ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 4, 1996 TAG: 9610040022
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NASHVILLE, TENN.
SOURCE: JIM PATTERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
The country music industry gave its most prestigious awards to old favorites Brooks & Dunn and George Strait and made white-hot sellers LeAnn Rimes and Shania Twain cool their heels.
After dominating the vocal duo category for five years, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn won that one again and added the evening's top award, entertainer of the year.
Strait ended a six-year dry spell and won the most Country Music Association Awards of any artist Wednesday night, getting nods for best male vocalist, single and album.
``It's been awhile since I walked up those stairs,'' said Strait, who has been a consistent hitmaker for 15 years, but was last recognized by the industry voters who award CMAs in 1990, when he was named entertainer of the year.
Rimes and Twain, perched one-two on the country album sales charts, both came up empty. Twain has sold over 8 million of her ``The Women in Me'' CD over the past 18 months.
Both were recognized with prominent performance slots during the show broadcast live by CBS from the Grand Ole Opry House.
``Man, she's awesome,'' said host Vince Gill after the 14-year-old Rimes sang the evening's first number, her hit ``Blue.'' Rimes lost out on the Horizon Award for most promising artist to Bryan White, and voters picked Strait's ``Check Yes or No'' instead of her Patsy Cline-influenced ``Blue.''
In other major awards, The Mavericks won best group for the second straight year, Patty Loveless got best female vocalist, and song of the year was Gill's ``Go Rest High on That Mountain.''
``It's too hard to speak about it,'' Gill said of the song he wrote as a tribute to his late brother. ``Just thank you.''
Loveless thanked her brother Roger Ramey, her former duet partner and manager.
``I've been making records for 10 years, and I've been waiting for this moment for a long time,'' she said.
Three greats were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame: Buck Owens, Ray Price and the late Patsy Montana. Owens sang his classic ``Act Naturally,'' and was inducted by singer Dwight Yoakam.
``Thanks and remember the great Don Rich, above all and everybody,'' Owens said. Rich, Owens' guitar player and harmony singer, died in a motorcycle crash in 1974.
Other awards included:
Album of the year: ``Blue Clear Sky'' by George Strait.
Vocal duo of the year: Brooks & Dunn.
Music video of the year: ``My Wife Thinks You're Dead'' by Junior Brown.
Vocal event of the year: Dolly Parton and Vince Gill for ``I Will Always Love You.''
Musician of the year: Mark O'Connor.
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