NaSHOF Announces Hall of Fame Inductees

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(L-R) Top: Tony Arata, Larry Henley; Bottom: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kim Williams

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) announced today (8/20) the 2012 inductees into its Hall of Fame: Tony Arata, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Larry Henley and Kim Williams. Arata and Williams were named in the Songwriter category; Carpenter was elected in the Songwriter/Artist category; and Henley will be inducted in a new Veteran Songwriter category.

The four new inductees will be welcomed into the elite songwriters community by their peers and leaders in the Nashville music community at the 42nd Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony, presented by AT&T, on Sunday, October 7, at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.

“Among all the great songwriters who have put the music in Music City, only a select few are elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame,” said John Van Mol, chairman of the foundation’s board of directors. “We are delighted to accord this honor to Tony, Kim and Mary Chapin, and pleased as well to recognize Larry as the first inductee in the Veteran Songwriter category.”

This past year, the Foundation created a Veteran Songwriter selection process to run parallel to regular Hall of Fame balloting. Instead of being included on the regular ballot, those in the Veteran category are considered by a special committee of Hall of Famers and other contemporaries most familiar with their work.

Tony Arata’s songwriter credits include hits such as “The Dance” (Garth Brooks) and “Here I Am” (Patty Loveless). Kim Williams is known for writing hits such as “Three Wooden Crosses” (Randy Travis) and “Ain’t Goin’ Down Till The Sun Comes Up” (Garth Brooks). Larry Henley is the tunesmith behind the smash “The Wind Beneath My Wings” (Gary Morris, Bette Midler) and “‘Til I Get It Right” (Tammy Wynette). Mary Chapin Carpenter popularized many of her own compositions such as “Down At The Twist And Shout” and “I Feel Lucky.”

Tickets for the event are $225 each. A limited number of seats are available to the public this year and may be purchased (as available) by contacting event director Mark Ford at [email protected] or 615-256-3354.

Aldean Rolls Out ‘Night Train’ Album Release

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Jason Aldean will release his fifth album, Night Train, for Broken Bow Records on October 16.

The album’s lead single, “Take A Little Ride,” has sold more first week digital downloads than any male country artist in history. This marks Aldean’s highest chart debut to date. See the song’s music video.

“I feel really great about the songs we recorded for this album,” said Aldean. “I don’t like being put in a box, and I think with every record, we’ve had a lot of variety, Night Train is no different. I got to do a cool uptempo song with Luke Bryan and Eric Church, who’ve both been out with me over the last two years.”

Longtime producer Michael Knox contributed to the 15 track record along with Aldean’s road band, who has played on every song he has recorded.

“There’s no formula to music,” Aldean notes. “It’s meant to be experimented with. So I love getting in there with my guys and coming up with sounds that nobody else really uses.”

Aldean’s previous CMA and Billboard Album of the Year, My Kinda Party, has sold nearly three million copies. It spawned five consecutive No. 1 hits including the first-ever triple platinum digital single by a male country artist, “Dirt Road Anthem.” He has sold out each of the shows on his tour for a combined 1.9 million tickets, breaking over 40 venue attendance records.

Night Train Track List:

1. This Nothin’ Town (Busbee/Neil Thrasher/Wendell Mobley)
2. When She Says Baby (Rhett Akins/Ben Hayslip)
3. Feel That Again (Thrasher/Mobley/Vicky McGehee)
4. Wheels Rollin’ (Thrasher/Mobley/Hillary Lindsey)
5. Talk (Thrasher/Mobley)
6. The Only Way I Know (with Luke Bryan and Eric Church) (David Lee Murphy/Hayslip)
7. Take A Little Ride (Dylan Altman/Rodney Clawson/Jim McCormick)
8. I Don’t Do Lonely Well (Thrasher/Tom Shapiro/Chuck Wicks)
9. Night Train (Thrasher/Michael Dulaney)
10. 1994 (Rhett/Luke Laird/Barry Dean)
11. Staring At The Sun (Thrasher/Mobley/Tony Martin)
12. Drink One For Me (Thrasher/Mobley/Martin)
13. Black Tears (Canaan Smith/Tyler Hubbard)
14. Walking Away (David Lee Murphy/Rodney Clawson)
15. Water Tower (Jason Sellers/Paul Jenkins/Dulaney)

Nancy Cardwell Named IBMA Executive Director

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Nancy Cardwell. Photo: Katherine Coe.

The International Bluegrass Music Association Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Nancy Cardwell as the organization’s Executive Director.

