New class named to Hall of Fame
R&B legend Ray Charles and Grammy-winning duo the Judds will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Country Music Association on Monday announced the new class of Hall of Fame members, who will be formally inducted in a ceremony in 2022.
Charles, who died in 2004, showed the commercial potential of country music when he released “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” in 1962, a genredefying personal project to the Georgia-born singer and piano player.
Naomi Judd and her daughter, Wynonna, were the most successful duo in country music in the 1980s, with more than a dozen No. 1 hits.
Other inductions include Eddie Bayers, a drummer in Nashville for decades who worked on 300 platinum records and is a member of the Grand Ole Opry band, and pedal steel guitar player Pete Drake, a member of Nashville’s A-team of skilled session musicians. Bayers is the first drummer while Drake, who died in 1988, is the first pedal steel guitar player to be inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Blair documents treatments:
Actor Selma Blair has put the most intimate parts of her life and multiple sclerosis diagnosis on display with her new documentary “Introducing Selma Blair,” directed by Rachel Fleit. While Blair doesn’t pull any punches in the project, she also doesn’t pretend that what she has gone through with her diagnosis will mirror everyone else’s experience. Rather than create a scientific road map of treatment options, she simply wanted to tell her story.
Blair agreed to the documentary, streaming on Discovery+ Oct. 21, because she “just wanted to lead by example, saying, ‘This is where I am.’ If I slow down and have patience with myself, I find, this too shall pass.”
Rapinoe launches book club:
Megan Rapinoe is such a fan of #MeToo pioneer Tarana Burke that the soccer star chose Burke’s upcoming memoir, “Unbound,” for her new book club before she had even read it. “She is such an incredible person, and whatever it is she’s writing will be worth everyone reading,” Rapinoe said.
Rapinoe says she has made several choices for her online book club, sponsored by Literati, a subscription book company that also has teamed with Roxane Gay and Steph Curry among others. Literati announced Monday that Rapinoe’s club will be called “The Call In.” Burke’s memoir comes out Sept. 14.
New York Comedy Festival returns: Marc Maron, Bill Maher, Michelle Wolf, Ronny Chieng, Colin Quinn and Nick Kroll will headline this year’s New York Comedy Festival, which returns for laughs after last year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic. The festival runs Nov. 8 to 14. More than 200 comedians, latenight hosts and podcast stars will perform in more than 100 shows.
Aug. 17 birthdays: Actor Robert De Niro is 78. Guitarist Gary Talley is 74. Singer Belinda Carlisle is 63. Actor Sean Penn is 61. Saxophonist Everette Harp is 60. Drummer Steve Gorman is 56. Singer Donnie Wahlberg is 52. TV personality Giuliana Rancic is 47. Actor Bryton James is 35. Actor Taissa Farmiga is 27.