CMT will honor the late Charley Pride with a new TV special, CMT Remembers Charley Pride, on Dec. 16.
The new special will featured three decades of interviews and commentary from Charley, concert footage, many of his greatest hits and appearances by Darius Rucker, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Tim McGraw, Shania Twain, wife Rozene and more.
Charley, 86, died on Dec. 12, 2020, in Dallas, Texas, due to complications from Covid-19. A three-time Grammy winner, Charley is considered country musicâs first African-American superstar. He signed to RCA Victor in 1967 and earned a string of No. 1 hits, including âAll I Have to Offer You (Is Me),â â(Iâm So) Afraid of Losing You Again,â âKiss an Angel Good Morninâ,â âAmazing Loveâ and many more. Charley won the CMAâs Entertainer of the Year award in 1971 and Top Male Vocalist in 1971 and 1972. Charley became the Grand Ole Opryâs first African-American member in 1993. Charley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 for outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording. Charley was presented with the 2020 Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in Nashville at the 54th CMA Awards on Nov. 11.
CMT Remembers Charley Pride will air on CMT on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. CT, with encore presentations on Dec. 17 at 8 a.m. CT and Dec. 19 at 11 a.m. CT.
Up-and-comers know theyâre on the right track when they are invited to play the New Faces of Country Music show at Country Radio Seminar in Nashville. Only a handful of rising stars get the honor of performing at the annual event.
The 2021 New Faces Class will feature Ashley McBryde, Tenille Arts, Travis Denning, Hardy and Matt Stell.
Country Radio SeminarâNashville’s annual gathering of country radio executives, on-air personalities and artistsâwill be an online-only event in 2021 that is open to anyone who registers. CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience will take place online on Feb. 16â19 with educational panels, virtual networking, workshops and artist performances. The New Faces of Country Music show will close the event on Feb. 19.   Â
Luke Bryan has been confirmed for the annual CRS Artist Interview. Luke will sit down for an exclusive Q&A session to discuss his success at country radio, touring and entrepreneurial ventures.
The New Faces of Country Music show can help artists reach the “next” levelâjust ask the 2014 class of Cam, Brothers Osborne, Kelsea Ballerini, Old Dominion and Chris Janson. The 2018 class featured Lauren Alaina, Luke Combs, Midland, Carly Pearce and Michael Ray. The 2019 class featured Dylan Scott, Jimmie Allen, Russell Dickerson, Lindsay Ell and LANCO. The 2020 class featured Ingrid Andress, Morgan Evans, Riley Green, Runaway June and Mitchell Tenpenny.
Willie Nelson will release a new Frank Sinatra tribute album, That’s Life, on Feb. 26.
The 11-song offering features Willie crooning songs from Sinatra’s catalog, including “That’s Life,” “Luck Be A Lady,â “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “I Won’t Dance” (a duet featuring Diana Krall) and more.
Produced by Buddy Cannon and Matt Rollings, That’s Life was recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, with additional recording at Pedernales Studios in Austin, Texas. The album cover features a new painting by Paul Mann of Willie and his iconic guitar, Trigger, standing in the glow of a twilight streetlamp.
That’s Life will be Willie’s second album of classics made famous by Sinatra. In 2018, Willie released My Way, which won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Solo Album.
Listen to the title track below, while watching Paul Mann paint the cover.
More than 25 artists came together at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on April 6, 2017, to honor Merle Haggard on the one-year anniversary of his death.
Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard featured performances from Alabama, Ben Haggard, Billy Gibbons, Bobby Bare, Buddy Miller, Chris Janson, Connie Smith, Dierks Bentley, Hank Williams Jr., Jake Owen, Jamey Johnson, John Anderson, John Mellencamp, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Richards, Kenny Chesney, Aaron Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Lucinda Williams, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Miranda Lambert, Rodney Crowell, Ronnie Dunn, Sheryl Crow, Tanya Tucker, The Avett Brothers, Toby Keith, Warren Haynes, and Willie Nelson.
Highlights of the show included Miranda Lambert’s “Misery and Gin,” Keith Richards’ “Sing Me Back Home,” Dierks Bentley’s “If We Make It Through December,” Willie Nelson and Toby Keith’s “Ramlin’ Fever,” and more.
The full-length concert film in all audio and video formatsâincluding digital, streaming, and CD/DVDâis now available.
Merle, one of the legendary figures of country music, died on April 6, 2016, at age 79 from complications of pneumonia. Merle scored 38 Billboard No. 1 hits, won the Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year honor in 1970 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994. The tribute concert took place on what would have been Merle’s 80th birthday.
Everyone loves Dolly Parton! Everyone, including Saturday Night Live cast member Melissa Villaseñor.
Melissa broke out her Dolly impression during SNL‘s “Weekend Update” segment on Dec. 12. Dressed as Dolly, Melissa treated viewers to a few of her favorite holiday songs, including “Holly Jolly Christmas,” a mashup of “Jingle Bells” and “Jolene,” and “9 to 5.”
“Yeah, fine, news flash, I want to be Dolly,” says Melissa. “Who doesn’t? She’s the coolest. She’s a great singer, she writes her own songs, she donated a million dollars to the vaccine. Plus, there was a news story this week that she saved a kid from getting hit by a car, which made me mad, because I was speeding up to hit himâI’m kidding. Alright, look, I’ll sing you one actual Christmas song, a real one this time, okay?”
