New Book To Share Stories Behind Dolly Parton’s Lyrics

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A new book will delve into the stories behind many of Dolly Parton‘s song lyrics. Parton teamed with acclaimed music journalist, historian and author Robert K. Oermann for Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, which will release Nov. 17 via Chronicle Books.

“My songs are like my children, I expect them to support me when I’m old,” Parton said in a video posted to Chronicle Books’ Twitter page. “Across my life I’ve written thousands of songs. But here, for the first time ever, we’re spotlighting 200 of my favorites.”

The book will also include never-before-seen photos and handwritten lyrics to some of the songs from Parton’s extensive catalog. Parton is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Two of her signature hits—”I Will Always Love You” and “Coat of Many Colors”—are included in the National Recording Registry, which lists sound recordings that “are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.” Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007, followed by “Jolene” in 2014.

Oermann has penned numerous books on country music, including Finding Her Voice: The Saga of Women in Country Music, which won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for music book excellence. He has also been a recipient of the Country Music Association’s Media Achievement Award.

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is available for pre-order on amazon.com.

Fourward Music Adds Writers, Creative Managers

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Pictured clockwise from top left: Carrie K, Hastings, Sarah and the Sundays, Mike Robinson

Fourward Music has added four new writers to their publishing roster, Carrie K, Mike Robinson, Hastings, and Sarah and the Sundays. The company has also added two members to the creative team: Joey McCarthy and Jake Sarno, who will be based out of their L.A. offices.Prior to joining the A&R team at Fourward, McCarthy spent several years in marketing at global sportswear brand, adidas. He also worked with the former manager of Sean “diddy” Combs, Elie Maroun, at his entertainment company, Grey Space Group, as an A&R rep. Jake Sarno previously attended Syracuse Music Industry program before leaving early to join Fourward’s A&R team. In his time at Syracuse, Sarno started his own blog, in which he interviewed artists. He also worked at Stem, where he assisted with artist relations and playlisting.

“Will and I are excited about the growth of Fourward Music and are carefully selecting the perfect combination of writers, producers, and artists, as well as A&R and creative staff that fit in the ever changing musical landscape,” says Fourward President Shannan Hatch. “Along with announcing the signing of Carrie K, Hastings, Mike, and Sarah and the Sundays, it’s a pleasure to announce the addition of Joey McCarthy and Jake Sarno to our creative team based out of our L.A. offices. Joey and Jake bring unique skill sets to the company and we can’t wait to see their continued growth in the music community.”

Laura Segura Named Executive Director of MusiCares

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Laura Segura

Laura Segura has been appointed Executive Director of MusiCares, effective immediately. Segura will lead the charitable foundation of the Recording Academy that has been providing industry members a safety net of services including help for financial, medical and personal health issues for the past 30 years.

Segura shifts from her previous role as Vice President of Membership & Industry Relations for the Recording Academy, where she spearheaded the restructuring of the organization’s 12-chapter system, and increased outreach and industry relations efforts. Having led the nearly 60-person Membership department spread across the country, Segura brings significant fundraising and development experience to the position.

“On behalf of everyone at the Recording Academy, we are so excited and proud that Laura Segura is moving up to lead MusiCares,” said Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. “Laura’s incredible work here over the past seven years has proven her to be an invaluable member of the Academy’s team. We look forward to the great things we know she will accomplish with us in her new role.”

Serving as the incoming Executive Director, Segura will oversee an annual budget of $17 million, and a staff that encompasses development, fundraising and delivery of health and financial aid programs. The staff includes a highly experienced team of licensed clinical social workers, substance abuse counselors, and health and human services professionals that work directly with musicians and industry members.

“I am humbled to join the MusiCares team during such a monumental moment,” said Segura. “I feel it is my personal calling to amplify MusiCares’ cause.  It is through taking care of music people that we ensure music remains an integral part of all our lives. In the immediate term, we need to effectively transition from emergency mode into a long-term recovery effort. Unfortunately, COVID-19 and its related toll on the health and well-being of music people will be felt for years to come.”

Earlier this spring, the Recording Academy and MusiCares established a special COVID-19 Relief Response to help music community members impacted by the pandemic. MusiCares raised $20 million and provided thousands of music creators and industry professionals with emergency assistance. Those wishing to support the efforts to assist music professionals in need can visit grammy.com/MusiCares/CoronavirusReliefFund.

