Cowboy Corner
The 30th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be handed out May 10 at the Universal Amphitheater in California. This year's hosts will be Tanya Tucker, Clint Black, and the redneck comedian himself, Jeff Foxworthy.
Alan Jackson swept the categories with six nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Top Male Vocalist, Single of the Year and Song of the Year for "Livin' On Love," Top Vocal Duet with George Jones, and Album of the Year for Who I Am.
Nipping at Alan's heels with five nominations is Garth Brooks, while Tim McGraw and Vince Gill each captured four. Patty Loveless walked away with three nominations under her star-studded belt.
The entire list of nominees is as follows: Entertainer of the Year: Alabama, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and Reba McEntire. Top Male Vocalist: Garth Brooks, Joe Diffie, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, and George Strait. Top Female Vocalist: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Faith Hill, Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, and Pam Tillis.
Top Vocal Group: Alabama, Diamond Rio, Little Texas, The Mavericks, and Sawyer Brown. Top Vocal Duet: John Anderson & Tracy Lawrence, Brooks & Dunn, George Jones & Alan Jackson, Conway Twitty & Sam Moore, and Trisha Yearwood & Aaron Neville.
Top New Male Vocalist: David Ball, John Berry, and Tim McGraw. Top New Female Vocalist: Lisa Brokop, Victoria Shaw, and Chely Wright. Top New Vocal Group or Duet: The Mavericks, The Tractors, and John & Audrey Wiggins.
Single Record of the Year: "Don't Take the Girl," "I Swear," "Livin' On Love," "Third Rock From the Sun," and "Tryin' to Get Over You." Song of the Year: "Don't Take the Girl," "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye," "I Swear," "Livin' On Love," and "When Love Finds You."
Album of the Year: In Pieces, Garth Brooks; Not A Moment Too Soon, Tim McGraw; Stones In The Road, Mary Chapin Carpenter; When Love Finds You, Vince Gill; and Who I Am, Alan Jackson. Video of the Year: "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye," "Independence Day," "The Red Strokes," "Standing Outside the Fire," and "This Time."
Be sure to tune in to NBC, May 10 at 8 pm EST to see if your favorite country stars win.
The 29th TNN Music City News Country Awards will be announced June 5 at the Grand Ole Opry House, kicking off every country music fan's paradise, Fan Fair, a week-long country music festival to hear and meet your favorite country artists.
Just like the ACM awards, Alan Jackson dominated the nominations, receiving seven, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Who I Am, Single of the Year and Video of the Year for "Livin' On Love," Vocal Collaboration of the Year with George Jones, and Video of the Year for "Summertime Blues."
Vince Gill came in a close second with six nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for When Love Finds You, Single of the Year and Video of the Year for "When Love Finds You," and Vocal Collaboration of the Year with Amy Grant.
Nominations were selected by Music City News readers in the November 1994 and February 1995 issues. Readers now have the opportunity to vote for their favorites with a ballot in the April issue or by dialing (900) telephone numbers. Stay tuned to TNN for these phone numbers to choose your favorite artists.
And the nominees are: Entertainer of the Year: Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Ricky Van Shelton, and George Strait. Male Artist of the Year: Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Ricky Van Shelton, George Strait, and Marty Stuart. Female Artist of the Year: Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, Lorrie Morgan, Pam Tillis, and Tanya Tucker.
Vocal Band of the Year: Alabama, Confederate Railroad, Diamond Rio, Little Texas, and Sawyer Brown. Christian Country Artist: Alison Krauss & The Cox Family, Susie Luchsinger, Paul Overstreet, Ricky Skaggs, and Ricky Van Shelton. Comedian of the Year: Jeff Dunham & Walter, Jeff Foxworthy, Steve Hall & Shotgun Red, Mike Snider, and Ray Stevens.
Star of Tomorrow: Male Artist: David Ball, John Berry, Tracy Byrd, Tim McGraw, and Clay Walker. Star of Tomorrow: Female Artist: Linda Davis, Tareva Henderson, Faith Hill, Alison Krauss, and Lari White. Star of Tomorrow: Vocal Group or Duo: BlackHawk, Darryl & Don Ellis, Terry McBride & The Ride, John & Audrey Wiggins, and The Tractors.
Vocal Group or Duo of the Year: Brooks & Dunn, Oak Ridge Boys, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, The Statlers, and John & Audrey Wiggins. Vocal Collaboration of the Year: Suzy Bogguss & Chet Atkins, Amy Grant & Vince Gill, George Jones & Alan Jackson, Conway Twitty & Sam Moore, and Trisha Yearwood & Aaron Neville.
