Pat Green
Photo: Republic Records

Texas honky tonk phenomenon Pat Green sees his first national release chart respectably. Three Days debuts at #7 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Green has sold over 200,000 independently made CDs at his shows in Texas ...

A TV movie inspired by Brad Paisley's 1999 #1 hit, "He Didn't Have To Be," is in the works for the TBS Superstation cable channel. Paisley will have a supporting role in the movie, and all the music in the program will be composed by the country star. Paisley also is one of three executive producers for the project. The song is a tribute to stepfathers from the perspective of a stepchild. "He Didn't Have To Be" recently spawned a book of the same name by Paisley and the song's co-writer, Kelley Lovelace ...

The Country Freedom Concert raised over $5 million for the Salvation Army Disaster Relief Fund. The all-star benefit concert was the highest-rated program in CMT history. Six million CMT viewers watched the live concert and its encore presentation on Sunday night. The concert was also broadcast on over 700 radio stations worldwide. The Country Freedom Concert included performances by George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and others. (MTVi parent company, Viacom, also owns CMT) ...

Delbert McClinton will sail to the Bahamas with the Del McCoury Band, the Derailers, Jeffrey Steele, ex-NRBQ guitarist Al Anderson, Marcia Ball, Bonnie Bramlett and other roots artists on his eighth annual cruise, January 12-19. The floating music festival sets sail on the Regal Empress from Port Manatee in Tampa, Florida, and stops in Nassau, Eleuthera and San Salvador. Passengers will be treated to up to 10 hours of live music a day ...

Although they were announced as being on the lineup for Sunday's Country Freedom Concert benefiting the Salvation Army, the Charlie Daniels Band did not appear at the Nashville event. Daniels dropped out several days before the concert because producers asked him not to sing "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag," an original song inspired by the September 11 attacks. "There was a creative difference of opinion," said CMT, which aired the concert live. "Charlie Daniels is an icon of country music and remains a fixture on CMT." ...

The Down From the Mountain tour, featuring many of the musicians on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack album, is set to begin January 25 in Lexington, Kentucky, and will wrap up February 20 in Berkeley, California. Alison Krauss and Union Station, Patty Loveless, Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, the Whites and Norman Blake comprise the 14-date tour's nucleus. …

Capitol Records has mined its vaults to compile United We Stand, a 14-track collection of inspirational and patriotic tunes. Chris LeDoux's "I Believe in America," Glen Campbell's "God Must Have Blessed America" and Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" are featured alongside recordings by John Lennon, the Beach Boys, Al Green and others. Proceeds benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The set will be released November 6. ...

Merle Haggard has been added to the concert lineup for Swampstock 2001, happening October 28 in Tim McGraw's hometown of Rayville, Louisiana. "I'm thrilled to welcome Merle Haggard to Swampstock 2001," McGraw said in a statement. "I've been singing his songs for many years, and there's not a better artist in country music. I'm especially honored to have a Country Music Hall of Fame member on the Swampstock stage for the very first time." The eighth annual concert will also feature McGraw, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and the Warren Brothers. Proceeds from the concert and celebrity softball game will benefit New York fire and police funds as well as Rayville's little league baseball program and various other charities. ...

"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack producer T Bone Burnett is working on an album with old-time mountain music patriarch Ralph Stanley. The album is being recorded in Nashville and will be released on Burnett's own new label, DMZ Records, which he is forming with the Coen Brothers, the "O Brother" movie producers. ...

Garth Brooks will launch his new album, Scarecrow, with a series of live radio specials on the album's release date, November 13. Brooks will guide listeners through the album and take caller questions live on the air. The specials will air during morning and afternoon drive times in all time zones, and will be offered to all country radio stations on a non-exclusive basis. "Wrapped Up in You," the album's first single, debuted at #22 this week on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. ...

Following his performance on Sunday's Country Freedom Concert in Nashville, Clint Black will board a military jet to begin a tour of U.S. bases abroad. He'll join the Citizen Patriot Tour, which was organized by former Defense Secretary William Cohen's wife Janet Langhart Cohen. Taylor Dayne and others will be on the tour, details of which were not being released. ...

