During her acceptance speech for Female Vocalist of the Year at the 54th annual CMA Awards on Nov. 11, Maren Morris name-checked some of her favorite female voices of country music that her fans might not know. As she stepped up to the microphone for the third time of the night, after previously capturing CMA Single and Song of the Year for “The Bones,” Maren took the opportunity to mention the names of Linda Martell, Yola, Mickey Guyton, Rissi Palmer, Brittney Spencer and Rhiannon Giddens.
Maren did this to honor the way that she was helped in the early days of her career. “So many artists like Miranda [Lambert] for instance have paid it forward for me as an artist and given me an opportunity, and Keith Urban and everyone that’s brought me out on tour over the years,” says Maren “I feel like you obviously want to thank your team and the writers, and luckily I got the chance three times tonight to kind of say everything I wanted to say. I felt like tonight I really am thankful and grateful for those women that have pioneered the way for me to get to do this. And I’m such a fan of country music and soul music and so discovering artists like Linda Martell and giving credit to people like Yola and Mickey Guyton, you know people that really should be more heard of, and so I just felt like as Female Vocalist of this year, of 2020, I wanted to share that moment with these women that don’t often get the credit that they deserve.”
Check out Maren’s CMA winning song “The Bones” right here.
Dolly Parton will star in a new holiday TV special, A Holly Dolly Christmas, on CBS on Dec. 6.
According to the press release, Dolly will perform “faith-filled hymns and light-hearted holiday classics” while “sharing personal Christmas stories and faith-based recollections of the season.” The one-hour TV special takes its name from Dolly’s new holiday album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in October.
The 12-song collection features several holiday standards, including “Mary, Did You Know,” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” “Holly Jolly Christmas” and more, as well as six original tunes that Dolly penned.
The TV special will also feature Dolly performing songs from her new album.
A Holly Dolly Christmas will be broadcast on Dec. 6 at 8:30-9:30 p.m. ET/8-9 p.m. PT on CBS and available to stream live and on demand on CBS All Access.
A Holly Dolly Christmas Track List
1. “Holly Jolly Christmas”
2. “Christmas Is” feat. Miley Cyrus
3. “Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas” with Michael Bublé
4. “Christmas On The Square”
5. “Circle Of Love”
6. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” with Jimmy Fallon
7. “Comin’ Home For Christmas”
8. “Christmas Where We Are” feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
9. “Pretty Paper” with Willie Nelson
10. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”
11. “You Are My Christmas” feat. Randy Parton
12. “Mary, Did You Know?”
The winners of the 2020 People’s Choice Awards—voted on by we the people—were announced on Nov. 15.
On the country music front, Blake Shelton bested Luke Combs, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and more for Country Artist of 2020.
“Y’ALL did this and this is for Y’ALL.. The best fans out there! Honored to be@peopleschoice Country Artist of 2020…. THANK YOU!!!!!” said Blake via Twitter.
BTS topped Dan + Shay for the all-genre Group of 2020, while Justin Bieber bested Blake Shelton for the all-genre Male Artist of 2020. In addition, Blake’s The Voice won Competition Show of 2020.
Vos signees Kennedy Chandler / Credit: UT Athletics
Kennedy Chandler, a five-star prospect rated by ESPN as the nation’s top point guard in the Class of 2021, has signed and submitted his National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Tennessee and is expected to enroll in the summer.
The Memphis, Tennessee, native is currently attending Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas, for his senior year of high school.
Chandler is rated by ESPN as the No. 12 senior in the country, which makes him the third-highest-rated prospect to ever sign with the Vols since ESPN began its recruiting database in 2007. Only Tobias Harris (No. 6) in 2010 and Scotty Hopson (No. 9) in 2008 earned a higher national rating from The Worldwide Leader.
“Kennedy was one of our primary targets for a long time,” Vols head coach Rick Barnes said. “To us, his elite speed, athleticism, defense and basketball IQ separated him from every other point guard in America. But it was his character, work ethic and toughness that really made him a perfect fit for our program. We’re very excited to have Kennedy and his family join our Tennessee basketball family.”
As a junior at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis last season, Chandler averaged 22.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game during a pandemic-shortened season.
