those dollars will help the YWCA serve women and children who need counseling, medical care, support and emergency shelter as they flee violent homes.  We are very grateful to Martina.” Continue Reading

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Loretta Lynn photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Five decades ago, Loretta Lynn and her husband-manager, “Mooney” Lynn, drove station to station around the U.S. promoting her first single, “I’m A Honky Tonk Girl.” All these years later, she’s a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and a global symbol for country music, and she was honored Friday at her Coal Miner’s Daughter Museum in Tennessee for 50 years as an American icon.

A bevy musicians and music-industry executives were on hand for the occasion, including Marty Stuart, Crystal Gayle, Jack Greene and Terri Clark. Ronnie McDowell presented Loretta a painting he had created, depicting her when she was 10 years old and living in Kentucky. A string of presenters included John Carter Cash, arranger Bill Walker and Ray Walker, of the Jordanaires, the Hall of Fame vocal quartet that backed Loretta on such classics as “You’re Lookin’ At Country,” “Blue Kentucky Girl,” “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

There were also video tributes from Wynonna, Big Kenny, Keith Anderson, Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler and Dolly Parton. The ceremony took place in a sweat-filled tent outside the museum. The museum houses an extraordinary volume of memorabilia, including letters from presidents, stage wear and a string of awards — none of which have led Loretta to think of herself as anything other than the little girl who grew up in poverty in an eastern Kentucky shack.

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Big Kenny photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

Big Kenny may not have the ability to shoot webs out of his wrist, but he’s definitely demonstrated some stick-to-itive qualities in his pursuit of music and charities. And he took on bit of a Spider-Man persona on Thursday, rappelling down the side of a 24-story building in downtown Salt Lake City to raise money for Special Olympics Utah.

Big Kenny slid down the exterior of the Grand America Hotel a few feet at a time in conjunction with the second annual Over The Edge event. Each participant pledges to raise at least $1,000 for Special Olympics, and last year — according to The Deseret News — the inaugural effort brought in $70,000 for the charity.

Was Big Kenny nervous about the drop?

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Country music stars sure love Twitter! Here at GAC, we follow them too. Here are our picks for the Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week!

Taylor Swift: @taylorswift13  Texting Caitlin from the next room to say goodnight: “Night, sis. I don’t dance like an idiot like that with anyone else.”

Jennette McCurdy: @jennettemccurdy  So yesterday, after my performance, my friend goes “Nettie, you’re wearing two different boots.” I was. Continue Reading

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David Nail up to bat during the All-Star softball game. Photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

There aren’t too many country stars who can boast that they’ve hit a homerun in a major-league ballpark – but David Nail can.

David popped one over the fence during a celebrity softball game Monday in Angel Stadium during the festivities surrounding Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game.

His homerun is just one of numerous current sports-related items in country music, including Big Kenny’s World Cup debut and Taylor Swift’s shot at induction into a hall of fame.

Here are country’s latest sports-related stories:

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Martina McBride photo by Kristin Barlowe, courtesy of Front Page Publicity.

The CMA Music Festival, held in Nashville the past weekend, isn’t really complete without the YWCA Celebrity Auction, which Martina McBride has hosted since 1995. This year’s event brought in a whopping $102,289, a 29% over the 2009 receipts. That’s particularly impressive given the weak status of the current economy.

Martina items brought in the highest bids of the day during Sunday’s auction. Two handwritten, autographed lyrics of “She’s A Butterfly” earned $11,000 apiece. The song was featured on her 2003 album Martina, and Big Kenny — who wrote it with Big & Rich compadre John Rich — was on hand to help out.

GAC’s Storme Warren emceed the auction, which got some other large bids. A Brad Paisley package, including a guitar and a meet and greet, raised $6,000. A Keith Urban combo, featuring a chance to meet the singer and an autographed Living Right Now DVD, netted $3,800. And an autographed poster hailing Martina’s induction into the Grand Ole Opry scored a $4,600 bid.

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