NASHVILLE (AP) — Toby Keith will become a Texan next month. The office of the Texas governor will present Keith with a certificate declaring him an honorary Texan on March 3 at the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in Austin.
Keith is from Oklahoma. He will deliver a performance at that event in honor of Roger Miller.
On February 18th, 1953, “Bwana Devil,” the movie that heralded the 3-D fad of the 1950s, opened in New York.
In 1968, David Gilmour replaced Syd Barrett as lead guitarist for Pink Floyd.
In 1969, Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees married singer Lulu in England. Three-thousand fans showed up.
In 1972, Neil Young got a gold record for his album, “Harvest,” which includes the number one single, “Heart of Gold.”
In 1974, Kiss released its self-titled debut album. It only made it to 87 on Billboard’s album chart, but it stayed on the chart for 23 weeks.
In 1992, fans rushed the stage at a New Kids on the Block concert in Seoul, South Korea, crushing people at the front of the crowd. A 17-year-old girl died the next day of injuries suffered in the stampede. The singers were not injured.
Also in 1992, Vince Neil quit as lead singer for Motley Crue, after eleven years with the group. He said he wanted to spend more time on his race car driving. He has since returned to the band.
In 1995, Bob Stinson, a founding member of The Replacements, died in Minneapolis of complications from drug and alcohol abuse. He was 35.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor George Kennedy is 88. Author Toni Morrison is 82. Movie director Milos Forman is 81. Vocalist Yoko Ono is 80. Singer Herman Santiago of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers is 72. Singer Irma Thomas is 72. Singer Dennis DeYoung (Styx) is 66. Actress Cybill Shepherd is 63. Singer Juice Newton is 61. Singer Randy Crawford is 61. Drummer Robbie Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive is 60. Keyboardist Larry Rust of Iron Butterfly is 60. Actor John Travolta is 59. Game show hostess Vanna White (“Wheel of Fortune”) is 56. Actress Greta Scacchi is 53. Actor Matt Dillon is 49. Rapper Dr. Dre is 48. Actress Molly Ringwald is 45. Actor Tyrone Burton (“The Parent ‘Hood”) is 34. Musician Regina Spektor is 33. Bassist Zac Cockrell of Alabama Shakes is 25. Actor Shane Lyons is 25. Actress Maiara Walsh is 25.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Die-hard Bruce Willis fans are heading to the theaters. “A Good Day to Die Hard” opens at number-one this weekend. It’s the fifth in the franchise — and brings more than 33 million since opening Thursday. It’s been 25 years since John McClane first appeared on the screen. A Good Day to Die Hard comes six years after the last Die Hard movie. “Identity Thief” runs a close second this weekend. “Safe Haven” opens at number-three.
HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) – Perhaps there was one heartbreak too many for Mindy McCready.
The former country star appears to have taken her own life Sunday afternoon in Heber Springs, Ark. Authorities say McCready died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot to the head and an autopsy is planned. She was 37, the mother of two young sons.
If confirmed, it was at least her fourth suicide attempt since 2005, ending a series of tumultuous public events that marked much of the singer’s adult life.
Her death comes a month after that of David Wilson, her boyfriend and the father of her youngest son. He’s believed to have shot himself on the same porch of the home they shared about 65 miles north of Little Rock, Ark., and his death also was investigated as a suicide.
NASHVILLE (AP) – Lady Antebellum are combining their two loves for a charity event: songwriting and ping-pong. They will host “Ping-Pong and Songs” March 23 in Nashville to raise money for their charity, LadyAid. Dave Haywood says he and Charles Kelley call their ping-pong team “The Dynasty” and will challenge anyone. The event also includes an in-the-round songwriters night. Details are at www.LadyAntebellum.com .
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Chubby Checker is suing Hewlett Packard and Palm over an app called The Chubby Checker that estimates the size of a man’s penis based on his shoe size. Checker is asking for a half-billion dollars in damages and restitution in the lawsuit he filed this week in Fort Pierce, Florida. Checker claims the app hurts his name and reputation. Hewlett Packard says the app was removed in September and is no longer available on any Palm or HP website. It was removed the same month that Checker’s lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter. The app cost 99 cents and sold fewer than 100 copies. The app developer is not named in the lawsuit.
BEVERLY HILLS – It’s been Robin Roberts’ goal to get back to work in time for the Oscars and she’s going to meet that goal. Roberts will be part of the Oscars pre-show on ABC. Kristin Chenoweth, Lara Spencer and Jess Cagle of Entertainment Weekly will be on the red carpet interviewing the stars.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Little Big Town get pitched hundreds of songs. For some reason, the one called “Pontoon” stuck out for Jimi Westbrook.
He says part of the appeal is that he couldn’t figure out why someone would write a song about a pontoon. He says it’s got “such a sexy groove and it was cool hearing a chick sing about it.” Karen Fairchild says they tried simplifying the production on it but it didn’t feel the same.
She says they weren’t sure it would get any radio play but “the fans seem to dig it.”
On February 14th, 1972, “Grease” opened off-Broadway. Original cast members included Barry Bostwick and Adrienne Barbeau. The show moved to Broadway later in the year. It closed in 1980.
Also in 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began a week as co-hosts of the Mike Douglas television talk show.
In 1973, David Bowie collapsed from exhaustion at the end of an elaborate Valentine’s Day show at Radio City Music Hall.
In 1977, singer-songwriter Janis Ian received nearly 500 Valentine’s Day cards from fans. She sang about never getting Valentine’s Day cards as a teenager in her ballad, “At Seventeen.”
Also in 1977, The B-52’s played their first concert at a party in Athens, Georgia.
In 1980, CBS announced that Dan Rather would succeed Walter Cronkite as anchorman and managing editor on “The CBS Evening News” the following year.
In 1984, Elton John married studio engineer Renate Blauel. The marriage lasted four years.
In 1992, Weezer had their first practice as a band, in Los Angeles. They played their first show a few weeks later.
In 1996, the Artist Formerly Known As Prince married dancer Mayte in Minneapolis.
In 1999, singer Buddy Knox died after a brief battle with cancer in Bremerton, Washington. He was 65. He’s probably best known for the 1957 hit “Party Doll.”
Today’s Birthdays: TV personality Hugh Downs (“20/20”) is 92. Actress Florence Henderson is 79. Country singer Razzy Bailey is 74. Jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker is 70. TV personality Pat O’Brien (“The Insider,” ”Access Hollywood”) is 65. Magician Teller of Penn and Teller is 65. Actor Ken Wahl (“Wiseguy”) is 56. Actress Meg Tilly is 53. Singer Dwayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Tone! is 52. Actor Enrico Colantoni (“Just Shoot Me”) is 50. Actor Valente Rodriguez (“George Lopez”) is 49. Bassist Ricky Wolking of The Nixons is 47. Bassist Kevin Baldes of Lit is 41. Singer Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty is 41. Actor Freddie Highmore (“August Rush,” ”Finding Neverland”) is 21.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Hunter Hayes says he’s starting to feel like he’s part of the country music family now. Hayes has six nominations for the Academy of Country Music Awards. Eric Church leads the nominations with seven, while Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift have five each.
Swift has won entertainer of the year twice already and is nominated again. She’ll compete against Lambert, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan. Jana Kramer, Brantley Gilbert and Florida Georgia Line will compete for new artist of the year.
Fans can vote for entertainer of the year and for new artist of the year at http://VoteACM.com beginning March 25. The ACM Awards will be April 7 in Las Vegas.