George Jones will perform at Sunday's Country Freedom Concert as well as at his own concert. The Freedom Concert is at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center, just down the street from the Ryman Auditorium, where Jones' own concert will be held. Opening for Jones there will be Jim Lauderdale, who portrays Jones in the current musical "Stand By Your Man." ...

Suzy Bogguss is fulfilling a longtime ambition by finally putting out a Christmas album. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas will be released on November 1 on her Web site, at Amazon.com and at select record stores. The album includes collaborations with the late Chet Atkins, Ricky Skaggs and Delbert McClinton. ...

Country Music Hall of Fame member Earl Scruggs, Diamond Rio and Montgomery Gentry have been added to Sunday's Country Freedom Concert, bringing the total of confirmed live acts to 16. As the list of performers has grown, so has the length of the telecast. CMT will air the commercial-free concert from 8-11 p.m. ET. The benefit for the Salvation Army Disaster Relief Fund originally was slated for two hours (MTVi's parent company, Viacom, also owns CMT). ...

Toby Keith will guest star on the CBS TV series "Touched By an Angel" on November 10. The country star plays a performer at a 10-year high school reunion where a wealthy businessman and a famous football player revisit their past. ...

Tim McGraw and Brooks & Dunn have a pair of nominations each for the 2001 Radio Music Awards, October 26 at the Aladdin in Las Vegas. They contend with Alan Jackson, the Dixie Chicks and George Strait for Country Artist of the Year. Country Song of the Year nominees include Brooks & Dunn's "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You," Travis Tritt's "It's a Great Day to Be Alive," Diamond Rio's "One More Day," Jessica Andrews' "Who I Am" and McGraw's "My Next Thirty Years." Martina McBride will perform on the show, and Rascal Flatts will be presenters. The show will be telecast live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. ...

The Dixie Chicks, who haven't played in public since their last tour ended in December 2000, plan to open the 2002 Houston Rodeo on February 12. George Strait will close the rodeo on March 3. It will be the last year for the rodeo in the Astrodome, which will be razed and replaced. ...

Sara Evans' husband's political ambitions are drawing scrutiny in his native Oregon. Craig Schelske announced on Monday that he will seek the Republican nomination for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives now held by Democratic Rep. Darlene Hooley, who will seek a fourth term in the 2002 election. Democrats in the district have filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that Schelske has been violating federal law by raising campaign funds from his wife's concerts, before he was an announced candidate. Schelske answered that his lawyers advised him that he was in the clear. Evans and Schelske maintain homes in Nashville and Aumsville, Oregon. ...

Buck Owens, 72, has placed a personal ad in several southern California newspapers in search of a fan he briefly met in September while taping an episode of "Family Feud," the Associated Press reports. The Country Music Hall of Fame member lost the woman's phone number and has placed ads that partly read: "Buck has lost contact, would like for you to call Mel Owens at (661) 326-1011. Please call, extremely important." The telephone number is for his offices in Bakersfield, California. The country legend, who is divorcing his wife of 22 years, admits his pursuit is a little unusual. "I know it sounds silly to some people, me looking for her this way," Owens told the AP. "But what if it works?" ...

Willie Nelson will sing with Sheryl Crow and the Dixie Chicks will come out of hibernation to perform on the 35th annual CMA Awards, scheduled for November 7 in Nashville. Crow and Nelson team up on "I'll Be There for You," a duet from Nelson's next album, The Great Divide, due in January. The Dixie Chicks, reigning Entertainer of the Year, have not revealed their plans for the show. Also, Martina McBride performs "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues"; Jessica Andrews sings "Who I Am"; Phil Vassar chooses "Just Another Day in Paradise"; Blake Shelton croons "Austin"; and Cyndi Thomson sings "What I Really Meant to Say." The awards will be broadcast live from the Grand Ole Opry House from 8-11 p.m. ET. ...

The Grand Ole Opry will stage a Veterans Day (November 11) show at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville to raise money for the families of terrorist victims. Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Little Jimmy Dickens, Steve Wariner, Bill Anderson and Porter Wagoner are set to perform. More acts will be announced. In addition to the special Sunday show, regular Opry programs will be held at the Ryman — its former home — from November through February. ...

