Currington Set To Release “Enjoy Yourself”

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The fourth record from Mercury Nashville artist Billy Currington is set for release September 21. The album is entitled Enjoy Yourself and includes the Currington’s Top 5 smash, “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer,” written by Troy Jones. Enjoy Yourself, featuring the Georgia native’s trademark mix of country, R&B and beach music, is produced by Currington and Carson Chamberlain.

“It’s a great mix,” Currington says about the collection of 10 songs. “It reflects who I am. I’m definitely not just one thing. I’m the beach guy, I’m the country guy, I love my dirt roads and fishin’, but I love New York City and L.A. and Miami, too.”

Billboard claims first single “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer” “is the kind of ditty worth spinning on loop. Currington is pretty good at more than just knocking back a few cold ones and this lead single sounds like a sure thing.”

The album features some of Nashville’s top songwriters, including Dave Barnes, Shawn Camp, Scotty Emerick, Jones and Mark Nesler.

“This record was about recording songwriter’s songs,” says Billy. “I could have gone back and recorded a bunch of mine that I’ve written, but there were a lot of writers I wanted to record, like Shawn and Troy. I had to put their songs on this album.”

Currington is a multi Grammy, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music award nominated artist who’s garnered five career No. 1 singles. This fall he joins Carrie Underwood on a 46-city tour which kicks off September 25 in Portland and includes stops in San Diego, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Nashville, Kansas City, Tampa, Charlotte, Toronto and Vancouver, to name a few.

Sales Magic Might Turn Deficit

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This week the smart money is on the Trickster who says, “Watch my magic wand and you’ll see the current country music album sales deficit of 11.8% rise back up to flat or even positive when the revelers welcome 2011.” Considering the scheduled torrent of superstar product, the feat may be more treat than trick. But I digress, let’s return to the present…

Country album sales were off again this week—2%—despite the debut of Blake Shelton’s second six pak, All About Tonight, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Blake’s offering scanned over 32,000 units, 8,000 of which were digital albums (25%). The set’s title track, also debuting this week, was downloaded over 27,000 times, placing it at No. 9 on the digital genre country tracks chart. (At the top of the same chart was Taylor Swift’s current new single, “Mine” which was downloaded over 176,000 times and Zac Brown Band debuted “As She’s Walking Away” at No. 7 downloading over 29k copies.) Shelton’s first six-pak on March 7 was driven by “Hillbilly Bone” and sold about 71k its first week.

All genre Album sales hit a new SoundScan-era record low this week of 4.95 million units, the lowest since the bar code stat keeper began tracking in 1991. Country’s Top 75 current albums chart is also showing the decline, routinely falling below the 300k mark. (Week ended 8/15=258k; week ended 8/8=241k.) At some point, shrinking album sales will cause the radio promotion cost equation to be reconfigured, even for country music. But the relationship between airplay and sales remains powerful. A quick glance at the many similarities between the top of the SS digital country tracks chart and the BDS country airplay list tell the tale.

Trace Adkins’ newest is now on shelves, and next week Little Big Town and the Randy Rogers Band will become available inventory. That’s all for now…

MyWerx Offers Innovative Copyright Ownership ID


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Billboard magazine’s current issue (cover date August 21) includes a feature story titled 10 Best Startups of 2010, profiling companies that “share a vision that the best days of the music industry are not behind us, but still lie ahead.” One of the featured startups is Nashville-based MyWerx, a technology company that develops cloud computing software solutions to optimize copyright ownership identification. With a mission to allow creative artists to concentrate on creativity by making it easier for them to manage their catalog at all points in their career, MyWerx allows creators to catalog their works, protect their interests and connect with business partners. The service is aimed at anyone who owns and/or licenses a work.

