People Country Special 2009:

Star Decorating

Tips from Josh Turner’s home that you can use this holiday season

1. Coordinate colors: “Don’t throw everything on the tree,” says Keely Anderson, who has advised Josh and Jennifer on their home décor in Nashville with her business partner Karey Morgan. “Pick a color scheme.”

2. Take on tradition: “If you pick red and green,” Morgan says, “make it a lime green. Spice it up.”

3. Size matters: “Differently scaled items help,” says Morgan, “Your eye should travel throughout the tree. One trick to help create lines? “Use floral, ribbon and ornaments all the way up to the top.”

4. Branch out: “The tree is three dimensional, so don’t hang everything on the outside,” says Anderson. “Put items that reflect light inside. You’ll get color throughout.”

Josh Turner and Baby Makes Four!

By Eileen Finan

Josh Turner’s oldest son Hampton, 3, has already picked up some of Dad’s tricks for dealing with his new 4-month-old brother. “If Colby starts crying in the car, Hampton will start singing to him to calm him down,” says Turner. “It’s got absolutely no effect on Colby but Hampton tries!” The sibling relationship isn’t always quite so harmonious, however. “Sometimes Hampton tries to pull his legs or poke his belly, and it’s like, ‘You can hurt your brother!’” But for his part, Colby seems to be taking things in stride. “He’s more laid-back and has Hampton beat in the sleeping category already,” says Turner, 31. That’s a plus for a family that’s already taken its show on the road. Turner’s wife, who sings and plays the keyboard in his band, rejoined his tour with the boys in tow in August. “We have a Pack N’Play bolted to the floor of the bus for Colby, and Hampton is in a bunk.” Turner says, “Jennifer was on the road when she was pregnant with each of them, so they sleep better on the bus than they do at home.”

Man of the House

As his family settles into its new home, Josh Turner is applying the lessons he learned from his parents to help him through second-time fatherhood.

For Josh Turner and wife Jennifer, last night was an important one. It was the first time their 3-month-old son, Colby, slept in the same room with his big brother, 2-year-old Hampton. “That was a milestone”, Josh says with a chuckle, seated in one of several rocking chairs inside the publicist calls “the man cave”- a large shed filled with lawn equipment, tools, a boat, even a John Deere tractor. “Hampton’s been a great big brother to him, he hasn’t been jealous at all. I don’t even feel like he;s had to really adjust that much.”

Indeed, Josh is discovering that second-time fatherhood offers fewer stresses and surprises than first time father-hood ever did. “Jennifer and I are both a lot more relaxed,” he says. “We’re not as frenetic. For instance, last night Colby was just crying and fussing, and because I had been through it before I could tell that the cry that he was making was tired cry. I could tell he just needed to lay down and cry it out. So I laid him down and he cried himself to sleep and he slept for almost an hour. It’s little, subtle things like that you can only get from experience.”

At this age, Colby is only now beginning to display flashes of personality. “He’s just now starting to smile at us and coo at us a little bit, which is pretty exciting for a parent to see,” Josh says. “We have a hunch that he’s gonna be our strong, outdoors type. He seems to be a little more laid-back than Hampton. Hampton can’t sit still for more than two seconds.”

A few yards downhill from the “man cave” we can see the house where Josh and hais family have lived for the last year. Their previous house was only three miles away, but the impending addition of Colby to the family and Josh’s desire for more privacy led them to look for something a little bigger and more secluded.

We came out here the first time and realized this is what we’d been looking for,” he recalls. “We bought it and did a lot of remodeling on the inside of the house and made it ours.” The neighborhood is only about 40 miles south of Nashville, but it’s a thoroughly rural setting not entirely unlike the one Josh enjoyed while growing up in Hannah, S.C—not counting the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, a marked contrast from South Carolina’s flat landscapes. “We love it out here,” Josh declares. “We’re completely surrounded by trees. There’s a train that goes by several times a day that you can hear. We just love it.”

As we speak, workers are constructing a writer’s cottage a little further from the house, a small log cabin where Josh will keep all his musical equipment and be able to write songs in a peaceful setting. It’s taken a little while to get the project going, and there’s a touch of exasperation in Josh’s voice as he describes it. “My goal right now is to get that aggravatin’ writers cottage built,” he says. “It’s taken so long.”

While he waits, many of the items that will go in the cottage are cluttering up “the man cave.” This furniture here and that big mirror and all that junk, I’m ready to get it out of here,” he says.

His impatience is understandable, given that it was Josh’s fierce passion for music that brought him here in the first place. He pursued it from Hannah to Nashville, where he went to college to study the music business at Belmont University (that’s also where he met Jennifer, who plays keyboards and sings backup behind her husband onstage.) It was during his time at Belmont that he wrote “Long Black Train,” the song that would eventually become his first hit in 2003. The intervening six years have seen his career grow from strength to strength: gold and platinum albums, even larger audiences, and even induction into the Grand Ole Opry in 2007.

Josh’s upcoming fourth album, Haywire, finds him pushing himself artistically while remaining grounded in the traditional style that first endeared him to country fans. Among the musical stretches on the album is the first single, “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” which he first heard as a demo sung by Jonathan Singleton. “I felt like it was a little funky for me,” he says. “When I first heard it, the version was so not a Josh Turner song. I just had to listen to it a while to really digest it.” When Josh lent it his subterranean baritone, of course, it became a Josh Turner song pretty darn quick.

Elsewhere on the album, songs like “I’ll Be There” address the issue of fatherhood and family directly—although Josh himself doesn’t feel that becoming a parent has changed the way he writes or seeks out songs. “Growing up, there were always young children and babies around,” he explains. “I’ve always wanted children, Jennifer has always been the same way. So being around children, or taking care of children, isn’t anything new to me. And I’m still in touch with my inner child too!” he declares with a laugh. “There’s parts of me that haven’t grown up.”

As the adult father of two he’s become, Josh is trying to bear in mind the lessons he learned from his own parents. For example, he recounts how absolutely dead-set he was against going to college after graduating from high school. “My daddy and mama said I was going to college whether I liked it or not,” he remembers with a smile. “I fought, I resisted, but looking back on it I’m so glad they made me do it. It was the right thing for me.”

It’s a lesson he says he applied only yesterday. “We kept asking Hampton what he wanted, and he kept going back and forth,” he says. “Finally I put my foot down and said ‘OK, this is what we’re going to do,’ because I knew it was the best thing for him. He just pitched a fit. He cried his eyes out and ending up getting a spanking. I felt bad at first, but later on that day I thought, ‘You know what? I did the right thing. Part of my job as a parent is to do right by him whether he likes it or not.’”

