Country Reunion Music
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Country Reunion Music – Watch • Listen • Read is hosted by Country Road Management, the people who bring you the syndicated television music show, “Larry’s Country Diner,” and the series of “Country’s Family Reunion” video specials.
Country Reunion Music offers visitors the chance to experience more than two decades of Country music content created by radio and television personality Larry Black and his team from the performances of some of the greatest stars of Traditional Country, Bluegrass, Gospel and Americana.
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The following articles are from Country’s Family Reunion News, a printed newspaper that arrives at your mailbox monthly, and Country Reunion Magazine, a monthly interactive, online magazine with the same content (and more!) as the printed magazine.
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Playin’ Possum by Nancy Jones Tells True Story of Her Husband
As one of the most respected figures in the country music community, Nancy Jones is not just a guardian of her late husband's legacy; she's a testament to the power of personal integrity and perseverance. With a winsome smile and sweet Southern charm that transcends any stage, Nancy is more than...
The Singer-Songwriters: Roger Miller Spoke in Songs
Country Music’s King of the Road, Roger Miller, is remembered as a multi-faceted artist who was as accomplished in writing music as in singing or playing drums, banjo, piano, fiddle or guitar. The Oklahoma-raised Miller was only a year old when he lost his father from spinal meningitis. Miller was...
Fried Chicken Fiasco Didn’t Tarnish Star’s Good Name
It seems reasonable that Minnie Pearl’s persona should be able to sell fried chicken, right? After all the Centerville, Tennessee, native Sarah “Minnie Pearl” Cannon was, for her time, a country comedy phenomenon. With her frilly country dresses and straw hats adorned with colorful flowers and a...
Bellamy Brothers Roll Out their Old Hippie Stash Mobile
As their Smart & Safe Florida campaign to implement safe and common-sense cannabis regulation blazed on to more than one million signatures, the Bellamy Brothers rolled out their Old Hippie Stash Mobile in April. The duo enlisted artist Mark Hannah, known for his sign painting and mural work...
A Brave Journey of Music and Triumph for Hitmaker and Philanthropist
Last summer singer-songwriter Toby Keith revealed a deeply personal battle with stomach cancer, with which he was diagnosed in fall 2021. However, his indomitable spirit shone through, and he persevered, undergoing chemotherapy and radiation while maintaining a desire to return to entertaining....
Country Stars Believe Horses Strengthen Mental Health
No other animals have been as influential on human evolution as horses. Horses are highly intuitive to nonverbal messages and intention, and as such can reflect aspects of ourselves that can lead to deep healing and connection. That’s why the Horses for Mental Health has garnered support from...
Patsy Montana: County’s First Solid Gold Female Singer
Rubye Blevins was the first female country artist to sell a million records. Never heard of her? Of course you have! The song was "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart," the year was 1935 and the stage name under which she recorded and performed across six decades was Patsy Montana. The artist, who...
Mountain Music Legends Carter and Ralph Stanley
Love for traditional mountain music fused with bluegrass styling bound the careers of two talented brothers from Big Spraddle Creek, Virginia. Influenced by the Grand Ole Opry, J.E. Mainer’s Mountaineers, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys and the Carter Family, Ralph and Carter Stanley had...
Rex Allen Jr. – A Diversified Entertainment Strategy for Longevity in the Business
In the 69 years since Rex Allen Jr. made his first appearance on stage, he has been applauded, acknowledged and awarded. He made his debut at The Bluebird Café at a special Western night in August just three weeks before turning 76. The Nashville Nightlife Dinner Theater spotlighted his...
Harmony Renewed: The Church Sisters’ Musical Journey
In the picturesque heart of Southwest Virginia, two young girls embarked on a remarkable musical odyssey that would capture the hearts of many. Savannah and Sarah Church, lovingly referred to as "The Church Sisters," are the fraternal twins who brought their dulcet harmonies to life against the...
Buddy Jewell: From Reality Show Winner to Country Music Icon
In the early 2000s, a new reality show hit the airwaves, promising to uncover the next big country music star. The show was "Nashville Star," and it captured the hearts of viewers across America. Among the talented contestants vying for the title, one artist stood out from the start: Buddy Jewell....
The Oak Ridge Boys Announce Historic American Made: Farewell Tour
The Oak Ridge Boys Celebrate 50th Anniversary Milestone With Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall, William Lee Golden & Richard Sterban “Rooted in gospel…Positive in perspective…Bringing joy…Bringing excitement…And, whether singing songs of faith, love songs, or the national anthem at hundreds of sporting...
