Ted Cruz: 'On 9/11, I Didn't Like How Rock Music Responded'

Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz stopped listening to rock and roll and took up country music after 9/11. The 44-year-old Republican Texas senator, who announced he would be running for president this week, recently fielded questions about his personality on CBS This Morning, where he revealed the change in his listening habits.

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"Music is interesting," he said. "I grew up listening to classic rock, and I'll tell you sort of an odd story: My music taste changed on 9/11. And it's very strange. I actually intellectually find this very curious. But on 9/11, I didn't like how rock music responded. And country music collectively, the way they responded, it resonated with me.

"And I have to say, it just is a gut-level. I had an emotional reaction that says, these are my people," Cruz said of country artists. "So ever since 2001, I listen to country music. But I'm an odd country music fan, because I didn't listen to it prior to 2001."

The senator did not expound on which classic rock artists lost him or which country artists he has become a fan of over the past 14 years.

Cruz also revealed his television viewing habits during the interview. "On TV, I just finished the third season of House of Cards," he said. Then, after the newscasters applauded his taste, he joked, "Fortunately, there are fewer murders in politics in real life."

He also finished a sentence for the hosts: "I should be elected president because..." His response: "because I'll tell the truth and I'll do what I said I would do."

Gayle King responded, "We shall see," to which Cruz nervously chuckled.

Cruz, who (in)famously gave a 21-hour speech, including a recitation of Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, to filibuster Obama's Affordable Care Act, announced his intention to run for president in 2016 on Monday. He is currently serving his first term as a senator. According to The New York Times, his platforms include repealing the Affordable Care Act, ending the IRS, and – in his words – "defend[ing] the sanctity of human life and uphold[ing] the sacrament of marriage."

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Tanya Tucker Preps New Album and Tour

Tanya Tucker, who burst onto the country music scene at 13 years old in 1972 – and was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone just two years later – is getting ready to release her first new music since 2009's My Turn. In a statement announcing the new LP, Tucker also announced that she's also going back on tour, following a break during which she was focused on raising her children.

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"I've taken a few years off and it is time to get back on the road. I'm really excited to perform all the hits that the fans love so much and sing a few new songs that I've been working on," says Tucker, who last year unveiled a Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit detailing her extraordinary life and career.

Tucker was named CMA Female Vocalist of the Year in 1991 (news she received while lying in a hospital bed the day her second of three children, son Beau Grayson, was born). That same year, her then-Capitol Records labelmate, Garth Brooks, was CMA Entertainer of the Year. Now 56, Tucker is mindful of the challenges that older, established artists face when trying to release new music.

"We need to get this music out," the singer told Rolling Stone Country in an exclusive interview last year. "Garth did it finally. He did what I tried to do, but I just had the wrong group of people around me. He did it the right way. But that's all a bridge over untroubled water. It depends on what part of the river you're on, what bridge you're on. I've burned a few and I've built a few. Someone told me one time that I'm part of the old that can hang with the new [artists]. 'You just might be the bridge between the two: Tanya 'The Bridge' Tucker' [Laughs]."

The "Delta Dawn" singer also noted that she still has a sense of urgency about performing, recording and ultimately succeeding in the music business, but that she also enjoys her time away from the spotlight.

"I think, 'I'm running out of time, I'm running out of time.' But, then again, I enjoy kicking back," she says of the balance between work and play. "But if I kick back too much, I think I'm lazy. I'm not doing what I should be doing. 'Oh, there's a spot right there. I need to clean that.' I had that from the beginning, 'Hey, I'm nine years old, let's get to it!' The urgency is still there but it's there in a different way. I'm more urgent to help others and in creating a better world. I know it sounds really lame but if I can use my music to help others, then that's what I'd like to do. It's about making this world a better place and trying to change things that have been wrong a long time."

Tucker's new LP is expected to be released later this year.

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Leonard Cohen Live Album 'Can't Forget' to Feature Two New Songs

A new Leonard Cohen live album, Can't Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour, will feature two tunes the singer-songwriter has not released anywhere else and two previously unreleased covers.

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New songs "Never Gave Nobody Trouble" and "Got a Little Secret" feature midway through the LP, recorded onstage and during soundchecks of his Old Ideas World Tour, and his takes on Georges Dor's Quebecois love song "La Manic" and George Jones' "Choices." The rest of Can't Forget, Cohen's second live album since the release of 2014's Popular Problems, contains many infrequently played tunes from throughout Cohen's career.

Late last year, Cohen released the LP and video release Live in Dublin, which, as the title suggests, showcases his three-hour performance at Irish capital's O2 Arena in 2013. But before that, he put out the studio album Popular Problems. The record won Album of the Year at Canada's Juno Awards, the country's analog to the Grammys, earlier this month.

