Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe TODAY IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY (Fri., Dec. 14) Advertisement The late Charlie Rich was born in 1932. Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John" became the first country single certified "gold" by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1961. MORE COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY FOR THIS WEEKEND (Sat., Dec. 15) Singer/actress Olivia Newton-John married Matt Lattanzi at her home in Malibu, Calif., in 1984. (Sun., Dec. 16) A 1996 Lou Harris poll found country artist Reba McEntire had replaced Frank Sinatra as America's favorite music star. Also on that list -- Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, the Beatles, George Strait, Alabama, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, the Statler Brothers and the Rolling Stones. Rockabilly pioneer Carl Perkins suffered what his family described as a "severe" stroke in 1997. MUSIC AND MORE TRITT INCLUDES CANCER VICTIM IN VIDEO Earlier it was reported that country star Travis Tritt had enlisted the help of actor/director Billy Bob Thornton in filming his newest video, "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde." Thornton plays a gunman who, with the help of his girlfriends, holds up a convenience store. Advertisement Now country.com says Tritt also cast an 18-year-old former dancer who is suffering from ovarian cancer in a role. Melanie Wright's appearance was arranged through the efforts of the CMT Network and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Sony Music and Tritt. The video was shot this week in remote sections of the Mojave Desert in California. (Thanks to UPI Feature Reporter Dennis Daily) REBA DOES THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS Reba McEntire will be among the presenters on THE 28TH ANNUAL PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS, to be broadcast from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 13 (9-11 p.m. ET) on CBS-TV. Other presenters will include the CBS Television Network. Additional presenters will include comedian Carol Burnett and actors Tony Danza and David James Elliott. The winners in 18 categories will be announced on the star-studded special, hosted for the second consecutive year by Kevin James ("The King of Queens"). The broadcast honors America's favorites in the fields of television, motion pictures and music, as determined by a public opinion poll of thousands of Americans conducted by The Gallup Organization.
