Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 25 December 2024
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.
The band still contains four of its six original members, from the group that came together in 1982 to sing country and Christian music at Nashville’s Opryland USA theme park. Jimmy Olander (born in 1961) plays lead guitar, dobro, and banjo. Dan Truman (born in 1956) plays keyboards. Dana Williams (born in 1961) plays bass guitar and provides baritone vocals. Drummer Brian Prout retired in 2022 and has been replaced by Micah Schweinsberg (born in 1983). Fiddle player Gene Johson retired the same year. Carson McKee now plays fiddle, mandolin, and sings tenor harmony. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hear her fiddle or mandolin because the other instruments drowned her out.
Marty talked about their new gospel CD, but I didn’t catch its name. He said, “Yes, it’s on a CD. I know some of you own a CD player.” He told us he drives a 2013 Cadillac Escalade, and he won’t get rid of it because it has a CD player, unlike newer models. He thanked the veterans in the audience and sang “In God We Still Trust” in their honor.
Dana took over the mic, mentioned that it was their last show for the year and that they were 912 miles from home, and said, “We have a fiddle and banjo and we’re in South Dakota, so let’s do some bluegrass.” Instead, he then introduced 1970s rock and played “Born to Be Wild.” With Marty back at the mic, they sang their first Billboard chart song and first number one, “Meet in the Middle,” from 1991. Throughout the show, a variety of distracting scenes flashed on the screen. Some were of the band in their younger days, which was fine, but most seemed unrelated, and it never stopped.
The stage went dark at 8:40, the band left, and the crowd rose to clap and yell until the lights came back on and the band returned for the encore. Marty sang “Let It Snow, Let It Snow” and “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” This was my favorite part of the show because the band volume was at a level that supported the singers instead of overpowering them. I wished we could have heard all the songs that well.
In January, Diamond Rio will be on a country music cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, in February at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, and about ten other shows before appearing with Clint Black as co-headliners at the 2025 Knox County Fair in Knoxville, Illinois, in July. You can learn more about the band at https://www.diamondrio.com/. Here is the video for the newest release, “The Kick.”
NEWS
Terry Ree (1949-2024)
Terry Ree of “Williams & Ree” died December 21 at age 75. He was born in Huron, South Dakota, a member of the Crow Creek Sioux tribe, and graduated from Pierre High school in 1968. As a freshman at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, he met fellow education student Bruce Williams. They formed a band with more comedy than music and went on the road in 1971 as “Wiliams & Ree.” Much of their banter played upon the stereotypes held of Native Americans, and the duo of “The Indian and The White Guy” was born. Throughout their career, they made regular appearances at casinos, fairs and festivals, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and on TNN television. I don’t know when I first heard about them, only that they’ve been a fixture in my life over forty years. Bruce talked to me last year in a phone interview about the USO shows they opened for Randy Travis. They announced their retirement this past April. In 2018, Williams and Ree were inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame.
MusicRow reports the December 11 death of Martha Sharp, 87, the Warner Brothers Records executive who put Randy Travis on the map. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1937, Martha Marion Sharp moved to Nashville in 1963 to be a songwriter for Painted Desert Music. She had already written two million-sellers recorded by Sandy Posey, “Born a Woman” and “Single Girl,” along with Brook Benton’s “The Special Years” and Bobby Vee’s “Come Back When You Grow Up.” Others who recorded her songs included Eddy Arnold, Jean Shepard, Tom Jones, Connie Smith, Waylon Jennings, The Browns, Dottie West, Jan Howard, Johnny Tillotson, The Lennon Sisters, Wilma Burgess, and Rex Allen Jr. When Warner Brothers named her Vice President of Artists and Repertoire in April 1984, Martha became the first female vice president at a major record company on Music Row. The first artist she signed was Randy Travis, followed later by Faith Hill. She also worked with Highway 101, Carlene Carter, The Forester Sisters, Crystal Gayle, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Anderson, Gary Morris, Holly Dunn, Travis Tritt, the McCarter Sisters, and others. Martha is survived by two brothers. There will not be a funeral.
