Radio Promotions Veteran Jan Woods Dies

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Jan Woods

Independent radio promotions veteran Jan Woods passed away at her home in Hermitage, Tennessee on Thursday, July 20. Woods was the Owner of Jan Woods Promotions, whose primary focus is the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart, Billboard‘s Indicator and secondary markets.

With over two decades of experience, Woods worked with dozens of artists throughout her career, including Billy Ray Cyrus, Dolly Parton, Toby Keith, The Bellamy Brothers, Joe Nichols, George Jones and more.

She started her radio promotion career in 1994 with the launch of Jan Woods Promotions. Focusing her efforts on making friends in the music business, many of her colleagues remembering her for her humor and love of God. Woods worked the MusicRow Chart and Billboard Indicator chart, knowing that most independent artists would have their best radio shot starting with those starter charts.

Her charming temperament and passion for music served Woods well. Her office was adorned with multiple Gold and Platinum plaques for her success at country radio.

Woods is survived by her daughter Christina (Jeff) Bear and son Chris (Cathy) O’Guin; grandchildren Brittany Bear, Hope Bear, Faith Bear, Christopher O’Guin and Carly O’Guin; and great-grandchildren Cooper Cancel and Scarlett O’Guin.

Woods’ visitation will be at Cole and Garrett Funeral Home in Goodlettsville, Tennessee on Friday, July 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A service will follow. She will be laid to rest at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Goodlettsville.

Country Music Hall Of Famer Jerry Bradley Passes

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Jerry Bradley. Photo: Tony Brown’s book Elvis, Strait to Jesus; courtesy of Melissa Core and Rick Caballo of Dead Horse Branding

Music industry titan and Country Music Hall of Fame member Jerry Bradley has passed away at age 83. He died peacefully on Monday (July 17) in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.

His 40 years of success in the record and publishing industries are unique in the Nashville music business community.

Jerry Bradley and the CMHOF’s Kyle Young at Bradley’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

As part of what is known as “The First Family of Music Row,” Jerry was the son of Nashville sound architect Owen Bradley as well as the nephew of the renowned A-Team guitarist Harold Bradley, who were both in the Hall of Fame. His late wife was the iconic Connie Bradley, who led ASCAP for three decades.

Other members of the Bradley dynasty include Jerry’s sister, longtime BMI executive Patsy Bradley, and his son, current BMI Nashville VP of Creative Clay Bradley, as well as other family members who made an impact on the music business.

Jerry Owen Bradley was born in Nashville on January 30, 1940. He was a practical jokester in his youth. When he decided to follow his dad and uncle Harold’s footsteps into the music business, after two years in the army, Jerry started working with his family’s music publishing company, Forrest Hills Music. He also started learning to engineer and produce records in his dad’s studio, Bradley’s Barn, after it was built in 1965.

Learning from his father, Jerry watched and often contributed to sessions with artists like Webb Pierce, Loretta Lynn, Brenda Lee, Gordon Lightfoot and more.

Jerry and Connie Bradley. Photo: Donn Jones/CMA

Coming up in the music business as Owen Bradley’s son made Jerry ache for a shot at building his own reputation. In order to make a name for himself, Jerry asked Head of RCA Nashville Chet Atkins—who was ironically Owen’s competition at the time—for a job.

Jerry came on as an assistant for Atkins in 1970, but soon found himself behind the sound board as a staff producer. A few short years later Jerry became Head of RCA Nashville in 1973.

If making a mark for himself was what Jerry yearned for, he did that and more. With Jerry at the helm from 1973 to 1983, RCA Nashville experienced its famed success with country hitmakers Alabama, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride and many more. The label was heralded Label of the Year by Billboard for ten consecutive years, and launched the careers of some of country music’s most legendary stars.

“When my daddy died, my mother told me he was proud of me. He never said that but he told her that. That touches me,” Jerry told MusicRow in a 2021 interview about his family’s legacy.

One of Jerry’s early signings was Alabama, a family band from Fort Payne, Alabama. Jerry helped design the artwork for their first RCA Nashville album My Home’s in Alabama, and started their iconic trademark of Alabama spelled with a capital “A” at both the beginning and ending of the word. The now Country Music Hall of Fame members would go on to celebrate multiple Platinum and multi-Platinum albums.

Jerry Bradley and Charley Pride attend the 2019 Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Another stunning success of Jerry’s was his work with Ronnie Milsap, who recorded 35 No. 1 hits for RCA Nashville. Jerry produced many of Milsap’s hits, with publisher Tom Collins co-producing some as well.

