ASCAP Celebrates Currington's No. 1 Song "We Are Tonight"

Pictured (L-R): Co-writer Marc Beeson, Billy Currington, co-writers Sam Hunt and Josh Osborne

Pictured (L-R): Co-writer Marc Beeson, Billy Currington, co-writers Sam Hunt and Josh Osborne. Photo: Ed Rode


Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “We Are Tonight” was celebrated on Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 15) at the ASCAP Building in Nashville. Along with songwriters Josh Osborne, Sam Hunt, and Marc Beeson, this was an all-ASCAP party.
For Currington, “We Are Tonight” marks his 9th No. 1 song as an artist and is the second consecutive No. 1 from his latest album.
Produced by Dann Huff, it is his 39th No. 1 as a producer. When he heard the title of the song, he hoped that it would be as great as the title. “When I heard the song, it hit me in that ‘sweet spot’ and I knew it was a hit,” said Huff.
Hit song writer Shane McAnally spoke at the party as did Osborne’s wife Toni, UMG’s Mike Dungan, and members of the CMA and CRS. Mercury Records’ Bruce Shindler was in attendance and was recognized for his career and this being his last No. 1. He will retire at the end of 2014.
Hunt, who has his own hit on the radio with “Leave The Night On,” was thankful for the songwriting community. This is Hunt’s second No. 1 song as a writer.
Osborne recalled a story of his mother meeting Billy backstage at one of his shows over the summer and she told him that she looked forward to seeing him at a No. 1 party for this song. Osborne said he is glad his mom’s proclamation came true. She was also in attendance at the party to celebrate with her son.
Beeson’s last No. 1 song was over 20 years ago with Restless Heart’s “When She Cries.” He hopes that he can “tweak this No. 1 song every 20 years thing.”
Currington was thankful for his team at Mercury Records. “I’ve been on the same team since the beginning and I never want that to change. I’m thankful.”
Pictured (L-R, front row): Beeson, Currington, Hunt, Osborne, (back row) UMG Nashville's Mike Dungan, publisher Old Gringo/Vibe Room's Chris Hunter, ASCAP's LeAnn Phelan, producer Dann Huff, Warner/Chappell Music Publishing's Blaine Rhodes and Smack Blue Publishing's Shane McAnally. Photo: Ed Rode

Pictured (L-R, front row): Beeson, Currington, Hunt, Osborne, (back row) UMG Nashville’s Mike Dungan, publisher Old Gringo/Vibe Room’s Chris Hunter, ASCAP’s LeAnn Phelan, producer Dann Huff, Warner/Chappell Music Publishing’s Blain Rhodes and Smack Blue Publishing’s Shane McAnally. Photo: Ed Rode

Dan + Shay Celebrates First Gold Single

Pictured (L-R): Todd Ramey, Sandbox Entertainment; Scott Hendricks, EVP, A&R WMN; Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney; John Esposito, President & CEO WMN; Jason Owen, Sandbox Entertainment

Pictured (L-R): Todd Ramey, Sandbox Entertainment; Scott Hendricks, EVP, A&R WMN; Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney; John Esposito, President & CEO WMN; Jason Owen, Sandbox Entertainment


WMN duo Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney were recently honored with their first Gold plaque in Nashville, prior to their concert at Nashville’s Cannery Ballroom, as part of their Where It All Began Tour.
Their debut single “19 You+Me” has garnered more than 720,000 in sales, earning gold status from the RIAA.
The duo was recently nominated for a 2014 CMA Award for Vocal Duo of the Year. They are also slated to perform on NBC’s Today Show on Thursday (Oct. 23), prior to their New York City performance at Highline Ballroom that same evening.

Weekly Chart Report (10/17/14)

Screen Shot 2014-10-16 at 3.17.59 PM

Click here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report

Screen Shot 2014-10-03 at 8.57.02 AM

BC_NRL_MUSIC_ROW_SMALL_AD

MusicRow 5.25x1.25

ProgrammerPlaylist-JaredBlack

No. 1 Party: Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass"

(L-R): ASCAP’s LeAnn Phelan, Atom Factory’s Ty Stiklorius, Big Yellow Dog Music’s Carla Wallace, Meghan Trainor, Kevin Kadish, Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson, Epic’s Paul Pontius, Sony/ATV’s Abbey Adams, ASCAP’s Michael Martin and ASCAP’s John Titta, Photo: Ed Rode

(L-R): ASCAP’s LeAnn Phelan, Atom Factory’s Ty Stiklorius, Big Yellow Dog Music’s Carla Wallace, Meghan Trainor, Kevin Kadish, Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson, Epic’s Paul Pontius, Sony/ATV’s Abbey Adams, ASCAP’s Michael Martin and ASCAP’s John Titta. Photo: Ed Rode


