Latest / Country Weekly / 11.14.25
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Now it's time to catch up with Country Weekly, where
- 0:08we check out news and gossip from the world of
- 0:10country music. I'm your host, Ken Dawkins, and I'll be
- 0:14reading from various sources found online. As a reminder, RADIOI
- 0:18is a reading service intended for people who are blind
- 0:21or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
- 0:24printed material. We'll begin with the first article from Kentucky's
- 0:28own The Lane Report from the Authentic Notes column by
- 0:33Matt Wickstromp. We're checking out Kentucky Music News. Pinefeld based
- 0:38Laurel Cove Music Festival, which has been a launch pad
- 0:41for artists like Sierra Ferrell, The Red Clay Strays and
- 0:44others in recent years, has announced that its twenty twenty
- 0:47sixth edition will take place June through that's June eleventh
- 0:50through the thirteenth. On September eighth, Tyler Child celebrated the
- 0:54two year anniversary of his album Rustin in the Rain,
- 0:57which include covers of Chris Kostofferson's Help Me Make It
- 1:00Through the Night and as G. Goodman's Old Time Feeling
- 1:03along with the endearing original in Your Love. He also
- 1:07celebrated five years of the mostly fiddle album Long violent History.
- 1:11On September eighteenth. Chris Stapleton has received three nominations Entertainer
- 1:17of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Music
- 1:19Video of the Year for Think I'm in Love with
- 1:22You at the upcoming fifty ninth Annual CMA Awards, which
- 1:25will take place on November nineteenth in Nashville. Aaron Rittier
- 1:30also received two double nominations Single of the Year and
- 1:33Song of the Year for his work co writing Ella
- 1:35Langley's You Look Like You Love Me and Lady Wilson's
- 1:38four by four by You, the latter of which he
- 1:40penned with fellow Kentucky and John Deshes. On September tenth,
- 1:45Laurel County's Darryl Scott, known for penning hits like Never
- 1:48Leave Harlan Alive and Travis Tritz It's a Great Day
- 1:51to Be Alive, was bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award during
- 1:55the Americana Honors and Awards at the Rieman Auditorium in Nashville.
- 2:00Kentucky musicians Bonnie Prince, Billy sg Goodman, Jim James, by
- 2:04Morning Jacket, Candy Jenkins murdered by death, Joan Shelley, and
- 2:08Nathan Salzburg, Scott T Smith, Ben so Lee, The Kentucky Gentleman,
- 2:12and others are featured on a new compilation album. It's
- 2:16available only to financial supporters of Louisville Public Media wfp
- 2:21K and other PBS NPR affiliates around the Commonwealth. During
- 2:26a September seventeenth show at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado,
- 2:29Sturgel Simpson Ta's New Music, telling the crowd that he
- 2:32and his band just finished recording a new album. The
- 2:34reveal comes only a few weeks after a new account
- 2:37of Simpson's alter ego, Johnny Bluesky's, popped up on Instagram.
- 2:42Ashland's Jason Carter came away with three wins Song of
- 2:45the Year, Album of the Year, in Collaborative Recording of
- 2:48the Year at the September eighteenth International Bluegrass Music Awards
- 2:53That's in Chattanooga for his project Carter and Cleveland with
- 2:56Michael Cleveland, and after its song Tennessee went viral earlier
- 3:00this summer, southcast or Southeast Kentucky bluegrass band The Creakers
- 3:05have announced that they're inked or have inked a record
- 3:08deal with Warner Music Nashville. Now we go around the
- 3:12block to take a look at parade dot com, where
- 3:14Vince Gill set for historic emotional moment at the twenty
- 3:18twenty five CMA Awards. This article dated November tenth. Country
- 3:23music legend Vince Gill will mark a historic milestone at
- 3:26the twenty twenty five CMA Awards as the Country Music
- 3:29Association honors his five decades of influence with one of
- 3:32its highest distinctions. The Oklahoma native will receive the CMA
- 3:36Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award during the fifty ninth annual
- 3:40CMA Awards, airing live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday,
- 3:44November nineteenth on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.
