Hee Haw Reruns Coming to TV In September
- The comedy show “Hee Haw” featuring performances from country music stars is being resuscitated. The RFD-TV cable channel will begin airing reruns of the Roy Clark and Buck Owens co-hosted show on September 7th.
- Peter Cooper has a nice article on Don Helms:
In performance, he would treat audiences to instrumental versions of songs by Williams, Cline and others, and listeners left with the understanding that Mr. Helms’ playing was not merely an adornment to those recordings. Take the steel away, and the impact of the song would be irrevocably compromised.
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members The Pretenders unveiled songs from their first studio album in six years on Monday at an event hosted by Yahoo. Frontwoman Chrissie Hynde says she’s avoided country music all of her life, but conceded that the band is moving in that direction with its new release, Break Up The Concrete, due out on Oct. 7.
- If Carrie Underwood had her way, we’d all be walking around with labels on our foreheads so she could see who has ulterior motives (What would your label say?). She tells Allure magazine that she never really knows why someone wants to be her around her, or if they genuinely like her. Plus she dishes on her text-message split from Chase Crawford and America’s quarterback, Tony Romo.
- Don Imus announced the September 16th release of The Imus Ranch Record, a 13-track album with proceeds benefiting the Imus Ranch, which hosts children afflicted with cancer or other serious blood diseases. The album features artists ranging from Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams and Dwight Yoakam to Patty Loveless, Vince Gill and Randy Travis. (via Still Is Still Moving)
- For the second year in a row Kenny Chesney joined the New Orleans Saints for a day of practice. Head coach Sean Payton told the players that they could have Sunday off if Chesney caught a punt within two chances. He needed three, but players still got the day off.
“On the first one, I totally blew it,” said Chesney, who played receiver in high school in Tennessee. “On the second one, not only were they offside, but they interfered with me.”
So Chesney was given a third chance, which he bobbled, but did not drop, sending players into celebration…
- A new three-disc Johnny Cash CD/DVD box-set due out on Oct. 14 will feature a total of 31 previously unreleased songs from his legendary 1968 concerts at Folsom Prison.
- From a press release: Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will release two new Johnny Cash Christmas Special DVDs on Oct. 7 for the years 1978 and 1979, or you can pick up a box-set that includes Cash’s annual CBS Christmas specials from ‘76-’79.
- Trace Adkins, Rhett Akins, Leroy Van Dyke and Deryl Dodd reveal stories behind some of their worst gigs.
- Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts will announce the nominees for this year’s Country Music Association (CMA) Awards on Sept. 10.
- On the eve of celebrating the monumental achievement of 50 million albums sold and having been played by radio for most of his career, Alan Jackson says it’s hard to complain about the music industry’s treatment of traditional country acts, but some things do bother him:
“From day one, no matter how many albums or tickets me or anybody else that does real country music has sold, or awards they’ve won, it seems like you’re always secondary, or Nashville is always apologizing for real country music and always trying to broaden their appeal by changing the style of music. That has always bugged me.”
- Bob Childers, dubbed the father of Red Dirt music, will be posthumously inducted into the Songwriters’ Category of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame on Oct. 8.
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to subscribe to our feed or receive updates via email.
Popular Stuff
Sponsor
In an attempt to discover and highlight the best music every month, We'll be publishing a list of the best songs released throughout that period. Here's Brady Vercher's picks for October.
For the second episode of The 9513 Country Music Podcast, your host Kelly Dearmore caught up with two seemingly different artists in Sarah Borges and Trent Willmon. Take a listen.
Free Music Downloads: If you’ve only recently come to country music, or have never delved past the genre’s surface and it’s most famous names, you may not have heard of Tom Russell. That’s a shame, and The 9513’s Free Music series is here to help set you down the right path.
Martina McBride - “Ride” Catchy, but a little low on cogency–not to mention originality. And it essentially resolves into the same kind of positive “message song” that has defined so much of McBride’s recent work.
Richie McDonald - “How Do I Just Stop” So gloriously simple and unequivocally lackluster that people of every political persuasion should rejoice in the opportunity to come together and have a hearty laugh at its expense.
Donnie Vondra - “If I Didn’t Love You” Combinining a golden trifecta of country music—steel guitar, fiddle and a strong, twangy vocal—"If I Didn't Love You" pulls together a sweet, toe-tapping ditty reminiscent of Marty Raybon-era Shenandoah.
Lance Miller - “Bacon Frying” A charming country song that is beautiful for its simplicity, a musical remnant from a time when songwriters understood that often the best thing to do is just get out of the song’s way.
John Rich - “Another You” For a guy who is supposed to be a genius songwriter, John Rich sure does seem to be running out of ideas. 