In an interview with Rolling Stone around the time of Popular Problems, he explained how he knows when a song is working. "You can pretty well tell," Cohen said. "We play it for select people, like my daughter – there's a few people who aren't afraid to tell you that it isn't working. We had another song on the album, which was called 'Happens to the Heart,' which will be on the next album. It's a very good lyric, a very good tune, but we didn't nail it. So we didn't put each other on about it – not for more than a week or two."

Can't Forget is due out May 12th.

Can't Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour Track List:

1. "Field Commander Cohen"

2. "I Can't Forget"

3. "Light as the Breeze"

4. "La Manic"

5. "Night Comes On"

6. "Never Gave Nobody Trouble"

7. "Joan of Arc"

8. "Got a Little Secret"

9. "Choices"

10. "Stages"

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Eli Young Band Take 'Evolutionary Step' With New EP 'Turn It On'

Out with the old and in with the new Eli Young Band. The veteran group's new musical chapter is full of experimentation, as heard via Turn It On, their new four-song EP that finds the four bandmates working with new producers and blurring genre lines.

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"We felt like 'Turn It On' was a good transition song to introduce this next sound that we have started developing," lead singer Mike Eli tells Rolling Stone Country of the title track, which is now at country radio. "It all started developing with the new producers [Ross Copperman and Jeremy Stover] and some of the new writing. It's that new evolutionary step for the band."

Eli Young Band's last full-length, 10,000 Towns spawned their third chart-topping hit, "Drunk Last Night," and further fueled the momentum that began with their Republic Nashville debut, Life at Best, which featured the breakout hit "Crazy Girl" and the Grammy-nominated "Even If It Breaks Your Heart."

When they first started working on music for their new album, the guys admit they didn't know fans would get to hear it this soon. "We started out in the studio to cut an experiment with Ross and Jeremy," Eli says of fellow band members Jon Jones, James Young and Chris Thompson. "We went to the studio recording these four songs, originally intending to put into demos or maybe to lead into our next record, but then that's when [Executive VP Big Machine Label Group/President of Republic Nashville] Jimmy Harnen and [Big Machine Label Group SVP of A&R] Allison Jones came into the studio to listen and they fell in love with what we were doing. They decided that they wanted to fast track an EP and get a single out as soon as possible. It was exciting for us because when we've recorded albums in the past, it takes some time to get it out. We just recorded this stuff in the middle of January, and the fact that we're already out is pretty astounding to us. It's going to be fresh to us on stage when we play it live — for us and the fans too."

"When you've been making music for 15 years like the four of us together, you've got to change it up a little bit," Thompson says of the band's new sound. "The most positive change that we made was working with Ross and Jeremy. It's different than anything we've done before and that's exciting. They went in the studio with us and pulled the best out of us, really pushed us to make something great, special and new."

"Going back into the studio really reinvigorated us," Jones adds. "We are more excited than we have been that I can remember. For the most part, all of the tracks were done, the meat and potatoes were laid out in two days. Mike did some of the vocals at his house and got to go back and sprinkle stuff on afterwards, but the four of us just [recorded these songs] in two days — a really fun two days."

In addition to the title track, the EP includes three other new tunes: "Plastic," "Your Place or Mine" and "Drink You Up" — which Young deems "a pop song." "It's a little bit of a departure from where we've gone in the past, but we have always kind of flirted with pop rock and this just seemed a natural fit to us," he says, "and it's a blast to play live. We're starting out each set every night with this song."

Eli describes "Your Place or Mine" as a prequel to "Drunk Last Night" and says they had to dip back into their personal dating history to come up with lyrics about the longing and uncertainty that come with an on again/off again relationship. "We're four guys that are now happily married, and finding that moment where we were going through that [angst], we had to go back a few years," he says. "Jon and I co-wrote that with Jeremy and Ross, and we [thought back to] that moment where you're sitting with someone and you're on break, and you can't help but continuing to gravitate towards that person. Luckily Jon and I feel like we had a happy ending when it came to that, because we married those girls."

Fans will hear those new tunes this spring as the band hits the road on both Toby Keith's tour and their own headlining dates. "We've been on so many tours the last two or three years," says Jones. "It's exciting to be able to continually play dates that we can play two hour shows versus playing a 45-minute opening set. We're excited about getting down the road, doing the Eli Young Band thing."

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Watch Mickey Guyton's Roof-Raising 'GMA' Performance

Calling it "the ballad that's gonna blow you away," Good Morning America co-host Amy Robach introduced "Better Than You Left Me," the current single by Mickey Guyton, who dropped by the morning show to perform Monday. (Watch the performance above.)

