Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 19 February 2025
Happy birthday to my sister, Lorraine “Kayo” Paver, known in our family as the “blizzard baby” who came home from the hospital to sleep in a dresser drawer.
CONCERT REVIEW – CLINT BLACK
A younger-generation version of Dolly Parton opened the sold-out show for Clint Black at the Washington Pavilion on Valentine’s Day in Sioux Falls. Emily Ann Roberts, 26, a blonde chatterbox from Knoxville, Tennessee, stood all alone onstage, in boots and a short pink dress, playing her guitar and singing as comfortably as if in her own living room. She began with a song called “Chickens,” after explaining she and her new husband moved out into the country where they raise chickens. She learned that chickens don’t have to be herded. When nighttime comes, they go to bed early. She discovered that applies to young married couples also. “Working on Love” is her acknowledgment song that a relationship takes constant effort.
After rattling on, she said she had just illustrated one difference between her and her husband: “He talks when he has something to say, and I talk until I have something to say.” She described how they are traveling together in his little red truck during this tour. She told us she’d love to hug everyone’s neck, but they couldn’t stay until the end of Clint’s show because they had to be in Bloomington, Indiana (or Illinois, she wasn’t sure) the next night.
When she was a child, her dad would take her to downtown Knoxville and let her sing on a street corner, while he watched from far enough away to give her independence. She loved interacting with passersby. If she felt she needed a better response, she would break into the Tennessee Ernie Ford classic, “Sixteen Tons.” Which she sang for us, and we all sang it with her.
Her gospel song, “The Building,” talked about the church “where Jesus changed my life.” Doing an internet search of her songs, I noticed her writing and performing place her far above the run-of-the-mill young female singers. She asked us if it would be okay to close with a bluegrass song and then sang “Whole Lotta Little.” At the end of her forty-minute set, she flipped her guitar over to show the Ernest-Tubb-style “Thanks.”
Clint Black appeared onstage with his band at 8:30 and kicked off his show with three of his thirteen Billboard #1 hits, “The Shoes You’re Wearing,” “Summer’s Comin’,” and “When My Ship Comes In.” He introduced his lead guitarist and songwriting partner, Hayden Nicholas, whom he met in Houston in 1987 and who has helped write half the songs of his career. Referencing South Dakota’s cold weather, he said they wrote this one while snowbound in a cabin in Colorado: “It won’t be long before my ship comes in / Gonna sail right out of Colorado.”
I loved hearing the familiar songs, as well as the overall Texas dance hall sound of his six-piece band. He reminded us that this was the 35th Anniversary of “Killin’ Time” Tour, and he said he would play the entire album during the show.
I still have the Killin’ Time cassette tape I purchased in 1989. It was an unprecedented feat when the first four releases from Clint’s debut album hit #1, with the fifth going to #3. At 8:50, Clint announced, “Here we go. This is the album, top to bottom.” About the first song on the album, “Straight From the Factory,” Clint said, “The first song Hayden and I wrote.” Although it was never released as a single, it’s possibly my favorite as I listen to them all now.
“Better Man” came next, “our first single and first number one,” Clint said. “From 1989!” He introduced the third song by saying he got the idea from Albert Einstein’s comment that most people utilize only ten percent of their brains on a regular basis. “I thought, what about the other eighty percent,” Clint said. So he wrote “Nobody’s Home,” the only song on the first side written without Hayden. “Walkin’ Away,” which has always been my favorite Clink Black song on the radio, was the first song they demoed in Hayden’s garage. “You’re Gonna Leave Me Again” completed Side One.
Clint, now 63, told us his dad always supported his singing. “Song writing, not so much,” he said. His dad insisted he hadn’t lived long enough to write country songs. “I was 22,” Clint said. “My dad didn’t know how much I had lived. I ran home and, in an attempt to prove him wrong, I wrote this one.” Then he sang “Nothing’s News.” It was the fifth release from the album, the single that went to #3. Clint also wrote the next two album cuts, “Winding Down” and “Live and Learn.” He introduced the final song on the album by saying it was one “Hayden and I wrote at the last minute. It almost didn’t get on the album–‘Killin’ Time.'”
After that half-hour set, my favorite part of the show, Clint moved into some of his other songs, including his 1999 duet with Waylon Jennings, “Are You Sure Waylon Done It This Way.” He said he was so nervous about recording with Waylon that he got to the studio early, around noon, and there was Waylon sitting on a couch, along with Kris Kristofferson. They were still there from their nighttime session.
The band left the stage and Clint chatted for a few minutes, thanking the fans for sticking with him for 35 years. He then mentioned his 2015 CD, On Purpose, which he called “very good, according to me.” Playing his acoustic guitar and harmonica, he sang “Better or Worse”: “I’ve been better, I’ve been worse / I’m right on purpose and unrehearsed / Singin’ in the chorus when I need more verse / Not everything’s gonna go my way.”
