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Dolly Parton’s Rockstar blasts in at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Dec. 2), scoring the music legend her first leader on the 32-year-old tally.
Rockstar bows with 118,500 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 23, according to Luminate. That marks biggest sales week for an album in the modern era, since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991. She more than doubles her previous biggest week, notched in 1993 when Slow Dancing With the Moon sold 50,500 copies in its second week on the chart (rising 54-19 on the March 20, 1993-dated list).
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new Dec. 2, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Nov. 28. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
As previously reported, Rockstar also debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 – Parton’s highest charting album ever, and her third top 10 on that list.
Of Rockstar’s first-week sales of 118,500, physical sales comprise a little more than 96,000 (78,000 on CD, 18,000 on vinyl and a negligible sum on cassette) and download album sales comprise a little over 22,000.
The star-studded Rockstar was promoted as Parton’s first rock album, and its recording was sparked by Parton’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Parton has primarily released country music in her nearly 60-year career, through has taken detours (with albums and/or songs) into such genres as Americana/folk, bluegrass, children’s music, Christian, dance/electronic and pop.
The 30-song Rockstar set has a mix of original songs and covers, and boasts a cavalcade of guest stars – 40 in all. Among them are Pat Benatar, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Chris Stapleton, Ringo Starr, Sting and Steven Tyler.
Rockstar’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across a variety of editions and formats, in addition to some non-traditional music retailers including Cracker Barrel, Dollar General and HSN. The album’s CD edition was available in four editions – a standard version and three variants, each with alternative cover art: for HSN, with three bonus tracks; a Dallas Cowboys version, and a Tennessee Volunteers edition with a bonus track. The latter two were tied to a pair of high-profile live TV performances from Parton: during the Georgia Bulldogs vs. Tennessee Volunteers football game on Nov. 19, and during halftime of the Washington Commanders vs. Dallas Cowboys football game on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23).
Rockstar was pressed on more than 10 vinyl variants, including exclusive editions (all in different colors, some with different cover art) for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, independent record stores, Parton’s webstore, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame store, Target and Walmart. Parton’s webstore also carried a deluxe digital download version of the album with three exclusive bonus tracks. Rockstar was also offered in multiple deluxe boxed sets, sold through Parton’s webstore, containing either a vinyl or CD version of the album with a branded T-shirt of various designs.
Jason Aldean has extended his headlining Highway Desperado Tour into 2024, adding 24 cities to the trek, beginning May 18 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The tour will also make stops in Philadelphia, Savannah and more, before wrapping with a show in Aldean’s original hometown of Macon, Ga., at the Macon […]
Congratulations are in order for Sam Hunt and his wife, Hannah Lee Fowler, who have welcomed their second child together. The 38-year-old country musician took to Instagram on Friday (Nov. 24) to share the exciting news with his 3.3 million followers. “Thank You Lord,” Hunt captioned a photo of his beautiful family. In the snapshot, […]
Dolly Parton may have a career in professional cheerleading if this music thing doesn’t work out. The 77-year-old country superstar stunned during the NFL halftime show at the Dallas Cowboys-Washing Commanders game on Thanksgiving (Nov. 23) after stepping onto the stage in a sparkling Cowboys-inspired cheerleader uniform for her show-stealing set. “Hello, Texas! Dolly does […]
On Black Friday (Nov. 24), Garth Brooks will give fans an early look at his Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk in downtown Nashville, opening the bar with his own “dive bar” concert taking place at the new venue.
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The Amazon Music Live special concert will be livestreamed for everyone to watch, beginning at 7 p.m. ET and available via Amazon Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch — even for those without an Amazon Prime subscription or an Amazon account. Additionally, the Black Friday NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets will transition directly into the concert following the game. Over on Twitch, a pre-show will begin at 6 p.m. ET, hosted by Amber Anderson and Kelly Sutton, who spearhead Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast.
The Country Music Hall of Famer’s Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk, located at 411 Broadway in Nashville, is the latest country artist-owned bar to dot downtown Nashville, joining venues from Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson and Miranda Lambert, among others.
