CMA Vocal Duo of the Year Thompson Square will publish their first novel titled Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not? with Howard Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not? is based on Keifer and Shawna Thompson’s chart-topping love song of the same title and features characters David Winters and Zoe Spark and their journey to love. Travis Thrasher will co-author.

David and Zoe are friends from high school and musical partners who date sporadically throughout college. Though they go their separate ways, two of their songs eventually become hits. The pair reconvene at a low point in their lives and realize what they had been missing all along.

The book is slated for release June 4, 2013.

Thompson Square will also join award-winning Country star Luke Bryan on his first headlining tour, the 2013 Dirt Road Diaries Tour, beginning January 17 in Evansville, IN. Thompson Square’s latest release, “If I Didn’t Have You,” is the duo’s fastest rising single to-date and the first from the duo’s sophomore album due in early 2013.

Don’t finalize those Christmas wish lists just yet, because Big Machine Records is releasing the soundtrack to ABC-TV’s Nashville on December 11. The collection features new music performed by the cast including Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere, Charles Esten, Jonathan Jackson, Clare Bowen, and Sam Palladio. A full track listing for the album is below.

Producers T Bone Burnett, Dann Huff, and Michael Knox have collaborated to assemble the music featured in the show and soundtrack. Download sales of songs from the series have already exceeded 500,000 and the first official single, Panettiere’s “Telescope,” is quickly climbing the charts.

Nashville airs Wednesdays 9-10 pm/CT on ABC. See full episodes here.

Track listing:
1. Buried Under
Performed by Connie Britton / Written by Chris Destefano, Natalie Hemby

2. If I Didn’t Know Better
Performed by Sam Palladio, Clare Bowen / Written by Arum Rae, John Paul White

3. Undermine
Performed by Hayden Panettiere, Charles Esten / Written by Trent Dabbs, Kacey Musgraves

4. Sideshow
Performed by Charles Esten / Written by Aaron Scherz, Brad Tursi

5. Wrong Song
Performed by Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere / Written by Marv Green, Sonya Isaacs, Jimmy Yeary

6. No One Will Ever Love You
Performed by Connie Britton, Charles Esten / Written by Steve McEwan, John Paul White

7. Twist Of Barbwire
Performed by Jonathan Jackson / Written by Elvis Costello

8. Love Like Mine
Performed by Hayden Panettiere / Written by Kelly Archer, Emily Shackleton, Justin Weaver

9. Telescope
Performed by Lennon Stella, Maisy Stella / Written by Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsay

10. When The Right One Comes Along
Performed by Clare Bowen, Sam Palladio / Written by Georgia Middleman, Justin Davis, Sarah Zimmermann

11. Telescope (Radio Mix)
Performed by Hayden Panettiere / Written by Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsay

Frank Peppiatt, who brought country culture to the forefront of the national media as co-creator of Hee Haw, died on Wednesday (11/7) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. He was 85 and had been battling cancer.

Peppiatt and John Aylesworth helped launch the show in 1969. After CBS cancelled it two years later, it went on to become one of the longest-running syndicated series of all time, lasting more than two decades.

Peppiatt and Aylesworth loosely based the show on the then-popular sketch comedy series Laugh-In. The idea for the country twist came after appearances by country stars including Jimmy Dean, Dale Evans and Minnie Pearl led to a ratings spike on The Jonathan Winters Show, which Peppiatt and Aylesworth previously produced.

Hee Haw was produced by Sam Lovullo. Buck Owens and Roy Clark co-hosted, and regulars included Minnie Pearl, Grandpa Jones, Stringbean, and George Lindsey. George Richie, and later Charlie McCoy, led the house band which backed the numerous country stars who performed on the show.

Peppiatt also produced television variety shows, including series and specials for Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and Julie Andrews. His book, When Variety Was King: Memoir of a TV Pioneer Featuring Jackie Gleason, Sonny and Cher, Hee Haw and More will be published in April 2013. Aylesworth passed in 2010.

FUN and Ne-Yo have been added to the lineup for The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night. They join previously announced performers Luke Bryan and Maroon 5. LL COOL J and Taylor Swift will co-host the one-hour televised concert special.

The show, which will announce nominations in several categories as well as feature performances by past GRAMMY winners and/or nominees, will take place for the first time ever at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 5. It will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network from 10 – 11 p.m. ET/PT (9 p.m. Central).

Additional performers and presenters are still forthcoming.