FEATURED ARTIST – RONI STONEMAN Roni Stoneman is recovering from her October knee replacement surgery. All those years of carrying around a 30-pound banjo had damaged it. She was back on the stage for the first time on New Year’s Eve when she and sister Donna hosted the Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree. After three months […]
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NEWS George Edwards (1937-2016) Sherie Edwards reports the death of her father, George Edwards, on December 29, in Hendersonville, Tennessee, following a brief illness and 16 years after a stroke. “He loved playing steel guitar almost as much as he loved his family,” she wrote on the Steel Guitar Forum, “and his steel guitar friends […]
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By Bill Anderson and Peter Cooper Bill Anderson, 79, is the only songwriter in history who has written songs that charted in seven consecutive decades. From “City Lights” by Ray Price in 1958 to “Country” by Mo Pitney in 2015, his music continues to thrive. He tells the story of his music and its place […]
https://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Whisperin-Bill-Anderson.png200129Diane Diekmanhttp://dianediekman.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Diane-Diekman-Logo.pngDiane Diekman2016-12-22 12:14:502026-02-05 12:15:13Whisperin’ Bill Anderson: An Unprecedented Life In Country Music
NEWS Gordie Tapp (1922-2016) CBC-Radio Canada reports the death of Canadian radio and television entertainer and former CBC broadcaster Gordie Tapp, 94. The Hee Haw country bumpkin Cousin Clem died December 18 in hospital, surrounded by family and friends. Born in 1922 in London, Ontario, Gordie hosted the CBC variety show Country Hoedown for 13 […]
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REMEMBERING FARON AND MARTY It’s been 34 years since a heart attack took Marty Robbins on December 8, 1982. Twenty years ago we heard the shocking news that Faron Young had shot himself; he died December 10, 1996. We miss them both, remember them fondly, and never tire of listening to their music. NEWS Mark […]
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By Thomas J. Knock The Rise Of A Prairie Statesman: The Life And Times Of George McGovern is the first volume of a major two-part biography on the most eloquent critic of the Vietnam War. Thomas J. Knock, a distinguished historian and teaching professor at Southern Methodist University, has written an aptly titled account of […]
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NEWS Holly Dunn (1957-2016) Holly Dunn, 59, died November 14 in a hospice facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, surrounded by family and friends. She’d sent me this email on April 6th: “I have some unfortunate news to report, and I do so only because I believe in the power of prayer and hope to stir […]
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FEATURED ARTISTS – JACK BLANCHARD & MISTY MORGAN “Things are kind of quiet with us right now,” Jack Blanchard told me last week over the phone. “We’re not doing any traveling.” Jack and his wife, Misty Morgan, are best known for their 1970 hit, “Tennessee Birdwalk.” They aren’t touring right now because they haven’t found […]
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NEWS Bobby Vee (1943-2016) Robert Velline, 73, known as Bobby Vee, died October 24 of advanced Alzheimer’s disease, the Associated Press reports. Born in Fargo, North Dakota, he was 15 when a plane crash in Iowa killed Buddy Holly, and a call went out for local acts to do the scheduled show at the Moorhead […]
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NEWS Al Dean (1931-2016) Al Dean, 85, leader of Al Dean & the All Stars, passed away in hospice care in San Antonio, Texas, on October 3. “Al had been battling cancer,” Heart of Texas Records president Tracy Pitcox announced. Al formed his first band in 1952 and played dances all over Texas. He is […]
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Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 18 January 2017
FEATURED ARTIST – RONI STONEMAN Roni Stoneman is recovering from her October knee replacement surgery. All those years of carrying around a 30-pound banjo had damaged it. She was back on the stage for the first time on New Year’s Eve when she and sister Donna hosted the Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree. After three months […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 4 January 2017
NEWS George Edwards (1937-2016) Sherie Edwards reports the death of her father, George Edwards, on December 29, in Hendersonville, Tennessee, following a brief illness and 16 years after a stroke. “He loved playing steel guitar almost as much as he loved his family,” she wrote on the Steel Guitar Forum, “and his steel guitar friends […]
Whisperin’ Bill Anderson: An Unprecedented Life In Country Music
By Bill Anderson and Peter Cooper Bill Anderson, 79, is the only songwriter in history who has written songs that charted in seven consecutive decades. From “City Lights” by Ray Price in 1958 to “Country” by Mo Pitney in 2015, his music continues to thrive. He tells the story of his music and its place […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 21 December 2016
NEWS Gordie Tapp (1922-2016) CBC-Radio Canada reports the death of Canadian radio and television entertainer and former CBC broadcaster Gordie Tapp, 94. The Hee Haw country bumpkin Cousin Clem died December 18 in hospital, surrounded by family and friends. Born in 1922 in London, Ontario, Gordie hosted the CBC variety show Country Hoedown for 13 […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter – 7 December 2016
REMEMBERING FARON AND MARTY It’s been 34 years since a heart attack took Marty Robbins on December 8, 1982. Twenty years ago we heard the shocking news that Faron Young had shot himself; he died December 10, 1996. We miss them both, remember them fondly, and never tire of listening to their music. NEWS Mark […]
The Rise Of A Prairie Statesman: The Life And Times Of George McGovern
By Thomas J. Knock The Rise Of A Prairie Statesman: The Life And Times Of George McGovern is the first volume of a major two-part biography on the most eloquent critic of the Vietnam War. Thomas J. Knock, a distinguished historian and teaching professor at Southern Methodist University, has written an aptly titled account of […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 23 November 2016
NEWS Holly Dunn (1957-2016) Holly Dunn, 59, died November 14 in a hospice facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, surrounded by family and friends. She’d sent me this email on April 6th: “I have some unfortunate news to report, and I do so only because I believe in the power of prayer and hope to stir […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 9 November 2016
FEATURED ARTISTS – JACK BLANCHARD & MISTY MORGAN “Things are kind of quiet with us right now,” Jack Blanchard told me last week over the phone. “We’re not doing any traveling.” Jack and his wife, Misty Morgan, are best known for their 1970 hit, “Tennessee Birdwalk.” They aren’t touring right now because they haven’t found […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 26 October 2016
NEWS Bobby Vee (1943-2016) Robert Velline, 73, known as Bobby Vee, died October 24 of advanced Alzheimer’s disease, the Associated Press reports. Born in Fargo, North Dakota, he was 15 when a plane crash in Iowa killed Buddy Holly, and a call went out for local acts to do the scheduled show at the Moorhead […]
Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 12 October 2016
NEWS Al Dean (1931-2016) Al Dean, 85, leader of Al Dean & the All Stars, passed away in hospice care in San Antonio, Texas, on October 3. “Al had been battling cancer,” Heart of Texas Records president Tracy Pitcox announced. Al formed his first band in 1952 and played dances all over Texas. He is […]