Grant Garland, Columnist
February 02, 2007 11:44 am
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Keith Urban's North American tour will hit 33 cities with 36 shows, starting in June. There's no Pittsburgh date scheduled, though a D.C. show is in the offing at the Verizon Center there. At this column's press time, only a handful of actual dates for the shows had been released with the nearest being Philadelphia (on Aug. 18). However, tickets go on sale tomorrow, so a visit to KeithUrban.net now could get some results.
The Wreckers will open the dates for Keith. Keith is set as the musical guest on Feb. 10's "Saturday Night Live" and will perform on the "Today" show Feb. 16. Meanwhile, traveling was very good for a number of country acts in 2006. Three placed in Forbe's magazine's list of the top 10 musical earners. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill made $132 million to place second overall. Rascal Flatts was third with a bounty of 110.5 million and Kenny Chesney's take of 90.1 million was good enough for sixth place. By the way, The Rolling Stones were on top of the list and Bon Jovi was eighth, helped no doubt by their country chart-topper with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, "Who Says You Can't Go Home."
Nothing's been announced officially about a Tim McGraw 2007 tour (or a Soul II Soul 3 with Faith), but his Web site is touting "2007 Pre-sale Ticket Opportunities" for "McGrawFan" and "Club SuperSoul" memberships.
* U2be: The new video for U2's song, "Window in the Skies" is a "Forrest Gump-y" treat. The idea is that the song is lip-synced and performed by a stew of music's greatest performers (instead of U2), using a little digital magic. Among the greats: Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. To view the clip, go to YouTube.com and type in a search for "U2 Window."
And by the way, if you want to hear Johnny ACTUALLY singing with U2, you can. He's featured on the Irish quartet's early '90s album, "Zooropa." The song, "The Wanderer," can also be found on a Johnny compilation, "The Legend of Johnny Cash," my buddy Steve Hall pointed out to me.
Speaking of Jerry Lee, the New York Post reports an unhappy conversation between "The Killer" and a fellow musician. Lewis had just played a set at B.B. King's in the Big Apple and the opening act, a dude named Jack Grace, asked Jerry Lee to sign his guitar. The legend demurred, saying he only signs pianos. When Grace said he'd have a tough time lugging his 88s down the stairs, Jerry Lee replied, "Well, tough luck, kid."
Meanwhile, it was the youngster dissing the legend after a recent encounter between Steve Azar and Porter Wagoner at The Grand Ole Opry. After Steve played an Opry set, Porter said, "I thought they played country music at the Opry." Steve tells the Worcester Telegram he was told to apologize to the legend, which he declined to do.
While Steve continues to open for Bob Seger, Porter's next album is due for a June release.
Singer Harry Connick Jr. also tried to grab a legend's autograph ... and got it with a little help.
Country Nation says that crooner told "Imus" that he asked George Jones to sign his boots and The Possum hesitated, until his wife told him to do it. Turns out George thought Harry wanted him to SHINE his boots.
* BUS-ted!: Crystal Gayle's tour bus went on a multi-state journey last week without the long-tressed songbird on board. A man who was described by Crystal's P.R. people as a fugitive allegedly helped himself to the bus in Tennessee last Thursday. The odyssey ended in Florida when the man was arrested after allegedly dropping off a prostitute in an area where police were conducting an undercover sting operation. After the incident, Crystal had this to say, "I am relieved that nobody was hurt. I do know that the bus must have been rocking and rolling with a prostitute on board and we'll have to do some cleaning with Clorox."
* Rhinestone Cowgirl: One of my favorites, Pam Tillis, has new music coming April. "Rhinestoned" will be her first disc in four years and the premiere release on her own Stellar Cat label. I met Pam when she played at the Rocky Gap Festival years back and she was a real sweetheart. She'd just finished a ride over Lake Habeeb and I caught up with her as she docked backstage and she couldn't have been nicer ... then, of course, security whisked me away.
* Whispers: Terri Clark has a busy 2007 planned with her new record for her new label and touring (She'll be nearby in April). As a result, she will not have a fan club party at the CMA Music Festival this year.
The Las Vegas Review Journal says Don Henley told an audience in the gambling mecca that an Eagles record of completely new music (Their first all-new effort in almost three decades) could be with us in two or three months.
* TV Land: It looks like the curtain is closing on Reba McEntire's sitcom. Showbiz trades are reporting the show will finish its six season run with a pair of new episodes on The CW Feb. 18 (Do keep in mind, though, that last year, rumors of "Reba's" demise were greatly exaggerated). The show leaves the net as its highest-rated sitcom this season.
Look for Rascal Flatts in a commercial during the Super Bowl on Sunday. It's an NFL Network spot that will also feature Janet Reno, Martha Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, LL Cool J, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and various players.
Hank Williams Jr. performs with Lynyrd Skynyrd on a post-Super Bowl edition of CBS' "Late Late Show" Sunday night. I'll have some big Hank tour news next week.
As a side note, let me mention here that if you hear a loud noise after the game if the Bears win, that'll be me shouting. It's been 21 years, indulge me, OK?
Who's the musical guest on Thursday's "Nashville Star?" It's the co-hostess with the mostess, Jewel. If we're lucky, she'll favor us with her yodeling. The show will also make judges Randy Owen and Blake Shelton pull overtime this season with musical performances. If you can't wait for Blake, he'll be playing a show at Pepsi Cola Roadhouse in Burgettstown, Pa., tonight.
Monday on "The Tonight Show," Alison Krauss and John Waite team up to perform the latter's '80s hit, "Missing You." A single version of the duet is out now and you might recall that Brooks & Dunn covered the tune a few years back. "Tonight" has Norah Jones on Wednesday night.
David Letterman has John Mellencamp on Wednesday and Patty Griffin Thursday. John heads to "Today" on Thursday and later that day appears on "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central.
Danielle Peck pops up on Speed TV's Road Tour Challenge show this month. It premieres on the 15th and then repeats often.
Mark Wills is hosting a new show on Great American Country. "The Year" unfolds every Wednesday night. The "1980-Something" singer will fast forward (rewind?) to 1998 this week.
Heads up for fans of TV's "7th Heaven." Longtime cast member Beverley Mitchell just recorded a country-tinged album in Nashville that is out now.
* Shows this Week: Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan and Danielle Peck perform at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., tonight. Riders in the Sky hit the ground at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va., tomorrow.
Grant Garland, the program director for WROG-WCMD Radio, writes a weekly country music column for the Slice of Life.
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