- 3:48A special tribute performance will accompany the honor. Vince embodies
- 3:52the very best of what country music stands for, says
- 3:55CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trehearn. He's a true trailblazer,
- 3:59one who gets back to the community, honors the roots
- 4:01of our genre, and even now continues to share his
- 4:04talent with fans across the globe. As a Country Music
- 4:08Hall of Fame member, eighteen times CMA Award winner and
- 4:11former twelve time CMA Awards host, he remains a vibrant
- 4:14force in our industry and were honored to celebrate an
- 4:17artist whose influence is so deeply woven into the fabric
- 4:20of our format. Over the course of his career, of course,
- 4:23Gill has received twenty two Grammy Awards eighteen CMA Awards,
- 4:27including a record setting four wins for Song of the Year,
- 4:30more than any other artist in CMA history. He has
- 4:33released twenty albums, sold more than thirty million records, and
- 4:36charted forty five singles, showcasing both his unmistakable tenor and
- 4:41masterful guitar work. He's also been a key member of
- 4:45multiple iconic bands, including Pure Prairie League, The Cherry Bombs,
- 4:49and The Time Jumpers. Since twenty seventeen, he's toured as
- 4:53a member of the Eagles, continuing to honor the legacy
- 4:55of Glenn Frye while contributing his own distinct style to
- 4:59the band's timeless CAUs catalog. This year, Gill is also
- 5:02celebrating fifty years of performing with a special MCA Records
- 5:05project titled fifty Years from Home, a series of EPs
- 5:10chronicling his music journey. The first installment I Gave You
- 5:13Everything I Had was released on October seventeenth. The CMA
- 5:18Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes artists whose careers have
- 5:22achieved national and international prominence while embodying the spirit of
- 5:25country music through artistry, philanthropy, and influence. Previous honorees include
- 5:30Willie Nelson, Kenny Rodgers, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Chris Christofferson,
- 5:35Charlie Pride, Loretta Lynn, Alan Jackson, and George Strait. Gill
- 5:39was introduced or inducted rather into the Country Music Hall
- 5:42of Fame back in two thousand and seven, and received
- 5:44a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star in twenty twelve, cementing
- 5:48his place among the genre's most respected and beloved artists.
- 5:52Earlier this fall, Gill helped launch the Country Music Hall
- 5:54of Fame in museum's new exhibit, The Grandest Stage the
- 5:58Opry at one hundred SI, celebrating a century of the
- 6:01Grand Old Opry. The exhibit, opened through March of twenty
- 6:04twenty seven, features Gill's personal opring memorabilia, alongside artifacts from
- 6:08Reva McIntyre, Minnie Pearl, and Garth Brooks, highlighting his enduring
- 6:12role in shaping Nashville's musical legacy again. The fifty ninth
- 6:16Annual CMA Awards airs Wednesday, November nineteenth. Next, Country Music
- 6:22Star discusses taking a break from music. I hadn't really
- 6:25spoken a lot about it. There's no question the country
- 6:29music artists have busy lifestyles. Sometimes the constant grind of touring,
- 6:33promoting music, and being in the public eye can become
- 6:35overwhelming or make one feel unwell. Needless to say, everybody
- 6:39needs to show down or slow down once in a while.
- 6:42Even Ella Langley can attest to that. Folks will recall
- 6:46the Alabama native who is now twenty six. Her star
- 6:49is blown up over the past year, and she took
- 6:50a hiatus from music just a few months ago to
- 6:53rest and focus on her health, mind, body, and heart.
