Cowboy Corner

By Michael W. Stout

Hats Off to WAMZ's Coyote Calhoun

Coyote Calhoun, program director and disc jockey for 97.5-FM WAMZ, received the highest honor of his lengthy career in radio on March 1 in Music City U.S.A, Nashville, Tennessee. Calhoun was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey and Radio Hall of Fame when he was unanimously voted into the institution by the board in his very first year of eligibility. In his acceptance speech at a special ceremony during the annual Country Radio Seminar, Calhoun singled out one special person who has most-affected his career: "There's one person I'd like to thank who can't be here tonight and that's my dad, who passed away last May. He was in radio for 55 years. He was the first guy to hire me and the first guy to blow me out."

Calhoun began his Louisville radio career on the Top 40 station WAKY in 1973, staying until moving to Houston in 1979. The following year, he headed back to the Derby city and decided to try his hand at country music, the genre of music he has obviously grown to love, and the music industry, which has grown to love him. He became the first on-air personality and program director for country station WAMZ, where he has been a permanent fixture for 25 years now.

Congratulations to my buddy Coyote Calhoun on such a well-deserved accolade! Keep up the good work! My hat's off to you.

Tim McGraw Sweeps ACM Nominees

When the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year, Toby Keith, recently announced the nominees for the 40^th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, Tim McGraw was top dog with six nods. McGraw will vie for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for Live Like You Were Dying, while the title track from this very album is in the running for Single, Song and Video of the Year. Kenny Chesney, Alison Krauss and Gretchen Wilson follow McGraw with five nominations each, while Toby Keith, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban each received four nods.

Although people in the music industry vote on the majority of the awards, fans do have their chance to have a say in the fan-voted Home Depot Humanitarian Award. Nominees are: Diamond Rio, Neal McCoy and Brad Paisley. Simply log on to www.acmcountry.com to vote.

The envelopes will be opened and the trophies handed out on May 17 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The awards ceremony will be broadcast live on CBS-Television. Currently, Alan Jackson, Rascal Flatts and George Strait are scheduled to perform live during the telecast, while Toby Keith will perform via satellite from a U.S. military base in Iraq during his USO tour.

And the nominees are: Entertainer of the Year: Brooks and Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban; Top Female Vocalist: Terri Clark, Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Gretchen Wilson and Lee Ann Womack; Top Male Vocalist: Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban; Top Vocal Duo: Big and Rich, Blue Country, Brooks and Dunn, Montgomery Gentry and The Warren Brothers; and Top Vocal Group: Alison Krauss and Union Station, Diamond Rio, Lonestar, Rascal Flatts and The Notorious Cherry Bombs.

Top New Artist: Big and Rich, Josh Gracin, Julie Roberts, Josh Turner and Gretchen Wilson; Vocal Event of the Year: Norah Jones and Dolly Parton's "Creepin' In," Jimmy Buffett, Clint Black, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith and George Strait's "Hey Good Lookin'," Shania Twain and Billy Currington's "Party for Two," Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker's "When the Sun Goes Down," and Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss' "Whiskey Lullaby"; Song of the Year: Toby Keith's "American Soldier," Rascal Flatts' "Bless the Broken Road," Lee Ann Womack's "I May Hate Myself in the Morning," Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying," and Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss' "Whiskey Lullaby"; and Single Record of the Year: Rascal Flatts' "Bless the Broken Road," Keith Urban's "Days Go By," Lee Ann Womack's "I May Hate Myself in the Morning," Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying," Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman," and Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss' "Whiskey Lullaby."

Video of the Year: Terri Clark's "Girls Lie Too," Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying," Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman," Big and Rich's "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)," and Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss' "Whiskey Lullaby"; and Album of the Year: Keith Urban's Be Here, Gretchen Wilson's Here for the Party, Tim McGraw's Live Like You Were Dying, Sara Evans' Restless and Kenny Chesney's When the Sun Goes Down.

Congratulations to all the nominees!

Final Nominees for CMT Music Awards-Loretta Lynn to be Honored

Last month, Terri Clark announced the final nominees for the 2005 CMT Music Awards as determined by voters on www.cmt.com. Fans voting for the four final nominees, who will be announced during the live awards telecast on Country Music Television on April 11, will determine the winner of the Video of the Year award.

Butcher Holler, Ky.'s own "Coal Miner's Daughter," Loretta Lynn, is scheduled to be on hand during the awards ceremony to accept the Johnny Cash Visionary Award, which "recognizes an artist's extraordinary musical vision, innovative and groundbreaking music videos and pioneering initiatives in entertainment." Lynn's latest release, the critically acclaimed Van Lear Rose, has opened new doors for the country legend, who has been performing for more than 40 years. The disc earned the singer two Grammy's earlier this year. Lynn will join Reba McEntire, Johnny Cash and the Dixie Chicks as the elite list of recipients of this prestigious award which was originally named the Video Visionary Award and had its name permanently changed to honor the late, legendary "Man in Black" just last year.

