The TV special "Willie Nelson & Friends: Outlaws and Angels" aired on the USA network on May 31, 2004. The show, taped on May 5th in Los Angeles, featured Willie Nelson, Keith Richards, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lucinda Williams, and many other music superstars. The "house band" for the event included Ivan Neville on keyboards. Jerry Lee Lewis performed "Trouble in Mind" (with Willie Nelson, Keith Richards and Merle Haggard) and "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" (with Kid Rock, Keith Richards and Merle Haggard). Lucinda Williams performed "Overtime" (with Willie).
2005
Master fiddler, fiddle maker, teacher and Cajun cultural ambassador Leo Abshire passed away on May 31, 2005 at age 71. The Kaplan, LA native performed with Joe Bonsall and the Orange Playboys for 20 years, and also worked with August Broussard, Milton Adams, Horace Trahan, D.L. Menard, Eddie LeJeune, and Doug Kershaw. He performed for the Queen of England, Princess Di, and President Clinton. Abshire appeared on the soundtrack to the 1999 PBS special The Mississippi: River of Song (with D.L. Menard) and he was the subject of the award winning documentary "It's In the Blood: Leo Abshire & the Cajun Tradition". Read more here. Watch Leo Abshire videos on YouTube.
