Weekly Register: Mid-Year Check-Up

WeeklyRegJuly2This week wraps the end of the second quarter of 2014, so let’s check the barely-there sales pulse.
YEAR TO DATE
Albums:
Country album sales are down -18.4% YTD, having sold 15.302 million this year, compared to 18.763 million at the same time last year.
Country digital albums, which are included in the above total tallies, are 5.214 million YTD versus 5.808 million last year, a fall of -10.2%.
Country album sales including track equivalent albums (TEA) are down -19.2%.
The Country album market share is at 12.7%, fairly steady compared to last year.
Total album sales, encompassing all genres, fell -14.8%, selling 120.895 million YTD. This is a little less than Country’s -18.4% slide.
Tracks:
Country tracks are down -20.8% YTD, selling 73.307 million this year, versus 92.530 million last year.
Total tracks YTD fell -13%, 593.6 million this year compared to 682.2 million last year.
THIS WEEK
Circling back to this week, Tay-Tay’s pal Ed Sheeran debuted at the top of the charts with his latest, X, selling 209K.
Top 5 Country Albums 
Miranda Lambert 29K this week
Brantley Gilbert 21K
Luke Bryan 13K
Willie Nelson 11K
Now Country 7 10K
Top 5 Country Tracks
Kenny Chesney “American Kids” 74K this week
Dierks Bentley “Drunk On A Plane” 69K
Lady Antebellum “Bartender” 61K
Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood “Somethin’ Bad” 60K
Jake Owen “Beachin’” 54K
Hot Track: Luke Bryan’s “Roller Coaster” increased 207%, selling 17,540 TW and 73,501 RTD.
Next month starts a string of major label releases to boost YTD sales including Chase Rice (8/19), Brad Paisley (8/26), Lee Brice (9/9), Tim McGraw (9/16) and Kenny Chesney (9/23).
Sales tallies according to Nielsen SoundScan.

DISCLAIMER: Twin Towers of Talent

brett-eldredge-400x379This listening session starred two twin towers of talent.
The two best records of the week belong to Craig Morgan and Brett Eldredge. Both of them are superb country singers. They have the two best-written songs of the day. And Craig’s “We’ll Come Back Around” and Brett’s “Mean to Me” are both produced perfectly.
I love these two singles so much that they are going to have to share this week’s Disc of the Day award.
We have two feisty female acts this week — Erica Nicole and The Pfeiffer Twins. But the DisCovery Award goes to a tender-hearted male outing by the Johnny Orr Band.
THE PFEIFFER TWINS/Nobody’s Puppet
Writers: C. & L. Pfeiffer/A. Krizan; Producer: Anthony Krizan; Publishers: Pfeiffer Twins/Krizan, ASCAP; Pfeiffer Twins
-Bluesy, with a Southern-rock edge and definite lady-sass attitude. Caution: strong language occurs.
BRETT ELDREDGE/Mean To Me
Writers: Brett Eldredge/Scooter Carusoe; Producer: Luke Laird; Publishers: Sony-ATV/Countryside/Paris Not France/Scrambler/Abbotts Creek/Carnival, BMI/ASCAP; Atlantic
-Completely enchanting. If the essence of songwriting is coming up with new ways to say, “I love you,” then this is at the beating heart of our art. A lovely song deserves a soul-saturated vocal performance and a beautiful confection of a production, and this one has them both. An out-of-the-park home run.
JOHNNY ORR BAND/We’ll Get By
Writers: J. Orr; Producer: Johnny Orr; Publisher: none listed, BMI; JOB
-Subtitled “The Autism Song,” this moving ballad is sung from the point of view of a child affected by that condition. If it doesn’t bring a tear to your eye and a lump in your throat, you’re made of stone.

