How we love it when the invitation calls for cocktail attire with a Western twist. How we love it even more when CMA awards winner and recent Grammy nominee Cody Johnson is on stage. And so it was on this night at the Post Oak Hotel, that TEACH entertained a record 700 guests in boots and bling while raising an astonishing $1.9 million.
Before the toe-tapping and singing along to Johnson’s tunes, gala co-chair Wallis Marsh did a mini interview with the Texas singer, who’s charming 5-year-old daughter accompanied him to the gala. In fact, one of the several tunes he crooned was “On My Way to You,” her favorite song. To the surprise of many, Johnson told Marsh that at one time he was a bull rider on the rodeo circuit. And as Marsh pointed out, in 2019 Johnson made Houston Rodeo history by becoming the first independent artist to play to a sold-out crowd.
CMA Award winner and recent Grammy nominee Cody Johnson performs at the Post Oak Hotel fundraiser where TEACH earned $1.9 million. (Photo by Daniel Ortiz)
Applause, applause to Johnson who calls a 25-acre ranch in East Texas home. He contributed not only his remarkable talent but also added to the bottom line by contributing an autographed guitar to the live auction. All proceeds from the gala will go directly to TEACH, founded by Susan Sarofim and Mary Yenik, thanks to the generosity of the late Fayez Sarofim, a longtime TEACH supporter, who underwrote the entire event with a surprise check received the week after he passed away last May.
Cheering over the seven-figure bottom line were co-chairs Dee Dee and Wallis Marsh and Carol and Mike Linn.
The Texas chic theme of the gala was a propros of the night’s honoree — the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, recognized for its near-century of supporting education through multi-million dollars in scholarship given to students each year. Accepting the honors were HLSR board president Brady Carruth and HLSR president and CEO Chris Boleman. The rodeo was also the recipient of the inaugural Fayez Sarofim Champion for TEACH award.
Kelli Weinzierl, Dee Dee Marsh at the ‘Grand Champion for TEACH’ fundraiser. (Photo by Jacob power)
While the rodeo provides higher educational opportunities, the work of TEACH (To Educate All Children) extends to the classroom by providing teachers with ongoing coaching and comprehensive professional development in nonverbal classroom management techniques geared to creating a positive learning environment.
PC Seen: TEACH executive director Alvin Abraham, HISD superintendent Millard House II, Mayor Sylvester Turner,Hallie Vanderhider, Margaret Alkek Williams, Gaye Lynn and Stuart Zarrow, Yvonne and Rufus Cormier, Julie and Stephen Chen, Lesha and Tom Elsenbrook, Elizabeth and Alan Stein, Kelley and Stephen Lubanko, Zane Carruth, Edna Meyer-Nelson, Phyllis and Cornel Williams, Ellie and Michael Francisco, Alice and Keith Mosing, and Laurie and Tracy Krohn.
Marty Stuart spins some fantastical stories where fiction and reality blur in the new song “Country Star,” recorded with his band the Fabulous Superlatives. It’s the first new single Stuart has released since putting out the trippy, surf-inspired album Way Out West in 2017.
A jangling country-rock tune with some lively lead guitar licks, “Country Star” hurtles along with considerable momentum and gives Stuart a chance to make some absurd boasts. “I was raised by alligators in the Pearl River swamp/started a-dancin’ on the boogie-woogie stump,” he sings at one point. The chorus winks at how funny it sounds: “Ain’t that strange? It’s a mystery,” he sings.
More from Rolling Stone
There might be some truth hiding in “Country Star” as well. In the final verse, Stuart sings about falling for a woman who was “half wildcat” and who wore a diamond “she stole from Lester Flatt.” It’s unclear if the wildcat is meant to be Stuart’s wife, Country Music Hall of Fame member Connie Smith, but one of Stuart’s first jobs in music was as part of Flatt’s band.
“I’ve always loved songs like ‘Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms,’ ‘Long Journey Home,’ and ‘Salty Dog Blues,’” Stuart said in a release. “Those don’t really say much of anything but they feel good and they’re a perfect way to start any show. ‘Country Star’ qualifies as one of those songs.”
There’s no news of a full album to follow Way Out West just yet, but Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives have numerous dates lined up through next year including Stagecoach in April. On Tuesday, Nov. 22, Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives will be inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville.
