Kenny Chesney hosted the annual Academy of Country Music Bill Boyd Celebrity Golf Classic, held Oct. 9 in Burbank, Calif. The event raised more than $100,000 to benefit the T.J. Martell Foundation for cancer, AIDS and leukemia research for
children, and its West Coast division; Neil Bogart Memorial Laboratory; the Los Angeles Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children; the Bill Boyd Memorial Trust Fund; and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. The tourney was followed by a celebration concert at the Castaways in Burbank. Country artists performing included David Bellamy, Chad Brock, Jeff Carson, Andy Griggs, Sonya Isaacs, Shane Minor, Craig Morgan, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, and Mark Wills. ...
Country group Ricochet are sponsoring Friday's (Oct. 13) qualifying race for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Winston 500 at the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. At Ricochet Qualifying Day, the first racing day sponsored by a music group, the 25 spots for the 32nd running of the Winston 500 will be selected. Then, on race day, Sunday (Oct. 15), Ricochet will perform for fans at the Superspeedway. The concert will begin at 9:15 a.m. on a stage near the start/finish line. Charlie Daniels will join them and, just prior to the start of the Winston 500, Ricochet will sing the national anthem live on ESPN. ...
Opry.com, the official Web site of the Grand Ole Opry, will go live with Internet video streaming for the first time on Saturday (Oct. 14), as part of the Opry's 75th birthday bash. The broadcast begins at 5:15 p.m. CST. Artists scheduled to perform include Garth Brooks, Little Jimmy Dickens, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Loretta Lynn, Ronnie Milsap, Lorrie Morgan, Dolly Parton, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis and Travis Tritt. ...
CMA Horizon Award winner Brad Paisley will lead a delegation of Nashville artists on Sunday (Oct. 15) to the 12th annual Country Gold Festival in Kumamoto, Japan. This year's lineup also includes Chalee Tennison, the Wilkinsons, the Derailers, Claire Lynch and host Charlie Nagatani. The Country Gold Festival, begun in 1989 by Nagatani, is held each year at the base of the world's largest active volcano, Mount Aso. Other country artists who have played the festival include Dwight Yoakam, Chely Wright, the Dixie Chicks and Diamond Rio. ...
Dwight Yoakam, who coaxed country legend Buck Owens out of retirement for the pair's duet on "Streets of Bakersfield" (RealAudio excerpt) in 1988, is singing with Owens again. For Yoakam's upcoming album, Tomorrow's Sounds Today, the two co-wrote and duet on the weeper "The Sad Side of Town," and sing together on "I Was There," which Owens based on the gospel song "Were You There?" Finally, Yoakam and Owens are joined by accordion whiz Flaco Jiminez, who also played on "Streets of Bakersfield," for the song "Alright, I'm Wrong," written by Yoakam's producer Pete Anderson and Cisco. Yoakam, who turned Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" into a country TV commercial for clothing, attacks Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me" this time out. He wrote the rest of Tomorrow's Sounds Today, set for an Oct. 31 release. Also guesting on the album are Chris Hillman and Jim Lauderdale. ...
Chris LeDoux underwent liver transplant surgery Saturday (Oct. 7) at Nebraska Health System in Omaha. LeDoux had been diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a disease without a known cause that necessitates a liver transplant. LeDoux was placed on the organ transplant list two months ago, after the diagnosis. He has been moved from the hospital's intensive care unit into a transplant care unit. LeDoux's trademark song is "Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy" (RealAudio excerpt), which he recorded as a duet with Garth Brooks. ...
Although Randy Travis has been off Warner Bros. for four years, the label is set to release a project the singer started back then and recently completed, a Warner spokesperson reports. Inspirational Journey, scheduled for an Oct. 31 release, includes classic gospel songs such as "Amazing Grace," as well as three Travis originals: "The Carpenter" (which he wrote with Chip Taylor and Ron Avis), "I Am Going" (co-written with Buck Moore) and "Walk With Me" (co-written with Les Bohan). Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter add vocals on "The Carpenter." Guest musicians include Marty Stuart playing mandolin on "Don't Ever Sell Your Saddle." The album also includes the classic "Doctor Jesus," written by Tony Stampley and Justin Bolen. Travis recently parted ways with DreamWorks Nashville and is said to be in negotiations with several Nashville labels. ...
Heather Kinley of the Kinleys will host the K-9 Classic Charity Golf Tournament, Oct. 23 at the new President's Reserve Course at Nashville's Hermitage Golf Course. Proceeds fund ACT Now (Animal Care Taskforce of Nashville Inc.) and its programs. ...
The Dixie Chicks' appearance on CBS' "60 Minutes II" has been rescheduled from Tuesday (Oct. 10) to Oct. 24. (Sonicnet.com's parent company, Viacom, also owns CBS.) ...
Garth Brooks is off the road forever but will release a final album, the country superstar told Billboard. No release date has been set for the album. Touring, he said, is out of the question, now that he wants to spend time with his three children. He also revealed that he and his wife, Sandy, will divorce. Brooks also said he plans to continue with plans for a movie starring his rock alter ego, Chris Gaines. ...
Craig Morgan will lead an all-star benefit for Deliver the Dream, a retreat center for families facing serious illness or some other crisis. Suzy Bogguss, Shane Minor and Jeff Carson join him in the concert, on Oct. 16 at the Paul Porter Center in Brevard, N.C. ...
Nashville contemporary Christian singer Michael English has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining prescription painkillers and has been sentenced to three years' probation, the Tennessean reports. The singer also will have to perform 200 hours of community service. ...
Not long after releasing Kelly Willis' new One More Time compilation, MCA Records is readying a best-of Joe Ely CD, scheduled for a Nov. 21 release, says a label spokesman. Tracks include early gems "She Spoke Spanish to Me" and the live "Fingernails," and '90s standards "All Just To Get to You" and "Roll Again" (RealAudio excerpt). ...
Lee Ann Womack has been asked to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert to honor the winners of the annual Nobel Peace Prizes, according to a Womack spokeswoman. The concert takes place Dec. 11 in Oslo, Norway, and also will feature Don Henley, Bryan Adams and Nigerian artist Femi Kuti. Womack will perform her hit "I Hope You Dance" (RealAudio excerpt) with the Norwegian Symphony Orchestra. ...
— sonicnet.com staff report
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