Country music legend 'Cowboy' Jack Clement dies at 82

Country music artist Jack Clement sings a tribute to the late country music legend Johnny Cash, during the Cash tribute concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, in this November 10, 2003, file photo.

Credit: Reuters/John Sommers II/Files

By Tim Ghianni

NASHVILLE | Thu Aug 8, 2013 11:15pm EDT

NASHVILLE (Reuters) - "Cowboy" Jack Clement, who inspired pioneering rock'n'rollers and classic country musicians, sometimes while prancing around the music studio in his bathrobe and playing the ukulele, died on Thursday at his home in Nashville. He was 82.

Clement died after a long bout with liver cancer, just months before he was to have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, which confirmed his death.

Despite his nickname, which was a holdover from an old radio skit rather than anything to do with horses and six-shooters, Clement actually favored Hawaiian print shirts and was as far removed as possible from actually being a cowboy.

While he was not a star himself, Clement inspired the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and even U2, during his long career in music.

"He had a role in two really important changes in American culture," said Michael McCall, a writer and editor at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Clement played a large role in the birth of rock'n'roll when he was hired as a producer and engineer at Sun Records, where he worked with music greats such as Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Charlie Rich.

"He was there when Jerry Lee walked in, and who knows what wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been there," said McCall.

It was also at Sun that the young engineer wrote "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" and "Guess Things Happen That Way," two songs that a young rocker from east Arkansas named Johnny Cash turned into No. 1 country and Top Twenty pop hits in 1958.

The friendship between the two men was deep and special.

"Cash liked working with him because they had so much fun," said McCall.

Clement then moved to Nashville, where he continued writing songs and worked as an engineer, producer, recording studio owner, music publisher and as an artist, leaving an indelible mark on the city.

It was in Nashville that Clement was the first to record Charley Pride, a black singer, which helped desegregate country music and began an association that lasted 13 albums.

Clement also had three Nashville studios and a publishing company. Among his genre-busting achievements was producing Jennings' Dreaming My Dreams, one of the most acclaimed albums to be released during the 1970s heyday of the so-called Outlaws on Music Row.

Merle Haggard, Ray Stevens and a host of country luminaries liked to record at Clement's studios.

But he would step out far from country to work with polka bands and gritty singer-songwriters like John Prine and Townes Van Zandt. He even produced tracks for U2's Rattle and Hum, a popular tribute to American music in 1988.

McCall noted that Clement had a knack for spotting "game-changing artists" - in the likes of Lewis, Cash, Pride and Williams - and "bringing them to the public."

While the list of musical achievements spans more than five decades, it could easily have been overshadowed by Clement himself.

"He was a musical mastermind, but he brought this sense of fun and mischief (into the studio)," McCall said. "He danced around in his bathrobe and played the ukulele. He would do anything spontaneously to keep the mood light and fun and to keep his sense of joy about music."

Guitarist Scotty Moore, who worked with Clement at Sun, lamented his friend's passing.

"He was just an all-around fine fellow for me," said Moore from his home outside Nashville. "He was just Jack."

(Editing by Brendan O'Brien and Lisa Shumaker)

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Legendary country singer Slim Whitman dead at 90

By Patricia Reaney and Tim Ghianni

NEW YORK/NASHVILLE | Wed Jun 19, 2013 2:42pm EDT

NEW YORK/NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Legendary country singer and songwriter Slim Whitman, known for his smooth falsetto and high-pitched yodeling talent, died in Florida on Wednesday at the age of 90, his son-in-law said.

Roy Beagle, who is married to Whitman's daughter Sharon, said the singer-songwriter who was born Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. was admitted to hospital on Tuesday.

"He died last night at the Orange Park hospital at about 12:45 this morning of heart failure," Beagle told Reuters. "We had a 90th birthday party for him in January and he looked good, but he had been in failing health since then."

Whitman, who was self-taught on the guitar and had a string of hits including "Rose Marie," "Indian Love Call" and "Secret Love," recorded dozens of albums and sold millions of records during his career, which began in the late 1940s.

Whitman was working in a shipyard in Florida when he was discovered by Colonel Tom Parker, who later became Elvis Presley's manager. He signed his first recording contract with RCA records in 1948.

