NEWS Vintage Guitar Magazine reports that rockabilly guitar great Larry Collins, 79, died January 5 at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Santa Clarita, California. He was 10 and his sister Lorrie was 12 when they joined the cast of Los Angeles television’s Town Hall Party as the Collins Kids in 1954. The Collins family had […]
http://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.png00Diane Diekmanhttp://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.pngDiane Diekman2024-01-10 09:05:172024-01-10 09:12:51Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 10 January 2024
By Alton Delmore The first time I remember hearing of the Delmore Brothers was when the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted them during its catch-up year of 2001. More recently, I mentioned them in my newsletter in 2022 as Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees in 1971. Alton and his youngest brother, Rabon, performed as […]
http://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/The-Delmore-Brothers.jpg350233Diane Diekmanhttp://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.pngDiane Diekman2023-12-27 18:24:522026-02-05 18:25:18The Delmore Brothers: Truth Is Stranger than Publicity
IN THE SPOTLIGHT – TONY JACKSON One of the performers at A Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis – 1 Night, 1 Place, 1 Time in Huntsville, Alabama, was Tony Jackson. He agreed when I asked to spotlight him in my newsletter, and I called him several weeks ago for a conversation. His latest […]
http://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.png00Diane Diekmanhttp://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.pngDiane Diekman2023-12-27 08:21:242024-01-28 15:24:50Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 27 December 2023
By Carrie Rodgers Jimmie Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman, died in 1933 at age 35, following years of suffering from tuberculosis. In 1935, his wife, Carrie, kept her promise to write his biography. She privately published My Husband, Jimmie Rodgers, which was republished by Ernest Tubb in 1953 and the Country Music Foundation Press in 1975 […]
This month, we especially honor the memories of Faron Young and Marty Robbins. Marty died December 8, 1982, at age 57. Faron died December 10, 1996, at age 64. IN THE SPOTLIGHT – THE TENNESSEE FOUR When Johnny Cash recorded “Hey Porter” in 1955 with Luther Perkins on guitar and Marshall Grant on upright bass, […]
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By CAPT Diane Diekman, USN (ret), at Deuel School, Clear Lake, South Dakota, November 9, 2023 Good morning. It’s always great to be back in my hometown. Thanks to Superintendent Schiernbeck for inviting me here today. I would like to talk about what is possibly the most amazing document ever written, the United States Constitution. […]
NEWS Fifty-year music industry executive and former CRB/CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne, 72, died November 28 after a long-term illness, reports MusicRow. I called him a year ago to ask if he would speak with me for Randy Travis’s biography; he told me his health was too poor for him to do interviews. He began […]
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By Ruth Sheldon Hubbin’ It: The Life of Bob Wills was written by a fan, Ruth Sheldon, and privately published in 1938. It is one of four books recently republished in a cooperative effort by the Country Music Foundation Press and University of Illinois Press. The new title is Bob Wills: Hubbin’ It. Wills biographer […]
NEWS The new CMA Entertainer of the Year is Lainey Wilson. She is the first female to win since Taylor Swift in 2009 and 2011. Lainey also won the most awards—five—at last week’s 57th CMA Awards show. “This is all I’ve ever wanted to do; this is all I’ve known how to do,” she said […]
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Happy 86th birthday to Bill Anderson — who was born James William Anderson III on November 1, 1937, in Columbia, South Carolina. Have a great day, Bill! CONCERT REVIEW – RANDY TRAVIS TRIBUTE A Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis – 1 Night, 1 Place, 1 Time occurred in Huntsville, Alabama, on October 24. Lorraine “Kayo” Paver […]
http://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.png00Diane Diekmanhttp://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.pngDiane Diekman2023-11-01 08:09:392023-11-17 16:31:36Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 1 November 2023
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 10 January 2024
NEWS Vintage Guitar Magazine reports that rockabilly guitar great Larry Collins, 79, died January 5 at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Santa Clarita, California. He was 10 and his sister Lorrie was 12 when they joined the cast of Los Angeles television’s Town Hall Party as the Collins Kids in 1954. The Collins family had […]
The Delmore Brothers: Truth Is Stranger than Publicity
By Alton Delmore The first time I remember hearing of the Delmore Brothers was when the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted them during its catch-up year of 2001. More recently, I mentioned them in my newsletter in 2022 as Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees in 1971. Alton and his youngest brother, Rabon, performed as […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 27 December 2023
IN THE SPOTLIGHT – TONY JACKSON One of the performers at A Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis – 1 Night, 1 Place, 1 Time in Huntsville, Alabama, was Tony Jackson. He agreed when I asked to spotlight him in my newsletter, and I called him several weeks ago for a conversation. His latest […]
My Husband, Jimmie Rodgers
By Carrie Rodgers Jimmie Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman, died in 1933 at age 35, following years of suffering from tuberculosis. In 1935, his wife, Carrie, kept her promise to write his biography. She privately published My Husband, Jimmie Rodgers, which was republished by Ernest Tubb in 1953 and the Country Music Foundation Press in 1975 […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 13 December 2023
This month, we especially honor the memories of Faron Young and Marty Robbins. Marty died December 8, 1982, at age 57. Faron died December 10, 1996, at age 64. IN THE SPOTLIGHT – THE TENNESSEE FOUR When Johnny Cash recorded “Hey Porter” in 1955 with Luther Perkins on guitar and Marshall Grant on upright bass, […]
Veterans Day Speech 2023
By CAPT Diane Diekman, USN (ret), at Deuel School, Clear Lake, South Dakota, November 9, 2023 Good morning. It’s always great to be back in my hometown. Thanks to Superintendent Schiernbeck for inviting me here today. I would like to talk about what is possibly the most amazing document ever written, the United States Constitution. […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 29 November 2023
NEWS Fifty-year music industry executive and former CRB/CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne, 72, died November 28 after a long-term illness, reports MusicRow. I called him a year ago to ask if he would speak with me for Randy Travis’s biography; he told me his health was too poor for him to do interviews. He began […]
Bob Wills: Hubbin’ It
By Ruth Sheldon Hubbin’ It: The Life of Bob Wills was written by a fan, Ruth Sheldon, and privately published in 1938. It is one of four books recently republished in a cooperative effort by the Country Music Foundation Press and University of Illinois Press. The new title is Bob Wills: Hubbin’ It. Wills biographer […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 15 November 2023
NEWS The new CMA Entertainer of the Year is Lainey Wilson. She is the first female to win since Taylor Swift in 2009 and 2011. Lainey also won the most awards—five—at last week’s 57th CMA Awards show. “This is all I’ve ever wanted to do; this is all I’ve known how to do,” she said […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 1 November 2023
Happy 86th birthday to Bill Anderson — who was born James William Anderson III on November 1, 1937, in Columbia, South Carolina. Have a great day, Bill! CONCERT REVIEW – RANDY TRAVIS TRIBUTE A Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis – 1 Night, 1 Place, 1 Time occurred in Huntsville, Alabama, on October 24. Lorraine “Kayo” Paver […]