Just when you thought Connie Britton, a.k.a. Rayna James, was in for the long haul on CMT’s hit drama, Nashville, the Hollywood actress is saying goodbye to the recently renewed drama, after four and a half seasons.
When CMT picked up the hour-long drama for a fifth season—after ABC cancelled the show at the end of four seasons—there had been much speculation that Connie would not return as Rayna. But the actress assured fans of her commitment when she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in January saying, “I’m in it. I’m in. I’m in for the duration, and we’re about to start a new season. And it’s an exciting new season because we have new showrunners, so we have new writers, and the stories, I think, are gonna be really — it’s gonna get us back to what Nashville is about and what the characters are and what the town is and the music is.”
Fast forward to Thursday night’s (Feb. 23) episode of Nashville—two episodes before the midseason finale—and Rayna James passed away, succumbing to injuries sustained in a car crash.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Connie opened up about her decision to leave the show. “It was my decision. It was something that, for various reasons, had been percolating for me. What was really important to me was that it felt like the right time. This summer, when the show went to CMT, it felt solid and stable. When [showrunner] Marshall [Herskovitz] came in, we had a conversation and he came up with the way this story would lay out. We both agreed — and I said to him that what was most important to me was that we really do justice and honor the character and all of these characters and the world that we’ve been living in for these last five years.”
Connie also posted a heartfelt goodbye message to cast, crew and most importantly, her fans.
“Thank you Rayna Jaymes. For your magic and your dignity. And thank you to all the creators of Rayna Jaymes, for there were many. Callie Khouri, who gave her life. Deacon, Maddie, Daphne, who shaped her as her family. Teddy, Tandy, Lamar too. Juliette, Scarlett, Bucky and the ones who crafted her into a business woman. Along with countless other compatriots and combatants. And then of course the crew of “Nashville” who brought her to life, every crew member in every department who made Rayna live each week. And then there’s the music. T Bone, Buddy, Tim, Frankie and all the brilliant songwriters who gave Rayna a voice. There was no music, and no Rayna, without you. But finally and most importantly, the fans. You made Rayna. You supported her and loved her and gave her inspiration just as she was able to inspire you. You were the energy source, the power behind her heart and soul and life. Rayna lived for you. And, from the depths of my heart, I thank you, for her and for me. It has been an honor to be a part of that creation. And as I know she would want it, the show must, and will go on. Long live Rayna Jaymes. #RIPRayna#NashvilleCMT”
Time will tell whether the CMT show can withstand the loss of their beloved main character, Rayna James. But as Connie said in her post, “the show must go on.” The question is, for how long?
In a month’s time, the Country Music Association will elect one new member/act to the Country Music Hall of Fame in each of its three categories: Modern Era, Veteran Era and Songwriter/Musician/Non-Performer (this category rotates, and this year a songwriter will be elected).
For this article, I’m focusing on the Modern Era candidates, who are eligible for induction 20 years after they first achieve “national prominence.”
While there are several candidates who could also be considered in the Veteran Era (40 years after achieving national prominence), the pool of possible Modern Era candidates includes, among others, Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, David Allan Coe, Crystal Gayle, Mickey Gilley, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, The Judds, Toby Keith, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Charlie Rich, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker, Shania Twain, Gene Watson, Keith Whitley, Hank Williams Jr. and Dwight Yoakam.
While all of the aforementioned names are deserving candidates, here are three of the leading nominees—in my opinion.
Alan Jackson
photo by Russ Harrington/Schmidt Relations
Mustachioed and mulleted, Alan burst onto the country music scene in 1990 with his platinum-selling debut album, Here in the Real World. But that success—and mullet—didn’t happen overnight. To truly appreciate the heights to which this singer/songwriter has risen, it’s important to know where he stated. Born into humble beginnings in Newnan, Ga., in 1958, Alan grew up listening to the spiritual sounds of gospel music in his family’s local church. After a friend introduced him to the stylings of Gene Watson and Hank Williams Jr., Alan became hooked on the everyman lyricism of country music. When Alan was 16, his parents bought him a $50 guitar, and he made his first public performance a year later.
