Little Big Town photo by Autumn de Wilde, courtesy of Capitol Nashville.
Each week country music expert Neil Haislop answers your questions!
Q: To settle an argument please, tell us who is married to whom in the group Little Big Town.
(Brenda, Lexington, NC)
A: Okay, Brenda, here goes; Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook (the two dark-haired members) secretly married on May 31, 2006, although their marriage was revealed two months later. Kimberly Roads (the blonde) was married to Stephen Schlapman on November 28, 2006. She now goes by her husband's last name, Schlapman. Phillip Sweet married Rebecca Arthur, a business owner and wardrobe stylist, on March 30, 2007.
Q: Hi, I was concerned about Nan Kelley. It appears that she has been wearing a wig, and just not seeming her chipper self. I hope her health is okay. We love to see her on GAC!(Chrissy, Grovetown, GA)
A: Chrissy, I guess you hadn't heard that Nan was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer earlier this year and just completed successful treatments to combat the disease. The prognosis is good but it will take a while for her to recover physically back to her always-lovely self. Here's what Nan wrote me just after Thanksgiving:
"I am well! Done with chemo, radiation, everything and my PET scan is normal--thank God," says Nan. "It's been a bit of a rough road but Hodgkins is curable and that's what I'm going with. I'll have another PET in 2 months and we're praying everything is status quo."
Q: Why is it that acts like Jamey Johnson, Blake Shelton, and Rodney Atkins started wearing cowboy hats at the start of their career and now have seemed to do away with the whole cowboy hat trend? Is it something that the record company tells them to do?(Todd, Woodbridge, VA)
A: Todd, I think it depends on what's perceived to be the best image when a singer starts out — and often it's wearing a cowboy hat. After a singer has some success, what hat they wear becomes a matter of choice. Toby Keith, for instance may show up on stage in a ball cap or that straw cowboy hat he likes. Jason Aldean started out in cowboy hats and seems to switch between them and a ball cap.
Q: Kid Rock has a tattoo on his arm that says, "Paul." Do you know who Paul is and why he has the tattoo?
(Sandy, New London, WI)
A: Sandy, all I can find out is that the "Paul" tattoo is apparently in memory of Kid Rock's cousin who died. It's apparently a very personal matter to Kid Rock, who prefers not to comment on the tattoo, and doesn't want to be asked about it.
Q: Is there an age limit on being a country star? If so, what is it?
(Emily, Austin, TX)
A: Emily, there is no officially established age limit on becoming a country star. LeAnn Rimes started singing at a very young age, recorded her first album at 11, and was a star at 13, and there are artists still singing on the Grand Ole Opry into their '70s and '80s. Taylor Swift became a star at 16, but she and LeAnn are rare examples of very young country stars.
Some artists start singing early but don't become stars until their late 20s or 30s. Generally, the country music industry looks most closely at very talented singers between their late teens and early 30s. Since country songs are about love, loss, struggles with life such as poverty, drinking and other human emotions like feeling hurt or happiness, it turns out that people who have lived long enough to have such life experiences are often the best to write and sing about them.