Kirke Martin. Photo: Courtesy Bieber Public Relations

Kirke Martin, founder of Martin, Allbee, Miller, Bryan, & Associates, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 16 after battle with cancer. He was 70.

Martin was a business manager for 39 years working with Brad Paisley, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, T. Graham Brown, Tammy Wynette, Keith Whitley and many others, including a large roster of Christian artists.

Born Frederick Kirke Martin III on Jan. 13, 1950 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was the only child of his parents Kirke and Jenny Martin. Martin was a graduate of North Hills High School and DePauw University. He was an accomplished football and baseball player and was nicknamed “Lurch” for his gentle demeanor and towering stature. Martin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Finance & Business and a master’s degree in Education, and was a proud member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

While studying abroad in Denmark, Martin met his eventual wife Margie. The two immediately fell in love and were married June 12, 1971. The newlyweds then moved to Nashville, Tennessee.

Martin founded his own music business firm in 1981, Martin and Associates (now Martin, Albee, Miller, Bryan and Associates). Martin was revered for his honesty, loyalty, and practicality, and his advice was sought after by many up-and-coming and established artists. During his 40 years in the Nashville music industry, Martin served on the boards of Leadership Music and Nashville Entertainment Association, and was a member of CMA and GMA. Martin was proud of his business, loved by his colleagues, and counted his clients as friends and family.

Martin and his wife raised four children—Kirke, Edward, Margo and Helen—and he spent most of the ’80s and ’90s coaching and watching soccer, baseball, ballet, and ice hockey. He spent his weekends traveling for his sons’ hockey games and was an integral part of growing the Nashville Youth Hockey League, serving as Board President for multiple terms.

The days up to his death were filled with laughter and tears, music and knitting, and the love of his devoted family.

Martin was preceded in death by his parents, Frederick Kirke Martin Jr. and Jenny Helen Martin, and his parents-in-law, Edward A. and Marguerite Fish. Martin is survived by his beloved wife of 49.5 years, Margie, his children Kirke, Edward and Rachel Martin, Margo and David Cloniger, and Helen and Kris Nonn. As well as by his eleven beloved grandchildren, Samuel, Meridian, and Reuben Cloniger; Dylan, Rowan and Eamon Martin; Olive and McKay Martin; and Ryer, Marlow and Hollis Nonn. Martin is also survived by his dear chosen brother, Thom Schuyler (Sarah Tallu), his brothers-in-law Ed (Toni), John (Denice), and Walter Fish, his niece, nephews, cousins and by his friend, Henry Yarborough.

Due to the current restrictions imposed by COVID-19, there will be a small private service for the family. Martin’s family welcomes any written remembrances in celebration of his life. Please mail your remembrances to: The Martin Family care of MAMBA, P.O. Box 128287, Nashville, TN 37212, or email them to TheMartinFamily3906@gmail.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to organizations near to the Martin family: The Store (P.O. Box 128287, Nashville, TN, 37212), The Nashville Food Project (5904 California Ave, Nashville, TN 37209), Monteagle Sunday School Assembly (PO Box 307, Monteagle TN, 37356), or Alive Hospice (1718 Patterson St., Nashville, TN, 37203).

Nashville’s Americana community has lost one of its key business figures. Lynsey McDonald, 58, died on Nov. 23 following an eight-year struggle with multiple myeloma.

For most of her career, she worked in artist management, helping to guide the careers of Jason & The Scorchers, Todd Snider, Deana Carter, The Georgia Satellites, Robbie Fulks and Jay Joyce.

She also helped to launch the Americana music radio series Music City Roots. McDonald worked at Praxis International, Vector Management, Rising Tide Records, Thirty Tigers, TomKats catering, CMT, and her own Magnolia Way Management firm.

Born Allison Lynn McDonald, she grew up in Chattanooga. She excelled at competitive fast-pitch softball, basketball and tennis as a high-school student. McDonald graduated from MTSU’s Recording Industry Management program in 1984. Although she had a fine singing voice, she concentrated on the business side of music, initially working with Nashville’s alt-rock bands.

