CMT Music Awards highlights and memorable moments

The CMT Music Awards turned Nashville's Lower Broadway into a street party Wednesday night. Hosted by Little Big Town, the fan-voted awards show recognized country music's biggest stars and hottest new talent.

Check out the top six moments below and then scroll down for a list of the winners.

1. Blake Shelton is top dog at the CMT Music Awards

Blake Shelton planned to stake his claim on Nashville this week during CMA Music Festival but Wednesday night he also owned the CMT Music Awards.

Shelton’s I’ll Name the Dogs took the top prize of Video of the Year as well as Male Video of the Year. He was featured in the show opening and performed Turn Me On, a song from his current album Texoma Shore, from the roof of his new bar on Lower Broadway, Ole Red.

“I can’t believe (I’ve had) 18 years of making records,” Shelton said after winning Video of the Year. “I’m lucky (the fans) accepted them, that radio played them. It’s so cool to sit up here with the new generation of country singers.”

Following the show, Shelton planned to host a concert from Ole Red.

2. Dan + Shay stun

Dan + Shay collected their first awards show trophy Wednesday night when the duo pulled off a surprise win, beating favorites Florida Georgia Line and Brothers Osborne for Duo Video of the Year with Tequila.

John Osborne of Brothers Osborne met members Shay Mooney and Dan Smyers in the aisle as they walked to the stage, greeting them with bear hugs.

“Wow, I just want to thank God for country music,” said an emotional Mooney.

“My heart is literally beating out of my chest right now,” added Smyers.

Later in the show, the duo performed Tequila backed by their full band and a trio of strings as members of the star-studded audience sang along.

Tequila has been a country music juggernaut since it was released earlier this year. Since January, Tequila has been streamed more than 100 million times. The song is the lead single from the popular duo’s self-titled album that’s due June 22.

3. Carrie Underwood continues CMT Music Awards winning streak

Carrie Underwood captured the trophy for Female Video of the Year. The award is her 18th win at the CMT Music Awards, the most of any artist in the show’s history.

Underwood won for The Champion, her collaboration with Ludacris, which opened the television broadcast of Super Bowl LII.

“Thank you so much,” Underwood said. “First and foremost, thank you God from all of us who are lucky enough to sit over here and do what we get to do. Thank you to the fans. Thank you, Ludacris, for wanting to inspire. It took a whole team of people to put all of this together.”

Earlier in the night, Underwood — complete with glitter tears — wailed through her new single Cry Pretty. The song is the first from her album that is expected later this year.

4. CMT Music Awards spoof royal family

Little Big Town showed off their hosting prowess in the opening skit of the CMT Music Awards Wednesday. The vocal group posed as news anchors in the bit, which looped in fellow country singers Kelsea Ballerini, Blake Shelton, Jake Owen, Jon Pardi and Dustin Lynch for a spoof on the popularity of bachelorette parties in downtown Nashville.

“You guys are going all out,” Shelton told Owen, Pardi and Lynch who approached him on the sidewalk wearing matching tight pink T-shirts and silly hats.

“We do this every Wednesday,” Owen quipped.

Trace Adkins, Darius Rucker and Florida Georgia Line good-naturedly poked fun at England’s royal family.

Rucker dressed as Queen Elizabeth and waved politely from the back of a limo while Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard posed as Prince Harry and Prince William in the back of a horse-drawn carriage.

“You’re looking a lot like Prince Harry,” Hubbard told Kelley.

When Kelley mentioned Hubbard resembled Prince William, Hubbard removed his hat to reveal a bald head surrounded by faux blond hair.

5. First-time winners

Tears flowed on stage at the CMT Music Awards Wednesday night when Carly Pearce, Kane Brown, Backstreet Boys and Dan + Shay accepted their first CMT Music Awards. Ludacris was also a first-time winner but was not present.

Pearce, who used to be a performer at Dollywood, said it was a dream come true.

“(The feeling) is indescribable,” said Pearce who won Breakthrough Video of the Year for Every Little Thing. “My girlfriend that was with me, she’s my best friend, she said my heart, she saw it beating in my chest. I immediately started crying because I couldn’t contain myself.”

Brown, who won for Collaborative Video of the Year for What Ifs featuring Lauren Alaina, called his win “surreal.”

“What an incredible feeling to win my first award that I’ve ever won on a song I’m so proud that I wrote, and to win with Lauren makes it even more special,” Brown said.

Brown and Alaina have been friends since grade school.

6. A plethora of summer song television debuts

Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne were pure fire during Burning Man. Flames erupted from the stage during the high-energy performance.

“Everybody jump,” Bentley told the crowd as Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne blazed through a guitar solo at the end of the song.

Burning Man is from Bentley’s new album The Mountain that will be available Friday.

Luke Bryan used Lower Broadway as a backdrop during the national television debut performance of his new single Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset. Bryan tossed it back to Florida Georgia Line who premiered their new single Simple. The stripped-down performance was a change of pace for the often progressive duo who played acoustic guitars and included a standing bass and mandolin in the song’s instrumentation.

Sam Hunt simulated a bar crawl through Lower Broadway for Downtown’s Dead. Fireworks exploded over the stage set up in the street near Bridgestone Arena at the end of the song. The Backstreet Boys did a highly choreographed version of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart and Kelly Clarkson, backed by a gospel choir, wowed on a version of American Woman.

The show closed with a collaborative performance from Rucker featuring Jason Aldean, Bryan and Charles Kelley on Straight to Hell.

The winners of the CMT Music Awards are:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration) and the video director.

Blake Shelton – I’ll Name The Dogs

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist

Blake Shelton – I’ll Name The Dogs

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist

Carrie Underwood feat. Ludacris – The Champion

DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Best video by a duo; awarded to the artists

Dan + Shay – Tequila

GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Best video by a group; awarded to the artists

Little Big Town – When Someone Stops Loving You

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Best video from an artist's major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist (male, female or group/duo)

Carly Pearce – Every Little Thing

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Best video from a collaboration; awarded to the artists

Kane Brown feat. Lauren Alaina – What Ifs

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)

From CMT Crossroads: Backstreet Boys and Florida Georgia Line – Everybody

CMT Music Awards: Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown and more top ...

Carrie Underwood: Queen of the CMT Music Awards?

Sounds about right.

For the ninth time in her career and the eighth since 2010, Underwood scored the top prize — Video of the Year — at the annual CMT Music Awards. Winning for "Hallelujah," her John Legend collaboration, she accepted the trophy Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, where the show returned a year after COVID-19 derailed "normal" award ceremonies.

In her acceptance speech, Underwood praised the voters — country music fans.

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"Fans, thank you so much, fans," Underwood said in accepting the fan-voted award. "You're the reason that we are all here, doing what we do, doing what we love. Making music videos."

What else went down during the show? Read along for top moments, from all-star collaborations to a unsung country legend getting her due and trips to the Bonnaroo farm.

Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini and Gabby Barrett

Underwood wasn't the only one who had reason to smile at Bridgestone Arena. Co-host Kane Brown left downtown Nashville as the year's winningest CMT Music Awards artists.

Brown won Male Video of the Year for his single "Worship You" and Collaborative Video of the Year for Chris Young duet "Famous Friends."

“This is the most nervous I’ve been all night,” Brown said as he picked up his prize for Male Video of the Year.

The 27-year-old centered his speech on family – not only his wife, Katelyn Jae, and their daughter, Kingsley Rose, but also “my family that works for me, everybody in country music, and all the fans.”

First-time co-host Kelsea Ballerini also became a first-time CMT winner. Her collaboration with pop star Halsey on last year’s show – “The Other Girl” – was named CMT Performance of the Year.

“After this performance last year, there was a lot of chatter (about) categorically what genre that song did or didn't fit into,” Ballerini said from the stage. “And the fact that you voted this as the winning performance tells me that you know where my roots are, and that you know who I am. It also tells me that you hear music as music. … You love when people push boundaries and explore their artistry. And as I make a new record, that means the absolute world to me.”

Country newcomer and "American Idol" alumna Gabby Barrett joined the wave of leading award recipients, earning Female Video of the Year for "The Good Ones."

Linda Martell gets her due

Trailblazing 80-year-old Linda Martell — who in 1969 was the first solo Black woman to sing at the Grand Ole Opry — earned long overdue recognition when CMT awarded her the annual Equal Play Award.

In 1970, Martell released her debut album, "Color Me Country," including lead single "Color Him Father" — which peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, the highest-charting placement by a Black woman in chart history.

But her time in the spotlight was short-lived. Facing systemic racism, Martell retired from the country music business by the mid-1970s.

Although under-recognized, Martell hasn't been forgotten. Country music's new wave of Black artists — including Mickey Guyton and Brown — have sung her praises, and Rissi Palmer named her Apple Music Country show "Color Me Country" in her honor.

The show honored Martell with a video montage featuring Palmer, Underwood, Rhiannon Giddens, Darius Rucker and inaugural Equal Play recipient Jennifer Nettles; Guyton presented the award to Martell, who accepted it earlier this week from South Carolina.

"Hearing Linda sing makes it very clear that she had all the talent to be a huge star, but her career was cut short for just one reason: the color of her skin," Guyton said, adding: "Equal play is crucial so the next generation of women, like Linda, can flourish in this industry."

Guyton continued, "I would not be standing here today without you, and none of us would be here without you. So thank you, thank you, thank you."

H.E.R. slays with Chris Stapleton

Collaborations took center stage as country music crossed into rock, pop and soul during Wednesday night's show.

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter H.E.R. enlisted Chris Stapleton for a standout take on the former's song "Hold On" that saw the artists swapping guitar licks and sharing lines in the soaring chorus.

Earlier in the show, Ballerini and Paul Klein of alt-rock outfit LANY shared a television debut of duet "I Quit Drinking." Guyton joined newcomer Breland for a take on his single "Cross Country" before welcoming empress of soul Gladys Knight to sing "Friendship Train," a show highlight.

And, of course, country artists collided on stage. Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall took viewers campside for a shot of "Tequila Does"; the broadcast traveled to Harlinsdale Park in Franklin for "Getting Over Him" with Lauren Alaina and Jon Pardi; and Young joined Brown to close the show with "Famous Friends."

Watch:H.E.R. and Chris Stapleton deliver soaring 'Hold On' performance

Down on The Farm

Like last year, the CMT Music Awards took viewers on a musical trip through Middle Tennessee — including a handful of performances from the Great Stage Park, AKA the Bonnaroo Farm, in Manchester.

Drone footage showed off the expansive farm as Chris Stapleton performed a roaring rendition of 2020 track "Arkansas." The show returned to Manchester for a Brothers Osborne and Dierks Bentley collaboration of the latter's laid back jam "Lighten Up" (complete with a stage full of 'Roo memorabilia) before taking a final trip to Coffee County for a collaboration with Underwood and Christian outfit NEEDTOBREATHE.

Around Nashville, the show took viewers atop 5th + Broadway for performances from Luke Combs and Luke Bryan, respectively, as well as Midtown rooftop bar White Limozeen for a memorable "Lady Like"/"Like That" medley from Ingrid Andress and pop artist JP Saxe.

Taylor Swift's off-camera win

Quiz time, Swifties: When did Taylor Swift last win a CMT Music Award?

Answer: In 2011, she won Video of the Year for her "Speak Now"-era single "Mine" (who else remembers Swift singing in a forest of memories during the video? Throwback!).

Swift returned to the winner's column — albeit virtually — Wednesday night, earning the "Best Family Feature" award for her endearing home footage video “The Best Day (Taylor’s Version)." Fans voted for the category via social media, and CMT announced a winner Wednesday online prior to the show.

"I LOVE YOU MOM," Swift tweeted Wednesday after winning the award.

What are the all-time greatest country songs? These 100 top our list

How do you make a sprawling list of 100 tunes seem criminally short? Try to squeeze the greatest country songs of all time into that space.