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The radiant Guyton, decked out in a yellow sundress, was complimented by Robach on her big smile, with the host pointing out that the widespread critical acclaim she's received and the record-breaking success of the single, are no doubt helping put the smile on the Texas native's face.

Inspired by a difficult break-up, Guyton, one of Rolling Stone Country's Artists You Need to Know, penned "Better Than You Left Me" — with co-writers Jennifer Hanson, Jenn Schott and Nathan Chapman — during her first-ever Nashville writing session.

"This was one of those songs that just fell from the sky," Guyton tells Rolling Stone Country. "I had my final fight with my ex-boyfriend — he was trying to come back into my life after we'd been going back and forth for about four years. He just couldn't get it together, and I was telling him no. He said to me, 'Don't make me find someone else.' I couldn't believe he would say something like that! I was charged up from that conversation and went into my first co-write in Nashville…. I went through the whole relationship, and Jennifer Hanson said, 'But you know what? You're better than he left you.'"

Noting the dearth of African-American women in country music, Robach said to Guyton, "You're changing that." The singer replied that there have been a few throughout history, but country music could use more. "And more girls," she added.

Guyton's debut album is due this summer. She'll hit the road in June with Brad Paisley.

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Grand Ole Opry Celebrates 90th Anniversary

In 1925, Mount Rushmore was established, future First Lady Barbara Bush was born, and the theory of evolution went on trial in Tennessee. Also in Tennessee that year, on November 28th, to be exact, the Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting on Nashville's powerful WSM radio. On Tuesday, March 24th, the longest-running live radio show in the country will kick off a nine-month celebration of its 90th birthday with two shows at the Grand Ole Opry House, featuring Brad Paisley, Del McCoury Band and Old Crow Medicine Show, and including Western swing legends Asleep at the Wheel.

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To help commemorate the anniversary kick-off, the artists appearing on stage that night will share stories behind some of the seminal instruments and artifacts that have been a part of the venerable institution for the past nine decades. The artifacts will then become part of a backstage display at the Opry House throughout the celebration.

Among the one-of-a-kind items featured will be the fiddle played by Uncle Jimmy Thompson on the very first broadcast of what would become the Grand Ole Opry; the steamboat whistle used by Opry founder George D. Hay to introduce countless Opry broadcasts (with his cry of "Let 'er go, boys!"); and a guitar used by Opry icon Little Jimmy Dickens, who passed away at the beginning of this year. Contemporary Opry inductees, including Paisley, Darius Rucker and Josh Turner, will also be represented in the display.

As the night's two shows unfold, the Opry will also announce plans for the nine-month celebration. Florida Georgia Line, Charlie Daniels Band, Oak Ridge Boys, Racal Flatts and Reba McEntire are among the acts slated for upcoming appearances.

Originally called the WSM Barn Dance, in 1927, following a classical music program, "the Solemn Old Judge" George D. Hay spoke the line that would rename the show and rewrite music history. "For the past hour, we have been listening to music taken largely from Grand Opera," Hay announced. "From now on, we will present the Grand Ole Opry."

Originally owned by the National Life and Accident Insurance Co., WSM was housed in the company's downtown Nashville headquarters (the stations call letters were derived from the company slogan: We Shield Millions) and the first Opry broadcast took place in a tiny fifth-floor studio. As the show's popularity grew, it was staged in other venues, including the Hillsboro Theatre (now home to the Belcourt Theatre in Hillsboro Village), East Nashville's Dixie Tabernacle, the downtown War Memorial Auditorium, and from 1943 to 1974, the Ryman Auditorium, which still hosts Opry shows on occasion.

Forty-one years ago today, on March 16th, 1974, with then-President Richard Nixon on hand, the 4,000-seat Grand Ole Opry House opened. Situated next to the new Opryland USA theme park (which closed in 2007) and the still-vibrant Opryland Hotel, the Opry House sustained significant damage in the devastating flood of the Cumberland River in May 2010. Temporarily relocated to other venues throughout town, the show returned to the Opry House in September of that year.

In January of this year, the Grand Ole Opry House was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Ryman Auditorium also earned that distinction in 1971.

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Toby Keith, Eli Young Band to Kick-start SoCal Motorcycle Festival

Bikers, start your engines. Motorcycles and country music, along with a healthy dose of rock, come together at the first-ever Lost Highway Festival, May 29th and 30th in California. And Toby Keith — who sang about a rebellious preacher's daughter who clutched tight on the back of his chopper in "God Love Her" — is set to headline.

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Held in San Bernardino at the San Manuel Amphitheater, the two-day rally features a pair of centerpiece rides and a varied lineup of music. Along with Keith, kicking off his Good Times & Pick-Up Lines Tour, the concert features Texas four-piece Eli Young Band, who recently released the new single "Turn It Up." Keith is no stranger to playing for rowdy motorcycle crowds. In 2013, he headlined South Dakota's infamous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which marks its 75th anniversary this summer.