Despite the efforts of high-profile advocates such as Randy Travis and Gloria Estefan, it appears that the American Music Fairness Act (H.R.791) will expire on January 3 when the next congressional session begins. This is the bill that would finally mandate performing artists be paid when their songs are played on terrestrial radio. The United States remains one of the only countries in the world (along with North Korea, Iran, Rwanda, and China) that does not have a complete public performance right for sound recordings. “Given that nearly everyone aside from terrestrial radio corporations,” Billboard opines, “including the government’s own Copyright Office, agrees that performing artists should be compensated when their voice plays over the radio, why has Congress still not acted?”
Distinguished attorney Gene Ward, the husband of Jeannie Seely, died December 13 at Life Care Center of Old Hickory Village at age 92. Shortly before his death, Jeannie posted on Facebook: “Thanksgiving morning Gene asked me to call 911 as he was having chest pains and couldn’t breathe. At St. Thomas Hospital they confirmed that cancer is back. He has been transferred to Lifecare in Old Hickory. . . Gene Ward is one of the most amazing men I have ever known, and I have been so blessed to be his wife. The river and I have been in tears.” They had been married for 14 years. Eugene “Gene” Ward was born in White Pine, Tennessee, in 1932. He earned a J.D. Degree in 1959 at the University of Tennessee College of Law and served from 1966-1980 as General Counsel to the Tennessee Public Service Commission. In 1976, the Tennessee General Assembly named the bridge at mile marker four on I-81 the Eugene “Mose” Ward Overpass. He was appointed as General Counsel for Nashville Electric Service (NES) in 1986 and retired in 2011. Gene was recognized earlier this year by the Mayor of Nashville for his outstanding contributions to the state of Tennessee and his unwavering dedication to public service, leadership, and community. Visitation for friends and family was held December 19 at Spring Hill Funeral Home. Jeannie, we all send our condolences and share a small piece of your sorrow.
After a few days of not feeling well, Mona McCall went into the hospital in San Angelo, Texas, on December 9. Tests determined the need for a stent to be placed on her right side due to blockage. The surgical procedure was accomplished successfully on Wednesday morning, and doctors expect a full and quick recovery. Mona later posted on social media, “I had no idea what was happening and I felt like a robot. I can’t explain it any other way. I guess one good way to say it is Jesus took the wheel.” Darrell McCall, her husband, said, “We have spent the last fifty-three years together and I look forward to many more.”
Songwriter John Hadley, 83, died December 18 in Norman, Oklahoma. Born in Ohio in 1941, he published over 1,000 songs in his career, most of them owned by his own song publishing company, Hadley Six Music. Saving Country Music reports some of the singers who recorded his songs as: George Jones, Roger Miller, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Reed, Garth Brooks, the Dixie Chicks, Wynonna Judd, Linda Ronstadt, Trisha Yearwood, Bobby Bare, Moe Bandy (“Til I’m Too Old to Die Young”), T. Graham Brown, Joe Cocker, George Burns, Burt Reynolds, and Dean Martin. He began his career as a joke writer for Tom and Dick Smothers on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He was also an art professor at the University of Oklahoma from 1965 to 1987. He once wrote a poem that included the lines, “If I die tomorrow, and it don’t make the papers, / If I go out cold and alone, / You’ll still find my name under the title / Of a song that got cut by George Jones.”
The Metro Nashville City Council voted 30-1, with six abstentions, reports Rolling Stone, to approve installation of a 20-foot-high neon sign over Morgan Wallen‘s This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen on Lower Broadway. In May, the council had voted it down, 30-3 against. As one council member said at the time, “I don’t want to see a billboard with the name of a person who’s throwing chairs off of balconies and who’s saying racial slurs and using the N-word.” That refers to Wallen’s arrest for throwing a chair off the sixth-floor balcony of a bar, as well as earlier fallout from his use of a racial slur in a video. What changed? For one, Wallen recently pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment for throwing the chair. For another, he is the current reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year. Three years after being barred from CMA competition due to the racial slur, he was the only nominee not present at the awards ceremony. Nor has he given any public acknowledgment (that I could find) of winning the coveted award.
