I Know Country!

By Preshias Harris

“I Know Country!” is the day-by-day book of country music questions and answers. 366 challenging questions about Blake Shelton, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Hank Williams, Chris Young, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Crystal Gayle, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley plus hundreds more... and the songs and songwriters that made them famous!

With 366 questions – one for every day of the year including leap year – this book will test your knowledge of everything about country music. Some are quite easy (if you know the answers!) but some are really tough. Many of them are date-specific, relating to a star’s birthday or the day that a song hit Number One, but all of them are fun and informative. Unlike ordinary trivia quizzes, you don't just get the answers. Preshias has added nuggets of knowledge about the song, the artist or the songwriter. This adds to the fun and creates dozens of “I didn’t know that” moments.

Preshias created I Know Country! on the knowledge she has gathered in more than twenty years in Music City. She knows the amazing artists, the incredibly talented songwriters and the Music Row ‘movers and shakers.’ The huge hits... the big stars... the platinum records. But she also knows those tantalizing tidbits that make Music City USA so unique. It’s all there in I Know Country!

I Know Country! is completely unique, unlike any other country music book you have ever seen, packed with literally hundreds of fun factoids about the music and the amazing people who make it happen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Preshias Harris
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310679940

Preshias Harris

Preshias Harris is a music career development consultant with special emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters as part of her College of SongologyTM. Working one-on-one with clients, she focuses on ‘chasing the dream’ while understanding the realities of the music industry. She maintains a writers’ room on Music Row – named The Sangtuary – for her clients and their co-writers. Preshias has interviewed everyone from Alabama to ZZ Top for articles and stories published in numerous music magazines. She is the author of ‘Inside Track on Music Row,’ the longest-running monthly country music column in America. The column appears in ‘Nashville Music Guide’ and on websites around the world. She is the author of "I Know Country!" featuring 366 day-by-day country music Q&As, and "The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s ‘Need To Know’ Reference Handbook." Preshias began her career as an intern to the VP of Publicity at BNA Records and started to build a network of music industry contacts from coast to coast. She also began writing her column for Nashville Music Guide. She wrangled on-air celebrity interviews for radio DJs broadcasting from Emerald Studios during Fan Fair and CMA Week, and handled promotion and media relations for the NY Times bestseller, “Chicken Soup for the Country Soul.” She has also served as song plugger and A&R assistant to an award-winning songwriter, and as Promotions Coordinator with George Jones University. She is a sought-after judge at talent contests, including the nationally promoted US Country Showdown. She also serves as Artist Relations/Nashville Division for Boulder Creek Guitars and for Country Rewind Records for whom she also writes CD album liner notes. She is a member of ASCAP (as a publisher), BMI, The Country Music Association (CMA), The Recording Academy (formerly NARAS), The National Association of Talent Directors (NATD) and a life member of Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).

Book preview

JANUARY

January 01 to January 07 – Questions

January 01

QUESTION:

Name the man who was in the audience at the Johnny Cash concert in San Quentin prison on this day in 1959, and was inspired to go on and become a Country star in his own right.

January 02

QUESTION:

Who is the Country Music Hall of Fame member whose hits include King of the Road, Dang Me and Chug-A-Lug?

January 03

QUESTION:

On this day in 1991, the mayors of both Ashland and Flatwoods, Kentucky, declared a Day to honor this male singer when he signed his first recording contract with Mercury Records. He went on to be a well-known singer and actor and a famous dad. Who is he?

January 04

QUESTION:

Name the male artist who scored his first Number One country single with Love Me on this day in 1992.

January 05

QUESTION:

Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind was a Number One hit on this date in 1985 for which male artist?

January 06

On this day in 2007, She’s Everything hit Number One on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for which popular male artist who is married to actress Kimberly Williams?

January 07

QUESTION:

Name the song written by David Allan Coe and made famous by Johnny Paycheck, about a man who feels his hard work is unappreciated by his boss.

January 01 to January 07 – Answers

January 01

ANSWER:

Merle Haggard. After his release from prison, he eventually secured a record deal and his first national Top Ten hit was (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers, written by Liz Anderson, the mother of Lynn Anderson.

January 02

ANSWER:

Roger Miller. The singer-songwriter with the quirky sense of humor was born on this day in 1935. He passed away in 1992.

January 03

ANSWER:

Billy Ray Cyrus, famed for Achy Breaky Heart and as the star of TV’s Doc. And, of course, as father of Miley Cyrus.

