Music Business Veteran Laurie Lynn Larson Passes

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Laurie Lynn Larson.

Laurie Lynn Larson passed away on March 2 of sudden complications of a recurrence with Ovarian/Peritoneal cancer at the age of 60.

Born and raised in Littleton, Colorado, she became a fan of country music and singer songwriters as a teen. She moved to Nashville in 1983 where she studied Sales and Marketing at Lipscomb before transferring to Belmont to study music business.

She began her career writing copy for Jeff Walker at Aristo Media and worked at the original Country Music Hall of Fame. During her 11 years with the Crook & Chase show, Larson spent two years in Los Angeles.

After moving back to Tennessee, she worked in marketing for Mercy Ministries, organizing the 2000 Mercy Project that included Amy Grant, Michelle Tumes, Point of Grace, Donna Summer and Martina McBride. She moved into management, working with Jana Stanfield, Robin Crowe (Dark Horse Studio) and others. She served as assistant producer on the 2003 Alabama Farewell Tour documentary.

She later spent 10 years working in sales for Senior Living facilities. During her time at Belmont Village Senior Living she produced five “Bluebird At The Belmont” songwriter shows raising money for the Vanderbilt Center for Quality Aging. The shows featured Tony Arata, Bob Dipiero, Allen Shamblin, Jeff Trott, Jon Night, Billy Montana, Aaron Barker, Doc Holladay, Keith Burns, Heidi Newfield, Jimmy Nichols, Jill Colluci & Pam Rose and more.

Larson counts one of her proudest moments as facilitating the recording of her wife Karen Staley’s track “I’ll Leave My Heart In Tennessee” recorded by Opry members Daily & Vincent. It was later unanimously voted in the TN Legislature in 2022 as the 11th Official Tennessee State Song.

Larson is survived by Staley, her wife of 14 years, cousins Tamara, Terry & Dean Berry, and their children Taylor, Aubrey, Jasmine and Jade Berry. She will be interred with a Green Burial in the pasture of Staley’s former Scarlet Sun Farm, now White Oak Farm, in Franklin, Tennessee on Friday (March 6) at 5:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Alive Hospice here.

Hit Country Songwriter Brett Jones Passes

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Brett Jones

Nashville songwriter Brett Jones has died at age 69.

Jones earned 10 BMI Awards for co-writing country hits. Among his big songs are “You Won’t Ever Be Lonely” (Andy Griggs), “Crazy Town” (Jason Aldean) and “Cover You in Kisses” (John Michael Montgomery). He provided hits to such stars as Montgomery Gentry with “What Do You Think About That,” Blue County with “Good Little Girls,” Tracy Lawrence with “Better Man, Better Off,” and his co-writer Bobby Pinson with “Don’t Ask Me How I Know.”

Among his biggest chart toppers were 2009’s “That’s How Country Boys Roll,” sung by Billy Currington and 2011’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away,” sung by Justin Moore.

During his 25-year career on Music Row, Brett Jones was responsible for more than 300 recorded songs, 14 top-10 hits and seven No. 1 successes. He provided songs to such artists as Chris LeDoux, Darryl Worley, Ricky Van Shelton, Jeff Carson, Darius Rucker, Reba McEntire, Colt Ford, Lorrie Morgan and Tracy Byrd, among dozens of others. Trace Adkins recorded six of his works; Logan Mize recorded five. Jones’ “old school” country style was particularly favored by Canadian country stars such as Gord Bamford, George Canyon and Paul Brandt.

Brett was born William Seaborn Jones in Annapolis, Maryland as one of six children in a U.S. Navy officer’s family. He was raised near Manchester, Georgia and played football for the University of Georgia. He graduated in 1978.

As a young adult, he experienced the deaths of his father and two of his brothers. He dealt with his grief by taking up guitar and writing songs.

He did not initially view music as a vocation. Brett Jones worked variously as a bartender, line cook, farmer, high-school teacher, county commissioner, commodities trader and wealth manager before pursuing his dream. He moved to Nashville in 1991 at age 34 with no contacts or prospects. Thanks to his talent, Jones advanced quickly in the city’s songwriting scene.