After graduating from high school, Alan worked a series of blue-collar jobs, started his own band, Dixie Steel, and became a frequent performer at local clubs. He scraped by on the regional circuit before landing his big break in 1986 when his wife, Denise, who was working as a flight attendant, met Glen Campbell and gave him a copy of Alan’s demo. Alan secured a songwriting gig at Glen’s publishing company, eventually becoming the first artist to sign with Arista’s new Nashville division in 1989. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Over the course of the next 27 years, Alan unleashed 35 No. 1 hits, including his 9/11 tribute “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” dropped more than a dozen platinum albums and earned two Grammys, 16 CMA Awards (three for Entertainer of the Year) and 18 ACM Awards. He has sold nearly 60 million albums worldwide and ranks as one of the 10 best-selling country artists of all-time.
The folkloric escapades of Alan are almost as compelling as his music, from spontaneously adding a snippet of George Jones’ “Choices” to his set at the 1999 CMA Awards to donning a fake mullet and stonewashed jeans in his 2014 artist-in-residence show at the Country Music Hall of Fame. And if it’s been a while since you’ve reveled in the awesomeness of the 1993 music video for “Chattahoochee,” stop reading right now and watch it.
Dwight Yoakam
photo by Emily Joyce
Born it Kentucky. Raised in Ohio. Perfected in California. Singer, songwriter, musician, actor—Dwight Yoakam is a man of many hats in the figurative sense, but you probably recognize him from the low-tilted Stetson that frequents his dome. Underneath that cowboy hat is undeniable genius. For the last 30 years, Dwight has been swiveling his talented hips across the U.S. of A. with a distinctive croon that’s unmatched in the genre.
Along the way, Dwight has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide and earned 12 gold albums and nine platinum or multi-platinum albums, including the triple-platinum This Time. Five of those albums have topped Billboard‘s Country Albums chart as well as two Billboard No 1 singles (“Streets of Bakersfield” and “I Sang Dixie”). In addition, Dwight has been nominated for 21 Grammy awards, winning two during his illustrious career.
More impressive than all of his accolades, Dwight was a pioneer in the area of country rock. Dwight mixed his Kentucky country roots with touches of Bakersfield and punk rock to create a new kind of country music, one that found its way to a younger—and definitely hip—audience. Toss in his movie and television roles and you have the definition of a diversified entertainer. Speaking of diversification, in 2016 Dwight added another genre-crossing album to his repertoire with Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars, a collection of tunes from his past catalog that were reinvented as bluegrass ditties.
Plus, Johnny Cash called Dwight his favorite modern country artist. That’s not something you put on your Hall of Fame plaque—that’s something you put on your tombstone.
Hank Williams Jr.
photo by David McClister/CMA
First of all, can you believe Hank Williams Jr. is NOT in the Country Music Hall of Fame? That, itself, is a travesty. But let’s get down to brass tacks, because 2017 could be the year Rockin’ Randall carries on the family tradition (his daddy was inducted in 1961). Hank Jr. has released 37 albums over his six-decade career, selling more than 70 million worldwide. In addition to his induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (at least this HOF got it right), Jr. has topped the charts with 13 singles and has thrice been named the ACM Entertainer of the Year and twice the CMA Entertained of the Year. Add six platinum albums, 20 gold albums and a Grammy to his résumé, and you’ve got badass Bocephus who was a pioneer in bringing arena rock productions to country music with epic songs like “Family Tradition,” “All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)” and “A Country Boy Can Survive.”
Speaking of surviving, he fell off a freakin’ mountain in 1975 and came back with a rockin’ vengeance. Plus, he has three nicknames—Rockin’ Randall, Bocephus and Jr.—and most people don’t even get one.
Unfortunately, non-musical factors may play a part in Hank Jr.’s exclusion. He’s a controversial straight-shooter and has a history of making inflammatory political comments, such as the anti–Obama invective that eventually led to his dismissal from Monday Night Football. Incidents like that don’t always sit well with voters. Not saying that’s the actual reason why he’s not in the Hall—and what voter would admit to that, anyway—but you have to raise the question.
