George Jones
Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame

NASHVILLE — Garth Brooks is not commenting on a report in The Tennessean that says George Jones feels hurt because Brooks ignored his invitation to appear with him on the upcoming CMA Awards show.

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Brooks decided against releasing "Beer Run," his duet with Jones, as a single. "I just can't find it in my heart to feel that 'Beer Run' is appropriate for right now," Brooks said at the time. He called his duet with Jones "one of the greatest gifts I've ever received in music" and went on to compliment Jones for "singing his ass off."

For his part, Jones issued a statement October 4 thanking Brooks for his clout and for the radio airplay it produced for "Beer Run," released as a track on Jones' new album, The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001.

"It seems like a lifetime since I've had this much airplay," Jones said. "I am grateful to radio for the spins and to Garth for his friendship, kind words about me and for sharing his hit."

But now the relationship may have gone sour, at least from Jones' perspective. Evelyn Shriver, who heads Bandit Records, Jones' label, alleges that Brooks promised Jones a joint TV appearance. Jones asked about doing "Beer Run" on the CMA Awards, but Brooks never gave him an answer, Shriver told The Tennessean.

Brooks debuted a different single, "Wrapped Up in You," at a press conference on October 9 at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. His new album, Scarecrow, comes out November 13.

At the press conference, Brooks said it was unlikely that he and Jones would ever perform their duet on an awards show but he also seemed to suggest, in his roundabout way of speaking, that there might be a joint appearance in some other context.

"If there's something that'll handle itself live, and maybe something we can't talk about yet in between now and Christmas," he teased, "I would jump at the chance to do something with George Jones."

• George Jones
• Garth Brooks

Clint Black
Photo: BMG

Following his performance on Sunday's Country Freedom Concert in Nashville, Clint Black will board a military jet to begin a tour of U.S. bases abroad. He'll join the Citizen Patriot Tour, which was organized by former Defense Secretary William Cohen's wife Janet Langhart Cohen. Taylor Dayne and others will be on the tour, details of which were not being released ...

George Jones will perform at Sunday's Country Freedom Concert as well as at his own concert. The Freedom Concert is at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center, just down the street from the Ryman Auditorium, where Jones' own concert will be held. Opening for Jones there will be Jim Lauderdale, who portrays Jones in the current musical "Stand By Your Man." ...

Suzy Bogguss is fulfilling a longtime ambition by finally putting out a Christmas album. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas will be released on November 1 on her Web site, at Amazon.com and at select record stores. The album includes collaborations with the late Chet Atkins, Ricky Skaggs and Delbert McClinton. ...

Country Music Hall of Fame member Earl Scruggs, Diamond Rio and Montgomery Gentry have been added to Sunday's Country Freedom Concert, bringing the total of confirmed live acts to 16. As the list of performers has grown, so has the length of the telecast. CMT will air the commercial-free concert from 8-11 p.m. ET. The benefit for the Salvation Army Disaster Relief Fund originally was slated for two hours (MTVi's parent company, Viacom, also owns CMT) ...

Toby Keith will guest star on the CBS TV series "Touched By an Angel" on November 10. The country star plays a performer at a 10-year high school reunion where a wealthy businessman and a famous football player revisit their past ...

Tim McGraw and Brooks & Dunn have a pair of nominations each for the 2001 Radio Music Awards, October 26 at the Aladdin in Las Vegas. They contend with Alan Jackson, the Dixie Chicks and George Strait for Country Artist of the Year. Country Song of the Year nominees include Brooks & Dunn's "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You," Travis Tritt's "It's a Great Day to Be Alive," Diamond Rio's "One More Day," Jessica Andrews' "Who I Am" and McGraw's "My Next Thirty Years." Martina McBride will perform on the show, and Rascal Flatts will be presenters. The show will be telecast live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

The Dixie Chicks, who haven't played in public since their last tour ended in December 2000, plan to open the 2002 Houston Rodeo on February 12. George Strait will close the rodeo on March 3. It will be the last year for the rodeo in the Astrodome, which will be razed and replaced. ...

Sara Evans' husband's political ambitions are drawing scrutiny in his native Oregon. Craig Schelske announced on Monday that he will seek the Republican nomination for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives now held by Democratic Rep. Darlene Hooley, who will seek a fourth term in the 2002 election. Democrats in the district have filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that Schelske has been violating federal law by raising campaign funds from his wife's concerts, before he was an announced candidate. Schelske answered that his lawyers advised him that he was in the clear. Evans and Schelske maintain homes in Nashville and Aumsville, Oregon. ...

Buck Owens, 72, has placed a personal ad in several southern California newspapers in search of a fan he briefly met in September while taping an episode of "Family Feud," the Associated Press reports. The Country Music Hall of Fame member lost the woman's phone number and has placed ads that partly read: "Buck has lost contact, would like for you to call Mel Owens at (661) 326-1011. Please call, extremely important." The telephone number is for his offices in Bakersfield, California. The country legend, who is divorcing his wife of 22 years, admits his pursuit is a little unusual. "I know it sounds silly to some people, me looking for her this way," Owens told the AP. "But what if it works?" ...

