All posts tagged "Garth Brooks"

Toby Keith photo courtesy of Show Dog Nashville.

One of the benefits of earning acclaim in country music is the ability to attract extra income through business deals that build on an artist’s fame even though those deals are not directly related to music.

Artists probably turn down a lot more opportunities than they accept, but a few acts — including Toby Keith, Dolly Parton and Trisha Yearwood — have some ancilliary projects earning attention this week. Grand openings, a book release and — in the case of newcomer Danny Gokey — an endorsement deal are all part of the mix.

Here’s some of the non-musical business currently going down in country music:

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Randy Houser photo courtesy of Universal Records South.

If you want an update on where country music’s been and where it’s going, you only need to put two events from the past week into perspective: Tuesday’s announcement of the 2010 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees and Friday’s New Faces Show at Nashville’s Country Radio Seminar.

Don Williams, the most recent hitmaker among the four Hall of Fame additions, was often noted for a quiet stage show. He simply stood at the microphone and sang, and his success relied exclusively on the warmth of his gentle demeanor and the thoughtful messages that dominated his understated songs.

The New Faces Show demonstrated the bigger-is-better philosophy that’s dominated concerts ever since Garth Brooks turned up in arenas two decades ago. From the outset, Love And Theft and Randy Houser — the first two acts in a five-artist lineup — cranked the volume and the tempo in a slickly produced show meant to confirm for radio programmers that they are indeed playing the right new performers as they compete for listeners’ ears.

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Randy Owen presents Trace Adkins with the Humanitarian Award at the 2010 Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Tenn. on February 24. Photo by Bev Moser, courtesy of AristoMedia.

Trace Adkins received the Country Radio Broadcasters’ 2010 Artist Humanitarian Award Wednesday in Nashville, recogizing his contributions to the community during the opening session of the 41st annual Country Radio Seminar. Presented by 2009 winner Randy Owen, the crystal block honors Trace’s efforts on several fronts. He’s played for American soldiers fighting in the Middle East on a couple of tours, and he raised nearly $500,000 for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, thanks in great part to his efforts two years ago on “The Celebrity Apprentice.” Continue Reading

Vince Gill photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Dwight Yoakam sang about “guitars, Cadillacs and hillbilly music,” and the guitar is central to current stories involving three different Halls of Fame — one of which contains a Cadillac owned by the late Elvis Presley.

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, previously known as the Cowboy Hall of Fame, has a new guitar exhibit at its home in Oklahoma City, where instruments used by the likes of Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Toby Keith and Marty Robbins are on display.

A guitar Taylor Swift used during a fundraiser to raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame in the fall is now being sold at auction to raise even more money for the facility. And the Musicians Hall of Fame, located just blocks from the Country Hall in downtown Nashville, has to put guitars owned by some classic figures — including Charlie Daniels and Elvis musician Scotty Moore — into storage by the end of the week.

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Clint Black with wife, Lisa Hartman Black.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, causing single people to gnash their teeth, men to pony up for flowers and women to get positively squishy about romance.

For kicks, we’ve endeavored to come up with the Top 20 country love songs of all-time, and only two people — Clint Black and John Michael Montgomery — are two-timers on that list. Clint’s “Something That We Do” and “When I Said I Do,” the latter recorded with his wife, Lisa Hartman Black, are well thought-out expressions of the work involved in making a relationship last. John Michael’s “I Swear” and “I Can Love You Like That” lean toward the age-old pop approach of giving love a fairytale stamp. “I Can Love You Like That,” in fact, makes a Cinderella reference; and it’s no coincidence that both songs were simultaneously pop hits at the time John Michael had them on the charts.

The following list is partially subjective but not entirely. It’s mostly a reflection of success on the charts and at awards shows — and in a title’s ability to wear well over time.

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The last time we headed into a new decade, it was the beginning of a completely new millennium, and it kicked off with a bang: The Judds reunited in Phoenix; Trisha Yearwood and Kenny Rogers performed for President Clinton in Washington, D.C.; Kenny Chesney opened for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill at the arena in Nashville; and Grand Ole Opry stars Marty Stuart and Connie Smith went to church in Mississippi.

