Presidential hopeful George W. Bush's official campaign song will be "We the People" from Billy Ray Cyrus, who is joined by Waylon Jennings, John Anderson, Montgomery Gentry, Yankee Grey and Danni Leigh on the recording. The song was played as Bush was introduced before his acceptance speech Aug. 3 at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. The cut will be released on Cyrus' album Southern Rain (Monument), due Oct. 17. ...

Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, and Trisha Yearwood are among those scheduled to perform at the Grand Ole Opry's 75th anniversary celebration set for Oct. 14 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The birthday bash will air live on WSM radio, and TNN will carry the 7–8 p.m. CDT segment. Other artists set to appear include Loretta Lynn, Travis Tritt and Vince Gill, whose current single, "Feels Like Love" (RealAudio excerpt), is at #27 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. ...

Emmylou Harris is featured on a current track for the contemporary Christian-pop act Sixpence None the Richer titled "The Ground You Shook." The song is a cut from the concept compilation album Roaring Lambs (Squint). ...

In another country and pop connection, Keith Urban co-wrote his upcoming single "But for the Grace Of God" with Go-Go's members Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin. ... One of Nashville's unique music venues closed this week. Honky Tonk Hardware in Hillsboro Village succumbed to rising rents. A hardware store by day and a live music venue by night, the shop was a favorite for aspiring songwriters. Store owners hope to reopen elsewhere. ...

Seventeen-year-old country singer Alecia Elliott has joined with Peter Engel Productions to star in her own T-NBC Saturday morning series. The pilot for "Alecia" has already been filmed and is due to debut sometime in summer or fall 2001. ...

In other TV news, Dominic Chianese, who plays Uncle Junior on "The Sopranos" HBO series, is recording his debut album in Nashville. The unnamed project features Chianese's take on everything from Bruce Springsteen and Italian love songs to his own country-pop material and "Amazing Grace." Plans for release are pending. ...

The TNN special "Chet Atkins: A Life In Music" chronicles the legendary guitarist — the most recorded solo instrumentalist in history — who played on such classics as Hank Williams' "Jambalaya" (RealAudio excerpt). In addition to Chet Atkins' interviews and memorabilia, friends Eddy Arnold, Charley Pride, Waylon Jennings, Mark Knopfler, Vince Gill, Suzy Bogguss and June Carter Cash will share stories. Interviews with Don Everly, Peter Frampton, George Benson, Harlan Howard, Amy Grant and others also will be included in the show due to air at 8 p.m. EDT on Sept. 5. ...

Kenny Rogers' album There You Go Again, which includes his current single "He Will, She Knows," is due Oct. 3 on Dreamcatcher. ... Alt-country pioneer Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers has scheduled two rare solo appearances in Nashville. He'll perform at the Tower Records on West End on Sept. 2 and will be on the Western Beat Roots Revival show at the Exit/In on Aug. 29, the day his acoustic solo album A Pocketful of Soul will be released. Free homemade ice cream will be served to those arriving early for the Tower Records show, set for 3 p.m. ...

Jimmie Dale Gilmore leads a host of country artists at the 30th annual Bumbershoot Festival to be held Sept. 1–4 in Seattle. Bad Livers, Robbie Fulks and Freakwater are set to perform, as well as Wylie and the Wild West, Sally Timms and Southern Culture on the Skids. Iris DeMent, Joan Osborne, Ani DiFranco, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals and Tracy Chapman are also among the artists slated for the three-day fest. ...

Hank Williams III will perform at this year's sold-out Reading Festival in Reading, England (Aug. 25–27). More than 50 acts will appear, including rapper Eminem, Oasis and rap-rockers Limp Bizkit. In other Williams tour news, the punk-country artist opens German dates for Beck at the Bizarre Festival in Weeze (Aug. 18), the Highfield Festival in Erfurt (Aug. 19) and the Trabrenbahn Festival in Hamburg (Aug. 20). Williams' solo British dates include the Leeds Festival in Leeds (Aug. 26–28) plus shows in Bristol (Aug.22), London (Aug. 23) and Manchester (Aug. 24). ...