For record labels, publishers and performing rights organizations MyWerx offers a way to modernize the record collecting process.  After a work is created, the author logs onto the MyWerx site and registers the work, which is added to the author’s database of works. If the work has co-creators, all need to validate the information before the work is secured and finalized by MyWerx. This helps to eliminate problems and discrepancies that can arise if too much time passes before a work is registered. Each step in the validation process requires consensus of the parties.

Tim Smith

MyWerx was founded by Tim Smith, the entrepreneur behind innovative copyright administration systems Copyright Management, Inc. and Copyright.net. MyWerx Chairman Tim DuBois is VP/Managing Director of ASCAP. The MyWerx advisory board consists of former National Songwriters Association President Steve Borgard, Copyright Management CEO Terry Smith and veteran Nashville publisher and former Atlantic Records head Barry Coburn. The foundation of the MyWerx platform is a validated-wiki, copyright registry. Registering and validating a work is a free service to help creators and their representatives organize a portfolio of the life’s work of an author. Premium subscriptions provide access to services that will benefit all stakeholders in a work.

Subsequent MyWerx versions will allow storing and communicating with business representatives of a work and track copyright ownership transfers throughout the life cycle a registered work. MyWerx promises to continuously research and develop forward-thinking copyright focused services that bring value to the global copyright community.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (8/18/10)

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These may be the Dog Days of summer, but some of the puppies in this stack of new tunes are as cute as the dickens.

Ashley Gearing, Taylor Swift, The Roys and Amber Hayes are all bopping brightly. Joey + Rory have teamed with The Zac Brown Band to record an excellent ode to country’s core fans.

Jesse Lee wins the DisCovery Award. She not only has a richly evocative country vocal style, but also the listening session’s best written song.

What, exactly, makes a Disc of the Day? This town puts Wikileaks to shame. The rush-release of “Mine” by Taylor after a leaked version appeared certainly made it the most newsworthy these singles. But for being true to life, sonically dynamic and utterly musically winning, you can’t deny two-time-daddy Brad Paisley the real Disc of the Day prize.

JOEY + RORY WITH THE ZAC BROWN BAND/This Song’s For You
Writer: none listed; Producer: Keith Stegall; Publisher: none listed; Sugar Hill (track)
—A splendid, uplifting anthem for everyday, working-class folks who yearn for better times. “We’re up on this stage, but you’re the star.” Amen to that. By the way, hang on for the perfectly harmonized, a cappella finale.

GEORGE DUCAS/Never Goes Away
Writer: George Ducas/Randy Rogers/Jon Henderson; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Propel/Pure Bluie/Warner-Tamerlane/Lonely Motel/Bug, no performance rights listed; Propel (972-800-0004)
—Dizzy in love, then drowning in heartbreak. It’s enough to give a guy’s neck whiplash. In any case, the track fizzes and sizzles right along, all the way through.

AMBER HAYES/C’Mon
Writer: Amber Hayes/Bill DiLuigi/Brian Paroah; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Okie Girl/888 Blue/Spunkem, ASCAP; Funl (www.funlmusic.com)
—A bright, pert, bopping invitation to dance and party. Sunny, sparkly and shiny as a newly minted penny.

ASHLEY GEARING/What You Think About Us
Writer: Brian Davis/Ashley Gearing/Ben Glover; Producer: The Fringe; Publisher: Curb/Mike Curb/Melrose Nashville/WB/Screaming Norman, ASCAP/BMI; Curb
—This rumbling rocker has enough “bottom” to kick you right out of your seat and send you twirling around the room. It’s a big, big sound, but she manages to ride atop the whole thing with plenty of vocal authority. Sing it, sister.

BRAD PAISLEY/Anything Like Me
Writer: Brad Paisley/Chris DuBois/Dave Turnbull; Producer: Frank Rogers; Publisher: EMI April/New Sea Gayle/Circle C/V Bulls/Full Circle, ASCAP; Arista
—It’s easy to imagine where Dad Brad got his inspiration for this loping outing. He meditates on what his kid is going to grow up to be like. Just before the bridge, the acoustic instruments go into a twinkling, enchanting break. If you weren’t completely charmed by that point, you will be.