And the final nominees are: Video of the Year: Big and Rich's "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)," Kenny Chesney's "I Go Back," Toby Keith's "Stays in Mexico," Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying," Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss' "Whiskey Lullaby," Rascal Flatts' "Feels Like Today," Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman," and Keith Urban's "Days Go By"; Female Video of the Year: Terri Clark's "Girls Lie Too," Martina McBride's "How Far," Reba McEntire's "Somebody," and Gretchen Wilson's "When I Think About Cheatin'"; Male Video of the Year: Kenny Chesney's "I Go Back," Toby Keith's "Stays in Mexico," Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying," and Keith Urban's "Days Go By."

Group/Duo Video of the Year: Big and Rich's "Holy Water," Lonestar's "Mr. Mom," Montgomery Gentry's "If You Ever Stop Loving Me," and Rascal Flatts' "Feels Like Today"; Collaborative Video of the Year: Jimmy Buffett, Clint Black, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith and George Strait's "Hey Good Lookin'," Nelly and Tim McGraw's "Over and Over," Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss' "Whiskey Lullaby," and Shania Twain and Billy Currington's "Party for Two"; and Breakthrough Video of the Year: Big and Rich's "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)," Josh Gracin's "I Want to Live," Julie Roberts' "Break Down Here," and Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman."

Most Inspiring Video of the Year: Big and Rich's "Holy Water," Martina McBride's "God's Will," Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying," and Joe Nichols' "If Nobody Believed in You"; Hottest Video of the Year: Kenny Chesney's "Old Blue Chair," Sara Evans' "Suds in the Bucket," Toby Keith's "Whiskey Girl," and Keith Urban's "You're My Better Half"; and Video Director of the Year: David Hogan for Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman," Michael Salomon for Toby Keith's "Stays in Mexico," Rick Schroder for Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss' "Whiskey Lullaby," and Shaun Silva for Kenny Chesney's "I Go Back."

Artists currently scheduled to perform live during the 2005 CMT Music Awards at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center include Big and Rich, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Gretchen Wilson. Redneck comedian Jeff Foxworthy will host the program.

Judds and Conlee Headed to Ky. Music Hall of Fame

The Judds are scheduled to be inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

The Kentucky Music Hall of Fame inducts new members every two years and it recently announced its list of 2006 nominees, which includes three of country music's finest. The most successful mother-daughter duo in music history, The Judds, which is made up of Ashland, Ky. native Naomi Judd and her daughter Wynonna, will be inducted along with Farm Aid co-founder and "Rose Colored Glasses" singer John Conlee. Joining the Judds and Conlee will be mandolin player extraordinaire Sam Bush, the late opera singer Todd Duncan, the late jazz vibraphonist and bandleader Lionel Hampton, the late folk singer John Jacob Niles, gospel's Dottie Rambo and Peter, Paul and Mary's Mary Travers. These inductions will be formalized in a ceremony in Lexington on February 23, 2006.

Congratulations to all the inductees!

Chris LeDoux Succumbs to Liver Disease

56-year-old rodeo star and cowboy singer Chris LeDoux unfortunately lost his battle with liver disease in Casper, Wyo. on March 9. He was admitted to the Wyoming Medical Center earlier that week for complications from his recent bout with cancer of the bile duct. Born on October 2, 1948 in Biloxi, Miss., LeDoux began his lifelong love affair with horses as a child and began his infatuation with music as a teenager. In 1976, LeDoux earned the title of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association's world champion in bareback riding. He began recording his own brand of cowboy country music in 1971 and became a household name when a mildly popular country artist by the name of Garth Brooks paid tribute to the legend in his "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" tune. This song led to the collaboration between the two on the Top 10 "Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy" in 1992.

LeDoux is survived by his wife Peggy and their five children. Upon the requests of LeDoux's family, the funeral service was private with family and invited guests only. As a public memorial, Wyo. Governor Dave Freudenthal has proclaimed July 30, 2005 as Chris LeDoux Day during the Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyo. Gov. Freudenthal stated, "Chris LeDoux has meant a lot to Wyoming, from his earliest days of riding horseback to his later days of making music. Cheyenne Frontier Days, when fans of both will gather, seems like an appropriate time to honor his memory."

Our condolences go out to the entire LeDoux family.

Run-Ins with the Law

Doug Supernaw, best known for topping the country charts in 1993 with "I Don't Call Him Daddy," has had yet another run-in with the law. In 2002, the 44-year-old singer was charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer during a barroom brawl. He was arrested once again on March 6 in Bryan, Texas. and charged with public intoxication and fleeing from a police officer. He was reportedly yelling obscenities and making obscene gestures while walking near an apartment complex. An off-duty officer demanded Supernaw sit on the curb while waiting for a back-up officer to arrive to arrest him for public intoxication, but Supernaw began walking away and started running when reprimanded by the officer.

"Delta Dawn" singer Tanya Tucker has had a very rocky relationship with her ex-fiancé Jerry Laseter, including nine calls to the police during the last two years alone. She recently took out a protective order against Laseter, claiming that he has harassed her before concerts, grabbed her by the throat, given her black eyes and even dumped ice-cold water on her while she slept. Tucker's personal assistant has also filed a protective order against Laseter, claiming he has threatened to kill her. Tucker and Laseter's relationship produced a daughter, who is now five/

Well, winter has come and gone and so has another month's worth of country news. Always remember: "Keep your boots shined up and your hat on straight, `cause country music is comin' your way."