August 26, 2015
He made Nashville International.
Jeff Walker, who founded one of Nashville's first independent publicity firms and became a leading advocate for growing country music internationally, died suddenly on Monday, age 65.
Jeff, an Australian who has been in Music City for 40 years, founded AristoMedia Group in 1980 and built the firm into a powerhouse that offered publicity, marketing, radio and video promotions and other new-media consulting solutions to an array of clients in country and Christian music.
He was the main link for international artists and media with the Country music business in Nashville. He organised the annual Global Stages concert that featured up-and-coming country artists from outside the United States. He was heavily involved with the CMA and it's counterparts in Canada and Australia.
Mr. Walker is survived by his wife Terri, daughter Christy Walker Watkins and son Jon Walker, and his father Bill Walker and stepmother Jeanine,
The funeral service will take place on Friday from noon until 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Nashville, 108 7th Ave. South. A private interment will follow.
Jeff, an Australian who has been in Music City for 40 years, founded AristoMedia Group in 1980 and built the firm into a powerhouse that offered publicity, marketing, radio and video promotions and other new-media consulting solutions to an array of clients in country and Christian music.
He was the main link for international artists and media with the Country music business in Nashville. He organised the annual Global Stages concert that featured up-and-coming country artists from outside the United States. He was heavily involved with the CMA and it's counterparts in Canada and Australia.
Mr. Walker is survived by his wife Terri, daughter Christy Walker Watkins and son Jon Walker, and his father Bill Walker and stepmother Jeanine,
The funeral service will take place on Friday from noon until 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Nashville, 108 7th Ave. South. A private interment will follow.
August 14, 2015
British awards lined up for October
The 9th BCMAwards show has been rebranded and is now known as the Ascot Lawyers British Country Music Awards. The nominees for awards have just been announced and winners will be presented with a trophy at the Awards Show on Sunday October 25th 2015.
The 2015 inductees to the British Country Music Hall of Fame are Lloyd Coles (dj and radio presenter from Wales); Jackie Storrar (tv and radio presenter from Scotland) and Stu Page (Country artist from England).
Amongst the award nominees are both Kelso Festival and Northern Nashville Festival for Festival of the year (Northern Nashville won it last year) ; Raintown up for Entertainers Of The Year up against The Shires, Nathan Carter , ward Thomas & Raymond Froggatt ; Raintown are also nominated in group, female and duo categories.
The 2015 inductees to the British Country Music Hall of Fame are Lloyd Coles (dj and radio presenter from Wales); Jackie Storrar (tv and radio presenter from Scotland) and Stu Page (Country artist from England).
Amongst the award nominees are both Kelso Festival and Northern Nashville Festival for Festival of the year (Northern Nashville won it last year) ; Raintown up for Entertainers Of The Year up against The Shires, Nathan Carter , ward Thomas & Raymond Froggatt ; Raintown are also nominated in group, female and duo categories.
August 05, 2015
Reba in divorce
Last week it was Miranda & Blake. This week Reba McEntire and her husband of 26 years, Narvel Blackstock have announced that they have been separated for the past few months,
They still intend to work together They jointly own Starstruck Management, which oversees the careers of McEntire, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and more.The separated couple recently sold their Beverly Hills home spread.
Reba previously wed, and divorced the late steer wrestler Charlie Battles in 1987 after 11 years of marriage.
They still intend to work together They jointly own Starstruck Management, which oversees the careers of McEntire, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and more.The separated couple recently sold their Beverly Hills home spread.
Reba previously wed, and divorced the late steer wrestler Charlie Battles in 1987 after 11 years of marriage.
Another sad week in Music City
Country Music Hall of Fame member Billy Sherrill passed away Tuesday Aug. 4 at age 78.
As a record producer, his name is on some of the most iconic singles ever created on Music Row — Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” George Jones’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors,” Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job and Shove It” and Tanya Tucker’s “Delta Dawn” among them. As a songwriter, Sherrill earned BMI Awards for 52 of his compositions. His contributions to the country repertoire include “Too Far Gone,” “My Elusive Dreams,” “Til I Can Make It On My Own,” “The Most Beautiful Girl,” and “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad,” as well as “Stand By Your Man.”
