February 2, 2026

Hi Gang:

I’m sure by now you’re all aware of the devastation in Nashville as a result of the snow and ice storm that hit our city on January 24th. Over 200,000 people lost electrical power…..including me. In an area of the country where most homes are heated by electricity, and where the temperatures have barely risen above freezing since the storm, you can only imagine the problems this has created.

After two days in an ice cold house, I was finally able to get out and over to my son, Jamey’s, house where the power had come back on. He and his wife, Beth, have taken me in, fed me, and made sure I was warm. My daughter, Jenni, lives nearby, and I’m typing this letter on my laptop sitting at her dining room table. I don’t know what I would have done without my family. I had no electricity for seven days!

I’ve seen your many messages of thoughts, prayers, and concerns, and even though I’ve not been able to respond to them all individually, rest assured every single one is most appreciated. There’s more bitterly cold weather in our forecast as I am writing this, so don’t stop the positive energy now. Lots of my friends, co-workers, and their families are in worse shape than I am.

The world hasn’t stopped turning, though, and you’re probably wondering what else is going on:

Well, for one thing I continue to be amazed by the number of people reaching out to me these days telling me they have just recently discovered our Country’s Family Reunion series on YouTube. There’s hardly a day that goes by but what I hear from someone who never saw it during the 23-years it was on cable television but who are loving watching and listening to it now.

I think in some ways those shows might be even more meaningful today since so many of the legends who made up our casts have now passed away. Their stories are even more poignant and their music more timeless than ever. I’ll never cease to be grateful to Larry Black for his vision in creating CFR and for his kindness in asking me to host the programs. We thought at the time we were creating entertainment, but now I realize we were also documenting history.

Prior to the storm I spent quite a bit of time in the studio helping to put some final touches on the vinyl version of our album, “Forevermore,” which we plan to release later this year. There will be four previously un-heard cuts added to the six songs we issued on an EP last year. I suggested the other day that we re-title the record and call it “Forevermore…And Then Some” which we might just do. I’ll be telling you more as the release is finalized and the time comes closer.

The Grammy Awards are coming up this month, and my and Steve Dorff’s song, “I Love Us” is nominated inside Barbra Streisand’s “Partners II” collection in the Best Pop Roots Recording. Also this month will mark the debut of my very first great-grandchild when my granddaughter, Caroline, and her husband, Jacob, welcome a daughter. They are keeping her name a secret for now, but I’ll be telling you all about her and hopefully sharing some pictures in our next newsletter.

I’m scheduled to have what I hope will be a minor surgical procedure on February 26th, and I will certainly appreciate more of your thoughts and prayers around that time. Hopefully, this won’t keep me on the sidelines for very long.

Take care…have a great Valentine’s Day with the one you love…and hopefully we’ll come riding back in on the warm winds of March before you know it. Thanks for being with us during the sunshine and the storms for the past sixty-plus years. God willing, this latest storm will just be a blip on our rear view mirrors one day soon.

Happy Groudhog Day (bet you thought I had forgotten!) and my best to you all.