Those attending the annual Sounds of Christmas event at Rolling Hills Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, were surprised to see Carrie Underwood take the stage to sing songs like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “O Holy Night.” Country Now reports comments such as, “Carrie Underwood worshipping the Lord the way she knows how.” And, “It wasn’t about her. It was about praising the Lord and that’s so so obvious in her body language when the song concludes.” Carrie will be headlining Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve celebration in Times Square, and she will soon make her debut as an American Idol judge alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.
Remember several years ago when I posted a YouTube video of 11-year-old Mason Ramsey singing “Lovesick Blues” in the mattress aisle of a Walmart? The video captured more than 25 million social media views in just a few days. Well, the “Walmart yodeling boy” has grown up. According to PEOPLE, he is now 18 and was recently spotted driving around Los Angeles in a Lamborghini. In a TikTok video, he was asked what he does for a living, and he replied, “I sing country music.” He said he got his start yodeling in a Walmart a few years back. He has released several albums and is now on tour. Here’s his full show from last month.
A documentary on Keith Whitley, who died at age 34, will start filming in January, reports Country Now. Directed by Zach Heinzerling, it will be produced by Lee Metzger, Evan Hayes, and Blake Shelton. The documentary will include footage from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Lorrie Morgan’s personal collection. It will explore Keith’s roots in Sandy Hook, Kentucky, and feature reflections from Lorrie, his widow.
Marty Stuart hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for the new museum and cultural center of the Congress of Country Music in Philadelphia, Mississippi. “This is more than just a museum project,” MusicRow quotes Marty as saying. “It’s about the preservation and furtherance of our musical history and culture. With the support of incredible partners, we’re creating a space that will inspire, educate and connect generations through the stories of country music.” The museum, a centerpiece of the Congress, will showcase Marty’s extensive collection of country music artifacts and will highlight the newly established partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Randy Travis and longtime Warner Music Nashville CEO John Esposito were honored as co-recipients of the 2024 Nashville Symphony Harmony Award during the 40th annual Symphony Ball held at Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville on December 14. According to The Music Universe, the Symphony Ball is one of the Nashville Symphony’s annual signature fundraisers and has raised more than $12 million for the Symphony since 1985. The Harmony Award recognizes individuals who exemplify the harmonious spirit of Nashville’s music community. Nashville Lifestyles reports, “After a rousing performance from the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony CEO and President Alan Valentine presented the Harmony Award to music executive John Esposito, who then presented a second Harmony Award to legendary country artist Randy Travis. James DuPré led the band in a tribute performance to Randy Travis, concluding with ‘Forever and Ever Amen’ to a standing ovation from the crowd.”
The new Travis Tritt tour begins April 5 in Cherokee, North Carolina, and ends in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on October 10. Travis will be in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 17 and in Sioux Falls on July 19. Tickets are on sale now at travistritt.com. His newest album, Country Chapel, is a gospel project with Gaither Music Group. MusicRow describes it as featuring “authentic renditions of gospel favorites and powerful testimonies of redemption and pays homage to his formative years.”
The Grand Ole Opry celebrates its 100th year in 2025, beginning with a special series of “Opry at the Ryman” shows. On January 3, Bill Anderson, the longest-ever member of the Opry, will officially kick off the 100th birthday celebration. More “Opry at the Ryman” shows are scheduled for Jan. 4, 10, 11 and 17, before The Opry returns to its permanent home, the Grand Ole Opry House. Beginning with the first Opry show of 2025, reports MusicRow,the “Opry 100” celebration will pay tribute to the artists and songs that have made the Opry the home of country music since its debut on WSM radio in 1925. Additional activities during the year include the Ryman’s new Opry 100 exhibition, the Opry going to London’s Royal Albert Hall in the fall, a special “Opry 100 Honors” show series, and 100 Opry debuts throughout the year. The first debut will be Shaboozey on January 18 at the Opry House. An official 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry book will be published in April, and there will be other Opry 100 commemorative merchandise.
