Kyle Jacobs

Award-winning songwriter and producer Kyle Jacobs died Friday (Feb. 17) at age 49. Metro Nashville police says Jacobs’ death is being investigated as an apparent suicide.

Jacobs was the husband of country singer Kellie Pickler and starred alongside her in the CMT reality series I Love Kellie Pickler. They married in 2011.

Born in Bloomington, Minnesota, Jacobs moved to Nashville in 2000. After years of hard work–including time painting houses and sleeping in his car–Jacobs notched his first No. 1 as a songwriter in 2003 with “8th World Wonder.” He was a co-writer on one of the fasting-rising singles in country music history at the time, Garth Brooks’ “More Than A Memory.” Jacobs also co-wrote top 10 singles “Still” by Tim McGraw, and “Dust” by Eli Young Band.

Jacobs, who was a staff writer at Curb|Word Publishing, celebrated multiple No. 1 hits alongside Lee Brice as as songwriter or producer, including “Hard To Love,” “I Drive Your Truck,” “Drinking Class,” “Rumor,” “One Of Them Girls,” “Memory I Don’t Mess With” and “Soul.” The day before his death, Jacobs made a social media post celebrating the Platinum certification of Brice’s Hey World album.

Jacobs is an ACM winner, having taken home the trophy in 2013 for Song of the Year with “I Drive Your Truck.”

After Jacobs’ passing, Lee Brice offered, “These past few days have truly been some of the hardest of my life. At times, I feel lost and buried under this deep sadness. Other times, I sit and remember all the times with Kyle that bring me comfort and make me smile. He was, without a doubt, one of the best people anyone could ever hope to have in their corner…I am eternally grateful for having him in mine. I’ll keep Kellie, his family and everyone who was touched by him close to my heart. I’ll miss you til we meet again..I love you, brother.”

Curb | Word Chairman, Mike Curb, shared, “Kyle Jacobs was one of those amazing creative talents who understood all genres of music. He came into Curb’s life when he wrote “8th World Wonder,” which was the first Pop single by Kimberly Locke after her amazing performance on American Idol. He proceeded to create the only Country record to ever debut at #1 on the Billboard chart, “More Than A Memory” by Garth Brooks, which he composed with Billy Montana and Lee Brice. Among his many other successes, he composed Tim McGraw’s hit “Still” and Lee Brice’s #1 Billboard single “Rumor,” and he co-produced with Ben Glover Lee Brice’s current and most successful album, which has just been certified Platinum. The album includes “Save The Roses” and “Do Not Disturb,” some of the most poignant songs ever written, which are a major tribute to Kyle’s legacy that we will always cherish. Most importantly, Kyle was part of our Curb | Word family and an inspiration to all of us.”

Curb | Word VP, Country Publishing & Creative, Colt Murski, shared, “Kyle was such an amazing person. He was my best friend, my best man, and my champion. I had the honor of working with him for over 18 years and cherished every moment. He was an amazing musician, songwriter, and producer. He was a part of so many amazing songs. He was a friend to so many people and he touched so many lives around the world. He was the kind of guy you could go to for advice, guidance, or a good laugh. I’m going to miss him forever.”

Award-winning lyricist Pat Bunch died last week at age 83.

She is best known for co-writing such hits as “I’ll Still Be Loving You” by Restless Heart (1987), “Safe in the Arms of Love” by Martina McBride (1995) and “Wild One” by Faith Hill (1993). More than 100 other artists have recorded her songs.

Patricia Karen Bunch Price was a native of Zanesville, Ohio. She began her songwriting career in Nashville in the 1970s when she was approaching her 40th birthday.

Bunch’s first single as a writer was with Lynn Anderson, who released “Last Love of My Life” in 1978. Connie Smith and David Houston charted with Bunch co-written songs in 1979. Later that year, the songwriter scored her first top 10 hit via “Holding the Bag,” recorded by Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley.