Willie Nelson will sing with Sheryl Crow and the Dixie Chicks will come out of hibernation to perform on the 35th annual CMA Awards, scheduled for November 7 in Nashville. Crow and Nelson team up on "I'll Be There for You," a duet from Nelson's next album, The Great Divide, due in January. The Dixie Chicks, reigning Entertainer of the Year, have not revealed their plans for the show. Also, Martina McBride performs "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues"; Jessica Andrews sings "Who I Am"; Phil Vassar chooses "Just Another Day in Paradise"; Blake Shelton croons "Austin"; and Cyndi Thomson sings "What I Really Meant to Say." The awards will be broadcast live from the Grand Ole Opry House from 8-11 p.m. ET. ...

The Grand Ole Opry will stage a Veterans Day (November 11) show at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville to raise money for the families of terrorist victims. Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Little Jimmy Dickens, Steve Wariner, Bill Anderson and Porter Wagoner are set to perform. More acts will be announced. In addition to the special Sunday show, regular Opry programs will be held at the Ryman — its former home — from November through February. ...

Martina McBride will put her brainpower to the test as a celebrity contestant on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," taping this week in New York City. McBride's winnings, guaranteed to be at least $32,000, will be donated to a charity of her choice. An air date has not been announced. ...

Hank Williams Jr. and Trisha Yearwood have been added to the artist roster for the Country Freedom Concert on October 21. The show, to be held at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center, will benefit relief efforts by the Salvation Army. Other artists previously announced include George Strait, Alan Jackson and Lonestar ...

Martina McBridewill join Elton John, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz and others performing on the 2001 Radio Music Awards at the Aladdin in Las Vegas on October 26, to be televised on ABC ...

Ann-Margret adds guest vocals to the Light Crust Doughboys' upcoming CD, God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions. James Blackwood and the Jordanaires also appear on the album ...

Travis Tritt's Down the Road I Go has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of more than 1 million units. Released in 2000, the album marks his debut for Columbia Records following a long affiliation with Warner Bros. Down the Road I Go has yielded the singles "Best of Intentions," "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" and "Love of a Woman." In other RIAA news, Toby Keith's Pull My Chain, released August 28, has achieved gold status for shipments of 500,000 copies ...

Texas swing band Hot Club of Cowtown will give a free concert Wednesday at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. The Austin combo's performance is part of a year-long series of Texas-themed events supporting the museum's exhibit on music from the Lone Star State. ...

Dolly Parton will play a concert New Year's Eve in Nashville to provide scholarships for families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. "The Red, White and Bluegrass Concert" at the Grand Ole Opry House will feature Parton with an "all-star acoustic band." "I wanted to show my true colors, which are red, white and blue, by being a good American and a good Samaritan," she said in a statement. Money will go to the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund. Guest artists and ticket information will be announced later. Parton said she would like to do an ongoing series of concerts featuring talent from the bluegrass and roots music community to benefit the fund. Bill Clinton and Bob Dole head up a $100 million fundraising campaign to support the scholarship fund. ...

Charges against Trace Adkins for DUI, speeding and violating the open container law have been carried over to November 26 in Williamson County, Tennessee. The case went to the grand jury Monday (October 8). Adkins was arrested July 5 in Nolensville, Tennessee, while on his way home from his farm in Rutherford County. ...

William E. "Smoky" Dacus, the first drummer for Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, died Tuesday at Kellmark Nursing Center in Rogers, Arkansas. He was 90. One of country music's first drummers, Dacus joined the Texas Playboys in 1935 and played on classic recordings such as "Maiden's Prayer," "San Antonio Rose" and "Steel Guitar Rag." He left the band in the early 1940s when Wills went to Hollywood. In his Wills biography, "San Antonio Rose," Charles Townsend points out that Dacus played an important role in western swing and country music history. "This was the first time drums were successfully used in a string band," he writes of Dacus' tenure. Dacus helped create the solid dance beat Wills was after, and his drumming "moved the band further from traditional fiddle or string band music and even closer to jazz." Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday (October 11) at Immanuel Baptist Church in Rogers. ...

Billy Ray Cyrus appears barechested and tattooed in the David Lynch movie "Mulholland Drive," which opens Friday at selected theaters nationwide. The movie, which was originally written as a television pilot for ABC, won the Best Director award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. ...

Tim McGraw and Charlie Daniels are the latest additions to the lineup for the Country Freedom Concert. They'll join George Strait, Alan Jackson, Lee Ann Womack, Lonestar, Vince Gill, Sara Evans, George Jones, Brooks & Dunn, Clint Black and Martina McBride in the October 21 show at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center. The concert will benefit the Salvation Army. ...