- 6:56At the time, Langley announced via Instagram that she would
- 6:59be canceling them the rest of her August tour dates,
- 7:01citing sickness and feeling more run down than ever as
- 7:05her reasoning behind the decision. On Thursday, November sixth, Langley
- 7:09reflected on her choice to take a break from music
- 7:11earlier this year during night one of back to back
- 7:14shows held at the Riemann Auditorium in Nashville. The powerhouse
- 7:18vocalist discussed the topic with her audience before debuting a
- 7:21rousing rendition of her unreleased song Lovin Life Again, co
- 7:24written with Ernest, who was on hand to back her
- 7:27up on guitar. I took a couple of weeks off
- 7:30this year, and I hadn't really spoken a lot about
- 7:32it since she began, as shown in a video on Instagram,
- 7:35since I graduated high school. Seriously, I've put this thing
- 7:38number one in my life, above everything else, above myself. Really,
- 7:42my band and I got to a point this year
- 7:44where we were looking in the mirror and didn't realize
- 7:46or recognize ourselves the way we used to. We were tired.
- 7:49We needed a break. We'd been doing this every weekend forever.
- 7:52We just needed a break. I can't explain how much
- 7:56that changed my life, she continued, sharing how the chance
- 7:59to unwine gave her a fresh perspective. I got to
- 8:01read my Bible for two straight weeks. I got to
- 8:04go back home and spend more time there than I'd
- 8:06spent at home since I left. I bought my first
- 8:09house and got to sit in it for the first time.
- 8:11I got to sit there and see what is happening
- 8:13in my life and the thing that I'm working so
- 8:15hard for and how it's changing my life and my
- 8:18family's life. She went on to say that her time
- 8:20to simply recharge and enjoy the moment that she has
- 8:23worked so hard for made her feel rejuvenated. It took
- 8:27me going back home to find my roots. Langley isn't
- 8:30the only artist to press the pause button on touring life.
- 8:33Both Hardy and Nate Smith are just a few stars
- 8:36who have done the same These days, though, Langley's back
- 8:39at it with shows planned throughout the rest of the
- 8:41year and a stacked schedule for twenty twenty six. She
- 8:45recently released her single Choos in Texas and is working
- 8:49on an album. Langley is also booked to perform at
- 8:52the upcoming CMAS, which, as we said, air live in
- 8:55November on ABC. Now we move over to Billboard with
- 8:59the the article dated back on Friday, the seventh of November.
- 9:03Country continues to be the Grammy's poor relation. The Grammys
- 9:08have a country problem. This is not news, of course,
- 9:11but in another banner year for country music, it was
- 9:13reinforced when the nominations for the sixty eighth annual Grammy
- 9:17Awards were announced Friday. Nowhere is the omission more obvious
- 9:21than in the Best New Artist category. To be sure,
- 9:24it was an extremely competitive race across several genres, but
- 9:27in a year when Nassen country acts like Megan Maroney,
- 9:30Ella Langley and Zach Top were legitimate contenders with commercially
- 9:34and critically acclaimed breakthroughs, their names were nowhere to be found.
- 9:38No country artists made the cut. Looking further in the
- 9:41six general field categories, which in addition to Best New
- 9:44Artists include record Album, song Producer non Classical and Songwriter
- 9:49Non Classical of the Year, only two Country creators made
- 9:52the cut, and both for Songwriter of the Year Jesse
- 9:56Joe Dillon, who co wrote songs for artists including Maroney,
- 9:59Jelly Roll Russell, Dad Akerson, and Morgan Wallen that were
- 10:02released during the eligibility period, and Lauren Veltz, who had
- 10:05songs cut by Big Exta Thing, Jesse Murf, Josh Ross
- 10:10and Maren Morris, among others. It must be noted that
- 10:13country's biggest artist, Wallen, took himself out of contention this
- 10:16year and did not enter the at all, but given
- 10:20his past lack of nominations. Other than for his duet
- 10:23with post Malone, the voters would likely have continued to
- 10:26ignore him. This has been an ongoing issue, says bill Board.