He made history while working with Charley Pride, who became one of country music’s first Black superstars. Pride recorded hits such as “Someone Loves You Honey,” “Burgers and Fries” and “Where Do I Put Her Memory” under Jerry’s supervision.

During his time at RCA, Jerry was also the force behind the renowned 1976 album, Wanted: The Outlaws, from Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser. He was meticulously involved in the imagery for the project, modeling the cover after a vintage, western wanted poster. The album became the very first country album to achieve Platinum status.

Like his father and uncle Harold, Jerry was very involved in the success of the Music Row community. He was President of the Country Music Association in 1974-1975, and was heavily involved in CMA’s annual Fan Fair (now CMA Fest).

Jerry was also known as a prankster on Music Row. Some of the many pranks he pulled were sticking spoons to his face during formal industry events while speeches were being given, and sneakily planting corn in the yards of his colleagues’ offices.

Connie and Jerry Bradley with Harold and Patsy Bradley at the Owen Bradley statue on Music Row. Photo: Courtesy of Jerry Bradley

“When country music was taking off in the Garth Brooks era, Soundscan came out and all of the sudden country music was selling more than anything else, dad grabbed me one day on a Sunday and we went and planted corn in everybody’s front lot,” Jerry’s son Clay remembers. “In about three weeks they all had corn stalks growing.”

“I took Kenny Chesney on his first ride up 16th Avenue going the wrong way telling him I was checking the corn stalks. He didn’t know what the hell I was talking about until we got up the street,” Jerry admitted.

Jerry married the late ASCAP executive, Connie Bradley, in 1979. The two were married for nearly 43 years, until Connie unexpectedly died in March of 2021. There’s no doubt the two were the ultimate Music Row power couple.

From another marriage, Jerry had two children, Leigh Jankiv and Clay Bradley, who also went on to work in the business. Jerry’s cousin Bobby Bradley Jr. is also a noted recording-studio engineer. Bobby got his start at Bradley’s Barn, and went on to work with Johnny Cash, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Marty Stuart, Tammy Wynette, Trisha Yearwood and more at many different studios.

Jerry left RCA Nashville in 1983 and stepped into leading Opryland Music Group, which owned all the Acuff-Rose publishing catalogs. Opryland Music Group became the first Nashville publishing company to win ASCAP and BMI Song of the Year honors in 1990. Acuff-Rose has been a steady earner because of its catalog of old songs, which included the classics of Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, Don Gibson, John D. Loudermilk, the Everly Brothers and Dallas Frazier. With a fire in his belly to elevate the company, Jerry went to work acquiring new staff, song pluggers and hit songwriters such as Dean Dillon, Casey Beathard and Kenny Chesney. Soon the Opryland Music Group was battling with the multinational corporate giants like Warner Chappell, EMI, Polygram Music and BMG.

Jerry Bradley. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Jerry retired from the music business in 2003. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019 for his incredible impact on Music Row. Jerry has mentored such successful music industry professionals as his son Clay Bradley, Troy Tomlinson and Joe Galante.

“I never lost the fact that it was fun,” Jerry shared. “I had fun.”

Jerry Bradley is predeceased by his parents Owen Bradley and Katherine Bradley; his uncles Harold Bradley, Charlie Bradley and Bobby Bradley; his aunt Ruby Strange; his wife Connie Bradley; and the mother of his two children, Gwynn Hastings Kellam.

He is survived by his sister Patsy Bradley; his children Leigh Jankiv (Rob LeBlanc) and Clay Bradley (Sara); his grandchildren Josh Jankiv (Ashley), Eli Jankiv, Emma Jankiv (Matt Acott), John Bradley and Lillian Grace Bradley; and his five great grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Cedar Creek Yacht Club on Sept. 10 at 4 p.m. This is the place Jerry enjoyed the most. He was a 60-year member and he spent his time on Old Hickory Lake with his family and friends on the “STUDIO A” houseboat.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please make a donation to Music Health Alliance.

Entertainment Attorney Ralph Gordon Passes

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Ralph Gordon

Longtime Music Row attorney Ralph Gordon passed away peacefully at his home in Nashville on June 30.

Born on Aug. 1, 1938 in Nashville, Gordon graduated from West High School and earned his B.S. from the University of Tennessee and his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Gordon became a well-respected entertainment attorney in Nashville, with numerous clients including George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, Johnny Paycheck, Lee Greenwood, Tim McGraw, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mel Tillis, Mickey Gilley, comedian Rodney Carrington and many more.

