Lee Ann Womack
Photo: MCA Nashville

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. ...

Reba McEntire and Billy Gilman sing on Michael Jackson's new all-star recording, "What More Can I Give." Proceeds from the single will aid survivors and families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. McEntire and Gilman recently recorded their parts in Los Angeles. Jackson was originally inspired to write "What More Can I Give" in 1999 after a meeting with Nelson Mandela. No release date has been set for the single, and the tune will not appear on Jackson's upcoming album. ...

The first single from Garth Brooks' upcoming album will be "Wrapped Up in You," not the George Jones duet "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)," as originally planned. Brooks explained his decision in a statement: "I think 'Beer Run' would have been the perfect first single from this album if it were not for the tragic events of September 11, but if we are to come with music now, 'Wrapped Up in You' is one of the best-feeling songs I've ever had the honor of recording." Brooks will launch the single October 9 — the day it goes to radio — during a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, where he will also discuss plans for his next album. "Beer Run" will be available Tuesday on Jones' The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001. ...

Merle Haggard will perform at the Christian Country Music Awards November 1 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. John Berry and Crystal Gayle will host and perform and Tammy Cochran, Jeff Carson and Stella Parton will sing. The awards show is syndicated to various cable outlets. ...

Martina McBride has pledged to donate $50,000 from proceeds of her new Greatest Hits album to the American Red Cross. McBride has taken an active role in Nashville activities to benefit victims of the terrorists since September 11. ...

Radney Foster has announced that through the end of the year he intends to give the American Red Cross a portion of the money he earns from CD and merchandise sales. Foster first linked with the Red Cross in 1999, when floods devastated his native Del Rio, Texas. "Like the rest of Americans," Foster said, "I want to do whatever I can to help." ...

Garth Brooks won't put out "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)," his duet with George Jones, as a single — at least not for a while. Brooks canceled a press conference that had been scheduled for Monday to tout the release of the recording. "We're still trying to decide when it's appropriate to move ahead, and these decisions take time," Brooks said in a statement. "I know we've been told to pick up and go on as normal, but music has always been a response to the times, and I just can't find it in my heart to feel that 'Beer Run' is appropriate for right now." "Beer Run" is likely to come out first on October 2, as a track on Jones' new CD, The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001 ...

The Billy Gilman/Jessica Andrews tour has been extended. Added dates begin Friday with an appearance at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque. The teenage duo will tour together through an October 6 date at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas ...

Brenda Lee, the late Gram Parsons and Lynyrd Skynyrd are on the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot. Lee is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame; Parsons influenced a generation of country artists including Emmylou Harris; and Travis Tritt, Alabama and Hank Williams Jr. were among country artists who paid tribute to Skynyrd on the 1994 album Skynyrd Frynds ...

Dolly Parton says entertainers need to stay positive during trying times. "I think everybody is dealing with this tragedy in their own kind of way, based on what they feel and what their own fears and insecurities are," she told the Knoxville News-Sentinel. "I'm a very patriotic person, but I also know that when things are at their worst that I need to be at my best." The terrorist attacks have stimulated Parton's creative side, she said. "I see how everybody deals with it, and I am able to write about their emotions. It allows me a way to express [sorrow], not just for myself, but for the people who can't put [their emotions] into words. It's very strange and deep places where I am going."

Alison Krauss has rescheduled her New Favorite tour with Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas. The tour was originally scheduled to kick off in Cincinnati on September 12 but was postponed after the attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. It will now begin September 28 at the Lucas Theatre in Savannah, Georgia, and will continue through November 11 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania ...

Wynonna Judd got a standing ovation for her emotional rendition of "How Great Thou Art" at the Grand Ole Opry Saturday evening. It marked her debut on the Opry. After the show, Judd suggested that her recent engagement to bodyguard D.R. Roach could last more than two years. "I'm thinking about around August or September of 2003," she predicted as a wedding date. " 'Course, I may just say that just to say it. We may get married next week. Who knows?" ...

Dolly Parton plans a $10 million expansion to her Dollywood theme park in east Tennessee. New features will include an interactive museum of her life. She also plans a $25 million Dixie Stampede dinner theater in Orlando, Florida ...

— sonicnet.com staff report

• Lee Ann Womack

Lee Ann Womack
Photo: Marina Chavez

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. ...

Carolyn Dawn Johnson will make her Grand Ole Opry debut on Friday night and will perform again twice on Saturday. ...

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. ...

Jo Dee Messina, SheDaisy, the Wilkinsons, Kitty Wells and the Jordanaires are on a long list of artists confirmed for the Row for the Red Cross, a benefit concert Wednesday (October 3) in Nashville. Sherrie Austin, Johnnie Wright, Daryle Singletary, Jeff Carson, Ray Stevens, Leslie Satcher and Shenandoah also are slated to perform. Funds raised will go toward American Red Cross relief efforts. The benefit begins at 5 p.m. at the Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse parking lot on 16th Avenue South. ...

Keith Urban will be in his native Australia Wednesday (October 3) to receive the Australian Recording Industry Association's Outstanding Achievement Award. Urban will receive the award during the ARIA's annual awards show at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. The honor recognizes extraordinary achievement by an Australian artist overseas or at home. ...

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. ...

Reba McEntire and Billy Gilman sing on Michael Jackson's new all-star recording, "What More Can I Give." Proceeds from the single will aid survivors and families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. McEntire and Gilman recently recorded their parts in Los Angeles. Jackson was originally inspired to write "What More Can I Give" in 1999 after a meeting with Nelson Mandela. No release date has been set for the single, and the tune will not appear on Jackson's upcoming album. ...

