When the new season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars kicks off on March 9, don't expect to see Jewel or Nancy O'Dell dancing like originally planned. Jewel recently got injured during rehearsals with dancing partner Dmitry Chaplin and has a bad case of tendonitis in her knees. Although she insisted the injury would not sideline her and that she would be back to perform for the season debut, doctors have apparently told her to hang up her dancing shoes. Apparently Playboy playmate and star of "Girl Next Door" Holly Madison is replacing Jewel. Madison agreed to join the celeb dance-off on Monday, March 2, and immediately started rehearsing at an L.A. studio with Chaplin.
And "The Bachelor" star Melissa Rycroft will replace Nancy O'Dell of Access Hollywood who had to leave the competition due to a torn meniscus in her knee. Melissa, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, was dumped by Bachelor Jason Mesnick on the "After the Final Rose" special after he had proposed to her in the "Bachelor" season finale.
And "The Bachelor" star Melissa Rycroft will replace Nancy O'Dell of Access Hollywood who had to leave the competition due to a torn meniscus in her knee. Melissa, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, was dumped by Bachelor Jason Mesnick on the "After the Final Rose" special after he had proposed to her in the "Bachelor" season finale.
Rascal Flatts is being sued for copyright infringement over a song on the band's "Still Feels Good" CD.
Songwriter D.L. Byron, who wrote Pat Benatar's "Shadows of the Night," said the band used his song in writing "No Reins" off the Still Feels Good CD. News of the suit was just reported in the New York Post, although Byron filed a federal suit against the band, producers and the Disney Music Group label last August.
Byron said in a statement. "All anyone has to do is to listen to the first 17 seconds of each recording and instantly hear the similarities." The paper said, "To the extent that 'No Reins' shares any similarities with the plaintiff's alleged copyrighted work, any such similarities between the two works are the result of coincidence and/or the use of common or trite ideas," according to lawyers for band member Joe Don Rooney.
Songwriter D.L. Byron, who wrote Pat Benatar's "Shadows of the Night," said the band used his song in writing "No Reins" off the Still Feels Good CD. News of the suit was just reported in the New York Post, although Byron filed a federal suit against the band, producers and the Disney Music Group label last August.
Byron said in a statement. "All anyone has to do is to listen to the first 17 seconds of each recording and instantly hear the similarities." The paper said, "To the extent that 'No Reins' shares any similarities with the plaintiff's alleged copyrighted work, any such similarities between the two works are the result of coincidence and/or the use of common or trite ideas," according to lawyers for band member Joe Don Rooney.
Mindy McCready has completed her jail sentence for violating her probation in connection with a 2004 conviction for prescription drug fraud. The 32-year-old singer was released October 31 from a Franklin, Tennessee jail after her sentence was cut in half for good behavior and because of her work as a janitor during her incarceration. McCready voluntarily surrendered to authorities in Franklin on September 30 to serve 60 days in jail for falsifying her community service records and violating probation imposed in 2004 for fraudulently obtaining prescription painkillers.
Jerry Montano, the guy who reportedly took a beer bottle to the face from Big & Rich's John Rich recently, says the whole thing started because they both had too much to drink. Montano said he and Rich were at a bar in West Hollywood when an intoxicated John suddenly became angry about a fight he was in the night before. Jerry says they went back to the rock star's hotel room at the Mondrian and John started to get violent, throwing things around the room. As Montano tried to leave around 4 AM, he turned into a glass object Rich was swinging around and it hit him in the nose. Paramedics and police were called to the scene, but Jerry refused to press charges and claims he's still a fan.
John Rich put a rock musician in the hospital with a broken nose after a fight in a hotel lobby. Rich was in the lobby of the Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood just after 4 a.m. Friday October 17 when he got into an argument with two men. He reportedly swung his beer bottle, hitting musician Jerry Montano in the nose. Montano, who was later taken to the hospital, is the former bassist of the rock band Danzig. The police were called by no charges were filed.