In addition to his law practice, Gordon was also an avid golfer and an enthusiastic fan of the Tennessee Volunteers and Titans. He enjoyed traveling and tinkering with computers and electronics.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Phyllis; son Rusty (Miki); grandchildren Echo, Kyomi and Anderson of Fairview, Tennessee; son Brad (Rebecca); grandchildren Jack, Sam and Charlotte of Marion, Massachusetts; and his sister Alda Rae McAdams (Robert S.) of Nashville.

The family held a private burial service at Temple Micah in Brentwood, Tennessee. Memorial contributions may be made to Alive Hospice, Congregation Micah or any charity of choice.

Nashville Audio Engineer Duane Tabinski Dies At NASCAR Race In Chicago

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Duane Tabinski, the founder of the Nashville-based production company DUANE, died while working at the NASCAR Chicago Street Race on Friday (June 30). He was 53.

According to a release, Tabinski was deploying his original TracPac systems in front of the grandstands when he was electrocuted. Local paramedics tried to revive him but were unsuccessful.

Tabinski spent over 30 years producing live events specializing in audio, video, lighting and staging. His clients include artists such as Toby Keith, Old Crow Live, ZZ Top, Boston, Bob Dylan and Katy Perry. Most recently, Tabinski worked CMA Fest 2023. He was set to work on more NASCAR events in the future.

Tabinski’s team at DUANE carried on with their responsibilities for the event in his honor.

Tabinski is survived by his loving wife, Kristin, who supported his business and travel, and his three kids, seven grandchildren, and nine siblings. Originally from Elmwood, Winnipeg, Nashville has been his home since 2011.

A tribute page and memorial information will be posted on DUANE’s website.

Entertainment Attorney Terri Nolan Passes

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Terri Nolan

Entertainment attorney Terri Nolan passed away on June 20 after a long battle with cancer. She was 46.

Nolan most recently practiced law in Loeb & Loeb’s Nashville office.

Terri Lynn Nolan (McElrone) was born on Jan. 5, 1977, in Wilmington, Delaware. She was passionate about country music while growing up, often traveling to Nashville. After forming friendships with songwriters in Music City, Nolan eventually quit her job in banking to combine her passion for music with her dream of being a lawyer.

Nolan graduated from Wilmington University in 2007. She and her husband, Kevin, then moved to New Hampshire so that she could study intellectual property law at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. With a degree from UNH, Nolan moved to Nashville.

She became an in-house legal counsel for Capitol Christian Music Group. After eight years at CCMG, Nolan joined Loeb & Loeb in 2020.

Nolan was known for her love of ’80s hair bands and country music, particularly that of Garth Brooks, who became a friend through her work. She was also a lover of shoes and bourbon.

Terri Nolan is preceded in death by her father, Raymond Lyons. She is survived by her loving husband, Kevin Nolan; her mother Maryellen Lyons (McElrone); her brother, Ray Lyons and his wife, Shyla; her sister Shellie Lyons; her in-laws, Rob and Deb Furness and Richard and Ellen Nolan; her sister-in-law, Kristen Nolan; and her nieces and nephews.

A memorial service for Nolan took place at Smith Family Funeral Home on June 24.

Bluegrass Superstar Bobby Osborne Dies At Age 91

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Bobby Osborne. Photo: Stacie Huckeba

Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member Bobby Osborne died today (June 27) at age 91.

The Opry confirmed his death. Opry VP/Executive Producer, Dan Rogers, shared, “Bobby Osborne was among the last of his generation of bluegrass pioneers. What a profound loss for the Opry family and bluegrass music fans around the world. Mr. Osborne’s legacy will live forever on this stage we love and wherever his style is emulated. Thank you to Bobby Osborne for more than 70 years of music and memories.”

Bobby Osborne. Photo: Les Leverett, Courtesy of Grand Ole Opry Archives

Even into his 90s, the tenor singer and mandolin player performed regularly on the Grand Ole Opry with his band The Rocky Top X-Press.

Robert Van Osborne Jr. was born in Kentucky in 1931 and grew up in the Dayton, Ohio area. He was inspired to become a bluegrass singer after seeing a show by Bill Monroe & The Blue Grass Boys in 1947. He began performing on WPFB in Middletown, Ohio two years later.

He spent several seasons with The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, then graduated to Jimmy Martin’s band. Following a brief stint with The Stanley Brothers, Bobby Osborne joined the Marines for combat duty in Korea. He was wounded and was discharged in 1953.