Whiskey Riff has compared Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, which tracks singles on country radio (28 total singles, including repeats) Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart (7, including repeats), which factors in streaming and sales. The Country Airplay chart best reflects the ideology of “Today’s Country” in the Nashville industry. Only one female artist topped the Country Airplay chart in 2024: Ella Langley featuring Riley Green on “You Look Like You Love Me.” It reminded me of Miranda Lambert‘s comment when she shared a #1 with Jason Aldean for “Drowns the Whiskey” in 2018. She told the Washington Post, “Yes, I had to sing with someone with a penis to get a number one.” There seems to be one female #1 per year, out of 52 weeks.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is offering pay-what-you-want admission to Nashville-area residents (Davidson, Cheatham, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson counties) throughout the month of January, reports MusicRow. Visitors will be able to explore current exhibits like the museum’s newest display, Rosanne Cash: Time Is a Mirror. Locals who visit the museum next month can get $10 parking at the Walk of Fame Park Garage, based on availability. The garage is located across the street from the museum. Validation must be obtained at the museum’s information desk to receive the discount.
LETTERS
Rosemary Eng in Whiting, New Jersey, says, “I just heard that Jeannie Seely’s husband Gene passed away. I am so sorry. When her and Gene married, I sent her an email teasing her for getting married ‘at our age’! She replied that he was a great guy. Probably the best 14 years of her life! May Gene RIP..I love you, Jeannie.”
Donald Ewert writes, “I want to send my condolences to Jeannie Seely on the loss of her husband Gene. I remember the week Jeannie came to Milwaukee with Jim Ed Brown, Helen Cornelius, and Bill Anderson on the Country Family Reunion Tour. Jeannie pointed Gene out in the audience and mentioned that Gene’s birthday was that week. So, I went and bought him a Birthday card and gave it to him the day of his birthday. Gene was so friendly and down to earth that I felt as if I had always known him.”
Bob Jennings says, “Lots of up-to-date Information in this Country Music Newsletter!! Of course there would be nothing wrong with: Traditional Country Music; New Country Music, Popular Music; Rock & Roll; Classical Music. What do you think?”
Dave Barton in Franklin, Kentucky, says this about Johnny Marks, “When you write those type of Christmas songs you only need to write one and he wrote four……show me the money!”
Bobby Fischer adds, “I enjoyed that update on a great copyright.”
Eric Calhoun says, “I missed your newsletter from 2 weeks ago. And I’m so sorry to hear about what has happened to Donna Fargo. I heard that Mrs. Fargo became an elementary-school teacher in her native North Carolina. I wonder if she has that. Also, Ashley McBride: I don’t know about Waldron, Arkansas, but I’ve been to both Little Rock and Mountain Pine, and to areas in the Hot Springs area. I’m thinking it’s near Fayetteville, or near Jonesboro? Anybody know? Comment on Sandy Patti: She may not be considered country music, but she has made a lot of Contemporary Christian material, and another person (I know her personally) along those lines is Crystal Lewis. We both have things in common: We love music, and we are a part of the Calvary Chapel Movement. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all of you!”
Dave Magram writes, “I love your comments and insights on the Steel Guitar Forum. Please sign me up for your biweekly Diane’s Country Music Newsletter.”
Doug Lippert writes from Carmel (Greater Indianapolis), Indiana, “Stopped by the National Automotive and Truck Museum today and saw this car on display. You’ve seen this car in a different setting, I’m sure. I can’t recall if it’s in your book, or not. So cool that Marty would both race and perform on the same Saturday night. (I think I am recalling correctly, am I not?) Always look forward to your newsletters. Happy Holidays.”
Diane: Marty routinely raced at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in the 1960s, leaving early to get to the Ryman Auditorium and perform the closing show of the Saturday night Grand Ole Opry. His car at that time was number 777. He drove the 42 car during NASCAR races in the 1970s.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
I called Martha Sharp in 2020 to ask about her discovery of Randy Travis and her role in making him a star. Although she was already having memory difficulties, she proudly talked about those days at Warner Brothers Records. When I called a year later to ask more questions and to say I was coming to Nashville, she no longer remembered me. Martha Sharp died December 11, 2024, at age 87.
Randy was my first artist that I signed, way way back. He was a young man named Randy Ray; that’s what he was using. And I knew Kyle. Not real well but we had worked together; I met him briefly at functions and so forth. Anyway, the phone rang one day in my office at Warner Brothers, and it was Kyle. No, I’m confused already.
