‘PEOPLE’ COUNTRY: AT HOME WITH COUNTRY STARS & THEIR FAMILIES
BRAD PAISLEY SHARES WHY HE LOVES BEING A DAD
Exclusive Photos, Behind-the-Scenes with Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert.
and Food Blogger “The Pioneer Woman” Cooks Up a Cowboy Celebration
(NEW YORK) – PEOPLE Country has published its latest newsstand–only issue dedicated to the Country music scene and lifestyle. This edition, the fourth of five special Country issues to be published by PEOPLE in 2009, takes readers inside the lives of Country’s biggest stars and their families.
In the November 2009 issue of PEOPLE Country, Brad Paisley talks about the many things he’s learned from his dad, Doug Paisley, and that singing and playing guitar are not among them. “There is absolutely no musical talent in him,” says Paisley. But what Brad’s dad does have is a deep devotion to family. “Now that I have my own kids,” says the country superstar referring to William Huckleberry (Huck), 2, and Jasper, 6 months, his sons with Kimberly Williams-Paisley, “I relate to him in a different way.” Here’s a sampling of what Paisley shares with PEOPLE Country about what he learned about being a father from his dad and how he’s using it to raise his boys.
Drive them anywhere (and don’t charge for gas!): Doug – “my first roadie,” says Brad – fully supported his 12-year-old’s music career, acting as chauffer and sound man. “I’d sing five songs, tell jokes and be $55 richer,” says Brad. “My dad never asked for a cut! Not even gas money. I still owe him money.”
Be of service: Doug was active in their small town of Glen Dale, W. Va. – and being a good citizen is a message Brad will pass on to his kids. “I want them to be the type of people who, when they see something unfortunate, do something about it.”
It comes back to family: “Huck has spent so much time with his four grandparents,” says Brad. “It shows him where he comes from and the values we have. I like that.”
(Cover Story, Page 32)
***Also in the November Issue of PEOPLE Country***
TRISHA YEARWOOD TALKS ABOUT HER FAVORITE MUSIC, MUNCHIES & LIFE WITH HUSBAND GARTH BROOKS
This month, Trisha Yearwood took time to talk with PEOPLE Country about her musical history and some of her favorite things. She reveals that her first album she ever bought was Elvis. “Any time I had an allowance, I would buy an Elvis record,” says the singer. Her favorite thing to eat but shouldn’t is McDonald’s French fries. And the best birthday gift she ever received was “for my 40th, Garth flew my family to Oklahoma to surprise me. Then he sent me, my mom and my sister to New York City to see Wicked on Broadway. We came back and had a big party,” shares Yearwood. (Page 13)
EXCLUSIVE PIC: JOSH TURNER AND BABY MAKES FOUR!
Singer Josh Turner and wife Jennifer welcomed their second son, Colby 4 months ago who seems to be taking things in stride. “He’s more laid-back and has Hampton (older brother), 3, beat in the sleeping category already,” says Turner. Jennifer who sings and plays the keyboard in his band, rejoined his tour with the boys in tow in August. “We have a Pack N’ Play bolted to the floor of the bus for Colby, and Hampton is in a bunk,” Turner says. “Jennifer was on the road when she was pregnant with each of them, so they sleep better on the bus than they do at home!” (Page 40)
BEHIND THE LYRICS: KENNY CHESNEY SHARES THE STORY OF HEALING BEHIND HIS HIT ‘I’M ALIVE’
Kenny Chesney tells the November issue of PEOPLE Country that while he was somewhere off the coast of St. Croix in October 2005, he awoke on his boat with a melody in his head. “Staring at the ocean that day, I just thought, ‘I’m Alive,’” he says. For Chesney, still raw from the breakup of his marriage to actress Renėe Zellweger a month earlier, “it was an emotional and spiritual revival just to have that thought,” he says. “Ninety-nine out of a hundred things in your life can be great, but there’s that one negative thing, and you become it. Writing ‘I’m Alive’ made me not concentrate on this one thing. It made me remember that I have been blessed beyond belief.” (Page 28)
FREE! 8 SONGS ON iTUNES — GO TO PEOPLE.COM/FREE FOR FREE DOWNLOADS
For free iTunes downloads from buzz-worthy artists such as Jason Aldean, Terri Clark, KingBilly and 5 others, go to www.people.com/free. Clark cowrote “The One I Love” after watching her mother’s three-year battle with cancer. “As human beings we want to make things okay, yet there’s this feeling of helplessness when you can’t fix it,” says Clark. “It’s heart-wrenching.” KingBilly’s ballad ‘Waiting on You’ “is about waiting for the one you love,” says lead singer Donny Fallgatter. (Page 26)
TIM McGRAW COUNTS HIS BLESSINGS…
Singer Tim McGraw opens up to PEOPLE Country about the six things he’s most thankful for including his wife, daughters, music, football and chili dogs. On wife Faith Hill: “She’s been tough on me when I needed somebody to be tough on me; she’s been easy on me at the right times.” On Music: “Everything good that has come out of my life has happened because of music. It gave me a profession. It gave me confidence…It got me my wife. It’s been my train.” And on chili dogs: “A blessing from God – but no beans in the chili…” (Page 80)
DOUBLE TROUBLE: FOUR SETS OF COUNTRY TWINS TALK ABOUT BEING TWO-OF-A-KIND
It’s all about the twins! Bucky Covington, Jake Owen, Kate & Kacey and the Carters talk to PEOPLE Country about being a twin. As kids, the Covington brothers “shared everything – a bedroom, sandwiches, baskets of fries, a truck,” says Bucky, “It was like we weren’t two people!” adds Rocky, who sings and plays percussion in his brother’s band. “Mom dressed us alike, in sailor outfits, all that. It was bad.” In fact, until Bucky hit it big on American Idol in 2005, “I used to raid his closet and wear his clothes,” Bucky says. “Then I went on Idol, and they said I didn’t have any style!” (Page 48)