At this point, he joined forces with younger brother Sonny Osborne (1937-2021). They honed their skills working for Jimmy Martin, Charlie Bailey and Red Allen. The bluegrass classic “Once More” was recorded by Allen with the Osbornes in 1958.

The Osborne Brothers recorded on their own for RCA and MGM during this period. From the start, the act’s calling card was Bobby’s sky-high tenor lead singing. In fact, Monroe once said that there were only three great tenors in country music — himself, Ira Louvin and Bobby Osborne.

Brother Sonny soon garnered industry recognition for his cutting-edge approach to banjo playing and for arranging the group’s complex harmony vocals. Around 1963, Sonny made contact with Doyle Wilburn of Nashville’s hit-making Wilburn Brothers. Wilburn got the brothers a contract with Decca Records, arranged for them to join the Grand Ole Opry (1964) and signed them for publishing and booking.

The Osborne Brothers. Photo: Les Leverett, Courtesy of Grand Ole Opry Archives

This coincided with the modernization of the band. Sonny electrified his banjo, and the act added drums and electric bass to The Osborne Brothers sound. As a result, the group scored hits on the country hit parade and toured with mainstream pop and country acts.

Their charted favorites included “Roll Muddy River” (1967), “Rocky Top” (1968), “Tennessee Hound Dog” (1969), “Ruby Are You Mad” (1970), “Midnight Flyer” (1973), “Blue Heartache” (1973) and “I Can Hear Kentucky Calling Me” (1980).

“Rocky Top” was named one of the state songs of Tennessee in 1982. It is performed in Knoxville every time the University of Tennessee Vols score a football touchdown. In 1992, the Osbornes’ rendition of the Karl & Harty classic “Kentucky” led to a similar honor from the Blue Grass State.

By then, the Osbornes had ditched electrified instruments and reverted to acoustic bluegrass. They recorded for labels such as CMH, Sugar Hill and Pinecastle.

The Osbornes were also recruited to play on records by others. They have backed Conway Twitty, Carl Smith, Charley Pride, Wade Ray, Jethro Burns and Mac Wiseman. They also collaborated with jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton.

Bobby Osborne. Photo: Chris Hollo, Courtesy of Grand Ole Opry Archives

The brothers mentored such future stars as The Grascals and Dale Ann Bradley. They also performed with the 1997 bluegrass/hip-hop fusion act The GrooveGrass Boyz.

Bobby’s mandolin performance of “Ashokan Farewell” appeared on the all-star Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza album, which won the IBMA Instrumental Album and Recorded Event awards in 2000.

The Osborne Brothers are believed to be the first bluegrass act to play on a college campus (1960) and to be invited to perform at The White House (1973). They were elected to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and were presented with a National Heritage award by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1997.

Brother Sonny Osborne underwent rotator-cuff surgery, which caused him to quit playing and to retire from the road in 2004. This is when Bobby formed The Rocky Top X-Press and became a solo Opry star. He was joined in the new group by his guitarist son Bobby Osborne III.

The new band recorded for Rounder and Compass. In 2021, Osborne had a late-career bluegrass hit with a version of Merle Haggard’s “White Line Fever.”

Sonny Osborne passed away in October of 2021 at age 83.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

Bluegrass Great Jesse McReynolds Passes Away

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Jesse McReynolds. Photo: Courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry archives

Bluegrass Hall of Fame inductee Jesse McReynolds, the oldest cast member of the Grand Ole Opry, has died at age 93.

Jesse & Jim McReynolds. Photo: Courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry archives

He was noted for his revolutionary, complex “crosspicking” style of mandolin playing as well as for his years of recording and performing in the star brother duo Jim & Jesse. His guitarist-singer older brother Jim McReynolds was born in 1927 and died on New Year’s Eve in 2002.

Jesse McReynolds was born July 9, 1929 near Coburn, Virginia. Jim & Jesse’s grandfather was fiddler Charlie McReynolds, who recorded as a member of The Bull Mountain Moonshiners at the famed 1927 Bristol Sessions where Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family were discovered. Their coal-miner father, Claude, was also a fiddler. Mother Savannah played guitar, banjo and harmonica and taught them to sing gospel songs in harmony.

The brothers established their performing partnership in 1947, following Jim’s hitch in the Army. They began their broadcasting career on WNVA in Norton, Virginia. During the next few years, they held radio jobs in Johnson City, Tennessee; Lexington, Kentucky; Charleston, West Virginia; Augusta, Georgia; Waterloo, Iowa; Wichita, Kansas and other towns. During their first dozen years as professionals, Jim & Jesse performed on 14 radio stations in 10 different states. They had their first recording session in 1951.

