Reba McEntire & Blake Shelton, co-hosts of the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

This week country music takes over Las Vegas for the 46^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, but it hasn’t always been that way. From Tinsel Town to Sin City, the ‘Academy of Country & Western Music awards,’ as it was called back then, has seen its fair share of superstars through the decades.

In this week’s GAC Trivia Time, we travel back in time to  Hollywood for the first ACM Awards show in 1966, then follow the history all the way to this year!

Mar 28, 1966 - Roger Miller, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens are double-winners at the inaugural Academy of Country & Western Music Awards, held at the Palladium in Hollywood. Miller is named Man of the Year and Top Songwriter

Mar 22, 1971 – Merle Haggard wins a trio of honors in the sixth Academy Of Country & Western Music Awards at the Hollywood Palladium, giving him a lucky 13 total in his career.

Mar 27, 1975 - Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard win two honors apiece during the 10th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Roger Miller at Los Angeles’ Aquarius Theater. Lynn claims Top Female Vocalist and shares Top Vocal Group with Conway Twitty

Apr 27, 1978 - Kenny Rogers dominates the 13th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium, winning four honors: Top Male Vocalist; Album of the Year, for Kenny Rogers; and Single Record and Song of the Year, for “Lucille”

May 9, 1983 - Willie Nelson is a double-winner, claiming Single Record of the Year, for “Always On My Mind,” and Album of the Year for an LP of the same name during the 18th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards, aired on NBC from Knott’s Berry Farm in California

Apr 24, 1991 - Garth Brooks wins a record six times in the 26th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards on NBC. His haul includes Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist; Album (No Fences); Single Record (“Friends In Low Places”); and Song and Video (“The Dance”)

May 10, 1995 - Reba McEntire leads a pack of four double-winners in the 30th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, broadcast live on NBC-TV from Los Angeles’ Universal Amphitheatre. She reclaims Entertainer of the Year and Top Female Vocalist

Apr 23, 1997 - LeAnn Rimes wins three times during the 32nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, an NBC broadcast from the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. She’s named Top New Female Vocalist, while “Blue” takes Song and Single Record of the Year

May 21, 2003 – The ACM Awards move to Vegas! Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts and Alan Jackson are double-winners in the 38th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, aired on CBS from Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay. Chesney takes Top Male Vocalist and Single Record of the Year, for “The Good Stuff”

May 23, 2006 - Brad Paisley claims three trophies at the 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, aired by CBS from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The Dolly Parton duet, “When I Get Where I’m Going,” takes Vocal Event and Video of the Year; Time Well Wasted is Album of the Year

Jun 5, 2007 - Tim McGraw & Faith Hill receive the Academy of Country Music’s Career Achievement Award when they kick off their Soul2Soul 2007 concert tour at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska

Apr 6, 2009 - George Strait is hailed as the Academy of Country Music’s Artist of the Decade during a taping for a CBS-TV special at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Strait closes the night with the rest of the cast backing him on “Troubadour”

Mar 25, 2011 – Eric Church wins Top New Solo Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music and The Band Perry takes Top New Vocal Duo or Group

Take a video trip back through the years!
Watch over 10 new clips showing some of the most memorable and heartfelt moments from past ACM Awards shows »

Don’t miss our LIVE coverage from the ACM Red Carpet this Sunday, April 3 at 7/6c, on GAC and here on GACTV.com! See your favorite superstars all decked out for the big night! Who can you not wait to see on the Red Carpet?

*ACM Awards trivia courtesy of RolandNote.com, the ultimate country music database!

ShareThis

Toby Keith photo courtesy of Show Dog Nashville.

If you look at the credits on Toby Keith’s albums, it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to figure out that he writes most of his own material — and that he’s pretty prolific.

As it turns out, Toby’s writing even more songs now than ever. It’s not that he gets more ideas than he used to. He’s simply figured out a better way to manage them.

“I have an application on my iPhone that’s a voice recorder,” he told The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. “I used to carry one of those little digital handheld things around, but they’re like sunglasses — you end up losing them. I always have my phone with me, and about a year and a half ago, I started spitting stuff into it. I’d hit that [record] button and hum it to myself. When I got home last winter and started writing… I had 45 ideas. I would have had three if I didn’t have that recorder.”

