Carrie Underwood: All-American Idol Opry Member

Just call her the “All-American Idol Opry Member.” That’s right, Carrie Underwood, just shy of three years after winning American Idol and performing on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time (June 10, 2005), was invited to become an official member of the Opry during her performance Saturday, March 15.

Now, some people might believe it’s too soon, but I disagree. Let’s not forget recent new members Dierks Bentley and Josh Turner also were asked to join the Opry very early on in their careers. All three artists share a deep love and respect for the history of country music and the Grand Ole Opry; and, let’s face it, the Opry has to bring in younger talent to fill the seats at the Ryman and the Opry House. The three of them, most notably Carrie, are on a hot streak in their young careers, so of course the Opry management wanted them to join the prestigious cast. As new artists, all three of them are quickly earning the respect of their country music elders in the Opry, and it is safe to say Dierks, Josh and Carrie are humbled and honored to join their heroes on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Having said that, I do agree there may be some injustice in the fact that some newer members are asked to join so early in their careers, while others, like country music and Opry legend Charlie Daniels, had to wait for years before getting their due. However, I also feel bringing in new, young artists as members can help educate many young fans just discovering country music and the Grand Ole Opry through artists like Carrie Underwood.

News of the upcoming honor took the reigning CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year completely off guard. The Oklahoma native celebrated her 25th birthday March 10, and just five days later, Opry officials asked Randy Travis to come out and surprise her with the invitation to join the Opry. After her performance of Travis’ classic “I Told You So,” which is a track on her current cd, Carnival Ride, he appeared on stage and announced, “To end your birthday week, I was asked by the management here at the Grand Ole Opry to come out here and ask you if you would like to be their next member.” After he delivered the news, a visibly stunned Carrie excitedly said, “Let me think about it - Yes!” Travis then announced she would officially be inducted as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry on May 10.

Travis later said he had fun sneaking up behind Carrie and surprising her on stage. Opry Manager Pete Fisher added, “Since her Opry debut nearly three years ago, Carrie has not only created many memorable Opry moments with her numerous appearances and extraordinary talents, but she has also shown us that she shares a heartfelt connection and a commitment to country music and its rich legacy. We believe she’s going to be a very important part of perpetuating the legacy of the Grand Ole Opry for decades to come, and we look forward to May 10, when she will be formally welcomed as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.”

After the initial shock wore off, Carrie closed the show with the fitting song “Crazy Dreams,” also from her latest release. She told the audience, “This is one of the best nights of my life, and it’s certainly something I’ll never forget. And I’m glad each and every one of you were here to share it with me. This has been absolutely amazing.” Backstage after the show, Carrie proclaimed, “That was so amazing and I couldn’t have imagined it coming from a different person.” She jokingly added, “ Everybody here kept a tight lip.” She went on to say, “I grew up watching the Opry when I was little. That’s where I learned about people of the past, the present and the newcomers coming in and singing. It’s just something that’s been a huge part of country music, and it’s wonderful to think that I’m going to be a part of it.”

Iglesias Has Gone Country Thanks to CMT

The premise of CMT’s latest reality show, Gone Country, was to take seven B and C list artists from the worlds of hard rock, rap, and pop (and one Marcia Brady), throw them into a house together and see if they had what it takes to win over the country audience in Nashville.

The brainchild of John Rich, the six-episode series was filmed over a two-week period in Nashville. The performers lived together in Barbara Mandrell’s old mansion Fontanel, which is now known as the “Plowboy Mansion.” and serves as home base for Rich and his Muzik Mafia cronies. While living together, Rich gave the participants a crash course on the world of country music and the country music lifestyle by having them perform various tasks, such as cooking for his grandmother and working on Gretchen Wilson’s farm for a day. Rich also introduced them to his father and brought them to get fitted with custom Manuel suits for the final live performance of the competition.

The series also took viewers behind the scenes as the artists collaborated with some of the best songwriters Nashville has to offer hoping to write a hit song and perform it in the finale at the Wildhorse Saloon. The artists were competing for the opportunity to record their new song with Rich as producer and release it to country radio.

My initial reaction to hearing about this show was “what is CMT thinking?” And when I learned who would be participating in the competition, my first thought was “this is a huge trainwreck waiting to happen.” (For the most part, it wasn‘t, but it definitely had its moments.) Bad boy Bobby Brown, “Mr. Thong Song” Sisqo, Dee Snider, Maureen McCormick, Diana DeGarmo, Carnie Wilson and Julio Iglesias Jr. all headed to Nashville to step out of their comfort zone and try their hand at a completely different style of music in the hopes of reaching out to a large, brand new audience.

Marcia Brady, I’m sorry, Maureen McCormick, wrote perhaps the most emotional and personal song of the seven contestants. However, as the only non-performer of the group, she struggled with severe stage fright throughout the series. Her song was arguably the most “country” of the group, but the others gave it their best shot with mixed results.

The finale could not have ended with a bigger shocker. After listening intently to each of the songs and watching the artists on stage, Rich admitted to them that he had a very difficult decision to make. He told the group he was looking for the whole package, quality of the song, live performance, stage presence, crowd reaction and the indefinable “it” factor. Then, to everyone‘s shock, Rich announced Iglesias as the winner. However, no one was more shocked than Iglesias himself. I personally would not have picked him, but Rich, as one of contemporary country music's brilliant masterminds and songwriters, apparently knew what he was looking for and thought Iglesias deserved the win. The song isn’t bad, it's just not one that will do well at country radio, in my opinion. But then again, what do I know? It will be interesting to see what comes of the single at radio and on the charts.