- 10:29For the last ten years, including today's nominations, only five
- 10:33country projects have received Album of the Year nominations among
- 10:36seventy four contenders, and that's generously including efforts by Americana
- 10:41leaning artists like Sturgel Simpson and Brandy Carlisle, an artists
- 10:44who have temporarily dipped into the genre like Beyonce. There
- 10:49have only been two winners, Casey Musgraves for Golden Hour
- 10:52in twenty eighteen and Beyonce for Cowboy Carter earlier this
- 10:56year and the Song of the Year. Over the last
- 10:58ten years, the only country nomine nations have gone to
- 11:00writers of Tanya Tucker's Bring My Flowers Now and Beyonce's
- 11:04Texas Hold Them for Record of the Year. The outlook
- 11:07is even similarly bleaker. The only country nominations have gone
- 11:10to Little Nazek's and Billy ray Cyrus Oldtown Road and
- 11:13shaboozies of bar song Tipsy, despite Friday's Goose Egg. As
- 11:19country music has boomed over the last several years, country
- 11:21artists have fared best in the New Artist category, with
- 11:24eight artists receiving nominations over the last decade. However, there
- 11:28has been no country winner in fifteen years since Zach
- 11:31Brown Band in twenty ten, and we know there won't
- 11:34be one at the twenty twenty sixth ceremony. To state
- 11:37the obvious, the fans who have propelled country's popularity aren't voters.
- 11:41Grammy voting is a numbers game, and until there are
- 11:44enough voters among country creators, it's hard to see things changing.
- 11:48Only seven percent of Grammy voters come from the country genre,
- 11:51that's according to the Recording Academy, compared to twenty four
- 11:54percent for pop and sixteen percent for jazz. It's clear
- 11:58among the winners and nominees, many of them, such as
- 12:01Beyonce and Shaboozi, had projects with crossover appeal, which likely
- 12:05garnered them votes from beyond the country community. That brings
- 12:09up a broader point. Unlike other genres such as rap
- 12:12and alternative, country often still remains its own island and
- 12:15doesn't always cross over with other genres. That's changing with
- 12:18artists like Big ex to Plug and Tate mccrai collaborating
- 12:22with country artists and bringing new fans in, but there
- 12:24are still seems to be bigger divide. Country listeners, including voters,
- 12:28likely listened to other genres of music, while fans of
- 12:31other genres don't necessarily listen to country. The Recording Academy
- 12:36is well aware of the country lag and even added
- 12:37a new country category this year, Best Traditional Country Album,
- 12:41which was the only new music category added for the
- 12:43sixty eighth annual Grammy Awards. The community of people that
- 12:47are making country music in all different subgenres came to
- 12:50us with a proposal and said, we would like to
- 12:52have more variety in how our music is honored. That's
- 12:55according to Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Junior, who told
- 12:59Billboard in June when the category was announced, they said,
- 13:02we think we need more space for our music to
- 13:04be celebrated and honored. Well, that's a great move and
- 13:07puts the country categories in line with a number of
- 13:09other genres that have both contemporary and traditional categories. But
- 13:13until the number of country creators who vote arises, there
- 13:17is very likely to be no change in the general
- 13:19field because the numbers just aren't there to cross a
- 13:22country artist or project over the mainstream finish line. The
- 13:26Recording Academy has been on a massive drive over the
- 13:28last several years to diversify its ranks, especially among women,
- 13:32younger voters, and people of color, adding twenty nine new hundred.
- 13:36That's twenty nine hundred new voting members this year alone.
- 13:40Total voting membership is now approaching fifteen thousand, with seventy
- 13:44three percent joining since the Academy introduced a new membership
- 13:47model in twenty nineteen. Tellingly, only one percent of this
- 13:51year's new voting members identified as being most aligned with
- 13:54the country genre Now. We check out countrynow dot com
- 13:59with the first article dated November eleventh. Megan Maroney steps
- 14:03into her most confident erea yet with brand new album
- 14:06Cloud nine. Megan Moroney's fans floating on Cloud nine this
- 14:11morning with the announcement of her highly anticipated third studio album.