Loveless Career Highlighted by Hall of Fame
“Patty Loveless: No Trouble with the Truth,” a new exhibit opening Aug. 23 at the the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum explores the influential career and enduring music of Patty Loveless. “My journey into a career of music all started out on an Epiphone acoustic guitar my father bought for...
Rockabilly Combines Rock with Country
Emerging in the early 1950s, Rockabilly music combined elements of what was to become rock and roll with traditional country and western music. Though Rockabilly and country are often associated, there are differences that help the listener quickly differentiate. Rockabilly has a stronger emphasis...
Uncle Ned and the Texas Wranglers Popular on 1930s Radio
Eugene Lowrey Stripling, who performed in country radio’s early days under the name of “Uncle Ned” with his group, Texas Wranglers, told writer Celestia Bailey of Rural Radio Magazine in the June 1939 issue how he got his nickname. Here’s a reprint of Bailey’s story along with an update at the end...
Beverly Hillbillies Theme Helped Make Bluegrass Popular
"The Ballad of Jed Clampett" helped to bring bluegrass into the mainstream and remains an enduring classic of American popular culture. In the early 1960s, bluegrass music was a relatively niche genre that was primarily enjoyed by a small but passionate group of fans. All that changed in 1962 with...
June Carter Cash’s Former Home for Sale
Looking for a home steeped in Nashville's soul and musical roots? The former home of June Carter Cash and Carl Smith is now on the market for $3.5 million! Honored with a listing in the National Register of Historic Places, the estate was the playground and backdrop to Nashville's true music...
Gailard Sartain – Creative Artist and Talented Entertainer
From Tulsa to Kornfield Kounty, Gailard Sartain has seen or done it all. Affectionately remembered for his roles as Maynard in “The General Store,” Orville in “Lulu’s Truck Stop,” Officer Bull Moose or the trucker in the CB Radio Spot on “Hee Haw,” Sartain has become an accomplished and successful...
Kenny Rogers Roasters Big Hit in Far East
Healthy chicken was the concept for a restaurant bearing the name of founder Kenny Rogers, who launched the chain in 1991 with former Kentucky governor John Y. Brown. Both men had the experience to make the Kenny Rogers Roasters successful. Brown was an early investor in Kentucky Fried Chicken who...
Makky Kaylor: Making Music in Muletown and the Swanky South
Beale Street brewed. Music Row crafted. Makky Kaylor’s original top-shelf blend is an intoxicating mix of his authentic Memphis-soul-meets-Nashville-classics roots with a splash of jazz that is served up stylishly with the singer-songwriter-entertainer’s winsome southern charm. Some call it...
Hal Ketchum
Multitalented Grand Ole Opry inductee Hal Ketchum, who was a singer, songwriter, painter, master carpenter and actor, died on Nov. 23, 2020, at his home in Texas.“With great sadness and grief we announce that Hal passed away peacefully last night at home due to complications of Dementia,”...
The Kendalls
The flip side of a Country single catapulted Country Music’s most famous father-daughter duo to a career that spanned two decades and saw more than 30 of their hits reach the Top 40. The Kendalls, Royce and daughter Jeannie, may have recorded “Heaven’s Just a Sin Away” 40 years ago, but the snappy...
Jan Howard: A Life of Sunshine and Shadow
Country music and the folk heritage from which it emerged tells timeless stories of heartbreaks, heroics and happy endings. Jan Howard’s life embodied that legacy. When Howard passed away on March 28, 2020, at age 91, she had been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 49 years and was its oldest...
Foley Achieved Stardom Across Entertainment Platforms
It only seems fitting that the man known as Mr. Country Music would have been tapped to host the first network television show exclusively for the country audience. Clyde Julian Foley, nicknamed “Red” for his ginger-colored hair, was already an experienced host of radio and live stage productions,...
“El Paso” – Timeless Ballad Tells Unforgettable Tale of Love and Death
The ballad is an ancient form of poetic storytelling. With elements like unrequited love, ill-fated heroes and untimely death, the ballad was established early in Country Music’s history as a popular sub-genre. Perhaps the most well known of the thousands of ballads recorded in modern times is...
The Davis Sisters: Related by Heart and Making Music
Duos are prevalent in Country music, but there are legendary early duo pioneers that paved the way for artists to come. Among those were The Davis Sisters, two young women who were best friends and sisters at heart.Mary Frances Penick, who was born in Dry Ridge, Kentucky in 1931, met Betty Jack...
