SONNY OSBORNE is not a fan of country artists covering bluegrass hits, though these days it is more common for bluegrass artists to cover country standards.
Sonny says that when he heard BUCK OWENS' 1971 recording of Ruby, which Sonny's brother, BOBBY ''sang the mortal daylights out of, I was almost embarrassed to listen to the rest of the album."
Osborne knew Buck and the BUCKAROOS "pretty well. We worked with them several times. Nice people. But they should have left bluegrass where it belonged... with the people who grew up with it."
Attn: Male singers age 13- 20 (and/or the people who love them).
For
those who have ever dreamed of being in a boy band, here's your chance
to be the next big thing. Multi-platinum Grammy Award nominated
producer and songwriter WILLIE BAKER has worked with the best and he is now auditioning singers for a group to be known as NO LONELY HEARTS (NLH).
If you, or someone you know, have what it takes to give BTS a run for its money, mark September 18, 2021 on your calendar. That's the day to be at Cabana Taps for the Nashville audition. For more information, including the opportunity to apply,
****
August 2021 will be remembered for what seems to a be a staggering number of music and entertainment community losses occurring seemingly one right after the other. Entertainers and those who worked behind-the-scenes.
The ''roll call'' (for me) began when KOLO (as he is known around Windsor Tower) had tickets to the August 13, 2021 Grand Ole Opry. We hadn't attended an Opry performance for a year, maybe two. (There's nothing like an Opry radio and stage production, but my preferred vantage point is backstage where, in my experience, there is an even better show- if that's possible!)
Our
first surprise was that ticket holders now have to pay to park. (We
arrived too close to show time to leave for the nearby free Opry Mills
lot from where we could have leisurely walked to the Opry House had we arrived earlier.)
Price-gouged to boot, our expression of outrage to the parking lot
attendant was met by his equally-surprising reaction: Shrugging,
he indicated "I agree with you. I guess they want to soak the fans.''
Once seated, we sat back and enjoyed the performances, not attaching
any particular significance when two different acts invoked non-Opry cast member NANCI GRIFFITH's name; one suggesting Griffith was an inspiration and another as a segue to singing one of Nanci's songs.
I
did think it slightly unusual that Griffith was being cited by two
different performers on the same show, but, other than that, quickly
forgot about it until I arrived home, turned on the late-night news,
and learned that Nanci had passed away earlier in the day at age
68. (Had Griffith been older, I might have recognized earlier that
Friday the 13th had turned unlucky but, as it was, I was totally
unprepared for what came a week later.)
I had had a premonition, as I sometimes do about a myriad of things, that TOM T. HALL
would die in the morning. What morning I did not know. I
did expect someone I knew personally to die on August 20, 2021 but that
someone was my former WLAC Radio and Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Gridiron Show colleague PHIL VALENTINE. (Valentine actually passed the following day.)
''I'm not booked for long,'' Tom once told me. I was alarmed at the time, especially because Hall refused to elaborate, but that was back when he'd just turned 36.
During those days the future
novelist chatted me up about our shared fascination with Portnoy's
Complaint, PHILIP ROTH's novel which I was in the process of reading. (Tom had already read the book, though he preferred BORDEN
DEAL's novels, at a time my curiosity prompted me to read Roth's novel to learn,
given my preference for nonfiction, what all the fuss had been about when it was published five years earlier.)
I had forgotten all about that conversation of 49 years before until I got word of Tom's
death and thought how ironic it was the news came at a time I had just
finished the first of two newly-published Roth biographies competing for
my attention (Philip Roth was, after all, my great-aunt's niece's husband's nephew's wife's uncle's wife's sister's husband's first cousin once-removed's ex-husband) that I had borrowed from the Nashville Public Library.
Ironically, I had been in (infrequent) touch with DEAN HALL earlier in the week, so at a time when others were just learning of Tom's passing I reached out to Dean. To my surprise, given all that he is now dealing with, Tom's son returned my email within the hour.
