BITS AND PIECES

Taylor Swift's fall line of American Greetings cards is now available exclusively at Target stores nationwide through November. The back of each of the 18 cards features a numbered butterfly icon to assist collectors.
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BILLY CURRINGTON BELABORS HIS WORK HISTORY

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Billy Currington has had his share of jobs, some good and some not so good. The singer started doing landscaping at the age of 12 and continued working labor-intensive, but they all paved the way for Billy to follow his true calling, as he tells us: ["Roofin' I started when I was about 16, roofing houses, and that was probably one of my toughest jobs, cause down there in south Georgia it gets hot, so doin' that everyday all summer long, but I think the pawn shop when I moved to Nashville was one of my favorites, and the concrete job was my least favorite of all. Six years of that and I couldn't take it no more. After that job was my turning point -- 'Either I'm gonna do something else for a living or quit and really try to focus on music and gettin' this record deal.'"] SOUNDCUE (:37 OC: . . . this record deal.')

  • Billy will release his new album, Enjoy Yourself, on September 21st.
  • He will join headliner Carrie Underwood on her 46-city Play On tour this fall. The trek begins in Portland, Oregon on September 25th.

ASK YOUR LISTENERS

  • What was your worst job? Your favorite?
  • What one job really made a difference in your life, for better or worse?
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BROOKS & DUNN WRAP UP CAREER WITH NASHVILLE SHOW LAST NIGHT

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Brooks & Dunn capped off their 20-year career as a duo in Nashville last night (Thursday, September 2nd) with the final show on their Last Rodeo tour at the Bridgestone Arena. The biggest surprise of the night was that there was no real surprise. Reba McEntire made a very brief appearance on stage to join the duo for the last line of "Cowgirls Don't Cry" midway through the show, giving hugs to both Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.

Before taking the stage, the audience was treated to a 20-minute video montage paying tribute to Brooks & Dunn's band and crew, many who have been with the duo for more than a decade.

Kix and Ronnie opened the 90-minute show with "Play Something Country." Kix was the first to address the crowd, joking that after a year of being asked what it feels like to be on the last tour, he said, "It feels like I'm ready for people to quit asking me what it feels like. . . It's been such an amazing ride. All I can say is thanks!"

Several songs into the show, Ronnie told the crowd, "The biggest thing that freaked me out for 20 years is that he got the cowboy hat. That's why we broke up." He then proved his own cowboy status by showing off a new tatttoo of the word "cowboy" that takes up his entire right forearm.

In addition to some of their more recent hits, Kix and Ronnie took a few requests from the audience.

Towards the end of "Only In America," the duo were joined onstage by some members of the military who formally marched to the front of the stage and saluted the audience while red, white and blue streamers were shot onto the crowd from both the front and back of the arena.

The show closed with an encore of "Boot Scootin' Boogie" and the duo's very first single, "Brand New Man." Kix and Ronnie high-fived, and Kix said, "Thanks, cowboy," before tossing his trademark black hat into the crowd one last time.

All proceeds from last night's show were donated to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

ASK YOUR LISTENERS

  • Are you surprised there wasn't a more star-studded lineup at the show?
  • Should Brooks & Dunn have changed up their show a bit for their very last performance?
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LADY ANTEBELLUM REMINISCES ABOUT 'CRUMMY' JOBS

Lady Antebellum members Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood are loving every minute of their so-called day job these days. But working for a living hasn't always been so much fun. Charles shares a few of his working man's blues with us on this Labor Day weekend: ["(Charles) Oh man, I had a lot of crummy jobs. I used to . . . (Hillary) Knock out asbestos walls. (Charles) Yeah, I did that for a long time, but even before that I used to do lawn care every summer and, oh man, I do not miss that! I went out the other day and tried to trim the hedges up and I did that for awhile and I was like, 'Man, I'm just glad those days are over.' To get out here and play music for a living is a lot more fun, but, yeah, I used to do that and I used to work as a bag boy at a golf course once -- did that for a couple summers. I had a lot of crummy jobs!"] SOUNDCUE (:36 OC: . . . of crummy jobs!)

Their past jobs may never have been as bad as some of Charles', but Hillary and Dave weren't exactly working their dream jobs before landing their record deal. ["(Hillary) I had a summer job where my dad used to work a couple of summers and just basically had to do data entry into a computer so I was literally sitting at a computer for eight hours, but that's not as bad as yard work. (Dave) And not as bad as accounting work, which was my old job, so happy Labor Day! Enjoy your time off!"] SOUNDCUE (:20 OC: . . . your time off!)

  • In other Lady A news, the trio are predicting that Taylor Swift and Kanye West will patch things up and reunite on the MTV Video Music Awards coming up on September 12th. They told HollywoodLife.com, "It would actually be really cool if they presented together. I'm sure they've got something planned!"
  • Lady Antebellum have been added to the list of celebrities taking part in the Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser on September 10th. They join George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Denzel Washington, Reese Witherspoon, Kris Kristofferson, Martina McBride and Neil Diamond. The show will air commercial-free on all major networks beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
  • Lady Antebellum picked up six CMA Awards nominations earlier this week for Album of the Year for Need You Now, Vocal Group of the Year, Song, Single and Video of the Year for "Need You Now" and the night's biggest honor, Entertainer of the Year. The CMA Awards will be held on November 10th in Nashville.

ASK YOUR LISTENERS

  • Do you think Lady A's Entertainer nod is premature?
  • Who do you think will actually take home the Entertainer award -- Lady A, Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert or Keith Urban?
  • Will they beat Rascal Flatts and Zac Brown Band for Vocal Group of the Year?
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MIRANDA LAMBERT, FAITH HILL, SHERYL CROWE FEATURED ON LORETTA LYNN TRIBUTE CD

The star-studded lineup of artists paying tribute to Loretta Lynn on the upcoming Coal Miner's Daughter CD has finally been announced. Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Allison Moorer, Paramore, Reba, Carrie Underwood, The White Stripes, Lucinda Williams, Gretchen Wilson, and Lee Ann Womack are all featured on the 50th career anniversary CD, Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn, which will be released on November 9th.

Loretta hand-picked each one of these artists. She said, "I am so happy that these singers wanted to do this record. I love 'em all, and it was so great to hear all the different ways they did my hits. I hope people like it as much as I do and we sell a bunch of records!!"

  • Loretta will be honored at the Recording Academy's Grammy's Salute to Country Music on October 12th at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. She will be presented with the Recording Academy President's Merit Awards, in addition to being paid a musical tribute by a star-studded line up of artists.
  • Loretta is working on the follow-up to 2004's Van Lear Rose, as well as a new CD of re-recorded versions of some of her hits over the past 45 years. Both CDs will tentatively set for release by the end of 2010.

FAST FACTS

  • Loretta's Coal Miner's Daughter autobiography was released in 1976.
  • It was made into a feature film starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones in 1980. The film went on to win an Academy Award.
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