He cowrote 18 songs that became No. 1 country hits and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. As a record executive, he headed the Nashville office of CBS (Columbia and Epic Records) and discovered Wynette, Tucker, Barbara Mandrell, Lacy J. Dalton and Shelby Lynne.
Billy Sherrill was born and raised in north Alabama as the son of an evangelical preacher. He played saxophone and piano in area rock ’n’ roll and R&B bands, such as The Fairlanes. After trying his hand as a pop recording artist, he moved to Nashville in 1962. Sam Phillips hired him to run the Sun Records office in Music City. The following year, Billy Sherrill joined the artists-and-repertoire department of Epic Records.
He also produced successful records for Joe Stampley, David Allan Coe, Jody Miller, Marty Robbins, Johnny Duncan, Johnny Rodriguez, Johnny Cash, Janie Fricke, Barbara Fairchild, Bobby Vinton, Jim & Jesse and even the iconic Elvis Costello album, "Almost Blue",
Meanwhile, Tandy Rice, a prominent Nashville talent promoter and businessman known for his work on and off Music Row passed away Monday. He was 76.
The talent agency he founded, Top Billing International, helped the careers of several country greats, including Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, Jim Ed Brown and Tom T. Hall.
Rice once hosted WLAC's "Good Morning Nashville" and even co-hosted Morningline on NewsChannel 5 Plus.
In 2014, he was honored as the very first inductee into the Nashville Association of Talent Directors Hall of Fame.
As a record producer, his name is on some of the most iconic singles ever created on Music Row — Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” George Jones’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors,” Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job and Shove It” and Tanya Tucker’s “Delta Dawn” among them. As a songwriter, Sherrill earned BMI Awards for 52 of his compositions. His contributions to the country repertoire include “Too Far Gone,” “My Elusive Dreams,” “Til I Can Make It On My Own,” “The Most Beautiful Girl,” and “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad,” as well as “Stand By Your Man.”
He cowrote 18 songs that became No. 1 country hits and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. As a record executive, he headed the Nashville office of CBS (Columbia and Epic Records) and discovered Wynette, Tucker, Barbara Mandrell, Lacy J. Dalton and Shelby Lynne.
Billy Sherrill was born and raised in north Alabama as the son of an evangelical preacher. He played saxophone and piano in area rock ’n’ roll and R&B bands, such as The Fairlanes. After trying his hand as a pop recording artist, he moved to Nashville in 1962. Sam Phillips hired him to run the Sun Records office in Music City. The following year, Billy Sherrill joined the artists-and-repertoire department of Epic Records.
He also produced successful records for Joe Stampley, David Allan Coe, Jody Miller, Marty Robbins, Johnny Duncan, Johnny Rodriguez, Johnny Cash, Janie Fricke, Barbara Fairchild, Bobby Vinton, Jim & Jesse and even the iconic Elvis Costello album, "Almost Blue",
Meanwhile, Tandy Rice, a prominent Nashville talent promoter and businessman known for his work on and off Music Row passed away Monday. He was 76.
The talent agency he founded, Top Billing International, helped the careers of several country greats, including Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, Jim Ed Brown and Tom T. Hall.
Rice once hosted WLAC's "Good Morning Nashville" and even co-hosted Morningline on NewsChannel 5 Plus.
In 2014, he was honored as the very first inductee into the Nashville Association of Talent Directors Hall of Fame.
Charlie Landsborough back on the road
Charlie Landsborough takes to the road again this Autumn on a series of major UK dates. Accompanied by his own four strong band, it will be the first chance to see him on home turf this year. An evening with Charlie Landsborough is an evening of very good music indeed. Throw in the added bonus of the stories he tells and you need look no further for an evening that’s hugely enjoyable, profoundly musical and extremely good value for money.
Scottish dates include:
Thursday 22nd Oct -Glenrothes Rothes Hall
Friday 23rd Oct - Motherwell Concert Hall
Saturday 24th Oct - Inverness Eden Court
Scottish dates include:
Thursday 22nd Oct -Glenrothes Rothes Hall
Friday 23rd Oct - Motherwell Concert Hall
Saturday 24th Oct - Inverness Eden Court
August 01, 2015
Nashville loses two legends
It's been a sad week in Music City, and it loses two of the biggest names in the business.