As we considered a century's worth of story-driven songcraft, we did our darndest to make sure all of the greats were recognized. And when we say "of all time," we mean all time.

Every era is reflected here, from the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers' historic recordings to the reign of the "Nashville Sound," outlaws, singing cowboys and pop crossovers.

And before you shake your fists and grumble furiously about how the list forgot "Friends in Low Places" or gave "9 to 5" the short stick, let's establish one basic rule: One song per artist, with the exception being duets.

One song from Cash. One song from Garth. And, yes, as tough as it can be, only one song from Dolly.

Now, dust off your turntable (or boot up Spotify) and travel through 100 of the greatest tracks to come from Music City, Bakersfield and beyond.

Agree or disagree? We want to hear from you: Join us on Reddit at 12 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Aug. 27 for an AMA with the writers who compiled this list

Dolly Parton — "Jolene"

Evocative and woeful, Parton's marquee recording crosses genre and generations — a once-in-a-world song without boundaries.

Tim McGraw — “Live Like You Were Dying”

McGraw's 2004 ballad reminds listeners to love deeper, speak sweeter and give forgiveness that you've been denying.

Tammy Wynette — “Stand By Your Man”

Five decades removed from hitting airwaves, and country music faithful still stand tall for Wynette and her booming chorus.

Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss — “Whiskey Lullaby”

It's known for its layered, mournful instrumentation, but it's the ballad's devastating storytelling and Paisley's ability to softly serenade that makes "Whiskey Lullaby" one of country's best modern cuts.

Alan Jackson — “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)”

The country music Class of 1989 returns to the all-time list, this time asking a question in the shadow of a generation-defining event.

Patsy Montana — "I Want to be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart"

In 1935, this jaunty tune became the first country song by a female artist to sell more than 1 million copies. It's since been covered by everyone from Patti Page to Cyndi Lauper and Phish.

Clint Black — "Killin’ Time"

On his 1989 chart-topper, Black tried — and failed — to drink a woman off of his mind.

Eric Church — “Springsteen”

Church expertly captures a fleeting feeling chased by all musicians — like the chorus says, “Sometimes a melody sounds like a memory.”

Chris Stapleton — "Tennessee Whiskey"

With a rough but welcoming warmth, Stapleton croons a rendition of this country classic that’s worth toasting for years to come.

George Jones — “He Stopped Loving Her Today”

The years go slowly by, but Jones still preys upon our minds.

Deanna Carter — "Strawberry Wine"

A commercial and critical success still filling Lower Broadway taverns with a chorus that offers "My first taste of love, oh bittersweet."

Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton — “Islands in the Stream”

One of the biggest pop-country crossovers in history, the beloved duet has lived on through remixes and constant karaoke rotation.

The Judds — “Why Not Me”

With the title track of their debut album, mother and daughter Naomi and Wynonna Judd made their case for being the biggest country duo of the ‘80s.

Conway Twitty — "Hello Darlin' "

This self-penned tune became Twitty’s signature song, about a guy who can’t get over the woman he wronged and lost.

Loretta Lynn — “Coal Miner's Daughter"

A song, a film and a way of life for a generation raised on Lynn's working-class honesty.

Kris Kristofferson — “Sunday Morning Coming Down”

Cash made it famous, but no song may better exemplify the power and impact of Kristofferson's pen.

Don Williams — “Good Ole Boys Like Me”

During the song's 1980 release and beyond, Williams explains why "we're all gonna be what we're gonna be."

Jimmie Rodgers — “Blue Yodel (T for Texas)”

Recorded more than 90 years ago, "T for Texas" is considered by many to be the premier song from a blue yodelin' father to the genre.

Carter Family — “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)”

A torch-bearing call for country music that’s still celebrated on stages today.

Ray Price — “Heartaches by the Number”

It spent 40 weeks on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and 60 years at the top of mind for 1950s country classics.

Rosanne Cash — “Seven Year Ache”

Covered in drum loops and 1980s synthesized production, it's Rosanne Cash's sorrow that stands the test of time.

Steve Earle — “Guitar Town”

A foot-stomping country-rock tribute to wanderlust down a lost highway.

Old Crow Medicine Show — “Wagon Wheel”

Sure, Darius Rucker made it a hit, but little comes close to experiencing Old Crow howling this singalong for thousands of invested onlookers.

Jeannie C. Riley — “Harper Valley PTA”

A fictional Tennessee scandal that took Riley to the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

Miranda Lambert — “The House That Built Me”

The fastest-rising single of Lambert’s career remains a haunting exploration of her music's ability to resonate for repeated listens.

Kitty Wells — “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”

Two-and-a-half minutes of truth that launched a career for this Tennessee legend.

Jerry Reed — “Eastbound and Down”

Country music's best addition to soundtrack canon? Maybe — it's the most lively, at least.

Roger Miller — “King of the Road”

A soft tap on the bass, a snap of the finger and Miller's off to croon listeners with his 1964 vagabond tale.

Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson — “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys”

Two of the genre’s finest unite for a heartfelt warning that cowboys “never stay home and they’re always alone, even with someone they love.”

George Strait and Alan Jackson — “Murder on Music Row”

"Someone killed country music/ Cut out its heart and soul,” Strait laments on the seething duet. It was released in 2000, but the sentiment still strikes a chord today.

Bobbie Gentry — “Ode to Billie Joe”

What did Billie Joe throw off the bridge? Regardless of the answer, Gentry captivates with every word.

Vince Gill — “Go Rest High on That Mountain”

An awe-inspiring musical eulogy from Gill, delivered best during times when something moving needs to be heard.

Johnny Cash — “I Walk the Line”

Cash released his ode to temptation in 1956, cementing words in musical history that hold true in 2019.

Marty Robbins — “El Paso”

Complemented by Spanish picking, "El Paso" offers a bloody romance worthy of Western songwriting.

Keith Whitley — “I’m No Stranger to the Rain”

The last single released during Whitley's lifetime shows the singer peacefully reminding listeners that "I've fought with the devil, got down on his level/ But I never gave in, so he gave up on me."

Eddy Arnold — "The Cattle Call"

The Tennessee Plowboy yodels his lonesome call, a sound that would shape country to come.

Reba McEntire — “Fancy”

Written by Bobbie Gentry in 1969, the almighty Reba unleashed fire with her show-closing 1990 version of this song.

Buck Owens — “Act Naturally”

A love song for the starry-eyed dreamers wishing about one day being put in the movies.

Trisha Yearwood — “Walkaway Joe”

Zeal turns awry in the beloved 1990s ballad from Yearwood.

Lady Antebellum — "Need You Now"

Behind the band's gorgeous harmony, Lady A sings of a longing some may know too well.

Shania Twain — "Man! I Feel Like a Woman"

The 1990s country anthem passed from Generation X mothers for millennial daughters to make their own.

Taylor Swift — “Mean”

In a characteristically triumphant move, Swift turns a tune about scathing critics into the brightest addition of her country music catalog.

Vern Gosdin — “Chiseled in Stone”

A tear-jerking ballad worthy of the Country Music Association's Song of the Year award in 1989.

Blake Shelton — "Ol' Red"

Before it was a chain of bars, Ol’ Red was the prison dog that helped Shelton’s character bust out (thanks to his cousin’s bluetick hound).

Ronnie Milsap — "Smoky Mountain Rain"

Homecoming leads to heartbreak on Milsap's 1980 chart-topper, wherein the singer "thumbed my way from LA back to Knoxville," only to find his love has moved on.

Tom T. Hall — "Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine"

"The Storyteller" drew from a real-life encounter for one of his greatest tales. During a trip to Miami, he met a janitor at his hotel, who told him there were "three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime."

George Strait — “Amarillo By Morning”

The King of Country Music subtly parades his royal status with a crisp story from the road.

Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — “Stay a Little Longer”

A taste of traditional western swing that simply asks listeners to dance all night and stay a little longer.

Alabama — “My Home's in Alabama"

Country music's 6½-minute calling card to the South.

Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons — “Love Hurts”

Nearly 60 years since being initially released — and 45 years since Harris and Parsons' duet — yes, love can still hurt.

Ricky Skaggs — “Country Boy”

A slick-picking piece of country music (and No. 1 hit) from one of the finest to pick up an instrument.

Ernest Tubb — “Walking the Floor Over You”

A 1941 entry in which Tubbs shares a restlessness in a simple chorus: "I'm walking the floor over you/ I can't sleep a wink, that is true. I'm hoping and I'm praying as my heart breaks right in two/ Walking the floor over you."

Glen Campbell — “Rhinestone Cowboy”

"Rhinestone Cowboy" defined Campbell's career. It was a country-pop hit that kept the singer balanced between each world.

Carrie Underwood — “Before He Cheats”

Country music has its share of anthems for scorned women, but Underwood’s signature song is the gold standard. An instant classic upon its release in 2006.

Charley Pride — “Kiss an Angel Good Morning”

With the biggest of his dozens of hits, the Country Music Hall of Famer shared the key to marital bliss: “Kiss an angel good morning/ And love her like the devil when you get back home.”

David Allan Coe — “You Never Even Called Me By My Name”

John Prine didn’t want credit when he co-wrote this kiss-off to Music Row. But it was the perfect message to be delivered by Coe, perhaps country music’s most infamous outsider.

Willie Nelson — “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”

The Red Headed Stranger narrates a story of emotional messiness with soothing clarity.

Johnny Paycheck — “Take This Job and Shove It”

It spawned an eternal catchphrase, but don’t forget there’s another layer to Paycheck’s lone chart-topper: “My woman done left and took all the reasons I was working for.”

Tanya Tucker — “Delta Dawn”

Recorded when she was just 13, Tanya Tucker’s first haunting hit is ironically about an aging Southern belle, one who's under the delusion that a long-gone suitor is still coming for her.

Patsy Cline — “Crazy”

It’s been covered by the likes of Neil Young, LeAnn Rimes and Linda Ronstadt, but no artist captured Willie Nelson’s lyrical poignancy the way Cline did with her 1961 version.

Keith Urban — “Somebody Like You"

Urban sounds unstoppable on his 2002 chart-topper, a love song that's also wrapped up in his personal redemption.

Garth Brooks — “The Dance”

What one song could possibly capture the career of this country music giant? How about the 1990 entry showcasing Brooks’ unparalleled ability to embody a story worth singing for decades to come?

Charlie Rich — “Behind Closed Doors”

Country love songs didn't get much more suggestive than Rich's 1973 hit.

Tennessee Ernie Ford — "Sixteen Tons"

It may be one of country’s most depressing songs, and in this genre, that’s saying something. Ford’s beyond saving in his 1955 recording, as he’s “sold my soul to the company store.”

Dwight Yoakam — “Guitars, Cadillacs”

When he found himself in Hollywood with a broken heart and shattered dreams, Yoakam clung to hope with his "guitars, Cadillacs (and) hillbilly music." Soon enough, it made him one of country's biggest stars.

Hank Williams Jr. — “Family Tradition”

While he explained that he was only following in his dad’s rowdy footsteps, “Bocephus” also truly stepped out of Hank Sr.’s shadow with this 1979 smash.

Oak Ridge Boys — "Elvira"

Giddy-up! We dare you to name a song that’s more fun to sing than this Oaks “oom-poppa” classic (named after an East Nashville street).

Ray Charles — "You Don't Know Me"

Charles’ heartbreaking spin on the Eddy Arnold/Cindy Walker song is the pinnacle of his landmark album “Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music.”

Kenny Rogers — “The Gambler”

Raise a glass to timeless advice.

Little Big Town — “Girl Crush”

Some radio programmers were terrified of this 2014 song — in which Karen Fairchild sings of wanting to “taste (the) lips” of the woman who has her love interest’s attention — but listeners, critics and Music Row gave it a full embrace.

Lee Brice — “I Drive Your Truck”

Brice’s powerful 2012 hit was inspired by a true story of a father who found comfort in driving the truck once owned by his son, who’d been killed while serving in Afghanistan.

