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SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME NAMES FIFTEEN NOMINEES FOR 2008
         NASHVILLE, TENN. (June 19, 2008)--Ten songwriters and five songwriter/artists have been nominated for one of the nation's highest songwriting honors - induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Of the nominees, two from the songwriter category and one from the songwriter/artist category will be inducted during the annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony to be held on Sunday, October 26, at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.
         "Each of these nominees has honed the songwriting craft to perfection, and the songs they've given us are absolute treasures," said Roger Murrah, a 2005 inductee and the current chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF), which owns and administers the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
         The ballot seeks to recognize songwriters whose first significant works achieved commercial success and/or artistic recognition at least 20 years ago and have "positively impacted and been closely associated with the Nashville music community and deemed to be outstanding and significant."
         This year's ten nominees in the Songwriter category are: Matraca Berg ("Strawberry Wine" by Deana Carter), Paul Craft ("Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life" by Moe Bandy), Kye Fleming ("I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" by Barbara Mandrell), Larry Henley ("The Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler), the late John Jarrard ("Blue Clear Sky" by George Strait), Bob Morrison ("You Decorated My Life" by Kenny Rogers), Mark D. Sanders ("I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack), Tom Shapiro ("Ain't Nothing 'Bout You" by Brooks & Dunn), John Scott Sherrill ("Would You Go With Me" by Josh Turner) and Sharon Vaughn ("My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" by Willie Nelson).
         The five nominees in the Songwriter/Artist category are: the late Paul Davis ("I Go Crazy"), Larry Gatlin ("All the Gold in California"), John Hiatt ("Ridin' With the King"), the late Johnny Horton ("Honky Tonk Man") and Tony Joe White ("Rainy Night in Georgia").
         Biographical information on the nominees, and an online version of this release, is available at: http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/73TEMP/news13B.html.
         The ballot was recommended to the NaSHOF board of directors by the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, which is comprised of Hall of Fame members and Music Row historians. Votes are cast by Hall of Fame members and Professional Songwriter members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), as well as the boards of the NaSHOF and NSAI.
         Established in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame boasts 168 members, including songwriting luminaries such as Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Bob Dylan, Don & Phil Everly, Flatt & Scruggs, Vince Gill, Harlan Howard, Roger Miller, Bill Monroe, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Carl Perkins, Dottie Rambo, Jimmie Rodgers, Cindy Walker, Jimmy Webb, Hank Williams, Sr. and Hank Williams, Jr. It was announced in September 2007 that the future home of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will be the historic building at 34 Music Square East, former home of the Quonset Hut, Columbia Studio A, Columbia and Epic Records and Sony Music Nashville. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will become the first organization honoring songwriters to emerge from a virtual entity to one with a physical location.
         The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit foundation dedicated to honoring and preserving the songwriting legacy of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The NaSHOF's principal purposes are to educate, archive and celebrate songwriting that is uniquely associated with the Nashville music community.



Country Music Publisher
Al Gallico Dies in L.A.
         Posted May 22, 2008 - Services were Wednesday in Los Angeles for Al Gallico, one of the leading independent country music publishers in the 1960s and 1970s. Gallico died last week of respiratory failure. He was 88. His companies' copyrights included "Stand By Your Man," "Almost Persuaded," "The Most Beautiful Girl," "Let Me Be There" and "The House of the Rising Sun."
         Mr. Gallico also discovered country singer Donna Fargo and published her big hit, "The Happiest Girl (In the Whole U.S.A.)" He managed Joe Stampley and helped secure record deals for David Houston, John Anderson, Becky Hobbs and Big Al Downing.
         Although Mr. Gallico sold his country publishing companies, he retained two other companies that had "Time of the Season," "Hold Your Head Up" and "Liar" by 1960s British rock group The Zombies.
         Mr. Gallico's survivors include his wife, Grace, and daughters Gail Sherwin and Linda Gallico.



Floyd Tolston -
A True Texan Troubadour
         What is it that makes great country music? Is it the straight-talking of world-weary troubadours? Is it the unpretentious stripped-down sound of one man and a guitar pouring his heart out? Or is it the storytelling lyrics of real life and all its myriad tiny dramas? One listen to Floyd Tolston and you'll see that it's all of these things. And more.
         Following in the tradition of great Texas folk music from the likes of John Prine, Merle Haggard and Townes Van Zandt, Tolston turns the ordinary and the everyday into something which is in turn beautiful, funny and true.
         Tolston's debut album Something Special is the product of more than 35 years of songwriting, honed through his years as a teacher, before his retirement gave him the opportunity to polish and record the songs which have been his life's work.
         The 14 original songs on this record are the heartfelt reflections of a life in and around music, in all its comedy, pain, regret and pathos. That is exactly what country music should be. From the hilarious consumer-age love-story of 'Wal-Mart Lovers' to the lovelorn musings of 'Primal Scream' or 'Something Special' and the loving homage to old style Texas beer, music and life in 'Lone Star'.
         There is a certain truth to this music, above all its other qualities. Tolston rails against the false prophets of the material world and of the music it has produced. His music, by contrast, is straight-edged.
         The first single from the album, 'Austin', shows these qualities as clearly as any other. The tale is of the rise and fall of an aspiring musician chasing the rainbow that is the Nashville scene. Though as Tolston sings "life don't always work out the way you'd planned it." The universality of this song, though routed firmly in the Lone Star state, is demonstrated by its international popularity.
         'Austin' has already been picked up and played on the Honky Tonks and Heartaches radio show in Melbourne, Australia. This follows on from the success of 'Everybody's Got'em a Song', which became the 21st most requested song on Radio Free Texas.
         Indeed, every one of these 14 diverse musical poems could have been picked up because everyone one offers a different glimpse into the soul of the creator. His growling baritone and simple but deft guitar playing compliment the feel of the songs in every case.
         Floyd Tolston is truly the undiscovered gem of Texas music. Something Special may well soon change that.
        Lezley Norris
        SaMolly/Tolston Music
        P.O. Box 144
        Ennis, TX 75120
        Phone: 214-543-6817
        Fax: 972-846-3005
        Email: tolstonmusic@gmail.com
        Website: www.myspace.com/floydtolston
        www.floydtolston.com



Joe Berry Update

        In June of 2008 Joe Berry started "The Honkytonk Highway" CD which should be ready for distribution in May 2008. According to management this will be the best CD Berry has ever completed featuring all original songs written by Joe Berry and cowriters. The CD was recorded at Ruff Patch Music and South Eastern Sound Studios Engineered by Lee Sinclair, produced,mixed and mastered by Gary Buddy Strong who also produces "The Marshall Tucker Band" Some highlights of Joe's career include: Singing two songs, one of which he wrote in the Lions Gate Film "Bad Trip" in 2004. Becoming an Inductee in the "Traditional Country Hall Of Fame in April 20th 2005. SInging and performing with his good friends "Grand Ole Opry Stars Ernie Ashworth and Charlie Louvin" Joe Berry is being inducted in the Ole Time Country Music Hall Of Fame in Iowa August 29th 2008 Joe Berry's CD "The Dark Side Of The Moon" won Traidional Country CD of The Year voted by The TCMA in 2002 He is soon to sign with a major indie to be revealed soon which will be another article.
Note: Joe Berry wishes to say a big thanks to Bob Timmers for what he does to help keep traditional country music alive! Joe Berry - berrymusic@charter.net




"A Little Bit of Lefty Left in Me"

        Posted March 13, 2008 - F.H.M label group has just announced the official release date of the highly anticipated Allen Frizzell "A Little Bit of Lefty Left in Me" disc will be March 18, 2008. The 12 song collection will include recordings such as: Saginaw Michigan, She's Gone Gone Gone, Long Black Veil, Mom and Dad's Waltz and I Never Go Around Mirrors(duet w/brother David). Pre-orders will be available soon at www.allenfrizzell.com. It will also be available for download on the web at a number of sites including myspace.com/allenfrizzell, iTunes and CD baby. FYI for those in the Nashville area: March 22, 2008-2:00 ... there will be a Tribute to Lefty show at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum Store.



Dan Tyminski

         "For those of you who don't know who Dan Tyminski is, he has been guitarist and mandolin player for Alison Krauss since 1994 and sang "Man of Constant Sorrow" on the O' Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. Here is my Interview with Dan Tyminski"
Scott Preston - cariboustudios73@gmail.com



CORNFIELDS OF IOWA

AMERICA'S REAL COUNTRY MUSIC IS ALIVE AND WELL IN THE CORNFIELDS OF IOWA
         LeMars, Iowa.....Rural 'American' music is still alive, though Hee Haw is not around any more to make fun of it. Some of America's rural music is the only genuine country music left in the USA. And, some of it is still rural, rustic, acoustic, and fun, just as bluegrass music is. Honoring this great American music tradition, is the National Traditional Country Music Assn., made up of about 3,000 members from all across the United States and foreign countries, who are concerned about America's musical heritage, especially it's rural music.
         "Rural music," according to Bob Everhart, President of the National Traditional Country Music Assn., and "Ambassador of American Folk Music," a title bestowed upon him by foreign journalists writing on the subject from the U.S. State Department, "is the music of our settling pioneers. It has been handed down from covered wagons and fur trading expeditions through the generations, and is still prevelant, much like it once was, among the rural America we know today, especially among those who still practice the music genre, and play it in varying degrees of ability. Iowa is a very fertile State for 'genuine' country and bluegrass music, and it's not just corn that we grow here. We also grow some incredibly gifted performers and musicians that practice 'genuine' country and bluegrass music, or as we prefer to call it, 'rural' music."
         Celebrities turn out to make sure this very American musical art form survives. Jim Ed Brown of the Grand Ole Opry, has been nominated twice for induction into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame. "I've been in country music a long time, and as a young boy used to eat what we called mule corn. Bob Everhart has promised to trade some mule corn for some of my figs when I get to Iowa." Mule-corn, according to Everhart is just plain field corn, very edible when it is just making kernels. Everhart also said Whispering Bill Anderson, of the Grand Ole Opry, who will be at the festival, is also interested in Iowa's corn, but perhaps from a different angle. According to Mr. Anderson, "Tennessee has been making mash whiskey for many many years. Now Iowa is doing it, and calling it Ethanol. There's no doubt that this is the future for removing our dependence on foreign oil, and I'm glad to be able to be part of not only that endeavor, but also to be part of an event that is so concerned about the future of America's rural music. I grew up singing among rural people, and one of my biggest hits "Po Folks," is our very own style of 'rural' music, so I hope Iowa keeps right on keepin' on when it comes to saving a musical genre."
         Other guests with similar attitudes about being on the festival, especially helping keep authentic rural music alive include Jay Ungar and Molly Mason from New York. Ungar is the violinist who created "Ashokan Farewell" as the theme music for the popular Public Television series "Civil War." Jim Glaser of the Glaser Brothers who grew up in Spaulding, Nebraska, said, "I have a committment to 'real' country music too, just like the Glaser Brothers did. It will be my pleasure to accept the Glaser Brothers Hall of Fame induction this year in LeMars, Iowa. The Stanley Brothers, Carter and Ralph, are also nominated. Carter Stanley's daughter is the spearhead behind getting Uncle Ralph to the festival this year. "The Stanley Brothers were among the first to have their rural music recognized by commercial interests, and Uncle Ralph is still doing the music much as it was when he and my dad started."
         By the time the festival is off and running more than 25 celebrities will be on hand for the lift off. The festival takes place at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds in LeMars, Iowa, just 19 miles north of Sioux City. The seven day event goes from August 25 through August 31.. A day pass is $15 per person, and includes all entertainment on all ten stages from 9am to midnight everyday, including celebrities. A senior citizen discount has tickets available at $11 per day, and those under age 16 are admitted free. A weekly pass is $55. Everhart suggests people bring their own lawn chairs, although there is some seating available. There are five motels in LeMars, and more in Sioux City, and RV camping is permitted at the fairgrounds at a low fee.
         According to Sheila Everhart, Bob Everhart's wife, and Director at the Festival, "We are very fortunate to have so many performers keeping America's rural music alive. Perhaps the most unusual aspect of this is the participation we get from foreign artists. Greta Elkin, for instance, from North Ireland, has lived many years in a land shaken by violence. She comes to us for the serenity of our rural area, and being known as the "Queen of Ireland's Yodelers," she has made many friends doing what rural music does best. It's the same with a performer like "Lucky Susan," Crowe of New Zealand. Susan was married to Dr. Charles Crowe (father of several children, before his first wife passed away, Russell among them), who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. That makes her a "Lady" in the hierarchy of kings and queens, and she's a traditional country singer. "I simply love the 'realness' of traditional music stryles," Susan said, "it's the simplicity of it, the true heartfelt and genuine sincerity in it, and the fact that it's open to everyone, that impresses me so much with this event that Bob & Sheila Everhart do." The ten sound stages include room for many different genres of music that fall under the umbrella of 'traditional country music' according to Everhart. "This music didn't just simply evolve from nowhere, it came from the very strong need of our settlers to all parts of the United States, to have some kind of entertainment in their midst. Once the homesteads and settlements were established, the simple fiddle or harmonica gave way to small bands and entertainments of all kinds. Ragtime, blues, bluegrass, mountain music, cowboy music, gospel music, polkas (we even have a polka party in the dance hall), great plains music, and a lot of the traditional music from the homelands of the immigrants who came to the upper midwest. It's all available at the festival, now in it's 33rd year, in LeMars, Iowa."
         Sheila Everhart, who helps schedule over 600 performers and groups is also quick to add, "We've got a tremendous number of things to see and do at this event. There are showcases for groups wanting to reach talent buyers, and we've been very fortunate over the years to have buyers come from Branson's Silver Dollar City, Wal-Mart, the Crackerbarrel Restaurants, Waffle House, and every year we send out well over 50 free invitations to other festival producers and venue promoters. Now, we have talent buyers coming from foreign countrys. Bob & I have been touring New Zealand for the past two years, and we've already managed to bring together several promoters and talent from our festival. It's the same with our friends who come from Europe, Canada, even China and Japan. This is the oasis. This is where 'traditional' music makes it stand." Also on the fairgrounds will be a tipi village, started by Kathy "Bullhead" Grinstead. A large rendezvous-style village with absolute authentic costume, music, and tipis. It sits in the middle of a small pioneer village on the fairgrounds. The porchs of the village will become the focal point of the "Busker's Championships" as anyone and everyone can participate, by simply performing on one of the small porchs. There's a small Ag Expo to keep us up to date on the doings of agricultural history, and pioneer arts and crafts are everywhere.
         "Jamming" is one of the key interests of many participants. It's everywhere and very spontaneous. However there are three 'organized' jamming areas, including an outdoor stage hosted by "One On The Mountain" from West Virginia. This is an opportunity for anyone wishing to play, wishing to learn how to play, wishing just to be part of the incredible music that surrounds them to enjoy the music and the fantastic brotherhood that surrounds the music and the players of it. Workshops are held in all areas of interest all seven days, by professional teachers and performers.
         "It's the music!" Bob Everhart says to the question of why he has been involved for so many years. "The music is paramount. Sometimes egos and money take a toll, but the music still prevails, and we intend to keep it going as long as we can for whoever likes it no matter where they come from." More information about how you can be a part of saving America's rural music or attending the festival, or performing on it, is available at the NTCMA website http://www.oldtimemusic.bigstep.com or writing the NTCMA P O Box 492, Anita, Iowa, 50020, or at 712-762-4363, or by e-mail bobeverhart@yahoo.com



Jack JohnsonR.I.P.

Country Music Manager Jack JohnsonR.I.P.
         Jack D. Johnson, 79, the brash and colorful manager of Charley Pride, Ronnie Milsap, T.G. Sheppard and others, died Thursday morning (January 24, 2008) in Nashville after battling congestive heart failure. Mr. Johnson confronted segregation and presumption in helping Pride to become the first African-American singing superstar in country music.
         Johnson, named for the prize fighter Jack Dempsey, was born in Knoxville, and he spent most of his youth in East Tennessee. He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in journalism in 1958. He and his wife, Edie, moved to Nashville in 1961, so he could pursue a career in the music business.
         In 1964, Mr. Johnson founded Jack D. Johnson Talent. After hearing Pride sing, he promised to manage the scuffling ex-ballplayer, and he pitched Pride's music to labels and producers around Nashville to no real effect. Finally, Mr. Johnson bent the ear of Cowboy Jack Clement, who decided to produce some records on Pride.



James Monroe

James Monroe to sell Bluegrass Music Hall
         December 1, 2007 - The son of the late bluegrass legend Bill Monroe is selling the music hall he opened two years ago near the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. James Monroe said the duties of running the venue conflicted with his own musical career. The property, which includes the Bluegrass Music Hall and nearly 18 acres of land, is scheduled to be sold at auction December 13th. The property is just off Interstate 65 on U.S. Highway 31, about 40 miles north of Nashville.



Wilburn Brothers Update


         November, 2000 - Thought I'd update ya'll on Wilburn Brothers information. First, they have a website run by the family at www.myspace.com/thewilburnbrothers. Secondly last years' Wilburn Brothers Tribute was held in Hardy, Ark Memorial Day Weekend. Don Helms was the headlining artist with the Malpass Brothers. A Blvd and Bridge were both named in honor of the Wilburn Brothers and the family attended. Mrs. Geraldine Wilburn Grisham was given the key to the City. They are raising money in Hardy to build a Wilburn Brothers Museum. The event will become an annual event with the next one scheduled for May 24, 2008.
-Susan Brant, maggdoodle@yahoo.com



Johnny Cash Christmas Show

From 1976 and 1977- Found, Reissued
         Lost since 1977, the famous and wildly popular Johnny Cash Christmas Specials from 1976 and 1977 were recently found in the vaults of ABC Television in Hollywood. These Christmas Specials feature a personal, heart-warming look at Christmas through the eyes of Johnny Cash, one of Country's Biggest Stars. In addition to an unbelievable list of guest stars, Cash delves into the meaning of Christmas for himself and talks about the traditions he enjoyed as a boy growing-up in rural Arkansas. These stories, coupled with the joyous Christmas Music, and Carols make this a show one you'll watch over and over again.
         Through a special arrangement with a Hollywood Studio, Country Music Greats is taking pre-orders for these shows. The show will be available for shipment November 13, 2007. The Christmas Shows are available individually (1976 DVD or 1977 DVD) or, as a 2 DVD set. Catalog Music Corporation . PO Box 159297 . Nashville, TN 37215. help@purecountrymusic.com - 1-800-591-2968



Tater Tate dies

Blue Grass Boy Tater Tate dies
Friday, October 19, 2007 -
         Clarence "Tater" Tate, who had two different stints playing for Bill Monroe, died Thursday at 77. Tate first joined the Blue Grass Boys as a fiddler in the late 1950s, replacing Bobby Hicks when he was drafted. Tate stayed with Monroe for about six months. About 30 years later, Tate returned to the band as a bassist. When Kenny Baker left Monroe in 1984, Tate temporarily took over the fiddling chores. For the rest of Monroe's life (he died in 1996), Tate switched between bass and fiddle as needed. Tate played fiddle with performers including Hylo Brown, the Bailey Brothers, and Carl Story in the 1950s. He joined Red Smiley's Bluegrass Cutups in 1965, which became the Shenandoah Cutups after Smiley's retirement in 1969. In 1977, he left the Cutups to join Lester Flatt's Nashville Grass. He also played with the Cumberland Highlanders.



Roots Music Association's Convention

Roots Music Association's Convention, Radio Seminar and Music Festival
         (October 2nd, 20087 - Festival is now underway which will take place June 26-29, 2008 in San Antonio in the middle of the beautiful Hill Country of Texas.
         RMA is the fastest growing international music association that actively promotes, supports and celebrates roots music. The RMA is committed to providing an international voice and forum for all roots based music formats in an alliance that will strive for the advancement of independent artists and will continue to encourage radio stations to play music outside of mainstream Top 40 charts. We strive to work in collaboration with any association or entity that shares our goals and vision towards the advancement of roots music.
         The 3 day event will also include a series of interactive and educational panels, a trade fair, once in a lifetime events and networking opportunities geared toward all facets of the music industry. The convention stream will provide opportunities for artists, musicians and industry professionals to network and educate each other through a series of interactive panels and presentations.
         The music festival will provide multiple stages which showcase performers to both the conference and seminar attendees as well as the general public. Expect to hear music from artists that range from established headliners to exciting up and coming newcomers across a multitude of roots based genres including, but not limited to, Blues, Bluegrass, Americana/Country, Western Swing, Western, Roots Rock, Reggae, Folk, Cajun/Zydeco and Tejano. The initial lineup of performers will be announced soon.
         The Convention and Music Festival will be held at the Alzafar Shrine Center in San Antonio. The center is located on approximately 20 wooded acres, at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. For information on registration, sponsorship opportunities or submitting for performance consideration please contact the RMA at 888-391-0983 or rma@rootsmusicassociation.org.
         More information about the Roots Music Association can be found at www.rootsmusicassociation.org



Bobbie Nelson

Bobbie Nelson Continues Family's Musical Legacy

         For the decades she has played in his band, Bobbie Nelson has been more than content to stay out of the spotlight that engulfs her younger brother Willie. Now - at age 76 - the talented pianist is finally releasing her first solo album. The better known of the two Texas music makers jokes that his sister will never be the same.
         It seems unlikely that fame could change friendly, plainspoken Bobbie Nelson, who has honed her craft with brother Willie for about 70 years. It all started with gospel songs performed around the piano with the grandparents who raised them in tiny Abbott.
         "I don't sing. When I was very young, I used to harmonize with Willie when we would sing in church," she said. "His voice is so good, and I never had that quality of voice. He didn't need me. I could get in his way. So I just played piano for him to sing. That's what we still do."
         The Nelson musical legacy is a strong one. A new generation is gaining attention, including Willie's sons Micah and Lukas of the band 40 Points, which released its first album this summer. Daughters Paula and Amy also are performers.
         Bobbie Nelson's debut album had been long encouraged by her brother, whose long line of hits includes "On the Road Again," "Always on My Mind" and "Whiskey River." It took shape during a lunch with Randall Jamail, founder of Houston indie label Justice Records. He suggested she should write her life story. She responded that the only way she could do it was through music.
         The result, Audiobiography, scheduled for release September 25th, takes listeners back to the popular boogie-woogie tunes of the 1930s and '40s and also features melodious jazz pieces.
         Even while stepping out on her own - Bobbie Nelson, two years older than her brother, never strays far from Willie, who penned two songs to bookend the album.
         After their grandfather bought her a piano for $35, Bobbie Nelson was playing by the age of 6. She retains a clear image of their grandmother singing the gospel standard "The Great Speckled Bird" as she and Willie played.
         Bobbie married fiddler Bud Fletcher when she was 16, and she and Willie joined his band. In the 1950s, Fletcher died in a car accident, and she concentrated on raising her three young sons.
         For years, she worked for the Hammond Organ Co., demonstrating the instrument. In 1972, she joined her brother's backing band and has been with him ever since.