It’s all in the service of helping his sons to grow up feeling loved and supported the way he did and giving them the confidence to thrive when they grow up.

“I want them to follow their own dreams,” he says—and those dreams don’t have to be musical ones their parents successfully pursued. “Lately we’ve allowed more pictures to be taken of them than usual, but that’s because we’re proud of our family, we’re proud of our children. Having their picture taken and put in a magazine here and there is not our way of saying ‘You need to follow in my footsteps.’ I don’t expect them to be like Mommy and Daddy. That’s one thing that I’m not ever going to encourage—unless they come to me and say ‘I want to be a country singer’ or ‘I want to be a songwriter.’ If that’s the case, I’m going to support them.

“I’m just going to push them to be the best that they can be.”

What’s in a Name?

Josh and wife Jennifer put a lot of careful thought into the names of their two sons. Josh explains how Hampton Otis Turner, who’s almost 3, and Colby Lynch Turner, 3 months, came by their monikers:

Hampton:

“Hampton came from General Wade Hampton, who was also South Carolina’s governor and served in the United States Senate. He was born into a very wealth family and ended up dying a pauper because he lost most everything he owned fighting for what he believed in. He was a great Christian man, one of my big heroes.”

Otis:

“Otis was the middle name of my great-granddaddy, my daddy’s middle name is Otis, my middle name is Otis, and so Hampton’s the fouth Otis in our family.”

Colby:

“Colby’ means a coal miner’s settlement. We felt that name fit him—not because we thought he was going to grow up to be a coal miner, but because we felt in our heart and our spirit that Colby was going to grow up to be a really hard worker, that he was going to work with his hands and be really strong, be an outdoorsy type. Colby’s a name we really liked. We felt like it was different, but not so different that it was weird.”

Lynch:

“Lynch came from Lynches River, which is the river I grew up on in South Carolina. We shortened ‘Lynches’ to ‘Lynch.’”

This year, music fans will enjoy an early holiday gift with the October 6 release of Now That’s What I Call A Country Christmas. This music-packed stocking stuffer comes on the heels of the multi-platinum NOW Christmas series of double CDs, and the chart-topping success of NOW That’s What I Call Country Volumes 1 and 2.

For the first time, this double-disc set includes 29 of the most beloved holiday favorites from country greats like Elvis and Johnny Cash, alongside current country stars like Kenny Chesney and George Strait, making this the perfect holiday gift for the entire family.

NOW That’s What I Call A Country Christmas is the newest of the world’s best selling multi-artist album series, NOW That's What I Call Music! The Now series is collectively responsible for sales of 73 million albums in the U.S. over the last 10 years. Every album in the series has reached the Billboard Top 10, and is the only non-soundtrack, multi-artist collection to reach #1 Billboard status on the Billboard Top 200 Album Sales Chart.

NOW That’s What I Call A Country Christmas Track Listing

DISC ONE

Darius Rucker Winter Wonderland

Brad Paisley Away in the Manger

Julianne Hough Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

George Strait Joy to the World

Lady Antebellum It's Cold Outside

Brooks and Dunn I'll Be Home for Christmas

Luke Bryan Run Run Rudolph

Josh Turner The First Noel

Kellie Pickler Santa Baby

Trace Adkins It's Christmas

Little Big Town Go Tell it on the Mountain

Lee Ann Womack The Man With the Bag

Taylor Swift Christmases When You Were Mine

Kenny Chesney Silver Bells

DISC TWO

Gene Autry Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Elvis/Martina McBride Blue Christmas

Merle Haggard Jingle Bells

Vince Gill O Little Town of Bethlehem

Alison Krauss Shimmy Down the Chimney

Reba McEntire Up On the Housetop

Glen Campbell O Holy Night

Tanya Tucker What Child Is This

Alabama Christmas In Dixie

Brenda Lee Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Kenny Rogers Kentucky Home Made Christmas

Dolly Parton Hard Candy Christmas

Amy Grant A Christmas to Remember

Johnny Cash Silent Night

Burl Ives Holly Jolly Christmas

Josh Turner turns into dancing star

By Jessica Cornett
August 12, 2009

After two years since his last album, "Everything is Fine", Josh Turner fans are excited to hear that he has recorded new material for an album to be released this fall. The album title is "Haywire" and the first track released is "Why Don't We Just Dance," co-written by Jonathan Singleton, Jim Beavers and Darrell Brown. Jonathan Singleton has been playing the song while on the road touring with his band, the Grove.

Josh Turner excels on the vocal performance with the guitar riff right off the bat. It is a challenge with the structure of high and low notes, but Turner handles it with ease. It is reminiscent of his vocals with "Your Man." The song itself is well written perfect for two stepping with your partner with the bouncing tune. It will make you dance in your chair or in your car with the upbeat notes.

Turner has grown over the years since he first debut with "Long Black Train" in 2003. Since then, he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2007 and has received several awards for his achievements. Fans in Kentucky have enjoyed his shows over the years as they were guaranteed to sell out wherever he performed. Josh and his wife Jennifer welcomed their second son, Colby Lynch Turner, in June.

The song is currently available to preview on Roughstock's website. On August 19, “Why Don’t We Just Dance” will be available for streaming at www.joshturner.com and www.umgnashville.com. On August 25, the digital e-single will be available for purchase at iTunes and all other digital partners.

DISClaimer

By Robert K. Oermann

The stars are twinkling so brightly that I am temporarily blinded. That is to say, I simply can’t make up my mind. Should I choose the hearty male country vocal? What about our teen-queen sales champion? And then there’s the refreshingly rocking group performance.

All three qualify for a Disc of the Day prize, yet they’re all quite different musically. So I’m copping out and giving a male, female and group award to Josh Turner, Taylor Swift and Jypsi, respectively.

JOSH TURNER
Why Don’t We Just Dance
Writer: Jim Beavers/Jonathan Singleton/Darrell Brown
Producer: Frank Rogers;
Publisher: Sony-ATV/Beavertime Tunes/CrosstownUptown/Kobalt/Grey Ink, BMI/ASCAP; MCA Nashville (CDX)

—This is a nice little groover of a romantic come-on. His voice retains a wondrous, burnished glow that makes even the simplest of sentiments sound profound. I remain a huge fan.