George Ducas - “Walk Through This World” Ducas banks on the success of recent artists’ pleasantly bland lyrics and agreeable instrumentation for his first release with WhiteStar Nashville.
In this exclusive interview for The 9513, Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook talks about life with the band, as well as A Place to Land, the group’s current album, which has charted in the top 10 of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart on two separate occasions
Forgotten Artists: Cal Smith - When the Florida Sunshine Opry (Eustis, FL) booked its first “name” (non-local) act back in 1999, the act they chose was Cal Smith. No wonder, since Cal is an excellent singer, musician, storyteller and showman. | View more artists featured in Paul W. Dennis' recurring "Forgotten Artists" feature »
Tagged In This Article
Alan Jackson // Bob Childers // Buck Owens // Carrie Underwood // Country Music Hall of Fame // Don Helms // Dwight Yoakam // Johnny Cash // Kenny Chesney // Lucinda Williams // Patty Loveless // Randy Travis // Rascal Flatts // Roy Clark // Taylor Swift // Tony Romo // Trace Adkins // Vince Gill // Willie Nelson
Current Discussion
- Matt C.: Kelly: I said the American Recordings don’t change my assessment of Cash’s career and legacy. As opposed to a ...
- Brady Vercher: Adkins is differentiating between discussing politics in an environment where he considers it ok to do so (his book, a ...
- Leeann Ward: PS. I don't like Hank Jr. though! Am I not a country fan? I agree with Razor X that there's ...
- Kelly: Matt C - You dont think that the 4 albums that make up The American Recordings, had a tremendous impact ...
- Sam G.: That Raconteurs' track may be the coolest thing I've heard all year. Brendon Benson sounded very like John Cowan of ...
- Leeann Ward: Ben, I like all of those people that you mention, but like Garth too. I agree with Jim in ...
- Hollerin' Ben: "Also, I agree with what Jim said. If you don’t like Garth, or don’t consider him a true country artist, ...
- Razor X: "Also, I agree with what Jim said. If you don’t like Garth, or don’t consider him a true country artist, ...
- Nashville4U: Yeah I posted the Trace Adkins thing on our website too but I thought it was funny how hypocritical he ...
- Mike Parker: Just okay for me. Like the idea, but a lot of it doesn't sound like anything I've heard brothers ...
24 Comments
RSS for comments on this post | Trackback URI for this post
August 12, 2008 at 11:29 am Permalink
Hooray for the Hee Haw comeback! I am happy that RFD is able to bring back more and more of what the original TNN used to bring us. Hooray for RFD. Hopefully along with the re-runs they will as time goes on be able to offer us more original program (such as the new episodes of Crook and Chase, which I love).
August 12, 2008 at 11:32 am Permalink
Hmm, whether she’d admit it or it, sounds like success has changed Ms. Underwood. Hooray for Hee Haw. I love that dopey show.
August 12, 2008 at 12:08 pm Permalink
I like a few Pretenders’ songs, but I don’t think there’s any chance that Chrissie Hynde will ever fit into country music, especially after her comments a few years ago about hoping the Muslims win (in regards to the US wars in the Middle East). Still, I’m kind of intrigued about their new CD.
I really, really don’t want to like anything that Don Imus touches, but I must admit that the charity CD looks great on paper, leaving aside the Big & Rich atrocity.
August 12, 2008 at 12:13 pm Permalink
I’ve always loved the Pretenders, but I don’t think that ‘country’ means what Chrissie thinks it means.
August 12, 2008 at 12:20 pm Permalink
Has anyone heard the song “Crazy Days?” It’s a newer country song and I -love- it! I have no idea who sings it but I would love to find out! Please let me know if you can!
Thank you,
Steph
August 12, 2008 at 12:21 pm Permalink
Ditto with the Chrissie as country thing.
August 12, 2008 at 12:23 pm Permalink
Steph,
That would be a song from Adam Gregory.
August 12, 2008 at 12:29 pm Permalink
I’ve remained oblivious to The Pretenders up until this point, so I’ll defer to you guys as the experts on that one. Has Ms. Hynde been critical of country in the past?
August 12, 2008 at 12:31 pm Permalink
I don’t think she has been CRITICAL of country, but it would be like Pat Benatar doing country. Or Joan Jett. She has one of those voices kind of cemented in Rock and Roll.
If you heard Carrie Underwood butcher I’ll Stand By You, that was a Pretenders song.
August 12, 2008 at 1:02 pm Permalink
if miss. underwood had her way…hmmmmm….what would my sign say…oh, have to talk to bill engvall about that one. “Here’s your sign.”
