Belmont University Honors Chuck Ainlay With Robert E. Mulloy Award

Chuck Ainlay

Producer, engineer, and Belmont alumnus Chuck Ainlay was presented the 2017 Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence from the University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business last night (Dec. 5).

“It is an honor to shine a light on Chuck Ainlay for his outstanding career accomplishments and to express our deepest appreciation for his contributions to the music industry and to Belmont’s Curb College,” said Curb College Dean Doug Howard. “Chuck is truly an engineer/producer extraordinaire who is loved and respected by the artists, engineers and industry professionals who have had the great fortune to benefit from his amazing talent.”

Throughout his 30-year engineering career, Ainlay has worked with a diverse list of clients that ranges from George Strait to Dire Straits. His engineering dominance in the country field has been recognized with multiple Grammy nominations for his numerous critically and commercially successful albums. The Nashville Music Association named him Engineer of the Year in 1996 and 1997, and MusicRow Magazine voted him the ‘Engineer with the most Top Ten Hits’ as part of its Top 10 Album All-Star Musician Awards in 1999.

Pictured (L-R): Belmont University’s Curb College Dean Doug Howard, Chuck Ainlay, Tony Brown

Ainlay’s long-standing collaboration with Mark Knopfler has resulted in two albums by Dire Straits, as well as production and engineering credits on several of Knopfler’s multi-platinum solo albums. This partnership has also produced two movie scores for the films Wag the Dog and Metroland.

Many within the audio industry also regard Ainlay as a leader in cutting-edge technology as he produced the first all-digital recording out of Nashville. His community involvement includes serving on the Board of Governors and The Producers and Engineers Wing of NARAS, Leadership Music, SAE Advisory Board and the Nashville Chapter Board of the Audio Engineering Society.

The Curb College established the Award of Excellence in 2008 in memory of program founder Bob Mulloy to annually recognize an individual who has achieved a level of excellence in the music business and entertainment industries with notable service to Belmont University and the Nashville community.

Past recipients of the Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence include Troy Tomlinson, Gary Overton, Donna Hilley, the International Entertainment Buyers Association, Vince Gill, Mike Curb, Clair Audio and Bandit Lites.

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Lorie Hollabaugh

Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at [email protected].

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