Billy Mize, a key figure on the California country scene of the 1950s and 1960s, has died at age 88. He died at a nursing home in Pleasanton, Calif. on Nov. 1.

Mize made his mark as a television personality, a steel guitarist, a songwriter, a radio broadcaster and a vocalist. His best-known song is the honky-tonk classic “Who Will Buy the Wine.” Billy Mize won three ACM Awards and was the subject of a documentary film. He was born William Robert Mize on April 29, 1929 in Kansas City, but he was raised in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Inspired by Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys, the young guitarist switched to steel guitar when he was 18.

Mize moved to Bakersfield, formed his own band and worked as a DJ on KPMC radio. He began his television career in 1953 on Cousin Herb Henson’s Trading Post show on KERO-TV. He remained with that program for 13 years. Mize is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Bakersfield music scene.

Meanwhile, he also began appearing on The Hank Penny Show on Los Angeles television in 1955. The handsome, dapper entertainer graduated from there to the famed Town Hall Party program. By the late 1950s, he was appearing on seven weekly L.A. country TV shows, while still commuting to his Bakersfield commitments.

In 1966, he became the host of Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch series on KTLA-TV. He also began filming his own syndicated TV show in Bakersfield. The Academy of Country Music named him its television Personality of the Year in 1965, 1966 and 1967.

As a songwriter, Billy Mize provided Charlie Walker with “Who Will Buy the Wine” in 1960. This was Mize’s biggest hit as a writer. He also wrote the Johnny Sea 1964 hit “My Baby Walks All Over Me.” Others who recorded Billy Mize songs included Dean Martin, Merle Haggard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Red Simpson, Johnny Cash, Ernest Tubb, Bob Luman, Vikki Carr, Waylon Jennings, Porter Wagoner, Jim Ed Brown, Ray Price and Buck Owens.

His younger brother Buddy Mize is also a songwriter, noted for the 1966 Marty Robbins hit “The Shoe Goes on the Other Foot Tonight,” Bonnie Guitar’s 1966 hit “Get Your Lie the Way You Want It” and other tunes. His “Hangin’ On” was a Gosdin Brothers country hit in 1967, a Joe Simon R&B hit in 1968 and a Vern Gosdin/Emmylou Harris collaboration in 1976. Buddy was also a radio personality and record producer.

As a recording artist, big brother Billy Mize first made the country charts with his self-penned “You Can’t Stop Me” in 1966. Recording for Columbia, United Artists, Challenge, Decca, Liberty, Imperial and Zodiac, he made the charts 11 times between then and 1977. He wrote his 1969 top-40 hit “Make It Rain.”

His albums included This Time and Place on Imperial Records in 1969, You’re All Right With Me on United Artists Records in 1971 and Love N Stuff on Zodiac Records in 1976. In later years, he released Billy Mize’s Tribute to Swing (G&M, 1986), A Salute to Swing (Hag, 2006) and Make It Rain (Sharecropper, 2006).

As a steel guitarist, Billy Mize worked on recording sessions for Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Johnny Bond, Merle Travis, Tommy Duncan and others. He also performed as a member of Haggard’s band The Strangers.

He continued his TV work on the series RFD Hollywood. He eventually formed his own television production company and created TV specials starring Haggard. He and his brother Buddy worked on several TV projects together in the 1980s.

Billy Mize suffered a stroke in 1988 at age 59 and was unable to speak clearly for many years. In 2001, he was honored by the Pioneers of Western Swing organization. He regained his ability to sing and performed at his 80th birthday party in 2009. He was the subject of the critically praised 2014 documentary film Billy Mize and the Bakersfield Sound.

Mize was also the great uncle of rising country artist Logan Mize.

Music Industry executive, Rob Potts, has unexpectedly passed away as a result of a motorcycle accident that occurred on Friday, October 27, 2017, in Tasmania, Australia.

Potts was a longtime member of the Country Music Association (CMA) Board of Directors where he was actively involved in Country music’s international efforts. He is a previous chairman of the CMA International Committee and the current chairman of the Australian CMA Advisory Group. This past March, CMA awarded Potts with the Jo Walker Meador International award to recognize his outstanding achievement in advocating and supporting country music’s marketing development in territories outside the United States.