WORTH A CLICK

Ricky Skaggs has Sturdy Roots in "Jazzgrass" Blend




TRAVIS LeDOYT SELLS OUT SHOWS

TRAVIS LeDOYT SELLS OUT SHOWS ACROSS THE US "World's Best Young Elvis" Proves The King Is Still A Hit
Nashville, TN
         Travis LeDoyt, who has been called "the World's Best Young Elvis," commemorated the 30th Anniversary of Elvis Presley's death by keeping Presley's memory alive in the hearts of thousands of fans across the United States.
         LeDoyt has been selling out shows and receiving accolades from audiences from all across the United States and around the world, but this recent tour was nothing short of amazing. From Harrah's Rincon Casino in San Diego, Prairie Band Casino near Topeka, KS, the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines to Caesars Indiana, LeDoyt played to standing room only crowds. At Caesars Indiana, LeDoyt sold out five shows in their 900-seat Coliseum show room and more than 400 people were turned away for the last show on Sunday according to Audrey Hager, Entertainment Manager at Caesars.
         In addition to playing to capacity crowds in more than 25 states, LeDoyt has sold out shows in China, Scotland, England, Canada and Chile.
         To those people who think they have seen it all when it comes to Elvis tribute acts, this is the one that makes them do a double-take. There is simply no way to describe LeDoyt and his performance except unbelievable.
         LeDoyt, who is based in Nashville, flawlessly captures the essence of Elvis in his prime, and restricts his shows to the hits and ambience of 1954-1962. Utilizing a three-piece Nashville band featuring bass, guitar, and drums, LeDoyt takes his audience back to a genuine 1950's concert. For those who missed an Elvis concert during those years, it is a chance to relive that exciting era. For further information, bookings and interviews, please contact Dick McVey in Nashville at 615-264-3637. www.travisledoyt.com
         Here are some of the things people are saying about Travis LeDoyt
         "This guy is the world's best young Elvis." Dave Elliott, WLOX-TV - Biloxi, MS.
         "This is as close as you're going to get to seeing an Elvis Presley concert in the 50's" - D. J. Fontana (Elvis Presley's drummer in the 50's) after actually playing a show with Travis.
         "I met Elvis Presley when he was a young man in the 50's and you are almost exactly like him." Little Richard following a show where Travis was his opening act.
         "I met Elvis in the 50's and meeting Travis was like meeting Elvis all over again." Marshall Lytle - original bass player with Bill Haley's Comets.
         "Travis was the surprise hit of our festival." - Elvis Presley Festival - Tupelo, MS.
         "I heard people all day talking about Travis LeDoyt so I went to see for myself. I thought Elvis was dead but I tell you he's alive – I just saw him perform. He's the surprise hit at the (Iowa State) fair." Ken Fuson, Des Moines Register.
         "Our guests were amazed at the likeness of Travis to young Elvis Presley. His great looks and wonderful voice, along with a vibrant live show and Elvis-like stage presence, have made Travis a favorite among our customers (and those of our competitors)!" Pete Bonner, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Harrah's Tunica Casino & Hotel
         "It makes the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end when you see him perform." Simon Wilson, Nottingham Post, England
         "Travis show was much more than we expected. We will definitely have him back." Hard Rock Casino, Tampa, FL
         "Being and old jaded entertainment guy, I am not easily impressed, but Travis definitely impressed me. The casino people were knocked out, and want to have him back. He was a real pro, and a pleasure to work with." Lou Baskin, SRO Entertainment, Scottsdale, AZ
         "Not only does LeDoyt look almost exactly like the twenty year old Elvis, he has the voice and stage style." Lee Cotton, Rock and Blues News magazine and author of "Did Elvis Play In Your Hometown Too."
         "I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. It could have been Elvis Presley himself." Tom Robinson, Kingston Upon Hull, England
         "The guy is just amazing!" TV personality Charlie Chase after interviewing Travis and watching him perform.
         "My favorite was the incredible Travis LeDoyt, an Elvis impersonator from the states who was the star of the weekend, driving the crowd crazy with his amazingly realistic take on ‘The King'" John Baikie, Award Winning Photographer from Scotland.
         "Travis LeDoyt's show will make you think you've gone back to 1956 and you're actually seeing Elvis." Bob Timmers, Curator of the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame(R)
         "Travis, accompanied by his own band, got a taste of the adulation the young Elvis used to attract – fans stood three or four feet deep in front of the stage." The John O'Groats Journal, Caithness, Scotland
         "What's so unsettling is that he not only looks like Elvis, he naturally acts like him. If there is such a thing as 'channeling,' Travis is doing it." Jeannie Johnson - Nashville Newsletter - Nashville, TN.
         "Unbelievable - Travis generated more response from our patrons than anyone we have had here." Dave Hilbert, Casino Magic - Bay St. Louis, MS.
         "His performance was phenomenal - we'll definitely have him back." - Trela Wilson, Isle Of Capri Casino, Bossier City, LA.
         "He looks more like the early Elvis than anyone I've ever seen!" - Bill Griggs - Rockin' 50's Magazine - Lubbock, TX.
         "Of all the people I've seen do Elvis material, this boy is more like him then anybody!" - W. S. Holland - Drummer for Johnny Cash.
         Dick McVey Enterprises – 876 Springfield Hwy – Goodlettsville, TN 37072 Phone 615-264-3637 – Email: dickmcvey@comcast.net - www.travisledoyt.com



COUNTRY MUSIC STARS DESCEND ON SMALL TOWN

INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC STARS DESCEND ON SMALL TOWN OF ANITA IOWA
Anita, Iowa
         For a small town of less than 1,000 citizens, the opportunity to have international music stars visit, is a rare treat. But that is exactly what will happen September 7, at the little performance center in Anita, Iowa, known as the Oak Tree Opry.
         The Oak Tree Opry opened its doors ten years ago, mostly as a restored theater offering down-home entertainment for anyone who cared to attend. Today, it is the focal point of top entertainment from Nashville, Tennessee, to an incredible line-up of international performers from many distant countries.
         In the United States to participate in the National Old Time Country Music Festival in Missouri Valley, Iowa, a number of the international stars are staying over to perform at the Oak Tree Opry in Anita. They have a dual reason. Several of the stars have been inducted into "America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame," which is located just across the street from the performance center, and they'd like to see what the Pioneer Music Museum is all about. They are also interested in performing in a small-town theater, just to see what the audience is like, and if the audience likes what they do.
         According to Sheila Everhart, who books much of the talent at the Oak Tree Opry, "My husband Bob and I went to New Zealand last year to perform, and we met huge numbers of incredibly gifted country music singers there. We invited some to our festival, and some have been nominated for induction into the Hall of Fame, so it was natural for them to extend their time in the United States to not only see the Hall of Fame, but also to perform for the audience that makes it all possible. We are quite impressed with their abilities, and there is probably no other place quite like Anita's museum and performance center anywhere else in the USA, that does what we do."
         On the September 7 program, the audience will have the opportunity to see and hear Greta Elkin from Londonderry, North Ireland. Greta has been on the program before, and has a new CD out that is reaching the number one spot on foreign radio shows. She sings old-time traditional country music, and is a champion yodeler.
         Two New Zealand artists will be on hand, Ginny Peters, an RCA-Victor recording artist, songwriter, singer and performer from Otorohanga, New Zealand, is one of the biggest country music stars in that country. She is also a very successful music publisher (Pegasus Music Publishing) in both New Zealand and Australia. Her poignant ballads and songs of romance are heart touching and simply beautiful to listen to. Ginny will be recording a 'down-home' country music CD while she is in Iowa at the R&H Studios in Underwood, Iowa.
         With her is another famous Kiwi, Marcie Alexander. Before her marriage, Marcie was known as Marcie Fergusson of the famous Fergusson Sisters, who toured the United States when she was much younger. They established a very special connect to their many friends and fans through their wonderful harmony gospel songs. Today Marcie specializes in children's music, and guests at the Oak Tree will hear both gospel and children's songs from this famous Auckland, New Zealand artist.
         Not confirmed, but very probably will appear, is Jenny Blackadder the "Queen of the Banjo" from Christchurch, New Zealand. She plays a tenor four-string banjo in much the same way as old time vaudville music.
         Ben Steneker, from Hawkesbergan, Holland, has never performed at the Oak Tree, but he has been on the National Festival many times. He is the number one country music recording artist in Holland, and is joined by his daughter Carmen in their performance at the theater. Ben and his wife Irene were inducted into the Hall of Fame over ten years ago, so this will be his first time to actually see his display in the museum. He specializes in songs written by Dick van Altena, a songwriter from Amsterdam, who writes country songs. His biggest hit being "Take A Ride In The Country With Me."
         Gordon Wilcox from Canada is on his way to Nashville for a new recording session, and specializes in Jimmie Rodgers music.
         Joining all these famous international stars are our own local music-makers who work hard making sure their music is outstanding and professional. Marge Lund, a local resident of Anita, is a beautiful vocalist of old-time country ballads. Rick & Harriette Andersen is a backing couple that also does comedy and old-time hillbilly songs. Wild Iowa Rose is a family harmony group led by Barb Hutchens, and Bob & Sheila Everhart, international performing artists and Smithsonian recording artists will also perform on the show.
         Regular admission is $7 per person, reserved seats at $10 are sometimes recommended, especially if you are driving long distances. Simply call 712-762-4363 for more information, or to reserve seats.
         Please join us for our 32nd National Old Time Bluegrass N'Country Festival August 27-Sept 2, 2007, at the Harrison County Fairgrounds, Missouri Valley, Iowa. Over 600 performers on 10 stages with celebrities. Also come be with us at our "new" festival at the Christensen Field House, Fremont, Nebraska, October 5-6-7, 2007. Visit our website at: www.oldtimemusic.bigstep.com for all the latest information! Thank you!



RALPH EMERY OVER THE YEARS

RALPH EMERY TALKED TO REAL CHARACTERS OVER THE YEARs
By BEVERLY KEEL
         When I sat down recently with legendary broadcaster Ralph Emery, he had no idea that he was among the newest crop of inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He talked to me about his past and his present, including Ralph Emery LIVE, his RFD-TV show that has featured interviews with Eddy Arnold, Barbara Mandrell, Lorrie Morgan, Bobby Bare, Ronnie Milsap, Sonny James and others.
         "It's just me," he said of his hosting style. "I try to make my guests look interesting." That was pretty easy for much of his career because he's had a front-row seat during some of country music's greatest years. "Insofar as I have observed and know, we had more characters years ago. There will never be another Roger Miller. Talk about characters: Faron Young," he said with a laugh. "Will there ever be another Johnny Cash? I have always said the two people with the most charisma that this town ever produced were Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton." Ralph considers himself fortunate to have worked before corporate consolidation, when musical giants roamed Lower Broadway and music men like Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley ran things. "Everybody is fond of saying, 'If Owen and Chet had been here, that would have never happened.' They protected their acts." The radio industry has changed along with Music Row. "I was very lucky to come through the system where I had total autonomy," he said. "I could play any record I wanted to play; nobody sat down and told me what to play. No one sitting in Dallas was programming the radio station where I worked." A favorite part of Ralph's DJ job was breaking records such as "He'll Have to Go" by Jim Reeves, Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans" and "Alabam" by Cowboy Copas.
         "It didn't make me any more money, but it was fun," he said. "I couldn't be a disc jockey today if I was hemmed in. I would have probably chosen another profession. In the beginning, I wanted to be a sports announcer anyway. There just weren't any opportunities where I worked, so I fell back into what worked for me, and that was country music. "I got to know the people. I found that they were very good people and very interesting people. You've probably noticed, we are basically a large family." On Tuesday, the master of gab struggled to find the right words during one of his life's greatest moments. "It's very difficult to come out here this morning to tell you how I feel," he said during the Hall of Fame induction news conference. "It's somewhat overwhelming. I never thought I would be in the Country Music Hall of Fame, or at least in my lifetime."




"John Law"
         Homer Joy has released a new duet with special guest Buck Owens. This is the last known recording by Buck Owens. Homer was more than honored to have his friend Buck Owens join him in the studio to record John Law. Homer Joy is proud to present his new album "Someday It'll Be Country" to radio stations around the globe. He is noted for his songwriting and singing talents, penning such songs as "The Streets Of Bakersfield" and more.




Steep Canyon Rangers

Steep Canyon Rangers Are Lovin' Pretty Women 2006 IBMA Emerging Artist Winners Release New Studio Album

Nashville, Tenn.
         The Steep Canyon Rangers, one of the most vital, exciting bluegrass bands working the format today, are set to release Lovin' Pretty Women, the band's latest CD since winning the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) "Emerging Artist" award. Hit songwriter and fellow IBMA award-winner Ronnie Bowman produced the album. Rebel Records is the esteemed home to this incendiary and road-tested band. The record will drop nationally on August 14, 2007. Lovin' Pretty Women will guarantee this group's continued ascent to the top of the bluegrass ranks, while reaching new audiences as they expose their own unique and timeless style to a wider and more diverse audience on the road.
         The Steep Canyon Rangers are Graham Sharp (banjo, lead and harmony vocals), Woody Platt (guitar and lead vocals), Charles R. Humphrey III (bass and harmony vocals), Mike Guggino (mandolin and harmony vocals), and Nicky Sanders (fiddle and harmony vocals).
         The Steep Canyon Rangers dig even deeper into a traditional bluegrass sound on Lovin' Pretty Women, but with a sophisticated twist. It's an album filled with the vim and vigor of a band in love with making music. The Rangers have written their own material since they first started jamming together in a stairwell on the campus of UNC. The group is blessed with artistic vision, a gift for songwriting and an intense desire to create their own unique sound. That's why the Rangers have been able to honor the bluegrass masters who came before them while nudging the genre forward in new and exciting ways.
         "Traditionally bluegrass bands have gotten by playing all the standards," says Sharp. "Most of those songs have all been done and they've been done really well. Why try to recreate something that you can't outdo? So that was our motivation, to just be original. It gave us the opportunity to figure out how to be unique within a format steeped in tradition."
         The new album showcases a band at the top of its game, whether dipping their banjos and guitars in the gospel water of "Be Still Moses" or telling stories from the coalmines in "Call The Captain" and "Cumberland Moon." The Rangers' compelling harmonies throughout are a testimony to the band's belief that the voice is as vital a musical instrument as anything with strings.
         Their super-tight harmonies and unique style caught the ear of legendary artist manager Don Light (Jimmy Buffet, Delbert McClinton, Keith Whitley, and the Oak Ridge Boys). Light built his reputation by spotting music visionaries early in their careers. He saw the same spark and intense desire in the Steep Canyon Rangers and signed on to manage their career.
         Together the Rangers and Light have been taking the band's music to an ever-widening audience. In fact, the Rangers export their uniquely American music across the Atlantic this year when they tour Europe for the first time.
         This fall they'll also be hosting the 2nd Annual Mountain Song Music Festival, a festival they started to benefit the Boys & Girls Club in Brevard, NC.
         Whether they're Lovin' Pretty Women or making new fans all over the world, there's one thing the Steep Canyon Rangers will definitely be doing-creating timeless acoustic music that honors tradition, while boldly moving it into the future.
         For hi-resolution images, listening tracks, as well as more supporting documents, please visit www.lotosnile.com and click MEDIA and ARTISTS. For review copies or interview requests, please hit reply.
SCR's Website
SCR's MySpace
For more information contact:
Kissy Black
Lotos Nile Media
P.O. Box 90245
Nashville, TN 37209
615.298.1144
kissyblack@lotosnile.com




BAKERSFIELD PAYS HOMAGE TO MERLE HAGGARD


Merle Haggard Drive

         Finally after many years the city of Bakersfield pays homage to Merle Haggard by erecting a sign in his honor. Known as Merle Haggard Drive the road is two and a half miles long connecting Hwy 99 to North Chester Avenue in Oildale which is the town Merle grew up in.







32ND OLD TIME COUNTRY & BLUEGRASS MUSIC FESTIVAL

IOWA'S 32ND OLD TIME COUNTRY & BLUEGRASS MUSIC FESTIVAL HOSTS MORE CELEBRITIES AND INTERNATIONAL PERFORMERS THAN EVER BEFORE

        Missouri Valley, Iowa.....Tucked away between the Loess Hills clay bluffs, and the Missouri River, is the rural hamlet of Missouri Valley, Iowa. Normally a quiet and serene pastoral village, come August 27th, it triples in size as traditional country music performers, fans, celebrities and heroes descend upon it, to not only play the great music of America's rural roots, but to listen to it, and to honor it.
        Started in 1976 as a Bicentennial celebration 32 years ago, this event has become the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River. It is not uncommon for as many as 600 singers, pickers, entertainers, performers, storytellers, dancers, and songwriters to find their way to this Midwest haven of old-time acoustic music and dance. They bring with them fans of 'authentic' country music, and 'bona fide' entertainers who play music going all the way back to the pioneers who settled these prairie lands and great plains. Sponsored by the National Traditional Country Music Association, and the Poneer Ag Expo, it has become a national, and an international focus, for what many describe, as the 'real deal' when it comes to America's legitimate country and bluegrass music.
        According to the NTCMA President, Bob Everhart, "We have been in existence since 1976, our primary purpose is to maintain country music as an identifiable American musical art form, by staying within established rules of recognizable characteristics of the music, maintaining principles and standards, and in our case keeping it acoustic and old time, much like it was in the past, and in pursuit of excellence. We not only perform it this way, we recognize those who have made generous and credible contributions to this musical genre. Each year, at our annual meeting, and the public festival (at the Harrison County Fairgrounds in Missouri Valley, Iowa), we honor those that have made these significant contributions. It is a week-long celebration of well over 600 performers, on no less than ten sound stages, all of it an acoustic format. Along with general traditional music we will be celebrating America's very own rural roots country music. It's a high-quality event, and includes other activities like the "Masters" workshops. Deeply intense and concentrated learning sessions offered by some of the best in the business. There are old-time country dances six of the seven nights, everything from a cowboy dance to a polka party, with instructors teaching everything from the two-step and clog-dance to the Virginia Reel and the waltz. Specially themed programs (over 250 of them throughout the week) share the diversity and huge variety that is to be found in America's rural roots music. But most important of all is this opportunity to "honor" those that have done so much for rural music and dance. That is the induction of these deserving people into "America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame."
        "It just simply blows us away that these celebrities that have given so much to this musical genre will still step out of retirement in some cases, and turn their tour bus toward Missouri Valley, Iowa, in others, to accept the honor the rural roots music fans of Iowa place upon them," says Bob Everhart, the curator of the Hall of Fame. "When we get the go-ahead from someone as notable and thouroughly authentic as Red Steagall, host of Cowboy Corner and currently holding the title of America's Number One Cowboy, it just makes us wonder what it is that we are doing that attracts these folks to our great upper Midwest."
        The only way into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame is to be nominated by someone already in the Hall of Fame. Each inductee gets one nomination. If an inductee does not nominate, or nominates someone deceased, that nomination reverts back to the President of the Association. The Hall of Fame is located in the typically small rural town of Anita, Iowa. Everhart remarks with humor, "I get a big kick out of telling folks, especially celebrities who come each year from Nashville, that I'm calling from the Hall of Fame which is located in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa. They enjoy their trip to Iowa, and they lend incredible authenticity to our festival."
        Topping the list of foreign guests this year is the Queen of Country Music from Ireland, Greta Elkin. Ms. Elkin came to the festival last year, and was so totally impressed with the music and the players of it, she recorded her first USA session at the R&H Studios in Underwood, Iowa. The CD has now been released internationally, and has already garnered a number of awards including "International Album of the Year" by the Rural Roots Music Commission.
        There are many other activities at the 7-day extravagant old-time music festival (August 27 through September 2) Everhart and his wife Sheila direct. "Free food the first four days is lots of fun," says Sheila. "We cook up 80 gallons of soup, steak soup on Monday, potluck on Tuesday, ham and beans on Wednesday, and cajun food on Thursday. All our visitors have to do is bring a bowl and dig in, until it's gone. Sometimes 80 gallons isn't enough."
        Fine country cookin' is a standard at this event. One of the most unique and original food offerings is the candle-light, Iowa corn-fed steak supper with all the trimmings, served while watching the main stage show activities. Some of the best country food in Iowa is available at a number of food outlets on the grounds. Alcohol and illicit drugs are prohibited at this event,making it a 'true' family oriented festival.
        "We also have contests for those who are still climbing the ladder in musical proficiency," says Sheila Everhart. "There are over 30 of them, in just about anything you can think of when you think of America's rural roots music. Lots of prizes, awards, ribbons, certificates, even cash is presented to the winners on Sunday night."
        The list of celebrities attending this year is pretty mind boggling too. Mel McDaniel ("Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On" and "Louisiana Saturday Night") on Monday; Charlie McCoy (Known as America's greatest harmonica player) on Monday; Red Steagall (Host of Cowboy Country, western swing music, and cowboy poetry) on Wednesday; Tommy Horton (son of Johnny Horton) on Saturday; Bobby G. Rice ("You Lay So Easy On My Mind") on Saturday; Jim Owen (Branson's Hank Williams Sr.) on Tuesday; Jim Murphy (one of the longest running traditional music performers in the northeast) from New Jersey on Wednesday; Jimmy Payne (wrote Woman Woman) on Thursday; The Morris Brothers from Georgia on Friday; Bobby Atkins (a Bluegrass Boy in the Bill Monroe Band) from NC on Saturday; Terry Smith (wrote Far Side Banks of Jordan) all week; adding to this about 25 performers from foreign countries to fill out the international flavor of what America's rural roots music sounds like coming back from it's homelands. Ramblin' Riversiders from England; Ben & Carmen Steneker from Holland; Greta Elkin from Ireland; Wolfe Milestone & Cheryl Marianne from British Columbia, Canada; Stew Clayton from Manitoba, Canada; and Gordon Wilcox from Toronto, Canada. The performers coming from New Zealand after the Everharts first visit there last fall is incredible. "I didn't realize how very dedicated and 'real' the New Zealanders are about American country music," says Bob Everhart. "At first we just thought we would invite a few that have made really significant contributions, but as we traveled around this beautiful country we began to realize how very dedicated and 'zealous' they are about America's country music."
        Heading the list of dignitaries coming from New Zealand is Ginny Peters, RCA Victor recording star, and songwriter of a number of all-time number one hits. On the list with her for New Zealand honors, is the Johnny Possum Good Time Hootin' Band. "The New Zealand "Queen of the Banjo" Jenny Blackadder, who plays an old rag-time style four-string tenor plectrum banjo is an act not to be missed," said Sheila when asked about the large number of participants from that country. "Marcie Fergusson of the famous Fergusson Sisters will be a special guest, as will be Helen and Ian Braithwaite, patrons of the New Zealand Country Music Hall of Fame. Anne George, promoter of a huge country music festival in Marton, New Zealand, and, from the south island of New Zealand, the Partridges, a father-daugher duet that is a knock-out on mandolin, guitar and old-style singing. Susan Crowe, a strong advocate of old-time style singing and preservationist of old-style New Zealand singing will also be visiting us in Missouri Valley, this year.
        The Everhart's contract for the festival to be held in Missouri Valley is up at the conclusion of this year's event. "It just seems impossible that five years have already sped by doing this event at Missouri Valley. We bring an incredible amount of money into a community. All of Missouri Valley's motels are full for the entire seven days. Even motels in Council Bluffs and Blair are filling up, although there are still rooms available in both of these towns. Restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, drug stores, clothing stores, automobile and RV repair shops, and even garage sales benefit from our convention. It's large, and seems to be growing larger all the time. We are always open to any suggestions as to where we might hold our 33rd annual National Old Time Country, Bluegrass, and American Rural Roots Music Festival & Contest, Pioneer Ag Expo, and Convention of American Dance."
        An authentic Native American Tipi Village, rounds out the full scope of all of America's traditional music, and with RV camping facilities with electric hook-ups on the grounds, this makes it one of the most delightful American music and dance experiences available today. More information is available from the NTCMA at P O Box 492, Anita, Iowa, 50020, or telephoning 712-762-4363, or e-mailing bobeverhart@yahoo.com



JIM MURPHY TO BE INDUCTED

JIM MURPHY TO BE FIRST NEW JERSEY ARTIST INDUCTED INTO OLD TIME COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME

        In recognition of his nearly 45-year involvement in the traditional country music realm, singer-songwriter Jim Murphy, of Brick Township NJ, will be inducted into "America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame" on August 28, 2007, during the National Traditional Country Music Association's (NTCMA) annual old time music festival held in Missouri Valley, Iowa. Murphy is the first artist from New Jersey to be recognized by the NTCMA, which has been inducting deserving artists since 1976 in recognition of their impact and significant contributions to this traditional genre.
        Murphy's professional affiliation with country music started in 1963 when he began hosting the "Country and Folk Concert" program on WJLK radio, Asbury Park, New Jersey.
        He formed his band, Jim Murphy and the Pine Barons, in 1969, focusing on authentic traditional country music presented in the bluegrass style. The group quickly gained a considerable following and remains a mainstay of the legendary Albert Music Hall, in Waretown, New Jersey, in the heart of the Pinelands.
        Songwriting has been a hallmark of Murphy's work. In 1998 he took home four awards from the Traditional Music Association (now merged with the NTCMA), including Album of the Year, for his CD, NewBilly Music. His latest recording, Go New Jersey, is devoted entirely to people, places and events in his beloved home state, with "Garden State Waltz" receiving wide airplay as a single.
        Yet another aspect of Murphy's multi-faceted music career is his interest in and devotion to the music and memory of Hank Williams. For ten years, Murphy served on the Board of Directors of the Hank Williams International Society; he remains active with that organization.
        The NTCMA serves 2,000 members, primarily rural folks - farmers, ranchers and "down home" country people - that have "a deep and abiding respect for America's great traditional country music," as its president, Bob Everhart, explained. In his letter to Murphy, Everhart stated that Murphy had "attained a high status as a performer of classic country music. It is this achievement that our rural folks wish to honor."
        Murphy joins this year's honorees which include Mel McDaniel and Charlie McCoy, plus more than two dozen others. The week-long festival will also feature a performance by Murphy. Among past inductees are such notables as Johnny and June Carter Cash, Jimmie Rodgers, Bill Monroe and Ernest Tubb, to name only a few. Under the auspices of the NTCMA, the Hall of Fame is housed in the Pioneer Music Museum, located in the middle of a corn field, in rural Anita, Iowa.
For more information about Jim Murphy, visit his web site,

For a closer look at the NTCMA, its museum, hall of fame and festival, go to oldtimemusic.bigstep.com
For interviews or more information, contact Jim Murphy, 732-892-1466 or jimmurpb@verizon.net.