Jeff Carson has been named national spokesperson for NASO, the National Association of Slain Officers, a non-profit organization created in 1998 to provide support and encouragement for the immediate family members of slain police officers. Carson will record a series of radio PSAs for national distribution and will perform at a November 17 fund raiser for NASO in Portland, Oregon. ...

Doug Supernaw, known for his #1 country hit "I Don't Call Him Daddy," is behind bars in Houston for failing to pay $135,000 in overdue child support and for contempt of court, according to reports from a Houston media outlet. His official Web site, dougsupernaw.com, acknowledges the situation: "Doug was arrested on Oct. 4 for not paying back child support. After he has served 10 days for contempt he will go back to the judge. As it looks now, all shows appear to be on hold." Supernaw, 41, was held in contempt of court after allegedly lashing out at a Harris County court judge when she handed him a six-month jail sentence, Houston television station KPRC reports. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report

• Clint Black
• George Jones
• Suzy Bogguss

George Jones
Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame

George Jones and other artists are taking part in a 76th birthday celebration for the Grand Ole Opry on Friday and Saturday (October 12-13) in Nashville. Vince Gill and Brad Paisley are also making special appearances. On Saturday afternoon, the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Celebration in the Opry House will feature bluegrass artists including the Osborne Brothers, Ricky Skaggs, Mike Snider and Ralph Stanley ...

Travis Tritt's Down the Road I Go has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of more than 1 million units. Released in 2000, the album marks his debut for Columbia Records following a long affiliation with Warner Bros. Down the Road I Go has yielded the singles "Best of Intentions," "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" and "Love of a Woman." In other RIAA news, Toby Keith's Pull My Chain, released August 28, has achieved gold status for shipments of 500,000 copies ...

Texas swing band Hot Club of Cowtown will give a free concert Wednesday at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. The Austin combo's performance is part of a year-long series of Texas-themed events supporting the museum's exhibit on music from the Lone Star State. ...

Dolly Parton will play a concert New Year's Eve in Nashville to provide scholarships for families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. "The Red, White and Bluegrass Concert" at the Grand Ole Opry House will feature Parton with an "all-star acoustic band." "I wanted to show my true colors, which are red, white and blue, by being a good American and a good Samaritan," she said in a statement. Money will go to the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund. Guest artists and ticket information will be announced later. Parton said she would like to do an ongoing series of concerts featuring talent from the bluegrass and roots music community to benefit the fund. Bill Clinton and Bob Dole head up a $100 million fundraising campaign to support the scholarship fund. ...

Charges against Trace Adkins for DUI, speeding and violating the open container law have been carried over to November 26 in Williamson County, Tennessee. The case went to the grand jury Monday (October 8). Adkins was arrested July 5 in Nolensville, Tennessee, while on his way home from his farm in Rutherford County. ...

William E. "Smoky" Dacus, the first drummer for Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, died Tuesday at Kellmark Nursing Center in Rogers, Arkansas. He was 90. One of country music's first drummers, Dacus joined the Texas Playboys in 1935 and played on classic recordings such as "Maiden's Prayer," "San Antonio Rose" and "Steel Guitar Rag." He left the band in the early 1940s when Wills went to Hollywood. In his Wills biography, "San Antonio Rose," Charles Townsend points out that Dacus played an important role in western swing and country music history. "This was the first time drums were successfully used in a string band," he writes of Dacus' tenure. Dacus helped create the solid dance beat Wills was after, and his drumming "moved the band further from traditional fiddle or string band music and even closer to jazz." Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday (October 11) at Immanuel Baptist Church in Rogers. ...

Billy Ray Cyrus appears barechested and tattooed in the David Lynch movie "Mulholland Drive," which opens Friday at selected theaters nationwide. The movie, which was originally written as a television pilot for ABC, won the Best Director award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. ...

Martina McBride will perform a concert on Pay-Per-View on Saturday. Joining her on the "Greatest Hits: Live in Concert" show from the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis will be special guest Tim McGraw. ...

Vince Gill will take part in "The Motor City Revue" at Universal Studios in Los Angeles on Thursday. He'll join Shelby Lynne, Amy Grant, Smokey Robinson and others in the tribute to Motown at the City of Hope Spirit of Life dinner. ...

Tim McGraw and Charlie Daniels are the latest additions to the lineup for the Country Freedom Concert. They'll join George Strait, Alan Jackson, Lee Ann Womack, Lonestar, Vince Gill, Sara Evans, George Jones, Brooks & Dunn, Clint Black and Martina McBride in the October 21 show at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center. The concert will benefit the Salvation Army. ...

Jeff Carson has been named national spokesperson for NASO, the National Association of Slain Officers, a non-profit organization created in 1998 to provide support and encouragement for the immediate family members of slain police officers. Carson will record a series of radio PSAs for national distribution and will perform at a November 17 fund raiser for NASO in Portland, Oregon. ...

