Stacy's E-mail

Stacy's Archives dating from before October 2006

British buddy TONY BYWORTH is first with the news that the United States’ Ambassador to the United Kingdom, ROBERT H. TUTTLE and the ambassador’s wife, MARIA hosted a reception September 25th, at Winfield House, the couple’s London residency, honoring country music’s own (good will) ambassador, George Hamilton IV.

Tony writes that the event, in recognition of George IV’s “50th anniversary as an entertainer” as well as Hamilton’s “considerable work in bringing country music to international audiences, including ground breaking work in Russia and other Eastern countries in the 1970s.

The 2006 (September 25th- October 1st) World of Bluegrass Business Conference is proving once again to be a whirlwind week of seminars, showcases and exhibits, with registrants trying to take it all in while making time to attend the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards Show and, of course, the always-popular IBMA Fanfest. (IBMA sponsors spend over $150,000 each year to make the conference possible.)

IBMA Executive Director DAN HAYES kicked off the conference with an orientation meeting at which he advised those gathered- half of whom were first-time registrants- everything from how to maximize their time to why the IBMA Awards have moved from the Ryman Auditorium (where they were held last year following the organization’s relocation from Kentucky to Tennessee) to the Grand Ole Opry House.

Dan indicates that moving the awards show not only provides opportunity for more bluegrass enthusiasts to attend the show, due to increased seating capacity, the Opry House’s state-of-art production facility has paved the way for the IBMA to enter into serious discussion with TV production companies about televising the IBMA Awards.

To date, the IBMA has rejected offers that have come its way because what have otherwise been the most attractive offers have come with strings attached, notably a demand to surrender the creative control that would leave IBMA unable to provide a reasonable guarantee of the quality of presentation. (Hayes says that bringing a quality presentation of the IBMA Awards show to national television could cost up to $500,000, so it is not an agreement that IBMA wants to enter into without careful consideration.)

Dan also told registrants that proceeds for the week are split between IBMA and its Bluegrass Trust. The latter is a fund that provides for the emergency needs of those in the bluegrass industry that fall on hard times, with $75,000 having been paid out to date among this wonderful group of folks dedicated to helping each other.

While it won’t be possible for me to mention all of the (concurrent) seminars I’ve been popping in and out of, I will tell you that CRAIG HAVIGHURST and I led the media contingent of those on hand to check out what IBMA Broadcaster of the Year CINDY BAUCOM (Premiere Radio Networks and John Boy and Billy) and Sirius radio host NED LUBERECKI could tell us about Cutting-Edge Bluegrass Broadcasting.

It turned out to be quite a bit, particularly since I have taken a leave of absence from my broadcasting career (though I may be behind the mic again as early as next year) and had not kept up with Digital Millennium Copyright Act. (Many broadcasters, including at least one in the room, are unaware of the FCC decree and are therefore unknowingly violating a provision that ties the hands of music programmers in a manner that doesn’t serve the best interests of a station’s listeners. The FCC, of course, exists, in theory, to uphold the rights of the listening public.)

The discussion also included a show-and-tell of the latest in radio technology, specifically the Roland R1 and R-09 portable Wave/MP3 recorders. It was all so interesting I couldn’t break away to check out other afternoon discussions I was missing.

While looking forward to checking out the mentor sessions, Gig Fairs and Health Fair, I also enjoyed the conference’s Keynote Address (by JERRY DOUGLAS) and the dinner and show that followed where I met, among others, JIM ROE (no kin to TOMMY nor DAVE) of Nashville’s Roe Entertainment and two lovely ladies (one from Alabama and another from Mississippi, who have promised me business cards so that I may properly identify them. The latter was kind enough to invite me to Vicksburg for CARL JACKSON’s October 13th induction into the Mississippi Country Music Hall of Fame.

Thanks to AMY LEWIS for the invitation to join EARL SCRUGGS at the Ryman Auditorium September 29th at a ceremony unveiling the Birthplace of Bluegrass Tennessee Historical Marker.

One of the strangest books I’ve read lately is KAREN SCHOEMER’s Great Pretenders: My Strange Love Affair With 50s Pop Music.

It’s interesting to see the take someone who is more than a decade my junior has on the music of my youth- and that she even grew to love some of the songs and artists that male pop critics have dismissed as pop pap. (As always, I’m keeping my language clean.)

It’s also wonderful that some of these folks who have been forgotten by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a legion of male rock critics are being given their due, albeit in an often error-prone book. (Check the reviews for specifics.)

ALANNA NASH wrote a wonderful blurb for Schoemer’s book, despite the fact that Alanna, COLONEL TOM PARKER’s biographer, disagrees with a claim within the pages of Karen’s book, courtesy of TOMMY SANDS, that Tommy, one of Parker’s management clients, introduced Parker to ELVIS PRESLEY while the colonel was managing “Eddie Arnold.” (SIC)

Sands, at first glance, appears more country-music outsider than insider when he refers to HANK WILLIAMS as “my all-time country-and-western idol,” but the Chicago-born former teen idol redeems himself with his tale of taking a bus to Houston where “the number-one disk jockey was, a guy named BIFF COLLIE. I went to his station, and he put me on the radio the next day.”

Sands notes that my late mentor also produced shows in the Houston area and that Biff graciously put Tommy on shows starring GEORGE JONES, SLIM WHITMAN, KITTY WELLS, and JOHNNY & JACK and the TENNESSEE MOUNTAIN BOYS.

Thanks to Gibson Showcase and the DEL McCOURY Band for the invitation to the “McCoury Family Picking Party” which will be held directly following the September 28th International Bluegrass Music Association Awards Show.

Thanks also to NATALIE MOORE for the invitation to see The ELMS’ 8 p.m. performance September 28th at the Exit In

Are vintage fretted guitars a better investment than the stock market? According to GEORGE GRUHN, in 1996, a Les Paul 1959 electric guitar with a sunburst finish sold for $56,000. Today’s it’s worth $150,000.

Thanks to CLIFF GERKEN and to NORMA MORRIS for sending me a copy of CHRISTIE LYNN’s new Gusto Records CD, Christie Lynn Sings Country·Gospel·Bluegrass . The second and third song on Christie’s CD feature Lynn accompanied by her mentor, PORTER WAGONER, DOLLY PARTON and RALPH STANLEY.