Lacy J. Dalton — "16th Avenue"

Several years after she found country stardom, Dalton made sure to tip her hat to those still chasing their dream on Nashville’s Music Row — aka 16th Avenue South.

Porter Wagoner — “The Green, Green Grass of Home”

Before Tom Jones, Elvis and dozens of others put their spin on Curly Putman's classic, Wagoner first made it a hit. In a devastating twist, it turns out he's dreaming of his hometown while on death row.

Merle Haggard — “Mama Tried”

A slippy lead guitar, Haggard's sketched storytelling ... California country with "Mama Tried."

Randy Travis — “Forever and Ever, Amen”

Travis lays out his devotion in his signature song, and listeners haven't stopped loving it since its release in 1987.

Roy Acuff — “Wabash Cannonball”

This folk song about a mighty train had already been passed down for generations when Acuff cut it in 1936, and his version helped the "Wabash" legend spread around the world.

Guy Clark — "Desperados Waiting for a Train"

Clark penned a beautiful tribute to his grandmother's boyfriend, Jack Prigg, "an old school man of the world" who would sing "Red River Valley" with the budding songwriter.

Brooks & Dunn — "Believe"

The country duo won multiple awards for this soulful ballad of unwavering faith.

The Highwaymen — "Highwayman"

Only songwriting great Jimmy Webb could conjure up an epic theme worthy of country's greatest supergroup, composed of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.

Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers — "All the Gold in California"

In soaring three-part harmony, the Gatlins issued a warning to all who head west with stars in their eyes: "It don't matter at all where you've played before/

California's a brand-new game."

Charlie Daniels Band — "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"

In 1979, Daniels found the perfect showcase for his fiery fiddle technique — a familiar tale about a boy named Johnny who makes a bet with the devil (and wins).

Joe Diffie — “John Deere Green”

Against all odds, tractors have nothing to do with Diffie's 1993 song. Instead, "John Deere Green" is the color used to paint "Billy Bob loves Charlene" on the town's water tower.

Earl Thomas Conley — "Holding Her and Loving You"

It doesn’t have a chorus, but “Holding Her and Loving You” has quite a hook. Conley counts down the hardest things he'll ever do, and the song's title tops the list.

Dixie Chicks — "Wide Open Spaces"

With the title track of their breakthrough album — about a young woman who's ready to spread her wings — the Dixie Chicks truly took flight.

Kacey Musgraves — "Follow Your Arrow"

On top of taking mainstream country into new territory with its "Kiss lots of boys/ Or kiss lots of girls" line, "Follow Your Arrow" was a powerful mission statement from Musgraves, as she's proven to have great artistic instincts.

Patty Loveless — "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye"

"Time will ease your pain," Loveless sang. That may be true, but this tearjerker about carrying on after a move, a divorce and the death of a parent still stings 25 years later.

Sugarland — “Stay”

What if "Jolene" could have given her side of the story? On Sugarland's massive 2007 hit, Jennifer Nettles sings from the perspective of a mistress, who begs her lover to stay before deciding she's tired of waiting.

Martina McBride — "Independence Day"

It's often falsely assumed to be a patriotic song, but McBride's triumphant anthem is actually about a woman breaking free of an abusive relationship.

Lee Ann Womack — "I Hope You Dance"

Whether you're singing it to your kids, a loved one or yourself, Womack's plea to live life to the fullest and take chances truly resonates.

K.T. Oslin — "80's Ladies"

Oslin rocketed through the decades on her 1987 hit, which fittingly sounds very much like a product of its time. "Now we're 80's ladies/ There ain't been much these ladies ain't tried."

John Anderson — "Swingin’ "

Sure, it's about swinging on the porch (is it really, though?), but few country hits have strutted the way Anderson's feisty, horn-spiked 1983 hit does.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — "Fishin’ in the Dark"

"You and me going fishing in the dark/ Lying on our backs and counting the stars." NGDB's classic is all about simple pleasures, and listening to it is one, too.

Kenny Chesney — “The Good Stuff”

Kenny's bartender teaches him a valuable lesson: "The good stuff" isn't booze; it's the memories you make with your loved ones.

George Jones and Tammy Wynette — "Golden Ring"

George and Tammy's greatest duet explains that "only love" can transform a "cold metallic thing" into something more.

Luke Bryan — “Drink a Beer”

Bryan didn't write this song, but he made a powerful connection to it, relating it to the deaths of his brother and sister. He sings about learning of the death of a friend and going to the pier they would sit at to "watch the sunset disappear and drink a beer."

Lefty Frizzell — "If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time"

Some things never change. In 1950, Frizzell kicked off his celebrated career with this No. 1 tune about painting the town red and going "honky tonkin.'"

Toby Keith — "How Do You Like Me Now"

Keith was already an established star, but he didn't really crank up the attitude until this 1999 hit, in which he rubs his success in the face of an unrequited love.

Waylon Jennings — "Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line"

"Everybody knows you've been stepping on my toes/ And I'm getting pretty tired of it." The outlaw legend is barely holding it together on his seething 1968 hit.

Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt — "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues"

The iconic trio finds exquisite harmony on a Rodney Crowell composition.

Hank Williams — “Your Cheatin’ Heart”

Some consider this Williams entry, a can't-miss in country music history, to define the genre.

November is prime time for Nashville celebrity sightings

Stacie Standifer

10Best (a division of USA TODAY)

November is a fantastic time to visit Nashville, especially for fans of recording artists. Famous faces from all music genres gather in the city to celebrate a host of award ceremonies and once-a-year industry banquets. This Sunday, a behind-the-scenes documentary, For the Love of Music: The Story of Nashville, debuts, and it will surely make the pull of November even stronger.

While the Country Music Association Awards will also captivate a television audience on Wednesday evening, savvy visitors know that special moments will happen all over the city this week, as artists gather to honor songwriters and industry peers at BMI, ASCAP and SESAC banquets.

Where to run into stars

While industry insiders visit with each other during this busy week, fans in the know can get a glimpse of their favorite stars in truly intimate moments. The stars will be meeting with actors, producers and other notables in local restaurants and watering holes. The trick is in knowing where — and also knowing what to do when faced with a star you recognize.

For cocktails, don't limit stops to tourist-directed guides focused on Broadway's honky-tonks. Visit them, certainly, but seek out haunts off of the beaten path. Stars like Hayden Panettiere (who plays Juliette Barnes on ABC's Nashville) cite hidden treasures like Santa's Pub or South Street as favorites. The Tippler in Midtown is also a great stop, as it's located at the bottom of the Adelicia residential tower that's home to several of the area's most popular artists.

One place everyone frequents without worry of intrusion is The Palm, which is directly across the street from the city's Bridgestone Center Arena. Most nights, at least one of the clubby, private rooms houses celebrities (and not just from the music world; non-music personalities like Peyton Manning and Mel Gibson have been spotted there).

Usually, patrons enjoy signature martinis and steaks in booths on the main floor. Just don't go up and interrupt anyone's meal. Order the 'off the menu' Shrimp Bruno and enjoy the view. Respecting privacy is understood in Nashville, so save photo opportunities for the endless signed caricatures that line the walls ... unless you want a fast escort to the door.

Special events this week

Early November visitors to Nashville benefit from the outpouring of celebrities before and after every big night, as well as having the chance to enjoy dozens of free events and concerts throughout the week. One of the most anticipated is Luke Bryan's performance when Good Morning America broadcasts live from the Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday morning.

The CMA Awards will go off that evening at the same venue, which will surely be sporting a red carpet for performers which include Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line and Kacey Musgraves. Also in town to perform at the CMAs will be Alan Jackson and George Strait — the two top nominees in the awards show's history — who will be paying tribute to the late, legendary George Jones. The show is scheduled from 8-11 p.m. ET (ABC) for those wanting to secure a post-show seat in a local hot spot.

Nashville must-sees

A visit to Nashville should include a few prerequisites. It's truly magical to see a show in the historic Ryman Auditorium for the first time. If you get a chance for tickets to a performance here, take it. But, an even more inspirational experience is to book a tour backstage and in the heart of the building. The stories and traditions you'll discover are authentic and fascinating (and not on everyone's radar).

For a souvenir unlike any other, stop into Hatch Show Prints, where custom-designed posters reflect so much of the city's past. Be prepared to stay awhile. The process, the people and their talent are all captivating. This historic print shop - in business since 1879 - is one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in the country and has just moved into its new space within the massive expansion of the Country Music Hall of Fame, which links this attraction to the new Omni Nashville Hotel.

There are two places that should be on the top of your list for a bit of history and detail on all things music-related. The Country Music Hall of Fame offers tours daily and has intimate displays along with artist detail you will not find anywhere else. A few blocks away, the new Songwriter's Hall of Fame is completely entertaining. In the new Music City Center, this state-of-the-art facility has interactive videos and dozens of ways to be completely captivated by the content and the talent stretching.

The documentary

The debut of For the Love of Music: The Story of Nashville celebrates the rich heritage of entertainment in the city's history. Viewers will see what drives the spirit of Nashville and why musicians continue to flock (and stay) there. From-up close and personal interviews and sessions with The Black Keys and Kings of Leon to stories behind the songs of famous songwriters — like the legendary Kris Kristofferson and Emmylou Harris — this is a must-watch for music fans and will surely inspire many a trip.

VisitMusicCity.Com offers a sneak peek of this release featuring Keith Urban, The Black Keys, Carrie Underwood, The Civil Wars, Marty Stuart, Charlie Daniels, Bill Anderson, Vince Gill, Steve Cropper and other musical luminaries. The show airs at 3 p.m. ET on ABC, the network which also airs Nashville.

VisitMusicCity.com and CMAworld.com also have updates on the latest happenings and schedules for public events (both free and ticketed).

'Fun Home' VT participants look back at musical's Tony Awards win

As the musical “Hadestown” – created in Vermont by Addison County folksinger Anais Mitchell – gets ready to rock the Tony Awards this weekend, it brings back memories of the most-recent production with Vermont ties to take a star turn at the Tonys.

“Fun Home” won five Tony Awards in 2015, including the biggie, Best Musical. “Fun Home” is based on the autobiographical illustrated novel by Bolton resident Alison Bechdel, who stood prominently on stage at Radio City Music Hall as cast and crew accepted the Best Musical prize. The original cast included then-11-year-old actor Oscar Williams of Charlotte, who portrayed one of Bechdel’s brothers in the musical.

More theater news:

The Burlington Free Press caught up with the two Vermonters to see what they’ve been up to in the past four years and what their thoughts are as “Hadestown,” nominated for 14 awards, goes for Tony glory Sunday night.

Alison Bechdel

Burlington Free Press: Four years later, what stands out for you about “Fun Home” winning the Tony Award for Best Musical?

Alison Bechdel: It felt like a really historic moment, for this story about a lesbian and her gay dad to get that kind of attention. And then the fact that Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori won for best score, and were the first all-female team to ever do that—well, it was just a pretty amazing night.

BFP: How, if at all, does being part of a Tony Award-winning production change your life?

AB: You know, I had an odd relationship to the whole thing since I wasn’t really part of it. I wrote the book it was based on, and of course the book was about my life. But I wasn’t involved in the production directly. Still, it led to me becoming a lot more visible. I went through a period of getting recognized and having people come up to me on the street to tell me about the play. That was cool for a while but I’m glad it seems to be quieting down these days.

BFP: Will you watch the Tony Awards ceremony on June 9?

AB: I’ll probably watch a little bit, but not the whole thing.

BFP: Have you seen “Hadestown?” If so, what did you think of it, and if not, do you plan to see it?

AB: No, I haven’t seen it, but my partner Holly saw it in Barre way back in 2006. The little clips I’ve seen online are entrancing ,so I’m eager to see it and I hope it wins in all 14 categories it’s nominated in.

BFP: What have you been up to in the past four years?

AB: Just hangin’ out in Vermont, trying to get some work done. I’m writing and drawing another graphic memoir called “The Secret to Superhuman Strength,” which started out as a fun project about exercise and physical fitness, but is turning into a grim one about aging and death.

