Fighting Hunger With “Stars For Second Harvest”

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Craig Wiseman

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee is gearing up for the 6th annual Stars For Second Harvest benefit on September 28 at 7:30 PM at the Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Hosted by acclaimed songwriter Craig Wiseman, the concert will feature an unplugged acoustic style performance by some of music’s brightest stars including Uncle Kracker, Chris Young, Josh Thompson, Sam & Ruby, esteemed songwriters Mac McAnally and Tony Mullins and comedian Henry Cho. Sponsored by O’Charley’s, the evening will help raise awareness of hunger issues in the Nashville community and will close out the food bank’s four-week run of activities in recognition of September as Hunger Action month.

In the last five years, this event has raised $326,695 to feed the hungry in Middle Tennessee. Because each dollar provides four meals, the funds raised from the concert provided Second Harvest with the funds to supply 1,306,780 meals.

“Second Harvest is one of the best charities that I’ve ever been involved with, Wiseman says. “We thought an unplugged night of songwriters and artists at the historic Ryman would be great. It is hard to believe we’re in our 6th year. Thanks to O’Charley’s sponsorship it allows every penny to go to Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee and feed the hungry in our community. I’m so excited for this year’s lineup. We’ve got pop, country, indie, comedians and who knows who else will show up. It will be a great night!”

In light of this year’s post-flood shortages, Wiseman is upping the ante to motivate the giving public with some additional offers. For anyone who steps up this week with donations, the hit songwriter is offering some special bonuses.

• Bonus #1: Donate any amount and you’ll receive some sample cans of 2nd Harvest’s private label soups and chili.

• Bonus #2: Donate $250 and get two premium tickets to Tuesday night’s benefit show.

• Bonus #3: Write a really big check and they will get you tickets and “other goodies.”

For more details or to donate contact [email protected]

Event tickets are on sale now for $35 at ticketmaster.com. For preferred seating please contact the Second Harvest Food Bank at 615-329-3491. Proceeds from the concert go to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee in their efforts to feed hungry people and work to solve hunger issues in our community.

For more information contact Leigh Clark at 329.3491 or visit Second Harvest’s website at www.secondharvestmidtn.org.

Luke Bryan and BMI Bring On The “Rain”

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Well-wishers gathered in BMI’s Music Row lobby on Tuesday (9/21) to toast the chart-topping collaboration of longtime friends and BMI affiliates Luke Bryan and Dallas Davidson. “Rain is a Good Thing,” which Bryan recorded and the pair co-wrote, marks Bryan’s second consecutive chart-topper and gold digital single and Davidson’s fifth No. 1.

To cap off the celebrations, Bryan was surprised by Capitol Records Nashville label head Mike Dungan with the proclamation that his current album Doin’ My Thing has been certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000.

“Discovering the album had reached the half-million mark in album sales at the #1 party was just icing on the cake,” Bryan said. “My life is so good right now with great career highs like this and a growing family at home.”

(l-r): BMI’s Perry Howard, Bug Music’s Roger Murrah, producer Jeff Stevens, Luke Bryan, co-writer Dallas Davidson, EMI Music Publishing’s Ben Vaughn, Red Light Management’s Kerri Edwards, Capitol Records’ Mike Dungan, and BMI’s Jody Williams. Photo: Steve Lowry

Farm Aid One–25 Years Ago

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Tony Conway (L) and Buddy Lee (R) at the University of Illinois stadium at 2 a.m. just after Bob Dylan and Tom Petty finished sound check. The event was Farm Aid One. It attracted a sold out crowd of 80,000 fans, featured over 60 artists and was broadcast live on TNN. Note the TV interview happening on the right.

(L-R) Tony Conway and Buddy Lee

Chesney Heads To CMT’s “Invitation Only”

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Kenny Chesney is the latest star headed to the Invitation Only stage when an all-new episode of the show premieres Monday, September 27 at 9:00 PM-10:00 PM/CT on CMT. Taped before a small studio audience in Nashville, the Invitation Only series features artists performing their biggest hits and new favorites, as well as answering questions from fans during an informal question and answer session.

In this one-hour special, Chesney performs some of his biggest hits including “When The Sun Goes Down”, “Out Last Night,” and more. He also debuts five new songs from his forthcoming album, Hemingway’s Whiskey, including the title track and his latest single, “Boys of Fall”. While answering questions from fans, Chesney reveals the strangest gift he has ever received from a fan, gives his advice to new artists and discusses what stands out about his new album.

