NEWS

Bakersfield.com reports the death of 67-year-old Mark Yeary, a California native who spent 19 years as pianist and occasional record producer for Merle Haggard and the Strangers. He died January 17 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Arizona City, Arizona. “He played music Thursday night,” his longtime girlfriend said in a phone call. “He seemed chipper and happy.” In 1992, he had decided it was time to leave the Strangers. He moved to Branson, Missouri, and then to Arizona. A stroke in 2008 limited the use of his right hand.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT – MO PITNEY

When Mo Pitney returned my call last Monday night, he said, “I just left the studio. We put the final vocal on our record. So we’re a little closer to having it put out.” He remembered seeing me at his Sisseton, South Dakota, concert in November. And he appeared in an earlier newsletter: (more…)

IN THE SPOTLIGHT – MOE BANDY

When I called Moe Bandy to ask if he had time for a conversation, he was in the middle of a family Christmas party at his home in Branson, Missouri. Still, he took a few minutes to talk to me. He had just returned from Las Vegas, where he’d played four different events during the National Finals Rodeo. “I’ve just been running up and down the road, doing a lot of dates,” he told me. “I enjoy it as much now as I ever did.”