Thanks also to KIRT WEBSTER for sending me a copy of Cracker Barrel Presents Songs of the Year. While not a “concept album” in the traditional sense, the 12-sided CD is an interesting compilation of previous songs of the year, as determined by the Country Music Association, NARAS (Grammy) and Academy of Country Music organizations and each music association’s respective annual awards.

The results are top artists (TRACE ADKINS, JO DEE MESSINA and 14 additional artists) performing songs associated with other hitmakers (Sunday Morning Coming Down and When I Call Your Name).

Cracker Barrel collaborated with Vector Management, gaining the cooperation of all involved by agreeing, before the first CD is sold, to donate $125,000 of the anticipated profit to the Country Music Foundation.

From the Nashville police blotter: DALLAS DAVIDSON, writer of Kiss My Country Ass and co-writer of Honky-Tonk Badonkadonk (with JAMEY JOHNSON and RANDY HOUSER), was charged with DUI and resisting arrest September 19th following a West End Avenue area traffic stop.

Beware of The Tennessean. Not only does the newspaper’s sales force continue to employ “bait and switch” tactics to sell its product (a “bargain” price is quoted, leaving the impression that the offer is independent of associated gift card giveaways and, once one agrees to subscribe, the price suddenly increases to include the value of the gift cards), factual corrections are similarly fudged. When BARBARA MANDRELL’s father was identified as “Herbie” in the morning daily’s September 19th edition, I e-mailed Reader Editor JOHN GIBSON advising that Barbara’s father’s name is IRBY. To his credit, John responded immediately thanking me for the correction and assuring me a correction would be made.

 The next-day correction read that Irby’s “name was ` spelled.”

Right…

CHRIS CAGLE is appealing Davidson County Chancery Court Judge CAROL McCOY’s order to pay Cagle’s former manager and publisher, MARK HYBNER $737,203 in unpaid commissions.

It’s easy to see why Chris is appealing the Order of a chancellor whom at least one attorney, who has appeared before McCoy, describes as being far from the “sharpest knife in the drawer.” For while Cagle is now being managed by DOC McGHEE, under the terms of the onerous Order, Cagle is unable to free himself from many of the terms of a 1999 contract with Hybner; a contract Chris claims he signed under duress.

And so it is that singer/songwriter Cagle owes Hybner 76.52 songs (that .52 of a song must really be something!), copies of Chris’ future income statements, etc. until the contract ends.

On the bright side, Cagle doesn’t have a love child to support…

Attention Publicists: I know you’re upset when I don’t use your stuff. I am too. (I used to be a publicist, so I know how hard you work and how much you want to see what you’ve written in print.)

I’d rather not hit the delete button when I receive your missives. I use your competitors’ news and not yours because your competitors read and abide by the answers to the questions on my FAQs page (especially, FAQ #11).

From the e-mailbag, MARC KRUSKOL advises that J.D. SOUTHER will be presenting the Gibson New Musician Award at the htired annual Hatchfest, October 3-8th in Bozeman, Montana. “This unique six-day audiovisual arts festival, covering film, music, fine art, design, fashion, photography, dance, architecture and writing, is a showcase for young artists and experienced professionals, and provides both competition and mentorship networks. Hundreds of art and film schools from across the globe are invited to compete.”

Marc describes the festival’s mission as an effort “to provide mentorship, education, inspiration and recognition to the next generation of creative innovators.

”HATCH 2006 unveils the INNOVATOR’S LOUNGE, showcasing graphic design and motion graphic talents from across the country. The competition criterion is simple: using his or her own innovative techniques, tell the story of an innovative hero, company, or product through the evolution from non-existence to current status. Only ten installations from print and ten from motion graphics will be chosen, and the exposure could lead to possible job opportunities with one of the ten well-respected jury members.

”Fine art and photography exhibits will be displayed throughout downtown Bozeman.

”This year HATCH is introducing a screenwriting competition, with $5,000 in prizes.

”The 2006 Festival will also feature for the first time the Hatch Space Architectural competition. Design students and recent graduates will be asked to submit a design that transforms a performance space with two looks, daytime for panels, evening for music, and the project must also integrate advice from another discipline. The winning entrants will build and design the stage for HATCH 2007.”

Also from the e-mailbag, SUSHMA DWIVEDI writes “Dear Stacy, Wanted to let you know that AT&T has added today many new artists to its live webcast schedule for the Austin City Limits music festival. Would appreciate if you could post some details and a link for your readers so they can watch the live performances” September 15-17th from 12:30 to 10 p.m. Central time.

If you miss it, much of the content will be archived on the blue room site.

Thanks to DAN HARR for the invitation to attend the September 29th release party for (DAVID) FERTITTA and (STEVE) McCLINTOCK’s new, CD, After All This Time at Lyrix.

Thanks also to AMANDA VIRGILLITO for inviting me to a media night (September 19th at 7:30 p.m.) performance of On Golden Pond at The Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Andrew Jackson Hall. MICHAEL LEARNED and TOM BOSLEY star. (Did I tell you about the time Tom’s erstwhile Happy Days co-star, ANSON WILLIAMS, and I did the bump backstage at the Grand Ole Opry)

Amanda also passes on a reminder about Inside Out of the Lunch Box, TPAC education’s program designed to enhance and enrich the performing arts experience for adult learners.

Column’s congrats to TOMMY QUINN. Tommy, who manages Crystal’s, For Fine Gifts and Jewelry, tells me “I’m celebrating my 20th year with CRYSTAL GAYLE.”

Sayonara, Grand Ole Opry?

A couple of months before COLIN REED announced that WSM Radio would be a featured on Sirius, Singing Celebrity Impressionist JOHNNY COUNTERFIT wrote The Gaylord Gang’s embattled head honcho (the guy who was forced by public opinion to retreat from his decision to sell the Grand Ole Opry and was desperate for ideas to prove his commitment to expanding interest in the Mother Church) that a partnership between the Opry and the satellite radio network was the way to go.

Reed, evidently a subscriber to the notion that it doesn’t matter who gets the credit for a good idea, even if it’s not the originator, never thanked, let alone credited, Counterfit.

Now comes word that, effective September 13, 2006, Sirius is dropping WSM Radio from its lineup and with it, of course, the Grand Ole Opry!