Vernon Dalhart: Country’s First Superstar
Country music’s first superstar was a Texan named Marion Try Slaughter, who was known professionally as Vernon Dalhart. The prolific and talented singer had sold millions of records three years before Jimmie Rodgers, often heralded as Country’s first star, was even recording. Dalhart took his...
Three Wooden Crosses Reminds About the Fragility of Life
Everyone’s seen the little crosses on the side of the road. Sometimes flowers surround them. There may be stuffed animals, wedding photos or other mementoes that honor a person who lost his or her life on the spot. Over the years the flowers fade, and the cross deteriorates, but the memorial...
Johnny Cash and the Forest Fire
Johnny Cash did not actually fall into a burning ring of fire, but in the summer of 1965 he certainly created one.The official story is that Cash was driving through California’s Los Padres National Forest watershed in when his camper truck, which he called “Jesse,” became stuck on a road near...
Mary Chapin Carpenter: Hall of Fame Songwriter, Unlikely Country Star
The singer-songwriter whose background seemed unlikely to produce a Grammy Award-winning artist may well be Mary Chapin Carpenter. Born in Princeton, New Jersey, she lived in Japan as a youth, attended some of New Jersey’s most exclusive private prep schools and graduated from one of the country’s...
Keith Bilbrey, Respected Announcer with a Country Heart
“Larry’s Country Diner” was honored to have Keith Bilbrey as the show’s announcer since its very first episode aired through taping of the final episodes before the show entered international syndication in 2023. Inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame in 2015, Bilbrey has spent half a...
Ambition and Talent Keeps Legacy Alive
There’s a stunning young performer singing her heart out around St. Louis this summer in anticipation of heading back to Nashville to pursue her future. Her name’s Aubry Rodriguez and, yes, she is the daughter of THAT Rodriguez – Johnny, of course – making her Country Music aristocracy. However,...
Battle of New Orleans Never Forgotten Thanks to Horton’s Catchy Song
The Battle of New Orleans was fought 200 years ago this year, putting an end to the War of 1812. Though countless Americans are descendants of veterans of the bloody three-year war that pitted American citizens against the British and their unlikely Native American allies, most people know very...
Standing for Something for 30 Years and Counting
Aaron Tippin would have been spending his 30th anniversary in the entertainment industry doing what any “workin’ man” would do – entertaining his fans across the country with hit-filled stage performances. However, the Covid-19 crisis has forced him to reschedule his 2020 shows. “The fans have...
“If You’re Reading This”
Memorial Day is the single holiday during which Americans remember those who died in service to their country. There can be no greater fear experienced by the family of those deployed, especially in a time of war, than receiving confirmation that a loved one had died. Tim McGraw, along with Brad...
Jimmy Fortune’s Career Made by Serendipity and Talent
A combination of serendipity and talent best explains how country music’s beloved tenor, Jimmy Fortune, wound up with the Statler Brothers. Fortune was handpicked by the group’s original tenor, Lew DeWitt, as a temporary replacement for himself while he fought a debilitating medical condition. In...
David Frizzell Slated for Texas Country Music Hall of Fame
CMA and ACM award-winning and Grammy-nominated hitmaker David Frizzell received some very good news in 2022. “It was a wonderful feeling to be surprised with the announcement that I will be inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame this August,” said Frizzell. “This is a wonderful honor,...
Kelly Lang Inspires Women Facing Breast Cancer
To encourage other women who are facing the challenges brought by a breast cancer diagnosis, singer-songwriter Kelly Lang shared her own breast cancer story in her book, I’m Not Going Anywhere, and talked about how her sweetheart, T.G. Sheppard, helped her though the most trying time of her life....
The Song that Salvaged a Career
The singer of one of country music’s greatest songs originally scoffed at recording it because he thought it was too morbid and would not sell. Boy was George Jones wrong. "He Stopped Loving Her Today" earned Jones the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1980. The Academy of...
The Gambler: Sound Advice and Compelling Lyrics Create Timeless Classic
“The Gambler” has quite possibly the best example of literary conceit of any song. Ever. Not to be too academic, but literary conceit is defined as “an extended metaphor that compares two dissimilar things by juxtaposing, usurping and manipulating images and ideas in surprising ways and inviting...
Memories of Elvis Presley and Col. Tom Parker from an Insider
Elvis Presley and Col. Tom Parker are in the news almost 70 years after the pair first formed a successful and perhaps lethal business arrangement that ended with Elvis’s death in 1977. The recently released movie, “Elvis,” explores the relationship between the two men with Hollywood mainstay Tom...
