STAPLETON, Ala. (AP) – Willie Nelson says his friend and longtime guitarist Jody Payne will be missed. Payne toured with Nelson for more than three decades. Payne’s wife says he woke up at their home in Stapleton, Alabama, feeling ill, and she called an ambulance. He died Saturday morning of cardiac problems. Payne was 77.
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Country Music Hall of Fame inductee-elect “Cowboy” Jack Clement has passed away at his home in Nashville after a battle with cancer. He was 82. The Memphis native began his career in 1956 as a producer and engineer for Sam Phillips at Sun Records, where he worked with Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. He produced Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and as a songwriter had his work recorded by Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Charlie Pride and Tom Jones, to name a few. In 1987 he recorded U2’s “When Love Comes To Town” with BB King, “Love Rescue Me” with background vocals by Bob Dylan and more for the band’s Rattle And Hum album. He is survived by daughter Allison and son Niles. His induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame is set for later this year. Services are pending.
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BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (AP) – Kimberly Perry of The Band Perry is sporting a beat-up leg, a torn dress and a big smile after their show outside Toronto last weekend. The band’s Web site reports the crowd surged and Perry suffered a large abrasion and a bruise on her leg from the rack between the stage and the crowd. Her dress also was torn. Perry says it happened so fast she didn’t realize she was hurt, but she noticed the rip in her dress. She says part was hanging by a thread so she tore it off and tossed it into the crowd. Perry says it’s “one of those sweaty, primitive stage moments” that she lives for.
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NEW YORK (AP) – Kenny Chesney says his music is about bringing people together – not separating them. So he hopes the controversy over NFL player Riley Cooper’s use of a racial slur at one of his shows won’t reflect on his music, his fans or image. Chesney tells ESPN.com what Cooper said was “hateful beyond words.” But he also says to “judge an entire audience by one loud mouth isn’t fair.” Cooper came under fire last week after a video surfaced online in which the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver using the n-word against security guards who were working the show. Cooper has been fined by the team – and some of his fellow players have said they can’t respect him anymore. Cooper has apologized and is getting counseling.
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The May 19 and July 26 airings of ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night reached 11 million combined viewers, with the the initial broadcast reaching more than 6.5 million and the second reaching more than 4.3 million, according to the ACM. Added to April 7’s 48th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards telecast, and ACM has reached 27 million total viewers this year.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) – A Kenny Chesney concert is as much a part of summer as lemonade and swimming pools, but next year he’s staying home. Chesney tells The Hollywood Reporter he’s going to do “the strangest thing in the world: not hit the road next summer.” He wants to concentrate on making an album instead. Chesney says taking next summer off is hard but music is the reason he does it and he wants to concentrate on that.
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Country radio pros including Robin Rhodes, Liz Geerling and Marci Braun are featured in RollingStone.com‘s Jason Aldean: A Day In The Life photo gallery. Twenty-five pictures chronicle Aldean’s recent performance at Chicago’s Wrigley Field from arrival to show-time, along with his commentary. View here.
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NASHVILLE (AP) – A George Jones gospel record will come out in time for his birthday. Jones would have been 82 on September 12, and two days before that, the album “Amazing Grace” will be released. Most of the songs were recorded in 2002 with producer Billy Sherrill. Jones talked Sherrill into coming out of retirement to record with him. One song, “Great Judgment Morning,” was recorded in 1994 with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Travis Tritt, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart and Connie Smith. Jones had planned to release “Amazing Grace” before he died.
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PLANO, Texas (AP) – Randy Travis is out of the hospital and has been transferred to a physical therapy facility. Travis checked into a hospital July 7 after a viral illness affected his heart. Doctors had stabilized his heart with a pump, and as they removed it, he suffered a stroke three days later. His fiancee’, Mary Davis, thanks fans for their support.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Brad Paisley will pay a visit to “America’s Got Talent” tonight. He will debut his new single, “I Can’t Change The World.”
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Dierks Bentley will host the7th Annual ACM Honors Sept. 10 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Jason Aldean, Guy Clark, Blake Shelton,Tommy Wiggins, Lady Antebellum and The Judds will be honored, as well as Keith Whitley and Hank Williams, posthumously, and off-camera category winners from the 48th ACM Awards including Songwriter of the Year Dallas Davidson. More here.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The oldest daughter of Loretta Lynn has died. A family representative says Betty Sue Lynn died yesterday of complications from emphysema. She was 64 – and passed away in Waverly, Tennessee – near her mother’s ranch in Hurricane Mills. She was one of Lynn’s six children. The family says it is thankful to friends and fans for their thoughts and prayers.
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UNDATED (AP) – Gary Allan is rocking a brace these days after having knee surgery. Allan had a torn meniscus in his left knee repaired last Monday, according to his Facebook page. His surgeon was Dr. Burton Elrod, who is the team physician for the Tennessee Titans. Allan has already resumed his tour with a gig outside Memphis this past weekend.
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