Counterfit quips: “Reed didn’t tell me when Sirius decided to carry WSM and he hasn’t called me with the news now that Sirius is dropping WSM and the Opry!”

Thanks to VANDY RICHARDS and to Show Pros International for sending me VIP media passes to the 23rd Annual Home Decorating & Remodeliing Show at the Nashville Convention Center.

As always, IRLENE MANDRELL, the event’s spokesperson, will be on hand to kick off this year’s show, signing autographs and posing for pictures at one of the 650 booths.

Show days and times are as follows: Friday, September 8th (noon- 9 p.m.), Saturday, September 9th (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and Sunday, September 10th (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

Tickets are $8.00. Children under 12 will receive free admission when accompanied by an adult and seniors, age 62 and over, receive free admission on Friday.

Thanks also to MARTHA MOORE for sending me a copy of LANTANA’s debut CD, Unbridled. Lantana (BIZ HADDOCK, DALENE RICHELLE and KAROL ANN DeLONG) records for BGM Records and their 13-sided CD (distributed by Select-O-Hits and containing their first single, “Country As A City Girl Can Be”) was released September 5th.

Stereotypes die hard: There was an audible gasp among JAY LENO’s studio audience September 5th when TOBY KEITH (the singer whose persona Time’s JOSH TYRANGIEL suggests is that of a “take-no-crap redneck instigator”) discussed his acting coach; a woman Toby identified as a “cute little Jewish girl. Real liberal.”

And Toby’s point was…?

Also on the religion beat, you’ll recall that for some strange reason I was given membership in the Christian Country Music Association. This is significant because with membership comes CCMA Awards voting privileges. (Can you imagine me casting the deciding ballot?)

There being no shortage of Christians, I happened to mention my being recruited in this Report and soon after received what I thought was my last issue of Power Source.

My unsolicited membership apparently cancelled, I had no trouble getting on with my life. Now, many months later, my mail includes the latest issue of Power Source (highlighted by VICTORIA WILLIAMS’ MARTY RAYBON cover story), accompanied by a membership application and a form letter from JASON HIGGINS reading, in part, “We miss you. Did you notice that your Christian Country Music Association membership has expired?”

Well, yeah…

The September issue of London-based Country Music People includes GLEN CAMPBELL’s advising CMP’s DOUGLAS McPHERSON of the Rhinestone Cowboy’s admiration for ALAN JACKSON’s artistry, yet, in the same breath, concluding with respect to Jackson’s early attempt to outwit Campbell in a publishing negotiation, that Alan “was as full of crap as a Christmas turkey.”

McPherson is equally uncharitable in a separately-written review of Glen’s summer performance at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, also found in CMP’s September issue. McPherson says Campbell remains a guitar virtuoso and though “it should have been the beginning of a great evening,” Glen’s “brief Elvis impression proved apt. At 70 years old, Glen’s voice has left the building.”

It gets worse. While “struggling” through his hits, “the old man,” as Douglas describes Glen, “gamely went for high notes,” causing McPherson to curl his “toes so tightly I wondered if I’d ever straighten out my face or walk properly again.

”Then, just when I thought I could wince no more, Glen wheeled out his daughter [DEBBIE] for the support slot I thought we’d been spared. She looked like a checkout worker from Kwik Save who’d put on a pair of sparkly earrings for somebody’s wedding. Which is exactly what she sounded like [when] she and Glen mangled a set of duets…”

Thanks to SUSAN LEVY and everyone at Universal South for the invitation to see ROCKIE LYNNE’s 6 p.m. performance, Monday, August 28th at 12th & Porter.

Susan advises that Lynne “will do a 30-minute set and it will start on time. He is know for his live show, se we would love for you to check it out.”

Early evening performances that start on time (and are conveniently located, as this one is) are the ones that usually disabuse Music Row of any notion that I am reclusive. So, for that reason, I am really sorry that I will be in a city- Minneapolis- Rockie knows well on August 28th. This Report will be up and running after Labor Day, but I would ask in the meantime that e-mails not be sent to me until I return. (No sense having your communications bounce. I hate receiving those automated “out-of-office” messages, so I don’t send them.)

FRAN BOYD, retired executive director of the Academy of Country Music was seen in animated conversation over dinner with JOHN HOBBS, singing impressionist JOHNNY COUNTERFIT and friends STEVE BROOKS and BARBARA PAYNE at Hobbs' John A's Restaurant August 21st.

Fran has been in Nashville for the past week meeting with writers who are working on her ACM biography. According to Mrs. Boyd, she was-- with John Hobbs' able assistance--indoctrinating Brooks and Payne im the finer points of southern cuisine.

When the evening ended, the two recently retired federal staffers were navigating slowly to their vehicle with carry-out boxes of breaded catfish, white beans and other Dixie delicacies.

”Duly noted, many thanks” was GAIL SHISTER’s reaction when I corrected Shister’s description of BMI in reference to Gail’s breaking the news that BOB SHIEFFER “has cowritten [with JEAN BRATMAN] two folk tunes that are being shopped around Nashville.”

Referring to the performing rights society as a “musicians union,” [sic] Gail went on to quote Bob, who plans on keeping his day (and weekend) job, as admitting that “I can’t sing very well,” while joking that “I’m already worried about what I’m going to wear to the Grammies.

Do you suppose there will be a published correction now that other papers have reprinted Shister’s article- and the gaffe along with it?

Uh-oh… Do STEVE BUCHANAN and PETE FISHER, guardians of the Grand Ole Opry trademark, know about this?: The Chute’s August 27th (9 p.m.) presentation of its 2nd Gay Ol’ Opry Show?

(I guess not. If they did, there wouldn’t have been a first Gay Ol’ Opry show, let alone a second.)

GRETCHEN WILSON and her lead guitarist, DEAN HALL (TOM T. HALL’s 45-year-old son), have been seen sporting matching black Catdaddy (moonshine) tee-shirts, but that is the only factual statement that responsible writers will be making at this time.

Want to meet BRAD PAISLEY? ICEBERG- FAQ #21 says hanging out at the Sylvan Park Restaurant will make it happen- at least it worked for the ‘Berg!

