In the battle between booty-shaking and reckless driving, the edge still goes to rising star Carrie Underwood. For the fifth week in a row, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" clutches the No. 1 spot on Billboard's country airplay chart, as Trace Adkins' "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" apparently loses its shot at the top spot, falling from No. 2 to No. 3.

Both songs had a decrease in spins last week, which means that Brad Paisley's "When I Get Where I'm Going" -- No. 2 with a bullet -- is potentially poised to reach the summit next week.

Or maybe not. After 29 weeks on the chart, Josh Turner's "Your Man" continues its steady climb, now at No. 4 with a bullet. He's just ahead of Faith Hill's "Like We Never Loved at All" at No. 5, Keith Urban's "Tonight I Wanna Cry" at No. 6 and Sugarland's "Just Might (Make Me Believe)" at No. 7. Rounding out the Top 10 are Tim McGraw's "My Old Friend" at No. 8, Kenny Chesney's "Living in Fast Forward" at No. 9 and Billy Currington's "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right" at No. 10.

George Strait claims the week's highest debut with "The Seashores of Old Mexico," a cover of a Merle Haggard song, splashing in at No. 48. Other new singles include Neal McCoy's "The Last of a Dying Breed" at No. 52, Martina McBride's cover of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" at No. 53, Underwood's "Before He Cheats" at No. 59 and new artist Eric Church's "How 'Bout You" at No. 60.

Underwood returns to No. 1 on the country albums chart, trading places with Turner. The Legend of Johnny Cash lives on at No. 3, followed by the latest albums from Adkins, Rascal Flatts, Urban, Chesney and Sugarland. Walk the Line settles in at No. 9, followed by Miranda Lambert's Kerosene, at No. 10

New albums hitting the chart include Jamey Johnson's The Dollar at No. 20 and Alabama's three-disc boxed set, Livin' Lovin' Rockin' Rollin': The 25th Anniversary Collection, at No. 28. Kenny Rogers also makes several appearances on the chart: 21 Number Ones at No. 11, Golden Legends: Kenny Rogers at No. 57 and 42 Ultimate Hits at No. 75.

• Carrie Underwood
• Trace Adkins
• Brad Paisley
• Josh Turner
• Faith Hill

Ashanti's <i>Concrete Rose</i>

Now that every A-lister from Eminem to Gwen has dropped their album in time for the holiday shopping rush, things are slowing down, with only a handful of major artists releasing albums this week.

Ashanti's Concrete Rose, which arrives on the heels of the single "Only U," follows 2003's Chapter II. For her third studio album, Ashanti worked with 7 Aurelius, who produced the majority of her self-titled debut in 2002 as well as the Ja Rule tracks on which she collaborated, "Always on Time" and "Down 4 U."

On his newest album, which was pushed back one week from its original release date of December 7, Xzibit takes belated aim at President Bush on the track "State of the Union" and in the title, Weapons of Mass Destruction. The follow-up to 2002's Man Vs. Machine finds the rapper collaborating with Busta Rhymes and such producers as Rick Rock, Battlecat and Hi-Tek.

Another posthumous Tupac album hits stores this week. Loyal to the Game finds hip-hop producers including Eminem putting beats to some of Tupac's previously unreleased rhymes. Loyal to the Game, hitting stores eight years after the rapper's death, is also his seventh album to be released posthumously.