His first significant chart appearance as a songwriter was with 1995’s “When and Where,” recorded by Confederate Railroad. The following year, Daryle Singletary charted with Jones’ co-written ballad “Workin’ It Out,” and Neal McCoy sang “You Gotta Love That” as the songwriter’s first top-10 hit. Then 1998’s “A Little Past Little Rock” became a key song in the repertoire of Lee Ann Womack. “Practice Life,” recorded by Andy Griggs and Martina McBride in 2002, was not a big hit, but its meaningful message was quoted in his Tennessean obituary.

Jones was an entertaining presence at the city’s songwriting showcases. As an artist, he released the CDs Life’s Road (2009) and Cowboy Sailor (2014).

Recalling his early experience of music as a healing thing, he founded Gold Star Mentors in 2017. This organization provides guitars and music instruction to children who experience the loss of a military loved one.

Brett Jones died on Feb. 16 following a 10-month struggle with brain cancer. He is survived by his wife Clair Tri Jones. He is also survived by his seven children — Ben Grady Jones III, Brett Thayer Jones, Thaddeus Clayton Jones, Seth Seaborn Jones, Cody Augustus Jones, Olivia McBride Jones and Riley Cataula Jones — as well as by six grandchildren and two sisters.

A celebration of life will be held at BMI Nashville, 10 Music Square E, Nashville, TN 37203, at 4:00 PM on March 2, 2026. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to his nonprofit, goldstarmentors.com. Arrangements are in care of Williamson Memorial Funeral Hone, 615 794-2289, williamsonmemorial.com.

Musician/Producer/Exec Jerry Kennedy Passes

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

Jerry Kennedy, one of the great Nashville record men, has died at age 85.

He was a consummate guitarist, producer, songwriter and record executive. Kennedy was a key figure in the creation and development of the Nashville Sound. He produced classic records by Country Music Hall of Fame members Roger Miller, The Statler Brothers, Reba McEntire, Jerry Lee Lewis and Tom T. Hall. He was the chief of Mercury Records on Music Row in 1969-84.

As an instrumentalist, Kennedy was heard on Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde LP (1966), as the driving guitar lick on Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” (1964), on the dobro passages that answer Jeannie C. Riley’s vocal on “Harper Valley P.T.A.” (1968) and in the distinctive guitar intro of Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” (1968), among many other immortal Nashville records.

Born Jerry Glenn Kennedy, he was a native of Shreveport, Louisiana. He was a child prodigy who was signed by RCA at age 11. By age 16, he was a staff guitarist on the city’s famed Louisiana Hayride country show. He backed Faron Young, Johnny Horton, and the show’s other stars. He also began to record, backing blues artists Jimmy McCracklin and Guitar Junior on discs.

Encouraged by promotion man Shelby Singleton, Jerry Kennedy moved to Nashville in 1961 to become a session musician. In 1963, he became Singleton’s assistant at Mercury.

But he continued to work as a picker on recording sessions by Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Ringo Starr, Stonewall Jackson and George Jones, among others. His earliest Nashville success was backing Rex Allen on the 1962 hit “Don’t Go Near the Indians.” His work backing Elvis Presley included 1962’s “Good Luck Charm.” He was also in the band as well as the producer’s chair for “King of the Road” and the other hits that earned Roger Miller 11 Grammy Awards in 1964-65. His works with Orbison, Wynette, Riley and Dylan were also during this period of his career.

Singleton kept promoting Kennedy at Mercury. Jerry Kennedy became the head of the Nashville label in 1969. In that role, he discovered McEntire and signed her to her first major-label contract (1976). He also launched the career of Tex/Mex stylist Johnny Rodriguez (1972). He brought Tom T. Hall to fame. Kennedy’s productions guided Jerry Lee Lewis’s transition from rock to country and found him such song hits as “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous” and “Another Place, Another Time.”

His other Mercury roster artists included Patti Page, Bobby Bare, Brook Benton, Leroy Van Dyke, Ray Stevens, Roy Drusky, George Burns, Charlie Rich, Dave Dudley, Faron Young and Mickey Newbury. Jerry Kennedy also recorded seven instrumental albums, himself.

In 1984, he formed JK Productions. Under this imprimatur, he continued to produce Hall and the Statlers, as well as new clients such as The Maines Brothers and Connie Smith. In 1984-89 he produced a string of hits for Mel McDaniel on Capitol Records. Jerry Kennedy was noted for his low-key, easy-going manner as a studio professional.

