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JOHN MICHAEL MONTGOMERY ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Posted on by Bob Ballard

Less than two months ago it was country legend Lee Greenwood announcing his retirement. Yesterday another country icon said he was hanging it up.

John Michael Montgomery, who was one of the leading male country voices throughout the 90’s and into the new millenium, announced on Facebook yesterday that he was calling it a career. “It’s been a wonderful run for me from the beginning over 30 years ago in 1992 when my first song Life’s A Dance was released to radio I think either as a 45 vinyl or on a cassette tape, CDs had not quite taken over the market yet and the internet was still in its infancy. I’ve been fortunate and blessed to be able to do what I love for so many years so please join me on my journey as I say goodbye to the road life. And thanks so much for your support for the last 3 decades, it’s meant so much me.”

He also announced that a farewell tour would run through 2024 and 2025. As of now he only has a handful of dates scheduled, but expect that to change with the news that he’s riding off into the sunset.

Source: WhiskeyRiff

This day in Country Music History

Posted on by Bob Ballard
  • Today in 1950, Sam Phillips opened the Sun Recording Studio, originally known as the Memphis Recording Service, at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis. It became a site for sessions by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, among others.
  • Today in 1975, John Denver scored a gold single with “Back Home Again.”
  • Today in 1986, Willie Nelson and Alabama collected four nominations each at the American Music Awards. Lee Greenwood and Hank Williams Jr. were tapped three times each.
  • Today in 1991, Billy Ray Cyrus signed his first recording contract with Mercury Records in Ashland, Kentucky. In conjunction with the event, the mayors of Ashland and Flatwoods, Kentucky, each proclaim Billy Ray Cyrus Day.
  • Today in 1999, Lee Ann Womack and her record producer husband Frank Liddell welcomed daughter, Anna Lise Liddell, in Nashville.
  • Today in 2000, LeAnn Rimes’ self-titled album was certified platinum, becoming the first release to receive a sales award in the new millennium.
  • Today in 2001, Toby Keith performed the national anthem before the game and Lee Ann Womack sang “I Hope You Dance” during halftime at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Oklahoma Sooners beat the Florida State Seminoles, 13-2.
  • Today in 2012, Dustin Lynch’s debut single, “Cowboys And Angels,” hit the airwaves.
  • Today in 2014, Eric Church’s single, “Give Me Back My Hometown,” was released.
  • Today in 2017, Willie Nelson posted a photo on Facebook of an ugly Christmas sweater he received from rapper Snoop Dogg, which was emblazoned with a unique yuletide message: “Smoke Weed Everyday.”
  • Today in 2018, LANco’s single, “Greatest Love Story,” went platinum.
  • Today in 2018, Mickey Gilley and his son are injured when their car rolls over three times after being hit by another driver who ran a stop sign on Highway 59 near Corrigan, Texas. Gilley fractures an ankle and his right shoulder and postponed a January 6th
  • Today in 2018, Nielsen Music announced Chris Stapleton had the best-selling country album of 2017 with “From A Room: Volume 1,” selling 658-thousand copies during the year. Sam Hunt’s “Body Like A Back Road” was the most-downloaded country single, at 1.8-million units, and the most-streamed, as well.

BLAKE SHELTON CATCHING HEAT FOR PRE-RECORDED NYE PERFORMANCE ON CBS

Posted on by Bob Ballard

The “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” was a showstopper for the year 2023 on CBS, but one performance is catching some heat. Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins reunited on the show and performed some of their classics like “Hillbilly Bone.” The problem is the word “Live” in the name of the CBS show, because Shelton hit the stage in Oklahoma just a few minutes after the televised performance that was supposedly live in Nashville.

Social media lit up with people calling Shelton out, with one person posting on X, “He must have one  fast  tour bus!” On the bright side, he got great reviews for his actual live set in Oklahoma, where he rang in 2024 with “Goodbye Time.”