Let’s just talk, if that’s okay, and we can figure the rest of it out. Because Randy deserves to be talked about. For me, he was my key to everything that came later. I just loved him so much. What a sweet guy. And shy, y’know, just a real special young man. But I was sitting in my office at Warner Brothers one day, and Kyle called me and said he had talked to this young man named Randy Ray and thought I ought to listen to his stuff. And I did. The next thing, we were in the studio, and Kyle was producing it, and it just was magical. Magical from the beginning, and Randy was so shy, so cute, so sweet. You could not have ever asked for a nicer young man to work with. He had a sort of older woman, a little overbearing, that was managing him at the time. I was so proud to have signed him to Warner Brothers. All my life, it was just a very special thing because he turned out to be such a great artist. And such a terrific guy.
I’m not sure I’ll get this completely right, but I do remember he was going by the name Randy Ray. And Nick Hunter, the promotion man, who was quite an interesting guy, long gone now, he and I got along real well. We used to eat lunch together a lot, and that bonded a lot of people in Nashville. Nick came to me one day and he said, “The name Randy Ray has just got to go.” I said okay, and I went home that night, and I woke up in the middle of the night, and I thought “Travis.” And I went back to sleep. I mean, it was perfect. When I came up with that name, Travis, I just knew it was going to be great. I slept well that night, I did. I was in the second-floor bedroom in this little story-and-a-half home, and I just woke up, said “Travis,” and went back to sleep. I can see it right now. It’s just a real interesting feeling. I mean, I can see me in that bed right now, waking up and going “Travis” and going back to sleep, and knowing that I knew I had it. I didn’t have to worry about it anymore. Cuz his name was Traywick. Pretty close. Travis is a big Texas name.
Early on, I was wherever he was. I didn’t go all the time to Texas, but around in Nashville, boy, I was out there. I was out there giving him support, I was.
Let me see, that is an interesting story about the cover photo, and I can’t remember exactly. Somebody said I know the perfect place. It was a little north of Nashville, and we drove up there and looked at it and said yep, this is it. The owner came out, and he had his bib overalls on, and he looked spry in bib overalls, and he had his little phone–what am I trying to say–it wasn’t a cell phone. Walkie-talkie, yeah. He lived in a log cabin right there. I think the picture was taken right in front of his place; I could be wrong. I went up there in the bus, with others who were involved.
Yes, I may have been the first female A&R, or I may have been the second or third. I remember going in–It was when the head honcho came in, and was sitting in Jim Ed’s office, and I went in there, and he said, “What would you like?” And I said, “I would like to be VP of A&R.” And he gave it to me. I think I was the first or second, I’m not real sure. If you’re doing a job, or two jobs or three jobs, which sometimes I felt like I was, it was a little touchy, sometimes, to keep up with things.
I would love to meet you. You’ve got my phone number. It’s not going to change. I’ll tell you, I am 83 years old, and all I can find wrong with me is I’ve got ugly toenails. I’m not kidding. I do not have another problem. But I have ugly toenails. And it’s just the big ones. It’s not the little toenails, it’s the big ones.
I had a songwriting career. I still get royalties from 1957. I was very blessed. I had a friend who one night came over and wanted to play the guitar, and suddenly I was a songwriter. I had several hits right off the bat, and I ended up in a long, rocky affair with Kris Kristofferson. He was the love of my life. Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. I saw him about fifteen years ago, he was here with his third or fourth wife or something, from California, and I was onstage for a minute, talking about my career. It was a songwriter banquet, and I finished what I was saying, and I got down off the stage, and the next thing I knew, here comes Kris, striding through the crowd, and he just kissed me right on the mouth. And I thought, oh, my God, I’ve died and gone to heaven. We got our picture taken. If I ever write a book, that’s going to be a picture of me and Kris together, late in our lives. But he was always the love of my life.
I can’t imagine how much longer I’ve got. My older brother still plays racquetball. He lives in Virginia, and he’s having a great time. I hear from him occasionally. He’s in a different world than I am. He’s not in the music business. But it’s been a great life, and I plan to have it a while longer.