Band: JOSH TURNER
Album: Why Don't We Just Dance "Single"
Label: MCA Nashville

By: Jeff Kurtis

Josh Turner isn’t an artist that is really in need of any introduction. His deep voice attracted the older generation of country music fans when he belted out “Long Black Train” on The Grand Ole Opry stage and captivated the female fan base when he gave country music “Your Man.” In the past 4 years he has found six consecutive top 20 singles in his career and is set to try and grabbed his seventh with “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” the first offering from his forthcoming album Haywire. With the same sexiness he showed in his lyrics on songs like “Firecracker” Turner pulls you into the mid-tempo song with a boogie-woogie type sound that gets your feet tapping. The lyric asks his woman to turn the TV off and just dance the night away starting in the living room and eventually bouncing down the hallway and into the bedroom. He paints the perfect picture in the second verse as he takes you into the living room talking about moving the furniture in the small room to make it the perfect size for what he is asking for. The song isn’t quite as sexy as some may want from Turner, but it continues to show his fun side a bit more with a sound backing the lyric that allows you to bounce right along. This is a playful and fun Josh Turner and is a solid introduction to his new album.

Josh Turner - "Why Don't We Just Dance"

By: Ten Pound Hammer
August 12, 2009

Josh Turner has one of the finest bass-baritones in country music. Unfortunately, he doesn't always pair that voice up with material worthy of his voice, often settling for the middle of the road with decent but not great songs such as "Another Try" or "Everything Is Fine." Both of these had slight lyrical deficiencies that not even his voice could hide — and maybe such deficiencies are why those two singles seem to have killed off his chart momentum. This time around, however, he has a rock-solid song that should kick his career back into high gear.

"Why Don't We Just Dance" is a bouncy little up-tempo that's perfectly matched to its simple yet effective storyline: The world's in a mess, so let's forget our troubles, move the couch, and just dance. We may not be good at it, but by God, we're gonna have some fun. This theme has been done at least once before (does anyone else remember Turner Nichols' "She Loves to Hear Me Rock"?), but it's hard to resist a feel-good song like this, especially when it's got such an infectious, syncopated rhythm and a catchy melody that shows off the deeper end of Josh's range quite effectively. At times, he recalls the seductive swagger of Conway Twitty, which has also been channeled recently through songs such as "Just Got Started Lovin' You" and "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)."

While Josh Turner's career of late has been a case of one step forward, two steps back, "Why Don't We Just Dance" is definitely a step in the right direction. The last time around, he sent the equally fun "Firecracker" to #2, so leading off his next album with an up-tempo may be a wise decision. If he can string together a few more songs of this caliber, he should be able to regain his lost momentum quite easily.

Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, Jamey Johnson light up WGAR Country Jam

By Chuck Yarborough
September 13, 2009

The WGAR Country Jam has reached the age of suffrage, and the vote is in: The sun-splashed bash on Saturday at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea was the best in its 18-year life.

Josh Turner's deep bass was a fitting capper to Saturday's WGAR Country Jam.

In most years, the daylong Jam has had fading or B-level artists at its top and one or two potential stars elsewhere on the ballot, er, bill. With one exception - vocally bumbling John Michael Montgomery - the 2009 incarnation is a winning ticket, from opening act Lawless (Cleveland's own country band) to co-headliners Blake Shelton and Josh Turner. Heidi Newfield, Jake Owen, Emerson Drive and the absolutely fantastic Jamey Johnson rounded out the lineup.

DealerBrad Mates and his Emerson Drive bandmates returned to the WGAR Country Jam for the first time in nine years ... and were welcomed back like long lost brothers.

Shelton is a 6-foot-4 Oklahoma party who managed to crowd 17 songs - including a well-choreographed and executed classic rock medley by a "fired'' guitar tech Mark Ramsey - into a short hourlong set.

Blake Shelton, billed as the co-headliner of Saturday's WGAR Country Jam, proved an able showman in a frenetically paced but fun one-hour set.

Until he starts playing, it's easy to forget just how many hits Miranda Lambert's boyfriend has had in his brief, eight-year career. "The More I Drink, "Country Strong,'' "The Baby,'' "Playboys of the Southwestern World,'' "She Wouldn't Be Gone'' all were delivered with the passion, fire, enthusiasm and musicianship of brand-new songs. Even that first single, "Austin,'' the story of a woman who realizes what a mistake she made in leaving the man who loved her, sounds as fresh today as it did when a baby-faced, curly-mulleted Shelton first sang it.

Turner was last to the stage, and by normal standards that would make him the headliner. It's an office he filled with ease. His rumbling bass, which starts somewhere near Cape Horn and goes south from there, remained pitch-perfect and strong throughout hits like "Firecracker,'' "White Noise'' and "Backwoods Boy.'' "Why Don't We Dance,'' a new tune off an as-yet-untitled album due out in January, showed off his vocal flexibility, shifting from octave to octave faster than a politician at an ethics hearing.

Some of Newfield's better tunes were from her days with ex-bandmates Keith Burns and Ira Dean, specifically "Pour Me,'' "Just What I Need'' and "Cry, Cry, Cry.'' But "Knocked Up,'' off her first solo disc provided evidence that she's not just a one Trick Pony (sorry, couldn't help myself). And she may be one of the best harp players in the business. It'd be interesting to see her go up against Mickey Raphael from Willie Nelson's band, or Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Jamey Johnson, who wrote George Strait's epic "Give It Away,'' is as good a singer as he is a writer. It was like listening to a 2009 version of Merle Haggard.

The Jam has a history of presenting stars before they're stars. Rascal Flatts, Phil Vassar, the Dixie Chicks and a few others are in that category. This year's installment is Jamey Johnson. The Dixie-born Johnson looks like a Matthew Brady photo of a 25th Alabama Infantry Civil War soldier. But man, you should've seen him "In Color.'' His voice, his songs, his delivery, his stage presence, everything just screams star. It's not fair to say that his set was worth the price of admission; it IS fair to say it was worth twice that. Lyrics like "What the hell did I do last night? / That's the story of my life. / Like tryin' to remember words / To a song nobody wrote,'' which come from "That Lonesome Song,'' prove Johnson isn't a songwriter; he's a poet who writes in 4-4 time.

Josh Turner – “Why Don’t We Just Dance”

By Juli Thanki
August 24th, 2009

Josh Turner is blessed with one of those rich voices that can sing just about anything and make it sound great (“Trailerhood” being the exception that proves the rule). In the past four years, he’s chalked up six consecutive top 20 singles, and his newest, from upcoming album Haywire (scheduled to drop in November), looks like it will continue his streak.

Remember Neal McCoy’s 1995 smash “They’re Playin’ Our Song?” “Why Don’t We Just Dance” is its more energetic cousin. Here, Turner is simultaneously playful and earnest in a manner that’s reminiscent of his cover of “One Woman Man” and his fastest rising single to date, “Firecracker,” as he asks his woman to turn off the television and start cutting a rug with him.

