Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 4 September 2024
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.
Marty Stuart, who has been collecting country music memorabilia for more than 50 years, recently donated his 22,000-item Marty Stuart Collection to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. View the ceremony here. The largest private collection of country music artifacts in the world, which includes over 100 instruments and 1,000 stage costumes, has now joined the largest public collection in the world, reports Fox News 17 WZTV in Nashville. Some of the items will be displayed at Marty’s Congress of Country Music Museum in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Lynn Massey, eldest granddaughter of Loretta Lynn, died August 20 at age 59, following a “long and difficult health battle,” reports Country Now. She was the daughter of Betty Sue, who was born to Loretta at age 16. Betty Sue died from emphysema in 2013 at age 64. She wrote Loretta’s songs “Wine, Women and Song” and “The Home You’re Tearin’ Down.” Lynn Massey was 11 months younger than Loretta’s youngest children, twins Peggy and Patsy.
PennLive offers an update on Ernie Lynn, 69, son of Loretta Lynn, as he battles kidney failure, for which he had surgery in January. His wife, Crystal Lynn, recently posted a Facebook video from the passenger seat as Ernie drove down a road. “I want to thank y’all for the prayers and stuff when I was in the hospital,” he said. Crystal added, “His spirit is good, and his mind is not necessarily sane, but it’s there and they even confirmed he has a heart. Love you all. Have a blessed day.”
At the Colorado State Fair, Scotty McCreery stopped his show when he noticed an altercation in the crowd and saw a man hit a woman. Wide Open Country reports he pointed to the man in the audience and said, “Right here, right here, that’s a lady you just hit, sir! Absolutely not.” Scotty then called for authorities to come grab the man and kick him out of the concert. He asked if the woman was okay, and he said, “On God’s green Earth, at a Scotty McCreery show? What are you doing?” Waiting while authorities escorted the man out of the concert, he said, “Whoever you are, that’s the definition of a coward, hitting a lady. Get the heck out of here.” Fans praised him on social media, with comments such as “And not one cuss word out of his mouth!! That’s class right there!!” and “Scotty is such a gentleman. Class.”
Billy Linneman, longtime bassist for the Grand Ole Opry house band, died August 28 at age 79. He lived in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, and was predeceased by his parents and his wife. He is survived by son Gene. He was born William Eugene Linneman in 1945 in Sacramento, California. His family moved to Nashville to further his father’s musical career. Jack was a guitarist and recording engineer who later founded and operated Hilltop Studios in Madison. Billy began playing bass at an early age and started working with Pete Drake at Starday-King Studios while in high school. Billy played upright and electric bass in the Grand Ole Opry house band from 1962 to 2005. He appeared on recording sessions and was also in the staff band for Ralph Emery’s TV shows.
Country Now reports Kimberly Williams-Paisley, actress and wife of Brad Paisley, posted a health update on social media. She lost her voice while onstage two years ago and says “it never quite came back.” Her laryngeal nerve was damaged, and she recently had surgery at Vanderbilt Medical Center. “I was awake for the three-hour laryngoplasty to plump up my paralyzed vocal cord so it hits the other one,” she says. “I watched a lot of it on a video screen above my head as it happened and all I can say is MODERN MEDICINE IS MIRACULOUS.” This experience has taught her to never take little things for granted, like her ability to simply use her voice.
The SOURCE Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held August 27 at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, reports MusicRow. Jeannie Seely, Brenda Lee, and Mandy Barnett were the hosts. Six women were inducted in recognition of their significant impacts on the Nashville entertainment industry. Prior to their induction, the Jo Walker-Meador Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Jeannie Seely. Brenda and Mandy shared some of Jeannie’s accomplishments, including 5,375 Opry performances, Sundays With Seeley radio show on SiriusXM, Grammy awards, the first female to host the Grand Ole Opry, and Honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Lincoln Memorial University.
Singer Billy Gilman, 36, married partner Anthony Carbone, 32, on August 23 in his home state of Rhode Island. They told PEOPLE they chose their venue, a 45-acre horse farm, because it reminded them both of time spent on a horse farm while growing up in Rhode Island. They exchanged vows in front of over 100 guests, mostly “family and friends who have watched our love story grow every single day,” they said.