The singer and Elvis toured together in the 1950s.

Whitman released "Love Song of the Waterfall" in the early 1950s, which more than two decades later was on the soundtrack of the film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

It was followed by "Indian Love Call," his first million seller. A few years later, in 1955, he joined the Grand Ole Opry.

His other hits include "Danny Boy," "Red River Valley" and "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You."

INTERNATIONAL FAME

Although Whitman was once known as "America's Favorite Folksinger," he was more popular in Europe than in the United States, particularly in Britain where he did many tours.

"I have sold 120 million records," Whitman said in an interview last year. "Half of those could be in Europe."

On his birthday last year the singer said he received a greeting from Africa.

"We toured everywhere, Australia, New Zealand. I had a six-week tour of Africa," he added. "All that started with England."

His long-time friend, Grand Ole Opry star George Hamilton IV, credits Whitman for the rise of country music internationally.

"He was the key, pivotal figure in spreading country music internationally, long before the rest of us," Hamilton said in an interview after learning of Whitman's death.

"He was just a wonderful, gracious Southern gentleman and a dear friend. We toured together several times over there and our paths continued crossing at the Wembley Festival," he said, referring to the International Festival of Country Music at Wembley Arena.

Hamilton said he regretted that Whitman had not been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Whitman gained new fans in the late 1970s and 1980s when a TV album featuring 20 of his songs was released and for his late-night commercials featuring his yodeling vocals. The commercials inspired the late talk show host Johnny Carson to style one of his "Tonight Show" sketch characters after Whitman.

In 1996 Whitman was featured in the soundtrack for the science fiction film "Mars Attacks," and more than a decade later in 2010 released his last album, "Twilight on the Trail."

Despite his international fame, Beagle said Whitman was the happiest living a low-key life in Florida.

"He really enjoyed the farm and fishing more than anything else," he said.

In addition to his daughter, Sharon, Whitman is survived by his son, Byron, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston; and Jackie Frank)

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Lambert, Bryan lead Academy of Country Music award winners

By Piya Sinha-Roy

Mon Apr 8, 2013 12:16am EDT

n">(Reuters) - Singers Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan led the winners at the Academy of Country Music awards on Sunday, while leading nominees Taylor Swift and Hunter Hayes came away empty-handed in a night honoring top achievers in country music.

Swift, 23, lost out on all five categories she was nominated in including Female Vocalist of the Year and the fan-voted Entertainer of the Year, a surprise for the country music favorite who won the award for the last two years.

Newcomer Hayes, 21, who was nominated in six categories, also went home empty-handed.

The night's top award Entertainer of the Year went to the show's co-host Bryan, 36, a surprise to the charismatic host who said he had only just started headlining shows.

"What I always wanted to be is just a country singer who got to ride on a tour bus and perform every night. ... This is the defining moment of my life, it means the world to me and I'll never take it for granted," Bryan said tearfully.

Lambert, 29, picked up four awards in three categories, including Female Vocalist of the Year, beating Swift, Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves and Martina McBride.

Lambert also won Song of the Year for "Over You," written with husband Blake Shelton, who was co-hosting the ceremony, and thanked her peers for recognizing her song-writing talents.

"As a songwriter having your songs and your lyrics recognized by your peers is pretty much as good as it gets. ... Thank you for accepting me as a songwriter and not just as a singer, that means the world to me," Lambert said.

Shelton, who married Lambert in 2011, thanked his wife for making him a better song-writer.

"I used to think I was a decent songwriter until I started hanging out with her (Lambert) and she taught me so much," Shelton said in his acceptance speech, pulling his wife in for a big hug.

Jason Aldean bested Bryan, Shelton and one of the night's top nominees Eric Church for the Male Vocalist of the Year award, while Church picked up Album of the Year for his 2011 chart-topping record "Chief."

The Academy of Country Music is an organization of music industry professionals who aim to promote and preserve the tradition of country music, and they vote for the top country music achievers for their annual awards ceremony.

LIVELY PERFORMANCES

The three-hour show televised on CBS featured performances from old and new names in country music including Church, Dierks Bentley, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Lambert, who performed "Mama's Broken Heart."

