Tennessee football defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley spoke to the media on Thursday after 6 Vols practices via Zoom and UT Athletics.
Chris Stapleton announced he will release his new studio album, Starting Over, on Nov. 13.
The 14-track offering features 11 songs that Chris co-penned, as well as three covers: John Fogerty’s “Joy Of My Life” and Guy Clark’s “Worry B Gone” and “Old Friends.” Chris shared the album’s title track on Aug. 27.
The new album was recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, with additional work completed at Muscle Shoals Sound and Compass Sound Studio. Produced by Dave Cobb, who also plays acoustic guitar, the record features wife Morgane Stapleton (vocals, tambourine), with longtime bandmates J.T. Cure (bass) and Derek Mixon (drums). Special guests include musicians Mike Campbell (electric guitar), Benmont Tench (Hammond B3 organ) and Paul Franklin (pedal steel), as well as the All Voices Choir who are featured on “Watch You Burn.”
The upcoming album follows the release of Chris’ two No. 1 albums in 2017: From A Room: Volume 1 and From A Room: Volume 2, which reference the legendary RCA Studio A where they were recorded with Dave Cobb.
In addition, Chris announced that his All-American Road Show tour is scheduled to resume in 2021, with stops at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, New York’s Madison Square Garden and many more.
Starting Over Track List
All-American Road Show
*with special guests Willie Nelson & Family, Jamey Johnson and Yola
†with special guests Margo Price and Yola
‡with special guests Willie Nelson & Family, Sheryl Crow and Yola
§with special guests Dwight Yoakam and The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell
#with special guests Margo Price and The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell
^with special guests Sheryl Crow and The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell
+with special guest Sheryl Crow
°with special guests Elle King and Kendell Marvel
%with special guests The Highwomen, Mavis Staples and Mike Campbell
**with special guests Sheryl Crow and Kendell Marvel
††with special guests Elle King and Nikki Lane
‡‡with George Strait and Little Big Town
§§with George Strait and Brothers Osborne
^^with special guest Nikki Lane
##with special guests Willie Nelson & Family and Yola
++with special guests The Marcus King Band and Yola
°°with special guests Jamey Johnson and Yola
photo by TCD
![Chris Stapleton Releases Hopeful New Song, “Starting Over” [Listen]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2020/08/27120441/Chris-Stapleton-JS.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
After teasing a new tune on Aug. 25, Chris Stapleton released “Starting Over” on Aug. 27 at noon ET.
Penned by Chris and Mike Henderson, “Starting Over” was co-produced by Chris and Dave Cobb.
The new song features Chris crooning the uplifting chorus: “And it don’t matter to me / Wherever we are is where I want to be / And honey for once in our lives / Let’s take our chances and roll the dice / And I can be your lucky penny / You can be my four-leaf clover / Starting over.”
On Aug. 24, Chris posted a 37-second clip across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the date “11.13.20,” a likely reference to the release of his new album. Chris’ past social media posts were deleted to draw attention to the new clip, while his profile photo was replaced with a white backdrop featuring the scrawled words “Starting Over” and “Chris Stapleton.”
“Starting Over” is Chris’ first solo release since “Millionaire,” which dropped in April 2018. Chris’ most recent album was 2017’s From A Room: Volume 2. Chris collaborated with Pink for 2019’s “Love Me Anyway.” He teamed with Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars for 2019’s “Blow.”
Listen to “Starting Over” below.
photo by TCD
Carrie Underwood will release her first-ever Christmas album, My Gift, on Sept. 25.
The holiday offering will feature a combination of beloved traditional favorites and original material that celebrate Carrie’s faith and the spiritual nature of Christmas.
Carrie revealed the album’s 11-song track list and special guests via Instagram on Aug. 27, stating: “The songs on #MyGift are a mix of Christmas classics that are close to my heart and new songs that I hope will become close to yours. The album also includes a couple of very special guests…I can’t wait for you all to hear ‘Hallelujah’ written by and sung with the incredible @JohnLegend, and a very special version of “Little Drummer Boy” featuring my own little drummer boy, Isaiah. September 25 can’t come soon enough! #MyGift.”
My Gift Track List
My Gift was produced by Greg Wells and mixed by Serban Ghenea. The album features a world-class orchestra led by conductor David Campbell.
Over the years, Carrie has released a number of holiday tracks, including “Do You Hear What I Hear,” “O Holy Night,” “The First Noel” and more, however, the upcoming record will be her first full-length Christmas album. My Gift will follow the release of Carrie’s sixth studio album, Cry Pretty, which dropped in September 2018.
My Gift will also be released on vinyl on Oct. 30.
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Jon Pardi performed his current single, “Ain’t Always the Cowboy,” during his set on the Grand Ole Opry on Aug. 22.
Penned by Brandon Kinney and Josh Thompson, “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” is featured on Jon’s 2019 album, Heartache Medication. The tune is currently No. 23 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart after 23 weeks.
