DISClaimer (4/24/09)
The soul sisters rule in today’s Christian-music column.
The presence of legends such as The Lewis Family and The Easter Brothers, plus the ultra-popular Chris Tomlin, cannot dim the shining stars of Mary Mary and Music City’s own Mandisa. To the last-named we offer a Disc of the Day award.
We hope your Gospel Music Week is a dandy celebration.
MARY MARY/God In Me
Writer: Warryn Campbell/Erica Campbell/Tina Campbell; Producer: Warryn Campbell; Publisher: EMI April/Wet Ink Red/That’s Plum/It’s Tea Tyme, ASCAP; Columbia (track)
—I love this R&B duo. These ladies have been locked in the top-10 on both the CCM and Gospel charts for two months with their The Sound CD. This new single features the team being joined by hip hopper Kierra “Kiki” Sheard, who has her own solo hit, “Praise Him Now.” The beats and raps here are the equals of anything on the mainstream charts. “God in Me” is the follow up to Mary Mary’s more melodic hit “Get Up.” One clever audio devise is a deep radio voice announcing, “You’re listening to The Sound” in between the album’s tracks.
CHRIS TOMLIN/I Will Rise
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Sixsteps/Sparrow/EMI CMG (track)
—Tomlin won at last night’s (4/23) Dove Awards for his contributions to Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song and Special Event Album, and his Hello Love album is selling like hotcakes. Currently No. 2 on the CCM chart, it is bound to pick up even more steam as this new, yearning ballad gets more and more spins. The sweet tenor vocal is backed by a chiming piano and billowing strings.
MANDISA/My Deliverer
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Sparrow/EMI CMG
—This Nashville resident and Fisk graduate rose to fame on
American Idol in 2006. A year later, the Christian community threw its arms open wide for her debut album, True Beauty. Last year, she issued a sterling Christmas collection. Freedom was issued last month, and this is its jubilant, sunshiny debut single. The uptempo bopper is presently chugging its way up the charts toward the top 10, and deservedly so. She sings her face off, and the track rocks. This is the sound of stardom.
JEFF & SHERI EASTER, LEWIS FAMILY & EASTER BROTHERS/They’re Holding Up The Ladder
Writer: Russell Easter/James Easter/Edd Easter; Producer: Jeff & Sheri Easter; Publisher: EBEA, BMI; Daywind (track) (www.jeffandsherieaster.com)
—My introduction to bluegrass gospel was the wildly entertaining Lewis Family, and this song was/is my favorite of theirs. I didn’t know it was an Easter Brothers song until just now. So here’s the deal: Jeff Easter is the son of James Easter, and his wife Sheri is the daughter of Polly Lewis. We Are Family is an album that celebrates and combines the clans. I grinned from ear-to-ear at its sublimely country sound.
CHRISTY SUTHERLAND/You Can Get There from Here
Writer: Kyle Matthews/Christy Sutherland; Producer: Christy Sutherland; Publisher: Universal/Cumberland Belle/Mattmoosic/Country Drive, ASCAP/BMI; CS (track) (www.christysutherland.net)
—Christy was previously noted on Music Row as a country artist for Sony and Giant. Since her marriage to Matt Dudney, she has charted a new course. With Matt managing, she has been making inroads as a Christian artist with a 2008 Christmas project and two self-produced EPs, You Call Me Yours and You Can Get There from Here. On the title tune to the last-named, she sings soulfully of surviving adversity, picking yourself up after a fall and looking to brighter days. Considering her musical history, I have to think this is more than a little autobiographical. The piano work, guitar playing and other instrumental work here is sterling, but it’s her strong, true singing voice that commands your attention. For those of you needing a nudge, Matt is the son of Ken Dudney and Barbara Mandrell, both of whom are duly thanked in the liner notes.
Superstar trio Rascal Flatts will perform a private concert at the BIGWish Silver Anniversary Gala celebration benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The May 9 event on the 50-yard line of the famed Ohio Stadium at The Ohio State University is expected to draw more than 800 guests from the tri-state area and raise $1 million. Several volunteers and supporters will make the trip to Columbus, according to Executive Director Juli Miller. According to Miller, the Indiana Region, which merged with the Greater Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana Chapter in 2005, grants approximately 260 wishes annually. Guests will enjoy a gourmet dinner, a spectacular auction featuring priceless “grown up” wish experiences: playing a round of golf with Jack Nicklaus, sitting among the stars at the 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, driving a Formula One race car in Barcelona, Spain, and other unique packages. Major sponsors include Fifth Third Bank, Kahiki Foods, Kokosing, Medical Mutual of Ohio, NetJets and Trane Commercial Systems. Corporate sponsorships and tickets to the BIGWish Gala are still available. Individual tickets are available for $400 each; tables are available for $3,000-$10,000. Volunteers are needed May 2-8 for load in and set-up and load out and clean-up May 10-12. To learn more, call (877) 206-WISH or click 
“It’s been an amazing run with Tim and I wish him nothing but the best,” said RPM Management’s Scott Siman, commenting on the departure of Tim McGraw from his RPM Management roster. “While it is a disappointment that we weren’t able to re-sign Tim, we are excited about rebuilding the roster of clients and the great things happening at RPM Music Group.” In addition to McGraw, RPM has previously represented such acts as Jessica Andrews, Billy Gilman, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Julianne Hough. RPM Music has had a string of major publishing hits over the last five years and is currently riding the charts with Montgomery Gentry’s “One in Every Crowd.”