Out Tuesday, December 13:

• Afroman - 4ro: 20 (Hungry Hustler)
  Buy Now: 4ro: 20 (Hungry Hustler)
  
• Afroman - Hungry Hustlerz: Starvation Is Motivation (Hungry Hustler)
  Buy Now: Hungry Hustlerz: Starvation Is Motivation (Hungry Hustler)
  
• Ashanti - Concrete Rose (Def Jam)
  Read: "Ashanti: R&B's Go-To Girl Plants A 'Rose' "
  Buy Now: Concrete Rose (Def Jam)
  
• Merle Haggard - Unforgettable (Capitol)
• Vic Mizzy - Songs for the Jogging Crowd (Vicster)
• Tupac Shakur - Loyal to the Game (Interscope)
  Read: "Eminem 'Went Crazy' With Tupac's A Cappellas For Loyal To The Game"
  Buy Now: Loyal to the Game (Interscope)
  
• Xzibit - Weapons of Mass Destruction (Sony)
  Buy Now: Weapons of Mass Destruction (Sony)
  
• Various artists - Soundtrack to "The Aviator" (Sony)
• Various artists - Soundtrack to "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" (Hollywood)
• DVD: Joss Stone - "Mind, Body & Soul Sessions Live in New York City" (S-Curve)

December 21:

• Mannie Fresh - Mind of Mannie Fresh (Cash Money)

December 28:

• John Legend - Get Lifted (Sony)

• Ashanti
• Tupac
• Xzibit
• Joss Stone
• Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard
Photo: Anti Records

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. ...

Travis Tritt's Down the Road I Go has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of more than 1 million units. Released in 2000, the album marks his debut for Columbia Records following a long affiliation with Warner Bros. Down the Road I Go has yielded the singles "Best of Intentions," "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" and "Love of a Woman." In other RIAA news, Toby Keith's Pull My Chain, released August 28, has achieved gold status for shipments of 500,000 copies. ...

Texas swing band Hot Club of Cowtown will give a free concert Wednesday at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. The Austin combo's performance is part of a year-long series of Texas-themed events supporting the museum's exhibit on music from the Lone Star State. ...

Dolly Parton will play a concert New Year's Eve in Nashville to provide scholarships for families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. "The Red, White and Bluegrass Concert" at the Grand Ole Opry House will feature Parton with an "all-star acoustic band." "I wanted to show my true colors, which are red, white and blue, by being a good American and a good Samaritan," she said in a statement. Money will go to the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund. Guest artists and ticket information will be announced later. Parton said she would like to do an ongoing series of concerts featuring talent from the bluegrass and roots music community to benefit the fund. Bill Clinton and Bob Dole head up a $100 million fundraising campaign to support the scholarship fund. ...

Charges against Trace Adkins for DUI, speeding and violating the open container law have been carried over to November 26 in Williamson County, Tennessee. The case went to the grand jury Monday (October 8). Adkins was arrested July 5 in Nolensville, Tennessee, while on his way home from his farm in Rutherford County. ...

William E. "Smoky" Dacus, the first drummer for Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, died Tuesday at Kellmark Nursing Center in Rogers, Arkansas. He was 90. One of country music's first drummers, Dacus joined the Texas Playboys in 1935 and played on classic recordings such as "Maiden's Prayer," "San Antonio Rose" and "Steel Guitar Rag." He left the band in the early 1940s when Wills went to Hollywood. In his Wills biography, "San Antonio Rose," Charles Townsend points out that Dacus played an important role in western swing and country music history. "This was the first time drums were successfully used in a string band," he writes of Dacus' tenure. Dacus helped create the solid dance beat Wills was after, and his drumming "moved the band further from traditional fiddle or string band music and even closer to jazz." Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday (October 11) at Immanuel Baptist Church in Rogers. ...

Billy Ray Cyrus appears barechested and tattooed in the David Lynch movie "Mulholland Drive," which opens Friday at selected theaters nationwide. The movie, which was originally written as a television pilot for ABC, won the Best Director award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report

• Merle Haggard
• Ralph Stanley
• Garth Brooks

Photo: De Capo Press

Here's a rundown of country music-related book titles for the fall quarter and beyond as reported in Publishers Weekly.

For country traditionalists, there are two studies of Hank Williams and one of Merle Haggard. Colin Escott and Kira Florita have compiled and annotated "Hank Williams: Snapshots From the Lost Highway" (October 16, Da Capo Press). The words-and-pictures book is a tie-in with Timeless, the all-star tribute to Williams issued September 25 on Lost Highway Records.