Craig Morgan

Craig Morgan


SAMMY KERSHAW/Do You Know Me
Writers: Johnny Holland/Billy Lawson; Publisher: Sammy Kershaw; Producer: House of Fame/Cal IV, ASCAP; Bit Hit
-Throughout his career, Sammy has made no secret of his emulation for George Jones, and he can sound eerily exactly like his idol. This is the title ballad to Sammy’s tribute album to George. It offers effective, vivid vignettes from the life and career of the late Hall of Fame member. Elsewhere on this collection of 12 revivals of the legend’s greatest hits, check out Sammy’s version of “Near You” with Georgette Jones singing the part of her late mother, Tammy Wynette.
ERICA NICOLE/I Listen To My Bad Girl
Writers: Debbie Pascarella/Dani Jamerson; Producer: Kent Wells; Publisher: Wrapped in Songs, ASCAP; EN/PCL
-Despite her better judgment, she gets tangled up with the nothing-but-trouble guy. Drums slam and guitars scream.
JERROD NIEMANN/Buzz Back Girl
Writers: Lee Brice/Kyle Jacobs/Phillip Lammonds; Producers: Jimmie Lee Sloas & Jerrod Niemann; Publishers: Mike Curb/Curb Songs/Jacobsong/BrainTwang, BMI/ASCAP; Arista (track)
-As usual, the backing track is ultra cool, with ear-catching percussive effects, electro voices and quirky guitars. His bopping vocal carries a song about a fellow falling hard. Groovy.
DEBBIE COCHRAN/Everything Changes
Writers: Debbie Cochran; Producer: Kent Wells; Publisher: DMC Anniston, BMI; GTR
-Her singing voice has resonance, but the song’s lyrics are riddled with cliches.
COLT FORD/Workin’ On
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Average Joes
-It begins as a fairly routine hick-hop outing, name checking various blue-collar thangs. But the choruses find Ford actually kinda singing. In his own way, mind you. Hooky and listenable.
johnny orr band11

Johnny Orr


CHANDLER MARIE/Breaking Down
Writers: Chandler Marie Picerne/Kris Bergsnes/Angie Broberg/Grant Austin Taylor; Producer: Sorted Noise; Publishers: CMP/SB21/Bluewater/Splendiferous/DHM /Grant Austin Taylor, BMI/ASCAP; CMP 
-You’d think one of those four writers could have come up with a melody.
CRAIG MORGAN/We’ll Come Back Around
Writers: Trevor Rosen/Brandy Clark/Jessi Jo Dillon; Producer: Craig Morgan & Phil O’Donnell; Publishers: ReHits/Smacktown/Smack Blue/Wrensong/Nettwerk One B/Revelry/Jay Gatsby/Limited Songs of Parallel/Amplified/Vista Loma, ASCAP/BMI; Black River
-They scrap and fight, but in the end they really love one another and will wind up back together again. This fiery vocalist is the just the guy to sell this well-written throbber. I got so into it, I played it twice in a row. You will too.

Estates of Bradley and Atkins Release Response Regarding RCA Studio A

Harold Bradley

Harold Bradley


[Updated, July 2]: Musician and RCA Studio A tenant Ben Folds has responded to Harold Bradley’s letter regarding the sale of RCA Studio A. (Scroll to bottom.)
Folds also stated via a Facebook post on Wednesday morning that he is attempting to put together a plan to purchase the studio for the owners’ reportedly $4.4 million asking price.
“I’m a touring recording artist and not a developer or real estate mogul. Four million plus clams is well out of my range,” says Folds. “As a tenant I’ve been trying to put together a scenario that brings the owners’ asking price, establishes the historical status of the property for preservation, and provides a cash flow for interested developers…Now, with all the players we have on the sidelines, we have more time and I’m positive we can help pull this ambitious plan off.”
• • •
[Original post]: While RCA Studio A tenant Ben Folds and Bravo Development’s Tim Reynolds have both spoken publicly regarding the sale of the studio, and a gathering has been held in support of saving the property, one party has kept silent until now: the sellers, the estates of Owen Bradley and Chet Atkins. A letter addressing the sale was sent to members of the Metro Council this afternoon (July 1) and obtained by the Nashville Scene. Titled ‘Fact v. Fiction,’ legendary musician Harold Bradley (brother of the late Owen Bradley) and other members of the estates report that the property has been available of purchase for the last 24 years—thus, Folds has had ample opportunity to buy it.
The letter also takes issue with the attempts to obtain a historic overlay for the Music Row area, stating that it would restrict the future creative community in Nashville. Harold Bradley also refutes the long-standing claim that legendary entertainer Elvis Presley recorded in RCA Studio A, and goes on to say that the property was originally purchased as a long-term investment.
The letter reads:

