Brad Paisley photo by Mark Kalbfeld, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Brad Paisley released a double album, Hits Alive, just five weeks ago, but it won’t be long before an all-new studio album reaches stores.

Brad plans to issue This Is Country Music April 19, naming the project after the song he debuted last month on the Country Music Association Awards. Beginning Monday, you can download the song for free for one week at www.thisiscountrymusic.com and pre-order the album. That gives you the opportunity to get additional content before the album’s release.

At the end of that one-week period, the single can be purchased at all traditional digital outlets, in addition to www.thisiscountrymusic.com.

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Carrie Underwood performing in a pickup truck, suspended high above the crowd at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on October 13, 2010.

One thing is very clear about Carrie Underwood: She’s not afraid of heights!

Carrie brought her Play On Tour to Music City’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday night, playing quite often with the altitude in the place. A series of hydraulic platforms lifted her at times 15 feet above the stage, which was already several feet above the venue’s floor. A swing lifted her 12 feet or so as she belted out “Just A Dream.” And the night’s biggest effect had her singing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” from the back of a pickup truck that travelled over the audience, hung from a track cabled to the ceiling.

But the real heights were the tone and volume of her performances. Carrie’s recordings are always big, but in person, she’s even more impressive, kicking out those challenging vocals for an hour and 45 minutes, letting up only long enough for the occasional costume change. She hit those notes with impressive precision, not only holding the tones but also delivering them with power.

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Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

When Miranda Lambert set a record for female acts by picking up nine awards nominations this week from the Country Music Association, no one was more surprised than her.

But that wasn’t the only shock-a-roonie of the two-day nominations announcement. Lady Antebellum achieved something that’s never been done before, Steel Magnolia and The Band Perry each accomplished something that’s probably been done only once. And Miranda did something that’s only happened twice.

Here’s a bevy of CMA trivia that you may not have seen anywhere else:

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Loretta Lynn photo courtesy of Interscope Records.

More than 100 trophies will be handed out on Sunday at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards to honor the best in music in 2009. Overlooked, but maybe just as important, are a few honors that recognize artists and musicians — including Loretta Lynn, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and guitarist Harold Bradley — for efforts that span a much broader scope of time.

The Dirt Band’s “Mr. Bojangles” has been added to the Grammy Hall of Fame, certifying it as a recording of long-term influence. Loretta and the late Roy Orbison are among the artists who will be hailed Saturday in Los Angeles with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards. That same night, Harold will receive a Trustee’s Award for his work as a session musician, studio owner and former president of the Nashville chapters of the Recording Academy and the Musicians Union.

As if that’s not enough, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame have both been featured in the news in the last week.

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John Fogerty photo courtesy of Shore Fire Media.

He’s a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but that doesn’t mean John Fogerty doesn’t know a little somethin’ about country music.

His latest album, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, is dominated by classic country songs, including John Denver’s “Back Home Again,” the Kendalls’ “Heaven’s Just A Sin Away,” Ray Price’s “I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)” and Buck Owens’ “I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me).” He enlisted a band that includes Americana stalwart Buddy Miller and standup bass player Dennis Crouch, and it actually leans closer to pure country than a lot of the material that’s now accepted as commercial country.

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John Fogerty photo courtesy of Shore Fire Media.

Thanks to his role as the primary singer and songwriter for Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty’s name is permanently etched in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But his first post-CCR project, 1973’s Blue Ridge Rangers album, put him on the pop charts with a cover of Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya (On The Bayou).” John went back to the country well in 2009 with a sequel, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again.

As with the original Rangers release, John covers a series of country music classics: Buck Owens’ “I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me),” the Kendalls’ “Heaven’s Just A Sin Away,” John Denver’s “Back Home Again” and Ray Price’s “I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me),” to name a few.

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