In January, the University Press of Mississippi will publish Bill Koon's "Hank Williams, So Lonesome," which promises new research and perspectives on the importance of the country/pop legend. Hal Leonard Publications will deliver Don Cusic's "Merle Haggard — The Lyrics" in November. The prolific country chronicler looks at Hag's topsy-turvy life through the prism of his own songs.

Peter Doggett inspects one of country music's most vigorous subtypes in "Are You Ready for the Country: Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock" (August 28, Penguin). For the more omnivorous music fan, Da Capo Press has rolled out (October 2) "Da Capo Best Music Writing 2001: The Year's Finest Writing on Rock, Pop, Jazz, Country, and More."

Two performers on the fringes of country have authored humor books. On Sept. 14, Rutledge Hill Press debuted Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Christmas From the Family" (which contains a CD single). Keen's fellow Texan and perennial hell-raiser takes his turn at America's funny bone with "Kinky Friedman's Guide to Texas Etiquette, or How to Get to Heaven or Hell Without Going Through Dallas-Fort Worth" (October, Cliff Street).

Actor Dennis Weaver made a valiant run at country music in the early '80s with records that incited more derision than delight. He recounts his otherwise impressive career in "All the World's a Stage" (October, Hampton Roads). While not musicians themselves, the Coen Brothers provided country music one of its most talked-about and best-selling albums of the past two years via their movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Peter Korte and Georg Seesslen offer a study of their work and influence in "Joel and Ethan Coen" (October, Limelight Editions).

"Danny Boy" didn't make its mark originally as a country song, but plenty of country stars have recorded it. In fact, it gave Ray Price a Top 10 hit in 1967. Malachi McCourt renders a close-up of this sentimental favorite in "Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved Irish Ballad" (December, Running Press).

We aren't sure how many country singers turn up in the pages of Donald F. Reuter's "Songbird: A Visual History of Women in Music" (December, Universe), but we're assured that the luminous Emmylou Harris is one of them. The book has more than 150 portraits, album covers and concert shots.

Scheduled for next February is an inside history of the record company that helped make stars of Harris, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Travis Tritt, Faith Hill and hundreds of others. How many of these are mentioned, we don't know. Written by Stan Cornyn and Paul Scanlon, the book is titled "Exploding: The Highs, Hits, Hype, Heroes, and Hustlers of the Warner Music Group" (HarperEntertainment).

HarperEntertainment is also releasing a reprint edition in December of the Ralph Emery and Patsi Bale Cox tome, "50 Years Down a Country Road."

• Hank Williams
• Merle Haggard

What happens when a barefoot, breathy folk princess teams up with the original "Okie From Muskogee?" We'll find out when the results of Jewel's studio session with country legend Merle Haggard surface.

According to a spokesperson for Haggard, Jewel recorded two duets with the 60-year-old singer-songwriter (who's perhaps best known for his 1969 anti-hippie anthem "Okie") last Thursday in his Northern California studio.

The Jewel-enhanced new versions of Haggard's classic tracks "Silver Wings" and "That's the Way Love Goes" will appear on "Merle Haggard: For the Record," a two-CD, 43-song collection from the man who was as well known for his law-breaking, booze-guzzling exploits as he was for his C&W hits.

For the most part, the collection will feature Haggard's re-recordings of his own previously released songs. Other guests on the project will include Willie Nelson, Brooks & Dunn, and Alabama, a band that's enjoying a crossover hit of its own thanks to a collaboration with 'N Sync (see "'N Sync Expands Horizons With Alabama, Gloria Estefan").

"For the Record" will be released on the new RCA-distributed label TBA Records, and it's scheduled to hit stores on August 24. A pay-per-view special of the same name will be broadcast live from Las Vegas sometime in October.

• Merle Haggard