Emmylou Harris to release new album

Country/Folk legend Emmylou Harris will release her new album on Nonesuch Records, Hard Bargain, on April 26th. Emmylou wrote 11 of the 13 tracks including song tributes to Gram Parsons ("The Road") and the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle ("Dear Kate").

The project included just three musicians - Emmylou, producer Jay Joyce, and Giles Reeves - however, it's not a stripped-down album. To promote the album's release, Emmylou will appear on The Late Show with David Letterman on April 27th.

2011 Country Music Hall of Fame Class

The Country Music Association revealed the 2011 inductees for the Country Music Hall of Fame today.



Bobby Braddock, Jean Shepard and Reba McEntire will be the latest inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame

Bobby Braddock is inducted in the Songwriter category. He has been writing hit songs in Nashville for half a century. Some of his classics include "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and "He Stopped Loving Her Today," and some of his more modern hits are "I Wanna Talk About Me" and the recent "People Are Crazy."

After moving to Nashville in 1964, Braddock became the piano player for Marty Robbins. He released three major label albums and also performed in Country Music-themed movies. He also added his talent as a producer, working on Blake Shelton’s first five albums.

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Jean Shepard is inducted in the Veterans Era.

She is often called The Grand Lady of the Grand Ole Opry, as she has been a member of the Opry for over 50 years. Jean had 44 charted hits between 1953 and 1978, including her first hit, "A Dear John Letter", which was a duet with Ferlin Husky.

Some of Jean Shepard's hits include: "Twice the Lovin’ in Half the Time", "Don’t Fall in Love With a Married Man", "The Root of All Evil (Is a Man)", and "The Other Woman". She also joined the cast of Ozark Jubilee on ABC TV.

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Reba McEntire is a Modern Era inductee to the Hall of Fame

Reba started out her career a bit slow, but things began to soar for the Oklahoma redhead by 1984, when she won the CMA Female Vocalist of the Year award for the 1st of 4 consecutive years. Two years later, she joined the Grand Ole Opry and was also named CMA Entertainer of the Year. In her music career, Reba has sold more than 55 million albums worldwide, and to date has achieved 35 No. 1 singles. She has also received 6 CMA Awards, and 2 Grammy Awards.

Reba's talents broadened to acting on the big screen (Tremors), the small screen (her own sitcom, "Reba"), and even the Broadway stage (Annie Get Your Gun).

Songwriter Hall of Fame Inductees

Garth Brooks, Leon Russell, John Bettis, Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly and Allen Toussaint will become the newest members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization’s 42nd Annual Induction and Awards Dinner. The event is set for Thursday, June 16 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

Certified by the RIAA as the No. 1 selling solo artist in U.S. history, Brooks has sold more than 128 million albums and is the only solo artist in RIAA history to have six albums top the 10 million mark. As a songwriter his credits include “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “The Thunder Rolls,” “Unanswered Prayers” and more.

Fellow inductee Leon Russell has been busy collaborating with Elton John. His songwriting credits include “A Song For You,” “This Masquerade,” ” Delta Lady,” “Tight Rope,” “Bluebird,” “Back To The Island,” and “Hummingbird.” He will also be honored with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s first Award for Musical Excellence in March.

Other inductees include John Bettis, who has written songs that have sold more than 250 million records worldwide such as “Human Nature” and “Crazy For You;” musician, songwriter and record producer Allen Toussaint, who wrote songs “Yes We Can” and “Working in the Coalmine;” and Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly who co-wrote five No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, including “Like A Virgin,” “True Colors,” and “Eternal Flame.”

BANDIT RECORDS RELEASES NEW GEORGE JONES ALBUM

Nashville, TN – BANDIT RECORDS is proud to release the first new GEORGE JONES material in over 5 years. “I Ain’t Ever Slowin Down” written by Al Anderson and Stephen Bruton and “ I Should Have Called” , written by Eddie Raven are both featured in a new compilation called GEORGE JONES: HITS. Both new songs were produced by Jones’ long time producer, Keith Stegal, in 2006 and are included on BANDITS newest release. Also featured on the album are some of GEORGE’S biggest and most iconic hits such as , “The Window Up Above”, “Take Me”, “The Grand Tour” , “White Lightin” , his signature song “He Stopped Lovin’ Her Today” as well as gems like “ Hell Stays Open All Night Long” and “If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)”.


Once again, even in his later years, Jones’ vocals continue to amaze and evoke an emotional response as strong as his classic hits have over the last 6 decades. Retailing for $11.99, sold exclusively at Wal*Mart, the 24 song compilation will be released on Feb. 15th.

Jones, a Country Music Hall of Fame member, has had a chart appearance in each of the last seven decades (50’s through ‘10s) and extends his lead for the most chart appearances of all time to 166 titles and his chart span to 55 years, three months and one week. Jones is added to a short prestigious list of acts to chart in seven decades, previously achieved by only Eddy Arnold and Elvis Presley

Chris Young celebrates three consecutive #1s

Three times the charm for Chris Young celebrating his third consecutive No. 1 single. “Voices” from his sophomore CD, The Man I Want To Be has reached the summit a.k.a. chart heaven. Three-in-a-row is pretty sweet, but in this case it was the second go round for “Voices” which was originally released in 2008 and peaked at No. 37. Written by Young, Chris Tompkins and Craig Wiseman, “Voices” marks the second time that an artist has hit the top target after re-releasing a song. In fact, it was Randy Travis’ “On The Other Hand” that went to the top in 1986 after originally peaking at No. 67.

Young’s previous two No. 1 singles were “Getin’ You Home,” and “The Man I Want To Be.”

Chris Young was recently nominated for his first Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal and is currently on the road as part of the Rascal Flatts tour. He also has a new album scheduled for this summer. Young’s new single “Tomorrow” delivers digitally to radio this week.

Alan Jackson leaves Sony

Sony Music Nashville today announced that it and superstar Alan Jackson have ended their relationship. He was the first artist signed to the Arista roster in 1989—today under the Sony umbrella—leading to a successful partnership for more than 20 years.

According to the label’s official statement, “Sony Music Nashville wishes to thank Alan Jackson for their long association and the many hit records achieved as a result of that association. In an amicable parting, Sony confirms that Alan has delivered his final recordings to the company and wishes him well.”

“I’ve had a great run with Arista going all the way back to the beginning of my career when I signed with Tim DuBois,” explained Jackson in a statement. “I’ve gotten to work with some real great people along the way and we accomplished a lot. It just seems to me like the time may be right to change things up a bit and see what comes next.”

Jackson’s manager Nancy Russell relaunched her firm last year under the name the co-op. She has been building a team that includes former Sony exec Maurice Miner. Jackson is also represented by William Morris Endeavor.

He is gearing up for the first leg of his 2011 tour with sold-out shows in Canada, followed by his first tour of Australia. He is currently writing and working on songs for a new album.

With 50 million album sales to his credit, Jackson is a 16-time award winner at both the CMA and ACM Awards, a tally that includes three CMA Entertainer of the Year honors. He is a GRAMMY winner and has topped the country singles charts 35 times.

Blake & Reba to host ACM Awards

Blake Shelton will join Reba McEntire as co-host of the ACM Awards on Sunday, April 3rd. Reba has hosted the country awards show for over a decade.



This will mark Blake’s debut as an award show host, as he becomes the 50th host since the inception of the ACM Awards.

The 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3rd, at 7pm on CBS.