CMT News

Tim McGraw's ninth album, Live Like You Were Dying is set for Aug. 24 release. As was the case with his current album, Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors, the new project was recorded at Allaire Studios in upstate New York with his band. The new album is co-produced by Byron Gallimore and band member Darran Smith. "This time, we were able to go up there with confidence and experience under our belt," McGraw said. "We were able to share a similar reference point -- even in how we talked about the music. And I think ... you can hear that experience in the way we cut the record." The title track, the fastest rising chart single of McGraw's career, was inspired by his late father, baseball legend Tug McGraw, and was written by Craig Wiseman and Tim Nichols. Other titles include "How Bad Do You Want It," "My Good Friend," "Drugs or Jesus" and "Blank Sheet of Paper," a song co-written with the opening act on McGraw's summer tour -- the Warren Brothers.