Of the life lessons she learned from her father, Rosanne Cash can credit one particular course of study with helping to shape her next recording project. Cash's new album, 'The List,' was inspired by just that -- a list her dad, Johnny Cash, gave her when she was 18 years old.

"He called it the '100 Essential Country Songs,' and said if I learned this list, I would be truly educated," the 53-year-old Cash tells Billboard. "We are culling about 15 songs from the list and re-interpreting them, with the respect of an archivist, the love of a daughter and my own sensibility as a New Yorker for the last two decades."

Kris Kristofferson and country superstar Toby Keith are both speaking out about Ethan Hawke recent article in Rolling Stone magazine, detailing an alleged encounter between the two country stars at Willie Nelson's 2003 birthday bash. The actor claims that he witnessed a heated exchange, during which an unnamed artist (whom he hints was Keith) warned Kristofferson not to perform any "lefty" music. Hawke claims the country legend bit back, telling off the mystery artist and putting him in his place.

So did that really happen? Both Keith and Kristofferson say no.

Willie Nelson has two, back-to-back albums set for release in 2009. The first, 'Willie and the Wheel,' is a collaboration of Western swing songs with Asleep at the Wheel. The second, 'Naked Willie,' puts a new spin on some old favorites.

"There's songs that I've had, good songs, that never got their due," the 75-year-old music icon tells Rolling Stone.

'Naked Willie' will include remixes of recordings from 1966-1970, stripped-down without orchestration or background vocals. It's being produced by Nelson's harmonica player, Mickey Raphael.

The choice of Sarah Palin as the Republicans' vice presidential candidate has evoked political aspirations in Rosanne Cash ... at least sarcastically. In an open letter to the Nation, Cash writes that she would like to replace Palin on the GOP ticket.

"I feel confident that John McCain will see that the very attributes he desired in his VP choice can be met, and even exceeded in some areas, by me," she writes.

The eldest daughter of Johnny Cash and a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter herself, Cash goes on to outline her resume, highlighting similarities and differences between herself and Palin on key political issues. For instance, on reproductive issues, Cash writes, "I also believe that a teenager's pregnancy is a 'private family matter.' In fact, I believe that every woman's pregnancy is a 'private, family matter.' (I bet the GOP never thought of making that leap!)"

Loretta Lynn apparently has some unwanted guests in her home -- ghosts. The country legend has enlisted the help of celebrity 'ghost whisperer' James Van Praagh to rid her Hurricane Mills, Tenn. mansion of spirits.

Van Praagh's visit to Lynn's home was filmed by the TV show, 'The Insider.' He confirmed on camera that the home is indeed haunted by several ghosts, telling Lynn, "I think people were killed here," and that he could see "blood everywhere." Van Praagh was so spooked, in fact, that he broke his promise to spend the night in the house.

"I was going to stay the night," Van Praagh explained. "But when they (spirits) said, 'Get out,' I thought, 'I should probably get out.' It feels like I'm in somebody's place and they don't want me to disrupt it."

Legend has it that 19 Confederate soldiers were killed on Lynn's property. It's also said to be haunted by the plantation's original owner, several of his slaves and a mysterious woman in white. Lynn purchased the home in the late '60s. You can see a photo of the mansion here and read the full story of its hauntings here.

Scan the list of winners at Thursday's Americana Music Association Honors & Awards show, and you might think you've stumbled into a rock 'n' roll time warp. Among the night's top honorees at one of Nashville's hippest, most genre-bending awards shows after all, were former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant and the Band drummer Levon Helm.

The three-hour ceremony, which also featured performances by lifetime achievement honorees Jason and the Scorchers, Joan Baez and John Hiatt, included actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton and his bandmates, the Boxmasters, presenting the Artist of the Year award to Helm. At the close of the show, Helm and several of the award recipients offered a musical tribute to President's Award winner Jerry Garcia, of the Grateful Dead.

The title of his new album is 'Meet Glen Campbell,' but the country legend jokes that he should perhaps add the word "Again" to the end of that. Campbell, the unmistakable voice behind such classics as 'Rhinestone Cowboy' and 'Wichita Lineman,' is diving into new territory on this project, covering an eclectic mix of fellow music icons, from the likes of John Lennon and Jackson Browne to U2 and Green Day.

The 72-year-old Campbell isn't worried that his longtime fans will be turned off by the different kinds of modern-day songs he's singing. Explaining that he simply looked for "songs with good lyrics" for this album, he is convinced of its universal appeal.