Jesse & Jim McReynolds. Photo: Courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry archives

Following radio stints in Asheville, North Carolina and Versailles, Kentucky, Jim & Jesse were signed by Capitol Records and brought to Nashville to record in 1952. The fiddler on the sessions was James Loden, later to become Country Music Hall of Fame member Sonny James. The standout tune of these recordings was one of their trademark songs, “Are You Missing Me,” penned by The Louvin Brothers.

Jesse was drafted and entered the Army to serve in the Korean War. While he was home on leave in 1953, the brothers recorded “Air Mail Special,” “A Memory of You” and other tunes for Capitol.

With Jesse’s military service completed, the duo joined the cast of WWVA’s Wheeling Jamboree in 1955. But the team truly began to prosper the following year when the brothers moved to Florida. They broadcast for several years on WNER’s Swanee River Jamboree in Live Oak and became television stars with their own shows in Tallahassee and Pensacola. By the late 1950s, their programs were also being broadcast on TV in Montgomery, Alabama; Albany, Georgia; Dothan, Alabama and Jackson, Mississippi.

Jesse McReynolds, Ricky Skaggs, Jim McReynolds. Photo: Courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry archives

Jim & Jesse recorded for Starday Records in 1958, then signed with Columbia’s Epic Records division on Music Row in 1962. This is the label where their biggest hits occurred.

Bluegrass music gained popularity on the folk circuit during this era. Jim & Jesse performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963 and 1966.

On the strength of such high-profile engagements and the major-label contract, the Grand Ole Opry invited Jim & Jesse to become members of the show’s cast on March 2, 1964. Throughout their Opry tenure—and indeed, throughout their career—the McReynolds brothers were widely respected for their courtly manners and gentlemanly ways.

Four months after their Opry induction, Jim & Jesse’s first charted single was 1964’s “Cotton Mill Man,” which also became a signature song. “Better Times A-Comin’” followed it onto the charts as a top 40 hit in 1965. Their eyebrow-raising LP Berry Pickin’ in the Country was also released in 1965. It contained their bluegrass arrangements of Chuck Berry’s rock ’n’ roll classics.

This record typified their willingness to experiment. Jim & Jesse also dabbled in Latin, electric country, gospel, cowboy and other genres. In 1969, Jesse McReynolds played mandolin on The Doors rock LP The Soft Parade.

The brothers scored their biggest country hit with 1967’s “Diesel on My Tail.” Other memorable Epic recordings included versions of Robert Mitchum’s “Ballad of Thunder Road” (1967), Tom T. Hall’s “Greenwich Village Folk Song Salesman” (1968), Ray Pennington’s “Yonder Comes a Freight Train” (1968) and Hank Snow’s “Golden Rocket” (1970). They returned to Capitol and charted with Elizabeth Cotton’s folk classic “Freight Train” in 1971.

Jesse McReynolds. Photo: Courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry archives

Jim & Jesse veered into a harder-edged bluegrass sound in the 1970s. Their Virginia Boys band included such stellar alumni as Vassar Clements, Allen Shelton, Bobby Thompson, Carl Jackson, Vic Jordan, Glen Duncan, Randall Franks, Chick Stripling and Jimmy Buchanan. The group was wildly popular on the bluegrass-festival circuit for three decades.

The brothers launched their own syndicated TV series, The Jim & Jesse Show, in the early 1970s, They formed their own Old Dominion and Double J record labels and released a number of LPs, cassettes and CDs on these in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. In 1977, they created their own annual bluegrass festival and maintained it well into the 1980s.

They were nominated for a Grammy Award for the 1992 CD Music Among Friends. They were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1993. They received a National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1997.

The death of Jim McReynolds in 2002 marked the end of the 55-year run of the longest lasting brother duo in country history. Jim & Jesse were also notable for having the longest running fan club in the annals of country music.

Following his brother’s passing, Jesse McReynolds continued to tour, record and appear on the Opry. In 1990, he had been part of a recording and touring “supergroup” called The Masters that also included Josh Graves, Kenny Baker and Eddie Adcock. He created a new instrument called the mandolobro, which was tuned like a mandola and had a resonator-guitar body. It was featured on his CD Jesse McReynolds Introduces the Mandolobro.

His other solo albums included New Horizons (2004), Bending the Rules (2004), A Tribute to Brother Duets (with Charles Whitstein, 2005) and Dixie Road (2007). In 2010, he released a tribute album to the songs of The Grateful Dead.

