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This January, we’re predicting a lot of Christmas music in our future. Right about now, we’re particularly hooked on Dolly Parton’s new album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, but we think we’ll take a break from our holiday music obsession to turn our attention to another recent release featuring Parton: A new recording of the Bee Gees’ 1968 hit single “Words.” The superb rendition will debut on Bee Gees’ singer Barry Gibb’s new album Greenfields: The Gibb brothers’ Songbook (Vol....

Dr. Russell Ledet appeared twice on Good Morning America this week, but the mood of the two appearances couldn’t be starker in difference. Monday, the national morning show featured Ledet in their “Make Your Monday” series where they honor local heroes. He told anchors T.J. Holmes and Cecelia Vega, that he thought “only rich people went to college,” so he enrolled in the Navy. After his service he then supported his schooling by becoming a security guard at Baton Rouge General Hospital....

Alabama motorists driving eastbound on Interstate 20 in Tuscaloosa County Monday afternoon were treated to an impromptu rodeo show when a pair of cows wandered onto the roadway. Traffic came to a standstill as the cows—which were being chased by a dog and some lasso-wielding cowboys on horseback—darted in and out of the parked cars. Incredulous drivers pulled out their phones to record the bizarre scene unfolding in the middle of the busy interstate....

A lot has changed since the first episode of Home Town aired on HGTV in 2016. Over the course of five seasons, hosts Erin and Ben Napier have welcomed a daughter, mourned loved ones, and navigated everything from tornadoes to pandemics with compassion and grace—all while transforming their beloved Laurel, Mississippi. Through it all, they even managed to land a couple of spin-off shows. Home Town Takeover is expected to debut later this year, while Home Town: Ben’s Workshop kicks off tonight, January 4, on Discovery+....

The next two installments of One Voice: The Songs We Share, a PBS series from the American Pops Orchestra (APO), air tomorrow and Southern Living has an exclusive look at a performance from the episode titled “Country,” hosted by and starring the one-and-only Leslie Jordan. In this series—which premiered in May with two inaugural episodes “Broadway” and “Sacred”—Maestro Luke Frazier and APO celebrate “uniquely American music that has transcended its original genre to find a place in our collective culture....

If you had asked me what a “fruit salad” was a few weeks ago, I would’ve probably said a bowl of mixed fruit. Occasionally, restaurants will get fancy and add a poppyseed vinaigrette, and Southern grandmas will forever believe “fruit salad” should include whipping cream. To me, fruit salad is usually a filler recipe. It’s the brunch or lunch side dish that’s a “just-because” addition. Just because we’re having a cheesy hash brown casserole, let’s add some fruit to the side....

Mark your calendars: The “In Memoriam” segment of this year’s Grammy Awards will feature a musical tribute to Loretta Lynn from Kacey Musgraves. The segment, which honors “just some of those from the creative community that we have lost this year,” will feature Musgraves performing “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” arguably Lynn’s most recognizable hit. Musgraves celebrated the news on social media this week, sharing two photos of her strumming a guitar with “Loretta Lynn” inscribed on its fretboard....

Attention all train buffs. Train workers in Sevierville, Tennessee have dug up history this week as they unearthed 110-year-old train tracks from the former Great Smoky Mountain Railroad while cleaning up in the downtown portion of the city. Though the city and contractors knew of the existence of the railroad tracks prior to beginning the work (the project’s bid documents included information related to preserving the train tracks), it was still a veritable delight to find this important artifact of days gone by....

Many people across the land are disappointed when their hydrangeas turn out to be a total flop. Their neighbor’s dreamy hydrangeas are blooming and beautiful, but their hydrangeas have barely any flowers or none at all. They’re afraid their shrubs’ lack of cooperation is either a sign of displeasure from the Big Guy or because their neighbors have an incredibly green thumb. If you’re among those unhappy folks, relax. When hydrangeas don’t bloom, it’s almost always due to one or more of the following reasons:...

During the coronavirus pandemic as we all remain safely in our dwellings, Jenna Bush Hager has provided us with plenty of entertainment as well as being a source of light and hope for so many of us. Whether she’s sharing her book club selection (this month it’s All Adults Here by Emma Straub) or chatting with TODAY co-host Hoda Kotb and guest Dolly Parton about marriage advice amidst quarantine, we have much gratitude for her pep, wisdom, and sense of humor....