Lynn Anderson, who earned a Grammy with her 1970 hit, “Rose Garden,” died Friday (July 31) in Nashville’s Vanderbilt Medical Center at the age of 67.
Lynn Rene Anderson was born Sept. 26, 1947 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, to noted songwriters Liz and Casey Anderson. She grew up in Sacramento, California.
Apart from her considerable achievements as a recording artist, the strikingly attractive Anderson was also an award-winning horsewoman who was crowned California Horse Show Queen in 1966. She continued to compete in equestrian events well after her recording career faded.
Anderson’s first country single, “Ride, Ride, Ride,” came in 1966, followed immediately by her first Top 5 hit, “If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away),” the next year. Both songs were written by her mother.That success netted her regular appearances on The Lawrence Welk Show 1967-68.
Her biggest hit came in 1970, when “Rose Garden” resulted in her first No. 1 country hit (and one that stayed at the top for five weeks). It also reached No. 3 on the UK pop chart, and she was awarded the CMA's female vocalist of the year award in 1971.
During the past decade, Anderson had a series of run-ins with the law over domestic disputes, impaired driving, shoplifting and resisting arrest. She was plagued by recurring bouts of illness, as well.
In June, she released Bridges, a gospel album, and also performed and signed autographs at the CMA Music Festival.
Meanwhile legendary steel guitarist Buddy Emmons's death was also announced this week.
Born Jan. 27, 1937 in Mishawaka, Ind., Buddie Gene Emmons began learning to play the lap steel guitar when he was 11 and first came to prominence in the mid 1950s after joining Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens’ band.
Emmons would subsequently tour and record with Ernest Tubb’s Texas Troubadours, Ray Price’s Cherokee Cowboys and with various bands headed by Roger Miller, the Everly Brothers, Ray Pennington and others.
In 1956, he and fellow steel guitarist Shot Jackson formed the Sho-Bud company to design and build pedal steel guitars. He left Sho-Bud in 1963 to establish the Emmons Guitar Company.
Lynn Anderson, who earned a Grammy with her 1970 hit, “Rose Garden,” died Friday (July 31) in Nashville’s Vanderbilt Medical Center at the age of 67.
Lynn Rene Anderson was born Sept. 26, 1947 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, to noted songwriters Liz and Casey Anderson. She grew up in Sacramento, California.
Apart from her considerable achievements as a recording artist, the strikingly attractive Anderson was also an award-winning horsewoman who was crowned California Horse Show Queen in 1966. She continued to compete in equestrian events well after her recording career faded.
Anderson’s first country single, “Ride, Ride, Ride,” came in 1966, followed immediately by her first Top 5 hit, “If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away),” the next year. Both songs were written by her mother.That success netted her regular appearances on The Lawrence Welk Show 1967-68.
Her biggest hit came in 1970, when “Rose Garden” resulted in her first No. 1 country hit (and one that stayed at the top for five weeks). It also reached No. 3 on the UK pop chart, and she was awarded the CMA's female vocalist of the year award in 1971.
During the past decade, Anderson had a series of run-ins with the law over domestic disputes, impaired driving, shoplifting and resisting arrest. She was plagued by recurring bouts of illness, as well.
In June, she released Bridges, a gospel album, and also performed and signed autographs at the CMA Music Festival.
Meanwhile legendary steel guitarist Buddy Emmons's death was also announced this week.
Born Jan. 27, 1937 in Mishawaka, Ind., Buddie Gene Emmons began learning to play the lap steel guitar when he was 11 and first came to prominence in the mid 1950s after joining Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens’ band.
Emmons would subsequently tour and record with Ernest Tubb’s Texas Troubadours, Ray Price’s Cherokee Cowboys and with various bands headed by Roger Miller, the Everly Brothers, Ray Pennington and others.
In 1956, he and fellow steel guitarist Shot Jackson formed the Sho-Bud company to design and build pedal steel guitars. He left Sho-Bud in 1963 to establish the Emmons Guitar Company.
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