Double Platinum Country Firebrand Receives Silver Thunderbird As She Prepares For The Release of Her Third Curb Album August 1

Nashville (06/29/00): For Jo Dee Messina, the reigning Country Music Association Horizon Award winner and multiple Female Vocalist of the Year nominee, the listening party for her August 1st release Burn was an occasion to preview the music from the follow-up to her two million selling Academy of Country Music Album of the Year nominee I'm Alright for a select group of family, friends and industry insiders.

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While Messina is proud of her third Curb release -- again produced by Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw -- she wasn't prepared for a very special presentation from McGraw, manager Stuart Dill and partner Cal Turner and Curb Records owner Mike Curb.

"When you think of I'm Alright," said Dill, "you think of a fiery redhead, ripping off the rearview mirror with her foot on the accelerator and this is a celebration of that album and everything that it stands for in the career of Jo Dee Messina."

And in the spirit of Marc Cohen's "Silver Thunderbird," one of the many critically-heralded songs on I'm Alright, Dill handed his client the keys to a silver '57 Ford Thunderbird convertible. With tears in her eyes, Messina was both moved and -- in a rare moment of utter surprise -- speechless. While she'd hoped that the very special invited guests would love the music from her upcoming album as much as she does, the Holliston, MA -born and -raised country dynamo was ultimately unprepared for the very special recognition from the people closest to her.

"I want to thank everyone in this room for everything they do for me and my music," Messina said.

In addition to the T-Bird, Messina was also formally presented with her double platinum plaque to commemorate the two million copies of I'm Alright that she's already sold -- and a second award plaque for 15 weeks at the top of Billboard's Country Catalogue Album Sales chart. In fact, Messina continues her dominance of that chart -- maintaining the #1 position for 16 consecutive weeks (or four straight months) -- since I'm Alright's retirement from Billboard's main Country Sales chart following its passing the two years in release mark.

Having finished her special guest slot on the Judds' Reunion Tour, Billboard's Most Played Country Female Artist of 1999 -- and the first woman to have three consecutive multiple week #1's, in addition to four of the past two years' Top 10 songs (1998's #2 "Bye, Bye," 1999's #3 "Lesson In Leavin'" 1998's #4 "I'm Alright" and 1999's #7 "Stand Beside Me") -- is burning up the road on her own this summer.