“Jerry Kennedy was soft-spoken and understated, but his permanent impact on American music was anything but quiet,” eulogized CEO Kyle Young of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

In 1992, Kennedy was presented with the Nashville Entertainment Association’s Master Award. Jerry Kennedy was an inaugural inductee into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007, and the museum’s theater is named in his honor. In 2008, he was saluted in the “Nashville Cats” series presented by the Country Music Hall of Fame. During his career, he earned four Grammy Awards as a producer.

Son Bryan Kennedy became the opening act for Garth Brooks on tour and cowrote the superstar’s hits “American Honky Tonk Bar Association,” “Beaches of Cheyenne” and “Good Ride Cowboy.” He co-wrote and starred in the popular musical Toe Roaster.

Son Shelby Kennedy became an ASCAP executive, a record producer and the writer of songs recorded by Ray Charles, Randy Howard and others. He co-wrote “I’m a Survivor,” the theme song of the long-running TV sitcom Reba. He was also an executive at Lyric Street Records. He has sung backup on records by Jamey Johnson, Mila Mason, Mel McDaniel, Ashton Shepherd, Boxcar Willie and Johnny Rodriguez. He helped to launch the careers of SheDaisy and Alan Jackson.

Son Gordon Kennedy was a member of the CCM band WhiteHeart and co-wrote Eric Clapton’s “Change the World,” which won the 1996 Song of the Year Grammy Award. Gordon Kennedy’s songs have also been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Ricky Skaggs, Trisha Yearwood, Peter Frampton, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Wynonna, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, George Strait, Charlie Daniels and others.

Jerry Kennedy passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

A Celebration of Life will be held on April 7 at 7 p.m. CT at Ray Stevens’ CabaRay Showroom (5724 River Rd, Nashville, TN 37209).

Steel Guitar Great Pete Finney Passes

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Pete Finney. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum

Steel guitarist Pete Finney, noted for his work in Americana, pop and country styles, has passed away at age 70.

Finney was also a music historian. He co-curated the Country Music Hall of Fame’s 2015–2018 exhibition “Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City.” He wrote the lead essay in the exhibit’s catalog.

During his career, he backed the Chicks, Vince Gill, the Judds, Beck, Jon Byrd, Shemekia Copeland, Justin Townes Earle, Jon Langford, Jim Lauderdale, Allison Moorer, Ron Sexsmith and Candi Staton, among others.

He was touring with Reba McEntire when eight members of her band and two crew members lost their lives in a plane crash in 1991. Finney survived because he and another band member flew on a second plane with the tour’s other crew members.

He was particularly associated with 2023 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Patty Loveless. He toured with Loveless for more than 20 years.

Pete Finney was also an associate of The Monkees. Group member Michael Nesmith’s solo work was with his much-applauded country ensemble The First National Band. This made the steel guitar an essential part of his solo sound. Michael Nesmith (1942-2021) recruited Pete Finney as his accompanist on tour. This led to the steel guitarist joining The Monkees on their 2017 final tour. Following Nesmith’s death, Finney joined Monkee Mickey Dolenz on a 2021 tribute album titled Dolenz Sings Nesmith.

Pete Finney frequently performed in Music City’s nightclubs. He collaborated with such top Nashville players as Mac Gayden, Chris Scruggs, Jen Gunderman, Jimmy Lester and Kenny Vaughan. For several years, Finney led the house band at The Stone Fox in the Nations neighborhood of West Nashville.

“He exemplified how top instrumentalists can adapt to a range of styles and settings, whether in a recording studio, a concert stage, or the corner of a small nightclub,” eulogized the Hall of Fame’s Michael McCall.

“He was one of a kind,” commented Dave Pomeroy of the AFM. “Heaven is a cooler, smarter place today.”

Pete Finney died on Saturday, Feb. 7. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

Elvis Wade Remembrance Scheduled

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Elvis Wade

A Celebration of Life for the late Elvis Wade is scheduled for Saturday (Feb. 14).

Wade died on Dec. 28, 2025 at age 79. He was regarded as the first and the best of the Elvis Presley imitators. He was also a screenwriter and an evangelist.

Born Walter Wade Cummins in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, he began playing guitar at age eight and was singing professionally by age 13. While he was performing in the Detroit-area show band Lafayette & Les Sabres, audiences repeatedly asked him to sing Presley songs. The band made his impersonations a key part of its show, and Cummins adopted the billing “Elvis Wade.”