August 12, 2008 at 1:11 pm Permalink
I don’t think Chrissie Hynde dissed country music, but she’s not what you think of when you think of a country singer. She’ll drop the f-bomb in a song. She’s been very critical of the government. She’s extremely against eating meat, and not in a cute Carrie Underwood way either. (One DJ who attended a Pretenders show mentioned she ended the concert by saying “And if you like to eat meat, F*** YOU!) Basically, she’s not the blond, flag-waving, red-blooded all-American girl that Nashville is favoring at the moment. Plus, she’s in her mid-50s.
I would imagine a Pretenders country album would sound more rootsy, like Lucinda Williams. Not radio-ready at all, but potentially good.
August 12, 2008 at 1:14 pm Permalink
Hynde’s voice is quite similar to William’s, but even though I dig some pretenders stuff, i think lucinda can song-write circles around her….
August 12, 2008 at 1:15 pm Permalink
“Crazy Days” is by Adam Gregory.
http://www.adamgregory.com/
August 12, 2008 at 2:33 pm Permalink
Sam: Lulu is hardly above throwing out the f-bomb.
August 12, 2008 at 2:55 pm Permalink
Here’s my favorite news release of the day (from AllAboutCountry.com):
” The Official Weekend Numbers Are In For Toby’s New Movie! “Beer For My Horses” Not Exactly A Box Office Hit
Toby Keith’s second feature film, Beer For My Horses was only released in 91 theaters in ten cities this past weekend: St Louis, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Little Rock, Louisville, Miolwaukee, Pittsburgh and Tulsa.
And despite Toby’s best promotional efforts, grossed a disappointing $209,253–which is about $2,299 per theater, ranking 25th for last weekend.
The film has a nice mix of well-known stars, including Rodney Carrington, Ted Nugent, Gina Gershon, Willie Nelson and Tom Skerritt (but unfortunately lacks a plausible plot and character development). Critics didn’t pan the movie, but didn’t get overly exciting recommending it either.
The next step for the movie’s distributor, Roadside Attractions, is whether to move forward with a wider release, or go directly to DVD (or just ditch this turkey altogether). The film is rated PG-13 (for “Perfectly Gawdawful”). (Rating: Three Thumbs Down).”
PS - The parenthetical comments are mine….
August 12, 2008 at 3:18 pm Permalink
If a label on my forehead announced my intentions, I would get slapped all day long.
August 12, 2008 at 5:32 pm Permalink
how explicit can i be regarding this label thing?
August 12, 2008 at 10:08 pm Permalink
“If a label on my forehead announced my intentions, I would get slapped all day long.”
Ya’ think? Heh!
You are slipping though. I left you a couple of pics of Carrie in a bikini on Stormy’s attack rant in the forums and you didn’t even respond.
You haven’t been ill or nuthin’ huh? Got a fever due to cough or cold? :-o
A tid bit if worthless intel for Brody; I used to fish with ol’ BR549 hisself back in the day on the old NBA (National Bass Assoc) circuit. Junior would always manage to intice one of the Hee Haw girls to come to the banquets and weigh-ins! WOOF!! Barbi Benton was HOT! he-he!
Alan Jackson has a point but it’s been the same cycle in Country for the past 40 years. Traditional Country goes and comes. We’re do for another swing and I think Jamey Johnson will lead it. ‘Sides, I remember when Alan loaded trucks on a forklift! Now if that ain’t Country I’ll kiss your grits! ;-)
August 12, 2008 at 10:11 pm Permalink
of and entice
What’s the point of a preview button if one doesn’t use it? ;-)
August 13, 2008 at 9:42 am Permalink
I actually haven’t had much free time in which to peruse the forums. I can assure you that I’m just as lecherous as I’ve always been.
August 13, 2008 at 12:03 pm Permalink
WHen I go to the Billboard site for the Cash/Folsom info., I get a blank screen. It’s been that way for 24 hours now!
August 13, 2008 at 12:10 pm Permalink
@Patrick: The link still works for me in Firefox, but I checked it in Safari and got the same problem, so if you’re using Safari and have a different browser, try switching.
August 13, 2008 at 7:33 pm Permalink
@Brody Vercher..
Thanks for the heads-up! This is a new one for me. It worked, too!
September 3, 2008 at 8:09 pm Permalink
right on sam g. chrissie 1st song ever was “tequila” but was never released, only in later years and truncated on LOTI, but was a country song. i think “thumbalina” and ” chain gang” were country-rockabilly flaired”…ferchrissakes billy bremner from rockpile played with her (she is good friends with nick lowe and e. costello…both have dabbled in country). and tough shit if she is liberal and spoke out against the war (way back in 2002-03). she was not asking for the death of americans, as so many interpreted, she was stating the obvious (we all see this was a disaster). she’s a rather lippy rock n roller and she still is compelling. I love lucinda, but not sure she can write circles around hynde. hynde’s song resonate and stay with you. both her work and her have aged exceptionally well. the new stuff is just more chrissie…….
Leave a Comment