Dec
10

Loretta Lynn photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
Loretta Lynn was not the Lynn that earned acclaim for recording “Rose Garden” — that would be Lynn Anderson.
But Loretta can grow her very own, self-named rose garden now, thanks to the creation of the Loretta Lynn Van Lear Rose. The apricot-colored hybrid was created by Brad Jalbert of Select Roses in British Columbia. He named it after Loretta’s Grammy-winning album Van Lear Rose after being approached by Sony Music Nashville, which then presented the flower to her. Loretta will receive a shipment of the strain at her home in Tennessee this spring, and it will go into wider distribution next fall.
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Oct
12

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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Sep
14

Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley.
Jaw-dropping.
There’s probably not a better phrase to describe an all-star band that’s being put together by producer T Bone Burnett. Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, who sung the Grammy-winning “O Death” on T Bone’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, will share the stage with keyboard players Elton John and Leon Russell, eclectic rocker Elvis Costello, Americana artist Neko Case and actor Jeff Bridges under the banner T Bone Burnett’s Speaking Clock Revue. They’ll be assembled Oct. 24 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., during the second day of Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit.
The rock-and-country mix in T Bone’s ensemble is reflective of the multi-genre texture of the event’s larger lineup. Country-rock pioneers Buffalo Springfield will reunite for the weekend, and country’s Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson will play the same stage as Americana’s Lucinda Williams, classic-rockers Jackson Browne and Billy Idol, and modern-rock bands Pearl Jam and Modest Mouse.
The link between country artists and their pop and rock peers is strong these days. And it’s in full force in a lot of ways. Among other notable examples:
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Nov
17

Wanda Jackson in the '50s; Wanda and fellow rockabilly artist, Jerry Lee Lewis in 2009. Photo courtesy of myspace.com/wandajacksonmusic.
Wanda Jackson, the rockabilly queen who’s been enjoying a resurgence in attention, is about to follow in the footsteps of Country Music Hall of Famer Loretta Lynn. Wanda’s enlisted Jack White, the Nashville-based White Stripes rocker, to produce her next album.
He is “one of the biggest stars on the planet I guess right now,” Wanda told The Oklahoman.
Jack has found success not only with the Stripes, but also as a member of the Dead Weather and with the Raconteurs, who were Musical Event of the Year nominees at last week’s CMA awards for a collaboration with Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe.
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