Tamara Saviano will release the memoir The Most Beautiful Girl: A True Story of a Dad, a Daughter and the Healing Power of Music, on Feb. 10, 2014 on American Roots Press.
Saviano has carved an impressive music industry career over the past several years. She works with songwriters Kris Kristofferson and Guy Clark. She was honored for her production work on Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster, which earned a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2005.
The Most Beautiful Girl delves into the Wisconsin native’s childhood, chronicling the strained relationship between father and daughter, and the lasting power of music. Kristofferson penned the book’s foreward.
The book begins at Johnny Cash’s funeral, where Saviano grieves the lost connection with her father. Saviano’s father, Robert Ruditys, died two years before Cash. Ruditys had not spoken to his only daughter for more than a decade before his death. She later finds comfort in her father’s favorite music.
“There was always music on the stereo in our house,” Saviano recalls. “It was part of the fabric of our day-to-day lives. As I was trying to figure out how to reconcile my Dad’s death, I listened to his music. He was into Cash and Sun Records and the Memphis Soul music that Stax issued in the 1960s. While I listened to Otis and Aretha and Cash, I went back and read my childhood diaries. My goal was to find peace and acceptance about my Dad, which I did, but it took writing this book to do it.”
Saviano, who moved to Nashville nearly two decades ago, also records her journey into the music industry. After working in radio, she decided to make the move to Nashville. “I was 34 and a single mom leaving the only home I ever knew. I was working in radio at a job I loved and had great friends,” Saviano says. “I cried while driving to Nashville asking myself ‘did I make a horrible mistake?’”
The chance paid off beautifully. Saviano launched a public relations company, signing Kris Kristofferson has a client. She later expanded into artist management, project management and consulting. Saviano also co-wrote the eBook From Art to Commerce: A Workbook for Independent Musicians.
Saviano is also a former music journalist (Country Music Magazine) and television producer (Great American Country). She is currently writing a biography of Guy Clark.

The fourth annual American Country Awards will air live from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, tonight, Dec. 10, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
The two-hour event, hosted by Trace Adkins and Danica Patrick, will feature performances by Florida Georgia Line, LeAnn Rimes, Randy Houser, Justin Moore, Thomas Rhett, Sheryl Crow, Kellie Pickler, MusicRow’s latest cover boy Jake Owen and many more.
Taylor Swift will appear from Australia to accept the first ever ACA World Wide Artist Award, presented to artist who has achieved global success. Brad Paisley will accept this year’s Video Visionary Award
To view the complete list of categories and nominees, visit theacas.com.

Jake Owen couldn’t have picked a better single to announce his upcoming fourth album than its title track, “Days of Gold.” Not only is its fast-paced arrangement and Jake’s acrobatic vocal entirely different than anything currently getting spins on Country radio, but the song, and its glimmering title, define exactly where the Florida native is in his career. For Jake, these truly are golden times.
Since the release of his 2011 watershed album Barefoot Blue Jean Night—which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and delivered four consecutive No. 1 singles: the double platinum title track, the platinum “Alone with You,” and the gold-certified tracks “The One That Got Away” and “Anywhere with You”—Jake has been riding high, and he’s channeled that energy into “Days of Gold.”
Far from simply a summer song, the single is about living life to the fullest. “‘Days of Gold’ is definitive of all seasons, of the good times we all remember, the times with our friends,” says Jake. “But it’s more than that. It’s not just a song about getting out on the riverside with your buddies. There’s so many instances that people can pinpoint in their own lives as days of gold.”
Jake—ever the daredevil—acknowledges the ambitious song is a creative risk for him as an artist. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. “When you take risks you get great rewards and that’s how I’ve always approached life,” he says. The forthcoming album furthers that carpe diem mindset through both empowering anthems and introspective ballads. As such, Days of Gold is set to be a milestone for Jake.
“An artist’s career is defined by their catalog of songs and that’s really what I want to put together on Days of Gold, a solid collection of great songs,” Jake says, citing the versatile work of heroes like Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney and, especially, Alan Jackson. “Alan wrote songs that were fun-loving, but he also had ‘Remember When.’ That’s what I want in my own career, to record the best songs I can and give them to people.”
Jake has already come into his own as a live performer. His concerts—including the epic free block party he hosted for 20,000 fans in Nashville this summer—are thrilling affairs, and he’s also at the forefront of fan engagement in Country music. He frequently organizes hangouts with surprised fans via Twitter. “I have the ability to reach out to people and give them more than just music—I can give them my personality,” he says.
With his new album, Jake is ramping up to give listeners more of both, sharing with them his own “Days of Gold.”
“I want people to feel more than they did with my past albums, and I think they will,” he says. “Days of Gold is going to be a step forward.”
Or more fittingly for risk-taker Jake, a leap ahead—without a net.
Artist Name: Jake Owen
Label: RCA Nashville
Current Album: Days of Gold
Current Single: “Days of Gold”
Current Video: “Days of Gold”
Current Producer: Joey Moi
Hometown: Vero Beach, Fla.
Management: Brandon Gill, Morris Artist Management
Booking: Mike Betterton, Morris Artist Management
Recent Hits/RIAA Certs to date: “Anywhere With You,” “Alone With You,” “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” “The One That Got Away”
Barefoot Blue Jean Night debuted No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and delivered four consecutive No. 1 hit singles, including the multi-week chart-toppers, the double platinum title track and platinum “Alone with You,” in addition to the gold-certified hits “The One That Got Away” and “Anywhere With You.”
Awards: ACA Breakthrough Artist of the Year (2012), ACM Top New Male Vocalist (2009)
Special TV/Film Appearances: Good Morning America, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Chelsea Lately, VH1 Morning Buzz and ESPN’s Game Day
Birthday: Aug. 28, 1981
Interesting Facts: Growing up, Jake participated in a variety of sports, but excelled in golf, and was pursuing a career as a pro. Unfortunately, he was injured in a waterskiing accident, which resulted in surgery, and he was unable to play golf. Fortunately for fans of Jake’s music, he decided to take up the guitar, and soon he was playing in a local bar.
Musical Influences: Merle Haggard, Vern Gosdin, Keith Whitley, Alabama, Waylon Jennings

Gary Overton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Nashville, visited Carrie Underwood on the set of The Sound of Music Live! at Grumman Studio on Long Island.

Pictured (L-R): Gary Overton, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville; and Underwood.

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Songwriter Jason Sellers (who co-wrote Joe Nichols‘ “Sunny and 75”) stopped by the Red Bow Records office to offer a No. 1 congratulations gift to the label’s radio promotions team. Sellers had promised to give the ladies of Red Bow a new car if the song went No. 1. He delivered.

Pictured (L-R): Red Bow Records’ Shelley Hargis and Hilary Hoover; Jason Sellers; RED BOW Records’ Renee Leymon and Caitlin Gordon.

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ASCAP‘s final showcase of 2013 was held on Wednesday, Dec. 4 and featured up-and-coming Nashville songwriters Morgan Leigh, Little Big Town guitarist Johnny Duke, UMPG songwriter Ryan Hurd and Josh Matheny performing in the round at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe.

Pictured (L-R): Josh Matheny, Ryan Hurd, Morgan Leigh, Johnny Duke and ASCAP’s Mike Sistad. Photo: ASCAP’s Alison Toczylowski.