Country Music News

TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY

(Wed., April 24)

Bobby Gregory was born in 1900.

Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys was born in 1943.

Larry Rice of the Rice Brothers was born in 1949.

Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock died at age 74 in 1957.

Rockabilly pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis married in 1984 for the sixth time. Bride No.6 was Kerrie McCarver.

Newcomer Garth Brooks won a record six "Hat" awards at the 26th annual Academy of County Music Awards in Los Angeles in 1991.

Jimmy Buffett held a rare concert in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 1992 to raise money to help separate his Save the Manatees organization from the Florida Audubon Society.

Farm Aid founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp -- along with Travis Tritt, Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam, Bruce Hornsby and Ringo Starr -- performed at Farm Aid VI in Ames, Iowa, in 1993. Comic couple Roseanne and Tom Arnold did a short musical segment, closing with the theme from the TV series "Green Acres."

MUSIC AND MORE

JOHNNY CASH GETS A MEDAL

Johnny Cash made a rare public appearance Monday night in Washington, D.C., where he was presented the National Medal of Arts by President Bush in a ceremony at Constitution Hall, CMT.com reports.

Cash has been spending winters at his estate in Jamaica to avoid cold winters in Nashville, since a nerve condition renders him susceptible to pneumonia.

Among the other 16 recipients of the National Medals of Arts and National Humanities Medals were actor Kirk Douglas and classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who performed a movement from a Brahms violin sonata with National Security Adviser and pianist Condoleezza Rice.

ANOTHER COUNTRY COLLABORATION FOR KID ROCK

Kid Rock is no stranger to the world of country music and he's proving it again. His next country-tinged appearance will be on May 10 when he'll perform at New York's Madison Square Garden. CMT says it's already sold out. The reason Country Music Television is at all interested in the ostensibly rock-style concert is that Hank Williams Jr. is going to be the special guest. Williams will be brought on as Rock's "Rebel Son."

You may remember that the trash-talking rocker has been enamored of the country music genre since his appearance on CMT's "Crossroads" program. That interesting series has been pairing traditional country stars with musicians and singers from other idioms.

(Thanks to UPI's Dennis Daily)

UPDATE ON YAHOO YODELER

Singer Wylie Gustafson has won an undisclosed amount from Web portal Yahoo for the national rights to his distinctive three-note yodel of the company's name.

In 1996, the Dusty, Wash., native was paid about $600 to sing "yahoo!" and it eventually became a signature sound in Yahoo commercials. Gustafson recently filed a $5 million copyright infringement lawsuit, saying he thought his yodel would only be used in regional advertising.

Yahoo said in a statement that it settled with the singer because it wanted to do the right thing: "Wylie Gustafson yodels on for Yahoo. While both parties had a reasonable basis for their beliefs, as soon as Yahoo learned of the suit, the company responded promptly and fairly."

Gustafson tours regularly with his band, Wylie & The Wild West.

(Thanks to UPI's Jim Warminsky in Washington)