T-Bone Burnett accepts the Album Of The Year Grammy for the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack.
Photo: CBS

If you're a real chart geek, we invite you to tune in Friday night at 5 p.m. ET for "Chart Attack," MTV News' weekly, in-depth look at what's charting where and why. Check out the Chart Attack Web page for more info.

In this week's chart and sales analysis, we take a post-Grammy gander at the Album of the Year victory by the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. We'll also review what such a Grammy win means in terms of boosting a record's sales in the weeks following the hallowed awards show.

'O Brother,' A Grammy Shocker?

Aside from Alicia Keys' impressive Grammy showing, undoubtedly the biggest surprise from this year's awards show came when the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack was named Album of the Year.

In winning the award, the roots and bluegrass compilation from the Coen Brothers' cinematic retelling of the Odyssey became just the third soundtrack to win Album of the Year, joining the '70s disco sounds of "Saturday Night Fever" and, more recently, "The Bodyguard" soundtrack featuring Whitney Houston and her show-stopping rendition of "I Will Always Love You."

Heading into the Grammys, most oddsmakers felt that U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind and Outkast's Stankonia were the heavy favorites to take Album of the Year honors, with a few hinting that Bob Dylan's Love and Theft might be the sentimental or "mature" choice of Recording Academy voters. In truth, we felt much the same.

When Got Charts? first sized-up the contest for Album of the Year back in early January (see "Got Charts? Making Grammy Predictions, Counting Crowes"), it was easy to see why Outkast and U2 were the favorites. At that time, the Atlanta rap duo's Stankonia led the nominees sales-wise with 3.79 million copies sold — 240,000 more than the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack and 490,000 more than All That You Can't Leave Behind.

Even though U2 trailed "O Brother," the Irish rockers were perceived to have a slight edge, as it seemed unlikely that the Recording Academy would make the soundtrack the second "country" LP to win Album of the Year. Glen Campbell's By the Time I Get to Phoenix won Album of the Year in 1968, but it was more of a country-pop crossover record than a true, dried-in-the-mud country disc.

U2 seemed an even safer bet following the group's emotional, spine-tingling set at Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans. After the performance, it seemed as though the Grammys would again be a "Beautiful Day" for U2. But that would be forgetting the SoundScan numbers. And the numbers never lie.

By the time the Grammys were handed out in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack had pulled ahead of the four other nominees, sales- and chart-wise. According to the latest SoundScan figures, "O Brother" has sold nearly 4 million copies to date and is holding strong on the Billboard 200 albums chart at #15. Those numbers were good enough to leapfrog past Stankonia, which has sold 3.81 million copies but is no longer charting on the Billboard 200.

Despite the Super Bowl bump that elevated All That You Can't Leave Behind back into the top 30, U2 have not been able to keep pace with "O Brother," mustering only 3.52 million in total sales. The other two nominees, India.Arie's Acoustic Soul and Dylan's Love and Theft, both lag far behind in terms of sales, with Arie at 1.16 million (#32 on the Billboard 200) and Dylan at 619,000 (#175).

Of course, it seems unlikely that Grammy voters could have known that the "O Brother" soundtrack would end up being the biggest-selling LP of those nominated for Album of the Year when they cast their ballots, but ya never know. Whether it was just a product of good timing or a happy coincidence, the SoundScan totals prove that the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack winning Album of the Year was certainly no fluke.

Following The Post-Grammy Bounce

Regardless of its unlikely Grammy outcome, there's one thing for certain: the "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack will get a sizable sales boost in the following weeks because of its big win. As past years have consistently shown, music fans tend to rush out and pick up a copy of whatever wins Album of the Year immediately following the Grammy ceremony.

Last year, Steely Dan's Two Against Nature had been off the Billboard 200 for six months when it was named Album of the Year. The week after the Grammys, it shot back up to #54 with 31,000 copies sold, a tenfold increase over the previous week. The win provided the LP with another two-month chart run and has helped the record reach the million mark in sales.