During a press conference held at his new Friends in Low Places Bar in Nashville, Brooks noted that his Black Friday concert will welcome a special guest: Ronnie Dunn, who will join Brooks to perform their current radio duet “Rodeo Man” together live for the first time. The duet is included on Brooks’ new album Time Traveler and debuted in the top 30 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart.
In a nod to the venue’s namesake song, “Friends in Low Places,” two towering palm trees overlooking the venue’s massive, retractable stage are named for the songwriters behind Brooks’ signature hit: Earl Bud Lee and Dwayne Blackwell. “Friends in Low Places,” included on Brooks’ 1990 album No Fences, spent four weeks atop Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. The song was also named single of the year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
Brooks explained his reasoning behind opting to name the bar after his signature song rather than simply license his name. “Hopefully as an artist is you realize that the song outlives the artist,” Brooks said. “So that’s why it’s not ‘The Garth Bar.’ It’s Friends in Low Places. … You can like Garth Brooks, you can not like Garth Brooks. Either way, chances are you’ve probably sang ‘Friends in Low Places’ at a wedding or something with everybody else.”
He also noted that, similar to his previous Dive Bar concerts in other cities, this will be a truncated performance, expected to wrap in under an hour.
Brooks also noted that the bar won’t fully open until March 2024, though the two bottom floors will be open during the soft opening on Friday and on weekends leading up to the March 2024 full opening.
However, don’t expect to see Brooks doing pop-up shows at the bar; he told reporters during the press conference that he wants to keep the focus on the bar being a place for the next generation of artists to hone their skills. He also noted to Billboard that he doesn’t plan to be involved in selecting the artists and/or bands who perform at the bar.
“My thing is, let’s get as many people in here. The more people get to play, the more chances new people get,” he told Billboard, noting that the stage is also retractable. “There’s a green room to show a little bit of what the future is for them, and of course, everything’s about the crew.”
The Oklahoma native also noted the venue’s location is full-circle for him. The building used to be known as Paradise Park Trailer Park bar, and the rooftop is where Brooks celebrated in 2019 after winning his seventh CMA entertainer of the year accolade.
Brooks said that his motivation to launch the Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk ultimately stems from a desire to give back to Nashville’s community.
“We are part of the ‘Neon neighborhood’ down here, inviting everyone to Lower Broad. I want this to be a good thing for Lower Broadway.”
On Thursday (Nov. 23), thousands of gatherings will bring together families and friends to enjoy a day of fellowship and food. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 73% of U.S. adults say family time is one of the most important aspects of their life. When it comes to the foods spread out on Thanksgiving […]
When families get together across America for Thanksgiving on Nov. 23, one of the key elements beneath the drumsticks, gravy and pumpkin pie is an appreciation for the people who had the biggest role in making us who we are.
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Or, at least, that’s how we think it’s supposed to be. In many households, the gathering will be a contest to see how long the day goes before long-held internal feuds spiral into arguments. And in other residences, relatives will recall the mom — or the uncle or the spouse — who’s no longer around, and regret will set in about not making the best use of the time while they were here.
In that spirit, Jay Allen’s “No Present Like the Time” serves as a reminder about living life to the fullest, a kind of Hallmark card that urges the listener to get the most out of every moment while it’s still possible.
Allen knows something about it. His mom died of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in February 2019. As he trudged forward in the aftermath, he realized he had missed some opportunities — to ask questions, share a story or simply say, “I love you.” He mostly held his chin up, but when he competed on NBC’s The Voice, he was stuck in a lonely hotel room with only occasional 10-minute breaks. He used the isolation to finally start processing his grief, and the hurt began evolving into gratitude for what she had left him. He soon realized she would want him to get on with his life.
“I started thinking about the positives that I took from losing her,” he remembers. “This song came out of it.”
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Allen tried to write what became “No Present Like the Time” four or five times, but it never quite jelled. So he got in touch with songwriter Nate Kenyon and writer-producer-musician Micah Wilshire (Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker), and met them during a break from The Voice at Wilshire’s backyard studio in Nashville. Wilshire had just lost his father three months prior, and each of the writers felt a sense of purpose in the work.