The Lost Highway Festival also recruits Southern California punk icons Social Distortion. While best known for the defiant sing-alongs "Ball and Chain" and "Bad Luck," the band, led by Mike Ness, is also rooted in Bakersfield twang. One of their most famous hits is a raucous cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." The like-minded Lucero are also set to perform, as are rockabilly stalwarts Reverend Horton Heat and Lindi Ortega, a Canadian chanteuse who embraces classic country.

In addition to the live tunes, the bike gathering includes a motorcycle show, stunt performances and an appearance by X-Games star Carey Hart. For more on the Lost Highway Festival, visit the event's website.

Keith, meanwhile, will launch his summer tour in May. Last month, the "Drunk Americans" singer was chosen for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He'll be formally inducted, alongside writers like Bobby Braddock, Cyndi Lauper and Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia, in June at a gala ceremony in New York.

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Shania Twain Sides With Swift and Bieber on 'Watch What Happens Live'

In celebration of her recently released CD/DVD, Shania: Still the One Live From Vegas, and the announcement of her final tour, Shania Twain has been making the media rounds. On Wednesday night, the pop-country powerhouse was a guest (along with former Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley) on Bravo's loosely formatted late-night talk show, Watch What Happens Live. Twain, who was decked out in black leather pants and a vintage Rolling Stones concert t-shirt beneath a black jacket, played several games during her appearance, including one that had her blindfolded and guessing the names of celebrities. She also took a tequila shot from a shotglass glued to an old wooden ski, pleaded the Fifth on working with divas and revealed the things that do and don't impress her much. In between call from viewers, she also addressed a serious question about the break-up of her marriage to producer-songwriter "Mutt" Lange. Here are four of the more revealing moments from the show:

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1. Twain's hit song and video "That Don't Impress Me Much" was referred to several times during the 30-minute gabfest. In the regular "Here's What" segment of the show, when she was asked whether several things do or don't impress her much, she revealed that a three-legged dog that can walk, Kanye West, Oprah and people living on Mars all do impress her much. Things that don't impress Shania: Breast implants and scientists who claim they can do a head transplant before 2017. ("Who needs hair?" she said).

2. When a viewer called in to ask her thoughts on the antics of her fellow Canadian, Justin Bieber, she answered, "He's young and he's got to go through all of the stuff that he goes through. I think he's a great kid and I hope Canada still loves him very much; he's a very talented guy."

Another viewer wanted to know what she thinks about her pop-country crossover artist Taylor Swift. "I love Taylor," she said. "I met her when she was younger and starting out. I think she's just finding her way . . . and I imagine she enjoys being a multi-genre artist. I enjoy being a multi-genre artist. I enjoy the mixed audience; I enjoy all the age groups. It does probably keep life interesting for her as a songwriter, as well. She gets to tap into a lot of different mindsets and emotions."

3. A reluctant Twain told Cohen she has not worked with Lange since their split, and that because her next album will be the first without him behind the board, the challenge of doing the Vegas show was a necessary precursor. "I needed to get over a different hill in my career without him before tackling an album," she said. "Now that I'm through Vegas and that was success, I built a lot of confidence."

4. In a game called "Plead the Fifth," where she could only refuse to answer one of three questions, Cohen noted that Twain's Come on Over album has sold an estimated 40 million copies worldwide and is the best selling album ever by a female artist. Asked how much money she made from the LP, the singer took a guess at $20 million.

The second question was about her 1999 appearance on the VH1 Divas special, where she shared the stage with Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estefan and Celine Dion. Asked which of them was most challenging to work with, Twain pleaded the Fifth. She may have wished she'd saved that response for the final question, however. Noting that in her 2012 memoir, From This Moment On, she addressed the collapse of her marriage to Lange, after it was revealed that he had an affair with her best friend, Cohen asked, "If you ran into her today, what would you say to her?" Thinking about it for a few seconds, Twain smiled, looked directly into the camera and answered, "I wish I'd never met you." She quickly added, however, "I can't say I would be better off because I think I've learned a lot from that. I don't regret it."

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Emmylou Harris Honored With Polar Music Prize

Country music icon Emmylou Harris has been announced as one of the two 2015 Laureates to receive Sweden's prestigious Polar Music Prize. A 13-time Grammy winner and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Harris and her fellow Laureate, acclaimed Scottish percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, will attend the gala event and receive their prizes from Sweden's King Carl XVI on June 9th at Stockholm's Concert Hall.

