NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Country music star Randy Travis has suffered a stroke. He was already in a suburban Dallas hospital for treatment of congestive heart failure.
His publicist says Travis is out of surgery performed to relieve pressure on his brain and he’s in critical condition.
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Get well wishes go out to Jake Owen, who had surgery on his right hand Tuesday. Jake injured his fingers in a go-kart accident over the weekend that landed him in the hospital Sunday night. He tweeted on the way in for surgery, “I was trying to avoid it, but since I play guitar for a living I needed to get this done.”
Though he may have to hang up the guitar while his hand heals, Jake isn’t canceling any tour dates. He’s slated to open for Jason Aldean at Boston’s Fenway Park this Friday and Saturday night.
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George Strait lost his daughter, Jenifer, in a car accident in 1986, so his heart especially goes out to those parents whose children were killed in the Newtown, CT elementary school shootings last December. While watching the news coverage of the Newtown tragedy, George was moved to write down his thoughts for those parents. Those words eventually became his latest single, “I Believe.”
George says, “Man, it’s such a sad thing. Having been through something like that before myself, I just knew that I kinda wanted to say a little something.”
It turns out George’s son, Bubba, was on the same page watching the footage from Newtown.
“I wrote a few things down, and I called Bubba,” George says, “and I started talking to him about it. He said, ‘Dad, I was actually thinking the same thing.'”
George and Bubba continued writing separately, and then Bubba finished “I Believe” with hit songwriter Dean Dillon. The song appears on George’s latest album, Love Is Everything.
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Clint Black is in a romantic mood on his new album, When I Said I Do, coming exclusively to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store August 5. The project features three brand-new songs as well as Clint’s duet with his wife, Lisa Hartman Black, on the previously released title track. Clint’s other hit love songs, including “Something That We Do,” “Like the Rain” and “One Emotion,” round out the 14-track release.
He says, “It’s exciting to have new music available for the fans. I hope listeners love the new songs and enjoy rediscovering the ones we’ve previously released.”
Fans can also purchase When I Said I Do at CrackerBarrel.com and select digital outlets.
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Randy Travis‘s condition has stabilized and he is showing signs of improvement, according to a statement from his physicians, Dr. William Gray and Dr. Michael Mack, at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano in Plano, TX.
Travis was admitted to Baylor Medical Center in McKinney, TX last Sunday after suffering from a viral upper respiratory illness for about three weeks. Doctors subsequently diagnosed him with presumptive viral cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. Cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the heart muscle.
After doctors installed a device to help Travis’s heart pump blood more efficiently, the 54-year-old singer was transferred from McKinney to Plano for a higher level of specialized care.
The physicians also thanked Travis’s fans for their support and affection.
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Scotty McCreery has been hit with a lawsuit by a music industry veteran who says he served as Scotty’s manager but was never paid.
In a suit filed in Chancery Court in Nashville last week, Todd Cassetty says that he served as McCreery’s manager from October 2012 to April 2013, during which time he was promised the industry standard 15-20 percent of McCreery’s gross earnings. But he alleges that he was never paid.
Furthermore, he claims that when he severed ties with McCreery, Scotty’s mother, Judy, stepped in and changed the terms of the prior deal, offering only two percent of gross revenues for the period.
Cassetty and McCreery never memorialized their agreement in writing — although Cassetty’s complaint cites e-mails hashing out the specifics and notes that last November McCreery approved a press release announcing Cassetty as his “exclusive manager.”
The suit accuses Scotty, his mom and his management company with breach of contract, “unjust enrichment” and fraud. Cassetty is seeking actual and punitive damages from McCreery as well as payment of his legal costs.
McCreery claims there is no truth to these allegations, calling them “an attempt to embarrass me and my family.”
The singer says in a statement, “I have offered to pay Todd more than once, but he wanted an unreasonable amount for only five months of work. Anyone who knows me knows how I conduct myself, so I am not worried they will believe any of this.”
McCreery adds, “The facts will come out when we have our day in court.”
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Jason Aldean pulls his Night Train tour into Fenway Park in Boston for a two-night stand this Friday and Saturday. The shows have been sold out for months now. Though Jason feels right at home performing in Boston these days, he wasn’t sure his brand of country music would be accepted there when he first played Boston.
Jason tells The Boston Herald, “The first time I played around here, opening for Tim McGraw, it was an eye-opening deal. You always expect to do well in the South and Texas, but places like Boston or the Northwest were a surprise. Now the right show can play anywhere.”
