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"Family Guy" has amassed countless comparisons to its Fox brethren "The Simpsons," but with over 20 seasons under its belt, it's safe to say the animated sitcom has forged its own path at this point. Sure, "Family Guy" has had its share of duds over the years, but it's also responsible for some truly great comedy. From giant chicken fights to Peter Griffin (Seth MacFarlane) declaring that "The Godfather" insists upon itself, we all remember where we were when we saw these jokes for the first time.

But what are the absolute funniest "Family Guy" episodes of all time? We're talking about the storylines that are pound for pound crammed with the best jokes in the series' history. It's one thing for a random cutaway to inspire a chuckle, but so many episodes are consistently entertaining throughout. These are the funniest "Family Guy" episodes with the greatest premises and best gags.

It's Hollywood Week on American Idol — and the Season 23 contestants have one shot to prove they have potential to be a global superstar.

Judges Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan arrived at the Orpheum Theatre — the same venue Carrie began her journey to superstardom in 20 years ago — to make the biggest cut in Idol history. By the end of the night, just 62 of the 144 golden ticket holders were still in the competition.

"I have been there on that stage singing for my survival on this show," Carrie told the hopefuls. "I am living proof that, if everything goes well, your lives will change forever." The two-hour episode aired Monday, March 31 (8 p.m. Et/Pt) with Ryan Seacrest hosting.

To set the bar for tonight's performances, Platinum Ticket winners Filo, Kolbi Jordan, and Canaan James Hill sang "Get Ready" by The Temptations. This trio had already secured their safety in...

“Can’t we just keep them all?” Carrie Underwood asked during Monday’s American Idol, which marked her first time suffering through Hollywood Week from the other side of the judges’ table.

And her stress was completely understandable. Having to narrow 144 singers down to 62 would have anyone crying out for Jesus to take the wheel — not to mention the added pressure that came up with the return of the Idol “Arena,” a musical lion’s den in which each contestant performed at random while surrounded by their entire competition.

More from TVLineRyan Guzman Wants Eddie's 9-1-1 Mustache Back - Together,...

Thanks to Seth MacFarlane and Family Guy’s appreciation for adult contemporary music from the 1970s, Nova Scotian singer Anne Murray found a new audience with members of Stewie’s generation.

The relationship between Family Guy and the music world has always been a close one that excites and confuses fans of both the show and of Conway Twitty alike. MacFarlane’s entire oeuvre is inextricably tied to his background as a trained and talented crooner, and his appreciation for the popular music of generations past that has since fallen out of fashion with the Family Guy demographic has long encouraged younger viewers and listeners to develop an appreciation for classic showtunes, Frank Sinatra Jr. and, of course, Murray, whose appearance as herself in the 2013 Family Guy episode “Chris Cross” sparked a resurgence of youthful interest in early Canadian pop music.

This past Sunday, Murray, 79, accepted a lifetime achievement award...

Sam Moore, who with with partner Dave Prater helped bring the sound of the church to pop music with a string of call-and-response hits as the high tenor in the famed Stax Records duo Sam & Dave, has died. He was 89.

Moore died Friday morning in Coral Gables, Florida, of complications recovering from surgery, his rep Jeremy Westby announced.

Called “the greatest of all soul duos” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted the pair in 1992, Sam & Dave worked with the songwriting/production team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter — and used Booker T & the M.G.’s and the Memphis Horns as their backing band — to produce a string of indelible rave-up hits from 1965-68.

Their combined talent produced fevered back-and-forth exchanges in “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “Hold On, I’m Coming,” “You Got Me Hummin’,” “Soul Man” and “I Thank You.”

Along with labelmate Otis Redding,...

It seems today that all you see is violence in movies and sex on TV…

Despite the show’s title and theme song, most people don’t immediately think “family friendly entertainment” when the subject of Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy comes up. No, I think that the scenes that would jump to the minds of most fans and casual viewers of Family Guy would be the ridiculous chicken fights from the early seasons, or Stewie beating Brian to a pulp while shouting, “Where’s my money?” or possibly the time MacFarlane straight up sang a song to the FCC about how much he hates their insistence that he dial back the piss, shit, fart, cum and puke gags that he loves so dearly.

For as long as Family Guy has been on the air, the show has been a firebrand for unrestrained, unapologetic indecency in TV comedy, and it...