One thing he’s not likely to record anymore is movie ideas. Toby wrote and produced Beer For My Horses, and it proved to be too much of a distraction from his creative core.

“My music suffered, and my health suffered from doing too much and not getting enough sleep,” he said. “I just wasn’t on my game. To go do a [film] project, try to carry it and be the guy is just too much. I have to keep driving with my music.”

Toby’s next collection of music comes out Oct. 5. Bullets In The Gun includes his current single, “Trailerhood.” The deluxe version will also feature four live remakes of songs made famous by Johnny Paycheck, Gordon Lightfoot and Roger Miller.

ShareThis

Toby Keith photo courtesy of Show Dog Nashville.

Sometimes those licky trittle words don’t come out rite quight. If you’re Toby Keith, misspeaking can mean money!

Toby has a hit on his hands with “Trailerhood,” which is currently in the Top 10 on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown. It’s got a load of references to pink flamingos, poker games, beer and football on TV, but it’s a song that Toby pretty much stumbled upon. To be more specific, he tripped over his own tongue, and he was smart enough to figure out his flub could be fab.

Toby was riding motorcycles with a friend in Oklahoma when they came across a trailer park where Toby used to live, and he made an offhand comment about turning around at the trailerhood.

“It just kind of sprung out,” he told Billboard. “I made a faux pas and said ‘trailerhood’ instead of neighborhood or trailer park, and it made me laugh. So I just took my phone out and sent myself a message and then wrote it over Christmas break.”

“Trailerhood” is a gift that keeps on giving. In addition to ranking No. 6 on the Top 20, it’s in the Top 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and it’s the lead single from his next album. Bullets In The Gun is set for release Oct. 9. A deluxe version of the album features live remakes of songs made famous by Johnny Paycheck, Gordon Lightfoot, Roger Miller and Waylon Jennings.

ShareThis

Lady Antebellum on stage at the Ryman Auditorium during the Music City Keep On Playin' benefit concert. Photo credit: Photo by Ed Rode/edrode.biz.

The stars came out in a big way, as did a number of companies and the American people when GAC presented Music City Keep On Playin’ — A Benefit For Flood Relief.

Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and Dierks Bentley were among the artists who delivered nearly 20 songs during Sunday’s three-hour live special from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The event raised more than $1.7 million as of midnight CT and counting.

Music City Keep On Playin’ was the first national fundraiser organized to aid victims of a devastating flood that engulfed much of Nashville two weeks ago. In a scant 48 hours, the city took in over 13 inches of rain, more than the Middle Tennessee ground could absorb. The Cumberland River swelled over its banks, damaging some of the city’s landmarks, including the Grand Ole Opry House, LP Field, Bridgestone Arena and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Rushing tides carried cars along dangerous streams, one portable school building was washed down the interstate, and more than 1,000 water rescues were performed. Many residents, including Opry member Jeannie Seely, lost their homes. A few lost their lives. But the city came together, with many of its citizens visiting other neighborhoods to help complete strangers sort through what was left of their belongings.

It was “so beautiful to see how the city has just rallied together,” Lady A’s Hillary Scott said from the Ryman stage. “I know we will get back to the city that we once were. I know we will.”

Brad and his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley — who co-hosted the special with “Desperate Housewives” actor and Nashville resident James Denton — kicked the night off with a $100,000 donation. Brad likewise chipped in a trio of songs — “Welcome To The Future,” “American Saturday Night” and a cover of Roger Miller’s “River In The Rain” — over the course of the evening, which also saw appearances by country stars Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler, Rodney Atkins and Randy Montana.

The show also folded in performances from artists that exemplified some of Music City’s stylistic range: pop singer Sheryl Crow, big-voiced gospel singer CeCe Winans, contemporary Christian artist Jaci Velasquez, Americana act Will Hoge and acoustic-blues performer Keb’ Mo’, one of Nashville’s newest residents.

Many of the songs took on new meaning during the evening. The opening line of Lady A’s “Need You Now,” with its reference to “picture-perfect memories scattered all around the floor,” easily reminded the listener of the many residents who lost all their family photos — every record of their personal history. Martina McBride’s “Anyway” — with its recognition that “one storm could come and blow it all away” — was inordinately apropos.