Lee Greenwood will celebrate 40 years of making music with an all-star concert on Oct. 12, 2021, at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Performers slated to take the stage include Riley Green, Michael W. Smith, Lee Brice, Dustin Lynch, Michael Ray, Jamey Johnson, Big & Rich, Alabama’s Randy Owen, Home Free, Sam Moore, Tracy Byrd, The Oak Ridge Boys, Crystal Gayle, Mark Wills, The Frontmen of Country and more.
Since releasing his debut single in 1981, Lee has scored a number of hits, including “Somebody’s Gonna Love You,” “Going, Going, Gone,” “God Bless the USA,” “Dixie Road” and more.
âWith this crazy year we have had to endure, I am really excited to be celebrating in 2021,â says Lee. âI have been part of so many of these tribute concert events and they are literally like a family reunion with everyone hanging backstage telling their favorite stories from the road or studio. You know, when you get in the music business you just hope for success. I canât believe I have actually been having hits for 40 years. I never knew so many of my songs had influenced so many of these great artists that are joining me for this celebration. Itâs going to be spectacular, something that Huntsville has never seen before.âÂ
Eric Church shared a new song, “Doing Life With Me.”
Penned by Eric, Casey Beathard and Jeffrey Steele, “Doing Life With Me” finds Eric tipping his hat in thanks to those who have helped him along his musical journey. Eric expresses gratitude to his family, band and road crew by crooning the chorus: âI donât pray much anymore / For this old troubadourâs / Happiness, wishes, wants and needs / End of my ropes, hopes and dreams / Spend my livinâ giving thanks / For the ships I never sank / Every big, every little in the everyday things / The notes and the words and the songs I sing / To the ones doing life with me.â
Like many of Eric’s tunes, “Doing Life With Me” features superb backup vocals from longtime collaborator Joanna Cotten.
“Doing Life With Me” follows the recent release of “Through My Ray-Bans,” “Crazyland,” “Bad Mother Trucker,” “Stick That in Your Country Song,” and his current single, “Hell of a View.”
Jimmie Allen like many around the world is deeply affected by the passing of Charley Pride this weekend, (Dec 12, 2020).
24 hours after the news broke of Charley’s death, Jimmie posted an 18 minute video to fully express his grief because what he wanted to say “couldn’t really (be) put into a caption on social media.”
Jimmie remembers being a teenager with dreams of making music, and sharing that with his dad, who then said to Jimmie there was an artist that he should get to know. His dad sat him down to listen to Charley’s music. Jimmie told his dad, “cool, he’s got a good voice, I like his voice” to which Jimmie’s dad said “No, you need to see what he looks like.” After looking at Charley Pride’s picture for the very first time Jimmie recalls saying “Whoa! OK. Alright, I get it now.”
Seeing that picture was a revelation for Jimmie, because now he could say that there was someone who looked like him in every genre of music he knew about.
Over the past few years, Jimmie’s relationship with Charley evolved, “He went from being a hero, to a friend, to someone that became like a grandfather to me.” Jimmie adds “We talked on the phone, he would tell me a bunch of different stories.”
Jimmie shares a great story about his own debut at the Grand Ole Opry in 2018. It turns out that they had been looking for a date for Jimmie to perform, and after having to change a couple of times they finally had one that worked for everyone.
Luck has it, that was also the night the Opry was honoring Charley’s 25th year as a member. Jimmie remembers being on stage, singing “Best Shot”, and then looking to the right. where saw his dad’s favorite country singer, Aaron Tippin, his own son, and Charley Pride. Jimmie recalls thinking at that moment “What in the world is life right now?” He jokes that he was trying to wrap his head around the fact that the “Superman of black people in country music” just watched his Opry debut.
Jimmie also revealed on the video, how his CMA Awards connection to Charley started 4 years prior to the two performing together on stage in 2020.
Jimmie had just moved, and was tight on cash…he had his publishing deal, but had yet to be signed to a record label. Jimmie found out that Charley would be performing at the 50th Annual CMA Awards. He knew he had to go. This might be his one and only time to see Charley perform live. So, he spent what felt like his last hundred dollars, and went. Of course, this was all done without the knowledge that he would meet and become friends with Charley 2 years later, and 4 years later Jimmie would be presenting Charley with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, and they’d share the stage singing “Kiss An Angel Good Morning.”
“The world is going to miss him, I’m going to miss him” Jimmie says “I hope, through this, people that didn’t know about Charley Pride or who he was, or what he did, I hope they get to know him through his music.”
Jimmie capped his emotional video tribute by saying “Charley, love you. Miss you. Thanks for everything you’ve done.”
Jimmie Allen’s video tribute to Charley Pride can be seen here…
AUSTIN, Texas â In accordance with Big 12 Conference women’s basketball interruption guidelines, the Tennessee at Texas women’s basketball game scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 13, has been postponed because of contact tracing issues within the Texas program.
It is unknown at this time whether there will be a future make-up date between the Longhorns and Lady Volunteers.
Next on Tennessee’s schedule is a home game vs. Jackson State on Dec. 20Â at noon ET. The contest is slated to televised by the SEC Network.
![Willie Nelson to Release New Frank Sinatra Cover Album, “That’s Life,” on Feb. 26 [Listen to Title Track]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2020/12/14111716/Willie-Nelson-AFF.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
![Eric Church Says Thanks With New Song, “Doing Life With Me” [Listen]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2020/12/14084926/Eric-Church.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