- 14:15Early Tuesdays, she revealed that her next project, Cloud nine,
- 14:18will arrive February twentieth. I'm so excited from my fans
- 14:22as I dive into this new world of Cloud nine
- 14:24with them, she shared. Similar to the first two albums,
- 14:27it's all written about honest personal experiences. But these songs
- 14:31were written by the strongest, most confident version of myself
- 14:34I've ever been. My feet feel firmly planeted in my artistry,
- 14:37and it was fun to play around sonically while still
- 14:40sticking to my roots of what my fans and I love.
- 14:42Cloud nine is a state of mind, and I have
- 14:45no doubt this will be the best chapter yet. While
- 14:48the official track list is still under wraps, two songs
- 14:51are confirmed, her rising top ten hits six months later
- 14:55and Beautiful Things, which recently arrived at Country radio with
- 14:58sixty nine first week ad, making it one of the
- 15:01most added songs on Impact. The album news comes just
- 15:04after Maroney officially closed her miok era on social media,
- 15:09saying goodbye to the color blue. In a reveal video,
- 15:12she opens a window in a blue room and the
- 15:14world outside transforms into pink, marking the start of her
- 15:18next era. Fans can now pre order Cloud nine on
- 15:21Megan's signature Pink Standard Now next. Maddix Batsen to take
- 15:27his music to the US and beyond in twenty twenty
- 15:30six with live worldwide tour, after a breakout year that
- 15:34included a Grand Old Opry debut in a standout first
- 15:37performance at Stagecoach Mattix Batsen is preparing to take his
- 15:41music global. He has announced the Mattox Batsen Live Worldwide
- 15:45Tour twenty twenty six, a forty six show trek that
- 15:48kicks off in the United States and continues with stops
- 15:51across Canada, the UK, Germany, Norway, and Sweden. Born in
- 15:56Nashville and now based in Alabama, the fifteen year old
- 15:59rising star first gained attention on social media covering songs
- 16:03from Zach Bryan, Red, Clay Strays and other country acts. Yeah,
- 16:06that's fifteen years old. That's hard to believe. As he
- 16:09transitioned into writing his own music, early releases like Tears
- 16:12in the River and I Want to Know showcased his
- 16:14songwriting talent. He later went on to develop his skills
- 16:18as a co writer on Lanar del Rey and Quavo's
- 16:20hit collaboration Tough. Building on that momentum, bats And is
- 16:25taking his music to fans abroad with his upcoming track
- 16:27that features support from Bailey Lynn, Jenna Davis, Just Jane,
- 16:31and Timmy McKeever on select dates. A lot of people
- 16:35might not remember I got my start on TikTok live.
- 16:38So this tour name is a nod to those early
- 16:40days Bats and Shares with love bringing our live shows
- 16:43to fans. It's crazy to me that it now means
- 16:45we're playing all around the world. What a blessing to
- 16:48share this journey and new music with you. All pre
- 16:51sale from Mattox Bats and Live Worldwide Tour twenty six begins.
- 16:55It began on November eleventh. Fans also have the chance
- 16:59to access another pre sale that will be offered exclusively
- 17:02to City Card members. This announcement also reveals the upcoming
- 17:06tours pledged to donate one dollar from every North American ticket.
- 17:10Soul to Music Will the largest music education nonprofit program
- 17:14for schools in the United States. Music Will's innovative modern
- 17:18band curriculum aims to boost student involvement in school music
- 17:21programs good for him while fostering lasting academic, social, and
- 17:26emotional development. Maddox Batson recently wrapped up his twenty nine
- 17:30city I Need a Truck tour and joined Landy Wilson
- 17:33on select dates of her Whirlwind tour. The buzzworthy singer
- 17:37has also been making waves with new music, including Coincidence
- 17:41and No More Next. Cody Johnson releases long awaited studio
- 17:46version of Traveling Soldier. Fans asked, and Cody Johnson finally answered.
