Sad songs say so much? Jackson sticks to subject

Sad songs say so much?Jackson sticks to subject
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For an upbeat guy, Alan Jackson sure sings a lot of sad songs.
About half the 12 tracks on his new album "What I Do," set for release Tuesday, deal with lost love or loneliness.
"It just happened that way," said Jackson, who speaks in the same lazy drawl that he sings in. "It wasn't anything planned. Even some of the lighter songs are about that same subject. But that's always been my favorite kind of song anyway."
"What I Do" is Jackson's 14th album and follows the triple platinum "Greatest Hits Volume II" collection.
Long after most of his contemporaries have faded, he remains one of Nashville's biggest stars. He snagged a leading seven awards nominations last month from the Country Music Association, including one for Entertainer of the Year.
The new album, on which Jackson wrote five of the 12 tracks, is often melancholy. He sings about a failing relationship in "You Don't Have to Paint Me a Picture," learning to love again in "There You Go," and the pain of losing a loved one in "Strong Enough."
Jackson is heartbroken, but still funny on "If French Fries Were Fat Free," singing in the chorus, "If french fries were fat free and you still loved me/ What a wonderful world this would be."
"My wife makes fun of me because I have a lot of songs with food. But I say write what you know, and I know about food, cars and broken hearts," he says.
Speeding singer loseshis driving privileges
LONDON -- Jay Kay, the lead singer of pop band Jamiroquai, had his driving privileges revoked for six months for speeding.
Sheriff Robert McCreadie of Perth Sheriff Court in Scotland also ordered the star to pay a $1,350 fine Monday and told him his conduct was "entirely unacceptable."
The musician, whose full name is Jason Kay, had pleaded guilty. He previously explained in a letter to the court why he overtook a string of cars on a road near Perth on Feb. 26, exceeding the 70 mph speed limit. Police officers recorded that his four-wheel drive vehicle was traveling at 105 mph.
"I'd set out early in the morning but had become stuck behind slow moving traffic on the single-carriageway road," the 34-year-old said in the letter.
"I appreciate the maximum penalty for this offense could lead to the loss of my license and this is a matter of grave concern to me," Kay wrote.
Carter credits Redford,who had helped coach him
PROVO, Utah -- Actor and filmmaker Robert Redford played videotapes of the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate "over and over" to coach former President Jimmy Carter before his debates with former President Gerald Ford.
"I was probably president because of Bob Redford," said Carter, who confided that before the debate leading to his 1976 election he "didn't know what in the world I was going to do."
Redford told him what not to do. He arrived at Carter's house with a projector and films of the historic debate that made Richard Nixon look dour and John F. Kennedy charismatic.
Redford "played the tape over and over and gave me advice," Carter said Saturday as part of an author's series.
Redford embraced Carter before taking the podium to praise his old friend at his Sundance ski resort, nature preserve and corporate retreat in Utah's Wasatch Mountains.
"His concern for peace, human rights and justice was more than evident when he was in office but even more so after he left office," Redford said.
Carter, author of 17 nonfiction books, talked about his writing career after serving one term as president. He joked that Redford offered him no advice for the 1980 election campaign he lost to Ronald Reagan.
Today's birthdays
Jazz musician Sonny Rollins is 74. Blues singer Little Milton is 70. Actor John Philip Law is 67. Singer Gloria Gaynor is 55. Rock singer Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) is 53. Actress Julie Kavner is 53. Actor Corbin Bernsen is 50. Rock musician Leroi Moore (The Dave Matthews Band) is 43. Actor Tom Everett Scott is 34. Actress Shannon Elizabeth is 31. Actor Oliver Hudson is 28. Actor Devon Sawa is 26. Actress Evan Rachel Wood is 17.