Heart of Texas Museum is Small Town Gift to Country Fans
More than 100 Country artists are represented in the Heart of Texas Country Music Museum in Brady, Texas, where stage costumes, musical instruments, autographs, posters and other memorabilia highlight Country Music's colorful past. KNEL disc jockey Tracy Pitcox began collecting various stage...
Don McLean, Ready to Rock and Roll
It’s been more than 50 years since Don McLean’s “American Pie” became a part of American history. “American Pie” was issued as a double A-side single in November 1971 and charted within a month. Interest from the media and public sent the single to No. 1 in the USA and McLean to international...
Carl Perkins Influenced Three Genres of Music
World-renowned guitarist and song- writer, Carl Perkins shook America by writing and performing the 1956 mega hit, “Blue Suede Shoes.” Known to the world as the “Father of Rockabilly,” Perkins helped influence a whole generation of audiences and musicians. His beginnings included being put to work...
Mel Tillis: A Lifetime of Entertaining and Achievement Despite Disability
One of Country Music’s most inspirational and multitalented performers was laid to rest in November 2017. "I stuttered so bad, and I couldn't hardly talk at all in those days, but I could sing," Mel Tillis recalled during an interview when he was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts in...
Everyone’s Grandpa was Comedic and Musical Entertainer
Known as “Grandpa Jones” to most of the world and remembered for his comedic role on the successful and long-running Hee Haw television series, Louis Marshall Jones was far more than a Country comedian and musician. Television was in its embryonic stage when in 1931 Jones launched his professional...
“Okie from Muskogee” Originally Written as a Joke
Merle Haggard’s 1969 number one hit “Okie from Muskogee” started as a joke between band members but soon became the most lasting Country music anthem of the Vietnam War era. According to the story Haggard told numerous times about the concept for the song, he and his band were driving through...
Leslie Jordan, Actor and Country Gospel Singer, Dies 67
Country Reunion Magazine published an article last year just before Leslie Jordan made his first Grand Ole Opry appearance. The Chattanooga, Tennessee, native died in an accident in Los Angeles on Oct. 24. “Hello Fellow Hunker Downers,” actor turned Country gospel singer Leslie Jordan exclaimed to...
It was 10-4 to “Convoy” During CB-Obsessed ‘70s
It’s difficult to explain the obsession with Citizens Band (CB) radio in the mid-1970s in light of today’s text messaging, social media and video chatting. With the decline of railroad shipping, the trucking industry exploded. Just as the railroad had provided material for music and movies,...
Chapel Hart Gains Success With AGT
In 2021 CFR News featured Danica and Devynn Hart, along with their cousin Trea Swindle, who make up Chapel Hart. The Mississippi natives had just released their Dolly Parton–inspired "You Can Have Him, Jolene," in which they decide to let the cheating husband go. When they performed the song...
June Carter Cash: Modest, Timeless Elegance
For more than six decades June Carter Cash occupied a place in American music culture so large it overshadowed her impeccable fashion sense exhibited both onstage and in her personal life. June was born June 23, 1929, and at age 10 began playing autoharp and doing comedy bits on the Carter...
Acuff’s Base Player Became In-Demand Studio Musician
Joseph Scudder Zinkan was perhaps the more important bass player in country music during until his retirement from music in 1980 after a four-decade career. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Dec. 16, 1918, he first recorded with the Delmore Brothers for Bluebird Records in September 1938 in Rock...
With Retro Sound, Malpass Brothers Honor Music Heroes
As young boys, Christopher and Taylor Malpass soaked up the music of their granddad’s phonograph records. Christopher earned his first talent show trophy at age 7, and Taylor was playing mandolin by the time he was 10. Today, they promote the work and music of classic country artists they treasure...
Isaacs Musical Influence Spans Genres and Generations
Recent guests on “Larry’s Country Diner” included The Isaacs, a family group whose musical roots reach back to the late 1950s when matriarch Lily Isaacs was signed to Columbia Records. As a child of Polish Jewish Holocaust survivors who were imprisoned in a German concentration camp, Lily moved to...
Rhonda Vincent, a Star in Every Genre
When a person has a distinguished title bestowed upon them, sometimes it can be easy to constrain that individual to a certain set of parameters. Rarely is that a fair assessment. Jimmie Rodgers is known as “The Father of Country Music,” but he was a major influence on multiple genres, like blues,...
Gene Watson Embarks on 60th Anniversary Tour
2022 marks 60 years since country music legend Gene Watson released his first single to radio. To celebrate, the iconic vocalist is embarking on his 60th Anniversary Tour, which kicked off January 1 in Florida and is taking Watson across the country. Watson’s single “If It’s That Easy” was...