"Lost" Johnny Cash Performance

"Lost" Johnny Cash performance on tap for summer
Fri Jun 15, 10:31 PM ET
        NEW YORK (Billboard) - Johnny Cash fans will soon have access to a new recording of the Man in Black, the 16th since his September 2003 death.
        "The Great Lost Performance," a 1990 Cash concert featuring duets with June Carter Cash and with singer Lucy Clark, will hit stores July from Universal Music.
        The 18-song banter-filled live album was recorded July 27, 1990, at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, N.J. Cash classics like "I Walk the Line" and "Folsom Prison Blues" are present and accounted for, the disc also features Johnny and Carter dueting on "Jackson" and "The Wreck of Old '97" and tracks "What is Man" and "Forty Shades of Green" with New Jersey native Clark.
        The most recent Cash release was "American V: Hundred Highways," the Rick Rubin-produced collection of Cash's final studio sessions, which made it to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in July 2006.
        Here is the track list for "The Great Lost Performance":
"Ring of Fire"
"Life's Railway to Heaven"
"Wonderful Time Up There"
"Folsom Prison Blues"
"Sunday Morning Coming Down"
"What Is Man"
"Forty Shades of Green"
"Come Along and Ride This Train"
"Five Feet High and Rising"
"Pickin' Time"
"A Beautiful Life"
"Hey Porter"
"Ragged Old Flag"
"Tennessee Flat Top Box"
"Ghost Riders in the Sky"
"Jackson"
"The Wreck of Old '97"
"I Walk the Line"



Ferlin Husky has leg surgery

Sat Jun 16 - NASHVILLE, Tenn.
        Country singer Ferlin Husky was resting in a Missouri hospital after surgery on his leg, his spokesman said.
        Doctors at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Mo., on Friday inserted a number of stents into the arteries in his left leg to aid his circulation, said Tracy Pitcox, president of Heart of Texas Records, Husky's label.
        Husky, 81, has been having problems with his legs for the past few months. Tests showed that arteries in both legs were nearly blocked.
        Surgery is planned on his right leg in the next two weeks.
        At the height of his career, Husky was a movie and TV star and recorded such hit songs as "Wings of a Dove," "Gone" and "Country Music Is Here to Stay."
        He made 18 movies with co-stars such as Jayne Mansfield ("Las Vegas Hillbillies" in 1966) and Zsa Zsa Gabor ("Country Music Holiday" in 1958).
        Husky, who also recorded under the names Terry Preston and Simon Crum, sold more than 20 million records, mostly in the 1950s and early 1960s.



Open Letter from Don Lummus

        Howdy.. My name is Don Lummus, from Henderson, Texas. I found your site while searching for info on Leon Payne. I forgot what year he had passed away, but remember it now after "refreshing" my memory on your site. I now have to figure out exactly who the "Leon Payne" is of whom I found a CD in our Record Files, recorded on "United States of Texas" Records a couple or three years back. There's a photo on the cover, but now I'm not sure who the photo is supposed to be! The title of the CD is "A Long Way Back To The Bandstand", and all the songs are really good Texas Swing type songs. I play it a lot on a portion of my daily radio program, "The Texas Twin Fiddle-Two-Steppin' Show" on KWRD Radio here in Henderson.
        I am one of two DJ's who work this station, and my on air shift if Monday thru Friday from 6am till noon. Our format is Traditional Country (with an emphasis on Country Legends), Southern Gospel, and a little Bluegrass.
        Since re-opening the station at the end of last year, the owner, Phillip Burr, has fairly well managed to get it up and running pretty sucessfully, and, (hopefully due to), hiring me to start working there a couple of months back, it has really been going great! We are the only radio station in Rusk County, and the 5000 watts of broadcast power covers quite a large area of surrounding East Texas, and parts of Louisiana. Our listening audience is very receptive to the fact that we play only "Real Country".. and are really supportive of our efforts.
        In addition to working as a DJ.. my "Main Focus" in life is as a Country Musician.. My wife, Sue, and I currently book as "Don & Sue, The Texas Two" in as many venues as we possibly can in and around East Texas ... playing what we refer to as "Texas Honky Tonk Dancehall Music". Together, we have combined experience in Music of over 60 years. (Yep.. we're "Seniors" ...in body only). Before Sue finally joined me on the stage about 20 years back, I worked Country Pickin' as my main and only true source of living ever since I was a teenager growing up in Houston and East Texas. I probably played, or sat in at, every live music Honky Tonk ever built in Houston in the 36 years I lived there ... and have worked with, or opened for, just about every "Country Legend" in the business during those years. I also (along with my wife) am a proud member of BMI and have about a hundred songs listed with them. I eat, sleep, and live for Traditonal Country/Texas Honky Tonk Music ... and will hopefully manage to croak my last note on a Texas Bandstand somewhere, but not too soon in the future please!
        If there is anything at all me and Susie can do to help you promote Country Music ... please let us know ... we're ready and willing ... and mostly able to do so! And.. if you know of anybody involved in Traditional Country who hasn't been receiving radio airplay lately ... tell 'em to contact me. I will get them back on Radio!
        Thanks.. and Keep It Country
Don Lummus
(Don & Sue, The Texas Two)
KWRD RADIO AM 1470
1101 Kilgore Drive
Henderson, TX 75654
903-655-7900 (Station Number)
903-404-0513 (our Cell)
www.donandsuelummus.com
info@donandsuelummus.com



Sammy Kershaw Announces Candidacy for Louisiana Lt. Governor

Kaplan, LA
        Speaking in his hometown of Kaplan, La, Sammy Kershaw ended weeks of speculation this morning and officially announced he will run as a Republican candidate for Lt. Governor of Louisiana.
        "I am proud to be a citizen of this state and I want to be a part of building its future. I'm committed to ensuring that the unique culture and proud heritage of this state is preserved and promoted," said Kershaw.
        Kershaw is running to bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to help move Louisiana forward at a time when strong leadership is critical.
        "I am not afraid to make difficult decisions. I know that with leadership comes responsibility. For the past 20 years I have taken care of my employees and their families and have learned that leadership means personal sacrifice. It means putting the needs of others before your own. I am going to bring that same mentality to Baton Rouge. As Commissioner of the Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, I will bring the entire experience of my career. I will lead the effort of expanding Louisiana's reach and creating economic diversification through what is uniquely ours."
        As Lt. Governor, some of Kershaw's top priorities include:
        * Making the entertainment industry a viable source of economic development in Louisiana.
        * Creating education programs that will train a sustainable labor force for this industry.
        * Ensuring that the people, places and culture of Louisiana are truly made a top priority within the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.
        * Creating a program to promote the diversification of our natural settings to capitalize on the "sportsman's paradise."
        "I am excited about the positive change I know I can effect, but none of these things will happen until we change the outside perception of Louisiana. I want the people of this state to know that am going to be part of a reform movement that begins with strengthening our ethic laws. I will support any effort to make government more transparent. We've lost too many businesses to competing states because they are afraid to fall victim to 'politics as usual' in Louisiana. I am going to help revitalize our state and we are going to change our image."
        Sammy Kershaw is known for being one of country music's most talented artists with a Cajun kick. Since his debut in 1991, he has had platinum and gold records, but no amount of success has been able to tear him away from his Louisiana roots. He and wife, Lorrie Morgan, have seven children and two grandchildren.

www.sammykershaw.com



SPARKLE & TWANG:
MARTY STUART'S AMERICAN MUSICAL ODYSSEY

        Shake, Rattle and Roll on down to the Tennessee State Museum at 5th and Deaderick to see the new FREE exhibit entitled SPARKLE & TWANG: MARTY STUART'S AMERICAN MUSICAL ODYSSEY. Noe open, this exhibition features treasures from the late Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Sr., Patsy Cline, Elvis, Lester Flatt and other notable celebrities in the field of country, rockabilly, bluegrass and Southern gospel. This uniquely American premiere collection illustrates the impact of fashion and music on popular culture in the U.S. as revealed through performance costumes, accessories, hand-written lyrics, personal letters, instruments and unpublished photographs. Continuing through Nov. 11, 2007, the exhibition is a culmination of Stuart's nationwide celebration of the past, present and future of country music.
        The Museum is in downtown Nashville and is open Tuesday - Saturday from 10 AM until 5 PM and on Sunday from 1 until 5 PM. For more information, please call (615) 741-2692.



Riders In The Sky Celebrate Centennial Salute To Gene Autry
America's Favorite Cowboys, Riders In The Sky, Pay Tribute To Public Cowboy #1 With National Tour & Album Re-release

        Nashville, Tenn.-"Public Cowboy #1" Gene Autry would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. Riders In The Sky, the modern day standard bearers of the grand and sweeping western music tradition that Autry popularized, are seizing the opportunity to celebrate the singing cowboy's life and music with a "Centennial Salute to Gene Autry!" The nearly year long festivities include a national tour and the re-release of their 1996 album, Public Cowboy #1: The Music of Gene Autry. Additionally, Riders In The Sky are guest artists on the tribute album Boots Too Big to Fill: A Tribute to Gene Autry (also featuring Vince Gill, Randy Owen, Glen Campbell, Charlie Daniels, and Pam Tillis). To commemorate this 100th birthday celebration, Riders In The Sky are also offering a brand new, limited edition poster on their website that features both Autry and the Riders in an old-style western movie poster design.
        "Paying tribute to Gene on the 100th anniversary of his birth is certainly The Cowboy Way," said Too Slim, the Riders' bespectacled bunkhouse bassman. "He was the first to embody Hollywood's unique melding of music, adventure and that most American of cultural icons, the cowboy."
        Ranger Doug added, "Gene Autry blazed the trail for Roy and Tex and Rex and eventually us. It's an honor to tip our huge hats to him every night in our show."
        The centennial celebration kicked off on May 24 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum with Ranger Doug performing some of Autry's music and Holly George-Warren reading from her biography, Public Cowboy #1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry. Ranger Doug also signed copies of his books Singing Cowboys and Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy.
        Then the Riders hit the road to rekindle the romance with America that Autry created through his singing cowboy persona that made him a star of radio, film and television. The Centennial Salute To Gene Autry Tour lands at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles July 2-4. The Riders will team with the LA Philharmonic to present some of Autry's most beloved hits including "Back in the Saddle Again" and "Ghost Riders in the Sky."
        Too Slim has seen first hand the impact of Autry's music on generations of fans. "Gene's music has a timeless quality. But don't ask me. Ask the folks every night at our shows who remember 'Back in the Saddle Again' and 'Silver Haired Daddy of Mine' and get misty-eyed and come up after the show and thank us so emotionally for keeping the tradition alive. Or ask the young whippersnappers who are hearing these tunes for the first time and saying 'This music is cool.'"
        The tour makes a timely stop in Gene Autry, Oklahoma on September 29 (Autry's birthday) where the Riders will perform at the Gene Autry Film & Music Festival.
        Music was always at the core of everything that Autry did. His authentic, folksy singing style and affable personality made him the type of recording and film star that resonated with Americans of all walks of life. Fans old and new can now experience the magic of his music with the upcoming re-release of the Riders' Public Cowboy #1: The Music of Gene Autry album. This new version of an old favorite comes out in July on Rounder Records. It's been re-mastered and expanded with four bonus cuts and new liner notes by "Idol of American Youth" Ranger Doug.


Tour Dates:
Fri 6/15/07,7:00 PM
West Plains, Missouri
Court Square Old Time Music Ozark Heritage Festival Court

Sat 6/16/07, 3:00 PM
Draffenville, Kentucky
Kentucky Opry

Sat 6/16/07, 8:00 PM
Draffenville, Kentucky
Kentucky Opry

Sun 6/17/07, 7:00 PM
Brentwood, Tennessee
Eddy Arnold Amphitheatre

Thu 6/21/07, 8:00 PM
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Strings Music Tent

Fri 6/22/07, 4:30 PM
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Strings Music Tent FREE show!

Fri 6/22/07, 6:00 PM
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Strings Music Tent FREE show!

Sat 6/23/07, 7:30 PM
Breckenridge, Colorado
Breckenridge Music Festival: Riverwalk Center

Sun 6/24/07, 6:00 PM
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Paolo Soleri Amphitheatre

Wed 6/27/07, 7:00 PM
Lakewood, Colorado
Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Amphitheater

Mon 7/2/07, 7:30 PM
Los Angeles, California
Hollywood Bowl, Special performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Tue 7/3/07, 7:30 PM
Los Angeles, California
Hollywood Bowl, Special performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Wed 7/4/07, 7:30 PM
Los Angeles, California
Hollywood Bowl, Special performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Fri 7/20/07, 8:00 PM
Napa, California
Napa Valley Opera House

Tue 7/24/07, 8:00 PM
Layton, Utah
Kenley Centennial Amphitheater, Pioneer Days Celebration!

Wed 7/25/07, 7:00 PM
Manhattan, New York
Rockefeller Park: River to River Festival

Sat 7/28/07, 8:00 PM
Jacksonville, Oregon
Britt Festivals: Britt Pavilion

For more information contact:
Kissy Black
Lisa Milburn
Lotos Nile Media
P.O. Box 90245
Nashville, TN 37209
615.298.1144
kissyblack@lotosnile.com
lisa@lotosnile.com



Bluegrass Bash 2007

        To be held August 2nd 4th at Medford, Wisconsin. Appearing: Cornmeal, DeWaybe Bros., Wayward Sons, Beef Slough Boys, Cedar Town Boys, Deep Fried Grass, Pickin' Up Steam, 357 String Band and many other bands to be announced. Presented by Funny Farm Productions, PO Box 12764, Green Bay, WI 54307. FunnyFarmPro@aol.com - http://www.funnyfarmproductions.bizland.com.



Midnite Jamboree 60th Anniversary
Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree 60th Anniversary Celebration
        NASHVILLE - It's Ernest Tubb Record Shops and Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree's 60th Anniversary Celebration ...and ... the 3,143rd consecutive broadcast on WSM at Texas Troubadour Theatre on May 5, 2007.
        Reception at 10:00 PM - 11:20 PM. Grand Ole Opry star, Jeannie Seely will be the hostess with special guests: a reunion of 1960's Texas Troubadour's Buddy Charleton, Don Mills, Junior Pruneda, Leon Rhodes and Steve Chapman The show will go on the air at 11:30 PM.
        If you are unable to attend, they would appreciate hearing from you. Your message will be aired that night on the Midnite Jamboree. A letter, email or audio (cd format only) if you can provide. Please help celebrate milestone of a world-wide country music institution. RSVP: David McCormick, P.O. Box 500, Nashville, Tennessee 37202, (615) 232-2288 - davidmcc@comcast.net



R.O.P.E.'s Annual Spectacular Summer Show

        NASHVILLE - Once again, America's favorite organization is holding its Spectacular Summer Show on June 7, 2007, at the Nashville Nightlife, 2620 Music Valley Drive, Nashville, TN. The show will start at 7:30 p.m. and will feature great country music stars like, CHARLIE LOUVIN, RAZZY BAILEY, STONEWALL JACKSON and JEANNIE SEELY. If that isn't enough, there will be a special "TRIBUTE TO THE GREAT STEEL GUITAR PLAYERS" and "Surprise Special Guests" to add to the entertainment.
        But it doesn't stop there either. For the first time, booths will be set up in the lobby of the Nightlife. Fans will enjoy getting their pictures with famous R.O.P.E. members, get autographs, buy music, books, jewelry, crafts and also visit the R.O.P.E. Booth for more items! And, as always, the Nashville Nightlife offers delicious refreshments.
        This is a night for the whole family to enjoy and bargain priced to boot. Adults are just $20 per person and children, ages 6-12 are only $10.00 each. Call Leslie Elliott early for tickets ... only limited seating is available at number 615-860-9257.
        Mail: IFCO, P.O. Box 40328, Nashville, TN 37204-0328



Hit Songwriter Glenn Sutton, 69, dies

        Glenn Sutton, the Grammy-winning songwriter who also produced Lynn Anderson's classic "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden," died Tuesday, April 17, 2007 of an apparent heart attack. He was 69.
        Born in Hodge, La., Mr. Sutton is responsible for writing or co-writing a slew of country hits, and he and frequent collaborator Billy Sherrill helped bring the smooth, piano-heavy "countrypolitan" sound into favor in the 1970s. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999.
        Mr. Sutton's "Almost Persuaded," co-written with Sherrill, was a massive hit for David Houston in 1966. "Almost Persuaded" was Mr. Sutton's first No. 1 country single. It won a best country song Grammy and a country song of the year prize from performing rights organization BMI, and also was recorded by luminaries including George Jones, Don Gibson, Freddy Fender, Merle Haggard and Tammy Wynette.
        Mr. Sutton wrote or co-wrote other key country hits, such as Wynette's yearning "I Don't Want To Play House," Jerry Lee Lewis' "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made A Loser Out Of Me)" and the stomping kiss-off "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," a hit for Wynette.
        When he wasn't writing songs for others, Mr. Sutton spent a lot of time finding material and producing artists for Epic Records, where he served as an associate producer. In addition to his work with Anderson, his wife of nine years, he produced Tommy Cash, Jim & Jesse, Bob Luman and others.
        Along Music Row, Mr. Sutton was known for a sense of humor that helped him to write songs, to entertain his friends and to keep recording sessions loose and friendly.

- Courtesy The Tennessean, Peter Cooper and Ryan Underwood



TRAVIS LeDOYT SELLS OUT IN UK

Thurso Concert Attracts 1500 +
        [Nashville, TN] -- Travis LeDoyt, who has been called "the best young Elvis in the world," lived up to his reputation Saturday night in a standing-room-only, two-encore performance at the Northern Nashville Caithness Country Music Festival in Thurso, Scotland. Taking his audience back to the 1950's, LeDoyt and his Nashville-based band blew through hits like "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel" and "Jailhouse Rock" and strolled through the audience crooning tunes like "Love Me Tender" and "It's Now Or Never." The show concluded with two standing ovations and two encores from the sell-out crowd of more than 1500. According to one festival official, "We had to lock the doors."
        LeDoyt has performed extensively across the US and around the world in China, Chile, Scotland, England, Mexico and Canada where he typically receives the same response as he did this past weekend. His uncanny likeness to Elvis Presley in looks, vocal style and stage performance has garnered him a feature spot in the New York Times and the title of "World's Best Young Elvis" among people who have worked with Elvis Presley, and even more flattering, from Presley fans.
        LeDoyt has been experiencing great success over the past year being one of the featured entertainers at Harrah's properties all across the United States as well as other name casino chains, cruise ships, arts centers and festivals.
        To those people who think they have seen it all when it comes to Elvis Presley tribute acts, this is the one that makes them do a double-take. There is simply no way to describe LeDoyt and his performance except unbelievable.
        LeDoyt, who is based in Nashville, flawlessly captures the essence of Elvis in his prime, and restricts his shows to the hits and ambience of 1954-1962. Utilizing an outstanding three-piece Nashville band featuring electric bass, guitar, and drums, LeDoyt takes his audience back to a very believable 1950's concert. For those who missed an Elvis concert during those years, it is a chance to relive that exciting and wonderful era. For interviews or other information, please contact Dick McVey in Nashville at 615-264-3637.
All Star Publicity
9 Music Square South * PMB 177 * Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: 615-264-3637 * Email: dickmcvey@comcast.net



Traditional Country Entertainer J. K. Coltrain to Host The Country Caravan

        J. K. Coltrain will be heading up a traveling show featuring some of the top traditional country artists of today.
        Princeton, TX, April 4th, 2007 - Traditional country great J. K. Coltrain will be heading up a tour featuring some of todays greatest old school country singers. There will be at least 2 bands and 7 artists including 2 traditional hall of famers performing each show. J. K. says: "It's the real country music fans dream come true as all the artists are banding together to do it for the music and not the money. So ticket prices will be kept extremely low so that the common man can bring the whole family out without breaking the bank."
        Their first scheduled stop will be in Salemburg, NC at The Laurel Lakes Family Campground and tickets for that event have already went up for sale on The Country Caravans website at just $15.00 for 6 hours of non-stop traditional country & bluegrass music.
        For more info or to order your tickets today go to: http://www.countrycaravan.com or send an email to: tickets@jkcoltrain.com

Contact Information
The Country Caravan
Solange Lavender
(972)-734-3034
imdreamweaver@msn.com
http://www.countrycaravan.com





Country Jack

        Wilburn Brothers hometown tribute: Hardy, Arkansas: May 26th: the songs that made them household names. Come see why mama Wilburn was so proud of her boys and why her boys were so proud of Hardy, Arkansas. come see the dedication of the new sign "hardy, arkansas, the proud hometown of teddy & doyle, the wilburn brothers" Share the history and the music of the all time #1 brother & family act of country music the Hardy Arkansas Chamber of Commerce and the office of the Mayor, Hardy, Arkansas, 870-856-2136. countryjack@bellsouth.net



"YOU BE THE STAR" Show

May 5, 2007 6:00 PM
Anson, Texas Opera House will be hosting and Traditional Country Music Foundation, Inc. will be directing this show. The TCMF house band will be performing and backing those that wish to be backed by the band.
Admission: Adults $5.00 Under 12 $3.00. Performers do not pay, but friends, family, guest must. This is how we recover some of our expenses!
If you think you sound like a traditional country artist, prior to 1980 then this show is for YOU! It would be a plus if you also look like that artist. If you qualify to perform on the show, you MUST dress like the star you will pay tribute to.
No one is ever paid for their performance or travel expenses in these shows!

Audition rules

Send a CD or tape of yourself singing three (3) songs of the artist you sound like. It does NOT need to be studio quality. Just a clear recording!
Include a recent photo of yourself and print your name on the back of your photo.
VERY IMPORTANT you MUST print this information on the CD or Tape Your name, phone number, email address (if you have one).

Title of the songs

If you wish to sing with band (add the key's you sing the songs in at the side of each song). Otherwise you may sing with your own sound tracks! Mail your audition CD's/Tapes to:
TCMF Legends
PO Box 57
Collinsville, Illinois 62234
If you have a printer, you can put your information on address labels and put on your CD or Tape.
If 2 or more auditon CD's or tapes are performing the same artist, we will choose the one that sounds most like that artist. We will NOT allow two (2) of the same artist on a show.

Deadline for all audition CD's/Tapes is April 14, 2007. All who are accepted will be notified on April 21, 2007. If you DO NOT have your information on the CD/Tape, you will NOT be considered for the performance. If you have your own CD's or tapes for sale you may bring them to the show to sell if you are chosen to be on the show.