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"I was both surprised and honored at the news of this most prestigious award," Harris said in a statement. "[I'm] now looking forward to once again returning to your beautiful country where I was first so warmly welcomed those many years ago."

Now in its 24th year, the Polar Music Prize, often referred to as the "Nobel Prize for music," recognizes one Laureate from contemporary music and one from the classical world. Paul McCartney and the Baltic States were the first Laureates in 1992, with rocker Chuck Berry and theater director Peter Sellars the most recent recipients. Other Laureates include Dizzy Gillespie, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar and Ray Charles.

The Polar Music Prize was founded by Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, the publisher, lyricist and manager of pop supergroup ABBA, one of Sweden's most profitable exports of all time. The Prize honors "significant achievements in music and/or music activity" and endeavors "to break down musical boundaries."

Also taking place in Stockholm on June 8th, one day before the Prizes are awarded, will be the Polar Music Talks, a debate of current issues in the music industry. For the first time in the Prize's history, the Polar Music Talks will also take place in New York on April 1st.

Polar Music Prize Laureates each receive a specially designed trophy and one million Swedish Krona, a cash award equal to just under $116,000 in U.S. dollars.

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Brad Paisley to Join Jimmy Kimmel at SXSW

As he did last year, Jimmy Kimmel is taking his late-night talk show on the road to Austin for a week of broadcasts from the South by Southwest Festival. And Brad Paisley is going along for the ride.

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The "Perfect Storm" singer, who released his latest album Moonshine in the Trunk last summer, will be one of the comedian's guests in the Texas capital. Kevin Hart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and Matthew McConaughey are also tapped to appear, along with blues guitarist Gary Clark Jr., who will sit in with Kimmel's house band Cleto and the Cletones.

Kimmel stormed SXSW last year with an arsenal of gags and skits. The most skewering was a music-based edition of his ongoing "Lie Witness News," in which the onetime Man Show host asks passersby to comment on false stories. In this case, he sought their opinions on fake bands, including one brilliantly titled Neil Patrick Harassment.

Should Kimmel need a comic foil, Paisley will fit right in. The singer-songwriter is well-known for his wry lyrics and onstage pranks. On May 15th, he'll launch his Crushin' It World Tour in Camden, New Jersey, with special guests Justin Moore and Mickey Guyton. Guyton, a Texas native and one of Rolling Stone Country's Artists You Need to Know, wowed audiences at last year's SXSW while opening up for Willie Nelson and Keith Urban.

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Record Store Day 2015: Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney, U2 Plan Releases

With Record Store Day a little over a month away, its organizers have released "The List" – a collection of all the rare, curious and limited-edition items that will be available in independent music shops. Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, Paul McCartney, U2, Brian Wilson and Bruce Springsteen are among the artists with notable releases coming out on April 18th.

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In celebration of their 20th anniversary (and because Dave Grohl is this year's Record Store Day Ambassador), Foo Fighters are putting out Songs From the Laundry Room, a 10-inch containing four tracks, including demos of "Big Me" and "Alone + Easy Target," a cover of Kim Wilde's peppy new-wave hit "Kids in America" and the previously unreleased "Empty Handed." FooFightersLive has posted the release's ostensible artwork, which was featured in the U.K. magazine Kerrang!, and reports the tunes were recorded in Laundry Room Studio by Barrett Jones, who co-produced Foo Fighters' debut album. If this recording is like the album, Grohl plays all of the instruments himself.

Also notable is Cash's Koncert v Praze (In Prague—Live), which he recorded in 1983 and will be available on "Soviet red" vinyl since he recorded it behind the Iron Curtain. McCartney is putting out a re-pressing of The Family Way: Original Soundtrack Recording, his long-out-of-print 1967 George Martin–produced score to the Hayley Mills film. U2 have made a Songs of Innocence Deluxe double-LP, which features a white, die-cut gatefold cover. Brian Wilson is putting out a seven-inch of the No Pier Pressure songs "The Right Time" and "Sail Away," songs that feature appearances by fellow former Beach Boys members Al Jardine, David Marks and Blondie Chaplin (in varying configurations). And Springsteen is putting out limited-edition reissues of a handful of seven of his classic albums, including Born in the U.S.A., Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and Nebraska.

Several other artists are also reissuing parts of their catalog in interesting formats. The Doors are putting out the mono edition of Strange Days. Bob Dylan is reissuing The Basement Tapes in stereo and mono vinyl editions (signed and numbered by the Band's Garth Hudson). Jerry Garcia's 1974 solo album Garcia (Compliments) will come out on translucent green vinyl. And Willie Nelson's 1998 album Teatro will become a double-LP.

