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    Dave Loggins, Who Wrote Hits for Himself and Others, Dies at 76

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    After tasting fame with “Please Come to Boston” in 1974, he became a major Nashville songwriter. He also wrote the theme to the Masters golf tournament.Dave Loggins, a chart-topping Nashville songwriter for the likes of Kenny Rogers and the Oak Ridge Boys who also notched his own Top 10 pop hit with the wistful “Please Come to Boston” and wrote the enduring theme for the Masters golf tournament, died on July 10 in Nashville. He was 76.His death, in a hospice facility, was confirmed by his son Kyle, who did not specify the cause.Mr. Loggins, a second cousin of the pop star Kenny Loggins, released five albums as a solo artist in the 1970s, but he scored only one hit single himself.“Please Come to Boston,” a soft-rock weeper about a rambling man trying to woo a lover to follow him as he chases his dreams in one city after another, climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s easy listening chart and No. 5 on the magazine’s Hot 100 in 1974. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for best pop vocal performance by a male artist — the first of Mr. Loggins’s four Grammy nominations.For Mr. Loggins, the song almost seemed to have divine origins. In a 2021 interview with the singer-songwriter and vocal coach Judy Rodman on the podcast “All Things Vocal,” he said he wrote the song early in his career “with chords I had never even played before.”“There was this beautiful, glowing feeling that came over me,” he added, “a godlike feeling, that said, ‘Here, go ahead and play, I’ll move your fingers.’”While “Please Come to Boston” was his only mainstream hit, Mr. Loggins was considered anything but a one-hit wonder in country music circles: He wrote hits for Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, Wynonna Judd and Toby Keith, among others.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Ingrid Andress Says She’ll Enter Rehab After National Anthem Flub

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      Ingrid Andress, a country star, blamed drinking for her performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” during Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game festivities.The country music star Ingrid Andress became one of many high-profile singers who have had trouble pulling off “The Star-Spangled Banner” when she sang it during Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game festivities before a capacity crowd at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Monday night.On Tuesday, after video clips of her pitch-challenged version were shared widely on social media for all the wrong reasons, Ms. Andress offered an explanation for the flub on her Instagram account.“I was drunk last night,” she wrote. “I’m checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need. That was not me last night. I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition. I’ll let y’all know how rehab is! I hear it’s super fun.”Ms. Andress, 32, broke through to a wide audience in 2020 thanks largely to the ballad “More Hearts Than Mine” from her first album, “Lady Like.” Her debut also earned her nominations in best new artist categories from the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Grammys Awards. In 2021, Ms. Andress had a second hit, “Wishful Drinking,” a duet with Sam Hunt.Ms. Andress’s version of the national anthem, which was performed before M.L.B.’s annual Home Run Derby, generated a lot of chatter online on Monday, with many people on social media posting clips of the Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm, who was seen smirking as he was apparently trying to suppress a laugh while standing at attention among his fellow ballplayers on the field.She began the song with no instrumental backing and took it at an especially slow tempo. By the time she hit the phrase “through the perilous fight,” she seemed to be having trouble staying on pitch. Even so, the audience broke out into applause when she concluded the phrase “our flag was still there.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Taylor Swift Breaks Her Own Record With a 12th Week at No. 1

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      Facing a tight battle with Zach Bryan, the pop superstar benefited from the release of three new versions of “The Tortured Poets Department” and shipments of CDs.This week Taylor Swift sets a personal chart record with her album “The Tortured Poets Department” after fending off the latest challenger: the singer-songwriter Zach Bryan.With 12 weeks at No. 1, “Tortured Poets” is now the longest-running chart-topper of Swift’s career, exceeding the 11-week totals she had for “Fearless” (2008) and “1989” (2014). It is the first album to rack up a dozen consecutive times at the top since Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time,” which did so last year, and Swift joins rare company in the 68-year history of the Billboard 200 chart.In the elite group of albums that not only had long consecutive runs at No. 1, but did so from the very first week they came out, “Tortured Poets” now surpasses Whitney Houston’s 1987 LP “Whitney” — featuring enduring hits like “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and “So Emotional” — which spent its first 11 weeks at No. 1, and is just shy of Stevie Wonder’s 13 for “Songs in the Key of Life” in 1976 and 1977.In its most recent week out, “Tortured Poets” had the equivalent of 163,000 sales in the United States, including 95 million streams and 90,000 copies sold as a complete package, according to the tracking service Luminate. Since its release in April, the full 31-track album has logged three billion streams and had the equivalent of just under five million sales in the United States.“The Great American Bar Scene,” the new album by Bryan, whose style has been described as Americana, folk, rock and country, was Swift’s latest competitor for the top spot. And the race seemed close, with both artists unleashing some chart-goosing weapons in the closing hours of the tracking period last week. Bryan offered his album at a discounted price, while Swift released another three variants of “Tortured Poets” as digital downloads.But Swift triumphed, while “The Great American Bar Scene” lands at No. 2 with the equivalent of 137,000 sales.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Mary Martin, Who Gave Many Music Stars Their Start, Dies at 85