In 1968, he began starring in his “Tribute to Elvis” touring show. He recorded his first album in 1974. Presley reportedly caught Wade’s act in 1976, and gave him a standing ovation.

Following Elvis Presley’s death in 1977, Elvis Wade’s career rose to another level. Grieving fans found solace in his music. According to Wade’s daughter Jessica Hill, “Elvis Wade became a beloved presence, offering authenticity, comfort and excellence.”

In 1986, Presley’s vocal backup quartet The Jordanaires teamed up with Wade to tour the world. They performed concerts together for the next 12 years, including two sold-out shows in London’s 12,500-seat Wembly Arena. Elvis Wade also sang with symphony orchestras in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Portland, Jackson and Billings.

In 1994, Wade married hit pop and country singer Sandy Posey (1944-2024), noted for such hits as “Born a Woman” (1966) and “Single Girl” (1967). In Memphis, she had sung backup for Presley. She and Wade met in 1992 when she sang backup for him.

He was also a songwriter, and his original songs appeared on such later Elvis Wade albums as Love Me to Pieces (1999), Looking Back (2013) and Smooth Sailing (2014). One of his 16 albums was a duet project, 2021’s Wade & Sandy Remember The Everly Brothers.

Under his birth name Wade Cummins, Elvis Wade wrote the original story and was credited as a writer for the feature film The Identical, starring Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd. The plot concerned twins separated at birth, one of whom becomes a music superstar. Elvis Presley’s twin died at birth. The Identical premiered at the Nashville Film Festival in 2014.

In 2021, Wade released an inspirational music video, “Jesus Took It All.” Thereafter, he used his platform as the original Elvis impersonator to share his religious testimony.

Elvis Wade is survived by his children Wanda Cherry, Brenda Tuschl, Aarom Cummins and Jessica Hill, as well as six grandchildren.

Saturday’s event in memory of Elvis Wade is scheduled for 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Capital Theatre in Lebanon, Tennessee. All are welcome.

Three Dog Night Co-Founder Chuck Negron Dies At 83

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Chuck Negron

Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night, passed away peacefully at his home in Studio City, California on Feb. 2. He was 83.

Negron, whose father was a Puerto Rican nightclub performer, grew up in the Bronx playing basketball and singing in doo wop groups from an early age. He was recruited by California State University to play basketball, where he continued to explore his love for music. In 1967, he joined Danny Hutton and the late Cory Wells to form Three Dog Night, a trio that became one of the most successful bands of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. The band was expanded to include guitarist Michael Allsup, and the late musicians Jimmy Greenspoon, Joe Schermie and Floyd Sneed. 

Three Dog Night released classics like “Joy To The World (Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog),” “One (Is The Loneliest Number),” “Easy To Be Hard,” “Old Fashioned Love Song,” “The Show Must Go On” and more, but heavy drug use was rampant during their quick ascension to the top, and Negron developed a heavy addiction. The band’s success was stymied by fractions internally, and fell apart at their peak. Negron’s addiction eventually overtook him, and he ended up on Los Angeles’ notorious Skid Row for a time. After many attempts, he finally got clean in 1991 and went on to have a successful solo career, releasing seven albums between 1995 and 2017. He released a book Three Dog Nightmare in 1999, an honest recount of the ups and downs of his life, claiming responsibility for his downfalls and strengthening his path of rehabilitation.

In his later years, though he battled chronic COPD for decades, Negron continued to tour heavily. The COVID-19 pandemic sidelined him permanently though, and in his final months, he also battled heart failure in addition to the COPD. After decades of estrangement between him and fellow Three Dog Night founder Danny Hutton, the two men met last year in an effort to finally exchange apologies and bury the hatchet.

Negron is survived by wife Ami Albea Negron, children Shaunti Negron Levick, Berry Oakley, Charles Negron III, Charlotte Negron, and Annabelle Negron, his brother Rene (Jody) Negron, sister Denise (Janey) Negron, nine grandchildren, five nieces and two nephews.

Public Relations Veteran Nancy Seltzer Passes

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Nancy Seltzer.

Public relations veteran Nancy Seltzer passed away yesterday (Jan. 28) in Los Angeles. She was 79.

