Carrie Underwood helps Randy Travis celebrate 25 years as a Grand Ole Opry member. Photo by Chris Hollo, courtesy of Schmidt Relations.

The Grand Ole Opry_® presented by Humana_®  paid tribute to Randy Travis as he celebrated 25 years in country music and as an Opry member tonight on the Tuesday Night Opry. Randy was honored in song by fellow artists who appear with him on his newest CD, Anniversary Celebration.

“It’s amazing to me to be celebrating my 25^th anniversary in the music business on this stage because of the way I grew up and what I grew up listening to,” Randy said onstage.

5 Things You Don’t Know About Randy Travis >>

Randy’s portion of the show opened with the Opry member and John Anderson performing “Diggin’ Up Bones,” followed by “Is It Still Over,” a collaboration with Carrie Underwood.  Josh Turner joined Randy on Continue Reading

ShareThis

Randy Travis photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

Country music icon Randy Travis will celebrate his 25-year career with the help of some of country music’s biggest names. On June 7, Randy will release Anniversary Celebration, an album of duets that will include both new songs and re-makes of Randy’s hits. Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Don Henley, Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, George Jones, Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson are just some of the stars who will sing alongside Randy.

“Randy Travis changed the landscape of country music when he arrived on the scene 25 years ago,” said John Esposito, Warner Music Nashville President & CEO. “It is a testament to Randy’s impact in country music that his friends have joined him to celebrate his legacy and his future on Anniversary Celebration. We are incredibly proud that Warner Bros. Records has been his home since the beginning of his career.” Continue Reading

ShareThis

BMI Icon Billy Sherrill and Taylor Swift with her awards for BMI Songwriter of the Year and Co Writer of BMI Song of the Year and BMI President Del Bryant at the 58th Annual BMI Country Music Awards at BMI on November 9, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BMI)

Through songs such as “Mine,” “White Horse” and “Fifteen,” Taylor Swift has shown a real appreciation for great drama and complex character development.

This week, she’s experienced drama firsthand. On Tuesday, she won BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Year award, becoming the youngest person ever to claim it. And she and co-writer Liz Rose shared Country Song of the Year for “You Belong With Me,” recognized as the most-played country title over a full year, according to the performing rights organization.

Just a day earlier, Taylor sang at a funeral for a friend.

Continue Reading

ShareThis

Tammy Wynette photo courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The Country Music Hall of Fame will open a new exhibit Friday that honors one of the legends of the genre, though it’s clouded by the death of her former husband.

Tammy Wynette: First Lady Of Country Music, Presented By Great American Country Television Network is loaded with memorabilia celebrating the singer, who died in 1998 just months before her induction into the Hall of Fame.

But when the exhibit opens, it won’t be seen by her last husband, George Richey, who died earlier this summer. The death was not made public, though Music Row magazine reported George has already been laid to rest near Tammy in Nashville’s Woodlawn Cross Mausoleum.

Continue Reading

ShareThis

Carl Smith photo courtesy of Marty Martel.

Country Music Hall of Fame member Carl Smith, one of the genre’s dominant stars in the 1950s, died Saturday at his home in Franklin, Tenn., according to The Tennessean.

Carl, 82, operated his career in a much different manner than many of his peers. While most country stars continue to record and tour as long as they’re able to find a market, he rather quietly retired from the music business once his hit-making prowess cooled in the late 1970s and lived off his investments with wife Goldie Hill, who had her own recording career in the ‘50s.

Continue Reading

ShareThis