What a class act!
As someone who knew him Tom Hall well, for nearly a half century, the thing that has struck me amid all of the Legacy messages of condolence is that for all of those who love Tom's music or maybe shared a stage or two with him, how few of his admirers, at least most of those who have weighed in, actually have professed to know anything about Hall beyond his music.
If you missed the televised ACADEMY OF WESTERN ARTISTS' 25th annual WILL ROGERS Awards, VERNELL HACKETT provides a link. (One the highlights of my broadcasting career occurred when I was hosting an interview program on WPLN RADIO and had the opportunity to interview WILL ROGERS, JR.)
Wonder who donates to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (and how much)?
From the "pay to play department," here are the latest donations (from names you might recognize) according to the Hall of Fame's most recent annual report:
In the $100,000+ category: TAYLOR SWIFT, THE MIKE CURB FAMILY FOUNDATION, KEITH URBAN and (thanks to my neighbor, BOBBI) the DON GIBSON AMERICAN MUSIC FOUNDATION.
Those contributing $25,000 to $999,999 include the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC, BMI, CAROLYN and DEL BRYANT, THE COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION, THE CMA FOUNDATION, MILOM, HORSNELL, CROW, KELLY, BECKETT SHEEHAN, PLC, OH BOY RECORDS, GREG OSWALD, MORGANE and CHRIS STAPLETON, ANN & CLARENCE SPAULDING, K.K. and CRAIG WISEMAN.
Those coughing up $10,000 to $24,999 include BIG MACHINE LABEL GROUP, LEE BRICE, DUSTIN LYNCH, PHRAN and JOE GALANTE, iHEART COUNTRY, JOHN PRINE FAMILY, THE TENNESSEAN, GEORGE STRAIT, J. WILLIAM DENNY, JOSH TURNER, JUDY and STEVE TURNER, MARY ANN McCREADY and PICKSLAY CHEEK, JR.
Those chipping in $5,000- $9,999 include THE CHET ATKINS MUSIC EDUCATION FUND, ANA CRISTINA and JOHN CARTER CASH, KAREN and DAVID CONRAD, BOBBI GIBSON, VINCE GILL and AMY GRANT, LISA and KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, RAY STEVENS, KATHY and MARK WRIGHT, KYLE YOUNG, SUSANNA and DAVID ROSS.
If you're thinking of visiting Branson, Missouri to see DOLLY PARTON's Stampede Dinner Attraction before the end of Summer 2021 , the Daily Beast's Special Correspondent MICHAEL DALY suggests you might want to think again. In an article titled How a Tiny Town With an
Anti-Mask Mayor Caused COVID Chaos, Daly delivers a scathing blow to Branson tourism.
Calling
Branson "a superspreader tourist town whose visitor policy- to sell
lots of tickets and take few precautions- is endangering thousands of
lives," Daly informs readers that two-thirds of Bransonites are
unvaccinated. He adds that, with a Covid infection rate of 19.3%,
the town of 57,000 averages 54 new cases daily, which is "10 times the
national per capita average rate" of infection.
Thanks to LUCY VOLPE and DOUG HALL for a media guest list invitation to JOHN R. MILLER's July 18, 2021 showcase at 3rd & Lindsley, featuring performances of songs from John's debut solo album, Depreciated (reviewed here).
CRYSTAL HENDERSON is first with the news that the Good Trouble video of the LEIGH NASH-RUBY AMANFU collaboration, with proceeds earmarked for the THURGOOD MARSHALL College Fund (TMCF) is now available here.
****
While
my books
have been in the Library of Congress collection for years, I
have now joined the ranks of United States' oldest federal cultural institution's
essayists, with my
contribution to the LOC's National Recording Registry. Have I
resolved the debate on what is "the greatest country song of all
time"?
