Dean talks to Twangz

Country Singer Songwriter Billy Dean and his songs are on the road to a comeback in country music.  The “Let Them Be Little” singer (he says that’s his favorite of all his hits) has released a new single to country radio called “I Can’t Leave a Good Thing” from his album A Man Of Good Fortune. In fact Dean has had a lot of good fortune over the years.

Three Billy Dean Song Facts That may Surprise you:

He’s charted twelve top ten Billboard Country singles but it was his vocal work in Kenny Roger’s “Buy Me A Rose” that nailed down his first number one single.   Many of his biggest hits like the early ’90′s “Somewhere In My Broken Heart,” “If There Hadn’t Been You,” and “Billy The Kid” are still heard on the radio Today.

He says his favorite song (most important to him) is his 2004 hit “Let Them Be Little.” “That song just meant a lot to me inside and out…” says Dean. “I think the family unit is something that’s really under attack in our country and it’s really the fabric of what this country is made of. So that song has a lot of layers of meaning for me…Let ‘em laugh let ‘em giggle let ‘em sleep in the middle. Let them be little.”

He says he almost missed the social media revolution. “Lucky for me I got in early and I saw it wasn’t gonna go away… I was really worried about how we could market music though at a time when everyone was sharing music for free… But we really got a good following going now.”

Dean is an April Fool’s Day baby.  Born 4/1/62 in Quincy Florida the singer is blessed with the rugged good looks (and great hair) of artists decades younger than him.

Watch our TwangZ interview for more with Billy Dean Here and get more from Dean’s official site BillyDean.com.

Lisa Matassa and Marie Osmond
Credit: Jeremy Lee

Country singer song writer Lisa Matassa makes her national television debut on the Hallmark Channel’s MARIE show March 13. Watch for Lisa and her band to perform her current hit single, the high-energy “Somebody’s Baby,” and Lisa and Marie chat about the “adventures” involved in mixing a music career with motherhood.

Twangz also just caught up with Matassa at Country Radio Seminar where she revealed thoughts on her favorite tunes ( I Will Always Love You) and how she got connected with Country Music.

The Long Island singer is off to a roaring start with over 6 million YouTube video views (including 3 million views of “Somebody’s Baby”) and two #1 videos on CMT.com, Lisa is no stranger to Country audiences. She has shared the stage with Dierks Bentley, Leann Rimes, Eric Church, Ronnie Dunn and most recently, Lee Brice.

Her current CD, SOMEBODY’S BABY, reflects her musical journey through a collection of songs that are both personal and dynamic. The “Somebody’s Baby” single is currently #1 on iHeartradio/Country Chart and has been for the past three weeks. It is also moving up both the Billboard/BDS Indicator and MusicRow charts. In addition, the second cut off the EP, “Wouldn’t You Like To Know” is currently #2 on iHeartradio/Country Chart. Radio.com is playing “Somebody’s Baby” on three of its channels and Aol Radio “New Country First” is spinning it in heavy rotation. The video can be seen on AOL, The Country Network (TCN), Yahoo! and YouTube.

Fans can catch up on all the latest news at www.LisaMatassa.com; additional social media outlets include:

www.facebook.com/lisamatassafanpage
www.twitter.com/lisa_matassa
www.reverbnation.com/lisamatassa
www.youtube.com/lisamatassamedia

Darius Rucker recruits some reality tv stars for next video. Performers have been announced for ACM Awards and CMA Fest.

Tracy Lawrence / Southern Arkansas University

Tracy Lawrence is back to putting out new music.  After a break for a special acoustic project he’s set to release a new album and single called “Stop Drop and Roll.” It’s been 20 years since country music singer / songwriter Tracy Lawrence released the hit Alibis to country radio and he’s been at it ever since.

Lawrence has made it through the changing media world strong getting active in social media and locking into the Mac world. The Paint Me a Birmingham singer is a true American country music singer songwriter who began his career at a small club/restaurant named “Live At Libby’s” owned by Libby Knight. Knight helped new local talent get a break in the country music world.

Lawrence was born in Atlanta, Texas on January 27, 1968 and was raised in Foreman Arkansas. He made headlines in 1991 over a shooting incident and has since fully recovered.

Tracy Lawrence’s first hit was the number one Sticks and Stones released in November of 1993. He later charted over 20 top ten hits including at least seven Billboard number ones including Alibis, Texas Tornado, and Time Marches On. In the early 2000′s he released a unique collaboration song called “Find Out Who Your Friends Are.”  The album cut featuring guest appearances from Tim McGraw  and Kenny Chesney became another big hit.

Kenny Chesney, country music’s Carribean cowboy leaked the rustic new artwork for his forthcoming album Yestereday.

No official word on when you can get your hands on it, but it’s coming as Kenny enthusiastically teased to his online fans:

Hey, Guys…

By now you know, we’re coming… for another summer, another round of remembering what music means, being together and making memories… Me & the guys are so read! I love that you’re loving “Pirate Flag” as much as I did when I heard it. Pretty much says it all about a whole lot of life, right?

Life. You’ve shared so much of yours with me and my music, and I can’t wait to get the next record out to you. It’s snapshots of places I’ve been, people I’ve loved and moments I wish I could bottle up. Kind of like the album cover… literally, pictures from my life.

It’s called Life On A Rock. It looks at where I’ve been, what I’ve learned and hopefully how we grow. I can’t share the music for a bit, but here’s the cover. It’s a lot like this record actually sounds!

