‘Shower of Stars’ with Hamilton, Norma Jean and Jones coming down on Llano Opry on Jan. 12
LLANO — A “Shower of Stars” is forecast Jan. 12 at the Llano Country Opry.
Grand Ole Opry stars George Hamilton IV, Pretty Miss Norma Jean, Georgette Jones, Diane McCall and Bobby Lewis are the featured artists at the 7:30 p.m. show at the LanTex Theater, 113 Main St.
Tickets are $15 and on sale at the Llano Chamber of Commerce, 100 Train Station Drive; Llano National Bank, 1001 Ford St.; Lively Computers, 2112 RR 1431 in Kingsland; or by calling (325) 247-5354.
Hamilton recorded his first hit, “A Rose and a Baby Ruth,” in June 1956 as a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, according to an opry news release. Within three years, it went gold.
In 1960, he was signed to RCA Records by country music legend Chet Atkins and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn., according to the release.
His best-known song, “Abilene,” came two years later and spent four weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s country singles chart and reached the top 20 on the Hot 100, according to the release. Hamilton followed that success with “Fort Worth, Dallas or Houston,” “Early Morning Rain,” “Break My Mind,” “Before This Day Ends” and “She’s A Little Bit Country.”
In March 2011, Hamilton released his debut record on Heart of Texas Records titled “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” according to the release. He followed that with his recent “Texas Cowboy Church.”
Early in her career, Norma Jean appeared on ABC’s “Ozark Jubilee” with Red Foley and, in 1960, on the Porter Wagoner Show. In 1963, she signed with RCA Records and joined the Grand Ole Opry, according to the release.
One of her biggest hits was the 1963 song “Let’s Go All the Way,” which she followed with “I Wouldn’t Buy a Used Car from Him,” “Go Cat Go,” “Don’t Let the Doorknob Hit You,” “I Cried All the Way to the Bank,” “I’m A Walking Advertisement for the Blues” and her highest-charting song “A Game of Triangles” with Bobby Bare and Liz Anderson.
She left the Porter Wagoner Show in 1967 and was replaced with a relatively unknown singer at the time, Dolly Parton.
Norma Jean later signed with Heart of Texas Records and released “Loneliest Star in Texas” and her latest gospel project, “Cowboy Church Gospel,” according to the release.
Jones is the daughter of country legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
She recorded her first and second albums, “Slightly Used Woman” and “Strong Enough to Cry,” for Heart of Texas Records. She is now finishing her tribute album to her mother, according to the release.
Between 1963 and 1985, Lewis released 10 albums and charted more than 25 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, including “How Long Has It Been,” according to the release. His current album, “Then and Now,” contains some of his biggest hits, including “Hello Mary Lou” and “From Heaven To Heartache.”
McCall is the sister of country singer Darrell McCall. She has worked with Charlie Louvin and Ronnie Milsap and recorded a version of “My Imagination” for Mega Records, according to the release. She most recently returned to the studio to do a full album by the same title for Heart of Texas Records.
Other entertainers at the Jan. 12 show include the Llano Country Opry Band, Justin Trevino, Bode Barker, Shane Lively, Don Ricketson, Sammy Geistweidt, Charlie Walton and Bucille Snotgrass. Tracy Pitcox will serve as master of ceremonies.