Her top 10 hits of the 1980s included Crystal Gayle’s “Me Against the Night” in 1984 plus Janie Fricke’s “The First Word in Memory Is Me” and “Somebody Else’s Fire,” both in 1985. “I’ll Still Be Loving You” topped the country charts and crossed over to become an A/C and pop hit as well. The 1987 hit won awards from both BMI and ASCAP and was nominated for a Grammy.

Ty Herndon had huge successes with her “I Want My Goodbye Back” in 1995 and “Living in a Moment” in 1996. McBride’s 1995 hit “Safe in the Arms of Love” was recorded by eight other artists. Similarly, “Wild One”(sometimes listed as “She’s a Wild One”) had six cover versions.

Among those scoring top 40 country hits with Bunch’s lyrics were Baillie & The Boys (1987’s “He’s Letting Go”), Collin Raye (1995’s “What If Jesus Comes Back Like That”), Terri Clark (2005’s “She Didn’t Have Time”), and Steve Holy (2006’s “Come On Rain”). Others who did so included Herndon (1997’s “I Have to Surrender”), BlackHawk (2000’s “I Need You All the Time”) and Chris Janson (2013’s “Better I Don’t”).

Other notable cuts included Suzy Bogguss’ single of “You Wouldn’t Say That to a Stranger,” Carlene Carter’s version of “Love Like That,” the John Michael Montgomery treatment of “Even Then,” Keith Harling’s holiday release “Santa’s Got a Semi” and Kenny Rogers’ performance of “Slow Dance More.”

Early in her career, Bunch’s most frequent songwriting collaborators were Pam Rose and Mary Ann Kennedy. These two recorded songs co-written with Bunch during their stints as members of the bands Calamity Jane and Kennedy Rose. Later, Bunch often collaborated with Doug Johnson. Other songwriting partners included Shane Teeters, Nicole Witt, Dan Mitchell and Buck Moore.

Her lyrics were particularly favored by female country artists. Patty Loveless, Reba McEntire, Tammy Wynette, Juice Newton, The Forester Sisters, Lacy J. Dalton, Judy Rodman, Barbara Mandrell, Michelle Wright, Dottie West, Pam Tillis, Shelby Lynne, Sylvia, Lauren Alaina and Mary Chapin Carpenter are among those who recorded her songs. Bunch’s male-country song clients included Don Williams, Billy Dean, Lee Greenwood, Charley Pride, Gene Watson, Mark Wills, The Gatlins, George Strait, Sammy
Kershaw, Clay Walker and The Oak Ridge Boys.

The songwriter was not limited to the country scene. Among the non-country artists who recorded her works were Glenn Frey, Jill Sobule, Art Garfunkel, Percy Sledge, Joan Baez, Soul Sistas and Petula Clark.

Pat Bunch died on Jan. 30 at her home in Cross Plains, Tennessee. She is survived by her husband of 45 years, James Price, as well as by sons Randy Archer, Robin Archer and Rusty Archer, plus nine grandchildren.

There are no services or visitation planned. Arrangements are entrusted to Austin & Bell, 533 Highway 76 White House, Tennessee, 37188, (615- 672-5000, austinandbell.com).

Lisa Marie Presley makes her Grand Ole Opry debut

Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of Elvis Presley, died on Thursday (Jan. 12) after a medical emergency and a brief hospitalization. She was 54.

The news was confirmed by Lisa Marie’s mother, Priscilla Presley, in a statement. Priscilla had tweeted earlier in the day that Lisa Marie had been rushed to the hospital.

As the daughter of one of the biggest stars in American history, Lisa Marie grew up around the music business. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee on Feb. 1, 1968, nine months to the day after her parents’ wedding.

After Elvis and Priscilla divorced in 1973, Lisa Marie lived with her mother in Los Angeles, but frequently visited her father at Graceland in Memphis. She was nine years old when her father died in August of 1977.

On her 25th birthday, Lisa Marie inherited the Graceland estate, which had grown to an estimated $100 million. She sold 85% of her father’s estate in 2004.

