Joe Nichols To Host ACM Honors

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The Academy of Country Music has tapped Joe Nichols to host the 5th Annual ACM Honors, an evening dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The event will take place Mon., Sept. 19 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
This is Nichols’ first time hosting the show, and the second time it will be held at the Ryman Auditorium, which will be recognized at the event as ACM Venue of the Year. Nichols, an ACM Award winner, says leading the evening is “definitely a high point in my career.”
Tickets will be made available to the public via Ticketmaster, with on-sale details coming next week.
Those being honored at the event include Special Award recipients Garth Brooks, John Dorris, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers, Tom T. Hall, Reba, Taylor Swift and the film Country Strong. Hank Cochran will also be honored posthumously. The evening also recognizes winners of the MBI (musician, bandleader, instrumentalist) and Industry categories, which are not presented during the live telecast of the Academy of Country Music Awards. See the complete list of winners.

Memorial Services For Kenny Baker, Jack Barlow

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Kenny Baker


A memorial service is scheduled for late bluegrass fiddler Kenny Baker. The revered musician was a longtime member of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. See the full obituary.
Lance Leroy and Bobby Osborne will host the memorial service on Wed., Aug. 3 at 7 PM at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop on Music Valley Drive.
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Jack Barlow


Country singer Jack Barlow died July 29 after struggling with a longtime illness. He was 87.
The Illinois native had a hit in the 1960s with first release “I Love Country Music.” He went on to record four albums and release numerous singles including “Catch the Wind.” Barlow was a frequent performer at the Grand Ole Opry during this time.
By the 1970s he began singing jingles for Big Red chewing gum and others. He later voiced commercials for Busch Beer, Budweiser, Chrysler, Dollar General, Kraft, Uncle Ben’s Rice, Dodge, and Kellogg’s.
Barlow got his start in the music business as a radio DJ, following his time in the Navy during WWII.
He is survived by his wife of 24 years, Dianne, several children and grandchildren.
A public memorial will be held Aug. 13 from 5-9 p.m. at Harpeth Hills Memory Garden Funeral Home, 9090 Hwy. 100, Nashville, TN 37221.

Hirings At Cold River, TJ Martell

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Cold River Records has hired Jenelle Scott as Day to Day Manager for flagship artist Katie Armiger. Scott’s background includes time at Webster & Associates PR, handling accounts for Wynonna Judd and Lee Brice.
“We’re thrilled that Jenelle chose the Katie Project as her next mission. She has layers of experience and we know she’ll hit the ground running,” remarked label head Pete O’Heeron.
Scott is already on the job and will join Armiger on the road next week in Colorado where the singer is opening dates for Brice and Darius Rucker.
Effective today, Scott can be reached at [email protected].
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Cindy Francis Lovelace


The T.J. Martell Foundation’s Southern Region office has added one staffer and promoted another. The music biz led charity for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS Research has hired Cindy Francis Lovelace as Director of Development for the Southern Region, and promoted Melissa Goodwin to Director of Administration for the entire Foundation. Laura Heatherly remains onboard as CEO.
Lovelace has served on the Martell Board for four years and celebrates six years as a breast cancer survivor. She has over thirty years experience in media and marketing. While in radio, she was instrumental in establishing partnerships with the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, CMA, Tin Pan South, and Steeplechase, as well as leading major charitable fundraising alliances with the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Second Harvest Food Bank.
Goodwin has been with the T.J. Martell Foundation since 2005. As Office and Events Manager for the Southern Region, she coordinated the Ride for a Cure and Wirtgen Golf Tournament. In the new role as Director of Administration for all three offices, she will focus on human resources, finance, and contracts in addition to still working on Ride for a Cure.

Black River Beefs Up Marketing Dept.

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Katie McCartney


Black River Entertainment has tapped Katie McCartney as Director, Marketing. In the new role, she will handle the day-to-day marketing activities of all artists on the label’s roster.
McCartney was most recently with Sony Music Entertainment as Manager of Marketing and Artist Development. Prior to that the MTSU grad held promotion and marketing posts at Lyric Street Records.
“We are thrilled that Katie is joining our team at Black River,” shares General Manager Greg McCarn. “She brings a great skill set and marketing background to the table and her enthusiasm and dedication are contagious.”
“I’m beyond excited for the amazing opportunity to become a part of the Black River family,” adds McCartney.

Mike McVay Headed To Cumulus

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Programming consultant Mike McVay has announced that he will head to Cumulus Media in Atlanta September 1, where he will become Sr. VP/Programming alongside Jan Jeffries. He will exit the consultancy he founded 28 years ago, which has grown to include divisions for syndication, new media, and Listener Driven Radio. The move should take place around the time that Cumulus Media’s $2.4 billion purchase of Citadel closes.
McVay Media also recently added radio veteran Charlie Cook as President, and it will soon be renamed McVay/Cook & Associates. Cook’s new weekly radio column for MusicRow, “Charlie Cook On Air,” started last week.

RIAA's Bainwol In Auto Talks

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According to various reports including CNET, Billboard, All Access and others, Recording Industry of America (RIAA) CEO/Chairman Mitch Bainwol may soon be “driving” away to a new job as head of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The auto-industry trade organization represents companies such as BMW, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
Reportedly, Bainwol has not actually accepted the new position, but talks have progressed sufficiently for him to inform the RIAA Board of Directors he might soon be departing.
Under Bainwol’s watch, the RIAA has enjoyed high profile success in battling music piracy including a recent finding against file sharing site Limewire and a deal with ISPs to more aggressively discourage subscribers from pirating movies and music.
Obviously it is premature to know who might replace Bainwol should he depart, but insiders are already pointing to current RIAA President Cary Sherman.
 