His company Rob Potts Entertainment Edge has been at the forefront of the recent surge of US Country superstars in the Australian market. With Chugg Entertainment, Potts established the CMC Rocks festival brand with the CMC Rocks The Snowys, CMC Rocks The Hunter and now CMC Rocks QLD festivals, which in 2016 became Australia’s first sold-out country music festival in history.

Potts was also the longtime manager to Warner Music Nashville’s Morgan Evans.

CMA CEO Sarah Trahern commented, “The CMA Board and staff as well as the country music community were devastated at the news of Rob’s passing. He was a key driver of our international expansion for the past years and waived the country flag proudly in Australia. On a personal note, my husband Wayne and I have lost a vibrant friend. Rob lived life to its fullest.”

Potts is survived by his son, Jeremy Potts, and ex-wife, Sally. Arrangements are pending at this time.

 

Artist manager Terry Elam, who was with Fitzgerald Hartley for 28 years, died Wednesday, October 11, 2017 from lung cancer. He was 66.

He currently co-managed Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill and managed the Grammy-winning band The Time Jumpers.

Prior to his work with Fitzgerald Hartley, Elam worked with Roy Orbison until Orbison’s death in 1988. Elam is survived by his wife of 42 years, Donna, as well as four children: Erica, Brett, Matthew and daughter-in-law Jordan Craven Elam, and Scott Elam. Son Matthew is a booking agent with WME. He is also survived by grandchildren George, Charles, Annie and Mary Virginia Elam, his mother Helen Horne and brother Robert Elam.

Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.

Donations can be made to: Terry Elam/IEBA Endowed Scholarship for Music Business. Checks are made payable to Belmont University and please indicate Terry Elam Scholarship on memo line.

Mailing address:
Belmont University
Office of Development, Fidelity Hall 105
1900 Belmont Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37212

Additional reporting by Robert K. Oermann

Tom Petty, lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, has died at the age of 66 at UCLA Medical Center on the same day there were many early, erroneous reports citing his death. Petty was rushed to the hospital after being found in a full state of cardiac arrest in his Malibu home on Sunday night (Oct. 1). He is said to have arrived at the medical center with no brain activity. He died at 8:40 p.m. PT surrounded by family, bandmates and friends, according to longtime manager of the band Tony Dimitriades.

In September, the 2002-inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Famer wrapped a six-month, 52-show 40th Anniversary tour after a three-night run at Los Angeles’s Hollywood Bowl. The outing touched down in 24 states and three countries including Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in April. A photo spread of Petty’s final outing was posted the day he died. He was scheduled to perform in New York next month.

Known for writing and producing his own hits like “Free Fallin’,” “American Girl,” “Runnin’ Down A Dream,” “I Won’t Back Down,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” and “Learning To Fly,” Petty also produced Stevie Nicks’ 1981 breakout Bella Donna which featured his song “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Petty was also featured on Hank Williams Jr.’s two-week No. 1 “Mind Your Own Business” in 1986, alongside Willie Nelson, evangelist Reverend Ike and Reba McEntire.

In April, Warner Bros. announced the re-release of six individual albums from the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers catalog as stand-alone vinyl titles, on 140g black vinyl with the original LP artwork. She’s The One, Echo, The Last DJ and Highway Companion have been remastered from original tapes, while Mojo and Hypnotic Eye have been repressed from the original masters.

In 1996, Petty and his Heartbreakers band joined Johnny Cash and producer Rick Rubin for the release of the Grammy-winning album Unchained, which includes a cover of Petty’s “Southern Accent,” originally written and recorded a decade earlier by the rocker.

Tom Petty has written two country hits: Rosanne Cash’s No. 1, “Never Be You,” in 1986 and Southern Pacific & Emmylou Harris’ “Thing About You” in 1985. Many country artists covered Petty, including Sammy Kershaw, The Swon Brothers, Robin Meade, Aaron Watson, Glen Campbell, Neal Coty and The Everly Brothers. Bluegrass covers also came from Dale Ann Bradley, Infamous Stringdusters and The Gibson Brothers.

The Chris Hillman album that Petty produced is also a reunion of Desert Rose Band members with Petty’s song “Wildflowers” appearing on the album.

Petty also appears on The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 3, singing “Irene Goodnight.”

No arrangements have been announced.