Dylan also received a nice chart boost when Time Out of Mind won Album of the Year in 1998, shooting from #122 to #27 after the Grammys. Dylan's rebound would be short-lived, though — Time Out of Mind slid off the Billboard 200 just a few weeks later. With more than 875,000 copies sold to date, Time Out of Mind remains the master singer/songwriter's best-selling LP of the last decade.

When The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill won Album of the Year in 1999, Hill got caught in a rather unusual chart anomaly — her record sales increased significantly following the victory, but she actually got bumped down the chart. The week of the 1999 Grammys, Miseducation was the #2 record in the country (behind Britney Spears' ... Baby One More Time) on sales of 122,000 copies.

After winning Album of the Year (and several other Grammys), Miseducation's weekly sales almost doubled to 234,000 copies — but the record dipped to #3. The reason for Hill's unlikely one-step forward, two-steps back? The #1 and #2 debuts of TLC's Fanmail (which sold 318,000 copies) and Eminem's The Slim Shady LP (283,000 copies). Hill would regain her #2 footing the following week by selling another 200,000 copies, and the album has since gone on to rack up more than 6 million in sales.

The biggest post-Grammy sales bounce in recent memory belongs to Latin guitarist Santana and his career-defining Supernatural. The record was already #1 with sales in excess of 219,000 copies a week when it cast a spell over Grammy voters and won Album of the Year two years ago. In the week after its win, Supernatural enchanted 583,000 record buyers and held onto the #1 spot, a chart-topping streak that Santana would continue for the next three weeks, during which the disc would sell more than a million copies. The LP has since gone on to sell more than 10.98 million copies and stands as the sixth-best-selling album of the SoundScan era, nestled in between "The Bodyguard" soundtrack (11.69 million sold) and 'NSYNC's No Strings Attached (10.92 million).

So, if the recent Album of the Year winners are any indication, look for the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack to roughly double in sales — a move that could send the album into the top five of next week's Billboard 200.

Aside from the "O Brother" soundtrack, another album that should get a hefty post-Grammy sales boost is Keys' Songs in A Minor, currently at #20. Even though Keys' album has already sold more than 4.59 million copies, the singer's five Grammy wins could spur interest in Keys' accomplished debut from newer fans.

Of course, a lot depends on Alanis Morissette and her new record, Under Rug Swept, as we think it would take a Harry Potter-sized broom to keep her "swept out" of the #1 spot on next week's albums chart. Just thought that you oughta know.

[In SoundScan we trust. All figures, unless otherwise noted, are according to SoundScan's audited sales numbers and reflect sales as of press time.]

For more Grammy news, check out the MTV News Grammy Archive.

• Ralph Stanley
• Emmylou Harris
• U2
• Alicia Keys

Merle Haggard
Photo: Anti Records

Merle Haggard has been added to the concert lineup for Swampstock 2001, happening October 28 in Tim McGraw's hometown of Rayville, Louisiana. "I'm thrilled to welcome Merle Haggard to Swampstock 2001," McGraw said in a statement. "I've been singing his songs for many years, and there's not a better artist in country music. I'm especially honored to have a Country Music Hall of Fame member on the Swampstock stage for the very first time." The eighth annual concert will also feature McGraw, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and the Warren Brothers. Proceeds from the concert and celebrity softball game will benefit New York fire and police funds as well as Rayville's little league baseball program and various other charities. ...

"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack producer T Bone Burnett is working on an album with old-time mountain music patriarch Ralph Stanley. The album is being recorded in Nashville and will be released on Burnett's own new label, DMZ Records, which he is forming with the Coen Brothers, the "O Brother" movie producers. ...

Garth Brooks will launch his new album, Scarecrow, with a series of live radio specials on the album's release date, November 13. Brooks will guide listeners through the album and take caller questions live on the air. The specials will air during morning and afternoon drive times in all time zones, and will be offered to all country radio stations on a non-exclusive basis. "Wrapped Up in You," the album's first single, debuted at #22 this week on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. ...

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. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report

• Merle Haggard
• Ralph Stanley
• Garth Brooks

Alison Krauss
Photo: Rounder Records

NASHVILLE — Patty Loveless, Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss & Union Station and Norman Blake will be the permanent nucleus of the Down From the Mountain Tour set to start in late January.

