Def Leppard taped CMT Crossroads on Monday night in Nashville at the Acuff Theatre. The band performed many of their own classic songs alongside Taylor. Joe also joined in with Taylor and her band on her own hits including her latest single.


Krista Lee © CMT 2008.

The above photo was taken last week by photographer Krista Lee for CMT.

Swift, Def Leppard connected instantly

Monday's CMT Crossroads featuring Taylor Swift and Def Leppard at the Acuff Theater might initially seem like an odd pairing. After all, the teen was born after much of the rock band's success, but they both say it was a good fit immediately.

"I've always loved the idea that once you've established yourself as an artist, you need to stretch," Def Leppard's Joe Elliott said. "Part of stretching is going to places that other people don't think you should.

"This is so far, so good. This is working really well from day one. This has been gelling real tight. It's a lot of fun."

Taylor contacted the band's drummer about a year ago, but he had no idea who she was and didn't pass on the message. Later, the band discovered an article in which Taylor mentioned her desire to do a Crossroads with them.

"We Googled her, we iTuned her, listened to her and said wow. Then we looked at how many records she was selling and looked at how young and pretty she is and how exciting it is to be at that point in her career, because we were there once, a long time ago before you were born," Joe said, looking at Taylor.

For Monday's show, she asked Joe if she could sing some of her favorite lines in their songs. "He said, 'You can sing all of them. Whatever you want to sing,' " she said.

Joe said, "I offered the entire song. I've been doing it for 25 years. I can take a night off."
Beverly Keel © Tennessean 2008.

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Full Article -- Here

Link -- Krista Lee Blog

Link -- CMT Crossroads Show Page