Montgomery Advertiser (April 1st 2005)

Shake, rattle & roll

Country star Blake Shelton headlines Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo

Blake Shelton has a string of No. 1 singles, including his debut single "Austin" (which was No. 1 on the Billboard charts for five weeks in a row), "The Baby" and "Some Beach." He's on the cover of the current Country Weekly. He's married to a girl from his hometown, and he's guest starred in TV shows and films.

But he admits that Saturday in Opp will be his first rattlesnake rodeo.

"This will be my first, at least the first one I can remember," the Oklahoma born singer said during the telephone interview as he started laughing.

So will the star be firing his agent next week?

"No," he said. "I'm really looking forward to (the show)."

Shelton is in Orlando, Fla., on the road as part of his current tour.

"I've been on the road, well, since about the summer of 2001, at least that's what it feels like," he said.

"I've been pretty much constantly working. We tour for a while and then head back to work on the next album some more, and then tour awhile more."

But Shelton said while putting out albums -- such as his current one, "Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill" -- can be work, he's never minded the constant touring.

"I haven't really started thinking about when I'm going to record the next album yet because I've been having so much fun on the Rascal Flatts tour," he said. "I got into this business because I loved to perform, not because I loved to record."

How he got into the business is another interesting story.

Born on June 18, 1976, in Ada, Okla., Shelton was a teenager when Mae Boren Axton, Hoyt Axton's mother and the famous Nashville songwriter who wrote "Heartbreak Hotel," came back home to Oklahoma to be honored by her hometown.

"They had asked her back to give her the key to the city," Shelton said. "I was part of the show being put on for her, and she liked the way I sang. She told me if I was serious about a career, I should move to Nashville."

He was 17. A few months after graduating high school he moved to Music City.

"She was a big help to me," he said. "She wasn't that key to me getting a record deal or anything, but she kept me out of trouble, and introduced me to some good people."

Still, he was a teenager trying to make it in country music in a city where thousands of other people were trying to make it in country music.

"It wasn't easy there," he said.

It surprised him when his first single "Austin" became a huge hit, tying the record for the most weeks a debut single from a new artist stayed at No. 1 on the country charts.

"I think it was a surprise for everyone involved with it, but you just never know what will happen," he said. "I guess my hope was to have a top 20 single and build from there, but even that was a longshot for someone like me.

"When the record company closed after the single was released, then everyone sort of expected the single was over and it wouldn't do anything, but it just took off and kept going."

Shelton's career has done pretty much the same with hit records, successful tours and even TV roles.

What does he still have to look forward to?

Well, there is still his first rattlesnake rodeo on Saturday.