JESSE LEE/Like My Mother Does
Writer: Nathan Chapman/Nikki Williams/Liz Rose; Producer: Nathan Chapman; Publisher: Sony-ATV Tree/Pain in the Art/Perfect Mess/Sony-ATV Timber/Toreador Tunes, BMI/SESAC; Atlantic/Warner
—Love her sweet, countrified delivery. And the topic of the lyric is refreshingly novel. Promising in the extreme. Spin this and watch the phones light up.

TAYLOR SWIFT/Mine
Writer: Taylor Swift; Producer: Nathan Chapman & Taylor Swift; Publisher: Sony-ATV/Taylor Swift, BMI; Big Machine
—It is somewhat wordy. But the rhythm track carries it along relentlessly as she spins out her saga of a shaky love that turns out to be lasting.

CHARLIE DANIELS/Iraq Blues
Writer: Charlie Daniels; Producer: Charlie Daniels & Patrick Kelly; Publisher: CDB,/Wooly Swamp, BMI; E1/Blue Hat (track) (www.charliedaniels.com)
—Charlie’s new CD is an America-themed collection called Land That I Love. I compiles past successes such as “American Farmer,” “This Ain’t No Rag it’s the Flag,” “In America” and “Still in Saigon” with some new tunes. This traditionally structured, straightforward blues-rock outing is from the point of view of a deployed soldier who can’t wait to get back home. Charlie really bawls and growls it out.

FRANK ORTEGA/My Old Man
Writer: none listed; Producer: Phil O’Donnell & Gary Hannan; Publisher: none listed; Villa One/Quarterback (www.frankortega.com)
—This is kind of the male version of Jesse Lee’s mama song. Frank looks up his dad, who was both tough and tender. The major difference is that in this one, the parent dies too young. And just to rub it in, the heartbeat percussion that closes the song, stops abruptly.

THE ROYS/Comin’ Back Around
Writer: Lee Roy/Elaine Roy/Steve Dean; Producer: The Roys & Steve Dean; Publisher: Roy Family/Leo Roy/Bethar, BMI; Pedestal (track) (www.theroyscountry.com)
—The title tune to this duo’s new CD is a peppy, perky, chin-up bopper about surviving a broken romance. Catchy, cool and complete with multiple vocal overdubs for extra texture.

Rodney Atkins Teams With Cracker Barrel

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Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has announced that Rodney Atkins will release his next album with the restaurant chain. Cracker Barrel Presents Rodney Atkins will be available on September 6, and will feature four No. 1 hits, including “These Are My People,” “Watching You,” and the current Billboard Top 20 single “Farmer’s Daughter,” which is approaching 300,000 digital downloads in just a few short months. The CD will also feature the previously unreleased song “More Like Your Memory (Always Takes Me Back),” and will be available only at Cracker Barrel.

Atkins earned the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Male Vocalist award in 2006, as well as five other ACM nominations and two Country Music Association nominations during the last four years. Having had the Most Played Songs of 2007 and 2008, Atkins maintains an active touring schedule, performing for over a million fans a year for the past three years.

“I love seeing a “Cracker Barrel Up Ahead” sign on the road ‘cause we all know that whenever you stop by, you are guaranteed to get a great meal – just like home,” Atkins says. “I’m excited to team up with the Cracker Barrel family and to make this new CD available exclusively to the folks stopping by.”

“Rodney is a great performer and his shows appeal to fans of all ages, and that’s the same appeal that Cracker Barrel offers to multi-generational families,” said Peter Keiser, Cracker Barrel’s Vice President of Marketing. “We expect that this special CD will provide some good times for a lot of people.”

The previously unreleased song on Cracker Barrel Presents Rodney Atkins, “More Like Your Memory (Always Takes Me Back),” is one of the first songs that Atkins wrote.