Lisa Marie married actor Danny Keough in 1988. They had two children together, Benjamin and Riley Keough before divorcing in 1994. She then famously married iconic performer Michael Jackson, to whom she was married to until 1996.

She then married actor Nicolas Cage in 2002, around the time that she began her own musical career. Lisa Marie released her debut album, To Whom It May Concern, on April 8, 2003. The album hit No. 5 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and was certified Gold.

After divorcing from Cage in 2004, Lisa Marie returned with her second album, Now What, in 2005. Presley co-wrote the project’s 10 songs and recorded covers of Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry” and the Ramones’ “Here Today and Gone Tomorrow.”

Lisa Marie married guitarist and producer Michael Lockwood in 2006. The two stayed together until 2021 and had twin girls, Finley Aaron Love Lockwood and Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood.

Pictured (L-R): Clay Bradley, Lisa Marie Presley, Leslie Roberts, Mark Mason

She released her third album, Storm & Grace, in 2012. The bluesy-country project was produced by T Bone Burnett. She made her Grand Ole Opry debut on Aug. 21, 2012 and visited various offices on Music Row to promote the album. Lisa Marie remained a friend to Nashville.

Lisa Marie was struck by tragedy in 2020 when her son Benjamin Keough, died by suicide. Earlier this month, People magazine published an essay from Lisa Marie for National Grief Awareness Day.

Elvis Presley and his family’s story was recently celebrated by the Baz Luhrmann 2022 film Elvis. The project was heralded by the Presley family, with different members of the family often praising how accurate Luhrmann and actor Austin Butler’s depiction of the icon was.

Lisa Marie attended the 80th Golden Globe Awards two days prior to her death with her mother to celebrate nominations for the Elvis film.

Award-winning Nashville songwriter Stephen Allen Davis has passed away at age 73.

During his career, Davis won more than a dozen BMI Awards for writing such hits as “Only a Lonely Heart Knows” (Barbara Mandrell), “Sleepin’ With the Radio On” (Charly McClain), “One of a Kind” (Tammy Wynette), “Beautiful Woman” (Charlie Rich), “Hello Mexico” (Johnny Duncan), “Amy’s Back in Austin” (Little Texas) and “North of the Border” (Johnny Rodriguez). “Stand Beside Me,” recorded by Jo Dee Messina, was a three-week No. 1 hit in 1999.

Davis was also a performer on Music City’s pop-rock nightclub scene for 30+ years. He recorded for RCA, Epic, PolyGram, Apple, Barclay and other labels in both the U.S. and Europe.

Born in 1949, Stephen Allen Davis was a Nashville native. He was the nephew of Country Music Hall of Fame members Harold Bradley and Owen Bradley. But after seeing The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan TV show in 1964, Davis became enthralled with pop sounds. He began playing in area rock bands as a teenager.

Harold Bradley introduced him to Norro Wilson, who signed the youngster to Al Gallico Music. Davis wrote his first hit when he was only 17. It was “Take Time to Know Her,” which became an R&B smash for Percy Sledge in 1968. The song was subsequently recorded by David Allan Coe, Joe Stampley, O.C. Smith and others.

The works of Stephen Allen Davis were also recorded by such pop and soul stylists as Diana Ross, Joe Cocker, Meatloaf, Tom Jones, John Hiatt, The DiVinyls, Engelbert Humperdinck, Memphis Slim, Johnny Mathis and Glenn Shorrock of the Little River Band. But his greatest successes as a songwriter were with country artists, eight of which are listed above.

In addition, McEntire scored with his “Just a Little Love” (1984). Ty Herndon had a hit with Davis’ “No Mercy” (2000). Mandrell returned to the songwriter’s catalog for “There’s No Love in Tennessee” (1985), as did Rodriguez for “I Want You Tonight” (1981) and “He’s Not Entitled to Your Love” (1982). Stampley had a top-10 hit with Davis’s “Put Your Clothes Back On” (1979).