“I remember talking about bits of wisdom I could leave my son and wisdom that maybe my dad left me, too,” says Wilshire. “Going along with what Jay’s story was, obviously, it was just kind of a raw day. But it was really cathartic.”
Wilshire played the foundational guitar for the co-write, and Kenyon contributed a simple melodic guitar line in the opening seconds that’s easily played on a single string. The opening verse was a sort of hodgepodge of ideas: “Take a picture, take a chance,” “Don’t hold your breath, hold your kids.” They didn’t form a particular narrative, though the images had a loose commonality.
“We weren’t really trying to have this progressive journey,” Kenyon remembers. “It was really like a gumbo pot of really important stuff.”
All those scattered thoughts led melodically to the chorus, where everything came into focus with a series of phrases about the tenuousness of the moment. “It can fade in a minute,” they warned, “no matter how you spin it.” The lines kept ticking toward the inevitable twist of the key phrase: “There’s no time like the present/ There’s no present like the time.”
But they didn’t stop there. Allen wanted to make the flip of the word “present” clear to the listener, so they threw in a post-chorus of short, stabbing phrases that underscored the new meaning: “It’s a gift, it’s all you get.” From that “gift” line, the post-chorus became a sort of mantra, concluding with a simple reminder: “Say ‘I love you.’ ”
“At first we were like, ‘We should do this as like a post- on the second chorus,’ ” recalls Wilshire. “And then I was like, ‘No, we should just do this every time as part of the elongated chorus.’ There’s enough meat to say that we feel like we should say it every time.”
The second verse took a philosophical tack -— “Help a stranger, help yourself/ Pull that Bible off the shelf” — that brings to mind the parable of the good Samaritan and ultimately encouraged the listener to remember what matters most. Then it rolled again into the chorus, with its focus on the urgency of the moment.
“All three of us have our own view of this song because we came from our own heads with it,” Wilshire says. “But part of it is the struggle of living in the now. It’s a struggle for everybody — really living, and being present, is so hard.”
They had said all that needed to be said, so they skipped writing a bridge, left space for a guitar solo and added one more swing through a down chorus that grew in intensity to close after two-and-a-half minutes.
Wilshire played most of the instrumental parts on the track — he overdubbed a crisp guitar solo later that night — but he purposely used Kenyon’s simple guitar part in the open and left some of the finger noise from playing the nylon strings on the track, too. “I am not a guitar player,” says Kenyon appreciatively. “I can strum, and I can do a little bit of picking, but you normally would never hear me playing guitar on a recording.”
Allen purposely over-enunciated on the vocals to make certain that the message connected with the listener. And he countered some of his rock background to deliver the song with an understated tone. “Miss Gwen Stefani on The Voice, she pulled me aside and was just like, ‘Jay, you don’t have to scream all the time,’ ” he says.
In all, it only took about 90 minutes for the three creatives to write “No Present” and get a rough recording down. “This is one of the songs [where] God’s a co-writer,” says Kenyon. “We didn’t overthink. We probably broke some of the normal writing rules, but it just felt good. And it felt right.”
Wilshire added some atmospheric guitar sounds that night and sang background vocals. And at a later date, when it came time to release it, Allen came back to Wilshire’s studio to rerecord the lead voice on a more expensive microphone. They ultimately decided the performance from the co-write had more heart and kept that version.
ONErpm released “No Present Like the Time” to digital outlets in 2022 and, after about a year, decided to bring it to country radio, issuing it via PlayMPE on Oct. 5. Allen also created a Christmas version, even though it’s not a holiday-specific song. Wilshire dropped light sleigh bells into the background and recorded a very basic keyboard part that lent a little extra dreaminess.
Allen, who joined the Alzheimer’s movement in his mother’s final years, has reportedly helped raise more than $100 million for the cause. “No Present Like the Time” has a sentiment that applies to an even wider community.
“My entire team realizes I have a message to convey, and that message is this song,” Allen says. “What I do as an artist really isn’t really about me. It’s about how can I utilize my little gift, my ability to write a song, to help people, to give back to someone, to make them feel not alone, to make them love the person next to them a little harder.”
