Country

Bobby Braddock is the award-winning country songwriter behind tunes including "He Stopped Loving Her today," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," and "Did You Ever."

Now he's tackled a different kind of writing: His memoir, Down in Orburndale: A Songwriter's Youth in Old Florida, is out now from Louisiana State University Press.

Country singer Bradley Walker is making his recording debut with Highway of Dreams. Walker's vocal style "harkens back to an earlier generation of vocalists, such as George Jones and bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe." The record's producer is Carl Jackson who worked with Emmylou Harris and Glen Campbell. Walker has performed at the Grand Ole Opry, and sung at leading bluegrass festivals. Born with Muscular Dystrophy, he has been in a wheelchair all his life.

The new season of TV's American Idol starts on Tuesday, but four previous Idol stars — Taylor Hicks, Fantasia Barrino, Kellie Pickler and Chris Daughtry — have all put out albums within weeks of each other. Rock critic Ken Tucker says their styles vary widely, but that quality-control is a common problem.

Musicians Chris Gaffney and Dave Gonzalez of the Hacienda Brothers discuss their new album, What's Wrong with Right. The band, based in Tuscon, Arizona, blends country and rhythm and blues, and 'What's Wrong with Right' is a mix of original songs and covers. Their producer is the legendary Dan Penn.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the debut album by country singer Bradley Walker, Highway of Dreams.

Texas and country music legend Freddy Fender, 69, died Saturday of lung cancer. Fender's big hit was "Before the Next Teardrop Falls."

We remember country music singer and yodeler Don Walser, who died Wednesday at the age of 72 of complications from diabetes. Walser was a country music icon in Austin, Texas, where he lived and played at clubs, VFW halls, and honkytonks. He's best remembered for his series of records in the 1990s, produced with Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson. This interview originally aired Dec. 13, 1994.

Golden Smog is a side-project for veterans of rock bands such as Wilco, the Jayhawks, Soul Asylum, and lesser-known groups.

Darrell Scott grew up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, just like his father, Wayne. Now Darrell is a Nashville singer and songwriter with albums and awards to his credit. And his father, at 71, is releasing a debut album.

At age 53, Texas singer James Hand has just released his debut album, The Truth Will Set You Free. Hand has been singing and playing for nearly four decades, but he's mostly performed in small town dives.

Hand is also a horse trainer when he's not singing. His sound has been compared to Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell.

Our film critic reviews A Prairie Home Companion, Robert Altman's film adaptation of Garrison Keillor's long-running public radio show.

Neko Case grew up in Tacoma, Wash., attended art school in Vancouver and performs and records with the Canadian pop-rock band The New Pornographers. As a solo artist, her music has often tended to be more influenced by country and folk music. Her new CD, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, is her fourth studio album. Our music critic says it contains some of her most complex and beautiful music to date.

You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker is the new CD by Willie Nelson. Cindy Walker died last week at the age of 87.

Echoing music from the 1950s and '60s, Pay the Devil is the new album from Van Morrison. The album has Morrison reprising songs made famous by Hank Williams, Webb Pierce and Connie Smith.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new country records that are bestsellers: Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts and Martina McBride's Timeless.

Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker offers his picks for the best music of the year, including Fiona Apple's latest album and a Bob Dylan DVD. He also addresses the topic of women in music, and he talks about the year in hip-hop. Tucker is the film critic for New York magazine.

Singer June Carter Cash was a Grammy-winning singer, a songwriter, musician, actress and author. She was married to Johnny Cash, and she came from the Carter Family, the country music pioneers. She died of complications from heart surgery at age 73, just four months before Johnny Cash died. This interview originally aired on June 19, 1987.

Jimmie Dale Gilmore's new album — his seventh — is called Come on Back and it's a memorial to his late father. He died of ALS in 2000. The album includes version of his dad's favorite songs like Pick Me Up on Your Way Down and Walkin' The Floor Over You. Gilmore was born, raised and lives in Texas. He has been recording solo albums since 1988, when he released Fair and Square.

Walk the Line is the new biopic about music icon Johnny Cash, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the "Man in Black" and Reese Witherspoon as his wife, June Carter.