Country

Lady A‘s Charles Kelley has opened up to CBS Mornings about his yearslong battle with alcoholism, which the singer said had a major impact on his relationship with his bandmates and family. “Cassie [Charles’ wife] would tell me some stories about how little things that [their seven-year-old son] Ward would say that I didn’t even know he was noticing. You know, ‘Daddy’s talking a little funny,’ or, ‘You and Daddy argue a lot,’” he said in the interview.
Last August the band postponed a tour to allow Kelley to enter treatment for alcohol abuse at a time when the singer said his drinking was taking a dark turn. “I remember joking, you know, with buddies. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m definitely a functioning alcoholic.’ And I said, ‘I know I’m gonna have to stop at some point, but that’s not today,’” Kelley said.

And while he called it his “little joke,” Kelley said he knew it wasn’t funny. His bandmates, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, confronted him about his drinking five years ago, telling him, “‘Hey man, you might have had a little too much to drink that night.’ I was like, ‘Okay, well, has it affected how hard I work? Has it affected the shows?’”

Kelley said at the time he was dismissive of their concerns and snapped at them, leading to what he described as emotional and verbal “outbursts” that didn’t escalate to physical fights, but made him realize alcohol was fueling his anger. It was his son Ward’s comments pointing out the effects of his drinking, though, that “crushed” him.

The singer told Gayle King that he’d tried to quit before but had never gone to rehab because it scared him and he thought people who entered treatment had serious drinking problems. “What I’ve learned is, there’s degrees of alcoholics,” Kelley said. “You know, I think that’s one of the things too that I want to even share is, like, just because you’re not living on the street, or you’re not waking up in a bush, like some stories you may hear, it can get there.” 

Realizing it was time to make a change, Kelley entered rehab for a month and he said the combination of attending “lots” of group meetings with other alcoholics and learning to use tools helped him, as did having a device he has to blow into to check it blood-alcohol level every morning and night.

“Slowly, but surely, that has built the trust back that eventually I think that won’t be a necessity,” Kelley said of building back his relationship with his wife, band and everyone else in his life. HIs wife Cassie told King that she learned that Kelley’s journey to sobriety would also require her to do some heavy lifting while he was in rehab after their marriage hit a rocky stretch on a trip to Greece last year when the singer got into an argument with her and turned off his phone and took off for the night to drink with strangers.

When Cassie threatened to call a divorce attorney and urged him to get help Kelley saw the light and flew directly to treatment. “It just makes me feel so grateful at how close I came to losin’ it all,” Kelley said. “And I think the thing that’s hard is to know how much it affected Cassie the most, and my band, and the people around me. And how much it emotionally kinda wrecked them for a while. And that, I can’t really say I’m sorry enough. And it’s just gonna take time to rebuild that.”  

Lady A are on tour now, on which they play Kelley’s original song, “As Far As You Could,” which he’s described as his goodbye letter to alcohol.

Watch the interview below.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357) is available 24/7.

A bracco Italiano named Lepshi won his breed’s debut at the United States’ most prestigious dog show. And dog lovers just might not be the only audience that won’t forget something like that.
Lepshi (prounouced LEEP’-she) happens to be co-owned by country music and 1883 series star Tim McGraw. But that distinction was just playing in the background of a chorus of cheers as Lepshi and eight other examples of his handsome Italian hunting breed took their turns in the ring Tuesday (May 9) at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.

“He’s a wonderful ambassador for the breed,” handler Ryan Wolfe said after the 6-year-old’s win. Lepshi aces the breed’s trademark ground-covering trot, Wolfe explained, and “he loves everybody.” McGraw, known for hits including “Something Like That,” and his wife, country luminary and 1883 co-star Faith Hill, have had a number of bracchi at home and featured them in social media posts. In one 2020 video, a bracco howls along as one of the couple’s daughters sings some high notes.

“Stromboli is happy that Maggie is home from college!!!!!” McGraw wrote at the time. A message was sent Tuesday to a representative for him about Lepshi’s groundbreaking Westminster win. Wolfe, who handles the dog for McGraw and co-owners Kristi Libertore, Tony Libertore and Jenell Tonini-Zanotto, said it was “an honor to be first.”

Lepshi was eliminated in the semifinals but made the judge’s initial cuts in his group.

The bracco ( pronounced BRAH’-koh) has an ancient heritage in Europe. It became eligible to compete at Westminster this year after getting recognized by the American Kennel Club, which is the nation’s oldest dog registry and acts akin to a league for many U.S. dog shows. Recognition is voluntary and entails inking an agreed-upon standard for the dogs and various other criteria.

AKC recognition can increase everyday recognition, which has some bracco owners cautioning that would-be owners need to understand what the soulful-looking, amiable dogs require.

“We want these dogs hunting,” said Siva Aiken, whose bracco Tillie-rye Hogwallop — yes, she uses that whole name — was named the breed’s best female competitor Tuesday. (When a female wins, a male gets such an award.)

Bracchi can be easygoing at home, but only if they get enough activity, Aiken said. Tillie-rye Hogwallop, for instance, hunts quail, pheasant and other birds. She and Aikin’s other bracchi also roam two to six miles a day (three to 9.5 km) a day at a nature preserve near Aiken’s home in Aiken, South Carolina.

“It’s not a breed for everyone,” she said. “This breed needs to be worked.”

Editor’s note: this story contains discussion of suicide.

Three months after the death of Kellie Pickler‘s husband, Kyle Jacobs, reports about his cause of death have emerged. Songwriter/producer Jacobs, 49, was found dead in an apparent suicide in the couple’s Nashville home on Feb. 17, where police said they found him with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in an upstairs bedroom/office.

On Tuesday (May 9), E News reported that a spokesperson for the Davidson County Medical Examiner confirmed that Jacobs died by suicide, with toxicology results revealing that the songwriter behind Garth Brooks’ Hot Country Songs chart-topper “More Than a Memory” did not have any drugs in his system at the time of his death.

The examiner’s report also noted that Jacobs had a history of “pseudoseizures, gastrointestinal bleeding, elevated liver enzymes, and chronic alcohol use,” according to Taste of Country, which obtained a copy of the autopsy. Officers were called to the Pickler’s Tennessee home in Feb. after the 2006 American Idol alum said she couldn’t find her husband when she woke up.

Jacobs and Pickler wed on Jan. 1, 2011, and previously starred together in the reality show I Love Kellie Pickler for three seasons. Jacobs was also behind songs recorded by Trace Adkins, Clay Walker and others, as well as producing a number of Lee Brice hits, including “I Drive Your Truck,” “Hard to Love” and “Drinking Class.”

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours, at 988.