A concert by Tracy Byrd and Mark Chesnutt on Wednesday (October 10) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, will benefit the New York Firefighters 9-11 and WTC Police Disaster Relief Funds. ...

Doug Supernaw, known for his #1 country hit "I Don't Call Him Daddy," is behind bars in Houston for failing to pay $135,000 in overdue child support and for contempt of court, according to reports from a Houston media outlet. His official Web site, dougsupernaw.com, acknowledges the situation: "Doug was arrested on Oct. 4 for not paying back child support. After he has served 10 days for contempt he will go back to the judge. As it looks now, all shows appear to be on hold." Supernaw, 41, was held in contempt of court after allegedly lashing out at a Harris County court judge when she handed him a six-month jail sentence, Houston television station KPRC reports. ...

Lee Ann Womack and other country artists have been added to the upcoming Country Freedom Concert lineup. Clint Black, Vince Gill, Sara Evans, George Jones and Lonestar have been added to a bill that already includes George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and Martina McBride. The concert to benefit the Salvation Army will be televised live from Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center on October 21. ...

Billy Gilman met Elisabeth Wagner, the 21-year-old woman who inspired "Elisabeth," on Saturday at the State Fair of Texas. Wagner has struggled with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes small growths on her nerves, since she was 2 years old. Her positive attitude led her aunt and a friend to write the song, which Gilman recorded. … Garth Brooks' press conference to announce the release of his single "Wrapped Up in You" and a forthcoming album will take place Tuesday (October 9) at Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame at 7:45 a.m. The public is invited to attend. …

Alan Jackson's induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, which was postponed due to the events of September 11, has been rescheduled for October 22 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. ...

Hal Ketchum, Kacey Jones and Billy Hoffman will join a number of pop and rock artists in Los Angeles for an unplugged benefit performance and auction to raise money for the American Red Cross. The Acoustic Americans Benefit will take place Tuesday (October 9) at the Renberg Theatre. ...

Chely Wright will make her movie debut in "Max Keeble's Big Move." She plays a homeroom teacher. ...

A previously unreleased single from the late rockabilly legend Carl Perkins should soon be available for download and for sale to benefit New York firefighters. Perkins recorded the spoken-word tribute "The Fireman" during his final 1998 recording sessions. His producer, Bob Johnston, who wrote the song, plans to make it available on a Web site and to release it as a single. It is scheduled to be included on Celebration, a Perkins CD set for January release. Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Tom Petty also appear on the album. ... Jo Dee Messina launches her fall tour Thursday (October 4) with a show in Salem, Virgina. She'll play 21 dates, winding up December 15 in Champaign, Illinois. ...

Lee Ann Womack has set dates for her Christmas tour with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, featuring Mercer Ellington. The tour will launch on November 29 in Sewell, New Jersey, and play 18 dates, finishing in Maryville, Tennessee, on December 22. ...

Brad Paisley has co-authored a book based on his hit single "He Didn't Have to Be." The song, about a stepfather taking on a new family, was a #1 hit for Paisley in 1999. Along with the song's co-writer, Kelley Lovelace, Paisley collected memories about the composition of the song as well as photographs, letters and messages from fans about the song's impact on them. The book comes with lyrics and a CD of the song. ...

The Dixie Chicks' a cappella recording of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is available for download on the trio's Web site, www.dixiechicks.com. While there is no charge to download the track, the Dixie Chicks are asking fans to make a donation to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund. "In this time of great need, together let's celebrate America's heroes by donating to the American Red Cross," the group said in a statement. "Let's support the families of those who gave their lives to preserve our wide open spaces." It is the trio's first recording since their 1999 album, Fly. ...

Two days after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Randy Travis and a team of writers composed a new song, "America Will Always Stand." Now Travis has recorded the song and made it available to radio stations across the country. "We pray that it will help America and its people, in the worst of times, to stay brave and united," he said in a statement. Co-writers include Mike Curtis, Yvonne Sanson, Becky Bluefield and Doc Walley. Travis recorded "Point of Light" during the Gulf War at the request of President George Bush. Relentless Records will release "America Will Always Stand" and "Point of Light" as a single in the next week. All proceeds from the sale of the single will go to the American Red Cross ...

George Strait, Brooks & Dunn, Toby Keith and Lee Ann Womack will perform new singles, while Diamond Rio will do a chart-topping hit from earlier this year on the 35th Annual CMA Awards show. During the CBS broadcast on November 7, Strait will sing "Run," from his upcoming album. Brooks & Dunn will do the flag-waver "Only in America," their summer set-opener. Keith's choice is "I Wanna Talk About Me" and Womack will sing the rootsy "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger." Diamond Rio will go with "One More Day," nominated for Single and Song of the Year. Vince Gill will host the awards for the 10th consecutive year. (MTVi's parent company, Viacom, also owns CBS) ...

