Cancer Patient Granted Wish to Visit Opry
- The Charleston Gazette ran a touching story on Christmas Eve about Steve Johnson, a 50-year old cancer patient who had fulfilled two of his three wishes. The last thing he wanted to do before he died was visit the Grand Ole Opry, something he didn’t think he was going to happen. While looking up information on the football situation at WVU Brad Paisley’s tour manager, Brent Long, came across the story. Johnson now has three tickets to the January 19th show at the Opry–the same night that Charlie Daniels will be inducted.
- Those in the Nashville area who are looking for a cheap ticket will want to consider the January 20th taping of the GAC Special How Great Thou Art: Gospel Favorites Live From the Grand Ole Opry. For $15, you can see performances by Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Sara Evans, Loretta Lynn, Ronnie Milsap and Carrie Underwood.
- Some 2,000 employees of EMI are expected to be cut as part of a restructuring plan by Guy Hands, the owner who acquired the company last year. Reports reveal that money was being spent in excess by executives for mansions, decorating apartments and “fruits and flowers”, also known as booze, drugs, and women. Management alone was costing the company 100 million a year.
- After being originally scheduled for a February 5th release, Dolly Parton’s Backwoods Barbie has been delayed until late February/early March to coincide with her tour.
- One of our readers pointed out that the Category 5 Records (label of Travis Tritt and Sammy Kershaw) building–formerly owned by Roy Orbison and Ronnie Milsap–is on the market for a cool $1,975,000.
- John T. Davis compares George Strait to a sunrise, saying the he gives essentially the same performance that he crafted some 30-odd years ago. The particulars may vary somewhat, but the experience does not stale with repetition. Craig Shelburne muses that Strait doesn’t need the pyrotechnics of other stars, he simply walks in and that was enough for the packed-to-capacity crowd at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
- Scott Sexton profiles the career of Jack Greene and lists some of his top songs.
- The two cops accused by Steve Holy of holding a gun to the back of his head after a game of foosball have been fired. The former officers each face a misdemeanor charge of deadly conduct.
- Geoff Boucher says the people surrounding Shelby Lynne are pulsing with excitement that her breakthrough may be here. Her 10th studio album, Just a Little Lovin’, will be released on January 29th via Lost Highway Records. It’s a tribute to the late Dusty Springfield. Lynne, just 39 years-old, doesn’t like the modern obsession with technology.
“I am the youngest dinosaur, believe me,” the 39-year-old said while wandering through Amoeba. “I had an iPod but I am so over that, I’m done. I believe in vinyl. You have to dedicate yourself when you put a record on: You have to get up to turn it over. You can’t get up and walk around the yard. And the album covers — you can’t roll a joint on an iPod.”
- Vinyl record sales were up 15% in 2007 to 990,000 units sold. No one expects it to become a mainstream format again, but if the demand is there it shouldn’t be alienated, either.
- 2008–the year of the buxom blond beauties.
- The stare down between the music industry and Apple continues on as one major label executive says he is prepared to keep selling songs with DRM through iTunes for up to a year to see if Amazon’s music service can take off without DRM protected songs.
- Tom T. Hall watched successful artists fall from grace at radio, spend all their money, and be forced to play country fairs for a living. He instead chose to plan his retirement, but he couldn’t give up writing country songs. Finding country singers to record those songs was a different story. So instead, he turned to bluegrass where he’s been happily accepted. He and his wife enjoy writing together. She says that he retires to bed early while she stays up writing another verse, and he says he wakes up to find she’s killed off the main character. Ah, bluegrass music at it’s best. (via Twang Nation)
- Free downloads: Eleven Hundred Springs - “Kick Me When I’m Down“; Dale Watson - “Whiskey or God“; Adam Hood - “Tuesday Night“; Wade Bowen - “Get Away“.
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Forgotten Artists: Goldie Hill Had Carl Smith and Goldie Hill been born 30 or 40 years later, they might have been like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw–the dominant married couple in country music.
Forgotten Artist: Wynn Stewart Both Buck Owens and Merle Haggard have cited Wynn Stewart as a major influence on their careers, yet somehow, he was never able to translate his enormous talent into extended and consistent success for himself.
Miranda Lambert - “More Like Her” This kind of material, as opposed to her tough-chick-done-wrong romps like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Gunpowder and Lead,” is where her real promise lies
Joey Rory - “Cheater, Cheater” It’s actually downright frivolous, but that just makes it all the more fun. And really, are you allowed to say “ho” on country radio?
Josh Gracin - “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” Despite initial marketing that touted the album as deep and personal, “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” is anything but deep or personal.
Josh Turner - "Everything Is Fine" Turner is the rare example of an artist who records material that’s both quality and trademark.
Darryl Worley - "Tequila On Ice" A groovy mid-tempo that sways, a refreshing reprieve from the exhausting pace of a format that clamors for loud music and swelling choruses.
Blake Shelton - "She Wouldn't Be Gone" It’s all about nailing the melody rather than providing a legitimate interpretation that accentuates the lyrical content, although Shelton does do a pretty good job of injecting what limited emotion he can.
Don’t look now, but Darius Rucker, lead singer of 90s rock group Hootie & The Blowfish, has a country hit on his hands. What you probably haven’t heard is that Rucker is the first black artist to chart a single in the country top 20 since Charley Pride last did it in 1988.
News that former Sugarland member and co-founder Kristen Hall is suing her ex-mates, to the tune of $1.5 million, goes a long way towards providing a bit of context regarding the Atlanta singer/songwriter’s sudden departure from the group.
In Memory of Don Helms (1927 - 2008) Helms dated back to a time when an excellent four or five piece band and a good singer were all that were needed to make great country music. No drums, no light shows, no production tricks in the recording studio–just good music.Tagged In This Article
Apple // Bluegrass // Brad Paisley // Carrie Underwood // Charlie Daniels // Dierks Bentley // Dolly Parton // EMI // George Strait // Grand Ole Opry // Jack Greene // Loretta Lynn // Ronnie Milsap // Roy Orbison // Sammy Kershaw // Sara Evans // Steve Holy // Tom T. Hall // Trace Adkins // Travis Tritt // Vince Gill
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5 Comments
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January 14, 2008 at 10:46 am Permalink
“You can’t roll a joint on an iPod.”
She’s just not doing it right!
January 14, 2008 at 1:24 pm Permalink
Hello all, can you do me a favor a take a listen to my music and let me know what you think? http://www.cdbaby.com search Gary Evan thank you.
January 15, 2008 at 10:49 am Permalink
Thought you all might be interested in the 911 call Steve Holy placed concerning the incident with the Dallas police. It can be found at the following link…
http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2008/01/10/steve-holy…
January 15, 2008 at 11:09 am Permalink
Thanks for the link, Natalie. I updated today’s news roundup to include it. Good stuff.
January 15, 2008 at 11:20 am Permalink
You’re welcome! I wanted to hear the call myself because some other articles we’re running down the way he was acting. Scared and drunk is not a good combination, he handled himself ok considering what just happened. The dispatcher on the other hand…wow.
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