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.”

For new country band The Farm, their favorite childhood Christmas memories are all centered around family and music.

“Some of my favorite holiday memories are playing music around the piano at my grandparents’ house on Christmas Day after everyone has opened presents and gotten fat off of my Grandma’s cooking,” Nick Hoffman said. “When I was younger, I would need a little prodding to get my fiddle out, but once it was out, I wouldn’t put it away!  My Grandma would sit at the piano, my Grandpa would play stand-up bass, and we would play old Scandinavian tunes and Christmas songs for hours. When I was younger, I didn’t realize how special those moments were, but I definitely cherish those memories now.”

Some of my best memories as a child around the Christmas Holiday was singing in church!” Damien Horne said. “We would put together Christmas plays and friends and families would be there as we recreated the birth story of Jesus. I remember playing various parts like a star, a goat and even a wise man. We would drink eggnog after church and my family would all be together. Great times.”

Christmas is a little bittersweet for The Farm’s Krista Marie. “It reminds me of my father, how much I miss him and how wonderful he and my mother always made Christmas,” she said. “I miss the sound of his accordion and the smell of our family-owned meat market smoking Christmas hams.”

One of her favorite memories with her father around the holidays was selecting the family Christmas tree on their own land. “I was eight-years old, give or take, and Dad decided we’d go out back on our land and I could pick out our tree,” she said. “He patiently cruised for well over an hour until I had found the perfect one. To this day, I still pick out my own tree and smile, knowing dad is with me.”

For more holiday memories from Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery and more, check out our Holiday Memories video channel!

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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.”

A breakfast of cereal at Marcus Peters’ home one morning in 1992 served to be the setting off point for John’s career. Marcus was reading the paper and came across the news that Opryland in Nashville was having auditions for Country Music USA. John made the show and met the people with whom he would later form the band Lonestar. Even as his career took off, he stayed in touch with his best friends.

“I’m proud to call John my friend. I’ve known him for a long, long time…before anybody knew who he was,” Jody Barrett, chairman of the Dickson County YMCA, said to the Tennessean. “I’m proud of the way he has relentlessly pursued success. From the first day I met him, he knew, and openly stated, that he wanted to be a country music star. He has had laser-like focus on that goal since we were 17-year-old kids.”

John is known for his charitable endeavors. His mother Judy credits John’s childhood with her son’s habit of giving back to his community. “He did not come from a wealthy family, by any means,” she said. “I think he remembers what it’s like to not have everything, so he is generous in helping others.”

With the success of this fundraiser, John hinted to attendees that there might be more on the horizon. “When you get back home and you are talking to your friends about what you did here, tell them you had a great time,” he said. “And tell them the next time one of these comes along, they need to come be a part of this. You are helping the county. You are helping folks that need help.

John has reunited with Big Kenny Alphin and their duo Big & Rich’s new single, “Fake I.D.,” can be heard on the Footloose soundtrack.

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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.”

To celebrate the release of The Whole Experience, Big Kenny will hold a live performance online at StageIt along with a week of giveaways. Tune in to http://StageIt.com at 8/5 PT on October 11 for Big Kenny’s release concert and follow @BigKennyTV on Twitter for your chance to win prizes.

Big Kenny is gearing up for a short fall tour with John Rich as their duo, Big & Rich. When the tour wraps, they will hit the studio to write and record their new album. Their first single in three years, “Fake I.D.,” is featured on the Footloose soundtrack.

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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.”

Frankie Ballard was headed to class himself when he saw the towers on TV. “I was a freshman in college and was headed off to class when I saw on TV that the first plane had hit the tower,” Frankie recalls. “I just dropped my books and sat there for the next couple hours and watched. I remember not being able to comprehend how many people had just died…”

Kenny Alphin of Big & Rich woke up to the morning news covering the attacks. As tragic as the event was, however, he refused to allow it to inspire fear. “I was laying on my mattress on the floor of my apartment in Nashville… woke up to the morning news and just couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said. “I felt great sorrow. A few days later, John Rich and I got on a plane. We would not let fear invade our lives.  Airports of course were in a state of emergency at that time. I am always reminded each day is a blessing for sure.”

Brett will be performing in Elverta, California on 9/11. Frankie has a show scheduled at the Clay County Fair in West Spencer, Iowa and Big & Rich will be playing at the Los Angeles County Fair in L.A.

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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.”

Other items at the auction included the 80’s outfit Martina wore in her “Teenage Daughter” music video, the top hat Big Kenny wore as he participated as a guest auctioneer at the event, a Keith Urban guitar, a Garth Brooks autographed Takamine acoustic guitar, and a Martina-hosted tour of Blackbird, the studio owned by Martina and husband John McBride. GAC’s Storme Warren was on hand to emcee the auction. Billy Greenwood of Nashville radio station WSIX also emceed with Big Kenny for part of the morning.

Martina gave a spectacular performance at LP Field on Saturday night during CMA Music Festival. Check out photos from her performance HERE.