In this week’s episode host Sid Evans, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living Magazine, talks to singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier about bringing Louisiana cooking to Boston, memories of the late John Prine, and the best Italian cookies. Gauthier is a Grammy-nominated songwriter who spent the early part of her career as a chef and restaurant owner, so she’s no stranger to the kitchen. In this episode of Biscuits & Jam, Mary tells us that keeping things simple usually works best for cooking and songwriting....

Get to Know Parker McCollum Parker McCollum spent childhood summers working on his grandfather’s ranch and listening to classic country music. He started writing songs with the guidance of his older brother and played his first gig at 16-years-old, but it wasn’t until he moved to Austin, Texas, that he knew that he had found his calling as an artist. On this episode, Parker talks about his mother’s cooking, his commitment to writing songs that stand the test of time, his sold out Houston Rodeo show, and the first time he heard George Strait sing Amarillo By Morning....

Four months after K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen closed its doors for good, the French Quarter institution is giving fans the chance to purchase artifacts from the restaurant that put Cajun and Creole cuisines on the map. The items include skillets, silverware, custom-made bread baskets, wine lists, and even ceiling tiles, and are currently for sale on the restaurant’s website, KPauls.com. The 16-inch skillets, which perhaps cooked Chef Paul Prudhomme’s legendary blackened redfish, are being offered for $70....

Princess Beatrice wore the ultimate “something borrowed” for her private wedding ceremony to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on Friday. Beatrice’s beautiful gown is a vintage dress from Queen Elizabeth’s own closet, according to a Buckingham Palace press release. The queen famously wore the gown to the premiere of Lawrence of Arabia in London in 1962. For its return to the spotlight more than half a century later, the stunning, ivory dress was altered by trusted royal stylists Angela Kelly and Stewart Parvin....

Most of us living in the South grew up with lemon cake, strawberry cobbler, banana nut bread, and, of course, banana pudding. For anyone with a sweet tooth, making those desserts comes with some kneading, whipping, and mixing to get it just like Mama’s. Now, you can replicate those family recipes without putting in all that elbow grease with the help of an electric mixer, like the Hamilton Beach 7-Speed Stand Mixer that’s “unbeatable for the price....

Today, America’s favorite nun was back where she belongs: sitting court-side at the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the team chaplain for Loyola-Chicago, catapulted to fame during the Ramblers’ surprising run to the Final Four back in 2018. The then 98-year-old attended every game, celebrating her team’s back-to-back upset wins from her wheelchair. On Wednesday, 102-year-old Sister Jean arrived in Pittsburgh to cheer on Loyola once again. She was there this afternoon, wearing her letter jacket and signature maroon-and-yellow scarf, as her tenth-seeded boys took on seventh-seeded Ohio State....

Most of us are familiar with the typical traditions in Southern households at the beginning of a New Year—ones like serving Hoppin’ John and collard greens to bring yourself and your home good fortune to come. However, if you dig deeper, there are other lesser-known traditions—er, superstitions—that Southerners have forgotten about and don’t practice anymore. These are ones your grandmother or great-grandmother might remember from decades past. One of these more elusive superstitions?...

Southern food, despite persistent stereotypes, is about so much more than fried chicken. We revel in Louisiana gumbos and Lowcountry pilaus, oysters from Apalachicola and apple stack cake from the Appalachians. But let’s face it: We do love our browned bird, and our cooks excel at it. The seeming simplicity of fried chicken makes it a culinary tabula rasa open to interpretation. There are the basic variances: White meat or dark?...

I typically enjoy my time spent in the kitchen. During the holidays, I have a constant rotation of cookies going into and out of the oven, while managing to never show up to a party without a pie in hand. It’s therapeutic and comforting to know that I’m feeding my family, not to mention neighbors, friends, teachers, and my husband’s entire office. That being said, what I found neither therapeutic nor comforting was trying my hand at pralines....

Ardent Garth Brooks fans may have noticed something funny. It’s impossible to buy front row seats to a Garth Brooks concert. Turns out, it’s not scalpers or ticket-buying bots swooping up prime seats before true fans can get a spot, but a decision by Brooks himself to never sell seats in the first two rows of his shows. During a recent #AskGarth segment on his Inside Studio G Facebook show, Garth Brooks revealed the thinking behind that strategy....