Other acts slotted for specific dates along the way include the Fairfield Four, the Cox Family and the Peasall Sisters. The final schedule for the nationwide tour, which will likely last for about a month, is expected within a week or so.

Inspired by and featuring many of the musicians on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, the tour takes its name from the D.A. Pennebaker/Chris Hegedus documentary on the making of the soundtrack. A second album involving members of the "O Brother" musical cast, released in June, is also tagged Down From the Mountain.

Immortal Management of Santa Monica, California, is organizing the tour. Hal Paris, spokesman for Immortal, said that the troupe will play venues of 2,000 to 5,000 seats. Ticket prices have yet to be set.

Instead of providing their own backup bands, the tour's headliners will use a common band made up primarily of players from the Nashville Bluegrass Band and Krauss' Union Station ensemble.

The Cox Family's patriarch, Willard Cox, was severely injured in a traffic accident after the soundtrack was recorded and has been unable to tour since. Still confined to a wheelchair, Cox was able to make an appearance when the album cast played Carnegie Hall in June. Paris said Cox's condition when the tour gets under way will determine the act's degree of participation.

Paris confirmed that his company is also working on launching a series of all-day events for the summer that will feature, in addition to "O Brother" soundtrack performers, other well-known bluegrass and acoustic musicians. "We're not eliminating the 'O Brother' cast [from consideration]," Paris explained, "but we'd like to expand it much more."

• Alison Krauss
• Patty Loveless
• Ralph Stanley
• Emmylou Harris
• Norman Blake

Ralph Stanley
Photo: David Steele

Martina McBride and folk singer Arlo Guthrie have been added to the Farm Aid benefit concert on Sept. 29 at Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana. The bill also includes Dave Matthews and Farm Aid founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp. ...

Ralph Stanley and the Whites will perform songs from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" at 11:30 p.m. ET Monday (September 3). Stanley will sing "O Death" a cappella, and the Whites will perform the Carter Family classic "Keep on the Sunny Side." The 74-year-old Stanley just got his first CMA Award nomination, for the O Brother soundtrack. (MTVi's parent company, Viacom, also owns CBS.) ...

Reba McEntire, Billy Gilman, Sara Evans, Dwight Yoakam, Tammy Cochran, Mickey Gilley and the Oak Ridge Boys are scheduled to appear on the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraiser on Labor Day weekend. Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Charley Pride and Steve Wariner taped telethon segments at the Grand Ole Opry in recent weeks. The telethon begins at 9 p.m. ET Sunday (September 2) and runs through 6:30 p.m. ET Monday. ...

Billy Joe Shaver is resting at home in Waco, Texas, after undergoing angioplasty surgery Thursday (August 30) to remove blockages in two arteries. The singer/songwriter was scheduled to have quadruple-bypass heart surgery Friday to remove blockages in four arteries but opted for the less invasive operation. Doctors will determine later what should be done about the two remaining blockages. Shaver suffered a heart attack Saturday following a performance at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas. He may resume touring in two to four weeks. ...

Garth Brooks has scheduled a September 17 press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville to talk about his duet with George Jones, "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)," and his upcoming album. A Brooks spokesperson hinted the song will be delivered to country radio the same day. Brooks announced his retirement last year but promised one more record. The new track will appear on the album, his first collection of new studio recordings in four years (following 1997's Sevens). "Beer Run" also is slated to appear on Jones' upcoming CD, The Rock, now scheduled for October 2 release. …

Gail Davies says her labor of love — an album honoring the late Webb Pierce — is nearing completion and slotted for November 13 release. Profits will be split between the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Caught in the Webb: A Tribute to the Legendary Webb Pierce includes cuts by Dale Watson, Mandy Barnett, Charley Pride, Rosie Flores, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Robbie Fulks & Joy Lynn White, Allison Moorer, Matt King, Crystal Gayle, the Del McCoury Band, Lionel Cartwright, Guy Clark, BR549, Trent Summar & Chris Scruggs, Kevin Welch & Deborah Pierce, Billy Walker, Blue Highway and Pam Tillis. Pierce will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October. ...

