~~ Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood have been hit with a copyright infringement suit filed by a Dallas songwriter who says parts of her 2007 song "Remind Me" were lifted.

The songwriter is suing Brad Paisley, Carrie, their record labels and publishing companies, and two Nashville songwriters, claiming the parties ripped off a song she wrote after they heard her perform it around Nashville and at a songwriters workshop.

Amy Bowen, who performs as Lizza Connor, says the song "Remind Me," released by Paisley and Underwood in 2011, was copied from a song of the same name that Bowen wrote in 2007 and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in December 2008.

The suit is seeking at least $10 million in damages and requests that Bowen be declared the song's owner.
Source

~~Jason Aldean, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett will join Aerosmith, New Kids on the Block and others for a May 30 concert to raise money for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. "Boston Strong: An Evening of Support and Celebration," will be held at the TD Garden Arena, and will also feature the band Boston, Dane Cook, Extreme, Godsmack, the J. Geils Band, Carole King and comedian Steven Wright.

Proceeds will benefit One Fund Boston, a charity established shortly after the April 15 attack. Almost $28 million has already been raised for the fund. Tickets go on sale today.

~~ Keith Urban joined Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones at their tour-opening show Friday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Keith played guitar on the Stones' tune "Respectable."

Pop star Gwen Stefani also stopped by for a guest performance. Check out a clip of Keith's performance below.

~~The Grand Ole Opry will honor Carrie Underwood on her 5th anniversary as an Opry member on Fri., June 7. Carrie will celebrate five years with a special segment closing the evening's Opry performance.

Carrie was inducted as an Opry member by fellow member Garth Brooks before a sold-out audience in May 2008.

~~Lauren Alaina will return to ‘American idol' this week when she performs her new single "Barefoot and Buckwild" on Thursday night. Just a couple of years ago, Lauren lost the title to Scotty McCreery.

~~  A show about The Band Perry, "Origins: The Band Perry," premieres this Saturday, May 11 at 10 p.m. on Great American Country.

Viewers will be treated to the stories behind some of the trio's biggest hits as well as performances of "Done" and "Mother Like Mine".

Brad Paisley has penned an essay explaining both his appreciation for and his friendship with George Jones. It was published by Billboard.

Brad offers his view of his relationship with the country music legend, sharing his early first-person experiences with George, starting as a fan and then as a colleague, when he opened for the country icon in his native West Virginia. He details how he developed a friendship with Jones and his wife moving forward.

READ HERE

George Jones Sausage Balls

George Jones was also a huge fan of breakfast meat -- and even owned a sausage company sold locally through restaurants in Tennessee.

After he passed away, one of the restaurants that serves Jones' sausage honored the singer's memory with a massive meat event in George's honor.

Brooks Shaw's Old Country Store in Jackson, TN whipped up more than 1,000 sausage balls -- George's own creation and favorite breakfast snack.

The store even put together a batch for his widow Nancy.

The recipe:  Mix together Jones' sausage, Bisquick, cheese, and milk-- then cook 'em for about 10 minutes.

TMZ

GEORGE JONES ALBUM SALES:

George Jones' album sales have increased 1000 % since his death.

According to Billboard,  George's' catalog of albums sold 35,000 last week — up 1,002 % from 3,000 the week previous.

Additionally, George sold 149,000 downloads last week — up from 5,000 the week previous, which means they increased by 2,739 %. Since his passing, Jones sold more songs this past week than he did in all of 2013 up until his death — 91,000 to be exact.

‘He Stopped Loving Her Today' was his top-selling song last week, and debuted on Country Digital Songs at No. 15 with 34,000 downloads. (One week ago that song sold 1,000.)

George's second-biggest song, ‘Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes,' sold 11,000, which skyrocketed up from essentially no sales while he was still alive.

~~ Jason Aldean is joining forces with actress Kristen Bell to co-host the CMT Music Awards live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on June 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Nominations for the 12th annual show will be announced Monday (May 6) and performers and presenters for country music's first fan-voted awards show will be revealed soon. Tickets for the show will go on sale May 11 at 11 a.m. ET at all Ticketmaster outlets and the Bridgestone Arena box office.

~~Jason Aldean filed for divorce from his wife of 12 years last month, and the mother of dancer/former ‘American Idol' contestant Brittany Kerr wants you to know is NOT the cause of the split.  (She was photographed kissing Aldean last year.)

Debbie Kerr said:  "Brittany is not responsible for any breakup.

She adds that any rumor that indicates the contrary is "simply not true," and that her daughter is single, does not live in LA anymore, and "was never with that married man."
Source

~~(FOLLOW-UP)... Taylor Swift guest stars on the May 14 season finale of "New Girl", starring Zooey Deschanel.

Taylor plays a woman named Elaine, and show star Jake Johnson (bartender Nick) says Taylor was "very good."

He said: "She came in and is really nice. It's not an easy scene.

"There were probably 70 extras there—though I'm sure she performs to so much bigger [crowds] than that on a regular basis. She had, like, a little monologue and delivered it perfectly. [The producer] gave her alternative jokes and lines, she delivered them all perfectly..."

~~After spending 3 years together at the Encore Theater in Las Vegas, Steve Wynn and Garth Brooks are planning to film the upcoming Memorial Day and July 4th weekend concerts to memorialize his time on the Encore Theater stage. The special will also then be available on DVD.

On Memorial Day weekend there will be 2 shows on Friday night May 24 and 2 shows on Saturday night, May 25 at 7:30 and 10:30 PM. Tickets will go on sale this Monday, May 6 at 10:00 AM PST for $125 plus a $7.50 service charge and a $13.25 tax to equal a total of $145.75. Tickets will be available on www.wynnlasvegas.com or by calling 702.770.1000. Tickets will also be available at www.ticketmaster.com or 1-800-745-3000.

On July 4th weekend there will be one show on Friday night, July 5 and one show on Saturday night July 6 at 8:00 PM. Tickets for the July 4th weekend will not go on sale until June 3.

~~SO....

Luke Bryan recorded a song with singer/rapper.... T-Pain?

Country and rock stars performed at George Jones' funeral in Nashville, Tennessee, yesterday.

Kid Rock, Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson were among those performing inside The Grand Ole Opry House to pay their respects to Jones, who died on Friday at age 81.

The funeral began with the opening hymn "Old Rugged Cross" by Tanya Tucker and the Imperials. Kenny Chesney, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Wynonna Judd and Randy Travis also performed or spoke at the ceremony. Travis Tritt, Ronnie Milsap, and Patty Loveless also turned up. Former First Lady Laura Bush and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam also attended.

Alan Jackson closed the service with Jones' most famous song, "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

MORE HERE

PHOTOS