Lonestar's Richie McDonald Recovers From Minor Back Surgery

NASHVILLE, TN (Bna Entertainment) - When Lonestar frontman Richie McDonald decided it was time to have surgery to repair a disc problem in his back, he underestimated the amount of time it would take to get back on his feet. So when the band's first dates were upon them and Richie wasn't quite fully recovered, the guys found a temporary replacement in friend and fellow musician Josh Gracin.

'We had a couple of shows coming up and Josh was on the bill with us,' explains Lonestar founding member Dean Sams, 'and when we told him about our situation, he said, 'Hey, I've been a Lonestar fan since I was a kid! I could fill in for Richie on the shows we have together.'' Dean continued, 'The first thing I said was, 'That'd be great,' and then I said, 'okay, let's not bring up that kid thing again,'' he laughed.

So, living up to the old adage, 'The show must go on,' the guys got together, rehearsed for an hour and a half and then played a fundraiser in Corpus Christi for the South Texas Academic Rising Stars. 'Some of the songs Josh wanted to sing are songs we haven't played in awhile, so it was really fun to mix it up,' said guitarist Keech Rainwater. 'We had a blast and raised some money for a good cause at the same,' allowed guitarist Michael Britt.

While Richie continues his recuperation at home, Lonestar's current single, 'Mountains,' co-written by Richie, is another Top 10 song for the band that has landed more songs atop Billboard's Country Singles Chart this decade than any other group in country music.