Industry Pics: Alan Jackson, Arista Nashville, Tauren Wells

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Alan Jackson Welcomes Fans To Alabama “Small-Town Drive-In” Shows

Alan Jackson brought his “Small Town Drive-In” events to Cullman, Alabama on Friday (June 12) and Fairhope, Alabama on Saturday (June 13). More than 2,000 vehicles welcomed him at Cullman York Farm, while 2,300 cars full of fans joined him in Fairhope’s 300-acre Oak Hollow Farm.

 

Robert Counts, Arista Nashville Celebrate Happy Hour

Pictured: Robert Counts (top left corner), Arista Nashville Promo Team, and National Specialist Ryan Sanders (lower right corner).

The Arista Nashville promotion team joined a Zoom meeting to meet with new artist Robert Counts. Counts released a self-titled EP last year. The five-song project was produced by Jimmy Ritchey and Dann Huff, and includes “Backseat Driver,” “Someone In My Someday,” “Dress Up,” “Better People,” and a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.”

Tauren Wells Gifts Six Houston High School Graduates With College Aid


Six-time Grammy nominee Tauren Wells teamed with several organizations and Houston’s KSBJ and NGEN, as well as Austin’s KFMK to gift six lucky high school graduates $1,000 each to help with college tuition and textbooks. Wells, a Houston-based award-winning artist, worship leader and youth leader, jumped at the opportunity to give back to his community and support these intelligent and inspiring future leaders.

“We just wanted to let the Class of 2020 know that we are with them and we are for them,” Wells says. “We did for some what we wished to do for all and hope all the graduates out there know that their hard work and effort hasn’t been overlooked. We expect amazing things from these students in the future!”

Wells, known for the Platinum-selling “Hills and Valleys,” and the Gold-certified “Known,” has earned four Dove Awards and accumulated 435.3 million total solo career streams with 1.6 billion audience impressions. He released his second full-length project, Citizen of Heaven, in January.

IBMA World of Bluegrass To Go Virtual For 2020

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This year’s IBMA World of Bluegrass will be held virtually, with the planned conference, showcases, awards and festival performances to be presented via an online experience Sept. 28-Oct. 3, 2020.
“While we all would love to gather in Raleigh this year for IBMA World of Bluegrass, the extraordinary circumstances made this decision necessary,” said Paul Schiminger, Executive Director of IBMA. “Maintaining the health and safety of the large crowd we enjoy each year would be such an enormous, uncertain, and risky proposition. However, we know how important this week is to our bluegrass professionals and fans, so we are moving forward in new ways. We see this as an opportunity to reimagine every aspect of IBMA World of Bluegrass so we can still connect, educate, showcase, and perform in fun and engaging ways. And we hope to introduce new participants to the types of things we normally do in Raleigh so we can invite them to join us in person for the fun in 2021 and hopefully many years beyond. We deeply appreciate the ongoing partnership of the City of Raleigh, the hotels, PNC Bank, which has been our presenting sponsor since 2013, and the many other important sponsors we have worked with over the years.They help make this the most important week in bluegrass.”

“IBMA World of Bluegrass brings together some of the best and most talented traditional musicians in the world and, for the last seven years, thousands of music lovers and industry leaders have gathered in Raleigh to celebrate everything bluegrass,” said Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin. “And while it’s not possible to gather in person this year, we hope that Raleigh and the IBMA World of Bluegrass events will be at the top of everyone’s travel plans for 2021.”

The nominees for this year’s IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards will also be announced earlier than scheduled, set to be revealed Friday, June 26 at 10 a.m. CT on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction. The second and final round of Official Showcase Artists for the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble, the innovative showcase series that is part of IBMA World of Bluegrass, will be announced on June 18.

Music fans will have access to free live streaming, on-demand sessions and performances of the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble showcases, the 31st Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards and IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC, a music festival with performers ranging from emerging artists to industry icons.

“We will be working hard to make this year work, and plan to use what we learn about building an online audience to expand the audience for when we’re back on Fayetteville Street,” said David Brower, Executive Director of PineCone, the local Raleigh non-profit music organization that produces the festival. “We hope that this experience will allow people to participate who haven’t been able to travel to Raleigh before, and that this will also inspire them to make plans to join us in Raleigh in 2021.”

