Idolator: Mindy McCready

Mindy McCready Heading Back To Jail

Maura Johnston — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:45:00 EDT

The country singer (who is probably No. 1 Google result for the phrase "troubled country singer") will surrender herself to Tennessee police tomorrow, when she's scheduled to begin a 60-day sentence for violating her probation. "I am working very hard to put all of this behind me as quickly as possible so I can get back to what I like to do most: sing, write songs and entertain," McCready said in a statement; if you'd like to know just what her plunging back into her creative side might result in, here's a brief recap of her musical career up to this point. [E!]

Mindy McCready: A Musical Context

Maura Johnston — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Those of you who, like me, only know of Mindy McCready from her appearances on various Roger Clemens-releated legal documents and newswires—she appeared on the latter again last night, thanks to reportedly saying that she worked more hours than she really did on a community service report—and looking for reasons why she keeps cropping up in the news may be interested to hear her spunky country No. 1 "Guys Do It All The Time." (It came out in 1996, when I was burrowed further down the college-radio rabbit hole than I ever had been or would be, and reached No. 72 on the Hot 100.) After the jump, another McCready track, this one a breakup anthem that was apparently covered by members of L7 after the fact.

(This was apparently covered by L7 offshoot Other Star People, although I can't find a link. Anyone?)

McCready, whose probation stems from a drug charge in 2004, posted $5,000 bond and was released two hours after she was arrested. Reports claim that she's working on a reality series at the moment, which sounds to me like a very, very bad idea, although I guess it would serve as a check on her community-service reports.

Mindy McCready - Guys Do It All The Time [YouTube]
Mindy McCready - A Girl's Gotta Do What A Girl's Gotta Do [YouTube]
Mindy McCready Arrested Again On Probation Violation [CMT]

Your Country Music Crime Update (Now With More Mindy McCready!)

Dan Gibson — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:30:00 EDT

There are days where I want to stop writing about Vampire Weekend saying they've "paid [theiir] dues," or Roger Waters' lost inflatable pig, and just write about country music. Miranda Lambert had a benefit for her local humane society! Emmylou Harris was inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame! I don't actually enjoy country music, but its news just seems more interesting, and less likely to mysteriously appear on other blogs after being posted here. But my country-only project isn't quite ready yet, and you can't really hold a stabbing story until later. Plus, I'm not likely to get sick of hearing more Mindy McCready news anytime soon (or ever).

It's probably bad form to wish for more stabbings in popular music, but they do make for more interesting news than Ashlee Simpson possibly being pregnant, no? Country music songwriter Richard Fagan cut the wrists of his roommate and business associate Gaetano Thomas Oteri (whose daughter is former Saturday Night Live cast member Cheri Oteri) in their Nashville home. Apparently, after a drunken argument, Fagen sliced both of Oteri's wrists, made an unintelligible phone call to a friend, then drove around until he was picked up by the police. Fagen wrote several hits, including John Michael Montgomery's 1995 number one single "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)", which, since it's a country song released in the mid-'90s, sucks.

Updating the meager amount of news in the Mindy McCready/Roger Clemens story, reporters chased down McCready at her home, and she might have confirmed the story to be true (quote: "I cannot refute anything in the story"), although I imagine there will be a tearful retraction/clarification in the near future. Tough break, Rocket, everyone was really pulling for you. McCready, on the other hand, has a new album in the works and a Breaking Bonaduce-style reality show coming soon.

Also, Tim McGraw was given his own flavor of Fritos as a reward for most likely staying faithful to his wife.

Father of 'SNL' star named as victim in Fagan murder case [The Tennessean]
Mindy McCready weeps as she confirms affair with Roger Clemens [New York Daily News]

Roger Clemens's Alleged Mistress/Washed Up, Drug-Addled, Time-Servin' Country Star

Dan Gibson — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:30:00 EDT

The New York Daily News comes through in the clutch for sports and music bloggers today, blowing open a story accusing universally loved former professional athlete Roger Clemens of a ten-year affair with country singer Mindy McCready. Normally, the extramarital affairs of retired pitchers wouldn't make much of a splash here, even if it was with a country singer who last had a hit in 1998. But any chance to recap McCready's rap sheet just can't be missed.

First, though, the Post's juicy details!

According to sources, Clemens was with his Red Sox teammates in a Fort Myers, Fla., bar when then-teenager McCready caught his eye. After Clemens threw a shirt with his and several teammates' signatures onstage, an introduction was made.

"It was love at first sight, no doubt about it," said a source with intimate knowledge of the relationship.

According to the source, McCready did not learn that Clemens was married to Debbie Clemens until McCready attended a baseball game with her two younger brothers and read Clemens' bio in the program. The source says that McCready was too young to be angered by the news that Clemens was taken.

After hitting stardom in the mid-1990s - her debut album "Ten Thousand Angels" went platinum - McCready continued to see Clemens, according to the sources, although there were several breaks along the way when McCready was involved with other men. She was briefly engaged to actor Dean Cain and later was in an abusive relationship with Billy McKnight - the father of her only child, Zander.

Even during her troubles, the sources say Clemens was never far from McCready. Clemens would frequently send bundles of cash in FedEx packages, they say, as she dealt with her legal issues. According to one of the sources, Clemens even reached out to McCready through an intermediary while she was in jail last year, although McCready had cut ties with the Rocket as far back as 2006.

Sources say that when McCready, now 32, and Clemens were together, there was barely any friction between them. The two were known to take lavish trips to Las Vegas and New York. One time, McCready attended a Yankees game at the Stadium and jokingly donned a catcher's mask near the home dugout. During another Big Apple excursion, the two holed up in the trendy SoHo Grand and later partied with Monica Lewinsky and Michael Jordan. McCready, according to a source, even bummed a cigar off His Airness to give to Clemens. There were personal love missives to Clemens hidden in McCready's album liner notes.

An affair with a then-15-year-old! Parties with Monica Lewinsky and Michael Jordan! Spectacular. Still, a mention of "legal troubles" barely scratches the surface of McCready's 2004-2007 national tour of courtrooms and jail cells, which includes an 2005 arrest in Arizona for identity theft and kidnapping and a five month jail stay for beating up her mother that ended at the end of 2007.

In case, you're wondering what the pre-Oxycontin addiction McCready sounded like, her biggest hit "Guys Do It All The Time" is below. At very least, listening to her song reminded me how much mid-'90s country sucked.

Sources: Roger Clemens had 10-year fling with country star Mindy McCready [NY Daily News]

Mindy McCready, the singer whose "Guys Do ...

mmatos — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:55:39 EDT

Mindy McCready, the singer whose "Guys Do It All the Time" was a Country No. 1 eleven years ago, was arrested for violating probation at the Nashville airport, a week after an arrest in Fort Myers, Florida, for a violent altercation with her mother. She had previously been charged for acquiring painkillers with a fraudulent prescription. All we can say is: Music Row, are you taking notes? [CNN]