"The Voice" judge Shelton joined co-host Luke Bryan to kick off with a rendition on Shelton's "Boys 'Round Here," on which they were also joined by Sheryl Crow.

Oklahoma native and former "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood, who was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, performed her single "Two Black Cadillacs" while fellow "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson sang "Don't Rush."

Following ACM awards tradition of pairing veteran and new artists together, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban sang with Swift on "Highway Don't Care," while Brad Paisley and John Mayer teamed up to perform "Beat This Summer," ending with a crowd-rousing guitar riff.

Hayes performed with Motown legend Stevie Wonder on Hayes' new single "I Want Crazy" and Wonder's song "Sir Duke." Wonder closed out the show with his classic track "Signed. Sealed. Delivered."

Singer Reba McEntire introduced a tribute to late television host and producer Dick Clark, with country music artists George Strait and Garth Brooks singing Brooks' "The Dance" and Strait's "Cowboy Rides Away."

Newcomer duo Florida Georgia Line, formed by Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, picked up the fan-voted award for New Artist of the Year and performed their hit single "Cruise" on the show.

Husband-wife duo Thompson Square won Vocal Duo of the Year, while Alabama group Little Big Town won Vocal Group of the Year.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by Todd Eastham)

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Canadian country singer Stompin' Tom Connors dies

n">(Reuters) - Canadian country singer and folk icon Stompin' Tom Connors, known for songs "The Hockey Song," and "Sudbury Saturday Night" and his staunch patriotism, has died at age 77, his record company A-C-T Records said.

Connors died at his Ontario home on Wednesday of natural causes, A-C-T said in a statement posted on Connors' website.

Born Thomas Charles Connors in Saint John, New Brunswick, Connors was raised by foster parents on Prince Edward Island and hitchhiked across Canada as a teenager.

Connors, who penned hundreds of songs mostly about Canadian history and traditions, earned his nickname from his habit of stomping the heel of his boot while keeping a song's time.

He rose to prominence in the late 1960s, and released more than 20 albums, including "My Stompin' Grounds" and "Believe in Your Country", over a five-decade career.

Connors retired in 1979 and returned his six Juno Awards for Canadian music in protest over the Americanization of the national music industry. He returned to music in 1988.

Connors thanked his fans in a posthumous statement released by his family.

"It was a long hard bumpy road, but this great country kept me inspired with its beauty, character, and spirit, driving me to keep marching on and devoted to sing about its people and places that make Canada the greatest country in the world," Connors said in the statement posted on his website.

"I must now pass the torch, to all of you, to help keep the Maple Leaf flying high, and be the Patriot Canada needs now and in the future," he added.

He is survived by his wife and four children.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy; and Peter Galloway)

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Country Countdown: Eric Church Takes 'Springsteen' to No. 1

Sometimes confident predictions turn out to be more than just cheerleading. When Eric Church surprised the music industry with simultaneous No. 1 debuts on the Billboard 200 and Country Albums with "Chief" last summer, then-EMI Nashville/Capitol Nashville president Mike Dungan (now in a similar role at Universal Music Group Nashville) predicted a pair of back-to-back No. 1 singles from the album.

"I can comfortably project that our next single will be a No. 1 single at radio, which will be massive for him, because we haven't had anything near that so far. And then we'll follow it up with another No. 1. I feel very comfortable with that," Dungan told Billboard last summer, two weeks after the album's lead single "Homeboy" peaked at No. 13 on the July 30, 2011 Country Songs chart -- then made good on the first half of the projection when second single "Drink in My Hand" capped the January 28 list.

The promise of Dungan's prediction is fully realized this week, as third single "Springsteen" becomes the artist's second No. 1 on Country Songs (2-1).

The new No. 1 reaches the summit four weeks faster (19 weeks) than his first, which needed 23 weeks to ring the top bell. On its way to No. 1 on the radio list, "Springsteen" dominated Country Digital Songs for four weeks, with sales of more than 1.2 million downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It holds at No. 3 this week (78,000 sold). Now at No. 6 in its 46th week on the Country Albums chart -- all but nine of those weeks inside the top 10 -- "Chief" has sold 855,000 so far.