He was variously dubbed “Mr. Mandolin” (for his innovative, virtuoso playing) and “The Ironman of Bluegrass” (for the 65+ years of his career). Solo and with his brother, Jesse McReynolds recorded more than 50 albums.

Jesse McReynolds was preceded in death by his parents, Claude Matthew McReynolds and Prudence Savannah Robinette McReynolds; loving first wife of 41 years, Darlene McReynolds; son, Keith McReynolds, brother, Jim McReynolds, sisters, Stella McReynolds and Virginia Greear and great grandson, Andrew Keith McReynolds.

He is survived by his loving second wife of 27 years, Joy Tipton McReynolds; daughter, Gwen McReynolds; sons, Michael K. McReynolds and Randy Q. McReynolds; eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Funeral Service will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 28 from the chapel of Alexander Funeral Home & Cremation Center with Brother James Bell and Randy McReynolds officiating. Entombment will follow in Sumner Memorial Gardens Mausoleum. Visitation will be Monday, June 26 from 4:00-8:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 27 from 2:00-8:00 p.m. and Wednesday, June 28 from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service.

Remembering Songwriting Great Cynthia Weil

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Cynthia Weil

Cynthia Weil, one of the greatest American song lyricists in history, died recently (June 1) in Los Angeles.

Renowned as the co-writer of such standards as “On Broadway,” “Somewhere Out There” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” Weil also co-wrote “Here You Come Again.” That song took Dolly Parton from country stardom to million-selling pop success in 1977. It was named BMI’s most-performed country song of the year.

The songwriter is also behind a half dozen other country classics. More than 30 country stars have recorded her works, a tally that exceeds those of many Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame members.

Weil is an inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as well as the national Songwriters Hall of Fame. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” is the most performed BMI song of the 20th century.

Cynthia Weil was a native New Yorker. She was trained as an actress and dancer, but she found her show-biz footing among the so-called “Brill Building” songwriters. They included such future stars as Neil Diamond, Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Paul Simon and Bobby Darin. Teamed with the group’s Barry Mann, she helped to create rock & roll songwriting.

In 1961 Mann and Weil penned “Bless You,” the first hit by Tony Orlando. They also married that year. In 1962, the collaborators scored a No. 3 country smash when Leroy Van Dyke recorded their song “If a Woman Answers (Hang Up the Phone).” They continued to have an impact on country music in the decades to come.

The team found its unified voice in such gritty urban tales as The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” Gene Pitney’s “Looking Through the Eyes of Love,” The Crystals’
“Uptown” and “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” The Vogues’ “Magic Town,” Jody Miller’s “Home of the Brave,” The Drifters’ “On Broadway” (revived by George Benson), Jay & The Americans’ “Only In America” and Paul Revere & The Raiders’ “Hungry.” These songs depicted working-class struggle and aspiration.

The early years of her songwriting career also included “Walking in the Rain” (The Ronettes), “I’m Gonna Be Strong” (Gene Pitney), “Blame It On the Bossa Nova” (Eydie Gorme), “My Dad” (Paul Peterson), “Soul and Inspiration” (The Righteous Brothers) and “Kicks” (Paul Revere & The Raiders). She became adept with intensely romantic lyrics such as “I Just Can’t Help Believin’” which was popularized by B.J. Thomas, Elvis Presley, David Rogers, David Frizzell, Ronnie Milsap and dozens of others in the 1970s.

Heartache laments were also in Weil’s wheelhouse. In 1974, Johnny Rodriguez had a top-10 country hit with “We’re Over,” and in 1978 Donna Fargo had top-10 country success with “Another Goodbye.” Martina McBride went to No. 1 on the country charts in 1998 with Weil’s co-written “Wrong Again.” “Here You Come Again” won Parton a country Grammy Award.

Linda Ronstadt memorably sang two of Weil’s works, 1989’s “Don’t Know Much” (with Aaron Neville) and “Somewhere Out There” (with James Ingram), which won the 1987 Grammy Award as Song of the Year. Lionel Richie was Weil’s songwriting collaborator on “Running With the Night” (1984) and “Love Will Conquer All” (1986). Massive pop songwriting success continued with “Just Once” (James Ingram), “He’s So Shy” (The Pointer Sisters), “Somewhere Down the Road’ (Barry Manilow) and “If Ever You’re In My Arms Again” (Peabo Bryson). B.J. Thomas returned to Weil’s catalog for 1972’s “Rock and Roll Lullaby.” All of this occurred after Mann and Weil relocated to the West Coast in the late 1960s.