Re: 30 Music Square West
Fact v. Fiction
Dear Nashville,
We write to you today with an eye toward history—in fact, several generations of music history—beginning with our forebears (and architects of the “Nashville sound”) Chet Atkins and Owen and Harold Bradley.
These families have a longstanding commitment to Music City. Owen and Harold Bradley built their first studio in 1952, one at the corner of 2nd and Lindsley and the other in Hillsboro Village. But the Quonset Hut is where it all started. With no money in their pockets, Owen borrowed $15,000 against his insurance, and Harold agreed to work for free for ten years…and with that bold move, the Bradley brothers helped establish Nashville as Music City, U.S.A., and kept the music from moving to Jim Beck’s studio in Dallas.
The brothers erected the foundation for that storied Nashville sound in a squat little house on 16th Avenue. They stuck on a surplus Army quonset hut, assembled an “A-Team” of session players (the Nashville Cats), and reimagined country music as something bigger…and more marketable. By the time Brenda Lee recorded “I’m Sorry” and Patsy Cline channeled “Crazy” at the Quonset Hut, a new industry had emerged.
In the 1950s and 60s, anybody who wanted to be a part of that big new sound came to Nashville, because the Quonset Hut and RCA Studio B were producing it. These studios are where the Nashville sound was created and where the classic hits were recorded— which is why they are worthy of being called historic. Thanks to generous donations and investments by the Maddox family, Mike Curb, and the Bradleys (who bought and preserved Studio B equipment and sold it at cost to the Country Music Hall of Fame), those early, important studios still exist for students and visitors to enjoy.
What makes a place historic? The architecture of the Nashville sound was never of brick and mortar. Certainly, there are old studio spaces that, in our imaginations, ring with sonic magic; but in truth, it’s not the room; it’s the music. Billy Swan recorded his hit song “I Can Help” in Chip Young’s house. Should we force the owner of that house to register it as a historic landmark? Joan Baez, Dan Fogelberg, and Neil Young recorded hits in Quadrafonic Studios. Jimmy Buffett recorded Margaritaville there, yet Quadrafonic was sold without protest.
Of the three men who built 30 Music Square West, one of them is still living. Harold Bradley worked in that room as much or more than anyone. He knows the history of the building. He knows who recorded there. Elvis was not on this list. Elvis In Nashville, Don Cusic’s definitive book on Elvis’ time in Music City, confirms Mr. Bradley’s memory. Elvis Presley never recorded in that building.
Mr. Atkins and the Bradleys built 30 Music Square West in 1965 for RCA Studio A as an inducement to keep the music group in Nashville. The Bradley-Atkins play worked: RCA rented the 30 Music Square West offices and studio for 25 years. Nostalgia wasn’t a factor. This was business. When Chet Atkins and Owen and Harold Bradley built 30 Music Square West, Owen said, “One day we might not have anything, but if we buy this property and build this office building, we can at least have something to sell.” It was an investment in their futures.
Mr. Atkins and the Bradley family listed 30 Music Square West for sale 24 years ago, just after RCA moved out. They’ve been trying to sell it ever since. Mr. Folds leased space in the building about 12 years ago on a ninety-day lease. That ninety-day lease has been extended nearly 50 times, with the anticipation that someone might want to buy the building.
The building is now, finally, under contract for sale to Bravo Development. Mr. Folds, who has no ownership interest in the building, has made an impassioned plea to “Save Studio A” as a historic landmark. (He’s now asking, hyperbolically, to “Save Music Row.”)
Historically, Metro Council has been hesitant to grant restrictive overlays without the consent of the land owner. When a tenant, with no ownership in the property, requests restrictions to a property without the owners’ consent, he effectively hijacks the owners’ original risk and the possibility of a good return on their investment. The Atkins and Bradley families have skin in the game as property owners, and Mr. Folds would ask them to just walk away.
An overlay for the entire area would be a downzoning of the worst order, diminishing value almost immediately, and potentially stymieing future creative endeavors. Such restrictions would likely prevent two brothers from slapping a Quonset hut on an old house and trying something new.
Music City isn’t about making a perfect room, or hanging just the right baffling. Turns out, the architecture of Nashville’s evolving sound is a synergy of creative energy. That’s still here, and it has nothing to do with this building.
Sincerely,
Harold Bradley,
The Owen Bradley Family
The Chet Atkins Family Trust

Folds’ response reads:

I would agree that ‘Nashville’s evolving sound is a synergy of creative energy.’ As I said before, I believe that our music heritage should be protected and preserved. It’s up to our city and business leaders – working alongside the people who make and support our local music scene – to find the right balance between progress and preservation.
But as those folks weigh in on what’s best to do, I hope they recognize from a musician’s perspective that great spaces like historic Studio A – the only such space left in the world with its unique sonic and acoustic design – are integral ingredients in the recipe that fuels our ‘synergy of creative energy.’ It’s frankly a testament to the genius of both Owen Bradley and Chet Atkins that both historic Studio A and B are still state-of-the-art. These two spaces and their approaches to acoustics have stood the test of time. We are grateful that the current building owners have allowed musicians like me to work with and collaborate with some of the greatest artists of our generation to keep these spaces alive and busy. If we didn’t have these and other uniquely Nashville music assets, in time I believe we would cease to be relevant to current and future generations of music makers.

