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There are a lot of strange songs out there. But how many strange country songs are there? (By "country" I include "hillbilly," "western," "western swing," and "bluegrass," but not "folk" simply because there are oodles and oodles of bizarre folk songs). For the most part country is the sane, genre, the level-headed genre, the "plain folks" genre. But I've found a country song that is disturbing and bizarre, and I'm sure some of you have found others as well. Many years ago on the old Porter Wagoner TV show I saw Porter perform a song he had written but wished...

Two years ago on Memorial Day, Nashville songwriter Connie Harrington was driving in her car, listening to a story on the public radio program Here & Now. And she heard a father remembering his son — a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan. "He mentioned that he drove his son's truck," Harrington says. "And he went on to describe the truck." Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti was 30 when he was killed in action in 2006. In the radio broadcast, his father, Paul, said his reasons for driving the truck Jared left behind were simple: "What can I tell you?...

The father of a slain Bay State Medal of Honor recipient was stunned and proud to learn that his simple words about honoring the memory of his Afghan war hero son were the inspiration behind Lee Brice’s No. 1 country song “I Drive Your Truck.” “I’m floored. Totally, totally, totally floored,” said Gold Star father Paul Monti, who had heard the country hit before, but didn’t know until just two weeks ago it was about his son, Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti. Before then, Paul Monti said, he had found the song so hauntingly evocative of his son’s...

Taylor Swift is adding to her property portfolio after securing a $17.75 million deal for a new seaside home in Rhode Island. The I Knew You Were Trouble hitmaker recently went house hunting along the U.S. northeast coast with her mother Andrea, father Scott and younger brother Austin, and she appears to have settled on a lavish estate in the town of Westerly. The property, which boasts five bedrooms and sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, had reportedly been on the market for $20 million - but Swift managed to use her charms to negotiate the lower price -- she...

"He Stopped Loving Her Today," George Jones (1980) George Jones has said that he initially thought "He Stopped Loving Her Today" was too sad to be very popular, but, at one of the lowest points of his career and personal life, he made it one of country music’s defining and most enduring songs. Billy Sherrill’s restrained production highlighted the plaintive yet highly nuanced vocals that were the hallmark of Jones’ mature style, but which stretched back to his days singing for tips in the streets of his hometown, Beaumont, Texas, in the 1940s.

George Jones ... the country music megastar whose heartfelt vocals and close-to-home lyrics defined the genre for generations ... died today. He was 81. Jones was hospitalized in Nashville Thursday for a fever and irregular blood pressure, though the cause of death was not immediately released. Jones was in the middle of a tour -- it was supposed to be his last -- when he fell ill. Several dates had already been canceled. Jones' towering influence on country music was equaled only by his public persona ... which often imitated the melodrama in his songs ... and was well-chronicled in...

George Jones-He Stopped Loving Her Today 4-26-2013 Country Music legend George Jones has died at the age of 81 "He Stopped Loving Her Today" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist George Jones that has been named in several surveys as the greatest country song of all time. It was released in April 1980 as the lead single from the album I Am What I Am. The song was Jones's first No. 1 single in six years.(VIDEO) The song is performed with the singer telling the story of his "friend" who has never given up...

George Jones, the peerless, hard-living country singer who recorded dozens of hits about good times and regrets and peaked with the heartbreaking classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today," has died. He was 81.

LOUISVILLE, Ky (WHAS11) -- After two decades in front of the camera as an actress and more recently as an activist, Ashley Judd has been unguarded in her comments -- a candor which might cause complications if she runs for U.S. Senate from Kentucky. As Judd inches closer to a decision, her outspoken nature is yielding decades of pointed and controversial comments which Kentucky Democratic strategists concede are a gold mine for the campaign of potential opponent, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R). Judd's essays and speeches are easily accessible on her website. In one, she criticized the tradition of a...

Mindy McCready, who hit the top of the country charts before personal problems sidetracked her career, has died. She was 37. Waren Olmstead, the coroner in Cleburne County, Ark., said in a statement McCready died Sunday apparently of a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound. An autopsy is pending. Just last month David Wilson, McCready’s boyfriend and the father of her 9-month-old son Zayne, was found dead on the same porch where McCready's body was found. His death also was investigated as a suicide. McCready entered court-ordered rehab earlier this month after her father told a judge she was no longer taking...