Songwriter/performer Cecil Null, 74, died of cancer Sunday (August 26) in Bristol, Virginia. Null's most famous composition is "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know," a #1 hit in 1953 for the Davis Sisters. He was credited as the guiding force in uniting Chet Atkins and Merle Travis for their Grammy-winning 1974 album, The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show. Null wrote "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" in 1947. "It was turned down by nearly everybody in the business," he once said. Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette covered the song on their 1993 album, Honky Tonk Angels. ...

Billy Joe Shaver faces quadruple bypass surgery after suffering a heart attack following an August 25 performance in Gruene, Texas' Gruene Hall. According to a spokesperson for the singer-songwriter, Shaver was stricken backstage, felt better and returned home. On Monday, he was admitted to a Waco, Texas, hospital where he will undergo surgery Friday. His early-September concert dates have been canceled. Shaver's son, wife and mother have died within the past few years. …

With the four additional 2001 CMA Award nominations he received, Alan Jackson moves past Vince Gill in the career-nominations tally. Jackson now has 50, according to the CMA, while Gill, who received none this year, has 48. George Strait, with two nods this year, remains king with 66. Jackson has a long way to go to catch Gill in awards won, however. Gill rules that roost with 18 career honors, Strait follows with 14 and Jackson is well back in the pack with seven. …

"Annie Get Your Gun" — minus star Reba McEntire — has lost its bullets. The musical revival, which catapulted McEntire to Broadway stardom in her title role earlier this year, will close after its Saturday performance. Producers said they'd failed to find a suitable box-office draw for the title role. Crystal Bernard had filled in for the summer after McEntire left the show. Dolly Parton turned the part down, according to the New York Post. …

Merle Haggard's next album, Roots, Vol. 1, features his hero, guitarist Norm Stephens, who played on a number of Lefty Frizzell recordings including "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time" and "I Love You a Thousand Ways." Stephens has been retired from music for years, and Haggard recently discovered that they have long lived near each other in California. Haggard's pianist, Doug Colosio, noticed a classified ad Stephens placed in a local paper and called it to his boss' attention. After they reunited, they cut some songs. Recorded in Haggard's home, the album features Stephens with Haggard's band, the Strangers, romping through three new Haggard originals and songs by Frizzell, Hank Williams and Hank Thompson. Anti/Epitaph Records releases the LP November 9. ...

Lee Ann Womack has recorded a duet with Willie Nelson for his upcoming CD The Great Divide. They recorded the Bernie Taupin composition "Mendocino County Line." Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Rob Thomas and Kid Rock will also appear on the album, which was originally scheduled for a late September release, now moved to January. ...

Charley Pride, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill and Steve Wariner will be among country artists taking part in the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon on September 2 and 3. ...

A large crowd of music industry executives and artists crowded into the Country Music Hall of Fame's Ford Theater Wednesday for a preview of "Reba." The new TV sitcom, starring Reba McEntire, debuts September 14 on the WB TV network. At the party, MCA Nashville president Tony Brown said the company will release McEntire's Greatest Hits Volume III: I'm a Survivor on October 23. The title track is also her sitcom theme and is now charting country. The album also includes a remake of Kenny Rogers' 1977 hit "Sweet Music Man," produced by Alison Krauss and featuring members of Union Station, drummer Jim Keltner and Chris Thile of Nickel Creek. Among those attending McEntire gala were Barbara Mandrell and Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, as well as Martina McBride and newcomer Carolyn Dawn Johnson, both part of McEntire's support cast for the recent Girls' Night Out tour. McEntire donated seven costumes from her starring role in Broadway's "Annie Get Your Gun" to the Hall of Fame. The gesture, she said, tied together the worlds of Broadway and country music. The fringed leather outfit from the show's finale was on display during the party. "I want my fans to be able to see what I've gotten to do on Broadway by bringing a piece of it back to Nashville," McEntire said. "I'm bringing 'em home. This is the greatest place to display it, and I'm very proud to have some things here in the Hall of Fame". ...

