Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 30 October 2024
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. Three distinct vocalists paid tribute to John: Shawn Camp sang “I Just Came Home to Count the Memories,” Del McCoury and his bluegrass Del McCoury Band performed “Would You Catch a Falling Star,” and Lucinda Williams sang my favorite of Johns’ songs, “Wild and Blue.” Fellow Florida native and Hall of Fame member Bobby Braddock, who wrote “Would You Catch a Falling Star,” inducted John Anderson into the Country Music Hall of Fame as the Veterans Era Artist. Alabama frontman Randy Owen inducted Toby Keith, who died of stomach cancer in February at age sixty-two, as the Modern Era Artist. Toby’s wife, Tricia Covel, accepted his award. Crossover star Post Malone honored Toby with “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight,” Eric Church performed a solo acoustic rendition of “Don’t Let the Old Man In,” and fellow Oklahoman Blake Shelton sang “I Love This Bar” and “Red Solo Cup.” Guitarist James Burton began his seventy-year career when he was fourteen, playing on the Louisiana Hayride in his hometown of Shreveport. Guitarist John Jorgenson joined Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Elvis Costello to play Ricky Nelson’s “Believe What You Say,” which Burton had helped record in 1958. Brad Paisley then performed Merle Haggard’s “Workin’ Man Blues,” which Burton played on in 1969. Before Vince Gill inducted James Burton as Recording and/or Touring Musician, he joined Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris to sing Rodney’s song, “Till I Gain Control Again.” Then, as a surprise guest, Keith Richards appeared onstage. He sang Gram Parsons’s “I Can’t Dance,” accompanied by Vince and Emmylou. The ceremony always closes with the Carter Family’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” This year Tanya Tucker led the singalong chorus.
North Carolina-born Luke Combs and Eric Church quickly planned a fundraising concert after the devastation in their home state, reports iHeartRadio. They headlined a star-studded “Concert for Carolina” benefit show at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on October 26. James Taylor, Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, and Scotty McCreery were some of the performers. Marshville native Randy Travis, accompanied by his wife, Mary, made a surprise appearance. More than 83,000 concertgoers raised more than $24.5 million for hurricane relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The Charlotte Observer printed an excellent review of the show.
The Dallas Cowboys website carries the announcement that Lainey Wilson will be performing during The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Kickoff Halftime Show this Thanksgiving. She and her yet-unnamed special guest will take the stage on Thursday, November 28 when the Dallas Cowboys face off against the New York Giants. Dolly Parton was last year’s performer. Reba McEntire, in 1997, was the first. Others over the years have included Randy Travis, Clint Black, LeeAnn Rimes, Toby Keith, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Selena Gomez, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, and Luke Combs.
A daughter of the late Billy Walker and Sylvia “Boots” Walker has died. Deana Walker Schmidt, 72, resident of Mt Juliet, Tennessee, passed away October 9, 2024, from a long illness, with her family by her side. She was born August 11, 1952. Coming from a musical family, she first sang professionally with her father and later as part of the Walker Sisters. She retired from performing and married Tom Schmidt in October of 1994 at age 42. With an IQ of 160 and an eidetic memory, she was the “walking Encyclopedia” of the family–their Google before Google was invented. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her youngest sister, Julie Walker, who died in 2016. She is survived by sisters Judy Walker Jett and Tina Walker Highers, along with their families. Thanks to Diane Jordan for sending me the obituary link from the Mt. Juliet Chronicle.
An album of newly discovered and remastered recordings, George Jones: The Lost Nashville Sessions, will be released November 15. It features 16 tracks originally recorded for radio airplay in the 1970s. Eleven years after George’s death in 2013 at the age of 81, we’ll be able to hear previously unreleased recordings, both his biggest hits and lesser-known recordings. The master recordings sat in a box for 50 years and have now been enhanced to fix the years of neglect. Whiskey Riff reports the first track has been released. “The Honky Tonk Downstairs” was recorded sometime around 1970 at Music City Recorders in Nashville during a session produced and mixed by studio owner Scotty Moore. George first recorded the song in 1968 for his album George Jones Sings the Songs of Dallas Frazier.