With a boisterous barroom piano and fiddle arrangement, “Why Don’t We Just Dance” is catchy enough to inspire a listener or two to boogie on down to the tune of Turner’s cajoling: “This little bitty living room ain’t gonna look like much/But when the lights go down and we move the couch it’s gonna be more than enough/For my two left feet and our two hearts beating/Nobody’s gonna see us go crazy/So, baby, why don’t we just dance.” It’s three minutes of escapist fun, and Turner’s charming performance on the track is further proof that he’s one of country music’s most talented young A-listers; this may not be the greatest vocal turn of his career but it’s still a pleasure to listen to.

Welcome back to country radio, Josh. You’ve been missed.

Multi-platinum recording artist Josh Turner recently shot the music video for his hit single “Why Don’t We Just Dance” with award-winning directors Robert Deaton and George Flanigen. The video takes the viewer on a trip through time. “We actually start in the 1950s and work our way through to the present,” says Turner. “I thought it was a great concept because it shows that the song has a timeless message. Every decade has had its hard times and sometimes it’s good for people to step back and say, ‘Why Don’t We Just Dance?’ Let’s forget about the bad news and just focus on each other.”

Turner’s favorite decade that is featured in the video is the ‘80’s. “I laughed out loud when I saw the dancers’, (Ciaran McCarthy and Ashley Anderson who are married in real life), wardrobe for the 80’s scene. It brought back a lot of memories.”

The music video will world premiere on GAC’s Monday Music Mania on October 5 at 8PM ET.

“Why Don’t We Just Dance” is the debut single from Turner’s forthcoming album, Haywire, to be released on February 9, 2010. The song currently holds the #34 position on R&R/Billboard and Mediabase/Country Aircheck charts.

Josh Turner Shares His Favorite Country Classic Song on opry.com

While it’s difficult if not impossible to define a country classic, what’s not nearly as problematic for fans or for country artists is to name a personal favorite country classic. In celebration of the fall return of Opry Country Classics, opry.com asked a few country artists to share with us their personal favorites—no matter how they define “classic.” Ever wondered which song Josh considers his favorite country classic? Check out the opry.com’s What Makes a Classic Country Song? cover story and see.

The song will be available to radio stations across the country Wednesday, August 12 at NOON CT via PLAY MPE. “‘Why Don’t We Just Dance’ caught my ear from the very first listen,” says Turner. “It’s an up-tempo, traditional country song that has a very catchy melody with a lyric that poses the question ‘why don’t we just dance?’ and forget about all of the bad stuff going on the world and just concentrate on each other.” The

single was written by hit songwriters Jim Beavers, Jonathan Singleton and Darrell Brown.

On August 19, “Why Don’t We Just Dance” will be available for streaming at www.joshturner.com and www.umgnashville.com. On August 25, the digital e-single will be available for purchase at iTunes and all other digital partners.  CLICK HERE to listen now. 

In addition, Turner is proud to announce that Ashley Poston is the first recipient of the Josh Turner Scholarship Fund. She is a 2009 graduate of Hannah-Pamplico High School in Hannah, SC. Turner wanted the first scholarship recipient to be a graduating senior from his alma mater because he knows the extent of the needs there. “Growing up in rural South Carolina, I attended a small school,” says Turner. “In fact, there were only 75 people in my graduating class. And that translated into ‘not a lot of opportunities’ when it came to music. My goal for this scholarship fund is to create opportunities for students who want to pursue an education within music or the arts. ”

Josh Turner Kicks Off NSAI Benefit Series

Nashville Songwriters Association International’s “It All Begins With A Song” Performance Series is set to kick off with Josh Turner on Wednesday July 22^nd at the Wildhorse Saloon. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. with the show beginning at 7:30 p.m. The event will benefit the NSAI’s legislative efforts.

Josh Turner, a successful songwriter himself, has had two certified platinum albums and in just four week, his current project, Everything Is Fine, was certified Gold.

NSAI President and Grammy-nominated songwriter Steve Bogard said, “On behalf of all American songwriters NSAI is extremely grateful to Josh for helping launch what will be a permanent series supporting the work we do. NSAI was founded as an advocacy organization for songwriters. In recent years the organization’s work has increased the value of and the respect for songwriters’ copyrights and helped secure the growth of future royalties.”

Tickets for NSAI’s “It All Begins With A Song” are available via www.ticketmaster.com and the Wildhorse Saloon. General Admission tickets are $20, Reserved Seating tickets are $35, and there are a limited number of $75 tickets available that include a Meet & Greet with Turner.

Saturday night at LP Field

BY PETER COOPER • THE TENNESSEAN • JUNE 13, 2009

Josh Turner opened the evening with a subtle, stand-and-sing set that accentuated his deep voice and amiable, low-key stage presence. Turner began with the up-tempo “Firecracker,” and he and his band then delivered “Your Man,” “Everything Is Fine,” “Long Black Train” and “Would You Go With Me.”

Country Weekly

June 22, 2009

DRAFTING PARTNERS – Josh Turner and NASCAR’s Ryan Newman share the GAC spotlight.

Josh Turner freely admits to having had a slight “lead foot” problem in his younger days back in rural South Carolina, where he grew up a fan of Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison and other racing legends. But he’s never come close to going the speed his new buddy, NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, did the day Josh joined Ryan at the Texas Motor Speedway in early April as part of GAC’s newest one-hour series, Drafting Partners.

The show gives country and NASCAR stars a chance to spend the day in the other’s world, getting a behing-the-scenes perspective most fans only dream of.

“I got the speeding problem out of my system a long time ago,” laughs Josh. “But it was great getting to know Ryan, watching him run laps during practice, then come back in the shop in the garage and tweak the car.”

One thing that truly impressed Josh, who listened in on headphones as Ryan communicated with his crew during practice laps, was how very knowledgeable the drivers have to be about “automechanics, how these care are put together, how they function, how they drive out on the track. They’re smart, too,” explains Josh. “They have to be able to express to their crew exactly how the car is driving and what needs to be tweaked.”

“That’s what we get paid to do,” responds Ryan. “It’s like Josh tunin’ a guitar. I couldn’t tune one. I might be able to get it close. And he might be able to drive a car at 150 [mph], but 200 is a different deal.”

So, will Ryan go willingly if Josh invites him onstage for a song when Ryan gets to spend time in Josh’s world at the Opry later in June?

“I’ll put up a serious fight!” jokes Ryan.