I Won An Oscar. My Family Couldn’t Be Less Impressed

Dear Remy,

I’ve been a working in Hollywood for more than a quarter of a century, and a few years ago, I finally won an Oscar. I’d been nominated four times before, and this was supposed to be my moment. But my family, gathering this year in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, couldn’t care less.

Every Thanksgiving, I’m still the youngest sibling who once got her head stuck in the banister during Thanksgiving ’94. My mom calls my Oscar “that shiny Ken doll,” my cousin asked if it’s heavy enough to use as a meat tenderizer, and my dad thinks I should bring it to dinner so he can put a Maga cap on it.

I’ve won the most prestigious award in all of show business, so why does it bug me that these nine people — including my 87-year-old grandma,...

For nearly a decade, the duo known as Twitty & Lynn have been performing the songs made famous by their respective grandparents: Michael Tre Twitty is the grandson of Conway Twitty, Tayla Lynn is Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter. In their new video for “Cookin’ Up Lovin’,” they shine a light on their original music, a rollicking blast of Sun Records country that nods to their musical roots while also defining them as their own artists, outside of their families’ long shadows.

The music video accomplishes both as well. Directed by Steve Jawn...

Loretta Lynn, a legend of country music, was a woman of immense strength – both in her voice and her spirit. Her music told stories of love and heartache, often taken from her real life. One of her granddaughters recently opened up about how “Memaw” was her lifeline during a period of childhood abuse.

How Loretta Lynn Helped Granddaughter Escape Childhood Abuse

October 4, 2024, will mark two years since iconic country singer Loretta Lynn’s death. She passed away at the age of 90 after a life well-lived. While her music career was impressive, her family was what made the singer the proudest.

She shared six children with her husband, Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn. They were married for almost 50 years when he passed away in 1996. Loretta Lynn’s children gave her a bounty of twenty-six grandchildren, including American Idol contestant Emmy Russell.

Credit: Instagram

Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter, Tayla Lynn, is also musically inclined.

One iconic Conway Twitty song achieved recognition unlike any other song in history. It was broadcast to outer space. Keep reading for all the details on how the singer gave new meaning to the term “out of this world.”

Fate Of ‘Twitty City’ Mansion Revealed

Conway Twitty was a legendary American country singer and songwriter. He was born on September 1, 1933, and passed away on June 5, 1993. Twitty had an incredibly successful career, with 55 number one hits on various country music charts, making him one of the most successful artists of the 20th century.

In the 1980s, the singer’s home in Henderson, Tennessee, became known as “Twitty City,” a tourist spot that featured a museum and more. The hot spot was auctioned off after his death.

Conway Twitty/Credit: YouTube

A devastating storm swept through the area in late 2023 put the property in danger of demolition. The Tennessean shared an update...

The original “Queen of Country Music,” Loretta Lynn, has done it again. Even after her death, there is no stopping the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer. She has had another song certified as Gold.

About Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn is one the greatest country music singers and country music songwriters of all time. She passed away on October 4, 2022. She was 90 years old. Her music was considered to be ahead of its time and controversial. It was controversial, her single “The Pill,” a song about birth control pills, was banned from country radio stations.

The movie “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was about the life of Loretta Lynn. It starred Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn and Tommy Lee Jones as her husband. This movie was one of the first full-length feature films about a country music artist.

Loretta Lynn paved the way for women in country music. This includes her sister, Crystal Gayle, and her granddaughter,...

Born and raised in Kentucky as the daughter of coal miner Ted Webb, Loretta Lynn taught herself how to play guitar as a teenager. She knew enough to begin carving out her identity as a singer, later giving way to the establishment of a powerful legacy. But taking a look at Loretta’s sprawling family tree, it seems as though her musical calling was inevitable — and it has spanned generations since.

Loretta was the second oldest of eight children. While neither of their parents pursued musicianship as careers, the Webb...

This post contains spoilers for this week’s episode of True Detective: Night Country, now available on HBO and Max.

When the first True Detective season concluded 11 years ago, a lot of the finale discourse revolved around the lack of any supernatural elements after the previous episodes had been laced with references to Robert W. Chambers’ horror stories about the King in Yellow. That the killer was an ordinary, if evil, human being disappointed some viewers who had spent weeks theorizing, while True Detective creator Nic Pizzollatto told me he...