Toby Keith courtesy Shock Ink; Alan Jackson by Russ Harrington/Schmidt Relations; Clint Black courtesy PFA Media; Travis Tritt courtesy Aristo Media; Dwight Yoakam courtesy Warner Bros Records; Faith Hill courtesy PFA Media; Shania Twain by Brian Bowen Smith/Mercury Nashville; Marty Stuart courtesy The Greenroom PR; Naomi and Wynonna Judd by Matthew Rolston/The Oprah Winfrey Network; Hank Williams, Jr. by David McClister/Nash Icon Records
Forget about a lengthy engagement. Sam Hunt isn’t going to let fiancée Hannah Lee Fowler slip through his fingers again.
Sam and Hannah Lee got engaged over the Christmas holiday, and it sounds like they’ve already scheduled a wedding date in the near future.
During the annual Universal Music Group luncheon—which is part of Country Radio Seminar—at the Ryman Auditorium on Thursday (Feb. 23), Sam took the stage to perform his new single, “Body Like a Back Road.” But before he got started singing the new ditty, he told the attendees: “I’m getting married in a couple months, so between planning a wedding and keeping my fiancée smiling, I’m gonna try to kick up some new music for y’all.”
If Sam was being literal, he and Hannah Lee could be tying the knot by May, which seems timely considering his 15 in a 30 Tour kicks off on June 1 and runs through the fall.
February 24 is finally here, which means the release of Little Big Town’s new album, The Breaker, as well as the date they kick off their residency at the Ryman Auditorium—and the quartet didn’t waste a moment’s celebration as they stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to get the late-night party started last night. And party they did.
Before their performance, LBT’s Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet took part in a game of Musical Beers with host Jimmy and actors Susan Sarandon and Elijah Wood. The game, a twist on Musical Chairs, pits players against each other as they circle a table and try to grab—and drink—a cup of beer after the music stops. One by one, players are eliminated. And wouldn’t you know it, one of LBT’s members wins the whole thing, but we won’t spoil it for you. Watch the guys and girls get competitive below.
And now on to the performance.
With Jimi Westbrook singing lead, LBT debuted their rockin’ revival-esque tune, “Rollin’,” which should serve the group well when they perform at the Mother Church of Country Music tonight. “Rollin’,” which was written by Jimi, Phillip Sweet and Natalie Hemby, is featured on The Breaker, which is available now.
Get moved by the spirit in LBT’s performance below.
Country Radio Seminar attendees got an extra serving of dessert at Universal Music Group’s lunch show today at the Ryman Auditorium.
As Keith Urban finished the final verse of his latest hit, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” he was joined onstage by Chris Stapleton and Vince Gill for an amazing three-guitar jam session. They each took several turns playing during the five-minute confection.
Brett Young’s debut single, “Sleep Without You,” climbed to the top of the Mediabase chart to close out 2016, but before he reached the milestone accomplishment, the California native got some valuable schooling as part of Brad Paisley’s Country Nation College Tour in the fall. As Brett joins Luke Bryan’s Kill the Lights Tour tonight (Feb. 23) for eight dates, and gears up to join Lady Antebellum’s You Look Good World Tour in May, the smooth crooner is taking the valuable lessons he learned from Brad “down the road.”
“I think aside from Brad being an incredible singer, performer, songwriter, I think the thing that I really learned from his tour and that I’m going to take away is the way that I was treated—and my whole team was treated—from his tour manager all the way down the line to the guys that were helping with sound every night,” says Brett to Nash Country Daily. “Everybody was so helpful. At that stage, it would be really easy to just be on the bus, not be involved, and let your opener go play his songs. From the very bottom up, everybody was giving Brad a good reputation every single night. I sat down with my team and my band right after that and I said, ‘Guys, look at this. The way that they do this, it’s incredible and we need to make sure that we’re doing this every night. Everybody that has an experience with us is having a positive experience.’ I think it was important for me to learn that early from him, because I’m going to take it with me down the road.”
