Holly Williams Engaged; Red Cross Adds Julianne Hough; And Chris Gaines?
- Holly Williams is now engaged to Nashville Drummer Chris Coleman.
- NashvilleGab published a video from TMZ of Tim McGraw kicking the fan out of his recent concert. There’s not much to see unless you’re looking at Tim’s hideous shirt.
- Caitlin & Will turned in a second version of the video for “Address in the Stars.” The differences are minor, but Chet Flippo asks which one you like more.
- The Red Cross added five new members to its National Celebrity Cabinet, one of whom is Julianne Hough:
I am honored to be a part of the American Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet and help support an organization that offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war and aid to victims of devastating natural disasters. Being part of this amazing organization will provide me with an opportunity to join its efforts to help others and encourage the American public to become involved with their local Red Cross and make a difference.
- Sam Sattler at the Bluegrass & Honky Tonks blog names the Most Promising Country Duo of 1965: George Jones and Gene Pitney.
There is enough country music on these two albums to please any fan of real country music but the real marvel is how naturally pop star Gene Pitney took to country music. I hardly dare say it, but Gene pretty much stole the show from George, something I would not have thought possible before I brought the first of these albums home.
- Craig Bickhardt describes the intense desire he feels to write songs:
There are times when I catch myself looking for some point of entry like a junkie tapping on his veins. Yesterday’s song is just yesterday’s song– a high that didn’t last. If I had to go to dangerous alleys and midnight borders of the imagination for my fix, I probably would.
- Emily West singing “Lovesick Blues” in her hotel room. (via The Nashville Sound)
- Big Frank of Corpus Christi’s K99 radio station brought in a Tejano expert to explain the meaning of the song “El Rey” by George Strait.
- That Nashville Sound reports that Wade Hayes released an album on his website a couple days ago.
- “Ten years ago on Sept. 28, a gigantic creature came bursting to life from a Nashville recording studio and was unleashed upon the world” and so begins the latest entry in Chet Flippo’s Nashville Skyline. Who could he be talking about?
- Craig Shelburne remembers Earl Thomas Conley on the 25th anniversary of his record setting 1984 release, Don’t Make It Easy For Me.
- Rather than closing shop, Dolly’s musical, 9 to 5, is headed out on tour and will kick off in Nashville the week of September 20.
- And to close out today’s news roundup, here’s a previously unpublished picture of the lovesick Emily West smiling for The 9513 at the 2009 CMA Music Festival in Nashville
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July 31, 2009 at 10:46 am Permalink
I’d love to see Emily record a version of that for her next album.
July 31, 2009 at 11:20 am Permalink
Holly mentioned on Tuesday night that she was engaged to her drummer but I didn’t know that wasn’t common knowledge. Before closing her set with “Alone” she said men normally get hit with a lot of sh*t from women about fear of commitment but that women, like herself, have the same issues. She said that now she had accepted the ring it was time to get over it! (lol)
When I saw Emily West perform here in LA in the fall of 2008 she only sang one traditional country song in her set and she nailed it. When she guests on the “Classic Country Opry’s” on Thursday nights she also excels. Emily’s own songs tend to be big ballads or pop-rock fluff, but she is still a country singer at heart.
Its nice to see Wade Hayes still in action. A few months back I remember seeing a picture in Country Weakly of Wade and Megan Mullins on stage with Randy Owens at a concert. I didn’t even know Wade was still active in the business.
Chet Flippo’s article is very interesting. I was quite happy to see that album tank that artist’s country career as I was totally burned out on their music by then…
July 31, 2009 at 11:40 am Permalink
I will forever maintain that the criticism of Chris Gaines is unwarranted. The damn disc sold double platinum.
July 31, 2009 at 11:55 am Permalink
I really enjoyed, and actually still enjoy, the Chris Gaines album. There are a few songs on that Album (Main Street being my favorite) that I’d place among my favorite Garth recordings. It’s a shame the idea was so misunderstood.
July 31, 2009 at 12:02 pm Permalink
What criticism is unwarranted, Jim?
The Flippo article says it only sold a little over 1.1 million. Even at 2 million, that’s less than 30% of his previous low. Based on the opportunity cost, that constitutes a pretty big loss commercially. But if we go by Flippo’s article, they were expecting in excess of 2 million in sales and barely got halfway there. One or two million may be a big number, but with the platform to achieve 3 to 10 times that number in sales, it was a pretty big commercial flop.
July 31, 2009 at 12:06 pm Permalink
Still don’t get Emily West. Filing her with Jamie Johnson.
July 31, 2009 at 12:17 pm Permalink
His numbers are wrong.
