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Kris Kristofferson, the soulful country music superstar who wrote “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” performed with the supergroup The Highwaymen and made audiences swoon in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and A Star Is Born, has died. He was 88.

Kristofferson died Saturday at home in Maui, Hawaii, his family announced. “We’re all so blessed for our time with him,” they said in a statement. “Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.”

A native of South Texas, Kristofferson starred in football and rugby and won a Golden Gloves boxing tournament while attending Pomona College in California; earned a Rhodes Scholarship to study literature abroad; and piloted helicopters in the U.S. Army.

He threw away a career in the military and moved to Nashville, where he worked as...

The holiday season was happy for Elvis Presley, who made sure he spent plenty of time recharging at his Graceland home with family and friends. However, New Year’s Eve held a special place in his life, as the festive celebration fell right between Christmas Day and his birthday on January 8. How did Elvis typically spend New Year’s Eve? Here are the details.

For over a decade, Elvis Presley hosted a big New Year’s bash

According to the Elvis History Blog, Elvis Presley held a big New Year’s Eve bash annually in 1962. It coincided with Prisiclla Beaulieu’s arrival at his Graceland home, where she would live with Elvis until 1972.

The tradition began with a fireworks display at Graceland and a Memphis’ Manhattan Club party for over 200 family, friends, and fans. The following New Year’s Eve was spent quietly watching movies at the Memphian theater, which...

The Voice became a whole new ballgame Monday, as the remaining contestants vied not for the favor of coaches Gwen Stefani, John Legend, Niall Horan and/or Reba McEntire but for the audience’s seal of approval. Which of the Top 12 gave performances that seemed to guarantee them a spot in the Semi-Finals? Read on, and we’ll discuss.

2023 in Review: The 20 Best ShowsView List

Jacquie Roar (Team Reba), “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” — Grade: B | First out of the gate, Reba’s country rocker delivered a strong vocal on Lainey Wilson’s hit, but it was undermined by a performance...

Ronnie Milsap played what is being billed as his final Nashville concert on Tuesday night at Music City’s Bridgestone Arena. But before he took the stage, a parade of artists from all genres paid him tribute: Keith Urban, Ricky Skaggs, Elizabeth Cook, Los Lonely Boys, and, at the top of the show, Kelly Clarkson.

The pop superstar kicked off the night with a powerhouse rendition of “It Was Almost Like a Song,” the Hal David and Archie Jordan-written title track to his 1977 album. Backed by the house band Sixwire,...

Ronnie Milsap will play his final Nashville concert Tuesday night, a guest-heavy salute to the piano player featuring Kelly Clarkson, Little Big Town, Sara Evans, Parker McCollum, Breland, Ricky Skaggs, and more. Milsap is 80 now and regarded as a pillar of country music — the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted him in 2014 — but at heart, he remains an unapologetic pop vocalist.

Listen to “Pure Love,” his 1974 Number One hit, written by Eddie Rabbitt. Only an expert in pop could successfully sell those lyrics about “milk and honey and Cap’n...

Jerry Bradley, a towering Nashville music executive who helped guide the genre into the modern era and bring about its first ever platinum-selling album — Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser’s Wanted! The Outlaws — has died, The Tennessean reports. He was 83.

Bradley’s family confirmed his death, but did not provide a cause.

Bradley was born into country music, the son of Owen Bradley, a prominent producer who helped create and shape the “Nashville Sound” during the Fifties and Sixties. Jerry began his career shadowing his father in the early 1960s,...

Chuck Jackson, an R&b singer who took “Any Day Now” to the Top 25 in 1962 and had some two dozen singles hit the Hot 100 during the decade, has died. He was 85.

Ady Croasdell of the UK’s Kent Records, which has worked on re-releasing Jackson’s music, confirmed on social media that the singer died February 16 in Georgia but did not provide other details.

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Dionne Warwick, who recorded for the same label as Jackson during the 1960s, paid tribute to her friend today. “Another heartache has come my way. Chuck Jackson has made his transition,” she said in a statement released by her label.