As PAUL HARVEY would say, “This is a strange”: Visitors to BILLY McKNIGHT’s Web site find the headline “MINDY McCREADY Makes Public Statement,” followed by a Florida dateline and this statement: “Mindy McCready has issued a public statement on boyfriend Billy McKnight's website. In it, she addresses the fans that supported her, along with general statements regarding the way recent events in her life have been handled lately. ‘Neither of us could have imagined that our lives and our love for each other would be so manipulated and misunderstood,’ she says in the statement.

”McCready also announces and introduces the sale of the duet single from her and boyfriend Billy McKnight, entitled 'Sweeter.’”

Above the headline is a link imploring readers to “See the complete public statement.”

Apparently subsequent to this posting, Billy indicated the duet would not be released, citing it as “inappropriate.” In any event, the dated Web site entry is accompanied by a dead link to McCready’s ”complete public statement”. Since Mindy is suing Billy, a dead link to that statement is a blessing in disguise.

TROY GENTRY’s debacle, which became an international story (just as the news of JOHNNY DUNCAN’s death did) only after being reported here, should be examined through the spin filter.

Initially, on August 15th , when I received a tip that KARE and the StarTribune’s Web pages were scooping the next-day’s newspaper, I reported their collective findings as well as my own research about the prior relationship between Troy and LEE MARVIN GREENLY. At that time, the word was that “A spokesman for Gentry, who lives in Franklin, Tenn., said he couldn't comment."

On August 16th the St. Paul Pioneer Press indicated that Troy “could not be reached for comment.”

While you might read that Gentry has denied his guilt, as of this writing Troy hasn’t said word one- and won’t until he has to. (On August 17th, Troy’s attorney, RON MESHBESHER stated that Gentry professes his innocence, but, again, we haven’t heard that from Troy’s lips.)

As Greenly says, “I'd love to spill my guts to you. But my attorney says not to say anything right now. When it's over, the whole story will come out."

(I beat the Associated Press on the Gentry story and informed the AP of Duncan’s death.)

(Not quite so) personal to CMA’ s Chief Operating Officer TAMMY GENOVESE re: the loss of Los Angeles’ only country-music radio station: Tammy, begging doesn’t become you. (My comment is in response to Genovese’s 21st century statement defensively reminding radio that country fans aren’t a bunch of hicks: "We want the radio community to know that CMA and the music industry are ready to help any radio owner considering launching a country station in Los Angeles with marketing support and information about the quality of today's country consumer.")

As I told GLENN WHIPP when he interviewed me for the Los Angeles Daily News six years ago, “Country music has always been cyclical. Where the focus was once attaining respectability, the goal is now to find and maintain an audience that is much larger and much younger than is realistic for the format to sustain... The result is that the young audience continues to be fickle — and therefore unpredictable — while the older, loyal audience is turning away as it can no longer identify with either the new artists or their music… There are two audiences, the core country fans and then the people who couldn’t name an artist until GARTH BROOKS came along. The record companies and radio stations are chasing the latter audience, and the real fans are being left out in the cold. And they’re not happy about it, which is reflected in low ratings and poor record sales.”

Will PETA and its country-music supporters such as DOLLY PARTON, EMMYLOU HARRIS and TOMMY CASH have something to say, or like TROY GENTRY, will they have “no comment” following Troy’s indictment in Duluth, Minnesota Federal Court where Troy faces up to five years in prison and a $20,000 fine?

Gentry, 39, is charged with killing Cubby, a tame, caged black bear, with a bow and arrow, in an incident that happened nearly two years ago on Photographer LEE MARVIN GREENLY’s Sandstone, Minnesota property. (The seal on the indictment was not broken until August 15, 2006.)

Following Cubby’s killing, Troy is charged with conspiracy to falsely label the "trophy-caliber" bear he bought from Lee (for $4,650) with a Minnesota hunting license, as videotape was rolling (and then later edited) to make it appear, when Gentry turned it into the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, that Troy, following a fair chase, killed Cubby in the wild. (Cubby’s hide was sent to a Kentucky taxidermist following the October, 2004 incident and from there was sent to Troy.)

Greenly, 46, the owner of the Minnesota Wildlife Connection in Sandstone, is also charged with two unrelated crimes.

In 2005, when the Minnesota DNR granted the Committee to Abolish Sports Hunting (CASH) a permit to transport 17 deer, that had been trapped for nearly four years in an urban reservoir, to Greenly’s property, Troy was heralded as a hero for “riding to the rescue” after offering to foot the bill for the deer’s safe passage to their $23,000 fenced in new home on the 80-acre Pine County, Minnesota wildlife preserve.

As I predicted, heads continue to roll following Billboard’s parent company VNU’s acquisition of R & R. The latest belong to R & R’s LON HELTON and CHUCK ALY, who are forming their own daily country-music news publication and a weekly trade chart using Mediabase charting methodology.

Thanks to the International Bluegrass Music Association’s TINA POTTER, NANCY CARDWELL, DANNY HAYES and JILL CRABTREE, for the invitation to join DOYLE LAWSON, RHONDA VINCENT, THE GRASCALS and ALECIA NUGENT at an August 15th breakfast news conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The occasion was an announcement of nominees for the 17th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards.

THE GRASCALS kicked off the morning with a brief performance, before DAVID CROW and EDDIE STUBBS noted the presence of certain attendees and revealed the list of the IBMA’s newest Distinguished Achievement Award recipients (FRED “FLIPCHART FRED” BARTENSTEIN, THE BOYS FROM INDIANA, BILL GRANT, RONNIE RENO and THE WHITES) and the IBMA’s newest Hall of Honor inductees (THE LEWIS FAMILY and IBMA’s first Jewish inductee, SYD NATHAN).

Rhonda and Doyle then read the list of nominees, that, not surprisingly included themselves (understanding that stars are often roped into hosting awards announcements- erroneously called press conferences except, in those rare instances, when questions are taken- only after they/their publicists are all but told they/their clients are nominees). In fact, ALISON KRAUSS and UNION STATION (with 11 nominations) leads the list, BLUE HIGHWAY (with 10 nominations), while Doyle (& QUICKSILVER) is/are tied with RICKY SKAGGS (both acts have 7 nominations each).