Gene Autry Makes Rudolph Famous
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen or Comet and Cupid or Donner or Blitzen? But, do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? That’s right. It’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He may be climbing in years, but at 83 he remains the best-known reindeer in the world, and it’s all...
Hank Williams’ Final Tour
Every musical genre has its tales of immeasurable losses during tragic tours – bluesmen Robert Johnson and Stevie Ray Vaughan, rockers Buddy Holly and Ronnie Van Zant, pop stars Jim Croce and Ricky Nelson, R&B singers Otis Redding and Aaliyah and big band leader Glenn Miller are among the sad...
Country Music Colors Christmas Blue Since 1949
Many musical genres claim “Blue Christmas” as their own, but the holiday classic was first catapulted to No. 1 by Ernest Tubb during the 1949 Christmas season, solidifying its place as a Country Christmas song. Despite Tubb’s success with the song, it is impossible to think about “Blue Christmas”...
Grandma’s Reindeer Accident Endures
Some novelty songs are popular for a while before just fading away. Then there are some that last decades. And love it or hate it, "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’ has endured.The zany story tells how Grandma staggers outside during a snowstorm, drunk of spiked eggnog and off her meds, and is...
Nudie Cohn: From Rags to Rhinestones
Rhinestone cowboys and rhinestone cars. It seems impossible that a child born in the Ukraine in 1902 could have imagined such things, let alone create them, but that’s what Nuta Kotlyarenko did. At age 11 Kotlyarenko was sent to America by his parents to protect him from widespread persecution of...
Dottie West: Sunshine and Spandex
She may have been raised on country sunshine, but her style became pure Hollywood. Dottie West began her music career in the 1950s, garnering commercial success in the early 1960s. Album covers and publicity photos from those years show a fresh-faced young woman in demure poses with bouffant red...
Bill Anderson Respectful Glitz
When young singer-songwriter Bill Anderson moved to Nashville half a century ago, the successful country music stars were easy to identify with cowboy boots, western hats and embroidered, rhinestone-studded and fringed clothing. “I was from Georgia, and I had never dressed like that,” Anderson...
Mickey Gilley as Famous for His Club as His Hits
When Mickey Gilley says it’s been an incredible ride, he’s not necessarily referring to the mechanical bulls at one of the clubs that bears his name. “It’s been 40 years, and I’m still working the road and working my theater in Branson,” he said, adding with a laugh. “Every night when I go to...
Jeannie Seely – Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Star
Saying Yes to Something Special Life on the road usually holds some surprises and unexpected events, no matter how much you plan, according to Grammy winner and Grand Ole Opry member Jeannie Seely, who has maintained her reputation as “Miss Country Soul” across six decades. Seely’s career is as...
John Conlee: A Rose by Any Other Name
Would “Rose Colored Glasses” by any other name sound as sweet? John Conlee will never know, but his 1978 hit actually began with another title. “When I started writing it, I was using ‘love colored glasses,’” he said. “During the process I thought of the old phrase ‘rose colored glasses’ and...
Jim Ed Brown: Dapper and Distinguished
The black and white video features two very attractive young women flanking a drop-dead gorgeous man. It’s 1965, and The Browns are at the Grand Ole Opry singing “The Three Bells,” their 1959 number one hit. Maxine and Bonnie Brown don matching sleeveless, street-length dresses adorned with just...
Only in America Red White and Blue Dreams
Country Music has produced many patriotic songs throughout its long history, and one of the most enduring is “Only in America” released in June 2001 by award-winning duo of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.The lyrics were penned by Brooks in collaboration with songwriters Don Cook and Ronnie Rogers....
1976: The Killer’s Bad, Bad Year
Jerry Lee Lewis is lauded as a pioneer of Rockabilly and Rock and Roll music, but he’s actually enjoyed the greatest success as a Country entertainer. Jerry Lee Lewis as a pioneer of Rock and Roll and Rockabilly lived the bad boy behavior that became a hallmark of rock and roll musicians for...
Thank God for Kids a Hit for Eddy Raven
Eddy Raven penned his hit song, "Thank God for Kids" as a reminder that childhood is fleeting and it's important to savor the magic of childhood. The song became a hit when the Oak Ridge Boys recorded it in 1982.Back in 1976 when the world was a very different place, singer-songwriter Eddy Raven...
