GEORGE JONES
Outlaw country artist Billy Joe Shaver dead at 81
FILE - Artist Billy Joe Shaver poses backstage following his concert "Billy Joe Shaver presented by WMOT/Roots Radio" at City Winery Nashville in Nashville, Tenn. on April 1, 2017. (Photo by Laura Roberts/Invision/AP, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Outlaw country singer songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, who wrote songs like “Honky Tonk Heroes,” “I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train” and “Old Five and Dimers Like Me,” has died He was 81. His big break came when Jennings recorded several of Shaver's songs for his 1973 album “Honky Tonk Heroes," which helped popularize the outlaw country genre and turn the maverick country artists into legends. "There weren’t another other way to be/For lovable losers, no account boozers/And honky tonk heroes like me," Shaver wrote in the title track. Shaver wrote songs that were covered by Elvis Presley, Patty Loveless, George Jones, Tex Ritter, Tennessee Ernie Ford and John Anderson.
Hank Williams Jr., Marty Stuart to join Country Hall of Fame
FILE - Hank Williams, Jr. performs in concert at The BB&T Pavilion in Camden, N.J. on Aug. 19, 2017. Williams, along with Dean Dillon and Marty Stuart, will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. (Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. Hank Williams Jr., Marty Stuart and songwriter Dean Dillon are the newest inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Announced by the Country Music Association on Wednesday, Williams will join his father, country legend Hank Williams Sr., in the Hall of Fame's rotunda. He also wrote timeless classics like Tennessee Whiskey," which has been covered by David Allan Coe, George Jones and Chris Stapleton.