ASCAP’s LeAnn Phelan, John Titta and Michael Martin welcomed an enthusiastic crowd to the celebration for Nashville resident and pop sensation Meghan Trainor whose “All About That Bass” hit the No. 1 spot on the charts for six weeks. The song was written and co-produced by Trainor and Kevin Kadish.
Attendees were excited to pay homage to the massive hit at the invitation-only soirée at Music City Tippler on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson stated, “This is a very righteous moment.” Referring to recent Sony/ATV admin signee Kadish, Tomlinson revealed, “This is the first No. 1 party that he’s ever even attended.”
Kadish is from Baltimore, Maryland and lived in N.Y. and L.A. before settling in Nashville in 2007 with his family. He told the crowd, “As songwriters we face 99 percent rejection in our lives. It makes it sweeter.”
Looking down at his prepared speech, an emotional Kadish added, “I have this whole thing written and it doesn’t matter.” Glancing over at Meghan, Kadish added, “The first day you walked into my studio. The first time I heard you sing. Look at you! I’m so proud to have been a part of this. You are made of music.”
MeghanTrainorBefore becoming a full-time Artist/Songwriter, Kadish worked at Capitol EMI Music helping Everclear, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, and Smashing Pumpkins shape their early careers. As a writer, his songs have spanned all genres of music including cuts by Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Stacie Orrico, Jason Mraz, Meatloaf and Motley Crue.
Big Yellow Dog CEO Carla Wallace shared how she first met Trainor when she was only 17 and quickly wanted to pursue signing her as a writer. Wallace wittingly quipped, “Like any great relationship, we waited until she was 18. And then we hit the ground running.”
Trainor addressed the party goers confessing, “I’m so nauseous and emotional.” Then she shared her experience as a 13-year-old artist when she went to her parents and asked, “Why am I not a superstar? I don’t understand. I’m killin’ it over here in my bedroom!” Giving gratitude to her parents for helping her follow that dream, she said, “It’s so worth it! Thank you so much for believing in me when I was 13.”
Trainor added, “Carla saw something that a lot of people did not see. I love you like a second mom.”
She recounted her first meeting in the studio with Kadish when she told him, “Let’s just write something great for the world.” Adding, “I think we did it.”
“All About That Bass” is featured on Trainor’s EP Title, which is nearing triple platinum status and the video has been viewed over 150 million times.

Nashvillians Score NY Songwriters Hall of Fame Nominations

SongHallLogoThe 2015 slate of Songwriters Hall of Fame nominees for induction were announced today (Oct. 16) by SHOF President/CEO Linda Moran. The New York-based organization, which is dedicated to recognizing the work and lives of composers and lyricists who create popular music around the world, holds annual elections to determine those who will make up the roster of inductees for the following year.
Nashville songwriters in the running are Bobby Braddock and Bob McDill in the Non-Performing Songwriters category, and Vince Gill, Toby Keith and Steve Winwood in the Performing Songwriters category.
Other nominees include Non-performing: Mike Chapman/Nicky Chinn, Rudy Clark, Randy Edelman, Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia, Sandy Linzer/Denny Randell, Linda Perry, P.F. Sloan/Steve Barri, William “Mickey” Stevenson, Rod Temperton, and Allee Willis; and Performing Songwriters: Harry Wayne “K.C.” Casey, Elvis Costello, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Gloria Estefan, Yusuf Islam “Cat Stevens,” Cyndi Lauper, Steve Miller, Tom Petty, and Ann Wilson & Nancy Wilson (Heart).
Eligible voting members will have until Dec. 15, 2014 to turn in ballots with their choices of three nominees from the non-performing category and two from the performing category. For information on joining or renewing as a voting member in order to participate in this election, go to songhall.org/join before Nov. 17.

Bobby Braddock

Bobby Braddock


The 2015 Annual Awards Gala will take place at the New York Marriott Marquis on Thursday, June 18.
From the Song Hall:
Bobby Braddock—Bobby Braddock became a songwriter in Nashville in the mid-1960s, and many of his songs, such as “D.I.V.O.R.C.E,” “Golden Ring,” “Time Marches On,” and “I Wanna Talk About Me” are country music standards. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” has led most surveys as the best country song of all time. Braddock’s most recent No. 1 composition was in 2009: “People Are Crazy.” In 2011 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, received the annual BMI Icon Award, and in 2012 received the ACM Poet’s Award. He has received six CMA Song of the Year nominations, winning twice. Braddock is the only living person to have written No. 1 country songs in five consecutive decades.
Bob McDill