Singer/songwriters Jeffrey East and Brandon Green stopped by NASH morning show Ty, Kelly & Chuck for today’s 10-minute tune, which challenges artists to craft a song—in 10 minutes or less—on a relevant topic of the day.
With yesterday’s announcement that seven Earth-sized planets have been discovered outside our solar system, Jeffrey and Brandon—with an assist from Chuck Wicks—used their worldly know-how to create an Aladdin-inspired song. Check out the intergalactic twists and turns the guys add to “A Whole New World.”
After spending 49 weeks on the Mediabase chart, William Michael Morgan’s debut single, “I Met a Girl,” finally reached the top spot in October 2016. The almost-yearlong climb was the longest run to a No. 1 in the chart’s history.
“Everybody believed in us, and it really goes back to the team, from management to producers to the staff over there at Warner Brothers,” says William Michael to Nash Country Daily. “They really believed in us, man. They never gave up. The whole team never gave up and they believed in us and they had the same dream that we did as far as wanting to have a country single out on radio.”
NCD editor Jim Casey (left) and William Michael Morgan in studio.
With the release of his second single, “Missing,” the Mississippi native stays in his traditional-sounding wheelhouse, but instead of focusing on the girl who stole his heart like in “I Met a Girl,” the crooner gets lost—in a good way. With fiddle and steel out front, WMM sings about the beauty of getting away from the hustle and bustle, whether that’s in “the big city or the country or a little beach town.”
“‘Missing’ is about just turning your phone off for a little bit and getting away,” says William Michael. “Everybody’s got their own way. I like to be out on the water somewhere—on a beach with the sand in between my toes drinking a cold Bud Light or out on the water fishing, or in the woods, hiking, hunting, whatever the case may be. You have to make time for it, man. Your brain has to turn off for a little bit. You have to rejuvenate yourself for a little while.”
With his traditional lean, William Michael is rejuvenating country radio in a way that would make ol’ George Strait proud.
Charles posted the video to his Instagram account with the caption that read, “Ward testing out the new @ladyantebellum mixes with me this morning! He gives it 2 👍”
Ward may be getting down to the new tunes or he may just be doing things that babies do—set to music. Either way Ward has good taste. We give it two thumbs up as well. And baby videos make us smile. Plus, you get to hear a snippet of the title track to Lady A’s upcoming album, Heart Break, due out June 9.
Keith Urban came out swinging on Wednesday night (Feb. 22) during an intimate performance at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The event was part of Country Radio Seminar, an industry-only gathering where radio programmers and personalities descend on Nashville for three days.
Gathered in the Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater, Keith talked with host Leslie Fram of CMT about his current album, Ripcord, and performed some of his No. 1 hits, including, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color” and “Break on Me.”
But it was a stripped-down version of “The Fighter” that stopped everyone in their tracks. The radio version of Keith’s current single features the vocal stylings of Carrie Underwood, but Keith was the only one in the ring for the performance on Wednesday night.
Watch Keith’s knockout performance below.
Prior to performing the tune, Keith shared a brief story behind the song that included his feelings about his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, as they began their relationship.
“The truth of it is, the beginning of the relationship with my wife was one of really wanting to—I’m sure you can relate to this too—someone comes into your life, like someone did into mine, who has been really hurt and they’re just looking for someone who will love them and be there for them and really, really protect them and take care of them,” Keith said from the stage.
“As a guy, I felt that way about my wife, but you need time to show it because otherwise it’s just a bunch of words—everyone’s heard all that before, but that’s all you got at the beginning,” Keith added. “So the conversation I had with my wife was really—a lot of these words were happening, ‘What if I fall, we’ll I won’t let you fall, and if I cry, I’ll never make you cry.’ Particularly with my wife, I wanted to take care of her innocent fragility as a human being.”
And with that, we all melted. Watch as Keith tell his story behind “The Fighter.”
