The Boot News Roundup: Josh Turner Wins 2019 GMA Dove Award + More
Welcome to The Boot's News Roundup, a morning rundown of the news country music fans need to know. Read on to learn more about the latest goings-on in the country, Americana, bluegrass and folk genres.
Congratulations are in order for country singer Josh Turner, who recently took home his first Gospel Music Association Dove Award! Turner received the 2019 GMA Dove Award for Bluegrass / Country / Roots Recorded Song of the Year, in recognition of his version of "I Saw the Light," which appears on his 2018 album I Serve a Savior. The country artist received the award during the 50th annual Gospel Music Association Awards in Nashville on Oct. 15.
There's also good news for country singer Billy Dean, who became a grandpa recently! According to a press release, Dean's daughter Hannah gave birth to an 8-pound, 3-ounce baby girl named Azalea Paisley on Oct. 12. "Two days before she was born to my daughter Hannah and her husband Jim, I woke up hearing a little voice calling, 'Poppa,'" Dean says in a statement. "I told [my wife] Stephanie, and she immediately said, 'Well, I will be MeeMaw!'"
Harmonica virtuoso and songwriter Steve Cash has died. According to OzarksFirst.com, the member of the Southern rock band Ozark Mountain Daredevils and co-writer of hits such as "Jackie Blue" died on Oct. 13 at the age of 73. "Steve Cash spent 48 years pouring his heart and soul into this band. He was our poet laureate, an amazingly talented harp player, but more importantly, he was our friend and brother and that presence cannot be replaced," the band says in a statement. "We ask that you send good thoughts to his family in this difficult time. Steve Cash may be gone from this Earth, but his lyrics and music will live on forever."