- Today in 1967, the President’s daughter, Lynda Bird Johnson, requested that Eddy Arnold attend a White House dinner. Arnold was almost late after getting stuck in an elevator.
- Today in 1973, Patsy Cline’s “Greatest Hits” album was released.
- Today in 1981, Charly McClain earned a #1 country single for “Who’s Cheatin’ Who.”
- Today in 1985, two weeks after recording “On The Other Hand,” Randy Travis signed a recording contract with Warner Brothers.
- Today in 1988, Kathy Mattea married songwriter Jon Vezner, who co-wrote her Grammy-winning hit “Where’ve You Been.”
- Today in 1989, Reba McEntire gave her then-fiancé Narvel Blackstock a chainsaw for Valentine’s Day. The couple cut each other loose in Summer 2015.
- Today in 1995, Alan Jackson’s album, “Who I Am,” was certified double platinum.
- Today in 1995, Trisha Yearwood’s “Thinkin’ About You” album was released.
- Today in 1997, Ty England and his wife, Shanna, welcomed their third child, Levi Wyatt, into the world.
- Today in 1998, Hal Ketchum and makeup artist Gina Pacconi tied the knot on Valentine’s Day in Austin, Texas. Hal’s hits include “Small Town Saturday Night” and “Past the Point of Rescue.”
- Today in 2001, Emily Robison and Amy Grant were contestants on “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire,” while Jo Dee Messina was on “Hollywood Squares.”
- Today in 2001, before the last wall of the new Country Music Hall of Fame, was sealed, cranes lifted Elvis Presley’s gold Cadillac, Webb Pierce’s Pontiac, and Nudie’s sign onto the third floor.
- Today in 2002, Steve Holy was in Newport News, Virginia to help 40 couples get hitched in a mass Valentine’s Day ceremony. As the lovebirds said, “I do,” they took their “first dance” as newlyweds while Steve performed his #1 song, “Good Morning Beautiful.” The happy couples had plenty of witnesses, too — nearly 1000 folks showed up to watch as the lovebirds kissed their single days goodbye.
- Today in 2006, Little Big Town’s single, “Boondocks,” went gold.
- Today in 2011, Eric Church’s single, “Homeboy,” was released.
- Today in 2012, Hunter Hayes’ was a “Wanted” man – as his new single hit the airwaves.
- Today in 2013, Thompson Square’s video for the single, “If I Didn’t Have You,” debuted on CMT.
- Today in 2015, Luke Bryan was the celebrity monarch for the Krewe of Endymion Parade during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
- Today in 2017, Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini sang “Islands In The Stream” and Keith Urban performed “To Love Somebody” as CBS recorded “Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute To The Music Of The Bee Gees” at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Also appearing: Little Big Town, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Celine Dion and Barry Gibb.
- Today in 2018, Troy Gentry’s widow, Angela Gentry, filed suit in Philadelphia against Sikorsky Aircraft and Keystone Helicopter, charging that a design flaw was responsible for the Montgomery Gentry singer’s September 2017 death. Less than a week later, she also filed suit against an event promoter in connection with the helicopter crash.
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Chris Stapleton Was Worried About His National Anthem Super Bowl Performance
Posted on by Bob Ballard
Chris Stapleton sang the National Anthem at the upcoming Super Bowl last night, but get this – he had previously said he would never perform the anthem…unless it was at the Super Bowl! But now that he was invited to perform at the Super Bowl, he let on that he was pretty worried about the gig.
“It’s one of those calls you think you’re not gonna get. And then you get the call and you’re like, ‘Okay, let’s do this!’ I think I said it ‘cause I thought I wouldn’t get asked. The national anthem’s not an easy song for singers, and it’s one that can go horribly wrong as we’ve seen many times in the past,” Chris shared.
Despite his nerves, he received positive reviews of his performance. Many players and coaches were seen crying on the sidelines during his performance.
Source: Universal Music Group
This day in Country Music History
Posted on by Bob Ballard
- Today in 1971, Sammi Smith’s “Help Me Make It Through The Night,” written by Kris Kristofferson, made it to #1 in Billboard.
- Today in 1979, the “Willie & Family Live” album by Willie Nelson was certified gold.
- Today in 1988, Roseanne Cash’s remake of Johnny Cash’s song “Tennessee Flat Top Box” earned her a #1 Billboard spot. The song had originally been written and recorded by her father in 1961, but Rosanne didn’t know that until she cut it. Daddy’s response? He took out full-page ads in the trades congratulating her on the accomplishment.
- Today in 1996, Wynonna released her third solo album, “Revelations.”
- Today in 1997, Ty Herndon’s album, “What Mattered Most,” went gold.
- Today in 1999, John Michael Montgomery and his wife, Crystal, welcomed their son, Walker Carl Montgomery, who weighed in at 8-punds, 10-ounces.