God Bless the USA
It’s almost impossible to hear "God Bless the U.S.A." without eyes brimming with tears and a heart bursting with pride. “What’s never stopped surprising – and humbling – me is when the crowd stands up,” said Lee Greenwood, who pinned the classic more than three decades ago and has performed it...
Stringbean’s Style Unmatched on the Country Stage
Amid the fringe and rhinestones, Stetsons and boots, bouffant hairstyles and calico, David Akeman’s stage style is unmatched in the annals of country music history. A banjo player and comedy musician, Akeman was best known by his stage name, Stringbean, alluding to his thin 6’5” frame. Stringbean...
Roy Rogers and Trigger
Animals have long been important in the entertainment industry. Fictional animal characters such as Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, Babe the pig and the orca Willie have etched permanent memories on generations of viewers who fell in love with them. For moviegoers in the 1940s and ‘50s, no animal captured...
Grand Ole Opry’s Pianist Del Wood
Influenced by what she heard on the radio as a child during the post-World War I era, Del Wood grew to love ragtime music and honky tonk music. However, it was Country music that made the accomplished pianist unforgettable. Though her parents originally tried to persuade Wood to perform Classical...
Songwriter Johnny Bond Remembered
Born into poverty in 1915 in Enville, Oklahoma, Cyrus Whitfield Bond was inspired by musical legends like Milton Brown and Jimmie Rodgers. Bond learned as a child to play the trumpet, ukulele and guitar. At age 22 he changed his name to “Johnny Bond” and moved to Oklahoma City, where he formed a...
Loretta Lynn’s The Pill Sparked Controversary and Change
Some songs result from societal changes, and others spark changes in society. Loretta Lynn’s controversial song, “The Pill,” did both. In an interview last year with songfact.com, Lynn noted that during the 1975 release of “The Pill,” she experienced a “rough time.” She’d recorded the song in...
Homer and Jethro – Lives Well Writ
There’s little that can be written about Homer and Jethro that hasn’t already been said. Therefore, this story is most appropriately called “Lives Well Writ” as it contained observations and remembrances about two talented musicians who lived and practiced their craft far ahead of their time. They...
Ode to Billie Joe: Mississippi Mystery Lingers for 50 Years
It’s been 50 years since Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Or at least since Bobbie Gentry sang about it, intriguing listeners not only as to why he jumped but what other revelations in the song had to do with it…if anything. And Gentry was never much help clearing the...
Roger Miller Spoke in Songs
Country Music’s King of the Road, Roger Miller, is remembered as a multi-faceted artist who was as accomplished in writing music as in singing or playing drums, banjo, piano, fiddle or guitar. The Oklahoma raised Miller was only a year old when he lost his father from spinal meningitis. Miller...
Still Riding After 45 Years
Four and a half decades is a long time for people to stay together. They get married, share joys and successes, have children and grandchildren, work, travel and weather life’s storms. Wait! That sounds like a marriage, but it’s not. It’s the career story of four men who comprise the two-time...
No Farewell as Gene Watson Inducted into the Grand Ole Opry
Country singer and songwriter, Gene Watson is not even close to saying farewell to the party that has been his life. On Jan. 17, 2020, 55 years after his first Grand Ole Opry performance, Watson was surprised onstage with an invitation by Vince Gill to join the Grand Ole Opry as an inductee. “He’s...
On the Passing of Grand Ole Opry’s Lead Guitarist, Jimmy Capps
Jimmy Capps, legendary Country guitarist and beloved sheriff on “Larry’s Country Diner,” passed away June 1, 2020, at age 81. Born on May 25, 1939, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to the late Tommie and Alice Stevens Capps, Jimmy began playing guitar when he was 12. At age 19 he was invited to...
“Pretty Paper” is More Than a Christmas Song
Most everyone can recall encountering people who sold pencils, little hammers or other items to help support themselves. Stationed outside busy stores or public buildings, they were often hearing impaired or physically challenged.It is rare for this kind of personal entrepreneurship to exist...
Glen Campbell’s Success By the Numbers
Most people want to be remembered as more than a number – not just the date they were born or the digits on an official document or even the amount of money they’ve amassed. In the weeks since the death of Glen Campbell his life has been recalled through the songs he sang, the women he loved and...
Marie Osmond Found Home in Traditional Country
Marie Osmond has been a star since 1973 when her first single release, “Paper Roses” became a favorite for disc jockeys and made No. 1 on the Country charts and No. 2 in the United Kingdom. Because it spoke to both young and mature listeners, the song became a top five hit on Pop charts as well....
