Daryle Singletary, Traditional Country Singer & Randy Travis Protégé, Dies at 46
February 13, 2018 by admin
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Country music has lost one of its’ finest traditional voices with the unexpected passing of Daryle Singletary. The singer passed away Sunday night (Feb. 11) at the age of 46, causing a wave of tributes across social media from artists such as Craig Campbell, who said of the singer “…Sad day…the greatest country voice of my time is now singing in Heaven’s band. Gonna miss you.”
Born March 10, 1971 in Cairo, Georgia, if there was ever a singer that fulfilled his destiny, it was Singletary. He grew up enamored of artists such as George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Randy Travis. It was his purchase of the latter’s Storms of Life album at the age of 15 that had a particularly deep and profound impact on him. He began to sing Gospel music with his brother, and also worked on sharpening his songwriting skills. At the age of 19, he moved to Nashville, where he began playing in the clubs and recording demos. In 1992, Travis heard the singer on “An Old Pair of Shoes” — which he recorded and took to No. 21 on the Hot Country Songs chart — and was also struck by the singer’s classic-sounding delivery. With Travis in his corner professionally, Singletary soon found himself on the roster of Giant Records.
Singletary’s first single, “I’m Living Up To Her Low Expectations,” with Travis on board as a co-producer found favor with audiences, hit No. 39 on the Hot Country Songs chart. His next single, “I Let Her Lie,” would hit No. 2 that fall, and help to establish the singer as one who traditional-minded fans would point to as a keeper of the country flame. In a 2002 interview, the singer said that he was simply doing what he was born to do.
“I’m not trying to stand on a soap box or a pedestal. I’m just doing what I love to do,” he said. “I just try to sing what comes from the heart. I’ve been fortunate enough to have people allow me to do it.”
He continued to record for Giant through 1998, with “Amen Kind Of Love” also hitting the runner-up slot on the charts. He then moved to Audium / Koch, where he recorded perhaps the most critically-lauded album of his career – 2002’s That’s Why I Sing This Way. A collection of Country standards that included appearances from acts such as Dwight Yoakam and George Jones, the set also featured the final recording from Johnny Paycheck – on “Old Violin.” Being able to include the singer in his recording resume was something that Singletary took great pride in.
“I was on the Grand Ole Opry one night, and we had been doing the song in our show. I played it, and came off the stage, and Marty Martel – Paycheck’s manager – was standing there with a cell phone. He gives it to me, and it’s Johnny. He was listening, and he just had so many kind words to say about it. He was in the hospital, and had turned down so many things, but he agreed to do the recitation on the last line. It’s something I’ll never forget. I’m glad I got that on tape. It was such a big deal, and a feather in my cap,” he said with reverence.
The singer recorded three more solo albums and continued to tour throughout the United States. He also began to perform at a local Nashville club occasionally with Bluegrass queen Rhonda Vincent – who also appeared on That’s Why I Sing This Way. The two recorded an album of duets, American Grandstand, which was released last summer. At the time of the release of the disc, Vincent praised her duet partner, saying, “Daryle Singletary is the greatest male singer in country music. I have admired him so much. I remember meeting him in Jack McFadden’s office, and became a huge fan instantly. I can’t think of someone who I love singing with anymore, because our voices meld so well together. To find someone that you work with that you are so like-minded on is amazing. I think that’s the number one thing about the business – when you get to sing with someone you admire so much – it’s amazing.”
Though his chart legacy – fourteen entries between 1995 and 2002 – wasn’t the largest by any standards, Singletary will no doubt be remembered as a torch-bearer for artists such as Lefty Frizzell and Keith Whitley to modern-day generations of fans and artists. And, perhaps, that’s what he was most proud of artistically. “I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to record country music, and have it get played on the radio. It’s what I always dreamed of.”
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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White House denies US-Israel discussing settlement annexation
February 13, 2018 by admin
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JERUSALEM — The United States dismissed as false an Israeli assertion on Monday that the two countries were discussing the possibility of Israel annexing Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, in a rare display of discord between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“On the subject of applying sovereignty, I can say that I have been talking to the Americans about it for some time,” Netanyahu told a closed-door meeting of his right-wing Likud party’s legislators, according to the party’s spokesman.
Netanyahu was referring to applying Israeli law to the settlements, a step tantamount to annexation. They are currently under the jurisdiction of Israel’s military, which has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 war.
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Later on Monday, the White House denied having such discussions and a senior Israeli official said Netanyahu had not made a specific annexation proposal to Washington.
“Reports that the United States discussed with Israel an annexation plan for the West Bank are false,” White House spokesman Josh Raffel said. “The United States and Israel have never discussed such a proposal, and the president’s focus remains squarely on his Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative.”
Some commentators suggested Netanyahu’s remarks to Likud might have been a move to placate right-wingers in his cabinet rather than a concrete plan.
But the statement stoked Palestinian anger, already high over Trump’s Dec. 6 announcement that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a reversal of decades of U.S. policy.
Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said any annexation would “destroy all efforts to try and save the peace process”.
“No-one has the right to discuss the situation of the occupied Palestinian lands,” Abu Rdainah said from Moscow, where Abbas was holding talks with President Vladimir Putin amid reports they may discuss new options for Middle East mediation.
Most countries regard Israel’s settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this.
The Likud spokesman did not mention a timeframe for an annexation or go into further details on the U.S. discussions. He quoted Netanyahu as telling the lawmakers that any change in the settlements’ status must first be coordinated, “as much as possible” with the United States, Israel’s main ally.
A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, later said in a statement that Netanyahu had not presented the United States with specific annexation proposals “and anyway the U.S. has not expressed its agreement to the proposals”.
“Israel updated the Americans about different proposals being raised at the Knesset and the U.S. expressed its clear position that it wishes to advance President Trump’s peace plan,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.
An Israel Radio political affairs commentator described Netanyahu’s comments as largely ideological in nature and said it was unlikely any practical steps would be taken in the near future.
Netanyahu’s comments to the legislators appeared, at least in part, to be an attempt to soften any political fallout within Likud over his decision on Sunday to block a bill proposed by several right-wing lawmakers to annex settlements.
A source at the prime minister’s office said on Sunday the bill was blocked in order to give diplomatic efforts more of a chance.
The Trump administration has been less critical than the administration of President Barack Obama of Israeli settlement policy. But in an interview published on Sunday in Israel Hayom, a pro-Netanyahu newspaper, Trump urged Israel to tread cautiously.
“The settlements are something that very much complicates and always have complicated making peace, so I think Israel has to be very careful with the settlements,” Trump said.
Trump also voiced doubts about Palestinian and Israeli commitment to making peace.
Asked when he would unveil a promised new peace plan, Trump said: “We are going to see what goes on. Right now, I would say the Palestinians are not looking to make peace, they are not looking to make peace. And I am not necessarily sure that Israel is looking to make peace.”
U.S.-brokered peace talks collapsed in 2014, with the settlement issue one of the main factors behind their failure.