Tim McGraw has added a new beneficiary to his annual Swampstock charity softball game and concert in Rayville, Louisiana on October 28. Proceeds from the event will go to the New York Police & Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund in addition to McGraw's usual beneficiaries, area children's causes. Also taking part this year are McGraw's wife, Faith Hill; Martina McBride; Carolyn Dawn Johnson; the Warren Brothers; and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. ...

Daryle Singletary was hit with a DUI charge on Wednesday, although he wasn't driving at the time. The 30-year-old Singletary and a friend, Joseph Dockens, were pulled over in downtown Nashville at around 3 a.m. after an illegal turn. Dockens, who was driving Singletary's truck, failed a field sobriety test, refused a breath-alcohol test and was charged with DUI. Singletary was riding in the passenger seat and was arrested for DUI because he was allowing Dockens to drive, a police spokesman said. Singletary was released from the jail on his own recognizance. Dockens posted $3,000 bail. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report

• George Jones
• Travis Tritt
• Hot Club of Cowtown

Photo: BMG

The highlight of this week's country releases is a new album from the genre's master, George Jones, and traditional works by two of his disciples, Gary Allan and David Ball. Pat Haney and IIIrd Time Out also have new works, while Dwight Yoakam delivers a soundtrack album.

Jones' The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001 (Bandit Records) includes his duet with Garth Brooks on "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)," which was supposed to be a Brooks single. Brooks canceled the single's release after the September 11 tragedies, however. Jones, who nearly died in a car wreck involving alcohol, includes the following disclaimer in the album's liner notes: "George Jones does not in any way condone drinking and driving and the inclusion of the song 'Beer Run' is not an endorsement of such behavior. Historically, drinking songs have been an integral part of country music. George asks: If you do drink, do so responsibly."

Other notable songs on the album include Billy Joe Shaver's "Tramp on Your Street" and Jamie O'Hara's patriotic "50,000 Names." The album's first single is "The Man He Was."

Gary Allan's fourth album, Alright Guy (MCA Nashville), finds him continuing to burnish his hard-edged California honky-tonk sound. Country-to-the-bone songs such as the Harley Allen/Carson Chamberlain composition "The Devil's Candy" and Todd Snider's title track exemplify Allan's no-compromise brand of country. His cover of Bruce Robison's "What Would Willie Do" is a tongue-in-cheek paean destined to become a country classic. His first single, songwriter Jamie O'Hara's "Man of Me," is #27 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

David Ball's "Riding With Private Malone" languished on country radio until the events of September 11. The patriotic song concerning the ghost of a dead soldier is at #31 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Recent years have found Ball's hard-edged country out of favor and he was long without a major-label deal. His new Amigo (Dualtone) consists of 13 songs, including eight Ball wrote or co-wrote. His "New Shiner Polka" reflects his Texas background, he gives a swing treatment to the old jazz tune "Linger Awhile" and he resurrects Merle Haggard's seldom-heard "Trying Not to Love You" and Pappy Stewart's classic "Just Out of Reach."

Rootsy Kentucky singer/songwriter Pat Haney wrote most of the 12 songs on his second album, Ghost of Things to Come (FreeFalls). He continues to explore a gothic Southern landscape off the beaten path. A fact worth knowing: His band is named the Well Readnecks.

Bluegrass veterans IIIrd Time Out are releasing Back to the MAC (Rounder Records). Recorded live last year at the Mountain Arts Center (MAC) in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, the album is a treasure trove of IIIrd Time Out's fan favorites. Tracks include Flatt & Scruggs' "I'll Stay Around," Jimmie Davis' "I Hung My Head and Cried," Joe Maphis' "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke," Molly O'Day's "When My Time Comes to Go" and Bill Monroe's "Come Back to Me in My Dreams."

Also out this week is Dwight Yoakam's soundtrack album to his movie, "South of Heaven, West of Hell" (Reprise). Bekka Bramlett joins Yoakam on "Who at the Door Is Standing." Yoakam's directorial debut, released on video and DVD, features Bridget Fonda, Peter Fonda, Joe Ely, Warren Zevon, Billy Bob Thornton and Paul Reubens.

• George Jones

Tammy Wynette
Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame

Dramatizing the life of a music star is tricky, because mere biography seldom achieves the emotional eloquence of the songs that made the performer a star in the first place. Everything we want to know and believe about the star, the music has already told us. "Stand by Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story," which opened Thursday at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, fails to overcome this hazard. Still, the production is a joy to witness.

Mark St. Germain's two-act play opens with Wynette watching her own funeral (which was held at the Ryman in 1998). This device enables the singer to unite with her abrasive, wisecracking mother (also dead) for a journey through their shared tumultuous past.

Nicolette Hart, who plays Wynette, was vocally tepid in the opening number, but her character quickly gained force and sympathy. Jim Lauderdale can now add "/actor" to his usual "singer/songwriter" designation. He was flawless as Wynette's one-time husband and all-time duet partner, George Jones, and the audience was with him from his first note on. Susan Mansur demonstrated exquisite timing as Wynette's scolding mother; she got most of the big laughs, but her posture and hillbilly mannerisms seemed rooted more in "Hee Haw" than in history.