Oscar Williams

Burlington Free Press: Four years later, what stands out for you about “Fun Home” winning the Tony Award for Best Musical?

Oscar Williams: What stands out for me with “Fun Home” winning best musical, is that it wasn't your typical big "Broadway Show." It was unique and personal and left you feeling like you know the characters and you sympathize with them. Not to mention the fact that it was an all-female writing team. “Fun Home” was a story that needed to be told. For me, getting to be a part of such an important show was mind blowing and when we won the Tony Award I knew that we weren't the only people who knew this story was important.

BFP: How, if at all, does being part of a Tony Award-winning production change your life?

OW: Being a part of a Broadway production is like no other feeling in the world. You create a family and you get to tell a story for hundreds, if not thousands, of people each night. Being a part of a Tony-winning show, and being a part of the original cast, there is no greater sense of accomplishment. I got to watch people win prestigious awards for their hard work and dedication. We all celebrated for them, and when “Fun Home” won best musical, that's when the foundation we had created as a family was solidified. Nothing brings a family together more than a sense of group accomplishment and pride. We were all thankful for each other and we all loved each other. Knowing that I got to experience all those emotions and feelings, changed my life. It makes me even more grateful for all the wonderful opportunities I have had and all the people who helped me get there.

BFP: Will you watch the Tony Awards ceremony on June 9?

OW: I will be watching the Tony Awards, as I have done every year even before I worked on “Fun Home”! So excited to see how this season plays out.

BFP: Have you seen “Hadestown?” If so, what did you think of it, and if not, do you plan to see it?

OW: I have seen "Hadestown," and it blew me away. The artistic detail and performances were stunning. I also felt a personal connection to the show considering the woman who created the show is from Vermont. My dad has performed in some open mics that Anais Mitchell has also played at, which for me, brings me closer to the show knowing I'm growing up in the same area as the woman who created this beautiful work of art.

BFP: What have you been up to in the past four years?

OW: As for me, I've been performing with my school, l also participate in educational theater companies including Very Merry (Theatre), the Flynn (Center). Coming back to these communities after my experiences in the professional world is a gift and a wonderful way to create art with some of my greatest friends. I've done productions like “Rent” as well as “The Last Five Years.”

I have also been doing some work in New York as well. I did the reading of the musical “Parade” by Jason Robert Brown, where I played Frankie Epps. I got to work with Ben Platt again as well as the insanely talented Micaela Diamond. Working with director Michael Arden was amazing and a one-of-a-kind experience. Having such a complex character to develop in a professional setting was a gift. I hope they decide to bring this gorgeous show back to Broadway and I’d love another shot at a chance to bring Frankie to life. Also what a thrill getting to work with Jason Robert Brown who has written some of my favorite shows I have had the pleasure of acting in (Evan in “13 The Musical” with VMT, Jamie in “The Last Five Years” as a Grad Challenge Project at CVU (Champlain Valley Union High School), and of course Frankie in “Parade.”

This summer I am doing my own Grad Challenge as a rising junior. I am going to try my hands behind the scenes by being a co-assistant stage manager for the Flynn Summer Youth Theaters “Matilda” (which is a very special show to me that I may have been in on Broadway had I not been offered “Fun Home” first).

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at 660-1844 or bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.

Kaye Ballard dies in Rancho Mirage at 93 after lifetime of achievement

Kaye Ballard had a contented smile on her face as she watched herself, larger than life, at the Palm Springs International Film Festival screening of her documentary, “Kaye Ballard: The Show Goes On,” this month at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

She had been greeted in the lobby by mobs of fans, taking pictures and congregating around her wheelchair like close personal friends. It made her caregiver nervous, and she advised Ballard to leave the theater early more than once. Her heart was weak. She needed to be in bed.

But Ballard waved her off as the audience broke into spontaneous applause seven times during the film. Ballard stayed for about an hour, until just before a scene depicting her conflict with her mother. Then her caregiver wheeled her out of the theater one last time. When she was gone, a reporter sitting across the aisle sensed she was really gone.

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But there was one more celebration. A film festival official called her Saturday night, Jan. 12, and said her documentary had been named one of the Best of the Fest. Ballard was thrilled, said her closest friend, Myvanwy Jenn. Then she began to fade away.

Ballard, 93, died Monday night at her home in Rancho Mirage after lapsing into unconsciousness less than a week after being notified that “Kaye Ballard: The Show Goes On” would go on to have another festival screening as a Best of the Fest.

“I loved that she was at the theater the night the film opened at the festival,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “She received a serenade of applause from all the people who gathered from a sold-out performance. I’m sure she loved that. I’m glad it was finished in time for her to see it and enjoy it.”

“The irony of all this,” added actor Gavin MacLeod, “is, you can go back a year, a year-and-a-half, and PBS did a movie on Rose Marie’s life. And Rosie died I think three days later. Kaye said, ‘I want my movie to be better than Rosie’s.’ Then Kaye’s movie is shown at the festival, and then the award, and then she goes. It’s like these two dynamite personalities got a chance to see their lives flash in front of them on screen before they said, ‘Bye-bye.’

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“Kaye was my favorite leading lady, and my favorite friend, and there is a vacancy in our lives because of her leaving that only God can fulfill.”

Ballard had one of the most illustrious careers in show business in the mid-20th century. She first exhibited her talents in Cleveland, where she was born Catherine Gloria Balotta to Italian emigrant parents. She was doing impressions of French entertainment legend Maurice Chevalier at age 5. She developed into a painter, singer, actor, musician and comic impressionist.

Ballard was offered a scholarship to Cleveland Art College, but chose to perform instead in vaudeville. A stage producer in Detroit was so impressed by her multiple talents, he recommended her to Spike Jones, the most popular comic big band leader of the Swing Era. Jones, who had novelty hits like "Cocktails For Two" and "Yes, We Have No Bananas," invited her to look him up if she ever got out to Los Angeles. So Ballard bought a one-way plane ticket to L.A. and landed a job as a singer and a comic tuba player with his band.

She was performing with the Spike Jones Orchestra at the posh Trocadero supper club in L.A. when Mel Torme came in to sing with Nat King Cole in the lounge, Ballard said. Torme had written a new Christmas song that started with, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ..."

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When Jones' band stopped went on tour to New York, Ballard got a chance to see Laurette Taylor in Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie," which inspired her to get serious about acting, and Ethel Merman in Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun," which convinced her to go into musical theater.

Ballard made her Broadway debut in 1946 when she was invited by someone who had seen her with Jones to join the cast of the musical, "Three To Make Ready," with "The Wizard of Oz" star Ray Bolger and such future legends as Arthur Godfrey, Julie Wilson and Gordon McRae.

From there, she did such shows as "Touch and Go," which included a Royal Command Performance for King George VI, which got her an introduction to the future Queen Elizabeth; "Top Banana" with Phil Silvers, in which she replaced Rose Marie for the road tour, and "The Golden Apple," which landed her on the cover of Life Magazine and enabled her to introduce the standard, "Lazy Afternoon."

Throughout the rest of her life, with all of the other endeavors she tried, including film, record albums and and a book, Ballard always came back to the stage. Her list of theatrical credits in New York and around the country is remarkable, including:

"Carnival," "Gypsie," "Annie Get Your Gun," "Sheba," "High Spirits," a female version of "The Odd Couple," "Funny Girl," "Chicago," "The Pirates of Penzance," "Royal Flush," "Reuben, Reuben," "Follies," "Look Ma, I'm Dancin'," "Minnie's Boys," "The Decline and Fall of the Entire World As Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter Revisited," "Molly," "The Beast In Me," "Wonderful Town," "She Stoops To Conquer," "The Pirates of Penzance," "No, No Nanette" and "Over the River and Through the Woods."

Other notable productions included "Nunsense," which won a Carbonell Award for South Florida theater, "4 Girls 4," which she performed at the McCallum Theatre," "Crazy Words, Crazy Tunes," which she performed for most of a season at the Springs Theater in the Palm Springs Convention Center, "From Broadway with Love," with Donna McKcKechnie and Liliane Montevecchi, and "The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies," where she appeared as a guest artist as an opportunity to sell copies of her book, "How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years: Kaye Ballard, A Memoir," in the lobby in 2004.

She toured with two critically acclaimed one-woman shows, "Kaye Ballard — Working 42nd St., At Least," and "Hey Ma... Kaye Ballard," which she also brought to the McCallum. She did her last touring production in 2012 at age 86, "Doin' It For Love," a tribute to Broadway standards and performers, and the stories behind them with Montevecchi and Lee Roy Reams.

She said she was proud of having always been a working entertainer, without ever having to take a job outside of show biz.

"I’m very happy because I’m doing the things I’ve done for 60 years," she said in 2012. "I’m just doing the best of the things, like Sophie Tucker and Jimmy Durante (material), and telling things that were in my book. It’s really wonderful."

After her first Broadway show, Ballard next went into cabaret, headlining New York's finest supper clubs, such as the Blue Angel and Bon Soir. She had a voice that rivaled Judy Garland's and, with her comedy and acting skills, she became a magnet for New York music publishers and their "song pluggers." In 1954, she introduced a Bart Howard song called "In Other Words" for Hampshire House Publishing, led by her future Rancho Mirage neighbor, Howie Richmond. It became known as "Fly Me To the Moon" after Frank Sinatra recorded it.

Gretchen Reinhagen, a New York singer-actress whose family has long been part of the Coachella Valley theater community, did her own New York cabaret show saluting Ballard, called “Special Kaye: A Tribute to the Incomparable Kaye Ballard,” and performed it at the Annenberg Theater with Ballard in attendance.

“There is a huge fan base for her and deservedly so,” Reinhagen said at the time. “I saw her a couple of years ago with 'The (Fabulous Palm Springs) Follies' and it was like seeing a master class. I don’t think people know her as the incredible musician she is. I think people in the theater world or cabaret are very familiar with her cabaret work, as well as her Broadway career. I think some of the broader population that know her from ‘The Mothers-In-Law’ don’t know about ‘Working 42nd Street At Last.’”

Ballard made her first television splash in the 1957 made-for-TV Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, "Cinderella," starring Julie Andrews. She became part of the Kraft Music Hall Players on NBC's "The Perry Como Show" with Don Adams and Sandy Stewart in 1961-62. But it was the 1967-69 sit-com, "The Mothers-In-Law" that made Ballard a household name. She starred with Eve Arden as two very different neighbors who were forced to become in-laws when their kids surprised them by marrying one another.

Desi Arnaz directed the shows and the writers of "I Love Lucy," Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Davis, wrote the brilliant scripts. But Roger C. Carmel, who played the husband of Ballard's character, left the show after the first season in a salary dispute and the show didn't work with Richard Deacon playing Carmel's character.

Ballard moved on to a recurring part "The Doris Day Show" in 1970, with Rose Marie again in a higher-profile featured role, and she made an appearance on "Here's Lucy," starring Lucille Ball and her two kids, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.

Lucie, now living in Palm Springs, remembers Ballard coming to the desert to visit her family, with her father and his second wife, Edie, during "The Mothers-In-Law."

"I have known her for over 50 years," Arnaz said. "My father produced her series and she bought his house here in Rancho Mirage. She has always been very supportive of the direction I wanted to take in this business, even mentioning me in her autobiography, saying I would make a great director one day — years before I actually started directing. I always appreciated that. Kaye was a force to be reckoned with and I will miss her."

Rancho Mirage was home to some of the greatest female talents in the history of show biz in the 1970s. They included Ball, the biggest name in television, Dinah Shore, the leading female recording artist of the 1940s; Mary Martin, a rival to Merman as Broadway’s top stage musical actress; Alice Faye, the biggest star at 20th Century-Fox before walking away from the movies, and Ruby Keeler and Ginger Rogers, the top female movie dance stars of the 1930s and ‘40s, respectively.

