50 Years of Country Greats Past and Present Were Honored At This Year’s CMA Awards

November 3, 2016 Janeen Megloranzo Event Coverage, In the News 0

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 02: (L-R) Charlie Daniels, Charley Pride, Dwight Yoakam, Carrie Underwood, Randy Travis, Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Jeff Cook, Randy Owen, and Teddy Gentry perform onstage at the 50th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 2, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

After so much anticipation, the day we all had been waiting for finally arrived.  The 50th Annual CMA Awards.  50 years.  Half a century of country music.  So many memories to reminisce, and with the release of “Forever Country,” country music fans were on their toes to see how the Country Music Association would celebrate such a huge milestone.  And celebrate they did for three and a half hours!   Here’s our recap of some of the most memorable moments (there were so many!)

All weekend long the TV promos kept stressing how you didn’t want to miss on the first eight-minutes of the show, and they did not lead astray.  The jam-packed 480 seconds started with Vince Gill performing “Mama Tried” with Merle Haggard’s youngest son Ben, followed by performances of Roy Clark and Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Charley Pride, Alabama, Charlie Daniels, Reba, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, Ricky Skaggs, and Alan Jackson.  Then as everyone on stage joined together for “Forever and Ever, Amen” the most poignant moment of the entire evening happened – Randy Travis stood at center stage, and with all the pride and energy he had, uttered the final “Amen” to a roar from the crowd and leaving not a dry eye in the arena or in any household watching this wonderful moment.

When Chris Stapleton and his wife Morgane joined Dwight Yoakam on the CMA stage for a bluesy performance of Willie Nelson and Ray Charles’ famous duet “Seven Spanish Angels,” magic happened before our eyes and ears. You could feel the soul just pouring from the performance, even those watching on a living room couch, making it a definite highlight of the evening.

The category for Vocal Duo of the Year had some stiff competition (Florida Georgia Line, Maddie & Tae, Joey + Rory, Dan + Shay), but when Brothers Osborne’s name was called the winner, the look of sheer joy and disbelief on the faces of the brothers from Maryland summarized what these awards are all about: recognition after years of hard work.

Eric Church’s record year continued as he took home the CMA for Album of the Year for Mr. Misunderstood, but not before presenter Faith Hill made sure his bow tie was nice and staight. “I don’t know which is better – [the award] or Faith Hill helping me fix my bow tie.”

It’s hard to believe that Brad and Carrie have been hosting the awards night for nine years, but the chemistry of this duo can still make us laugh (from the election to Tim & Faith to Kenny Chesney & Peyton Manning, nothing was off limits!) and amaze us with their comedic and vocal talents. And who didn’t love their couture through the decades? A personal favorite: Brad’s mullet.

brad-carrie-mullet
Source: ScreenShot of ABC Feed

With star-power close to that of the opening performance, the tribute to Dolly Parton brought out some of the biggest females in country music together on stage. Actress Lily Tomlin began with a wonderful speech about her longtime friend followed by a killer medley of Parton’s hits; Jennifer Nettles and a capella group Pentatonix performed “Jolene,” Reba channeled the 80’s during “9 to 5” (and flubbing the words a bit, even Reba gets starstruck over Dolly!), Kacey Musgraves’ wonderful “Here You Come Again.” Ending with the iconic “I Will Always Love You” was Carrie Underwood and Martina McBride before all the ladies joined together to sing to the one and only Dolly, who visibly sang right back to them from her seat. Dolly’s acceptance speech was in true Dolly fashion with killer one-liners that were truly memorable.

Award shows are full of so much emotion that artists can’t always keep it together. Brothers Osborne, Maren Morris, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Lori McKenna and others were so overcome with emotion that they could not hold back the tears.  Or in the case of Little Big Town, hide their excitement to be in front of so many of their own idols in the audience.