MARTY STUART, who will host the 2006 IBMA Awards Show, to be held on September 28th at the Grand Ole Opry House, was not present for the announcement, but Ricky was on hand as were PATRICIA PRESLEY, BARRY McCLOUD (with wife, BARBARA), MICHAEL McCALL, JOYCE RIZER, JOHN RUMBLE, BOB OERMANN, DIANA HENDERSON, MICHAEL GRAY, EDWARD MORRIS, JAY ORR, WALT TROTT, and a host of others whose names I hope others will inform me I’ve omitted.

All appeared to have enjoyed ALECIA NUGENT’s closing the event with her performance of Too Good To Be True.

The full list of nominees is available at the IBMA’s Web site.

JOHNNY DUNCAN died suddenly, reportedly of a heart attack, August 14th at age 67. Memorial services will be at the First Baptist Church of Stephenville, in Stephenville, Texas on Thursday, August 17th at 3 p.m.

Donations in Duncan’s memory should be directed to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Salvation Army.

My own most recent- though not really "recent"- memories of Johnny date back to when I last interviewed him (for the April, 1981 issue of Country Song Roundup). Johnny and I met for dinner and drinks at The Gold Rush, Duncan’s favorite Nashville Tex/Mex restaurant/watering hole.

Johnny drank double shots of brandy on the rocks, I opted for piña coladas, while the Texas-based singer and I became reacquainted. (I first interviewed Johnny for the August, 1977 issue of CSR).

Duncan discussed his then-current album, his taping of That Nashville Music earlier in the day, and Johnny’s “never-ending search for good songs.” The lusty lyric balladeer expressed his disappointment that he wasn’t a bigger star than he was, suggesting that fans knew his hits, and often knew his name, but didn’t always put the two together.

When I suggested that Duncan’s dilemma “to the extent that it exists outside his imagination” might have been due to Johnny’s physical resemblance to KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, or the predominance of several successful “Johnnys” who were still country-chart contenders at the time, Duncan wasn’t persuaded: “I take all the blame. I’ve spent the last five years taking care of my daughters.”

Following Johnny’s divorce in the mid-70s, Duncan was granted custody, a rarity for the time. Johnny said his ex “found somebody else,” didn’t want to take care of her teen-aged daughters and cut out, leaving Duncan with sole custody “by mutual agreement.” (CONNIE, described then by Johnny as the “young woman taking care of them for me” when Duncan was on the road, subsequently became the woman who is now Johnny’s widow).

Duncan was the first to admit he was no angel himself. The singer who admitted he wanted to parlay his movie-star good looks into acting on the silver screen didn’t always look the other way when female fans “came on” to him: “I don’t know if it’s because of the way I look or the slant of the songs… “

I’d say it was a combination of both!

Close call for RHETT AKINS, Rhett’s band and bus driver. Details (including photos) here.

Thanks to KATIE MARTHA for the invitation to attend the October 14th dedication of the United States Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

The invitation to attend the Pentagon South Parking ceremony includes a Saturday afternoon LEE ANN WOMACK concert.

Thanks also to KIRT WEBSTER for including me among "media friends" Kirt has gifted with a "World Famous Nashville Palace VIP card."

Cardholders are entitled to "immediately begin receiving 2 for 1 drinks (beer, wine, liquor included) along with special discounts on food… If you ever hear of an event taking place at the World Famous Nashville Palace that you would like to cover or attend, please give us a call. We will do our best to accommodate your request."

The Nashville Palace is open daily with live music all day long. If you missed LEONA WILLIAMS' August 9th Lunch With the Legends performance (or a benefit performance the next day featuring MEL TLLIS and PAM TILLIS), the Wednesday (11-1 p.m.) Lunch With the Legends series continues on August 16th (with STONEWALL JACKSON, RAY PILLOW and GEORGE HAMILTON IV), as well as an August 26th appearance by CARLENE CARTER. Other upcoming Palace entertainment includes a September 27th Bluegrass Celebration (starring CHERRYHOLMES, MARTY RAYBON, RONNIE RENO) and an October 23rd date with ROADIE.NET.

In recent years, Kirt has ably assisted the Country Music Association in procuring goodie bags for those involved in the production of the CMA Awards.

So far, CMA’ s Chief Operating Officer TAMMY GENOVESE is refusing comment on a Page Six report indicating that Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has sent letters to upcoming Emmy Awards presenters and nominees advising them that, in order to receive Emmy swag, they’ll have to sign and return a letter from the Academy acknowledging their understanding that the gift bags, “worth between $27,000 and $33,000” are taxable.

In that letter the Academy indicates it is “researching” the issue and that it will determine before year’s end its “income-tax reporting obligations to the IRS and state and local tax authorities.”

I don’t know how much there is to research. On March 3, 2006 IRS Commissioner MARK EVERSON alluded to JOHNNY CASH’s signature song when he reminded those associated with the March 4th Academy Awards telecast that, while wishing those with a stake in the Oscars “the best of luck…We want to make sure the stars ‘walk the line’ when it comes to these goodie bags.”

Noting that Oscar swag is valued “at more than $100,000,” Everson reiterated that the goodies are “big business” and that “it’s important to keep in mind that movie stars face the same tax obligations as ordinary Americans,” when it comes to making sure Uncle Sam gets his take of their income.

It sounds like with the IRS clamping down on the Oscars, the Emmys were next. One Emmy observer told Page Six “This is the end of the goodie-bag era. Who would want their name on a list sent to the IRS?”

As advertisers who rely on promotional consideration have heart attacks at that prospect, Webster tells me that the value of CMA swag ranges from $15,000- $30,000.

CRAIG MORGAN, MARK CHESNUTT, ROSANNE CASH and JERRY LEE LEWIS are among the judges for this year’s upcoming International Songwriting Competition.

This year’s competition includes two new categories and an increased Grand Prize ($25,000 making it “the largest Grand Prize in any songwriting competition”). ISC invites country music artists to enter their traditional or contemporary songs.

For more information, to enter ISC online, or to download an entry form to mail in an entry, click here.

If Court TV had not cut away from its August 10th coverage of the PERRY MARCH trial, viewers would have seen my former next-door neighbor, radio personality and flight attendant PETER RODMAN, a witness for the prosecution, invoke VINCE GILL's name during the course of his testimony.

JOHNNY RODRIGUEZ' condition has been upgraded from "critical" to "fair," While Johnny broke his jaw and suffered facial lacerations, he was fortunate to have suffered no apparent spinal or brain damage. The singer won't be team-roping again anytime soon, but, after remaining in the hospital a few more days for observation, he will be released.