The play manages to be both too detailed and too elliptical, often substituting a torrent of fan-magazine trivia for insight. It dutifully takes us through each of Wynette's five marriages, even though only three of them appear to have mattered, and lingers, presumably for name value alone, on Wynette's relationship with Burt Reynolds. It devotes an entire sequence to the singer's 1992 music video, "Justified & Ancient," with English rock group the KLF, but fails to mention the far more career-critical use of her music in "Five Easy Pieces," the 1970 movie starring Jack Nicholson. And do we really need to be reminded at great length of Wynette's tiff-in-a-teapot with Hillary Clinton?

Except for suggesting a father fixation (Wynette's died when she was an infant), the play does little to probe the singer's complex personality and her accelerating drug dependence. Were her torments chiefly physical or psychological? We don't get enough information to decide. Near the end of the play, she gestures out to the loving audience and proclaims, "They were my addiction. Everything else was just to stop the pain in between." Maybe so.

In spite of these weaknesses, the play succeeds because it was designed for fans that already know Wynette, so when dramatic analysis falters, there's always a song. "Stand by Your Man" features nearly 30 of them, including many of Wynette's and Jones' most beloved duet and solo hits. Several of the lead actors double as members of the house band. Steel player Kevin Owens gives a marvelous performance as Wynette's abrupt and acerbic producer, Billy Sherrill. While visiting the ailing singer, he gruffly points out that there is no appreciable audience for "Stand by Your Scar Tissue."

Dennis C. Maulden's curtainless staging is stark, muted and admirably efficient for the many scene changes. Bridget R. Bartlett's costumes bring a gallery of Wynette's familiar album covers and publicity photos to life.

The play's real workhorse is Tricia Paoluccio, whose dizzying variety of roles ranges from young Tammy to a dead-on Dolly Parton (who muses at the bedside of her friend, "I think that's why [God] gave us talent — he screwed up our hair"). The play bristles with such comic one-liners, and the music is irresistible.

First-nighters in the audience included Wynette's four daughters; her husband, George Richey; Billy Sherrill; Grand Ole Opry stars Ernie Ashworth and Roy Drusky; singer Deborah Allen; and songwriter Glen Sutton.

"Stand by Your Man" runs through October 28.

• Tammy Wynette
• George Jones
• Jim Lauderdale

George Jones
Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame

NASHVILLE — Move over Cinderella — the glass shoe is on another foot tonight.

When Brentwood, Tennessee, car dealer Barry Smith began recording his voice to someone else's demo tracks three years ago, he hardly could have imagined that his idol, George Jones, would one day seek him out and ask him to open shows for him. But that's exactly what has happened.

Last Friday, in Tunica, Mississippi, Smith did his first opening chores for Jones. It was also the first time the 37-year-old Kentucky native had ever performed in public outside of his church. The country traditionalist will be working most weekends with Jones for the rest of this year and will make his Nashville debut October 21 when Jones plays the Ryman Auditorium.

As a dealer in high-end cars, Smith has done business with a number of country stars. Moreover, his wife, Sheri Copeland, tours as a backup singer for Ray Stevens. But, until recently, he had never met Jones. That momentous event was still several degrees of separation away. The man who ultimately linked him with Jones was award-winning songwriter Max D. Barnes.

"I had some soundtracks from a friend who had been singing demos for Max," Smith explained. "I had met Max about seven years ago because I'm a car salesman and he loves cars. My friend had these tracks where Max would sing the song and right behind it he'd record a soundtrack for my friend to sing the demo. He gave me some copies of those soundtracks."

Smith took the soundtracks to the "little studio" he had built in his garage for his wife to use. "While she was out traveling with Ray," he said, "I'd come home from work at night and start singing to those tracks. I'd been singing all my life — gospel music and in church — but I'd never done any shows. I've been singing out there in the garage for the past three years."

Last fall, Barnes came to Smith's office at the car lot. "I had my guitar sitting there," Smith said, "and he asked me if I played. I told him, 'Oh, a little bit.' And he asked me if I sang, and I said, 'Oh, a little bit.' But I was ready for him. … I sang him one of his own songs that had never been cut."

Barnes was so impressed by what he heard, Smith recalled, that he began to weep. "He said, 'Man, this is unreal. I'd like to take you to the studio.' So I said, 'Let's go.' " Barnes asked his son, producer/songwriter Max T. Barnes, to handle Smith's session. "We got a studio for the day before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Day, because we didn't have a budget. We were just trying to do it to see if we could get something that could work."

The upshot was a three-song sampler CD. One cut was the novelty tune "That's Why I Sing This Way," which has the refrain "My mama used to whup me with a George Jones album/ That's why I sing this way." Barnes took a copy of the song to play for Jones and his wife and manager, Nancy.