We are looking forward to this being the BEST show around!!! And hope to make it a yearly show!!!
If you have any questions, or need more info contact:
Maggie: 618-792-3335
traditionalcountrymusicfoundation.com



J. K. Coltrain - Country Caravan
        I have assembled a fine group of traditional country entertainers and we are trying to return to the days of the old traveling country shows like The Midwestern & Louisiana Hayrides and such. So I wanted you to help me get the word out and if you are a traditional country artists and would like to perform at one of our shows. Not much if any money but we are making a lotta friends. The website is at; www. countrycaravan.com. All The Best, J. K. Coltrain - jkcoltrain@gmail.com or www.jkcoltrain.com




The Collaboration of John Prine and Mac Wiseman
        Nashville, TN - When two titans of industry join forces the results can be groundbreaking. If that industry is the music industry, and the titans are legendary songwriter John Prine and bluegrass genius Mac Wiseman, the results are groundbreaking, breathtaking and heartwarming. Prine and Wiseman joined forces to release, "Standard Songs for Average People", a duets album of classic American songs. It's an album so full of charm and humanity only John Prine would have the courage to record it. It releases April 24th on Prine's Oh Boy Record label. Concurrently, Prine's Oh Boy label is partnering with Shout! Factory to release the new "Live On Soundstage 1980" DVD.
        The genesis of the album came from an unlikely source - songwriter and producer Cowboy Jack Clement. He suggested Prine sing with Wiseman several years ago. Prine eventually contacted Wiseman, and the two spent time talking about music. It went so well they decided to each make a list of songs they'd like to record with no parameters on style, genre or age. When they reunited to compare lists, they were amazed to discover there were seven songs in common on their lists. It was all the impetus they needed to record a full on duets album.
        "Standard Songs of Average People" is filled with great American songs; some well known, some less so. Each track on the record, however, shares an innate humanity and emotional directness that binds them together into a poignant thematic collection. Prine and Wiseman put their own stamp on Lefty Frizzell's hit "Saginaw Michigan", and Tom T. Hall's beloved "Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine". Other standouts include Kris Kristofferson's "Just the Other Side of Nowhere" and the old standard "Where the Blue of the Night", made famous by Bing Cosby.
        The album comes as Prine in hitting a creative and commercial peak. He picked up his second Grammy Award for his previous studio album, "Fair and Square", and recently crossed the million sales mark for albums sold on Oh Boy Records, the label he co-owns with longtime manager Al Bunetta.
        Prine is in a collaborative mood these days. He and Oh Boy have teamed up with Shout! Factory, a multiplatform integrated entertainment company that focused on audio music catalog development and home video/DVD projects. They've joined forces to release, John Prine "Live at Soundstage 1980", a DVD that captures Prine's celebrated concert for the PBS show soundstage. The DVD also features interviews with Prine as he tours his childhood hometown of Maywood, Illinois. The DVD releases March 27, 2007, but preorders are available now at www. musicfansdirect.com.



Silver Star Families of America awards Music artist TOMMY RIDDLE with the Silver Star Banner
        SSFOA has awarded Music Legend Tommy Riddle with the Silver Star Banner for his military service and support of our Wounded Heroes with his new CD, Three Screaming Eagles. It is a compilation of original writings by several artists, narrated by Tommy. He hopes to distribute to all our troops everywhere. Riddle was inducted into the Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame August 28, 2006.
        Riddle stated, What I am doing with my new narration CD, is to support the troops of America. I pray that the radio stations will support me on this CD, it is for a good cause, I hope to sell a lot of CD's, of "THREE SCREAMING EAGLES" ,so I can send them to the fighting men and women in this War. I need everybody's support to do this. God has led me to do this, so I am stepping out on faith to accomplish it and I thank the Families of America for their help.
        SSFOA, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit public charity organization was incorporated/founded in the state of Missouri December 2005 by Chief (Ret) Steven Newton of Clever, Missouri. The organization's primary mission is to honor the courageous efforts of each wounded hero (current and past) through the presentation of the Silver Star Banner and Certificate of Recognition. In addition, SSFOA sends care packages consisting of items of books, CD/DVDs, playing cards, phone cards, and toiletries to our wounded in Military Support Hospitals of Walter Reed in DC, Brooke Army Medical Center in TX, and the Balboa Naval Medical Center in CA, plus the Army medical center in Lundstahl, Germany, and Combat Surgical Support Hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan. SSFOA operates with volunteers and obtains the Silver Star banners/flags via donations from the public. All donations to SSFOA are fully tax deductible as allowed by tax law and the organization recommends you discuss with your tax advisor.
        The Silver Star Banner is presented to a wounded hero and/or a fallen hero designated family member whether they are eligible for other military awards and medals or not. For many years we have had a Blue Star banner/flag for those who serve or have served in current and past conflicts/wars and the Gold Star banner/flag for those who have paid the ultimate price. According to Steve Newton, founder of SSFOA, there was a gap between the two banners which needed to be filled so that our wounded heroes (past, present, and future) are never forgotten. SSFOA defines wounded as military service members either currently serving honorably or those who have honorably served in the past who receive medical treatment or are diagnosed with an impairment which hs altered or will alter that person physically or mentally, to included, but not limited to "Wounded in Action", non-hostile injuries during deployment, or "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" (PTSD).
        For more information on SSFOA or to make a donation or purchase Tommy Riddle CD please visit www.silverstarfamilies.org. Please remember to support our troops, past present and future. Tommy Riddle - tcr27@cox,net



Honorary Doctorate for Loretta Lynn
        Soon you can call her the coal miner's doctor. Loretta Lynn is slated to receive an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music during her March 17 performance at the Grand Ole Opry.
        The honor from the Boston college puts the 71-year-old Lynn into a select group of recording artists that includes Duke Ellington, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Sting and Sarah Vaughan.
        "Loretta Lynn's songs have squarely addressed real-life situations faced by many women, and she's used her artistry to deal openly with themes like loyalty, divorce, desire and women's role in society before others in country music," Berklee President Roger Brown said in a release Wednesday.
        Lynn's many hits include "Coal Miner's Daughter," "You Ain't Woman Enough" and "The Pill."
        Since beginning her career in 1960, the Butcher Hollow, Ky., native has written more than 160 songs and released 70 albums, 17 of which have gone to No. 1.
        In 1972, she was the first woman ever named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association. She's won three Grammy Awards, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003.
        Her most recent record is 2004's "Van Lear Rose," which she recorded with the White Stripes' Jack White.



REMEMBERING PATSY CLINE 2007
        Dear Customers & Patsy Cline Fans:
        Every year we honor Patsy Cline with two events. This year, Sunday, Mrch 4th will be 44 years since the tragic plane crash. Oyr schedule for this year's events is below. Please come out and help us remember a country music legend.
        Friday, March 2nd We invite all singers to come sing karaoke with Mike Hicks & his Hot Licks from 9pm-12am. Everyone welcome to pay tribute to Patsy Cline.
        Saturday, March 3rd Live band from 9pm-12am
        Sunday, March 4th Watch the Patsy Cline videos, view scrapbooks & listen to Patsy Cline music. Annual meal & party starts at 1 pm until ?. Music by many musicians & singers. All musicians & singers are welcome to come out for a big jam session. Bring a covered dish, the Troubadour will furnish the meats. It is all free except for drinks.
        Don't forget our second event, which will be held Labor Day weekend, September 1st & 2nd.
        Hope to see everyone there.
Thanks,
Jim McCoy

The Troubadour
25 Troubadour Lane
Berkeley Springs, WV 25411
304.258.9381

mccoytroubadour@aol.com
www.troubadourlounge.com



Jamboree-by-the-Lake
        Colonel Buster Doss presents Jamboree-by-the-Lake August 31, September 1 and 2, 2007! Open to all independent artists, DJs, promoters, record labels, etc. WORLDWIDE! Held at the Winchester City Park in Winchester, Tennessee.
        As we all know Rome was not built in a day, and neither was FanFair (just ask the Johnson sisters!) Last year the weather did not cooperate with us and that is the reason for the change in date. The weather will be MUCH better this year and as it is a holiday weekend here in the States many artists who have other commitments will have that Monday off to use for traveling.
        Some changes this year: There will not be a gospel stage nor a tracks stage! All performers will be performing on the main stage. You may perform any style of music during your time slot. The jamboree will also not start until Friday nite about 6 p.m. and will kick off the nite with bands only. Track singers will be performing during the day on Saturday and Sunday and bands starting about 5 or 6 p.m. until about 10 p.m. Sound system will be supplied as we have done in the previous years.
        Also, track singers will be given 30 minutes time, just like the bands. So in saying this, then you know the amount of artists will be cut back from previous years. We felt it best to give the artists more time to make it worth their travel and to provide the people with QUALITY instead of QUANTITY.
        Artists--there will be a place for you to set up your product for sale. Just like FanFair, there will be one place where ALL the artists will be where people can come meet and greet you. In that same area there will be space for ANY DJ who would like to do a remote or interview the artists, etc.
        ATTENTION RECORD COMPANIES, STUDIOS, PROMOTERS: There will be space for you to have a booth as well to promote your company or your artists.
        There will also be a small program that will be handed out to everyone that will have some pictures of the artists, schedule, etc. We will be selling ad space in this program if you would like to get your name out there. The price of the ads is on the jamboree website.
        We are also working on a "Pickin on the Porch" stage. We are contacting a local company here who had the log gazebo from last year and there will be a small sound system set there for any person who would like to just "pick on the porch." No tracks on this stage. More like a guitar pulll for those who enjoyed having one last year in the pavilion. Just a place to "pick on the porch" with friends.
        ARTISTS: ALL ARTISTS MUST SUBMIT AN APPLICATION WHICH CAN BE FOUND at http://www.jamboree-by-the-lake.com website. There is a deadline date of April 28, 2007 for these submissions. There will be a committee designated to listen to each and every application and make the final decisions on the artists performing. This will also allow time to set a schedule so you know well in advance when you are performing. You must be available during the whole weekend as the timeslots will be drawn from a hat. It is the only fair way we can decide who is performing when. Once we have the timeslots drawn, we will contact each artist.
        We have already received emails from artists, djs and promoters who are already planning on attending. Remember, it will not work unless WE ALL work together. A wise man once told me, "a stick can be broken, but try breaking a bundle!"
        Barbara Doss, CEO
        Col. Buster Doss Music Group
        www.jamboree-by-the-lake.com
        cbd@vallnet.com



Calif. city to honor Merle Haggard by naming street for him
Associated Press
        02/08/07 - OILDALE, Calif. — Merle Haggard, the “Okie from Muskogee” with “Workin' Man Blues,” will be honored with a street bearing his name in the town where he spent his boyhood years.
        A two-mile stretch of road in the small community north of Bakersfield will be renamed “Merle Haggard Drive” after the Country Music Hall of Famer.
        “It will help the community so much. There's a turnaround going on,” said Oildale resident Jan Gary.
        Bakersfield and Oildale officials fought for months over who would get to name a street after Haggard, 69, who is credited with helping define country music's “Bakersfield sound” along with the late Buck Owens.
        The new Merle Haggard Drive will run along 7th Standard Road between Highway 99 and North Chester Avenue, near Haggard's childhood home.
        Merle recently did two shows in the Bakersfield area to help cover the cost of this project.



Grand Ole Opry Says Singer's Age Discrimination Suit is Groundless
        02/10/07 - Grand Ole Opry singer Stonewall Jackson's claims that the long-running radio show discriminated against him because of his age are false, and his lawsuit against the show and its manager should be dismissed, the Opry's owner said in court documents.
        "There is no age discrimination in Opry scheduling relating to Stonewall Jackson or anyone else," Gaylord Entertainment Co. said in papers filed Thursday. "Every action taken by Gaylord or Fisher with regard to Jackson was for a legitimate business purpose, not for any improper purpose, and was based on reasonable factors other than age."
        Jackson, 74, filed the federal lawsuit last month against Gaylord Entertainment and Opry General Manager Pete Fisher, claiming age discrimination, breach of contract and retaliation. He's seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.
        Jackson, who has been a member of the show since 1956, had a string of hits in the 1950s and '60s, including the No. 1's "Waterloo" and "B.J. the D.J."
        He claims his Opry appearances declined after Fisher was hired in 1998.
        Jackson said he approached Fisher on several occasions and was told things like, "I don't want any gray hairs on that stage or in the audience, and before I'm done there won't be any" and "You're too old and too country."
        Gaylord said Fisher never made the statements and never tried to eliminate older stars, many of whom remain Opry regulars.
        Jackson further alleged in his lawsuit that the reduction in appearances violated the Opry's union contract with The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He also said it breached a long-standing agreement between the Opry and its stars that in exchange for performing at least 26 times a year - even during the height of their careers when they could make much more money playing tour dates - they could always remain an Opry member.
        But Gaylord Entertainment said that while Jackson is a member of the Opry, he has never been an employee of Gaylord.



HANK WILLIAMS, JR. LOGO GUITARS AVAILABLE
        02/08/07 - The limited edition Copley guitar is up for sale exclusively for fans. Copley Musical Instrument Company has created an acoustic guitar exclusively for the Hank Williams, Jr. fan.
        The limited edition acoustic guitar, engraved with the Hank Jr. logo and created with superior craftsmanship, contains a 20 fret rosewood fingerboard, an adjustable neck and sealed tuners. The full-sized six-string guitar has a top consisting of laminated spruce; the back and sides of the guitar sport exotic rosewood with inlaid bindings.
        The guitar is priced at $299.95 and includes a hard shell carrying case. For more information and to purchase this unique item to enhance your collection, visit www.hankjr.com/merchandise
        Fans can catch Hank Williams Jr on the road starting in April with Lynyrd Skynyrd as the two acts will co-headline "The Rowdy Frynds Tour" with special guests 38 Special. Tour dates and information available at www.hankjr.com



Harmonica Great Terry McMillan Dies
        Terry McMillan, a versatile musician who recorded with many of Nashville's greatest stars, died Friday, Febraury 2, 207, in Sevierville, Tenn. He was 53 and had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia.
        Mr. McMillan was mentored by Country Music Hall of Famer Chet Atkins, who hired him for his road band in 1975 and who encouraged him to develop a harmonica style that would be adaptable to blues, country and rock music.
        In addition to his harmonica work, Mr. McMillan was a talented percussionist. His skills on those seemingly dissimilar instruments allowed him to become an in-demand studio instrumentalist. Like fellow harmonica ace Charlie McCoy, Mr. McMillan could switch tones, tempos and instruments as a song warranted.
        George Jones, Merle Haggard, Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, Roy Orbison, Kenny Chesney, Emmylou Harris, J.J. Cale, Neil Young, Mark Knopfler, Waylon Jennings, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood were some of the artists who chose to work with Mr. McMillan.
        He contributed to classic albums including Haggard's That's The Way Love Goes and Travis' Storms of Life.
        A funeral service will be held on Wednesday in Sevierville. Mr. McMillan is survived by his wife, three children, his brother and his father.



Wisconsin Musician Bill Jorgenson RIP
        Door County bluegrass musician Bill Jorgenson died February 5, 2007 morning at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay. He was 76.
        Called "The Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass" by the legendary Bill Monroe, Jorgenson suffered a stroke at his log cabin home outside of Sturgeon Bay on Friday and never regained consciousness, said close friend Rob Billings.
        A guitar player since he was 12, Jorgenson also played fiddle, banjo, mandolin, ukulele and bass. His rich musical history crossed paths with countless greats through the decades, including Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, John Denver and Alison Krauss. It was Monroe who first anointed Jorgenson ’ "The Father of Wisconsin Bluegrass" after the two played together in northern Wisconsin in the 1980s. It was a title that the gentle, humble Jorgenson was hesitant to embrace.
        Jorgenson, who released eight CDs in 27 countries, was well-known in Northeastern Wisconsin for his Bluegrass in the Schools Program. Just last month, he played his 91st school, Emmeline Cook Elementary School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and passed the milestone of 20,000 children.
        Jorgenson's fourth annual bluegrass festival at Heritage Farm near Kewaunee is expected to go on June 8 to 10 in his honor. A special tribute will be planned.
        Jorgenson is survived by a daughter, Jenni Jorgenson, and three grandchildren.



Yodeling for 40 Years
        Yodeling! You either love it or you don't! This 2-disc set features a combination of studio cuts, live performances, and demo sessions of 50 of more than 80 yodeling songs written and composed by Mike Johnson. Including some of his popular wordless yodeling songs like "Black Yodel No. 1," "Coyote Yodel," "Yodel Roundup," and "Wild Horse Yodel." You'll journey with Mike from his raw yodeling beginnings to the versatility that established him as Country Music's No. 1 Black Yodeler. The 8-page booklet gives you an insight on how this project came about, a brief background on the songs, the dates they were written, and several interesting photographs from Mike's varied background. Releasedate: 30 January 2007 on Roughshod Records http://hometown.aol.com/blackyodelno1/roughshodrecordstore.html.



Wayne Fleming R.I.P.
        Wayne Fleming, who played steel guitar on some of Ernest Tubb's biggest hits, died Tuesday, December 19, 2006 following a courageous battle with Parkinson's disease, at age 86, in Roanoke, Va. An accomplished musician who played several instruments, his first love was Hawaiian music and the steel guitar. After Army service in World War Two, he joined Tubb's band, the Texas Troubadors, and played on the 1947 hit recordings "Filipino Baby", "Drivin' Nails In My Coffin" and "Rainbow at Midnight". While with Tubb, Wayne played on the Grand Ole Opry and backed Tubb during the early days of the Midnight Jamboree from Tubb's Record Shop. He also played bass in the Stylist Orchestra big band for a time.
        Settling down back in Roanoke, Wayne pursued a very successful career as a test engineer for General Electric, while continuing to play steel guitar, with his own band, Wayne Fleming and Friends, and most recently in the Cundiff Bluegrass Boys, a group that regularly met to play in the low key setting of Cundiff's Drugstore in Vinton, Va. He also used his electronic expertise to build and operate his own ham radio gear (W4YKK). Wayne is survived by his wife of 58 years, Evangeline S. Fleming, a married daughter and son, grandchildren and great- grandchildren.



'Big Bill' Johnson Dies
        By Josh Suiter, The Courier-Journal - William "Big Bill" Joseph Johnson, who penned several songs about Louisville -- including "Where Were You When the Sewers Blew?" -- died Saturday (Dec. 6, 2006) at his home in Greenville, Texas. He had battled cancer and heart complications.
        Johnson, who was 6 feet, 5 inches tall, billed himself as "The Tall Kentuckian." His sewer song was written shortly after an explosion ripped through part of Old Louisville on Feb. 13, 1981, possibly set off when a car ignited hexane fumes being released from the former Ralston-Purina soybean processing plant.
        Johnson, who installed drywall for many years, began writing music in the early 1950s. He grew up in Highland Park and lived in Louisville until the early 1980s, when he moved to Texas.
        He also wrote "The Jefferson County Jail," in which he sang the song as "Hobo Bill," who was locked up after being taken off a freight train.
        A few of his songs gained national attention, including "I Don't Give a Diddly-damn Who Shot J.R." and "That's the Way I Like You the Best," which was sung by Carl Stewart.
        "Please Don't Close Durrett Down" was a plea to keep the high school open because one of his daughters wanted to graduate from there. But the school was closed in 1981 as part of an $8.5 million budget cut by the school system.
        "Dad wrote songs to deal with life," Emily Johnson said. Her father performed with Johnny Cash, Vince Gill and Dolly Parton, she said, and with Hank Williams Sr. at the Grand Ole Opry.




        "HEY EVERYONE. Just wanted to remind you that Christmas is coming up and what better a gift to give than a one of a kind portrait drawn from your favorite photos. There is still time to commission a portrait and have it ready by Christmas. You can view my gallery at http://www.coreyfrizzell.com/gallery.html.
        I have been real busy with a lot of cool things check out my news page and see what I have been up to at http://www.coreyfrizzell.com/news.html
        I am also launching a new line of portraits where I take photos of your children and add wings to make them look like real angels, check it out here at http://www.coreyfrizzell.com/Angel-Baby-page.html.
        I look forward to hearing from you. You can contact me at corey@coreyfrizzell.com or 615-289-7958." - Corey Frizzell: www.coreyfrizzell.com.




Don Walser R.I.P.
        Long-time Austin musician and yodeler extraordinaire Don Walser died September 20th dye to complications from diabetes.
        An accomplished singer, guitarist and songwriter, Walser spoke about how he hoped the songs from those albums would live long after him in an interview with News 8 Austin in 2002.
        "If you think of me 20 years from now after I'm gone, with some of music, I'll feel good about it. But it's got to earn it like those old songs that I'm singing, you got to earn it," Walser said.
        He retired from live performances three years ago. Walser is best remembered for his series of records in the 1990s produced with Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson.
        Walser, who turned 72 last Thursday, was a country music icon in Austin. He had the fortune of a late-life career revival. He was a regular performer at Jovita's, The Broken Spoke, the Continental Club. And he was also famous for bringing country music to Emo's. He attracted a unique fan base, often opening for the Butthole Surfers.
        He's also known for keeping western swing alive by performing the music of Bob Wills and Eddie Arnold. A reviewer for Playboy magazine once referred to Walser as "the Pavarotti of the Plains." - Tracy Pitcox




Rough Guide To Yodel-CD
        Bart Plantenga's Rough Guide To Yodel-CD releases 25 September 2006. Mike Johnson, Country Music's No.1 Black Yodeler is one of the featured Yodelers. One of several yodeling projects by Plantenga, author of the 2004 Best Seller "Yodel-Ay-Ee-Ooo, The Secret History of Yodeling Around The World," Johnson is also included in Bart's forthcoming book "Yodeling In Hi-Fi." Performing since the mid-1960s, Mike Johnson was inducted into America's Old-Time Country Music Hall of Fame on September 1, 2002 by the National Traditional Country Music Association. -Joe Arnold, Roughshod Records




David Schnaufer Gone at Age 53
        Auusy 24 2007 - David Schnaufer, whose work as a recording artist, studio musician and teacher brought the ancient-sounding Appalachian-style dulcimer into modern contexts, died today at Nashville's Alive Hospice after a battle with cancer. He was 53.
        Michael McCall of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum credited Mr. Schnaufer with making "a close to forgotten instrument relevant."
        As Jerry Douglas has done for the Dobro, Mr. Schnaufer found ways to take a supposedly quaint and "limited" instrument and produce sounds that were at once elegant, rooted and contemporary. In Mr. Schnaufer's hands, the simple, traditional stringed dulcimer was capable of leading symphonies, of adding to contemporary commercial country recordings and of inspiring students to find new ways of playing.
        Born in Texas, Mr. Schnaufer lived in Colorado and West Virginia before coming to Nashville and beginning work in a most unusual job: professional dulcimer player. He is the only dulcimer player to earn enough recording credits to join the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).
        Mr. Schnaufer recorded with a genre-hopping group of artists, including the iconic Johnny Cash, country guitar hero Chet Atkins, rock guitarist Mark Knopfler, honky-tonking Hank Williams Jr. and pop songstress Cyndi Lauper. He was a part of fiddle virtuoso Mark O'Connor's heralded New Nashville Cats album. He opened concerts for the Everly Brothers and was frequently featured on television.
        "Nashville turned out to be the perfect place for David to be able to take the dulcimer to its greatest heights," said O'Connor, a friend and collaborator. "He took that old-time dulcimer to so many different settings. What a shame, what a tragedy to lose him so young."
        Mr. Schnaufer also recorded albums on his own, including Delcimore and Dulcimer Deluxe. The Delcimore album included "Blackberry Winter," a concerto he co-wrote and performed with the Columbus (Ga.) Symphony.
        In addition to his recorded exploits, Mr. Schnaufer was a beloved teacher. He made an instructional video, and authored historical articles about the dulcimer. In 1995, he became Vanderbilt University's first Adjunct Associate Professor of Dulcimer, teaching at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music.
        "He went out of his way to tell me and others that he greatly valued his association with the Blair School," said the school's dean, Mark Wait. "He saw it as a kind of validation. I saw it as the opposite: He's the one that brought us validation." - Peter Cooper, Tennesseam.com




STARDUST PRESS RELEASE
        Everyone that took the time to sit down and listen to Buster's stories soon learned all of his stories had a hidden lesson in them. Buster pointed a lot of artists in the right direction, even if the artist was not on his label. He was always there for advice and to give a helping hand. With his passing, Buster wanted everyone to be made aware that with Stardust, Thunderhawk and Wizard, it will be business as always. Buster took the time to hand pick a team to run Stardust and all its affiliates and to teach them to do and think the way he would from promotions to production..
        Studio sessions will be continuing on with the same dedicated musicians that Buster used on all his sessions as well as the hard-working staff at Bayou Studios. We are already in the progress of scheduling our next session with another Stardust artist and will keep you informed as to the date as we would love to have some of you stop out and visit just like we always did.
        Stardust Compilation #63 will be going out in September as scheduled. All song submissions for the compilations must be received by the 1st of the month. For those on the Thunderhawk label, you will continue to receive the same support and promotions as you did in the past. The Wizard compilation has been put on hold for NOW. But, it WILL be back!
        JAMBOREE BY THE LAKE - This WILL continue for years to come! We have been working with the City of Winchester since the end of last year’s jamboree to make next year's even better. This is something Buster wanted for ALL independent artists and we will continue on with his dreams.
        www.royaltytalentagency.com with Beau Renfro, Brenda and Betty Joe is on track and on schedule. A lot of great things in the works with the help of wonderful, loving, caring people like Beau Renfro.
        For those who have stated over the years that I could not run a business, well this would be for you. I did not live and work with my husband for 40 years to not know anything about the music business. I have driven up and down interstates with artists for years doing radio tours, setting up bookings, and promotions for those 40 years so I may know what I am doing.
        I do appreciate all your support, from the bottom of my heart, that you have given Stardust over the years and continue to give. I am looking forward to personally meeting all of you along the music trial whether it be a recording session, a compilation, a radio interview or just a friendly smile at the JAMBOREE BY THE LAKE!
        In ending, to put everyone's mind at ease, BUSTER DOSS MUSIC GROUP, will always be here for every artist with the same dedication and drive as always.