The most prominent country versions of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” were recorded by Barbara Fairchild (1975) and by Kenny Rogers & Dottie West (1979). Cynthia Weil’s songs have also been sung by such country stars as Crystal Gayle, Lynn Anderson, Don Williams, Eddy Arnold, Debbie Boone, The Bellamy Brothers, Juice Newton, Marie Osmond, Vince Gill, Wynonna, Shelby Lynne, Billy Joe Royal, Glen Campbell, Kelly Lang, T.G. Sheppard, The Kendalls and Roy Clark.

Her Songwriters Hall of Fame induction was in 1987. Ten years later, Cynthia Weil was in the pop top 10 again with Hanson’s million-selling “I Will Come to You.” Induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame occurred in 2010. She has more than 30 BMI Awards.

The songwriter died at her home in Beverly Hills at age 82. No cause of death has been revealed. She is survived by husband Barry Mann, daughter Jenn Mann and two granddaughters. Dolly Parton participated via video at Weil’s memorial service in Los Angeles on Sunday (June 11).

Opry Photographer Les Leverett Dies At Age 96

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Les Leverett. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The most important photographer in the history of country music has passed away.

Les Leverett died in Nashville on Friday (June 2) at age 96. He was the staff photographer at the Grand Ole Opry for 32 years, archiving country music’s “golden age” on film. He was the man behind iconic images of Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Bill Monroe, Vince Gill and a myriad of their peers.

Roy Acuff and Les Leverett backstage in Acuff’s dressing room. Photo: Donnie Beauchamp, Courtesy of The Grand Ole Opry

His work has earned him a Grammy Award, prestigious exhibitions and distinction as a major provider of photos for such documentaries as Ken Burns’ PBS opus Country Music. His images have appeared in American Heritage, Country Weekly and many other periodicals, not to mention in annual Opry souvenir books for decades.

Born in 1927, Leverett grew up in Alabama. He served aboard a troop ship during World War II. After the war, he went to photography school in San Antonio on the G.I. Bill. This is when he became infatuated with country music. His wife Dot Vandiver was a Nashville native, and the couple moved to her hometown in 1950.

He initially worked as an advertising and portrait photographer in Music City. Between 1960 and 1992, he was the official photographer for the National Life insurance company and its affiliates WSM Radio, WSMV-TV and the Opry. He also rescued and preserved the photographic record of WSM’s founding years, 1925-50, after he discovered the company was throwing those images away. In addition, Leverett did stars’ publicity portraits, created album covers and documented celebrities at home.

His album covers include the theatrical image of Porter Wagoner on the jacket of 1966’s Confessions of a Broken Man. It earned him a Grammy Award. His 1972 cover for Dolly Parton’s LP Bubbling Over won him Billboard magazine’s award as its Country Album Cover of the Year. Leverett’s vivid photographs appear on more than 200 albums.

Garth Brooks, Kitty Wells, Gene Autry, Roy Acuff, Merle Haggard, Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, Ernest Tubb, Conway Twitty, Maybelle Carter, Emmylou Harris, George Strait, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, Waylon Jennings, k.d. lang, Marty Robbins, Hank Snow, Grandpa Jones, Minnie Pearl, Tex Ritter – it would be easier to name a country star he hasn’t photographed than those he has. Les Leverett was the official photographer for the TV series of both Johnny Cash and Marty Stuart.

A charming raconteur and lovably humble personality, Leverett was especially fond of bluegrass music. His archive includes many images of Flatt & Scruggs, The Whites, Jim & Jesse, Ralph Stanley and the like. In 2001, he was honored with a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA).

George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Photo: Les Leverett, Courtesy of The Grand Ole Opry

Les Leverett’s work is preserved in two books, Blue Moon of Kentucky (1996) and American Music Legends (2005). Daughter Libby Leverett-Crew published her memoir Saturday Nights with Daddy at the Opry in 2003, which also featured many of his images.

He was a writer of limericks and a talented artist who had a knack for drawing caricatures. He also had the lesser-known gifts of being able to write backwards and upside down. Les Leverett’s photo archive now resides at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

He is survived by his son, Gary Leverett, his daughter, Libby Leverett-Crew, son-in-law, Larry Crew, nine grandchildren and numerous great and great-great grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Spring Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery, 5110 Gallatin Pike South. Visitation will be on June 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. followed by a Celebration of Life service.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Second Harvest Food Bank, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Nashville Union Rescue Mission or a charity of your choice.

