HAZEL SMITH BETTING ON DIERKS

Hazel Smith writes a weekly feature article: CMT Hot Dish. This week's was a tribute, thanking all the country stars who appreciate her kind words about them. Dierks Bentley made the list!

A lot of my dear friends are also friends with my sons. Like Dierks Bentley. Before he got a songwriter's deal or a record deal, Dierks would hang out at the Station Inn, digging the musicians and the bluegrass music they made. He loved to hear Terry Eldredge (The Grascals) [Hazel's son is Terry Smith from The Grascals] sing, and he loved the great harmony singing and all the great players who have helped make the Station Inn so special. After getting his deal with Capitol Records, Dierks has included bluegrass on his records. I've thanked him, and he's thanked me. He's just a great guy. I'm betting on Dierks.

Hazel's prose can also be found in Country Weekly. She's the author of the cookbook, Hazel's Hot Dish: Cookin' With Country Stars, and she also hosts CMT's Southern Fried Flicks With Hazel Smith.

She's the same Hazel who, a few years ago, wrote a scathing open letter to the ACM's chastising them for not nominating Dierks for anything that year! In the same story, she challenged us Dierks fans to get mad and active--that's when Molly, DBC Speaker of the House, wrote an eloquent letter to the ACM to get our point across--and hundreds of us fan-clubbers signed it!

Thank you Hazel for all you do for Dierks, and for believing in him like we do! We're betting on Dierks, too!

~Ronna
DB Congress Chair