Prior to that junior campaign, Chandler elevated his recruiting status during the spring and summer of 2019 on the highly competitive Nike EYBL circuit, where he averaged 15.1 points, 6.0 assists and 4.2 steals in 20 games with the MoKan Elite program.
The 6-1 guard is known for his downhill style of play that allows him to get to the paint and attack the rim at will. 247Sports Director of Basketball Scouting Jerry Meyer describes Chandler as a tremendous passer and a creative finisher off the dribble who rebounds his position and is a disruptive defender.
Earlier this week, the Atlanta Tipoff Club included Chandler on its 50-player watch list for the 2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for national high school player of the year.
Also a McDonald’s All-American candidate, Chandler is the fourth five-star prospect in the last three years to sign with Barnes and Tennessee, joining Josiah-Jordan James, Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer.
Chandler joins top-50 wing Jahmai Mashack from California in Tennessee’s 2021 signing class.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee women’s basketball program announced its 2020-21 schedule on Friday, including a 16-game Southeastern Conference itinerary and games vs. eight non-conference opponents.
Tip times, television network designations and live stream details will be released by the SEC at a later date. Fans should consult the women’s basketball schedule page on UTSports.com during the season to keep apprised of any updates, including the potential for another contest to be added. All games, dates and times are subject to change.
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“Finalizing our game schedule has required a lot of patience and flexibility,” Lady Vol head coach Kellie Harper said. “There were a lot of moving parts. While this is not the schedule we started with, we are excited to have the opportunity to play games.”
A trio of season-opening home contests includes Florida A&M on Nov. 27, Western Kentucky on Nov. 28 and East Tennessee State on Dec. 1. WKU finished 2019-20 at No. 31 in the RPI after tying for second in the C-USA at 14-4 in league play and 22-7 overall. ETSU, which pushed the Lady Vols before falling, 72-68, in last year’s season-opener in Johnson City, will be playing UT for the sixth-straight season. FAMU, meanwhile, is under the direction of LVFL and first-year head coach Shalon Pillow, a former teammate of UT’s Kellie (Jolly) Harper on Rocky Top.
Tennessee hits the road for match-ups with a pair of Power 5 teams on Dec. 6 and 13. The first test comes in Morgantown, W. Va., as the Lady Vols and West Virginia face off in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, followed by a trip to Austin to battle another Big 12 foe in Texas. The Longhorns, under first-year and former Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaefer, finished third in the league a year ago and were No. 43 in the RPI, while WVU was No. 70 in the RPI after placing sixth in conference play.
UT has three more home non-conference opponents on its agenda, including Jackson State on Dec. 20, Lipscomb on Dec. 28 and third-ranked UConn on Jan. 21. The eleven-time national champion Huskies make their first visit to Knoxville since 2006. The 2020 American Conference champions (now back in the BIG EAST) won last season’s meeting in Hartford, 60-45. JSU was the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference last season and makes its first appearance in Knoxville since 1982. Lipscomb, whose staff includes former Lady Vols Lauren (Avant) Sumski as head coach and Ariel Massengale as an assistant coach, is in year two of a makeover at the Nashville school.
Southeastern Conference play gets underway on Dec. 31, as the Lady Vols face 13th-ranked Texas A&M in College Station. Tennessee opens the home portion of its league slate with back-to-back contests vs. No. 11 Kentucky and No. 14 Arkansas on Jan. 3 and 7. That opening flurry pits UT against three of the league’s five teams appearing in this year’s first AP poll.
Other SEC home games include Georgia on Jan. 14, Ole Miss on Jan. 28, Florida on Jan. 31, Vanderbilt on Feb. 14, No. 1 South Carolina on Feb. 18 and Auburn on Feb. 28. The Gamecocks are the defending league champs and the nation’s consensus top-ranked team in the preseason.
In addition to the A&M road trip, the Lady Vols will venture to LSU on Jan. 10, Alabama on Jan. 17, Vanderbilt on Jan. 24, No. 6 Mississippi State on Feb. 4, No. 11 Kentucky on Feb. 11, Georgia on Feb. 21 and Missouri on Feb. 25. MSU, which finished last season in the top 10 and was SEC runner-up, has replaced the departed Schaefer with former Lady Vol standout Nikki McCray-Penson.