When they weren’t on stage, many of the stars took donations at the phone bank, where they were joined by the likes of Lorrie Morgan, Nicole Kidman, Billy Dean, Joey+Rory, Lee Roy Parnell, Dailey & Vincent, Julie Roberts, Marty Raybon, Whitney Duncan, Holly Williams, Bomshel, Katie Armiger, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and countless others.

The Ryman proved a symbolic home for the special. When the Grand Ole Opry House took in more than four feet of water, the stage was destroyed. But one part of the venue — a circle of wood that was transported from the Ryman when the Opry House was built in the early 1970s — survived the deluge and, once dried out, will return to its spot on a refurbished Opry House stage. The circle carries a huge amount of history. On that little piece of turf, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline made historic appearances in its original Ryman location. At the Opry House, it’s provided footing for such Opry stars as Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson.

With the Opry House under renovation, the radio show itself is rotating through other interim venues, including War Memorial Auditorium, Two Rivers Baptist Church and the Ryman.

“The Opry didn’t miss a beat,” GAC host Nan Kelley observed, “but we have so much more to go.”

Music City Keep On Playin’ — A Benefit For Flood Relief is still taking donations online at www.gactv.com/help or you can text GAC to 501501 on your mobile phone to donate $10.

If you missed the concert, look for it On Demand through your cable or satellite service through Saturday 5/22 (where available, check your  listings).

ShareThis

Laura Bell Bundy photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Hot off her performance at last Sunday’s Academy of Country Music Awards, Laura Bell Bundy planted herself in an enviable position this week as Achin’ And Shakin’ debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.

Laura Bell is a new artist to many — if not most — country fans, but she’s got a long list of entertainment credentials backing her up. Most of them stem from the theater, where she’s appeared in productions of Legally Blonde: The Musical, Wicked and The Sound Of Music. But she released an album in 2007 and got a very concentrated push for her new project, which got its Achin’ And Shakin’ title because one half is songs of heartache and the other is for shakin’ your booty.

Laura Bell acknowledges that the route from Broadway to Music Row may appear a bit unorthodox but insists that it’s an honest representation of her roots. She grew up with a heavy love for country in Lexington, Ky., and simply blossomed first on an acting stage.

“Really, it’s like having two different baskets with eggs in it,” she told the Associated Press. “You know, I had the music baskets and the writing basket. And I had the acting. And those eggs just hatched first and the others were slow to incubate. So it just seems that way to other people because nobody cared about my country music until I did a Broadway show.”

Laura Bell would not be the first artist to have success in Broadway before making it in country music. K.T. Oslin had plenty of stage experience in New York before she broke through in Nashville with “80’s Ladies,” eventually winning a handful of Grammys and awards from the Country Music Association.

Plenty of stars have gone the other direction in linking the two worlds, working on Broadway after they established themselves first as country stars. That list includes Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Roger Miller and Gary Morris. Joe Nichols and Lorrie Morgan are likewise expected to star in a forthcoming theatrical remake of the George Strait movie Pure Country.

In addition to her place on the country albums chart, Laura Bell will also occupy a couple spots on TV in the days ahead. She performs on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Thursday and will tape an appearance on the E! talk show “Chelsea Lately.”

ShareThis

The 2010 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees, clockwise from upper right: Don Williams, Ferlin Husky, Billy Sherrill and Jimmy Dean. Photos courtesy of the CMA.

Don Williams, Jimmy Dean, Ferlin Husky and record producer Billy Sherrill are the latest additions to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Country Music Association announced the honor Tuesday via press release, with a formal induction ceremony promised later this year.

“I thought I was already in there!” Jimmy joked. “Seriously, it brought a huge grin to my face. I am honored.”

Each of the four has contributed significantly to the genre. Jimmy, whose name is synonymous with a line of sausage, gave country music plenty of TV exposure as the host of several different programs, most notably “The Jimmy Dean Show,” a 1960s ABC variety series. He often featured the likes of Roger Miller, Buck Owens or Faron Young. One 1964 episode aired live from the Grand Ole Opry, while a 1965 installment captured Eddy Arnold’s recording session for “Make The World Go Away.” The CMA also used “The Jimmy Dean Show” as a vehicle to announce the Hall of Fame inductees in 1966. As a recording artist, Jimmy is best known for “Big Bad John,” a recitation about a coal-mining accident that sold a million copies after crossing into the pop charts.

