AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Willie Nelson was the first performer on the TV show Austin City Limits back in 1974. And now he’s part of the first class of the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. Nelson says the honor “means a lot” because Austin is “the music capital of the world.” During Saturday’s induction ceremony, actor Matthew McConaughey introduced Nelson saying simply: “There would be no Austin City Limits without Willie Nelson.” Nelson turns 81 this week.

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Hall of Famer Kenny Rogers will be the subject of Through The Years, which opens Aug. 15 and runs through June 14. The exhibit will offer a biographical presentation of Rogers’ story over seven decades and will be accompanied by an ongoing series of programs. More here.

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Carrie Underwood has been named to the Time 100, the magazine’s annual list of the most influential people in the world. “It’s her decency as a person that is so impressive,” label mate Brad Paisleysummarizes in her introduction. “She’s an advocate for causes like animal rights and the Red Cross. She has publicly challenged lawmakers when she’s disagreed with them, and covered controversial issues in her music … She has faith, a sense of self and loves a good challenge. When most singers tackle a Broadway musical, it’s in front of a thousand people. She did it in front of 20 million.” Others on the list include the Pope, actress Amy Adams, U.S. Secretary Of State John Kerry, Amazon Founder/CEO Jeff Bezos and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. See it now here; look for it on newsstands. Underwood will also headline the Time 100 Gala April 29 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.

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Nashville, Tenn. (April 24, 2014) – Dolly Parton, one of the most innovative, creative, and trendsetting artists in pop culture, will participate in @TwitterMusic‘s “Legends on Twitter” series to host her first-ever Twitter Q&A with music lovers on Sunday, April 27th at 4pm (CT), just prior to her scheduled live performance on QVC® during the “Dolly Parton Q Sessions Live from Nashville – featuring ‘Blue Smoke'” broadcast. Fans can join the conversation by submitting questions directly to Dolly at http://bit.ly/DollyQA, or by tweeting using the hashtag#AskDolly.

Dolly’s ever growing Twitter fan base includes over 3 million followers, proving why Dolly is the most sought after and honored female country performer of all time. Achieving 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards, she has had 25 songs reach number 1 on the Billboard Country charts, a record for a female artist. She has 41 career top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career charted singles over the past 40 years. All-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage during her Hall of Fame career have reportedly topped a staggering 100 million records world-wide. She has garnered 7 Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards, 5 Academy of Country Music Awards, 3 American Music Awards and is one of only five female artists to win the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award. Dolly was inducted as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.  And the litany goes on.

NASHVILLE (AP) – Barry Gibb has sold the former home of Johnny and June Carter Cash. The Nashville Tennessean reports Gibb and his wife, Linda, sold the property to a limited liability company for $2 million. They bought the property in $2.3 million in 2006. The Cashes lived there for more than 40 years. The Gibbs had planned to renovate the property and were almost done with the project when it caught fire and destroyed the house. The Gibbs had announced plans to build a new house and preserve the original foundations of the home.

Above photo from before the fire.

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UNDATED (AP) – Jason Aldean will help choose the honorary bat girls as part of Major League Baseball’s breast cancer awareness program. Aldean is part of a panel who will choose an honorary bat girl for each of the 30 major league teams. The bat girls will be recognized at games on Mother’s Day or another game in May.

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NEW YORK (AP) – Glen Campbell has been moved to a memory care facility in Nashville as he deals with Alzheimer’s disease. Campbell’s wife, Kim Woolen, tells People magazine five family members were taking care of him and they were “completely exhausted.” She says they have to watch him every second because he’ll pick up knives and not give them up. His daughter, Ashley, says Campbell will try to drink things like dish soap or olive oil. Campbell moved to the facility at the end of March and he is adjusting well. Woolen says Campbell played a couple of songs for residents there on his first day, thanked them for coming and took a nap on the couch.

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This year’s Country Music Hall of Fame inductees are, in the Songwriter category, the late Hank Cochran; in the Veterans Era Artist category, Mac Wiseman; and in the Modern Era Artist Category, Ronnie Milsap. The honorees will be celebrated at the annual invitation-only Medallion Ceremony later this year.

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FAIR OAKS, Calif. (AP) – Kevin Sharp has died. The country music singer had a series of hits during a career that started in the late 1990s. He was 43 and died from complications from past stomach surgeries and digestive issues. Sharp was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer when he was a high school senior. The Make-A-Wish Foundation made it possible for Sharp to meet music producer David Foster, who helped him jump-start his music career. Perhaps his biggest hit was “Nobody Knows,” a single from his 1996 debut album.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – It’s considered “new” music – even though it has been around for close to 65 years. The recordings of country music legend Hank Williams were done for a taped show that aired on early country music stations – and sponsored by a Texas plant nursery. “The Garden Spot Programs, 1950” feature two dozen songs and jingles on tape. Most of the tapes were lost – but the copies from one station in Iowa survived. The recordings were transferred, restored and mastered for release. The project will be available starting May 20 for both download and on vinyl.

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