Family Guy's characters have been reimagined in various unique art styles using AI technology. The Instagram account dejaview.tv shared a gallery of AI-generated art featuring the show's characters in 3D and live-action renderings. The art includes a live-action-style rendering of Stewie with a more rounded baby head instead of his usual football-shaped head.

Family Guy art has reimagined the characters of the animated show in a variety of unique mediums. The adult cartoon, which was created by Seth MacFarlane, has run for 21 seasons and is currently airing season 22 weekly after its premiere on October 1. The show follows the misadventures of the Quahog-based Griffin family, including parents Peter (MacFarlane) and Lois (Alex Borstein), their teenage children Chris (Seth Green) and Meg (Mila Kunis), the baby Stewie (MacFarlane), and their talking dog Brian (MacFarlane).

Ahead of the premiere of Family Guy season 22, the Instagram account dejaview.tv shared a collection...

Kacey Musgraves paid tribute to Loretta Lynn on Sunday night during the 2023 Grammy Awards’ In Memoriam segment. Strumming Lynn’s Epiphone guitar — with “Loretta Lynn” spelled out on the neck — Musgraves sang Lynn’s autobiographical 1970 song “Coal Miner’s Daughter” as images of the stars we lost last year, like Naomi Judd and Mickey Gilley, flashed behind her.

Kacey Musgraves gave a moving tribute to Loretta Lynn and a number of other late legends during the #GRAMMYs In Memoriam montage pic.twitter.com/jNa1kkYxWT

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 6, 2023

Of course, Lynn,...

The race to be top of the British singles chart at Christmas has been an annual event every December since 1952.

On Friday 23, LadBaby broke a record they were previously tied for with The Beatles, achieving their fifth consecutive Christmas No 1.

The Beatles had been top of the tree since 1967 with a record four Christmas number ones, although that was equalled last year when LadBaby claimed their fourth win in four years with an offering called “Sausage Rolls for Everyone”.

LadBaby have now vaulted to the top with their fifth No 1, “Food Aid”.

The Spice Girls also notched an impressive three consecutive victories in the mid-Nineties, while Sir Cliff Richard also has a hat-trick to his name.

LadBaby, Aka Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, are actually having another crack at it in 2022, with the help of ever popular money-saving guru Martin Lewis, who, rather suprisingly, is joining them for a chairty cover...

The race to be top of the British singles chart at Christmas has been an annual event every December since 1952.

The Beatles have been top of the tree since 1967 with a record four Christmas number ones, although that was equalled last year when LadBaby claimed their fourth win in four years with an offering called “Sausage Rolls for Everyone”.

The Spice Girls also notched an impressive three consecutive victories in the mid-Nineties, while Sir Cliff Richard also has a hat-trick to his name.

LadBaby, Aka Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, are actually having another crack at it in 2022, with the help of ever popular money-saving guru Martin Lewis, who, rather suprisingly, is joining them for a chairty cover of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” intended to raise money for low-income families as the cost of living crisis bites.

The original enjoys the distinction of being the only...

The race to be top of the British singles chart at Christmas has been an annual event every December since 1952.

The Beatles have been top of the tree since 1967 with a record four Christmas number ones, although that was equalled last year when LadBaby claimed their fourth win in four years with an offering called “Sausage Rolls for Everyone”.

The Spice Girls also notched an impressive three consecutive victories in the mid-Nineties, while Sir Cliff Richard also has a hat-trick to his name.

LadBaby, Aka Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, are actually having another crack at it in 2022, with the help of ever popular money-saving guru Martin Lewis, who, rather suprisingly, is joining them for a chairty cover of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” intended to raise money for low-income families as the cost of living crisis bites.

The original enjoys the distinction of being the only...

The Voice’s Top Five artists had a musical showdown last night in the finale of the show’s 22nd season. After a night full of star-studded performances, comedic moments and holiday spirit, the winner was announced to be Bryce Leatherwood from Team Blake.

In his blind audition, the Georgia native sang “Goodbye Time” by Conway Twitty and was welcomed onto Blake Shelton’s team while impressing fellow coaches Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Camila Cabello.

“Has there ever been a country-er name than ‘Leatherwood’?” Shelton said after his audition. You have excellent taste in music… I was blown away.”

Throughout the season, Leatherwood received high praise from the coaches and was lauded for his stage presence and confidence.