The two older daughters of Rory Feek, Heidi (37) and Hopie (35), are pursuing legal action against their father regarding their younger sister, Indiana, who is ten years old and has Down syndrome. “We no longer believe Indiana is safe under our father’s care,” Heidi says in a statement. She refers to his deep connection with “an organization known for its troubling history of child abuse.” The two sisters tell Taste of Country that their father has been progressively limiting contact between Indiana and her two sisters and has refused to attend family counseling with them. First, he stopped letting them FaceTime, and then he stopped letting Indiana spend the night with her sisters in Alabama, which she had been doing her entire life. “Now we can’t even talk to her on the phone,” says Hopie. Rory and his bride, Rebecca, took Indiana with them to their July 14 wedding in Greycliff, Montana. Greycliff is the Montana branch of Homestead Heritage, a farming-based, Christian community near Waco, Texas, with a lengthy track record of sexual and domestic abuse allegations. Multiple members have been convicted of sex crimes against minors. Rory (59) responded with a blog post, according to PEOPLE, saying Indiana “has never been more loved or better cared for than she is right now.” The daughters, who are “just happy to hear from him” after his months of silence, objected to his comment for ignoring Joey, who was Rory’s wife and Indiana’s mother; she died in 2016.
Billboard reports Grace Kelley, 28, daughter of Wynonna Judd and ex-husband Arch Kelley III, was arrested in Georgia on three misdemeanor counts: driving while license suspended or revoked, motorcycle equipment not used properly, and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. She was released the following day on $2,750 bond. Her history of legal trouble stretches back to 2016 when she was arrested for meth possession. In 2018, she was sentenced to eight years in prison for violating probation and leaving a court-mandated drug recovery program; she was reportedly released from jail in late 2022. During a temporary leave of absence from jail in March 2022, she gave birth to a daughter she named Kaliyah Chanel.
Joe Nichols will release his 11th studio album on October 25, reports MusicRow. The 11-track Honky Tonks & Country Songs showcases Joe’s commitment to country music. “My job is to make people feel good,” he says. “Sometimes that means with fun and happy songs, and other times with sad and sorrowful truths. But the goal is always to make them feel good. This album is meant to do exactly that. Everyone can find a good time in a honky tonk and a country song.”
LETTERS
Ron Hogan, former Country Deputy steel player, writes, “As everyone else, I always enjoy your newsletter. The song reported about ‘I Think I’ll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself to Sleep’ was written by Freddie Hart. I worked for Freddie for about 7 years in the steel guitar position. A true gentleman, really. Enjoyed my time with him. He’d sit on the bus writing song after song. It’s hard to find someone that never says a curse word. That was him. He said, ‘A man who curses, has nothing to say.’”
Linda Mellon says, “As a singer who loves classic country music, I’m grateful for all the history you provide and sad every time I read of the loss of another treasure of the genre. It leaves me wondering who will fill their shoes.”
June Thompson writes, “Thanks again for such a wonderful newsletter, I always look forward to getting them. Sandy Posey was one of my favorite singers when I was twelve years old, I was so proud that she was from Alabama like me, for Alabama gets such a bad rap sometimes. I remember she was on WHERE THE ACTION IS, and at the school for blind, that show came on just before PE, and a whole bunch of us girls got tardy reports just because we hung around the TV to hear her sing SINGLE GIRL. So great you already have another book gallopin’ round in your head.”
Roger Ball says, “I was an honorary Deputy. I played on several Faron Young records and TV shows but I never worked the road with him.”
Dominique ‘Imperial’ Anglares writes from France, “Thanks to you and the contributors for that newsletter. I am sorry to learn about the passing of Kathy Hughes and Donnie Winters. Donnie Winters was a very nice fellow. I used to send him from time to time old papers and memorabilia about his famous Daddy Don Winters. Time is nobody’s friend.”