Barbara Doss, CEO
Col. Buster Doss Music Group
STARDUST, WIZARD & THUNDERHAWK RECORDS ARE DIVISIONS OF THE COLONEL BUSTER DOSS MUSIC GROUP!

STARDUST TEAM:
Bo Doss
Kim Doss
Rick Bolton
Brenda Williams
Julie Taylor
Jennifer North
Beau Renfro
Brenda Renfro
Betty Joe





31st National Old Time Music Fest
            Missouri Valley, Iowa ... "The time goes by so fast. It just doesn't seem like we started the National Old Time Music Festival, 31 years ago, but here it is." Bob Everhart is the President of the National Traditional Country Music Assn., who sponsors and produces one of the largest acoustic music events in the entire upper midwest of America. Known as "The 31st National Old Time Country, Bluegrass, & Folk Music Festival & Contest, Pioneer Exposition of Arts & Crafts, and the Ag Expo," the event is a long and as large as the name expounds.
        "It lasts a complete week," Everhart points out. "It started with three days, but so many performers, pickers, singers, entertainers, and bands wanted to participate, we had to keep adding more and more days to find time for them to perform. Then we started adding more and more stages. Now it's seven days long, with ten stages, all of them running from 9am to midnight every day, and we're still having some difficulty getting everyone on that wants to be on. It starts on Monday, August 28, and goes through Sunday, September 3rd. Sepember 4th is Labor Day, which is our clean-up day. It's pretty unbelievable, what with all the participants, and the celebrities that are now coming to help us with the actual reason we do the festival. The whole event is the fund-raiser for the Pioneer Music Museum, and America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame, both located in a building in Anita, Iowa. This one festival keeps both those projects going through the year." Celebrities, Everhart is talking about, include some pretty auspicious people. According to Sheila Everhart, Bob's wife, "The interest in America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame, has generated a 'new' interest in America's traditional or golden classic country music. Today's country music, unfortunately, does not have much relevance to what has been known through the years as 'real country music.' Those that come to be part of the celebration, and also to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, are those that have not only made significant contributions to this great American musical art form, they are also concerned about what will happen to the music once commerical interests have completely altered it."
        Joining the Everharts in their effort at saving America's genuine country music, are such notables as: Jimmy C Newman (long-time Cajun music standard bearer for the Grand Ole Opry, his biggest hit recording being "Alligator Man."), Jody Miller (her huge hit recording was "Queen of the House"), Bobby Lewis (another of the regulars from the Grand Ole Opry, the first performer to play a lute on that program), Dusty Owens (got his start on the Red Foley Show, was an active performer on WHO radio in Des Moines, Iowa, when Ronald Reagen was a sports announcer there), Terry Smith (composed the "Far Side Banks of Jordan" for Johnny and June Carter Cash); Rhonda Vincent (known among Bluegrass circles as the "Queen of Bluegrass" she will be officially crowned, tiara and all, the reigning queen of Bluegrass), Carlene Carter (June Carter's daugher by Carl Smith, she carries on the tradition of her step-father, Johnny Cash), Stella Parton (best known as Dolly's sister, Stella has had several hit records, and works diligently for various charities), Larry Cordle (recorded a song he wrote called "Murder on Music Row," which emphasizes the difficulty regular country music lovers have in indentifying with so-called commericial country music today. Four of the original Hank Williams Sr., Drifting Cowboys will also be on hand. Clent Holmes, Joe Pennington, R D Sonny Norred, and Jim Hank Singleton, all from Alabama. They will not only offer their tribute to Hank Williams Sr., they will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame."
        "Sometimes, they just can't make it," says Bob Everhart. "We had worked diligently with Hank Thompson, earlier this year so that he might spend his 82nd birthday with us, but he has medical problems and is nearly blind now, so he won't be with us. It's the same with C W McCall. This was our third attempt to induct him into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame. He lives in Colorado, and is in quite frail health, as is his wife. Sometimes he thinks he can be with us, and at other times he just isn't up to it. We keep trying though, but we are always careful that the audience know, with age creeping up on our idols and super-stars, sometimes they just aren't able to accept all the accolades their fans wish to place upon them which our festival offers them."
        The accolades Everhart refers to, is a standing ovation of appreciation from the members of the NTCMA, and the generous audience that attends this festival. Last year they passed the hat only once, and raised well over $1,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina. "We probably need more help than a 'pass the hat' to take care of our expansion problems," Everhart is quick to respond. "Our Pioneer Music Museum and Hall of Fame is about to be completely full, and probably will be after this year. We just need some help with expansion, and of course that always takes money."
        Over 600 performers will join the many celebrities, as they descend on the Harrison County Fairgrounds, in Missouri Valley, Iowa, beginning August 28, to participate in one of the rare opportunities to share their music and their affection for one another, on an annual basis. According to Sheila Everhart, "We even have a small 'church without walls' on the grounds, with nothing but Gospel music, and this year a chrismatic evangelist will be with us from North Carolina. There's a great tipi village, with all their activities, games for kids, free food, and a wonderful quiet place to visit. Contests and workshops, arts and crafts, and the Ag Expo which still holds court on part of the grounds. We're not a fair, we don't participate in animal judging, we're more like an exhibition. An exposition if you will."
        RV camping is available on the grounds, lots of good food, and even old-time country dances six of the seven nights the festival runs. More information is available at http://www.oldtimemusic.bigstep.com or by e-mailing the Everharts at: bobeverhart@yahoo.com or telephoning them at 712-762-4363.



Vintage folk concerts revived for 3-CD set
            Previously unreleased vintage performances by Bill Monroe, Mississippi John Hurt, Maybelle Carter, Dock Boggs, Doc Watson and the Stanley Brothers will be available for the first time on the three-CD set "Friends of Old Time Music," due September 26 via Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
            The 55-track collection chronicles two dozen concerts that took place in New York between 1961 and 1965, with the goal of exposing urban audiences to the living masters of folk, bluegrass and Appalachian music.
            The events were organized by the Friends of Old Time Music, a group aiming to "acknowledge and repay our debt to traditional musicians, who were the source for our own music," according to principal member John Cohen.
            Another folk project is due later this fall, with the October 24 release by Shout! Factory of a two-CD/two-DVD tribute to Folkways musicologist Harry Smith. It will feature artists such as Wilco, Beck and Elvis Costello recasting tracks from the seminal 1952 six-LP set "Anthology of American Folk Music."



Hank Snow Honored
            August 7, 2006 -- "I've Been Everywhere: Hank Snow's Journey", an exhibit honoring the 1979 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, formally opens at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on August 11. The exhibit is drawn from a large collection of artifacts documenting Hank's career, which was donated to the Museum at Hank's request by the Hank Snow Estate in 2002.
            Exhibit highlights include: Boots and early stage costumes reflecting Hank's enthusiasm for ships and horses, designed by cowboy couturier Nudie Cohn; later costumes designed by Hollywood's Harvey Krantz; a cowboy hat designed by Valentine the Hatter; a silver-studded saddle hand-crafted by Edward H. Bohlin, "Saddlemaker to the Stars" in Hollywood; and a pair of personalized leather chaps worn by the star as part of a western outfit in the 1930s.
            Also included are Hank's first recording, a 78-rpm record titled "The Prisoned Cowboy," waxed in Montreal in 1936 with the artist billed as Hank, "The Yodeling Ranger"; instruments including the personalized 1934 Martin D-28 that was Hank's primary stage guitar in the 1940s and 1950s and that was featured on the cover of the 1957 album Hank Snow: Country and Western Jamboree; and the unique Gibson Hank Snow Special, designed for him in 1961.
            For more information on the Hank Snow exhibit, visit countrymusichalloffame.com or call (615) 416-2001.



All-Original Bluegrass/Americana
Album, "Festival Time Again"
            July, 2006 - A new album entitled, "Festival Time Again," has been recently released by Oregon musician Joe Ross. The 12-track album (on the Zephyr Records label) features all original songs written by Ross during the past three decades. The title cut, capturing the energy and spirit of bluegrass festivals, was featured on Volume 82 of "Prime Cuts of Bluegrass," an industry sampler sent to over 500 DJs and media reps around the world.
            Gracie Muldoon of WORLDWIDEBLUEGRASS.COM, offers, "Joe's a truly inspired writer. His pieces are interesting, entertaining, enjoyable. Joe gets an A for this album." A multi-instrumentalist, Joe Ross plays guitar, mandolin, hammered dulcimer, upright bass, and keys on the project. Vocals and harmonies are handled by Joe Ross and Randy Kohrs, while noted traditional bluegrass stalwart James King makes a cameo lead vocal appearance on the song "My Home in Old Virginia."
            Among the 16 artists working with Ross on the "Festival Time Again" project are autoharp virtuoso Bryan Bowers, Arkansas fiddle champion Tim Crouch, Japanese koto master Mitsuki Dazai, award-winning banjo-player and fiddler Ron Stewart, Nashville-based banjo wizard Scott Vestal, and U.S. National mandolin champion Radim Zenkl.
            In his liner notes, Bill Jolliff of Newberg, OR. explains, "Northwest bluegrass has a strong traditional strand. There's also easy comfort with new approaches, eclectic material, and wildly different influences. Joe Ross' writing - and this project that so beautifully showcases that prolific talent—typifies the unique, wildly varied bluegrass from the Northwest….Given Joe's place at the center of Northwestern bluegrass, it's little wonder that the common thread of his writing is its variety. The influences show."
            Ross admits that the set is quite eclectic and draws inspiration from bluegrass, Celtic, folk, gospel and even gypsyjazz music. "Most of the songs have solid traditional bluegrass foundations. To me, that sound is so stimulating. Other songs take some risks as I like to push a few envelopes with my music. I hope that the bluegrass community won't terribly mind a few numbers with hammered dulcimer, pennywhistle, autoharp or Japanese koto in the mix. My goal was simply to write, arrange and present each song in the most heartfelt way possible. What a treat it's been to work with the James King Band and some of my favorite bluegrass musicians of all time like Ronnie Stewart, Tim Crouch, Randy Kohrs, and Scott Vestal."
            Born in Virginia but raised a "military brat" in Japan, Joe heard his first strains of bluegrass on the Far East Network as a teenager. During the late-60s, he played electronic organ overseas in professional rock and soul bands. Ross formed his first bluegrass band, The High Mountain Ramblers, while attending the University of Oregon in the 1970s. Over the years, he's also played and recorded with Sagegrass and Cold Thunder.
            With over 1,200 published feature stories and reviews during the past three decades, Joe Ross may be best known as a music journalist. He is a "Top 500" reviewer on Amazon.com, but his songwriting and musical talents have also garnered numerous awards. Joe currently "edu-tains" with his interactive, fast-paced "Roots of Bluegrass" solo show that traces the evolution of the music and demonstrates multiple instruments. He also performs with The Celtic Tradition, and he fronts The Joe Ross Band (with Beth McNamara, Jerry Ashford, Peter Schwimmer, Guy Stone, and Oregon state dobro champion Al Brinkerhoff).
            Ross' six highly-acclaimed albums span various genres from bluegrass to Celtic, children's music to Americana. "Festival Time Again" marks his first all-original project, and he is already planning future releases in 2007 and 2008 to showcase more of his own songs. Ross is on the Northwest on Tour juried artist roster and frequently performs shows and festivals throughout the region. Songs from "Festival Time Again" are being presented throughout the West at numerous CD release events this summer and fall. A full appearance schedule for The Joe Ross Band is on-line at: http://oregonbluegrass.org/Bands/joeross.htm
            Described as "indefatigable and wry-witted," Joe Ross moderates a 900-member listserv called the Nwbluegrass Yahoogroup. Famous bluegrass songwriter Pete Goble of Michigan notes, "Joe writes and sings great songs. His stories put pictures in my mind. His bluegrass songs have that good drive."
            After hearing the new album, Barry Willis, author of America's Music: Bluegrass adds, "The terrific musicians' imaginations flourish... it's a delightful, enjoyable project worthy of any serious tunesmith. You'll like this part of Joe's heart."
            "Festival Time Again" (Zephyr-0429) is receiving worldwide distribution. Music stores can order the CD from the Super D One-Stop distribution catalog. "Festival Time Again" is currently available for purchase on the internet at CDBABY and Amazon, where sound clips and reviews are also available. "Will Joe Ross' songs gain such a life of their own?," asks reviewer Bill Jolliff. "I'm certain of it. I like to imagine, sometime in 2106, some old-timey space child loading her banjo and cooler in the back of a hydrogen-powered jet, heading out into the stratosphere, whistling those old standards from an album of a century before, Festival Time Again. And I like to imagine you whistling them, too."



Emory Martin, age 89, R.I.P.
            Mr. Emory Martin, age 89, of Mt. Vernon, died Mon., Apr.17, 2006 at his home. He was born in Bon Aqua, TN on Aug. 26, 1916 the son of Horace and Maudie Nichols Martin. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Mt. Vernon and was a 50 yr. Mason with the Masonic Lodge.
            He gained notoriety as the "World's Only One-Armed Banjo Player" having played at various times with artists such as Johnny and Jack and Kitty Wells, Uncle Dave Macon, Fiddlin' Sid Harkreader, and others. His first job was with Sid Harkreader on the Grand Ole Opry at age 16. He later recorded on RCA-Victor with Johnny and Jack and Kitty Wells. On Nov. 24, 1943 he married fellow performer Wanda "Linda Lou" Arnold in Griffin, GA between shows.
            He made the Renfro Valley/Mt. Vernon area his home after retiring from performing for years on the Renfro Valley Barn Dance.
            He later operated a service station in Renfro Valley with his brother, Curtis, and was later employed by Hysinger Carpet in Mt. Vernon. He loved working with his horses on his farm and enjoyed riding whenever possible. He was a founding member of the Rockcastle Saddle Club in 1968. But most of all, he enjoyed his family. His grandchildren and great grandchildren were a great source of joy.
            In addition to his wife of 62 years, Linda Martin, he is survived by a son, Roy A. Martin and wife Pamela of Mt. Vernon; a brother, Curtis Martin and wife Maryanne of Green Valley, AZ; 3 sisters, Ruby Womack of Huntsville, AL, Hattie Hickerson of Franklin, TN; and Helen Turner and husband, John of Green Valley, AZ; 3 grandchildren, Steve Martin and wife Donnaleah of Mt. Vernon, Gina Masters and husband Jensen of Brodhead, and Alexandra Taylor Martin also of Mt. Vernon; and 4 great grandchildren, Justice Masters, Ryan Martin, Jett Masters, and Wyatt Martin. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Kenneth Martin; and a sister, Eva Morgan.
Courtesy: the Lexington Herald-Leader on 4/19/2006.





A couple of the Pickers at the Anderson House in Blountville, TN on Friday night, March 31, 2006. A great place to hang out for the Friday night 6:30 jams!
RELATED LINKS:
Ralph Blizard
TAMHA



Singwriter Cindy Walker Dies
            March 23, 2006 - Cindy Walker, the legendary Central Texas country music songwriter whose work is featured on a CD released this week by Willie Nelson, has died at the age of 87. Walker died Thursday night at Parkview Regional Hospital in Mexia.
            Walker, who penned such country standards as "Cherokee Maiden," "When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" and "Warm, Red Wine" was born on July 20, 1918 in Mart, but spent most of her life in Mexia. She was a prodigy who was an accomplished songwriter by the age of 21.
            Crooner Bing Crosby recorded one of her earliest songs, "Lone Star Trail," in 1940 and it soared on the charts. In 1941, Decca signed her to a five-year contract and Texas swing artist Bob Wills recorded four of her songs that year. Six years later, after her contract with Decca expired, Walker focused full time on songwriting.
            She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997.



Appalachian Encyclopedia Aims
to Dispel Hillbilly Image
            KNOXVILLE - Encyclopedia of Appalachia co-editor Rudy Abramson wanted a reference book that went beyond the stereotypical images of hillbillies and poverty. "The place has this reputation of being just a different nation of poor people and strip mines and that sort of thing," said Abramson, an Alabama native and retired Washington correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.
            He wanted to help create a more realistic picture of Appalachia's history and natural diversity. It was a project that took a decade to complete. The finished work -- the first general reference work on Appalachia -- has just gone on sale through the University of Tennessee Press for $79.95 a copy. It's a single 1,832-page volume weighing nearly eight pounds. More than 1,000 historians, folklorists, sociologists, geologists and journalists contributed.
            "What we tried to do across the entire encyclopedia was to make sure the information was authoritative, that the writing was clear and engaging and accessible, and we had balance," said Abramson's editing partner Jean Haskell, retired director of Appalachian studies at East Tennessee State University.
            The authors note that debate continues over exactly where Appalachia is and even how the name is pronounced.
            They accept the federal definition of Appalachia as comprising all of West Virginia and parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York, roughly following the spine of the ancient Appalachian Mountains.
            But the encyclopedia also considers the impact of Appalachian migrants to other areas, including cities in the Midwest, and recent trends such as "urban Appalachia" in growing metropolitan areas and "rural sprawl" in expanding tourism enclaves of the Great Smoky Mountains.
            As for pronunciation, it's "Ap-pa-LATCH-a" in the southern mountains, but more commonly "Ap-pa-LAY-cha" in the rest of the country, particularly north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
            The region was America's first western frontier and provided such noble mountaineer figures as Davy Crockett. - (AP) By Duncan Mansfield



Crystal Sings for Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
            Nashville, TN - Crystal Gayle, one of the most popular and well known female country singers of her era - who supports this recognition with her supple voice, a flair for ballads, her crossover-friendly country-pop style and her trademark floor - length hair - returns to the music scene once again to reinforce what every music lover already knows, she is a poised and graceful songbird.
            Gayle's talents are crystal clear and demonstrated in what could be her most adventurous recording everóshe is singing in the neighborhood! Gayle performs "Did You Know?" on the Songs from the Neighborhood; The Music of Mister Rogers. Other artist performances on this project include Amy Grant, Donna Summer, BJ Thomas, Ricky Skaggs, Maureen McGovern, Jon Secada, CeCe Winans, among others. The album won a Grammy Award in 2006 in the Best Musical Album for Children category.

            Two years after his passing, Fred Rogers remains an American icon. His pioneering television show, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," is still broadcast to millions of homes each day on most PBS-TV affiliates. The third most requested item by visitors at the Smithsonian Institution is Mister Rogers' red sweater, hand-knitted by his mom. His show is still the longest-running program on PBS television. Children everywhere continue to smile when they hear Fred sing, "Won't You My Neighbor?" Fred Rogers' birthday is March 20th.
Resource for the album at: www.songsfromtheneighborhood.com
Resource information on Crystal Gayle at: www.crystalgayle.com



Willie Nelson's Disel Fuel
            SAN DIEGO - Call it "BioWillie." Willie Nelson does. Willie Nelson introduces California to own brand of diesel fuel. The country singer introduced his brand of cleaner-burning fuel that includes soybean oil. t went on sale yesterday at an alternative fuel station in San Diego, where Nelson filled his tour bus from a pump emblazoned with a picture of himself, strumming a guitar.
            Nelson calls bioldiesel the future, saying it can help reduce dependency on foreign oil and help domestic farmers by creating a new outlet for grain they grow. The BioWillie brand is B-20 -- meaning it's a blend of 80 percent petroleum diesel and 20 percent biodiesel made from soybean oil. In addition to California, it's sold in Texas, South Carolina and Georgia.

THE FRANKS ... 60 YEARS!
Tillman and Virginia Franks celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on February 9th. A family dinner was hosted by their children on February 11, 2006. Tillman Franks and Virginia Suber were married February 9, 1946 in Shreveport, where they are lifelong residents, The couple has four children: Darlene Pace of Bossier City; Carolyn Browning and Ben Franks, both Shreveport; and Rev. Watson Franks of Vidor, TX. They have eight grandchildren.







History of Country Music Radio Show
            LAS VEGAS - The History Of Country Music Radio program is now available 24 hours per day on kowlasvegas.com. Host, Cowboy Paul Bowman. These shows consist of all the top country songs from 1920 to 2005 along with bio information and gossip on the artists, writers and how their songs affected the mood of the nation at the time. http://kowlasvegas.com/.



The Court Says:
Williams' Heirs Own Rights to Show
            Jan 23, 2006 - The right to sell some old recordings by Hank Williams belongs to the country music legend's heirs, an appeals court has ruled. The Friday decision by the Tennessee Court of Appeals upholds a lower court ruling, which rejected Polygram Records' and Legacy Entertainment Group's claims to the recordings in favor of the late legend's son, Hank Williams Jr., and daughter, Jett Williams.
            The recordings are pre-produced segments Williams made for "Mother's Best Flour Show," a 15-minute show that once aired on WSM-AM 650. They include live versions of some of Williams' greatest hits, plus 40 songs that were never released commercially, such as "On Top of Old Smoky" and "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain."
            Legacy Entertainment acquired the recordings in 1997 from Williams' former bassist Hillous Butrum and claimed it had the right to sell them. Polygram contended that it owned the rights because of a contract Williams had with MGM Records.
            But the trial court ruled in 2003 that the two heirs own the property and only they can release it.




TOMMY RIDDLE is very "traditional" and has been in country music since the 1950s. Contact: VCMA, Tommy Riddle, 4817 Wycliff Road, Portsmouth, VA - 804-484-8452.



Charlie Daniels Reacts
To Grammy Nomination
            Nashville, 12/8/05 - Charlie Daniels received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance; I'll Fly Away - a track from Songs From The Longleaf Pines [Blue Hat Records / Koch Records Nashville]. This marks the first GRAMMY nomination for Blue Hat Records, the independent label co-owned by Daniels and his long-time manager David Corlew.
            "I'm very pleased, surprised and thankful," says Charlie Daniels on the news of receiving a Grammy nomination for "I'll Fly Away."
            "I am excited for Charlie, Blue Hat Records and everyone that played on the song. It's great to be part of an organization like NARAS that allows Blue Hat Records, an independent label, to be recognized along with the majors," says David Corlew.
For more information on Charlie Daniels contact:
Kirt Webster, Webster & Assoc. PR - 615.777.6995 x24
kirt@websterpr.com
or
Paula Szeigis, CDB, Inc. - 615.443.2112 x123
paulacdb@aol.com



The Janie Fricke Collection:
A New Line of Furniture
            Janie Fricke: we know her voice from television commercials for everything from United Airlines to Coca Cola to Red Lobster long before a single line in a Johnny Duncan hit catapulted Janie to stardom.
            She has garnered honors, awards, Grammy nominations, videos, and soundtracks, and has done her share of charity work.
            Now, Austin Rand Furniture has teamed up with Janie for a new line of furniture: The Janie Fricke Collection. The line includes handmade pillows and throws, chairs, couches and ottomans. They are all made with fabrics from the leading fabric mills and all are American made. The leathers are hand picked uniquely for a distresses or weathered effect. All of the leathers are top grain. The cowhides are imported and hand selected.
            The Janie Fricke Collection - unique style - distinctive taste. For more information on the furniture line go to www.austinranchfurniture.net or contact William Thomas Company at 972.635.2000



A Bit of History:

Courtesy: Dave Maggard - leftysoldguitar@yahoo.com



Bailes Brothers Tribute News
            "I just wanted to tell you about a new CD that Rod Moag and I have made. It's a 19-song tribute to the Bailes Brothers, and we call it "Remember Me: the Music of the Bailes Brothers." We recorded in Austin, first with only mandolin and guitar, but over the last several months we've added other musicians such as Tim O'Brien, Lloyd Maines, Cindy Cashdollar, Justin Trevino, Bobby Flores, and others. We've tried to create a good Brother Duet vocal harmony, but have used a variety of instrumental backings that would suggest the sound of the Bailes Brothers and the 1940s. The last remaining Bailes Brother, Homer, appears on two cuts. He's about 83 years old, but still has a great voice. We think that traditional country music fans might like the CD, particularly since the sound and repertory of the Bailes Brothers are no longer heard in the music. Interested fans can buy the CD directly from either Rod or me (rodmoag@texas.net, or bsmalone@wisc.edu), or from County Sales (on-line)."
Bill C. Malone, 6617 Sutton Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, 608-271-3345



Don Grashey Dies
            Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer Don Grashey has passed away, at home in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Monday, September 12. He was 79. Ironically his death has occurred on the day the 2005 Canadian Country Music Awards were being presented in Calgary; and comes only 10 days after the death of his longtime music business partner Chuck Williams,
            Don Grashey is recognized for 'discovering" Loretta Lynn and signed the future country star to his fledgling Zero Records label. He subsequently managed the careers of Canadian Country Music Hall of Famers Myrna Lorrie and Carroll Baker. Grashey was also a prolific songwriter, most notably co-writing the country hit "Are You Mine", recorded my many Canadian and Nashville duet acts.
            Don Grashey was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989.