It’s a good reminder at a time of Thanksgiving.
At age 90 and with more than seven decades of music under his belt, Texas native Willie Nelson is busier than ever. The 12-time Grammy winner was recently inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 3 and in September, he released Bluegrass, his first full-length album of bluegrass-styled music. The album has earned Nelson a Grammy nomination for best bluegrass album, leading into the 2024 ceremony.
On Dec. 17, CBS will present the music special Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration, honoring the music icon with performances and collaborations from Nelson as well as Gary Clark Jr., Snoop Dogg, Miranda Lambert, Norah Jones, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Keith Richards and Nelson’s sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson. More top-tier stars will host, including Jennifer Garner, Chelsea Handler, Woody Harrelson, Ethan Hawke, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson.
Nelson’s innovative songs, unique performance style and jazz-inspired, behind-the-beat style of phrasing, has made the iconoclast one of music’s most widely beloved artists, with 20 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. His catalog of hits he penned for other artists includes “Night Life,” “Hello Walls,” “Crazy,” “Family Bible” and “Funny How Time Slips Away.” He earned his first top 10 country hits as an artist in the 1960s with “Touch Me” and “Willingly,” but it was 1975’s Red Headed Stranger that would garner Nelson his mainstream breakthrough. The album’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” would earn Nelson his first Grammy award, and his first No. 1 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart.
In 1976, Nelson’s music was part of the compilation album Wanted! The Outlaws, which also included Tompall Glaser, Waylon Jennings, and Jessi Colter; the album became country music’s first album to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Nelson and Jennings’ hit collaborations include the 1976, three-week Hot Country Songs chart No. 1 hit “Good Hearted Woman” and 1978’s four-week No. 1 “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”
A testament to his musical fluidity, Nelson’s albums over the years have paid homage to his Texas honky-tonk roots, but also included projects of pop standards (1978’s Stardust), tributes to Lefty Frizzell (1977’s To Lefty From Willie), Kris Kristofferson (1979’s Willie Nelson Sings Kristofferson), Cindy Walker (2006’s You Don’t Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker), Frank Sinatra (2021’s That’s Life) and George and Ira Gershwin (2016’s Summertime), and albums recorded with Ray Price, Roger Miller, Merle Haggard and Webb Pierce.
Nelson was named as the inaugural honoree of the Country Music Association’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Three years later, Nelson became the first country artist to earn the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
Here, we look at Willie Nelson’s 25 biggest Billboard hits, from “Blues Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain” to “Beer For My Horses.”
Willie Nelson’s 25 Biggest Billboard Hits recap is based on actual performance on Billboard’s weekly Hot Country Songs chart. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower ranks earning less. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from each era, certain time frames were weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those years.
“Heartbreak Hotel” (with Leon Russell)
When Dierks Bentley’s band is looking for something to keep it occupied during long bus rides, the group has, at times, turned to artificial intelligence apps, asking them to create album reviews or cover art for the group’s alter ego, The Hot Country Knights.
“So far,” guitarist Charlie Worsham says, “AI does not completely understand The Hot Country Knights.”
By the same token, Music Row doesn’t completely understand AI, but the developing technology is here, inspiring tech heads and early adaptors to experiment with it, using it to get a feel, for example, for how Bentley’s voice might fit a new song or to kick-start a verse that has the writer stumped. But it has also inspired a palpable amount of fear among artists anticipating their voices will be misused and among musicians who feel they’ll be completely replaced.
“As a songwriter, I see the benefit that you don’t have to shell out a ton of money for a demo singer,” one attendee said during the Q&A section of an ASCAP panel about AI on Nov. 7. “But also, as a demo singer, I’m like, ‘Oh, shit, I’m out of a job.’”
That particular panel, moderated by songwriter-producer Chris DeStefano (“At the End of a Bar,” “That’s My Kind of Night”), was one of three AI presentations that ASCAP hosted at Nashville’s Twelve Thirty Club the morning after the ASCAP Country Music Awards, hoping to educate Music City about the burgeoning technology. The event addressed the creative possibilities ahead, the evolving legal discussion around AI and the ethical questions that it raises. (ASCAP has endorsed six principles for AI frameworks here).