Seltzer began her career in her home of New York before moving to Los Angeles full time. She was the longtime representative for Garth Brooks, Danielle Steel, Joyce DiDonato, Placido Domingo and the late Sir Sean Connery. Over the course of her career, she has represented talents that include Bette Davis, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Stana Katic, Annette Bening, Kathy Bates, Tom Wilkinson and Whitney Houston. She led a boutique publicity firm, Nancy Seltzer & Associates, with offices on both the East and West Coasts.

She served as the head publicist overseeing the Oscars red carpet. Over the span of her decades-long career, she represented iconic films including Pirates of the Caribbean, Breaking Away, All That Jazz, Amadeus, Splash, RoboCop, Spinal Tap, Jewel, Aliens, House of Games, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, When Harry Met Sally… Misery, Silence of the Lambs, A Few Good Men, Philadelphia, The Shawshank Redemption, Scream and Scream 2, Dead Man Walking, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forrester. She led campaigns for films such as Amadeus, Misery, Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, The Shawshank Redemption, and Dead Man Walking from production through their Academy Award strategies.

“Public relations is the hardest job in show business,” Brooks shares. “She always handled every situation with the utmost class.”

Donations can be made to the Tower Cancer Research Foundation. Services have not yet been announced.

Music Publicist & Non-Profit Leader Cathy Gurley Passes

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Cathy Gurley

Veteran Music Row publicist Cathy Gurley died suddenly on Tuesday (Jan. 20) at age 76.

During her long tenure as a music industry figure, she worked with such stars as Tanya Tucker, Garth Brooks, Kathy Mattea, Marty Stuart, and Gary Morris. Since 2012, she has been the CEO of You Have the Power. Founded by former Tennessee First Lady Andrea Conte, this organization’s mission is to empower victims of violent crimes. Gurley also served on a number of other social-service boards.

Born in Pittsburgh, Gurley attended Wheeling College in West Virginia. She edited the school’s newspaper while working on her degree. This led to becoming a reporter at the Wheeling News-Register.

In 1974, she became the publicist for WWVA radio and co-founded its Jamboree in the Hills festival. She supervised the design, planning, promotion, publicity, and advertising of this annual event for eight years as it grew into one of the largest country-music festivals in America. In 1976, she received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Journalism in the radio category for “Care and Feeding of America.”

The Country Music Association’s board of directors met in Wheeling in 1982. Executive Director Jo Walker-Meador was impressed with Gurley and offered her a job.

Gurley came to Nashville in 1982 to become the Director of Public Information for the CMA. She promoted its annual TV awards show, Fan Fair (which became the CMA Music Fest), Close-Up magazine and 25th-anniversary gala in Washington, D.C.

Her jobs at the Jamboree and at the CMA put her in touch with virtually every artist, record label, manager, and booking agent in Nashville. In 1985, she launched her own firm, Gurley & Co. In addition to publicity, her company handled marketing, management, or promotion, depending on the artist. Clients eventually included Mattea, Stuart, Tucker, Morris, Connie Smith, Patty Loveless, Lynn Anderson, and Carlene Carter, among others.

When Jimmy Bowen took over Capitol/Liberty Records in 1990-95, he named her the label’s Vice President of Creative Services. Then he outsourced all of the company’s publicity functions. Gurley & Co. was hired to represent the label’s entire roster, including Brooks, Tucker, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Suzy Bogguss, Billy Dean, John Berry, Chris LeDoux, Charlie Daniels, and more than a dozen others.

Gurley became close to her mentor, Frances Preston. Among that executive’s chief interests was the cancer research underwritten by the T.J. Martell Foundation. In 1993, Gurley became one of the founding board members of the charity’s Nashville branch. She worked in 1994-2008 on its Country In the Rockies annual fund-raising events for the Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at Vanderbilt. After Preston’s retirement, Gurley spent many days with the late Country Music Hall of Fame member, helping her to begin a memoir.

She was selected for the 2001 Leadership Music class. In 2002, she helped to launch the Spirit of America tours. These brought entertainment to more than 100 military bases around the world and co-starred Daniels, Miranda Lambert, Billy Ray Cyrus, Aaron Tippin, Dierks Bentley, and dozens of others.

Gurley became an adjunct faculty member at both Belmont University and Middle Tennessee State (MTSU). In 2011, she joined the board of directors for the revitalized Wheeling Jamboree on WWVA in West Virginia.