South Carolina (No. 1), Mississippi State (No. 9), Kentucky (No. 16), Texas A&M (18) and Arkansas (No. 24) all finished the 2019-20 season ranked in the AP Poll. Those five programs all had top-30 RPIs a year ago, while LSU, Georgia and Alabama finished in the top 75 in the RPI.
The regular season concludes with the 2021 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament being held for the fourth time at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. The tournament, which will include all 14 teams, begins on Wednesday, March 3, and concludes with the championship game on Sunday, March 7.
UT tied for third in the SEC last season, fashioning a 21-10 overall record and 10-6 mark in conference play. That league placement was the Big Orange’s highest since winning the regular-season championship in 2014.
The Lady Vols return five of their top six scorers and rebounders from 2019-20, including the top four in each category. Harper, in fact, welcomes back 80.8 percent of her scoring, 76.4 percent of rebounding, 78.6 percent of blocks, 71.0 percent of steals and 64.8 percent of assists from last year’s squad.
Returning starters from last season’s end include 6-foot-2 senior guard/forward Rennia Davis, 6-1 junior guard/forward Rae Burrell and 6-5 sophomore center Tamari Key. Jordan Horston, a 6-2 sophomore point guard who started 22 contests as a rookie, certainly has the experience to be considered a fourth returning starter for the Big Orange. Additionally, UT also brings back four other letterwinners.
Davis was chosen for the third straight season as a member of the Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List. Horston, meanwhile, is listed by ESPN.com has the league’s “emerging player” in its season outlook of the SEC.
Tennessee welcomes five new players, including a graduate transfer point guard, graduate transfer forward/center, two freshman guard/forwards and a freshman guard. Those newcomers boost the roster to 13 active players, the most since 13 roster members took the court in 2010-11. Keyen Green, a graduate transfer from Liberty, has been listed at No. 15 on ESPN’s Newcomer Impact Rankings.
Doug Supernaw, 60, died on Nov. 13 at his home in Texas, according to a statement on his Facebook page. Doug was diagnosed with Stage IV lung and bladder cancer in February 2019.
“It is with great sadness that we announced the passing of Gold Record country artist Doug Supernaw,” read the statement, in part. “Diagnosed in February 2019 with advanced Stage IV lung and bladder cancer, Doug began an aggressive treatment schedule with the hopes of shrinking his numerous cancer cells. Fighting the good fight for almost two years, Doug’s cancer had spread to his brain and spine, and he was placed in Hospice care in October 2020. Doug Supernaw passed away peacefully at his home in his beloved Texas on November 13, 2020. He is survived by his third wife, his children and grandchildren. Respect for their privacy is great appreciated.”
Doug was a mainstay on the country charts in the early 1990s with Top 5 hits like “I Don’t Call Him Daddy,” “Enough Hours in the Night” and “Reno.”
Thomas Rhett released a video for his brand-new single, “What’s Your Country Song,” on Nov. 13. The new clip was directed by TK McKamy.
Penned by Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley and Parker Welling, “What’s Your Country Song” is the first taste of new music from TR’s upcoming fifth studio album. The uptempo tune, which name-drops classic songs like “Friends in Low Places,” “Neon Moon,” “Chattahoochee” and more, will impact country radio on Nov. 16.
“The lyrics of this song stir up so many vivid memories for me,” says Thomas Rhett. “I think everyone has that one song that takes them back to a specific moment in time. I wanted the music video to visually capture that same thing and instantly transport anyone watching back to that familiar feeling or place in their mind.”
Watch TR’s new video for “What’s Your Country Song” below.
A new book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, will explore the country icon’s vast musical catalog. Written with Robert K. Oermann, the new book will be released on November 17 via Chronicle Books.
In the upcoming book, Dolly will share personal stories behind the lyrics of 175 of her songs, as well as never-before-seen photographs and memorabilia.
“A songteller is what I am, and this is my first-ever book of lyrics,” says Dolly. “So, I’ve revisited my memories and opened up my archives to share the stories and treasures behind them in a way I never have before. It’s going to be a beautiful book!”
Over the course of her career, Dolly has earned nine Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards, two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the BMI Icon Award, the Library of Congress Living Legend Award, the National Medal of Arts Award, induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame and more.
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