Free Republic

In 1973, the Citizens Band radio (aka the CB radio, aka a collection of short-distance radio communications) grew so popular that it attracted millions of people throughout the entire decade — not at all unlike the way social media attracts users today. This weekend, ’70s on 7 pays tribute to the fad by welcoming American country singer C.W. McCall, who is best known for his ’75 chart topper, Convoy, a hit song Rolling Stone recently included in its 100 Greatest Country Songs Of All Time list. On writing Convoy, McCall reminisced: “When we wrote the song, we went out and...

George Hamilton IV, whose gentle demeanor and soothing folk-country vocal style earned him worldwide acclaim, died Wednesday (September 17th) at a Nashville hospital, following a heart attack which he suffered on Saturday. He was 77. A 50-year veteran of the Grand Ole Opry, Hamilton was known as the "International Ambassador of Country Music," having toured successfully throughout Europe, Asia, the Soviet Union and Australia... In 1963, he scored his greatest success with "Abilene." ...

BOSTON (Reuters) - Forty-six music fans were treated for mostly alcohol-related medical problems at Australian country singer Keith Urban's concert outside Boston on Saturday night, local officials said. Fire and emergency medical personnel dealt with dozens of ill fans during the show at an outdoor arena in Mansfield, Massachusetts, about 25 miles (40 km) south of Boston, the town's police and fire departments said in a joint statement on Sunday. Some 22 people were transported to area hospitals, mostly for alcohol-related illness, and more than 50 people were taken into protective custody by police, who noted that the large number...

ATLANTA, July 18 (UPI)--Tim McGraw "swatted" a fan at his July 13 concert in Atlanta. A video of the incident surfaced this week that appears to capture the 47-year-old singer smacking a woman in the face. The footage shows McGraw as he performs his song "Truck Yeah" amid a sea of fans and touches hands with people in the audience. He gives the fan in question a smack after she attempts to get his attention and grabs onto his jeans when she is rebuffed.

My former co-worker just called me for help in naming a country music song. I don't listen to today's country music that much, so I couldn't help her, but I'm sure one of my FReeper FRiends can. She said the song had something in the lyrics about grandma having dementia or Alzheimer's and having to refer back to 1942(ish) for something she can remember. Or something like that. Does anyone know what song that might be and who the artist is? TIA. :)

Former homeless man Doug Seegers is set to embark on a tour of Sweden after a chance discovery by a Swedish television crew turned the singer into an overnight sensation in the country. Seegers, 62, featured on the popular SVT show 'Jills Veranda' earlier this year. The street performer, who has admitted to living rough in the past, was catapulted to stardom after performing his song 'Going down to the river' on the programme. It then rocketed to number one on the Swedish iTunes chart. Swedish fans have since uploaded their own version of Seegers' hit song to YouTube, while...

I’ve complained about the state of modern mainstream country music for a long time now. And clearly, I’m not alone. Singer-songwriter Collin Raye, one of the top country artists throughout the ’90s, recently took to Fox News to air his grievances at the state of country music today. As a platinum-selling country music artist and, more importantly, a lifelong fan of the genre, I’d like to send out this heartfelt plea to the gatekeepers of the industry:Enough already.I’d like to think that I am expressing what nearly every artist, musician and songwriter (with perhaps a few exceptions) is thinking when...

Nothing makes a diehard eeyore like me happier than a depressing poll, but even I’ve got to call BS on this one. C’mon, Politico.That 71 percent includes 90 percent of Latinos, 78 percent of Democrats, and 64 percent of Republicans — and frankly, I’m surprised the totals for each aren’t higher. Except to the small minority of the population that follows immigration news closely, the phrase “comprehensive immigration reform” is almost totally meaningless. News junkies recognize it as a term of art to describe a compromise on border security and legalization; to everyone else, which is pretty much everyone,...

As a platinum-selling country music artist and, more importantly, a lifelong fan of the genre, I’d like to send out this heartfelt plea to the gatekeepers of the industry: Enough already. I’d like to think that I am expressing what nearly every artist, musician and songwriter (with perhaps a few exceptions) is thinking when I contend that the Bro’ Country phenomenon must cease. It has had its run for better or worse and it’s time for Nashville to get back to producing, and more importantly promoting, good singers singing real songs. It’s time for country music to find its identity...

Glen Campbell has been moved into a care facility three years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, People.com reports. "He was moved to an Alzheimer's facility last week," a family friend told the title. "I'm not sure what the permanent plan is for him yet. We'll know more next week." The singer, whose "Rhinestone Cowboy" topped the charts in 1975, had been suffering from short-term memory loss in recent years. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in early 2011. The 78-year-old Grammy winner and his wife Kim initially shared the news of his illness back in 2011 because he’d hoped...

Country music has been very good to Collin Raye, and the chart topper returned the favor many times over with hits like Love, Me and My Kind of Girl. Perhaps that's why Raye dedicates part of his new autobiography A Voice Undefeated to what he calls the genre's biggest problem. Today's country songs, he writes, too often lack the "real life, real love and real loss" qualities that capture the best the genre once offered.

Clay Aiken's appearance here recently seemed as much a fan tour as a campaign stop. The former American Idol contestant and current Democratic candidate for the Second Congressional District was at Di'lishi Frozen Yogurt Bar to meet people and have his picture made with them. Some talked politics while others just seemed to want to see and touch him. Marlo Francis, owner of Di'lishi, said the event was the result of a friendship between Aiken and Lane Ragsdale, who works at the N.C. Zoo. "Clay's PR person asked me about visiting the Zoo," said Ragsdale, who added that Aiken's Zoo...

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.