“After an extensive selection process that began with more than 65 applications for the position, the Board concluded that Nancy brings the right mix of skills to the table and will be able to take the organization to the next level of success,” said Board chair Stan Zdonik.

Cardwell has been serving as the organization’s interim Executive Director since early March 2012, and previously served as IBMA’s Special Projects Director for 17 years. Prior to joining the IBMA, she served as a Spanish and English teacher, and also spent time as a freelance journalist in Branson, Mo., and Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Her book The Words & Music of Dolly Parton, Country’s Iron Butterfly, was published in 2011.

“It’s an honor to continue to serve on the IBMA team in this new role as we work together for the future of bluegrass music,” Cardwell said. “I’m blessed with a creative and hard-working staff and board of directors, as well as a community of members from across the country and around the globe, who are passionate about the greatest music in the world. I look forward to seeing many of you at World of Bluegrass in Nashville, Tenn. Sept. 24-30, at our annual Business Conference/ Awards Show/ Bluegrass Fan Fest/ Music Family Reunion!”

Congratulate her at [email protected].

Country Cares For St. Jude Founder David McKee Passes

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David L. McKee, the fundraising executive who started the Country Cares for St. Jude radio program, passed away on Fri., Aug. 17. He was 66 years old and died following a car accident in Germantown, Tenn. near Memphis.

McKee joined ALSAC, St. Jude’s fundraising division, in 1977 and was most recently Chief Operating Officer and Senior Executive Vice President.

Country Cares launched in 1989 with help from Alabama’s Randy Owen and has since generated more than $400 million for St. Jude. In 2012, 800 people participated in the Country Cares Seminar including artists, label representatives, and radio execs.

“David McKee was so much more than one of the world’s great philanthropic leaders,” said Rick Shadyac, ALSAC CEO. “He was a dear friend and mentor to me and many others who worked with him during his 35-year career at ALSAC. He also was a passionate advocate for the patients of St. Jude and for children everywhere who have benefitted from our work. We have lost one of the icons of our organization, and his family is in our hearts and prayers.”

McKee was the recipient of the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award by Fundraising Success magazine. He helped lead the organization to record growth and its current status as the second largest health care charity. He also served as interim CEO in 2008-2009. According to family and friends, he was a stalwart at ALSAC, taking on challenges with a smile and gentle determination.

Former Shelby County Mayor Bill Morris told the Memphis Commercial Appeal he had known McKee since the day he came to town. “David was a brilliant strategist in terms of managing ALSAC,” Morris said. “He had his entire heart put in the centerpiece of everything he did. He pulled people together. People wanted to work for him. I just know ALSAC will never have anyone more committed, or dedicated or more successful.”

“It wasn’t the fundraising that motivated him,” agreed former Memphis mayor Dick Hackett. “What motivated him most was who he was raising money for. He was the glue that held ALSAC together through the good and bad.”

McKee is survived by loving wife Portia McKee; children, David McKee of Collierville, April Fowler of Arlington, and Amanda Madison of Memphis; grandchildren, Charlie Madison, Emily Madison and Caroline McKee; brother, Daun McKee of Fleetwood, PA; and sister, Ellen Long of Christianburg, VA.

The family will receive friends from 5 – 8 p.m., Tues., Aug. 21 at Memorial Park Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m., Wed., Aug. 22 at Hope Presbyterian Church with interment to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. The family requests memorial donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Memorial Park Funeral Home can be reached at 901-767-8930. Condolences may be offered at www.MemorialParkOnline.com.

Willie Nelson Cancels Denver Appearance

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Willie Nelson was forced to cancel a fundraiser appearance in Denver on Saturday night (8/18), following breathing issues that rendered him ill.

KUSA-TV in Denver reported that the 79-year-old singer failed to show for Lulu’s Barkin’ BBQ, an event benefiting the Denver Dumb Friends League. The audience was informed that Nelson was “suffering from breathing problems due to the high altitude and emphysema.” The station also reports that he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

According to a statement this morning (8/20) from Nelson’s publicist, the artist is feeling fine this morning and not currently in any hospital. He is still planning to go forward with his show Tuesday (8/21) at the House of Blues in Dallas.

In other Nelson news, his latest album Heroes (Legacy Recordings) recently spent five consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Americana Radio Chart. He is also taking part in the upcoming Railroad Revival Tour, that kicks off October 20 in Duluth, Ga., and will cross the country with via train with stops in Memphis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and more. See dates here.