Bob McDill


Bob McDill—After scoring minor hits in the late 1960s for Perry Como and Sam the Sam and the Pharaohs, Bob McDill found his place in country music, especially with Don Williams. His big hits for Williams included “Say It Again,” “She Never Knew Me” and “Amanda,” which was also a major hit for Waylon Jennings. The prodigious writer, who wrote one song a week for 30 years, also placed major hits with the likes of Alabama (“Song Of The South”), Mel McDaniel (“Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On”), Alan Jackson (“Gone Country”), Anne Murray, The Kendalls, and Bobby Bare, who recorded a full album of McDill songs entitled Me And McDill. The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee’s catalog includes over 30 No. 1 hits, and his shelf displays numerous BMI Songwriter of the Year trophies.
Vince Gill

Vince Gill


Vince Gill—One of the most celebrated songwriters—and artists—in country music history, Vince Gill first came to fame as songwriter and performer in Pure Prairie League. After going solo as a country artist, he broke ground in winning three straight CMA Awards for Song of the Year from 1991 to 1993: “When I Call Your Name,” “Look At Us” and “I Still Believe In You” (he won it again in 1996 for “Go Rest High On That Mountain”). Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, Gill was also named the Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Songwriter/Artist of the Decade for 1990-1999 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. He has had songs covered by many others ranging from Alabama to Rosanne Cash. Other key songs in the Gill catalog include: “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away,” “If You Ever Have Forever In Mind,” “Never Knew Lonely,” and “One More Last Chance.”
Toby Keith

Toby Keith


Toby Keith—Country music superstar Toby Keith was named Billboard’s top country artist and songwriter of the 21st Century’s first decade, finishing behind only Eminem and Britney Spears on the decade’s all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Among his numerous self-penned hits are such country chart-toppers as “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “I Love This Bar,” “As Good As I Once Was” and “American Soldier.” Indeed, Keith has written at least one No. 1 country single over each of the past 20 years. Other key songs in the Keith catalog include: “He Ain’t Worth Missing,” “How Do You Like Me Now,” “Wish I Didn’t Know Now” and “Who’s Your Daddy.”
Steve Winwood

Steve Winwood


Steve Winwood—Only 15 when he joined England’s Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood co-wrote and sang on that 1960s band’s hits “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m A Man.” But he left shortly thereafter to form the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Traffic, then joined Eric Clapton in the short-lived supergroup Blind Faith—for which he wrote “Can’t Find My Way Home.” After reuniting with Traffic, he went solo and delivered such huge hits as the chart-topping compositions “Higher Love” and “Roll With It.” Other key songs in the Winwood catalog include “Back In The High Life Again,” “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Gimme Some Lovin.’”
Details here.

57th Annual Grammy Awards First-Round Voting Now Open

grammy 2014First-round ballots for the 57th annual Grammy Awards were mailed yesterday to nearly 12,000 voting members of The Recording Academy. Completed ballots must be returned to accounting firm Deloitte Consulting LLP by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6. Ballots received after that deadline will not be counted.
More than 20,000 entries were received, of which 17,144 remained valid. Nominations for the 57th Grammy Awards will be announced the first week of December. Final ballots will be released Dec. 17, 2014.
The 57th annual Grammy Awards’ eligibility period is from Oct. 1, 2013 through Sept. 30, 2014, and includes 83 categories in 30 fields.
The 57th annual Grammy Awards will be held Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast on CBS Television.

2015 Bonnaroo Dates Revealed

BonnarooBonnaroo, one of the world’s most successful music festivals, has revealed its 2015 events will take place June 11-14. Events will remain located at the 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn.
Tickets for the upcoming festival are not yet available. Early bird registration is expected soon.
In celebration of the announcement, the festival released its 2014 recap video.
The four-day festival launched in 2002 with little traditional advertising and sold out its 70,000 tickets in 11 days. Since then, organizers have continued to expand, reaching more than 90,000 for the 2014 event.

Songwriter, Richlyn Marketing Staffer Earns ASCAP Honor

tori tullier1

Tori Tullier


Tori Tullier, a songwriter and part-time publicist for Nashville’s Richlyn Marketing, has been honored with ASCAP’s 2014 Sammy Cahn award. Tullier’s song “Your Nicotine” earned highest scores from this year’s group of judges.
Tullier joins past recipients of the award, including John Mayer, Lori McKenna, Josh Ritter, Daniel Mackenzie, Chris Keup, and others. Tullier resides in Nashville. She graduated from the University of Miami in 2011 with a degree in Commercial Music Composition and a minor in Music Business. While in Miami, she earned first place in the Bruce Hornsby Songwriting Competition. She was also selected for ASCAP’a 2014 Guidance from Publishers for Songwriters (GPS) Project, and has performed for ASCAP’s “We Create Music” series.
She has garnered cuts on independent artists, and is seeking her first publishing deal.
Judges for this year’s Sammy Cahn Award included Gretchen Peters, Pamela Oland, and Adam Schlesinger.

Artist Updates: Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood and More

Photo: Bev Moser/Moments By Moser.

Garth Brooks. Photo: Bev Moser/Moments By Moser.


