| Show 1 r rr i I 2 rr i f By Doug Davis Merle Haggard Joined sev sev- sev several eral other country mu music ic head liners in the recently completed 13 show country musk TV series eries Kicker The shows were taped In Jew York City at the Ed van vall Theater Other fEatured artists ed Larry Gatlin Gallin and the Oat Oat- tin Brothers Calamity Jane Ricky Skaggs Alabama and Earl Thomas Conley The he format included dance routines taped live In the seat theater plus live and taped I segments of country acts In concert In the studio and at hom homa Jerry Reed has signed with Nashville's Top Billing Ao Agency nCy for booking representation He plans to tour year round focusing more attention on maintaining a high level of per f appearance concerts at al fairs and oriented family events Reed a Grammy Award winner seems headed for another No 1 with his current single The Bird The Oak Ridge Boys new new- newest newest est single Thank God for Kids was written by Eddy Raven who Is also enjoying success with his newest effort San Antonio Nights Eddy is concluding a long West Coast tour which Included ed concerts In Santa Barbara and Modesto Cal Cal Portland Ore and Seattle Rumors are floating around the country musIc Industry that record label executives are Sit Sit- Sitting sitting ting up notice of the recent trend frend being set sel by a rel- rel relatively new Ricky Skaggs e eMerle Merle Haggard A year and a half ago Skaggs had his first Epic album Since that time he has had tour four singles released from that album all of them hits and two of them making it to No t 1 What makes this feat even more unusual is that Ricky's musk musIc Is not Nashville Ish Nashville Ish but has a home down country bluegrass sound Skaggs says hes he's as coun- coun country country try as cornbread and he intends to stay that way Super picker Chet Atkins says the year old Skaggs gs could save country music I Hank Hank Williams Jr has done doneIt I It again Hes He's broken his own g l record for the number of j 4 albums on the same samo label on I the country album alburn charts at the same time i f When his new Greatest I Hits Hits LP hit the charts he had nine listed his entire album output since signing with Elek Elek- Ira tra Records In late 1978 1982 1962 |