The IBMA Business Conference will feature professional development sessions; 1-to-1 and group networking events such as a re-imagined Gig Fair; and a Virtual Exhibit Hall, where attendees and vendors can communicate via chat and video chat, participate in live product demos, purchase merchandise directly from vendors and more.

Bobby Braddock Shares Stories Behind Country Music’s Greatest Lyrics In New Book

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Bobby Braddock is revealing the stories behind the standout lines in more than 80 legendary country songs in his latest book, Country Music’s Greatest Lines: Lyrics, Stories & Sketches from American Classics from Arcadia Publishing & The History Press.

Available July 6, the new book gives the reader a behind-the scenes view of classics from Hank Williams, Bill Anderson, Roger Miller, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, Eric Church, and more. Artist Carmen Beecher brings the tales to vivid life with strikingly realistic illustrations of seldom-seen songwriters, superstars, and unforgettable song characters.

“As a decades-long inhabitant of Music Row, I know a lot of the stories behind the songs and have had the privilege and honor of stumbling into more than a few songwriting sessions where music history was being made,” said Braddock. “I often thought that those attention-getting lines that are an important part of country hits would be an interesting topic for a book. I knew just who to approach: an old friend, world-class illustrator Carmen Beecher, who I invited to collaborate with me on this project to help bring these stories to life with pictures of the songs’ characters or writers or singers.”

Big Machine Records’ Kris Lamb Rises To Sr. VP, Promotion & Digital

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Kris Lamb.

Big Machine Records has announced a round of promotions and contract extensions, including Kris Lamb rising to Sr. VP, Promotion & Digital.

Director of Northeast Promotion and Marketing Brooke Diaz, Director of West Promotion and Marketing Bill Lubitz and Director of Southeast Promotion and Marketing Jeff Davis have also had multi-year contract extensions.

“These four individuals represent the heart and soul of Big Machine,” said General Manager of Big Machine Records Clay Hunnicutt. “Kris Lamb’s leadership and example to our team through good and tough times has been invaluable, and his elevation to Senior Vice President represents that. He will continue to be a force of positivity and winning for years to come at The Machine. The passion, work, and determination of all of these individuals is second to none. We could not be happier that we’ll all be growing and succeeding together for many years to come.”

Lamb joined the imprint in 2010 after working for The Walt Disney Company’s Lyric Street Records, executing all West Coast Promotion strategies. A Belmont University graduate, Lamb is an adjunct professor of Music Promotion Strategies at his alma mater.

Recipient of the CRS Regional of the Year in 2018 and 2020, Diaz joined BMLG in 2014 in the role of West Coast Promotion Representative before transitioning to Northeast Promotion in 2017. Lubitz has been at BMLG for six years with former stops at Black River and KWNR, while Davis joined Big Machine in 2008 with previous stops at The Equity Music Group, Elektra, MCA and Epic Records.

Brett Sheroky Signs With Sea Gayle Music

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Pictured L-R (Top to bottom): Chris DuBois, Sea Gayle Music; Marc Driskill, Sea Gayle Music; Emily Witters, Sea Gayle Music; Sheroky; Kim Wiggins, Sea Gayle Music; JD Groover, Sea Gayle Music; Brandon Gregg, Sea Gayle Music.

Brett Sheroky has signed a publishing deal with Sea Gayle Music.

Born in Belleville, Illinois and raised on a wide range of music, Sheroky moved to Nashville in 2009 to hone his craft as a songwriter. He has had numerous cuts by various independent artists, and won the grand prize in the 2017 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. As his songwriting evolved, he caught the attention of singer/songwriter Phil Vassar, who asked Sheroky to write, and invited him to open for him on his “Stripped Down Tour.”

“Signing Brett was a no brainer for us. His songwriting ability on top of the way he delivers his songs is what really sets him apart. I think I speak for the whole Sea Gayle team when I say we are more than thrilled to have him join our family. We are truly excited to see what the future has in store for this guy,” says Sea Gayle Creative Director Kim Wiggins.

“Sea Gayle has a reputation for signing songwriters that really know how to craft a song and I am so honored to be thought of as a writer that belongs on that roster,” adds Sheroky.