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      Her loyalty to artists and her eye for talent made her a force in a male-dominated business. Among her accomplishments: introducing Bob Dylan to the Band.Mary Martin, a Grammy-winning talent scout, manager and record executive who helped start the careers of a long list of future legends, including Leonard Cohen, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell — and who introduced Bob Dylan to the Band — died on July 4 in Nashville. She was 85.Mikayla Lewis, a documentary filmmaker and close friend, said she died in a hospice from complications of cancer.Among the musicians whose work exists somewhere between rock, country, folk and Americana, Ms. Martin was a legend in her own right, widely respected for her fierce loyalty to artists and her keen eye for budding talent.“She saw the bumpkin in me, and she also saw something that was going to develop,” Mr. Crowell said in an interview. “She was one of those people who just said, ‘Shut up and let me show you something of the world that you may not have seen.’”Ms. Martin and Rodney Crowell in a scene from “Mary Martin: Music Maven,” a forthcoming documentary. Ms. Martin helped Mr. Crowell get his start. “She saw the bumpkin in me,” he said, “and she also saw something that was gonna develop.”Mikayla Lewis/ “Mary Martin: Music Maven”A chain smoker with a keen love of football, she seemed to know everyone, and she had a knack for being in the right place at the right time.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Joe Bonsall, Tenor Voice of the Oak Ridge Boys, Dies at 76

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      His vocals on songs like “Elvira” were a key to the evolution of the group, originally a Southern gospel quartet, into perennial country hitmakers.Joe Bonsall, who for more than 50 years was the tenor voice of the Oak Ridge Boys, one of the most popular and enduring vocal groups in the history of country music, died on Tuesday at his home in Hendersonville, Tenn. He was 76.His publicist, Jeremy Westby, said the cause was complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the neuromuscular disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. (Mr. Bonsall issued a statement in January saying that he was retiring from touring with the Oak Ridge Boys but would remain a member of the group.)Originally a Southern gospel quartet, the Oak Ridge Boys had 17 Billboard No. 1 country singles, as well as 17 more that made the country Top 10, after reinventing themselves as a country act in the early 1970s. The group, which has sold more than 41 million records worldwide, was formed in Oak Ridge, Tenn., in the early 1940s, and disbanded and reformed twice before its lineup stabilized with Mr. Bonsall’s arrival in 1973.“Elvira” (1981) and “Bobbie Sue” (1982), two of the group’s best-known No. 1 hits, featured Mr. Bonsall on lead vocals in place of the regular lead singer, Duane Allen. William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban, who sang baritone and bass, rounded out the four-part harmony quartet during its heyday in the 1970s and ’80s.The Oak Ridge Boys in 1982 with the Grammy Award they won for “Elvira,” one of their 17 songs to reach No. 1 on the Billboard country chart. From left: Mr. Bonsall, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban.Reed Saxon/Associated PressAmong the group’s other No. 1 hits were “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” (1979), an early Rodney Crowell composition, and “American Made” (1983), a wry topical number that showcased Mr. Bonsall’s clean, resounding tenor. (“American Made” was later used in a television commercial for Miller Beer.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Megan Moroney Sings a Message About Messy 20-Something Life: It’s OK.

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      The rising country star writes about disastrous love and learning big lessons with charm, wit and solid hooks. Her new LP, “Am I Okay?,” is due Friday.The budding country star Megan Moroney was 36 stories above Times Square last month, waiting to meet some of her biggest fans, who were among the first invited to hear “Am I Okay?,” her eagerly anticipated second album.As she prepared to greet her guests in the glass aviary atop the Hard Rock Hotel, Moroney admitted she’d culled them via social media, group chats and meet and greets. “They don’t know I stalk them,” she said after slipping into a cobalt mini dress from Zara and a pair of metallic Balmain stiletto boots. Her hair teased into a butter-blond cloud, she joked, “It’s 20 pounds of hair and 10 pounds of makeup.” It’s a look her fans recreate to varying degrees, but they’re also drawn to the way Moroney embraces the moments most people airbrush out of their Instagram-perfect lives.One example is the closer of “Am I Okay?,” which is due on Friday: the spare, simple “Hell of a Show.” It’s just a verse and a chorus, a raw artist singing over an acoustic guitar about being jerked around by a self-absorbed boyfriend, pulling it together to slay a crowd of people who “love me better than you could’ve,” but still crying herself to sleep.It’s hard to believe there’s anyone who isn’t clamoring for the attention of this 26-year-old rising songwriter. Moroney was the leading female nominee at the Academy of Country Music Awards this spring, competing for top prizes alongside Kacey Musgraves and Lainey Wilson. Her rocket-ship trajectory began with “Tennessee Orange” in 2022, a Romeo and Juliet ballad for fans of SEC football, which earned her 18 record company offers and nominations for both the A.C.M.s’ and the Country Music Association Awards’ song of the year. (She ultimately signed with Sony’s Nashville and Columbia’s New York divisions.)Four years ago, when Moroney released her first EP, she seemed like just another attractive Nashville hopeful in a city overstocked with them. At least on paper. But she had ideas about how to become a star, and they started with her songwriting. Wry, vulnerable and a real reflection of how 20-somethings drink and wreck their hearts, Moroney’s songs are authentic in a way the Music Row system can rarely access.Moroney onstage during the CMA Fest in June.Amy Harris/Invision, via Associated PressWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The 15 Songs That Hit No. 1 This Year (So Far)