Show Dog artist and longtime member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, Mac McAnally has pledged to donate all his artist royalties from his debut single, “You First,” to the Wounded Warriors Project, whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors. The commitment to helping wounded soldiers fits well with the song’s theme of brotherly love. The single, which is available through all digital music retailers, is a prelude to a full album expected to be completed in June as McAnally works recording into his touring schedule. McAnally is also well known as a successful songwriter. He wrote the recent No. 1 hit “Down The Road,” which he recorded as a duet with country superstar Kenny Chesney.
“The Writers Share,” a new quarterly songwriter/artist series being launched at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe, will debut June 18 at 9:00 PM and will benefit cancer research. Hosted by singer/songwriter Jen Foster, the series will feature acclaimed songwriters and artists of all genres, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the T.J. Martell Foundation and their support of the Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at Nashville’s Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. The first of the Writers Share shows will feature Grammy Award winner Richard Marx; Grammy Award winner and Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame member Mike Reid; ACM Song of the Year Award winner Chuck Cannon and his wife, three-time Grammy winner and platinum-selling producer, Lari White. They will all join Foster in launching the series. With the songwriters and artists donating their talent and time, The Writers Share’s mission is to raise funds and awareness for cancer research with the hope of finding cures for these diseases. Tickets go on sale May 18. For more information, click 
Country singer Vern Gosdin, whose hit songs include classics like “Chiseled In Stone,” “Do You Believe Me Now” and “Set ’em Up Joe,” died last night (4/28) in a Nashville hospital. He was 74. He had recently suffered a stroke. Gosdin grew up in rural Woodland, Alabama, and, after a start in bluegrass on the west coast, forming the Gosdin Brothers with his brothers Rex and Ray. The band was there for the birth of country rock, and Gosdin went on to play with The Byrds’ Chris Hillman and Gene Clark. Moving to Nashville in the late ‘70s, Gosdin quickly grew into one of country music’s very best honky tonk singers. Tammy Wynette referred to him as “the only other singer who can hold a candle to George Jones,” and he acquired the nickname, “The Voice.” In 1989, his recording of “Chiseled in Stone” was named the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year. A public visitation for Gosdin will be held Saturday, May 2, at Mt. Olivet Funeral Home, 1101 Lebanon Road, from noon until 4 PM. Funeral services will be private, but a public memorial service will be planned for a later time.
Clear Channel has followed up its layoffs from last January with another round of cuts, eliminating 590 more jobs, many of them in the areas of programming, IT, engineering, and back-office, though a number of on-air positions were eliminated as well. When combined with the approximately 1,850 people who lost their jobs in January, it brings the total to about 2,400, or around 12 percent of the company’s workforce. Additionally, Clear Channel has suspended 401(k) matching for now, but it may be restored retroactively if the company’s projected budget goals are met.
The Tenth Anniversary celebration of the T.J. Martell Foundation’s Best Cellars Dinner on Monday (4/27), was a great success, raising $160,000 for cancer research at the Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at Nashville’s Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. The event, presented by Eco-Energy Inc., is one of the Foundation’s signature events and is known for pairing Best Sellers (country music’s top selling artists and other celebrities) with Best Cellars (Nashville’s top wine collectors) and an extraordinary gourmet meal prepared by a world renown guest chef. Martina McBride, Jamey Johnson, Amy Grant, Jay DeMarcus, Heidi Newfield, Chynna Phillips, Billy Baldwin, Big Kenny, Kellie Pickler, Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook, Michelle Branch, Jake Owen, Sara Buxton and Tennessee Titans Mike Heimerdinger were in attendance to celebrate the Foundation’s milestone. Guest chef Dean Fearing, chef/partner of Fearing’s at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, created a spectacular menu which was paired with a selection of wines from top wine collectors of Nashville and beyond. Big Kenny Alphin, along with wine host Tom Black, conducted a live auction that raised $94,000 by auctioning off dinners in the private homes of Alphin and LeAnn Rimes. Country artist Jamey Johnson also got into the auction spirit by offering his presence at a dinner in the home of wine host Eliza Kraft Olander of Raleigh, North Carolina. Additional items included a trip to New York for the US Open Tennis Championship as well as the Best Cellars Collection of thirteen bottles of wine – a bottle donated by each of the participating wine hosts.