Martina McBride will put her brainpower to the test as a celebrity contestant on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," taping this week in New York City. McBride's winnings, guaranteed to be at least $32,000, will be donated to a charity of her choice. An air date has not been announced. ...

Hank Williams Jr. and Trisha Yearwood have been added to the artist roster for the Country Freedom Concert on October 21. The show, to be held at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center, will benefit relief efforts by the Salvation Army. Other artists previously announced include George Strait, Alan Jackson and Lonestar. ...

Martina McBridewill join Elton John, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz and others performing on the 2001 Radio Music Awards at the Aladdin in Las Vegas on October 26, to be televised on ABC. ...

Ann-Margret adds guest vocals to the Light Crust Doughboys' upcoming CD, God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions. James Blackwood and the Jordanaires also appear on the album. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report

• Pat Green
• Brad Paisley
• Delbert McClinton

Pat Green
Photo: Republic

NASHVILLE — Some rock and country artists would flinch at a comparison with Jimmy Buffett, a star whose concerts are as much about community as they are about music.

Not Texan Pat Green, whose followers — though smaller in number than Buffett's Parrotheads — are every bit as loyal and just as dedicated to the party life.

"I love Jimmy Buffett," Green said on his cell phone as he motored back to Texas from Nashville after a live appearance on "CMT Most Wanted Live." (MTVi's parent company, Viacom, also owns CMT.) The video for Green's "Carry On" finished first in the show's daily poll on October 10, the day after his new album, Three Days, came out on Republic Records.

"Jimmy Buffett is such a destination concert every summer for my family," Green said. "Everybody loads up, we rent out a van or a bus and take as many friends as we can to go see a Jimmy Buffett concert. It's a fun thing. It's a good experience and it brings people together."

It's easy to imagine a Pat Green fan making similar plans and saying similar things about a Green performance. At 29, the San Antonio-born, Waco-raised, Lubbock-educated and Austin-based son of the Lone Star State vowed, "I'm dedicated, every night when I go up to do a show, to entertaining the people, not so much to be a star or live that glam lifestyle. I'm just really about the people having a good time with their lives."

Which is exactly what his audience appears to be doing in the "Carry On" video. While Green performs barefoot on stage, the young fresh faces smile and sing. Their fists pump. They hold up signs proclaiming their allegiance to the man. Their heads bob in time to the beat of his anthem to good times. "Everybody gotta get away sometime," goes his chorus. "Forget about yourself for a while."

It's one of Green's favorite themes. "I said forget about tomorrow/ I don't care if it comes at all," he sings on "Take Me Out to a Dancehall," an older song. "And if we get a little crazy/ Blame it on the alcohol."

Green has entertained Texas audiences for a while now. He started playing guitar at 18, "to pick up chicks," while a student at Texas Tech in Lubbock. In short order, he became a regular on the Texas dance hall scene, and he quickly expanded his reach throughout the South and Southwest, playing to college audiences at first, then watching the age range grow out at both ends.

Since 1995, he has recorded six CDs, his latest being Three Days. Another, Songs We Wish We'd Written, is a collection of covers done with fellow Texan Cory Morrow. Guitarist Lloyd Maines, father of Dixie Chick Natalie Maines, has been Green's producer of choice. On the new disc he also enlists Greg Ladanyi, known for his work with Jackson Browne, Don Henley and Warren Zevon, to produce three tracks and mix the record. Four of Green's five independent releases appear on his own label, Greenhorse Records. Together, they've sold more than 200,000 copies — impressive and profitable for an indie.

Nashville noticed. Green came close to signing with the Music City division of RCA but decided instead to go with New York-based Republic/ Universal. There, he's on a roster that includes Godsmack, 3 Doors Down and Chumbawamba, among others. He has creative freedom he fears he would have lost in Nashville.

"I figured it might hurt us in the beginning to try to go at country music out of New York City instead of Nashville," he conceded. "But I really believe in this music ... I think if I had gone through the normal channels of signing a record label deal in country music, I wouldn't have been able to sing what I wanted to sing. I would have lost that control."