(l-r): Paul Barnabee, SVP, Finance & Operations, Sony Music Nashville; John Hamlin, SVP, Music Events & Talent, CMT; Margaret Comeaux, Sr. Director, Music Events & Production, CMT; Brian Philips, President, CMT; Kenny Chesney; Laurissa Ryan, Sr. Director, Talent Relations, CMT; Gary Overton, CEO, Sony Music Nashville Photo: Rick Diamond/WireImage.com

New Book Chronicles CMA Awards History

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The glamour, history, backstage stories, and memorable moments from more than 40 years of the annual CMA Awards are collected in a new, unique book, The CMA Awards Vault, now available nationwide.

Author Deborah Evans Price traces the show’s 43-year run from a one-hour, radio-only broadcast in 1967 to the glittery three-hour, network television spectacle of today. Evans Price interviewed dozens of country music’s biggest stars, from Sonny James, the host of the first CMA Awards Banquet and Show, to Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, who will host The 44th Annual CMA Awards for the third time in November. In the process, the author takes the reader behind the scenes and recalls the greatest performances, the famous – and sometimes infamous – fashion trends, and the art of putting together a top-rated network gala.

Deborah Evans Price

“As someone who grew up watching the CMA Awards, and was then privileged to go to the Awards for the past 25 years, I couldn’t think of anything that would excite me more than doing a book on the institution,” said Evans Price.

What really sets this book apart from other Country Music histories, however, is the unique “scrapbook” approach. The CMA Awards Vault contains never-before-published photographs, artwork, and memorabilia. Tucked into dozens of pockets throughout the book are replicas of such items as a program from that first CMA Awards in 1967; a note to the CMA from the Charlie Daniels Band in 1980; a ticket to The 40th CMA Anniversary show; and the set-design blueprint from the 2009 CMA Awards.

“I’m thankful for the wonderful journey this book provides through the history of the CMA Awards,” writes Barbara Mandrell in the book’s afterword. “Reading it makes one feel so ‘behind the scenes,’ ‘inside,’ and as though they’re having conversations with many of the great artists in country music.”

With a foreword by four-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney, The CMA Awards Vault is published by Whitman Publishing, LLC, of Atlanta. The 144-page hardcover 12-inch by 10-inch book with slipcase is available for $49.95 in bookstores and online retailers. The book can also be ordered at www.CMAawards.com and www.WhitmanVaultBooks.com. CMA members can purchase the book for $35 at the CMA office.

Memorial Set For Engineer Bill Porter

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Chet Atkins (left) and Bill Porter at the mixing console

A memorial service for pioneering Music Row studio engineer Bill Porter will be held at 5:00 PM on Friday, Sept. 24, at RCA Studio B. He died at age 79 on July 7 of Alzheimer’s disease in Ogden, Utah. Porter was the long-time engineer at the famous RCA Studio B. As such he was behind the board for the giant hits of such stars as Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton, Dottie West and many more.

It is said that during one week in 1960, recordings that he engineered accounted for 15 of the top pop records in the nation. After leaving studio work, Porter became Presley’s live sound engineer on the road and during the superstar’s Las Vegas extravaganzas.

He developed the first college curriculum for audio engineering for the University of Miami School of Music and taught at the University of Colorado and at Webster University in St. Louis. Porter retired in 2005.

Click here for a more comprehensive obituary, reported in MusicRow on July 9.

Shania Twain To Publish Autobiography

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Mercury Records artist Shania Twain has signed an agreement with Atria Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, to publish her autobiography, it was announced today by Judith Curr, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Atria Books and Washington Square Press. Atria plans to publish the book in spring 2011.

In this yet to be titled autobiography, Twain shares her challenging and sometimes shockingly painful upbringing in rural Ontario, the tragic death of her mother and stepfather, her “against all odds” rise to fame, the hurdles she faced as a female outsider in the male-dominated world of country music and the recent struggles in her personal life.

“When I read Shania’s manuscript, it amazed me how rich, clear, unfiltered and honest she was,” said Curr. “There is a depth that comes through in her writing. The book will be a help and inspiration to many, and those who think they know her from her music will be surprised at the raw and personal place she writes from.”

“There are times in your life that are meant for reflection, and this was one of them.,” Twain said.  “I began writing this book with a sincere respect for the past, present and future as something never to be taken for granted.

Shania Twain rose to fame in the early 1990s with her debut album Shania Twain (1993), and achieved worldwide success with her 1997 album Come On Over, which became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician, and the best selling country album of all time.  A five-time Grammy winner, Twain has also achieved major success as a songwriter, winning 27 BMI awards. Despite the fact Twain has released very few albums, she has sold over 75 million albums worldwide to date, including 48 million in the U.S. Her docu-series on The Oprah Winfrey Network will debut in the spring. This is her first book.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (9/22/10)

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What is past is present.

This week, The Judds and Ken Mellons are returning with records that reinvent their respective sounds. Loretta Lynn, Sheryl Crow & Miranda Lambert revisit a country classic and earn a Disc of the Day honor in the bargain.