Wynonna will marry her longtime security guard and road manager, D. R. Roach. Both have been married once before. Wynonna has two children, Elijah and Grace. Roach has one, Zachary. No date has been set. According to a news release announcing the couple's engagement, the proposal came on the second anniversary of their first date. Wynonna is at work on a new solo album, to be promoted by Universal Records New York. Plans are to release it in the first half of 2002. ...

George Strait plans to return to the biggest annual musical event in Texas, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The singer, who last played the rodeo four years ago, has agreed to headline the March 3, 2002 concert, which will be the last such performance in the Reliant Astrodome. Strait has also signed to play the first rodeo performance in the Astrodome's successor, the new Reliant Stadium, in 2003. The 2002 rodeo and concert series runs from February 12 to March 3. Country and pop artists perform daily. ...

Almost 18 months after it was announced, construction has yet to begin on a new Gilley's honky-tonk in Dallas. The new club is intended to be an upscale re-creation of the Pasadena, Texas, club that inspired the movie "Urban Cowboy." The new site, on 10 acres in downtown Dallas, is still awaiting city approval. Plans call for corporate suites, a large dance floor, several restaurants, two mechanical bulls, displays of country music memorabilia and a drive-in movie. The old Gilley's burned to the ground several years ago. ...

Trisha Yearwood will play Nashville's Ryman Auditorium October 14. The date was added recently to her 2001 tour, which began in June at the House of Blues in New Orleans and continues through October 21, when she plays Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Ryman has special significance for Yearwood. Aside from its country music connections, she was married onstage there, and in 1999, when the Grand Ole Opry returned to the Ryman, she was invited to become a member of the cast. ...

Singer/songwriter Bobby Bare and wife Jeannie will sell the Bobby Bare Trap, a shop in downtown Nashville specializing in stuffed animals and bear-related gifts. "Bobby's not retiring, slowing down some, but I am," said Jeannie Bare, who manages the shop. "I want to spend more time with my husband and children and my friends. I'll always love teddy bears." The Bares have had the Bare Trap since 1986. The store is home to "Big T," a 10-foot-wide, 10-foot-high creature purported to be the world's largest teddy bear. ...

"Red Desert Sky," the story of Australia's musical Chambers family, will be released October 5 by Allen & Unwin, Ltd. The family — father Bill, mother Diane, daughter Kasey and son Nash — performed as the Dead Ringer Band. The band's U.S. manager, John Lomax III, who now manages Kasey as a solo act, wrote the book. Kasey Chambers has recently been in the U.S. to promote her award-winning album, The Captain, which made its debut in 1999. In October, Warner Bros. Records will release her second solo album, Barricades & Brickwalls, in the U.S. Nash Chambers produced both projects. "Red Desert Sky" is not being published in the U.S. but will be available through Allen & Unwin's Web site and from Amazon.com. ...

John Carter Cash, son of June Carter and Johnny Cash, has produced two new tracks for an album by the San Diego alternative country outfit known as The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash. Led by Mark Stuart, the group recorded the tracks at the Cash Cabin studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, north of Nashville. "Nowhere Town" and "Spanish Eyes" will appear on a re-release of the group's 2000 release, Walk Alone. The younger Cash met the band in March at Nashville's Exit/In. His father, country's famed Man in Black, has given the group permission to use his name. "My father has always been open-minded, and he chose the right stars to use his name," said John Carter Cash in a statement. "The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash are really good guys." The band appears Tuesday (August 21) in Bonner Springs, Kansas, and Wednesday (August 22) in Maryland Heights, Missouri, opening for Tim McGraw. Walk Alone will be released September 25. ...

Marking one his first public appearances after jail time and drug rehabilitation, Steve Earle appeared at Nashville's Bluebird Café in September 1995 to swap stories, jokes and tunes with his songwriting mentors Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. Sixteen songs from the show will be released on October 9 by Koch Progressive under the title Together at the Bluebird Café. Earle's songs include "My Old Friend the Blues" and "Copperhead Road"; Van Zandt's selections include "Tecumseh Valley" and "Pancho and Lefty"; and Clark's numbers include "Dublin Blues" and "Randall Knife." Making a surprise appearance, Emmylou Harris joined in for group sing-alongs. Van Zandt, a hard-living troubadour, died of a heart attack at age 52, a little more than a year after the show. ...

