Jason Aldean Fell in Love With "Fly Over States" He Says His New Single Salutes "Backbone of Our Country"

Jason Aldean is soaring to the top of the charts again with "Fly Over States."

CMT Insider correspondent Alison DeMarcus caught up with the singer on location for the video shoot. In the interview, Aldean explains why he fell in love with the song, why he'll never be a video director and why he hasn't been to all 50 states -- yet.

CMT: Tell me a little bit about this video for "Fly Over States."

Aldean: We're actually 200 yards from where we shot the "Tattoos on This Town" video in an airplane hangar. We're in Smyrna, Tenn., here at the Army National Guard facilities. It's like an old airplane graveyard with some old planes that are sitting here basically deteriorating.

Most of the time when we do a video, we find stuff that pretty much looks like crap. I came in here and thought, "Man, this place looks like a dump, and this is going to be an awful video." But somehow they make it look cool, and that's why I'm not a video director because I don't see how they can make this look good. But they do.

What was so special about this song that really made you want to record it?

This was a song that was actually around on my last album. We didn't really have room to put it on the record, and I found myself listening to it over and over, even after we had recorded that last record. I fell in love with the song. It talks about something that doesn't get a lot of attention anymore, which is the farmers and people who are the backbone of our country. ... I definitely wanted to put it on this record and wanted it to be a single. We were running out of time, so I figured we'd better put it out now.

It talks about train engineers, farmers and people who really get to see the flyover states. And you do, too. Do you feel like that's why this song speaks to you so much?

Yeah, I think so. We spend a lot of time traveling the country in a bus or plane or whatever we might be doing that particular week. We get a chance to go out and see that firsthand, and I think maybe that is one of the reasons that I was probably drawn to it a little bit. ... I visualize myself looking out the plane window and you see those big square patches of land and it looks like a quilt out there. I think visually it's just a really cool song. It's well-written and one of my favorite songs on this record.

Do you think you'll ever push yourself and do something where you're acting in a video?

I don't know. I think it depends on the song and what the song lends itself to being. I'm not opposed to that at all. I'm most comfortable with a guitar playing with my band, which is why you see that in a lot of our videos. But the acting thing ... if it presents itself in the right way, and I think it's something that works and I feel comfortable doing, then yeah, I would be all about that. But I may find out that I'm not very good at it, so it may be a one-time only deal.

Your career has blown up over the last couple years, Jason. I'm sure the demands on your time have been different. Has that been hard for you to find a balance in your life?

I think anybody that's in this business and starts to have success like that, it's always a little bit of a challenge because you're so used to your life being a certain way, and then all of a sudden it changes. I think it takes some time to get used to it and settle in to your new life, basically. For me, the last couple of years have actually been a little better because we've actually done fewer shows. Before, when I first got out on the road, we were doing 200 shows a year, and that's tough. But now, we're playing to more people but doing fewer shows. We're playing 75 shows or so a year, and it works out pretty well because I end up being at home a little more. It's actually gotten a little better the last couple of years.

Since you've toured for so long now, is there any state you haven't visited?

With the exception of Alaska and Hawaii, I think we've pretty much covered them. We've been all over the U.S. and Canada, and we've had a chance to see most of it. I feel pretty fortunate. Like I said, we haven't gotten to Alaska and Hawaii yet, which I'd like to check out at some point, too, but they're a little harder to get to than the rest of them. ... I would rather be on a bus than a plane any day, but I hope to eventually get there at some point and would love to play those two states, just to say that I've played them all. Hopefully that's in our future.

American Bandstand Host Had Country Music Connections April 18, 2012; Written by CMT.com Staff

Dick Clark, the television personality with numerous ties to the country music industry, died Wednesday (April 18) from an apparent heart attack. Known as "America's Oldest Teenager," Clark was 82.

One of Clark's earliest career achievements was hosting a 1951 country music TV program in Utica, N.Y., titled Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communication's website.

One year later, Clark moved to a Philadelphia radio station and later became host of that city's afternoon television series, Bandstand. ABC picked up the show in 1957 and changed the name to American Bandstand. The show ran through 1987.