"That was about a month ago," Smith said. "George got the copy, and he came out to the car lot to see me. I wasn't there — I was over at an auto auction buying cars. But they called me and said George Jones just came by. I said, 'That's great.' But they said, 'He didn't want to buy a car — he wanted to talk to you.' "

An excited Smith promptly called Jones' office. "I'd never met George," he said, "but he's always been my hero. He got on the phone and said, 'Man, I love your singing, and I want to help you. What can I do for you?' " Smith asked if he would record with him for another version of "That's Why I Sing This Way." Jones agreed on the spot, suggesting they record the following Monday.

After the session was over, Smith says Jones called him and said, "I want to tell you, son, I had a ball today. I'd like to work with you some." The next morning, the woman who serves as Jones' and Alan Jackson's financial manger contacted Smith and told him that Jones wanted him to open his October 21 concert at the Ryman. "I just started crying," Smith said. "It just overwhelmed me."

But it was about to get better. Smith delayed calling Jones back to thank him for the Ryman date for "three or four days," fearing he might "bug" Jones. When he did call, Jones told him to look at his concert schedule and pick out some other shows he'd like to open.

"In the meantime," Smith continued, "I'd signed with Fitzgerald-Hartley for management. They had heard my songs and liked them. So I had Larry Fitzgerald call Nancy, and they picked out about nine shows. … We were going to start out September 28 in Renfro Valley, Kentucky. George came back to the car lot last Monday morning (August 20), just to talk to me and see how I was doing. He said, 'Why are you waiting until September 28 to come sing with me?' I told him I didn't want to be greedy, and he said, 'Why don't you come sing with me this weekend in Tunica?' "

After Smith did the soundcheck there (in the process earning rave reviews from Jones' band), he said he was summoned to "the Possum"'s bus, where Jones told him, "I want you to work on every show I've got."

Now, Fitzgerald-Hartley, which also manages Vince Gill, Pam Tillis, Jamie O'Neal and others, is shopping Smith for a record deal. He has signed with William Morris for booking. And he and Max D. Barnes have set up their own publishing company. He's even had an audience — and an invitation to co-write — with the pope of country composers, Harlan Howard.

A fortuneteller might have seen this all coming. Smith was born — and he swears this is true — in a place called Possum Trot.

• George Jones

Dan Tyminski
Photo: Doobie Shea

NASHVILLE — He sings "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, but Dan Tyminski was all smiles Tuesday after being nominated for a pair of Country Music Association awards.

"As musicians and singers, we spend our whole lives trying to perfect our craft and get that across to other people," Tyminski said at Nashville's Adelphia Coliseum, site of the announcements. "Nominations validate our efforts. They put big smiles on our faces."

Most nominees were elsewhere when Brooks & Dunn and Jo Dee Messina read their names during the news conference. Keith Urban, in his native Australia to sing at the Goodwill Games, had to be roused from a deep sleep at 1 a.m. to hear news of his Horizon Award nomination. Lee Ann Womack was changing planes in Detroit. Phil Vassar was on a tour bus headed for New York. Toby Keith was promoting his new album at a record store in Chicago.

Country Music Hall of Fame member George Jones, nominated for his participation on Brad Paisley's "Too Country," got the good news straight from Paisley, who drove to Jones' house to tell him.

"He was mowing his lawn and stopped to hear the news," Paisley said. "He said to me, 'Son, that's great! I just bought four brand new suits — I can wear one to the show.' "

Awards-show veterans Brooks & Dunn said they feel industry recognition never becomes old hat. Montgomery Gentry edged them out in the Vocal Duo of the Year category in 2000, ending an unprecedented eight-year CMA victory streak. The loss was a wakeup call.

"We were in a lull, for a combination of reasons," Ronnie Dunn said. "We were at a point to where we either had to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps or call it a day. We didn't feel we were ready to call it a day. So, [the loss] was the last little bell that rang before we took off running."

The duo refocused and came back strong this year with a successful album, Steers & Stripes, hit singles and an extravagant headlining tour, the Neon Circus & Wild West Show.

Their peers noticed. Brooks & Dunn received four nominations including Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year and Single of the Year. They vie again with Montgomery Gentry for Vocal Duo of the Year.

Tyminski, a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station, attended the press conference with the group's manager, Denise Stiff. Tyminski walked away with nods for Single of the Year and Album of the Year for his work on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. As one of the Soggy Bottom Boys, he supplies the vocals when George Clooney sings "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" in the movie.

"I came off the road yesterday and was getting ready to go back [home] to Virginia," Tyminski said. "Denise said, 'We haven't heard one way or the other about the nominations. Don't get your hopes up, but it'll be fun to go.' That's the mindset I took, and I ended up very pleased."

The "O Brother" album drew two more nominations. "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby," by Krauss, Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch, and "I'll Fly Away," by Krauss and Welch, compete against each other for Vocal Event of the Year.

