Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins have scored a number-one hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart this week with "Hillbilly Bone."  Blake says girlfriend Miranda Lambert confirmed what he already suspected about the tune. After he first played her the song in his truck, Miranda told Blake, "Man, you know, that kind of sounds like a Trace Adkins song." Blake had been thinking the same thing, so he called Trace into the studio to add a little low harmony on the song and a sing a bit of it. After listening back to it, Blake and all the people in his camp decided the tune needed more Trace on it, but Blake admits he was scared to actually call Trace to ask him to come back in the studio. After he finally made the call, Blake says, "His response was exactly this -- 'Well, hell, I already been done there oncet' -- oncet with a 'T'."

Once "Hillbilly Bone" started gaining steam at radio, Trace placed a very rare phone call to Blake to talk about the hit they'd scored together. "We talked for a while, and we got excited," Blake explains, "And finally after he got his point across, he said, 'All right, I gotta go,' and he hung up. But that was as excited as I've ever heard Trace Adkins."

Blake has actually been following Trace very closely since moving to Nashville back in 1994. When he first got to town, Blake had heard Trace had signed a record deal, so he was very interested to see how long it took from that point for Trace to get on the radio and get some success. Blake says, "Then it became a big hit, and he became Trace Adkins as well know. And now to be involved with him and us have music together is pretty awesome." "Hillbilly Bone" is included on Blake's new six-song album of the same name, now available everywhere.  

Great story, love it!  ~Vanessa

Bonus is Hillbilly