As we enter 2010, country stars are once again a big part of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Martina McBride and Diamond Rio will be on TV; Shania Twain carries the torch for the Winter Olympics; Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw will appear at college bowl games; and Garth Brooks, Rodney Atkins and the Eli Young Band will help transition into January on stage.

Here’s how some of country’s biggest stars will add to the turning of the calendar on Thursday and Friday:
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Garth Brooks is all smiles as he announces his new one-man show at the Wynn in Las Vegas, Nev. during a press conference on October 15, 2009. Photo courtesy of garthbrooks.com.

#3 on GAC’s Top Stories of 2009 |  View all »

As early as 1992, just three years into his skyrocketing career, Garth Brooks began publicly mulling retirement from the music business. The subject continued to come up frequently, though few believed anyone that successful could walk away from it all.

Garth did, in fact, go into hibernation following the release of an album in 2001, but many observers figured he would find a way to return to the spotlight. Periodically, he would emerge to promote a new compilation project or to do a charity gig, but he finally went back to performing regularly in December when he kicked off a scaled-down concert format in a surprisingly loose deal with Wynn Las Vegas. Garth essentially delivers a one-man show for 15 weekends annually over a five-year period, at which time he’s likely to begin touring once again. If either Garth or casino owner Steve Wynn is disenchanted with the arrangement, either is able to back out.

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On Tuesday, July 21, 2009 Brad Paisley performed for the President, First Lady and family, members of Congress and White House staff in the historic East Room of the White House. Photo credit Ben Enos.

#4 on GAC’s Top Stories of 2009 |  View all »

The inauguration of Barack Obama put an emotional start on 2009 as America installed its first African-American president, and country had a role in that event. But it was just the start of a relationship between country and the new commander in chief: Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Charley Pride and Alison Krauss + Union Station would also sing for the world’s most powerful man as the year unfolded.

Garth Brooks and Jennifer Nettles had high-profile moments in January when they performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration.” Garth delivered several of his hits, including “We Shall Be Free,” a song that was inspired by the 1992 Los Angeles riots in the wake of the racially divisive Rodney King verdict. Jennifer teamed with James Taylor and John Legend for a version of “Shower The People,” performed in front of a row of American flags.

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Garth Brooks is all smiles as he announces his new one-man show at the Wynn in Las Vegas, Nev. during a press conference on October 15, 2009. Photo courtesy of garthbrooks.com.

It was supposed to be the end of Garth Brooks’ self-imposed retirement from live performing. And it was.

But now his five-year deal with Wynn Las Vegas is being hailed as a new way of doing business in America’s gambling capital.

Vegas is known for its glitz and over-the-top productions. That’s not what the audience got over the weekend. Garth showed up Friday in a hoodie and jeans, according to USA Today, kicking the show off with a cover of Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” and spending much of his two hours on stage by taking requests. Working without a band, he logged many of his own hits, including “Friends In Low Places,” “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” and “The Dance.” As he often does in his solo acoustic gigs, he threw in covers of hits by such acts as George Jones, George Strait and Billy Joel. And perhaps the glitziest moment came with the introduction of a special guest — Trisha Yearwood, not much of a surprise since they live in the same house — leading to a collaboration on “Walkaway Joe.”

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"I Run to You," performed by Lady Antebellum and produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley, wins Single of the Year and the group wins Vocal Group of the Year at "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: Jim Hagans / CMA.

Taylor Swift might have gotten the most ink, but she wasn’t the only act to win more than one trophy at Wednesday’s CMA Awards. So did double-winners Brad Paisley and Lady Antebellum, and all three of those artists will be among the guests appearing on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown after chatting with host Nan Kelley backstage at the awards.

Lady A had a particularly good night. Their first Vocal Group of the Year win ended a six-year run in that category for Rascal Flatts. And when they picked up the Single of the Year honor for “I Run To You,” Lady A followed in the footsteps of such classic hits as Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee,” Garth Brooks’ “Friends In Low Places,” Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind” and George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

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