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Seven-inches will still occupy a lot of shelf space at this year's Record Store Day. Jeff Beck has a handful of classic singles that he is reissuing. The Black Keys have a split seven-inch with Junior Kimbrough featuring recordings of "Meet Me in the City." Reissues of three Kinks seven-inches will celebrate their 50th anniversary. Bob Dylan has one for his Sinatra cover "The Night We Called It a Day." And a seven-inch of the song "Touch Me I'm Dick" by the faux-grunge band featured in Singles, Citizen Dick (actor Matt Dillon with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament) will also sport the etching of a quote by Dillon's character about the song on its B side.

Elsewhere, Gregg Allman is putting out a self-titled 10-inch picture disc, and David Bowie has a "Changes" picture-disc seven-inch.

Some artists are putting out rare live recordings on vinyl. Jimi Hendrix's performances of "Purple Haze" and "Freedom" at the 1970 Atlanta Pop Festival will be on a seven-inch. Robert Plant has put together a three-song live EP, More Roar, recorded last year. A 1968 Sly and the Family Stone concert will be available on green and red vinyl. The Stooges' 1970 Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano's will come out on black-and-white splattered vinyl. And a box set of Grateful Dead's Nassau Coliseum shows in 1990 will come out on five LPs.

Finally, Metallica's No Life 'til Leather demo cassette and the Violent Femmes' Happy New Year, which features their "Love Love Love Love Love" will both be available. Although it's not listed on Record Store Day's website, Jack White is also planning on reissuing Elvis Presley's 1953 "My Happiness" acetate, for which he paid $300,000 at auction.

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Alan Jackson, Sara Evans Set for Alabama's 'Rock the South' Tornado Benefit

On April 27th, 2011, the United States experienced its worst tornado outbreak in history, with a reported 208 twisters spotted in the course of just 24 hours. The two causing the most destruction touched down in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and other nearby Alabama cities, leaving 64 people dead and more than $2 billion in property damage in the state. And though it was almost four years ago, the healing and rebuilding are still uphill battles for many.

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This summer, Alan Jackson will lead a long lineup of country stars in helping Alabama's continuing tornado recovery, when he headlines the fourth annual Rock the South music festival. Set for June 19th and 20th in Cullman, Alabama (a city 50 miles north of Birmingham that was also hit hard by a deadly tornado), the event also boasts performances by Travis Tritt, Eric Paslay, Corey Smith, Jon Pardi, Blackberry Smoke, Brantley Gilbert and Birmingham resident Sara Evans, among others. (See the full lineup here.)

"Every year this event serves as a reminder that together we can overcome and rebuild — and that we're doing it together," says Evans, whose husband, former Alabama football star Jay Barker, co-founded the festival. "Seeing everyone come together on an annual basis shows just how strong the people of this region are. Having the support of artists like Alan Jackson and Brantley Gilbert, and Pepsi as a title sponsor this year, are incredible additions to Rock the South and to our community."

To date, Rock the South has raised more than $150,000 for local charities helping tornado victims. Dierks Bentley headlined the inaugural event, followed by the Band Perry and Hank Williams Jr. in 2013, and Little Big Town with Lynyrd Skynyrd last year. Get ticket information for this year's Alan Jackson-led festivities at rockthesouth.com.

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Will Hoge Hits Big Cities on Small Town Dreams Tour

After two decades in the music business, Will Hoge knows the key to a great live show: "The magic happens in the unsafe moments," says the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter.

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So, expect the unexpected on the Tennessee native's 2015 Small Town Dreams Tour. Hoge announced cities and dates on the trek today, with his travels starting April 10th in Tallahassee, Florida, and wrapping June 7th in Uncasville, Connecticut. (See the full list of cities and dates below.)

The tour takes its name from Hoge's 10th studio album, set for release April 7th. "It is the most representative of not only who I am as an artist but where I'm from," says the singer of Small Town Dreams, which boasts his name as a co-writer on all 11 tracks. "Every song from the record is deeply inspired by growing up in Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee, and watching this area grow and change and become something that it wasn’t 25 years ago. . . As an artist, I've gone through that same transformation. So I feel like it’s literally in my blood and it all came out on this record."

The first taste of that record is the anthemic "Middle of America," which weaves together small-town characters ranging from a war veteran to a jilted girlfriend. Hoge, whose several cuts for other artists include the chart-topping "Even If It Breaks Your Heart" for Eli Young Band, wasn't initially planning on including that song on the LP, but was talked into it by producer Marshall Altman.

"I wasn't expecting to write a song for me," Hoge admits to Rolling Stone Country of "Middle of America," which he co-wrote with Jessi Alexander and Tommy Lee James. "We were just trying to write a great song, and as it went on, I started getting more and more attached to it. There's always that moment of, 'Do I want to keep this song for myself because I think it's really great, or do I want to send it to Blake Shelton and make a whole bunch of money off of it?' It’s a strange place to be, but I'm pragmatic enough to know that sometimes that's the right play."

