Nashville, TN. (Top40-Charts/ CMA) - Let the good times roll as CMA and the City of Nashville celebrated the 2006 best-selling act of all genres, Rascal Flatts, at a Mardi Gras-style event today at the Country
Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville .
'An accomplishment like this calls for a celebration,' said CMA Chief Operating Officer Tammy Genovese. 'And we were delighted to partner with the City of Nashville to acknowledge the significance of this career milestone and the positive impact that this outstanding group has had on Country Music, Tennessee, and Rascal Flatts' hometown – Music City, USA.'
'We take seriously the art of making music and try to put a lot of hard work and dedication into our albums,' says Jay DeMarcus , Rascal Flatts bassist and background vocalist. 'We are very thankful to our fans who have given us the best jobs in the world and are grateful to CMA, the City of Nashville and the Country Music community for making this our special day!'
Me and My Gang, was the highest debuting album in 2006 with more than 721,000 units sold in its first week, and when the cash registers stopped ka-chinging at year's end, the album was the top selling artist album of the year with 3.4 million copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. And that figure continues to rise with a current tally of more than 4 million copies. These sales combined with the continued strong sales of previous albums, including Feels Like Today, earned Rascal Flatts the title of being the best selling artist of 2006 in all musical genres.
This marked the first time in the era of monitored music sales that a Country group had the top-selling artist album of the year, according to Nielsen SoundScan research.
'We are happy to join CMA and the Nashville community in celebrating Rascal Flatts' many outstanding accomplishments in 2006 and the attention these achievements have brought to both the country music industry and the city of Nashville ' said Lyric Street Record s President and CMA Board President-Elect Randy Goodman.
Me and My Gang, features two chart-topping singles, including the band's first crossover hit, the multi-week Adult Contemporary (AC) No. 1, 'What Hurts The Most,' and the group's sixth No. 1 Country single, 'My Wish.' Rascal Flatts became one of only three Country artists (including Faith Hill and the Dixie Chicks) in the 45 years of shared Country and AC radio chart history to land two different songs in the No. 1 position on two different genre's radio charts in the same week, when 'What Hurts The Most' topped the Radio & Record s AC chart in the same week that 'My Wish' went to No. 1 on the Mediabase Country chart.
'It's just an honor to be here, another exciting and proud moment for Nashville , Tennessee ,' said Nashville Vice Mayor Howard Gentry. 'Were it not for the Country Music industry, we would not be able to stand here as proud as we do as a City. On behalf of Mayor Bill Purcell and the Metro Council, we thank the industry for providing these opportunities to grow nationally and also to grow at home in our own community.'
The honors are outstanding, but just as incredible is Rascal Flatts' commitment to giving back to their community. In September, the group held its second concert in support of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, donating 1.4 million since 2005 (the largest donations in the hospital's history).