- 17:51For years, people have begged him to release an official
- 17:53studio version of travel and Soldier ever since his acoustic
- 17:56YouTube cover took off. Now, just in time for veterans,
- 18:00the full version is here. It's a heartfelt salute to
- 18:03every branch of the military and to all first responders
- 18:06who serve with courage. It's been three years since we
- 18:09released an acoustic cover of Traveling Soldier. The fans responded
- 18:13so enthusiastically and began requesting it during our live shows,
- 18:17so it's remained on the set list. Johnson shared, I
- 18:19had no idea that it was going to give me
- 18:21the opportunity to hear, see, and bring words to all stories.
- 18:25I knew at some point, when the time felt right,
- 18:27we needed to record it in the studio, and that
- 18:30time is now Cojnation. Travelin Soldier was written and recorded
- 18:34by Bruce Robinson. Many people know the Chicks version of
- 18:37Travelin Soldier, which was released as a single by the
- 18:40Trio in two thousand and two. They famously performed the
- 18:44song during the two thousand and one CMA Awards and
- 18:47earned a number one single with the track. Cody's recording
- 18:50of travelin Soldier comes as his latest radio single, The
- 18:53Fall continues to climb the charts. The song is the
- 18:56second single off his Leather Deluxe Edition album and was
- 18:59written by Bobby Pinson, Jeremy Stover, and Ray Fulcher. The
- 19:03Fall delivers a reflective, bittersweet message about the highs and
- 19:06lows of life, as the Texas native sings, the ride
- 19:09was worth the fall. The fall was worth the smiles.
- 19:12The smiles were worth the tears. Tears were worth the miles.
- 19:15Miles were worth the pain. Pain was worth it all.
- 19:19It's all worth this life. Life is worth the ride.
- 19:21The ride is worth the fall. Recently, Cody Johnson brought
- 19:25the song to life with a music video, blending his
- 19:27love for country music and rodeo into one cinematic clip
- 19:31featuring world champion bullfighter Cody Webster. Cody Johnson is heading
- 19:35into the fifty ninth annual CMA Awards with four big nominations.
- 19:39He's up for Entertainer of the Year for the first time,
- 19:42plus Male Vocalist of the Year, and both Music Event
- 19:44and Video of the Year for his two week number
- 19:46one hit with Carrie Underwood I'm Gonna Love You. Speaking
- 19:51of Veterans Day, we move over to Saving Country Music
- 19:54with this article dated November eleventh, country music's military veterans
- 19:59and those that support them. Veterans Day is a time that,
- 20:04of course, we should all pause and think about the
- 20:06services and sacrifices made by our military servicemen and women
- 20:10and their families. It's likely no surprise that there have
- 20:13been so many country musicians who are either veterans themselves
- 20:17or who've answered the call of duty to go above
- 20:18and beyond to honor and assist our active duty military
- 20:21personnel and veterans. Saving Country Music is recognizing selected country
- 20:26artists who answered the call from the modern era in
- 20:29decades past and the nonprofit and charity organizations which they've
- 20:33supported with their time and talents. List is lengthy. Scott
- 20:38Scooter Brown US combat marine veteran country singer songwriter Scott
- 20:42Scooter Brown of a Scooter Brown Band is not only
- 20:45a veteran of a Texas red Dirt scene, but also
- 20:48a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps. Zach Bryan,
- 20:52US Navy veteran. Aside from setting the record for the
- 20:56largest ticketed concert in US history, or climbing fences to
- 20:59fight country music's biggest buffoon, or getting arrested for popping
- 21:03off to police about a traffic stop he wasn't actually
- 21:05involved in. Is it really surprising that Zach Bryan also
- 21:09has military service under his belt. Brian service in the
- 21:13US Navy began in twenty thirteen. Craig Campbell Creative Vets.
