Free Republic

Former 'American Idol' star Clay Aiken is running for Congress in North Carolina, in-state Democrats with knowledge of his plans tell The Hill. Aiken, a former runner-up on the top-rated show and Raleigh native, plans to run against Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) in a Republican-leaning district. WRAL first reported that the singer was assembling a campaign team and prepping a launch for next month.

A sign on a restaurant door that reads “No Guns Permitted” isn’t likely to turn many heads at most restaurants. But when the other, bigger sign heralding the name of the establishment reads “Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill,” you can bet a few feathers are getting ruffled. And indeed that’s one of the biggest reactions since the country music star’s restaurant opened last week in Woodbridge, Va., a Washington, D.C. suburb about a half hour south of the nation’s capital. The big sticking point is that gun-rights advocates note that Virginia law lets citizens enter restaurants and bars...

Ray Price, one of country music's most popular and influential singers and bandleaders who had more than 100 hits and was one of the last living connections to Hank Williams, died Monday. He was 87. Price died Monday afternoon at his ranch outside Mount Pleasant, said Billy Mack Jr., who was acting as a family spokesman. Billie Perryman, the wife of family friend and spokesman Tom Perryman, a DJ with KKUS-FM in Tyler, also confirmed his death. Price was discharged last week from the East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, where he had been in and out in recent months...

Country music's Ray Price, "The Cherokee Cowboy," would have turned 88 on January, 12. The Perryville, Texas born Price, died Sunday from complications of pancreatic cancer. USA Today and country music dj's Crook and Chase have posted on his passing. Price scored a Grammy Award for his song "For The Good Times" in the 1970's. His country classics still play on radio stations across the United States.

From East Texas Medical Center: Country Music Hall of Fame member and American country music singer Ray Price, 87, plans to leave East Texas Medical Center in Tyler today to go to his home in Mt. Pleasant for home hospice care. Price was diagnosed in 2011 with pancreatic cancer, and despite aggressive treatment, the cancer has recently spread to his liver, intestines and now his lungs. He has been in and out of hospital care for the past few months and was recently readmitted with complications. Price and his wife of 45 years, Janie, have decided to not pursue any...

The live production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1959 Broadway musical, also starred "True Bloods" star Stephen Moyer as Maria's employer and love interest, the strict Capt. Georg Von Trapp; Laura Benanti as the Captain's fiancée, Elsa Schrader; multiple Tony Award-winner and "Private Practice" star Audra McDonald as Mother Abbess and "Smash" alum Christian Borle as family friend Max Detweiler. Somehow, each supporting star outshined Underwood in a show fraught with numerous problems, which were promptly maligned on social media. ... Kym Karath, who played Gretl Von Trapp in the film, echoed the family's sentiments. "Love Carrie Underwood but this...

Now that Obamacare jokes have become the norm on late night TV, it was a no brainer for the Country Music Awards to open last night’s show with a parody song from hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood called “Obamacare By Morning.” But that didn’t stop The Five’s Greg Gutfeld from commending the “rare” sight of “Obama mockery” on TV. Eric Bolling was equally impressed with the “hilarious” song, but noticed a bit of a divide in the reactions from those sitting in the live audience. “You could see the real, true Republican conservatives, heart and soul of the country,...

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood ripped into ObamaCare during their 2013 CMA Awards opening on Tuesday. The pair kicked off a rant about the faulty Affordable Care Act website after the country crooner “injured” himself “twerking.” “I started signing up last Thursday and I’m almost done,” quipped Underwood. The duo then went on to try getting Paisley signed up, launching into a parody song spoofing the problematic roll-out. The audience’s reaction? Plenty of hoots and hollers.

I always think Hank Williams appears so frail in comparison to the robust, chiseled country stars of today, but don’t let those looks fool you. Despite battles with illness and drug and alcohol addiction that lead to a career cut short by his death at 29, Hank had a career that today’s stars can only dream of. In six short years, Hank Williams wrote and recorded only 66 songs under his own name (he also recorded as “Luke the Drifter”, but that’s for another day)–but of those, an incredible 36 were Top Ten hits and 11 went all the way...

