NEWS 
Billy Joe Royal, 73, died in his sleep at his home in North Carolina on October 6. He had been planning to tour with Ronnie McDowell in November. He was born April 3, 1942, in Valdosta, Georgia. His debut single, “Down in the Boondocks,” was a pop hit in 1965. During the mid-1980s, he signed with Atlantic Records and began releasing country songs. He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1988. (more…)

FEATURED ARTIST – ED BRUCE
“I’ve written a few hits,” Ed Bruce told me when I called him this past weekend. “That’s what I came to town to do–be a dedicated 24-hour-a-day musician/ songwriter.”

His website lists some of those well-known songs, beginning with Charlie Louvin’s “See the Big Man Cry.” Ed was 23 at the time, and had recently moved from Memphis to Nashville. Tanya Tucker later recorded “Texas When I Die” and “The Man That Turned My Mama On.” Ed had his own hits, including “My First Taste of Texas” and “The Last Cowboy Song.” Perhaps his most famous song is the Willie Nelson/ Waylon Jennings recording of “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” (more…)