BURBANK, Calif. (AP) – You might want to hold on to this bit of information – it might win you a bar bet or two. Who was the last musical guest on “The Tonight Show” when Jay Leno ended his 22-year run? It was Garth Brooks. Brooks performed two songs on the finale with Leno at the helm. Before his first song, Brooks praised Leno as a comedian, host – and friend to performers. He says he appreciated that Leno has had all kinds of acts on his show – and made sure country acts got plenty of exposure. Jimmy Fallon takes over the Tonight Show after the Olympics.

 

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Our sympathies are extended to Trace Adkins and family on the passing of his father Aaron Adkins Saturday (2/1).

 

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Miranda Lambert will join Broken Bow’s Jason Aldean for select baseball stadium dates on his Burn It Down Tour this summer. The revelation came in a recent Twitter exchange in which Aldean invited her to join his wiffle ball games at the venues. Lambert will appear at Aldean’s shows in Cleveland July 18, Cincinnati July 19 and Pittsburgh July 26. See the Twitter trade here.

 

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Clay Walker will return as host of Trophy Hunters TV on the Outdoor Channel for the 2014 season. Airing on Sundays, the show features Walker and trained hunters, including military veterans wounded in the line of duty. “I had such an amazing time hosting Trophy Hunters TV for the 2013 season so I was thrilled to be asked to return,” Walker says. More here.

 

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The Garth Brooks Comeback Special Event July 25-27 at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland has sold out. The 240,000 tickets were snapped up within 90 minutes of today’s on-sale, representing the first three-date sellout for an artist at the venue in a single day. “We’re thrilled,” says Brooks’ manager Bob Doyle. “Initially a two-date show, a third was added after the on-sale. Video from the BBC here; more on the show here.

 

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Nominees for the 49th Annual ACM Awards were revealed moments ago. Televised category nominees are:

Entertainer: Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Taylor Swift.

Male Vocalist: Jason Aldean, Lee Brice, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban.

Female Vocalist: Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood.

Vocal Duo: Big & Rich, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Love and Theft, Thompson Square.

Vocal Group: Eli Young Band, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, The Band Perry, Zac Brown Band.

Album: Based On A True Story…, Blake Shelton; Crash My Party, Luke Bryan; Here’s To The Good Times, Florida Georgia Line; Same Trailer Different Park, Kacey Musgraves; Two Lanes Of Freedom, Tim McGraw.

Single: “Cruise,” Florida Georgia Line; “Highway Don’t Care,” Tim McGraw f/Taylor Swift & Keith Urban; “I Drive Your Truck,” Lee Brice; “Mama’s Broken Heart,” Miranda Lambert; “Wagon Wheel,” Darius Rucker f/Lady Antebellum.

Song: “Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain),” Gary Allan; “I Drive Your Truck,” Lee Brice; “Mama’s Broken Heart,” Miranda Lambert; “Mine Would Be You,” Blake Shelton; “Wagon Wheel,” Darius Rucker f/Lady Antebellum.

Video: “Better Dig Two,” The Band Perry; “Blowin’ Smoke,” Kacey Musgraves; “Highway Don’t Care,” Tim McGraw f/Taylor Swift & Keith Urban; “I Drive Your Truck,” Lee Brice; “Mama’s Broken Heart,” Miranda Lambert; “Two Black Cadillacs,” Carrie Underwood.

Vocal Event: “Boys ‘Round Here,” Blake Shelton f/Pistol Annies & Friends; “Cruise (Remix),” Florida Georgia Line f/Nelly; “Highway Don’t Care,” Tim McGraw f/Taylor Swift & Keith Urban; “Wagon Wheel,”Darius Rucker f/Lady Antebellum; “We Were Us,” Keith Urban & Miranda Lambert.

 

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – There are a dozen new members of the Musicians Hall of Fame. They include a legendary blues man, a British rock guitarist and a country singer. Country singer? It makes sense when the singer is Barbara Mandrell, who also plays the steel guitar. Buddy Guy and Peter Frampton were among the biggest names among the new inductees, which also include Randy Bachman. He played with The Guess Who and is the man who put the “Bachman” into Bachman Turner Overdrive.