Source: TMZ

This day in Country Music History

Posted on by Bob Ballard
  • Today in 1975, “Austin City Limits” premiered on PBS with Willie Nelson as the first featured guest. The set list included “Good Hearted Woman,” “Whiskey River,” “Okie From Muskogee” and “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”
  • Today in 1997, Faith Hill went double-platinum for the second time, with the album “It Matters To Me.”
  • Today in 2006, LeAnn Rimes performed “Something’s Gotta Give” at the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, California.
  • Today in 2010, Eli Young Band performed the national anthem before the Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Ole Miss Rebels slam the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the NCAA game, 21-7.
  • Today in 2013, Florida Georgia Line’s “Get Your Shine On” hit the airwaves.
  • Today in 2015, Little Jimmy Dickens died at the Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville of cardiac arrest, eight days after suffering a stroke. Born James Cecil Dickens, he was a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry, and was also a 1983 inductee in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
  • Today in 2017, Carrie Underwood surprised the 50,000 participants at Passion 2017 (a conference for evangelical college students at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta) with a performance of “Something In The Water.”
  • Today in 2017, news broke that Sam Hunt and Hannah Lee Fowler were engaged. The couple married the following April.
  • Today in 2018, Luke Bryan’s single, “Most People Are Good,” hit the airwaves.

This day in Country Music History

Posted on by Bob Ballard
  • Today in 1962, “The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show” last aired on ABC-TV.
  • Today in 1969, Merle Haggard’s live “Okie From Muskogee” album was released.
  • Today in 1983, George Jones’ album, “I Am What I Am,” was certified platinum. It was the first platinum album of his career.
  • Today in 1990, Clint Black met his wife, Lisa Hartman Black.
  • Today in 1993, Trisha Yearwood earned a gold album for “The Song Remembers When.”
  • Today in 1998, Lorrie Morgan, Steve Winwood and Michael English performed at halftime during the first Music City Bowl at Dudley Field in Nashville, while guitarist Larry Carlton was booed for a jazz version of the national anthem. Virginia Tech defeated Alabama, 38-7.
  • Today in 2000, John Michael Montgomery suffered a compound fracture above the ankle his leg on his Kentucky farm. Months later, at Nashville’s annual Country Radio Seminar, John Michael was still hobbling on crutches.
  • Today in 2001, Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” spent the first of five weeks at #1 in Billboard.
  • Today in 2010, Alan Jackson surprised Zac Brown at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena with a 1966 Cadillac El Dorado convertible. The automobile was a gift of thanks for including Jackson on “As She’s Walking Away.”
  • Today in 2013, Nashville’s morning newspaper, “The Tennessean,” named Taylor Swift the Tennessean of the Year.
  • Today in 2020, ABC looks back at a difficult 12 months with a two-hour special, “The Year 2020.” It includes screen time for Brad Paisley, John Legend, P!nk and Lionel Richie, and recognizes the deaths of Charley Pride, Kenny Rogers, Little Richard and Charlie Daniels.

H & S FEED & COUNTRY STORE PET OF THE WEEK: ALFIE

Posted on by Bob Ballard

This week’s H&S Feed and Country Store Pet of the Week is “Alfie”, a 2 year old Border Collie mix with a winning personality. He gets along great with people and other dogs and tolerates cats well. Alfie loves hugs, walks, and behaves well on a leash. He keeps his kennel clean, so we think he’s housetrained. Alfie is fully vetted, vaccinated and ready to go to a loving home.

If you’d like to set up an appointment to meet Alfie or any of the pets at Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter, visit https://www.stephenmemorial.org/ and fill out an adoption application.

Check out our visit about Alfie with Shanna from Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter here:

MIRANDA LAMBERT MAKES SURPRISE APPEARANCE AT LAINEY WILSON SHOW

Posted on by Bob Ballard

There’s been a lot of country girls-supporting-country girls lately. Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood exchanged visits at each other’s Las Vegas residencies; Miranda visited another country star performing in town and didn’t just show up – she jumped on stage.

Lainey Wilson is currently in Las Vegas for a four-night run at The Theater at Virgin Hotels during the National Finals Rodeo. Miranda, being that she’s also in town for her own shows, took the opportunity to head down the Strip to show support for Lainey. And this time, she wasn’t just an observer.

Coming out on stage to join the headliner, Miranda and Lainey delighted fans as the two revisited Miranda’s classic hit “Kerosene.” But they weren’t done. They also performed a previously unreleased song, and if the lyrics are any indication it’s called “Good Horses” – a perfect song for a rodeo crowd.

