Jun 29, 2007

Turner honors country music legends on exclusive CD available at Cracker Barrel

LEBANON, TENN – Double-platinum MCA recording artist Josh Turner feels his music career has come full circle. Six years after making his Grand Ole Opry® debut at the Ryman Auditorium, Turner returned to the historic stage for his first full-length concert at the Ryman. Performing on the same stage where his heroes received countless standing ovations, Turner selected the perfect place to record his first live CD, a place where he could honor country music legends including Hank Williams and George Jones. The result is Josh Turner: Live At The Ryman and the CD is available exclusively, on July 2nd, at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® locations and online at crackerbarrel.com. Josh Turner: Live At The Ryman captures the natural power of country music’s most distinct baritone voice. Thinking back to that sold-out concert performance just a few months ago, Turner says he was overwhelmed by the moment. “I will never forget the excitement of the crowd,” said Turner. “Just knowing the tradition, the heritage and the history that have taken place on that stage, it’s inspiring. So for me to go out there and record a live album from the Ryman stage… It was an incredible feeling.” On this exclusive CD, Turner delivers his signature song, Long Black Train, plus a collection of his favorite country classics. In addition to performing Merle Haggard’s Silver Wings and Don Williams’ Lord Have Mercy On A Country Boy, Turner had the crowd cheering following his respectful renditions of George Jones’ He Stopped Loving Her Today and Hank Williams’ I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive. Turner first sang He Stopped Loving Her Today at the Cracker Barrel Songs Of The Year concert last November. As for the Hank Williams song, the Ryman show marked the first time Turner had performed the song in concert. “George Jones is the real deal and I thought this was a perfect song for the Ryman show,” said Turner. “Hank Williams is also a big hero of mine. This song is such a twist on reality. Here’s a guy down on his luck, can’t win for losing. It’s interesting to me that this song became a number one hit after Hank died. It just felt like a natural fit to do this song at the Ryman, where Hank himself got six standing ovations when he performed Lovesick Blues on the Opry.” With a retail price of $11.99, the 12-song Josh Turner: Live At The Ryman CD is the latest project in an impressive collection of exclusive music available only at Cracker Barrel. Josh Turner: Live At The Ryman follows the May release of Merle Haggard’s Working Man’s Journey. Over the last three years, Cracker Barrel has released exclusive CDs featuring Alison Krauss & Union Station, Amy Grant, Sara Evans, Charlie Daniels and Songs Of The Year. “From the moment we heard his voice, we believed Josh Turner would be a natural fit with Cracker Barrel,” said Simon Turner, Chief Marketing Officer at Cracker Barrel. “He’s been a Cracker Barrel fan for years and often stops at our stores during his cross-country tours. In addition to this CD, Cracker Barrel is sponsoring Josh’s current concert tour because we’re confident our guests will enjoy his music.” Josh Turner: Live At The Ryman is Turner’s third CD. His 2003 debut, “Long Black Train,” is certified platinum. His success continued when his sophomore release, “Your Man,” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s Top Country Albums chart and has since been certified double platinum. As the presenting sponsor of Turner’s concert tour, Cracker Barrel is providing fans with the chance to meet Josh Turner. Fans can log onto http://www.crackerbarrel.com/ to register to win an all-expense paid trip for two to meet Josh and be his special guest at an upcoming show. For a complete list of upcoming concerts, visit http://www.joshturner.com/. ************** About Cracker Barrel Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® provides a friendly home-away-from-home in our old country store and restaurant. Our guests are cared for like family while relaxing and enjoying real home-style food and shopping that’s surprisingly unique, genuinely fun and reminiscent of America’s country heritage…all at a fair price. People of all ages enjoy American country heritage and our guests are multi-generation families, travelers and neighbors alike. Our restaurant serves up delicious, home-style country food such as meatloaf and homemade chicken n’ dumplins as well as its signature biscuits using an old family recipe. Our authentic old country retail store is fun to shop and offers unique gifts and self-indulgences. We offer rockers on the front porch, antiques on the wall, traffic lights to clean restrooms, oil lamps on the tables, and games of checkers by the fireplace. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly held CBRL Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL). Cracker Barrel was established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. operates 560 company-owned locations in 41 states. Every Cracker Barrel unit is open seven days a week with hours Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. – 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 6 a.m. - 11 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.crackerbarrel.com/.