 

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Folk icon Pete Seeger, known for such social and political anthems as “We Shall Overcome,” “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “This Land Is Your Land” died Monday (1/27) at age 94. Many country artists have recorded Seeger’s songs, among them: Johnny Cash andJune Carter Cash (“If I Had A Hammer”), Eddy Arnold(“Where Have All The Flowers Gone”), Dolly Parton(“Turn, Turn, Turn” ,”Where Have All The Flowers Gone”) and Emmylou Harris (“We Are The Boat”).

 

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NEW YORK /PRNewswire/ – Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is proud to announce the release of Out Among The Stars (Columbia/Legacy), a remarkable new album comprised of 12 recently discovered Johnny Cash studio recordings, on Tuesday, March 25, 2014.

The tracks on Out Among The Stars were originally recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at Columbia Studios in 1981 and 1111 Sound Studios in 1984 and produced by Billy Sherrill, the architect of the “countrypolitan” sound who was heading A&R at CBS Records Nashville at the time.

On these songs—which include duets with June Carter Cash and Waylon Jennings—Johnny worked with an expanded ensemble featuring a young Marty Stuart on guitar and mandolin and Nashville A-Team members Jerry Kennedy (guitar), Pete Drake (steel guitar), Hargus “Pig” Robbins (piano) and Henry Strzelecki (bass).

The recordings, which have never been released in any form, are not demos, outtakes or alternate versions.  They remained in the vaults during the years Columbia Records released Johnny Cash’s last albums for the label and were subsequently forgotten.

The recordings on Out Among The Stars first surfaced in 2012, when John Carter Cash, along with the Cash experts at Legacy, was cataloging his father’s and mother’s exhaustive archives in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and at the Sony Music Archives.  “When my parents passed away, it became necessary to go through this material,” he says.  “We found these recordings that were produced by Billy Sherrill in the early 1980s…they were beautiful.”

John Carter Cash, along with co-producer and archivist Steve Berkowitz, enlisted Marty Stuart, Buddy Miller and Carlene Carter, as well as other master musicians, to collaborate in restoring the album at the Cash Cabin Studios in Hendersonville, TN.

The result, Out Among The Stars, is a great lost Johnny Cash album connecting the revolutionary rockabilly of his Sun Recordsyears to the epochal final albums he made for American Recordings.

Across five decades of making music, Johnny Cash was not only one of the most prolific artists to ever cut records, he was also an American music archetype, the Man in Black who crossed over into pop culture and never sold out.

Thirty years in the making, Out Among The Stars is a classic Johnny Cash album, about to be heard for the very first time.

Out Among The Stars may be pre-ordered now at http://smarturl.it/outamongthestars.

Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars
tracklisting

1. Out Among The Stars
2. Baby Ride Easy – duet with June Carter Cash
3. She Used To Love Me A Lot
4. After All
5. I’m Movin’ On – duet with Waylon Jennings
6. If I Told You Who It Was
7. Call Your Mother (written by Johnny Cash)
8. I Drove Her Out Of My Mind
9. Tennessee
10. Rock and Roll Shoes
11. Don’t You Think It’s Come Our Time – duet with June Carter Cash
12. I Came To Believe (written by Johnny Cash)

 

 

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Hee Haw The Musical is headed for Broadway. Spearheaded by Gaylord Entertainment Group President and Nashville executive producer Steve Buchanan, the script was crafted by veteran writer/producer Robert Horn with music and lyrics by Nashville songwriters Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. “We are very excited about bringing this new incarnation of Hee Haw to the stage,” says Buchanan. “Our writing team is extraordinary and perfect for this original work. We held readings in New York City for Hee Haw The Musical and received a wonderful and very encouraging response from the Broadway community.” 

 

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – When Kacey Musgraves says she couldn’t believe her ears when she learned she won a Grammy – she wasn’t speaking metaphorically. She says she was sitting with her mom when the winner for best country album was announced. And she says while she heard the presenter say “Same Trailer, Different Park,” it didn’t register. She says she thought she had lost – until her mom poked her and told her to go up there and claim her award. Darius Rucker also won a Grammy in the country field. His was for Wagon Wheel. And the Civil Wars won for best duo/group performance.

 

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