The first live results show of “The Voice” Season 21 aired on Tuesday night, with a whopping eight of the Top 20 artists being eliminated. Here’s how it worked. Two artists from each coach’s team made it through to the Top 13 based on America’s overnight votes, and then a third person advanced as their coach’s pick. Finally, a live instant save resulted in one last person getting the green light.

SEEAll 15 ‘The Voice’ coaches ranked worst to best

Below, read our minute-by-minute “The Voice” recap of Season 21, Episode 15 to find out what happened Tuesday, November 9 at 8:00 p.m. Et/Pt. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite artists on NBC’s long-running reality TV show, which coach you’re rooting for and who you think will ultimately join “The Voice” winners list for this Fall 2021 installment. Carson Daly hosts the Emmy-winning program.

Julien’s Auctions announced the launch of the exclusive, online charity auction Music Health Alliance Second Annual Handwritten Lyrics Auction at juliensauctions.com for advance bidding beginning Friday, October 15th, 2021 to coincide with Heal The Music Day.

The auction will start closing in real time and in lot order for live bidding at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, November 1st, 2021. Proceeds will benefit Music Health Alliance whose mission is to Heal the Music by providing access to healthcare through services that protect, direct and connect music professionals with medical and financial situations.

For the second consecutive year, the world-record breaking auction house to the stars partnered with a marquee list of the most decorated and influential singers and songwriters of all time, across the genres of pop, rock, country, folk, americana, and gospel music, who personally donated handwritten lyrics of some of their most classic and ground-breaking hits to...

Charley Pride, the Country Music Hall of Fame member who died from complications related to Covid-19 last year, will be remembered with an all-star musical special. CMT Giants: Charley Pride, premiering August 25th at 9 p.m. Et on CMT, pays tribute to the “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” singer through a series of performances and interviews.

Along with appearances by Pride’s son Dion and his widow Rozene, CMT Giants includes performances by George Strait, Garth Brooks, Lee Ann Womack, Darius Rucker, Wynonna, and Alan Jackson. Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton,...

The bright horns and slapping bass of Dolly Parton’s “Sure Thing,” the disco harmonies of Conway Twitty’s “Night Fires,” and the swagger of Ronnie Milsap’s “Get It Up” all get their due on Country Funk Volume III (1975-1982), the latest installment of Light in the Attic Records’ compilation series.

Slated for release on August 6th, the 17-track set is the first in the series to include music from the Eighties. Twitty’s Heart & Soul album, which featured the machismo-heavy “Night Fires,” was released in 1980; Jerry Reed...

Billy Gibbons, the founder of Zz Top and an instantly recognizable figure in American music, will be the subject of a new tribute concert and TV taping set for May 16th in Nashville. “A Tribute to Billy Gibbons” will feature live performances at the Grand Ole Opry House in front of a reduced capacity, socially distanced audience.

Eric Church, Lucinda Williams, Brad Paisley, Ronnie Milsap, and Dennis Quaid are among the announced performers. Travis Tritt, Jimmie Vaughan, Larkin Poe, Guthrie Trapp, and Tim Montana, a disciple of Gibbons and a frequent collaborator,...

So, How Was Your 2020? is a series in which our favorite entertainers answer our questionnaire about the music, culture and memorable moments that shaped their year. We’ll be rolling these pieces out throughout December.

Brent Cobb spent the year making what he calls “country music for grown folks,” which is to say, country songs that are more about full hearts and open minds than empty beer cans and truck beds. In October, he released the album Keep ‘Em on They Toes, recorded with producer Brad Cook in Durham, North Carolina,...

Michael Ray’s new song “Whiskey and Rain” is equal parts Ronnie Milsap and Gary Allan, a mix of the piano man’s Eighties swing and the Nineties lonesomeness of Allan’s Smoke Rings in the Dark.

“It’s been nothing but a hangover trying to get over you,” Ray sings in a pronounced but easygoing twang, a sign that he’s embracing a natural throwback country sound over the more modern vibes of past hits like “Kiss You in the Morning” and “One That Got Away.” “Till the bottle...