Source: WhiskeyRiff

This day in Country Music History

Posted on by Bob Ballard
  • Today in 1952, Hank Williams gave his final performance, for 130 people at a holiday party for members of the Musicians’ Union in Montgomery.
  • Today in 1956, Charley Pride marries Rozene Cohran in Hernando, Mississippi.
  • Today in 1985, The Judds climb to #1 on the Billboard country chart with “Have Mercy.”
  • Today in 1991, Brad Paisley saw “Father Of The Bride” in West Virginia. The irony? He was on a first date, but infamously saw one of the film’s stars, Kimberly Williams for the first time. Fast forward four years later and that girlfriend dumped him for a friend…and he went to see “Father of the Bride II” in the hopes of getting cheered up. It worked, but they didn’t cross paths until 2000…when he asked that she star in his video for “I’m Gonna Miss Her.” They began dating soon after, got engaged eight months later…and married in 2003.
  • Today in 1993, Billy Ray Cyrus married Leticia Finley at home in Williamson County, Tennessee. “One cannot stand at the crossroads forever,” said Cyrus, who dresses for the ceremony in blue jeans and a cut-up sweatshirt.
  • Today in 1993, Shania Twain married songwriter/record producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange in Northern Ontario, Canada. It was revealed that they were separating on May 15th, 2008, after Lange allegedly had an affair with Twain’s best friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud. Their divorce was finalized on June 9, 2010. Shania’s manager announced on December 20th, 2010, that Shania was engaged to Frédéric Thiébaud (the Swiss ex-husband of her former best friend Marie-Anne Thiébaud), an executive at Nestlé. They married on January 1st, 2011 in Rincón, Puerto Rico.
  • Today in 2000, Montgomery Gentry played halftime during the Music City Bowl at Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville, as the West Virginia Mountaineers defeat the Ole Miss Rebels, 49-38.
  • Today in 2002, George Strait’s “She’ll Leave You With A Smile” reached #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.
  • Today in 2003, “Billboard” magazine picked Dierks Bentley as the top new artist for 2003.
  • Today in 2009, Charlie Daniels played a “mean fiddle” as a GEICO insurance commercial made its debut on television.
  • Today in 2010, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman welcomed their daughter, Faith Margaret Kidman Urban. She had been born through a gestational surrogate at Nashville’s Centennial Medical Center.
  • Today in 2012, in response to a request from a former president, The Oak Ridge Boys gathered around a phone to sing “Elvira” and a verse of “Amazing Grace” for George H.W. Bush, who was hospitalized in Houston.
  • Today in 2019, Blake Shelton’s “Fully Loaded: God’s Country” debuted in the #1 position on the Billboard country albums chart.

WILLIE NELSON REVEALS SET LIST FOR “WILIE NELSON 90 LIVE AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL” CONCERT DVD

Posted on by Bob Ballard

Back in April, Willie Nelson and a whole bunch of his friends got together to celebrate the legend’s 90th birthday in a two-day concert event dubbed “Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 Live At The Hollywood Bowl.” The highlights of that concert event are about to be released for fans to take home, just in time for the holidays.

The Hollywood Bowl concerts took place April 26 and 27, and featured not only Willie himself but a tour bus full of legendary performers: Billy Strings, Buddy Cannon, Charley Crockett, Chris Stapleton, Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Gary Clark Jr., George Strait, Jamey Johnson, Keith Richards, Kris Kristofferson, Dave Matthews, The Chicks, Lyle Lovett, Margo Price, Miranda Lambert, Snoop Dogg, The Avett Brothers, The Lumineers, Tom Jones, Tyler Childers and many more.

The whole set comes out this Friday in a 2CD+Blu-Ray deluxe edition, a complete digital edition and a double LP version. Check out the massive 52-song track list from the event below:

Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 Live At The Hollywood Bowl – Digital Edition track listing (Digital-Only Bonus Tracks in Bold):