Also noteworthy on Country Songs is the 15th top 10 for Dierks Bentley, noted as "5-1-5-0" advances 11-10. Concurrently, the third single from Bentley's "Home" album -- the artist's second straight top 10 contender on Country Digital Songs -- sells 44,000 downloads, ranking at No. 8. The album's title track became Bentley's first top 10 on the digital tally, peaking at No. 8 in February. The digital tally is led for a third consecutive week by Bentley's label mate Luke Bryan, whose "Drunk on You" sells 109,000 downloads during the Nielsen SoundScan tracking week.

Alan Jackson Has Top Debut on Billboard 200

With Hot Shot Debut honors at No. 27, Zac Brown Band splashes onto Country Songs with the second-highest Nielsen BDS-era debut by a group, as "The Wind" bows with airplay at 85 of the 131 stations monitored for the chart. Among groups during that time frame, Rascal Flatts' "Take Me There" posted the highest arrival when it debuted at No. 24 on the July 21, 2007 chart. Lady Antebellum holds the third-highest start, set when "Just a Kiss" popped onto the May 21, 2011 chart at No. 28. "The Wind" is the lead single from Zac Brown Band's third studio set, "Uncaged," which is scheduled for release July 10.

Meanwhile, Zac Brown's fellow Georgia native Alan Jackson claims his 13th No. 1 on Country Albums with "Thirty Miles West," his 15th non-seasonal studio album and his first for EMI Nashville -- all of his previous sets were issued by Arista Nashville, dating back to 1990. The new album pops on with 73,000 sold, good for a No. 2 start on the Billboard 200. His chart history includes 26 No. 1's on Country Songs, most recently as guest singer on Zac Brown Band's "As She's Walking Away" two years ago. Jackson's new album features Brown's group on a track titled "Dixie Highway."

Jana Kramer Gave Up 'One Tree Hill' for Music Dreams

Singer and "One Tree Hill" actress Jana Kramer's self-titled rookie album opens at No. 5 on Country Albums, marking the highest arrival for a woman's debut set since Lauren Alaina's "Wildflower" entered at No. 2 last fall. Kramer's current single "Why Ya Wanna" rises 18-17 in its 25th week on the radio-driven Country Songs chart.

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Country Hall Highlights Bakersfield Sound

There was something about the California sound of country music. It sparkled on the airwaves as much as the flamboyant stage attire that the artists who made the music wore on stage. For a while, it seemed like there was somewhat of a tug-of-war between the music scene there, and the one in Nashville.

However, the two worlds come together with the opening of The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country, a new in-depth exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Music City. It takes a look at the history of the unique musical sounds that have taken place in the town once referred to as "Nashville West."

The exhibit begins by telling the story of families who moved west to California from places like Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas in the 1930s. For many, it was comparable to The Grapes Of Wrath. In most cases, they brought nothing but a few possessions and their dreams, many brought a love for country music with them.

Early pioneers that are featured include Speedy West, Merle Travis, Joe & Rose Lee Maphis, as well as Texas Playboys legend Bob Wills -- who had a weekly performance gig at Bakersfield's Beardsley Ballroom in the 1940s. Several of the early instruments used by some of these legends are on display at the Hall.

Also of note was the vibrant -- if not somewhat dangerous club scene in Bakersfield. Though the Beardsley burned to the ground in 1950, the area was filled with such night spots as the Rainbow Garden, the Lucky Spot, and, possibly the best-known of all the clubs in Bakersfield -- the Blackboard. It was there that people flocked to hear a style of music that had a little more spice, a little more kick than the sounds that were coming from anywhere else. It was country, for sure, but the twang factor was high and loud -- and infused with a rock and roll energy that was unlike anything else.

The most prominent musician at the Blackboard was area radio and TV personality Bill Woods. His band was one of the best known in the town, and included a hot-shot guitarist by the name of Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens." Already developing a reputation as one of the top session players in Los Angeles, Owens was featured on sessions by such top acts as Tommy Collins.

Others included in the exhibit include Jean Shepard and Ferlin Husky -- whose "A Dear John Letter" was a major hit in 1953 -- though of interest to fans might be a 78 RPM of the original recording, between Fuzzy Owen and Bonnie Owens.