Rudy "Mountain Guitar" Thacker R.I.P.
            Posted Setember 12, 2005 - Rudy "Mountain Guitar" Thacker passed away in Houston, Texas, from cancer at age 74. He was a fine guitarist, song writer and singer. His band "The String Busters" was the staff band some years back at the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling. WV. Roy Acuff, Skeeter Davis, Howard Vokes and others recorded his songs. Rudy wrote and recorded the only tribute song to the late Johnny Horton, titled "The Ballad of Johnny Horton." Rudy also backed the late Bill Browning on all of his recordings, including "Dark Hollow." Sympathy cards can be sent to his son: Randy Thacker, 11018 Maize Lane, Houston, TX 77041. 713-896-7013




JOE BERRY Photo on right: Movie, Joe Berry is singing two songs in the soundtrack, one of which he and Brenda wrote.



Jana Jae Fiddle Camp & Music Fest
            Please help spread the word and tell your pickin' friends! The Jana Jae Fiddle Camp & Music Fest will be Labor Day Weekend - Sept. 2-4, 2005 - in Grove, OK (near Tulsa). Early Bird Registration closes Aug. 15 and offers substantial savings!
            This is a great Fiddle Camp and Music Fest weekend. All levels and ages are welcome-those who play by note or by ear, advanced players and adult or young beginners. It's an inspiring weekend filled with tips for better playing and help with individual problems or questions. Master fiddlers and instructors will be on hand to demonstrate, teach, and perform.
            For more info, Online Registation, or a Printable Registration Form, go to www.grandlakefestivals.com or call 918-786-8896 or 800-526-2523.



Two time Hall of Fame recording artist is
looking for new endorsement deal
            Colonel Robert Morris, inductee of both the Rockabilly and Traditional Country Hall of Fame, is available to endorse your company and products at the professional level of the music business.
            As a special guest artist and musician of the "Grand Ole Opry Road Show" with Jan Howard, Ernie Ashworth, Charlie Louvin, and fellow Traditional Country Hall of Fame inductee, Joe Berry, Colonel Robert can introduce you and your products to many amateur and professional musicians across the United States. As a International songwriter and recording artist, Colonel Robert can expand that exposure to his many friends and fans across the Globe!
            At the web address, http://colonelrobert.virtualpresskit.net you will find the virtual press kit for Colonel Robert. And http://www.colonelrobert.com is where you will find Colonel Robert's Official web site, that takes you on a journey of his over thirty year career that has spanned the Globe time and again!
            This year we are excited about two new projects in production. "The Trucker's Last Ride" (First recorded in 1995.) and it's new video will be released in Oct. And we will be releasing our new CD, "The Eagle Never Dies" introducing new and classic songs written by the Colonel himself, including never before released "lost vault" material. Due to the cost of these professional projects, we are also seeking sponsors to join us on this fun and profitable adventure. No amount is too large or too small. We would also entertain equipment sponsoring.
            So you can see, we are taking our music forward, and would love to have you with us.
- Colonel Robert & Irene Morris



George Jones Boys, Early Years
Barbara Dunn Reports   HERE IS HAROLD SHARP AND JIMMY RUSSELL OF ALGOA, WHICH IS AROUND THE CORNER FROM ME. JIMMY GREW UP WITH GEORGE AND HAS A LOT OF TALES TO TELL. IT WAS GREAT TO HAVE THEM SIT AND TALK AND LISTEN TO EACH OTHERS MUSIC. JIMMY HAS BEEN SINGING JONES MUSIC AT ALL THE OPRYS AROUND HERE FOR MANY YEARS.

 





TWO TEXAS BOYS HAROLD SHARP NOW 81 AND JIMMY RUSSELL 77. HAROLD PLAYED LEAD FOR GEORGE IN THE EARLY 50'S JIMMY WAS HIS ROAD MANAGER IN THE 60'S I TOOK THESE PHOTOS ON MAY 20TH 2005 - SANTA FE, TEXAS - Ekingehk@cs.com

More About Jimmy Russell
Musician Still Has The Beat In Him - by: Joel C. Howard
            Country music may be synonymous with Nashville, but a chunk of its history can be traced back to Texas musicians like Algoa resident Jimmy Russell, 75, who says that before you can sing about it, you have to live it.
            Formerly the road manager for country music legend and fellow Texan George Jones, Russell began his career as a performer when he was 14 years old growing up in Beaumont.
            Before he met Jones, Russell was already performing as half of the popular Russell Brothers show, singing live and playing guitar on the radio each Saturday with his brother, Richard.
            "I've been pickin' since I was 14," Jimmy Russell said.
            The boys were instant stars around town. They would go into the station and tape their show at 6:15 every morning before school, Russell said. They played 15-minute live sessions on Saturdays.
            Their mother got them on the radio and their father handled their bookings.
            One day when Russell was 15, a boy walked into his grandfather's barber shop with a shoe box. He had been thrown out of a depot where he had been shining shoes. He was George Jones.
            The boy; formed a friendship even though Jones was a few years younger.
            The Russell brothers and Jones were in the process of developing a reputation as performers. They auditioned in front of Roy Acuff of the legendary Grand Ole Opry, and if not for a turn of fate, they would have been afforded a chance to join the show.
            Russell was drafted into the infantry.
            His brother enlisted in the Air Force and Jones in the Marines. They later learned that Russell's parents had received a letter inviting the trio to perform at the Opry.
            "We missed a golden opportunity." Russell said with a chuckle.
            In 1963, Jones was living in Vidor and was recording songs for veteran music executive "Pappy" Daily. He already had a few hits when Russell and he reunited in 1964, Russell said.
            When Jones was set to go on the road touring, the singer's wife at the time, Shirley, and Jones' mother asked Russell - fresh from a Christian college where he'd studied to be a preacher - to travel with Jones, hoping he could tame the rising star, Russell said.
            Russell stayed with Jones for three years.
            "I was supposed to keep him sober," said Russell, "in the end, he had to sober me up."
           Jones loved to travel by plane, and Russell estimates that in the time he spent with Jones they logged more than 100,000 miles a year by plane. The rest of the band, "The Original Jones Boys," traveled by bus.
            Russell said that throughout the years he spent with Jones on the road, he seldom left Jones' side. But the rowdy lifestyle became too much, and after one particularly bad ending to a flight, "I finally just quit him," Russell said.
            Russell said he eventually cut off all ties with Jones. Russell stayed in Beaumont until 1971, and after marrying his wife, Suzy, he settled in Algoa.
            These days Russell is winding down a career performing at venues around the state in places such as Kirbyville and Conroe. He has retired from a long stint with the Alvin Opry. Although he doesn't travel as much, Russell finds ways to keep busy.
           v He records demos on a karaoke machine in his house.
            "I do nothin' but George's stuff," Russell said, "a little Merle Haggard, but mostly George."
            Russell is eager to share his love of music and can often be found hanging out at The Music Factory music store in Pearland. He said he has been interviewed for a book about George Jones and Earl "Peanut" Montgomery.
            Russell said his career has allowed him to meet such idols Roy Acuff, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams Sr. He's performed with Johnny Paycheck and other country stars.





Wisconsin Bash in July
Funny Farm Productions, Inc. presents ...
BACKWOODS BLUEGRASS BASH 2005
July 21-23, Medford, WI

THURS - CORNMEAL, hand picked
FRI - CHASIN' STEEL, Frogwater, Denny and The Boys
SAT - HACKENSAW BOYS, Mil-Town Ramblers, Mighty Lumberhorn
Plus more bands to be announced
Thursday Ticket - $20 Advance/ $30 Day Of Friday Ticket - $25 Advance/ $35 Day Of
Saturday Ticket - $30 Advance/ $40 Day Of
Weekend Ticket - $45 Advance/ $55 Day Of
Free Camping - Reserved Sites $5 - Two Person Minimum Per Site

NO PETS - NO GLASS - NO FIREWORKS
VIOLATORS WILL BE REMOVED FROM PREMISES!
            Mail Orders To: Funny Farm Productions, P.O. Box 12764, Green Bay, WI 54307-2764. Please Include Stamped, Self Addressed Envelope and $1.00 Handling Fee With Order For More Information, Call (920) 432-1045 Or Check Out Our Website At www.funnyfarmproductions.bizland.com - google search bluegrass bash - SEE YOU THERE!!



Hank Sr. Museum
            Oak Hill, W.Va. - The town of Oak Hill plans to turn the former Pure Oil service station - where a chauffeur discovered the death of country singer Hank Williams Sr. - into a museum. Williams was being driven from Montgomery, Ala., to Canton, Ohio, for a concert when his driver found him dead after pulling the songwriter's baby blue Cadillac into the station. The 29-year-old Williams, whose hits included "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Your Cheatin' Heart," was declared dead on New Year's Day in 1953. He died of a drug and alcohol overdose.
           The lease will be held by the town until it can be turned over to a new foundation that will administer the museum, Oak Hill Mayor Barbara Hickman said. Hickman is encouraging donations of memorabilia and hopes that state funds will be allotted for the project. But Williams' memorialization hasn't enjoyed universal support among state lawmakers. A measure to designate a section of state Route 16 in Fayette County the "Hank Williams Sr. Memorial Road" failed during this year's legislative session.

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Lefty Special
            Nashville, TN: On Thursday, May 26, 2005 ... A Special Two Hour "Online" Special to Lefty Frizzell Starring David and Allen Frizzell at 8:00 PM Eastern / 7:00 PM Central will take place. Price of admission is $3.00 for this great two hour performance. Please help spread the news to other country fans, let's make this online show a success! Just click this link for more details: www.originalcountryradio.com.



MerleFest 2005
            WILKESBORO, NC: An extraordinary line-up greeted record crowds to MerleFest 2005, the 18th annual festival in celebration of the music of the late Merle Watson and his father Doc Watson. Wilkes Community College presented the event on April 28 May 1 on its campus in Wilkesboro, NC. MerleFest again drew an enormous, well behaved, and appreciative audience with a preliminary estimated total participation including volunteers and school children of 82,666. This surpasses last year's 81,592. Paid attendance increased by 0.8% over 2004 to 39,595 including a gain of more than 2500 in Sunday tickets. Wilkes Community College will present MerleFest 2006 on April 27 30, 2006.



Branson Internet Radio
            Beginning in May, Branson Missouri's first and only Internet Radio Station will be launching it's newest interactive talent competition, the "Ozark Country Showcase". This all new radio competition will give both Internet and broadcast radio listeners the opportunity to listen to new talent, then judge the contestants on the BWR website.
            Contestants will be competing to perform in one of Branson's most powerful family variety shows, The Yearys Music Show at the Musical Palace, as contenders for the 2005 Listener Choice Award. One contestant, and one listener will be chosen from the listener votes each month from June through November, and all six contestants will return to Branson in December for the final competition for the Award. A fifty dollar entry fee is required. The winner of the Listener Choice Award will then return to Branson in 2006 to kick off the new competition.
            The Yearys Music Show features the incredible voices of, husband and wife duo, Denny & Shelia Renee Yeary, along with a powerful cast of entertainers called "The Branson Valley Boys". Denny is an 18 year Branson veteran who spent over 20 years singing Bass with "The Blackwood Quartet" and "The Foggy River Boys". He not only has a voice that reaches down into your soul on those low notes but he can turn around and soothe you with the sounds of greats like Lou Rawls & Engelbert Humperdinck. You may even see him impersonate legends like Willie Nelson or John Wayne.
            Shelia Renee, known as one of the best Patsy Cline voices in the country, sings everything from "Faded Love", "Sentimental Journey", to the powerful crowd pleaser "At Last". Together Denny & Shelia make a beautiful couple in their dynamic & classy costume changes and their voices blend in perfect harmony. Two of The Yeary's talented children also perform on the show daily and the amazing "Branson Valley Bloys" add humor, energy, and excitement to every show. No show is complete without one person who keeps you laughing ... Branson's Lovable Gentle Giant, "Tucker". From real life stories to off the cuff antics, Tucker not only touches your heart but leaves you in stitches. When you put all of these voices together ... hang on to your seats!
            Family Fun & Variety, Great Vocals and Incredible Production! For details, rules, and to enter, click here.




Jeremiah Sundown
A long time veteran of the road, Jeremiah, now has settled into his own club in Centerville, TN. There is live music several evenings during the week, always something different and great food. As you may think ... Jeremiah does some fine renditions of Waylon's material. Great supporting band, too. Photo by the TCHOF staff.



Joe Carter, 1927-2005.
            Musician Joe Carter, son of A.P. and Sara Carter, and believed to be the last direct connection to the famous Bristol sessions, died Wednesday, March 2, at his home in Maces Spring, Va. He was 78.
            Carter was five months old when he traveled with his parents to Bristol in 1927 for the recording sessions that launched the careers of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. Joe Carter helped build the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Va., where he often performed as a guitarist and singer with other Carter family members. He is survived by three daughters and seven grandchildren.

WORTH A CLICK:
Take The Earl Scruggs Career Photo Tour.



ADVERTISEMENT
"Nashville Now" Show live at the Nashville
Nightlife Dinner Theater in Nashville
            Do you miss "Nashville Now!"? Do you wish Ralph Emery & Shotgun Red would return with all the great country stars? The laughs? The live studio audience? The live band? The interviews? The phone in segments from all around the country? (That show was like a family! ) Are you tired of everybody telling you what country music is? Do you wish you could see all the Legends that a good part of the industry has turned their back on?
            WELL, IT'LL SOON ALL BE JUST A CLICK AWAY! The Nashville Show will be recorded live at the Nashville Nightlife Dinner Theater in Nashville in front of a studio audience! Then you can simply click and download the show. (It will be full screen & crystal clear!) Don't have high speed internet? No problem! You can have the show mailed directly to your home on DVD! As we tour around the country literally thousands of people have said to me, "Were is Ralph?" "What happened to all the great shows?"
            Country music fans want to see: Gene Watson, Brenda Lee, Mel Tillis, John Anderson, The Bellamy Brothers, Ray Price, Ricky Van Shelton, Exile, Tanya Tucker, The Gatlin Brothers, Mel McDaniel, Freddy Fender, Riders in the Sky, Charlie McCoy, David Frizzell, Bobby Bare and Crystal Gayle! And the list goes on and on...
            Well, sign up if you would like to be a member of our country music family! Just think a new one hour show each week for just $2.99. At this price we may bring you the greatest quality picture and sound ever ... "Full Screen". So join our mailing list!
            By signing up now you are "NOT" going to be charged anything. You will be the first to know when the show starts. And then YOU can decide whether or not to buy the show. And here is the neatest part: You only buy the shows you want to see! That way you can see your favorite country stars every time you download a show. With all the great guests we think you'll tune in each week anyway!
Steve Hall, Shotgun Red - http://www.thenashvilleshow.com.



Larry Kingston, 63, R.I.P.
            Feb. 22, 2005: Songwriter Larry Kingston, 63, passed away Feb. 20 in Nashville. He suffered a heart attack on Jan. 17 and died of complications resulting from continual battles with infections. Born Aug. 10, 1941 in Lafayette, Ind. he was the oldest of three sons of Ruth and Marion Kingston from Paragould, Ark. With his family, he moved to Nashville in 1965 to pursue his songwriting career. He wrote many top 40 hits for Nashville's top artists, such as George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Roy Clark, Porter Wagoner, Reba McEntire, Vern Gosdin, Don Williams, Mark Chesnutt, Jerry Lee Lewis and Ringo Starr. Songs included "Thank God and Greyhound", "Pittsburgh Stealers" and "It's Not Over If I'm Not Over You." He also performed on TV and radio, and recorded several records and three CD albums. The artist recording the most Larry Kingston songs is the great Johnny Bush.



The South Will Rise Again (UK)
            ENGLAND - By now you have probably seen all the adverts for this event in the Bournemouth/Poole area from 29th to 31st July 2005. The South Will Rise Again, is a new Country Music, western and line dancing festival with American cars and Rock 'N' Roll.
            This is going to be the "BIGGEST EVENT" in the south this year. There will be around 35 Bands in the main arena, including Heather Myles and Joni Harms from the USA and Eve Selis who is the Queen of Rock!, Jukebox Jive, Quill, Raymond Froggatt, Sarah Jory and Band and Henry Smith and Country Dreams are amongst the many great bands attending.
            Also separate marquees (with large wooden dance floors) for both Line and Couples dancers with Top instructors such as Rob Fowler, Kate Sala and the Rebel Riders, other guest instructors to be confirmed! There will be 14 hours of dancing every day! So we should be able to play all requests from Alane to Ziggy, Country and pop, you name it we play it. Also starring Glenn Rogers, Billy Bubba King and Gemma Fairweather! Western partner dancing in a seperate marquee with Mal & Jan
            A great American Car display with competitions, Motor bikes, bucking Bronco, wild west re-enactments, indians and a whole lot of other entertainment/ displays and competitions going on. and most important for the girls: SHOPS.
            The main reason for writing now is to let you know that there are only limited spaces still available for camping: tents/caravans/campers on site so you need to book soon. I understand that B & B's are also filling fast.
            An early booking discount of £11.00 for the weekend is available but customers must book and pay by 28th February 2005. So if you live in the South, help support this event which will, hopefully, become a great annual pilgrimage to our fantastic hobby. Or if you fancy a great weekend on the south coast come on down. Day tickets are available. Why not stay the week and enjoy the wonderful beaches etc. For more information go to: http://www.thesouthwillriseagain.co.uk/index.htm



Spotlight on Kenneth Brian
            (Omaha World-Herald) - "Country music that's on the radio is just a bad version of pop music," Brian said in a phone interview from a tour stop in Daytona Beach, Fla. "My goal is to bring country music back to its roots." With a style that blends honky-tonk, Western swing and rockabilly, Brian - who performed at Mick's Music & Bar as part of the "Sunday Roadhouse Americana Music Series" - has been called "the past, present and future of country music." Brian, who sings and plays acoustic and electric guitars, will be accompanied at a local show by musicians Chris Rhoades (upright bass, electric bass); Rich Gilbert (pedal steel guitar, electric guitar); and Cassady Feasby (drums). Brian learned to play guitar while a teen growing up in northwest Florida. Throughout high school, he performed in punk and metal bands. Country music, though, was his true calling.
            "I grew up listening to country," said Brian, whose influences include Johnny Horton, Hank Williams and Townes Van Zandt. In 2000, armed with an arsenal of original material, Brian assembled a backing band and took his show on the road. Three years later, Brian relocated to Nashville, where he has become a staple in the city's honky-tonk clubs.
            "I just write about my life, things I go through and life on the road," said the 24-year-old, who has released two albums and has a new one due in April. "If people want some real good American, rootsy country music," Brian said, "my show's the place to be."



Accordionist Sonny Day Dead at 80
            Accordionist Sonny Day, an original member of Roy Acuff's "Smokey Mountain Boys" and a regular on the Grand Ole Opry, has died after a bout with bone cancer. He was 80. Day died Sunday, Feb. 6, 2005 at a hospice center in Nashville, according to son Barry Tamburin. "Music was Sonny's life," Tamburin said.
            Day's accordion playing was credited with helping to create the Roy Acuff sound in the 1940s. He's featured on original recordings of Acuff's signature hit, "The Wabash Cannonball," and even starred with Acuff in the film "Night Train to Memphis."
            Besides Acuff, Day performed or recorded with Minnie Pearl, Patsy Cline, Tanya Tucker and Vince Gill. He also performed in "Hay Ride" on Broadway. Day received a star on the "Walkway of the Stars" at the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1981.



Frank Jones R.I.P.
            Long-time music industry executive FRANK JONES died in his sleep February 4, 2005 at his home in West Nashville. Frank had been in the music industry for over 40 years, serving as label head of Warner Brothers Records, Capitol and Mercury Records. As head of A&R at Columbia, he produced may hits including, John Anderson's "Swinging." He was a member of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. He served as a board member of the CMA as well as president and chairman of the CMF board. He is survived by his brother Barry ( in Canada), his two grandsons Mason & Graham) in Murfreesboro and his Music Row "Girls."




Photo of Rustie Blue & Bill Anderson at the "Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree" on January 8th, 2005 having lots of fun performing "Chip Chip."

Rustie Blue & Bill Anderson
           http://www.billanderson.com/music/way_i_feel.html - If you look back through the history of Country Music, there is not much dispute that in one way or another, Bill Anderson has personally influenced more country artists and songwriters than any other individual and Rustie Blue is no exception. On Saturday, January 8th following an appearance on the "Ernest Tubb Mid-Nite Jamboree," Bill Anderson announced that his duet with Rustie Blue (from her latest release "Chip Chip") is included on his new album titled, "The Way I Feel". Bill's new CD may be purchased NOW online from his website" and is scheduled to be released on February 1st. Rustie and Bill's duet climbed to #1 on the (E.C.M.A ) European Country Music Association Chart back in November, and held the #1 spot for 3 weeks; it debuted at #10 and peaked at #4 on the International Hot Disc Chart, and hit the "New Music Weekly" U.S. Chart among other numerous charts, while also receiving rave reviews from the critics!
           View photo's of the "Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree" here http://www.rustieblue.com/midnitejamboree.htm. If you missed Rustie and Bill's performance on the "Midnite Jamboree," you can listen online at http://www.etrecordshop.com/mj.htm.
           To request information on Rustie Blue or to request an interview please contact:
Center Stage Productions
Robert Keister
512 West Sixth Ave.
Lancaster, OH 43130
(740) 653-1916
http://www.rustieblue.com
Steve L. Butts, News Director, TCM Radio
http://www.rustieblue.com
http://groups.msn.com/RustieBluesTrueBlueClub



Pardon Me, Little Darlin'
            If you like Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts, you'll hate Little Darlin' Records. The renegade country label sprang came from the big dreams of the 1960s. Bodacious songs such as Stonewall Jackson's "Pint of No Return," Groovy Joe Poovey's "He's in a Hurry (To Get Home to My Wife)" and Johnny Paycheck's "(Pardon Me) I've Got Someone to Kill" were drenched in steel guitar, edgy vocals and pop-top bass.
            Aubrey Mayhew, now 78, is the colorful producer of Little Darlin'. He's also known as one of the nation's biggest collectors of 1960s JFK memorabilia, with more than 300,000 Kennedy related items in his possession. He's so obsessive about Kennedy, he purchased the infamous Texas Book Depository at a 1970 auction.
            Mayhew is overseeing the Little Darlin' reissues, which will roll out through 2005 and 2006 via Koch Records/Nashville. Due next month are feisty tunes from Jeannie C. Riley and raw Don Williams material. (by Dave Hoelstra, Chicago SunpTime, Jan. 16, 2005)

WORTH A CLICK:
Jan. 4: Music Scene in Middle Tennessee in 1964. Source: TENNESSEAN.COM



Help find a good home for Bill Monroe's Historic
Tour Bus, known as "The Bluegrass Breakdown"
            What a great story, that a family bluegrass band originally from the hollows of Virginia and Kentucky, living in Ohio, they bought the bus, from a widow woman, who was upset when her husband bought the bus, with his retirement money, she would not listen to the story of why he wanted it so badly, because they loved each other so much, they did not bring up the topic again, sadly her husband passed away suddenly at a Bluegrass show, after owning the bus for two weeks. The bus remained parked for two years, covered over with a tarp.
            A fan told us, "One Way Rider", about a lady having a bus for sale, we ran right over, and when the tarp came off, we fell in love with the old bus. We new it had been a entertainer's bus, it had Gary Brewer and Ky Rambler's on the side. OWR sold everything they owned and swept out the old bus, and packed it up and headed off to Nashville! What a surprize when the bus was truly documented, and this poor family had bought it in Ohio, just like Mr. Bill Monroe had many years before, after touring and living in the bus, OWR is willing to let go of their honor of getting to pay their dues, just like many others before them!
            New rebuilt 238 Detroit Deisel, new roof air, new transmission. repainted back to two-toned blue! For serious inquiries only contact http://www.onewayrider.com valerie@onewayrider.com - 1-330-677-6953

December 7, 2004 - Jerry Scoggins died Tuesday, Dec. 7th at age 93. He was the singer on the Beverly Hillbillies TV show and the 1993 movie. Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs played guitar and banjo on the TV show and sung on their  hit recording. Jerry Scoggins was a good guitar playing, vocalist and leader of the group, Cass County Boys. They were in western movies, and were often Gene Autry's band. He lived near L.A. A life of music. - www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/singing2.htm.