Ballard felt overshadowed by these women in terms of celebrity. But her activity in theater, where casts grow personally connected after weeks or months of working together, had given her an extended family that reached across the globe.

Ballard never married or had children. She wrote in her memoir, “I found an emotional connection with women like Liz (Smith, the admittedly bisexual syndicated columnist who was Ballard’s road manager in the 1950s) that I could never find with a man. I don’t know why or how it happened, but I do know it has kept me single my entire life.”

But Ballard’s show-biz family was always all welcome at her house in the desert. She became an unofficial ambassador enticing celebrities to visit and often move to the Coachella Valley.

“When I first met her, I was a big fan of hers,” MacLeod recalled. “We were doing ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ (in the early ‘70s) and I got a call. ‘Would I play Herbie with Kaye Ballard at a real burlesque theater in San Diego.’ I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ That was the beginning of our relationship. We spent a lot of time with Kaye and I had never been to Palm Springs. She said, ‘I live in Rancho Mirage, in Desi’s old house.’ So, (wife) Patti and I came down here and fell in love with it and we’ve had places down here since the ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ days. First in Palm Springs and then all over. It was because of Kaye. I don’t know if we would have come down here (otherwise). Now we have our burial plots right down the street from us.”

Photographer and event producer Michael Childers, who saw Ballard in "Carnival" when he was 16, credits her with introducing him to the desert and his life partner, John Schlesinger, the director of films such as “Midnight Cowboy” and “Marathon Man.”

Childers said he got to know Ballard while taking still photos of “The Mothers-In-Law.” She told him Schlesinger had just come to Los Angeles and was lonely. He was “very nice and very charming,” Ballard told him, and she suggested they meet for a drink at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel bar. Childers read that Schlesinger could be “mercurial and difficult on the set,’ so he asked an actor friend to come along. But he soon told the friend to get lost.

“He was charming, delightful and wonderful and I thank Kaye Ballard for introducing me to my partner of 38 years,” Childers said. “It wouldn’t have happened without Kaye Ballard. And, when we moved here in 1998, she was the first person to take us under the wing and introduce us to all the locals — the movers and the shakers.

“She loved the desert. She was the first great desert booster that I met.”

Ballard performed at two of Childers’ “One Night Only” benefit variety shows at the McCallum, and Childers said, “The audience went crazy when they saw her.” She regularly attended charity events and performed at a few of them, including a roast of the late journalist Gloria Greer to benefit ACT For MS, and a tribute to Merv Griffin to benefit the La Quinta Arts Foundation. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Palm Springs Women In Film & Television in November for helping to break the glass ceiling marginalizing women in show business.

But her passion was the Palm Springs International Film Festival. She served on the board of the Palm Springs International Film Society under Camelot Theatres founders Ric and Rozene Supple in the 1990s after being a regular at the foreign film screenings since the festival’s inception in 1990. She was no longer on the board when Matzner joined, but he noticed how much the other celebrities at the gala liked her.

“When I arrived on the scene in 2000, the gala had a green room and she was in it and she knew everybody,” he said. “We very quickly eliminated the green room after my first year because we wanted the stars to be part of the audience. But, Kaye has always been very, very helpful to me personally and to the film festival. She is a real ambassador for this film festival and always has been. So, when she got to the point where she really couldn’t walk, we treated her as a member of our film festival inner circle. Her star status qualified her for the red carpet, and she was always invited.”

Matzner recognized how happy Ballard seemed to be “in that milieu” of show biz people. Childers saw it, too.

“She needed people around her all the time,” Childers said. “She was no good alone. She loved entertaining, giving parties, and the days in Hollywood, when she had lots of money, she had lots of parties where I met everybody in Hollywood. She was a people person.”

But Ballard was in awe of people with great talent. She originally planned to call her autobiography, “I Just Happened To Be There” because she was so impressed by all the people she met from the pantheon of show business. She said after meeting French chanteuse Edith Piaf, and then seeing her in concert, “I couldn’t talk to her normally ever again.”

“I met Elvis Presley in Palm Springs,” she said. “I was driving along Palm Canyon and I pulled right upside his black (Stutz Blackhawk), and I said, ‘I love you!’ He said, ‘I love you, too, Miss Ballard.’ I said, ‘Ah!’ I almost drove off the road. I thought, ‘Elvis Presley said my name! He knows who I am! That was the thrill of a lifetime.”

But she was just as proud of recognizing up-and-coming talent and helping them with their careers. She boasted of introducing comic actor Paul Lynde to producer Leonard Sillman, who launched his career by putting him in “New Faces Of 1952.” She suggested Jerry Stiller and his wife, Anne Meara, do a comedy act together. They became famous as Stiller & Meara before they became famous as Ben Stiller's parents.

Satirist Paul Krassner, who edited the pioneering comic Lenny Bruce’s autobiography, “How to Talk Dirty and Influence People,” credited Ballard with getting Bruce one of his first big New York gigs at the Blue Angel.

“I think every person who understood Kaye at all would agree that the most salient fact about her was that, in a profession where the ego is most often supreme, she thrived on finding genuine happiness in the success of others, whether they happened to be huge stars or simply people she took pleasure in knowing,” said her Rancho Mirage friend, Hal Wingo, one of the founding editors of People magazine.

“As much as she sought out and enjoyed the limelight of show business in a very long and diversified career, she equally enjoyed the company of other talented performers she respected and admired, even to the point of refusing top billing every time she thought another person was more deserving, though very few were.”

Ballard also had regrets about things she didn’t accomplish. In 2003, she told The Desert Sun she needed to work and, “I would give anything to be on a television show.” She auditioned for “Becker,” she said, and sent a tape in for “The Sopranos.” Neither panned out.

“If I had my life to live over, I would live my life differently,” she said. “I would have gone after Howard Richmond!”

But friends said Ballard could be her own worst enemy.

Childers recalls the time he booked Doris Roberts to perform at his “One Night Only” and Ballard was upset. He later discovered Ballard had wanted the role of the Italian mother in “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which Roberts got.

“She would have been great as the Italian mother,” he said, “but she refused to go in to L.A. to do a screen test. She said, ‘You can look at my old TV footage on ‘The Mothers-In-Law.’ Well, that’s not how the business works.’ That was sad to see she didn’t get that.”

“Kaye was not always easy to understand,” added Arnaz. “She could be abrasively cruel and then hilariously compassionate to the same person within minutes. She was a superb entertainer, a sensational vocal talent who, sadly, never believed she got the breaks she deserved, and it ate away at her.”

But Ballard was beloved in the Coachella Valley. She was the only local celebrity to receive two lifetime achievement awards from the Desert Theatre League. She has a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars at the corner of Palm Canyon and Tahquitz Canyon drives, next to the marker for Marilyn Monroe, with whom she took acting classes at Actors Studio in New York. The city of Rancho Mirage renamed the street on which she lived Kaye Ballard Lane in 2003, putting her in a league with Sinatra as probably the only local celebrities to live on streets named after them.

She did a “Going Out Of Business” show at the Camelot Theatre in 2014 with friends such as the late Carol Channing, Shecky Greene and Peter Marshall, and it sold out in two weeks. It was filmed for the documentary that was made about her and it provided a warm ending to a film that was primarily intended to inform people about the vastness of Ballard’s career.

Channing says in the film Ballard was the only friend she could talk to about her own personal let-downs.

“She and Channing,” lamented Childers. “What a loss. What an empty hole we have in this desert now without them.”

Matzner, who invested in the documentary that took three-and-a-half years to make, said he loved the movie more than he expected when he watched it at the film festival.

“I had no idea she had done all that work,” he said. “It covered so many years. It was the right thing for her to do to give people a chance to see how broad her work really was.”

"There is no dynamite talent like that," added McLeod. "In the movie, you can see what a multi-talented person she was, and she was that way as a friend, too."

Wingo, who was an executive producer of “Kaye Ballard: The Show Goes On,” said he'll remember Ballard for her work and the depth of her friendship.

“When self-interest and ego satisfaction were being dished out to humans,” Wingo said, “Kaye was still in the line waiting for a second helping of awe and wonder. Those traits were her constant companions throughout a career of comedic brilliance and stunning vocal competence in every arena of show business, from vaudeville to Broadway, television and films.

“But, what must be remembered now is that none of those achievements were any match for the grandeur and strength of her own generous heart. That's the great loss we all experience in losing her.”

Wingo, serving as a family spokesman, said Ballard did not want any form of funeral service and her body will be cremated. Her nearest relatives, he said, are nieces and nephews, In lieu of flowers, Ballard asked that donations in her name be made to the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, the Coachella Homeless Shelter or any Coachella Valley veterans groups.

Icons highlight IndyStar list of Top 25 Indiana musicians of all time

The entire world sings along to hits made by Indiana natives, from Brazilians who love Axl Rose to Nigerians who adore Michael Jackson.

Rose and Jackson are two superstars highlighted in IndyStar’s list of “25 Top Hoosier Musicians.” The list, originally published as a series in December 2012, includes representatives of blues, pop, country, hip-hop, R&B, rock, classical, jazz, Broadway and punk rock styles.

The roster, revised slightly after five years, includes subjective selections by IndyStar reporter David Lindquist. For this list, a “Hoosier” is defined as someone who helped shape the cultural identity of Indiana or someone whose identity was shaped by the state.

Here’s who made the cut, from No. 25 to No. 1, including YouTube and Spotify playlists:

25. Rusty Redenbacher, inventive voice of Mudkids and Birdmen

Indiana has yet to send a hip-hop act to the top of the charts, but you shouldn’t believe the state lacks a transcendent MC. Rusty Redenbacher, born in Gary in 1970, has a catalog of razor-sharp rhymes stretching across four Mudkids albums with producer/DJ Tyler Knapp, three solo albums and a duo album with Mr. Kinetik. Redenbacher’s songs brim with drama, comedy, romance, intelligence, pride, humility, perseverance, celebration and gratitude. Before the Mudkids, he blazed a trail through Indiana’s hard-rock scene as frontman for Birdmen of Alcatraz.

Essential songs: "MK Hustle,” “Another Journey," “Cashin’ In.”

He said it: "Lyrically, man, I’m always pushing the envelope. I’m John Glenn. I’ve been to space and I’m trying to go back," Redenbacher told IndyStar in 1998.

24. Shannon Hoon, Blind Melon singer and MTV fixture in the ’90s

After earning nine varsity letters at Lafayette's McCutcheon High School, Shannon Hoon left Indiana to pursue his rock 'n' roll dream in Los Angeles. Fellow Hoosier Axl Rose provided an assist by inviting Hoon to sing backing vocals on Guns N' Roses songs and even appear in the video for 1991 single "Don't Cry." Hoon's own band, Blind Melon, took MTV by storm one year later with its "No Rain" single and memorable "Bee Girl" video mascot. Blind Melon sold more than 2 million copies of its debut album, appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and performed as part of the 1994 Woodstock festival. Hoon (1967-1995) died two months after the release of Blind Melon's second album, "Soup." An accidental drug overdose was the cause of Hoon's death.

Essential songs: "No Rain,” “Tones of Home," “Three is a Magic Number.”

He said it: "I was never satisfied," Hoon told IndyStar in 1995, "but that wasn't a bad thing for me. I want to do more. I'm never satisfied with what I've done."

23. Bob Flanigan, head of the class for Four Freshmen harmonies

Formed on the campus of Butler University in 1948, the Four Freshmen sang vocal harmonies that defied the rules of math. Bob Flanigan (who grew up in Greencastle), brothers Don and Ross Barbour (Columbus, Ind.) and Hal Kratzsch (Warsaw) spread four voices across what seemed to be five- or six-part harmony. Ross coined the term “purple chords” to describe their lush-sounding arrangements, and Flanigan (1926-2011) sang lead atop the shifting stack of sound. Credited by Brian Wilson as a prime influence on the Beach Boys, the Four Freshmen were Inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.

Essential songs: “It’s a Blue World,” “Poinciana,” “Their Hearts Were Full of Spring.”