The Bakersfield Sound picks up steam in the late 1950s, with Owens becoming the ringleader of the musical movement. Starting with "Under Your Spell Again," the singer began a streak of successes that qualify as legendary, dominating the charts throughout the 1960s. Of course, attention is paid to the legacy of his backing band, the Buckaroos. Over the years, some of the musicians that played for Owens included steel players Ralph Mooney, Tom Brumley, and Jay Dee Maness, drummers Willie Cantu and Jerry Wiggins, bassist Doyle Holly, and "Dangerous" Don Rich.

Rich started playing for Owens while still a teenager, and developed into one of the greatest lead guitarists / fiddlers / harmony singers that the format has ever known. His Telecaster is on display, and in one of the more emotional inclusions in the exhibit -- a list of notes that Owens made before giving the eulogy at Rich's funeral in July 1974 -- following his death in a motorcycle crash.

While Owens was never the same musically following Rich's death, another former Buckaroo had picked up the baton and was running with it. Merle Haggard -- a native son of Kern County, and former resident of San Quentin -- shot to prominence in 1963 with "Sing A Sad Song," and had created a long line of classic recordings such as "Branded Man" and "Just Between The Two Of Us," a duet with Bonnie Owens -- Buck's ex-wife. The two were married from 1965-1978, and Bonnie sang harmony in Merle's band, the Strangers, for years thereafter. Many lyric transcriptions of Haggard classics are on display at the Hall, including "Today I Started Loving You Again." Also included is the 1972 document granting Haggard a full pardon -- signed by then-California governor Ronald Reagan!

Haggard is also featured on a video that plays throughout the exhibit featuring a conversation with the man who took over where Owens and Haggard left off in popularizing the Bakersfield sound, Dwight Yoakam. There is also some Yoakam-related memorabilia at the Hall, including many items from Yoakam's 1988 video with Owens, "Streets Of Bakersfield."

Walk through The Bakersfield Sound, and we think you will hear that musical legacy loud and clear. You will also see it -- up close and personal. The rhinestones still shine, and the instruments are all there in full view. If only they could talk.

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Carrie Underwood Enters Top 10 on Country Chart

by Wade Jessen, Nashville  |   April 06, 2012 6:30 EDT

Jake Owen claims a second week atop Country Songs with "Alone with You," which improves 688,000 audience impressions for a total of 37 million during the March 26-April 1 Nielsen BDS tracking week. Owen's previous single and first chart topper "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" spent the second of two straight weeks at No. 1 on the audience chart dated Sept. 24, 2011. On Country Digital Songs, "Alone" moves 35,000 downloads and ranks at No. 11 in its 20th chart week.

CHARTS: Country Songs | Country Albums

Elsewhere on Country Songs, Carrie Underwood scores her 15th top 10 with "Good Girl," which gains 1 million audience impressions and steps 11-10 in its sixth chart week. That matches Taylor Swift's tally in a back-and-forth race for the most top 10 singles (15) by a woman from the start of her career. Meanwhile, 'American Idol' contender Hollie Cavanaugh's March 28 performance of "Jesus Take the Wheel" pushes Underwood's original track to No. 1 on Christian Digital Songs (on Billboard.biz).

To find a song with fewer chart weeks than Underwood's "Girl" on Country Songs, you'd have to look down to No. 26, where Toby Keith's "Beers Ago" gains 3 million impressions and achieves a new peak from No. 38 in its 4th chart week. Also new to the top 10 is Jason Aldean's "Fly Over States," which rises 12-9 in its 14th chart week; it's the artist's 14th top 10, and bullets at No. 8 with 47,000 downloads in its seventh week on Country Digital Songs.

Our national formats/secondary markets radio reporters get a jump on the new duet by Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney, titled "Feel Like a Rock Star," which dents the Country Indicator list at No. 54. The track was serviced to radio programmers during the artists' performance of the song during the April 1 Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS. The song will undoubtedly make a head-turning (if not historic) splash next week on the Country Songs list. The artists will launch a co-headlining summer tour in June. The Country Indicator list and your first look at the Country Songs chart happens each Monday night in the Billboard Country Update newsletter. Sign up for free here .

