Paisley leads the pack

Country superstar Brad Paisley -- who'll be performing March 12 at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo -- leads all finalists for the Academy of Country Music Awards, with no fewer than six nominations (including a nod for Entertainer of the Year). Heidi Newfield also scored impressively, picking up nominations in five categories. Other multiple nominees include Kenny Chesney, Jamey Johnson -- and, of course, George Strait. Winners will be announced April 5 during an ACM awards presentation airing on CBS.

Dancing cowboys (and cowgirl)

Former Cowboys & Indians cover girl Jewel and rodeo star Ty Murray will be the first husband-and-wife couple ever to compete against each other on Dancing With the Stars when the popular series returns for Season 8. Country singer Chuck Wicks also will be among the celebrity contestants when the fancy footwork begins March 9 on ABC.

Thanks, pardners!

The Cowboys & Indians readership continues to expand -- and we're extremely grateful. More important, we'll continue to work hard to keep you coming back for more.

Viewing alert: Ricardo Montalban

Turner Classic Movies has tossed out its previously announced Jan. 23 lineup of films to program a seven-movie retrospective honoring the late Ricardo Montalban. Of particular note to C&I readers: William A. Wellman's Across the Wide Missouri -- the epic 1951 drama in which Clark Gable leads a group of 19th century pioneers westward. To see why the latter film was so significant for Montalban -- for all the wrong reasons -- check out this Wikipedia article.

Viewer alert: Two on TCM

For your Friday viewing pleasure, Turner Classic Movies has programmed a terrific double bill of classic Westerns starring Randolph Scott and directed by Budd Boetticher: The Tall T (8 pm EST) and Ride Lonesome (9:30 pm).

In Tall T (1957), ramrod-turned-rancher Pat Brennan (Scott) and copper mine heiress Doretta Mims (Maureen O'Sullivan) are held captive by a sly stagecoach bandit (Richard Boone) and his thick-witted cohorts, while Doretta's cowardly husband seeks a ransom from his wife's wealthy father. A nice touch: The bandit refrains from killing Brennan primarily because he's desperate for intelligent conversation. But their budding friendship is soured by the bandit's determination to start a new, more respectable life with the ransom money.

Ride Lonesome (1959) -- arguably the best of the Scott-Boetticher collaborations -- finds bounty hunter Ben Brigade (Scott) bringing a captured outlaw (James Best) across Indian territory. Two semi-reformed bandits (a pre-Bonanza Pernell Roberts, whose cocky preening suggests a Wild West version of WWE's The Rock, and a callow James Coburn) want to wrest control of Brigade's captive in order to claim an amnesty offered for their past crimes. But Brigade isn't interested in amnesty, or even a reward. Rather, he wants to lure the outlaw's older brother (Lee Van Cleef) into a forced feeding of just desserts.

Martin Scoresse, an ardent admirer of Boetticher's work, talks about The Tall T here, and Ride Lonesome here.

Black and bluegrass

According to the Associated Press, actor-musician Jack Black has discovered his country music DNA -- thanks, oddly enough, to his family ties to jazz great Charlie Haden.

Merry Christmas, pardners!

With a little help from artist Douglas Wodark, we'd like to wish you the happiest of holiday seasons.