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Carrie Underwood To Be Honored With CRS Humanitarian Award

The Country Radio Broadcasters’ Board of Directors has announced 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville recording artist Carrie Underwood as the recipient of the 2014 Artist Humanitarian Award during the opening ceremonies of the Country Radio Seminar on Feb. 19, 2014.

The CRB Artist Humanitarian Award was created in 1990 by the organization’s board to honor those Country music artists who have exhibited exceptional humanitarian efforts during their career.

"In a format rich with artists that are generous with their time and talents for a wide variety of worthy causes and needs, Carrie Underwood has distinguished herself with her depth of kindnesses and commitment to making a positive difference,” stated CRS President Charlie Morgan. “We are humbled by the good work she has done and are proud to highlight her efforts by naming her Artist Humanitarian of the Year."

Carrie Underwood has embraced the precious gifts her career has delivered and chooses to give back as a part of life. She established the C.A.T.S. (Checotah Animal, Town, and School) Foundation to focus charitable efforts on her hometown community in Checotah, Oklahoma. She has been part of countless other charitable endeavors which have included work with Pedigree’s Pet Adoption Campaign, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Save The Children, trips to Africa for American Idol's “Idol Gives Back,” a USO Tour in the Middle East, celebrity fundraisers for City of Hope, and much, much more. Her recent international tour, "The Blown Away Tour,” donated one million dollars from tour proceeds to the American and Canadian Red Cross for disaster relief.

Past recipients of the annual award have included Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, Randy Owen, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Reba, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks and Charlie Daniels, among others.

The Taylor Swift Education Center Opens At The Country Music Hall of Fame

The state-of-the-art Taylor Swift Education Center opened this weekend at the Country Music Hall of Fame, thanks in part to an incredibly generous $4 million donation Taylor made to the Hall of Fame last year to fund the project.  Taylor says, “I really love that the fans have put me in a position where I feel like I can give back more.  They’ve put me in a position to do that and raise awareness for things that need attention: write a song for this or show up for that or donate money for this.”

She’s especially proud of the new Education Center because she says, “That’s a place where so many people from out of town come to visit Nashville, that’s one of the first places they go.  I want it to be beautiful and I want it to be really cool for kids to get to take field trips there and go visit.”  Taylor didn’t know about the Country Music Hall of Fame when she was growing up.  She says, “I learned all about country music through what I saw on TV and the research that I did, I didn’t really know that there was a museum you could go to see all these different outfits from all these legends.  I didn’t know that you could go to a place and see it all in person.  It’s gonna be amazing, I think, for kids to get to have a place where they can go and just learn as much as they possibly can.”

The Taylor Swift Education Center is housed on two floors in the museum and features three classrooms, a learning lab and a children’s exhibit gallery.  Plus Taylor has hinted that she would like to be involved in some of the future programs that will be offered at the center, so you never know when she may stop by.

Tyler Farr’s Country Singing Dream Becomes a Reality

Tyler Farr was headed down Broadway in Nashville when he heard his current single “Redneck Crazy” on the radio for the first time. It was only fitting, being that Farr started out singing cover songs four nights a week at Tootsies Orchid Lounge on that same street only a few years before.

Farr grew up in Garden City, Missouri, a cattle farming community with no stop lights and no more than 1,000 residents. The turning point for him in music was when his mom married Dwayne Phillips, George Jones‘ lead guitar player.

“He asked me to go out for the summer with him on the road and spend a couple weeks out there. It pretty much changed my whole train of thought,” he told Radio.com. “Seeing a legend like George Jones singing the songs he did and singing them the way he sang with passion, and telling the stories the way he did…I remember getting goosebumps and that was it for me.”

-- Radio.comhttp://news.radio.com/2013/10/11/new-music-to-know-tyler-farrs-country-singing-dream-becomes-a-reality-with-redneck-crazy/

Nashville's Who's Who At George Jones Tribute

Today, Nancy Jones revealed additional talent for what would have been George Jones’ final concert appearance in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 22, 2013 but is now a tribute to the country music legend.  In addition, “Playin' Possum! The Final NO Show” has been dubbed the official name of the event.

"The evening of George Jones songs is going to be the best musical tribute Nashville has ever seen,” says Nancy Jones.  “We have many surprises planned, and I just wish George could be here to see what we are doing for him."

The SOLD OUT tribute concert will feature performances by Brad Paisley, Martina McBride, Big & Rich, Loretta Lynn, Lee Ann Womack, Craig Morgan, Thompson Square, Ronnie Milsap, Bill Anderson and rockers Megadeth. Previously announced performers include Kid Rock, George Strait, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Alan Jackson, Dierks Bentley, Reba McEntire, Alabama, Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker, Josh Turner, The Oak Ridge Boys, Charlie Daniels, Jamey Johnson, Montgomery Gentry, Sam Moore, and others.

"George Jones had a way of putting his finger right into your wounds and letting you know, 'I understand. I know your pain.' While 'Wild Irish Rose,' may be an unexpected choice with so many great songs to choose from, it is a perfect example of Mr. Jones way of reaching inside every one of us, and making us aware that we all have pain. By far the most pain a man can endure, sadly as so many of our Vietnam Vets know, is to come home and find no one wants him. In the end, as so many do, they end their days inside of a bottle, as "Rose" knows too well," says Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine.

George Jones, often referred to as the "the greatest living country singer" was on his farewell tour titled "The Grand Tour,” when he passed away. The icon’s hits, "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair", "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes", "White Lightning" and "He Stopped Loving Her Today" will surely become standards for honky-tonk cover bands for years to come.