Employees of Josh Turner and Martha Stewart will be tying the knot. Turner's band member, Kevin Haynie, will marry Stewart's assistant, Liesl Menning, in Nashville on October 4. Haynie and Menning met when Turner performed "Firecracker" on Stewart's television show last year. The wedding will be filmed for a one-hour special to air on the Style network in December. Photos will also be featured in the winter edition of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine.
Singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver was indicted September 17 by a Texas grand jury in connection with the shooting of a man outside a bar in Lorena, Texas.
Shaver, 69, is accused of shooting Billy B. Coker, 50, in the cheek during an argument on April 1, 2007. Coker, who claims the shooting was unprovoked, was treated and released at a local hospital. According to a witness, Shaver allegedly followed Coker out of Papa Joe's Texas Saloon and asked, "Where do you want it?" He then allegedly shot Coker in the face. A second witness said she heard Shaver say to Coker "Tell me you are sorry," and "Nobody tells me to shut up." Shaver's attorney alleged that Coker was drunk and armed with a knife when he followed Shaver outside the club.
Shaver was charged by a McLennan County jury with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and unlawful carrying of a handgun by a licensed holder on a licensed premises, a third-degree felony. The assault charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The handgun charge carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
Shaver, 69, is accused of shooting Billy B. Coker, 50, in the cheek during an argument on April 1, 2007. Coker, who claims the shooting was unprovoked, was treated and released at a local hospital. According to a witness, Shaver allegedly followed Coker out of Papa Joe's Texas Saloon and asked, "Where do you want it?" He then allegedly shot Coker in the face. A second witness said she heard Shaver say to Coker "Tell me you are sorry," and "Nobody tells me to shut up." Shaver's attorney alleged that Coker was drunk and armed with a knife when he followed Shaver outside the club.
Shaver was charged by a McLennan County jury with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and unlawful carrying of a handgun by a licensed holder on a licensed premises, a third-degree felony. The assault charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The handgun charge carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
Loretta Lynn has enlisted the help of world-renowned psychic medium James Van Praagh to rid her Hurricane Mills, Tennessee mansion of spirits. Van Praagh's visit to Loretta's home was filmed by the TV show, The Insider. He confirmed on camera that the home is indeed haunted by several ghosts, and told Lynn, "I think people were killed here," and that he could see "blood everywhere." AOL's The Boot reports that Van Praagh was so spooked that he broke his promise to spend the night in the house. He explained, "I was going to stay the night, but when the spirits said, 'Get out,' I thought, 'I should probably get out.' It feels like I'm in somebody's place and they don't want me to disrupt it."
Legend has it that 19 Confederate soldiers were killed on Loretta's property. It's also said to be haunted by the plantation's original owner, several of his slaves and a mysterious woman in white. Log on to prairieghosts.com/hur_mills.html to read the full story about the ghosts that haunt Loretta's home.
Legend has it that 19 Confederate soldiers were killed on Loretta's property. It's also said to be haunted by the plantation's original owner, several of his slaves and a mysterious woman in white. Log on to prairieghosts.com/hur_mills.html to read the full story about the ghosts that haunt Loretta's home.
09/03: Death of Jerry Reed
Singer and actor Jerry Reed, known as "The Guitar Man" of country music, died on Monday, September 1, at the age of 71. Reed, born Jerry Reed Hubbard, suffered from emphysema and was in hospice care at his Brentwood, Tennessee home. Reed's death ends a career that took him from writing hit songs like "When You're Hot, You're Hot" to major acting roles in Hollywood.
Reed is well known by music fans for hits such as "She Got The Goldmine (I Got The Shaft)", "Lord, Mr. Ford", "When You're Hot, You're Hot," "The Bird" and "East Bound and Down".
Born in Atlanta, Reed learned to play guitar at age 8 when his mother bought him a $2 guitar and showed him how to play a G-chord. He dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young. At 17, he signed his first recording contract, with Capitol Records. He moved to Nashville in the mid-1960s where he caught the eye of Chet Atkins. Reed released more than 40 albums over a long career that started with his first record at the age of 18.
