News items from Country music headlines

June 19, 2009 — Chuck Wicks turns a corner on Saturday when he celebrates his 30th birthday. He reaches that mark with a happening career and a beautiful girlfriend, Julianne Hough, so it’s doubtful that flipping numbers on his age will have a big negative emotional impact. But with Chuck — well, it’s hard to know.

June 19, 2009 — Darryl Worley and wife Kimberly welcomed their daughter, Savannah Gail, in March 2008, and 15 months later, she’s bonded with her mom and dad. That poses a problem, though, when Dad’s on the road. When the TV is on, he sometimes pops up on the screen, and it’s completely confusing to his little girl.

June 19, 2009 — Alan Jackson’s getting his name set in concrete in Hollywood, Marty Stuart has a road being named after him in Mississippi and Dierks Bentley’s being flagged by a financial publication in New York. They’re among the country stars earning special awards and recognition at the moment for their accomplishments:

June 19, 2009 — "Ask Dad. He knows." That’s the sign on a drugstore wall in the classic Jimmy Stewart movie It’s A Wonderful Life. While Dad doesn’t really always know, it’s amazing as we grow older how much most people learn to appreciate their father’s wisdom in a deeper way. Father’s Day is Sunday, and many of country’s biggest stars — including Lee Ann Womack, Craig Morgan and Carrie Underwood — have huge affection for their dads. Here’s what some of them are saying about their fathers, or about being a father:

June 19, 2009 — The 50,000-plus fans who attended last weekend’s CMA Music Festival are likely still in physical recovery. There was so much to do and to take in, from Taylor Swift’s autograph-signing session to Martina McBride’s surprise duet with Kid Rock. Host Nan Kelley will recap many of the highlights on this weekend’s edition of GAC’s <em>Top 20 Country Countdown</em>.

June 18, 2009 — One of the first three people inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the late Jimmie Rodgers is generally regarded as the Father of Country Music, his career capped by "T For Texas," the first of his many "Blue Yodel"s. More than 75 years after his death, he’s being remembered by a trio of books that recall his impact on popular culture.

June 18, 2009 — Loretta Lynn was rather famously friends with Patsy Cline when the Coal Miner’s Daughter first moved to Nashville during the early 1960s. Loretta paid tribute to her mentor with the 1977 album I Remember Patsy, but she also got a thumbs-up from the singer for one of her earliest hits.

June 18, 2009 — It’s been a long time since Kenny Chesney attended high school, but he was there Tuesday — in spirit, anyway — when the senior class of Griswold High in Connecticut got its diplomas and headed out into the world.

June 18, 2009 — Steve Wariner will be the featured guest on the June 18 edition of the Grand Ole Opry when the venerable show pays tribute to the late Chet Atkins.

June 18, 2009 — Lady Antebellum is currently in the Top 10 on the USA Today Mediabase country singles chart with "I Run To You," the band’s third hit from its debut album. The CD went gold in February, but the trio is hoping its sophomore project will exceed the first one’s reach.

June 17, 2009 — Legendary songwriter Hank Cochran — responsible for such classics as "Ocean Front Property," "I Fall To Pieces" and "Set ‘Em Up Joe" — was honored Monday with a special party at Nashville’s BMI where the guest list included such heavyweight performers as Merle Haggard and Elvis Costello.

June 17, 2009 — Travis Tritt’s father, James E. Tritt, 76, died Monday, spurring Travis to cancel a planned performance Thursday in Wisconsin.

June 17, 2009 — Given the late-night hours that go with its job, Rascal Flatts knows the value of an all-night diner, and the band is adding its own special breakfast to the menu of Denny’s restaurants beginning June 23.

June 17, 2009 — Kellie Pickler and "Heroes" actor Milo Ventimiglia are this year’s Sexiest Vegetarians Alive, according to People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals.

June 17, 2009 — Kenny Chesney’s made quite a career by singing about alcohol and attraction, and his current single, "Out Last Night," blended both in a catchy manner that brought him the 19th No. 1 hit of his career.

June 16, 2009 — "I keep my Christmas lights on on my front porch all year long." So Gretchen Wilson sang in her 2004 hit "Redneck Woman." Miranda Lambert reintroduced Christmas-light imagery in her current single "Dead Flowers," and it turns out that she is the embodiment of the redneck woman at the heart of Gretchen’s song.

June 16, 2009 — Jack Ingram sang "Barefoot And Crazy" in his set when he opened Sunday’s final night of stadium shows at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, but two days earlier, he was in Austin working on a video for the song at a resort on Lake Travis.

June 16, 2009 — Darius Rucker joined fellow songwriters Ashley Gorley and Chris DuBois Monday for a late-afternoon party at ASCAP on Music Row to celebrate his No. 1 single "It Won’t Be Like This For Long."

June 16, 2009 — Kenny Chesney might have closed the CMA Music Festival Sunday at the home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, but before he ever arrived at Nashville’s stadium, he’d given performances at two different Chicago sports venues over the weekend.

June 16, 2009 — Amid all the performances and autograph signings that comprised last weekend’s CMA Music Festival, Martina McBride, Darryl Worley and Steve Wariner took part in events that raised $10,000 to $72,000 for charities.