The retro sound of The Secret Sisters wins them a DisCovery Award.

Wait a minute. There’s something ultra contemporary here, too. I’m afraid that “Coal Miner’s Daughter” is going to have to share that Disc of the Day prize with the magical sound of “Hello World” by Lady Antebellum.

TAYLOR MADE/Quiet Kind Of Crazy
Writer: Dan Bailey; Producer: Dale Morris & Dan Mitchell; Publisher: Morris Music Group International, BMI; LGR (615-824-5370)
—This broken-hearted, piano-based ballad is well sung and well produced, but never fires off any real sparks.

GARY ALLAN/Kiss Me When I’m Down
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; MCA Nashville
—She’s leaving, abandoning various artifacts in her wake, just so he’ll have to call her to come back and retrieve them. As usual, his delivery is gripping. But I don’t know that those strings are needed in the background.

JODY JENKINS/Boy’s Night Out
Writer: Bart Butler/Shane Minor; Producer: Bart Butler, Jody Jenkins & Bobby Jenkins; Publisher: Bill Butler, BMI; Zone 7 (210-498-7908)
—An attempted redneck bopper that can’t seem to make up its mind exactly what tempo it is in.

CRAIG MORGAN/Still a Little Chicken Left On That Bone
Writer: Skip Black/Ken Johnson/Brian Dean Maher; Producer: Phil O’Connell & Craig Morgan; Publisher: Sony-ATV Tree/Southside Independent/Reactive Combustion/Tunes of Bigger Picture, BMI/SESAC/ASCAP; BNA
—The boy can sure ‘nuff sing. On this romper, he’s crowing about sticking to your guns and never yelling “uncle” until it is really and truly over. Sizzling and spicy.

LADY ANTEBELLUM/Hello World
Writer: Tom Douglas/Tony Lane/David Lee; Producer: Paul Worley & Lady Antebellum; Publisher: Sony-ATV/Tomdouglasmusic/Ed and Lucille/Universal-Careers, ASCAP/BMI; Capitol Nashville (track)
—The fourth single from the stellar Need You Now CD is a showcase for the extraordinarily evocative voice of Charles Kelley. It is a ballad that floats on a lovely sonic bed of strings and heartbeat bass. A lyric for family men everywhere and a sound to swoon over.

THE SECRET SISTERS/I’ve Got A Feeling
Writer: none listed; Producer: Dave Cobb; Publisher: none listed; Beladroit (track) (www.secretsisterband.com)
—Beladroit is T Bone Burnett’s new UMG-distributed label. So it should come as no surprise that this duo has a charmingly rootsy, retro sound. The lively ditty comes on like a simple, innocent, ‘50s senior-prom tune.

KEN MELLONS/Tennessee Ridge Runner
Writer: Ken Mellons/Larry Alderman/Chris Myers; Producer: Ken Mellons & Joe Caverlee; Publisher: none listed; Jukebox Junkie (track) (www.kenmellons.net)
—Like Joe Diffie, Patty Loveless and Marty Raybon before him, Ken is taking a left turn from country to bluegrass. The “Jukebox Junkie” man drawls his way through this toe tapper while banjo, Dobro, mandolin and fiddle notes scamper all around him. Highly listenable.

THE JUDDS/I Will Stand By You
Writer: Robert Ellis Orrall/Angelo Petraglia/Steve Lee Olsen; Producer: Don Potter; Publisher: Ten Ten/Orrall Fixation/Slanky Dank/Bug/Songs of Windswept Pacific/Roots Three/Purple Cape, ASCAP/BMI; Curb
—I expected a return to this team’s folkie/acoustic past. Instead, this finale Judds single is a solid, pumping rocker with loads of “bottom” in its sound. A refreshing change of pace and an unmistakably hooky, hit song.

CHRISTY SUTHERLAND/Diggin’ Ditches
Writer: Rich Alves/John Colgin/Christy Sutherland; Producer: Bubba Smith; Publisher: Big Hitmakers/Rainy Graham/Dunwoody/Mattmoosic/Gaither, ASCAP/BMI; New Day (track) (www.christysutherland.net)
—This former Giant and Epic artist has reinvented herself as an award-winning Christian-country stylist. This bluesy outing shows she has lost nothing as a supremely confident singer. Groove soaked.

LORETTA LYNN, SHERYL CROW & MIRANDA LAMBERT/Coal Miner’s Daughter
Writer: Loretta Lynn; Producer: Patsy Lynn Russell & John Carter Cash; Publisher: Sure-Fire, BMI; Columbia
—Loretta kicks off this remake of her signature song with pierced-arrow precision. We should all sound so good at 75. She has retained an astoundingly flawless tone. In fact, it’s all that  Sheryl and Miranda can do to keep up. Each takes turns on the lyric, then all three harmonize and send the thing straight to hillbilly heaven.

