Quick Notes

KELLIE PICKER is officially off the market.  Her boyfriend, songwriter Kyle Jacobs, proposed last week, on June 15th, and she accepted.  The date is significant because it's the birthday of her late grandmother.

Jacobs pulled out all the stops too.  He took her for a stroll at sunset on a Florida beach and arranged to have a blanket, champagne and candles waiting for them. 

Here's the happy couple:
 

Kellie told "People", quote, "I remember saying to Kyle, 'Baby, it's like I'm dreaming . . . but if this isn't real, I'm going to be very upset!'" 

(--Kellie and Kyle have been dating for about two and a half years.  He was her first serious relationship after she got burned by hockey stud Jordin Tootoo . . . who was seeing other ladies  behind her back.)

And it sounds like Kyle is a pretty sincere guy.  Kellie says, quote, "Kyle took away all my fear of marriage and has shown me the way love is supposed to be.  I'm in the happiest place I've ever been."

(--Jacobs co-wrote GARTH BROOKS' song "More Than A Memory".  His other songwriting credits include TIM MCGRAW'S smash "Still" . . . plus songs by Trace Adkins, Jo Dee Messina, Craig Morgan and Clay Walker, among others.)

We thought this was a great shot of Tim McGraw with his real wife and movie wife from the Nashville Rising event:


Two wives?  No wonder he has bags under his eyes...



I'm sure there were hundreds of great moments at the CMA Music Fest . . . but as far as the "Tennessean" is concerned, none were bigger or more historic than TAYLOR SWIFT'S 13-hour Meet & Greet.

In fact, they're calling it, quote, "Quite likely the biggest single-artist event in CMA Music Festival history." 

Here's why:  First of all, Taylor didn't want her fans to overheat outside, so she took over the entire, climate-controlled Bridgestone Arena.

Everyone got in free and they were treated to a circus-like event . . . including tons of free activities like makeovers, video booths and face painting for the kids.  She even parked her tour bus inside for everyone to check out.

Once the fans hit the main floor they could get close-up views of Taylor's castle stage set-up from her "Fearless" tour, plus props from other concerts. 

She also displayed dresses she wore in her "Teardrops On My Guitar", "Love Story", and "Our Song" music videos.  

Remember that backstage Tea Party Room, where Taylor hangs out before shows?  That was set up for fans to check out too.

There were the usual Jumbotrons playing Taylor Swift YouTube videos . . . and clips from her "Saturday Night Live" appearance.  And let's not forget the free concert Taylor did right in the middle of it all . . . at 2:30 P.M.

Best of all, when Taylor realized she couldn't meet with all the fans who were given Meet & Greet wristbands, she extended the event for another 90 minutes . . . making it a 14.5 hour Meet & Greet.  (--You can check out some photos of it all here . . .)












Alan Jackson Nailed “Hammer” With an Anvil
By Tom Roland/gactv.com

One of the things critics most often praise about Alan Jackson is his authenticity, and he went all out to be realistic when he recorded his current single, “Hard Hat And A Hammer.”

“Hard Hat” is one of his trademark songs in celebration of the working man, and to give it a real air of authority, Alan featured a very unique instrument on the recording.

“I played the anvil,” he says. “‘Hard Hat And A Hammer’ — it’s got an anvil in there if you listen to it. We cut it, and I said, ‘Man, this thing needs, you know, somebody hittin’ a hammer on an anvil.’”

That instrumentation provides a link, in a way, to a key song on Alan’s very first album 20 years ago. The first two lines of “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” are “Daddy won a radio/Tuned it to a country show.” Those words come directly from his late father’s life.

The anvil on “Hard Hat And A Hammer,” mounted on a section of a telephone pole, is likewise connected to Alan’s dad, Eugene, who passed away in January 2000. His father owned it.

“It’s a big ol’ anvil,” Alan notes. “The back of it’s broken off, and he got it when he worked for the county farm. They gave it to him ’cause it was broken, I guess, so it stayed in our garage my whole life… I beat on a lot of parts and steel on that thing, and he did, too. And when he died, I got a lot of his stuff, and that anvil’s in my car museum garage there, and so anyway, that’s what we used. We took a hammer, and it didn’t sound right, and we finally had to get two or three different hammers — finally found one that sounded right, and that’s what’s on the record. And I sat there and beat on that anvil.”

Alan’s makeshift instrument has some precedent. When Jimmy Dean recorded “Big Bad John,” a song about a mining disaster, session musician Floyd Cramer simulated the sound of the workers’ axes by hanging an iron doorstop from a hanger and banging on it with a hammer.


I believe you can tell if a performer has serious chops when they can knock it out of the park while performing acoustic and singing a Capella.  Here's a good example. 

It's a video of RANDY HOUSER doing a raw version of "Boots On" during his USO trip to Iraq earlier this year.

 
This Just In...Willie Nelson CUT HIS HAIR!!!!!!



The World is a vastly different place this morning....


BLAKE SHELTON finally made the smart move and proposed to MIRANDA LAMBERT. He asked her on Sunday, in the woods near Miranda's home in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. And he came prepared too.
Blake gave her a diamond-and-platinum ring. Miranda told "People", quote, "I was so proud of him. We've been together five years, so he knew exactly what I wanted but it's so much more perfect than I could have picked out myself."

Blake also went with an old fashioned proposal. Miranda explains, quote, "He called my dad and got his blessing first. That was so Southern and old-school and perfect."

And when it came time to toast the moment, they tipped it country style. She said, quote, "We had a couple of Bacardi and Diet Sprites . . . in a Solo cup!" As far as wedding plans and such, Miranda hasn't even thought about that yet.

She said, quote, "Weddings are great and engagements are great and diamonds are especially great. But I'm just excited to be married because I want to tell Blake I really can love him the rest of my life and be happy and make him happy."

This will be Miranda's first marriage . . . and Blake's second. He was married to Kaynette Williams from 2003 to 2006. Their marriage ended the same year he started dating Miranda.