Texas Tornado member and five-time Grammy winner Flaco Jimenez, whose hits include "Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio" (RealAudio excerpt), releases the solo album Sleepytown on Aug. 29 with special guests Buck Owens, Lee Roy Parnell and Dwight Yoakam. ...

LeAnn Rimes was on hand for the "Coyote Ugly" New York premiere Monday night, jamming with the film's stars on a few tunes. Rimes, who provides the singing voice for Piper Perabo in the movie, also makes an on-screen cameo appearance. ... Andy Griggs, whose new single "Waitin' on Sundown" is about domestic violence, has been asked by the Family Violence Prevention Fund to record a public service announcement that will be distributed by RCA Records to country radio stations around the nation. Griggs said, "We haven't found a cure for cancer or AIDS, but we do have a cure for domestic violence. It's simply don't do it."...

Former Capitol Records Nashville head Pat Quigley has taken a senior marketing post at tech start-up DataPlay. ... Ryko Distribution has struck an exclusive deal with Texas Music Group, whose subsidiaries include Lone Star Records (launched by former Watermelon exec Heinz Geissler), Antone's Records and Tres Mojitos Records. ...

Marty Stuart and his uncle were slightly injured in a car accident Friday (July 28) near his hometown of Philadelphia, Miss. Neither was hospitalized. The car that struck their vehicle from behind was consumed by flames. ... Travis Tritt, folk hero Arlo Guthrie, Shannon Curfman, the North Mississippi Allstars and Jimmy Sturr have been added to the lineup for the 15th annual Farm Aid benefit concert scheduled for Bristow, Va., on Sept. 17. Tickets go on sale Friday (Aug. 4). ...

Shania Twain is featured on this week's VH-1's "100 Greatest Rock & Roll Moments on TV." Twain comes in at #98 for her participation in the 1998 show "Divas Live" with Aretha Franklin, Carole King, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan and Mariah Carey. The weeklong special runs five hours each night, counting down to the top moments on Friday (Aug. 3). In other VH-1 news, Faith Hill is among the nominees for Most Fashionable Female Artist on the VH-1/Vogue Fashion Awards. (Sonicnet.com's parent company, Viacom, also owns VH1.) ...

President and CEO Terry London has resigned after 22 years with Gaylord Entertainment Co. Chairman E.K. Gaylord II will serve as the interim head of the company, which owns the Grand Ole Opry and Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, among other interests. ... Lorrie Morgan is scheduled to sing the national anthem Thursday (Aug. 3) at the Republican National Convention. Lee Greenwood also is due to perform at the event on Wednesday at 10 p.m. EDT. Brooks & Dunn are scheduled to sing "Hard Workin' Man" on Thursday at about 10 p.m. EDT, just before George W. Bush's acceptance speech for the presidential nomination. ... Soulful singer Shelby Lynne and country-rockers the Jayhawks have nabbed the opening slots for Matchbox Twenty's tour. The Jayhawks will kick off the outing with the noted rock-pop group Sept. 12 in New Orleans and continue through the Oct. 2 show in South Bend, Ind. With more Matchbox Twenty dates to be confirmed, Lynne is slated to open dates from Oct. 5 in Champaign, Ill., through Oct. 21 in Las Vegas. ...

Kenny Rogers' She Rides Wild Horses, with such hits as "The Greatest" and "Buy Me a Rose" (RealAudio excerpt), has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America — the first time for any country independent-label album. Rogers' single "He Will, She Knows" is at #46 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. ... Mexican-American roots ensemble Los Super Seven, which includes notable artists and musicians as Joe Ely, Freddy Fender, Flaco Jimenez, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas from Los Lobos, Rick Trevino and Ruben Ramos, are in the studio. Their first collaborative album Los Super Seven, which featured Doug Sahm on guest vocals, won a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Music Performance. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report