Leadership Music, the organization that, the Nashville Scene, having been lambasted for its disclosure of the facts about Leadership Nashville, lacks the courage to touch, has increased its net assets over the period of 2001 ($206,366) to 2004 ($340,269) without providing any discernible benefit to the music industry.

LM, which finds it necessary to instruct its classes of "leaders" to commit to practices as simple as showing up, lacks the "class" to even inform prospective class members, by letter, that they have not been selected until after LM has already issued a press release announcing its choices!

It's difficult to say what role BILL IVEY, whose "leadership" has been "rewarded" by an increased LM presence (Ivey has been named a "senior consultant"), has played in LM's (perfectly legal, for the next few months) delay in releasing its 2005 return. Nor why LM continues to act without regard to its mission statement.

Certainly, the rewards are high: TABITHA DALY, LM's Executive Director, received a salary of $60,000 in 2001 plus $1,142 in "Contributions to EBP and DC." The following year post-911 sensibility sank in somewhat, and Daly's pay was docked (she received $59,040 in compensation with no other benefits, except perhaps, the easy money the do-nothing organization receives from anyone foolish enough to now pay $500 for the privilege of belonging to an organization that seeks to elevate some by excluding others).

During 2003, Daly's last full year as LM's Executive Director, she received a $65,748 sendoff. Actually, it wasn't exactly a sendoff, since LM's 2004 return suggests a pro-rated income for Tabitha of $20,600; a costly buyout, were it not for the fact that LM is apparently a bottomless pit, since Florita's 2004 compensation was $64,615!

I have disclosed before, but I will disclose again, that I have applied for admission to LM's classes every year since the organization's inception. That I have not been accepted is not as important to me as the reason why I have not been chosen. (A partial explanation can be found in Florita's actions toward me- someone she had never even met- while at Mercury Records, as detailed in a legal settlement and the insincerity with which the unsupportable exclusion has been addressed. Not a year has gone by that I have not been assured that my rejection is "nothing personal," though no one who looks at the objectives of the organization, my CV and many of those selected could reasonably conclude that it is otherwise.)

My international following and reputation for honesty and integrity suggest that discrimination and jealousy are responsible for the obstacles some well-placed people on Music Row choose to place in my path, as a means of perceived self-protection, rather than whatever personal shortcomings I share with all of them. If I am wrong, then an intervention is in order and I challenge any or all of them to care enough about themselves, and by extension, me, to pick up the phone. If I am right, then, this organization- filled with CMA, and CMF bullies (the subject of complaints filed with Tennessee Human Rights Commission) needs to stop its bullying, adhere to its mission and allow me and others the entré to restore leadership to the organization by changing it from within.

What these fools do not realize is that SUSAN LUCCI got a lot more mileage during the years she failed to receive her due than she has in the years since restitution was made.

It is difficult to address rumor, speculation, and at least one instance of Internet libel without adding fuel to the fire, especially when you- or in this instance, I, along with a colleague- am on the receiving end.

What I can confirm is that I have received a note of thanks from RICHARD JOHNSON for informing him that SHOOTER JENNINGS was erroneously referenced in Page Six as "Scooter Jennings." (In fairness to Johnson, PAULA FROELICH, CHRIS WILSON and BILL HOFFMANN, it should be noted that the New York Post is not the first media source to have made this particular error. On a related subject, in recent days I have found it necessary to correct national media on subjects ranging from the spelling of BOBBY BARE's surname to JOHNNY RODRIGUEZ' correct birthdate.)

Further, I am not replacing BRAD SCHMITT at The Tennessean. I have not applied for the position, nor would I want it without a complete restructuring of the newspaper, beginning with its approach to how it covers Music Row. It would be difficult to work for one editor who has lied to me about hiring practices (this, though not this alone, has resulted in his having been denied a promotion), another who was promoted from writer to editor after having been publicly reprimanded, both in The Tennessean and elsewhere, for factual inaccuracies suggesting she didn't have even a novice's command of the subject of her beat, and another editor, to whom I would presumably report, who wasn't even born when I first became a reporter.

Not that the paper couldn't use me or someone else who not only knows the Music Row beat, but who doesn't accept pr nonsense at face value and hence does some real reporting. In its August 10th edition, there is a report on a cancelled CMT taping that skirts the reason for the cancellation and completely overlooks the roles of those, other than celebrities, involved in a prospective revamping of the production.

In short, it raises more questions that it answers, though no one from the reporter to her editor seems to have a clue that what appeared in the paper was nothing more than product placement- or an overlooked opportunity to charge advertising by a paper that continues to lose subscribers at an alarming rate.

ROYAL WADE KIMES’ is now a novelist. Kimes' first novel is titled Eminent Doman and Old Man Smith.

JOHNNY RODRIGUEZ is in critical condition after being life-flighted to a Fort Worth, Texas hospital following injuries Johnny suffered August 7th after being thrown from a horse on a ranch near Alvord, Texas.

The horse got spooked and Rodriguez was rushed to the intensive care unit where he was placed on a respirator. Though reportedly sufficiently improved that, as of August 9th, Johnny was awake and speaking, his family requests prayers from Johnny's friends and fans.

You know him as affable, mild-mannered Capitol-Nashville’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, a loyal CMA member and a Leadership Music alum, but WHITNEY CHERISH PITTS, 36, has charged FLETCHER DARVIN FOSTER, 42, with aggravated assault.

Pitts claims she was guarding a parking place outside Jackson's Bar & Bistro, on Nashville's Restaurant Row, when Foster drove up and tried to park there.

When Whitney resisted, Fletcher allegedly swore at her "using several obscenities" and nudged Whitney several times, pushing her back the length of the parking spot.

Davidson County General Sessions Judge JOHN BROWN bound the case over to a grand jury August 7th and it could be six weeks to a year before the case progresses, barring developments such as a quiet settlement.

Fletcher has hired high-priced trial attorney ED YARBROUGH (whose clients have included TAMMY WYNETTE's daughters) to represent him.