Appraising The Strategic Value of Airplay For Indie Artists

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Tom Baldrica

According to conventional wisdom and recent CMA research studies, radio remains a dominant force in shaping the country star constellation. Last year’s CMA study showed that 79% of country fans 18-54 listen to country radio. (The next largest category was 54% that visit the web once or more per month to find country music content.) More recent research has also shown that for country fans, broadcast radio (am/fm) continues to be the “No. 1 source of awareness for new music/artists and news.”

Recognizing radio’s importance as an exposure medium, it is no surprise that new, developing and established country artists place a premium on radio promotion to help move their music up the charts. With the added recognition conveyed by better chart positions and airplay, artists hope to reap benefits in the form of record, ticket and merchandise sales. But what exactly is the correlation between chart position, airplay, promotion costs and return on investment (ROI)? As our graph shows, there is little practical difference in weekly spins per station between No. 50 (7 spins) and No. 30 on the chart (12 spins).

“Over the last couple of years you start to feel some response around the Top 15,” says industry veteran Tom Baldrica who recently served as Sony Nashville VP Marketing. Baldrica was integral in artist development, new media and more for the label, plus previously headed its BNA Records Promotion team. “At that level on the radio side you can start to make a research impact and more importantly it places you in a position to start selling. But near the bottom of the chart, spins are one thing and audience impressions are another. If you look at a song at No. 50, 40 or 30, on any given station it’s being played less than two times a day and not being heard in daylight hours by any stretch of the imagination. Morning shows have the biggest cume. Mid-days are also very strong. Then there are afternoons and evenings where it drops off dramatically and finally overnights. So if you aren’t inside the Top 15 and in a rotation where your song is being heard 25-30 plus times a week at any particular radio station then the odds of people hearing it are slim and none. I’ve always thought of it as a Top 15 game and it could be even more of a Top 10 game right now for real volume.”

So what is Baldrica’s advice for indie artists? “You’re out of your mind to play the national chart game as an independent,” says Baldrica. “What you should be doing as an independent is looking regionally. If you’ve got a radio station playing your record then build around that airplay and get a network of stations within that little geographical area to play it. Folks in this game on the indie side don’t have the major label resources, the major label promo team and the major label leverage so they are better off building little fires. Build the opportunity to go into a region and be able to perform, get some airplay, sell some downloads and/or physical product and then return a few months later. Hopefully, if you are a good entertainer people will want to see you and bring a friend. You’ll double your crowd then double it again and again over time. That’s the way to chase it. The national charts thing is like trying to put a bunch of seeds on a large amount of acreage by yourself. You’re not going to get a lot of plants to grow. But if you focus on a small part of the garden, then nurture and water, some plants might start to grow.”

(Baldrica can be reached at [email protected])

CMA Songwriter Series Returns To Nashville

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After a string of sold out shows in New York City, the popular CMA Songwriters Series will return to Nashville on Tuesday, Nov. 9 (10:00 PM/CT) at Limelight, as part of the festivities leading up to The 44th Annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 10.

Featuring RCA Nashville artist Chris Young (“Getting You Home,” “Drinkin’ Me Lonely”), the CMA Songwriters Series allows music fans insight into the stories behind some of their favorite songs. 2010 has been a banner year for Young, who earned his second consecutive No. 1 single and his very first CMA Award nomination for New Artist of the Year.

Joining Young will be Brett James (“The Man I Want To Be” recorded by Young, “Jesus, Take the Wheel” recorded by Carrie Underwood, and “When the Sun Goes Down” recorded by Kenny Chesney), Rivers Rutherford (“Real Good Man” recorded by Tim McGraw, “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You” recorded by Brooks & Dunn, and “When I Get Where I’m Going” recorded by Brad Paisley), and Craig Wiseman (“Hillbilly Bone” recorded by Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins, “Live Like You Were You Dying” recorded by Tim McGraw, and “She’s Got It All” recorded by Kenny Chesney).

“I’m really excited to be a part of such a great line-up of songwriters,”  Young said. “It will be extra special to be on stage with Brett James, the co-writer of my second No. 1, ‘The Man I Want To Be,’ and Craig Wiseman, one of my co-writers on my current single, ‘Voices.’ This is going to be a great night of music.”

Tickets for the Nov. 9 CMA Songwriters Series are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and will go on sale Friday, Sept. 24 at www.limelightnashville.com. Limelight is located at 201 Woodland St., Nashville, TN  37213.

The 44th Annual CMA Awards will air live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. on Wednesday, Nov. 10 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET on the ABC Television Network.