Play It Again Expands, Adds Ryan Dokke As CEO

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Ryan Dokke, Dallas Davidson

Dallas Davidson is expanding his Play It Again publishing company to include label and artist management divisions, and has tapped former Curb|Word Entertainment Sr. VP/General Manager Ryan Dokke as CEO to lead the new venture.

Davidson launched PIA Music in 2015 and will remain as Founder of the company.

In the newly-created role, Dokke will oversee all aspects of PIA Music’s publishing, label and management business and operations. Additionally, he will work with Davidson on the group’s overall strategic vision for each of its three PIA divisions. PIA’s current roster includes multiple hit-making songwriters and artists; Kyle Fishman, Warner Music Nashville recording artist Trea Landon, Justin Wilson, Tommy Cecil, as well as the first two artists signed to PIA’s label; Walker Montgomery and Dylan Marlowe.

“Growing Play It Again Music is something I’ve been planning to do, but I needed the right partner to lead it. From the first time Dokke and I met, I knew that he had the right passion, vision and knowledge to take PIA Music where it needs to go. Among other things, he brings an incredible energy to the company. I couldn’t be more excited for him to become the CEO of PIA Music and to lead our growing team,” shared Davidson.

“PIA is an entrepreneurial company at its core. The vision is simple: work with incredible artists and songwriters and help to create value and opportunities around the songs and music they are creating. Music comes first. I’m excited to be working with Dallas and growing the PIA roster and team,” said Dokke.

In 2018, Dokke was promoted to SVP and General Manager at Curb|Word after serving as Curb’s VP of Promotion for four years. He oversaw a roster of artists across both country and Christian genres including Filmore, Lee Brice, Dylan Scott, Rodney Atkins, for KING & COUNTRY, Francesca Battistelli, and Natalie Grant. During his tenure at Curb, Dokke helped lead the team at Curb|Word to achieve multiple No. 1 singles. Prior to Curb|Word records, he was Manager/Regional Promotion for Sony Music Entertainment (Arista Records). Dokke is a graduate of Leadership Music’s class of 2019. He currently serves on the boards of the Academy of Country Music, ACM Lifting Lives, the Gospel Music Association, and the Country Radio Broadcasters.

Davidson has earned hits recorded by Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban and more. He has earned multiple songwriting awards including Billboard’s Hot Country Songwriter (2010), BMI’s Songwriter of the Year (2011, 2012), NSAI’s Songwriter of the Year (2012), ACM’s Songwriter of the Year (2011, 2012), and is a six-time CMA Triple Triple Play award recipient. Davidson currently serves as the Chairman of the Georgia Music Foundation, alongside Vice-Chair Karla Redding-Andrews, daughter of the late Otis Redding. The GMF is a non-profit that supports programs of music education, preservation and outreach while fostering an appreciation for the state’s rich music heritage.

Luke Bryan To Lead Three-Hour CMA Fest Retrospective On ABC

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Luke Bryan. Photo: Jim Wright

Luke Bryan will host CMA Best of the Fest, a three-hour CMA retrospective special to air Monday, July 13 at 7 p.m. CT on ABC. The live concert experience features more than 25 performances that have aired as part of 16 years of CMA Fest, as well as a new performance from Bryan and special guest Darius Rucker.

Other artists featured in the special include Trace Adkins, Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dan + Shay, Lzzy Hale, Sam Hunt, Joan Jett, Lady A, Miranda Lambert, Lil Nas X, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Dwight Yoakam and Zac Brown Band, with special appearances by Bobby Bones, Jim Gaffigan, Kirk Herbstreit, Peyton Manning, Lionel Richie, Rob Riggle, Gwen Stefani, Michael Strahan and Rita Wilson. CMA Best of Fest is executive produced by Robert Deaton.

On July 1, artists Jimmie Allen and Lindsay Ell will host the livestream event CMA Summer Stay-Cay presented by Budweiser Nitro Gold. Fans can visit CMA’s YouTube channel and Facebook page to catch more than 50 of their favorite country acts take part in performances, games and Q&As as part of the summer celebration. A full lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.

Both events celebrate CMA Fest, which was canceled for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CMA Fest will return to Nashville on June 10-13, 2021.