McClain, whom Davis co-produced, recorded the chart-topping “Radio Heart” (1985), plus a number of other Davis songs, including “With Just One Look in Your Eyes,” “When It’s Down to Me and You” (with Wayne Massey) and “So This Is Love.”

Stephen Allen Davis songs were also sung by such country stars as Johnny Paycheck, Kenny Rogers, Easton Corbin, Trace Adkins, Mac Davis, Eddie Rabbitt, Alabama, Neal McCoy, B.J. Thomas, George Jones, Faith Hill, Lonestar, Tanya Tucker, Lacy J. Dalton and Charlie Daniels. More than 400 of his songs have been recorded. Many were credited as being by “Steve Davis.”

As a performer, he rocked such Music City nightspots as Douglas Corner, The Sutler, The Bluebird Cafe and The Goldrush. He also sang in showcase venues in New York and Los Angeles. Overseas, he released albums in England, Sweden and South Africa.

In 1995, Stephen Allen Davis released his first U.S. solo CD, The Light Pink Album. In 2011, he starred in the PBS-TV concert special, The Desert Sessions. In addition to songs, he also wrote a novel and three screenplays.

Stephen Allen Davis was diagnosed with an undisclosed illness in 2021 and died on Tuesday evening, Dec. 26, in Nashville. Funeral arrangements are unknown.

Anita Pointer. Photo: Courtesy of Robert K. Oermann archive

Anita Pointer of The Pointer Sisters passed away on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2022, at age 74.

The second oldest of the four singing sisters, she died surrounded by her family at her home in Beverly Hills, California. In The Pointer Sisters, Anita harmonized with her sisters Ruth (b. 1946), Bonnie (1950-2020) and June (1953-2006).

The Pointer Sisters are mainly remembered for a string of huge pop, soul, and disco hits such as “Jump (For My Love),” “I’m So Excited,” “Fire,” “Neutron Dance” and “Automatic.” But the group also made its mark in country music with “Fairytale,” and Anita Pointer sang a country smash as the duet partner of Earl Thomas Conley.

Anita Porter was born in Oakland, California in 1948. The Pointers’ parents were both from Arkansas, and the family made trips annually to visit grandparents there. Anita liked it there so much that she decided to to attend fifth, seventh and tenth grades in rural Arkansas. This is when she became influenced by country music.

The Pointer Sisters formed their act in 1969. Their first hit single was 1973’s “Yes We Can Can,” written by New Orleans R&B legend Allen Toussaint. Then came 1974’s “Wang Dang Doodle” written by blues titan Willie Dixon. Performances like these gave the group its reputation for reinvigorating classic American music styles.

This led to the honky-tonking sound of “Fairytale.” It was written by Anita with her sister Bonnie, and recorded in 1974 at the Quadraphonic Studios on Music Row. Because of “Fairytale,” The Pointer Sisters were embraced by the country-music community. With Anita singing lead, The Pointer Sisters staged their Grand Ole Opry debut on October 25, 1974. “Fairytale” won the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Country Group Vocal and also received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song.

Bonnie Pointer went solo in 1977, and Anita, Ruth and June continued as a trio. This was the lineup that scored 10 giant pop/dance hits in 1978-1988.

The biggest was “Slow Hand,” written by John Bettis and Michael Clark. The song’s demo was recorded on Music Row by future country star Pam Tillis in her “disco/soul-sister” voice so that the song could be pitched to a Black act. The Pointer Sisters took it to the upper reaches of both the soul and pop charts in 1981 and earned a Gold Record. In 1982, country superstar Conway Twitty brought the song back to Nashville and took it to No. 1 on the country charts.

Anita Pointer returned to the country hit parade as the duet partner of Earl Thomas Conley in 1986. Their single “Too Many Times” hit No. 2 on the charts as a country collaboration.

The Pointer Sisters earned a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. After many concert seasons with her sisters, Anita retired from performing in 2015.

No cause of death nor funeral arrangements have been announced. In a statement, her family said, “She was the one that kept all of us close and together for so long….Her love of our family will live on in each of us. Heaven is a more loving, beautiful place with Anita there.”