NEWS
Daryle Singletary (1971-2018)
Daryle Singletary, 46, died unexpectedly on February 11 at his home in Lebanon, Tennessee. The cause of death is pending. He leaves behind a wife and four children. Daryle Bruce Singletary was born March 10, 1971, in Cairo, Georgia. An early Randy Travis fan, he moved to Nashville at age 19 and began playing nightclubs and doing demo work. Randy, while listening to demos, liked the singer. There’s also a report that Randy’s band members saw Daryle singing at the Broken Spoke in Nashville and urged Randy to come listen. Whatever the introduction, Randy Travis helped Daryle get a record deal and he co-produced the first single, “I’m Living Up To Her Low Expectations.” Billboard’s obituary states, “Singletary will no doubt be remembered as a torch-bearer for artists such as Lefty Frizzell and Keith Whitley to modern-day generations of fans and artists.” His two songs I’ve always really liked are “I’m Living Up To Her Low Expectations” and “Too Much Fun.” Read the rest of this entry »

NEWS 
One of Faron Young’s Country Deputies, Dave Hall, died on January 19. He was 76. Dave played bass and served as frontman from 1969-72. After leaving the music business, he worked with Royalty Department and Creative Team at HoriPro. I met him in Canby, Minnesota, in 1970 and saw him again when I held a reunion of the Deputies in 2000. He wrote two of the songs on Faron’s 1971 It’s Four In the Morning album: “It’s Not the Miles” and “Night Coach Out Of Dallas.” Dave told me he gave co-writer credit to bus driver Lewis Redding, because, “He and I rode down the road a lot at night, me with a guitar in my hand.” Graveside services for Dave were held January 27 at Mt. Juliet Memorial Gardens. Read the rest of this entry »

FEATURED ARTIST — JOHNNY BUSH
Johnny Bush is still going strong, as he approaches his 83rd birthday. He records for BGM Records, owns a tour bus, and travels with his 6-piece band, the Bandoleros. “I’m working as much as I ever did,” he told me when I called him the other day. “And making a lot more money than I ever did.”

His first hit, in 1969, was the Marty Robbins song, “You Gave Me a Mountain.” In 1972, under a new contract with RCA Victor, he released his own composition, “Whiskey River.” Then his life changed. “It was the pinnacle of my career, when I was really rockin’ and rollin’, when it happened,” he says. “My voice just slammed shut.” Read the rest of this entry »

GUNFIGHTER BALLADS AND TRAIL SONGS
Fifty-eight years ago, as our nation moved into 1960, “El Paso” was riding at the top of Billboard’s country AND pop charts. In 2016, the Library of Congress chose the Marty Robbins album, Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, as one of its 25 annual additions to the National Recording Registry. I was asked to write an essay about the album. You can find it here: https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/index-of-essays/ Read the rest of this entry »

NEWS 
Leon Rhodes (1932-2017)
The last early member of Ernest Tubb’s Texas Troubadour band has died. Leon Rhodes, 85, died December 9 at his Nashville area home. By age 16, the young Texan was already gaining acclaim for his precision guitar playing in the Big D Jamboree band. Lefty Frizzell and Ray Price hired him to play on their Texas sessions, before he joined Ernest Tubb in 1960, as lead guitarist with the Texas Troubadours. In 1966, he left the road to be an Opry staff musician. He stayed there until 2003, when management fired the legendary players in an attempt to update the Opry image and attract a younger audience. Leon also served as a session musician and spent 25 years in the Hee Haw house band. In 2014, he was profiled as one of the Nashville Cats by the Country Music Hall of Fame. His funeral was held December 12 in Old Hickory, Tennessee. Read the rest of this entry »

FEATURED ARTIST—ERNIE REED
When I called Ernie Reed, it was the day after Mel Tillis’s funeral and burial in Clarksville, Tennessee. “I was glad when yesterday ended,” he told me. The funeral was a private event for family, friends, and Mel’s band, the Statesiders. Ernie had known Mel for 50 years, having first played in the band in 1967. I asked if he’d seen Mel recently. “I saw him in the hospital here in Nashville,” he said. “He weighed about 120 pounds.” Mel was sleeping, so Ernie sat in a chair and waited. When Mel awoke and saw Ernie, his first words were, “We need some bookings.” Ernie responded, “When you get out of that bed, we’ll get some bookings.” Read the rest of this entry »

NEWS 
Mel Tillis (1932-2017)
Mel Tillis, 85, died of respiratory failure on November 19 at the Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Florida. After colon surgery in Nashville in January 2016, he’d gone home to Ocala for medical care and physical therapy. He never recovered. Lonnie Melvin Tillis was one of the best, and best-loved, country entertainers ever. A Florida native, he began stuttering after a bout with malaria as a child. He served in the Air Force as a baker in the early 1950s. “People asked me if I served my country,” Mel once told Country Weekly. “I always tell them I sure did. I served cakes, pies and donuts.” His 1966 hit, “Stateside,” immortalized his Air Force time on Okinawa. After moving to Nashville in 1957, and finding success as a songwriter and singer, he named his band the Statesiders. Later awards included CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1976, induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976, and induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. His family will soon release information about funeral services in Florida and Nashville. Read the rest of this entry »

NEWS 
Billy Mize (1929-2017)
One of the last remaining founders of the “Bakersfield Sound” has died. William Robert Mize, 88, died October 28 at a nursing home in Pleasanton, California. He was a singer, songwriter, steel guitarist, and television host. The Academy of Country Music chose him as TV Personality of the Year three years in a row, 1965-1967. His most famous song was Charlie Walker’s “Who Will Buy the Wine.” He played steel guitar on recording sessions for Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Merle Travis, and others. For a time, he was one of Merle Haggard’s Strangers. A stroke in 1988, at age 59, kept him from speaking clearly for many years. Billy Mize regained his ability to sing and performed at his 80th birthday party. Read the rest of this entry »

CONCERT REVIEW – JEANNIE SEELY
Jeannie Seely entertained for ninety minutes at the Performing Arts Center in Sisseton, South Dakota, on October 15. The audience in the almost-full theater chose to spend Sunday afternoon with this Grammy Award winner and 50-year Grand Ole Opry member. Jeannie was accompanied by Tim Atwood, Opry pianist and Nashville session musician. Tim played keyboard and sang a few songs of his own. They wrapped up with several duets. Read the rest of this entry »

NEWS 
In his Saturday Night Live debut, Jason Aldean gave a tribute to the victims of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas. Cmt.com reports it was his first public appearance since the night 58 people were killed and 489 injured when a gunman opened fire on the crowd of 22,000 fans on Las Vegas Boulevard. Jason had been the headline act to close the sold-out three-day event. He canceled three shows in California following the shooting. Read the rest of this entry »