- 21:19Country recording artist Craig Campbell can be credited for donating
- 21:22a good amount of his time and artistic talents for
- 21:25the benefits of various veterans organizations. Campbell's collaboration with arts
- 21:29and music nonprofit organization Creative Vets helps in power wounded
- 21:33veterans with post traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries to
- 21:37heal through art and music. Johnny Cash US Air Force
- 21:41veteran USO Johnny Cash was a man in blue before
- 21:45he would inevitably become the man in black. Cash served
- 21:48a four year tour of duty for the US Air
- 21:51Force immediately following high school graduation. From nineteen fifty to
- 21:55nineteen fifty four. His official job was serving as a
- 21:58transcriber of Soviet more horse code transmissions. At the height
- 22:02of the second Red Scare era of American history, Charlie Daniels,
- 22:07the Journey Home Project. If you had to put your
- 22:10finger on the one person in all of country music
- 22:12who likely has done the most for active duty military
- 22:15and veterans alike, the long haired country boy from Georgia,
- 22:18Charlie Daniels is likely that person. Aside from going on
- 22:22a multitude of USO tours performing for troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Korea,
- 22:26and beyond, Daniels and his manager David Korlu together co
- 22:30founded the Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project. Together, they've raised
- 22:34more than four point five million dollars, directing those funds
- 22:38to carefully vetted nonprofit and charity organizations which support the return, rehabilitation,
- 22:43and reintegration of our military personnel back to civilian life
- 22:47after service. Creed Fisher US Army veteran Creed Fisher is
- 22:53one of a modern day outlaw country music's most authentic artists,
- 22:57considering he has lived out and lived through most of
- 22:59the rough and rowdy stories he often sings of. Hailing
- 23:03from Odessa, Texas, Fisher served three years in the US
- 23:06Army at Fort Leonard Hood in the early nineties, and
- 23:09although he's never admitted to many of the details of
- 23:11how he allegedly managed to stay in trouble during his
- 23:13Army service, it doesn't shake or deter his corps authentic
- 23:17love and respect for the servicemen and women of our military.
- 23:20Scotty Hasting, US Army combat veteran and pen Fed Foundation
- 23:25Scotty Hasting may not be a household name in country music, However,
- 23:28he's been paying his dues for years, not only to
- 23:30country music, but to our country too. As an Army
- 23:34Infantry combat veteran, Hasting's backstory of how he became a
- 23:38Purple Heart recipient from operations in Afghanistan is worth looking up.
- 23:43Justin Jeansone, US Marine and Army veteran up and coming
- 23:47country singer songwriter Justin Jeansone, who's been on tour throughout
- 23:51twenty twenty five with the Red Clay Strays, is what
- 23:54you might call an overachiever when it comes to his
- 23:56military service. After he served in the US Marine Corps
- 24:00nine to twenty fourteen as part of the second Light
- 24:03Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, he moved to Nashville to pursue his
- 24:06passion for writing and recording songs. Jamie Johnson, US Marine veteran,
- 24:11the Give It Away Foundation, Faridi's Troops First Foundation, Country
- 24:16singing songwriter and Grand Old operateing member. Jamie Johnson was
- 24:19a mortarman in the US Marine Corps Reserves, and that
- 24:23was for eight years from nineteen ninety four to two
- 24:25thousand and two. In other words, he knows exactly how
- 24:29to blow stuff up from afar. George Jones, US Marine veteran.
- 24:34Jones was a lot of things to a lot of
- 24:36people during his life and monstrous music career. A country
- 24:40music legend, a crooning tearjerker with a voice of pure gold,
- 24:43a hell raising drunkard who flirted with committing gun violence
- 24:46against those he claimed that he loved. And Old George
- 24:49was a US Marine who served as a rifleman from
- 24:52nineteen fifty one to nineteen fifty three. Toby Keith USO
- 24:57the late nineties country music giant Grammy nomine singer native Oklahoma,
- 25:01and spent a great deal of time on USO tours
- 25:04entertaining the troops. He consistently traveled and performed in Africa, Cuba, Belgium, Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macadamia, Italy, Germany,
- 25:13and numerous times in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kelly Pickler USO
- 25:20Kelly Pickler was officially named the USO Global Ambassador in
- 25:23support of the organization's eightieth anniversary in twenty twenty one.