When the musicians returned, he introduced them, in addition to Hayden. He said he found Jake Willemain playing bass in a jazz bar in Houston in 1987, and he thought, “He needs rescuing.” Of course, that’s also what he said when he came across Dwain Rowe playing piano with Brooks and Dunn. Drummer Andy Hull has been with Clint since 2020. If I got the names correct, Wesley Fowler is the steel player, and multi-instrumentalist Jason Mowery plays fiddle.
Clint ended with a rousing version of another #1 song, “Nothin’ But The Taillights.” He and the band left the stage, which went dark. After three minutes of the crowd cheering and clapping, they returned with a lengthy jam of “We Tell Ourselves.”
This is one concert I would definitely sit through a second time.
NEWS
When asked to sing the National Anthem for various events, Chris Stapleton always responded by joking, “No, I’ll just do it when it’s time to do it at the Super Bowl.” That moment came in 2023 at Super Bowl LVII. Country Thang Daily calls his stripped-down, blues-infused performance “one of the greatest renditions in history.” In a recent conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dirty Mo Media podcast, Chris revealed that he has officially retired from singing the anthem. His Super Bowl performance forever stands as the definitive Chris Stapleton rendition. While he may be retired from singing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” his legacy as one of the best to ever do it is obvious by the millions of views online. Here is his first and last time singing the anthem.
Following the release of his debut album, Cold Beer & Country Music, last April, Zach Top saw a major spike in demand for his live shows. His 2025 headlining tour sold out fast, leaving many fans disappointed they couldn’t get a ticket, reports Country Now. He is scheduling an even bigger headline tour this fall. “I think we underestimated the demand there was for tickets and almost kind of got some people a little angry about it,” he says. “It’s like we didn’t give enough people a chance to come see me, but we’re going to do another tour in the fall where we’ll play some bigger venues, do some small arenas and stuff like that.” The 27-year-old adds, “This ain’t a one and done thing. We’re going to be around for 40 years, hopefully. Cross our fingers.”
Shania Twain starred in a Super Bowl commercial for Coffee mate, in which she played a singing tongue to promote the brand’s cold foam creamers. “There’s so much involved with the tongue that a lot of people don’t even realize, so it just made technical sense in a way, on a nerdy level,” Shania, 59, told PEOPLE. “The fun of the cold foam and the dancing tongue was great.”
Heart Life Music, the life story of Kenny Chesney, will be published by the William Morrow imprint in November. Kenny, who once vowed he’d never write a book, wrote this one with collaborator Holly Gleason. According to Country Now, “The project will chronicle Chesney’s life and musical journey from his hometown of Luttrell, Tennessee, where he was raised primarily by a single mother and supported by extended family, to chasing his dreams in Music City.” It will include his headlining tours and his worldwide travels, as well as discussing his inspirations.
The featured vocalists for the world premiere of Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony will be Katelyn Drye, Hollie Hammel, Julie Williams, Blair Lamb, Denitia, Ally Jackson, and Katie Basden. MusicRow reports that Dolly Parton revealed the seven who will sing her songs with the Nashville Symphony at the world premiere on March 20 in Nashville. Performances will then take place across the country throughout the 2025-2026 season.
Billy Ray Cyrus, 63, attended the Nashville Humane Association’s Unleashed Dinner with Your Dog as a special celebrity guest on Saturday, February 1. A longtime supporter, he adopted both of his dogs from the association. His participation at the charity event was his first public appearance since his performance at President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Several days after that event, Billy Ray’s son Trace, 35, addressed an open letter to his father on Instagram: “We are all hanging on to memories of the man we once knew & hoping for the day he returns. You’re not healthy Dad & everyone is noticing it.” Trace concluded, after revealing he’s a year and a half sober, “I don’t know what you’re struggling with exactly, but I have a pretty good idea & I’d love to help you if you would open up and receive the help.”
Mary Chapin Carpenter and Brandy Clark are teaming up for a special summer tour, reports MusicRow. It includes stops in New York, Nashville, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Charleston, and runs through October 11. Carpenter has sold over 16 million records and is one of only 15 female members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. She has a new podcast, Hope is a Muscle, in which she chats with people from all walks of life. Clark has written award-winning songs such as “Dear Insecurity,” “A Beautiful Noise,” and “Follow Your Arrow.” She co-composed the music for the musical, Shucked. They didn’t give their tour “a snazzy name,” opines Saving Country Music, “so just allow me to coin it the ‘Kickass Ladies of Country Tour.’”
Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, led by singer/songwriter Mac McAnally, will be touring with The Doobie Brothers on select dates in August and September, according to a press release. The Coral Reefer Band toured and recorded with Jimmy Buffett until his death in 2023. The band reunited at last year’s “Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett” concert at the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to bandleader McAnally, the band contains Scotty Emerick, Robert Greenidge, Peter Mayer, Jim Mayer, Roger Guth, Mick Utley, John Lovell, Tina Gullickson, Nadirah Shakoor, Eric Darken, and 82-year-old Doyle Grisham, who played steel guitar on Randy Travis’s records.
“We’re proud to be on Capitol Hill today meeting with lawmakers and asking them to pass the American Music Fairness Act,” said Boyz II Men on February 14 when they presented a letter signed by more than 300 performers of all manner of genres, eras, and styles of music. Digital Music News listed some of the signers as Aerosmith, Barbra Streisand, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Carole King, Celine Dion, Darius Rucker, Elvis Costello, Gene Simmons, George Strait, James Taylor, Jewel, Mariah Carey, Miranda Lambert, Ozzy Osbourne, Sheryl Crow, and Stevie Nicks. Last June, Mary and Randy Travis testified on the American Music Fairness Act during a House Intellectual Property Subcommittee hearing. Now, The American Music Fairness Act is being introduced in both the US Senate and US House of Representatives. Carly Simon said, “AM/FM is making billions of dollars each year in ad revenue without compensating the artists whose songs they play. This needs to end. I’m proud that so many artists are speaking out today in favor of the American Music Fairness Act.”
To celebrate 50 years as a touring artist, Vince Gill has announced a 2025 summer tour that will include more than 30 dates. “I left home 50 years ago to try and become an accomplished musician and perform in front of whoever would show up,” he says in a press release. “All these years later, it feels as special today as it ever did.” The tour will feature an all-star backing band that includes Wendy Moten, along with Jim “Moose” Brown, Tom Bukovac, Eddie Dunlap, Jedd Hughes, John Jarvis, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Billy Thomas, and Jeff White. Check Vince’s website for details.
Thirteen influential recordings will be added to the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame during a special gala at the GRAMMY Museum on May 16. This year’s additions are eight albums and five singles. The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame was established by the Recording Academy’s National Trustees in 1973 to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old. The 2025 inductees include “Color Him Father,” a single by Linda Martell, J.D. Crowe & The New South, an album by J.D. Crowe & The New South, and Wrecking Ball, an album by Emmylou Harris. In addition, the 2025 label honoree is Republic Records.
LETTERS
Tennessee Terry Tyson writes from Nashville, “Enjoying this newsletter as I’m warming up my car to head home from work. ‘Far Side Banks Of Jordan,’ although I had heard this song through the years, it was June Carter Cash’s version that I clung to over the years. Jimmy Fortune’s is beautiful as well. Thrilled to see the Storms Of Life, Randy Travis biography is now available to order. I placed my order before I could begin reading this newsletter. I sent the link to one of the fan club ladies that runs some of his pages. She said she was placing an order as well. I’ve been working the road with Randy on his More Life Tour and will be flying to California this Sunday for 6 shows out there. We designed a new T-shirt to coincide with the new AI single, ‘Horses In Heaven.’ You can see it on his website, randytravis.com. Thanks for always keeping us up to date on all things music!”
June Thompson says, “Thanks for your newsletter, great and informative. ‘Far Side Banks of Jordan’ is one of my favorite songs. I hoped Mr. Terry wouldn’t mind but I redid a few of the words, kinda to make it my own, but sing it at church. I was very moved by it the first time I heard it. By The Cox Family.”
Carolyn Berry writes from Charlottesville, Virginia, “I love to hear Jimmy Fortune sing. I truly do love ‘On the Far Banks of Jordan.’ He does a great job with it and puts feeling in it.”
Mike Johnson writes, “OMG! I just received word about Terry’s passing from Donald Ewert. I was thinking of calling Terry a couple of days ago to see how he was doing, and to re-affirm that I’d be dropping in on him this spring/summer! This is just hard since we’ve known and interacted with each since June 1994 when we met at the 1st Annual Michigan Jamboree in Hillsdale, Michigan. Terry, two years my senior, had just retired from teaching and decided to start pushing his music. Many a time I’d slept at his house when coming through Nashville on trucking trips and for personal visits. We played at a number of the same festivals over the years, and some at the Ranch House in Nashville. In 2002 Terry, Pamela Linton (wife of Sherwin), and I were inducted into America’s Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame, officiated by the late Bob Everhart, president of the National Traditional Country Music Association, in Avoca, Iowa. Country music has lost a very prolific songwriter and me a truly wonderful friend. I just had to dig this out of my YouTube catalog…Terry Smith & Mike Johnson singing ‘Far Side Banks of Jordan’ in LeMars, Iowa. R.I.P. Terry Smith – 5 December 1944 – 21 January 2025.”