Ferlin’s hit “Gone” is often credited as the first example of “the Nashville Sound,” a recording approach that softened hillbilly twang in favor of string sections and/or lilting background singers. His “Wings Of A Dove,” which spent a whopping 10 weeks at No. 1 in 1960, has become a gospel standard. Ferlin has been hospitalized numerous time with heart problems — most recently in July — but has become a symbol of both faith and persistence.

“I’d like to thank my Lord Jesus Christ for dying for me, saving my soul and bringing me into the world as a country boy,” Ferlin said. “And also for giving me the talent to sing, entertain and help convert millions around the world to country music. I’m still a country boy and proud of it. In the words of my close friend, the late Stringbean, ‘I sure am glad I’m me!’”

Don is the most recent hitmaker of this year’s crew, having last occupied a Top 10 slot in 1991. He routinely couched his rich, masculine vocals in understated productions, putting the focus of his work squarely on the material he selected. And those songs were inevitably intelligent and mature, including the crossover ballad “I Believe In You,” the roots-aware “Tulsa Time” and the tale of a Southern man’s self-acceptance, “Good Ole Boys Like Me.” Don went into retirement following a 2006 tour, though he is still revered among the current generation of stars. Keith Urban has repeatedly cited Don as an influence, and Josh Turner — who duetted with the Gentle Giant in his final Nashville concert — included a remake of Don’s hit “I Wouldn’t Be A Man” on the new Haywire album.

“It is unbelievable,” Don said, “that CMA thought about me in this manner.”

Billy Sherrill might not be a household name, but he enters the Hall for his work behind the scenes as a record producer, songwriter and executive. He produced such hits as George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” David Allan Coe’s “The Ride” and Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job And Shove It.” He also wrote or co-wrote Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” Charlie Rich’s “The Most Beautiful Girl,” David Houston’s “Almost Persuaded” and Keith Whitley’s “Ten Feet Away.”

“Anything I have ever accomplished,” Billy said, “would have been totally impossible without the help and support of the greatest songwriters and musicians in the world — and, of course, what I stole from [producer] Owen Bradley!”

The new members bring the total number of Hall of Famers to 112. They will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame’s Rotunda with bronze plaques alongside such fellow inductees as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.

So…who do you think should be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame next year? Click here to see who’s already in it.

ShareThis

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.

Vince, who’s one of the top guitarists in country music today, opted to put the guitar owned by his late father on display in the Cowboy Museum because the instrument is the one that started his entire journey as a musician.

“I got my own guitar when I was 10,” he told The Oklahoman, “but until then, that was the guitar that I tried to learn on. [Dad] had two guitars. That’s the one I was always drawn to, to try to learn to play. I think it’s got to be the first instrument I ever remember seeing.”

Here’s the rundown, good and bad, on guitars and Halls of Fame:

• The Cowboy Museum exhibit, “The Guitar: Art, Artists and Artisans,” opened Friday with some 50 instruments on display. It aspires to draw the connection between cowboys and the music they made, and the guitar was just one of several instruments used in the Old West. Rooted in Mexico, according to a story in The Oklahoman, it became associated with the cowboy in the 20th century through western movies, thanks in great part to Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

• Taylor used a Taylor 12-string guitar during her performance at the All for the Hall benefit organized by Keith Urban in October. Her lucky number is 13, so it’s rather appropriate that the fundraiser took place Oct. 13. To keep the good vibes going, the auction began Saturday, Feb. 13, and runs 13 days through Feb. 26, with receipts tabbed for the Country Music Hall of Fame. As of Monday morning, the top bid was more than $7,000.

• As expected, a Nashville judge gave the city the right on Friday to seize the land occupied by the Musicians Hall of Fame to make way for a new convention center, The Tennessean reported. Facility owner Joe Chambers has thus far been unable to reach agreement with the city on appropriate compensation for the property and is considering moving the attraction to another market. In the meantime, he has to move a bundle of exhibits by Friday, including guitars owned by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Peter Frampton and session player Ray Edenton. Who is Ray Edenton? And why should you care about his guitar? A member of Nashville’s legendary A-Team, Ray contributed to such important recordings as David Allan Coe’s “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” Roger Miller’s “King Of The Road,” Kenny Rogers’ “Love The World Away” and Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

ShareThis

Dolly Parton photo courtesy of Dolly Parton Management.