  1. Billy Strings – Whiskey River
  2. Billy Strings – I Gotta Get Drunk
  3. Charley Crockett – Yesterday’s Wine
  4. Orville Peck – Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other
  5. Edie Brickell w/ Charlie Sexton – Remember Me (When The Candle Lights Are Gleaming)
  6. Lyle Lovett – Hello Walls
  7. Lyle Lovett – My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
  8. Allison Russell & Norah Jones – Seven Spanish Angels
  9. Particle Kid & Daniel Lanois – The Ghost
  10. Particle Kid & Daniel Lanois – Die When I’m High (Halfway To Heaven)
  11. Dwight Yoakam – Me And Paul
  12. Margo Price & Nathanial Rateliff – I Can Get Off On You
  13. Margo Price & Waylon Payne – Georgia On A Fast Train
  14. Beck – Hands On The Wheel
  15. Beck – Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
  16. Norah Jones – Down Yonder
  17. Norah Jones & Kris Kristofferson – Help Me Make It Through The Night
  18. Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Payne – It Ain’t Over Yet
  19. Warren Haynes – Midnight Rider
  20. Lukas Nelson – Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground
  21. Leon Bridges & Gary Clark Jr. – Night Life
  22. Gary Clark Jr. – Texas Flood
  23. Rosanne Cash w/ Kris Kristofferson – Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)
  24. Jack Johnson – Willie Got Me Stoned
  25. Tyler Childers and The Food Stamps – Time Of The Preacher
  26. Lukas Nelson & Shooter Jennings – Good Hearted Woman
  27. Ziggy Marley – Still Is Still Moving To Me
  28. Tom Jones – Opportunity To Cry
  29. The Avett Brothers – Pick Up The Tempo
  30. The Avett Brothers – Heaven And Hell
  31. Bobby Weir – Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain
  32. The Chicks – Bloody Mary Morning
  33. The Lumineers – Pretty Paper
  34. Nathaniel Rateliff – City Of New Orleans
  35. Nathanial Rateliff – A Song For You
  36. Sheryl Crow – Crazy
  37. Dave Matthews – Funny How Time Slips Away
  38. Miranda Lambert – Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys
  39. Chris Stapleton – Always On My Mind
  40. Jamey Johnson, Warren Haynes & Booker T Jones – Georgia On My Mind
  41. Willie Nelson & Booker T Jones – Stardust
  42. Willie Nelson & Lily Meola – Will You Remember Mine
  43. Willie Nelson & Buddy Cannon – Something You Get Through
  44. Willie Nelson & Billy Strings – California Sober
  45. Willie Nelson & Sheryl Crow – Far Away Places
  46. Willie Nelson & George Strait – Sing One With Willie
  47. Willie Nelson & George Strait – Pancho & Lefty
  48. Willie Nelson & Snoop Dogg – Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die
  49. Willie Nelson, Stephen Stills & Neil Young – Are There Any More Cowboys?
  50. Willie Nelson & Keith Richards – We Had It All
  51. Willie Nelson & Keith Richards – Live Forever
  52. All Sing – On The Road Again & Happy Birthday

Source: WhiskeyRiff

This day in Country Music History

Posted on by Bob Ballard
  • Today in 1947, NBC introduces a children’s TV show titled “Puppet Playhouse.” The program evolves into “Howdy Doody,” name-checked in the lyrics of The Statler Brothers’ 1972 country hit “Do You Remember These”
  • Today in 1948, Guitarist Larry Byrom is born in Huntsville, Alabama. A prolific session musician, he plays on Faith Hill’s “Breathe,” Tim McGraw’s “Angry All The Time,” Shania Twain’s “Any Man Of Mine” and George Strait’s “All My Ex’s Live In Texas,” among others
  • Today in 1962, Ricochet’s Jeff Bryant is born in Pecos, Texas. The drummer contributes to several hits as the band wins the Academy of Country Music’s Top Vocal Group honor in 1996 and 1998, but he leaves in 1999, suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Today in 1965, Porter Wagoner is separated from his wife, Ruth. They don’t get officially divorced for another 21 yearsToday in 1993, Billy Ray Cyrus married Leticia Finley at home in Williamson County, Tennessee. “One cannot stand at the crossroads forever,” said Cyrus, who dresses for the ceremony in blue jeans and a cut-up sweatshirt.
  • Today in 1977, Dolly Parton earns her first gold album from the RIAA, for “Here You Come Again”
  • Today in 1989, Elmo & Patsy earn a gold record from the RIAA for their Christmas novelty hit, “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,” and a second gold record for the album of the same name
  • Today in 1994, Ricky Van Shelton’s “Greatest Hits Plus” is certified platinum by the RIAA
  • Today in 1995, George Strait’s dog, Buster, disappears from his Texas ranch. Strait takes out ads in local newspapers searching for the pooch, but he never comes back
  • Today in 2010, LeAnn Rimes announces her engagement to Eddie Cibrian via Twitter
  • Today in 2010, “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher dies in Los Angeles. For 11 months during the 1980s, she was married to singer/songwriter Paul Simon, whose songs “The Boxer” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” were both country hits, covered by Emmylou Harris and Buck Owens.

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