COUNTRY singer Alan Jackson has broken his silence after a bizarre rumor spread indicating that he passed away amidst his ongoing health battle.
Jackson, 64, shared a photo from one of his music videos on his social media platforms in the midst of the viral death hoax.
2
Jackson shared this photo on his Instagram and Facebook profilesCredit: Instagram/@officialalanjackson
2
Jackson most recently appeared at the 2022 Country Music AwardsCredit: Reuters
Jackson, who has been responsible for a number of country music hits including “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” is the latest celebrity to be hit with a death hoax by website FNEWS2.
The main page of the site featured a framed picture of Alan with “RIP” written next to it.
The title reads: “6 minutes ago/with a heavy heart as we report the sad news of 64-year-old singer Alan Jackson.”
The site has previously circulated false reports of the deaths of stars like Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, and Dolly Parton.
Jackson revealed his Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease diagnosis in September 2021.
The degenerative nerve condition, which he was diagnosed with over ten years ago, affects Jackson’s balance and ability to walk.
“I have this neuropathy and neurological disease,” Jackson said on TODAY when he revealed his health diagnosis.
“It’s genetic that I inherited from my daddy … There’s no cure for it, but it’s been affecting me for years. And it’s getting more and more obvious. And I know I’m stumbling around on stage.
Most read in Entertainment
“And now I’m having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone, and so I just feel very uncomfortable.”
Just last week, Jackson appeared at the 2022 Country Music Association Awards, where he received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.
In his acceptance speech at the Nashville awards ceremony, Jackson said that “Country music has been real good to me and I fell in love with it when I was a young man.”
“I really love the instruments, the steel guitars and the fiddles and things like that that gave it such a unique character to me and made it its own,” he continued.
“And I love the lyrics and the songs and the artists and the melodies and the harmonies. It’s just a real American music to me.”
It’s a sentiment that many people believe in, live by or strive to live by a little more each day. Many would agree that it might even make a great song lyric. So, why does this suddenly change when one is informed that the phrase was, in fact, already made into a song — only with guitar-string plucking, a bouncy drum beat and Old Dominion’s smooth-as-honey Southern vocals?
Country music has been a controversial topic of conversation for music-listeners for a long time now. Even with catchy hooks and verses that stick in listeners’ minds rent-free, people are so quick to reject the genre before even giving it a listen. They write off the genre completely for the sake of letting stereotypes and cliches, like the idea that it’s only sung by men or only for white audiences, decide what they think for them. Saving Country Music explains that one of the most prevalent criticisms in regard to country music today is a tale as old as time — “all the songs sound the same and say the same basic things.” This refers to the lack of lyrical content or the belief that almost all country songs offer some variation of the same story — someone “falling in love in a small town while also including the vehicle they drive, most notably a truck, and mentioning an alcoholic beverage, whether it be whiskey, beer, etc.” Other grievances take the form of disliking the Southern sound, including yodeling vocals. And, while it is easy to associate country music with old, drunk hillbillies slinging their banjos over their backs while singing about girls, booze, more girls and more booze, this is actually a grave mistake that robs listeners of an entire collection of heart-string-tugging ballads and belt-worthy anthems that they wouldn’t have otherwise known.
Country music surpasses the category of simple tunes — it’s a wide-range of stories about love and loss, lessons and relatable anecdotes that have a way of putting one’s own experience in the driver’s seat of that big, red pickup truck. The Cold Wire claims that simple harmonies and clarity in understanding lyrics are all concrete compositional benefits to the art of country music. But beyond the guitar strings and microphone, the relatability of the timeless stories behind the music proves to be the human factor that sets country music apart in the best way. Not only does the genre diversify by crossing over with others like pop, blues, folk and rock, but it also touches on several pivotal human experiences, like “love, loss, friendship, summertime and heartbreak,” according to The Occidental. These themes are not specific to one demographic of people, but, rather, they’re often universal, resonating with a small corner of every listener’s world—no matter their walk of life. Whether singing about simpler times, regrets or ambitions, country music has this undeniable way of transporting a listener to a place within themselves that triggers a level of emotion or nostalgia that is exclusive to its genre. The Cold Wire goes on to explain that “You may hear a song when you are a teenager and feel as though it is talking about you. Ten years later, when you hear this song again, it can feel as though the song brings you right back to that time period in your life.” Not only do these simple and relatable messages contribute to a more rounded perspective on life, but they also make the music personal to every listener.
