J.D. Crowe Table of Contents US23CountryMusicHighway......................4 The Future Stars of Country Music.................5 “More Than Music” US 23 Driving Tour.............8 Billy Ray Cyrus........................................9 Greenbo Lake State Resort Park...................10 Jesse Stuart..........................................11 The Judds.............................................12 Boyd County Tourism.................................13 Ricky Skaggs.........................................15 Lawrence County Tourism............................16 Larry Cordle..........................................18 Loretta Lynn & Crystal Gayle.......................19 US 23: John Boy’s Country .....................20 Hylo Brown...........................................21 Johnson County Tourism..............................22 Dwight Yoakam.......................................23 Map....................................................24 The Jenny Wiley Story.............................27 Presonsburg Tourism..................................28 Elk in Eastern Kentucky..............................30 Patty Loveless.......................................33 Pikeville/Pike County Tourism........................37 The banjo on the cover of this year’s magazine is a Hatfields and McCoys...............................38 Gibson owned by JD Crowe.JDwasbornandraisedin Gary Stewart........................................39 Lexington, Kentucky, and was one of the most influential Marion Sumner.......................................39 bluegrass musicians. He started playing the banjo at 13 Discover & Explore...Letcher County!...............40 years old, having been inspired by Earl Scruggs. He first WMMT Mountain Community Radio.................43 saw Flat and Scruggs perform at The Kentucky Barn Dance, and after that he regularly attended most of their performanc- Appalshop - Saving the Treasures..................43 es, sitting in the first row to study Scruggs’ unique style of Live Music Along the Country Music Highway.......44 picking. Crooked Trail.........................................45 Crowe worked his way up, moving through several Breaks Interstate Park...............................45 bands in the sixties. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that he Tom T. Hall...........................................46 received national recognition with his band, “The New Keith Whitley.........................................46 South.” After the band’s debut in 1972, Crowe became a Rebecca Lynn Howard................................46 bluegrass legend, and his performances are still sought after today. Kentucky Appalachians................................47 Account Executive - Cynthia Combs Graphic Design & Layout - Cynthia Combs, Angie Carriere Map Design - Cynthia Combs Contributing Writers - Staci Carriere, Ken Carriere, Loretta Tackett, & Various US 23 Country Music Highway Travel Guide 2007/2008 Sources is published and distributed by Photography - Angie Carriere, Joshua Carriere, Staci Carriere, Ken Carriere, Goodtyme Productions, Inc. Steve Ratcliff, Krista Hayes, & Various Sources For questions or comments, contact Goodtyme Productions 1-888-790-2365 [email protected] www.goodtyme.com www.countrymusichighway.com Goodtyme Productions PO Box 1597 Prestonsburg, KY 41653 Owners: Ken & Angie Carriere VT 34 Dpvousz Nvtjd Ijhixbz On March 1, 1994, an historic bill sponsored by ed in Pike County, designed as a multi-purpose facility State Representative Hubert Collins’ was passed and lit- that is available for concerts, conventions and special tle-known US Route 23 Highway in eastern Kentucky events. In addition to the above venues there are count- became “The Country Music Highway.” This was less shows and festivals that feature the sounds and tal- done to recognize all the well-known country music ents of the region. stars that came from this region. Only eight years later The Country Music Highway is not only about and with the vision and perseverance of Congressman country music. When you travel the Country Music Hal Rogers, the Country Music Highway was recog- Highway you can also learn about Native Americans, nized as a National Scenic Byway on June, 2002. pioneers, the Civil War, and the coal mining industry. This 144 mile stretch of highway runs North and South The story of Eastern Kentucky has been influenced by along the eastern part of the state of Kentucky and cov- those who, early on in the nation's history, began ers seven counties. searching for land west of the Appalachian Mountains. The musical talent that has developed from these Not long thereafter, as a result of being a border state Appalachian hills includes Loretta Lynn, Wynonna & between the North and South, sections of the area Naomi Judd, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tom T. Hall, Ricky became battlegrounds for the Civil War. Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Dwight Yoakam, Gary Stewart, As the area began to develop and grow, coal Patty Loveless, Crystal Gayle and more. Visitors to this mining became an essential chapter in Kentucky, and area will quickly realize that this entire region is steeped still is. This area is well known for a very notable feud - in cultural and musical history. The Hatfield-McCoy Feud,whichbecameanationally There are many opportunities to hear the known event. The two families have recently formed a sounds of all types of music at venues along the working relationship and have collectively developed Country Music Highway. Beginning with the northern the Hatfield-McCoy Reunion on the second weekend part of the highway in Greenup County, you have a of June in Pike County. brand new amphitheater at Greenbo Lake State Resort While on the trail of feuders, pioneers, or min- Park. Then going south you come to Boyd County, ers, the area along Country Music Highway is full of nat- home of the historic Paramount Arts Center in ural beauty and recreational opportunities. The region Ashland, Kentucky. This venue launched the careers of is blessed with six beautiful State Parks from Greenbo Billy Ray Cyrus and The Judds. Billy Ray’s famous State Resort Park in Greenup County to Kingdom “Achy Breaky Heart” video was filmed there. In Johnson Come State Park in Letcher County. Jenny Wiley County you have two venues, the Mountain State Resort Park in Floyd County also features Homeplace Amphitheater,thebrandnewCountry Broadway type musicals at Jenny Wiley Theatre. Music Highway Museum,andMemories.Movingfur- Welcome to one of the most beautiful and his- ther south to Floyd County, in the city of Prestonsburg, toric places in the nation. As you travel along the you will find the Mountain Arts Center,homeofthe Country Music Highway, and meet the friendly folks of popular professional entertainment ensemble, The this Appalachian region, you will quickly realize that you Kentucky Opry. In Letcher County, the multi-purpose have found a hidden treasure. We know that you will facility, Appalshop,withaquainttheaterthatfeatures enjoy the music and crafts that abound here. The key many Appalachian and Bluegrass concerts. We now to a successful visit in this region is to make sure you have The Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center,locat- have enough time to see and hear it all! Page 4 - www.countrymusichighway.com Eastern Kentucky’s US 23 highway has been venues that feature live music in the region. (See page designated by the National Byways Program as the 44). “Country Music Highway” due to the unusually high One of the most exciting concerts ever pro- number of Country Music Stars that have been born duced in this region, The US 23 Highway Highlights, and raised along this 144 mile stretch of road. Names features some of the most talented performers from all like Loretta Lynn, Billy Ray Cyrus, Patty Loveless, along the Country Music Highway. This spectacular Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam, The Judds, Crystal event is being funded by America's Byway Program Gayle and others are very recognizable to any country and TOUR Southern & Eastern Kentucky. This event is music fan. produced by Ken Carriere, President of Goodtyme However, many people that visit the area are Productions. The US 23 Highway Highlights is the offi- interested in seeing some of the country and bluegrass cial Red Bud Festival Event for The Country Music stars of the future. Well, we are here to tell you that Highway and is scheduled to take place each year in Kentucky’s US 23 Country Music Highway is not only a April (the Saturday before Hillbilly Days) at the place where some of the biggest names in country Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg. There is no music are from but where the future stars are being doubt that once people see this amazing concert, they developed!! We have some of the best venues and will realize that the Country Music Highway is just as events that prove this point. We have created a page much about the future as it is about the past. in this year’s publication that identifies many of the Page 5 - www.countrymusichighway.com Page 6 - www.countrymusichighway.com „More Than Music‰ US 23 Driving Tour "Hi, I'm Ricky Skaggs and I'd like to invite you on a tells you who has asked tourists to stop by for a glass or journey with me down Route 23 in Eastern Kentucky, my lemonade and a local history lesson on their front porch. It is home territory." Those are the opening words of MORE THAN achancetogettoknowtheregionfromtheinsideout,the MUSIC, an audio driving tour that guides visitors along the way that Loretta and Ricky know it. Country Music Highway and off on side trips to little communi- Along with