In July of this year of this year, Cracker Barrel released Craig Morgan’s That’s Why- Collector’s Edition, and in May the release of Wynonna’s Love Heals debuted at #7 on the Billboard Magazine Top Country Albums chart. February’s release of Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart. Releases in 2009 included November’s Songs of Love and Heartache by Alan Jackson, September’s release of an exclusive new version of The Foundation by the Zac Brown Band, August’s George Jones’ release of A Collection Of My Best Recollection, May’s release of Montgomery Gentry’s For Our Heroes, which debuted at #5 on Billboard Magazine’s Top Country Albums chart, and March’s release of Dolly Parton’s Collector’s Edition of Backwoods Barbie, which debuted at #9 on that chart. Over the last few years, Cracker Barrel has released exclusive CDs with Bill Gaither, Kenny Rogers, Ricky Skaggs, Aaron Tippin, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Josh Turner, Amy Grant, Sara Evans, and Charlie Daniels.

IBMA Awards Nominees Announced

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IBMA has announced the nominees for the 21st annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, scheduled for Thursday, September 30, 2010, at the Ryman Auditorium. The 2010 IBMA Award Show celebrates the strength and popularity of the genre both inside the bluegrass world and beyond, as the nominees reach out to new audiences with new music and interesting collaborations.

Reigning two-time Entertainers of the Year Dailey & Vincent tops the list of nominees with 10 nods for Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group, Album of the Year and Best Graphic Design, Song of the Year, Recorded Event and Gospel Recorded Event, along with

Dailey & Vincent

nominations in the Male Vocalist (Dailey), Bass Player (Vincent) and Best Liner Notes categories.

Longtime favorites Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out are nominated in six categories: Entertainer of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Male Vocalist, Gospel Recorded Performance and Vocal Group of the Year—an award the band received seven times from 1994-2000.

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Sam Bush and The Grascals racked up five nominations each. Several interesting cross-genre compositions show up in the IBMA Recorded Event of the Year category: Blue Highway with Americana star Darrell Scott, Larry Stephenson with legendary country music couple Marty Stuart and Connie Smith, and Claire Lynch with singer/songwriter icon Jesse Winchester.

Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

The Gibson Brothers were nominated in four categories; and the Josh Williams Band, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and The Del McCoury Band received three nods each.

The bluegrass industry’s highest honors of the year go to the new members of the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees are singer/songwriter, banjo and fiddle stylist John Hartford and the pioneering business manager of Flatt & Scruggs, The Earl Scruggs Revue and Earl Scruggs Family & Friends, Louise Scruggs. Hartford passed away in 2001, and Mrs. Scruggs passed away in 2006.

The Grascals

This year’s IBMA Distinguished Achievement Awards go to bluegrass fiddler, songwriter and mentor Benjamin F. “Tex” Logan; long- time radio broadcaster and emcee from Mt. Airy, North Carolina, Sherry Boyd; singer, multi- instrumentalist and band leader Lynn Morris; Bear Family Records’ Richard Weize of Germany, and Pete “Dr. Banjo” Wernick, who served 15 years as IBMA’s president, along with playing banjo in the legendary band Hot Rize.

Tickets for the IBMA Awards, bluegrass music’s most exciting night of the year, are available at 888-438-4262, (615) 256-3222 and www.ibma.org. Tickets are also on sale at the Ryman Auditorium box office.

The IBMA Awards will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction, Channel 14) and on WSM-AM 650 (live at www.wsmonline.com), and will also be syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks. Program directors and station managers may sign up to be affiliates online at www.ibma.org.

The IBMA Award Show is the centerpiece of the World of Bluegrass week, including the industry’s Business Conference and Bluegrass Fan Fest, which takes place September 27 – October 3 in Nashville.