January 04

ANSWER:

Collin Raye, who, between 1991 and 2007, charted 30 singles on the U.S. country charts.

January 05

ANSWER:

None other than the King of Country himself, George Strait.

January 06

ANSWER:

That’s the Glen Dale, West Virginia native, Brad Douglas Paisley.

January 07

ANSWER:

Take This Job and Shove It. The song also inspired a 1981 movie of the same name.

January 08 to January 14 – Questions

January 08

QUESTION:

He was born in Mississippi on this day in 1935, 35 minutes after his twin brother Jesse was sadly delivered stillborn. Although he failed music at school and was told he couldn’t sing, he went on to become world famous. Who is he?

January 09

QUESTION:

Born on this day in 1951, she is noted for her almost floor-length hair and has an equally famous older sister. Who is this famous country artist?

January 10

QUESTION:

Name the song about a woman escaping an abusive relationship that hit Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for Martina McBride on this day in 1998.

January 11

QUESTION:

Twice the Speed of Life was the title of the debut album from which group?

January 12

QUESTION:

Name the ‘outlaw’ singer who was released from prison on this date in 1991 after serving twenty two months of a seven-year sentence for shooting a man in a Hillsboro, Ohio, bar in 1985.

January 13

QUESTION:

His number One country chart hits include (This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing, Ladies Love Country Boys and You’re Gonna Miss This and he was the 2013 winner of TV’s The Celebrity Apprentice. Who is this guy with the distinctive baritone voice?

January 14

QUESTION:

She Let Herself Go went to #1 on the Billboard country charts on this day in 2006 for which iconic singer who holds the record for the most Number One albums and the most gold, platinum and multi-platinum in country music history?

January 08 to January 14 – Answers

January 08

ANSWER:

Elvis Aaron Presley, who failed numerous auditions and didn’t do well in talent shows, until Sam Phillips heard him sing at Sun Records in Memphis.

January 09

ANSWER:

Crystal Gayle, sister of Loretta Lynn and distant cousin of Patty Loveless.

January 10

ANSWER:

A Broken Wing, written by James House, Sam Hogin and Phil Barnhart, was Martina McBride’s second Number One Single, knocking Garth Brooks’ Longneck Bottle off the top spot that week.

January 11

ANSWER:

Sugarland, who took the album to multi-platinum RIAA certification in January 2006.

January 12

ANSWER:

Johnny Paycheck. He was pardoned by then Ohio Governor Richard Celeste. Paycheck passed away in February 2003.

January 13

ANSWER:

Trace Adkins, born on January 13, 1962 in Sarepta, Louisiana.

January 14

ANSWER:

None other than the amazing George Strait.

January 15 to January 21 – Questions

January 15

QUESTION:

On this date in 2000, Patty Loveless introduced bluegrass star Doctor Ralph Stanley as a new member of which iconic country music organization?

January 16

QUESTION:

Can you name the country singer and pianist who overcame blindness to become one of the most successful country and ‘crossover’ artists of the 1970s and 1980s whose hits include It Was Almost Like a Song and Any Day Now?

January 17

QUESTION:

On this day in 1998, which famed male artist began a six-week stay at #1 on the Billboard country chart with Just To See You Smile?

January 18

QUESTION:

Be Here was a triple-platinum album in 2006 for ….. whom?

January 19

QUESTION:

Complete the title of the 2011 Jason Aldean song, My Kinda –––. Is it: [a] Woman, [b] Party, or [c] Music.

January 20

QUESTION:

He made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage on January 20, 1973, after promising he wouldn’t curse and he wouldn’t sing any rock & roll. He broke both promises. Who is this wild man?

January 21

QUESTION:

He started out as a songwriter, writing hits for Elvis Presley such as Memories, In the Ghetto and A Little Less Conversation before launching a solo career singing hits that include Baby, Don’t Get Hooked On Me and It’s Hard To Be Humble. Who is this singer/songwriter/actor?

January 15 to January 21 – Answers

January 15

ANSWER:

Ralph Stanley became the fist inductee of the new millennium to join The Grand Ole Opry on January 15, 2000.

January 16

ANSWER:

Say ‘Happy Birthday’ to Ronnie Milsap, born on January 16, 1943.

January 17

ANSWER:

Tim McGraw. It was one of four singles from the album, A Place in the Sun to reach Number One on the Country charts.

January 18

ANSWER:

The most famous native of Whangarei, New Zealand: Keith Urban.

January 19

ANSWER:

[b] Party. Aldean’s My Kinda Party