Trick Pony have two nominations for Billboard Music Video Awards, and they may not be too happy about it. The new trio will compete against themselves, as both their nods are in the Best Country New Artist Clip of the Year category. Others in that division are Cyndi Thomson, Clark Family Experience and Tammy Cochran. Nominated in the Best Country Clip of the Year category are Steve Earle, the Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, and Dwight Yoakam. Cochran and Billy Gilman are nominated in contemporary Christian categories. The awards will be presented November 2 in Beverly Hills, California. ...

Pieces supposedly from the wreckage of Patsy Cline's death plane will be offered for sale on the eBay auction site. Two brothers from Jackson, Tennessee, own the pieces, ostensibly from the wreckage of Cline's Piper Comanche, which crashed March 5, 1963, killing her and three others. Scott and Eric Mills drove the wreckage in their pickup truck to Nashville on Wednesday to show to curators at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Curator Mark Medley said the Hall of Fame will not bid on the pieces, to be offered on eBay beginning August 31 with a floor price of $100,000, but would ask any potential buyers to loan them to the Hall, which already has parts of the plane in its archives. The Mills brothers say they bought the wreckage from a man who collected it shortly after the plane crash. ...

Longtime Wilco member Jay Bennett has left the group, a spokesperson for the band told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Creative differences" were cited as the reason for his split. Shortly before the news of Bennett's departure, Wilco separated from their longtime record label, Reprise, also over creative differences. In an earlier interview, bandleader Jeff Tweedy had said that Bennett did not play a big part in the band's latest LP, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which Reprise refused to issue in its present state. Wilco begin a fall tour in September as a quartet, with Tweedy joined by bassist John Stirrat, new drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach. ...

A PBS special featuring Toby Keith and Larry Gatlin will air at 8 p.m. ET on September 6. "In Performance at the White House: The President's Own" pays tribute to the United States Marine Band on the occasion of the band's 200th anniversary of performances at the White House. The performance was taped July 30 before President and Mrs. Bush in the East Room of the White House. Gatlin co-hosts the program with actor Gerald McRaney. Keith sings "Oh! Susanna" and "Heart to Heart." Nell Carter performs "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Coming to America." Gatlin's selections include "God Bless America," "This Land Is Your Land" and "Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)." Keith, Carter and Gatlin join the Marine Band for a finale performance of "America the Beautiful." ...

Chicago roots rock band Wilco, favorites with alternative country fans, have split with Reprise Records after three studio albums, founding member Jeff Tweedy said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. Reprise asked Wilco to make changes to their recently completed album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and the band refused. Wilco retain rights to the album and are looking for another label to release it. Tweedy was a member of the influential early '90s alt-country group Uncle Tupelo. Wilco will begin a fall tour September 21 at the Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas. ...

Following in the footsteps of his hero, Johnny Cash, Mark Collie will record a live album in a maximum-security prison. With producer Tony Brown at the helm, Collie will record at the Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex in East Tennessee in October. Collie is writing new songs for the project, tentatively set for release next spring by MCA. Collie recorded for MCA in the early '90s before moving to Giant. His last album of original material appeared in 1995. Cash, whom Collie has portrayed in an independent film, recorded landmark albums at Folsom and San Quentin prisons in California in the late '60s. Collie wraps up his national tour with Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney on Aug. 25 in Nashville. "Private Radio," a song Collie co-wrote with actor/director Billy Bob Thornton, is the title track for Thornton's upcoming debut album, in stores September 25. ...