“You’re 22 years old, and I don’t know how much experience you have on stage,” Legend told the new star during the Battles episode. “It seems like you’ve got about 40 years of experience.

The race to be top of the British singles chart at Christmas has been an annual event every December since 1952.

The Beatles have been top of the tree since 1967 with a record four Christmas number ones, although that was equalled last year when LadBaby claimed their fourth win in four years with an offering called “Sausage Rolls for Everyone”.

The Spice Girls also notched an impressive three consecutive victories in the mid-Nineties, while Sir Cliff Richard also has a hat-trick to his name.

LadBaby, Aka Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, are actually having another crack at it in 2022, with the help of ever popular money-saving guru Martin Lewis, who, rather suprisingly, is joining them for a chairty cover of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” intended to raise money for low-income families as the cost of living crisis bites.

The original enjoys the distinction of being the only...

They say “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” and most of the time that’s how Blake Shelton approaches the building of his team on “The Voice.” Blake’s bread and butter is country music and he brings its fans to the show’s audience in troves every season. Country artists have found significant success on “The Voice” because of Blake, so when he enters the season 22 finale on Monday and Tuesday with classic country vocalist Bryce Leatherwood in his arsenal, Blake will be operating firmly within his wheelhouse.

See Who deserves to win ‘The Voice’ season 22? Let your voice be heard! [Poll]

Bryce first won Blake over in the Blind Auditions when he sang Conway Twitty’s “Goodbye Time,” a country ballad from the 80s that Blake covered for his own album in 2004. While some “Voice” artists feel inspired to take risks by genre-hopping early in the season,...

Loretta Lynn, the country singer who defied conventions and expectations in her genre over an incredibly long career, has passed away at the age of 90. A representative said she died on Tuesday morning in her home in Tennessee to natural causes.

Loretta Lynn Cause Of Death

One of the singer’s best known tracks, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” was made into a hit film in 1980. The song reflects on her childhood growing up in poverty in Kentucky, as well as her father’s experience working through the Great Depression.

In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died This Year!

Lynn never shied away from exploring topics controversial for country music at the time, and even had some songs banned from radio play because of it. She had hit songs about her late husband’s infidelity, feeling liberated by getting access to birth control pills, and teenagers losing their virginity which country...

Loretta Lynn, the Kentucky coal miner’s daughter whose frank songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia pulled her out of poverty and made her a pillar of country music, has died. She was 90.

In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Lynn’s family said she died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the family said in a statement. They asked for privacy as they grieve and said a memorial will be announced later.

Lynn already had four children before launching her career in the early 1960s, and her songs reflected her pride in her rural Kentucky background.

Read More: Loretta Lynn Turns 90 — Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks & More Country Stars Celebrate

As a songwriter, she crafted a persona of a defiantly tough woman,...

Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Loretta Lynn has died at age 90.

The country music star passed away at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee per the Associated Press. Lynn’s memoir and life story was previously adapted into the Oscar-winning 1980 film “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” directed by Michael Apted and starring Sissy Spacek as Lynn.

Deemed as one of the best musical biopics, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” starred Spacek as Lynn, with Tommy Lee Jones as her husband Doolittle Lynn. Beverly D’Angelo played Patsy Cline. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Spacek won the Best Actress Oscar.

“I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” singer Lynn was later inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and is survived by her sister and fellow country star Crystal Gayle. Lynn formerly suffered a stroke in 2017, which ended her touring career after collaborating with Jack White of The White...

Loretta Lynn, the country music icon who groundbreaking songs dealt candidly with poverty, women’s struggles and, in the great song “Coal Miner’s Daughter” her own life, died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. She was 90.

Her death was announced by her family. In a statement, Lynn’s family said she died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home at her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the statement reads.

Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery

One of the greatest female singer-songwriters in country music history – arguable the greatest, certainly the most influential – Lynn chronicled her life and struggles over the course of a 60-year career, both in song and in the 1976 autobiography that became a hit 1980 movie — both titled Coal Miner’s Daughter — that earned Sissy Spacek...

Loretta Lynn, the beloved singer and songwriter whose seven-decade career broke down barriers for women in country music, died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. She was 90. Lynn’s publicist confirmed her death to Rolling Stone.

“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home at her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” Lynn’s family said in a statement.

