Buckaroo Doyle Holly Enters Hospice; Stonewall Sues Opry

DOYLE HOLLY (69), who picked bass with the BUCK OWENS Buckaroos during its big years has checked into a Nashville hospice with what is termed as end-stage prostate cancer. DOYLE's wife of 37 years, GINNY, said, Looks like it's got him this time. GINNY mentioned that DOYLE was hospitalized on December 17, 2006 and was admitted to the hospice on January 9, 2007.

Born in Oklahoma, HOLLY spent his adult years working in the oil fields of OK, KS and CA. DOYLE joined BUCK's band in 1963 and remained until 1971. The Buckaroos scored more than 30 singles in the Country Top 40 charts with half of them at #1. Remember the tunes: Act Naturally (covered by the BEATLES), Cryin' Time (covered by RAY CHARLES) and I've Got A Tiger By the Tail? Just too many hits to mention here.

WILLIE CANTU, former Buckaroo drummer, who also lives in the Nashville area, said he last saw DOYLE in December when HOLLY walked into the Nashville club where CANTU was playing. WILLIE said that DOYLE came to the club with his brother, He stayed for one song and left. I guess he was just looking things over one last time.

DON RICH, who had the fantastic guitar sound which helped made BUCK OWENS so famous, died in a motorcycle accident in 1974. TOM BRUMLEY now lives in MO. BUCK, who had his first hit in 1959, died in March 2006 at 76.

Some of HOLLY's friends had DOYLE HOLLY Day with live music at Trout's on Sunday. Organizers accepted donations to help the HOLLY family deal with the overwhelming medical expenses. Our hearts, minds and prayers go out to DOYLE HOLLY, his wife GINNY and the HOLLY family in this time of travail.

STONEWALL JACKSON SUES GRAND OLD OPRY
Opry General Manager, PETE FISHER, and the Opry's owner, Gaylord Entertainment, have been sued for $10 million by STONEWALL JACKSON who's been a Grand Ole Opry member for 50 years. On Thursday, January, 11, 2007, 74 year old STONEWALL filed papers to sue the Opry for age discrimination, breach of contract and retaliation because the number of his appearances on the show declined significantly after PETE was hired in 1998.

The lawsuit says that FISHER wants to feature younger artists on the Opry and that PETE told STONEWALL that he was too old and too Country. STEVE BUCHANAN, VP of media and entertainment at the Opry, told the Tennessean, Nashville's daily newspaper, The allegations of age discrimination are without merit, as evidenced by our lineups in each and every show. The Opry strives to appeal to all generations of fans.

STONEWALL JACKSON became an Opry member in 1956 and later had several Top 10 hits, which include two #1 singles, Waterloo (1959) and B.J. the D.J. (1963). Guitarist JIMMY SPIDER WILSON (71), a 53-year veteran of the Opry's house band, resigned from the show in November 2006 after being excluded from televised segments of the Grand Ole Opry.

-- JIM ROSE