Blake Shelton sat down with Willie Geist at Ole Red Nashville for a wide-ranging interview that will air on Sunday Today on June 24.
One of the topics that Willie delves into is the almost-three-year relationship Blake has had with girlfriend Gwen Stefani.
Blake and Miranda Lambert divorced in July 2015 after four years of marriage, while Gwen and Gabin Rossdale filed for divorce in August 2015. Blake and Gwen went public with their relationship around the time of the CMA Awards in November 2015.
“When I was going through my divorce and just hit rock bottom . . . it was a miracle that I met somebody that was going through the same exact thing that I was at the exact same moment in time,” say Blake. “I think in the back of our minds, we both kind of thought this is a rebound deal because we were both coming out of a pretty low spot in our lives and we’re kind of clinging to each other to get through this. But now here we are, going on three years later and every day that goes by just feels like a stronger bond between the two of us . . . it constantly feels like it’s going to the next level.”
John Ward – Longtime Voice of Vols / Credit: UT Athletics
GIVE HIM SIX!
It’s Football Time … in Tennessee!
The national champions are clad in Big Orange!
For more than 30 years, iconic play-by-play man John Ward brought Tennessee football and basketball games to life as the “Voice of the Vols” on Vol Network radio broadcasts.
Ward passed away Wednesday evening in Knoxville. He was 88-years-old.
“The University of Tennessee has lost one of its most beloved ambassadors,” UT Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer said. “Despite our shared sadness, I believe it is appropriate to proudly reflect on and cherish the fact that John was ours. We will ensure that his legacy and memory are appropriately honored in the days, months and years to come.”
Ward never missed a game in more than 350 consecutive football broadcasts, while calling nearly 1,000 hoops games. He served as the play-by-play voice for Tennessee basketball for 34 seasons (1965-1999) and for UT football from 1968 to 1998.
He also appeared on the weekly coaches television shows for football (beginning in 1965) and for men’s basketball (beginning in 1963), working with football coaches Doug Dickey, Bill Battle, Johnny Majors and Phillip Fulmer and basketball coaches Ray Mears, Cliff Wettig, Don DeVoe, Wade Houston, Kevin O’Neill and Jerry Green.
A Knoxville native, Ward called baseball, track, swimming and diving and tennis events, as well, for radio and television. A handful of early Lady Vol basketball games during the Pat Summitt era were broadcast by Ward, too.
“John Ward was a perfectionist,” Ward’s longtime friend and former UT athletics administrator Gus Manning said. “He never did a broadcast of a game that he wasn’t fully prepared to do, both from Tennessee’s standpoint and that of our opponent.”
In 1994, Ward and his wife, Barbara, gave a $2 million gift to Tennessee—the largest gift ever made to the athletic department at the time.
Ward was the president of his own advertising agency and TV production company in Knoxville and was a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in political science and a J.D. from the college of law.
He was a 28-time recipient of the Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year Award, and in 1976 he was named the Best College Announcer in the Country.
In 1998, he received the inaugural Lindsey Nelson Broadcasting Award, presented annually by the Knoxville Quarterback Club to a broadcaster who exemplified a passion for the profession during his or her career.
Ward also was a multi-term president of the Southeastern Conference Broadcasters Association.
He has been inducted to the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame. Additionally, he was awarded the Amateur Football Award by the East Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
In 1995, Tennessee named the broadcast level of Tom Elam Press Box at Neyland Stadium The John Ward Broadcast Center in Ward’s honor. The following year, he was named an honorary letterman by the Lettermen’s T-Club.
The 1998 UT senior class named a pedestrian greenway on the Knoxville campus in honor of Ward and former UT president Joseph E. Johnson.
On June 3, 1998, Ward announced the 1998-99 academic year would be his last in the broadcast chair. In a remarkable storybook ending, the Volunteer football team ran the table en route to the 1998 national championship, while the basketball team captured an SEC Eastern Division championship, capping his magnificent career behind the microphone.
“He meant a lot not just to Knoxville, Tennessee, not just to the University of Tennessee, but the entire state of Tennessee reveled in the fact that John Ward was our guy,” Vol Network General Manager Steve Early said.
Ward always described his radio and television duties with the Vol Network as a hobby. He also enjoyed golf, travel and maintaining a stunning and extensive Garden-of-Eden-like three-acre garden containing thousands of azalea, rhododendron, iris and rare wildflowers.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara. The couple was married for 55 years. He is survived by a brother, Bob Ward, of Charlotte, N.C.