Jerry Reed first established himself as a songwriter. Elvis Presley recorded two of his songs, "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man" (both in 1968), where Reed played his distinctive "claw-style" licks on the studio recordings. He wrote the hit "A Thing Called Love," which was recorded in 1972 by Johnny Cash. He also wrote songs for Brenda Lee, Porter Wagoner, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and the Oak Ridge Boys. He was a session guitarist for Presley, Waylon Jennings, Bobby Bare and others, and also toured with the likes of Joan Baez and Ringo Starr. Reed also played with country star Chet Atkins and was a regular on the "Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" in 1970.
Jerry Reed was voted instrumentalist of the year in 1970 by the Country Music Association and won a Grammy Award for "When You're Hot, You're Hot" in 1971. A year earlier, he shared a Grammy with Chet Atkins for their collaboration, "Me and Jerry." Then again in 1992, Atkins and Reed won a Grammy for "Sneakin' Around." Reed continued performing on the road into the late 1990s, doing about 80 shows a year.
Jerry Reed began his acting career after striking up a friendship with Burt Reynolds, where Reed was cast in small role's in W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), and Gator (1976). He had a natural on screen charm, and Reynolds picked him to play trucker Cledus Snow, aka "The Snowman," in the hugely popular Smokey and the Bandit (1977), plus he returned to the role in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). Reed later played Coach Red Beaulieu in the 1998 movie The Waterboy with Adam Sandler.
Reed is well known by music fans for hits such as "She Got The Goldmine (I Got The Shaft)", "Lord, Mr. Ford", "When You're Hot, You're Hot," "The Bird" and "East Bound and Down".
Born in Atlanta, Reed learned to play guitar at age 8 when his mother bought him a $2 guitar and showed him how to play a G-chord. He dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young. At 17, he signed his first recording contract, with Capitol Records. He moved to Nashville in the mid-1960s where he caught the eye of Chet Atkins. Reed released more than 40 albums over a long career that started with his first record at the age of 18.
Jerry Reed first established himself as a songwriter. Elvis Presley recorded two of his songs, "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man" (both in 1968), where Reed played his distinctive "claw-style" licks on the studio recordings. He wrote the hit "A Thing Called Love," which was recorded in 1972 by Johnny Cash. He also wrote songs for Brenda Lee, Porter Wagoner, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and the Oak Ridge Boys. He was a session guitarist for Presley, Waylon Jennings, Bobby Bare and others, and also toured with the likes of Joan Baez and Ringo Starr. Reed also played with country star Chet Atkins and was a regular on the "Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" in 1970.
Jerry Reed was voted instrumentalist of the year in 1970 by the Country Music Association and won a Grammy Award for "When You're Hot, You're Hot" in 1971. A year earlier, he shared a Grammy with Chet Atkins for their collaboration, "Me and Jerry." Then again in 1992, Atkins and Reed won a Grammy for "Sneakin' Around." Reed continued performing on the road into the late 1990s, doing about 80 shows a year.
Jerry Reed began his acting career after striking up a friendship with Burt Reynolds, where Reed was cast in small role's in W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), and Gator (1976). He had a natural on screen charm, and Reynolds picked him to play trucker Cledus Snow, aka "The Snowman," in the hugely popular Smokey and the Bandit (1977), plus he returned to the role in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). Reed later played Coach Red Beaulieu in the 1998 movie The Waterboy with Adam Sandler.
08/25: Dolly Is Alive and Well
On Friday night, August 22, a rumor began circulating that Dolly Parton had passed away of congestive heart failure. Apparently, a local high school in Parton's East Tennessee announced her death during its Friday night football game, though no one knows how the rumor started. The rumor spread like wildfire, even getting to Fox News, which actually reported she had died with a news flash on the bottom of the screen. Thankfully, the rumor had no truth to it and Dolly is alive and well taking a break from touring at her home in Nashville. Parton's Dollywood publicist, Pete Owens, said he spoke with Dolly on Saturday, and she decided against releasing an official statement confirming that she is indeed alive.