Album of the Year: Love and Honor, Ricky Van Shelton; Not A Moment Too Soon, Tim McGraw; Read My Mind, Reba McEntire; When Love Finds You, Vince Gill; and Who I Am, Alan Jackson. Single of the Year: "I Swear," "Livin' On Love," "The Man In Love With You," "When Love Finds You," and "Your Love Amazes Me." Video of the Year: "Independence Day," "Livin' On Love," "Summertime Blues," "When Love Finds You," and "Why Haven't I Heard From You."
This awards ceremony will be broadcast live on The Nashville Network on June 5 at 8 p.m. EST.
Judd fans will be happy to know that The Judds' life story, as told in Naomi's best-seller autobiography Love Can Build A Bridge, has been adapted for a powerful four-hour mini-series on the small screen. Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build A Bridge will air on NBC May 14 (Mother's Day) and May 15 at 9 p.m. EST.
This movie, for which Naomi acted as co-executive producer, tells Naomi's story of being born in a small Kentucky town, surviving a bad marriage and poverty, struggling as a single mother raising Wynonna and Ashley while attending nursing school, how she and Wynonna landed a recording contract with RCA in 1983, rose to the top of the country charts and awards selling more then 15 million albums, and how the singing Judds came to an end after a life-threatening illness forced Naomi to retire.
We all know that Wynonna has since enjoyed much success in her solo career, but what is she up to these days since the birth of her child, Elijah? Her publicist tells me that no official announcement has been made on her career plans for the near future, but assures me that we'll all hear about it when the announcement is made. In the meantime, Wynonna is enjoying spending time with her four-month old son.
Your favorite local record store is being swamped with greatest-hits albums. Among these hitmakers are T. Graham Brown, Rodney Crowell, George Jones and Tammy Wynette duets, the late Marty Robbins, and Ricky Van Shelton.
Holly Dunn is back with a new album titled Life And Love, while newcomer Ty Herndon has just released his debut album, titled What Matters Most. By the way, Maureen McCormick's (AKA Marsha Brady) album I told you about last month, titled When You Get a Little Lonely, is now available (at least at Camelot Records in the Jefferson Mall). That's one I'm sure you'll be curious to hear.
Merle Haggard fans are in luck. The legendary "Okie From Muskogee" is on the road again and will be performing songs from his mighty long string of hits at The Palace Theatre, May 25. Opening for Merle will be the hot up-and-coming Wesley Dennis.
"Take me out to the ballgame . . .." Baseball fans and country music fans can count on a winning double-header when Clay Walker performs following the Louisville Redbirds' game in Cardinal Stadium at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center on Friday night, June 2.
Q: When will Dolly Parton's sitcom, Heavens to Betsy, be aired?
J. Russell, Louisville
A: Well, Dolly fans shouldn't hold their breath for Heavens To Betsy or they're going to turn blue and pass out. Dolly filmed a number of episodes and was not happy with the results; the show was re-worked and she filmed a number of more episodes, but she still was not satisfied. Dolly is a very savvy business woman and will always be haunted by her unsuccessful one-hour ABC variety show, Dolly; therefore before starting production of Heavens To Betsy, she worked out a generous deal with the network that no episodes of the sitcom would be aired if Dolly wasn't completely satisfied.
We all know that Dolly is a perfectionist and learns from her mistakes. Well, the show wasn't up to Dolly's standards; thus we'll never see what Heavens to Betsy was like.
Dolly doesn't let anything stand in her way though; just because this show didn't work doesn't mean she's going to quit. Filming is going to move from Florida to L.A. and production will begin later this year on a completely different sitcom. In the meantime, Dolly is celebrating Dollywood's (her theme park in her hometown of Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) tenth anniversary with a $7 million, 7-acre 1950s addition called Jukebox Junction and has a new album, titled Something Special, scheduled to be released in June. Fans will be happy to know that Dolly re-cut her self-penned classic "Jolene" for this new album. "I Will Always Love You" hit it big twice for her and once for Whitney Houston, making it one of the top selling songs of all times, so maybe "Jolene" will do the same. It just may wind up as the theme song for The Bodyguard II.
If you have a question you'd like answered about one of your favorite country artists, please send your question, along with your name, to: Cowboy Corner Country Quiz, Louisville Music News, 7505 Cambridge Drive, Crestwood, KY 40014. Please don't hesitate to send in your question. We're anxious to hear from you.
Well, that's it for this month. Always remember: Keep your boots shined up and your hat on straight, 'cause country music is comin' your way.