SOME OF JOHN WARD’S MOST FAMOUS PHRASES
“GIVE HIM SIX!” (When Tennessee scored a touchdown)
“It’s Football Time … in Tennessee! (Right before kickoff)
“BOTTOM!” (Basketball phrase for a made shot)
“…down to the 30, 25, 20, slashing to the 15, the 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Give Him Six! Touchdown Tennessee!”
“The kick is up … Ladies and gentlemen that kick is G-O-O-O-O-O-D!”
“Back, in just one minute”
“Did he make it? … HE MADE IT!”
“Winding, grinding, twisting, turning… diving …” (description of a running play)
U. of Tennessee AD Phillip Fulmer / Credit: UT Athletics
“Our entire Tennessee family mourns the loss of the great John Ward. The University of Tennessee has lost one of its most beloved ambassadors.
“For generations of Vol fans, John’s voice brought to life many of their fondest memories of Tennessee football and basketball. His visionary thinking paved the way for the Vol Network’s rise to prominence as the standard bearer for intercollegiate athletics marketing and broadcasting.
“Despite our shared sadness, I believe it is appropriate to proudly reflect on and cherish the fact that John was ours. We will ensure that his legacy and memory are appropriately honored in the days, months and years to come.”
The Academy of Country Music announced the Industry Award and Studio Recording Award winners for the 12th annual ACM Honors ceremony, which will take place August 22 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The ceremony will recognize the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 53rd ACM Awards.
The ACM Honors will pay tribute to a number of artists for their specific achievements, including Alan Jackson, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Darius Rucker, Matraca Berg, Mickey and Chris Christensen, Eddie Miller, Rhett Akins, Rob Potts, Matraca Berg and Norro Wilson.
Performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets for the event, which will be co-hosted by Lauren Alaina and Jon Pardi, are on sale now.
Check out the list of Industry Award winners and Studio Recording Award winners below.
Industry Award Winners
NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR: Cotton Eyed Joe – Knoxville, TN
CASINO OF THE YEAR – SMALL CAPACITY: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino – Las Vegas, NV
CASINO OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM CAPACITY: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV
VENUE OF THE YEAR – SMALL CAPACITY: The Georgia Theatre – Athens, GA
VENUE OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM CAPACITY: The Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
VENUE OF THE YEAR – LARGE CAPACITY: Shoreline Amphitheater – Mountain View, CA
FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR: Country Thunder – Florence, AZ
DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR: R. J. Romeo – Romeo Entertainment Group
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR – Brian O’Connell – Live Nation
Studio Recording Award Winners
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Jimmie Lee Sloas
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR – Fred Eltringham
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Rob McNelley
PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Jim ‘Moose’ Brown
SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Danny Rader
Kacey Musgraves treated television viewers to a radiating performance of “Rainbow” on Late Night With Seth Meyers on June 20.
With simple piano accompaniment, Kacey effortlessly belted out the new track while shining like a character out of an ancient Greek drama on the rainbow-lit stage. Penned by Kacey, Natalie Hemby and Shane McAnally, “Rainbow” is featured on Kacey’s recent No. 1 album, Golden Hour.
In April, Kacey became the first solo female artist to top the Billboard Country chart since Jessie James Decker in November 2017. The new 13-song offering follows Kacey’s 2013 debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, and her 2015 sophomore album, Pageant Material, both of which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.
Kacey co-wrote every track on Golden Hour, and she co-produced the new album with Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian
Between dropping a brand-new No. 1 album, making the late-night television rounds and hitting the road for a slew of tour dates, Dierks Bentley is having a busy summer. Factor in raising three kids—Evelyn, 9, Jordan, 7, and Knox, 4—with wife Cassidy and it’s a wonder he’s not already running on fumes. Or maybe he is.
But that hasn’t stopped the entertainer, pilot and dad from taking time to learn a couple of new things along the way. As he told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, his kids are great teachers.
Dierks with daughter Jordan. photo by Tammie Arroyo
“[The last thing I learned] was bravery—how to be brave,” says Dierks. “I just flew my little prop plane out to Asheville, North Carolina, at four in the morning with my nine-year-old, and she’s just brave, man. She’s going to three weeks of camp, which is pretty wild to be gone away from us for three weeks. My wife and I were putting her to bed together and putting some stuff in there, and I was putting some pictures on the wall in her bunk and she’s like, ‘Alright, guys, time for you guys to go.’ I was like, ‘What?’ ‘Yeah, you need to go. Mom, Dad . . . go, go.’”
Dierks’ new album, The Mountain, which features 13 tracks (10 of which he co-wrote), is unified by a theme of presence—something he also credits his kids with teaching him. The impetus for the album’s creation was Dierk’s June 2017 performance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in the town of Telluride in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Dierks returned to Telluride a short time later for a week-long retreat with fellow songwriters Natalie Hemby, Luke Dick, Ross Copperman, Jon Randall, Jon Nite and Ashley Gorley and wrote the bulk of the album’s songs, including the title track.