Folds is currently on tour in Europe.

Aristo Releases International Report for July 2014

 july international report

Click above for a full report.

The Aristo International Report has been released for July 2014. The AristoMedia Group has been issuing a quarterly review of global activities since 2008.
Highlights in this issue include:
• An overview and photo gallery of the CMA World GlobaLive! Show.
• An update on the coverage of Internet radio station, CMR Nashville.
• Details of the annual International Country Music Conference at Belmont.
• General news from all around the globe, including news about Dolly, the CCMA and Aussie Morgan Evans’ Opry debut.

Industry Ink (7/1/14)

Tom Starr

Tom Starr


Tom Starr has joined Warner Music Group Nashville’s WAR promotions team as Manager of Southeast Promotion. He replaces Tom Martens, who was promoted to National Promotion manager last month.
Starr has previously worked in promotions at Interscope (with Martens), EMI/Capitol, Jive, MCA and Elektra Records. He lives in St. Louis, and will continue working from his home office in St. Louis for the time being.
Starr can be reached at tom.starr@wmg.com.
• • • •
Screen shot 2014-07-01 at 3.37.39 PM1Registration for the 28th annual Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament will be open Monday, July 7. The tournament will be held Aug. 18 at Old Natchez Country Club in Nashville, and will benefit the United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee.
An email containing registration information will be sent out on Monday, July 7. A registration party will be held on Thursday, July 17 at Losers (1911 Division Street), where participants can register for the tournament and enjoy drink specials from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
 
• • • •
SESAC’s Music Row headquarters served as the setting for a reception for Razor & Tie Publishing. The event drew several SESAC affiliates and music industry executives all taking in the casual gathering on a warm summer night.
Pictured (L-R): Razor & Tie’s Sharon Tapper, SESAC’s John Mullins and Razor & Tie’s Craig Balsam and Lisa Johnson. Photo: Terry Wyatt

Pictured (L-R): Razor & Tie’s Sharon Tapper, SESAC’s John Mullins and Razor & Tie’s Craig Balsam and Lisa Johnson. Photo: Terry Wyatt

MusicRowPics: Kayla Adams Showcases Debut Single 'Sober & Sorry'

Kayla Adams visit

Kayla Adams visit


Kayla Adams, newly signed to SSM Label Group, visited MusicRow‘s office recently to perform songs from her upcoming project. Adams made the move to Nashville nine months ago, and has attended both Nashville’s Belmont University and Los Angeles’ Musicians Institute College of Contemporary Music in pursuit of a music career.
She performed her current single, “Sober & Sorry,” which is garnering spins at MusicRow reporting radio stations and is soon to be charting. She says she was inspired to pen the song after a failed past relationship. “Sober & Sorry” was penned with songwriters Billy Atherholt and Pete Nanney.
Though the song suggests some well-crafted revenge with lines like Kerosene in my truck, been waiting all year to burn somethin’ up/ I’m tired of waiting by the phone, gonna have a little party of my own/You’ll wake up sober and sorry, Adams insists no houses were burned down. “I wanted to, but I just walked away instead.” She recently filmed the video in her homestate of Montana.
Adams also performed “Burn A Little Colder,” and “Cliche Country Nights,” which she also co-wrote with Nanney and Atherholt.
Adams has been visiting radio stations across the country to promote “Sober & Sorry,” and is set to release her debut SSM Label Group project later this year.
[slide]

Country Stars Make the 'Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Celebrity List