RIAA’s Bainwol In Auto Talks

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According to various reports including CNET, Billboard, All Access and others, Recording Industry of America (RIAA) CEO/Chairman Mitch Bainwol may soon be “driving” away to a new job as head of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The auto-industry trade organization represents companies such as BMW, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.

Reportedly, Bainwol has not actually accepted the new position, but talks have progressed sufficiently for him to inform the RIAA Board of Directors he might soon be departing.

Under Bainwol’s watch, the RIAA has enjoyed high profile success in battling music piracy including a recent finding against file sharing site Limewire and a deal with ISPs to more aggressively discourage subscribers from pirating movies and music.

Obviously it is premature to know who might replace Bainwol should he depart, but insiders are already pointing to current RIAA President Cary Sherman.

 

CCM Artist Dan Peek, Formerly of America, Dead at Age 60

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Christian-music recording artist Dan Peek passed away on Sunday, July 24, at his home in Farmington, MO.
Peek’s CCM work topped the gospel charts and earned a Grammy Award nomination, but he was best known for his earlier tenure in the pop group America. He sang and played on such America hits as “A Horse with No Name” (1972), “I Need You” (1972), “Ventura Highway” (1972), “Tin Man” (1974), “Lonely People” (1975) and “Sister Golden Hair” (1975).
He wrote “Lonely People,” as well as such America tunes as “Rainy Day,” “Everyone I Meet Is From California,” “Don’t Cross the River,” “Saturn Nights,” “Simple Life” and “Woman Tonight.”
He left the group in 1977. He renewed his Christian faith and embarked on a second career while former partners Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell continued America as a duo. Peek’s CCM debut album, All Things Are Possible, was released in 1979. It was nominated for a Grammy. Its title tune was a No. 1 CCM hit, crossed over to the mainstream pop charts and became a top-10 A/C hit.
The CCM field was quite young at the time. Dan Peek was a pioneer of the genre alongside such other former pop stars as Barry McGuire, Richey Furay, Larry Norman and Noel Paul Stookey.
Peek’s second CCM collection, 1984’s Doer of the World, also had a title tune that became a top-10 hit on the gospel charts. Peek’s 1986 album, Electro Voice, included a remake of America’s “Lonely People” with rewritten, Christian-oriented lyrics. It and the album’s title tune both became top-10 gospel hits.
Other albums included Cross Over (1987), Bodden Town (1999) and Caribbean Christmas (2000). During the 1990s, Peek also recorded four CCM albums as a member of the group Peace.
Dan Peek published an autobiography titled An American Band: The America Story in 2004. No cause of death has been made public.

Photos: David Bradley, Chris Young, The Cleverlys

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Gecko Music artist David Bradley recently premiered the video for single “Hard Time Movin’ On” (which features Rodney Crowell) and performed for a standing room only crowd at 12th & Porter. The video was directed by award-winning director Steven Goldmann (Shania Twain, Faith Hill) and shot at the Fillmore and Western Railway in Santa Clara, CA.

(L-R): Bradley’s producer Brady Seals, CO5 Nashville’s David Newmark, AristoMedia Group’s Craig Bann, CRB’s Cheri Lynn Martin, Bradley, Marco Promotions’ Sarah Matlock, Bradley’s manager Judy Libow, Jerry Duncan Promotions’ Jerry Duncan. Photo: Christy Watkins.


Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Chris Young made his debut appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week, performing songs from his newly released third album Neon.

(L-R): Jimmy Kimmel, Chris Young. Photo: ABC/Randy Holmes

Acclaimed “family” ensemble The Cleverlys made their Grand Ole Opry debut on July 15, and posed backstage with Opry legend Jimmy Dickens. After receiving a standing ovation at The Opry, The Cleverlys headed to the The Station Inn for a sold-out performance.

(L-R): Vernon Dean “VD” Cleverly, Miles Cleverly, Harvey D Cleverly, Digger Cleverly, Otto Cleverly and Jimmy Dickens in front. Photo: Joel Dennis

Adkins Roars With Pride on Release Week

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Trace Adkins is kicking off a busy release week promoting new album Proud To Be Here. He’s set for a street-date appearance on the Today Show (8/2), followed by Fox & Friends (8/3), and visits next week to Piers Morgan Tonight and Chelsea Lately. Adkins will also perform on the primetime concert special CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock, airing Sun., Aug. 14 on ABC.
Adkins says his latest project is very autobiographical. Lead single “Just Fishin’” is about father-daughter bonding, so it was fitting that the video was shot at his family farm and features youngest daughter, Trinity. The Michael Knox produced track is reacting with fans and is already No. 3 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart.
For the remainder of the Show Dog Universal release Adkins teamed with co-producers Mark Wright and Kenny Beard. The title track particularly resonates with Adkins. “Chris Wallin, Aaron Barker and Ira Dean wrote that song for me,” he says. “I’ve been close to death several times in my life, and they know me well enough to know what I’ve carried away from that.”
Ten songs are on the regular edition of the album, or fans can purchase a 14-song deluxe set. Target is also offering a 16-song package, which exclusively contains the Blake Shelton duet, “If I Was a Woman.”