The best-known examples of AI’s entry into music have revolved around the use of public figures’ voices in novel ways. Hip-hop artist Drake, in one prominent instance, had his voice re-created in a cover of “Bubbly,” originated by Colbie Caillat, who released her first country album, Along the Way, on Sept. 22.
“Definitely bizarre,” Caillat said during CMA Week activities. “I don’t think it’s good. I think it makes it all too easy.”
But ASCAP panelists outlined numerous ways AI can be employed for positive uses without misappropriating someone’s voice. DeStefano uses AI program Isotope, which learned his mixing tendencies, to elevate his tracks to “another level.” Independent hip-hop artist Curtiss King has used AI to handle tasks outside of his wheelhouse that he can’t afford to outsource, such as graphic design or developing video ideas for social media. Singer-songwriter Anna Vaus instructed AI to create a 30-day social media campaign for her song “Halloween on Christmas Eve” and has used it to adjust her bio or press releases — “stuff,” she says, “that is not what sets my soul on fire.” It allows her more time, she said, for “sitting in my room and sharing my human experiences.”
All of this forward motion is happening faster in some other genres than it is in country, and the abuses — the unauthorized use of Drake’s voice or Tom Cruise’s image — have entertainment lawyers and the Copyright Office playing catch-up. Those examples test the application of the fair use doctrine in copyright law, which allows creators to play with existing copyrights. But as Sheppard Mullin partner Dan Schnapp pointed out during the ASCAP legal panel, fair use requires the new piece to be a transformative product that does not damage the market for the original work. When Drake’s voice is being applied without his consent to a song he has never recorded and he is not receiving a royalty, that arguably affects his marketability.
The Copyright Office has declined to offer copyright protection for AI creations, though works that are formed through a combination of human and artificial efforts complicate the rule. U.S. Copyright Office deputy general counsel Emily Chapuis pointed to a comic book composed by a human author who engaged AI for the drawings. Copyright was granted to the text, but not the illustrations.
The legal community is also sorting through rights to privacy and so-called “moral rights,” the originator’s ability to control how a copyright is used.
“You can’t wait for the law to catch up to the tech,” Schnapp said during the legal panel. “It never has and never will. And now, this is the most disruptive technology that’s hit the creative industry, generally, in our lifetime. And it’s growing exponentially.”
Which has some creators uneasy. Carolyn Dawn Johnson asked from the audience if composers should stop using their phones during writing appointments because ads can track typed and spoken activity, thus opening the possibility that AI begins to draw on content that has never been included in copyrighted material. The question was not fully answered.
But elsewhere, Nashville musicians are beginning to use AI in multiple ways. Restless Road has had AI apply harmonies to songwriter demos to see if a song might fit its sound. Elvie Shane, toying with a chatbot, developed an idea that he turned into a song about the meth epidemic, “Appalachian Alchemy.” Chase Matthew’s producer put a version of his voice on a song to convince him to record it. Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin, who co-wrote Sugarland’s “Stuck Like Glue,” has asked AI to suggest second verses on songs he was writing — the verses are usually pedestrian, but he has found “one nugget” that helped finish a piece.
The skeptics have legitimate points, but skeptics also protested electronic instruments, drum machines, CDs, file sharing and programmed tracks. The industry has inevitably adapted to those technologies. And while AI is scary, early adopters seem to think it’s making them more productive and more creative.
“It’s always one step behind,” noted King. “It can make predictions based upon the habits that I’ve had, but there’s so many interactions that I have because I’m a creative and I get creative about where I’m going next … If anything, AI has given me like a kick in the butt to be more creative than I’ve ever been before.”
Songwriter Kevin Kadish (“Whiskey Glasses,” “Soul”) put the negatives of AI into a bigger-picture perspective.
“I’m more worried about it for like people’s safety and all the scams that happen on the phone,” he said on the ASCAP red carpet. “Music is the least of our worries with AI.”
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