The GAC episode featuring Josh and Ryan airs June 14 at 9 p.m. ET, and will have encore airings. CW

STORY BY DAVID SCARLETT

June 2009

The Family Man

JOSH TURNER

Age: 31 Status: Married since 2003 to keyboardist Jennifer

Fans can’t get enough of Turner’s baby blues and sexy scruff, but wife Jennifer finds the singer at his most irresistible when he’s just being himself. “He’ll have our little boy out in his workshop and be teaching him, and to me that’s sexy because he’s spending time with the person we made together,” she says. Adds Josh: “I love sitting around with the guys, telling hunting stories, talking guy things. But that’s not the measure of a man. Honest, integrity, being true to yourself – that’s a man.”

By JOHN GEROME AP Entertainment Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Barbara Mandrell, Roy Clark and Charlie McCoy were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday in an at times emotional ceremony that saluted them for their music as well as their contributions to bringing the genre to a mass audience through television.

"All three of tonight's inductees looked at the way country music was presented on television and said: 'We can make this even better. We can present country music to a mainstream audience with respect, love and humor," said Tammy Genovese, the Country Music Association's chief executive officer.

Clark co-hosted the TV show "Hee Haw" with Buck Owens for more than two decades. Mandrell joined sisters Louise and Irlene to host "Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters" on NBC in 1980.

Mandrell, 60, gave special thanks to her late father and longtime manager, Irby Mandrell, who died in March at age 84. She said she was grateful her father lived to hear of her pending induction.

"Irby Mandrell was my manager as well as being my Daddy over my 38-year career. He taught me and guided me and directed me. It is his name, Mandrell, that I am blessed to have, and it's the gracious loving public and the fans that made that name known and made it become popular," she said in her emotional speech. "So tonight I thank you with my entire being for putting my and my Daddy's name into the Hall of Fame."

The three were honored in a tribute that included performances by Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, George Jones, Alison Krauss, Josh Turner, Michael McDonald, Rodney Crowell and others. With the inductions, the Hall of Fame now has 108 members.

Mandrell began her professional career in California when she was 11. She made her national TV debut on ABC with Red Foley's "Five Star Jubilee." Her first concert tour was with Johnny and June Carter Cash, Patsy Cline and Jones.

She charted her first single in 1969, a remake of Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long," and went on to have a long run of country hits including "Midnight Oil," "Married But Not to Each Other," "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" and "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool."

At the height of her career, she acted in TV shows like the "The Rockford Files" and in 1980 joined her sisters to host their show that drew 40 million viewers a week and broadened her exposure beyond country music.

"I adore you with all my heart. You are my other big sister," McEntire told Mandrell. "I thank you for the things you taught me, not only musically but spiritually.

"And before I start balling like a baby, I'll start singing," McEntire said as she began "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" with Jones.

Evident of Mandrell's diverse catalog, bluegrass great Krauss sang "The Midnight Oil," and McDonald gave a bluesy take on "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," originally a soul song that Mandrell made into a No. 1 country hit. Her sister Louise sang "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed."

For Clark, guitarist Duane Eddy picked a rumbling rendition of the instrumental "Ghost Riders in the Sky," one of Clark's signature tunes. Josh Turner performed "Thank God and Greyhound." Brooks, who, like Clark, is from Oklahoma, said Clark inspired him to pursue his dream and described the entertainer as "a man who never stopped being a man from where he was from."

The 76-year-old humorist, singer and musician got his start on Jimmy Dean's TV show "Town and Country Time" and took over the show when Dean left. He moved to Las Vegas in 1960 and became a regular at the Golden Nugget. Later, he toured and recorded with Wanda Jackson and was a regular at the Frontier Hotel in Vegas.

In the '60s he had top 10 hits with "Tips of My Fingers" and "Yesterday When I Was Young." He also broke into TV, appearing on "The Tonight Show" and "The Jackie Gleason Show" and playing recurring characters on the "Beverly Hillbillies."

But Clark's biggest break came when CBS developed a country version of the comedy series "Laugh-In" and picked him and Owens to co-host beginning in 1969.

Hall of Fame Director Kyle Young called 1969 a banner year for country music on television with ABC's "The Johnny Cash Show," CBS's "Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" and the "least likely to succeed music and comedy show called 'Hee Haw.'"

"Hee Haw?"

"At the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, a show called Hee Haw?" Young joked.

But the show ran for 25 years and helped make Clark and Owens two of the most recognizable figures in country music.

"We love you Roy Clark. We love you," Grand Ole Opry star "Little" Jimmy Dickens told Clark as he formally inducted him into the hall. "Everytime you hit the stage you update country music 10 years, and that's what it's all about."

An emotional Clark said it was humbling to be mentioned alongside many of his musical heroes.

"Just to be associated yourself with the members of the Country Music Hall of Fame and imagine that your name will be said right along with all the list ... ," he said.

True to form, Clark entertained with a couple of humorous stories and a song, "Yesterday When I Was Young."

Crowell led a harmonica-heavy rendition of Roy Orbison's "Candy Man" for McCoy, 68, a multi-instrumentalist best known for his harmonica work.

McCoy's first session was "Candy Man" in 1961. Since then, he's recorded with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Gordon Lightfoot, Paul Simon, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Tanya Tucker and many more.

"Well, I never really cared for harmonica or harmonica players until I heard Charlie McCoy," said Harold Bradley, a veteran session guitarist who formally inducted McCoy. "Charlie has taken harmonica playing to a whole different level. It's not just his great technique, it's his interpretation of many musical styles, from bluegrass, country and rock 'n' roll to a Hugo Montenegro album with strings and French horns."

McCoy, who continues to record and perform, said when he first arrived in town he wanted to be a singer and didn't know what a "session" was. But he learned fast watching a teenage Brenda Lee record "Sweet Nothin's" with Nashville's top studio musicians, known as the "A Team."

"When I watched those Nashville A Team musicians work I said 'To heck with singing, I want to do this,'" McCoy recalled.

Music City, Inc. today announced the sixth class of inductees to the Music City Walk of Fame, presented by founding sponsor Gibson Guitar: Dr. R.H. Boyd, Cowboy Jack Clement, Mike Curb, Marty Stuart, Josh Turner and CeCe Winans. The honorees will be recognized officially with the unveiling of commemorative sidewalk markers on Sunday, April 19, beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Park in downtown Nashville. The induction ceremony, which is sponsored by Great American Country (GAC), is free and open to the public.

The Music City Walk of Fame is an official project of Music City, Inc., the charitable foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCVB), and is produced with the support of presenting sponsor Gibson Guitar and sponsors GAC, the City of Nashville and Metro Parks.

“It’s a privilege to honor the great accomplishments of this impressive class of inductees,” said Butch Spyridon, president of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Each honoree represents the immense talent, creativity and diverse musical styles that have made Nashville, Music City.”

