Loretta Lynn photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

In the 1960s and early ‘70s, when Loretta Lynn was at her commercial peak, country hits were notably short musical affairs.

“Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind)” ran a quaint two minutes and nine seconds. “Fist City” came in at 2:13. “You’re Lookin’ At Country” was a scant 2:20.

So it was apropos that when the Recording Academy honored the Coal Miner’s Daughter Tuesday, it took just 45 minutes — short and sweet and pretty neat. Host Reba McEntire started the night off with a zippy western-swing version of “If You’re Not Gone Too Long,” bolstered by the Time Jumpers’ triple-fiddle section, pass-around solos and a walking stand-up bass.

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Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

The building that houses country music’s family treasures just got a big infusion of cash.

Keith Urban and Vince Gill played hosts Tuesday night at All For The Hall, a multi-artist concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Country Music Hall of Fame. The arena and the hall share an intersection in Music City, and the artists who paraded across the Bridgestone stage shared a love for the district’s best-known genre.

Billy Currington threw judicious moments of vocal ferocity into his version of Kenny Rogers’ “Sweet Music Man,” Martina McBride emulated Reba McEntire well with a few well-placed trills at the close of “Is There Life Out There,” and Dolly Parton resurrected George Jones’ funereal “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

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Charley Pride, pictured here second from the left, played for the Memphis Red Sox during the late 1950's. Photo courtesy of CharleyPride.com.

In the years before Charley Pride became a country singer, he proved himself as a talent on the baseball field. He was a player in the Negro Leagues, and he once pitched four innings in an all-star game against a team made of major-league players, including future Hall of Fame members Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.

Now that Charley’s a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, he finds himself back in baseball in a big way. On Thursday, an 18-person investment group headed by former pitcher Nolan Ryan placed the highest bid in a Fort Worth auction of the Texas Rangers ballclub, with a bid of $593 million, according to MLB.com. The transaction still has to be approved by Major League Baseball, which has its next quarterly meetings Wednesday and Thursday in Minneapolis.

Charley’s hardly the only country singer who’s ever had a stake in a professional team. Glen Campbell was part of the original investment group in the Arizona Diamondbacks, Roy Clark had a hand in the ownership of the Tulsa Drillers, and several stars — Conway Twitty, Jerry Reed and the Oak Ridge Boys’ Richard Sterban — all had a share when the Nashville Sounds franchise was established in the 1970s. Country’s most-successful owner was Gene Autry, who established the Los Angeles Angels in 1960.

A few other sports notes from country music:

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Guitarist Fred Carter (circa early 1970s) and daughter Deana Carter.

Our sincere condolences go out to the family of Fred Carter, Jr., legendary Nashville guitarist, who passed away on July 17 from stroke-related causes at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.  Carter was the third of seven children born to Fred and Hattie “Tillie” Carter of Winnsboro, Louisiana.  A loving husband and father, Carter is survived by his wife of 49 years, Anna; his sons, Ronnie and Jeff; his daughter, recording artist Deana Carter (singer of ”Strawberry Wine”); and his five grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, July 20 at Woodlawn Roesch-Patton Funeral Home in Nashville.

Born in the Louisiana delta, Fred Carter, Jr. cut his teeth on country, blues, gospel, and jazz, combining them all into the art form that would later become Rock and Roll. Carter began his career as staff guitarist on the legendary Louisiana Hayride, working alongside Horace Logan and a revolving cast of country hitmakers. After leaving the Hayride, Carter played a significant role in the development of Rockabilly and Rock and Roll through his guitar work with Conway Twitty, Roy Orbison, Dale Hawkins, and Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks.

Settling in Nashville in the late 1950s, Carter quickly moved into the “A-Team,” first-call session work that defines the Nashville recording industry. There, Carter worked with a steady stream of legendary recording artists, including country greats such as Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson, as well as contributions to the classics of Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, and Muddy Waters. Throughout his career, Carter maintained a lifelong association with Levon Helm, including Helm’s RCO All-Stars, which included Steve Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Booker T. and the MG’s, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, and the Saturday Night Live Horns. 

Carter was also a prolific songwriter, writing alongside the likes of Harlan Howard, Willie Nelson, and Hank Cochran.  Carter’s songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Dean Martin, Chet Atkins, and Burl Ives.

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Country Music Hall of Fame member Chet Atkins.

When Ferlin Husky and producer Billy Sherrill were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, CMA Chairman Steve Moore called Hall membership “the highest honor in country music.” But the rewards don’t stop coming just because you’ve reached the pinnacle.

In fact, several members of the Hall of Fame — including Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and Chet Atkins — continue to be remembered for their impact on American culture.

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Trace Adkins (l) and Blake Shelton rehearse on Friday, April 16, 2010 for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Photo courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.

Blake Shelton invoked the name of Country Music Hall of Famer Conway Twitty in the opening line of “Hillbilly Bone,” and he employed Trace Adkins in bringing it to life.

So when Blake celebrated the song at a No. 1 party on Wednesday, it was only appropriate that a couple of other artist attachments came into play. The party took place at the Starstruck offices, a building owned by Reba McEntire. Reba’s husband, Narvel Blackstock, is Blake’s manager. Blake also brought along Miranda Lambert, to whom he’s newly engaged, though Miranda remained out of sight for most of the event, presumably to avoid distracting attention from the accomplishment of her future husband.

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Tracy Lawrence photo courtesy of Rocky Comfort Records.

That swine flu virus that’s tapping out vaccine supplies and landing people in the hospital across the U.S. has hit Nashville. Music City ran through its first shipment of the vaccine in a scant two days, and even before that, Tracy Lawrence became one of country music’s first victims.

“For five or six weeks, I was pretty sick,” he told The Norman Transcript in Oklahoma. “I had H1N1 and pneumonia. It hit me a little harder because I’m asthmatic. It knocked me down pretty hard.”

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