Until we find you on the road, or in your car, or on the beach

Be As You Are,

Kenny

McCready / Photo Flickr/Roy Land

Troubled country singer Mindy McCready has been found dead in her home in Herber Springs, Arkansas and police reports indicate an apparent suicide.

The Cleburne Country Sheriff’s Office has released a statement regarding the incident:

“At 3:31 PM, Sunday, February 17th Deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a report of gun shots fired in the area of 1132 Fox Chase Drive in Heber Springs. Officers arrived on the scene at 3:58 PM and discovered the body of 37 year old Melinda Gayle McCready on the front porch of the residence at 1132 Fox Chase. Ms. McCready was pronounced dead at the scene from what appears to be a single self-inflicted gunshot wound. At this time family members have been notified of the incident. Ms. Mcready will be transported to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy and the matter will be fully investigated.”

The event comes just weeks after her boyfriend David Wilson and the father to her infant son, Zayne, was also found dead their Arkansas house.

Although the news is shocking it is not altogether a surprise as the “Guys Do It All The Time” “Ten Thousand Angels” hit maker had previous attempts at suicide.

Get more information on McCready as more details develop at Got Country Online

All eyes are on country music hottie Miranda Lambert as she comes into her own as country music’s next big superstar woman.  Lambert has had astounding success lately with accolades for her song writing (Over You won her a song of the year honor) and Female Artist of the year wins.

How will Lambert top such success?  She also has to stand beside the jaw dropping mass media success of her husband Blake Shelton who is enjoying unprecedented fame for a country star.

Lambert was born in Longview Texas (born Miranda Leigh Lambert November 10th 1983) to a musical mom and dad.  Dad at least as her father Rick Lambert wrote and performed country music.

Lambert, like former tour mate Chris Young, got one of her big breaks on the now defunked TV talent show Nashville star where she ended up coming in third (Buddy Jewell became the breakout star of her season). To this day she aligns with music competition show contestants as a knowing mother figure having “been through it.”

Still her radio success has been, until recent years, slow and hard fought.  Her early singles like Kerosene and Me and Charlie Talking got limited airplay (although may are revisiting Kerosene).  All that changed after a few big songs like Gunpowder and Lead and more recently with The House That Built Me, White Liar, Baggage Claim and the award winning Over You (gut wrenchingly written with and about Blake Shelton’s deceased brother).  She has even launched a new female vocal group and album  called the Pistol Annies to strong interest.

With the recent major awards success and A List Hollywood status her house hold has just acquired thanks to Network Television attention there’s no telling where Miranda Lambert’s road will travel next.  More television, another headlining tour, and perhaps a late 2013 album may be in the works.  There’s will be more tweeting for sure.  Follow her tweets @mirandalambert.

Lambert’s official website is MirandaLambert.com

Chris Young is forging a huge career in country music.   Next up he will get some major face time on ABC’s Nashville this month and it’s happening at a time when traditional country music is starting to slide out of vogue, and country songs are crossing over to pop more and more.  Still Young has a string of real hits to carry him through until a time comes and hats and twang and weeping fiddles get more credit.

Young has always had that twang.   He grew up just outside of Nashville in Murfreesboro, TN (born Alan Chris Young June 12, 1985) where you can’t avoid the country influence or the recording industry money.

His undeniable “big break” was as a contestant of Nashville Star in the shows early years.  He won the contest along with a recording deal on RCA Nashville.  Still the accolades and fans from the show were not enough to land Young a real hit record as his two singles from his self named debut album failed to crack the country Top 40.

Although he released Voices in May 2008 it never became a hit until it was later rereleased in late 2009.   The “Voices” album launched big hits to finally plant Youngs flag as one to watch in country music.   Gettin’ You Home, The Man I want to Be and Voices all hit number one. With the release of his third album “Neon” his momentum and stellar music pushed him even further.  His lead single from the album, Tomorrow was a quick success as was the fan favorite You.  Both hitting number one.

Young has joined major tours with Miranda Lambert and Jason Aldean and looks to continue to work his way into headlining his own show like his Liquid Neon Tour.

With the release of Neon in 2011 Young stepped away from his signature cowboy hat to go hatless.  It was a move he says was not over calculated but fans noticed.

He continues on a path to become one of the young A-listers winning awards at the American Country Awards and the CMT Music Awards.

Next up he showcases his acting chops with a guest spot on the ABC hit series Nashville.  The episode – also featuring Brantley Gilbert will air January 23rd.

Find out more about Chris Young at his offial website from RCA ChrisYoungCountry.com

2012 was another big year for country music.   The Billboard Year End Rankings just came out and although Adele’s 21 grabbed the best selling number one slot for the second year in a row (a record feat) the top ten was chock full of Nashville brewed country.

Taylor Swift makes the cut at number two with Red.  Swift has made the year end list three other times in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

One Direction, Mumford and Sons and Justin Bieber round out the top six (One Direction has 2 albums in the mix) but the rest of the top ten is all country.

Arista Records

Carrie Underwood continues to “blow away” sales numbers with her latest effort which ends 2012 with 1.2 million units in sales, followed by Luke Bryan’s Tailgates and Tanlines, and the underrated “Tuskeegee” collection of duets from Lionel Richie with 1.07 million.  Jason Aldean’s recent release of Night Train took only a few months to sneak into the number ten slot with 1.2 million in sales.

This was a significant showing for country according to Billboard.com.  They state that previously the country genre has only claimed up to four slots and you have to go back to 2002 and 1992 for those successes.

Taylor Swift starts the new year with a number one week with Red topping the Billboard 200 all genres Album chart.

The full year end stats are available at Billboard.com