Taylor Swift's RED Tour. Photo: Getty

Taylor Swift’s RED Tour. Photo: Getty


By: Laura Hostelley
Each year Forbes magazine compiles a list of the world’s most powerful celebrities. The list is created by taking into consideration the earnings, press mentions and social-media reach of over 200 celebrities. Three Country superstars have earned a spot in the 2014 compilation, including Taylor Swift, Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney.
The 24-year-old Swift had her highest earnings to date with $64 million, giving her fifth appearance on the list, this time at the No. 18 spot. Her earnings largely come from the Red tour, which had 37 dates during the eligibility period, as well as recent endorsements with Keds, Diet Coke and CoverGirl.
Keith impacts the list at No. 51, earning $65 million in the past year. Keith’s wealth doesn’t come from solely from his music, but largely from his business ventures such as his own label, Show Dog-Universal, his chain of I Love This Bar and Grill restaurants, as well as his endorsement with Ford.
Chesney comes in at No. 71 this year, and earned $44 million during the eligibility period. He may have only played 29 shows during the scoring period, but crowds exceeded 30,000 at each of those dates. He is currently in the studio working on his latest project The Big Revival,  which is scheduled to be released Sept. 23.
At the top of the rankings this year is R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles who earned $115 million between the eligibility period of June 1, 2013-May 31, 2014. In the past year Knowles released her self-titled album Beyonce with almost no press coverage and embarked on her first world tour with husband Jay-Z.

Lambert, Hemby, Galyon Honored For Chart-Topper "Automatic"

Pictured (l-r): producer Chuck Ainlay, Sony Music Nashville's Gary Overton, BMI's Jody Williams, Sony ATV Music Publishing's Troy Tomlinson, co-writers Natalie Hemby and Nicolle Galyon, Miranda Lambert, Sony ATV Music Publishing's Abbey Adams, producer Frank Liddell, Warner/Chappell Music's BJ Hill, BMI's Bradley Collins, and Sony Music Nashville's Keith Gale.

Pictured (L-R): producer Chuck Ainlay, Sony Music Nashville’s Gary Overton, BMI’s Jody Williams, Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s Troy Tomlinson, co-writers Natalie Hemby and Nicolle Galyon, co-writer/artist Miranda Lambert, Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s Abbey Adams, producer Frank Liddell, Warner/Chappell Music’s BJ Hill, BMI’s Bradley Collins, and Sony Music Nashville’s Keith Gale. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images


No, it wasn’t a remake of Miranda Lambert’s “Only Prettier” video, but a similar sock hop theme abounded at Nashville event space aVenue on Monday (June 30) as Lambert and co-writers Natalie Hemby and Nicolle Galyon celebrated Lambert’s seventh No. 1 single as an artist (and fifth as a songwriter), “Automatic.”
Industry members donned their favorite full-skirted dresses, bobby socks, hair scarves, and suits—or in the case of Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson, a letterman jacket—to honor the chart-topping single with a 1950s-themed party. An archway of balloons welcomed guests as they entered the party.
Tomlinson, BMI’s Jody Williams, Warner-Chappell’s BJ Hill, and Sony Music Nashville’s Gary Overton were among those paying tribute to the song’s success.
It also marked another milestone for Lambert. “You signed with Sony/ATV 12 years ago today,” Tomlinson told the singer-songwriter. “There are very few real artists and it’s a pleasure to be in the presence of a real artist. You exemplify that.” To commemorate 12 years with the company, Lambert was gifted with a 1955 RCA Victrola record player and matching records case. Sony/ATV worked with American Pickers to find the pristine record player, and filled the records case with records from the Sony/ATV Tree catalog from the past 40 years.
Overton reminded the crowd that Lambert is the only artist to debut all five of her first albums at the top of the Country charts. Her latest, Platinum, debuted at the top of the all-genre Soundscan chart, and sales of this album have been 30 percent stronger than that of her last project.
Pictured (L-R): BMI writers Nicolle Galyon, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby. Photo: Rick Diamond, Getty Images

Pictured (L-R): BMI writers Nicolle Galyon, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby. Photo: Rick Diamond, Getty Images