In the 1960s, Lynn’s trailblazing country chart-toppers established the model of the female country star as an independent woman who...

Loretta Lynn, the Kentucky coal miner’s daughter whose songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia touched millions, has died aged 90.

In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Lynn’s family said she died on Tuesday (4 October) at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Her cause of death has not been disclosed.

Lynn launched her career in the early Sixties, when she already had four children.

Her songs, which painted a portrait of the musician as a tough, defiant woman, were in stark contrast to the stereotypical image of most female country singers at the time. She wrote unapologetically about sex and love, cheating husbands, divorce and birth control.

Lynn’s biggest hits came in the 1960s and 1970s, including “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, “You Ain’t Woman Enough”, “The Pill”, “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)”, “Rated X” and “You...

Producers of the indie film musical “Americana Dream” have tapped Nashville-based music artists Mary Sarah and Sam Varga to play the story’s central couple, Billie Carton and Lucky Fontana.

Sarah and Varga nabbed the leading roles after an extensive nationwide search for singer-songwriters to act in the original musical written and directed by Ate de Jong and co-written by Variety’s Steven Gaydos.

“Americana Dream” takes viewers behind the scenes of the film’s titular reality TV music competition program, where Lucky and Billie transition from imposters willing to do anything for money and fame, to a real couple, willing to sacrifice their dreams of success for real love and their real music.

Sarah was a finalist on season 10 of NBC’s “The Voice” and is set to star in Justin Ward’s upcoming film comedy “Paradise: The Movie.” Sarah recorded her first album “Bridges,” when she was only...

Ronnie Hawkins, a Southern rockabilly artist widely credited with inspiring the Canadian music scene, died Sunday morning at age 87. His wife, Wanda, confirmed his death after an unspecified illness.

“He went peacefully and he looked as handsome as ever,” she told The Canadian Press news outlet.

Known for his enthusiastic stage presence, the singer of “Ruby Baby,” “Mary Lou” and Bo Diddley cover “Who Do You Love” was known as Mr. Dynamo, Sir Ronnie, Rompin’ Ronnie and the Hawk.

Hawkins was the founder of his backing band the Hawks, which played with Bob Dylan on his landmark 1966 first electric tour. .Five members of the Hawks, including Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson, would later form the Band.

Despite frequent clashes among the volatile personalities Hawkins joined the Band onstage as part of their iconic 1976 farewell show, captured in Martin Scorsese’s concert film The Last Waltz.

“He was really good at...

This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.

The Simpsons Season 33 Episode 16

After 33 seasons, The Simpsons can still strive to be edumacational. “Pretty Whittle Liar” is a smart episode, Jeopardy! smart, and we’re not talking about its celebrity tournaments. Joke-wise it is still mostly clever, as most of the recent seasons have become. It is nowhere near as funny as the Fargo takeoff episode, “A Serious Flanders,” but it is multilayered, pretty enjoyable, and features an original country song, and one by Conway Twitty, both pluck at the heartstrings.

We also get a cameo from The Peanuts’ Schroeder, providing piano accompaniment and subtle disappointment. There is a lot of Tchaikovsky in the installment, for a country tale.

“Pretty Whittle Liar” is a secondary-character driven episode, but fully integrates the Simpsons into the narrative. Except Bart, who’s busy off-camera, apparently, skateboarding on wheelchair ramps. Brandine Spuckler, voiced by Tress MacNeille, discovers...

Tony Joe White cooks up a slinky disco-country tune with “Alone at Last,” a previously unreleased song from Light in the Attic’s third installment of its popular Country Funk series. Country Funk Volume III (1975 – 1982) will be available August 6th.

No stranger to creating backwoods funk burners, the late Tony Joe White feels almost dressed up on “Alone at Last” by comparison to “Polk Salad Annie.” A taut bassline, scratchy electric guitar, and rubbery disco groove keep things moving, while a shimmering electric piano creates an atmosphere of late-night desire.

The bright horns and slapping bass of Dolly Parton’s “Sure Thing,” the disco harmonies of Conway Twitty’s “Night Fires,” and the swagger of Ronnie Milsap’s “Get It Up” all get their due on Country Funk Volume III (1975-1982), the latest installment of Light in the Attic Records’ compilation series.

Slated for release on August 6th, the 17-track set is the first in the series to include music from the Eighties. Twitty’s Heart & Soul album, which featured the machismo-heavy “Night Fires,” was released in 1980; Jerry Reed...