Among her accomplishments was helping to launch the Loveless Barn music venue, which is where Music City Roots began.

McDonald is survived by her son Gates Knight and his father, her former husband Sam Knight. Her parents—Darrell and Marilyn McDonald—also survive her, along with aunts Linda Lesley and Faye McDonald, uncle Roger Coe and numerous cousins.

Donations can be made in her name at Second Harvest Food Bank, 331 Great Circle Road, Nashville 37228.

There will be a memorial service at a later date. In the meantime, friends are encouraged to post pictures, comments and reminiscences at phillipsrobinson.com.

Hal Ketchum. Photo: Pete Lacker

Singer-songwriter Hal Ketchum died on Monday (Nov. 23) at age 67, following a struggle with early-onset dementia.

Known for such top country hits as “Small Town Saturday Night” and “Past the Point of Rescue,” Ketchum has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry cast since 1994.

He was born and raised in Greenwich, NY, in the Adirondack Mountains near the Vermont state line. Ketchum’s father was a country banjo player, but the boy got his start in music as a drummer for a local R&B band at age 15.

At age 17, Hal Michael Ketchum became a master carpenter, initially plying his trade in Florida, then moving to Austin, TX. A visit to the legendary showplace Gruene Hall changed his life in 1981. Ketchum became captivated by Lone Star State tunesmiths Townes Van Zandt and Lyle Lovett. Determined to follow in their footsteps, he taught himself guitar and began playing open-mic nights at the venue.

He recorded his debut LP Threadbare Alibis in 1986. It contained the first 10 songs he’d ever written. He showcased at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 1987 and was spotted by songwriter Pat Alger, who took Ketchum’s music to Nashville. Music Row’s Forerunner Music signed him as a staff songwriter in 1988. His album was released in Europe the following year, leading to career-long popularity overseas.

Ketchum moved to Music City in 1990 and was signed by Curb Records. “Small Town Saturday Night” made him a star in the summer of 1991. It was named the No. 1 country single of the year by Radio & Records magazine. Its hilarious accompanying music video won Breakthrough Video of the Year honors from MusicRow, and Ketchum was nominated for the CMA’s Horizon Award.

He followed his breakthrough smash with his self-composed “I Know Where Love Lives,” then rang up a trio of 1992 hits – “Past the Point of Rescue,” “Five O’Clock World” and “Sure Love.” His debut Curb album, Past the Point of Rescue, was certified as a Gold Record.

The string of hits continued in 1993 with “Mama Knows the Highway” and his self-written “Hearts Are Gonna Roll” and “Someplace Far Away.” Ketchum sang the songs of such top Nashville songwriters as Alger, Gary Burr, Allen Reynolds and Shawn Camp. In addition, he often co-wrote his singles, as was the case with “(Tonight We Just Might) Fall in Love Again” (with Al Anderson, 1994), “Stay Forever” (with Benmont Tench, 1995), and “Every Little Word” (with Marcus Hummon, 1995).

He fell in love with the Opry when he first guested on the show in 1991 and began dropping hints that he’d love to be invited to join the cast. Those efforts paid off in January 1994. Hal Ketchum called his induction the highlight of his life.

His album output on Curb continued with Sure Love (1992), Every Little Word (1994) and I Saw the Light (1998). But Ketchum’s career was troubled by health issues. He went to rehab for substance abuse in 1992 and 1997 before attaining sobriety in early 1998. Later that year, he was diagnosed with acute transverse myelitis, a neurologic disorder that can cause paralysis. He had to learn to sing and play guitar all over again.

He battled back with the Curb collections Awaiting Redemption (1999), Lucky Man (2001) and The King of Love (2003). Then speech impairment, balance issues and arm paralysis led to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, the disease that had killed his mother. Months of physical therapy allowed him to reemerge on stage via a role in The Nashville Ballet’s 2006 production of The Nutcracker and on disc with the 2008 CD Father Time.