Created in the fall of 2006, the Music City Walk of Fame, on Nashville’s Music Mile, is a landmark tribute to those from all genres of music who have made significant contributions to preserving the musical heritage of Nashville and have contributed to the world through song or other industry collaboration. With the induction of this new class of honorees, there will be 37 total stars along the Walk of Fame.

Permanent sidewalk medallions made of stainless steel and terrazzo, with each honoree’s name displayed in a star-and-guitar design, will be installed in the sidewalk along the Music Mile. The plaques for this class of inductees will be inlaid in Hall of Fame Park on Demonbreun, between 4^th and 5^th Avenues South.

Nominations were open to the public and accepted in the categories of Artist, Musician, Songwriter, and Producer/Music Industry Executive. Application forms were reviewed by the Music City Walk of Fame anonymous selection committee.

“The Music City Walk of Fame continues to celebrate Nashville as one of the most exciting cities in America with exceptional musical talent on every corner,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “It continues to be an honor to be involved with the Walk of Fame program and the many artists it represents.”

The April inductees for the Music City Walk of Fame:

Dr. R.H. Boyd

Dr. Richard Henry Boyd (1843-1922), a former slave, founded the National Baptist Publishing Board (NBPB; 1896-Present) in Nashville, Tennessee. One of the chief accomplishments of this Renaissance man was his effort to preserve the music of former slaves and their descendants. Boyd sought to develop church materials that allowed Negroes to tailor the church services to their understanding and culture. In addition, he was a leader in the collection, production, and preservation of African-American church music.

Boyd began publishing hymns, tunes, and song books as early as the NBPB’s first full production year, 1897. The NBPB developed the National Baptist Hymnal (1903) and sold thousands of copies to the churches by 1905. The NBPB also published Golden Gems: A Song Book for the Church Choir, the Pew, and Sunday School (1901). Boyd and the NBPB developed Christian music, including Hail the Baptist Congress (1912), for the annual National Baptist Sunday School Congress and trained the Boy and Girl Cadet units to march into the Congress hall singing that song and chanting Bible verses. Boyd also created the National Church Supply Company, which sold, among other items, church organs to the churches. The NBPB’s newspaper, The National Baptist Union Review, advertised such church items and printed sermons and songs.

By 1921, under the leadership of Richard Henry Boyd, the NBPB had more than twenty-five songbooks—including The National Baptist Hymnal, old meter songs, old plantation jubilee and folk songs from slavery days, and contemporary music. The NBPB became the first company to set the old slave melodies to music, and Boyd asked the church pastors to advertise the books among the members and the choir directors. The year before Boyd’s death, the NBPB produced 7,526,522 pieces of literature including music. Boyd was also responsible for starting the National Baptist Choir and the National Baptist Marching Brass Band, which graced the annual (“Marching for Jesus”) parades that preceded the annual National Baptist Sunday School Congress that was held in a different city of the United States every June. Boyd’s influence in Christian music continues through his great-grandson, Dr. T. B. Boyd III, who published The New National Baptist Hymnal (1977) and The New National Baptist Hymnal 21^st Century Edition (2001), both of which continue to be among the best-selling hymnals in the nation.

In 2000, the NBPB was renamed the R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation in honor of its founder Richard Henry Boyd. After four generations, Dr. R.H. Boyd’s legacy continues to influence Christian music across the world.

Sources: A Black Man’s Dream: The First Hundred Years, The Story of R. H. Boyd (1996); How It Came to Be: The Boyd Family’ Contribution to African American Religious Publishing from the 19^th to the 21^st Century (2007).

Cowboy Jack Clement

During a career of treading thin lines between folk singers, polka bands, outlaw songwriters, and the commercial music industry, Cowboy Jack Clement was the visionary maverick that combined song publishing, music and film production, a record company and recording studios decades before it became an industry trend. He has scored major musical success as a songwriter, producer, recording studio pioneer, publisher, artist and executive.

Born April 5, 1931, in Whitehaven, Tenn., Clement enlisted in the Marines as a teenager. After four years of service to his country, he toured in a bluegrass band, then returned to Memphis in 1954. He found work at Sun Records and worked at the mixing board for recording sessions with Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis. Another Sun artist, Elvis Presley, even opened for Clement at the Memphis club The Eagle's Nest. In those years, he wrote two of Cash's most enduring songs, "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" and "Guess Things Happen That Way."

After leaving Sun Records, Clement moved to Nashville to work for Chet Atkins, then while in Texas, he met George Jones and convinced him to cut the song, "She Thinks I Still Care." In 1965, Clement returned to Nashville and financed a demo by then-unknown Charley Pride and persuaded Atkins to sign him to RCA. Clement also wrote Pride's first two hits, "Just Between You and Me" and "I Know One," and produced Pride's first 13 albums for the label.

Clement launched the solo career of Don Williams through his JMI record label, a project that also introduced Allen Reynolds as a record producer. Reynolds later produced Garth Brooks, Crystal Gayle, Emmylou Harris, Bobby Bare and Kathy Mattea. In addition, Clement was Townes Van Zandt's first publisher, and Bob McDill also wrote for Clement's publishing company. Clement released his own album, All I Want to Do in Life in 1978.

Beyond country music, Clement produced three tracks for U2's Rattle and Hum sessions in Memphis and also produced an album for Louis Armstrong. In other ventures, he built four of Nashville's leading studios, produced a cult classic horror film and made perhaps the world's first music video on Don Williams in 1972, nine years before MTV launched. Clement now operates out of his spacious Nashville home -- with a fully equipped studio upstairs, a pool in the side yard, hammock out back and all the rooms wired for filming.

Mike Curb

Mike Curb, California's former lieutenant governor and acting governor, is one of the most prominent figures in the entertainment world and presides over his own independent record label, one of the largest in the nation, that has launched the careers of numerous stars. During a distinguished career spanning more than 45 years, Curb has earned multi-faceted success as a songwriter, producer and record company owner, covering a wide range of musical styles.

As an individual, he has written more than 400 songs, and received countless music industry awards, including the prestigious Overall Producer of the Year Award from Billboard magazine in 1972. Curb's songwriting credits include songs for Roy Orbison, Sammy Davis Jr., Hank Williams Jr., The Osmond Brothers, Donny & Marie Osmond, Freddie Jackson, Andy Williams and Eddy Arnold among others.

Some of Curb's early success also came in composing and producing songs and soundtracks for movies, including the 1966 hit "Wild Angels" staring Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra, the music for the 1967 Billy Jack movie "The Born Losers," and "Burning Bridges," the theme for the 1970 Clint Eastwood movie "Kelly's Heroes." In all, Curb has composed or supervised music for more than 50 motion picture soundtracks.