Jason has Miranda Lambert, Jake Owen and newcomer Thomas Rhett joining him for the Fenway Park shows. He’ll take the Night Train tour to Chicago’s Wrigley Field on July 20.
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Randy Travis‘s PR firm is denying reports that the 54-year-old singer underwent heart surgery.
People magazine quoted Travis’s sister-in-law, Teresa Traywick, as saying the singer had heart surgery Monday. However, Randy Travis’s publicist issued a statement later in the day, declaring that Travis didn’t undergo heart surgery, but instead underwent a procedure to implant a device that helps support blood flow in people with weakened hearts.
Travis has been hospitalized since Sunday and remains in critical condition while receiving treatment for viral cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart muscle. He says through his publicist, “We are very thankful to the fans for their love and support during this time.”
Fans can send well wishes to the following address:
Randy Travis
266 Blanks Road
Tioga, TX 76721
Travis is getting a lot of well wishes on Twitter. Keith Urban writes, “Sending healing strength and love to you this morning @randytravis.”
Scotty McCreery says, “My thoughts and prayers are with @randytravis today. Praying for a great recovery for a true Country music and North Carolina legend!
Lance Armstrong added, “Thoughts go out to @randytravis. Heal up soon my man! One of country music’s greatest voices ever.”
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“We are very thankful to the fans for their love and support during this time,” Randy Travis said via a press statement this afternoon (7/9). Contrary to reports, Travis has not undergone heart surgery. He was admitted to a Texas hospital Sunday (7/7) and remains in critical condition while being treated for viral cardiomyopathy. Cards and well wishes can be sent to: Randy Travis, 266 Blanks Road, Tioga, Texas 76271.
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Brantley Gilbert is headed for another #1 hit with the love song “More than Miles,” but the song has nothing to do with his famous fiancée, Jana Kramer. Brantley recorded the songs on his current album, Halfway to Heaven, four years ago. That’s long before he met Jana in June 2012. The couple got engaged in January, and Brantley promises fans they’ll hear a lot of Jana’s influence on his next album.
“Yeah, she’s definitely changed my life,” Brantley says. “She’s priority one now. So, she’s definitely got a song on there.”
Brantley’s new album will even include the first song her ever wrote about Jana. Fans can expect to get their hands on that project later this year or early next year.
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Luke Bryan welcomed Alabama on stage Friday in Orange Beach, AL for a special performance of the band’s classic hit “Love in the First Degree.” Luke also sings that song with the band on the upcoming album Alabama & Friends, due out in September.
Luke covered “Love in the First Degree” for years when he was trying to make it as a country star, and he’s always been a big Alabama fan. That’s why it floored Luke when Alabama front man Randy Owen surprised him in the studio to sing with him on the song.
Luke says, “Moments like that are when it puts it all into perspective, what I’ve been able to achieve in this industry. And having Alabama stop by the studio to watch me record ‘Love in the First Degree’ is a highlight of my career, definitely.”
Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood and Toby Keith are among the other stars expected to appear on Alabama & Friends.
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Kacey Musgraves is feeling pretty sweet these days judging from her new Oreo commercial. The country star sings a version of the Oreo “Wonderfilled” song in the new spot, called “Daydream.” The lyrics to the song find Kacey wondering if a guy she had a crush on would be with her today if she’d only given him an Oreo. In the commercial, animated, stick figure Oreo people act out the lyrics to the lighthearted song.
Kacey is on the road with Kenny Chesney‘s No Shoes Nation tour this summer. They’ll play Target Field in Minneapolis on Friday.
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Luke Bryan can do no wrong with country fans and radio these days. His latest single, “Crash My Party,” has raced up the country radio chart in the past few months, and his concert crowds love the song, too.
Says Luke, “What’s fun is on the road, it’s just started really, really poppin’ live. The crowd’s singing it and going crazy. It’s been amazing.”
“Crash My Party” is the lead single and title cut from Luke’s upcoming album, due out August 13. Though he has a lot of other potential hits on that project, Luke’s pleased with his first single choice.
“You just say your blessings and be thankful that radio responded to it and fans love it that much,” Luke says. “We knew the song was really, really special and good, and it was certainly the right thing to lead with off the new album.”
Luke continues his Dirt Road Diaries tour Thursday in Birmingham, AL.
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