Mel McDaniel Benefit August 13th

The country music community is coming together to raise funds for Grand Ole Opry star Mel McDaniel. The 66 year-old is slowly recovering from a June 16 heart attack. Family, friends and fans are gathering Thursday August 13 at 6 p.m. at the Nashville Palace to pay tribute and raise money for this cherished member of Music City.

Mel was born in Checotah, Oklahoma in 1942. When he was 14, he decided to pursue a career in music after seeing Elvis Presley on television. He signed with Capital Records in 1976 and the hits followed. Well known McDaniel classics include, "Louisiana Saturday Night," "Stand Up," and the Number One hit "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On." Three years ago, Mel's home state of Oklahoma recognized his many accomplishments to date and inducted him into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

The August 13 concert and benefit for Mel has a long list of entertainers lined up to perform including T. Graham Brown, Buddy Jewel, David Ball, Tommy Cash, Ricky Lynn Gregg, plus Opry regulars Jim Ed Brown, Helen Cornelius, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jack Greene, Charlie Louvin, Jean Shepard and many more. In addition to the show, there will be a silent auction and many items to bid on like vacations, autographed items from the stars, sports memorabilia, gift certificates and much more.

Tickets for the Mel McDaniel benefit at the Nashville Palace are $10 at the door.
(Thanks to David Ross at Music Row)

I hope that this is a big success. $10 is a cheap price to see this kind of entertainment and I know that there will be a suprise or two. I always hate to see a benefit for anyone and I hope that this turns out to be more of a tribute to Mel than a fundraiser. I am sure Mel would love to make a suprise appearance, just to thank those for coming. I am not sure if his health would be up to that or not. Regardless, this continues a recent pattern of veteran artists remembering their own and saluting them. If you are in Nashville on August 13th, I hope that you can take a minute to stop in and see some great entertainment for a great cause.