For many, the name Kim Carnes calls to mind one particular song title: “Bette Davis Eyes.” That’s what spending nine weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981 will do. Two years before that song hit the charts, though, Carnes was approached by country-pop superstar Kenny Rogers to work on a different sort of project. The singer wanted to create a concept album telling the tale of a modern-day cowboy, and he wanted Carnes — a prolific songwriter who’d spent the first part of her career penning tunes...

The 2020 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees will be announced in just a few weeks. Which two country superstars will be selected this year for an induction ceremony slated for next October? Could this finally be the year for Tanya Tucker, who just won her first ever Grammy Awards after a career beginning back in the 1970s? Or will it be a more recent artist now eligible, such as Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw or Shania Twain?

SEEBiggest Grammy Winners of All Time: See The Most Awarded Artists

The criteria is pretty simple to get in but it’s an exclusive group since only 2-3 people are inducted each year. One person will be from the Modern Era category (an artist who came to prominence at least 20 years ago). Another will be from the Veterans Era (an artist who came to prominence at least 45 years ago). A third inductee would be a non-performer,...

The Dustin J. Wells Foundation’s The Gift of Music concert to benefit the W.O. Smith Music School and the Scott Hamilton Cares Foundation announces Dolly Parton, Lee Greenwood, Lonestar, Collin Raye, T.G. Sheppard, Drew Baldridge, Abby Anderson, Artimus Pyle Band, Eric Lee Beddingfield, Red Mountain Bluegrass Band, Brad and Maisy Stella, Taylon Hope, and Scott Bass will take the stage of the historic Ryman Auditorium on January 30, 2020 at 7pm.

Tickets for The Gift of Music Concert are $100 and $85 (for obstructed view) plus applicable services charges and are available online starting at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, January 24th. The event is also the featured entertainment for The Crown Council, a group of dental teams gathering in Nashville for their 25th Annual Event.

The Dustin J. Wells Foundation honors the memory of a very special young man. After the loss of Dustin Jack Wells in a car accident in...

What happens when the repertoire of George Gershwin goes country We're about to find out, thanks to Michael Feinstein. According to Forbes, the music man has already recorded an album in Nashville, titled Gershwin Country, which will be released soon by Concord. Artists featured on the album, which was executive produced by Liza Minnelli, include Lee Ann Womack, Brad Paisley, Amy Grant, Lyle Lovett, Ronnie Milsap, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and Rosanne Cash.

Maren Morris has more Country Music Association Award nominations than any other artist this year with six. And according to the combined predictions of hundreds of Gold Derby readers, that will translate to a win for Album of the Year for her second major label album, “Girl”: she gets leading odds of 11/2. But not all of our users agree. She faces a tough challenge from Eric Church for his sixth album, “Desperate Man.” Who do you think will win?

Morris has only won one Cma Award to date: New Artist of the Year in 2016. But since that breakthrough year she’s been a regular fixture at the event. She has been nominated a total of 16 times, including a previous Album of the Year bid for her major label breakthrough “Hero.” She lost that prize, but most derbyites think the association will make it up to her, including 17 of our...

Country trio Midland sparked a lot of unnecessarily heated debates back when they first arrived back in 2017. Their throwback aesthetic and sound — a playful, scuffed-up nod to the oft-derided Urban Cowboy era in country and its characteristic softness — drew suspicion from anyone who shaped their idea of masculinity around Waylon or Willie. Then there was the fact that singer Mark Wystrach’s résumé included acting and underwear modeling, while bassist Cameron Duddy had pop superstar connections as the video director for Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” and “Uptown Funk.

In 1980, two of the biggest country-to-pop crossover acts, Ronnie Milsap and Dolly Parton, recorded for Nashville’s RCA label. Both had major hits that year — Parton with the Donna Summer-penned “Starting Over Again,” and the movie smash “9 to 5,” and Milsap with the Number One singles “My Heart,” “Cowboys and Clowns” and the poignant “Smoky Mountain Rain.” The two Hall of Fame legends come together for a moving update on “Smoky Mountain Rain,” accompanied by an animated video that captures one dream fading while another is just beginning.