But aside from that, the point is that perhaps potential of the project was overestimated. That doesn’t mean the project itself was a commercial flop. I think it’s very difficult to say that any record that sells 2 million units is a commercial flop. If you’re not able to turn a significant profit on 2 million units sold, you don’t deserve to be in the record business. And if Cap thought they were going to push, 4, 5 or 6 million units of a very off-beat side project (regardless of a movie or anything else) they were operating in a state of complete delusion.
Opportunity costs are relevant, but I don’t see many writers going into that much detail. I just see people calling the record a flop.
July 31, 2009 at 12:22 pm Permalink
Only with Garth would a platinum album be considered a flop. I personally like the Chris Gaines project, partly because I don’t look at it as a Garth Brooks album. I prefer to judge it as a separate artist with no country ties, which seems to be how Garth looked at it.
July 31, 2009 at 12:29 pm Permalink
I still maintain that, had the movie worked out, the Chris Gaines album would have been hailed as brilliant. I personally enjoy the album very much. Its honestly a part of my regular rotation.
July 31, 2009 at 1:21 pm Permalink
Man, I’ve never listened to the Gaines disc, but after all this discussion, I think I’m going to head over to ITunes and see if I can’t track it down.
July 31, 2009 at 1:22 pm Permalink
It’s great to see that Wade Hayes finally has a new album out. Such an underrated performer. Too bad the album he did as the duo McHayes (with Alan Jackson’s former fiddle player Mark McClurg) got shelved. I heard it’s really good.
The Chris Gaines album is the only Garth album I don’t own. By reading the comments here, I’m now curious to check it out.
July 31, 2009 at 1:45 pm Permalink
I concur with Idle and Jim, the album was intended as just a piece of a larger creative- a movie. Had that worked out, it would have gotten many more ears and likely would have sold more. I’ve always liked the album- it’s WAY different than any Garth CD you’ve ever heard, but it’s fun. I was always surprised that he never funded the movie himself, however. Heaven knows he could have…
July 31, 2009 at 2:40 pm Permalink
Even though I like Alison’s version better, the Chris Gaines album is worth the price just for “Maybe.”
July 31, 2009 at 2:51 pm Permalink
I liked the Gains’ version of “Right Now.”
July 31, 2009 at 4:19 pm Permalink
I blame the mainstream media for the whole whoopla over the Gaines project. For one thing it shows what a range Garth has has vocally. I listen to it regularly. I still don’t understand what Katie Couric didn’t get about it being a movie role (her interview was the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen, turned me off the Today show until she left); really the media was disgusting in its stupidity.
July 31, 2009 at 4:37 pm Permalink
It’s silly for an artist to change his name and create a record that he doesn’t want compared to any of his previous work. Especially if he’s the 1990’s artist of the decade. I believe that is why it did not meet expectations but his clout alone is why it went platitum.
July 31, 2009 at 5:06 pm Permalink
The reason Chris Gaines is considered a flop is right here in your responses: Garth planned on using it as a vehicle to star as Gaines in a major Hollywood movie, and he already had a backstory, with album covers and songs, for all the albums leading up this “greatest hits” project. He had hoped to go back and record and release all those albums, too.
But when the Gaines album didn’t get pop or rock radio support–his intended goal from the start–and when it didn’t sell in the numbers Garth had previous sold, all the other projects fell by the wayside. He pushed the movie proposal hard for a long time, but once the album didn’t crossover or get any support, they couldn’t get the funding or big-time movie people involved.
That’s why it’s considered a career misstep. It sold because Garth had, and still has, a lot of fans. Becomign Chris Gaines just didn’t get him many new ones.
July 31, 2009 at 8:27 pm Permalink
I think it’s interesting that so many people are still talking about Chris Gaines 10 years after the fact. Personally, I never liked the album much based on the music – it’s just not my style. But I do applaud Garth for his vision and for being willing to take such a grand risk.
Did the album flop? I guess by Garth’s gigantic sales standards it did. But as Jim pointed out, expecting to sell 5+ million of a special project like this – especially without any push from country radio – was just wishful thinking, even in the boom sales years for country.
July 31, 2009 at 10:50 pm Permalink
“The Red Cross added five new members to it’s National Celebrity Cabinet.” For the sake of cranky grammarians nationwide, please change that to “its”.
August 1, 2009 at 12:14 am Permalink
Cranky grammarians can go butt a stump.
August 2, 2009 at 5:19 pm Permalink
Wade Hayes does indeed have a new album out. This one was under his complete control and is considered by most to be his best work. Besides his own picking, he hand-chose the a-list musicians who worked on it with him. Check out the guitar work on “Every Time I Give the Devil a Ride.” The album, “Place to Turn Around,” can be ordered on his web-site.
August 4, 2009 at 10:12 am Permalink
That’s an unfortunate photo of Emily West!
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