Photo courtesy of Universal South. Photo credit: Danny Clinch

Randy Houser’s first album set him up nicely with the hits “Anything Goes” and “Boots On.” Now he’s ready to unleash a sophomore project, They Call Me Cadillac, on Sept. 14.

The title is apt, since Randy turned out to be a bit of a Cadillac as a performer. He earned a Country Music Association nomination for New Artist of the Year in 2009, and “Boots On” picked up Music Video of the Year nods on both the CMA and the Academy of Country Music ballots. Thanks to “Boots On,” Randy was also certified by Country Aircheck as the most played new act of last year.

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Toby Keith photo courtesy of Show Dog Nashville.

If you’re dedicated to keeping tabs on all of country’s biggest stars, you might need some rest today, because there’s enough news in the pipeline to keep you dizzy for a week.

Toby Keith is extending a non-music business franchise, Taylor Swift is getting kudos from People magazine, Alan Jackson is raising money for the families of some West Virginia coal-mine victims and Colt Ford and Willie Nelson both landed in the Top 10 of the country albums chart their first week out.

Take a look at this hodge-podge of headlines:

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Colt Ford photo by Sean Cokes.

One of the longest-running debates in country music pits traditionalists against pop-leaning sounds, and it’s tough to find a better illustration of how wide the genre’s gotten than the calendar. Specifically April 20. On that date, country’s releases will include competing albums by old-school singer David Ball and rap-influenced Colt Ford.

David, who played with the late Walter Hyatt in Uncle Walt’s Band, has had a couple of peak periods as a solo artist. He threw George Jones-like, back-of-the-throat vocals onto 1994’s “Thinkin’ Problem,” an ultra-catchy song that bordered on novelty. He signed with an independent label around the turn of the century and his military ghost tale, “Riding With Private Malone,” became a Top 10 hit in the aftermath of 9/11.

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