The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, it is the longest-running radio broadcast in US history. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.
Total Request Live was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. The series featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by musicians, actors, and other celebrities to promote their newest works to the show's target teen demographic.
Toby Keith Covel is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. Keith released his first four studio albums—1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin', plus a Greatest Hits package—for various divisions of Mercury Records before leaving Mercury in 1998. These albums all earned Gold or higher certification, and produced several Top Ten singles, including his debut "Should've Been a Cowboy", which topped the country charts and was the most-played country song of the 1990s. The song has received three million spins since its release, according to Broadcast Music Incorporated.
James Barry Poole is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and his albums are usually an equal mix of original comedy songs and parodies. Judd has released 11 studio albums and two EPs, and several singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His highest chart peak is the number-48 "I Love NASCAR", a parody of Toby Keith's 2003 single "I Love This Bar".
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2005.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2002.
Lance Smith is an American actor and media personality, who, for eight years, was the host of CMT's Top Twenty Countdown. Smith had also hosted CMT's short-lived series "Got Me In With The Band," and a plethora of other various CMT specials, including award pre-shows and CMT's Spring Break concert specials.
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue " is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. The song was written in late 2001, and was inspired by Keith's father's death in March 2001, as well as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States later that year. It was released in May 2002 as the lead single from the album, Unleashed. The song topped the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming his biggest solo hit on that chart.
Top 20 Countdown is a former chart countdown program on CMT revolving around popular country music videos. Hosted by Lance Smith through most of its run, it premiered weekly on Friday mornings, with several reruns through the weekend and Monday, launching on January 3, 2001; a previous weekly countdown show through CMT's early years featured a countdown of only twelve popular videos. The first episode was the top 20 videos of 2001. Smith departed the series at the end of 2009, with Evan Farmer taking over from then until November 2012; the remainder of the series' run was either unhosted or had guest hosts.
Nan Kelley is a former Miss Mississippi (1985) who later became a host and correspondent for the Great American Country (GAC) cable television network.
"I Melt" is a song written by Gary LeVox, Wendell Mobley, and Neil Thrasher and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released in July 2003 as the third single from the band’s 2002 album Melt. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, staying at that position for three weeks behind Toby Keith’s "I Love This Bar". This was the group’s seventh entry on that chart.
Katie Cook is an English actress, host and correspondent with the Country Music Television network in the United States. She has been with the network since 2001. She currently hosts CMT Insider. Cook often appears as the host of CMT's live or recorded segments from red carpet events and has interviewed Taylor Swift, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. She formerly appeared as host of CMT Most Wanted Live from 2002 until its cancellation in 2004.
The Wildhorse Saloon is a country/western-themed restaurant, live music venue, and dance club located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It is managed by Marriott and owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties. Originally opened on June 1, 1994 in a converted warehouse, the Wildhorse initially capitalized on the line dancing craze of the early-to-mid-1990s. While it continues to enjoy success as a bar and line dance venue, it has become a successful concert venue in recent years for all genres of music. Because of its downtown location, open bar, large atrium, and permanent stage, the Wildhorse is also often used as a formal banquet hall.
"Who's Your Daddy?" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in August 2002 as the second single from his 2002 album Unleashed. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Michael Salomon is an American music video/film director, who has directed many music videos, including many of Toby Keith's music videos. He directed the video for Metallica's "One", which was nominated for "Best Heavy Metal Video" at the MTV awards, and was declared one of the "Top 75 Videos Of All Time" in Rolling Stone's critics' poll.
Keith Bilbrey is an American country music disc jockey and television host in Nashville, Tennessee. He served as a disc jockey at Nashville's WSM, as an announcer on the Grand Ole Opry, and as the host of TNN’s Grand Ole Opry Live. He is also the show announcer for Huckabee, a variety show hosted by Mike Huckabee, on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
CMT Hot Twenty is a weekly live music video show that counts down the twenty most popular country music videos. The show features a live audience, in-studio performances, and interviews. It premiered January 5, 2013, on CMT and airs Saturday and Sunday mornings. It replaced the long-running Top 20 Countdown that aired from 2001 to 2012 and is similar to CMT Most Wanted Live, which aired from 2001 to 2004 and featured a live daily countdown.