The first single from Garth Brooks' upcoming album will be "Wrapped Up in You," not the George Jones duet "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)," as originally planned. Brooks explained his decision in a statement: "I think 'Beer Run' would have been the perfect first single from this album if it were not for the tragic events of September 11, but if we are to come with music now, 'Wrapped Up in You' is one of the best-feeling songs I've ever had the honor of recording." Brooks will launch the single October 9 — the day it goes to radio — during a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, where he will also discuss plans for his next album. "Beer Run" will be available Tuesday on Jones' The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001. ...

Merle Haggard will perform at the Christian Country Music Awards November 1 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. John Berry and Crystal Gayle will host and perform and Tammy Cochran, Jeff Carson and Stella Parton will sing. The awards show is syndicated to various cable outlets. ...

Martina McBride has pledged to donate $50,000 from proceeds of her new Greatest Hits album to the American Red Cross. McBride has taken an active role in Nashville activities to benefit victims of the terrorists since September 11. ...

Radney Foster has announced that through the end of the year he intends to give the American Red Cross a portion of the money he earns from CD and merchandise sales. Foster first linked with the Red Cross in 1999, when floods devastated his native Del Rio, Texas. "Like the rest of Americans," Foster said, "I want to do whatever I can to help." ...

Garth Brooks won't put out "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)," his duet with George Jones, as a single — at least not for a while. Brooks canceled a press conference that had been scheduled for Monday to tout the release of the recording. "We're still trying to decide when it's appropriate to move ahead, and these decisions take time," Brooks said in a statement. "I know we've been told to pick up and go on as normal, but music has always been a response to the times, and I just can't find it in my heart to feel that 'Beer Run' is appropriate for right now." "Beer Run" is likely to come out first on October 2, as a track on Jones' new CD, The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001 ...

The Billy Gilman/Jessica Andrews tour has been extended. Added dates begin Friday with an appearance at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque. The teenage duo will tour together through an October 6 date at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas ...

Brenda Lee, the late Gram Parsons and Lynyrd Skynyrd are on the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot. Lee is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame; Parsons influenced a generation of country artists including Emmylou Harris; and Travis Tritt, Alabama and Hank Williams Jr. were among country artists who paid tribute to Skynyrd on the 1994 album Skynyrd Frynds ...

Dolly Parton says entertainers need to stay positive during trying times. "I think everybody is dealing with this tragedy in their own kind of way, based on what they feel and what their own fears and insecurities are," she told the Knoxville News-Sentinel. "I'm a very patriotic person, but I also know that when things are at their worst that I need to be at my best." The terrorist attacks have stimulated Parton's creative side, she said. "I see how everybody deals with it, and I am able to write about their emotions. It allows me a way to express [sorrow], not just for myself, but for the people who can't put [their emotions] into words. It's very strange and deep places where I am going."

Alison Krauss has rescheduled her New Favorite tour with Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas. The tour was originally scheduled to kick off in Cincinnati on September 12 but was postponed after the attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. It will now begin September 28 at the Lucas Theatre in Savannah, Georgia, and will continue through November 11 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania ...

Wynonna Judd got a standing ovation for her emotional rendition of "How Great Thou Art" at the Grand Ole Opry Saturday evening. It marked her debut on the Opry. After the show, Judd suggested that her recent engagement to bodyguard D.R. Roach could last more than two years. "I'm thinking about around August or September of 2003," she predicted as a wedding date. " 'Course, I may just say that just to say it. We may get married next week. Who knows?" ...

Dolly Parton plans a $10 million expansion to her Dollywood theme park in east Tennessee. New features will include an interactive museum of her life. She also plans a $25 million Dixie Stampede dinner theater in Orlando, Florida ...

Lonestar will begin their I'm Already There tour October 6 in Salisbury, Maryland's Wicomico County Civic Center. The group will visit more than 30 cities before finishing in December. Jamie O'Neal will open a number of dates in October and November; Blake Shelton takes over opening duties in December. Announced dates include October 7 at Asheville, North Carolina's Ingles Food Festival; October 10 at Reading, Pennsylvania's Sovereign Center for Performing Arts; October 11 at Poughkeepsie, New York's Mid-Hudson Civic Center; October 12 at Buffalo, New York's Shea's Performing Arts Center; October 18 at Albany, New York's Palace Theater; October 19 at Norfolk, Virginia's Naval Base; October 20 at Jacksonville, North Carolina's New River Amphitheatre; and October 25 at Rama, Ontario's Casino Rama. …

Alan Jackson has been named opening-day headliner at the Texas Stampede rodeo at Dallas' American Airlines Center. Headliners include Jackson (October 25), Robert Earl Keen and Willie Nelson (October 26), Toby Keith and Sara Evans (October 27 matinee), Phil Vassar and Martina McBride (October 27 evening) and Clay Walker and Lee Ann Womack (October 28). … Connie Smith has missed a show for the first time in 27 years. The Grand Ole Opry member canceled three performances this month because her doctor directed her to rest her voice for three weeks. Smith began her recording and touring career in 1964. …

Mavericks lead singer Raul Malo has scheduled October 23 for the release of his first solo album. Today will include songs in both English and Spanish and will feature a duet with Shelby Lynne, "It Takes Two to Tango" ...

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. ...

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. …

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. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report

• Lee Ann Womack