Will Hoge, Small Town Dreams Tour Dates:

April 10th — Tallahassee, Florida

April 11th — Fort Lauderdale, Florida

April 21st — Birmingham, Alabama

April 22nd — Charlotte, North Carolina

April 23rd — Asheville, North Carolina

May 1st — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

May 2nd — St. Louis, Missouri

May 7th — Little Rock, Arkansas

May 8th — Dallas, Texas

May 9th — New Braunfels, Texas

May 16th — St. George Island, Florida

May 29th — Louisville, Kentucky

May 30th — Salem, Virginia

June 5th — Buffalo, New York

June 6th — New York, New York

June 7th — Uncasville, Connecticut

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Lee Ann Womack Preps Limited Edition Vinyl for Record Store Day

For an artist who is so deeply rooted in traditional country music that the cover of her 2005 album, There's More Where That Came From, was designed to resemble a classic country LP, doing something unique to celebrate next month's upcoming Record Store Day isn't surprising.

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Womack and her husband/producer Frank Liddell stripped things down to collaborate at their home studio with legendary guitarist/producer Richard Bennett on a one-day session that yielded three tracks for a limited edition 12-inch vinyl release, Trouble in Mind. In addition to the iconic blues tune that serves as the title track, Womack unearthed a rare Roger Miller-penned gem called "Where Have All the Average People Gone," and pays homage to bluegrass stalwart Ralph Stanley with the gospel number "I've Just Seen the Rock of Ages."

"I love the idea of mixing things up, but stripping them back," Womack says of the wholly unadorned recordings that will be available at independent record shops on Record Store Day, Saturday, April 18th. "When you make things that basic, you can hear all the commonalities between, say, Lightnin' Hopkins and Ralph Stanley. When you make those connections, that's when it gets interesting."



The stripped-down approach also applies to Womack's The Way I'm Livin', a Grammy nominee and critical highlight of 2014's country LP releases.

"Nowadays everybody's making everything so big and bombastic, with tons of players," Womack tells Rolling Stone Country. "Frank put me in a lounge, and the musicians sat around to hear me sing acoustic, just really raw. And then instead of listening to the demo, they'd just listen to me sing it and build from there."

Another common thread between Trouble in Mind and The Way I'm Livin' is that the latter LP's opening track, "Fly," features her vocal and one guitarist (nine-time CMA Musician of the Year Mac McAnally).

"It starts the record because I looked at it as a palate cleanser," the singer says of the ethereal tune. "It's totally different from everything else that comes across your desk. It's just a lyric, a melody, a singer and a guitar."

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Pharrell Helps the Band Perry Harmonize on New Album

Pharrell Williams is doing a little country music moonlighting in the time he has off from coaching budding artists on NBC's The Voice. The hat-"Happy" music mogul has hooked up with the sibling trio of Kimberly, Neil and Reid Perry, better known as the Band Perry, to work on material for their highly anticipated third album.

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"We're being really crazy about the different collaborations that we're diving into," the group's Kimberly Perry recently told CMT After Midnite host Cody Alan. "We got to hang out with Pharrell a couple weeks ago. He's a huge country music fan, and he also really loves what we do with harmony. One thing that we worked on with him was this song where all three of us sing different interwoven vocals on the verse and on the chorus."

Perry also dispelled the notion that Pharrell's distinctive hats, like the vintage Vivenne Westwood topper he donned (and dominated social media with) at the 2014 Grammy Awards, are permanently attached to the R&B superstar's head. "He does not wear the hat all the time; he does wear Adidas all the time," she revealed with a laugh.

Pharrell is also dipping his toes in country music a bit on The Voice this season. So far, his team includes country-soul singer Meghan Linsey, formerly of the duo Steel Magnolia, and a soulful rock singer named Sawyer Fredericks, who put a unique spin on a beloved country classic, "Man of Constant Sorrow," during his blind auditions.

There's no word yet on the exact role Pharrell is playing with the Band Perry's album — co-writer, co-producer, duet partner and/or mentor. The follow-up to the group's 2013 Pioneer — which produced two Number One hits, "Better Dig Two" and "Done" — is expected to be out later this year. The Perrys are keeping fairly tight-lipped about it, but newlywed Kimberly did hint to Rolling Stone Country last year that her marriage just might inspire a tune or two.

"We're trying to have a little more romance about this new album," she said. "We are definitely ping-ponging between [touring and writing], but we're allowing more time for creative flow, too."

