Dierks Bentley Namechecks Best Buddy in New Tune

Dierks Bentley and his dog Jake have pretty much been inseparable since the onset of Dierks' country career, and his new album 'Up on the Ridge' is no different. This time around, however, Jake made his way into one of his master's songs. Dierks says he name-dropped his cool canine companion as a nod to his fans because he knew they'd pick up on the nuance in the new single, which also happens to be the disc's title track.

"It's the first time I've mentioned him in a song," says Dierks. "The first time I added his name in, I thought, 'No you can't put Jake in there ... maybe you should change the line.' And I thought about changing it to, 'hear those hounds start to howl, when they hear that old hoot owl' instead. But I thought at the end, 'No, I gotta put Jake in there.' I knew my longtime fans would get a kick out of it!"

Jake has quite an acting career going, thanks to Dierks. He appears in the video for 'Up on the Ridge,' and has also been in the videos for 'Feel That Fire' and 'What Was I Thinkin',' as well. 'Up on the Ridge' is enjoying success at country radio, and Dierks is thrilled that people are giving the bluegrass-tinted music a chance.

"On the bus all the time we're singing old country songs, bluegrass songs, and songs that lend themselves well to acoustic instruments, but the b-word tends to freak everybody out. You say the b-word, and people think of the banjo cranked up to 11 and people singing through their noses. And it's like, 'No, that's not what bluegrass is, and that's not what this project is. So I think when you hear 'Up on the Ridge' you think, 'OK, that' s not what I was expecting at all,' and I love that!" <

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