Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 5 March 2025
NEWS
I was listening to Bill Anderson singing on the Opry last Saturday night when he announced that his fiddle player, Gail Johnson, had collapsed onstage. He said she had been taken backstage and was being attended by paramedics. He later provided an update in his fan club newsletter. She was taken to Vanderbilt University hospital for observation and treatment; she is still there. Gail is married to Bill’s former keyboard player, Dirk Johnson, who received his long-awaited liver transplant on February 20. Gail had told Bill that Dirk is back home and feeling better than he has in years.Bill sends this request: “I hope you’ll keep Gail, Dirk, and the entire Johnson family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Carl Dean, 82, husband of Dolly Parton, died March 3 in Nashville, Tennessee. According to the Chicago Sun Times, he will be laid to rest in a private ceremony. No cause of death was given. Dolly posted the news on Instagram, saying, “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.” The two met outside a laundromat the day Dolly arrived in Nashville at age 18. They married two years later on May 30, 1966. Carl owned an asphalt-paving business in Nashville and is also survived by his two siblings, Sandra and Donnie.
At a recent concert in Mississippi, Zach Top played a full show while he was sick. Although it isn’t unusual for performers to “power through a setlist just so they don’t need to cancel,” reports American Songwriter, Zach “held himself to a higher standard.” He told the crowd that, although he finished the concert, he was going to refund their tickets. “We’re gonna get you your money back for tonight’s show, because this is not the kind of show I want to put on,” he said. “We just got a couple songs left for you tonight, thank you so much for coming out here.”
A musical adaptation of the 1980 Loretta Lynn movie, Coal Miner’s Daughter, is currently in development, according to Playbill. The project will bring to the stage Loretta’s journey from a humble Kentucky upbringing to being an icon of the country music world. The score will contain her greatest hits (including “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “The Pill) and new material that covers her life beyond the film’s ending. Sutton Foster will star in this stage version. Loretta’s daughter, manager, and producer Patsy Lynn and longtime advisor Nancy Russell will serve as consulting producers. When Loretta died in 2022 at age 90, this project had already been in the works for ten years. Loretta announced in 2012 that Zooey Deschanel would play her in a Broadway-aimed production; that never materialized. Loretta was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988.
Lead singer Raul Malo of the Mavericks is back in the hospital. The band had to cancel several February shows after he was hospitalized to treat complications from his late 2024 surgery. Taste of Country reports Raul Malo has been the Mavericks’ lead vocalist since the band was founded in 1989. He announced his cancer diagnosis last June; it affects his intestinal system.
Louisiana native James Dupré has released his debut EP, Perfect Time. The collection of songs was produced by Kyle Lehning and Jerry Douglas. Listen here. A press release announces, “Each track offers a glimpse into Dupré’s personal experiences, exploring themes of love, life, and the moments that define us. The EP captures the emotional highs and lows of real life.” James is the vocalist for Randy Travis during the “More Life Tour.”
Famed steel player Lloyd Green, 87, was honored February 25 with a Mississippi Country Music Trail marker in a ceremony held on The University of Southern Mississippi campus in Hattiesburg, according to the University’s website. With a career spanning more than five decades, Lloyd is one of the most recorded musicians in country music history. His signature pedal steel sound contributed to 116 No. 1 hits. Born and raised in Leaf, Mississippi, Lloyed graduated from high school in 1955 and attended the University of Southern Mississippi before moving to Nashville and becoming one of Faron Young’s Country Deputies. Marty Stuart, a fellow Mississippian, spoke at the ceremony about Lloyd’s influence on country music. “As one of the leading master architects of country music’s golden era, Lloyd helped write the book on the language of the steel guitar’s role in our culture,” Marty said. “It is such an honor to be a part of a celebration that welcomes Lloyd Green home to Mississippi and to witness the unveiling of his marker on Mississippi’s Historical Country Music Trail.” Lloyd told the crowd, “Southern Miss holds a special place in my heart, and I am deeply honored by this recognition. Mississippi has always been home, and my time in Hattiesburg helped shape my journey in music.” The Mississippi Country Music Trail celebrates Mississippi’s musical heritage by honoring the musicians, venues, and cultural landmarks that have shaped the state’s influence on country music.
A new Clay Walker single, “Cowboys In Heaven,” has been released. Clay is celebrating over 30 years of country music success, with eleven Number One hits that include “What’s It to You,” “Live Until I Die,” and “She Won’t Be Lonely Long.” He wrote the new song with Jaren Boyer, Matt Gorman, and John Stephens. “I only write songs that I feel like I’ve lived or have some kind of experience with,” Clay says in a press release. “I had my good friend, Charlie Rizzo, in mind when we were writing this. Charlie was a champion bareback rider and a true cowboy. The day we finished the song was the day he passed away. So it has a really sentimental place in my heart.” Clay’s upcoming “Drive Me Smooth Tour” kicks off in February and continues through the summer.
