Uh, so, there was supposed to be an interview for The Guide to follow this story, but after a long and in-depth phone conversation with her strongly disappointed (not at me) tour manager today, it became very apparent I shouldn’t bother to finish writing it up.
And suddenly, hundreds of miles away, I found myself right back into a familiar role reporting on intricacies of Hilton Head business deals. And to think I was starting to forget how much I love the rush of breaking news, which came back full force this afternoon as I made an brief yet whole-hearted attempt at the almost certainly improbable task of trying to get to get three people to call me back in the hour before 5 p.m. on a Friday.
But instead of following the news, I went to work and held a sign telling people where the end of the “12 items or fewer line” was.
Actual conversation today:
Female customer: Excuse me, where is the end of the line?
Me (holding a white laminated sign on the end of a 6-foot pole above my head with the words “End of Line” written on it): I think it’s here.
All for the bigger dream, Tim. All for the bigger dream.
(Billboard.com)Loretta Lynn Busy With Two New Albums
Loretta Lynn
|
 |
Country legend Loretta Lynn is preparing two projects this year to follow up her 2004 crossover hit, “Van Lear Rose.”
Lynn, 74, is working on an album of new material that she says could be ready by late spring. The album will be in her traditional country style but will deal with modern issues. “(A friend) told me: ‘Loretta, don’t quit writing, because if you do, no one in Nashville is writing songs,'” Lynn tells Billboard. “I write about what’s happening today and how I feel.”
The second project, an album of re-recorded versions of her No. 1 hits from the past four decades, is being produced by John Carter Cash and could hit stores this summer.
Lynn says the idea for that album came out of her live performances, at which she finds crowds clamoring for old favorites, particularly “Dear Uncle Sam.” Lynn released that anti-Vietnam War song (“I hate war,” she said) in 1966, and it became her first self-penned track to make the top 10. But, she says, it has gained new resonance with anti-war crowds today.
“I want to make sure that they get all the old No. 1 hits over the years,” she says. “They holler for them.”
Lynn’s children and grandchildren usually join her on stage for live performances these days, and have also been in the studio to help with the album. John Carter Cash, the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter and a country music singer and songwriter himself, is easy to work with because Lynn and his father were close.
“Van Lear Rose” was produced by the White Stripes Jack White, who also contributed vocals and guitars. The two stay in touch, but Lynn says she doesn’t get to see him very often. But she says she plans to call him soon “see what the devil he’s up to.”
Inverted Soapbox 
Why was she was too disappointed to arrange an interview? Was it because of something the Packet did or was just the state of the world?