During this period, Gurley became ever more active in Music City’s crime issues. She became a member of the Nashville Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Sexual Offender Treatment board, the Domestic Death Review board, and ACES of Nashville.

She helped to launch Voices from the Garden, remembering the children lost to violence in Davidson County. She developed school curricula to heighten awareness of sex trafficking, delinquency among at-risk youths, and domestic violence. She also worked with Friends of Warner Park, McNeilly Center for Children, and StandUp2Cancer. In 2012, she became the CEO of You Have the Power.

Gurley was honored at the 2018 SOURCE Hall of Fame awards. These are given annually to outstanding Nashville music-business women. Brenda Lee inducted her, and Tanya Tucker participated via video.

She began experiencing gastrointestinal issues last fall. Her condition worsened and despite numerous specialists, tests, hospitalizations, and procedures, doctors were unable to diagnose her condition. She was recently hospitalized and was moved to the ICU where she passed away.

Gurley is survived by her daughter, Meagan Sullivan, five grandchildren, two sisters, two brothers, six nieces and five nephews.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, March 14 at 11:00 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church (3001 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37212) with a reception immediately following. Donations can be made to She Should Run or the Children’s Memory Garden at Centennial Park Nashville.

Norman DeVasure Passes At 72

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Norman DeVasure

Norman Burr DeVasure has passed away at the age of 72.

Born in Nashville, DeVasure grew up in Oakdale, California and went to college at MTSU, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Recording Industry Management. After graduation, DeVasure began his career with RCA Records Nashville. He later took a job as a song plugger for HoriPro Entertainment Group in Nashville, and assisted in the startup of RPM Music Publishing. He was also the co-writer of “Final Frontier,” a duet by Roy Rogers and Kathy Mattea on Rogers’ final studio album, Tribute. He was founder of Sunset Ranch Music/Norman Productions.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, DeVasure gave back to the community, including helping facilitate the annual HoriPro charity golf tournament at Henry Horton State Park in Chapel Hill, Tennessee which raised funds for scholarships, and helping organize a Music Row Coat Drive which collected coats donated to the Nashville Mission and Room in the Inn.

He is survived by brother John Hatley DeVasure (Carolyn) of Denair, CA, Mary J.D.Anderson (Robert Saari), Paulette Michelle Foster (Richard), both of Lewisburg, TN, and half-brother Wayne Leggett (Marilyn) of Tempe, AZ and was an uncle to 22 nieces and nephews. Memorial services will be held at Clearview Baptist Church in Franklin, Tennessee on Jan. 28 at 11 a.m.

Jim Van Hook, Christian Music Industry Veteran, Passes Away

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Jim Van Hook

Jim Van Hook, the former founder and CEO/President of Provident Music and Brentwood Music as well as CEO/President of Word Entertainment, passed away on Sunday (Jan. 11) at his home. He was 84.

Born in Alabama and raised in Georgia, Hook moved to Nashville to attend Trevecca Nazarene University, where he received a degree in Christian Education. He later earned a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and an honorary doctorate from Trevecca.

After spending time teaching at the university level, Hook served as the Minister of Music at Bethany First Church of the Nazarene in Oklahoma. He then founded the traveling Christian group, Bridge.

In 1978, Hook became the Senior Vice President of The Benson Company. He later founded Brentwood Music, which grew to become one of the largest companies in Christian music. Hook sold Brentwood Music to the Zomba Corporation in 1994, renaming it Provident Music, where he successfully served as President and CEO for the next nine years.

Later Hook returned to education as the founding Dean of the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University. He then became President and CEO of Word Entertainment, as well as the President of the Nazarene Publishing House, before retiring.

Hook was honored with a Special Citation of Appreciation by BMI in 2013.

Hook is preceded in death by his wife of many years, Myra Sue (Susie) Hayes. He is survived by his son, Brent and Susan Michelle, and grandchildren Matthew and John David Van Hook; his daughter, Susan and Rod Riley, and grandchildren Anna and Jack Riley; his sister, Ann Parham; and many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews and extended family members; as well as his girlfriend Judy Taylor.

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, with visitation two hours prior to the service at Brentwood United Methodist Church, 309 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027. A private burial will take place at Williamson Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Gospel Music Association Foundation.