The music talent for Carlyle’s Morgan Robertson was evident early in life and kept developing from there, recently solidifying into the first professional steps.

Robertson, who just graduated from high school this past summer, released her first country single, Goodbye Train, in October, and now will be playing her first-ever solo show.

The Mercury spoke to the young musician about her successes and plans.

She said to have her song professionally recorded and officially released first felt a bit weird, but it was a good weird and soon it became just normal,” as making the next step in her music career was a matter of time for Robertson.

My friends have bothered me for years now to put my stuff on Apple Music, release my music. So I have something out there now for them, Robertson said.

Going from writing a song to releasing it was a big process, Robertson said, which became possible after Goodbye Train won a songwriting competition. From winning that the young musician got to record the song. Robertson recorded the vocal track in Regina, and the studio that was holding the competition did the instrumental part.

It was all remote. One of the guys is from Nashville, one’s from Toronto and ones from I want to say Victoria or Vancouver, somewhere in B.C.  We all did it separately. They recorded their drums, bass guitar parts and then we put it all together. And I want to say, in June I got the final copy back, Robertson recalled.

She was graduating from Gordon F. Kells High School in Carlyle in 2021, which kept her occupied for some time last summer, slightly delaying the final steps.

I was really busy with school, so I didnt really have time to try to release it. And I wasnt sure if I wanted to. But everyone wanted me to. So I really got to try to figure that out in late August-early September, Robertson continued.

She talked to some friends in the music industry about all the steps a musician has to take to have a song officially released and distributed on different streaming platforms. She got through it and had Goodbye Train officially released on Oct. 22, 2021.

Local radio stations have picked up the song after it was professionally recorded, and Robertson said hearing it on the radio was exciting.

Ill never forget that feeling, Robertson said.

The next thing on the agenda is a full two-hour solo concert at the Mac Murray Theatre in Arcola, where Robertson will play a mix of her songs and covers. It will be her, her guitar and some good country music.

Ive done one-hour sets before, but Ive never done two hours, Robertson said.

Robertson is currently residing in Saskatoon, where she is obtaining her red seal as an electrician while continuing to grow her musical career. The school takes up a lot of time, but she said she still finds time to progress her talent.

Ive been going to an open mic every Tuesday in Saskatoon and Ive been meeting a lot of people and I think Im going to start jamming with a band. We are going to start playing my stuff … and see how that goes, Robertson shared.

Shes done her first semester of school and is now onto a work term, which means shell have a bit more time to focus on her music.

Im excited. I hope I can get some more gigs lined up, she said.

A potential first EP or an album is in discussion now, but nothing is set in stone yet, Robertson added.

The Mac Murray Theatre will have Robertson play a full program on Jan. 15. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased from Blake at (306) 577-9904, via e-transfer to macmurray@sasktel.net, at Michaels Coffee Shop and Bakery in Carlyle, Kings Department Store in Carlyle and the Carlyle Pharmasave.

Later this month, Jo Dee Messina’s breakthrough hit “Heads Carolina, Tails Carolina” will turn 26 years old. The hopeful, catchy earworm is a song that almost didn’t happen from a debut album that nearly didn’t get made. Messina, who was signed to Curb Records, said the label only agreed to record three or four songs. Then, Tim McGraw stepped up.

“McGraw, at that time, said, ’She deserves a whole album, not just three or four sides,” Messina told I Miss…90s Country Radio with Nick Hoffman. “I’ll pay for it. If you like it, then you can reimburse me.”

The album launched Messina’s multi-platinum selling career. The self-titled project was released in 1996 and was co-produced by McGraw and Byron Gallimore. The album was also home to her radio singles “You’re Not in Kansas Anymore” and “Do You Wanna Make Something of It.”

Releasing an album was Messina’s goal since she was a teenager.