Having been fortunate to have biographical entries in several annual editions of Who's Who in America (1992- 1996, the 47th-49th editions of the hardback directories found in the reference sections of public, corporate and university libraries, each published in a the prior year) and biennial editions of Who's Who of American Women (1991-1992, 1993-1994, 1995-1996, 1997-1998, the 17th- 20th editions, found in the same library reference sections and each published during the first of the two years referenced in its edition title), my selection was not sullied by some of the criticism that has beset the brand since its 2005 acquisition by News Communications Inc.
While the current owners' marketing division has tried to subject me (and undoubtedly other past documented notable authors) to its "vanity" sales practices, I believe my track record, which speaks for itself, coupled with my sales resistance, has been a factor in my no-strings-attached selection as winner of the Who's Who in America 2022 ALBERT NELSON MARQUIS Lifetime Achievement Award.
According to submission director JOY FORRIER, I will not only be featured in Who's Who in America's 75th Anniversary (2022) Edition, the Nelson award I am receiving is awarded to "less than 5%" of those who are profiled in Who's Who; only those of us who have met at least three of five requirements (i.e., a Marquis Who's Who publication listing over a 20-year period, more than 20 years' experience in a particular career field or industry, published in at least two books or articles highlighting one's experience, exhibited one or more of one's creative works, received at least one award outside of Marquis Who's Who).
As for
Marquis' attempts
to stay solvent at a time when new hardback publications are finding
it hard to stay afloat in a paperless economy, Forrier is emphatic:
"For clarity, there has never been a cost associated with inclusions
in Marquis Who's Who. Biographies are included in our registry
strictly on merit- no one can buy or purchase a position, listing or
award from Marquis Who's Who."
****
The pandemic has hit PBS' Song of the Mountains especially hard.
The
17 year-old monthly telecast, which continues to bring Appalachian (and
some Americana) music to the masses from its home at the Lincoln Theatre
in Marion, Virginia, endured a 10-month shutdown
before resuming production in January 2021.
The
reopening, at 25% capacity, has doubled in capacity at this writing,
but the need for social distancing has put performing for a full house
anytime soon on performers' wish list.
The non-profit has established a GoFundMe page with 83 supporters (including VALERIE SMITH & LIBERTY PIKE and CLAIRE RATLIFF ) having helped to raise $4,038 over 5 months. Organizers' goal to continue to "keep the music alive" is $100,000.
DOLLY PARTON has zillions of fans but none more admiring than DAVID MUIR.
Muir, who has quite a fan base of his own, gushes about Parton's million-dollar funding of the Moderna vaccine, "Can we have Dolly on every night? Always setting the example."
When Parton set that example by being vaccinated before the TV cameras, many news organizations edited her reaction to receiving the inoculation, which included her appeal to the anti-vax crowd: "Cowards! Don't be such a chicken squat!"
Parton's
cleaning up a common vulgarism prompted JUDY WOODRUFF to remark to PBS
Newshour viewers: "The one and only Dolly Parton: I'm
still trying to figure out what 'chicken squat' is.
"I'm going to look it up. I've got Dolly Parton's accent."
****
Ever wonder about what inspired BRAD PAISLEY and KIMBERLY WILLIAMS-PAISLEY to create The Store?
It was a actually a parenting lesson. Back in 2012, Brad says his wife "got real mad" at their children "because they were acting like brats and [she] said 'Throw 'em in the car. We're going to teach them about people in need.
"A
friend recommended the Unity Shop, which is a similar situation to what
The Store ended up being."
The result was that The Store's customers "get choice. They get the dignity that comes with that, their family feels normal and eventually they graduate out of the plan and are back on their feet."
Even Nashville's most recent tornado, coupled with a global pandemic couldn't torpedo the Paisley's plan: Since these events The Store "went to curbside and no-contact delivery."
The
Store has served over 1 million people as of 2021.
