This week we remember Marty Robbins, who would have celebrated his 94th birthday tomorrow. RANDY TRAVIS RESEARCH TRIP My big news is that I signed a contract with the University of Illinois Press to write my third biography. The subject is Randy Travis. To begin the research, I headed east with my sister, Lorraine “Kayo” […]
NEWS The 53rd CMA Awards show will be held November 13. For the first time since the Musician of the Year category was added in 1988, there is a female nominee. Fiddle player Jenee Fleenor, a member of Blake Shelton’s band, was nominated along with guitarist Mac McAnally (who has won 10 of the last […]
CONCERT REVIEW – LACY J. DALTON Ever since I interviewed Lacy J. Dalton for my May 15 spotlight, I’ve been waiting for her to come to South Dakota. It happened last Thursday evening when she did a show at the Sisseton Performing Arts Center. She was as friendly in person as she’d been on the […]
NEWS Billboard’s Country Airplay chart had a solo female artist at the top for the first time in more than a year. “Girl” by Maren Morris jumped from #4 to #1 and dropped this week to #13 . Kelsea Ballerini’s “Legends” hit #1 on February 24, 2018. Miranda Lambert shared a #1 with Jason Aldean […]
IN THE SPOTLIGHT – PIG ROBBINS “Pig Robbins probably played more sessions than anybody ever did,” Lloyd Green told me during our recent phone conversation. He gave me Pig’s number so I could check in with the famous pianist and keyboard session player. When I called Hargus “Pig” Robbins, 81, and asked how he was, […]
IN THE SPOTLIGHT – LES LEVERETT “For my age and condition, I guess I’m doing pretty good,” Les Leverett told me when I called him last week at his home in Nashville. “God’s been awful good to me.” Les is ninety-two years old and leads a busy life. One of his favorite events takes place […]
CONCERT REVIEW – WAHOO COUNTRY MUSIC SHOW Thanks to Sharon Kenaston and Tracy Pitcox for a Thursday evening filled with high-quality traditional country music. Sharon hosted the 22nd annual Wahoo Country Music Show in Wahoo, Nebraska, this past weekend. Tracy Pitcox brought several Heart of Texas recording artists for a dance at the Starlite Ballroom.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT – LLOYD GREEN I hadn’t heard anything about Lloyd Green in quite a while, so I called him Sunday evening to find out how he’s doing. He answered the phone on the second ring. “Life’s different for me these days,” he told me. “Dot passed away about three years ago. I’m still […]
IN THE SPOTLIGHT – LISA SUTTON “I am kind of phasing out Lisa Sutton Music Services after fifteen years,” Lisa Sutton told me during our telephone conversation last week. Lisa is the daughter of the late singer Lynn Anderson and songwriter Glenn Sutton. Her grandparents were songwriters Liz Anderson and Casey Anderson. How’s that for […]
IN THE SPOTLIGHT – LACY J. DALTON The most incredible project Lacy J. Dalton, 72, has ever done in her life came from the recent three-and-a-half years she spent with an arts program at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, California. “It was a life-changing experience,” she told me during our telephone conversation last week. […]