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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.

“I look at these awards like they’re somebody else’s,” she said. “That way you can stay grounded. I’m proud of my awards and every one I get, you know… You just don’t forget where you come from. All I do is close my eyes, and I know where I’m from. I go back to that little ol’ one-room cabin where I lived ‘til I was 11 years old.”

Nevertheless, Friday’s celebration is the first of several that will mark her 50-year history as a country star. On Nov. 9, Columbia will release Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn, featuring remakes of her songs by the likes of Kid Rock, Carrie Underwood, Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert.

And on Oct. 12, she’ll be honored in a Grammy Salute To Country at the Ryman Auditorium. Reba McEntire will host that event with appearances by Martina, Jack White, Gretchen Wilson and Lee Ann Womack. And, it appears, Garth Brooks.

“Garth Brooks called me last week,” Loretta laughed, “and I said, ‘Garth, there’s a lot of things goin’ on that I don’t know about and they ain’t tellin’ me.’… I found out, too, that he’s givin’ me the award. So he was on the phone long enough to give that away. That was good.”

The salute at the Ryman is nicely timed. It comes three days before the 50-year anniversary of Loretta’s first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry, which took place on that very stage.

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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?

“I wet my pants a little right there at the beginning,” he conceded to KTVX-TV.

But once he got into it, Big Kenny got into the experience.

“It was a blast, and the view was fantastic,” he said. “I highly recommend it to anyone.”

After he conquered the outside of the Grand American, Big Kenny worked the room inside the hotel. He performed a concert that evening to raise additional money for Special Olympics.

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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.

Brad Paisley: @BradPaisley You know, I don’t think there’s a country band in the world that woulda been stopped by pigeon crap. Just sayin.

Danny Gokey: @dannygokey I have Bieber fever. Don’t hate

Jake Owen: @jakeofficial Columbia MO… Wow… What a night after 2 fights and someone getting shot tonight we’re all glad we made it through… Country music.. Wow

Dolly Parton: @Dolly_Parton “Love is something sent from HEAVEN to worry the HELL out of you!” – Dolly

Randy Montana: @RandyMontana The song What Mattered Most: ” eyes were blue, her hair was long, ’64 she was born…” That girl is now 46 and I bet she’s a cougar.

Dierks Bentley: @DierksBentley at @Jimmyfallon doing “draw me a map tonight”. met Luke Wilson… had to be a dork and mention the importance of Old School in my life

Big Kenny: @BigKennyTV I love people who smile and say Hello, even if they don’t know you! Positivity is positively positive!

Joe Bonsall: @joebonsall I am not sure I even know who Lindsey Lohan is……. Love Bug movie right?? Anything else??? I am afraid I do NOT care about this…

So what do you think about this week’s top 10? Got a favorite? Or did you see a funny tweet we missed? Leave us a comment and let us know! And don’t forget to follow @gactv!

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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:

• Batting left-handed, David slammed his homer over the right-center field wall for the National League team in the celebrity softball game, though the American team went on to win, 15-11. He played on the same field as former major-leaguers Rickey Henderson, Tim Salmon and Bo Jackson, but his best moment came when Baseball Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Ozzie Smith told him he looked “like a legit player.” (For trivia buffs: Angel Stadium’s features include a statue honoring a Country Music Hall of Fame member. Gene Autry was the original owner of the Los Angeles Angels.)

• New artist Randy Montana got a huge surprise in Chicago last week when NASCAR driver Kyle Petty showed up during his concert at Joe’s Bar. Kyle jumped on stage and joined in on a cover of the Georgia Satellites’ “Keep Your Hands To Yourself.”

• New trio Edens Edge will sing the national anthem Aug. 7 at the Nashville Superspeedway for a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

• Big Kenny’s song “Heart Of Africa” debuted Sunday before the World Cup finals during a benefit concert in Nairobi for the UN World Food Program.

• The Bowling Hall of Fame has found a new way to draw attention to itself by enlisting the public to select one of nine celebrities for induction. Taylor Swift is a finalist alongside Justin Bieber, Jeff Bridges, Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon. The vote takes place at http://www.gobowling.com/.

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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.

The auction marked the third straight day of CMA Fest activities for Martina. She held her fan club party Friday and performed for more than 40,000 people at LP Field Saturday night alongside the Zac Brown Band, Billy Currington, Randy Houser, Easton Corbin and Rascal Flatts.

“There’s just something about this whole week, building up to the show,” Martina says of the festival. “I think [it’s] the fact that there’s so many fans in one place at one time, and they have travelled from all over the world and they’re so excited to be here and really just waiting for one moment with their favorite artist. There’s something really heart-warming about that and the loyalty that the fans have. You know, when you’re doin’ your own show, people come to see you sing. But this [festival], everybody’s comin’ to see all of country music, and I think that’s really great.”

The weekend was captured by producers for the ABC television special “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night To Rock.” Hosted by Tim McGraw, it’s slated to air Sept. 1.

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