Green sees the concentration of country's fortunes in Nashville as an unnatural thing. "It's time for a bit of a change," he said. "Rock and roll comes from Seattle, it comes from New Orleans, it comes from Chicago. Every area has its own sound. For so long, country music only came from one place, and if you didn't come from that place then you were kinda ostracized from the community. I don't think that's the way it should be done."

Willie Nelson — one of Green's avowed role models and a guest vocalist on Three Days — also found it useful to maintain some distance between himself and Nashville. Before Green issued his first CD, Nelson let him open a show in Lubbock.

"He was kind to me then, when I didn't have a record out and our band wasn't very organized," Green said. "Through the years, we've played the Fourth of July picnics, Farm Aid and a whole lot of shows. He's just a fun guy. If anybody wants to know how to live your life, just give him a call and find out. He knows how to treat fans as normal people. He handles it all so well."

Though his crowds are large and growing, Green has had to handle a situation or two of his own. In the land of accomplished singer/songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and Lyle Lovett, some regard his beer-and-good-times point of view as lightweight.

In June, singer/songwriter Charlie Robison took a shot at Green and his fans in an Austin Chronicle story. "You have to see Pat Green's crowd — it's all ball caps, all a certain kind of folk," Robison said. "We're not going to open up a door so wide that educated people or real music fans start liking Pat Green."

And on Tuesday, the day his record came out, the Austin American-Statesman, citing the criticism leveled at him by others, said of Green, "He's the most reviled Texas artist since Vanilla Ice."

"Who's to Say," a track on the new album, seems to embody Green's response. "Who's to say/ And who are you to judge me anyway," he asks. "This is my road/ I take the corner as fast as I can go."

Radney Foster likes Green well enough to have invited him to sing on his latest album, Are You Ready for the Big Show. Their duet, a remake of Foster & Lloyd's "Texas in 1880," has attained some popularity with CMT viewers.

"I'm a fairly whimsical, positive person," Green said, sounding a little like the ol' pirate Buffett. "People can be so critical of work that is becoming popular. If it's not deep enough, or it's not ... whatever, who cares? This is not about you. I'm not writing these songs for those people. I'm writing these songs for the fans and for myself. To answer them, I say, 'Do your own thing, but don't judge it.' "

• Pat Green

Photo: Universal

Pat Green's major-label debut leads this week's new country releases. Green, who has become something of a Texas phenomenon in recent years, tours almost nonstop in clubs, honky-tonks and dancehalls across the state. His energetic shows have come to be known as "sweatathons," and fans routinely greet him with cheers of "Pat f---ing Green!" Now he's on CMT.

Along the way, Green has sold some 200,000 copies of his independently released CDs — and a lot of beer. Republic/Universal signed him earlier this year and the result is Three Days. Willie Nelson duets with him on "Threadbare Gypsy Soul," while "Carry On" is #38 on the October 20 Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

John Berry's second album for Ark 21 is titled All the Way to There. Berry wrote several of the album's songs while staying at Ark 21 owner Miles Copeland's castle in France.

Several country artists perform songs by the children's author and singer Raffi on Country Goes Raffi (Rounder). Artists taking part include Asleep at the Wheel, Eric Heatherly, Billy Gilman, Alison Krauss, Keith Urban, Marty Stuart, the Wilkinsons, LeRoy Parnell, Rhonda Vincent, Lari White, Raul Malo, Elizabeth Cook and Kathy Mattea. Raffi's royalties from the album will be donated to the Children's Environmental Health Network.

Yet more country artists are represented on Christmas Cookies (MCA Nashville). George Strait, Chely Wright, Mark Chesnutt, Gary Allan, Tracy Byrd, Lee Ann Womack, the Mavericks, George Jones and Trisha Yearwood (with Vince Gill) perform traditional Christmas songs on the album.

Twenty vintage Conway Twitty performances are collected on 20 Classics: Conway Twitty (Varese Sarabande), which includes "Danny Boy," "It's Only Make Believe," "Linda on My Mind" and "Hello Darlin'."

• Pat Green