Blair Garner Goes ‘Beyond the Hits’ With Charitable CD

In these times of song-by-song digital downloading, Blair Garner is still an "album man." As host of the nationally syndicated 'After MidNite With Blair Garner' radio show for the past 18 years, the Texas native admits that some of the best country music out there is what you don't hear on radio -- the album tracks not released as singles.

"When you buy the album, you really get a better gauge for an artist's depth ... who they are, what they want to say," Blair tells The Boot. "You can't get that in singles alone."

Blair's love for discovering music off the airwaves led him to compile 'Beyond the Hits,' an album of songs he believes could've been big chart climbers. The digital compilation includes tracks by Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean and several other big country stars -- all handpicked by the ACM Award-winning radio host.

"I'm honestly just a huge fan of the music. Everyone involved -- the artists, the writers, producers and musicians," Blair says of his inspiration for 'Beyond the Hits.' "So much goes into every song that gets recorded, not only the singles. People have kindly relied on me to introduce them to the best of what country music has to offer, and I think this is just another extension of that. These songs deserve to be heard."

Blair, of course, had to go to each artist and publisher to get permission to use the tracks for his project. Thankfully, his requests were well received.

"It's like they're excited to talk about their other 'children' that folks don't typically ask about," he explains. "Keith Urban's reaction was perhaps the most enthusiastic, asking that I send over a copy of the whole project for him. I was more than happy to oblige. Other artists have even asked for copies of 'Beyond,' because they're looking for new songs to record. How funny is that?"

All profits from 'Beyond the Hits' will be divided between St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, ACM's Lifting Lives and CMA's Keep the Music Playing. "Each of these charities do so much good, and in such varied ways," says Blair. "St. Jude's and country are longtime allies in hope for kids afflicted with cancer. As a father of 8-year-old twins, children's charities are huge with me. We're so blessed with health and abundance, it's only right to help those that find themselves more challenged."

'Beyond the Hits' is the first project under Blair's new production and development company, TriPower. Download the album here.