Country stars Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride, Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert are among the recipients for the Academy of Country Music’s 13th Annual Acm Honors, which will be presented Wednesday, August 21st, at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards, these honors include previously announced Songwriter of the Year Award winner Shane McAnally (earning the award for a second time), as well as several recently announced Industry and Studio Recording Awards winners.

Multi-award-winning duo Brooks & Dunn...

In 1993, the year that saw the worldly debuts of future stars Scotty McCreery, Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown, country music’s reigning royalty included duo Brooks & Dunn, the now-solo Wynonna Judd and newcomer Billy Ray Cyrus. One artist who would continue to rack up hit after hit throughout the year was Oklahoma’s Reba McEntire, who logged two huge Number One hits in ’93, but shared the spotlight on them with another singer. In August, Linda Davis, who was singing backup with McEntire on the road, joined her on the deliciously dramatic “Does He Love You,...

Country superstar duo Brooks and Dunn will be the latest inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The duo was announced on Monday morning in Nashville along with singer/songwriter Ray Stevens and producer/executive Jerry Bradley will be inducted at the 2019 ceremony in October. Watch the official video above.

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn are two-time Grammy winners, sold over 30 million albums and charted 20 number one songs. Those tunes have included “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” “My Maria,” “Brand New Man” and “Believe.” Stevens made his debut in 1962 and has had such hits as “Everything is Beautiful,” “Gitarzan” and “The Streak.” Bradley ran RCA Records from 1973 to 1982 and was a longtime member of the Country Music Association board. He follows both his father Owen Bradley and uncle Harold Bradley into Hall of Fame induction.

See Acm Awards host Reba McEntire was ‘disapointed’ by nominations: ‘I wanted to hear some women...

On Monday morning, Brooks & Dunn, Ray Stevens and former label executive Jerry Bradley were announced as the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Television and radio host Bill Cody, filling in for an under-the-weather Reba McEntire, handled hosting duties for the live-streamed event in the museum’s rotunda, where plaques of the inductees are placed. As usual, the three inductees were from the Modern Era, the Veterans Era and a rotating category, which this year is the Non Performer designation.

Modern Era inductees Brooks & Dunn are country...

Reba McEntire will announce the 2019 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees on Monday, March 18. Which two country superstars will be selected this year for an induction ceremony slated for next October?

The criteria is pretty simple to get in but it’s an exclusive group since only 2-3 people are inducted each year. One person will be from the Modern Era category (an artist who came to prominence at least 20 years ago). Another will be from the Veterans Era (an artist who came to prominence at least 45 years ago). A third inductee would be a non-performer, songwriter or musician. The artists chosen last year were Ricky Skaggs (modern), Dottie West (veterans) and Johnny Gimble (musician).

Seeacm Awards host Reba McEntire was ‘disapointed’ by nominations: ‘I wanted to hear some women in there’ [Watch]

McEntire herself was already inducted in 2011. Other recent inductees have included Garth Brooks, Roy Clark, Charlie Daniels, Alan Jackson,...

Dolly Parton became the first-ever country artist feted at the annual MusiCares “Person of the Year” dinner Friday night. It was a full evening of tributes, duets and at least one surprise reunion of friends: the hit-making trio of Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt.

Ronstadt’s public appearances have been rare since her 2012 diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, but her moments onstage with Harris honoring Parton spoke to the enormous affection Dolly’s peers have for her. Willie Nelson leaned into the mic to say, “We love you, Doll.

Country Music Hall of Fame member Ronnie Milsap visited The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon alongside Little Big Town on Wednesday night, recreating his classic 1986 hit “Lost In the Fifties Tonight” as an all-star collaboration.

Looking sharp in a burgundy sport jacket and shades, Milsap sang the nostalgic ballad from behind a baby grand piano and proved that his soulful voice can still capture the imagination. Adding a touch of brightness, country quartet Little Big Town stood nearby and delivered the song’s doo-wop flavored backing vocals, with Karen Fairchild...

