People

GUITAR GREAT GRADY MARTIN DIES

Grady Martin is being remembered in the world of country and pop music as one of the most flexible and adaptive of musicians. During his long career he rose through the ranks to obtain one of country music world's most coveted positions. He became a "music master," who was often called upon to sit in on select recording sessions. He was on a level with Chet Atkins, Hank Garland, Floyd Cramer and Buddy Harman. He was possibly, though, the most anonymous musician in country music in many ways. Behind the scenes and in the studio he worked with everyone from Bing Crosby to Joan Baez to Hank Williams to Elvis. His first tracks were laid down in the late 1940s when he played with Red Foley in some of Foley's pioneering recording sessions. If the name still doesn't ring a bell, just know that he can be heard on Foley's chart-busting "Chattanooga Shoeshine Boy." You can hear him on Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman." Conjure up Marty Robbins' "El Paso" in your mind; there's Grady Martin doing those flamenco-style sequences. He went "On The Road Again" with Willie Nelson and fought with Johnny Horton at the "Battle of New Orleans." Martin helped Loretta Lynn remember her days as the "Coal Miner's Daughter," helped Sammi Smith " ... Make It Through the Night" and is with Ray Price, giving thanks "For the Good Times." During hundreds of recording sessions he served not only as guitarist, but as "bandleader" for the "pick up ensembles" thrown together to record with great artists in Nashville, often coming up with on-the-spot, impromptu backup arrangements. His last on-the-road gig was with Willie Nelson's band, from which he retired -- due to health concerns -- eight years ago. The Tennessean reports say that Grady Martin died of congestive heart failure in Lewisburg, Tenn., at the age of 72.

HAPPY 99TH BIRTHDAY, SENATOR!

This week marks the 99th birthday of the oldest and longest-serving member in the history of the U.S. Senate. Strom Thurmond -- who has represented South Carolina on Capitol Hill for as long as most can remember -- has turned 99. Tuesday, at their weekly luncheon, fellow Republicans sang "Happy Birthday." USA Today says that Thurmond is "at last looking his age." He seemed ageless for a very long time until the years finally caught up with him. Thurmond now spends his nights at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center where his vital signs can be monitored. His move there only happened about a month ago. The former oldest and longest-serving member of the Senate was Arizona's Carl Hayden. He retired in 1969 at age 91. Ironically, eight current members of the Senate weren't even born when the venerable Carolina senator first came to Washington in 1954. That was at a time when Eisenhower was in the White House, congressional offices had no computers or cell phones and only rudimentary "fax" machines. Happy Birthday, Mr. Senator.

EARNHARDT DEATH PROMPTING NEW WARNINGS

After a long period of examination and debate, NASCAR has begun to tighten some of its safety standards in the wake of the on-track crash that took the life of racing icon Dale Earnhardt. Now, according to the Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin, a panel of experts is demanding safety changes be made at all levels of racing. The panel says that the conditions that instantly took the life of Earnhardt exist at all levels of racing where the track is surrounded by a concrete wall or barrier. Bob Hoekstra, developer of the race studies course at the University of Central Florida, told reporters that Earnhardt's car hit the wall with a "straight-on" impact speed of about 43 mph. Many of today's racers risk collisions with solid objects at speeds up to four times that. If you take into account all levels of organized racing, from amateur through professional, some 270 people, including nearly 30 spectators, died in racecourse accidents in this country in just the past 10 years. Most of the accidents happened at smaller racing circuits.

TRIBUTES CONTINUE FOR GEORGE HARRISON

It's not certain whether Beatle George Harrison could have predicted the avalanche of tributes coming from all quarters in the wake of his death. One of the more interesting and complete has been prepared by People magazine. It's on-line arm, people.com, carries a large photo gallery of Harrison, from his early teen days until shortly before his death this week at age 58. One of the photos I had not seen before. It's of a baby-faced Harrison. The Web site uses it as the centerpiece for its collection. In the photo Harrison is doe-eyed and expressive. In retrospect it gives a glimpse of the singer's depth and his probing nature. Clicking below the photo takes you to the magazine's expansive tribute to the entertainer. Shortly after his death there were tributes around the world. Nearly every genre of radio station played his music. One fan, at a candlelight vigil in New York City, told CBS Radio that people should not forget that he was "one heck of a guitar player, also."

RIMES' EX-BODYGUARD HAS DAY IN COURT

The lawsuit against an ex-bodyguard of singer LeAnn Rimes has been settled with the personal assistant getting probation. The news provider country.com says that Robert Lavetta was indicted several months ago by a grand jury for allegedly attempting to extort $2 million and luxury cars from the country singer. He was reportedly fired by Rimes last summer after she noted some personal items missing. In her official statement, Rimes claimed that Lavetta had threatened to take some of the items -- photos and video tapes -- to the tabloids. Lavetta will serve 18 months of probation in Los Angeles.

BALLET THEATRE RUNNING FULL TILT

The New York City Ballet corps has fewer members than it used to -- down from 69 to 55 -- and the average age of the dancers is going down, but that doesn't mean that the members are any less exhausted at the end of the day. Dance magazine, in it's latest on-line issue, reports on the classic company and says that although the eventual rewards may be great, members are running themselves ragged, taking any jobs they can, and often appearing in up to three different performances a day. Many dancers find themselves doing as many as 60 performances of "Nutcracker" during the holiday season. The magazine says that an often-heard question among corps members is: "Can you go one more night?"

BIN LADEN LOOK-ALIKES IN YOUR CRÈCHE?

It's the time of year when many Christians put out creches -- Nativity scenes. Over the years in many areas it's been commonplace for some of the figurines to disappear. Check the police logs for Christmases past and you'll see quite a few "Nativity thefts." Now David Casstevens, writing in the Arizona Republic, says that there may be more thefts this year because some of the statues of the Wise Men, in the minds of some, look like Osama bin Laden. He reports that one night several years ago an entire Nativity scene, lights, extension cords and all disappeared from a home in Oregon. Casstevens says that the only way to buck the trend is to have a live Nativity scene. Many churches have staged live scenes for years, complete with animals. Of course, in cold weather areas, there's lot of warm clothing on underneath the desert garb. The only mannequin that is used is usually a representation of the Baby Jesus. It could be interesting, according to the reporter, to see if any scenes are stripped of any Wise Men who may look a little too much like the elusive terrorist.

UPI SURVEY QUESTION NO. 218

In recent days yet another computer virus swept the nation. I ended up spending big bucks on anti-virus scans for all my computers. As a result, none works properly now. So: "What has been your experience, if any, dealing with 'invasions' through your e-mail?" Put VIRUS in the subject line and send (minus any viruses) to [email protected] via the Internet.

RESULTS OF UPI QUESTION NO. 213

Last week we asked if you could pick a special person to come spend the holidays with you, who would it be. Of course, we got some poignant replies from people who longed to see late relatives, missing children, former spouses and the like again, and would love it if The Lord came to visit. Here are some other replies: Steven Segal, Deborah Harry, several requests for drivers Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace. And, remember when a lot of people said they wanted to meet the late Kate Smith when I never suggested her? Well, nearly half a dozen people wished that the late Mel Tormé would come and sing "The Christmas Song" in their living room. IMTU wishes that Bill Clinton would visit. The author J.R.R. Tolkein was also mentioned. My favorite answer was from Anissa: "I would have Osama bin Laden visit. That way my family and I could collect the reward money and have a lifetime of great Christmases." Funny, no one said they'd like me to come visit. Maybe they think I would monopolize the conversation. GBA.