- Today in 2001, Rodney Crowell’s album, “The Houston Kid,” was released.
- Today in 2002, Garth Brooks declined an offer to join the Colorado Rockies’ for spring training. He cited commitments to his three daughters in Oklahoma and that he couldn’t make a six-week commitment to the team.
- Today in 2002, Waylon Jennings died, following a long battle with diabetes. Three months before his death, he had received a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was 64.
- Today in 2003, Faith Hill performed a free concert for 13,00 military folks and their families at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It aired (in part) during a live broadcast by ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
- Today in 2003, Earl Scruggs was inducted into Hollywood Walk of Fame and set quite a precedent in the process. Earl is the very first bluegrass artist to be honored and he’s also the first full-time banjo player to be inducted. Earl, of course, is already a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame – best known as one-half of the Flatt & Scruggs duo, which claimed non-country fame for recording the theme to “The Beverly Hillbillies” TV show.
- Today in 2005,“Live Like You Were Dying” which was written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman and performed by Tim McGraw got two GRAMMYs: Best Country Song, and Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
- Today in 2008, Carrie Underwood’s singles, “Wasted” and “So Small,” earned her two gold certifications.
- Today in 2011, Lady Antebellum’s single, “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum won five awards at the GRAMMYs: Record and Song of the Year, Best Country Duo or Group, Best Country Song, and best Country Album.
- Today in 2012, Barack Obama awarded the National Medal of Arts to Mel Tillis.
- Today in 2013, Eric Church received nominations in six categories to lead all finalists in the 48th annual Academy of Country Music awards. “Chief” was up for Album of the Year, while “Springsteen” was in the running for Single and Song.
Mickey Guyton Offers Chris Stapleton Advice Ahead Of Super Bowl LVII Performance
Posted on by Bob Ballard
This Sunday Chris Stapleton is set to perform the National Anthem in front of a huge crowd, not to mention the hundreds of millions who watch at home. That can make a performance pretty nerve racking!
Thankfully, Mickey Guyton, who performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl last year, reached out to Chris Stapleton on social media with some advice. She shared how performing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl was a moment she’ll never forget and expressed her excitement to watch Stapleton perform. Most important? “Enjoy every minute and don’t forget to breathe.”
Stapleton, who recently had a great performance at the GRAMMYs, will perform the National Anthem at this year’s Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. Along with Stapleton, Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful” and Sheryl Lee Ralph will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing” ahead of the game.
Source: Music Mayhem
This day in Country Music History
Posted on by Bob Ballard
- Today in 1978, Ronnie Milsap’s album, “It Was Almost Like A Song,” was certified gold.
- Today in 1979, Eddie Rabbitt topped the country singles chart with “Every Which Way But Loose.”
- Today in 1984, Alabama topped the country charts with “Roll On [18 Wheeler].”
- Today in 1986, “The Highwayman” album by Waylon, Willie, Johnny, Kris Kristofferson was certified gold.
- Today in 1986, Reba McEntire’s album, “Whoever’s In New England,” was released.
- Today in 1987, Randy Travis’ first album, “Storms of Life,” was certified platinum.
- Today in 1995, Patty Loveless hit #1 with the single, “Here I Am.”
- Today in 1998, Sammy Kershaw earned a gold certification for his album, “Labor of Love.”
- Today in 1998, “How Do I Live,” by Diane Warren got an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, as it appeared in the film, “Con Air.” The song had been recorded by both Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes that year – Trisha’s version was the one included in the film (and nominated for the Oscar). And while LeAnn’s version had been more successful in charting, Trisha’s version (which was also successful) was the first of the two to be released – and for the first time in history, the GRAMMY Awards nominated two artists for the same song in the same category. Directly following LeAnn’s performance of the song, Trisha took home GRAMMY Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. What happened with the Oscar nod? It lost out to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” from “Titanic.”
- Today in 2000, the book, “The Great Canadian Book of Lists,” dubbed Shania Twain as “Canada’s Sexiest Woman.”
- Today in 2000, Jim Varney, one of America’s most beloved comedic actors, died of lung cancer at his home in White House, Tennessee. He was 50 years old. Starring in nine “Ernest” movies and as Jed Clampett in the movie “Beverly Hillbillies,” he was also the voice of “Slinky Dog.” He also performed in many other film and television productions. His burial was in Lexington, Kentucky with a public memorial service in Nashville, Tennessee.
- Today in 2000, Reba McEntire’s video for “We’re All Alone,” her duet with Jose y Durval, topped the charts on CMT Brazil. The song is from Reba’s album, “So Good Together.”
- Today in 2002, Joe Diffie hosted his 10th annual Country Steps In For the First Steps concert. The Judds, Trace Adkins, Ricky Skaggs, Cyndi Thomson, and comedian Cledus T. Judd all performed.