“Call up Billy Sherrill and tell him, ‘I’m in!'” says Ronnie Milsap from behind the keyboard at Ronnie’s Place, the legendary Music Row studio once owned by the singer himself and now named in his honor. It’s a cold winter day in Nashville, and he and Kacey Musgraves have just run through a version of “No Getting Over Me,” the 1981 hit that’s now featured on Milsap’s new album, Ronnie Milsap: The Duets. And he’s clearly enthused by what he’s hearing, calling out...

1978: One Life to Live and General Hospital each expanded to an hour."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1958: On The Edge of Night, Mike Karr (John Larkin) warned Toni Fescina of the danger if she tried to get hush money from Roy Benson.

1967: On Dark Shadows, Sam Evans (David Ford) woke up and tried to put out the fire, burning his hands in the process. Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott ) came in and put the fire out, as Sam frantically claimed that Laura Collins (Diana Millay) burned his hands.

The Chief dishes out some fatherly advice to his sons, Joy Williams puts a new spin on a Depeche Mode classic and Kacey Musgraves teams up with Ronnie Milsap in this list of songs to stream this week.

Eric Church, “Some of It”

The follow-up single to “Desperate Man” finds Church in a fatherly mood, singing to his two sons about love, faith and the shelf life of good beer. More mainstream than most of his recent boundary-pushing hits, “Some of It” sounds destined for a lifetime of wedding slow dances and graduation-day playbacks.

With his 76th birthday and the release of a brand-new album of duets just one month away, tireless entertainer Ronnie Milsap plans to spend plenty of time in the new year where he’s right at home — on the concert stage. The Country Music Hall of Fame legend, whose pop-country hits including “Any Day Now,” “Stranger in My House” and “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me,” kicks off the upcoming trek, the 76 for 76 Tour, with a January 16th birthday show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, which is likely to feature several surprise guests.

The deepest mysteries of Bob Dylan’s monumental 1966 album Blonde on Blonde will never be solved. It’s impossible to fully explain a song as mystically beautiful as “Visions of Johanna,” and why would you want to, anyway? But in a new book, That Thin Wild Mercury Sound: Dylan, Nashville and the Making of Blonde on Blonde, journalist Daryl Sanders digs as deep as anyone has into the album’s origins, especially the Nashville sessions at its core, as well as influences from the Beatles to Ronnie Milsap to Lightnin’ Hopkins.

One of the singular greatest voices in country music, whose soulful tunes have crossed genres for the better part of six decades, has teamed with an all-star cast for an upcoming collection updating some of his best-known hits and favorites. Ronnie Milsap: The Duets, due January 18th, boasts an eclectic mix of vocal partners including Willie Nelson, Kacey Musgraves, George Strait, Dolly Parton, Jason Aldean, Little Big Town, the late Leon Russell and more. See the complete track listing below.

Musgraves joins the Country Music Hall of Fame legend...

Backstage Sunday afternoon at the Stagecoach Festival, Garth Brooks half-heard a question being addressed to his wife, Trisha Yearwood, and jumped in. “Was this about women in country music and the lack of them right now? Hell, yeah, I want in on this,” he said. “I can tell you this: Boys are stupid. We just are… I miss (women’s) voices. We have plenty of space for them on country radio. Let’s get the females back here so our format becomes living and intelligent more than it is right now.”

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood backstage (Photo: Chris Willman)

Brooks’ sentiments are clearly shared by the fest’s producer, Goldenvoice, as Stagecoach typically presents a rosier and more inclusive picture of the genre each year than other purely commercial indicators would suggest. Sexism? Ageism? Authenticity-ism? It’s easy to imagine that none of these are problems afflicting country when...

1978: One Life to Live and General Hospital each

expanded to an hour."History is a vast early warning system."

― Norman Cousins

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1958: On The Edge of Night, Mike Karr (John Larkin) warned Toni Fescina of the danger if she tried to get hush money from Roy Benson.

1967: On Dark Shadows, Sam Evans (David Ford) woke up and tried to put out the fire, burning his hands in the process. Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott ) came in and put the fire out, as Sam frantically claimed that Laura Collins (Diana Millay) burned his hands. Roger (Louis Edmonds) believed booze to be the culprit in Sam's accident.

As "Achy Breaky Heart" turns 25, Billy Ray Cyrus' signature song seems as relevant as ever.