The Overstreets – Paul, Chord and Nash
For music lovers from multiple generations and interests, the name Overstreet has meaning. At 64, Paul Overstreet is a legendary country songwriter and performer. Millennial TV-viewers know gorgeous, award-winning actor and singer Chord Overstreet, 28, as “Glee’s” Sam Evans who could belt out a...
Some Gave All, a Powerful Tribute to Military
Though “Some Gave All” was released around three decades ago, the powerful words continue to honor those who have defended the country in times of war and protected it in peacetime.After meeting a Vietnam Veteran in Huntington, West Virginia, Billy Ray Cyrus, along with his first wife, Cindy Smith...
Harper Valley PTA the Anthem for Unconventional Moms
In the four decades since its release, a simple Country song about a small town widow has become an anthem for women who dare to confront society’s moral standard bearers. The theme and lyrics of Jeannie C. Riley’s "Harper Valley PTA" not only captured popular culture of the era in which the song...
Mark Collie The Small Town Kid with the Country Career
It’s only 100 miles from Waynesboro, Tennessee, to Nashville, but for Mark Collie, the trip was just the beginning of a journey hard to imagine for most small-town boys with a guitar and a dream. In a career spanning three decades, Collie has earned respect and recognition as a recording artist,...
Martha White, an ageless star of the Grand Ole Opry
Martha White is a very famous little girl. Actually, it is not certain that you’re a true country music fan if you don’t know who she is. In 1899, Richard and Katherine Lindsey founded Nashville’s Royal Flour Mill, which became known for its especially fine quality of flour. Richard Lindsey...
Country is a Worldwide Thing
Stars don’t have to be Southern to be country. Sweet tea, cornbread, dressing, fried chicken and hospitality – these are a few of our favorite things in the South. When we think of Southern, we think of country and when we think of country, we think of music. Many a Southerner would say that the...
Black Artists Part of Country Music Story
Black artists have been engaged with country music since the beginning and the black churches have been a birthplace of many of country's sounds. It is fitting to take a look at how country music has included black artists and the legacy they have left on the country sound. The first African...
Country Music Stars Lives Make Powerful Movies
Country artists are known for unforgettable voices, songwriting talents and captivating stage performances. If we have ever had the chance to see our favorite artists play, sing or sometimes even speak, our heart skips a beat or two. We put them on much deserved pedestals and Heaven forbid anyone...
Mountain Music Legends Carter and Ralph Stanley
Love for traditional mountain music fused with bluegrass styling bound the careers of two talented brothers from Big Spraddle Creek, Virginia. Influenced by the Grand Ole Opry, J.E. Mainer’s Mountaineers, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys and the Carter Family, Ralph and Carter Stanley had...
Junior Samples: Big Fish and BR-549
It’s not often a celebrity is so associated with a telephone number that the person can be named with just the mention of the number. BR-549. Yes, any fan of Hee Haw immediately recalls the deadpan voice of Junior Samples beckoning would-be used car buyers to call him at BR-549, the show's...
Alan Jackson – From Grammys to Songwriter
Like many Country stars, Alan Jackson grew up singing Gospel music at home and at church. A singer and songwriter, Jackson began performing while still a teenager in Newnan, Georgia, and married his high-school sweetheart, Denise. So, it seemed Jackson was accomplishing most things a small-town...
Marty Robbins – Songwriting Hits
Maybe it was those tales of the American West that his grandfather told him. Maybe it was just what came naturally to him after he taught himself how to play guitar in the Navy during World War II. Whatever gave Marty Robbins the imagination, skill and giddy-up to write hit after hit made him a...
Roseanne Cash – A Legacy of Her Own
Singer-songwriter Roseanne Cash began life in the musical river town of Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Vivian Liberto and Johnny Cash, a Country singer who was not yet the legend he would become. The Cash family relocated to Los Angeles, California, in 1958 when Roseanne was three. After her...
Shooter and Terry Jennings – Sons of Waylon Jennings
The legend of Waylon Jennings lives through his creative and motivated sons, Terry and Shooter. Born when his father was only 19 years old, Terry Jennings has been around music his entire life. Terry Vance Jennings is one of four children with Waylon’s first wife, Maxine Lawrence. Terry was...
George Lindsey – Glad He Made You Laugh
George Lindsey had a diverse career in entertainment, appearing in plays, movies, TV dramas and variety shows. It was, however, his seven-year portrayal of mechanic Goober Pyle on “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Mayberry RFD” and a 20-year stint on Hee-Haw that secured his place in comedic history. ...
