Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.
Each week country music expert Neil Haislop answers your questions!
Q: I was watching GAC recently and saw several country music stars making fun of another artist, Blake Shelton. They were saying things like, "The worst present I ever got was a pair of his concert tickets," or "I got his concert T-shirt and tried to re-gift it, but no one wanted it." What's up — what did Blake do?
(Michelle, Blythe, CA)
A: Michelle, don’t worry about that kind of kidding between artists that respect each other. It’s actually a compliment to the artist to have their leg pulled by their peers — people that would never say these things publicly if they really disliked them. After all, many country artists share the same fans, so publicly dissing another star could alienate some of those shared fans.
Readers, if you're interested in seeing the funny clips of Keith Anderson and Craig Morgan kidding their buddy Blake, click here. I think you'll agree that these guys are just teasing their good friend.
Q: I saw the episode of Opry Live where Carrie Underwood was singing "Stand By Your Man" by Tammy Wynette. Is her version available on video? I would love to hear Carrie sing it again.
(Ingrid, Savannah, GA)
A: Ingrid, as far as we know, there is no commercially available version of Carrie Underwood singing "Stand By Your Man." The best thing for you to do is watch for a replay of that GAC performance and Tivo it when it airs. In the meantime, GACTV.com has lots of exclusive interviews with Carrie. Click here to watch them!
Q: How would one get to Ricky Skaggs? I’ve got to ask him a question.
(Peggy, Slaughter, LA)
A: Peggy, I often get questions about how to contact stars. The thing for everybody to remember is that most popular artists have tens of thousands of fans. That means that thousands of them want to do the same thing you do — contact the artist directly. It would be impossible for them to respond to everybody. That said, it’s still worth going to Ricky's website to see where you can contact him or his fan club. Then ask your question. Most artists read as many fan letters as they can?or have a staff that reads them to help filter out the kooks and crazies. They will pass on the most compelling mail to the artist directly. So, give that a shot?ask your question and you might get an answer from Ricky or someone on his staff. But don’t feel bad if you don’t, because artists can't usually answer everything. If they did, they wouldn't have time to create the music you love!
Q: GAC covers virtually every country star ? but why don't you guys have more news about Rissi Palmer? She's probably one of the best voices out there today.
(D.M., Stafford, VA)
A: D.M., actually Rissi Palmer has gotten lots of coverage on the network, on GACTV.com and at radio. She is a very talented singer-songwriter, but her first album didn’t produce a breakout hit song. She’s working on a new album and we’ll see if that doesn’t break her on through when it’s released. Meanwhile, be patient and keep on supporting your favorite stars.
Q: How come I don't hear Randy Owen's songs on the radio? His CD was at No. 14 on the charts now it's not there. What happened?
(Cheryl, Picayune, MS)
A: Cheryl, as famous as Randy Owen is as the lead singer of Alabama, trying to start a solo recording career is a bit like starting over. Randy is putting out good music, but he will have to "earn his stripes" again, so-to-speak, as a solo artist. Randy hasn’t given up his membership in Alabama, which continues as an act, and for now he says he’s happy that whatever music he makes solo, is getting the positive response it’s had so far.
Q: We saw on your show that Brad Paisley, The Dixie Chicks, Keith Urban and others were developing a Country Rock Band video game. Can you tell me if that is out yet or when it will be out?
(Joetta, Fordland, MO)
A: Joetta, such a video game from those artists may be on the drawing board, but as far as we can tell none have come out yet. Otherwise there would be plenty of news about the games and they would be available on the artists' websites. So, just keep checking at the various sites or keep watching GAC to see when they’re announced.