PPM Version:
BLAKE SHELTON apologized to country music Hall of Famer RAY PRICE . . . after Ray blasted him on Facebook for his comments on GAC's "Backstory". Among the offensive things Blake said were, "Nobody wants to listen to grandpa's music" . . . and that "old farts around Nashville don't buy records anymore."
Full Story:
Barely a day goes by when BLAKE SHELTON doesn't either Tweet or say something stupid. It often goes unnoticed . . . but sometimes people take offense and he apologizes, like he just did to country music Hall of Famer RAY PRICE.
--It all started with Blake's edition of GAC "Backstory", which first aired back in December. Blake was giving his take on how people need to stop saying country music isn't what it used to be.
--The sentiment made sense . . . but the way he said it was totally rude. He said, quote, "If I am Male Vocalist of the Year that must mean that I'm one of those people now that gets to decide if it moves forward and if it moves on.
--"Country music has to evolve in order to survive. Nobody wants to listen to your grandpa's music. And I don't care how many of these old farts around Nashville going, 'My God, that ain't country!'
--"Well that's because you don't buy records anymore, jackass. The kids do, and they don't want to buy the music you were buying."
--Ray Price didn't like what he heard . . . so he posted a response on Facebook. He basically said Blake's head is too big for his hat . . . that he's stupid . . . and he challenged Blake to match his 63 years in the business. (--Here's his post.)
--That brought Blake's inevitable apology, which he sent out in a series of Tweets.
--He wrote, "Still sad that Ray thought I was talking about artists. I was only referring to people who don't like the new direction country is going. I'm so proud of where country music is today. I'll always stand up for it. It's my world."
--He added, quote, "My love for Ray Price goes back to the first time I ever performed 'Heartaches By The Number'. Wasn't and still aren't a good enough vocalist to perform 'For The Good Times'. Ha! Ha! Truth."
(--Those are two of Ray's biggest hits. Here are the YouTube versions of "Heartaches By The Number" . . . and "For The Good Times".)
--Well, some of Blake's friends are sticking up for him. MARTINA MCBRIDE decided to Tweet, quote, "Just catching up on this. We all know where your heart is Blake. Love you."
--CHRIS YOUNG also fell in line, writing, quote, "Love what you meant by your quote buddy. Know how much you love country music history."
--And MIRANDA LAMBERT played the good wife and jumped in too. She wrote, quote, "My husband has taught me so much about country music. He studies it. He loves it. It's his life’s work. Blake Shelton we all have your back!"
(--Are you tired of reading Blake's apologies? Sometimes he does it even when it's not his fault, like in that silly Twitter war where people actually thought he bragged about running over a turtle.)
(--And sometimes there NEEDS to be an apology, like when he Tweeted a homophobic rewrite of SHANIA TWAIN'S "Any Man of Mine".)
(--One thing is for certain: You can bet Blake will eventually be apologizing again.)
(--PHONE STARTER: Are you willing to admit YOU'RE that person who is constantly saying stuff that gets you into trouble? No matter how many times everyone tells you to "think first", you still insert foot? If so, please call.)