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      Hear tracks by Shaboozey, Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar and more.Shaboozey reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 this week for the first time with “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”Daniel PrakopcykDear listeners,It’s Caryn the editor here again, seizing control of the playlist one more time (don’t worry, you’ll have Lindsay back next week).On Monday, Shaboozey reached the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” making him the second Black artist to hit No. 1 on both the all-genre singles chart and Hot Country Songs. Somehow both milestones came this year: Beyoncé did it first with “Texas Hold ’Em.”The news got me scrolling through what’s topped the Hot 100 so far in 2024 — over the last 27 weeks, 15 songs have done it. And we’re going to listen to all of them in The Amplifier today.It’s always interesting to see how the official chart stacks up against cultural vibes. It may feel like the summer of “Espresso,” but Sabrina Carpenter’s Certified Bop hasn’t hit No. 1 in the United States (yet). It doesn’t just seem like Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” is dominating 2024: It is, with 11 straight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. But only one of its songs — its opener, “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone — has spent any time atop the Hot 100. Ariana Grande’s “Eternal Sunshine” has had two songs summit the singles chart; Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” had the one. Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan haven’t hit No. 1 yet this year, but I wouldn’t count them out.The longest run belongs to “I Had Some Help,” by Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen (six weeks, five of them consecutive). Two songs from the Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake beef hit No. 1; perhaps unsurprisingly considering the outcome, they were both Lamar’s.So let’s take a trip through the recent past together — and for fun (or counterprogramming), see how the biggest songs of the year (so far) compare to our critics’ best songs of the year (so far).We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      An All ‘Independence’ Playlist for the Fourth of July

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      Listen to songs by Martina McBride, Destiny’s Child, Kelly Clarkson and more.Martina McBridePaul Natkin/WireImage, via Getty ImagesDear listeners,Hello again from your guest playlister — Lindsay’s editor, Caryn — in this lead-up to the Fourth of July. Last year, Lindsay brought you a 16-song soundtrack for your holiday barbecues. I am not going to top that, so instead (inspired by my fave, Kelly Clarkson), I did a brief dive into songs that use independence as a thematic trope.While pop has turned to the independent woman many times, Independence Day has been a time for reflection on a variety of emotional topics: a painful breakup (Palehound), an escape from an abusive relationship (Martina McBride), a glimmer of hopefulness cracking through the melancholy (Elliott Smith). Bruce Springsteen’s song is a tad too dark even for this list, sorry, Jersey friends!All of these songs are sharply written, passionately sung and provide some form of release. And taken together, they make a pretty cohesive playlist. (If you did not yet know, I’m fanatical about sequencing.)Throw your hands up at me,CarynListen along while you read.1. Kelly Clarkson: “Miss Independent”Kelly Clarkson’s debut album, “Thankful” from 2003, featured this killer lead single: a genuine jam (with some genuinely dated production) about a strong woman who finds there’s also strength in letting love into her life. If it sounds a bit like a finger-wagging Christina Aguilera song, there’s good reason for that: She’s a writer on the track (along with Clarkson, Rhett Lawrence and Matt Morris), which was at one point destined for her own “Stripped.”▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTubeWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Shania Twain Is a Glastonbury ‘Legend’

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      The Glastonbury Festival’s coveted “Legend’s Slot,” at 3:45 p.m. Sunday, was hers and she said she was ready for the “most extraordinary party of my career.”On a recent Friday, Shania Twain rode a horse through rural terrain in Alberta, Canada, helping a neighbor relocate a herd of Angus cattle. As cows mooed loudly around her, the country-pop star multitasked, chatting on the phone about prepping for an appearance on a famous field an ocean away.Twain recalled how she started to perform at age 8 in smoky bars where drunk men would sometimes heckle her. As a result, she developed stage fright and hated being in the spotlight until she was about 50, she said, so the idea of performing for more than 200,000 revelers at Britain’s biggest music festival would have been anxiety inducing.Shania Twain answers questions for an interview with The Times on horseback while herding cattle.Courtesy of Shania TwainBut on Sunday afternoon, Twain, now 58, walked onstage at the Glastonbury Festival and did just that. Accompanied by a herd of equines (giant hobby horses, this time), Twain kicked off with “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” her 1998 megahit about dismissing romantic suitors. Within seconds, the vast crowd was singing along, dozens of women climbing up onto friends’ shoulders, their hands outstretched in front of them.She was occupying the most coveted slot at Britain’s largest and longest-running music event, the so-called Legend’s Slot, at 3:45 p.m. on the festival’s final day, an appearance she said she expected to be the “most extraordinary party of my career.”The musician who earns this prized booking — past performers have included Dolly Parton, Diana Ross and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys — not only gets to hear tens of thousands of fans singing their music back to them, but also secures a large live TV audience, which typically results in a boost in record sales and streams.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More