Lonestar will undertake a fall tour of more than 30 cities, with help from new country stars Jamie O'Neal and Blake Shelton. No dates or cities have been announced, but a publicist for the group says the tour will run from October through December. O'Neal will appear on all dates, and Shelton will join the tour in November. Lonestar's latest album, I'm Already There, debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. The group's new single is "With Me."…

The Dixie Chicks and Emmylou Harris have agreed to perform at an all-star concert to benefit a breast cancer awareness campaign. The Women Rock! Girls & Guitars concert will be taped at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theatre on October 18 for airing on the Lifetime channel on October 26. Also performing will be India.Arie, Pat Benatar, Mary J. Blige, Nashville songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman, Nelly Furtado and Shea Seger. Allison Janney of "The West Wing" will host. Although the Dixie Chicks are taking a year off from performing and recording, they have also agreed to play a pediatric AIDS benefit in Austin, Texas, in September. …

The new album from Hank Williams Jr., The Almeira Club & Other Selected Venues, has been delayed. Originally scheduled for release September 11, the album has been pushed back to January 8, according to Williams' publicist. The roots-oriented project was recorded in locales of personal and historic significance for Hank Jr. and his late father and mother, Hank and Audrey Williams. Meanwhile, Hank Jr. is at work in the studio, recording his "Monday Night Football" drop-ins for the upcoming season. …

After two albums on the Sony-owned Lucky Dog label, Bruce Robison will release his next CD himself. Titled Country Sunshine, the set is due September 4 on the singer's Boar's Nest Records. Lee Ann Womack recorded Robison's "Lonely Too" on I Hope You Dance. Tim McGraw's current single, "Angry All the Time," comes from Robison. Songs on Robison's new album include compositions co-written by Robison with Allison Moorer, Martie Seidel of the Dixie Chicks and Robison's wife, Kelly Willis. Tracks include "What Would Willie Do?" and "Friendless Marriage" (a Willis collaboration). Robison recorded the album at Jack Clement's Nashville studio. …

The Dixie Chicks will interrupt their yearlong vacation from performing, playing a concert in Austin, Texas, on September 15. The invitation-only Texas Twilight Gala at the Austin Music Hall is a benefit for the Pediatric AIDS League of Texas and other pediatric AIDS programs in the state. The Chicks will perform with the Austin Symphony — their first performance with a full orchestra. Shawn Colvin and Terri Hendrix will also perform. The benefit came about after Chick Natalie Maines gave birth to her first child, and requested that donations be made to pediatric AIDS groups in lieu of baby gifts. ...

Delbert McClinton will be inducted into the Buddy Holly Walk of Fame on August 29 in Lubbock, Texas. McClinton is a Lubbock native, as was Holly. The Buddy Holly Walk of Fame honors influential West Texas natives with a plaque at the base of the city's Buddy Holly statue. At 8 p.m. that day, McClinton will perform at the induction concert at Lubbock's Civic Center Theater. McClinton also will join fellow songwriters Terry Allen, Marshall Crenshaw, Jo Carol Pierce and the Flatlanders' Joe Ely, Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock on a panel at the Buddy Holly Symposium in Lubbock on September 6. ...

Emmylou Harris has lined up a busy fall season of activist concerts. She'll perform at a series of dates to benefit the anti-landmine movement, beginning with the September 20 Acoustic Concert for a Landmine Free World at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. It will also feature Steve Earle, John Prine, Nanci Griffith and Bruce Cockburn. Other concerts will be announced this fall for Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York. Harris will also join such artists as Dave Matthews and Pearl Jam for Groundwork 2001, a series of concerts in Seattle. The shows, taking place October 14-22, will benefit the U.N.'s Food and Agricultural Organization ...

Vince Gill, Kenny Chesney, Tammy Cochran and SheDaisy will be part of the first annual All Star Music Bash on October 1 at Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Like the Sizzlin' Country event in Los Angeles every May, the All Star Music Bash will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Also in the early lineup are Kenny Loggins, Michael W. Smith and Richard Marx. Cochran's current single, "Angels in Waiting," was inspired by her late brothers, whose lives were claimed by cystic fibrosis. ...

In mid-September, Trisha Yearwood will launch Proctor & Gamble's "Bring Out the Beautiful You" campaign, which benefits the Society for Women's Health Research, for which Yearwood is spokesperson. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report

• Martina McBride
• Ralph Stanley