“I feel like the topic of the song hasn’t been written about in this way, and I love songs that approach things differently and offer fresh perspectives,” says Jon.
Watch Jon perform “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” below.
photo by O\’Connor, AFF-USA.com
Tim McGraw made a virtual stop on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to perform new song “Hard to Stay Mad At.”
Penned by Luke Laird, Shane McAnally and Lori McKenna, “Hard to Stay Mad At” is featured on Tim’s new album, Here On Earth, which was released on Aug. 21.
Buoyed by the May release of the album’s lead single, “I Called Mama,” which is currently No. 12 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, the new project is Tim’s first solo album since 2015’s Damn Country Music. Tim’s upcoming 16-song album features a host of top songwriters, including Tom Douglas, Lori McKenna, Shane McAnally, Marcus Hummon, Luke Laird, Ross Copperman, Laura Veltz and more.
“I had a concept,” says Tim. “Now, that’s not to say that this is really a concept album, but I had an idea when I went into this project that I really wanted to sort of make a tapestry of life. Little vignettes along the way that tell a story about certain things that happen in the progression of life and how that can relate to the listener, and how everyone can sort of find a way to walk through this life on this album, find a way to relate to the characters in the stories. And that’s what good art does I think, in all sorts of ways. It allows you to superimpose yourself.”
Watch Tim perform “Hard to Stay Mad At” below.
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
As the Tennessee student-athletes prepare for their own demonstration to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington this Saturday, members of the football team received timely inspiration to add to their charge against racism on Tuesday.
The Vols opened an afternoon of preseason practice with legendary guest and VFL Lester McClain. McClain was the first Black student-athlete at Tennessee, playing varsity football from 1968-70. With McClain’s first catch, he broke the previously segregated line of scrimmage on Rocky Top and much of the South.
UT football players and staff listened intently as McClain, an Antioch, Tennessee, native recalled moments like skipping school in ninth grade to join civil rights protests in Downtown Nashville and also more sobering ones like when one of his UT teammates told him that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated – the same year McClain would go on to make his first of many appearances as a Vol.
“The things that (King) had spoke of, I bought into,” responded McClain to a question from junior DB Alontae Taylor about the impact of MLK’s I Have a Dream speech had. “We’d go downtown to protest, sit-ins, march and demonstrate because we thought that would give us an opportunity to have a better life.”
McClain’s principles and steadfastness continued as he took a chance in Knoxville as the lone Black player on the team in 1967. Despite the social and political unrest throughout the country as the Civil Rights Movement colored American life, McClain felt no added pressure despite living out a historical moment.
“I took it in stride,” said the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame member. “That was the situation I had chosen. I knew there would be some difficulty, but I knew if I did it and did it well, then life would change, but not just for me, for a lot of other people with opportunities to come along.
“I was very fortunate because I wasn’t expected to do anything. There was not a lot of expectation. Messing it up would be giving up.”
McClain’s on-field contributions included catching 70 passes for 1,003 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also rushed 30 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and returned eight kickoffs for 168 yards. McClain was selected by the Chicago Bears in the 1971 NFL Draft, but would be cut prior to the season.
His accomplishments inspired others and paved the way for Black athletes at Tennessee, including the first black starting quarterback in the SEC, Condredge Holloway.
McClain also opened opportunities for Tuesday’s moderator, Vols associate head coach Tee Martin, who led the Vols to their 1998 championship and became the first Black quarterback in the SEC to win a national title.
The moment was not lost on Martin, now in his second year as a coach back on Rocky Top.
“We want to say thank you for everything that you did to open up doors,” Martin said as the group stood and applauded McClain. “It’s the reason we have a team room that looks like this, while we have opportunities for people that look like us.”
“I have so much respect for him, what he did and lived through as a teenager,” Martin added after the session.
After the applause and before the empowering moment was over, McClain gave a few final thoughts. He quoted legendary coach Doug Dickey reciting the axiom, “luck is when preparation meets opportunity” before humorously commending the team for its “lucky” 2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl comeback win.
McClain praised the direction of the historic program under head coach Jeremy Pruitt and charged the players to continue on despite difficult circumstances.
“Don’t ever hold back on giving it a little more each day,” McClain said. “You see the results of what’s going on. No matter how hard it is. Your attitude and effort make a difference in the world.”
-UT Athletics
Here’s a photo gallery courtesy of the UT Athletics from Tennessee fall football practice 6 for the 2020 season from Wednesday. Click on any image to see it full size with the ability to scroll through.
Here’s footage made available to us by VFL Films and UT Athletics from fall practice 6 on Wednesday, August 26, 2020. We post practice video, photo galleries and interviews after each practice provided or media availability.
Tennessee football wide receiver Josh Palmer spoke to the media before Vols practice 6 on Wednesday via Zoom and UT Athletics.