As the founder and Chairman of Curb Records, Curb's company has produced more than 300 No. 1 records and been honored by Billboard magazine as 2001 Country Music Label of the Year and Radio & Records magazine as 2005 Overall Gold Label of the Year.

In the 1960s, Curb's record label became an important part of the rock 'n' roll music scene. In 1969, Curb merged his company with MGM Records and became president of the MGM Co.

He boosted MGM's standing, and when MGM was sold in 1974, Curb went on to build Curb Records and the Curb/Warner label, which released numerous top-selling singles. Within a short time, the company had five No. 1 records on the Billboard Chart.

After a successful stint in government, Curb returned to records and his label’s success has continued. In 1997, Curb Records was Billboard's No. 1 country label in four major categories for albums and singles, and the No. 1 country label, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Curb serves as chairman of the Mike Curb Family Foundation which supports music education and works to restore historic music industry locations, in addition to supporting many Nashville community projects. He is also chairman of gospel music powerhouse Word Entertainment, which was Billboard magazine's Overall Top Imprint in that genre for 2006.

In 2007, Curb was honored as Nashvillian of the Year for his continued work to benefit the city, including establishing The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, the largest college at Belmont University. Curb also has endowed the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, and serves on the governing board of Nashville's Fisk University. Curb was recently honored by Belmont University as Trustee Emeritus and Belmont’s Curb Event Center recently hosted the historic Presidential Debate between John McCain and Barack Obama.

CeCe Winans

A seven-time Grammy Award winner, CeCe Winans has been blessed with one of the music industry’s greatest voices. She has crossed all stylistic barriers with her inspirational delivery and powerful music, and has an endless list of accolades, best-selling albums, widespread industry recognition, and vast amounts of press coverage to confirm it.

She’s garnered multiple awards including GRAMMY®, Stellar’s, and Dove’s over the years, along with numerous gold-and platinum-certified albums as a solo artist and with brother BeBe as part of the hit-making duo BeBe & CeCe Winans.

She has graced the covers of high-profile publications such as Essence, Jet, CCM, and Today's Christian Woman, among countless others, and has made her rounds in the talk-show circuit, making appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Oprah, Live with Regis & Kathie Lee, and more.

CeCe began her solo career with the Platinum certified album Alone in His Presence, released in 1995 and earned her a Grammy Award and two Dove Awards including Female Vocalist of the Year, an award she earned again in 1997. Winans' next release, Everlasting Love was released in 1998.

In 1999, Winans started her own recording company, PureSprings Gospel. Her first album on the label was Gold certified Alabaster Box, and in 2001 Winans released her next album, the self titled CeCe Winans and in 2003 Throne Room CD and live DVD all of which are Gold certified.

Purified, CeCe's chart-topping 2005 release, saw the singer entertaining her pop sensibilities, proving once again that she excels at interpreting buoyant, life-affirming songs that a wider audience could embrace. But her newest release and eighth solo album, Thy Kingdom Come is different: it finds the gospel veteran going back to what she does best, namely, lavishing honor and glory upon the King of Kings, while rallying His people to live like royal priesthood.

Thy Kingdom Come is one of the most empowering, moving collections of songs CeCe has recorded thus far. To make sure she reached the summit, she wrote or co-wrote 8 of the 14 songs on the project and she enlisted a who's-who of producers to help her get there, including Tommy Sims, Luther "Mano" Hanes, Percy Bady, new comer Christopher Capehart and his production partner Brannon Tunie, Cedric & Victor Caldwell, and even her own son, Alvin Love III.

CeCe is the visionary for the Always Sisters Conference which has taken place in Nashville for the last 3 years. This inspirational conference has helped to motivate and re-direct the life choices of thousands of teens and young women. This year, the conference name has been modified to Always Sisters/Forever Brothers and will include young men in the journey of learning and discovery.

Josh Turner

Real life - including heartaches, happiness, fishing holes, and everything in between - has had a way of finding itself in the middle of Josh Turner songs since he first burst onto the national country music scene. It's those life experiences that keep drawing him back to what has become his unique yet easily identifiable country sound.

Nashville's first taste of that style came with his debut at the Grand Ole Opry in December 2001. The moment has become somewhat legendary in Opry storytelling circles. "When the curtain opened that night," the proverbial storyteller would begin, "no one holding a ticket to the show had ever heard of Josh Turner. But by the end of that chilly Nashville evening, the young singer was all anyone in the audience could talk about." Turner wowed the crowd with his self-penned "Long Black Train", the song that would eventually become his first hit. During this performance, the unknown baritone was showered with several standing ovations. Josh Turner's star began shining that night and hasn't dimmed.

Fast forward nearly six years: Turner has become a husband to wife Jennifer and a father to a two-year-old son Hampton, all while quietly ascending the path to country music superstardom.

Turner can also celebrate the success of first-class album sales. His debut album sold more than one million copies and his sophomore album, Your Man, was one of only four country albums to reach double-platinum status in 2006. His is also continuously heralded by critics as one of the brightest young stars in country music today and his voice has been compared to the legendary Johnny Cash. This status is marked by his invitation to be one the youngest members of the famed Grand Ole Opry.

Marty Stuart

The journey began in Philadelphia, Miss. where Stuart spent quality time with his dad watching the syndicated country-music shows on TV. Even on the family's small, black-and-white set, the stars’ costumes sparkled and dazzled, exerting a magnetic pull on a small-town kid with big ambitions.

At age 12, Stuart began playing mandolin with the Sullivan Family, and at age 13, Stuart moved to Nashville and joined Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass.

After brief stints with Vassar Clements and Doc Watson in the wake of Flatt's death, Stuart landed the job he’d always wanted, playing in the Johnny Cash Show. Cash, Stuart knew, was the professor who could complete his education. And, away they went, down the road for tours that included June Carter, the Carter Family, and the Tennessee Three.

After six-plus years with the Johnny Cash Show, Stuart pulled together his own band and hit the road. The first single, “Arlene," snuck into the Top Twenty, and the second, “All Because of You," snuck into the Top Forty.

Later, Stuart launched on his new label, MCA, with the 1989 album, “Hillbilly Rock.” The title track became a Top Ten single. The next album, 1991’s “Tempted,” used that approach to put four more singles into the Top Twelve. Fueled by success, Stuart started writing songs as fast as he could come up with them.

He co-wrote “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’," but he didn’t need the song, so after hearing a young singer named Travis Tritt on the radio Stuart decided to send a demo of “Whiskey” to him. Not only did Tritt want to record the song, but he wanted Stuart to recreate the guitar part he’d put on the demo.