I promised a further report on and reaction to CATHY O’BRIEN and MARK PHILLIPS’ book, Trance: Formation of America, when I finished reading it, so here ‘tis: I still don’t understand why the authors apparently haven’t been sued for the libelous statements they made in "Trance...," as previously reported in this column, nor accusations I am about to cite.

After reading the book and making a few phone calls, though, I have a theory about why Cathy and Mark seem to have been suit-proof. But, before I get into that, here are a few of the authors’ more troubling characterizations of some of your favorite country stars: JACK GREENE is referred to as "Nashville’s CIA Freedom Train ‘conductor.’"

Then there’s "Vatican-based Project Monarch slave runner KRIS KRISTOPHERSON [sic]." Cathy writes that on at least one occasion "Kristopherson nearly strangled me to death with his penis." (Nearly? What stopped Kris from "succeeding?")

And let's not forget that the same folks who "inform" us that BOXCAR WILLIE was a "pedophile," claim that "JIMMY DEAN was knowledgeable of, and a willing participant in, criminal covert activity, including the use of mind-controlled slaves."

Among these, we are to believe are "mind-controlled slave LOUISE MANDRELL and her [now-ex] husband/handler R.C. BANNON." (Don't tell the authors, but R.C. Bannon is a stage name.)

Cathy and Mark's conspiracy theory extends to "CIA Operative JIMMY BUFFETT" (though Jimmy's alleged CIA ties escaped his biographer STEVE ENG), "CIA Operative LLOYD LINDROTH" and "CIA Operative KEN RILEY, the Neo-Nazi pedophile who functioned in the capacity of LORETTA LYNN’s road manager...Loretta’s singing career and political ties into covert CIA operations have always been synonymous." (What if the CIA had blown Loretta's cover by forcing her to lose her drawl and by improving her grammar?)

Though BUDDY KILLEN is not directly libeled, the authors indicate that Killen’s former property, "The Stockyard was a popular country music dinner club known for its CIA criminal covert activity involvement." (And that's changed?)

All this begins to makes sense if you believe, as the authors do, that even booking agent "REGGIE MAC (MacLaughlin) of United Talent and later of the McFadden Agency… had been booking CIA involved country music acts into key locations to aid the execution of covert government operations."

But there’s more: Mark and Cathy write that Louise Mandrell’s victimization resulted from the fact that her father, "IRBY MANDRELL employed [Cathy's ex-husband, ventriloquist ALEX] HOUSTON’s hynotic abilities to maintain control over his daughters while touring."

One wonders what, with all of these "firsthand" accounts, why the authors qualify an accusation by indicating that Irby Mandrell "reportedly sexually abused all three of his daughters," as he indicates that [the Mandrell sisters were] owned by SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD. Yet we are to believe that Irby really said of his daughter, "With my baby’s talent and the Byrd’s influence on her mind and career there was no way we could lose." (And all of this was toward what end?)

While it would be news to LORETTA LYNN, LORRIE MORGAN and the rest of us that the singers’ loved ones were murdered, "Trance…" readers learn that before the automobile accident that nearly cost BARBARA MANDRELL her life, "Louise had a ‘premonition’ of Barbara’s imminent demise, much the same way Loretta Lynn ‘psychicly predicted’ her son’s murder. Like the murders of Loretta’s son and Country Music entertainer Keith Whitley…"

This book goes on and on, referring to everyone from RONALD REAGAN and TOMMY LASORDA to our (we are told) well-endowed "drunk as usual" Vice-President-Elect DICK CHENEY as engaging in oral sex with unwilling mind-controlled victims.

I spoke with Nashville Police CAPTAIN MICKEY MILLER, retired Metro Police Lieutenant TOMMY JACOBS and VAN VINCENT of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Nashville about "Trance..." (Miller and Jacobs are among the book’s villains. A letter on Vincent's letterhead to Phillips is reproduced in the book.)

Miller remembers deprogrammer Phillips' story and his requesting the Nashville police's assistance, saying "We looked into it very thoroughly. We had doubts about it when he came in, but we gave him the benefit of the doubt."

After receiving investigative assistance from the FBI, Miller says of Phillips’ story "we found that there was no basis to it... [Mark] tried to get us to give him money to live on and to provide information and we refused. Even to the point where we wouldn’t even pay for his parking."

Miller says he learned later that Phillips had "bilked a smaller town of informant money."

Jacobs, who was instrumental in solving the STRINGBEAN murders, says "The job we did for Metro was too important to listen to any more of what this guy had to say."

Tommy says Mark is "basically a nut" and that O'Brien's and Phillips' story is a "bunch of crappola."

Van Vincent didn’t remember Phillips, but both he and Miller, who were unaware of "Trance...", are now anxious to read it.

JOHN WOOD, of CONGRESSMAN BOB CLEMENT’s office, tells me that a letter from Clement to Phillips, reproduced in "TRANCE…," was likely a form letter sent by DAVID FLANDERS (whose initials are below Clement’s signature) and that Flanders, who has since left Clement’s office, probably vetted the matter for the Congressman who likely never saw the request for help in the first place!

If you’re curious, you can buy a copy of "Trance…" by using the link on my Geocities site. I can’t dismiss the book entirely, simply because it is so apparently libelous that it is strange, if it has no merit, that seemingly no one has sued.

"Trance..." is factually accurate in terms of when and where events would have happened had they occurred. It does seem though, for example, that LLOYD LINDROTH’s homosexuality (surprisingly not mentioned in the book) would have compromised the Opryland Hotel harpist’s effectiveness as an operative.)

While tell you why GUY VANDER JAGT, former presidents GERALD FORD, GEORGE H.W. BUSH, BILL CLINTON and our president-elect, all of whom were likely libeled this book, have not sued the authors, I have a theory that some of the country celebs have not filed suit: I believe that while they are not guilty as charged, some would not want to go through the discovery process (having to disclose irrelevant shortcomings) with which O’Brien and Phillips would surely counter if they were sued.

I can vouch for Irby and Reggie being business partners. They even picked up the tab following a luncheon with me that led to my briefly working with them and their Nashville International country music spot radio news venture.