Ethel Kennedy, the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy died October 10 at the age of 96 after suffering from a stroke. Kenny Chesney was among those who honored her during her funeral at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on October 16. “Every time I was around her, she made me feel great because she felt like sunshine,” he said before his a capella performance of “You Are My Sunshine.” They met in 2017 when Ethel’s daughter Rory invited Kenny to visit the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port before a show at Gillette Stadium. They stayed in touch, reports Holler. In 2018, Kenny sang Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” at Arlington National Cemetery to celebrate the life Robert F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier recently spoke with Mary and Randy Travis about the AI technology used to recreate Randy’s voice for his newest single “Where That Came From.” During the interview, according to a press release, they also discussed protections for artists and songwriters around unethical AI practices. RIAA Chairman Glazier then surprised Randy by presenting him with a plaque and announcing, “The RIAA is honored to celebrate Randy and present this career plaque commemorating over 23 million certified units, including the 5-times Platinum album Always & Forever!”
After Garth Brooks filed an amended complaint in Mississippi to publicly name his accuser, her attorneys asked the court to impose sanctions on him for “appalling and malicious behavior.” Whiskey Riff has obtained Garth’s new filing where his attorneys say she had already agreed to use her name and that he did nothing wrong by identifying her publicly. Plus, based on the description of “Jane Roe” in her California lawsuit, she is the only person who fits the description she provided. An earlier profile of her in a Mississippi magazine identified her as “a leading celebrity makeup artist” and featured a picture of her with Garth and Trisha. She also previously told the court in a filing that she was willing to use her name if necessary to deny Garth’s motion. Garth is arguing that he was trying to protect both of them by using pseudonyms. But when she went public with her California lawsuit, and named him, there was no reason to protect her identity.
Fran Boyd, 84, the first paid employee of the Academy of Country Music (ACM), died March 9, reports Billboard. She began in 1968 as executive secretary and worked her way up to executive director. She oversaw nearly every aspect of the annual ACM awards show and worked for the ACM for more than three decades before retiring in 2002.
Country Radio Hall of Famer Arch Yancey, 88, died in March, reports Country Air Check, with no cause of death listed. He began his career in 1955 at WBIP in Boonesville, Mississippi. Three years later, he was at Top 40 KNUZ-AM in Houston. He spent 31 years on the air before retiring in 1989. He was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2006.
American Idol (Season 5) Winner and Radio Host Taylor Hicks was joined by American Idol alum (Season 19) and Billy Jam artist Alex Miller for The Alabama Radio Network’s Gatin’ N Grillin’ show, which aired on 22 stations before the Alabama-Missouri game. They jammed on “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” and Alex performed his current single, “She Makes Dirt Look Good.”
American Songwriter reports Brenda Lee has made history again with “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Last year, the song went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 more than 50 years after its initial release in 1958. Now she is the second major artist to release an AI-generated single after Randy Travis’s single earlier this year. The newly released Spanish version is “Noche Buena y Navidad.” It is the first time AI was used to recreate a song in a new language. Brenda has recorded songs in several languages over the years, but she never sang “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in Spanish.
The U.S. Department of State and the Recording Academy® named Dolly Parton the 2024 recipient of the PEACE Through Music Award, which honors an American music industry professional who has played an invaluable role in cross-cultural exchanges and whose work advances peace and mutual understanding globally. Here is her award acceptance. The Department of State and the Recording Academy hosted an event to recognize Dolly at the GRAMMY Museum® in Los Angeles on October 25. The PEACE Through Music Award is determined through a process whereby U.S. embassies from around the globe submit nominations to a selection committee created jointly by the State Department and the Recording Academy. The State Department’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative was announced by Secretary Blinken in 2023, to elevate music as a diplomatic platform to bring people together and promote peace and democracy. Quincy Jones was the inaugural recipient of the PEACE Through Music Award in 2023.