- Today in 2005, the video to “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry premiered on CMT.
- Today in 2008, at the 50th annual GRAMMYs, “Before He Cheats” won two awards: Best Female Country Vocal Performance for Carrie Underwood, and Best Country Song for Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins.
- Today in 2011, “Crazy Girl,” by The Eli Young Band, was released.
- Today in 2013, at the 55th annual GRAMMYs, Carrie Underwood and writers Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins won the same awards again, but this time for “Blown Away.”
- Today in 2014, Rodney Clawson and Chris Tompkins began writing the future Florida Georgia Line hit, “Dirt,” at the Big Loud Shirt building in Nashville.
- Today in 2019, an employee at the Stoney Creek Steakhouse in Nashville called police, reporting that Miranda Lambert was fighting with another customer.
- Today in 2020, Kelsea Ballerini scored a gold single from the RIAA for “homecoming queen?”
- Today in 2020, Midland introduced Insolito, its own tequila brand, in Texas.
- Today in 2020, Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren Akins, welcomed their daughter, Lennon Love Akins.
- Today in 2021, “Variety” reported Jeep has pulled an ad featuring Bruce Springsteen following reports he was arrested for DWI in November. Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” was tabbed among country’s 500 greatest singles in the 2003 Country Music Foundation book “Heartaches By The Number.”
- Today in 2021, a week after a video surfaced with Morgan Wallen using a racial slur, Jason Isbell pledges to donate all the royalties he receives for Wallen’s version of his song, “Cover Me Up” to the NAACP.
MEET THE H & S FEED & COUNTRY STORE PET OF THE WEEK: “DARRY”
Posted on by Bob Ballard
This week’s H & S Feed & Country Store Pet of the Week is “Darry”, a one-year old male Boxer mix. Darry is a friendly fellow who knows a few tricks and commands and loves to entertain. Darry is fully vetted, vaccinated, and is looking for his ‘furr-ever’ home!
If you’d like to set up an appointment to meet Darry 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 Darry with Shanna from Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter here:
Dolly Parton & Dionne Warwick Talk New Duet
Posted on by Bob Ballard
The music legends Dolly Parton and Dionne Warwick are collaborating on a gospel song called “Peace Like a River,” written by Parton and produced by Warwick’s son Damon Elliott. They also filmed a music video for the song in Nashville set to be released on February 24th on Kind Music Group!
The duo appeared on Good Morning America to speak to the new song. They share its special to them as its a “song of inspiration”, and Warwick found the song “timely” and a song America “needs” right now.
Both singers shared how excited they were to work together. Parton says Warwick is “one of my idols”, calling the new duet “one of the highlights of my career.” Warwick was just as excited to work with Parton, saying she is “thrilled to have this opportunity for us to work together” in a statement.
This day in Country Music History
Posted on by Bob Ballard
- Today in 1975, Willie Nelson recorded “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”
- Today in 1980, the Oak Ridge Boys hit #1 with “Leavin’ Louisiana In The Broad Daylight.”
- Today in 1991, “Brother Jukebox” by Mark Chesnutt was #1.
- Today in 1996, Joe Diffie hit #1 with “Bigger Than the Beatles.”
- Today in 1998, Lee Roy Parnell released the single, “All That Matters Anymore.”
- Today in 1998, Oprah Winfrey announced that Garth Brooks had agreed to donate his earnings from sales of his latest album, “Sevens,” for a seven-day period to her charity, “Oprah’s Angel Network.” The organization uses the donations to fund college scholarships for underprivileged students.
- Today in 2001, the soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Though?” featuring Alison Krauss, The Soggy Bottom Boys, Emmylou Harris, John Hartford, Ralph Stanley, Harry, McClintock, The Whites, and Normal Blake went gold.
- Today in 2006, Brad Paisley’s “Alcohol” went gold.
- Today in 2009, “It Happens” by Sugarland was released.
- Today in 2011, Taylor Swift performed in Singapore for the first time to kick off her international tour.
- Today in 2014, Keith Urban performed “Don’t Let Me Down” with John Mayer and Brad Paisley teams with Pharrell Williams on “Here Comes The Sun” as CBS airs “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute To The Beatles.” The telecast also features John Legend, Alicia Keys and The Eurythmics.
- Today in 2015, Big & Rich performed “Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)” on ABC-TV’s “The Bachelor.”
- Today in 2015, Dan + Shay’s “Nothin’ Like You” hit the airwaves.
- Today in 2016, Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” was certified double-platinum by the RIAA.
- Today in 2017, Old Dominion was featured on the PBS music series “Soundstage.” On the same date in 2019, the band earned a trio of gold singles from the RIAA, for “Written In The Sand,” “Song For Another Time” and “No Such Thing As A Broken Heart.”
- Today in 2018, Scotty McCreery scored an RIAA-certified gold single for “Five More Minutes.”
