Josh Gracin and wife Ann Marie are expecting their fourth child! The couple looks forward to welcoming the new baby later this year. Josh shares, "We're all excited about the new addition to the Gracin clan, and Briana, Landon and Gabriella can't wait to meet their new brother or sister." Josh and Ann Marie were married in January 2001 prior to Gracin's joining the U.S. Marine Corps and competing on the second season of American Idol. The past couple of years Josh had to be on the road for Father's Day, but it looks like he has the holiday off Sunday.
[via Aristomedia]
Garth Brooks took the stage in Minneapolis over the weekend at the "So The World May Hear" gala for the Starkey Hearing Foundation. With just an acoustic guitar, Garth performed some hits and and music from his influences at a black-tie affair in a ballroom at the RiverCentre. Fifteen hundred people paid $1,250 each to hear Garth talk and play songs from his influences, which included Merle Haggard, Billy Joel, James Taylor and George Strait. He told the crowd, "James Taylor is why I play music. George Strait is why I play country." Ever since he heard Strait for the first time, Garth knew, "All I wanted to be the rest of my life - and to this day - is George Strait Jr."
Rodney Atkins will never forget when he met Garth Brooks at a recent industry event. He says he got to meet Garth because his son Elijah had to use the restroom. Atkins recalls, "He said, 'Hey Rodney.' He called me Rodney, that's funny. He knew who I was. I talked to him [briefly] about what he meant to me. It was pretty cool. I said, 'If I never talk to you again, I want to thank you for everything. You showed me music can be magic.'"
[AristoMedia]
Gary Allan has one thing in common with retired Major League Baseball player, Atlanta Braves second baseman, Marcus Giles. They both like to play a little golf in their spare time. The two met a couple of years ago while Gary was touring with Rascal Flatts, so last week when Gary was in the San Diego area for Kenny Chesney's "Poets and Pirates" tour, Giles invited Gary for a round of golf. Although Gary has declined to mention his score from that game, he did say, "I only had to buy a few drinks." After his show at the Viejas Concerts in the Park, Gary and his band were invited to the Giles' home where they enjoyed meeting Marcus' older brother, Brian Giles, an outfielder for the San Diego Padres.
According to TMZ.com, former Trick Pony member Ira Dean is suing McDonald's because he believes he is the guy playing the upright bass on the Big 'n' Tasty hamburger box. In a federal lawsuit filed in California, Dean alleges the famous chain is using his persona, image and likeness to package and promote their hamburgers. Following a demand to "cease and desist," McDonald's hasn't done so, so Ira is suing for damages.
[via AristoMedia]
Award To Be Presented During Fourth Annual Champions of Diabetes Dinner & Celebration on June 3 Steve Wariner has long been known for his formidable talents as a Grammy®-winning singer, songwriter, producer and musician. Tomorrow he will be honored with the Hope Award from Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital Hall Family Center for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes for his work on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). This is the first time that the Hope Award has been presented to someone from outside the medical field.
Wariner will accept the award and perform "There Will Come a Day (Holly's Song)" during the Fourth Annual Champions of Diabetes Dinner & Celebration at the St. Regis Hotel in New York. He initially wrote the song, with lyrics speaking to the parents of any child with a disability or illness, to perform at a JDRF gala. He included it on his 2003 Steal Another Day album and gave it to the JDRF to use for promotional and fund-raising purposes.
Diabetes has had a personal effect on Wariner, whose stepdaughter, Holly, was diagnosed with the disease as a child. Wariner was the Honorary Celebrity Chair for the 2000 and 2001 Walks to Cure Diabetes in Nashville. In 2001 and 2003 he joined the JDRF Children's Congress in Washington, DC, to raise awareness of the need for juvenile diabetes research and to lobby for stem cell research. He and Holly have also recorded public service announcements for JDRF and have done several interviews to raise awareness of the need for diabetes research.
In 2002 the JDRF Middle Tennessee Chapter honored Wariner at its Reds, Whites and Tunes Gala in Nashville for his work on behalf of the organization. He performed at the event and donated several items to the silent auction, all of which helped raise $ 650,000 for the Johnny Russell Memorial Grant for juvenile diabetes research at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In 2006 Wariner received the JDRF Angel Award from the Los Angeles Chapter, and he received the JDRF Mike Coleman Award from the Knoxville Chapter in 2004.
"I'm deeply honored to receive the Hope Award," said Wariner. "Mount Sinai does incredible work and research, and we're all committed to finding a cure for diabetes. I feel blessed to be able to use my talents in any way to join that effort."
Steve Wariner was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame in April. The Walk of Fame recognizes those from all genres of music who have made significant contributions to preserving the musical heritage of Nashville and have contributed to the world through song or other industry collaboration.
Wariner began his career at the age of 17 when he joined Dottie West's band as her bass player. He has recorded over 30 top-10 songs, including 14 #1's-songs like "The Weekend," "Small Town Girl," "Some Fools Never Learn," "Tips of My Fingers" and "Where Did I Go Wrong." He has also written many hit songs recorded by others, including Garth Brooks' "Longneck Bottle, " Keith Urban's "Where the Blacktop Ends" and Clint Black's "Nothin' But The Taillights." His songwriting skills have earned him 16 BMI Country Awards and 10 BMI Million-Air Awards (for songs receiving over one million on-air plays).
In addition to his songwriting awards, Wariner has won two Grammy® Awards-in 1992 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration and in 2000 for Best Country Instrumental. He won the Country Music Association's Single and Song of the Year awards in 1998 for his #1 hit, "Holes in the Floor of Heaven," which was also the Academy of Country Music's Song of the Year in 1999.
Wariner has three gold albums to his credit-I Am Ready (Arista), Burnin' the Roadhouse Down and Two Teardrops (Capitol). He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1996. In 2002 he started his own label, SelecTone Records, for which he has released three albums-Steal Another Day, Guitar Christmas and This Real Life.
About The Mount Sinai Medical Center The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation's oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. Founded in 1852, Mount Sinai today is a 1,171-bed tertiary-care teaching facility that is internationally acclaimed for excellence in clinical care. Last year, nearly 50,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients, and there were nearly 450,000 outpatient visits to the Medical Center.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally recognized as a leader in groundbreaking clinical and basic-science research, as well as having an innovative approach to medical education. With a faculty of more than 3,400 in 38 clinical and basic science departments and centers, Mount Sinai ranks among the top 20 medical schools in receipt of National Institute of Health (NIH) grants.
After much anxious waiting, Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney and wife Tiffany Fallon welcomed their first child last Saturday, a son named Jagger [jag'-er] Donovan Rooney. The new baby Flatts weighed in at 6.45 pounds and measured 20 inches long. Mother and son are doing well. The proud new parents said, "We are absolutely blown away by this little miracle gift that God has given to us. We can't wait to see what the future has in store for baby Jagger and our new family!"