He said it: “We think like horn players. The way we blend is due to our approach as instrumentalists,” Flanigan told The Los Angeles Times in 1991.

22. The Rev. Josh Peyton, modern guitar hero of timeless country blues

It wasn't long after Josh Peyton graduated from Westfield High School in 1999 that he began to spread the country-blues gospel popularized by Charley Patton and Furry Lewis in the 1920s. As leader of the Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band (featuring his wife, Breezy, on washboard and Maxwell Senteney on drums), Peyton has performed in 32 countries and every state aside from Alaska and Hawaii. Audiences are wowed when he multi-tasks melodies and bass lines on his resonator guitar. Peyton also made a 2016 video featuring his “guitgun” — a three-string guitar that's also an operational shotgun — that's racked up more than 25 million online views.

Essential songs: "Clap Your Hands,” “We Deserve a Happy Ending," “Two Bottles of Wine.”

He said it: "If they played music in Claire's at the mall instead of in bars, I'd go to Claire's at the mall," Peyton told IndyStar in 2017. "I'd suck it up, carry my guitar down there and play. I love making music. I love everything about it."

21. Dale Lawrence, boundary pusher with Gizmos and Boatmen

Dale Lawrence supplied the rootsy jangle when two underground styles — punk and indie rock — surfaced in Indiana. The singer-songwriter played in the second version of the state's first punk band, the Gizmos, and he's led the Vulgar Boatmen through multiple decades of critical acclaim. When the Gizmos made a split album with the West Lafayette-based Dow Jones and the Industrials (a 1980 gem titled "Hoosier Hysteria"), Lawrence served as primary vocalist and songwriter. The Boatmen specialize in clean, refined pop-rock — skittering along a rhythmic path established by Bo Diddley and later subverted by the Velvet Underground.

Essential songs: "Change the World All Around," "Mary Jane," "The Midwest can be Alright."

He said it: "In New York, we got lost in the shuffle and we felt that we were just playing in a void. In Bloomington, at least people disliked us," said Lawrence, telling IndyStar about the Gizmos in a 2000 interview.

20. Scrapper Blackwell, collaborative and influential blues master

The story of blues music doesn’t begin with Robert Johnson, the mysterious 1930s singer-guitarist from Mississippi who captured the imaginations of Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin. Johnson borrowed the framework for two of his signature tunes — “Sweet Home Chicago” and “Kindhearted Woman Blues” — from Indianapolis-based musicians Francis “Scrapper” Blackwell and Leroy Carr. Vocalist-pianist Carr and guitarist Blackwell recorded more than 160 songs together between 1928 and 1935. Blackwell Carr Memorial Playground, part of Brookside Park, is named in honor of Blackwell (1903-1962) and Carr (1905-1935).

Essential songs: “Kokomo Blues,” “How Long, How Long Blues,” “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out.”

He said it: “The records sold so fast that the company couldn’t keep them, that’s the truth,” Blackwell on 1928 recording “How Long, How Long Blues,” as told to Jazz Monthly magazine in 1960.

19. Crystal Gayle, ‘Brown Eyes’ singer who became a crossover queen

Crystal Gayle recorded one of the biggest country-pop crossover hits of the 1970s as well as 31 more songs that reached the Top 10 of Billboard magazine's country chart. Born near Van Lear, Ky., in 1951, Brenda Gail Webb was the youngest child of coal miner Melvin "Ted" Webb and Clara Marie Ramey Webb. One of Brenda's seven siblings, Loretta, found country music fame after she married Oliver "Mooney" Lynn. Brenda's parents moved to Wabash in the mid-1950s, and she adopted the stage name Crystal Gayle before releasing debut single "I've Cried (the Blue Right Out of My Eyes)" in 1970. Seven years later, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" made Gayle a mainstream star.

Essential songs: "Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” “I’ll Get Over You," “You and I.”

She said it: "On the weekends, I was always out there in whatever clubs I could get into, the VFWs. I'd get up there with my brother's band and sing a few songs," said Gayle about early performances in Indiana, as told to The Indianapolis News in 1993.

18. Charlie Fuqua, responsible for signature riffs on Ink Spots hits

Most hit songs by the Ink Spots began the same way: in the hands of guitarist Charlie Fuqua. “If I Didn’t Care,” “My Prayer,” “Maybe,” “Do I Worry?” and “I Don’t Want to Set the World On Fire” are difficult to tell apart in their opening moments, because Fuqua applied his signature “bom-ba-dee-da, bom-ba-dee-da” intro to all. The formula worked. The Ink Spots, founded in Indianapolis in 1934, sent 20 songs into the Top 10 of Billboard magazine’s Hit Parade between 1939 and 1949. The original Ink Spots were Fuqua (1910-1970), Jerry Daniels (1915-1995), Ivory “Deek” Watson (1909-1969) and Orville “Hoppy” Jones (1902-1944). In 1989, the Ink Spots became Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees in the category of “Early Influence.”

Essential songs: "If I Didn’t Care,” “My Prayer," “I Don’t Want to Set the World On Fire.”

He said it: “The act was known as King Jack and the Jesters and included Deek Watson, Orville 'Hoppy' Jones, Jerry Daniels and myself. Upon arriving in New York, the group, sitting in Moe Gale's office, tried to figure out a new name for the group. All of a sudden a drop of ink spilled from Moe Gale's fountain pen, and Deek Watson snapped his fingers and said, 'That's it. The Ink Spots,' " Fuqua, recalling the group's origins for The Carolina Times in 1952.

17. Steve Wariner, one of Music City’s few ‘Certified Guitar Players’

Steve Wariner isn’t the flashiest guitar player in Nashville, but he’s recognized as one of the best. Born in Noblesville on Christmas Day, 1954, Wariner is one of just five people to be designated as “Certified Guitar Players” by country music icon Chet Atkins (1924-2001). Atkins gave the title to himself, Wariner, Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles. Wariner’s career highlights include four Grammy Awards, more than 30 Top 10 country hits as a performer and three Top 5 country hits in the role of songwriter for other artists. Wariner’s 1998 hit “Holes in the Floor of Heaven” collected Single of the Year and Song of the Year honors at the Country Music Association Awards.

Essential songs: "Holes in the Floor of Heaven,” “Lonely Women Make Good Lovers,” “If I Didn’t Love You.”

He said it: "I remember when I was living in a town called Noblesville. I remember driving around listening to country music on WIRE radio. I'd pull up at a red light and all my friends would be in the next car and there'd be some girls over there. I'd either roll my window up or real quick turn the radio off. I was embarrassed that they might think I was listening to country music. But it's not that way anymore," Wariner, in a 1991 IndyStar interview.

16. Yank Rachell, mandolin ace and patriarch of Indianapolis blues

James “Yank” Rachell lived a low-key life in Indianapolis when the folk music revival exploded in the early 1960s. People wanted to hear the man who played mandolin on 30-year-old country blues recordings, and Tennessee native Rachell was newly widowed and available for gigs. "I didn't have nothing else to do,” Rachell told The Indianapolis Star in 1997. “I went on, me and Sleepy John (Estes) and Hammie Nixon." The trio played the festival circuit in the United States and Europe, waking up the echoes of “Diving Duck Blues” (recorded in Memphis, Tenn., in 1929) and “New Minglewood Blues” (recorded in Memphis in 1930 and frequently covered by the Grateful Dead). To Indianapolis-based musicians, Rachell (1910-1997) was the long-running patriarch of the local blues community. He made “Pig Trader’s Blues,” a 1995 album recorded with guitarist David Morgan, and “Too Hot for the Devil,” a 1997 album recorded with guitarist Pat Webb and harmonica player Allen Stratyner.

Essential songs: "She Caught the Katy," "Diving Duck Blues" "New Minglewood Blues."

He said it: “You’ve got to have that feeling to play the blues,” Yachell told IndyStar in 1992. “Sometimes it makes me cry, I feel so good.”

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15. Paul Mahern, Zero Boys trailblazer and production wizard

The Zero Boys' "Vicious Circle" album was made Aug. 18-19, 1981, at Keystone Recording in Indianapolis. At age 17, Paul Mahern accomplished enough during those two days to earn his spot on a list of top Hoosier musicians. "Vicious Circle" is a breakneck document of American punk rock, fueled by Mahern's youthful energy and the adept musicianship of Zero Boys' band mates guitarist Terry "Hollywood" Howe, bass player David "Tufty" Clough and drummer Mark Cutsinger. Mahern's adult life has been filled with more time spent in studios, as he's worked as producer or engineer on recordings by Iggy Pop, John Mellencamp, the Blake Babies, the Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band and many more.

Essential songs: "Civilization's Dying," "Livin' in the '80s," "Dirty Alleys, Dirty Minds.”

He said it: “In reality, my life hasn't changed that much. I'm still completely surrounded by music and do exactly what I want to do," Mahern told IndyStar in 2012.

14. Kenny Aronoff, in-demand drummer with star-studded discography

Kenny Aronoff’s name is listed in the liner notes of hundreds of albums, and he’s seated at a drum kit for some of the world’s biggest gigs. In 2009, Aronoff backed an A-list lineup at President Obama’s inauguration celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. Aronoff, who grew up in Massachusetts and studied music at Indiana University, played drums during 2014's "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles." Seventeen years of work in John Mellencamp’s band cemented Aronoff’s reputation as a powerhouse drummer, and tours with Melissa Etheridge, Bob Seger, Fogerty, Joe Cocker, the BoDeans, Smashing Pumpkins and Chickenfoot followed.

Essential songs: John Mellencamp’s “Crumblin’ Down,” the BoDeans’ “You Don’t Get Much,” Hollywood hit “That Thing You Do!”

He said it: “Music makes me feel good. It's a physical thing, it's a mental thing, it's a spiritual thing. Those are the big three. That's what makes a complete person. To be able to play music every day — and get paid for it — the question isn't why do you do it. Why not? You'd be a fool not to,” Aronoff, to IndyStar in 1992.

13. Joshua Bell, violin sensation and Indiana Living Legend

The star power of Joshua Bell, who emerged as a violin sensation at age 14, has yet to burn out or fade. Born in Bloomington, in 1967, Bell is a Grammy Award winner who collected Indiana Living Legend honors from the Indiana Historical Society in 2000. He studied under Indiana University professor Josef Gingold and earned an artist diploma in violin performance in 1989 — the same year Bell made his debut on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” Bell’s mainstream appeal translated into a 2002 appearance on “Sesame Street,” a 2000 spotlight in People magazine’ ”50 Most Beautiful People” issue and a 2010 PBS special in which Bell’s guest stars included Regina Spektor, Sting, Kristin Chenoweth and fellow IU alum Chris Botti.

Essential songs: “Excerpt from ‘West Side Story Suite,’ ” "Rondeau (Tempo di minuetto)," "Allegro ben ritmato e Deciso."

He said it: “These days, getting a wider audience is really important, with orchestras folding right and left. I'm not trying to popularize the music I play in the way I play it; I just try to open people to it," Bell, to IndyStar in 1993.

12. Janet Jackson, pop superstar who maintained ‘Control’

Janet was the ninth and final child in the musically mighty Jackson family, born after Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Michael and Randy. By embracing reinvention within dance, pop and R&B styles, Janet’s career eclipsed all but Michael’s. Born in Gary in 1966, Janet Jackson has sold more than 100 million recordings. Her first two albums flopped, but a commercial breakthrough arrived with “Control,” her 1986 statement of independence that yielded five Top 5 singles: “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “Nasty,” “When I Think of You,” “Control” and “Let’s Wait Awhile.” Jackson’s next four albums — "Rhythm Nation 1814" (1989), "Janet" (1993), "The Velvet Rope" (1997) and "All for You" (2001) — stretched her impact era into the 21st century.

Essential songs: “Nasty," “When I Think of You,” “That’s the Way Love Goes."