- Today in 2019, Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha performed “Meant To Be” for Clive Davis’ annual pre-GRAMMY party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Their audience included Maren Morris, Ryan Hurd, Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, Julianne Hough, Alice Cooper, Joni Mitchell, Julia Michaels and Tori Kelly.
- Today in 2019, John Prine was honored in a concert at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. Dwight Yoakam lead the closing round of “Paradise” with the entire cast, including Margo Price, Anderson East, Boz Scaggs, Bob Weir, Ashley McBryde and John Paul White.
Trace Adkins Announces Somewhere In America 2023 Tour
Posted on by Bob Ballard
Trace Adkins is about to embark on a 22-date tour, aptly named the “Somewhere In America 2023 Tour”. The tour will starts this Friday (February 10th) at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA and end on October 14th at Anderson Music Hall in Hiawassee, GA.
Members of Adkins’ fan club can purchase tickets today, starting at 10 AM via an early artist presale for select shows. After that, the general public can buy tickets starting Friday at 10 AM local time at TraceAdkins.com. This tour follows his successful “The Way I Wanna Go Tour” that had 21 sold-out shows.
Check out the first few show dates below, and the full tour details here!
- Feb. 10 – Lancaster, Pa. @ American Music Theatre
- Feb. 14 – Stillwater, Okla. @ McKnight Center for the Performing Arts
- March 4 – Choctaw, Miss. @ Center Stage at Pearl River Resorts
- March 18 – Gilbert, Ariz. @ Boots in the Park
- Apr. 1 – Lake Charles, La. @ L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles
- Apr. 15 – Arlington, Texas @ Live! By Loews (Community Storehouse Fundraising Dinner)
- May 13 – Kansas City, Kan. @ Country Roots Fest
- June 10 – Wright City, Mo. @ Cedar Lake Cellars
- June 17 – Charles Town, W.V. @ Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races
- June 30 – Camdenton, Mo. @ Ozarks Amphitheater
Source: Music Mayhem
This day in Country Music History
Posted on by Bob Ballard
- Today in 1960, “He’ll Have To Go” by Jim Reeves got a number one spot in Billboard magazine.
- Today in 1996, Travis Titt proposed to Theresa Nelson.
- Today in 1997, “It’s A Little Too Late” by Mark Chesnutt hit the top of the Billboard country chart.
- Today in 2002, the album “Burn” by Joe Dee Messina became her second platinum album.
- Today in 2004, Alison Krauss won three awards at the GRAMMYs, for Best Bluegrass Album, Best Country Instrumental Performance, and Best Country Collaboration (with James Taylor.)
- Today in 2005, the album, “There’s More Where That Came From,” by Lee Ann Womack was released.
- Today in 2006, Alison Krauss won three GRAMMY awards again, for Best Country Album, Best Country Vocal by a Duo or Group, and Best Country Instrumental.
- Today in 2009, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss won five trophies at the GRAMMYS: Album of the Year, Contemporary Folk/Americana Album, Record of the Year, Pop Collaboration, and Country Collaboration.
- Today in 2011, Thompson Square’s self-titled debut album was released.
- Today in 2015, two songs from the documentary “Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me” won during the 57th annual Grammy awards at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. The Band Perry’s “Gentle On My Mind” takes Best Country Duo/Group Performance; “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” written by Campbell with Julian Raymond, earned Best Country Song.
- Today in 2017, a tribute concert honoring Randy Travis took place at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Guests included Garth Brooks, Alabama, Chris Janson, Josh Turner, Kenny Rogers, Montgomery Gentry and Jamey Johnson.
- Today in 2018, Steve Wariner performed “Life’s Highway” in Houston as former Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan was announced among the inaugural inductees in the Houston Hall of Fame.
- Today in 2019, Dolly Parton was honored by the Recording Academy as the MusiCares Person of the Year in Los Angeles. Performers included Vince Gill, Kacy Musgraves, P!nk, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Don Henley, Mavis Staples, Jennifer Nettles, Margo Price and Chris Stapleton, who covers “9 To 5.”
- Today in 2020, Neal McCoy’s bus was destroyed by fire in Mansfield, Louisiana, as he traveled to a show in Alexandria. No one was hurt, though the band loses clothing, instruments and equipment in the blaze.
- Today in 2020, Miranda Lambert’s concert at the American Airlines Center in Dallas included a surprise appearance by the choir from her alma mater, Lindale High School, to back her on “Tin Man.”
- Today in 2021, Dwight Yoakam filed suit against Warner Music in California, alleging that the label failed to acknowledge his rights to reclaim ownership of the copyrights in some of his early, 35-year-old recordings, including “Honky Tonk Man.”
- Today in 2021, Mickey Guyton announced she and husband Grant Savoy have welcomed a son, Grayson Clark Savoy.
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