A plaque was given to Lambert’s manager Marion Kraft, to commemorate the progression of Lambert’s career. “I’ve known a lot of managers and I’ve never met one more intimately and actively involved in the life of an artist and yet you are attentive to everyone in the industry,” said Tomlinson.
The camaraderie between the three talented songwriters was on full display. “I feel like Miranda is a little sister because she was born on the same day as my little sister and they are both spitfires,” said Hemby. “You are a trailblazer and have set the bar really high.
“I met Nicolle on the plane coming back from Key West,” she continued. “We became friends and friendship is what started this whole thing. Now I get to tell her what a great friend she is and celebrate a No. 1 song with them.”
Galyon, who was recently named one of MusicRow‘s honorees for 2014 Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year, gave an emotional thank you speech during what was her first No. 1 party for her second chart-topping single (though “We Were Us,” co-written by Galyon, reached the chart pinnacle first, the No. 1 celebration has not yet happened). She gave thanks to her parents, God, and husband and songwriter Rodney Clawson.
“These songs are our dreams but they are also our livelihood. I remember being at the No. 1 party for ‘White Liar’ [written by Hemby and Lambert], and I thought, ‘Those girls have it all,’” Galyon said, “and now I’m one of those girls. They have such character and dignity. This means someday I can show my daughter a picture (of the party) and say, ‘You can be anything you want.'”
“When we wrote this song we turned into little girls talking about our childhoods,” summed Lambert. “Our moms said be anything you want to be. So here we are in Easter dresses celebrating a No. 1 song.”
The party continued well into the evening as attendees danced and a full band played songs befitting the retro theme.

US DOJ Invites Public Comments in Consent Decrees Review

DoJAfter hearing impassioned arguments from songwriters, publishers, performing rights organizations, digital radio representatives and other members of the music industry, the US Department of Justice is inviting additional public input. The department asks songwriters, composers, licensees, and service providers, to provide information and/or comments relevant to whether the BMI and ASCAP consent decrees continue to protect competition.
The deadline to receive comments is Aug. 6, 2014.
Specifically, comments and information are requested for the following questions:

  • Do the Consent Decrees continue to serve important competitive purposes today? Why or why not? Are there provisions that are no longer necessary to protect competition? Are there provisions that are ineffective in protecting competition?
  • What, if any, modifications to the Consent Decrees would enhance competition and efficiency?
  • Do differences between the two Consent Decrees adversely affect competition?
  • How easy or difficult is it to acquire in a useful format the contents of ASCAP’s or BMI’s repertory? How, if at all, does the current degree of repertory transparency impact competition? Are modifications of the transparency requirements in the Consent Decrees warranted, and if so, why?
  • Should the Consent Decrees be modified to allow rights holders to permit ASCAP or BMI to license their performance rights to some music users but not others? If such partial or limited grants of licensing rights to ASCAP and BMI are allowed, should there be limits on how such grants are structured?
  • Should the rate-making function currently performed by the rate court be changed to a system of mandatory arbitration? What procedures should be considered to expedite resolution of fee disputes? When should the payment of interim fees begin and how should they be set?
  • Should the Consent Decrees be modified to permit rights holders to grant ASCAP and BMI rights in addition to “rights of public performance”?

All comments should be submitted by email to ASCAP-BMI-decree-review@usdoj.gov and will be posted in their entirety for public review at justice.gov. Information that parties wish to keep confidential should not be included in their comments.
Comments may also be sent, preferably by courier or overnight service, to the following address:
Chief, Litigation III Section
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
450 5th Street NW, Suite 4000
Washington, DC 20001

Lifenotes: Musician Jack L. Solomon

Jack L. Solomon

Jack L. Solomon


Accomplished musician Jack L. Solomon died Tuesday, June 24 in Nashville. He was 71.
Born Feb. 12, 1943 in Columbus, Ohio, Solomon moved to Nashville and began playing guitar with The Jones Boys with George Jones, and later on session recordings with Jones, Dolly Parton, Marty Robbins, Alabama, Pete Drake, Bobby Bare, Ernest Tubb, Mel Tillis, Webb Pierce, The Oak Ridge Boys, Leon Russell, Andy Williams, B. J. Thomas, David Allan Coe, Slim Whitman, Jim Lauderdale, and his wife, Melba Montgomery, among others.
Solomon was a 32nd degree Mason, loved riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and playing golf. He is survived by his wife, Melba Montgomery Solomon, and four daughters, Tara Denise Solomon, Diana Lynn Cirigliano, Melba Jacqueline Chancey, and Melissa Solomon Barrett, as well as five grandchildren, Dannielle, Kai, Mollie, Bella, and Little Jack, and also two great-grandchildren, Jonas and Ian Maxwell. Jack is also survived by his sister, Jean Solomon Ticer and niece, Diane Holt.
Family and friends gathered for a celebration of life on Friday, June 27 at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens and Funeral Home in Nashville. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Shriners Hospitals For Children were encouraged and appreciated.