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Blake Shelton Continues Chart-Topping Hot Streak

Blake Shelton keeps piling up the Billboard bragging rights. The Voice coach hasn't released a song in more than five years that has not topped the magazine's Country Airplay chart. As of this week, his Number One streak is at 14 songs in a row, as his "Lonely Tonight' duet with Ashley Monroe hits the top — breaking his own record for consecutive trips to the radio-based chart's pinnacle.

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The sultry single is the Oklahoma native's 19th career Number One. His first was 2001's "Austin," and the first to start his chart-topping roll was 2009's raucous, ACM award-winning "Hillbilly Bone" duet with Trace Adkins. Gwen Sebastian has also accompanied the hitmaker to the top with their swooning ballad, "My Eyes." And Shelton's wife, Miranda Lambert stakes a bit of claim to two of those 19 hits, as she lends her vocals to Shelton's fourth Number One, "Home," and 14th, "Boys Round Here."

Expect the country superstar to stay seated comfortably in that Billboard throne for a while. He's followed by Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan for the most consecutive Country Airplay Number Ones, but those Georgia boys only have three in a row. Back in October, Shelton made Billboard history again, becoming the first country artist to top its Artist 100 chart, which is based on a combination of sales, radio airplay and social media following.

"Lonely Tonight" marks Monroe's second Number One — with her first also being with Shelton, as she joined Lambert and fellow Pistol Annie Angaleena Presley on "Boys 'Round Here" backup vocals. The singer-songwriter makes her solo comeback with the recent release of "On to Something Good," the upbeat first single from her next album, due later this year.

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Bob Dylan Has Recorded Another Album of Frank Sinatra Songs

Occasional Bob Dylan collaborator Daniel Lanois has revealed that the singer-songwriter's venture into standards might not be limited to last month's Shadows in the Night. "He came to my house eight or six months ago and spent a few hours," the producer said in a recent interview with The Vancouver Sun. "We listened to 21 songs – because he's made two records of this [Sinatra project]."

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Although the producer, who did not contribute to Shadows but previously worked on Dylan's Oh Mercy and Time Out of Mind LPs, didn't offer any other info about the album's possible sequel, he did give an account of Dylan's passion for the project. Before the singer-songwriter played any of the music for Lanois, he told him the story of how he'd grown up hearing music but not aware of what the musicians looked like, giving him a sense of mystery about the artist.

"He felt that a lot of that music was written not only by great professional songwriters at the time, but a lot of it was written from the heart, from the wartime and [by] people just pining for a lover," Lanois relayed. "He felt there was a lot of spirit in that music. He felt there was a kind of beauty, a sacred ground for him. After having said all that, we then listened to the music, and I felt everything that he talked about. For one of America's great writers to say, 'I'm not gonna write a song; I'm gonna pay homage to what shook me as young boy,' I thought was very graceful and dignified."

A Bob Dylan rep had not returned a request for comment on the status of Dylan's second record as of press time.

Dylan recently made a video for the Shadows in the Night tune "The Night We Called It a Day." The clip finds the singer battling actor Robert Davi for the affections of actress Tracy Phillips. Incidentally, Davi recorded his own album of standards, Davi Sings Sinatra – On the Road to Romance, in 2011.

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Carrie Underwood Welcomes Baby Boy

Country superstar Carrie Underwood sent her Instagram followers into a frenzy Tuesday morning with the first published photo of her newborn baby boy. She also revealed the name of the child, who is the first for the singer and her husband, professional hockey player Mike Fisher.

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A close-up image of the baby's fingers was accompanied on the social media posting by the caption that revealed the news of the birth: "Tiny hands and tiny feet...God has blessed us with an amazing gift!" Underwood writes. "Isaiah Michael Fisher — born on February 27. Welcome to the world, sweet angel!"

Although the name was kept under wraps until the Instagram post, Underwood had already revealed the baby's gender on live TV, during the 2014 CMA Awards in November. Well, actually, her co-host Brad Paisley is the one who spilled the baby beans, in a comical moment that proved to be one of the highlights of the show.

The actual reveal for the happy couple took place, however, at a private dinner. "Just the two of us in a nicer setting, but we both knew," Underwood explained to ABC in January. "So, that was just confirming our suspicions. We didn't really speak of it before, because we were both just like, 'Whatever. It's all good.' But we knew it was a boy."

There's no word yet on whether Isaiah is a family name, a biblical reference (Underwood and Fisher are devout Christians) or just a name the couple liked. But it's probably safe to say that the singer got her way over the Nashville Predator when it came to naming their son. Fisher joked with his own social media followers that he was rooting for "Fly."

Tiny hands and tiny feet...God has blessed us with an amazing gift! Isaiah Michael Fisher - born February 27. http://ift.tt/1ACcSej

— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) March 3, 2015

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