"I do feel that when you look at America and our world 25 years ago, that there was a great division, not only in America, but worldwide," Cyrus tells Et's Nancy O'Dell. "You look at it today and, in some ways, it's unfortunate that it has gone full circle. 'Achy Breaky' was always about uniting people, a bridge to bring people together and when you get with other people that sing or speak in a different language or dance to a different song or live in a different country but you have a common denominator of just a fun little song that people know the words to and they like to dance to it, that's the ultimate show of joy for a human -- to dance and sing."

In honor of the milestone, Cyrus has reimagined the hit together with its original...

When Dolly Parton won her first Cma Award in 1968 for Vocal Group of the Year with her duet partner Porter Wagoner, she stood demurely behind Wagoner as he delivered an acceptance speech, uttering hardly a word.

Just ten years later, Parton was front and center as a solo artist up for the Cma’s top honor, Entertainer of the Year and the moment was all hers. But just before presenters Johnny Cash and Ronnie Milsap announced her name as the winner, her gown split down the front.

“I remember thinking this is such a beautiful dress, but the fabric is so delicate!

The video for the all-star "Forever Country" mash-up opens on a green field, panning to sun-dappled woods and a glimpse of Nashville's Honky Tonk strip before Brad Paisley appears in a roadside café, singing the words of a classic: "Almost heaven, West Virginia…" For Paisley, one of the 30 acts lending talent to "Forever Country," the project was personal. "'Take Me Home Country Roads' is my state anthem," Paisley tells People of the John Denver tune that was blended with Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" and Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" for the new song...

The artists playing overhead range from Ronnie Milsap to Cheap Trick to Foreigner. But the sounds aren't coming from Jason Aldean's stereo - they're coming from his 13-year-old daughter's. "My older daughter [Keeley] loves music," he said. "It's really cool because the whole time they were growing up I would play Ray Charles to Aerosmith to George Strait… It's really cool to see a 13-year-old with that much of a diverse taste in music." Aldean's other daughter, Kendyl, though - well, she's not nearly as interested. "What's funny is my younger daughter is 8 and she just doesn't really care. She's not a huge music lover,...

On Friday, May 14, at 9pm Et/Pt, CBS airs Acm Presents: Superstar Duets! This two-hour country music special features an unprecedented lineup of legendary performers playing alongside this year’s Acm Award nominees and other chart-topping artists at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. Performers include Dierks Bentley, Clint Black, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Patty Loveless, Ronnie Milsap, Kip Moore, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, Dwight Yoakam, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, Eli Young Band, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry. Here’s the list of performers that were scheduled for the show’s taping … Continue reading →

The post Acm Presents: Superstar Duets pairs up country music legends on CBS appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

Martina McBride is known for her vocal dexterity, but when she went to select a Ronnie Milsap song that she could sing to honor the newest member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, she was momentarily stumped. Milsap's singing always "sounded so effortless," she told the 800 guests invited to his induction ceremony Sunday in Nashville. "I never really realized [his range] until I sat down at the piano." She wanted to pick "What a Difference You Made in My Life," she said, but "couldn't get the key low enough to sing ... the high notes." Fortunately, McBride still had a slew of...

Carrie Underwood couldn't stop the waterworks as she accepted the Gene Weed Special Achievement Award at the 8th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors in Nashville Tuesday night. "The Academy has been so good to me, country music has been so good to me," the singer said with a smile before a wave of emotion hit. She tried again, "I had so much to say," before admitting through tears, "But I forget it all! What's wrong with me?" Emcee Jake Owen was empathetic. Referencing Underwood's recently announced pregnancy, he turned to the singer's husband, Mike Fisher, seated below the stage.

For their fifth annual We're All for the Hall benefit concert in Nashville on Tuesday, Keith Urban and Vince Gill decided to have a little fun with their fellow artists. Instead of just having them perform their hits, they asked that each of the country stars singing in the show recount the stories behind their songs. "Fans love to hear the story behind the song, and country music is all about stories," Gill told People Country. "I love the theme this year." However, Carrie Underwood wasn't so sure. "Talking on stage is a weak point for me," she told the Bridgestone Arena crowd.