Thanks to SHELLY MULLINS for the invitation to attend the FLYING BUFFALOES "exclusive screening of their highly-impactful upcoming Official Music Video A New Day Is Gonna Dawn" May 19, 2021 at East Nashville Beer Works.
An
hour-long mix and mingle will precede the screening that, "out of an
abundance of caution" will be held "on the outside patio.
"In
case of unfavorable weather, the event will be moved inside for a
socially-distanced screening (Please be prepared and bring your masks)."
...Thanks also to LUCY VOLPE for the invitation to see JOHN R. MILLER in performance May 14, 2021 at The Basement.
"John
will officially announce his debut album, Depreciated, released July 16, 2021 via Rounder Records."
Miller's performance, part of The Basement's Get Happier Friday series, "will be a COVID conscious event.. held outdoors" in the venue's parking area "with social distance in place."
Want to hear Shenandoah Shakedown, the album's first track, NOW? You're in luck: It's available here! :
Long before NBC's Saturday Night Live, "Live from New York" was the point of origination for Sunday evening for TV viewers of CBS' Toast of the Town (later The ED SULLIVAN Show).
The
Sullivan show's variety of entertainers included country
music's biggest crossover stars.
But the program's November 22, 1970 telecast was unusual to say the least. Ed took the show to the West Coast, devoting the hour to a tribute to RICHARD RODGERS at The Hollywood Bowl.
So what does this have to do with country music? For the Oklahoma! portion of the tribute, MINNIE PEARL reverted to her background as a trained stage actress, portraying "Aunt Eller."
And that's not all: The Grand Ole Opry comedienne teamed with (handsome feller) JOHN DAVIDSON (as "Curly,") along with JEANNIE C. RILEY (as "Laurey")!
The
"trio," likely appearing on the same stage for the first and only time,
joined the rest of the show's cast (including JOHNNY MATHIS, SHIRLEY JONES and THE LENNON SISTERS ) for Oklahoma!'s big finale.
Thanks to BEV MOSER for the "VIP private invitation" to attend the "exclusive premiere of DALLAS REMINGTON's brand new single," Uncommon Man April 29th at 3rd & Lindsley.
"Enjoy lunch, drinks and a special interview hosted by DEVON
O'DAY."
Want to work for the Country Music Foundation?
There are two openings: The first is for a maintenance technician. Qualifications are listed here.
If working the night shift suits you, you'll want to apply here.
Should
you prefer a Country Music Hall of Fame day job, perhaps you'd
like to be a museum retail supervisor.
Qualifications are listed here. You may apply here.
If
interested in either position, you'll want to know what you're getting into.
Column's
congrats to DARIUS RUCKER, Southern Living's Southerner of the Year!
The Tennessee Stage and Film Company's DEBBIE MATHIS WATTS promises a "FREE afternoon of girly-fun!" on Saturday, March 20, 2021 from 1- 4 p.m. at Hendersonville, Tennessee's Lighthouse on the Lake Event Center.
Debbie will be presenting "my second annual Spring Sing and Bling. This year's music will be a 'Tribute to Women's History month,' singing songs by famous female artists who have influenced me most."
Print
off your free tickets at Eventbrite where the event is listed as Spring
Bling and Sing Celebration of Women's History month.
****
NANCI GRIFFITH recently sold her Blair Boulevard home for $1,080,000.
.
Thanks
to Carlton College
Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) Communication
Specialist CLARA
POSNER and Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life
's Director of Heritage and Interpretation NORA KATZ,
M.Phil., for featuring me on Segment 12 of the ISJL's popular Virtual
Vacation series. Titled Southern
Jewish Music: Jews and Country. the February 5, 2021 interview
aired along with remarks from, and performances, by JOE BUCHANAN,
"live" on Facebook February 23, 2021.
In case
you missed the show, it remains available here.
Now in
its seventh season, episode
six, predictably titled Country Roots featuring Rosanne and Clint, airs
February 23, 2021 on your local PBS
station.