JASMINE Records
             I thought the readers might be interested to know about the UK-based JASMINE label. Jasmine specialises in digitally remastering old recordings for CD release. Their catalogue includes a substantial amount of country music encompassing country, yodelling, bluegrass and western music. Their website is: www.hasmick.co.uk. For the country catalogue, go to "genre" and then select "Country". You can obtain pictures and track details of all releases.
             I am a freelance writer and broadcaster. I am not a Jasmine employee but am currently working to produce some releases for the Jasmine catalogue. These include the following items due for release early in 2005 which are not yet on the website:
JASMCD 3559 Red River Dave: The Yodeling Cowboy Sings "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" & Other Country, Story and Western Songs
JASMCD 3564 Slim Whitman: The Man With The Singing Guitar Vol 2
JASMCD 3565 Elton Britt: The Big Voice Of Country Music's Yodelling Copboy Crooner
JASMCD 3566 Various Artistes: Chime Bells: The Best Of Country Yodel Vol 3
JASMCD 3567 Yodeling Slim Clark: Cowboy & Yodel Songs
JASMCD 35?? Carson Robison: not yet titled
JASBOX 13-4 (4CD set) Various Artistes: A Cowboy's Life Is Good Enough For Me: 100 Songs Of The Plains & Life In The West
             We are particularly pleased to have been able to incorporate into these releases some country yodelling as this is very much a part of country music that often does not get the exposure it deserves.
             You may also be interested to know that the BBC last week featured a 30 minute programme on yodelling which has received a lot of positive acclaim. It is now available on the BBC website at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/
Go to "Radio 4" then to "Factual". The programme is titled "Yodel Your Blues Away." Please feel welcome to contact me by email if you need to know more. Best regards, PAUL HAZELL, Freelance Country Music Writer and Broadcaster (November 8, 2004)



Rustie Blue Releases New Album 
             Nashville, Tn - Rustie Blue (Center Stage Productions) will released her album, Chip Chip, Tuesday, October 12. This album features her duet, by the same title, with Whisperin' Bill Anderson and has had critics singing her praises.  Rustie is more than ready to share Chip Chip with the world.  
              "This album has taken much more time in all phases, from selecting the songs, production, artwork and mastering. Some of the songs were more difficult, musically, than my previous two albums. When I play the clubs and other venues, I've been getting quite a number of requests for a traditional song that I wrote with Mike Headrick called 'Honky Tonkin' Diva.' That's always a good sign. The first single release to radio is already out to radio! It's the title track 'Chip Chip.' A duet with Whisperin' Bill Anderson. It's poised to chart in New Music Weekly,#4 on the International HotDisc Chart in the UK and #10 in Europe on the E.C.M.A. chart. Bill and I are both very excited about this duet!   You can expect to find mostly original songs on this album. It has a mix of traditional and modern country," says Rustie.  
              Rustie is making plans to tour Europe in 2005, but until then she will remain busy in the US. She is performing in Columbus, OH for the Quarter Horse Congress on Saturday, October 23rd. The Quarter Horse Congress is the largest single breed horse show and will provide a great opportunity for Rustie to showcase her album, Chip Chip. 
             Chip Chip can be purchased from cdbaby.com; honkytonkin.com or via the online store on Rustie's newly re-designed website. If requested, she will autograph the album. For more information on Rustie Blue or for high-resolution downloadable photos, go to her new website at www.rustieblue.com.   



Colonel Buster Doss.
            Graham Lees talks with one of the most remarkable people behind country music Colonel.
            The celebrated impresario Colonel Buster Doss is a name highly respected as one of the leading independent record producers and the force behind the Stardust International Records label, Nashville. Born B. Marvin Earl Doss, 4 February 1925, Jefferson, Texas, USA., he was nicknamed Buster by his elder brother Benny. At the age of thirteen, Buster ran away to join a touring Old Time Medicine Show, where he soon began to learn about the music and entertainment business from the same people who trained Gene Autry, Bob Wills and Roy Acuff. He also learned conjuring and ventriloquism and in 1942 enlisted in the United States Navy where he started to produce shows to entertain the Armed Forces during World War II.After discharge in 1945, he moved to Hollywood and appeared in b-Westerns as both Bronco Buck Cody and The Cactus Kid.
            Between 1946 and 1948, he did radio broadcasts from KLRA in Little Rock, Arkansas and KTFS in Texarkana, Texas and recorded for Royalty and Star Talent. In 1948 Buster became a member of the Louisiana Hayride, where he worked with several major stars including Hank Williams and Johnny Horton; he also appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. In 1950, Buster Doss managed his first radio station at Hugo, Oklahoma but later owned seven other stations. >From the mid-50s to the early 60s, he owned and operated country music's largest phone promotion unit with over two hundred employees promoting the Grand Ol Opry, the Louisiana Hayride shows, Cody's Helldrivers Thrill Shows and Marvin the Marvellous Magician.
            Forming Wizard Records during 1959 in Waco, Texas, Buster Doss relocated to Nashville and was the first major independent record label to establish itself on Music Row in the 1960's. Buster Doss was also one of the founding fathers of the Outlaw movement, which is greatly associated with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser. Long before the likes of Alabama, Restless Heart, and The Mavericks, the Colonel formed a band out of Austin, Texas in 1976 called Cooder Browne who led the way for other bands to walk. The Colonel signed them to Willie Nelson's Lone Star and Mercury record labels and secured for them the job of opening Willie's Fourth Of July Picnic in 1979.
            One of the Colonel's artistes is Rooster Quantrell who released an excellent album of western swing on the Stardust Nashville label, featuring Buddy Emmons on pedal steel, plus Larry Franklin and Hoot Hester on fiddles, and Rooster playing piano and trumpet. 20 tracks…all written and arranged by Colonel Doss, which can often be heard on Sky Music Choice (digital) in the UK. I believe that Rooster Quantrell is the highly talented musician Donald Bradley, who plays trumpet, piano, guitar and bass and is the piano player in Mark Chesnutt's band.
            I contacted Colonel Buster Doss and asked him about his career:
            How did you start out in the entertainment business?
            "To completely understand me... I came from a musical family and was playing shows and all string instruments by the time I was six years old. When I joined a medicine show at thirteen, I learned to be an actor, magician, comedian, ventriloquist, Master of Ceremonies, etc... so when I went into the Navy, I joined the Air Corp and started putting on shows during boot camp. A lot of the time I was the main performer since I did so many acts. After boot camp, I was put in Special Services because I knew a lot of the country acts. I brought them to bases in the USA and overseas."
            Tell me about your time with the Louisiana Hayride.
            "At the time that it started in 1948 I had a western swing band called, "Buster Doss and the Arkansas Playboys". We went down to the Hayride about once a month and performed. The last show that the Louisiana Hayride did at the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport was in 1960, and I was on and off of the show for the entire twelve years."
            At one time you had management association with Billy Walker and Billy Grammer. Can you tell me a little about this?
            "In 1962,1 built the second largest tent circus in America called "Bronco Buck Cody's Circus and Wild West Show". I hired Billy Grammar as my concert feature on the circus and he talked me into coming to Nashville and manage him when it closed in 1963. Not too long after, Billy Walker recorded one of my songs and asked me to manage him. I also handled Sky King, who was eleven years on the CBS Network."
            How and when did you first come to know Willie Nelson?
            "In the 60's, my booking agency booked fairs and concert appearances for the Louisiana Hayride acts, and a young Willie Nelson was a guitar picker on the Hayride. I formed the Cooder Browne band in 1976 and got them working with Willie. I also got them on Mercury Records and managed them for three years, but I left because I didn't like the dope scene. The only one of the Cooder Browne band I've kept up with, is the fiddle player Larry Franklin, who went from them to the Asleep At The Wheel band, and is now one of the hottest session players in Nashville, working not only on my Stardust releases, but on the albums of Shania Twain, Alan Jackson, Reba McIntyre, Mark Chesnutt, etc."
            You were also involved with Tracy Lawrence's early career. How did that come about?
            "Tracy Lawrence came to one of my theatre's in Ashdown, Arkansas when he was about sixteen years old and stayed until he moved to Nashville."
            Bluegrass artiste Rhonda Vincent is another performer whose early career you were involved with.
            "Rhonda Vincent and her family called the "Sally Mountain Gang" worked for me on my Frontier Jamborees in Missouri and Texas for 5 years"
            You established the career of Rooster Quantrell, a western swing artiste on your Stardust label. Why did you decide on the idea and did the name have anything to do with Quantrell's Raiders from the American Civil War history.
            "The Rooster Quantrell idea came about because I have always been a fan of John Wayne, and one night I was watching television and saw him when he played a character played "Rooster", and then later that same night he was in a movie called, Quantrell's Raiders."
            You have written over 500 songs...Rooster Quantrell and Pap and The Sidemen are just two of the artistes who have more recently recorded your songs, but there has also been several big name artistes who picked up on your songs, who were they?
            "I've had songs recorded by Billy Walker, Billy Grammar, Bob Wills, just to name a few."
            You have mentioned your Frontier Jamborees, when did you start them?
            "I built my first country music theatre in 1970 in Marceline Missouri, where Rhonda Vincent got her start, The second in Harlingen, Texas in 1974, the third in Georgetown Texas in 1976, The fourth in Ashdown Arkansas in 1982 where Tracy Lawerence and Rooster Quantrell got their start, the fifth in Mt. Pleasant Texas in 1985, The sixth in Athens Texas in 1986 and the seventh in Winchester Tennessee in 1990."
            What happened with the Frontier Jamboree Theatres and Codyland Village?
            "When I turned sixty-five, I sold all of the theatre's and moved to the farm where I still live and turned my concentration on Stardust Records."
            Can I ask how you came by the title of Colonel?
            "In the '60s, I did shows for the police and I was made a Colonel in the public relations division of the Police organisation. 11 States have bestowed the honour of Colonel on me including Bill Clinton when he was Governor of Arkansas and made me a Colonel on his staff."
            Just to finish, I believe that you have received many awards for your work in country music and as a magician, how many have you received?
            "I have over a 1000 awards in my offices including Hall Of Fame from the CMAA, LSSMA, ICMA, TCMA, etc. Magician of the Year, Knights of the Golden Wand. PLUS: Producer of the Year, Promoter of the Year. Songwriter of the Year and on and on !!"
            That certainly is a remarkable achievement. Thanks for your time Colonel.



Driftin' Cowboy "Lum" York R.I.P.
            BATON ROUGE, La. Aug. 17, 2004 - William "Lum" York, a musician and comedian who played with Hank Williams and other country music stars, has died of heart disease at the age of 85.
            York, a native of Elmore, Ala., was a bass player with Williams and his Driftin' Cowboys band in the 1940s. He also played with other stars like Marty Robbins.
            He died at a Baton Rouge hospital.
            York was a member of the Driftin' Cowboys from 1944 to 1949, including Williams' 1948-49 residency at the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport.
            He said Williams paid him $20 a week and room and board, which York said was a lot of money back then. "Lovesick Blues" in 1949 took Williams' to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. York and the Driftin' Cowboys stayed behind in Shreveport. York later got a job in Nashville but returned to Shreveport because he didn't like it.
            Lefty Frizzell's band in 1952 hired York. He later played with Marty Robbins and George Morgan. After his stint with the Driftin' Cowboys and others, York played with pop and bluegrass bands. He also worked for the East Baton Rouge School Board.



Melvin Endsley R.I.P.
            Monday, August 16, 2004 - This sad news from Bonnie Brown, about one of country musics' great artists.  Our prayers and condolences go out to his family. You may remember one of his: "I Ain't Gettin' Nowhere With You" a great song. 
           "Sorry to say that our dear friend Melvyn Ensley died this afternoon from Heart Complications. He was such a sweet person, and altho he had polio at an early age, he  overcame all the hardships of that life, and wrote such wonderful songs for such persons as  Marty Robbins,  (singing the blues) ... and one for us that we loved ... called "I'd just Be Fool Enough To Care", and then  he ran a very successful  cattle farm in Heber Springs, Ark. from his wheelchair. And, he had a wonderful wife and family that loved him dearly.  Melvyn was a fantastic person ... and loved Country Music and the people in Country Music.  I am sure his fans and friends in the Country Music Business will miss him so much, as we, The Browns, will." -Bonnie Brown Ring



Clyde Price R.I.P.
            July 2, 2004 - Clyde Price, a popular Alabama broadcaster known as the Syrup Sopper, has diedfrom cancer, his family said. He was 72. Price gained local (Alabama) and national recognition over nearly 40 years as a radio broadcaster and drew a wide audience with his tales of growing up poor on a Cullman farm. Price's shows featured gospel and country music and led him to dinners with three presidents.





Hal Ketchum Update
            Hal has over four million albums sold. He has 15 Top Ten singles and 5 Top Five singles. Hal's new single on Curb Records is adding to radio July 19th - titled "My Love Will Not Change". Hal has the BMI special citation for over 1 million plays on 5 of his singles, and his hit "Stay Forever" has this prestigious citation for 3 million plays. His music videos are featured on recurrent rotation on CMT, GAC, VH1, etc. Hal Ketchum is a Grand Ole Opry inductee and he has been nominated for the CMA Vocal Event of the Year. He is also featured on the soundtracks for the movies Maverick and Something To Talk About. Hal Ketchum is represented exclusively by Maximus Entertainment. Please feel free to check out Hal's website at www.halketchum.com and Maximus Entertainment's website at www.maximustalent.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Links to email the staff at Maximus Entertainment are provided below along with the teleph!
            Hal will play two sets at selected venues, depending on the venue's capacity and ability to turn house. Best Regards,
Sonya Wiley - Assistant sonya@maximustalent.com
Zach Baker - Talent Agent zach@maximustalent.com
Robert Devine - General Manager robert@maximustalent.com
Phone: 512-343-6299 - Fax: 512-338-2209
www.maximustalent.com - www.halketchum.com



David Dean White
            David Dean White is an Americana/Country songwriter. LEWIS AND CLARK PART ONE: TO THE MISSOURI BREAKS, was released October 16, 2003. PART ONE is the first cd in a trilogy about Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. The story songs describe the adventure through the Western United States by the Corps of Discovery. PART TWO will be release November 2005 and PART THREE will be released September 2006. The songs are filled with the spirit of the American experience. To order the cd. Send $11.99 to David Dean White, 3451 State Rd. J, Fulton, Mo. 65251 or order online at http://cdbaby.com/cd/ddwhite - Thank you.



JoseDaniel Inducted
            We are proud to announce that after years of writing, performing, and recording the best in traditional country music, JoseDaniel has been inducted into the "TRADITIONAL COUNTRY HALL OF FAME" June 22, 2004. JoseDaniel is one of traditional country's greatest friends, and spokesperson. Jose realizes that traditional country music is not a style of music that remains in the past, but is a part of history, and history in the making! Join us as we make JoseDaniel feel welcome as a inductee from the great state of Mississippi.
Colonel Robert Morris - colonelrobert@bellsouth.net
Traditional Country Hall Of Fame Inductee, Rockabilly Hall Of Fame Inductee



RIP: Julian J. Aberbach
            Julian J., 95, of New York City, New York, Southampton, New York, Palm Beach, Florida. Beloved husband of 50 years of Anne Marie Aberbach, loving father of Belinda Aberbach Stevenson Agar, loving grandfather of Vanessa Stevenson, Elie Stevenson, Max Stevenson, Ezra Stevenson and Chloe Agar, passed away of heart failure in New York City on Monday, May 17, 2004. Julian J. Aberbach was one of the most respected names in American music publishing as well as music publishing around the world.
            Having emigrated to America from Austria, he served in WWII in the U.S. Army receiving his commission as Second Lieutenant and served as a multilingual liaison with officers of the Free French. He became interested in country music and developed a major music publishing enterprise along with his brother Joachim Jean Aberbach. Major names in Nashville music such as Red Foley, Ernest Tubb, Johnny Cash, Eddie Arnold, Bill Monroe, Left Frizzel and Hank Snow accounted for close to 75% of Hill and Range Songs' country music hits.
            One of the most significant publishing deals ever made by the Aberbachs was the acquisition of the exclusive publishing rights to the music of Elvis Presley in 1955. By the early 1970's the Aberbach business had become a worldwide music force. Julian Aberbach was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 15, 2000. Julian and Jean Aberbach went on to develop as major figures in the art world as owners of the Aberbach Fine Art Gallery in New York City.
            He lost his brother in 1992. Additionally, Mr. Aberbach received the Legion of Honor in June 2003 in recognition of his unique contribution to French culture. He was dearly loved and he will be greatly missed. Services will be held at the Riverside Chapel, 180 W. 76 St, NYC, at 10 A.M. on Wednesday, May 19, 2004. Interment will follow at the Independent Jewish Cemetery in Sag Harbor, NY.



From Billy & Sharon Stewart:
"Tennessee Waltzing in the Kitchen"
            In the very near future we are putting together a cookbook titled, "Tennessee Waltzing in the Kitchen"   (Recipes from friends of Redd).
            As you may already know, Redd was always big on helping others in the music business, and Billy and I want to carry on this mission. Our thoughts for doing this cookbook were to not only have a great cookbook filled with recipes from around the world, but also to help promote some of the upcoming country musicians, and/or help keep the older traditional country musicians names out there, too. We also welcome any family, friends and/or fans of Redd's to submit their recipes!
            What we will be doing is placing your recipe, along with your picture and web site address and/or e-mail address on the page, and possibly a little bit about you under your picture to help promote your name,  music, and/or organization. We'd love for you to send us your favorite recipe (country style of anything!) and we will add yours to the book. This would be a great way to let others know about you!
            We're planning on having about 300 recipes in this book, so please let us know if you're interested - first come, first served!! We look forward to hearing from you!!
Thanks, Billy & Sharon - sharon@reddstewart.com
www.reddstewart.com



The Roanoke FiddleFest 2004
           Once again this July, the familiar sounds of bluegrass and old-time mountain music will fill the air in Roanoke, most specifically on the campus of Hollins University. In addition to the diverse atmosphere of classical music, poetry, theatre, and modern dance, Hollins will open its beautiful 475 acre campus to the community for a type of music and culture not usually celebrated at most institutions of higher learning. On July 22 through 24 the players, fans, and history buffs of traditional string music will make their annual summer pilgrimage to Hollins, to have the opportunity to learn about things as diverse as what a "hammer-on" means to a guitar player, to the correct shuffle on a fiddle, and even obscure facts about local radio & television's influence on the music. Did you know, for instance, that country music star Bill Anderson performed on a local TV show? And unbeknownst to him, his audition, due to a scheduling conflict, was heard by the station's janitor? For three days in July, the 22nd through 24th, you' ll have the chance to learn these, and other interesting facts about the music, and the important role that Roanoke, and other local media of the period, played in the early days of country and bluegrass music.
           Curtis Downey, a long time employee of WDBJ, first in radio, and subsequently Channel 7 television, will present a history of early radio and television, covering the period of broadcast media from the mid-1920's to the early 1950's. Curtis served as the producer of "Top of the Mornin'", a live music show that featured Don Reno & Red Smiley for 13 years. Some very special insights from someone who was there, if you will. In addition to the incredible amount of anecdotal information that Curtis carries around in his head, he's collected an impressive array of historical artifacts, which be displayed during the program. He also plans some special guests, who will appear with him for the discussion. This is one part of the festival that Roanoke's history buffs shouldn't miss.
           In another very interesting program, Danny Roberts, production manager for Gibson Bluegrass' Master Model, and other mandolins, will discuss the history of the legendary Gibson F-5 mandolin, designed by master luthier Lloyd Loar in the early years of the 20th century, and played by such greats as Bill Monroe, Herschel Sizemore (who'll be teaching and performing at FiddleFest) Jessie McReynolds, and Doyle Lawson. Danny's also a fantastic mandolin player in his own right, and will be available as both instructor and historian.
           In addition to the historical aspect of our round table discussion series, fans will have the chance to meet, up close & personal, with their favorite artists, and get to know about their musical influences, and a little about them personally. Our daily workshops will feature instruction on banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, resonator guitar, bass, songwriting, and singing. For those interested in the mechanics of their instrument, a daily workshop on set up, and repair & maintenance will also be part of the teaching series, with instructors Ron Shuffler, Danny Bishop, and Dewey Peters.
           For those of you with the competitive urge, this year's festival features both band & individual contests, in the bluegrass and old time music styles, with winner's purses of nearly $10,000. Bluegrass and old time bands, along with individual competition in banjo & fiddle in those styles, will be held all three days of the festival, from the main stage, known as "Tinker Beach" . The second annual Masters of Traditional String Music, Roanoke Competition, will kick off each day at 9 AM, and continue until late afternoon.
           And of course, we'll end every day on Tinker Beach with our evening concerts with each day's scheduled artists. This year's performers include Dale Ann Bradley, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Ronnie Bowman & The Committee, Acoustic Endeavors, The Jake Landers Band, Alan Bibee & Blue Ridge, Ronnie Reno & the Reno Tradition, The Lost & Found, David Parmley & Continental Divide, Herschel Sizemore, Ron Shuffler, Danny Bishop, The Bluegrass Brothers, and many more. The entire festival will be held on the Hollins campus this year, making access to the events much easier. Events will begin each day at 9 AM, and run continuously throughout the day until 11 PM, at various outdoor & indoor locations on campus. The complete schedule can be viewed on the website. Three day passes, single day passes, and evening concerts tickets are available by calling 540-366-4616, or toll free, 866-883-9466, from the website at www.roanokefiddlefest.org, or in person at Williamson Road Service Center. You may also purchase tickets by mail, by sending your check or money order to FiddleFest, P. O. Box 5883, Roanoke, VA 24012. Proceeds from FiddleFest benefits Center in the Square, the Rotary Club of Roanoke charities, The Children's Miracle Network, and Hollins University's Scholarship programs. Some come on out, hear some great music, eat some good food, and support these many worthy causes. See you in July!
Mike Conner
FiddleFest, a non-profit corporation
P. O. Box 5883
Roanoke, Va. 24012
540-366-4616
1-866-883-9466
fax 540-366-0805



Country Performer Frankie Scott Dies
           (AP, 04/25/2004) - Frankie Scott, whose entertainment career spanned nearly three decades and ranged from singing and acting to comedy and modeling, died Saturday of a stroke. She was 84.
           "It will be hard to go on without my Frankie but I know that she is now in a place where rosebuds will bloom forever," said her husband, country music pioneer Ramblin' "Doc" Tommy Scott.
           Tommy Scott was referring to his popular late-1940s hit song "Rosebuds and You," which he wrote for his wife and frequent film co-star.
           Scott began her career as a model in Atlanta in the late 1930s and married Tommy Scott in 1940, shortly before he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
           She joined her husband in a trip West to make movies, co-starring in the 1949 release of the Edward Dymytrk film "Trail of the Hawk" and other films, such as "Mountain Capers," "Hillbilly Harmony" and "Southern Hayride."
           When the "'Ramblin' Tommy Scott" TV show started in the late '40s, Frankie Scott danced, sang and did comedy on the variety series.
           Frankie Scott returned to television in the 1950s when "Scott's Smokey Mountain Jamboree" aired in syndication around the country.
           In the 1960s, Scott took a position as co-producer of her husband's road show, "Doc" Scott's Last Real Old Time Medicine Show."