A PARTIAL LIST OF 2010 INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEES:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• Dailey & Vincent
• The Grascals
• The Del McCoury Band
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
• Blue Highway
• Dailey & Vincent
• The Gibson Brothers
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
• Blue Highway
• Sam Bush Band
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• The Infamous Stringdusters
• Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
• Jamie Dailey
• Russell Moore
• Tim O’Brien
• Junior Sisk
• Dan Tyminski

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
• Dale Ann Bradley
• Sonya Isaacs
• Alison Krauss
• Patty Loveless
• Claire Lynch

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Recording Title, Artist(s), Producer(s), Label

• Circles Around Me, Sam Bush (artist & producer), Sugar Hill
• Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers, Dailey & Vincent (artists), Jamie Dailey & Darrin Vincent (producers), Cracker     Barrel/Rounder
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists &   producers), Rural Rhythm
• Ring the Bell, The Gibson Brothers (artists and producers), Compass
• The Famous Lefty Flynn’s, The Grascals (artists & producers), Rounder

SONG OF THE YEAR
Song Title, Artist(s), Songwriter(s)

• “Elizabeth,” Dailey & Vincent (artists), Lester James Fortune (songwriter)
• “Hard Rock Mountain Prison (‘Till I Die);” Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists); Ray
Edwards, Larry Cox & Terry Foust (songwriters)
• “My Florida Sunshine,” Claire Lynch (artist), Bill Monroe (songwriter)
• “Ring the Bell,” The Gibson Brothers (artists), Chet O’Keefe (songwriter)
• “The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle;” Sam Bush (artist); Guy Clark, Verlon Thompson & Sam Bush (songwriters)

RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR
Song Title, Featured Artists, Producer(s), Label

• “Bleeding for a Little Peace of Mind,” Blue Highway featuring Darrell Scott (artists), Blue
Highway (producers), Rounder
• “Give This Message to Your Heart,” Larry Stephenson featuring Dailey & Vincent (artists),
Ben Surratt & Larry Stephenson (producers), Whysper Dream
• “I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome;” The Grascals with Hank Williams, Jr.; The Grascals (producers); Rounder
• “Talk to Me Lonesome Heart,” Larry Stephenson featuring Connie Smith & Marty Stuart
(artists), Ben Surratt & Larry Stephenson (producers), Whysper Dream
• “That’s What Makes You Strong,” Claire Lynch with Jesse Winchester (artists), Claire Lynch (producer), Rounder

GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Song Title, Artist(s), Songwriter(s), Producer, Label

• “Don’t You Wanna Go to Heaven,” Dailey & Vincent (artists), David Marshall (songwriter), Jamie Dailey & Darrin Vincent (producers), Rounder Records
• “I Just Want to Thank You Lord,” Larry Sparks (artist, producer), Judy Marshall (songwriter), Rural Rhythm
• “Light on My Feet, Ready to Fly;” Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artists); Corey Hensley (songwriter); Doyle Lawson (producer); Horizon
• “Ring the Bell,” The Gibson Brothers (artists), Chet O’Keefe (songwriter), The Gibson Brothers (producers), Compass
• “The Eastern Gate;” Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists, producers); Isaiah G. Martin (songwriter); Rural Rhythm

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Tune Title, Artist(s), Songwriter, Producer(s), Label

• “Blue Mountain,” Sam Bush (artist, songwriter, producer), Sugar Hill
• “Blue Rock Slide;” The Grascals (artists, producers); Danny Roberts, Kristin Scott Benson & Jeremy Abshire (songwriters); Rounder
• “Cherokee Shuffle,” Josh Williams (artist, producer), Tommy Jackson (songwriter), Pinecastle
• “Durang’s Hornpipe,” Adam Steffey (artist), Public Domain (songwriter), Barry Bales & Gary Paczosa (producers), Sugar Hill
• “Mourning Dove,” Steep Canyon Rangers (artists), Nicholas Sanders (songwriter), Ronnie Bowman (producer), Rebel

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
• Balsam Range
• Sierra Hull & Highway 111
• Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass
• Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice
• Josh Williams Band

For a complete list of 2010 IBMA Awards nominees, visit www.ibma.org.

