As you know, Whitney Houston is dead.

The singer, who was discovered unconscious in her Beverly Hills Hilton hotel room on Saturday, was paid tribute at Sunday's Grammy Awards.

Houston has influenced a whole generation of musical artists, country singers included (check out some of their responses). Indeed, one of her most popular songs has its roots in country music.

To discover how Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, and Elvis Presley had their hand in Houston's biggest hit, check out my article on "I Will Always Love You"

Image courtesy of Sony BMG Records

"In a bar in Toledo outside of the depot / On a bar stool she took off her ring."

So begins this classic cut from Kenny Rogers. The story grows in intensity as an abandoned husband appears and our nervous narrator has a crisis of the conscience.

"Lucille" was released as a single by Kenny Rogers in 1977. Hitting #1 on the country charts (Rogers's first song to do so), it showed the former First Edition singer had a future as a solo artist.

The tune's surprising success on the pop charts (#5) also demonstrated Rogers's crossover appeal, repeated with later hits "Islands in the Stream" and "The Gambler."

If you need some alternative programming for Valentine's Day, here it is. (If you don't want to reminded of the heartache where love always leads, go elsewhere.)

• Watch Kenny Rogers perform "Lucille" on German television

Image courtesy of United Artists

Once more, Tim McGraw's Emotional Traffic is the number one country album in America.

(And why was Curb Records sitting on this record, again?)

See this week's country music charts for all the information about the latest country singles, radio songs, and albums.

Image courtesy of Curb Records

Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, and Blake Shelton. That's just for starters.

While these singers regularly tweet candid photos and witty off-stage anecdotes, other country stars' Twitter accounts have a, let us say, less than personal touch (Keith Urban...).

To relieve the social networking burnout, I've compiled a list of the top county music Twitter feeds -- along with some of the singers' best tweets.

Oh, did I mention that I -- your humble guide to country music -- am also on Twitter? It's true. Follow me to get exclusive links, recommendations, and even the odd knock-knock joke.

What are your favorite country music Twitter pages? Let me know in the comments.

Image courtesy of Twitter