Donald Ewert writes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, “My Condolences to the family and friends of Terry Smith on his passing. I can understand why over 300 people have recorded his song ‘Far Side Bank of Jordan.’ I have it on a CD by Terry and it is one of the prettiest songs I ever heard and a message of hope for everyone who has lost a loved one.”
Martha Moore of so much MOORE media sends this link to “More Country Than You” by Alex Miller and Emily Ann Roberts: “Enjoy! Streaming only track (Audio) link.”
Nobuhiko Ogino writes from Kobe, Japan, “I always enjoy your newsletter.”
Bobby Fischer in Nashville says, “Your newsletters are chock full of enlightenment. Must be from that naval training.”
Diane: It’s called OJT. On-the-job training.
Eric Calhoun writes from Los Angeles, “Amen, Carolyn Berry, I want Diane’s book on talking cartridge. And in Braille. I am sorry to hear of Wynona Judd’s daughter, Grace Kelley, continually getting in trouble. Wynona, and Naomi, I grew up listening to. Could we see her granddaughter singing? Only time will tell. Billy Ray was upset, I understand. Yes, when you’re invited to a gala, you want to make sure you’re heard, not just seen. Sorry to hear of Melba Montgomery’s passing. Over here at Braille Institute, as I write this, and I, once again, am in the running to go to the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, about two hours from Indian Creek Camp, Liberty, Tennessee. I want to remind those out there that WSM has a channel on their website to the Grand Ole Opry. They are going to, hopefully, stream the entire, 100-year anniversary of the Opry. You can find these streams on wsmonline.com; I have saved the streams on my Blind Shell 2 Classic Phone. On a couple of sad notes: I already know Alan Jackson will be hanging up touring in 2025, and I also found out, the same will be for John Michael Montgomery. I haven’t heard what has happened to his son, whether he’ll be recording or touring for 2025.”
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Jeannie Seely’s husband, distinguished attorney Gene Ward, died December 13 at Life Care Center of Old Hickory Village at age 92. Visitation for friends and family was held December 19 at Spring Hill Funeral Home. Jeannie asked me if I had viewed the online recording. She said people have called it a true celebration of life. So I found it and watched it. Here is Gene Ward’s memorial service, with all the music and humor.
MUSICIANS HALL OF FAME IN NASHVILLE – 2008 (first half)
Al Kooper,born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt in Brooklyn in 1944, began his career as a studio session guitarist in New York City. He practiced on a Hammond B-3 organ, hoping to be able to play on a Bob Dylan session. The producer allowed him to play on a recording that turned out to be “Like a Rolling Stone.” His Hammond organ part became legendary, thrusting him full steam to the top of the music industry. He co-wrote “This Diamond Ring” for Gary Lewis and the Playboys and “I Must Be Seeing Things” for Gene Pitney. In 2023, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category. He is 81 years old and has a website at https://www.alkooper.com.
Billy Sherrill was born in north Alabama and started playing piano at his Baptist preacher father’s tent revivals as a young boy. Rick Hall and Billy started a recording studio in Florence, Alabama, which Billy named FAME Studios (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises). He moved to Nashville to be a songwriter and taught himself to play every instrument normally found in a band. As president of CBS/EPIC Records Nashville, he signed and produced artists such as Tammy Wynette, David Houston, Barbara Mandrell, Johnny Paycheck, and George Jones–for whom he produced “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” He co-wrote and produced “Stand by Your Man” for Tammy Wynette. Billy was voted songwriter of the century by BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated). He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. He died in 2015 at age 78, in his Nashville home.
Booker T and The MGs were the studio musicians at STAX Studio in Memphis, Tennessee: Duck Dunn on bass, Al Jackson Jr on drums, Steve Cropper on guitar, and Booker T Jones on keyboards. During the early to mid-1960s, Booker T and The MGs backed most of the STAX recording artists in the studio, such as Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Albert King, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and Otis Redding. The group’s instrumental hit records included “Time is Tight” and “Green Onions.” Thanks to the movie The Blues Brothers, Booker T & The MGs enjoyed a huge resurgence in the late 1970s.
Duane Eddy, born in New York state in 1938, was known as the first rock and roll instrumental guitarist in the mid ‘50s with songs such as “Rebel Rouser,” “Forty Miles of Bad Road,” “Shazam,” “Because They’re Young,” and “Ramrod.” He became the most successful solo rock instrumentalist in history, selling more than 100 million records worldwide by the close of the 1960s .He called Chet Atkins his main influence, and he influenced Tom Petty, George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, The Ventures, Jimi Hendrix, and countless other musicians. He mastered a distinctive sound based on the premise that a guitar’s bass strings sounded better on tape than the high ones. The Gretsch Guitar Company issued its Duane Eddy 6120 Signature Model, based on his specifications, in 1998. He was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He died of cancer at the Williamson Health hospital in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2024, four days after his 86th birthday.