George Jones’ May 2 funeral service going live on cable, Web

Thursday’s funeral service for Country Music Hall of Fame member George Jones will be a star-studded affair featuring a host of musicians, political figures and other celebrities paying final tribute to one of the most widely lauded singers of the 20th century at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn.

A raft of musicians are slated to perform, including Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Vince Gill with Patty Loveless, Brad Paisley, Wynonna Judd, Randy Travis, Charlie Daniels, Ronnie Milsap, the Oak Ridge Boys, Travis Tritt and Tanya Tucker.

PHOTOS: George Jones’ funeral service

Scheduled speakers include former First Lady Laura Bush, country music stars Kenny Chesney and Barbara Mandrell, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer and the Opry’s vice president and general manager, Pete Fisher.

“Nancy [Jones, the singer’s widow] is overwhelmed by the love and support of not only George’s fans,” publicist Kirt Webster said in a statement, “but also the music community, public figures and friends.”

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The service, which is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Central and 8 a.m. Pacific time, is open to the public, at the request of Jones’ family, and fans around the world will be able to view or listen to the ceremony over the CMT, GAC, RFD and FamilyNet cable channels.

The service also will be streamed on the Grand Ole Opry’s website, while the audio portion of the program will be streamed at Nashville radio station WSM’s website and on Sirius XM satellite radio’s Willie’s Roadhouse Channel 56.

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