IN THE SPOTLIGHT – RONNIE MCDOWELL

When Ronnie McDowell called me last week for our phone interview (thanks to Debbie Grisham for setting it up), we began the conversation by talking about our Navy days. We both graduated from high school in 1968. I headed off to college and he enlisted in the Navy to avoid being sent to Vietnam. “When I got out of bootcamp in San Diego,” he told me, “I got a big ol’ manila envelope, and it said, ‘Vietnam,’ and I said, ‘Nooooo.'” He was flown to Saigon in October and then out to the aircraft carrier USS Hancock, which cruised back and forth in the Tonkin Gulf while launching aircraft strikes against North Vietnam. Ronnie was assigned to the deck division.

CONCERT REVIEW—DIAMOND RIO

Diamond Rio came to Sioux Falls to wrap up its 2024 tour, performing its last show of the year at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance on December 21. Promptly at 7:30, following a loudspeaker announcement that welcomed “Diamond Rio,” six band members came onstage as each of their names appeared on the video screen that covered the back of the stage. Lead singer Marty Roe (born in 1960 and named after Marty Robbins) kicked off the first song and went from one song to the next for forty minutes, with very little talking. I didn’t realize they’d had so many hits: “Norma Jean Riley,” “You’re Gone,” “How Your Love Makes Me Feel,” “Unbelievable,” “Beautiful Mess,” “One More Day,” “Love a Little Stronger,” “Walkin’ Away,” to name some of them.

This week we especially honor the memories of Faron Young and Marty Robbins. Marty died December 8, 1982, at age 57. Faron died December 10, 1996, at age 64. Both gone too soon. Both never forgotten.

NEWS

The Tennessee State Capitol has honored Brenda Lee, 79, by declaring her famous 1958 “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” as the first Official Holiday Song of Tennessee. (more…)

NEWS

The Nashville Public Library Foundation has announced a $4.5 million investment from Dolly Parton through her Dollywood Foundation, home of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The contribution will kickstart a new program called Begin Bright, an initiative to ensure reading literacy for kindergarten-age children in Music City, reports the Tennessean. “I really believe this partnership can make a huge impact on inspiring a love of reading for children and families,” Dolly said in a statement. ”One of the best parts is that Nashville can once again light the way for the nation.” Beginning in the spring of 2025, every childcare center in the county will receive a little library — carts filled with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Books and other foundation resources. (more…)

CONCERT REVIEW—LAINEY WILSON

The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year played to a sold-out 12,000-seat Denny Sanford Premier Center when she brought her “Country’s Cool Again Tour” to Sioux Falls this past Saturday night. Lainey Wilson, 32, has had a meteoric rise to stardom but is no overnight success. In 2011 she moved to Nashville from her hometown of Baskin, Louisiana, to pursue a music career. Her breakout single, “Things a Man Oughta Know,” reached number one on Billboard in 2021. “Heart Like a Truck” achieved number one the following year. After receiving six nominations at the 2022 Country Music Association Awards, she went from opening act to headliner. She received nine nominations in 2023 and won five awards, including Entertainer of the Year. The Academy of Country Music chose her as ACM Entertainer of the Year in May of this year, and the Grand Ole Opry inducted her as a member in June.

NEWS

The newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame were inducted October 20 in an invitation-only Medallion Ceremony, held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater. John Anderson, James Burton, and the late Toby Keith, elected by an anonymous panel of voters chosen by the Country Music Association (CMA), became the 153rd-155th members. Although the CMA won’t allow us common folk to see the televised performance, it does offer a play-by-play report on its website, which I’m drawing from here. (more…)

NEWS

Where to begin to summarize news reports of the Garth Brooks sexual assault scandal? CNN first broke the story by reporting that Garth’s former hair and makeup artist (“Jane Roe”) had filed a lawsuit with the California Supreme Court in Los Angeles County, accusing Garth of raping and sexually assaulting her in 2019. In a statement obtained by Country Now, Garth responded by saying, “For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars. It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.” He explained that he had filed a lawsuit in Mississippi a month earlier, under the name John Doe to protect the families.

BOOK REVIEW – AMONG THE ASHES by DON REID

Can you picture Don Reid of the Statler Brothers “sitting in a dark room alone, in front of a computer screen for hours and days at a time, creating people and making up stories”? That’s how he describes writing his latest novel, Among the Ashes. In the Acknowledgments section of the book, he calls this “fun.” While readers might question that definition, they will more than likely enjoy reading the final product, which is being released for publication next week. Mercer University Press focuses on topics related to the culture of the South, which Reid enables readers to experience through his stories.

NEWS

Tommy Cash (1940-2024): The little brother of Johnny Cash, Tommy Cash, 84, died September 13. The Johnny Cash Museum confirmed his death without giving a cause of death. Tommy was born in Dyess, Arkansas, in 1940. He served in the U.S. Army, where he worked as a DJ for the Armed Forces Radio Network. He moved to Nashville in 1964, played with Hank Williams Jr., and landed a record deal in 1965. His biggest hit was “Six White Horses” in 1969, a tribute to the assassinated John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. He performed around the world throughout his career and carried on the Cash legacy. Tommy spent many years as an agent for Crye-Leike Real Estate. He died one day and 21 years after Johnny did. Tommy lived with his wife, Marcy, in Gallatin. His funeral is today at Sumner Funeral & Cremation Lakeside in Hendersonville.

NEWS

Guitarist Pete Wade, 89, a member of Nashville’s A-Team and recognized by the Nashville Cats, died August 27, surrounded by friends and family. According to American Songwriter, no cause of death was reported, and funeral services will be private. Born in 1934 in Norfolk, Virginia, Herman “Pete” B. Wade moved to Nashville in 1954. He joined Ray Price’s band, the Cherokee Cowboys, where he stayed for almost ten years, except for the year he spent with Faron Young’s Country Deputies. He also worked with Elvis Presley, Kitty Wells, Ferlin Husky, Roger Miller, and Jean Shepard before becoming a full-time session guitarist. Pete was preceded in death by his wife, Mary, of 62 years and is survived by three children and their families.