The Songwriter. The Bluegrass Musician. The Piano Man. In the rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame, surrounded by 121 bronze plaques representing current members, Kix Brooks emceed a press conference announcing Hank Cochran, Mac Wiseman and Ronnie Milsap as the organization's 2014 inductees. Singer Bobby Bare, inducted last year, paid tribute to his friend Cochran, who passed away in 2010, referring to him as The Legend, and noting to laughter that "he called himself a legend long before he was." Among Cochran's masterpieces are "I Fall to Pieces" (co-written with Harlan Howard), "The Chair," "Ocean Front Property" and "Make the World Go Away.

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Mariska Hargitay is such a badass on Law & Order: Svu and such an incredible force for good in real life, that sometimes we forget her earlier years as a bombshell beauty. Silly us — she is, after all, the daughter of original blond bombshell Jayne Mansfield and bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay. Today, as the actress turns the big 5-0, we’re looking back at some vintage foxy photos of Mariska.

Despite her celebrity pedigree, Mariska really worked her way up in showbiz. She was Miss Beverly Hills USA in 1982, and by 1984 she had a gig in this cheesetastic video for Ronnie Milsap’s “She Loves My Car.”

She went on to get parts in such cinematic masterpieces as Jocks and Ghoulies, before landing steadier work, like the role of Carly on the CBS prime-time soap Falcon Crest. There followed a lot of roles on short-lived shows, as well as...

George Jones public memorial service was one star-studded event. The late country singer's life was remembered and celebrated today at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, with numerous celebs sharing fond memories of Jones through eulogies as well as paying tribute to his legacy in the music industry by performing onstage. Tanya Tucker, Randy Travis, the Oak Ridge Boys, Charlie Daniels, Travis Tritt, Barbara Mandrell, Kid Rock, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Brad Paisley, Ronnie Milsap, Kenny Chesney, Wynonna and Alan Jackson all spoke or sang a song in Jones' memory, according to Cmt.com. Along with the celebs, thousands...

Update: Watch the live stream of the funeral here.

Country legend George Jones passed away last Friday (April 26) after a brief hospitalization for a fever and high blood pressure. He is being laid to rest Thursday at a star-studded country music tribute at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.

Country stars scheduled to perform include Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Brad Paisley, Randy Travis, Charlie Daniels, Travis Tritt, Wynonna Judd, the Oak Ridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap and Tanya Tucker.

Former First Lady Laura Bush, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, CBS news correspondent Bob Schieffer, the Opry's general manager Pete Fisher and country stars Kenny Chesney and Barbara Mandrell are scheduled to speak at the event.

The service will be broadcast on Cmt beginning at 11 a.m. Et/8 a.m. Pt. You can also watch the live stream here, or listen to the audio portion...

Fall behind keeping up with headlines on Twitter? Never fear, EW.com has your round-up of this week’s biggest American Idol news.

Baseball stadiums across the nation are hosting opening day for their respective teams, and that means you may see one of your favorite Idol alums out on the field singing the national anthem. On Thursday, that honor went to season 10 Idol, Haley Reinhart, who sang a beautiful rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” before the Detroit Tigers home opener against the Boston Red Sox. (Click on the photo below to see her performance.)

Ousted American Idol contestant and funny guy,...

Danny Gokey, who finished third in the eighth season of "American Idol", has inked a deal with 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville. The singer who is currently touring across U.S. with the other Top Ten Idols wrote on his Twitter, "Its official Ive been signed!"

"We absolutely love Danny," Sony Music Nashville chairman Joe Galante says as quoted by USA Today. Praising Danny's voice as "soulful edge," Joe adds, "We haven't had anybody like that (in country) since Ronnie Milsap or T. Graham Brown."

No producer has been attached to be involved in the making of Danny's first studio effort, but he is expected to hit studio soon after the Idol tour is wrapped. A new single will possibly be released in late fall with the album to follow in March next year.

While waiting for Danny Gokey's new materials, fans can catch his performances at the Idol on-going tour...