Lionel Richie appears for a second time on Country Albums, as duets set "Tuskegee" (Mercury/UMGN) opens atop the chart with 199,000 copies sold, good for a No. 2 start on the Billboard 200. That's the biggest opening week for a country album since Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" opened with more than one million copies in November 2010, however Scotty McCreery's "Clear as Day" began with 197,000 copies last fall. Richie's "Can't Slow Down" rose to No. 55 on Country Albums in 1984, driven by "Stuck on You," which peaked at No. 24 on Country Songs that year.

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Taylor Swift Inks Sixth No. 1 Country Song With 'Ours'

by Wade Jessen, Nashville  |   mars 22, 2012 12:20 EDT

T aylor Swift claims her sixth No. 1 and completes her second set of two straight leaders on Country Songs, as "Ours" piles 34.1 million audience impressions and steps 3-1 in its 17th chart week. Her slowest chart-topping climb was noted when previous leader "Sparks Fly" needed 19 weeks to peak last fall, and her quickest pace was a nine-week climb with "Love Story" nearly four years ago.

Swift clocked two previous leaders in 17 weeks, starting with her first No. 1 "Our Song" in 2007, and two years later with "You Belong with Me." She achieved her first pair of back-to-back No. 1's three months apart when "Story" followed "Should've Said No" in November 2008. Top audience contributors during the tracking week for "Ours" are WUSN Chicago (1.3 million impressions), KKGO Los Angeles (1.0 million), WYCD Detroit (768,000), KEEY Minneapolis (747,000) and WKLB Boston (717,000). In its 19th week on Country Digital Songs, "Ours" ranks at No. 13 with 30,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Elsewhere on Country Songs, Lee Brice wears the Greatest Gainer crown for a second straight week with "A Woman Like You," which gains 3.6 million impressions and shoots 9-5. On Country Digital Songs, the track bullets for a fourth straight (fifth cumulative) week at its No. 3 peak, moving 48,000 downloads during the tracking week.

Also noteworthy in the upper tier, Rascal Flatts logs its 27th top 10 with "Banjo," which gains 900,000 impressions and hops 9-11 in its 10th chart week -- it introduces the trio's next album, "changed," due April 3. The album's title track opens with 57,000 downloads at No. 2 on Country Digital Songs.

Miranda Lambert's "Over You" also helps freshen up the radio top 10 with a 12-10 jump in its 13th chart week, marking her sixth song to compete at that level. She's reached the top 10 three times in fewer weeks-her quickest was 10 weeks with "The House That Built Me" two years ago, a feat she repeated with "Baggage Claim" last October. She cracked the top 10 in 11 weeks with "Heart Like Mine" a year ago.

Also noteworthy on Country Songs: Following a No. 10 peak on the Hot 100 last fall, Kelly Clarkson's "Mr. Know It All" gets traction (48-44) with unsolicited play at three of the 130 stations monitored by Nielsen BDS for the country list. The song enters Country Digital Songs at No. 21 (17,000 downloads)

On Country Albums, Shooter Jennings logs his highest debut ever with "Family Man," which opens at No. 10 (8,000 copies sold). He posted his previous best rank with two albums, both of which peaked where they bowed at No. 12: "Electric Rodeo" (2006); "The Wolf" (2007).

Singer/songwriter Logan Mize draws his first national chart ink with "Nobody In Nashville," which debuts at No. 49 on Country Albums and No. 15 on Heatseekers (approximately 1,500 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan). Although he's unsigned as an artist, he's a staff writer at powerhouse independent publisher Big Yellow Dog in Nashville. The new set is Mize's second full-length, self-released project, and follows his eponymous 2011 debut album. He is a native of Kansas, and a distant relative of well-known 1960's west coast country musician/television host, Billy Mize. The younger Mize has club and theatre performance dates booked through May.

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Listen: Kelly Clarkson's Country Version of 'Mr. Know It All' Debuts

by Sarah Maloy  |   March 22, 2012 1:08 EDT

Kelly Clarkson has teamed up with famed country producer Dann Huff ( Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood) on a country version of her "Stronger" single "Mr. Know It All." The new version is due out April 3, but has already leaked online. Listen below:

Clarkson announced the country version on Twitter Wednesday (March 21). She posted a photo of the album art and tweeted, "Hey everybody, I got to work with Dann Huff and recut 'Mr. Know It All' for country radio! I hope y'all like it!! I had a lot of fun recutting the song and getting the opportunity to work with Dann! It will be available on iTunes April 3rd."