Liberty Media Seeks Control of Sirius XM

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Liberty Media plans to raise its stake in Sirius XM above 50%, effectively taking control of the satellite radio service operator.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Liberty Media’s Chairman, John C. Malone has asked the Federal Communications Commission for approval to take over control.

Earlier this week, Liberty Media had increased its stake in Sirius XM to 48% and says it will “have purchased sufficient shares of Sirius’s common stock and will convert its preferred shares such that the transfer of control will be completed within 60 days of commission consent.”

 

Paisley Joins 2012 Port Paradise Music Festival Lineup

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Brad Paisley is among the performers scheduled for the 2-day Bud Light Port Paradise Music Festival Nov. 17-18 at Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas, and on the private island of Coco Cay.

The event is part of a 4 day, 3 night cruise, which includes two full-size liners accommodating 5,000 promotional Bud Light contest winners.

Paisley will headline Sunday’s (11/18) concert with performers Young the Giant and The All-American Rejects at Coco Cay. The day prior (11/17), Pitbull will headline the concert with Far East Movement and Flo Rida at Atlantis in Nassau.

“This year’s eclectic lineup takes Port Paradise to the next level with a two-day music festival at the heart of the cruise,” said Mike Sundet, VP, Bud Light.

Adults, 21 and older, are still eligible to enter the contest by visiting www.Facebook.com/BudLight through the end of the month (8/31).

Snapshots (8/17/12)

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Tonight’s (8/17) GAC Top 20 Country Countdown episode was shot at The Imus Ranch in Ribera, NM, a 4,000 acre working cattle ranch owned by radio star Don Imus and his wife Deirdre that provides the experience of the great American cowboy to children facing cancer or serious blood disorders. The episode includes host Nan Kelley interviewing eight-time world champion cowboy Joe Beaver as well as 14-year-old Wyatt Imus, one of the Kid Wranglers on the ranch (and the Imus’ son). It airs tonight, 8/17 at 7 pm CT on GAC.

Pictured (L-R): GAC’s Nan Kelley, Deirdre Imus, Don Imus

• • • •

The August edition of the ASCAP “We Create Music” Series featured songwriters Jessi Alexander, Chris DeStefano, Clare Dunn and Bobby Hamrick, and included bands VITEK and The Wans, who performed at The Basement on 8/15.

Pictured (l-r): ASCAP's LeAnn Phelan, Chris DeStefano, Jessi Alexander, Bobby Hamrick, Clare Dunn, and ASCAP's Michael Martin and Evyn Mustoe

TuneCore Founders Exit, Questions Remain

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Questions remain following the news that TuneCore co-founders Jeff Price and Peter Wells abruptly exited the company this week, a change that could affect the independent music community.

Price, Wells and Gary Burke launched the digital distribution company in 2006, providing independent (and major) artists with a means to get their music to digital retailers. Artists pay a one time fee of $50 plus a percentage of royalties recovered to secure distribution to iTunes, Spotify and more. The service claims over 700,000 artists, most of which are producing music independently. It has also garnered high profile support from clients like Jay-Z, Drake, and The Civil Wars.

“Under our tenure, TuneCore took significant market share away from the traditional major labels,” said Price in a blog post announcing his exit. “As of July, 2012, TuneCore artists represent over 4% of all US gross digital music sales revenue and have sold over 610,000,000 units of music generating over $310,000,000 in gross music sales. More than four songs a second are sold on iTunes somewhere in the world by a TuneCore artist. Through the execution of the vision and the trust of the artist, TuneCore achieved about 40% of the market share of EMI and 25% of the market share of Universal in regards to digital music sales in the United States.”

No reason has been given for the exits, from Price or otherwise. Billboard points to unnamed sources who say the TuneCore board voted Price out on July 20 because it was “unhappy with the company’s financials.”

On Thursday (8/16), digital music service Rdio announced a licensing agreement with TuneCore and its rival CD Baby, bringing the service’s catalog to 18 million songs. It remains unclear if this announcement has any connection to the exits of Price and Wells.

Price has also been named for the 2013 class of Leadership Music.

Glen Templeton’s Tour Bus in Accident

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Glen Templeton’s tour bus was involved in an accident yesterday morning (8/16) while traveling on U.S. Highway 34/163 to the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, IA for last night’s scheduled performance.

The accident occurred when the right front tire blew, sending the bus and its passengers about 250 yards into the ditch. There were no serious injuries from the accident and last night’s performance at the Iowa State Fair began as scheduled.

Templeton is currently in the studio with James Stroud finishing his debut album. For additional information and tour dates click here.