Merle Haggard, one of the finest singers (and songwriters) in American popular music history, died today, on his 79th birthday. Here are a couple good songs.

Country star Jason Aldean—47th on Forbes’ highest-paid celebrities list—went out in blackface and dreadlocks for Halloween, Nashville Gab reports. That’s him above, on the left, in blackface and dreadlocks.

Near the end of 2013, country music critic Grady Smith came to the depressing realization that the most popular songs in the genre that year were all basically the same song.

When country music critic Grady Smith sat down to write his list of the top 10 Best Country Albums of 2013 he made a startling revelation: All the chart-topping country songs of 2013 sounded exactly the same.

Ray Price, one of the great voices and storytellers of the Golden Age of country music, almost died over the weekend. His son, Clifton Ray Price, certainly believed that his father—who is 87 years old and is most certainly, and inevitably, dying of cancer—had passed away on Saturday. But after Price's wife angrily contradicted that report yesterday, the younger Price wrote on his dad's Facebook page that he had "been deceived by some cruel people" and that his dad was indeed "still hanging on." He's going to die, though. Soon. So listen to "Night Life," written by Price's old bass player Willie Nelson. It's the title track from the greatest concept record ever made, a louche, slightly slurred, lipstick-on-your-collar tour through the drunken disintegration of the middle-class American family.

Country singer Randy Travis today had his third run-in with the cops this year after he reportedly got into a drunken brawl with the estranged husband of his girlfriend outside a church in Plano, Texas.

We've heard the ballad "Country Strong" from world's most perfect person Gwyneth Paltrow's new movie Country Strong, but did you know she also has a rootin'-tootin' up-tempo number? Oh, she does. And here it is! She's so country, isn't she??

Fresh off of her CMA Awards performance (here) and before the release of her new film, Country Strong—in which she sings!—Gwyneth Paltrow visited Conan O'Brien's program tonight. Guess what... her children hate her singing voice, too! Watch inside.

Gwyneth Paltrow just performed "Country Strong" (the title track from her upcoming flim) at the CMA Awards. It was odd. You know, in a "Gwyneth Paltrow singing country music is like Martha Stewart singing country music" kinda way. Watch inside.

Yesterday, we brought you country diva Reba McEntire's amazing cover of Beyoncé Knowles' "If I Were A Boy" (listen here). During tonight's CMA Awards, McEntire performed the song live, moving the star-studded crowd to a standing ovation. Watch inside.

The Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood-hosted CMA Awards are underway! During Paisley and Underwood's monologue, the former mentioned that, "2010 was also a big year for infidelity," before he and Underwood sang a song for Brett Favre and Tiger Woods.

News came in today that budding country star Gwyneth Paltrow will be performing her sure-to-be-hit song "Country Strong", from the movie of the same name, at the Country Music Awards. Oh brother. What other ridiculous things could Paltrow do next?

Hey, pull up your pickup and sit on this hay bale and listen to ol' windswept Gwyneth Paltrow sing you a country ballad. It's called "Country Strong", and is from her new movie of the same name.

TMZ says they can confirm that Chely Wright is the celebrity coming out on the cover of People, and we've got more evidence, courtesy tipster BowlingForDollars: A Facebook photo of Wright that mentions her "profile in People mag Tuesday."

We called country singer Shelby Lynne's publicist to ask whether her client will announce her gayness the cover of People on May 5. "I don't have any information on that." How can a publicist not know the answer to that?

Apparently Esquire's Tom Junod interviewed Carrie Underwood, but instead of printing a profile, they just listed a bunch of quotes under the headline "What I've Learned," and it's the most unintentionally depressing portrait-in-a-series-of-mosaic-like-glimpses ever.