...The 87-year-old singer has been in and out of hospitals several times this year after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer late last year. Although he was told during a Houston hospital checkup visit his cancer was in remission, Price has since experienced more health issues with dehydration and intense pain from kidney stones. ...On Wednesday Price said told his Facebook fans that he was “touched and deeply moved by your love and prayers and good wishes." "You all have moved me to tears!! I have dedicated my entire life to country music and my fans. To have folks like you...

<p>The 20-year-old daughter of country star Alan Jackson has been charged with assault, underage drinking and resisting arrest. She is accused of striking a police officer and then invoking her father's name during a traffic stop in Nashville.</p>

The father of teen star Miley Cyrus said the Disney TV show "Hannah Montana" that made her a worldwide star, in truth destroyed his family, and he blamed it for sending his daughter out of control. Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus said he was scared for 18 year-old Miley after a series of scandals including an infamous video last year which showed her getting high on the psychedelic herb salvia. And he said he wished that "Hannah Montana" had never happened. "The damn show destroyed my family," Cyrus told GQ magazine in an interview for its March edition. "I'd take...

"Cowboy" Jack Clement, a producer, engineer, songwriter and beloved figure who helped birth rock 'n' roll and push country music into modern times, died Thursday at his home. He was 82. Dub Cornett, a close friend of Clement's, said his hospice nurse confirmed Clement passed away surrounded by family after declining treatment for liver cancer. His death came just months after he learned he would be joining the Country Music Hall of Fame, a fitting tip of the hat to the man whose personal story is entwined with the roots of modern music like few others. He was to be...

The Country Music Country Radio Ignores By NEIL STRAUSS WHEN a dark horse, the roots-music soundtrack to the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," won the top honor at the Grammy Awards last month, there was a clamor in the press room. Country music might never be the same again, the critics and journalists said. After all, besides albums by Glen Campbell and Bonnie Raitt, no recording that had anything to do with country had ever won the top Grammy Album of the Year. And the competition, especially U2 and Bob Dylan, had been fierce. So as the performers who...

On Thursday George Strait's New Song Inspired By Newtown School Massacre was a top story. Here is the recap: Country superstar George Strait has released his latest single "I Believe" which was inspired by the tragic school massacre in Newtown, Conn. last December. We were sent over these details: Strait co-wrote the song with his son, Bubba Strait, and songwriter Dean Dillon after watching the news coverage of the tragady. Having lost his daughter at a young age, George felt as if it was a song he needed to write. Yet, when he was working on the album, he didn't...

Charles Carr, the 19-year-old kid at the wheel of a powder-blue Caddy when Hank Williams Sr. died in the back seat just after midnight on Jan. 1, 1953, has passed away. Carr, 79, was the last person to see the legendary singer-songwriter alive. I spent the day with Carr 10 years ago and wrote a story about his recollections of those last few hours on the...

Marine veteran-turned-country crooner Jimmy Rose brought down the house Tuesday night on America’s Got Talent with an original song honoring his Kentucky coal miner roots. Rose’s rendition of his song “Coal Keeps The Lights On” may have done more to humanize President Barack Obama’s war on coal workers than a boatload of advocacy ads ever could...

Country singer, Randy Travis is in critical condition after being admitted to a Texas hospital on Sunday, July 7, 2013 for viral cardiomyopathy, reports USA Today. Cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the heart muscles, and can be genetic, but also can be caused by a virus, or can even be a result of another medical condition. So what is cardiomyopathy – specifically, what is viral cardiomyopathy – and what are some of the possible treatments that Randy Travis may have to undergo for recovery? What is Cardiomyopathy? Cardiomyopathy is a disease that makes the heart to become enlarged, thick, or...

Country singer Randy Travis has been admitted to a Texas hospital and is listed in critical condition, according to his public relations firm. The six-time Grammy winner is suffering from complications of recently acquired viral cardiomyopathy. "Cardiomyopathy is the term for any disease of the heart muscle that interferes with the heart’s ability to pump blood with sufficient force," according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Travis' condition, which is viral, was caused by an infection in the heart. Travis, 54, was admitted to the hospital on Sunday. The illness is a continuation of a tough run for the "Three Wooden Crosses"...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The excitement over Kenny Chesney Saturday proved to be a little too much for some people with the night ending with several fights and numerous arrests. Police say 49 people were arrested inside Heinz field during the concert, with another 24 arrests taking place near the venue on the North Shore. Police say most of the arrests were for disorderly conduct, public intoxication and aggravated assault.