“The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’” became a #2 smash, and it was followed by such duets as 1992's #7 hit, “This One's Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time)," and 1996's #23 hit, “Honky Tonkin’s What I Do Best." In 1992, they hit the road on the “No Hats Tour,” an irreverent rebuke to the many “hat acts” dominating Nashville at that time. Stuart contributed songwriting to Tritt's next three albums, played guitar on two of them and sang a duet vocal on “Double Trouble” from the last one.

Meanwhile, Stuart continued to rack up hits of his own. The 1992 album, “This One's Gonna Hurt You," yielded not only the title-track duet with Tritt but also three other Top Forty singles: “Now That's Country,” “High on a Mountain Top," and “Hey Baby." Stuart produced three more albums on MCA “Love and Luck," in 1994, the 1996 disc, “Honky Tonkin’s What I Do Best," and “The Pilgrim.”

In 2002, Stuart formed The Fabulous Superlatives. Since then he has released 6 CDs: “Country Music,” “Souls’ Chapel,” “Badlands,” “Live at the Ryman,” “Compadres” and “Cool Country Favorites.”

Marty Stuart is country music’s Renaissance man. His energetic enthusiasm has gone outside music, yielding impressive work as a photographer, writer, collector and arts executive. Stuart recently launched his own television show, THE MARTY STUART SHOW on the RFD network and published his second book of photography titled “Country Music: The Masters.” Stuart’s collection of music memorabilia, “Sparkle & Twang” is currently on display at the Autry National Center of the American West, after having been exhibited at the Tennessee State Museum and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Keen to broaden the scope of his life-long passion to uncover the depths and eccentricities of Southern culture, Stuart now finds himself in the opening stages of combining music and the arts to continue his ambitious story. In all his endeavors -- much including his songwriting, singing, playing, and producing -- there is a storyteller at work, a man who listens to and translates the world he knows.

Country's Josh Turner: Baby News Is an Answered Prayer

By Eileen Finan

Originally posted Saturday February 21, 2009 12:00 PM EST

Josh Turner was praying for a good song but ended up with an even better gift, he tells PEOPLE.

"I was in town writing songs one day and had been praying for something good to happen," he says. "We did write a song and it wasn't that great, but when I came home, my wife, Jennifer, and (2-year old son) Hampton were playing and she told me she was pregnant again. Man, I was speechless! It was like, 'Wow, we're doing this again!' "

The singer, who is up for an Academy of Country Music award in April, says that the idea of parenthood the second time around isn't nearly as daunting.

"I do feel more confident," says Turner, 31. "Jennifer talked about little things she's worried about but I'm like, 'Hey we've been through this before.' The fundamental things you freaked out about with the first child, I don't think you'll freak out about them as much. I'm more prepared for those newborn months, the crying and trying to figure out what's wrong."

Turner says that son Hampton seems ready to take on the role of big brother when the new baby arrives this summer.

"He's excited about having a play partner," Turner says. "He keeps talking about how he wants to snuggle with it. I'm hoping he's going to be snuggly and not rough!"

Check out Turner sharing his favorite blessings in the new PEOPLE Country special, on sale now.

Turner is very appropriately featured on the “Blessings” page of People Magazine’s Country Special issue, which is on stands now. On that page, the singer reveals the five things he’s most thankful for.

In addition, Turner is nominated for the Academy of Country Music’s Vocal Event of the Year for “Another Try” featuring Trisha Yearwood.

Turner’s current single, “Everything Is Fine,” is the title track of his third album. The song holds the #20 position this week on both R&R/Billboard and Mediabase/Country Aircheck.

Be sure to go to people.com tomorrow for an exclusive interview with Josh Turner. 

“Everything Is Fine” for Josh Turner

Posted: November 18th
By: Chris Parton

In “Everything is Fine,” his third single off the album of the same name, Josh Turner sings that he’s “feelin’ good, and everything is fine.” And I believe him. It’s such a descriptive and casual feeling song that it reminds me of little tunes that I sometimes fumble with over the course of a good day at work or maybe while spending a nice day outside and by myself. I’ll just sing about whatever I’m doing (my lyrics never really rhyme, though). And that reminds me that sometimes the best moments are not when something monumental is going on, but just when things slow down enough to look around. Like when Turner sings, “I’ve got a home down on the river/I’m married to the woman of my dreams/Got a good truck that gets me down the highway/Everything is perfect, or so it seems.” Personally, those brief moments of contentment are my favorite. Judging by his easy smile at the end of this video, he knows the feeling.

» www.umgnashville.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 6, 2008

JOSH TURNER LAUNCHES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Nashville, TN - MCA recording artist Josh Turner launches the “Josh Turner Scholarship Fund” to provide assistance to high school students who would like to pursue a career in the field of Arts and Entertainment. “Growing up in rural South Carolina, I attended a

1-A school and there were only 75 people in my graduating class,” says Turner. “In other words, it was a small school and that translated into ‘not a lot of opportunities’ when it came to music. We had academic and sports programs but we never had a consistent music program. We would have a band one year, and a chorus one year, but nothing ever lasted.”

Reflecting on when Turner first moved to Nashville and became a student at Belmont University he says, “When I got to Belmont, I felt so lost in my music classes because I'd never been taught a lot of music theory. I'd never heard of ear training. It was like learning a whole new language. I was talking to my producer, Frank Rogers, one day and he and I were discussing our music experiences from high school. He attended a 5-A school and was in a band and a chorus and took trips all over the country playing and singing. We never had any of that. That discussion combined with my wife Jennifer's passion to expose young people to music inspired my idea to start a scholarship fund that would jump-start high school students into a future in the music business. The interesting and beneficial aspect of this fund is that you don't have to be a singer or performer to qualify for this scholarship. You can pursue basically any job that is directly associated with the music industry. The possibilities are endless. I chose my high school alma mater to be the first recipient of the scholarship because it is close to my heart and I know the extent of the needs there. I’m looking forward to seeing our passion to promote art and music in schools become a reality in 2009.”

The fund, administered by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, will initially be awarded to a graduating senior from the 2009 class of Hannah-Pamplico High School in Hannah, South Carolina. The scholarship recipient will attend a post-secondary school with a substantial arts curriculum. Information regarding the scholarship program can be found by going to Turner’s official website: www.joshturner.com and clicking on the “scholarship information” link. In addition, Turner has been selling "JT Fund For The Arts" bracelets at all of his shows to raise money for the fund.

Turner is confirmed to present an award on “The 42nd Annual CMA Awards” November 12 and he is nominated in the Musical Event of the Year category for “Another Try” featuring Trisha Yearwood.