DARIUS RUCKER INVITED TO JOIN GRAND OLE OPRY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Darius Rucker’s conversion to country is now complete: He’s joining the Grand Ole Opry. Rucker performed on last night’s Opry and received a visit from unannounced guest Brad Paisley, who surprised him with the invitation. Rucker rose to fame as the frontman for South Carolina rockers Hootie and The Blowfish, but began to pursue his lifelong passion for country music a few years ago. He will release his third country album early next year.
The 46-year-old is the third black performer to hold Opry membership, joining Country Music Hall of Fame members DeFord Bailey and Charley Pride. Rucker will be inducted into the Opry on Oct. 16. That show will air live on GAC.
TAYLOR SWIFT YOUNGEST WOMAN ON FORBES TOP EARNERS LIST
(AP) – Taylor Swift released her new single “Red” this week but she is definitely in the black. Swift is number three on Forbes magazine’s annual list of Entertainment’s Highest-Paid Women and at 22 she is the youngest. Swift earned an estimated $57 million this year. Her new album “Red” comes out later this month and the first single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” has already spent three weeks in the number one spot of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. It’s a good thing Swift – who is currently dating Conor Kennedy – is earning lots of money, because according to Marie Claire magazine Swift wants at least four kids. In an interview which will appear in the U.K. November issue, Swift says she wants “a bunch of them running around, minimum four.” She says she is already putting money away for their education. The women who beat Swift for the number one and two positions on Forbes’ list: Oprah Winfrey followed by Britney Spears.
BRITTANY KERR APOLOGIZES FOR INDISCRETION WITH JASON ALDEAN
UNDATED (AP) – First Jason Aldean apologized after pictures of him appearing to kiss former “American Idol” hopeful Brittany Kerr popped up. Now Kerr has issued an apology via celebrity website TMZ, which first leaked the photos of the two at a bar in West Hollywood. Aldean, a married father of two, said he was drunk and “screwed up.” For her part, Kerr, a dancer for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, tells TMZ that her actions were not a representation of her true character and calls them “a lapse in judgment.” She apologized “to everyone that has been affected” by the release of the photos.
NICKEL CREEK’S CHRIS THILE RECEIVES $500,000 “GENIUS GRANT” FROM MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
CHICAGO (AP) – Punch Brothers mandolinist and vocalist and former member of Nickel Creek, Chris Thile says he initially ignored repeated phone calls from a mystery phone number on Monday. He thought they were election-year robocalls. Then he received a message that said “Don’t tell anyone about this call.” His tour manager searched for the number online and realized it was the MacArthur Foundation calling. It turns out Thile, 31, is the recipient of one of the Foundation’s prestigious $500,000 “genius grants.” Thile says he thinks he “turned white” and he “never felt so internally warm.” As for the half million dollar windfall, paid out over five years, Thile says he might use some of it to fund a chamber music project for a bluegrass quintet.
TAYLOR SWIFT RESPONDS TO INTERNET PRANK
BOSTON (AP) – Taylor Swift is giving $10,000 and concert tickets to a school for the deaf. The school was disqualified from a contest because Internet pranksters thought it would be funny for the school to win tickets to a live concert. The Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Boston was booted from the online contest which promised an on-campus performance by Swift, because many of the votes were cast as part of the prank. The Boston Globe newspaper reports that Swift and contest sponsors decided instead to donate a combined $50,000 to the school. VH1’s Save the Music program will donate $10,000 in musical instruments and Swift says every student at the school will receive a ticket to her next local concert. The school’s principal Jeremiah Ford says that even after being disqualified from the online contest, they are winners “absolutely.”
TRACE ADKINS IS NEWEST AMERICAN RED CROSS SPOKESMAN
UNDATED (AP) – Trace Adkins says that when his home was destroyed in a fire last year, the Red Cross was among the first on-site to offer assistance. Now, Adkins is returning the favor, so to speak. He is the newest spokesman for the 2012 American Red Cross Holiday Giving Campaign. Adkins says he and his family were fortunate because they only lost ‘things’ that could be replaced. But he says “that’s not the case for every victim of disaster.” Adkins is urging the public to make charitable donations, send cards to servicemen and women and donate blood as part of the Giving Campaign. The Red Cross has an online catalog for tax-deductible charitable donations that provide shelter, as well as basic necessities for disaster victims and military comfort kits. It is also collecting holiday greeting cards to distribute to military personnel based overseas throughout the season.
SINGER RAYLENE RANKIN DIES
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) – Raylene Rankin, a member of the Canadian Celtic music group The Rankin Family, has died. Rankin and four siblings formed the group more than 20 years ago, originally under the name The Rankins. They are credited with taking East Coast Canadian Celtic music to the mainstream and they won numerous awards including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards and three Canadian Country Music Awards. Rankin was also a successful solo artist. Her sister Heather said in a statement that Rankin, who died of cancer, “fought a long and courageous battle with grace and dignity and was an inspiration.” She was 52 years old.