Tyminski also was happy that fellow acoustic act Nickel Creek made the final ballot for Horizon Award and Vocal Group of the Year. "The most exciting part of the day for me was hearing their nominations," he said. "I could spend the rest of the day trying to explain the talent Nickel Creek holds within their band. To see them recognized is fantastic."

CMA Executive Director Ed Benson said he believes the nominations for Nickel Creek and "O Brother" are positive signs for country music.

"The recognition is indicative that the cyclical trend in American music tastes is starting to swing back toward the more genuine, real rootsy, traditional music," Benson said. "It never goes away, and it has periods where it gets more attention. Right now it's definitely on the uptick. That's always a good sign for our industry, because in the past that has tended to be one of the indicators of resurgent growth in our format."

Jamie O'Neal also attended the ceremony, where she learned she had a pair of nominations: Horizon Award and Music Video of the Year, for her breakthrough hit "There Is No Arizona."

"When I went to the [CMA awards] show last year, nobody knew who I was," O'Neal said. "I feel this year I've got a reason to be there."

The Horizon Award was introduced in 1981 to recognize newcomers whose careers have shown great growth. Past winners include the Judds, Randy Travis, Garth Brooks and Dixie Chicks, among others. O'Neal hopes to follow in their footsteps.

"It really lets you know that you're on your way," the singer said. "A lot of the Horizon winners and nominees I've watched in the past have really gone on to be major talents. They were able to keep doing what they love to do — making albums, headlining their own tours. That's what I hope to do myself. I'm just having a good time and trying to enjoy every minute. I'm holding the reins and want to keep going."

CBS will telecast the 35th CMA Awards on November 7 at 8 p.m. ET from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. For the 10th year, Vince Gill will host.

• Dan Tyminski
• Jamie O'Neal
• George Jones

George Jones
Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame

NASHVILLE — George Jones is as surprised as anyone that he and Garth Brooks have plans to record together in Nashville sometime next week.

"He's always shunned me," Jones said Monday (July 30). "When I'd be on an awards show with him, he always walked away when he saw me coming."

For his part, Brooks often has said that he holds Jones in high regard and feels a sense of awe when he's around the Country Music Hall of Fame member. He made a brief appearance in the video for Jones' 1992–93 hit, "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair."

When Jones and wife Nancy returned home from a recent trip, they discovered that Brooks had called "about an hour before we landed," Jones said. "He had this long line of talking he did, said he'd just found a song and he was interested in doing a song with me if I was interested."

Nancy Jones called Brooks back and set up a meeting. Brooks came over to the house, and he and Jones talked about recording together. Jones said Brooks was in tears when he left the house, and the recording session was in the works.

"He's got a cute little song called 'Beer Run,' " Jones revealed. "It talks about getting with the boys and driving the pickup. I'm still listening to the tape. There's some clever lines in it.

"The song starts off singing low. You say, [sings] 'B-double-e-r r-u-n, beer run.' You spell it out. Then you get up into your higher octave and start singing it."

Jones does have one concern about the song.

"I didn't care for the title," he said with a laugh, "but when people hear the song, they won't take it as a drinking song, I don't think."

Jones, who celebrates his 70th birthday on September 12, has given up alcohol, tobacco — even coffee — following a life-threatening auto accident in March 1999.

"About eight months before I had my accident, I went back out in the woods on my property and I did a little praying, [asking] the good Lord to do something to wake me up and straighten my life up once and for all," Jones recalled.

"I said, 'Lord, I don't care if you have to use a sledgehammer; whichever way you choose, I need to straighten my life up.' That was about it," Jones explained. "A few months later, this accident happened, and it did straighten me up. It put the fear of God in me."

A musical based on the life of Jones' ex-wife and duet partner, the late Tammy Wynette, opens September 13 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Jim Lauderdale has been tapped to play Jones.

"When I first heard about it, they were going to do all the wild things I had done in my life," Jones said. He hopes some changes have been made to the script.

"We talked with them. There's no sense in doing all the gutty stuff. They can show me for what I was, in a little cleaned-up way. I don't know how it's gonna turn out. I might sneak down and try to catch one of [the performances]."

Jones appears in concert at the Ryman October 21, near the end of the play's run, with Lauderdale as his opening act.

Jones' advice to Lauderdale, as he prepares to play the role: "Just be normal. Just act naturally." Jones adds: "He's pretty much a good ol' country boy, like myself. I'm sure he's studied a little bit, maybe, of me."

A new Jones single, "The Man He Was," registered at #57 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for August 4, and a new album for Bandit Records, originally slated for September 11, now is scheduled for September 25, in part to accommodate the Brooks duet.

"We're gonna see how it comes out," Jones said, "and maybe we'll slip it on the album."

As for his landmark 70th birthday, Jones' plans befit a legend who has earned the right to rest on his laurels: "I'll probably lean back in the chair," he said, "and be watching a movie or something on television."

• George Jones