Blake Shelton Celebrates No. 1

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Warner Bros. Records artist Blake Shelton has plenty of reason to celebrate these days as his new SIX PAK album, All About Tonight, debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and No. 6 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, making it his highest charting record to date. The title song from the collection also hit the No. 1 spot this week. This marks Shelton’s second No. 1 of the year and seventh of his career.

Shelton is the only solo male country artist – one of three artists overall (Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band) – to log more than one chart-topper so far this year on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs with his singles “Hillbilly Bone” and “All About Tonight.” His recent chart successes make this year the pinnacle of Shelton’s career.

“I’ve been telling people in interviews that if someone had never heard my music before and asked me what album they should buy of mine, I would recommend this one because it truly is the best work I have done,” Shelton says. “It’s a validation for me to know that fans feel the same way about this album, and nice to know that you’ve done something right.”

Shelton’s latest SIX PAK boasts six new tracks, all produced by Scott Hendricks. His first SIX PAK album, Hillbilly Bone, was released earlier this year and debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart and No. 2 on the Top Country Albums Chart. It also featured the No. 1 title track with longtime friend Trace Adkins. Shelton hits include his back-to-back multi-week No. 1 singles, “She Wouldn’t Be Gone” and “Home,” his six-week No. 1 debut single, “Austin,” and two additional multi-week No. 1 singles with “The Baby” and “Some Beach.”

George Richey’s Mysterious Passing

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Nashville producer, songwriter, publisher, manager and record executive George Richey died more than three weeks ago, but the news was kept private for unknown reasons.

WSMV news and The Tennessean have confirmed that Richey died on July 31. The station stated that, at his request, he was buried without a public memorial or publicity. Posts on his Facebook page continued to appear after his death, causing some confusion and adding to the mystery.

To younger Nashvillians, Richey was best known as the fifth, final and longest lasting husband of Hall of Fame superstar Tammy Wynette. But during his long Nashville career, he had several other notable roles.

Born George Richardson on Nov. 30, 1935, he is a native of Promise Land, Arkansas. A gifted pianist and songwriter, Richey arrived in Nashville in the 1950s. His keyboard talent led to recording session work with Lefty Frizzell, Marty Robbins, Ernest Tubb, Tommy James, Kenny Rogers, Ringo Starr and many others.

George Richey first achieved prominence as a songwriter with his co-written “I’ll Share My World With You” for George Jones in 1969, followed by “A Woman Lives For Love” for Wanda Jackson, “Heavenly Sunshine” for Ferlin Husky and “Then He Touched Me” for Jean Shepard, all in 1970. Huskey followed up with Richey’s co-penned “Your Sweet Love Lifted Me” later that same year. Richey served brief executive stints with the early Nashville offices of the Capitol and United Artists labels, but thereafter concentrated on record production and songwriting.

He produced Jackson, Johnny Horton, Sonny James, Dick Curless, Billie Jo Spears, The Oak Ridge Boys, Merle Haggard, Claude King and several others. His 1970s composing successes included “Keep Me in Mind” (Lynn Anderson, 1973), “Good News” (Jody Miller, 1973), “Soul Song” (Joe Stampley, 1973), “You’ve Got Me,” (Connie Smith, 1973), “I’m Still Loving You” (Joe Stampley, 1974), “Take Me Home to Somewhere” (Joe Stampley, 1974) and “Every Word I Write” (Dottie West, 1977).

Richey co-wrote the George Jones classics “The Grand Tour” (1974) and “A Picture of Me (Without You)” (1972). He is even more strongly associated with the Wynette standards “Til I Can Make It On My Own” (1976) and “You and Me” (1976). He also co-wrote the Jones-Wynette duets “Southern California” (1977) and “We Loved it Away” (1974). In addition, Richey’s tunes were sung by Tanya Tucker, Claude King, Barbara Mandrell and other artists during the 1970s. Brother Paul Richey was also a Nashville songwriter of note.