I originally was determined not to watch this show, but as a huge country music fan, I just had to tune in to watch the crazy antics of the performers and see just how seriously they would take this challenge. While I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet they may not have a huge future at country radio, I was pleasantly surprised by just how seriously all seven participants took the competition and gave it their all to “go country.”

Hank Williams Sr.'s Legacy Still Looms Large

(Note: This is a story I wrote recently for my local paper. One of my boss' friends is a devoted Hank Sr. fan and he felt it was important to share the story of Hank Sr. and his relationship with his mentor, as well as his deep connection to Louisiana.)

Hank Williams Sr.’s legacy looms large in the world of country music, and his connection to Louisiana is legendary. He began his career on the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport before going on to a successful career in country music, eventually earning a spot in both the Country and Rock and Roll halls of fame.

February was Black History Month, and Ville Platte resident James Bellard, a self-professed, devoted Hank Williams Sr. fan, felt the story of Williams and his mentor and teacher Rufus, “Tee-Tot” Payne, should be shared. Bellard says Williams’ music has haunted him since he was seven years old, and he has been a fan ever since. He sees many connections between the prophetic lyrics Williams wrote and his tragic life, noting, “He had it rough and he never slowed down. He never forgot where he came from. He was a bright star who dimmed too soon.”

The story and inspiration of Hank Williams Sr., Bellard admits, can be beneficial to all. He says Ville Platte needs a new school, but people are not willing to help because they are worried about “what will I get in return?” He says education is very important and should not be taken for granted. He feels the story of Williams and Payne shows, if we have the tools and support, we can accomplish anything, and he hopes this story will inspire people to open their hearts and pocketbooks for the education of our town’s children and the future of our town. He adds there could be far-reaching consequences for failing to get a new school for our children. He notes there are many talented people in the area, and he would like to see them have the opportunity to pursue their musical talents. He would like to see good bands continue at high school, and he thinks it would be a great idea to start a band at LSUE with the possibility of a Hank Williams Sr. scholarship for students pursuing music.

Williams grew up in Alabama attending church with his mother, where he learned to play piano, and he was taught to play guitar by Payne, a local black street musician. Williams’ mother allowed them to practice on the front porch, which was unheard of in those days. This friendship was unusual, as both grew up in poverty and shared a strong musical connection. Williams’ mother gave her blessing to the collaboration and paid Payne with food in exchange for him teaching her son to play guitar. Bellard says, “The only advice Tee-Tot ever gave to Hank was to ‘always keep the audience’s attention,’” which he did in spades. He also notes Williams later credited Payne for giving him the only training he ever had. This was training was evident in the abundant blues influence throughout his catalog.

Williams’ main ambition was to become a successful songwriter, and many of his ideas came from comic books. Bellard says the years Williams spent in Shreveport as part of the Louisiana Hayride were the happiest of his life. He goes on to say, “It is there Hank became the first American superstar when he performed the song ‘Lovesick Blues’ on stage to six encores.” Bellard says Williams had deep ties to Louisiana and even co-wrote songs and hung out with Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis, a songwriter and singer in his own right. Williams’ son, Hank Williams Jr., was born in Shreveport, and Bellard would like to see some kind of marker along I-49 recognizing them, as well as other artists with a strong Louisiana connection.

When he was older, and after he had achieved some success, Williams searched for his mentor for 10 years to pay him back, only to learn he had died and was buried in an unmarked grave in the same Montgomery, Alabama, cemetery Williams would later be buried in at the tender age of 29 a few short years later. Bellard says Williams wrote the haunting lyrics to his favorite Williams’ song, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” about his search for Payne. The song’s lyrics include the lines, “The silence of a falling star lights up a purple sky and I wonder where you are...I’m so lonesome I could cry.” Bellard adds, “This simple, yet profound song lyric was written by Hank Williams so long ago, yet surely it rang true on the day he searched in vain for his childhood mentor.” Years later, money was raised and a nine-foot marble stone was erected to indicate Payne was buried somewhere in the cemetery.

Bellard says Williams often sang about sadness, sorrow, pain and grief. But instead of making you feel that way, his songs simply did the opposite, by making those feelings seem bearable. He adds, “Williams’ songs are so beautifully written, with a timelessness that transcends generations of time, place and audience. He sang with an eloquent, emotional forthrightness.”

Bellard goes on to say Williams was a highly religious person who was happiest when he was singing. He states Williams took Payne’s music to a place Payne couldn’t and his mentor would have been proud of him, just as Williams’ mother was. In turn, Williams helped a lot of people and received very little credit for it. Bellard gives the following example of his generosity. “Williams and his band, The Drifting Cowboys, frequented an old barbecue stand owned by blacks, and one time, as they were leaving, an elderly lady ran out to tell him he had dropped his money clip. He usually carried several hundred dollars on him and he had dropped the money on purpose as a gift.” Bellard adds, “This was just his way of sharing what he had.”

Adding to Williams’ connection to blues and black musicians, the black quartet the Southwind Singers performed at his funeral, which very few white people in Montgomery, Alabama, had at the time. This was done as a tribute to Williams’ love of black gospel and blues music.

“In Williams,” Bellard says, “music has a legend so enduring he is still the model for countless singer/songwriters.” Bellard states Williams was the first artist inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961, a tribute indicative of his impact. Williams later became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Bellard proclaims, “Legends rarely look like legends when they are being made, but Hank Williams was a legend in his own time, and it is safe to say Mr. Rufus ‘Tee-Tot” Payne has become a blues legend in our time and in our little town.”