“I think the main thing that I learn from all of my kids is just presence,” added Dierks. “I mean, if you need to learn how to be present in a moment, be around a four-year-old because he’s not thinking about anything except ‘right here, right now.’ They’re the greatest teachers. I think presence and being brave because, for them, there are so many new firsts. Everything they do is a first in some way, and you can learn a lot from those guys.”
Ralph Stanley will be the subject of a new exhibit—Ralph Stanley: Voice From On High—at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The new exhibit will open on July 13 and run through Jan. 6, 2019.
Ralph, one of the stalwarts of bluegrass music and an important figure on the scene since starting the Clinch Mountain Boys band in 1946, died in June 2016 at the age of 89. Born in southwest Virginia in 1927, Ralph gained his earliest fame in the Stanley Brothers duo, which he formed with his brother Carter. The Stanley Brothers were one of the first bluegrass acts to earn national acclaim. Ralph forged his own popularity when he went solo in 1966, following Carter’s death from complications of cirrhosis. He re-formed the Clinch Mountain Boys, which at one time included a pair of young prodigies, Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley, both of whom cite Ralph as their main influence.
A consistent figure on the bluegrass concert circuit, Ralph gained an entirely new audience with the release of the 2000 film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? He sang a chilling a cappella version of the Appalachian dirge “O Death” in the movie, easily one of the highlights of the award-winning musical soundtrack. Ralph later won a Grammy award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance with that song. He often noted that the award “put me in a different category.” Ralph won a second Grammy in 2003 for Lost in the Lonesome Pines, a bluegrass album he recorded with Jim Lauderdale.
Highlights of the new exhibition include:
Gibson RB-2 banjo with pearloid fretboard and headstock overlay purchased by Stanley from a Virginia coal miner. He used it extensively early in the Stanley Brothers’ career.
Modified 1957 Martin D-28 with custom pickguard and D-45 neck guitar used by Carter Stanley to write the bluegrass standard “The White Dove.”
Pagano West western-style suit and Daniali USA shirt with rounded collar and key-shaped rhinestone decorative applique worn by Stanley.
Hand-tooled leather guitar strap used by Larry Sparks with the Clinch Mountain Boys. He was with the group from 1966 to 1969, when he left to pursue a solo career.
Microphones used on the Farm and Fun Time Hour, on Bristol, Virginia, radio station WCYB in the 1940s.
Radio transmitter controls and reading monitor used in the mid-1950s to help WCYB broadcast its 10,000-watt signal throughout the southern Appalachians. The signal reached five states, across valleys and mountains.
Lady Antebellum appealed to the creative community—to the tune of $20,000—to produce new videos for their single, “Heart Break,” which is currently No. 16 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 38 weeks.
Lady A teamed with Genero, a software platform that sources video content, for the campaign that awarded $10,000 to GedMedia, the creators of the standout video. GedMedia parlayed the track’s lyrics into a storyline using social media photos.
“With every submission, you could just feel the passion and time that went into each video, which made it extremely hard to narrow it down,” said Lady A’s Hillary Scott. “This was one of my favorite songs off the record that we collectively wrote and to see the effort it took to bring its lyrics to life makes us even more grateful to our fans.”
In addition, five runner-ups were awarded a total of $10,000.
Watch GedMedia’s lyric video for “Heart Break” below.
Singer/songwriter Sarah Buxton has penned a bevy of hit songs over her career, including Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy,” Florida Georgia Line’s “Sun Daze,” The Band Perry’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely,” Chris Lane’s “Fix” and more, but it’s her handwritten note on Instagram that’s currently hitting a high note.
Sarah posted an Instagram pic of her handwritten note that instructs people how to let their voices be heard in the ongoing debate regarding the proposed bill, Keep Families Together Act.
Re-posts of Sarah’s note have gone viral, with celebrities like Sophia Bush, Questlove and more posting the pic on their Instagram accounts. Like many of the hit songs Sarah has penned, she’s once again creating her work “behind the scenes” without the kudos that come from being the front-person. Currently, Sarah’s original Instagram post has 200+ “Likes,” but re-posts of the pic by Sophia Bush and Questlove, who have substantially larger followings, have 30,000+ and 15,000+ “Likes,” respectively.
![Lady Antebellum Reveals Winning Video for “Heart Break” in Fan-Driven Contest [Watch]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/1446/2018/06/20112202/Lady-Antebellum.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
