Fox411 Country: Merle Haggard hospitalized, Keith Urban plays for charity
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This week’s Fox 411 Country Round-up starts with an update on Merle Haggard. The 74-year-old country music legend had to postpone the rest of his January concert dates after being hospitalized in Macon, Georgia with pneumonia.
While no direct confirmation to Fox 411 Country yet from his camp that he’s set to be released, on Friday country star John Rich seems to have heard, as he tweeted “Just heard from Merle Haggard's camp and they say "he's going to be released from the hospital and get's to go home." HANG TOUGH HAG!
Keith Urban has rescheduled the “All for the Hall” benefit for April 10th. The third annual fundraiser for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was set for January 18th but Urban was still recovering from having a polyp removed from his vocal cord. He’s set to perform at the fundraiser, as well as Hall of Fame members Vince Gill and Alabama, plus The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Thompson Square and more!
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In a statement on his website Urban says is goal for the concert is the same as all the halls, “To help country fans connect the dots – to find out where their music came from, how it’s evolved (and is still evolving) and to discover the artists that have influenced their favorite artists.”
In charting news, Eric Church rocks out his first career No. 1 single with “Drink in My Hand.” The tune is off his album Chief that debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and for which he received his first Grammy nomination for Best Country Album of the Year. It also follows the announcement of his first arena headline tour “The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour.” Church is part of the recently announced line-up of performances for 2012 CMA Music Festival -- a list that includes Luke Bryan, Faith Hill, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, and Jason Aldean among others.
It’s a family affair courtesy of Josh Kelley and Katherine Heigl as the former stars in a new music video directed by the latter about their adopted 3 year old daughter Naleigh Moon. The song “Naleigh Moon” is from Josh’s 2011 album “Georgia Clay” and the heartwarming video features home video of all of them. It’s also our featured song of the week!
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Find this and much more in the Fox 411 Country Round-up.