Before “country music outlaw” became just another outfit for would-be badasses to try on, Johnny Cash made it a job description. But among the seven arrests he accrued during his most tumultuous years, from the late 1950s to 1967, none was quite like the time he was arrested in Starkville, Mississippi while picking flowers on May 11th, 1965.

The way the Man in Black told the story of his mishap in the song “Starkville City Jail,” from his 1969 live album Johnny Cash at San Quentin, he was innocently picking dandelions and daisies...

Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists. (Check out last week’s best songs.)

Tiera featuring Breland, “Miles”

Singer-songwriter Tiera flexes her melodic and vocal muscles on the easygoing new single “Miles,” a duet with the shapeshifting singer Breland, of “My Truck” fame. Rather than trunk-rattling country-trap, it’s...

Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists.

Jake Hoot featuring Kelly Clarkson, “I Would’ve Loved You”

Jake Hoot’s debut EP Love Out of Time announces The Voice champ as a smooth country balladeer with a hint of Conway Twitty’s adults-only vibe. In this majestic duet with...

Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release Still Woman Enough, Loretta Lynn’s new studio album (and fourth for the label), on Friday, March 19, 2021.

The American music icon’s 50th studio album (excluding her 10 studio duet collaborations with Conway Twitty), Still Woman Enough celebrates women in country music. From her homage to the originators, [...]

The post Loretta Lynn Celebrates Women in Country With ‘Still Woman Enough’ Album appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

The following contains spoilers for Psych 2: Lassie Come Home.

As fun as 2017’s Psych: The Movie was, its 2020 sequel Psych 2: Lassie Come Home will likely supplant it in Psych-Os’ hearts, because it’s got 500% more Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson). But how does it stack up to its predecessor in terms of Psych callbacks and pop culture homages? Using our Spencer powers of observation, we’ve tried to catch every recurring inside joke between Shawn (James Roday Rodriguez) and Gus (Dulé Hill), plus all the episodic-specific bits. It’s a feature-length Hitchcock homage, but it’s also the toughest Easter egg hunt of your life. C’mon, son!

Psych 2: Lassie Come Home Easter Eggs and References

The title is a reference to Lassie Come Home, the 1943 Lassie movie about the beloved dog making her way home from Scotland. A German-language remake came out early in 2020.

It’s always...

Singer Bonnie Pointer, who co-founded the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters in 1969 with her sister June, died Monday at 69 years old. Expanding to a quartet with the addition of Anita and Ruth Pointer, the group’s early days were notable for their campy chic attire, their vocal style a throwback to the Thirties and Forties. But in 1974, after scoring a hit with the bouncy Allen Toussaint-penned “Yes We Can Can,” the Pointers released the twangy “Fairytale,” which earned them their sole entry on the country chart at Number 37.

The defiant breakup tune,...

For generations of aspiring musicians from the Deep South, country music and R&b are inextricably linked. That was part of the inspiration for a unique blending of performers from both genres for a duets album and corresponding PBS TV special in March of 1994. Rhythm, Country and Blues, released on the McA Nashville label, featured combinations of like-minded artists, one from country and one from R&b, interpreting songs from both genres.

Produced by Nashville titan Tony Brown and rock-pop producer Don Was, the LP opened with Vince Gill and...

Tom Waits and collaborator and wife Kathleen Brennan penned a tribute to late producer and longtime friend, Hal Willner. Willner died last week at the age of 64. The cause of death has not yet been publicly confirmed, but he was reportedly suffering from symptoms consistent with the coronavirus.

In 1974, the pair met after one of Waits’ shows when he was 24 and Willner was 18. Calling the producer “more than kin and more than kind, more than friend and more than fiendish in his daunting pursuit of the lost and buried,” Waits...

With a voice as deep as his pompadour was high, Conway Twitty scored 55 Number One country hits by 1990, with his biggest, “Hello Darlin’,” released 50 years ago on March 23rd, 1970. Its spoken introduction — delivered in a come-hither tone by Twitty — remains one of the most iconic opening lines in country music. Penned in 1960 by the Mississippi native born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, the song was relegated to the storage bin at the time because he had no outlets for his country material. But after signing to Decca Records’ country division by the end of the decade,...