Dolly Parton, Ernest Tubb, Charlie Daniels and the founder of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge join Kid Rock as the newest members of the Music City Walk of Fame when the latest round of markers are added in a downtown Nashville ceremony this Sunday.

Sponsored by GAC, the induction brings the total number of Walk of Fame markers to 42, including Hank Williams, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris and Steve Wariner.

Dolly is recognized globally as one of country music’s greatest ambassadors, combining her Applachian roots with a quick wit, sharp songwriting and singular vocal sound. Ernest, best known for his hit “Walkin’ The Floor Over You,” was one of the first major artists to record in Nashville — a matter of convenience, since he appeared regularly on the Grand Ole Opry for the city’s WSM Radio. He also played a major role in introducing the electric guitar to the genre.

Hattie Louise “Tootsie” Bess bought a bar in 1960 and renamed it Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, which became one of the landmark venues in the city. Located across the alley from the Ryman Auditorium — just blocks away from the Walk of Fame induction site — Tootsie’s was a regular hangout for stars when they appeared at the Opry, drawing such regulars as Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Jim Reeves and Mel Tillis.

Charlie was among the pioneers of Southern rock, melding country with rock and the blues and turning his annual multi-act concert, the Volunteer Jam, into a significant event for years. He was, in some ways, a predecessor for Kid Rock, who similarly blends country, rock and other genres and used the Southern rock classic “Sweet Home Alabama” as a foundation for last year’s hit “All Summer Long.”

The induction ceremony begins at 2 p.m. CT and is free to the public.

ShareThis

Tammy Wynette photo courtesy of tammywynette.com.

Eleven years after her death, Tammy Wynette — whose “Stand By Your Man” ranks among the best-known country songs in history — will finally enter the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame during a ceremony Oct. 18 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.

Tammy will be inducted alongside two full-time songwriters who wrote their own iconic pieces: Kye Fleming was responsible for Barbara Mandrell’s theme song, “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool”; and Mark D. Sanders authored Lee Ann Womack‘s mega-hit “I Hope You Dance.”

“Kye, Mark and Tammy have made many poignant and enduring contributions to the music world and certainly deserve to take their places among their gifted peers,” said Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation Chairman Roger Murrah, whose own songwriting credits include hits by Alan Jackson, Alabama and Blake Shelton. “It’s an honor for us to recognize them for their outstanding accomplishments.”

“Stand By Your Man” was an exercise in speed. Tammy and producer Billy Sherrill co-wrote it in about 20 minutes during a recording session in August 1968 when they had finished cutting several other songs and still had time left on the clock. It was not, however, Tammy’s lone contribution as a writer. She also penned the aching ballads “‘Til I Can Make It On My Own” and “Another Lonely Song,” as well as “Two Story House,” recorded in a 1980 duet with George Jones.

Kye created more than 20 hit songs, most of them with frequent co-writer Dennis Morgan in a flurry of activity when they wrote for Pi-Gem Music, a publishing company owned by Charley Pride and producer Tom Collins during the late 1970s early ‘80s. They were adept at crafting material for artists that Tom produced, yielding the Barbara Mandrell titles “Fooled By A Feeling” and “Sleeping Single In A Double Bed,” the Sylvia hits “Nobody” and “Like Nothing Ever Happened,” the Ronnie Milsap classics “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World” and “Smoky Mountain Rain” and Steve Wariner’s “All Roads Lead To You.” Kye’s creative high point is arguably “Give Me Wings,” a tender Michael Johnson study in the art of loving without smothering. Dennis Morgan was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall in 2004.

Mark D. Sanders’ name was frequently in the parentheses beneath hit song titles during the 1990s. He wrote John Anderson’s “Money In The Bank,” Ricochet’s “Daddy’s Money,” Lonestar’s “No News,” George Strait’s “Blue Clear Sky” and Diamond Rio’s “Mirror, Mirror,” and recently made waves with Jack Ingram’s single “That’s A Man.” “I Hope You Dance” earned Song of the Year honors from the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and the Grammy Awards; was hailed by the National Endowment of the Arts as one of the most significant songs of the 20th century; and became a centerpiece in the Tyler Perry movie The Family That Preys, featured in the script’s dialogue with a Gladys Knight rendition used over the ending credits.

Among the more than 170 previous Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees are Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Vince Gill and Kris Kristofferson.

ShareThis