Celebrities WE Care About: Usher, Deborah Norville, Krauss & Plant, Fred Thompson, & Polk County Rednecks

ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS

Seems like an odd pairing and it seems even odder that they're coming to Chattanooga.

But I'm not complaining.

The former Rock God & the best voice in Bluegrass/Country today are teaming up for a show at the Memorial Auditorium on April 23rd.

Tickets are on sale now (http://www.chattanoogaonstage.com/) and they are not cheap.

Plant and Krauss are supporting a duet album (Raising Sand) that is slowly getting some recognition after it's release last fall.

But is this a rock album, a country album or a bluegrass album?

It's an American roots music album (but I think early rock won out somewhat here).

So don't expect Union Station with Zeppelin Power chords thrown in.

The musicians are a lot of the old Oh Brother, Where Art Thou crowd, courtesy of Producer T. Bone Burnett (you can see him in the video).

And our own Norman Blake played on several cuts.

So does that mean Norman will jump up on stage when the tour hits Memorial Auditorium?

We're making inquiries for you, so stay tuned.

So how did Chattanooga land a Robert Plant show?

We may not be a great arena rock market, but Alison has always done well here.

So here's hoping the homefolks turn out to show we deserve a high caliber pairing like this.

And please, God, preserve us from having to hear Alison singing along to Stairway to Heaven.

USHER'S EMOTIONAL WEEK

Usher isn't speaking publicly about the death of his father and burial here in town this week.

His father and mother split when he was born, and reports have them only reconciling recently.

We do know that the singer did come to town for the services, but none of the TV cameras caught him.

Of course, the local media isn't the paparazzi. And we don't want to be.

Still the story going around this week is that Usher was here in town with the family.. then left to make his campaign appearance for Barrack Obama in South Carolina, then turned around again for the funeral.

Tough week.

Here is some of that campaign stop, where he appeared with actress Kerry Washington.

DEBORAH NORVILLE COMES HOME

Thursday was Deborah Norville day in Whitfield County.

The news personality came home again to speak at the "Share the Vision" breakfast and sign copies of her new book.

Several hundred people showed up, and she even got serenaded by the High School Band (Dalton High) that she used to play flute in.

Norville isn't one of those people who moved away as a child and then became famous.

She grew up in Dalton through high school and then went to the University of Georgia.

Her Broadcast carrier took her to Atlanta, Chicago and then New York.

She hit the national radar when she replace Jane Paulley on the Today Show.

For the last decade, she has hosted the national program "Inside Edition."

1994But she also anchored hard news shows also.

I dug up this clip from the files of Norville filling in on the CBS Evening News in 1994.

(That was several hairstyles ago)

But she also writes books on the side.

Her latest is “Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You.”

It's a scientific defense of being thankful, and it was born in her formative years in Dalton.

So will her latest homecoming trip make it into her blog?

You'll have to check back at Deborah's blog to find out.

MY BIG REDNECK WEDDING

This show on CMT is a guilty pleasure for our own David Moore.

Since he shoots wedding videos professionally (brides, you can reach him at DMoore@wdef.com), he can relate.

Tom Arnold hosts this show which features weddings on the "Down Home" side.

The third episode features Geneva and Kyle from Copperhill.

They met in Nursery school and are ready to tie the knot at 18.

Quoting from the show's propaganda ..

"this worry-free couple chose the public golf course with its busy driving range for their "chapel" and camo attire for all in attendance. Fearing neither flying golf balls nor Geneva's "traditional" parents, they are going whole hog with all the fixins- pork rinds, ground souse meat, and pickled pig's feet. If the groom survives his own bachelor party, which includes a full-on bottle rocket war, a tractor will bring his bride down the aisle. This fun couple is hell-bent on showing their friends and family that though they may be young, their marriage is the real deal."

The show debuts Friday, January 25 at 9:30 PM.

The episode will repeat a few times & CMT should post it on their website.

In the meantime, here is a slide show of the wedding at CMT's website.

FRED THOMPSON

And speaking of Rednecks, the boys at Red State Update are taking Fred Thompson's decision to drop out of the race, pretty hard.

If you haven't kept up, these YouTube humorists from Tennessee have been championing Fred all along.

Now they are in mourning.

But the good news is you can at least bid on their classy Fred portrait this week on Ebay.