Starting in 1972, Clark hosted the famous New Year's Rockin' Eve specials from Times Square in New York City. He suffered a stroke in 2004, yet returned to the air the following year.

In addition, Dick Clark Productions' credits include the Academy of Country Music Awards. Clark's son, RAC Clark, has produced the ACM Awards for CBS since 1999. A new 10-year agreement was announced by the ACM, CBS and Dick Clark Productions in January.

Dick Clark Productions also produce the American Music Awards, the Golden Globe Awards and the Fox talent competition, So You Think You Can Dance.

Davy Jones -- lead singer of The Monkees -- died after suffering a heart attack this morning ... TMZ has learned.

An official from the medical examiner's office for Martin County, Florida confirmed with TMZ they received a call from Martin Memorial Hospital informing them that Jones had passed away.

We're told Davy suffered the heart attack at a ranch near his Florida home, where he was visiting his horses. Davy began experiencing distress while he was sitting in his car, and that's where a ranch hand found him.

The ranch hand told Sheriff's detectives ... the singer began to complain that he was not feeling well and was having trouble breathing. Paramedics were called and Jones was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. Authorities say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Jones is survived by his wife Jessica and 4 daughters from previous marriages. He was 66-years-old. Jones was married to Jessica Pacheco -- his 3rd wife.

Jones joined The Monkees in 1965 ... along with Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork ... and together they churned out a bunch of hugely popular songs including 3 number 1 hits -- "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer."

The group was initially cast by TV producers who wanted to create a scripted series about an actual rock n' roll band. But the group exploded, and Jones in particular became a Beatles-caliber heartthrob.

The Monkees songs were covered by huge bands like Coldpay, and Smash Mouth's version of "I'm a Believer" was famously featured in "Shrek."

Davy's last performance was on February 19th in Oklahoma -- the night before, he performed "Daydream Believer" and "It's Nice to Be with You" at the BB King Blues Club in NYC ... and he looked totally fine

The BamaJam Festival in Enterprise, Ala. has become one of the most anticipated country music events of the year, and with the announcement of Tim McGraw, the Zac Brown Band, and Kid Rock as headliners of the 2012 edition, it's safe to assume that interest in the festival will be at an all-time high.

Fans of all music genres will experience non-stop entertainment by today's most popular acts from dual headline stages set at BamaJam Farms, a 1600-acre farm which includes such amenities as ATV trails, camping/RV sites and even a water park. Country star and BamaJam 2012 spokesman Darryl Worley will perform and host the opening night of what promises to be one of the grandest outdoor entertainment extravaganzas. Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 2, 2012, and will feature a special three-day $99.00 price, available for a very limited time only.

McGraw will close out the lineup on June 14. The singer recently topped the Country Album charts with "Emotional Traffic," his final release for Curb Records, and is currently climbing the singles charts with 'Better Than I Used To Be." The Zac Brown Band will end the performance day on June 15. Currently climbing the charts with "No Hurry," the band has been at the forefront of the industry since their 2008 release The Foundation, and their debut single "Chicken Fried."

Kid Rock, the adopted "Son of the South," is set to close out the final day of performances at BamaJam 2012. Racking up sales of almost 25 million units from eight studio albums since 1998, Rock is one of the biggest concert draws in the touring industry. Released in 2007, "Rock 'N Roll Jesus" was the biggest-selling rock album of 2008 and not only debuted at No. 1 but stayed on the charts for 100 weeks. In November 2010, Atlantic Records released the platinum-selling "Born Free," which was inspired by events taking place in Rock's hometown of Detroit, Mich.


"I'm looking forward to coming to 'Sweet Home' and playing with my friends, Zac Brown Band and Tim McGraw," said Rock in a news release. "Turn it up! We're gonna' set this place on fire!"

This week marks the tenth anniversary of the passing of Waylon Jennings (Feb. 13 2002). An undeniable force in the history of country music, Jennings earned a legend for making his music his way. While some called him an "Outlaw," most in the industry that knew the man claimed he was actually more of a teddy bear than the rebel that many thought.