In the late Sixties and early Seventies, Kenny Rogers, lead singer of the group First Edition, enjoyed success on the pop charts. It wasn’t until he went solo in 1975 that the bearded singer with the gravelly voice began routinely scoring country hits. His first chart-topper, 1977’s “Lucille,” was a Top Five pop hit as well, setting the stage for a career in which he established a strong foothold in both genres, as well as a regular presence in the ballad-heavy adult contemporary format at the same time.

In mid-December...

For many, the name Kim Carnes calls to mind one particular song title: “Bette Davis Eyes.” That’s what spending nine weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981 will do. Two years before that song hit the charts, though, Carnes was approached by country-pop superstar Kenny Rogers to work on a different sort of project. The singer wanted to create a concept album telling the tale of a modern-day cowboy, and he wanted Carnes — a prolific songwriter who’d spent the first part of her career penning tunes...

By 1979, Loretta Lynn had been recording country music for almost 20 years, with some 50 albums to her credit. The first female artist to be nominated for — and to win — the Cma Entertainer of the Year award in 1972, Lynn’s string of major solo hits was accompanied by five Number Ones with duet partner Conway Twitty. The pair also logged four chart-topping LPs as a duo between 1973 and 1976.

Also in 1979, Lynn was preparing for the big-screen adaptation of her autobiography, Coal Miner’s Daughter, published three years earlier. The story of her spotting...

The Cadillac Three figure out the exact recipe for a successful evening in “All the Makin’s of a Saturday Night,” the country-rock trio’s latest release. It follows the group’s current single “Crackin’ Cold Ones With the Boys,” which was released in April.

Built around a guitar riff that splits the difference between funky and grungy, “All the Makin’s” is quintessential Cadillac Three: party-time country-rock that deals almost exclusively in partying and countryness. “That spot where no one knows, just me and my bros, and my special lady friend shakin’ that ass,...

Among today’s country artists, Old Crow Medicine Show have become synonymous with the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville’s “mother church of country music.” On September 20th, the Grand Ole Opry members will pay homage to their long-running relationship with the venue with the release of the new concert document Live at the Ryman.

The 11-track collection — all recorded at the Ryman between 2013 and 2019 — includes both Old Crow staples like “Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer” and “Methamphetamine,” and traditionals and covers like “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “Cc Rider,” and “Sixteen Tons.

Toby Keith follows up the poignant ballad “Don’t Let the Old Man In” with a raucous blast of country-music pride. “That’s Country Bro” is a classic list song, but instead of the usual run-through of rural imagery (trucks, bonfires and coolers), Keith ticks off a Hall of Fame-worthy roster of country singers.

Jimmie Rodgers, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Roy Acuff, Johnny Horton, Bill Monroe, Woody Guthrie and Bob Wills all get shout-outs in the first 18 seconds, followed by Kitty Wells, Jimmy Dean, Hank Snow and even Spade Cooley.

In early 1975, country singer Earl Thomas Conley and R&B performer Anita Pointer were just beginning to pick up steam in their respective careers. While Conley, who died yesterday at age 77, was denting the lower reaches of the country singles chart with his first releases, Pointer and her sisters Bonnie, Helen and June were taking home their first-ever Grammy award — in the Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group category — for “Fairytale,” a stone-country breakup tune Anita had penned about her ill-fated affair with a San Francisco DJ.

For...

Earl Thomas Conley, who enjoyed a nearly unbroken streak of 18 Number One hits in the Eighties — including “Holding Her and Loving You,” “Angel in Disguise” and the duet with Emmylou Harris “We Believe in Happy Endings” — died in Nashville early Wednesday morning, following a battle with a condition similar to dementia. He was 77.

An influential singer who also wrote or co-wrote the bulk of his hits, Conley was memorialized in a Twitter post by Blake Shelton, who wrote: “My heart is absolutely destroyed today… Earl was my all time favorite singer,...

When teenaged powerhouse Tanya Tucker appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in September 1974, the coverline proclaimed, “Hi, I’m Tanya Tucker. I’m 15. You’re Gonna Hear From Me.” While rock fans may not have been as familiar with her at the time, country listeners had been hearing from the Seminole, Texas, native for the past two years — beginning 47 years ago today with the official release of Tucker’s debut single, “Delta Dawn.” In the above clip from around the time of the song’s release, Tucker sings the...