Kelly Clarkson Drops 'Mr. Know It All' Video

The new track is just as sassy and strong as the original, but with a bit of southern flair more appropriate for country radio. "Mr. Know It All" debuted back in August at No. 18 on the Hot 100. The single was written by Brett James (Carrie Underwood), Ester Dean ( Rihanna, Beyoncé), Dante Jones and Brian Kennedy.

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Country singer Loretta Lynn in hospital with pneumonia (Reuters)

(Reuters) – Country music singer Loretta Lynn, who grew up poor in Kentucky's coal-mining country before rising to fame, has canceled two performances after being diagnosed with pneumonia, a statement on her website said on Saturday.

"Loretta regretfully must cancel her shows ... for this weekend, due to illness," the statement said of the 76-year-old music icon.

The Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Kentucky, said on its website the singer had been hospitalized, and that her performance would be rescheduled. A spokesman for Lynn was not immediately available for comment.

"Doctors have diagnosed her as the beginning stages pneumonia, and (she) will continue to need rest. Loretta is doing well and is disappointed but feels confident she will be ready for upcoming November dates," the statement on the singer's web site said.

Lynn had been due to perform on Saturday in Ashland followed by a performance on Sunday in Durham, North Carolina. She has upcoming performances scheduled next month in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and North Carolina.

Lynn, who performs hits including "If You're Not Gone Too Long" and "Don't Come Home A Drinkin'", has released 70 albums and charted 16 No. 1 hits in a career spanning five decades.

She has won two Grammys and written several books, including "Coal Miner's Daughter," which was made into a movie that earned Sissy Spacek an Oscar for her performance as the singer.

(Reporting by Cynthia Johnston. Editing by Peter Bohan)

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Country music pioneer Johnny Wright dies at 97 (AP)

By CHRIS TALBOTT, AP Entertainment Writer Chris Talbott, Ap Entertainment Writer – Tue Sep 27, 2:45 pm ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Johnny Wright, a country music pioneer who had hits as a singer in the duo Johnnie and Jack and guided the career of his wife, Kitty Wells, died early Tuesday. He was 97.

Close family friend Eddie Stubbs said Wright died of natural causes around 1 a.m. at his home. He had been in failing health for some time. Stubbs said that as a lifelong Nashville resident, Wright was a witness to most of country music's greatest moments.

Wright remembered WSM going on the air in 1925 and heard the first broadcast of Uncle Jimmy Thompson, an event that would evolve into the Grand Ole Opry. Later he started his own career and married Wells, the first woman to break through as a star in country music, in 1937.

"With the passing of Johnny Wright, it really brings an end to an era," said Stubbs, a WSM radio host who came to town as a fiddler for Wright and Wells. "He saw it all happen right in front of his very eyes, then got to become an active participant in the music, too."

His death was first reported by The Tennessean newspaper.

Wright came to fame as a member of the country duo Johnnie and Jack, which recorded hits such as "Ashes of Love," "I Get So Lonely," "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" and "Poison Love" in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Jack Anglin, who was married to Johnny Wright's sister, died in a car crash in 1963.

Wright changed the spelling of his name from Johnnie after it was misprinted on a record, then began a solo career with a No. 1 hit "Hello Vietnam," later featured in the 1987 movie "Full Metal Jacket."

Wells and Wright had three children: two daughters and a son, Bobby, who also was a singer and actor. He played the part of Willie, a Tennessee moonshiner, on the TV series "McHale's Navy."

Wells was known as "the queen of country music" after she became the first woman solo singer to have a No. 1 country record, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," in 1952. The couple's 74th anniversary would have been Oct. 30.

"He managed her career and put her career ahead of his own," Stubbs said. "Despite what you read in all these tabloids, Kitty Wells is still the queen of country music, and he managed her career, found all her songs. He guided her career. All the women of country music owe this debt of gratitude to Kitty Wells. Had it not been for Johnny Wright guiding her, there would not have been a Kitty Wells. He's an extremely important man. The billboard hits don't tell the story."

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AP writer Joe Edwards in Nashville contributed to this report.

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