King of Bluegrass Diagnosed with Cancer
           Jimmy Martin, commonly known as the King of Bluegrass, has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. Martin began his radiation treatments on Monday, March 22, 2004. It is reported that he will receive at least twenty treatments in all.
           Jimmy Martin was a guitarist for Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys and continued to play bluegrass with his band, The Sunny Mountain Boys. He is honored by most of the bluegrass community and is a Bluegrass Hall of Fame member. Jimmy Martin has been a controversial character in the world of bluegrass during his long career. He had just finished work on the soundtrack to the film, King of Bluegrass: The Life and Times of Jimmy Martin.
           Want to send well wishes? Send cards and letters to Jimmy Martin, P.O. Box 646, Hermitage, Tennessee 37076. (Jason Sligh)



Loretta Lynn
           will release her new studio album, Van Lear Rose, on April 27, 2004 on the Interscope label. Lynn, who wrote every song on the album, has filmed a video for the first single, "Portland, Oregon." Jack White of the rock band, the White Stripes, produced. Van Lear, KY., is a community near Butcher Holler, KY., where Lynn grew up.




For those of you who are fans of the Bakersfield Sound, here's your chance to own a piece of history by the man who started it all, Bill Woods "The Godfather of The Bakersfield Sound." This is a very rare live recording of Bill performing on the stage of the infamous Blackboard Nightclub in Bakersfield with his friends Don Rich (guitar player for Buck Owens) Don Markham (current sax/trumpet player for Merle Haggard) Fuzzy Owen (who has been Merle's road manager) and Red "Hello I'm a Truck" Simpson. These two 60 minute shows recorded in 1961-62 are from jam sessions that were held on Sunday afternoons and answer the question I get all the time "Glenn what were the old clubs that spawned the Bakersfield Sound like?"
           Here's the best part. We will donate $5.00 of every Cd sold to our friend Bob Timmers of the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame who is our "That Bakersfield Sound" website designer. As you know Bob has never asked any compensation for all the effort he has put into this site but relys entirely on donations and contributions to keep his www.rockabillyhall.com and www.countryhall.com operating in the black. So you not only have the oppurtunity to own a great CD but help our friend Bob Timmers in the process. Amount: $15.00 (includes shipping and handling). Make payment to:
Glenn J. Pogatchnik
1675 Los Osos Vly Rd. #130
Los Osos,Ca 93402




Rusty Blue and Bill Anderson Record
           Rustie & "Whisperin" Bill Anderson team up together with the duet "Chip Chip". Good Good things are worth waiting for! Rustie has just come out of the studio with the Legendary Bill Anderson where they recorded their first duet together entitled "Chip Chip" an original song written by Bill and never before released! Single to be released to national radio in the early part of 2004 and will also be included on Rustie's next album and possibly on Bill's next CD in Jan. 2004.  Rustie states "Bill has been a huge inspiration to me in my career and has given me wonderful support" and I can't thank him enough for that."
           Rustie first opened shows for Whisperin Bill Anderson in 2001 and then went on to record "On and On and On" (a song written by Bill Anderson) which hit the E.M.S. European Chart in May and at the same time was sitting at the top of the "Hot Country Singles Chart" at #1. Also Rustie recorded "I'm Not Going Til I'm Gone," a beautiful ballad and fantastic song written by Bill and has now charted on the Mildura Hot FM top 100 Country Hits Chart at #49..
           Watch for the national release of "Chip Chip" in the coming months!! View photo's of Rustie & Bill in studio at Rustie's website http://www.rustieblue.com. Thank you for your continued support! Robert Keister, Management CSP, Center Stage Productions, 512 West Sixth Ave., Lancaster, Ohio 43130 (740) 653-1916. RUSTIE'S EMAIL:  rustie@rustieblue.com. BILL ANDERSON'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.billanderson.com. RUSTIE BLUE, PROUD MEMBER OF THE "COUNTRY LEGENDS ASSOCIATION:" http://www.clalonestar.com



Willie Phelps Remembered
           Courtesy: John Warren, The Virginian-Pilot - March 6, 2004. The way the story goes, Willie Phelps was almost Roy Rogers, name and all. Republic Pictures had put out a call for a singing cowboy, and Phelps was on his way to a tryout. A young singer named Len Slye snuck in without an appointment and won the role. His name was changed to Roy Rogers.
           In the mid-1930s, after achieving local notoriety on WTAR Radio, Phelps left for Hollywood with his brothers Norman and Earl ­ the other two-thirds of the country music trio Norman Phelps and the Virginia Rounders. The Phelps Brothers ­ Willie on guitar, Earl on fiddle and Norman on stand-up bass ­ sang in several movies and starred in several movie shorts.
           They rubbed elbows with the likes of Rogers, Gene Autry and Tex Ritter. The brothers spent one long afternoon in a bar with Willie's idol, Tom Mix. ³Willie and his brothers, they did everything in their lifetime the rest of us dream about,² said Ed Beard, Phelps' son-in-law and a musician.
           William Thomas Phelps Sr. 1914-2004 - By 1940, the Phelps brothers grew homesick. Back in South Norfolk, they bought an old amusement park by the Elizabeth River, named it ³Fernwood Farms² and made it a dance hall and recording studio. The dance hall was said to be the largest on the East Coast. On Thursdays and Saturdays, the brothers and their perfectly pitched ³blood harmony² were the feature act.
           Fernwood Farms hosted the likes of Patsy Cline, Jimmy Dean, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow and Bill Monroe. Willie wrote hundreds of songs. One, "I'm Beginning to Forget You," was later recorded by Elvis Presley. A fateful raid in 1959 by the state alcohol board effectively ended the good times at Fernwood Farms.
           Decades after his brothers died, Phelps performed with new incarnations of The Virginia Rounders. Three years ago, friends said his singing voice was as strong as ever. When news that Phelps, 89, was on his death bed came to his old friend Woodie Nordan on Monday, Nordan brought a guitar to Phelps' bedside. Nordan sang the song ³I Want to Die With a Guitar in My Hand.² At the conclusion, Nordan quietly laid the guitar on Phelps' chest, and the request was realized.



Traditional Country Music Foundation, Inc. Presents Traditional Country Music ... Dance
Sunday, March 21, 2004. American Legion .... Collinsville IL.
2 PM till 6 PM - Old Country Willie Band performing.

Sunday, May 16, 2004 - American Legion ... Mascoutah, IL.
Jam session/open mic, 3 PM till 8 PM
For more information: Call Margaret Penn 618-792-3335



March 5: 41th anniversary of Patsy Cline's Death
            Patsy Cline was the first female solo artist to be elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. She was, and is, a huge star, even though she died at age 30 and her real stardom only launched three years before her death. Born Virginia Patterson Hensley (the "Cline" is from her first husband, Gerald) on September 8, 1932 in Winchester, Va., Patsy wanted to be an entertainer all her life. She first performed in public at age four, when she won a tap dance contest. Soon, though, she switched to singing, and would sing anywhere and everywhere she could.
            She had to quit high school in order to clerk in a drug store to help support her family. In fact, when Roy Acuff offered her a job on his radio show, Patsy decided that she could make more money working in the drug store, so she went back to Winchester.
            Soon, though, she began appearing on shows like the Old Dominion Barn Dance, the Ozark Jubilee, and The Jimmy Dean Show. Reportedly, Ernest Tubb himself helped her get her first record deal, and there she met Owen Bradley, the producer who would guide her sound for the rest of her career. In fact, Owen says his only problem with Patsy was that she "had such a beautifully silky voice [that] it was hard to get country radio stations to play her records. We did try to rough those records up a little, so that maybe they'd be considered more country."
            Patsy's records became classics. In fact, her Greatest Hits album is still a huge seller. But once you hear Patsy sing "Walkin' After Midnight," "I Fall To Pieces," or "Crazy," you cannot forget that voice. The Mar. 5, 1963, plane crash that silenced Patsy also took the lives of Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cline's manager, accompanist Randy Hughes. The plaque on her grave says, "Death cannot kill what never dies." To Hear Tom Tripp's tribute to Patsy Cline, please click here www.soundclick.com/tomtripp.



Fans Drawn to Stars' Final Resting Places
            By Clay Carey, The Hendersonville Star News - Johnny Cash. Mae Axton. Conway Twitty. All of them called Sumner County home. In the end, they chose to make Sumner County their final resting place. Because of the attraction the county once had to music legends, some of Sumner's cemeteries are the eternal home to a handful of country music legends.
            Hendersonville Memory Gardens is the final resting place for some musical giants. According to Tom Bowers, manager of Hendersonville Funeral Home, they have no shortage of visitors. The visits to Hendersonville Memory Gardens picked up significantly this year after the deaths of Johnny and June Carter Cash ‹ their graves are the ones visitors most often want to see.
            "We have quite a few folks coming by wanting to know where the Cashes are buried, where Johnny Russell is buried, where Sheb Wooley is buried ..." Bowers said. "Very seldom does a day go by when we don't have somebody in here wanting directions to one of those."
            While daily traffic at Hendersonville Memory Gardens is fairly heavy on a daily basis, major musical events, like the Country Music Association Music Festival which will be held in Nashville this summer, mean even more people come through to pay their respects to the legends they admire.



Music History Recorded in Museum
            By DEBORAH HIGHLAND, The (Gallatin) News Examiner - Sumner County's rich musical heritage is heralded by the county's museum. "Sumner County is steeped in music history," said Allen Haynes, chairman of the Sumner County Museum Board.
            From locals in Portland who make dulcimers to the stars such as the late Johnny Cash, Sumner has been known for its musical heritage for decades. Because of those musical roots one portion of the county museum is dedicated to musical artifacts such as Dot Records of Johnny Maddox recordings to the old neon sign that once hung at Randy's Records in Gallatin, the largest mail-order record store in the country during its heydey.
            "That put Gallatin on the map right there," Haynes said about Dot Records and the record store. Below the neon sign is an old photo of Dr. Humphrey Bate and the Possum Hunters of Castalian Springs, who were early stars of the Grand Ole Opry. Bate's daughter, Alcyon Bate, was the first female singer to perform at the Opry.
            "Sumner County has a lot of connections with the Grand Ole Opry and country music," Haynes said. "It's an important part of history and especially local history," he said.



R.I.P.: Alvino Rey, Virtuoso of the Steel Guitar
            By WOLFGANG SAXON - Feb. 27, 2004 - lvino Rey, a bandleader of the swing era who made the steel guitar sing and led many talented young musicians in honing their signature sounds, died on Tuesday at his home in Salt Lake City. He was 95. His death was confirmed yesterday by his son Jon.
            Mr. Rey, who styled himself King of the Guitar in those days, originated the singing sound of the electrified instrument, controlled with a pedal and called the pedal steel guitar. He could coax good, solid rhythmic swing from it as well as pleasantly sweet tones for dancing.
            He led his own ensembles for more than 40 years, starting in 1939 in New York with the Alvino Rey Orchestra, accompanied by the Four King Sisters. The sisters, who were six altogether, performing in various combinations, stayed with his ensemble, and Mr. Rey married one of them, Luise, in 1937.
            The band had an early hit in 1942 with "Deep in the Heart of Texas," which brought national stardom. Aside from the King Sisters, its lineup of musicians included Neal Hefti, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Don Lamond and Johnny Mandel, who was also an arranger.
            Over the years Mr. Rey's bands employed a remarkable array of arrangers, including Ray Conniff, Billy May, Frank Devol and Skeets Herfurt, who also played clarinet. Other fledgling arrangers were Nelson Riddle and a very young George Handy.
            Alvino Rey was born Alvin McBurney in Oakland, Calif., on July 1, 1908, his son said, and grew up in Cleveland. His first instrument was a banjo, a birthday gift. He tinkered with it, attaching electric wiring to amplify its twang through his radio loudspeaker.
            He made his professional debut in 1927 and the next year joined the Phil Spitalny Orchestra when it played in Cleveland. He switched to the guitar and, studying it with the virtuoso Roy Smeck, chose the new electric guitar and its offspring. He changed his name to Alvino Rey in 1929 to help fit in with a Latin music craze.
            In 1934 he joined Horace Heidt's Musical Knights and, as their steel guitarist, became one of the best known - and best paid - sidemen in the country. He also met Luise King, then one of the band's singing quartet.
            He left Heidt in 1940, taking the King Sisters with him. His band broke records at the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles, became the resident orchestra for the Mutual Broadcasting network and made many recordings.
            The 1943 recording ban, imposed by the musicians' union, and World War II broke up that first group. He served in the Navy until 1946, while the King Sisters toured with Artie Shaw and headlined at the Copacabana. He assembled another Alvino Rey Orchestra in 1946 and toured with it until 1950. Among that band's hits was the novelty item "Cement Mixer."
            He played with small groups and also led a band that appeared at Disneyland into the late 1980's.
            Starting in January 1965 Mr. Rey appeared on television with the King Sisters and dozens of other members of their talented family on "The King Family Show," which began as a replacement for "The Outer Limits" and ended up running on ABC for several seasons.
            In addition to his son Jon, of Salt Lake City, Mr. Rey is survived by another son, Robert, of Bountiful, Utah; a daughter, Liza Butler of Southwest Harbor, Me.; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
            Mr. Rey's final appearance with a group came in 1994, when he formed a jazz quartet in Salt Lake City. Luise, then 80, took her last bow in public with it as the "girl singer." She died three years later, in 1997.



Wichita Falls Music Giant Sam Gibbs Dies at 85
            By Lana Sweeten-Shults, Times Record News (Feb. 26, 2004) - For Wichita Falls, Wednesday will be remembered as the day the music died. Sam Gibbs died at age 85. He was a pioneer booking agent, member of the famed Miller Brothers Western swing band, co-founder with his brothers of the popular M-B Corral club, and founder of the Sam Gibbs Music Company.
            Gibbs was born May 14, 1918, and soaked up the hard-working Depression-era ethic that would spur him on to success as a musician and booking agent.
            Sam Gibbs and twin brother, Nat Gibbs, worked in the advertising department at the Times Publishing Company, while Leon threw a paper route. That was just their day job. At the same time, the young newspapermen were making inroads in the music industry. Guitarist Sam, bassist Nat and fiddler Leon moonlighted as the Miller Brothers Band, playing first at the Wichita Restaurant on Eighth Street for 50 cents and a hot meal. They moved on to playing a morning show on KWFT radio.
            The Miller Brothers became one of the most popular Western swing bands in the country. In 1955, Cashbox Magazine rated them as the third most successful Western swing group in the United States. Others placed them just behind the famed Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. The Miller Brothers put down their fiddles, guitars and bows and enlisted to serve in World War II.
            When they came home they built the popular M-B Corral. It became the digs for the Miller Brothers Band, who also booked the luminaries of the day - Elvis Presley, Tex Ritter, Buck Owens, Ray Price, Ernest Tubb, Little Richard and Fats Domino.
            Sam Gibbs realized there was money to be made as a booking agent, so he formed the Sam Gibbs Orchestra Service. He booked Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys - even managed them for a time.
            "He was one of the prime architects of the modern-day booking industry," said Don Chance, music historian and a music writer for the Times Record News. "He operated the music store to service the groups (that he booked). "He gave a lot of people their start. He did most of the booking for acts, like Roger Miller. He wasn't anything before Sam Gibbs started booking him," he said.
            Before booking agents like Sam Gibbs, Chance said music was based in vaudeville, which was on its way out. Emerging bands in country and rock music needed agents to handle the details. "Sam created a similar system (to vaudeville) for nightclubs and bars," he said. "His move was that of a visionary, and Sam was ahead of his time in seeing a need and filling it," wrote Carroll Wilson, editor of the Times Record News, in his book about Leon Gibbs and the Miller Brothers Band, called "Playing by Heart." Before long, Sam Gibbs' company handled about 50 bands.
            Leon Rausch, who played with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys - and still plays with the Playboys - said Sam Gibbs booked the group from 1961-64. "He did all of our bookings, all of our promotional work, and all the advertising was done through his office. He'd have posters printed and handled all the details." It was as a booking agent that Sam Gibbs earned his nickname of "Dartboard Sam."
            Some of the bands claimed he used to close his eyes and throw a dart at a map of the country. Wherever the dart landed, that would be where the band would play.
            Sam Gibbs' son-in-law, Steve Moore, who now operates Sam Gibbs Music Company, said the nickname wasn't exactly well deserved. Things on the road would go wrong, like bands missing dates and band members quitting or getting fired, and Sam Gibbs would have to find last-minute bookings that might be miles and miles away from where they were at.
            Leon Gibbs said that if there was a problem with a band, Sam "would fly out there and talk to these people and would find out what was wrong. People appreciated it." Sam Gibbs traveled as many as 97,000 miles a year by car, according to a 1999 Times Record News article by Chance, and he would travel even more by plane.
            Sam Gibbs opened Sam Gibbs Music Company in 1969. He operated the store and booked bands until he retired in 1987.
            Arts and entertainment editor Lana Sweeten-Shults can be reached at (940) 720-3462 or by e-mail at shultsl(at)TimesRecordNews.com



Redd Stewart Day Invitation
            We would like to invite you to a very special day planned in honor of the late Redd Stewart, country musician/songwriter of great hits, such as Tennessee Waltz, You Belong To Me, Slow Poke, Bonaparte's Retreat, Soldiers Last Letter, and many, many others. As you may know, Redd passed away this past August 2003, due to complications from injuries he suffered in the early 1990's after a fall at his home in Louisville. His son, Billy and daughter-in-law, Sharon have taken over his music business, Ambridge Music, Inc. and have recently launched a beautiful, tribute site for him located at www.reddstewart.com.
           We will be holding a country music jam session and festival, along with a formal induction of Redd into the Traditional Country Hall of Fame. His son, Billy and Sharon will be traveling from Norfolk, Virginia to accept the honors! The festival will be held at the Olive Branch city park in Olive Branch, Mississippi, on Saturday, September 18, 2004 from 10:00 a.m. till 10:00 p.m. (or later).
           We are currently scheduling artists and bands to participate in this event, and would like to add you to our list! This would be a great way for new, upcoming artists to promote themselves, and show others their talents, along with the more seasoned artists and bands generously offering their time and talent to a worthy cause for a pioneer of the country music industry. Please contact Colonel Robert Morris for more information at: colonelrobert@bellsouth.net
           Thank you. Colonel Robert Morris, Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and Traditional Country Hall Of Fame and Bob Timmers, Founder of Rockabilly Hall of Fame. *Please contact us as soon as possible, as we are trying to get everything lined up way in advance! "In Loving Memory of Redd Stewart"



Woman, Thought to be Lefty Frizzell's Daughter, Dead
            By ANDY HUMBLES (Feb. 15, 2004) - A woman thought to be the daughter of late country music legend Lefty Frizzell was found dead yesterday in rural Wayne County, authorities said. Lois Frizzell Westervelt, 57, was the woman identified by police in her trailer home.
            Wayne County Sheriff Carl T. Skelton thought Westervelt had been deceased in the mobile home for some time. He did not speculate how long Westervelt had been dead. "There appeared to be no sign of foul play," Skelton said. "She appeared to maybe be attempting to take a shoe off and fell forward … either an aneurysm or sudden heart attack."
            Westervelt lived alone, the sheriff said. She was found in a back room after police entered the home, which was locked. The sheriff said an officer checked Westervelt's residence at 5119 Baptist Hill Road after a phone call from an out-of-state family member. Skelton said the person said they hadn't heard from her in a while. Skelton said the closest neighbor was nearly a mile away. "The mailman said he hadn't seen her in a week," Skelton said.
            Westervelt had owned a 69-acre farm on Baptist Hill Road since 1989, state property records showed yesterday. The land has a Collinwood address. She would have been 58 on Monday, according to her voter registration information in Florida, where she also had owned a home.
            Ricky Frizzell, the son of Lefty Frizzell and brother of Westervelt, also had lived in a rural Wayne County cabin for many years and was described as a hermit. In 1998 Ricky Frizzell was discovered by a neighbor covered in layers of dirt, weak from hunger, laden with insect bites and in filthy clothes. In a Tennessean story that year, acquaintances complained that the state and mental health professionals seemed to be unable to help him. Now thought to be in his early 50's, Ricky Frizzell was known to local residents for behavior such as screaming in the woods and lying in the middle of county roads. Police thought he might be in a mental hospital but couldn't confirm that.
            William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell, a Texas native, died of a stroke in 1975 at 47. His hits included Always Late (With Your Kisses). He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982.



Katz Kobayashi R.I.P.
(Feb. 14, 2004) - The Associated Press reports that Katz Kobayashi - former steel guitar player for Marty Robbins, Bill Anderson, Johnny Russell, Jeanne Pruett, Alan Jackson and other Grand Ole Opry stars - died at his home in Panama City Beach, Fla., on Feb. 8 of complications from a stroke. In the early 1990s, he performed on the Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach, S.C. A native of Japan, Kobayashi was 60 at the time of his death.



Patsy Cline Memorial Show

           Thursday March 4, 2004 ... sponsored by the Benton County Chamber of Commerce located in Camden, Tennessee. If you are interested in donating your singing talents and time contact Bill Kee at the Benton County Chamber Of Commerce at Phone Number 731.584.8395 for information. Funds generated raised will be used to renovate the current Patsy Cline Memorial located at the Plane crash site which also claimed the lives of manager & Pilot Randy Hughes, Hawkshaw Hawkins & Cowboy Copas.
Contact: Bill Kee
Benton County Chamber Of Commerce
202 Main Street West
Camden, Tennessee 38320 USA
Phone: 731.584.8395



Fiddle Fest 2004
           Always the first full week in June, the 7th Annual Fiddle Fest is June 10, 11, 12, 2004. A part of the American Heritage Musical Festival, Fiddle Fest 2004 is held in Grove, OK (near Tulsa) on beautiful Grand Lake O' the Cherokees.
- $1,000 Grand Prize (nationally certified)
- Cash prizes in all divisions
- Standard National Rules
- Nationally recognized judges
DIVISIONS (enter one):
- OPEN - ($15 entry fee before May 15)
($5 entry fee before May 15):
- Pee Wee (6 and under)
- Jr. Jr. (10 and under)
- Junior (15 and under)
- Adult (15-60)
- Senior (60 and over)
OTHER CONTESTS (enter as many as you like):
($5 entry fee each before May 15):
- Twin Fiddle
- Hot Fiddle
- "Take Me Back to Tulsa" (best rendition of a Bob Wills tune)
- Jukebox (best acoustic group with at least one fiddle)
- Honeycreek Special (gambler's draw)
- Flatpicking
- Dobro
- Banjo
- Mandolin
For contest information and a printable registration form, maps, motels, restaurants, RV and tent camping information, please visit http://www.grandlakefestivals.com/ or mail entry fee to:
Grand Lake Festivals, Inc., P.O. Box 451590, Grove, OK, 74345
Spread the word - tell your pickin' buddies!
Call 800-526-2523 for further information.



Fort Worth Could Be a Music Center
           By John Austin and Bill Teeter, Star-Telegram Staff Writers - Fort Worth never crossed Frank Dell's mind when he began thinking about creating a music entertainment complex for the Country Legends Hall of Fame.
           Now, he can't think of a better site for the hall of fame, music theater and an adjacent theater for children and related resort businesses he wants to create, he said. Country music radio and TV programs tied to the association would also come from Cowtown, Dell said. "Where have I been living?" the disc jockey/singer/ visionary asked. "It's so overwhelming. To this point, we're sold on Fort Worth."
           Dell hails from Minnesota, where he heads the Duluth-based, nonprofit Country Legends Association. It is housed in a law office and boasts about 250 members, he said. He visited Fort Worth this month to discuss the project after respondents to an Internet query suggested Cowtown.
           "I just stuck my mouth wide open and said, 'Don't go to Austin, come to Fort Worth,' " Benbrook resident Tina Cox said. "I put a bug in their ear." Dell said he also met with country-music impresario Johnnie High in Arlington.
           "We are going to try to see what can develop here," Dell said. "This may be the new home of country music." Dell figures it will take $20 million to make his dream come true. But he isn't in a position to write the big check: Dell arrived last week in a minivan with a lot of miles on the odometer, not a Learjet or a Gulfstream jet. But he's got a life-size picture of what he wants, and it's not Nashville, Tenn. He doesn't want to create a Branson clone, either. "They don't want country music there," he said. "Maybe they want to make it a revival city. I don't know."
           Fort Worth's history, the Stockyards, Billy Bob's Texas and Texas Motor Speedway make it a natural draw for the venue, Dell said. The existing attractions and the new facilities would complement each other, he said.
           Where the association would build and how it would be paid for are all undetermined, he said. Dell's plans are to put together a proposal for presentation in Fort Worth in a matter of weeks. Dell met with Convention & Visitors Bureau chief Doug Harmon to discuss the complex. Harmon said Dell was short on details but called it "an interesting idea."

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