“We started playing out young, and then I played through high school,” she explained. “So by the time I graduated or everyone else graduated and went to college, I was like, ’Okay, everyone’s going to college. I’m either going to do this or not do this.’ And so, I packed up my car, and I went to Nashville.”

Messina arrived in Music City and got a job at a temporary agency that kept her so busy she didn’t play music for two years.

“I was really just trying to keep a roof over my head and just worked and paid the bills,” she explained. “Then I started entering talent contests to pay the bills because there was always… a cash prize. It was $50 or $150.”

When she found a talent show that ran for six weeks with a $500 grand prize, she thought she had the jackpot.

“I was like, ’Okay, I would love to win the $500 because that’s all my bills for the month,” Messina admitted.

She scored her record deal with Curb Records; McGraw fronted the money for the album, and she went into the studio to record. Messina finished the first version of her self-titled debut, and “Heads Carolina, Tails California” wasn’t on it.

“(Songwriter) Tim Nichols called, and he’s like, ’Hey, I heard you’re looking for music, and we got this song,” she recalled. “I’m like, ’Well, we’re done.’ So he’s like, ’Just let me run it by your mailbox. I’ll stick it in your mailbox.’ He put a tape in there. It was in an envelope folded over. I played it, and I was like, ’Oh, wow.”

Messina’s “Jo Dee Messina” sold more than 500,000 copies.

Tom T. Hall, the songwriter known as “The Storyteller,” died on Aug. 20, 2021.

Wednesday The Williamson County, Tennessee Medical Examiner’s report revealed Hall committed suicide.

The report, conducted by Samuel Smith M.D., says that Hall “had sustained an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, to the head, on the morning of 8/20/2021. A 911 call was placed at 1115 hours on 8/20/201. Williamson County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and Williamson Medical Emergency Medical Services (WMC EMS) responded to the call. Paramedics confirmed death at approximately 1133 hours, due to obvious injuries.”

Saving Country Music reported Hall’s cause of death Wednesday afternoon.

Hall wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, most notably Jeannie C. Riley’s pop crossover “Harper Valley PTA” and his own “I Love.” In addition, he had 26 Top 10 hits. He was born in Olive Hill, Kentucky, on May 25, 1936. He enlisted in the military and served in Germany before moving to Nashville in 1964. He signed a publishing deal with Jimmy C. Newman and Jimmy Key and wrote songs for $50 a week.

Rolling Stone named Hall in its list of 100 Greatest Songwriters, and artists including Johnny Cash, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Alan Jackson, and Bobby Bare recorded his songs. In addition to “Harper Valley PTA,” his other most notable tunes include: “A Week in a Country Jail”; “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine”; “Country Is”; “The Year Clayton Delaney Died”; and “I Like Beer.”

Hall became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, along with Emmylou Harris, The Statler Brothers and Ernest Stoneman.

His beloved wife Dixie passed away on Jan. 17, 2015.

If you need help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

Dolly Parton is 75, but she’s not slowing down.

On Thursday, the Guinness World Records association presented Parton with three new certificates in Nashville.

One of the certificates dubs her the female with the most decades spent on the US Hot Country Songs chart (seven). The second certificate recognizes her as the country female with the most No. 1 hits on the Billboard US Hot Country Songs. The third Guinness World Record acknowledgment is for having the most hits on the chart in general, with 109 on Billboard.

“This is the kind of stuff that really makes you very humble and very grateful for everything that’s happened,” Parton told the Guinness World Records association. “I had no idea that I would be in Guinness World Records this many times! I am flattered and honored. I’ve had a lot of people help me get here. Thanks to all of you and all of them for helping me have all of this.”

Parton’s hit song parade started in 1967 with “Dumb Blonde” and others and stretches to now with her latest collaboration with Reba McEntire on McEntire’s hit “Does He Love You.”

“I’ve loved being able to make a living in the business that I love so much,” Parton said. “I’ve been so fortunate to see my dreams come true, and I just hope to continue for as long as I can. You’re going to have to knock me down to stop me!”