I've just been tipped off that Country Music Hall of Fame duo Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson will be appearing together at the Rosemont Theatre, just north of Chicago, in Rosemont, Ill., for one special concert at 7 p.m. Feb. 21.
Tickets for the concert range from $35 to $65.
While both Haggard and Kristofferson are performing on solo tours this year, the two join together to perform a string of partnered concerts together next month, beginning Feb. 14 and including a number of casino showroom concerts in Oklahoma, Louisiana before headlining at Harrah's in Tunica, Miss. on Feb. 20 before heading out to Rosemont the next day.
Encouraged by the legendary Johnny Cash to address any "personal problems" using song verse, Haggard learned from the best.
"I was bull-headed about my career," said Haggard, who I've interviewed before.
"I didn't want to talk about being in prison. But Cash said I should talk about it. That way the tabloids wouldn't be able to. I said I didn't want to do that and he said, 'It's just owning up to it.'"
When Cash first introduced Haggard on his own television variety show, he said: "Here's a man who writes about his own life, and has had quite a life to write about."
And at that moment, Haggard, who's now 72, said his career was changed forever.
As for Kristofferson, he had a dream (along with the necessary talent and ambition) to become a songwriter.
After turning down a teaching position at West Point, the Rhodes Scholar hoped to get his foot in the door of the music business by taking a job as a janitor at Columbia Records.
It wasn't long after arriving in Nashville that he was receiving armloads of acclaim and being hailed as one of America's clearest and most important voices, after having penned such classics as "Me and Bobby McGee," "Sunday Morning Coming Down," "For the Good Times," "Help Me Make it Through the Night" and many others.
Of course, it was singer Janis Joplin, who dated Kristofferson until her death in 1970 at age 27, whose recorded version of his "Me and Bobby McGee" earned worldwide recognition.
Now Kristofferson has reached living legend status, but that hasn't changed or hindered his skills.
His latest work, "This Old Road," includes 11 gems that explore love, gratitude, aging, war, and his ever-present theme of freedom.
"If you took freedom out of the songs, you'd have very few Kristofferson songs," laughs 73-year-old Kristofferson, who earned box office acclaim after starring in the 1976 remake of "A Star is Born" opposite Barbra Streisand and his then-wife, singer Rita Coolidge.
(Streisand had wanted Elvis Presley to be her leading man and even went to Las Vegas to try to convince him, despite the objection of his very controlling manager, "The Colonel" Tom Parker. Filming with Streisand prompted Kristofferson's now infamous quote: "Working with her is an experience which may have cured me from movies." )
To date, their remake of "A Star is Born" has grossed worldwide more than $161 million, in addition to being the second-highest grossing film of 1976.
For tickets to Kristofferson and Haggard's concert next month, contact the Rosemont Theatre Box Office at (847) 671-5100 or TicketMaster at (312) 559-1212 or at ticketmaster.com.
Another air time
Over the weekend, talk show host Michael Essany officially launched his new weekly Friday night talk show on iFollo TV. The program, featuring celebrity guests and news, is presented on "a new and proprietary interactive platform," which is broadcast live at 8 p.m. Friday nights as part of his partnership between iFollo.com and Shovio.com.
"iFollo TV is meant to be a talk show with a twist, highlighting not only the latest celebrity happenings, but also ordinary people with extraordinary stories to share," Essany said.
"Thanks to Shovio's interactive format, iFollo TV can be something truly original that resonates with our viewers because it’s built on their input. This isn't our show, it's their show."
Essany welcomed his first celebrity guest last week to the air, Justin Roberts, the World Wrestling Entertainment ring announcer who appears each week on WWE's "Monday Night Raw."
Sports entertainment fans can still check out iFollo TV on Shovio.com for Essany's exclusive interview.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at philip.potempa@nwi.com or 219.852.4327.
Today's Celebrity Birthdays
Movie director John Boorman ("Exorcist II: The Heretic") is 75. Singer-songwriter Bobby Goldsboro and former child star David Stollery ("The Mickey Mouse Club," "The Adventures of Spin and Marty") are 68. Comedian-singer Brett Hudson of the Hudson Brothers is 56. Actor-director Kevin Costner is 55. Country singer Mark Collie and singer Tom Bailey of The Thompson Twins are 54. Hockey star Mark Messier is 48. Actress Alison Arngrim (Nellie on "Little House on the Prairie") is 47. Actress Jane Horrocks ("Absolutely Fabulous") is 46. Comedian Dave Attell ("Insomniac") is 45. Actor Jesse L. Martin is 41. Rapper DJ Quik is 40. Singer Jonathan Davis of Korn is 39. Actor Derek Richardson ("Men in Trees") is 33. Singer Christian Burns of BBMak is 37. Actor Jason Segal ("How I Met Your Mother," "Freaks and Geeks") is 30. Singer Samantha Mumba is 27.
