John Prine has sadly lost his battle with the coronavirus. John’s wife Fiona revealed last week that he was in the ICU in “critical” condition due to the virus, and now his family has confirmed that he passed away yesterday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville at the age of 73.

Prine is known for his prolific songwriting, and is a two-time GRAMMY winner, a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also the recipient of the 2016 PEN New England Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award, and this past January was honored with a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award.

One of the pioneers of the Americana movement, he’s probably best known for such songs as “Angel From Montgomery,” which was made famous by Bonnie Raitt, “Spanish Pipedream,” “Hello in There,” “Sam Stone,” and more.

In 2018 he released his first album of new material in 13 years. “The Tree of Forgiveness” debuted at five on the “Billboard” 200, the highest debut of his career.

Source: Rolling Stone

Singer Joe Diffie passed away last month after testing positive for the coronavirus, and now Chris Young has paid tribute to the singer in song.

Chris appeared on a pre-televised live stream ahead of Sunday’s “ACM Presents: Our Country Special,” where he covered Joe’s tune “Pickup Man.”

And Chris wasn’t the only one to pay tribute to Joe this weekend. In case you missed it, the Grande Ole Opry’s Saturday night show featured Terri Clark, Lauren Alaina and Ashley McBryde (sitting six feet apart) and they joined together to perform Joe’s hit “John Deere Green.”

Source: Rolling Stone

Keith Urban, wife Nicole Kidman and their two daughters are practicing self-isolation like the rest of us and he tells “Entertainment Tonight” things are going okay so far.

“It’s early days, still, in a lot of ways, but it’s been a very vibrant house,” Keith shared, noting they’ve been playing “a lot of games,” and there’s been “a lot of music around the piano, dancing, and getting out in our backyard.”

Keith has performed two live stream concerts for fans, and he feels lucky to be able to connect with fans that way.

“I love that we get to do it and that there’s a way to do it. That there’s a way to not only stay connected with everybody, but to keep being creative,” he explained. “Because that’s what we do, we create. And if we can’t do it on stage, in front of a live audience, we’ll figure out how to do it in our bedrooms or out garages or attics… and keeping coming up with ways to connect.”

Source: Entertainment Tonight

CMT is set to celebrate the life and music of Kenny Rogers next week, and raise money in the process. “CMT GIANTS Kenny Rogers: A Benefit For MusiCares” will premiere Wednesday at 8 pm.

The special will feature some of your favorite artists celebrating Kenny with performances and interviews from their homes, along with archival photos, interviews and performances from Kenny.

Artists confirmed for the special include Dolly Parton, Gavin DeGraw, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, Jennifer Nettles, Lady Antebellum, Lionel Richie, Michael McDonald, Randy Houser, Rascal Flatts, Vince Gill and more.

As part of the special, fans will be asked to donate money in Kenny’s honor to MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Source: CMT

Dolly Parton is opening up her wallet to help advance the research being done to find a cure for the coronavirus. The singer announced she’s donating $1 million to Nashville’s Vanderbilt hospital.

“My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure,” Dolly shared on social media. “I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”

She signed the post, “Keep the faith, Dolly.”