Mac Davis – Walk of Fame Songwriter
Some of the 1970s and ‘80s catchiest tunes – the kinds of songs that got stuck in your head and heart – were penned by Mac Davis. Growing up in Lubbock, Texas, Davis lived in an ultra-religious home. After recording a couple of singles with his Rock and Roll band, Zots, Davis began working for the...
Lefty, David and Allen Frizzell, Talented Brothers
Lefty Frizzell, who was born in Corsicana, Texas, in 1928, counted among his earliest influences Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Tubb and Ted Daffan. As a teenager, Lefty began singing on a KELD El Dorado radio station and continued singing on radio, in nightclubs, for dances and in talent competitions...
Hee Haw: Hager Twins – Double the Talent
The Hager Brothers, Jim and Jon, may have been born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1941, but fans of Hee Haw accepted the twins as pure Country. Their adoptive father, Jack Hager, was a Methodist minister, while adoptive mother, Frances, was a schoolteacher. The Hagers were very active in their church...
The Maddox Brothers and Rose
Fred, Cliff, Don and Cal Maddox and their sister, Rose, known professionally as “The Maddox Brothers and Rose,” spent their childhood during the early years of The Great Depression as sharecroppers. Originally from Boaz, Alabama, the Maddox family relocated to California in 1933. The children and...
Brad Paisley, Pushing Talent to the Limit
Brad Paisley believes that singer–songwriters must push themselves to the limit when it comes to writing songs. In a 2014 Taste of Country interview the singer suggested, “I’m just saying that we as writers can do better.” Growing tired of repetition the star insisted, “There are phrases that are...
Family Tradition: Dottie and Shelly West
Like many of Country Music’s greatest star families, Dottie and Shelly West had lives filled with struggles, accolades, tragedies and successes. Dottie, born in 1932 as Dorothy Marie Marsh, near McMinnville, Tennessee, expressed love for music early on and began singing on the local radio station...
In Memory: Hee Haw’s Gordie Tapp
Hee Haw’s Gordie Tapp, died on Dec. 18, 2016, at age 94. A multi-talented musician, writer and comedian, Tapp was mourned in his native Canada as well as by American audiences who had been entertained by his memorable Hee Haw characters like Cousin Clem, Samuel B. Sternwheeler, Mr. Gordon the...
Rhonda Vincent – Royal Style
The Queen of Bluegrass, Rhonda Vincent, was inducted as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry on March 28, 2020. The invitation to join the Opry was delivered on Feb. 28 by Jeannie Seely following Vincent’s Opry performance of "Like I Could," a song that Seely co-wrote. “How would you like to...
“Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See” Exhibit at Hall of Fame
A new exhibit, “Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See,” at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum examines Anderson’s unprecedented career and enduring musical legacy In 1957, a nineteen-year-old college student, Bill Anderson, sat atop a three-story hotel overlooking a few stoplights in...
William Lee Golden and The Goldens Continue to Celebrate Success
Country and Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member William Lee Golden and his sons The Goldens continue to celebrate the success of their current single, “Come and Dine,” off their upcoming album, "Old Country Church Gospel." “Come And Dine” has received overwhelmingly positive...
Leslie Jordan – Actor and Gospel Singer
“Hello Fellow Hunker Downers,” actor turned Country gospel singer Leslie Jordan exclaimed to his Instagram followers each morning during 2020’s all-consuming pandemic. Already a seasoned performer and writer, Jordan began posting funny video shorts of himself as he “hunkered down” in his...
Old Crow Medicine Show
Old Crow Medicine Show started busking on street corners in 1998 New York state and up through Canada, winning audiences along the way with their boundless energy and spirit. They eventually found themselves in Boone, North Carolina where they caught the attention of folk icon Doc Watson while...
Bluegrass Virtuoso JD Crowe was Never Afraid of Change
Banjo virtuoso James Dee “JD” Crowe passed away at age 84 on Christmas Eve 2021 at his home in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Initial reports indicated that Crowe’s cause of death was pneumonia. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Sheryl, and their two children, David and Stacey, as well as one...
No “Thinkin’ Problem” for David Ball
The last thing David Ball has is a “thinkin’ problem.” Yes, that’s the name of his platinum certified debut album and a No. 2 hit single he co-wrote, but it’s in no way reflective of his life. The Grammy and Academy of Country Music Awards nominee has released 10 albums, with 14 of his singles...
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Read & Subscribe to Our Magazine We're kicking off our series of Country Reunion Music's "Read" offerings by presenting one of our favorite issues of our publication. You can read our monthly magazine in two ways. The online edition is called Country Reunion Magazine, while the print...