- 25:27Pickler participated in events and engagements for service members, raised
- 25:32awareness of the needs of military personnel, and shared ways
- 25:35Americans could help the USO Give More Thanks through the
- 25:38organizations Give More Thanks Initiative. Chris Christofferson, US Army veteran,
- 25:44outlaw country music pioneer, songwriter and film actor, Chris Christofferson
- 25:49is one of the genre's biggest badasses in more ways
- 25:51than one. With a family tradition built on military service,
- 25:55the Texas native served in the US Army from nineteen
- 25:57sixty to nineteen sixty five in the Army's eighth Infantry
- 26:01Division in West Germany, which is where he also began
- 26:04writing songs. Craig Morgan, of course, the US Army veteran
- 26:08operation finally home, USO country recording artist and grand Old Operate. Remember,
- 26:12Craig Morgan has definitely earned his stripes, having served for
- 26:15seventeen years in the US Army's one hundred and first
- 26:18and eighty second Airborne Division before pursuing his career as
- 26:22a songwriter in Nashville. Willie Nelson US Air Force. Just
- 26:26when you think you might have known or heard everything
- 26:28about this living country music legend, you learn old Willie
- 26:31was briefly served in the US Air Force, joining soon
- 26:34after high school in nineteen fifty. John Paycheck US Army
- 26:38veteran country traditionalist and independent recording artist John Paycheck became
- 26:42motivated to join the US Army soon after the events
- 26:46of nine to eleven. That was after deciding to give
- 26:48up his tour manager job working for his in from
- 26:50his father, outlaw country music pioneer Johnny Paycheck, John Prime,
- 26:55US Army veteran, one of the greatest songwriters in the
- 26:57history of songwriting, was also a man of service. John
- 27:02Rich VF W. Travis Mills Foundation. Country recording artist John
- 27:06Rich has also done more than his fair share of
- 27:08fundraising and spokesperson advocacy for military veterans, current servicemen and women,
- 27:13and their families. Through his Redneck Riviera Whiskey brand, Rich
- 27:17has contributed more than two million dollars to veterans causes
- 27:20since its twenty fourteen launch. George Strait U S Army
- 27:25Veteran Military Warriors Support Foundation the George Strait Foundation. Before
- 27:29becoming the modern era's reigning king of country music, George
- 27:33Strait had served in the US Army as an infantryman
- 27:36from nineteen seventy one to nineteen seventy five as part
- 27:40of a twenty fifth Infantry Division in Hawaii during the
- 27:43Vietnam Era. Adam Warner US Marine veteran Adam Warner is
- 27:48still making a name for himself outside of Nashville, but
- 27:51the independent, up and coming country rock recording artist from
- 27:54a fourth generation farm family in central Illinois, also served
- 27:58in the US Marine Corps from two thousand two four
- 28:00to two thousand eight and Trace Atkins Wounded Warrior Project
- 28:05USO of all the country artists who supported and advocated
- 28:09for veterans causes and interests, Grand Old Ip Remember Trace
- 28:12Atkins has paid his dues more than most, with a
- 28:14long standing history of supporting veterans affairs organizations and serving
- 28:18on many USO tours. This concludes the reading of Country
- 28:24Weekly for this week. If you have any comments or
- 28:26suggestions about our program, kindly call us at eight five
- 28:30nine four two two sixty three ninety. Thank you so
- 28:34much for joining me and on behalf of everyone here
- 28:36at RADIOI. This is Ken Dawkins, wishing you a great
- 28:40day