Ketchum temporarily retired from music and moved back to Texas in 2008. He took up painting, resumed woodworking and wrote poetry and short stories. His paintings were featured in one of the art galleries in Santa Fe, NM.

In 2014, he reemerged with the album I’m the Troubadour and resumed touring regionally. Ketchum appeared sporadically in Texas venues throughout the next four years.

In April 2019, he announced his retirement and his dementia diagnosis, which was accompanied by Alzheimer’s Disease. His wife Andrea stated that he died at home on Monday night.

Hal Ketchum was married four times and had five children. Funeral arrangements had not been announced at press time.

Doug Supernaw. Photo: Courtesy Robert K. Oermann

Texas singer-songwriter Doug Supernaw, who topped the country charts in 1993-96, died Nov. 13, following a battle with cancer.

He is best known for “Reno” (1993), “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” (1993) and “Not Enough Hours in the Night” (1996). Supernaw, who was 60 when he passed, was nominated as the ACM’s New Male Artist of the Year and earned a Gold record for his Red and Rio Grande album in 1994.

Noted as a top songwriter as well as a good-time showman, Supernaw’s career was derailed by mental illness and substance abuse. But during the last few years of his life he fought to reclaim it.

He was born in 1960 and raised in middle-class circumstances in suburban Houston. He excelled as an athlete, particularly in baseball and golf. Supernaw earned a golf scholarship to the University of St. Thomas in 1978. He began writing songs and dropped out of school in 1979 to become the lead singer for the Carolina beach-party band The Occasions. Two years later, he returned to school, but flunked out of Texas Tech.

He went to work in the oil fields and continued to write songs. In 1986, he became the promoter and booker for the Arena Theater, a major venue in suburban Houston.

He took his songs to Nashville in 1987 and became a staff writer for a publisher on Music Row. But Supernaw yearned to record and to entertain. Four years later, he returned to the Lone Star State and formed his band Texas Steel. The honky-tonk group soon rose high on the lucrative East Texas music circuit.

At the urging of talent scout R.C. Bannon, RCA Records signed him and placed him on its BNA imprint. Supernaw debuted on the country charts with “Honky Tonkin’ Fool” in early 1993, but the single failed to crack the top-40. He co-wrote its follow-up, “Reno,” which hit No. 4. His third single was the divorced-fathers anthem “I Don’t Call Him Daddy,” which soared to No. 1 as 1993 drew to a close.

Doug Supernaw. Photo: Courtesy Robert K. Oermann

All three tunes appeared on Red and Rio Grande, which was certified as a Gold record in the summer of 1994. The Academy of Country Music nominated “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” as 1994’s Video of the Year and Song of the Year during the same year that Supernaw competed as the organization’s Best New Male Artist. He was also nominated for awards by TNN/Music City News, MusicRow and Billboard.

He appeared on the soundtrack of the movie comedy The Beverly Hillbillies singing the Buck Owens classic “Together Again.” During this period, he also became noted for his charity work on behalf of sick children, the handicapped, scholarship students and abused women.

His reputation as an entertainer was polished by such stunts as flying to the stage from the top of the Houston Astrodome on a guy wire and diving face-first into a mud pit at a Canadian festival without missing a note. Affectionately known as “Supe,” his witty antics at rollicking nightclub appearances drew enthusiastic crowds. His unpredictable candor made him a media favorite, as well.

In the mid-1990s, Supernaw temporarily faltered on the charts. He co-wrote 1994’s “Red and Rio Grande,” which hit No. 23. But his versions of Mickey Cates’ “State Fair” and Steve Goodman’s “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” (co-written by an uncredited John Prine) were less successful. Supernaw rebounded with Dennis Linde’s “What’ll You Do About Me” in 1995 when that single rose to No. 16.

Those last three singles appeared on his second album, Deep Thoughts From a Shallow Mind, as did six Supernaw originals and his version of Jimmy Buffett’s “He Went to Paris.” When that album failed to sell, BNA dropped him from its roster.