Eric Calhoun says, “I do know something about Sandy Posey. She had made a few country music hits and was instrumental in covering Stevie Wonder’s ‘Place In the Sun.’ What a surprise she has died! Per my last letter, I’ve been approved for one ticket to check out Lainey Wilson, I’ll let you know how the performance went. And finally, does anyone know whatever became of Jodi Miller?”
Diane: Jody Miller, Queen of the House, died at age 80 in Blanchard, Oklahoma, on October 6, 2022. She had Parkinson’s disease.
Don Ewert in Milwaukee, Wisconsin reminds us: Remembering “Miss Country Sunshine” Dottie West 9-4-91.
CD OF THE WEEK
Sunday Drives With Mom & Dad is a recent double CD release by Sherwin Linton, who grew up in South Dakota in the 1940s. This may be his final recording, and if so, it’s a great way to wrap up a decades-long recording career, with the traditional songs his parents sang during his childhood. When Kenny Wilson, one of Sherwin’s Cotton Kings band members, said he wanted to record a CD of Sherwin and a guitar, Sherwin immediately knew the concept. He wanted to capture the songs of his musical family. The cover photo shows Sherwin and his parents with the 1936 Plymouth that carried them on their Sunday drives. Sherwin is a music historian, and the 43 songs on the two discs include accurate songwriter names and dates, going all the way back to Stephen Foster in 1864. This CD is a treasure just for preserving these old songs. It reminds me of the songs my mother sang around the house during my childhood, such as Cowboy Jack, At the Bar, Rock All Our Babies To Sleep, and (by Mom’s favorite singer, Hank Snow) Let Me Go Lover. Unfortunately, I can’t preserve them as Sherwin preserved his. I especially like the duet of Sherwin and Pam singing “Billy Boy.” You can learn more about the Lintons and contact them at https://sherwinlinton.com/.
NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME – 2023 – FIRST HALF
Casey Beathard was born in California in 1965 and grew up in Vienna, Virginia. He moved to Nashville in 1991, where he worked at the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Bluebird Café and later wrote Kenny Chesney’s hit, “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems.” His co-written hits include “Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo” and “Drinkin’ Bone” by Tracy Byrd, “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” by Tracy Lawrence, “Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)” by Rodney Atkins, “Don’t Blink” and “The Boys Of Fall” by Kenny Chesney, “Come Back Song” by Darius Rucker, “Do You Want Fries With That” by Tim McGraw, “Just Fishin'” by Trace Adkins, and “Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly” by Aaron Tippin. In 2020, he summed up recent family events by saying, “In the last six weeks, I had a son go to the Super Bowl and another son go to heaven.” C.J. Beathard played for the San Francisco 49ers, and Clayton was stabbed outside a Nashville bar while trying to help a friend who was being assaulted. Casey is 58 years old and was inducted in the “Contemporary Songwriters” category.
David Lee Murphy was born in 1959 in southern Illinois and moved to Nashville in 1983, where he played honky tonks for a decade before being signed to MCA Records. He wrote his hits “Dust On The Bottle” and “Every Time I Get Around You.” His co-written hits for other artists include Kenny Chesney’s “Living In Fast Forward,” “Here And Now,” and “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor,” Thompson Square’s “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not,” and “Anywhere With You” by Jake Owen. His induction was in the “Contemporary Songwriters” category. He is 65 years old and has a website, which includes his touring schedule.
Rafe Van Hoy, inducted in the “Veteran Songwriter” category, was born (1955) and raised in Bristol, Tennessee. When he graduated from high school in 1972, his family moved to Nashville so he could pursue a musical career. Curly Putman signed him as a songwriter. Rafe wrote one of my favorite songs, “What’s Forever For.” His catalog of co-written songs includes “Golden Ring” by George Jones & Tammy Wynette, “Baby I Lied” by Deborah Allen, “Friday Night Blues” and “I’m Only In It For The Love” by John Conlee, “Hurt Me Bad (In A Real Good Way)” by Patty Loveless, “I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again” by T. Graham Brown, “Let’s Stop Talkin’ About It” by Janie Fricke, “Old Flames Have New Names” by Mark Chesnutt, and “Somebody’s Gonna Love You” by Lee Greenwood. He is 68 years old.