Porter Wagoner’s Confessions of a Broken Man. Photo: Les Leverett

Loretta Lynn. Photo: Les Leverett

Pictured (L-R): Minnie Pearl, Wilma Lee Cooper, Jan Howard, Skeeter Davis, June Carter and Kitty Wells. Photo: Les Leverett, Courtesy of The Grand Ole Opry

Patsy Cline. Photo: Les Leverett, Courtesy of The Grand Ole Opry

Grand Ole Opry cast in 1965. Photo: Les Leverett, Courtesy of The Grand Ole Opry

June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash. Photo: Les Leverett, Courtesy of The Grand Ole Opry

Dolly Parton. Photo: Les Leverett, Courtesy of The Grand Ole Opry

Jeannie Seely being photographed by Les Leverett. Photo: Dot Leverett, Courtesy of The Grand Ole Opry

Texas Music Journalist John Lomax IV Passes

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Journalist John Nova Lomax died on Monday (May 22) in Houston, Texas at age 53.

For more than two decades, he chronicled the music and lifestyles of the Lone Star State. He authored two books and was a senior editor at Texas Monthly in 2015-2019. He was at The Houston Press for a dozen years, 2000-2012 as both the music editor and staff writer. During this period, he became a mentor to aspiring music journalists. He also wrote for Texas Highways, Houstonia, Spin, The New York Times, The Village Voice and L.A. Weekly.

Nova was an authority on the culture of Houston. One of his books was Houston’s Best Dive Bars: Drinking & Diving in the Bayou City. The other was Murder & Mayhem in Houston (co-witten with Mike Vance). He authored a blog called “Sole of Houston,” which was about seeing his hometown on foot, mile by mile. This also ran as a Houston Press series. He was a regular contributor to the Texas Monthly radio program “Talk Like a Texan.”

He wrote vividly about everything from the downfall of country singer Doug Supernaw to the woes of the Houston Texans football team. He skills as a music writer were reflected in profiles about Johnny Nash, Bobby “Blue” Bland, blues guitarist Goree Carter and many other locals. He was also an eloquent food reporter. His 2007 story about Supernaw won ASCAP’s prestigious Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music writing.

Mimi Swartz of Texas Monthly wrote, “Lomax—and that’s what those who knew him best called him—was one of those writers who, if he was interested in something, could make you interested in it too. Some writers have good ideas but can’t execute; some writers are good enough with words but lack the singularity of vision that makes readers want to follow them anywhere. Lomax had both.”

John Nova Lomax was born in Houston in 1970, but was raised in Nashville. He is the son of noted Nashville journalist, artist manager, performer and author John Lomax III. His “big brothers” were Steve Earle and the late Townes Van Zandt, both of whom were managed by his father.

The Lomax family also includes his great-grandfather John Avery Lomax, the dean of American folklorists and the discoverer of Leadbelly. His grandfather, John II, managed John Lee Hooker and founded the Houston Folklore Society that launched Guy Clark, K.T. Oslin, Earle and more. Great uncle Alan Lomax guided the Library of Congress Archive of American Folksong, wrote prolifically and was a recording artist. Great aunt Bess Lomax Hawes became a leading authority on children’s folklore, a manager at the National Endowment for the Arts and co-wrote The Kingston Trio hit “M.T.A.”

Nova’s mother was Julia Plummer Taylor, known as Bidy. She became an alcoholic who lived on the streets of Nashville before she was struck and killed while trying to cross Interstate 40 in 1998.

Nova had returned to Houston to attend high school in 1985. He dropped out of the University of Texas in Austin and drifted professionally until his father offered him a writing job penning a liner-notes essay. He pursued writing full-time from 2001 onward.

John Nova Lomax struggled with alcoholism his entire life. He went through a recurring cycle of hospitalizations, recoveries and relapses. These accelerated as he got older, but he often hid his problems from loved ones. His liver and other organs began to fail last year, and he entered Intensive Care.

His father posted a final update on Monday. “After a long hard fight in which he defied all doctor’s predictions, John Nova Lomax passed away peacefully early this morning with his former wife, Kelly Graml, at his side,” John Lomax III wrote. “He was in no pain at the end and slipped peacefully away to another realm.”

The medical bills are significant. There is a GoFundMe account. The family plans to distribute any remaining funds after funeral expenses and medical bills to Nova’s children, John Henry and Harriet Rose. He is also survived by his sister, Mandy, a Nashville visual artist.

John Lomax III says they plan to have a quiet family service for his gifted son, followed at some point by a memorial celebration with music. The family is also hoping to put out a book of Nova’s writings.