Country music star Mindy McCready has reportedly committed suicide. The 37-year-old singer has died Sunday night, her brother confirmed to the Daily News. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/mindy-mccready-reportedly-commits-suicide-article-1.1266650#ixzz2LDPoAFZg

Mindy McReady, the 37-year old country music star and mother of two, was found dead Sunday after an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year and reality TV personality Blake Shelton made some disparaging remarks about traditional country fans in a recent interview with GAC as part of their Backstory series. The “Hillbilly Bone” singer and judge on NBC’s The Voice made the remarks as part of an update to the original GAC Backstory episode to include more information on Blake Shelton’s continued success. In connection with Blake’s first CMA for “Male Vocalist of the Year” award in 2010, Blake Shelton said, If I am “Male Vocalist of the Year” that must mean that I’m one...

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, will hold a rally later today in Fishersville, Virginia. The rally at the Augusta Expoland will also include country music artist Trace Adkins.

You are invited to a Victory Rally with Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and the Republican Team Special Guest: Country Music Star Trace Adkins Thursday, Oct. 4 Doors open at 4 PM, Event begins at 6 PM Augusta Expoland, 277 Expo Road, Fishersville, VA 22939 All attendees will go throught airport-like security and should bring as few personal items as possible. No bags, sharp objects,umberllas, liquids or signs will be allowed at the venue. Cameras are permitted. To RSVP and get your ticket, visit www.mittromney.com/states/virginia For questions, contact us at TeamVA@mitromney.com or 757.279.8253

Country Star Calls Obama 'a Muslim' By JILIAN FAMA Aug. 20, 2012 Hank Williams Jr. Tells Crowd Obama Is 'a Muslim' Who 'Hates the Military' Controversial country star Hank Williams Jr., who caused a stir last year when he compared Barack Obama to Hitler, is at it again. At the Iowa State Fair, Williams bashed Obama to a crowd saying, "We've got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S. and we hate him!" To make his anti-Obama message known, Williams recently released a 10-disc album titled "Old School, New Rules." There is no subtlety in...

7:54 AM PT -- Sources tell TMZ ... Travis was BUCK NAKED when cops arrived to the crash scene. It's unclear why Travis was not wearing clothes. We're also told the country singer refused to take a breathalyzer, so a blood draw was taken to determine his blood alcohol level. 6:24 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us ... Travis was charged with "retaliation" because he verbally threatened a cop during the bust. 0314_divider_graphic Country singer Randy Travis was arrested last night in Texas on suspicion of DWI after crashing his car, TMZ has learned. Law enforcement sources tell...

COUNTRY music sweetheart Beccy Cole has decided to reveal her sexuality to set an example to her son "that to be yourself is the most important thing in the world". Cole said she was inspired to use the opportunity to come out as a lesbian on Australian Story tonight by her 13-year-old son Rikki. "While you can have your privacy and all that, there are certain times and certain issues where I want to set an example to him," she said. "I have never hidden who I am from him. "What started me thinking about revealing this more publicly was...

Singer Kitty Wells, whose hits such as "Making Believe" and "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" made her the first female superstar of country music, died Monday. She was 92. The singer's family said she died peacefully at home after complications from a stroke. Her solo recording career lasted from 1952 to the late 1970s and she made concert tours from the late 1930s until 2000. That year, she announced she was quitting the road, although she performed occasionally in Nashville and elsewhere afterward. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/07/16/female-country-superstar-kitty-wells-dies-at-2/#ixzz20psFD1kA

Singer Kitty Wells, whose hits such as "Making Believe" and "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" made her the first female superstar of country music, died Monday. She was 92. The singer's family said she died peacefully at home after complications from a stroke. Her solo recording career lasted from 1952 to the late 1970s and she made concert tours from the late 1930s until 2000. That year, she announced she was quitting the road, although she performed occasionally in Nashville and elsewhere afterward.