Congratulations to Alan Jackson, who will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame during their annual gala on October 16th. He's their choice for the Songwriter/Artist category this year. Alan has either written or co-written 24 of his 35 #1 hit songs, putting him in very elite company. Very few artists have had a hand in writing over 20 #1 songs. He's second to Merle Haggard in the country music realm.
Jason Aldean's 6th Annual Concert for the Cure will be September 30th in Roanoak, VA. It's a benefit for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and is in memory of a close friend, Melissa, who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 29. According to Jason, "It's amazing what we can do and how much money we can raise when we all come together for this cause." When he's not on tour, Jason savors his "dad" time: “You know, I’m always goin’ to softball practices and definitely in the carpool line and all that stuff. So, it’s cool. I mean, I enjoy that. I miss a lot of stuff when I’m out on the road. So, when I’m home I like to kinda get involved in all those things.”
Sad news - a 6th person has lost her life in the wake of the stage collapse at the Sugarland concert on August 12th. Jennifer Haskell, who was 22, succumbed to injuries caused by the falling stage roof. There are still victims hospitalized with injuries from the accident.
And from the "we knew it was going to happen" folder, the first lawsuits have been filed. Tammy VanDam was killed in the accident and a wrongful death suit is pending on her behalf, and her partner, Beth Urschel, who is hospitalized with injuries, has a suit pending claiming that she'll suffer lifelong impairment due to those injuries. Experts expect many more suits to be brought.
Dierks Bentley got talked into helping a man propose to his girlfriend after a concert. If sweet things make you puddle up, consider this your tissue warning!
Martina McBride and Darius Rucker are both going to be part of the MDA Labor Day telethon, and scuttlebutt is that Jerry Lewis will, indeed, be part of the telethon this year. About a month ago, the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced that Jerry Lewis wouldn't be coming back this year.
Happy birthday today to Holly Dunn (54), Ricky Lynn Gregg (50) and Collin Raye (51 or 52, depending on the source.)
The tweet of the day is from Blake Shelton: "I'm. Going. Home. Tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yyyeeessss!!!!! By the way how long can dogs go without water?"