She said it: “I wrote my very first song when I was 9. ‘Fantasy’ is the title. I remember being a kid and my brother Randy, my brother Mike and myself, we have our chores to do after dinner, especially, I remember one night in particular, I was doing dishes, I think Mike was sweeping the floor. And Randy was cleaning off the tables and all the countertops. And that's how we would always create music. We could come up with melodies and then we would add lyrics to them. And we would sing a three part-harmony," Jackson, on “Larry King Live” in 2010.

11. J.J. Johnson, the unlimited innovator of jazz trombone

J.J. Johnson made the trombone a high-profile instrument in bebop jazz, giving it stature in context with Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet and Charlie Parker’s saxophone. "In those days the trombone was a slow instrument, but that didn't matter to J.J.," Indianapolis jazz great Jimmy Coe said following Johnson’s death in 2001. "He opened a new field for trombonists. He was unlimited." Born in Indianapolis in 1924, James Louis Johnson (the “J.J.” nickname sprung from arrangements he initialed) attended Crispus Attucks High School. Johnson’s career highlights include popular collaborative albums made with Danish trombonist Kai Winding, playing on sessions that became Miles Davis’ “Birth of the Cool” album and being honored as an National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 1996. For 19 consecutive years, 1955-1973, Johnson was selected as top trombonist in annual Down Beat magazine reader polls.

Essential songs: “Blue ‘n Boogie,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “Lament.”

He said it: "I've never been preoccupied with speed or technique or agility or any of the things that I'm accused of. I've been preoccupied — and consumed — by performing on the trombone with clarity, definition and logic,” Johnson, to IndyStar in 1995.

10. John Hiatt, your favorite songwriter’s favorite songwriter

Armed with sharp wit and a human touch, John Hiatt has written a mountain of songs popularized by himself and a laundry list of his peers. Bonnie Raitt made a hit of Hiatt’s “Thing Called Love”; Eric Clapton and B.B. King built a collaborative album around Hiatt’s “Riding with the King”; Buddy Guy mined extreme blues from Hiatt’s “Feels Like Rain”; and the Jeff Healey Band reached the Top 5 with Hiatt’s “Angel Eyes.” More than 30 acts covered “Have a Little Faith in Me,” a song that appeared on Hiatt’s “Bring the Family” — his 1987 album that provided a mainstream breakthrough following seven albums that were commercially ignored. Born in Indianapolis in 1952, Hiatt grew up near the intersection of 57th Street and Central Avenue. At 18, he left town for Nashville, Tenn. In 2008, Hiatt received the Americana Music Association’s lifetime achievement award for songwriting. He was inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame the same year.

Essential songs: “Have a Little Faith in Me,” “Drive South,” “Slow Turning.”

He said it: "We used to get up a dozen people and ride around in this guy's hearse. We'd inevitably wind up Downtown with quarts of Boone's Farm apple wine wrapped in paper bags — sitting on the Circle or the War Memorial. Figuring it all out, so to speak, only to go back to our parents and realize we didn't have anything figured out," Hiatt in 1999, telling IndyStar about his teenage years.

9. Freddie Hubbard, trumpet great who played with Coltrane and Hancock

From bebop through the fusion era, trumpet/flugelhorn master Freddie Hubbard played jazz with a sense of daring and a knack for versatility. Hubbard, characterized as a “fiery individualist” by former IndyStar critic Jay Harvey, represented the next big thing in trumpet after the towering careers of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Across a 57-album career, Arsenal Tech High School alum Hubbard (1938-2008) made notable projects for Blue Note Records (including “Ready for Freddie” and “Hub-Tones” in the early 1960s) and CTI Records (including “Red Clay” and “First Light” in the early 1970s). As a supporting player, Hubbard appeared on landmark albums such as Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage,” John Coltrane’s “Ascension,” Eric Dolphy’s “Out to Lunch!” and Wayne Shorter’s “Speak No Evil.”

Essential songs: “Red Clay,” “Arietis,” “Lament for Booker."

He said it: “I've played some things that I don't think too many cats can play that are alive today," Hubbard told the Associated Press in 2008. "Whatever they play, it's not going to surpass that. You see, I played like a tenor saxophone, so a lot of the things with me are kind of different, kind of hard to play.”

8. Axl Rose, Guns N’ Roses bad boy fueled by anti-Indiana sentiments

After hitchhiking from Indiana to California, William B. Bailey adopted the stage name W. Axl Rose and sang in one of the most popular hard rock bands in history. Guns N’ Roses (featuring fellow Hoosier Izzy Stradlin on rhythm guitar) sold 30 million copies of 1987 album “Appetite for Destruction.” The album included songs based on Rose’s memories of authority figures in Indiana (“Out Ta Get Me”) and his perspective on big-city life (breakthrough single “Welcome to the Jungle”). Born in Lafayette in 1962, Rose dropped out of Jefferson High School. As an adolescent, he ran cross-country, sang in the choir and built a police record of minor offenses. Guns N’ Roses melded metal and punk styles to refreshingly jolt a rock scene dominated by hair bands.

Essential songs: “Sweet Child o' Mine,” “Patience,” “November Rain.”

He said it: "People that I used to go to school with, people that used to hate my guts, want me to invest money in this and that. People say (things) like ‘Axl thinks he's too cool to party with us.’ But those people never wanted to party with me before,” Rose, talking about Indiana to Rolling Stone magazine in 1989.

7. Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds, R&B heavyweight and 11-time Grammy winner

In the words of late IndyStar columnist Lynn Ford, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds was a shy Northside nerd who grew up to be a world champ in pop and R&B. Edmonds has worked on more than 100 hit songs as a singer, songwriter or producer. His 1993 solo album “For the Cool in You” sold 3 million copies. His songwriting credits include Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road,” which spent a record-breaking 13 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart in 1992. His production credits include Madonna’s “Take a Bow” and Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop).” In 1999, 17 miles of I-65 were named “Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds Highway” to honor the 11-time Grammy Award winner.

Essential songs: “Whip Appeal,” “For the Cool in You,” “How Come, How Long.”

He said it: "I call success having been lucky and having been blessed. But there are so many things that come with it: pressure, managers, contracts, record companies. There are battles all the way through — making sure you're making what you're supposed to make and getting what you're supposed to get. And trying to stay sane through it all,” Edmonds, to IndyStar in 1994.

6. Hoagy Carmichael, composer of iconic ‘Stardust’ and ‘Georgia’ tunes

Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael composed enduring tunes "Stardust" and "Georgia (On My Mind)." "Stardust," written in Carmichael's hometown of Bloomington in 1927, has been recorded more than 1,500 times — making it one of the most popular songs of the 20th century. Pianist Carmichael recorded an instrumental version of "Stardust" at Gennett studios in Richmond, and Tin Pan Alley lyricist Mitchell Parish added words to the song in 1929. "Georgia," written in 1930 by Carmichael with lyrics by fellow Hoosier Stuart.Gorrell, became a signature hit for Ray Charles in 1960. Carmichael (1899-1981) won an Academy Award in the category of best original song. "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" appeared in 1951 film "Here Comes the Groom."

Essential songs: “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Baltimore Oriole.”

He said it: "Jazz maniacs were being born and I was one of them. There were leaping legions of them from New Orleans to Chicago and Bloomington was right in the middle. Alleged to be in the exact center of population at that time and a part of the population was going jazz crazy," Carmichael wrote in his 1946 autobiography, "The Stardust Road."

5. John Mellencamp, ‘Small Town’ rock star who explores music’s roots

Among Indiana’s musicians, none has maintained a closer bond with the state than John Mellencamp. The no-nonsense yet good-timing rock star outlasted comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger to establish a respected career from his home base near Bloomington. Mellencamp, a 2008 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, co-founded Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. Born in 1951 and initially saddled with a stage name of “Johnny Cougar” he didn’t want, the Seymour native became a fixture of MTV programming during the 1980s. His videos for “Hurts So Good,” “Jack & Diane,” “Crumblin’ Down,” “Pink Houses,” “Authority Song,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Small Town,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “Rain on the Scarecrow,” “Cherry Bomb,” “Paper in Fire” and “Check It Out” were aired in heavy rotation. The album "American Fool" (1982) sold 5 million copies. "Uh-Huh" (1983) followed with 3 million. "Scarecrow" (1985) hit 5 million, and "The Lonesome Jubilee" (1987) reached 3 million.

Essential songs: “Paper in Fire,” “Minutes to Memories,” “Pink Houses."

He said it: "Life is exhausting. To make it not exhausting, you have to continue to challenge yourself and try to do something that you never thought you could do. So many people think about me as 'Pink Houses' and 'Jack & Diane.' That's great. I'm very fortunate to have those songs. But I've written thousands of songs that aren't like that," Mellencamp told IndyStar in 2010.

4. Bill Monroe, father of bluegrass who worked and played in Indiana

The father of bluegrass music wasn’t born in Indiana, but he embraced the state as hallowed ground. Monroe (1911-1996) spent significant time in Indiana during two phases of his career. As a teenager, he moved to industrial Lake County to find higher wages than were available in his hometown of Rosine, Ky. According to 2001 biography “Can’t You Hear Me Callin’,” written by Richard D. Smith, Monroe worked as a barrel loader and washer at the Sinclair Oil Refinery from 1930 to 1934. Away from the refinery, the Monroe Brothers (Charlie on vocals and guitar, Bill on mandolin and Birch on fiddle) played tunes at house parties and square dances in Hammond, Ind. Bill’s first radio appearances were broadcast from Hammond station WWAE and Gary’s WJKS. The dry-witted Monroe was widely quoted as saying, “Bluegrass is wonderful music. I’m glad I originated it.” Monroe lived in Indiana as a young man for reasons of self-preservation. He returned to make a mark in the state because he wanted to. In the early 1950s, Monroe purchased a 55-acre country music park in Brown County, within the unincorporated town of Bean Blossom and 5 miles north of Nashville. He presented his first bluegrass festival at the park, now known as the Bill Monroe Memorial Music Park and Campground, in 1967.

Essential songs: “Uncle Pen,” “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” “New Mule Skinner Blues."

He said it: "You know, I never wrote a tune in my life. All that music’s in the air around you all the time. I was just the first one to reach up and pull it out,” Monroe, quoted in The New York Times in 1994.

3. Wes Montgomery, guitarist whose picking transformed jazz

John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery transformed jazz guitar after World War II, playing a fingerpicking style initially embraced by the genre’s purists and later by the masses. Indianapolis native Montgomery was the innovator of a smooth, warm sound he coaxed by picking strings with the flesh of his thumb (instead of using a plastic or metal plectrum) and by doubling melodies via simultaneous “octave” notes. The two-time Grammy Award winner influenced the work of George Benson, Jimi Hendrix and Pat Metheny. In annual Down Beat magazine polls, Montgomery was selected as top guitarist five times in the 1960s by critics and four times by readers. Montgomery (1923-1968) took no formal training on guitar, but he cited Indianapolis-based pianist Erroll Grandy (1918-1991) as a mentor. Necessity proved to be the mother of invention for Montgomery’s distinctive style. In deference to his wife and neighbors, he turned down the volume on his amplifier during home rehearsal sessions and found he could hear his playing better by strumming strings with his thumb.

Essential songs: “Four on Six,” “Jingles,” “West Coast Blues."

He said it: "Working three gigs all that time was not the worst thing that could have happened to me. From all that scuffling, I learned a lot about discipline as an entertainer," Montgomery, telling Down Beat magazine in 1968 about six years in which he worked from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in a radio parts factory, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. playing music at the Turf Bar and from 2:30 to 5 a.m. playing music at the Missile Room.

