Country Music News

TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY

(Fri., April 19)

The first WLS National Barn Dance was broadcast in 1924.

Roy Acuff's Top 5 single, "(Our Own) Jole Blon" debuted on the chart in 1947.

Elvis Presley took a train from Memphis to Hollywood in 1960 to film "GI Blues." He'd apparently developed a fear of flying.

Gary "Stretch" Brewer of the Kentucky Ramblers was born in 1965.

Emmylou Harris made her debut on the country music charts in 1975.

For the first time, women held the top-five positions on Billboard's country singles chart in 1980. Crystal Gayle was at No.1 -- followed by Dottie West, Debbie Boone, Emmylou Harris, and a Tammy Wynette duet with her ex-husband, George Jones.

Tammy Wynette was hospitalized in St. Louis after suffering abdominal pains in 1991.

MORE COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY FOR THIS WEEKEND

(Sat., April 20)

Frank "Hylo" Brown was born in 1922.

Johnny Tillotson was born in 1939.

Doyle Lawson was born in 1944.

Guitar great Steve Kaufman was born in 1957.

Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" began an eight-week stay atop the Billboard's Top 100 chart, also in 1957.

13-year-old Dolly Parton's first record, "Puppy Love," was released in 1959.

Rick Nelson married Kris Harmon in 1963.

Mickey Gilley's first No.1 single, "Room Full of Roses," first appeared on the charts in 1974.

Glen Campbell's "Southern Nights" single was certified gold in 1977.

Marie Osmond gave birth to a boy in 1983 that she and her husband named Steven James Craig.

Eddie Rabbitt performed at the White House Easter Egg roll in 1987.

Willie Nelson and Rosanne Cash were among the artists who took part in an Earth Day benefit concert in Foxboro, Mass., in 1991.

(Sun., April 21)

Wade Mainer was born in 1907.

Ira Louvin was born in 1924.

Hillous Butrum, a member of Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys, was born in 1928.

Carl Belew was born in 1931.

Rex Allen's first Top 10 single, "Sparrow in the Tree Top," debuted on the charts in 1951.

Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton performed their last concert together in Salina, Kansas, in 1974.

Reba McEntire's "What Am I Gonna Do About You" album was certified gold in 1987.

Amy Grant sued Marvel Comics in 1990 for the unauthorized use of her likeness in a Dr. Strange comic.

Confederate Railroad's "Notorious" album was certified gold in 1994.

Brooks and Dunn's "Little Miss Honky Tonk" topped the charts in 1995.

Neal Matthews, second tenor for The Jordanaires, died at age 70 in 2000.

MUSIC AND MORE

A DASH OF COUNTRY ADDED TO DIVAS

The Dixie Chicks will join Mary J. Blige, Cher and Celine Dion when "VH1 Divas Las Vegas: A Benefit Concert for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation" airs live from the MGM Grand on May 23 (at 9 p.m. ET/PT).

Continuing in the "Divas" tradition, the show will be bringing together some of the biggest names in music today for an exclusive, high-voltage night of unforgettable performances. The past four "VH1 Divas" specials are among the top five highest-rated broadcasts in VH1's history.

Additional performers, presenters, and special guests will be announced as they are confirmed.

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music programs in America's public schools, and to raising awareness of the positive impact that music participation has on students.

(Web site: vh1.com)

CAROLYN DAWN JOHNSON: MUSIC MAKES HER HAPPY

Carolyn Dawn Johnson's childhood dreams are coming true. "I remember asking my mother when I was young how anyone could live without music," she said. "Music made me happy, made me cry; it soothed me. It did then and it does now. Music still takes me to places nothing else can."

"I Don't Want You To Go," the third single from Johnson's Arista debut album "Room With A View," is currently at No. 14 on Billboard's country singles chart.

In the meantime, Johnson has stayed on the road. When she finishes her current gig with Kenny Chesney's "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" tour, she will join Alan Jackson when his show heads out May 8.

"I have been a big fan of Alan's music since the beginning of his career," Johnson said. "He is one of the reasons I set a goal to be signed with Arista Records ... (and) being a singer/songwriter myself, I've always looked to him as one of the artists in our format who is able to consistently write and record great music. Probably my favorite thing about Alan is that he is real and writes from a real place."

(Thanks to UPI's Crystal Caviness in Nashville)

GIRL HONORED IN BILLY GILMAN SONG DIES

Last year, Billy Gilman performed a song called "Elisabeth" at the Texas State Fair. The lyric, in part, read: "Elisabeth, you make the world a better place."

The song had been written by the girl's aunt and songwriter Kim Patton Johnson. They had written the song to cheer the girl who had suffered since the age of three with neurfibromatosis.

Not only did Gilman like the song but he eventually made a trip to a Dallas hospital to visit Elisabeth Reed Wagner in her room.

Now, according to CMT, Elisabeth has died of complications from cancer. She was only 21. The family is requesting that contributions be made to a special scholarship fund in care of the state's neurofibromatosis foundation.

(Thanks to UPI's Dennis Daily)