Supernaw broke his neck while surfing. He survived a head-on car accident and a case of food poisoning. He and his band—renamed The Possum Eatin’ Cowboys—had all of their equipment stolen, twice. He went through a divorce from his first wife, Trudy.

Supernaw’s BNA producer Richard Landis stayed with him. The team resurfaced on the Warner Bros. label Giant Records with You Still Got Me in late 1995. That collection’s “Not Enough Hours in the Night” became a smash hit when it went to No. 3.

In 1996, “She Never Looks Back” and Supernaw’s self-penned “You Still Got Me” stalled outside the top-40. His label began to decline in influence and eventually closed.

Supernaw’s last appearance on the country hit parade was a 1996 collaboration with The Beach Boys on the humorous novelty “Long Tall Texan.” His final big-label Nashville CD was the BNA compilation Encore Collection in 1997.

Throughout his hit-making years, he had remained a steadfast Texas artist. He co-wrote songs with his band and prided himself on being a country traditionalist. By resisting the temptations of Nashville, Supernaw saw himself as a country-music rebel.

The independent label Tack Records issued a Doug Supernaw album sadly but aptly titled Fadin’ Renegade in 1999. The comeback attempt failed.

His career and life began to unravel. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Doug Supernaw was charged with drunk driving, assaulting a police officer, failure to make child-support payments, marijuana possession, jumping bail, public intoxication, contempt of court and disorderly conduct. The band quit in 1998. In 2004, second wife Debbie filed for divorce.

As recounted by journalist John Nova Lomax in The Houston Press, Supernaw’s pronouncements became increasingly erratic. He claimed he was a Native American, was implanted with a chip in his head, was swindled out of racehorses and that there was an international conspiracy to silence him because he was the illegitimate son of Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy. On one occasion he was found naked, rambling that his wife had been decapitated and unable to recall his own name.

He told Lomax that he had been held hostage in a “mentally retarded home for terrorists” in Paris, France. He said he had been labeled “an alchaholik” and had a “bi-polar bear” as well as “sickle cell amnesia.” A judge stated that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial and ordered a psychiatric evaluation.

By 2007, Supernaw was cleared of most of the charges against him. During the next decade, his behavior stabilized, and he resumed touring. He acquired a new management team. He also returned to recording in Nashville.

In 2016, Doug Supernaw was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. In April, 2017, he released an album containing new recordings of his hits, plus two new songs, including his single “The Company I Keep.” That June, he returned to the CMA Music Festival stage in Nashville. In the fall, Dierks Bentley invited him to be part of an all-star Ralph Stanley Tribute Concert at the Opry House. In November 2018, Doug Supernaw married Cissy Allen live on Facebook from Las Vegas.

In January 2019, he sought treatment for a persistent cough. His initial diagnosis was pneumonia, but subsequent tests revealed Stage IV cancer in his lungs and bladder. A bladder tumor was removed in March 2019

On Sunday, Oct. 18, Cissy Supernaw posted on Facebook that her husband had been placed in home hospice care and that the cancer had spread to his brain and spine.

He is survived by his third wife, children, and grandchildren. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Bryan Wayne Galentine records his album While You Wait.

Songwriter Bryan Wayne Galentine died Oct. 22 at age 53, following a battle with ALS. He was the sole writer for Tommy Shane Steiner’s debut single “What If She’s An Angel,” which reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in 2002.

He also earned a Top 25 single as a writer with Chris Cagle’s “Country By The Grace of God” and his song “Kick My Ass” was included on Big & Rich’s 3x multi-Platinum debut album. Galentine also earned cuts with Clay Walker, Emerson Drive, and more.

Galentine was diagnosed with terminal ALS in 2017. Faced with the possibility of losing his ability to speak or sing, he went into the studio to make his debut full-length project While You Wait. The album included the single “Simplify,” which featured Big & Rich, James Otto, Shannon Lawson and Joanna Janet. The album was recorded in the home studio of Big & Rich member Big Kenny Alphin, as well as Starstruck Studios and Dave Brainard’s deciBel. The project released in 2018 and included Bryan’s own version of “What If She’s An Angel.”