After marrying Wynette in 1978, George Richey largely set aside his keyboard and composing work to manage her career. She died on April 6, 1998.

George Richey was 74 years old. He had been battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He is survived by his fourth wife, Sheila Slaughter Richey, whom he married in 2001. They have one daughter, Tatum. His first marriage, 1953-1969, was to the former Dorothy Ann Tippit. He is survived by his two children from that union, son Kelly and daughter Dierdre. His 1974-78 marriage to Sheila Hall produced no children.

George Richey is reportedly buried near Tammy Wynette in the mausoleum at Woodlawn Memorial Park. The cemetery first confirmed his passing to MusicRow on Monday.

Read MusicRow’s first report of Richey’s passing.

MTV Networks Cross-Premiere Swift Single

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Sister networks CMT, MTV, VH1 and MTV International will team up to present the global premiere of Taylor Swift’s new video “Mine” on Friday, August 27.

The first single from Swift’s upcoming album Speak Now, “Mine,” was rushed to radio after being leaked across the internet. The song went on to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs Chart and No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100. With the Hot 100 distinction, Big Machine Records’ Swift joins Mariah Carey as the only female artist in history to debut more than one single in the Top 5 in a calendar year.

The video will touch all of the MTV Music Group channels and websites in a cross-channel, cross-platform event featuring simultaneous online premieres and heavy on-air promotion, including a half-hour special to air across CMT, MTV and VH1.
CMT.com, MTV.com and VH1.com, along with MTV International sites, will present “Mine” in an exclusive online premiere block beginning at 8:30 PM/ET. MTV will debut the video on-air during its prime time lineup Friday at 9:00 PM ET/PT, while VH1 is set to air the video as part of its highly-rated weekly series VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown on Saturday, August 28 at 9:00 AM ET/PT.

Prior to its online premiere, CMT and CMT.com will premiere the video first as part of an exclusive half-hour live special when CMT Premieres Taylor Swift “Mine” airs Friday, August 27 at 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT. MTV will re-telecast the special Saturday, August 28 at 10:00 AM ET/PT; while VH1 is set to air it Saturday, August 28 at 4:00 PM ET/PT.

Swift will introduce the video for the very first time before a live audience in CMT Premieres Taylor Swift “Mine” as she returns to the towns of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, Maine where the video was filmed with co-star Toby Hemingway. The special includes a behind-the-scenes look as Swift gives CMT host Katie Cook a tour of the quaint towns, and offers personal insight into how this latest video came to life. “Mine” was co-directed by Swift and Roman White.

Deborah Allen on the Wrong Side Of Memphis

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E1 Records artist Deborah Allen and her video crew recently found themselves on the wrong side of Memphis. While in the Bluff City to debut her new release, “Amazing Graceland,” during Elvis Week, Allen was scouting locations for her new video when her team decided to take an interesting, but ultimately very wrong, turn.

Allen, her manager Raymond Hicks, and video director Mark Nicolosi took a service road under the old Memphis Arkansas Bridge for what looked like the perfect location for shooting a nostalgic delta scene. Quickly, the scene turned into a barrage of flashing blue lights and officers charging toward the team with weapons drawn shouting, “Stay in the car! Keep your hands on the dash! Keep your hands in sight and don’t move!”

Allen and crew had mistakenly driven into an area heavily protected by Homeland Security and authorities had been alerted. Turns out the entourage were risking a violation of the Patriot Act. After an interrogation and search, the officers realized that Allen was not a terrorist threat. Before departing, the officers listened to Allen’s new song and were invited to attend her September 10 performance at the Bartlett, Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Allen’s tribute to the life and home of Elvis Presley, “Amazing Graceland”, is available on i-Tunes and can be heard by visiting www.deborahallen.com.