When celebrating so many greats in one show, it’s obvious that there will be several medleys in order for everyone to get their well deserved recognition. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s country medley brought the classic Johnny and June tune back with a wonderful performance of “Jackson” followed by Roger Miller’s “Chug-A-Lug,” Crystal Gayle’s “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden,” and Keith Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” to which the camera panned to Lorrie Morgan in the audience, making all our hearts ache.

Brad Paisley closed out the evening with a moving performance of his newest single “Today.” Simply sitting at a keyboard, Paisley gave a touching speech about how tomorrow isn’t promised, but to remember that we have today. As he sang, standing alone in a spotlight, images of country greats flashed behind him throughout the song, and he ended by taking off his cowboy hat in respect. Well done Brad.

Country artists (and the genre as a whole) is known to be very patriotic and it should be no surprise that the theme was present last night at the awards.  A moment was held to turn all the lights green inside Bridgestone Arena, and outside of it as well, for #GreenLightAVet, sponsored by Walmart, to help bring awareness that our Vets need our support in many ways. Later in the evening, Brad and Carrie were joined by Lee Greenwood as the trio sang “God Bless the USA,” causing the entire room to stand and sing loudly along.

Other performances included (in no particular order):
Kelsea Ballerini: Peter Pan
Brooks and Dunn with Jason Aldean: Brand New Man
Dierks Bentley with Elle King: Different for Girls
Tim McGraw: Humble & Kind
Luke Bryan: Move
Alan Jackson & George Strait: Remember When/ Troubadour
Florida Georgia Line with Tim McGraw: May We All
Thomas Rhett: Die A Happy Man
The Dixie Chicks with Beyoncé: Daddy Lessons
Keith Urban: Blue Ain’t Your Color
Marren Morris: My Church
Eric Church with Rhiannon Giddens: Kill A Word
Little Big Town: Better Man
Carrie Underwood: Dirty Laundry
Miranda Lambert: Vice

Congratulations to the all the winners and nominees!

Pinnacle Award: Kenny Chesney
Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award: Dolly Parton

Musical event of the year (announced earlier in the day)
“Different For Girls,” Dierks Bentley feat. Elle King 
“Home Alone Tonight,” Luke Bryan feat. Karen Fairchild
“The Fighter,” Keith Urban feat. Carrie Underwood
“Think of You,” Chris Young with Cassadee Pope
“You Are My Sunshine,” Morgane Stapleton with Chris Stapleton

Music video of the year (announced earlier in the day)
“Burning House,” Cam
“Fire Away,” Chris Stapleton
“Humble and Kind,” Tim McGraw
“Record Year,” Eric Church
“Somewhere on a Beach,” Dierks Bentley

New artist of the year
Kelsea Ballerini
Old Dominion
Maren Morris
Brothers Osborne
Cole Swindell

Album of the year
Dierks Bentley, “Black”
Eric Church, “Mr. Misunderstood” 
Maren Morris, “Hero”
Keith Urban, “Ripcord”
Carrie Underwood, “Storyteller”

Single of the year
“Record Year,” Eric Church
“Humble and Kind,” Tim McGraw
“My Church,” Maren Morris
“Die a Happy Man,” Thomas Rhett 
“Nobody to Blame,” Chris Stapleton

Song of the year
“Burning House,” Cam (written by Camaron Ochs, Tyler Johnson, Jeff Bhasker)
“Record Year,” Eric Church (written by Eric Church and Jeff Hyde)
“Humble and Kind,” Tim McGraw (written by Lori McKenna) 
“My Church,” Maren Morris (written by Busbee and Maren Morris)
“Die a Happy Man,” Thomas Rhett (written by Sean Douglas, Thomas Rhett and Joe Spargur)

Vocal group of the year
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

Vocal duo of the year
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Joey + Rory
Maddie & Tae

Male vocalist of the year
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Tim McGraw
Chris Stapleton 
Keith Urban

Female vocalist of the year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood 

Entertainer of the year
Garth Brooks 
Luke Bryan
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban

 *Winners are bolded

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