#WhatsHappening for September 12, 2019

I considered posting yesterday, but what could I say that hadn't been said before- and probably with a lot more brevity and clarity than I manage to muster.

By the People.

For the People.

We the People.

All the People.

Indivisible.

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

Today marks sixteen years since Johnny Cash died.

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

Well, this is interesting- Sting's If You Love Somebody Set Them Free 2019, from his My Songs, has topped Billboard's Dance Chart. The original version of the song, released in 1985, reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Strangely (to me, anyway), it's not his first time at the top of the dance charts- Send Your Love and two different versions of Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) have also topped the charts. 

Dave Aude, who produced the album, said he asked Sting if he could work on If You Love Somebody Set Them Free because "it's one of my all-time favorite Sting songs. It's the only one that I totally flipped on its head, and the result is pure dancefloor magic. I'm beyond proud."

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

The nominees for 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards have been announced, with the ceremony coming up next month the te Cobb Energy Center. Cardi B leads the way with 10 nominations. DJ Khaled, Travis Scott, and J. Cole each grabbed  eight nominations a piece. The full list of nominees is here.

What's weird is that the network had an awards show in June, so... I don't know- are they given out every few months? It's been about 25 years since I watched anything on the network. Are Donnie Simpson and Alvin Jones still on there?

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, John Anderson, Wade Hayes, Joe Diffie, Neal McCoy, and Dale Ann Bradley were among those who gathered in Nashville for the memorial concert for Earl Thomas Conley earlier this week.

Family members, friends, songwriters, performers, and industry professionals showed up at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater Tuesday to honor Conley, who died in April.

Shelton called Conley a "personal hero" and said he was a 20 year old when he first met Conley.

"The first time I ever went to his house, we wrote a song and I couldn't get over the fact that I was sitting there with my personal hero, my favorite singer of all time, of any genre of music. I couldn't get over how normal he was. Over the years, I think he accepted the fact that I truly did worship him. I remember every interaction he and I ever had. It was always a big deal to me."

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

Just in case you needed to know how to get a bison out of the road, well- here you go.

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

It was announced yesterday that Sheryl Crow and Joan Jett would be honored at the 60th annual Clio Awards this year.

Crow will be honored with the Clio Music Impact Award for her originality, encouraging industry progress, and inspiring social change, while Jett will be the recipient of the 2019 Clio Music Lifetime Achievement Award.

Clio president Nicole Purcell said she was "blown away by (Jett's) creative impact. She is a woman who blazed her own trail in so many aspects of her life, whether it be popularizing a new sound or creating opportunities for herself where none existed. For me, her most impactful achievement is in the way that she has given back to the next generation of women in rock 'n' roll and used her stardom as a platform to champion women’s, LGBTQ and animal rights."

The awards will be given out September 25 in New York City.

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

Birthdays today include: RM of BTS (25); Kelsea Ballerini (26); Jennifer Hudson (39); Bizzy Bone of Bone Thugs n' Harmony (43); Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland (45); Liam Gallagher of Oasis (47); Ben Folds (53); Barry Andrews of XTC (63); Gerry Beckley of America (67); Neil Peart of Rush (67); Tony Stevens of Foghat (70); and Maria Muldauer (76). #MusicalBirthdays