Jimmy Buffett [ tickets ] is poised to top the country singles chart, thanks to a duet with Alan Jackson. The single, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," is a new track on Jackson's "Greatest Hits 2," due in stores Aug. 11.

Buffett last visited the singles-chart top 10 with 1977's "Margaritaville," though his loyal fan base has pushed several album releases into the upper reaches of the album charts, including his current "Meet Me In Margaritaville: Jimmy Buffett The Ultimate Collection," which recently peaked at #9.

A crewmember preparing for Phish [ tickets ]'s "It" festival in Limestone, Maine, died in a single-car accident after working at the show site, according to press reports. James Wilcox, 43, of Dedham, Mass., was the apparent victim of driver fatigue, say highway officials. A spokesman for the festival promoter said that Wilcox had worked with the band since 1990. The festival, set for Aug. 2nd and 3rd, is expected to draw 60,000 Phish-heads to the rural show site.

Sam Phillips, credited with discovering Elvis Presley and sparking the careers of Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, B. B. King and many others through his Sun Records label, died Wednesday (7/30) in Memphis, TN. He was 80. The Associated Press listed the cause of death as respiratory failure. Phillips sold Sun Records in 1962 and went into the radio business. He was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Toronto officials expressed relief at the lack of problems in the hours following Wednesday's massive Rolling Stones-anchored benefit concert. The crowd, estimated at over 450,000, was "remarkably well-behaved," police chief Julio Fantino told the Canadian Press. The show promoted Toronto tourism and raised money for hospital workers, both victims of this year's SARS outbreak in the city.

While the crowd was larger than any North American concert event in recent memory, the Globe and Mail points out that the record for largest ticketed outdoor rock gathering remains 1973's Summer Jam festival, held in Watkins Glen, NY. That festival drew a reported 600,000 ticketholders to a bill headlined by The Band, The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band.