While early country music from the 1920s was structurally similar to folktales, it quickly became the soundtrack to Cowboys of the Wild West, followed by honky tonk anthems, then to the more sophisticated Nashville sound and it has since evolved to be much more palatable to the average listener. The Daily Tar Heel explains that “You don’t really hate country music. You hate surface-level post-9/11 4/4-time snap-track pop-crossover beers-and-trucks country.” And it’s true, people will sacrifice a lot of joy, whether it be in the form of country music or any facet of life, if they let others’ assumptions and preconceived notions keep them from experiencing something for themselves. It’s like they say, if you’re standing on the edge of a cliff, you wouldn’t jump off because someone told you to. I’m just asking you to put in your Airpods and listen to a little Luke Combs or Florida Georgia Line on your walk back from the edge.
Julia O’Reilly is a sophomore majoring in biology.
The Whiskey Riff Raff podcast sat down with Riley Green this week to talk small town life, college football, hunting, and country music.
Riley was recently announced as one of the opening acts on Luke Combs’ 2023 World Tour, and with his role as a country music fan favorite over the past few years, he’s an obvious choice. Many of Riley’s songs are standouts; the kind of tracks you can listen to on repeat and never tire out on.
And the best part of his songs – they make you feel a little deeper.
One song in particular became the topic of conversation on this week’s podcast – “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.” The song features a lot of impossibilities that we all wish existed: Home teams that never lose, honky tonks with no closing times, and coolers that never run out of beer.
And some of the lines really struck an emotional chord with listeners. Wishing Sundays never ended, and that everyone would make it home safely from overseas are just a few examples.
For dog lovers, “I wish good dogs never got gray and old” is a line that packs a sympathetic punch.
In the conversation, Steve compared this incredibly written line to a closer in a baseball game:
“Your line about dogs in ‘I Wish Grandpas Never Died,’ I swear to god… that line in the song was like the closer coming in at the end of a baseball game.”
For almost anyone, the idea of grandpas never dying is one that resonates deeply.
But Riley really took this song to another level with its nostalgia.
“That was one of those songs that just kind of came, ya know I wrote it by myself in about 45 minutes. I think I had the idea for a while after my granddaddy passed away… it was one of those songs that was a little tough to write… you’re talking about some pretty big things.
Wishing everybody overseas would make it home… you kind of have to top yourself as the song goes along.
There’s a lot of songs that talk about your grandpa, and I didn’t want to write a song that was about my grandpa. I kind of wanted to write it from the stance of like, these are some values my granddaddy taught me…
And the best thing about that song is what you just said, people have a line that does something to ‘em.”
And he’s right, the song has a special way of representing everyone’s feelings, and different lyrics become appreciable depending on every listener’s background and experience.
Riley shared one unique way that he’s also seen this song impact listeners:
“I had a guy come up to me after a show one time, he was an older gentleman, and he said that he never knew his grandfather, but he was a grandfather and that song got him for that reason.”
And that really sums up the country music feel.
Even if writers don’t know the impact they’ll have when they’re writing, some of the best songs are the ones that hit everyone a little differently but keep us all united and grounded by our similarities.
“I Wish Grandpas Never Died”
Presented by Templeton Distillery, you can download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here.
We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.
Jon Pardi performs at BMI’s 67th Annual Country Awards Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
LAS CRUCES – New Mexico State University Special Events announced that country singer Jon Pardi is scheduled to perform at the Pan American Center in the spring.
Pardi is set to travel to Las Cruces in April 2023 as part of his Ain’t Always the Cowboy Tour. He will take over the Pan Am April 14.
Pre-sale tickets start at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 while tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, Nov. 18. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com/nmsu-pan-american-center. The Pan Am ticket office can also be reached at 575-646-1420.
Pardi has toured with artists such as Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan. He has released four albums since 2014, the first being “Write You A Song” and the most recent, released this September, “Mr. Saturday Night.” He is known for such hits as “Head Over Boots,” “Heartache on the Dancefloor,” “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” and “Last Night Lonely.”
