NEWS The last surviving member of Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys has died. Alden Johnny “A. J.” Nelson, age 94, of Hendersonville passed away June 22. He had served in the US Navy during WWII, and he performed on many USO tours during the Vietnam war. In addition to being an entertainer, he was a […]
http://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.png00Diane Diekmanhttp://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.pngDiane Diekman2017-07-05 08:27:222017-07-05 08:34:35Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 5 July 2017
NEWS Norro Wilson, co-writer of “The Grand Tour,” “A Picture of Me (Without You),” and other classics, died June 8 at age 79. “Over the course of his career,” The Tennessean reports, “he was involved in nearly every aspect of the music business, working as a performer, a songwriter, a song plugger, a publisher, an […]
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NEWS “All My Rowdy Friends” is returning to ESPN’s Monday Night Football on September 11. The Minnesota Vikings will be hosting the New Orleans Saints for the first Monday night game of the season. Hank Williams Jr. filmed a new video in Nashville with a new version of the song that calls out, “Are you […]
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Memorial Day Speech by CAPT Diane Diekman, USN (ret) May 29, 2017 American Legion Post 13, Willow Lake, South Dakota If South Dakota hadn’t passed a law in the mid-1960s to allow only 12-year school districts, I wouldn’t be standing here today. I’d be a retired country schoolteacher instead of a retired U.S. Navy captain. […]
FEATURED ARTIST–LEONA WILLIAMS When Leona Williams and I scheduled a phone conversation, she was in Phoenix, Arizona. She was visiting friends there in conjunction with playing several shows. Now she is off to Texas for two performances this weekend before heading back to Nashville. Ron Williams, Leona’s son, sometimes tours with her. In addition to […]
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I recently received this email from the Library of Congress: “The National Recording Registry is an annual list from the Library of Congress. Twenty-five recordings are named to the Registry every year. The Registry now numbers over 400 recordings. Each recording has been chosen by the Librarian of Congress, with input from the National Recording Preservation Board. These recordings […]
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FEATURED ARTIST – RONNY ROBBINS When I asked Ronny Robbins the other day if he still tours, he said he stopped in 1985 when daughter Courtney was born. “I knew what it felt like for Dad to be gone 200 days a year and I never wanted her to know what that felt like,” he […]
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NEWS 2017 inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame are Jerry Reed as the veteran era artist, Don Schlitz as songwriter, and Alan Jackson in the modern era artist. Vince Gill announced the winners at a ceremony at the Hall on April 5, 2017. The National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress […]
http://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.png00Diane Diekmanhttp://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.pngDiane Diekman2017-04-12 06:57:072017-04-12 07:05:33Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 12 April 2017
NEWS After the long-running Flatt and Scruggs Grand Ole Opry Show ended in 1969, there seemed to be no surviving copies of the TV show. Twenty years later, an advertising executive discovered a box of 16-mm film in his garage. It contained 24 half-hour episodes of the show sponsored by Martha White Flour and starring […]
http://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.png00Diane Diekmanhttp://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.pngDiane Diekman2017-03-29 07:37:472017-03-29 07:37:47Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 29 March 2017
Edited by William Anderson “The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder is the final collection of unpublished writing from the author of the Little House books,” writes editor William Anderson in the introduction. “There no longer remains a well of her words left to print.” This book consists of excerpts of more than 400 letters […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 5 July 2017
NEWS The last surviving member of Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys has died. Alden Johnny “A. J.” Nelson, age 94, of Hendersonville passed away June 22. He had served in the US Navy during WWII, and he performed on many USO tours during the Vietnam war. In addition to being an entertainer, he was a […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 21 June 2017
NEWS Norro Wilson, co-writer of “The Grand Tour,” “A Picture of Me (Without You),” and other classics, died June 8 at age 79. “Over the course of his career,” The Tennessean reports, “he was involved in nearly every aspect of the music business, working as a performer, a songwriter, a song plugger, a publisher, an […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 7 June 2017
NEWS “All My Rowdy Friends” is returning to ESPN’s Monday Night Football on September 11. The Minnesota Vikings will be hosting the New Orleans Saints for the first Monday night game of the season. Hank Williams Jr. filmed a new video in Nashville with a new version of the song that calls out, “Are you […]
Memorial Day Speech – 2017
Memorial Day Speech by CAPT Diane Diekman, USN (ret) May 29, 2017 American Legion Post 13, Willow Lake, South Dakota If South Dakota hadn’t passed a law in the mid-1960s to allow only 12-year school districts, I wouldn’t be standing here today. I’d be a retired country schoolteacher instead of a retired U.S. Navy captain. […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 24 May 2017
FEATURED ARTIST–LEONA WILLIAMS When Leona Williams and I scheduled a phone conversation, she was in Phoenix, Arizona. She was visiting friends there in conjunction with playing several shows. Now she is off to Texas for two performances this weekend before heading back to Nashville. Ron Williams, Leona’s son, sometimes tours with her. In addition to […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 10 May 2017
I recently received this email from the Library of Congress: “The National Recording Registry is an annual list from the Library of Congress. Twenty-five recordings are named to the Registry every year. The Registry now numbers over 400 recordings. Each recording has been chosen by the Librarian of Congress, with input from the National Recording Preservation Board. These recordings […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 26 April 2017
FEATURED ARTIST – RONNY ROBBINS When I asked Ronny Robbins the other day if he still tours, he said he stopped in 1985 when daughter Courtney was born. “I knew what it felt like for Dad to be gone 200 days a year and I never wanted her to know what that felt like,” he […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 12 April 2017
NEWS 2017 inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame are Jerry Reed as the veteran era artist, Don Schlitz as songwriter, and Alan Jackson in the modern era artist. Vince Gill announced the winners at a ceremony at the Hall on April 5, 2017. The National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 29 March 2017
NEWS After the long-running Flatt and Scruggs Grand Ole Opry Show ended in 1969, there seemed to be no surviving copies of the TV show. Twenty years later, an advertising executive discovered a box of 16-mm film in his garage. It contained 24 half-hour episodes of the show sponsored by Martha White Flour and starring […]
The Selected Letters Of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Edited by William Anderson “The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder is the final collection of unpublished writing from the author of the Little House books,” writes editor William Anderson in the introduction. “There no longer remains a well of her words left to print.” This book consists of excerpts of more than 400 letters […]