2. Cole Porter, Broadway genius who crafted enduring classics

Peerless in style, sophistication and suggestive phrasing, Cole Porter ranks among the greatest songwriters of the 20th century. Born in Peru, Ind., in 1891, Porter composed music and lyrics for Broadway shows across 39 years — highlighted by "Paris" (1928), "Anything Goes" (1934) and "Kiss Me, Kate" (1948). Porter's songs, remarkably durable across generations, feature lyrics that are "urbane or witty" paired to melodies boasting a "sinuous, brooding quality," as The Associated Press reported in his 1964 obituary. "You're the Top," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Love for Sale," "Night and Day," "Begin the Beguine," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)," "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" and "It's De-Lovely" rank among Porter's immortal tunes. His maternal grandfather, J.O. Cole, amassed a fortune by selling supplies to miners during the California Gold Rush. He returned to Indiana to oversee Westleigh, the 750-acre estate in Miami County where Cole Porter grew up.

Essential songs: “Anything Goes,” “You’re the Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You."

He said it: "I've been accused most of my life of being remote. But that's not so. I've been working. It's awful to tell people things like that. I've done lots of work at dinner, sitting between two bores. I can feign listening beautifully and work. That's the reason I like to go out. I have no hours. I can work anywhere. I work very well when I'm shaving or when I'm in a taxi,” Porter told The New York Times in 1955.

1. Michael Jackson, ‘King of Pop’ for joyful dance hits and empathetic ballads

A new era of superstars dawned when Michael Jackson sold more than 40 million copies of 1982 album "Thriller." Gary native Jackson (1958-2009) earned his "King of Pop" nickname by making joy-infused dance hits and empathetic ballads. Within a career packed with honors, awards and superlatives, Jackson was named "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006. "Thriller" was bookended by significant-selling albums "Off the Wall" (20 million copies in 1979) and "Bad" (30 million in 1987). In 1985, Jackson and Lionel Richie co-wrote landmark charity single "We Are the World." Jackson's singing career began in Gary, where he spent his earliest years in a white house roughly the size of a two-car garage — 2300 Jackson St. Nine children of Joseph and Katherine Jackson lived in the house, and sons Michael, Tito, Marlon, Jackie and Jermaine became the dynamic Jackson 5 singing group. The quintet made its live debut at Gary nightclub Mr. Lucky's in 1964.

Essential songs: “Billie Jean,” “I Want You Back,” “Man in the Mirror."

He said it: "My motto has been ‘Heal the World,’ ‘We are the World,’ ‘Earth Song,’ ‘Save Our Children,’ ‘Help Our Planet.’ And people want to persecute me for it, but it never hurts, because the fan base becomes stronger. And the more you hit something hard, the more hardened it becomes — the stronger it becomes. And that’s what’s happened: I’m resilient. I have rhinoceros skin. Nothing can hurt me. Nothing,” Jackson, quoted in Interview magazine in 2003.

Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.

USA TODAY honors Make a Difference Day award winners

Arienne Thompson

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Volunteering is not necessarily something that comes naturally to a 5-year-old, but Broadway star Idina Menzel says her son Walker is headed in the right direction -- she thinks.

"It's very hard when all you want to do is spoil him! It's about empathy, really, and the best way to instill these kinds of things in your children is to actually be a good example of that. ... I'm proud to say that his teachers say he's incredibly empathetic for his age," she brags with a smile. "It's about trying to teach him that there's something outside of himself; that there are other things and other people that need our help."

It's the kind of help that was doled out in spades by the winners of this year's Make a Difference Day Awards, who were honored during a luncheon at the National Museum for Women in the Arts on Wednesday afternoon.

Newman's Own, in partnership with USA TODAY and Points of Light, handed out award money totaling $130,000 to 10 individuals and organizations and three charitable U.S. communities, while Gannett awarded an additional $10,000 to one All-Star Award winner. All of the honorees were recognized for serving those in the need during Make a Difference Day last October, doing everything from raising money for pet adoptions in Texas to providing coats for needy kids in Tennessee.

Today show anchor Natalie Morales emceed the luncheon and said before the ceremony that giving back is something that can and ideally should come naturally.

"Volunteerism is really at the core of who we are as people. It's about humanity. It's about helping one another and giving back to those who help you in return. Ultimately, it's about being a good person on this planet."

Menzel's voice is familiar to millions of small children who have heard her belt out the megahit song Let It Go from the movie Frozen, but her commitment to teen girls in New York City is not quite as well known. Menzel's A Broader Way camp provides aspiring performers access to Broadway vets and tools to put on their own shows and to fully express themselves. It's a luxury she remembers well from her own youth.

"Music and acting and the arts, in general, was always a sanctuary for me," she said. "It was a place to take all of my emotions and be able to explore who I was."

But, short of starting your own foundation or camp, Morales says everyday people can still make a big difference in small ways, too.

"That's the great thing about volunteering ... it starts local. It really is about giving back in small ways. Maybe it's your church, your school, your neighborhood. It's finding the elderly person who lives next door who needs help with her lawn. These are little things that you can do, but they make such a difference in a person's life. That affects how you feel about yourself at the end of the day. It makes you feel great, and you want to keep doing it. It's a win-win."

Cranston, O'Dowd, McDonald, other Tony nominees chat

Elysa Gardner

@elysagardner, USA TODAY

NEW YORK -- On Wednesday, a little more than 24 hours after the 2014 Tony Awards nominations were announced, some of Broadway's biggest names gathered to schmooze and exchange congratulations.

Some recalled where they were when the good news arrived -- in several cases, in bed. Chris O'Dowd, tapped for leading actor in a play for his performance in a revival of Of Mice And Men, was "spooning" with his wife when the phone call came. "There was quite a lot of screaming, a little whiskey drinking, and then back to bed."

James Monroe Iglehart, a contender for featured actor in a musical for his inexhaustible Genie in Disney's Aladdin, was also with the missus. "I thought for sure that I would jump up and run around the house, but I ended up just crumpling up into a ball of joy and tears."

Sutton Foster, up for leading actress in a musical for Violet, has already lined up two dates for the big night: "I'm going to bring my fiance and my dad. That I'm excited about."

Others discussed the physical challenges their roles have posed. Featured actor in a play nominee Reed Birney plays a cross-dresser in Harvey Fierstein's best-play candidate Casa Valentina, and is now "a little mystified as to why women didn't burn high heels before they burned bras. The heels are torture -- barbaric."

Bryan Cranston, another nominee for leading actor in a play for his portrait of LBJ in All The Way (up for best play as well), admitted that he's heading home after shows with "a wrecked body. I try to give (Johnson) a sense of being heavy, which he was, and I'm not; and for some reason I've developed an almost S-shape on stage, where my neck and my stomach are out and my neck is curved. I need physical therapy."

Tony Shalhoub, also tapped in that category, juggles three roles in Act One: "I've had to change my eating and sleeping habits. One of the challenges is just changing the clothes. I have an amazing dresser."

Leading actor in a musical nominee Jefferson Mays can top that: He plays eight roles in A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder, "and they all die, eight times a week. So 64 times a week, I die."

Tyne Daly, up for leading actress in a play for Terrence McNally's Mothers And Sons, spoke with McNally, who is also nominated, about audience reaction. "Mr. McNally accuses me of being a laugh whore -- but so is he," she quipped. "Laughs are good, and gasps are good. But I really like the silences, where there's a collective quiet, where the audience has to know what happens next."

If/Then lyricist Bryan Yorkey, a nominee for best score with composer Tom Kitt, noted he has "been accosted" by women "who have asked me if I'd been reading their diaries." Kelli O'Hara, up for leading actress in a musical for portraying another woman facing conflicts in The Bridges of Madison County, notes that show has also struck a chord with women: "Reactions are not only about love; sometimes it's about their career vs. their family -- did they ever fulfill that dream they meant to."

O'Dowd has noticed "a lot of vocalizing" in Mice's audiences, "when it transpires that it's not going to work out great for Lennie or George," respectively his character and James Franco's. "I'm waiting for someone to shout, 'He's got a gun!'"

Fans also acknowledge his co-star sometimes -- loudly. "People will stand up and shout, 'James Franco!' Not 'I love you,' or 'Marry me,' just 'James Franco!'"

Channeling Billie Holiday in Lady Day At Emerson's Bar & Grill, Audra McDonald, up for leading actress in a play, interacts with a section of the audience; and at one show "this lady said, 'Oh, you're trying to make us think this is real!' Shouted it out."

For Kenny Leon, a nominee for director of a play for his celebrated revival of A Raisin in the Sun, one of the most memorable reactions was Michelle Obama's. After the first lady and the president saw the show recently, she told Leon that she wanted to see it again -- with her mother and daughters.

"That was the greatest compliment to me -- especially the daughters," Leon says. "She obviously felt this play was speaking to a new generation in a way that would empower her girls."

'New Black' actress Kimiko Glenn on Broadway

Kerry Lengel

The Republic | azcentral.com

“Orange Is the New Black” star Kimiko Glenn made her official Broadway debut on April 24, and 11 days later she found out her show, “Waitress,” is up for four Tony Awards. But she still doesn’t know where she’ll be on Tony night.

“I may be performing. We don’t know yet,” the Arizona-raised actor says with a laugh. “I would love to be part of a scene and present our show, because it deserves to be represented. But I have no idea. I think I’ll probably be watching in my pajamas with the rest of the cast.”

The Tonys haven’t announced presenters and performers for the 70th annual awards show, which will be broadcast live on CBS from New York’s Beacon Theatre on June 12. “Waitress” is nominated for best musical, and although it won’t win — not in the year of “Hamilton” — it will almost certainly get a slot in the lineup, if only for its Tony-nominated star, Jessie Mueller.

Glenn, meanwhile, will be streaming into living rooms everywhere on June 17, when Netflix releases Season Four of “Orange Is the New Black.” She plays Brook Soso, the Chatty Cathy prisoners’ rights activist.

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“It’s really cool to be around all those awesome New York actresses who are really great people at the core,” Glenn says of “New Black.” “And (being part of) a company led by a diverse group of women, it’s special to me. It really changed the face of what we’re seeing on TV now, which for someone like me, an Asian-American woman, is really important.”

Glenn grew up in metro Phoenix, making her stage debut as a fifth-grader in “Snow White” at Valley Youth Theatre. In 2008, while attending the Boston Conservatory, she landed a role in the national tour of "Spring Awakening" and has been making her living as an actor ever since.

Getting cast in “Orange Is the New Black” two years ago was a huge career boost, but Glenn sounds even more thrilled to be acting — and especially singing — on Broadway.

"Over the course of eight years, I must have auditioned for hundreds of shows. I audition a lot,” she says. “So for this to be my Broadway debut was a huge deal for me. I’ve always wanted to be on Broadway since I even knew what Broadway was.”

“Waitress” was adapted from the 2007 film of the same name, about a Southern woman who hopes to change her life by winning a pie-baking contest. In the musical, Glenn plays Dawn, best friend to the main character. She solos on the song “When He Sees Me,” in which Dawn screws up her courage to post a profile on an online dating service.

READ: Arizona actress stars in “American Psycho” on Broadway

“Dawn is kind of the more reserved, doesn’t-like-to-go-outside-her-comfort-zone type of person, and she’s really particular in her ways,” she says. “It’s a fun little part.”

The role is almost the opposite of Brook Soso, and closer to Glenn’s own personality. She says she definitely didn’t get into acting because she craved attention, and being recognized from “Orange Is the New Black” has taken some time to adjust to.

“Millions of people watch the show, so I feel highly exposed in that way, which is a good thing for an actor, but also I’m a little bit of an introvert, so it’s a little hard for me,” she says. “There’s like a learning curve when it comes to being recognized or being on a show that a lot of people watch, especially when you live in New York where there are a lot of people around all the time.

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"I went through a paranoia for probably a year, where I was like, ‘Everyone’s watching me and nobody’s saying anything.’ It’s kind of scary and nuts what you go through. But the fans are the reason why we’re able to do this sort of thing, so it’s honestly a blessing, and I really love getting to hear people’s stories when they come up.

“I’d like to put this out there,” she adds. “It’s always better if you just come up and ask for the picture or say your piece, because it’s always worse when you yell across the street or take a secret a photo. So I would say that to anyone who is a fan.”

Reach the reporter at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896.