“Mr. Saturday Night” is Jon Pardi’s fourth studio album in eight years.
In 2017, he won the Country Music Association Award for New Artist of the Year and the Academy of Country Music Award for New Male Vocalist of the Year. He has since been nominated for song of the year and album of the year awards.
Others are reading:
Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Jon Pardi coming to Las Cruces in spring 2023
PONTIAC, Mich. — A YouTube compilation of video game music titled ‘Donkey Kong Country Music to Help You Chill Out’ has reportedly had the opposite effect on a local man, concerned sources have confirmed.
“Oh my goodness, he just got so fired up,” said Louise Pendleton, husband of Ross Pendleton, who found himself unable to chill out or relax while listening to the compilation of Donkey Kong tunes. “He said he was gonna try to get some work done so he went into his office and put on some music. A few minutes later I started to hear all kinds of screaming and crashing, and then I heard glass shatter! I poked my head in there to see what was going on, and I guess he was just really feeling that Nintendo music. He threw his office chair out the window for some reason. That stuff gets him so worked up, I wish he’d stop putting it on.”
After pleading with Ross to chill just a little bit, he briefly obliged, pausing the playlist long enough to get some water and address the immediate aftermath of the window incident.
“Fuck man, that shit really gets me going,” said Pendleton, applying bandages to several cuts on his hands. “That playlist man, it just took me over. It started with ‘Aquatic Ambience,’ and I was just sitting there vibing, answering emails and stuff like that, no problem at all. Next thing I know a faster song came on and some drums started up and I was up and moving before I even knew what was happening. Fuckin’ music gets me going, dude. I wonder if I should go to the hospital. Damn, I gotta get that window fixed, too.”
Pendleton’s parents stated that this was merely the latest in a long string of incidents related to songs from Donkey Kong Country games that weren’t very chill.
“Oh no, not that Donkey Kong shit again,” said Ruth Pendleton, Ross’ mother. “I remember one year we got him one of those games for Christmas thinking it looked a lot more wholesome than Mortal Kombat or anything else he’d asked for. He was up in his room playing it when after a while, I heard an awful commotion. I went upstairs, and you’ll think I’m making this up, but my son’s legs were sticking out of the drywall. He’d got a running start and jumped headfirst into the wall. I wasn’t sure how or why it happened, but yeah, eventually we figured out it was the game that did it. You can’t let my son hear that Donkey Kong music. There’s no telling what might happen.”
As of press time, neighbors spotted Pendleton chilling out in his car as it sat in the driveway, smoking weed and listening to the ‘DK Rap’.
Miranda Lambert leads the field for the 2023 Grammy nominations, announced earlier Tuesday (Nov. 15) as the only artist to receive a nomination in each of the four country categories — best country solo performance, best country duo/group performance, best country song and best country album.
Her sweep brings her lifetime number of nominations to 27. That’s quite the feat, but it’s dwarfed by the legendary Willie Nelson, who received three nominations this year to add to his 53 previous nods. Nelson’s nominations are all in country this year, but befitting Nelson’s stature as an American icon, over the decades his nods have spanned a number of genres and categories including best pop collaboration with vocals, best Americana album and best traditional pop vocal album. In a fun twist, though he doesn’t receive a nomination since it’s not a songwriter’s category, Nelson also plays a part in “Midnight Rider’s Prayer,” which Brothers Osborne are nominated for in best country duo/group performance: The song samples Nelson’s “On the Road Again.”
More from Billboard
Maren Morris, who last won in 2017, for best country solo performance, also lands three nominations. The two other leading nominees — Luke Combs with three and Ashley McBryde with two nods each — are looking for their first Grammy wins.
Grammy voters, unlike voters for the Country Music Association Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards, tend to be more willing to look outside of the current radio charts for nominations — hence the Nelson love — but this year largely fell in step with the mainstream for best country song, best country solo performance and best country album. However, the Grammy voters continue to ignore Morgan Wallen, the biggest new artist to hit the format in the past five years, as Wallen did not receive a single nomination.
