Country music

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- By the time Arkansas authorities took country singer Mindy McCready's 5-year-old son from her and into custody on Friday evening, one thing had already become apparent to much of America: McCready's life has come to resemble a bad country song.

Williams has cut a new song, "Keep the Change," calling out "Fox & Friends" and ESPN after an interview last week on the show led to the end of his association with the sports network and "Monday Night Football," long home to his "Are you ready for some football?" theme.

He's also scheduled to appear on "The View" and "Hannity" on Tuesday to discuss the uproar that sprung up after he made an analogy that President Barack Obama and House Speaker Rep. John Boehner golfing together would be like Nazi leader Adolph Hitler and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu playing a round.

ESPN decided to pull Williams' "All My Rowdy Friends" intro from last Monday's "MNF" telecast and the move became permanent Thursday.

Just as it takes a television series several episodes -- heck, sometimes even a full season -- to find its creative footing, so it is with TV networks.

NBC lost its way years ago and continues to scrape along the bottom of the ratings barrel; ABC is also in fairly dire straits. Even if they squandered it over time, at least those networks had a profile and an established brand to begin with.

Wanda Jackson already had a successful regional singing career in her home state of Oklahoma by the time she graduated from high school in 1955.

She had won her own weekly radio show in junior high school in a talent contest, and had been mentored by country star Hank Thompson, whose band she often sang with.

But as to finding her unique rockabilly wail, for that she credits Elvis Presley.

Country Music Hall of Fame spokeswoman Tina Wright says Husky, who was inducted into the hall last year, died Thursday at his home. He had suffered from heart problems and related ailments for several years.

Husky's resonant voice and good looks made him one of the most versatile entertainers to emerge from country music. He was a singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor.

He was one of the first country musicians to bring the genre to television and helped spread its popularity in booming post-World War II California, an important milestone in country's quest for a national audience.