After 18 years, The Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood is coming back to St. Louis. The concerts will be Friday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Scottrade Center.
Tickets will be on sale Friday, October 24th at 10:00 AM CST and will be available at www.ticketmaster.com, ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks or 1-800-745-3000 or Ticketmaster Express 1-866-448-7849. There will be no sales at the venue box office or Ticketmaster outlets on Oct. 24.

• • •

Reba


Reba McEntire will headline a benefit concert at Depot Square in Gallatin, Tenn. on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m., to fund lung cancer research at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Organized by singer and lung-cancer patient Dawn Sears, the show will also feature performances by The Time Jumpers (of which Sears is a member) and Riders In The Sky.
“I am on a mission to help fund lung cancer research at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center,” states Sears. “A benefit concert is the best way I know how to do that. It is my mission to bring more hope to those of us with lung cancer. I was diagnosed with lung cancer over a year ago and I now have a greater understanding of the daily battle and challenges that people with cancer of any kind face.”
Gold-winning Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton, a cancer survivor himself, will emcee the event.

• • •

Photo: Bev Moser

Trisha Yearwood. Photo: Bev Moser/Moments By Moser.


Trisha Yearwood will be performing at the 2nd Annual Save The Children Illumination Gala on Nov. 19, at the Plaza hotel in New York City. The leading, independent organization for children in need in the United States and around the world will honor the following guests and companies for their achievements in giving children a brighter future: Ben Affleck, The Right Honorable Tony Blair, Austin Hearst, T.J. Maxx, and more. The event will be hosted by Save the Children artist ambassador and trustee Jennifer Garner.

• • •

Zac Brown Band

Zac Brown Band‘s Southern Ground Music and Food Festival took place Oct. 11-12 in Charleston, S.C.’s Blackbaud Stadium. AXS-TV aired more than 10 hours of coverage from the two-day festival. The lineup included performances from Zac Brown Band, Blues Traveler, Gov’t Mule, and more.

• • •

Great American Country’s and NASH-FM’s “Kickin’ It With Kix” co-host Suzanne Alexander hosted a very special songwriter in- the-round last night where Gary Allan, Charlie Worsham, Brett James and Chris Stapleton performed for a full house at The Listening Room in Nashville. The fundraising event for St. Jude Children’s Hospital raised nearly $9,000. A longtime supporter of St. Jude, Alexander has also been running one half marathon per month since April for the nonprofit and will culminate her efforts with next month’s New York City Marathon, her second.

Pictured (L to R):  Chris Blair, owner, The Listening Room, Brett James, Charlie Worsham, Chris Stapleton, Suzanne Alexander, Gary Allan.

Pictured (L-R): Chris Blair, owner, The Listening Room, Brett James, Charlie Worsham, Chris Stapleton, Suzanne Alexander, Gary Allan.

• • •

Matt Stillwell took time off from his newly announced 50 city We Shall Conquer Tour to perform and participate in The 5th Annual JPL Memorial Dinner and Golf Tournament hosted by the Kevin Harvick Foundation to support The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation. 
Stillwell also attended the NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway speaking with Claire B Lang from SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and hanging in the winners circle following Kevin Harvick‘s Victory in the race. 
Pictured (L-R): NASCAR Crew Chief - Greg Zipadelli, Jake Owen, UFC Fighter -Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, UFC Fighter -Miesha Tate, Co-Owner of KHI - DeLana Harvick, NASCAR Driver - Danica Patrick, NASCAR Driver – Ricky Stenhouse JR, Matt Stillwell

Pictured (L-R): NASCAR Crew Chief – Greg Zipadelli, Jake Owen, UFC Fighter -Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, UFC Fighter -Miesha Tate, Co-Owner of KHI – DeLana Harvick, NASCAR Driver – Danica Patrick, NASCAR Driver – Ricky Stenhouse JR, Matt Stillwell

CMA Songwriters Series To Culminate 10th Season in NYC

CMA-Songwriter-Series-Nashville-Brandy-Clark-Jaren-JohnstonDecember 3 and 4 will find host Bob DiPiero performing in New York City alongside Radney Foster, Brett James, and Craig Wiseman, celebrating the CMA Songwriter Series’ 10-year anniversary where it all began in 2005, Joe’s Pub.
The CMA Songwriters Series culminates its 10-year anniversary celebration with the two-night engagement, wrapping a year that included shows the Sundance Film Festival in January, as well as shows in Paradise Island, Bahamas, Austin, Chicago, New York, and London.
Tickets are currently on sale (for both 6:30 and 9:00 PM/ET) for $40 and $35. To order tickets, visit joespub.com.
Also in 2014, CMA has partnered with public television’s concert series Front and Center to present two separate hour-long concert specials with Lady Antebellum and Dierks Bentley (with special songwriter guests) for the 2014 fall season. Check local listings for dates and times.
ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC are the official partners of the CMA Songwriters Series.