Here is a summary of what Jade Brooks posted February 28 on Facebook about husband Doug Stone: “Just prior to Christmas we took a vacation to Disney. Doug and I were on the golf course and when he teed off he felt an immediate pop in his neck. He babied it for a few days but started noticing that he was having some difficulty walking, as well as numbness in his hands and legs. The day we landed back home, he had a show here in TX & it was a doozy. He was having a lot of difficulty playing guitar because of the numbness. We got Doug in to see a neurologist, but we didn’t exactly get the answers we were hoping to find. Doug has had a couple prior traumatic neck injuries dating back to the early ‘90s when he crashed his airplane. The golfing incident exacerbated what was already beginning to happen. The tests showed that his spinal cord was almost completely occluded at C3 & C4. He needed neck surgery. On February 7th Doug had his procedure. One week later, Doug had a routine cardiac procedure. They found some abnormalities. This led to an additional procedure which we were not expecting, but he has had no problems since. Today is three weeks post neck surgery for Doug. In one week, he will begin taking physical therapy. He has had to start over at square one- learning to use his hands and learning to walk. It has been a slow road, but the progress we’ve already seen him make in just three weeks is immensely encouraging. He is able to get on and off his 4-wheeler to go for rides. Doug isn’t scheduled for any performances until about five weeks from now.”
For the third consecutive year, the Johnny Cash Museum has won the title of “Best Music Museum in the 2025 USA Today / 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards.” According to a press release, 20 museums were nominated by a panel of travel experts earlier this year. The Johnny Cash Museum emerged victorious after four weeks of public voting, reaffirming its status as the top destination for travelers in America. Here is the complete list of winners. The museum originated from owner Bill Miller’s personal fifty-year connection with Johnny. In 2013, he established the Johnny Cash Museum.
PEOPLE recently featured an interview with Michael Trotter Jr., who is one half of The War and Treaty duo with wife Tanya Trotter. The couple married in 2011, while he was dealing with PTSD from his military service. He was an unemployed high school dropout with a baby on the way when he enlisted in the Army in 2003. “I was like, ‘I need a dollar fast and I need to get it legally.’ So I signed up in the time of war. I had no idea,” he says. “You sign up and you think you’re going to go play Gomer Pyle. And then you end up doing a Saving Private Ryan mission. You’re like, What the hell? I’m a singer! Wait, wait. Don’t shoot!” While deployed in Iraq, he came upon a piano in one of Saddam Hussein’s private palaces. His commanding officer encouraged him to practice playing it. When the CO was killed on a mission, Michael wrote his first song in the captain’s honor and sang it at his memorial. He then began performing at memorials for other soldiers. The 2020 War and Treaty song “Five More Minutes” recalls a moment Tanya pulled him from the brink of suicide. “I’m connecting with a tormented soul, and I’m creating something to free myself,” Michael tells PEOPLE. “I’m learning how to steal away. I call it ‘SAM’ moments: steal away minutes to try to be normal and try to remember that I’ve got a gift.” Michael and Tanya, both 52, will commence their Plus One tour in March.
Remember the news reports last May that Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate would be auctioned off in a foreclosure sale due to an unpaid debt? That Lisa Marie Presley had borrowed $3.8 million from a private lender, Naussany, and pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan? Riley Keough, Elvis’s granddaughter, inherited the trust and the house after Lisa Marie’s death. She filed a lawsuit claiming that the “lender” presented fraudulent documents and that her mother never borrowed the money. A judge halted the proposed auction. The Associated Press now reports the conclusion of the case. Missouri resident Lisa Jeanine Findley pleaded guilty last week, in front of a Memphis federal judge, to a charge of mail fraud. She will be sentenced on June 19. Without her plea deal, she would have faced up to 20 years if convicted.
On February 21, Ringo Starr made his Grand Ole Opry debut as part of the Opry’s ongoing 100th Anniversary celebration and in support of his new country album, Look Up. “As you may have noticed I dressed up a bit tonight. I’m a cowboy inside,” MusicRow reports Ringo saying from the Opry stage. “This is a great honor and an incredible moment for me. It’s just a dream to end up here.” Emmylou Harris had surprised him with the Opry invitation during his concert at the Ryman Auditorium in January. Ringo has had a lifelong love of country music and performed/wrote numerous country-tinged songs throughout his years with The Beatles. He also recorded a country album, Beaucoups of Blues, in 1970 as his second solo album.
The Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame recently inducted four legendary songwriters—David Lee and Leslie Satcher and the late Dan Seals and Charlie Robison. The night celebrated their achievements, with each artist “honored with performances that highlighted their songwriting prowess and the mark they have left on Texas music history,” according to a 117 Entertainment press release.
A month after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Dolly Parton hosted the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. During her opening, she said, “I want us to send our love and hope to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Let’s dedicate this whole show to them and pray for peace around this crazy world.” According to Whiskey Riff, this video clip has now gone viral on social media as if Dolly made the statement following last week’s presidential confrontation at the White House. Comments such as: “Then she should donate all of HER money to her brothers and sisters.” “So tired of these idiots picking everyone over the USA.” “As far as I’m concerned, Dolly Parton just died. R.I.P.” “Another celebrity who ‘doesn’t want to be political’ but just can’t resist.”
The Music City Rodeo, Nashville’s first-ever PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) event, comes to the Bridgestone Arena on May 29-31. Founding members of the rodeo—Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, and Jelly Roll–will also headline the weekend’s concerts. Each day will showcase seven rodeo events from bull riding to barrel racing, featuring the world’s best cowboys and cowgirls competing for over $200,000 in prize money. “Country music and rodeo go hand in hand,” MusicRow quotes Tim as saying. “It was time to bring the magic of the rodeo home to Nashville and I’m thrilled to be bringing it here.” Reba says, “It’s no secret that rodeo is in my blood, and I’m thrilled to be a part of starting a new Nashville tradition.” And from Jelly Roll: “As a Nashville native, this felt like a chance to be a part of a history-making event for the city. I have vivid memories when it was announced in Nashville that we were getting a hockey team with the Predators, or a football team with the Titans…and I watched Bridgestone Arena be built from the ground up. Headlining Music City Rodeo in my hometown as a part of the first rodeo brought to town feels like the same type of milestone.”
LETTERS
Donald Ewert says, “I was glad to read that Linda Martell’s single, ‘Color Him Father,’ will be added to the Grammy Hall of Fame. I say why not the album it was on, Color Me Country, the first country album by a black female singing country. After all, Beyonce recently won a Grammy for best country album. Just saying.”
Mike Johnson writes, “Just received word from a family member that Terry Smith’s death was caused from complications of a hemorrhagic stroke he suffered on 8 January 2025.”
James Akenson writes from Tennessee, “Thanks as always. All of your newsletter is interesting. I particularly liked learning about Emily Ann Roberts. Classic kind of career development. Tech is closed today due to the weather so I’m working at home. I shared the Emily Ann Roberts item on The ICMC FaceBook page.”
Jackie Allen Thomas in Arizona says, “As usual, another great newsletter to keep us informed about real country music and what’s happening.”
UPDATE ON RANDY TRAVIS BIOGRAPHY
The advance reading copies of Randy Travis: Storms of Life have been printed and are being mailed this week. These are for reviewers and interviewers, as well as being the last chance to correct any errors. If you are interested in publishing a review or scheduling an interview with me, you can order your ARC here. This is also where you can preorder the book for a June shipment.
MUSICIANS HALL OF FAME IN NASHVILLE – 2008 (second half)
Wayne Jackson on trumpet and Andrew Love on tenor saxophone spent many years as STAX studio session musicians in Memphis before going independent and calling themselves The Memphis Horns. For thirty years, they played in the studio, together and individually, and toured all over the world with other artists. In 2012, they received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding artistic significance in music. Andrew died two months later, at age 70. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2002. I interviewed Wayne in 2006 for my Marty Robbins biography. After he died of congestive heart failure in 2016, at age 74, I posted portions of his interview at the end of my January 2020 newsletter.
The second group of musicians hired by Rick Hall at his Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 1964, was nicknamed The Swampers before they officially adopted the name Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The core members were Barry Beckett on keyboards, Jimmy Johnson on guitar, Roger Hawkins on drums, and David Hood on bass. They later built a competing studio, Muscle Shoals Sound, where they recorded numerous hit records with artists such as Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, and Aretha Franklin. Their 2008 induction into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum included “& Friends.” The friends were Pete Carr, Clayton Ivey, Randy McCormick, Will McFarlane, and Spooner Oldham.
The original members of the hitmaking Crickets were Buddy Holly (guitar & vocal) with Jerry Allison on drums and Joe Mauldin on bass. Buddy became a solo artist before being killed in a plane crash in 1959 at age 22. Allison and Maudlin began recording and touring with The Everly Brothers. They and Sonny Curtis, an early partner of Buddy’s, reunited as The Crickets and recorded and toured for many years. Mauldin died of cancer in 2015, at age 74. Allison died from cancer in 2022, at age 82. Curtis, now 87, lives near Nashville and has a website at https://sonnycurtis.com/.