It’s been another great year in country music…and as we get ready for 2011, we’re looking back at some of the highlights of 2010.
IN NOVEMBER…
• Alan Jackson and the Zac Brown Band hit number-one with Zac’s song “As She’s Walking Away.” (AUDIO INFO BELOW)
• Brad Paisley hit number-one with “Anything Like Me,” from his album, American Saturday Night.
• Alan Jackson’s digital single “Good Time” is certified Gold.
• Brad Paisley released his first greatest hits collection, called Hits Alive. The collection features two discs, one with studio tracks and the other with live performances. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)
• Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn is released. The all-star tribute features artists from country music and beyond, all singing favorite Loretta classics. Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow join Loretta in singing her signature song, “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” (AUDIO INFO BELOW)
• Alan Jackson released 34 Number Ones, featuring all of his number-one hits, plus three more tracks, including Alan’s new single, “Ring of Fire.” (AUDIO INFO BELOW)
• Kenny Chesney’s Boys of Fall documentary is released on DVD. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)
• At the CMAs, Brad Paisley won Entertainer of the Year.
• At the CMAs, Miranda Lambert won Female Vocalist, Album of the Year for Revolution, and Video of the Year for “The House That Built Me.”
• At the CMAs, “The House That Built Me” won Song of the Year.
• At the CMAs, Miranda Lambert joined Sheryl Crow and Loretta Lynn on stage for a special performance of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
010 HIGHLIGHTS: November" width="16" height="14" /> Alan Jackson talks about Zac Brown and performing with him on “As She’s Walking Away.” (:35)
“Zac, that’s his song, and he was just kind enough to ask me to come sing on it, a little bit. I’m from Georgia originally, and so is Zac. After he hit, we just kind of met a time or two. He actually played some shows with me on the road. He’s just a real guy, real musician and songwriter, singer. That’s why I like him, and I think he feels the same way about me. He was just nice enough to ask me to be on that song, ’cause he was a fan, and real treat to be on there. Cool song he wrote, and we shot a little video. Just, he’s a nice fella.”
010 HIGHLIGHTS: November" width="16" height="14" /> Brad Paisley worries — and hopes — that Huck (and Jasper in the years ahead) will grow up like he did, true to the lyrics of “Anything Like Me.” (:47)
“When you go and hear those words and think about, you know, ’probably climb a tree too tall, ride his bike too fast,’ it’s things that we did. I mean, ‘end up every summer wearing somethin’ in a cast, probably throw a ball and break some glass.’ Who hasn’t done that? And all those things are just things that I did and my co-writers did. And it’s pretty true to life, you know, in terms of both…all those things that I’m talking about that he does like ‘probably stay out too late, drive his car too fast,’ I kind of hope he does. Same with the ‘throw a ball,’ and you know, all of these are things that I’m equal parts a little bit scared of and hopeful that he actually also does them.”
010 HIGHLIGHTS: November" width="16" height="14" /> Brad Paisley thinks that now is a good time to reflect on the last decade of hits. (:15)
“This is an album of ‘this is what I’ve been up to for the last decade.’ It feels good to actually do that at this point, and recap, and show both on a record what we’ve accomplished, and then live what we’ve accomplished, which is probably something I’m even more proud of.”
010 HIGHLIGHTS: November" width="16" height="14" /> Even after all these years, Loretta Lynn says she hasn’t changed — and she doesn’t need to! (:51)
“I don’t think I’ve ever changed, and I’m glad that I haven’t. When I first started gettin’ mail that said how much they love me and what songs that they liked, and they’ll pick out lines in a song that they have lived and that they love, and still yet to this day, if I can’t answer the letter –- if I’m on the road and I’m fixin’ to go on the road –- the letter needs to be answered, I have it answered for me. I write down on the page what I want ‘em to say…what I want the girl that helps me with my mail, and she’s been with me for 44 years. She took care of my twins for me. And you never –- you don’t need to change, you know? That’s the worst thing you can do is get the big head, I think.”
010 HIGHLIGHTS: November" width="16" height="14" /> Alan Jackson talks about the diversity of songs that have made up his career, as well as his new 34 Number Ones collection. (:62)
“I’ve always had that mixture of songs, from love songs to heartache and family-type songs, the fun, party songs and drinkin’ songs ’cause that, I mean, I played in the bars for years, and you had to play that stuff, and I liked it, anyway. I mean, I grew up on Hank Jr.’s stuff, you know? That was ultimate party country stuff, and that’s what I loved. And so it’s just kind of…to me, I’ve always…my albums and what I write and sing about have always been kind of from this side of country music to the other ’cause that’s what country music to me is. It’s all those things, you know? It’s hurtin’ songs, cheatin’ songs, drinkin’ songs, almost religious-type songs. You know, just everything fits right in there, and that’s the way country music’s always been. I mean, Hank Williams, Sr. — he’d write a party song, then he’d write a cryin’ song, and then he’d have a gospel song out, you know? So I just think it’s all the themes that represent country music, and yes, I’ve had my share of all of ‘em.”
010 HIGHLIGHTS: November" width="16" height="14" /> A clip from Kenny Chesney’s football documentary. (:22)