I’d hate to think, all of these years later, that my lunch was being paid for by CIA money, but it would be gratifying to know that if anyone considered me a potential co-conspirator that I somehow discouraged them. Unless you think I’m only reporting what the CIA (or is it CMA?) has programmed me to write!…

Thanks to JERRY BENTLEY for his rapid response to my contacting him re: allegations about LEE GREENWOOD by *Trance:…* authors MARK PHILLIPS and CATHY O’BRIEN. I am pleased to print Jerry’s November 1st e-mailed reply in its entirety: "Stacy: Celebrities like Lee seem to be easy targets for a select group that can only achieve any notoriety by printing malicious and untrue stories. This matter was thoroughly investigated by our attorneys and they concluded that while there were grounds for law suits [sic], it would end up costing a large sum with no hope of punitive damages being recovered due to the overall financial condition of the parties involved. Finally, none of the information about Lee is correct."

It’s been around for five years, but thanks (I think!) to a Report reader’s e-mail, I am now aware of a conspiracy genre book that mentions several country-music types, albeit in an unflattering, seemingly libelous light.

Though the most recent (revised) edition of *Trance: Formation of America* that I could find was published in 1995, references to authors MARK PHILLIPS and CATHY O’BRIEN’s 256-page paperback are readily available via a cursory search engine search.

Here are some sourced excerpts: First, "How can you not get excited about BOX CAR WILLIE’s [sic] penchant for fondling preteens after his cornball shows at the Grand Ole Opry?"; this, from JAYE C. BELDO's review at View Zone.

Then, there’s this excerpt from O’Brien Sex, Lies and Mind Control: Referencing WAYNE COX, who has "played behind" West Virginia’s fiddling SENATOR ROBERT BYRD during Byrd's guest appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, it accuses Cox of fatally shooting "a railroad bum right between the eyes" and of then severing his hands in what is depicted as an occult murder.

In another book excerpt, found at http://www.bridgeoflove.com/bookstore/bol/trance-ex.html, Cathy writes that "In 1983...GEORGE BUSH’s friends LEE GREENWOOD and CIA operative, slave runner and country music singer TOMMY OVERSTREET... were active in both the Lampe, Missouri and Lake/Mount Shasta, California CIA compounds."

In a section referring to BILL CLINTON and ventriloquist ALEX HOUSTON, O'Brien indicates that "Before Clinton arrived, Greenwood and Houston were in the backstage dressing rooms snorting line after line of cocaine. Houston, always eager to make an extra penny to pinch, attempted to prostitute me to Greenwood. ‘She's the real performer," Houston said. 'She performs all kinds of sex acts upon command. For a small price, she's yours.’

"Greenwood laughed, and referring to my Huntsville, Alabama NASA programming said, 'I've spent more time in Huntsville than she has, and I know full well who and what she is – 'a space cadet’ programmed for sex. She's a modified version of MARILYN MONROE...'

"Greenwood began expertly accessing my sex programming and told the others in the room, "You all can come and go as you please, but I've been made an offer that I am going to use." He ordered me to undress and bend over the desk where he roughly sodomized me as he said,‘You're going to think it's daddy all over again’… [Later, Cathy says she discovered that] Apparently Greenwood had bragged about sodomizing me.”

I am awaiting a response from Lee and/or JERRY BENTLEY and would also especially appreciate hearing reaction from Cox and Overstreet. While it is easier for the average Joe or Jane, than for a celebrity, to prevail as the Plaintiff in a libel suit, it would seem that the information in *Trance…,” if unfounded, clearly constitutes malicious intent and is therefore actionable. Why it hasn't been, in five years, mystifies me.

I’ve only touched on a laundry list of the book’s allegations about entertainers and politicians whose names you will recognize. If you haven’t already read enough, you can order *Trance…” (or any other books you see or don't see listed) at a discounted price using the book link(s) at my Geocities site. (Any book link will work for ordering any title.)

The Country Music Association’s Executive Director ED BENSON has apparently refused to allow CMA's Director of Finance and Administration CINDY MILLER to answer my questions about the Country Music Association’s 1997 and 1998 federal income tax returns. [You’ll recall that, after TAMMY GENOVESE offered to answer my questions about CMA’s 1994-1996 returns, CMA instructed its attorney to write me a threatening letter. When that failed to deter me, fearing other reporters might pick up on the Association’s refusal to answer vital questions, CMA changed tax accountants and its methods of listing its assets and liabilities. But with itemization comes more questions, such as why deductions are being taken in the names of JO (WALKER-MEADOR) and HELEN (FARMER), who are no longer CMA employees.]

Some of my questions about CMA’s most recent returns are the same as the ones I have had about its prior returns. Rather than take the space to repeat them all here, I’ve listed the questions in my article, What the Country Music Association Doesn’t Want You To Know linked to this page.

I will only repeat, as an example of what I think is a fair question, that the Association refuses to disclose information about its "investments in joint ventures," such as who its investment partner(s)is/are and what the nature of these “ventures” might be. (Does the Internal Revenue Service know or care?)

CMA's arrogance extends to questions its members should be raising about the organization's use of credit cards, CMA's fiscally-irresponsible "bank overdrafts" (amounting to as many as six figures in a single year) and how far along plans are for making CMA’s dream of a “retirement home” a reality.

New to those who have read What The Country Music Association Doesn't Want You To Know - and to me- is CMA’s apparently investing members’ money with two brokerage firms. These investments have engendered considerable losses, perhaps explaining, in part, why Ed Benson took an $8,106 pay cut in 1997. (CMA paid Ed $207,991 in 1997, down from Benson’s 1996 salary of $216,097. What were industry revenues for '96-'97?)

But don’t feel too sorry for poor, underpaid Ed. (I say "underpaid," because Benson told me last December that he is underpaid when his salary is contrasted with what executive directors of other trade associations earn. The difference, of course, is that those executives are accountable where, as Benson’s actions underscore, Ed is not.) CMA’s Board of Directors decided that Ed should receive a $23,651 pay increase in 1998, paying him $231,642 for his services last year.

Again, though I have checked and rechecked them, my figures may be wrong, because CMA inefficiently restricted me to entering them in longhand, copying from its returns on blank forms that I had to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service.

Thanks to JOANNA SERRARIS for advising me that my book, "The Best of Country: The Official CD Guide" is available in Holland and that the book has been (naturally enough, I guess) translated into Dutch! (That ain't no Deutsch!)

READ THE PUFF PIECES AND THE HATCHET JOBS, THEN COME TO THE SOURCE FOR THE REAL DEAL!!!

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