As usual, there was some spillover between like-minded musical categories. Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, who received two nominations in the Americana categories, notched a nomination for best country duo/group performance, while country titans Bill Anderson and Dolly Parton were nominated in best American Roots performance.
While country music continues to struggle to become more inclusive, no artists of color received nominations in the country categories after Mickey Guyton received three nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Mainstream country artists were aced out of the four general categories. While the Recording Academy voters rarely include country artists in album, song, record and best new artist categories, streaming and touring sensation Zach Bryan (who did receive a nod for best country solo performance) had widely been expected to garner a best new artist nod, as had rising star Lainey Wilson.
For the past two years, the voters had included a country name (Ingrid Andress for 2021 and Jimmie Allen for 2022) in the final 10 for best new artist, though a country artist hasn’t won the award since 2010 when Zac Brown Band took home the golden gramophone. The last time a country artist won best album was Kacey Musgraves taking it for Golden Hour in 2019.
A number of country-adjacent artists fared better in the four general all-genre categories, including Americana act Brandi Carlile, who earned album and record of the year nods among her seven total nominations and bluegrass sensation Molly Tuttle, who garnered a best new artist slot.
In songwriter of the year-non classical, one of five new categories added this year, Laura Veltz, who wrote songs for Maren Morris and Andress, received a nomination, and the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach was recognized in producer of the year-non classical, for his work with, among others, Hank Williams Jr.
In terms of other country icons, Johnny Cash had the qualities Patsy Cline liked, according to Loretta Lynn. The “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was candid about her friendship with Cline and how it impacted her life and career. She even dedicated a memoir to it. And in that book, she explained why Cash was Cline’s ”kind of country music star.”
(L) Loretta Lynn | Jeff Snyder/FilmMagic (C) Johnny Cash | Jan Olofsson/Redferns (R) Patsy Cline | GAB Archive/Redferns
Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline were all born in the same year
In 1932, Cash, Lynn, and Cline were all born across the United States. Cash came into the world first in February in Arkansas. Then, Lynn arrived in April in Kentucky, and Cline followed in September in Virginia.
Eventually, they all made their way to Nashville, Tennessee, to kick off their country music careers. They crossed paths in the early ’60s when Cash was the most prominent star of the three, and he invited Cline to tour with him. She was an established singer, but women often weren’t allowed top billing back then.
In Lynn’s memoir, Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust, she wrote about her friendship with Cline, and she said 1962 was a good year for the ”Crazy” singer professionally. Among her accomplishments was earning a spot on tour with Cash that January.
Meanwhile, Lynn was still new to the scene, but Cline served as a friend and mentor, teaching her skills from shaving her legs to dressing like a star.
Loretta Lynn said Johnny Cash had qualities Patsy Cline loved in her fellow country music stars
Lynn shared in Me & Patsy that Cash was Cline’s ”kind of country music star” because he was a “rebel who made his own rules.”
Cash left Nashville behind for California, which most country stars didn’t do back then because they stayed close to the Grand Ole Opry. So, Cline flew across the country to join him for the Hollywood Bowl in June 1962.
Lynn shared, “… While I was singing in county fairs, Patsy was performing with superstars …”
But she noted that Cash also treated Cline differently than other men in the industry, which was appreciated. She said that instead of calling her “pretty or cute” during her introduction, Cash would call her ”the one, the only, Patsy Cline.”
“That was a real compliment,” Lynn explained. “It was his way of saying, ‘Patsy isn’t just anothergirl singer. She’s special.’ Patsy knew it, too.”
After having a great year in 1962, Patsy Cline died in 1963
In what was no small feat, Cline eventually made second billing to Cash. “Again,” Lynn noted in her memoir, “Patsy was blazing a trail for the rest of us.”
Unfortunately, Cline didn’t live beyond 30 and died tragically in March 1963. Lynn wrote in her memoir that she thought her legendary friend knew she would die young after she’d experienced two brushes with death before that fatal plane crash.
Cash died in 2003, aged 71, from complications brought on by diabetes (per the Tennesseean). Lynn lived until 2022, reaching the age of 90. According to a statement from her family following her death, she died peacefully at home.
RELATED: Loretta Lynn Once Said Seeing Beverly D’Angelo as Patsy Cline in ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ Was Painful
