Artists to join country hall of fame
Hank Williams Jr., Marty Stuart and songwriter Dean Dillon are the newest inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Announced by the Country Music Association on Wednesday, Williams will join his father, country legend Hank Williams Sr., in the Hall of Fame’s rotunda.
“I have been making
Top 10 records for 56 years,” said Williams, 71. “I fell off a mountain and tried to reinvent myself as a truly individual artist and one who stepped out of the shadows of a very famous man, one of the greatest. I’ve got to thank all those rowdy friends who, year after year, still show up for me. It’s an honor to carry on this family tradition. It is much appreciated.”
Williams is known for his songs like “A Country Boy Can Survive,” “Family Tradition” and “All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin’ Over Tonight.” He has had 10 No. 1 Billboard Hot Country songs.
Stuart, a five-time Grammy winner, started his career as a sideman before starting his own artist career. Stuart charted six top 10 Billboard Country songs, with songs like “Hillbilly Rock,” “Little Things” and “Tempted.”
“It is the ultimate honor in country music,” said Stuart, 61, in a statement. “... To be officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame is beyond words. I’m usually not at a loss for words.”
Dillon is known for being the tunesmith behind George Strait’s dozens of hits, including “The Chair,” “Ocean Front Property” and “Here For a
Good Time.” With Linda Hargrove, he also wrote the timeless classic “Tennessee Whiskey.”
“I was just speechless,” said Dillon, 65, in a statement. “Trying to soak in the words that I had just heard. My life flashed before my eyes. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather.”
Lucille Ball Comedy Festival goes virtual:
The annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival is going virtual with help from Tiffany Haddish, LinManuel Miranda, Margaret Cho, “Weird Al” Yankovic and more than two dozen others working in the realm of humor.
The festival, presented by the National Comedy Center in New York, will stream conversations with the artists over three weekends, starting Friday and running through Aug. 30.
The 29th annual festival will pay tribute to Carl Reiner, the filmmaker and creator of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” who died in June.
The livestreams will be free on the platform Come dyCenter.org/Festival and at Facebook.com/National ComedyCenter. The programs will then be available on-demand without charge on the platform.
Rock-led season of ‘Fargo’ to premiere:
Following its COVID-19related delay, “Fargo” will return for a fourth season on Sept. 27. The season follows two criminal syndicates fighting for a piece of the American dream. Cast against type, comedian Chris Rock takes a dramatic turn as a crime boss named Loy Cannon, whose uneasy truce with his Italian mafia counterpart is tested with deadly results.
Aug. 13 birthdays:
Actor Kevin Tighe is 76. Actor Danny Bonaduce is 61. Actor Dawnn Lewis is 59. Actor John Slattery is 58. Actor Debi Mazar is 56. Actor Quinn Cummings is 53. Singer Andy Griggs is 47. Actor Kathryn Fiore is 41. Actor Sebastian Stan is 38. Actor Eme Ikwuakor is 36. Actor Lennon Stella is 21.