LETTERS
Sam Wellington of The Four Guys writes from Franklin, Tennessee, “Thank you for the sad news about Marty Gamblin’s passing earlier this month. He was a longtime friend and very near & dear to my heart. I was shocked to hear that he is no longer with us. He was truly one of the ‘Good Guys’ in the music industry and will be sorely missed.”
Jackie Allen Thomas in Sun City, Arizona, writes, “Thanks again for a great newsletter. Thanks for the great picture of Merle Haggard’s statue, a well-deserved honor. I do note that you seldom mention bluegrass entertainers and I and many of my friends love bluegrass music so would love to hear a bit about that genre of music also if you have room to spare in your newsletters. Thanks so much for always keeping us informed.”
Diane: You’re welcome, Jackie. I include bluegrass news when I find it or when someone sends it to me. Here’s Zack Top singing bluegrass when he was in high school.
Alexander Shannon says, “I picked up the following link from an email list I subscribe to, and thought that if you hadn’t seen the article, it might be one you may want to include in your Newsletter: https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/roots-of-radio/radio-and-the-roots-of-country-music”
Bob Jennings writes, “Excellent Country Music Newsletter; Again–and as Always! It’s something; when someone makes it good–there are always people who want to take some of it from them. And the person accused has to foot the bill to fight them. It isn’t fair; when you help someone and then they take advantage of it in Garth Brooks’s case–he’ll beat it, but it will be costly for him. I’ve had a Musicam Friend for many years; we’ve done music together in a jamming fashion–always had a good time. He is up in years now–and at 94, his health is not the best, and he can’t play steel anymore. I visit him every two weeks and we talk about music and he lets me play his Pedal Steel Guitar and tells me of things I can do to improve. On my last visit, he asked if I was interested in a Non-Pedal Steel Guitar that he bought from a friend who couldn’t learn to play it. I left with this guitar–it’s a Gibson Console Grande Double Neck 8 String Non-Pedal steel guitar. I contacted Gibson with the Serial Number and photos. The representative told me it was made between 1953 and 1956; to narrow it down more, I should remove the Volume and Tone Control Plate and check the Pots for dates. I did and found they were dated April and May of 1955–I gave this info to the Gibson rep and he said Gibson made a change to the pickups in mid-1956–so, with this info, I concluded it was made in 1955 or early 1956. I cleaned the tuning machines and oiled them, checked everything over and all works fine. I put new strings on it and played some in the A6th tuning. This is the same Model Steel Guitar that Don Helms and Little Roy Wiggins Played. A piece of History….”
Kate and Marty Davis in Oregon say, “Thank you (as always) for a very newsy newsletter. We appreciate all you do.”
Carol Grace Anderson in Nashville says, “Thanks for another newsletter that’s loaded with important news.”
Judith Morcom wonders, “Do you know how tall Faron Young was? I have researched but cannot find it. I see his son Robyn is much taller than he was. I would appreciate a reply. Even if you don’t know.”
Diane: Faron was five-foot seven-inches tall.
Eric Calhoun writes from Los Angeles, California, “I hope, and pray, that Go Country Gold will be successful. Saul Levine and his son, Jeff, have had an unwavering devotion to Go Country 105, and Go Country Gold is a throwback to where AM 570 KLAC tried its hand at classic country. This would be their last format in country music, because one Saturday night, after the Lakers played, they abandoned country, and many heard an announcement, telling people that if they wanted to hear country music to turn on then Country 93.9 KZLA. The downside: Many people down in southern Orange County, parts of northern San Diego County, and those in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties will have to stream Go Country Gold on the Internet, as the 1260 signal is poor in these areas. This lady who is suing Garth Brooks is a piece of work. I’ve been following this case, and this is someone who wants something for nothing. Garth is better than that.”
Diane: KLAC and KZLA sound familiar as the call letters of the two country stations I listened to while living in Los Angeles. I was driving down I-405 on my way to work one morning when KLAC announced two planes had flown into the World Trade towers.