B.B. King

Blues legend B.B. King died last night (May 14). He was 89.

Riley B. King spent more than 70 years entertaining fans with his blues riffs and, according to the 2014 documentary B.B. King: The Life of Riley, performing more than 15,000 shows by the time of his death.

Along the way, he earned numerous accolades, including 15 Grammy Awards (in addition to a Lifetime Achievement honor in 1987), the Presidential Medal of the Arts, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. In 2005, Mississippi state legislature honored the singer-songwriter-guitarist with B.B. King Day.

King was born in Mississippi on Sept. 16, 1925. Some of his earliest recordings were for Nashville-based label Bullet Records, and for Sam Phillips‘ RPM label. For a short time, he worked as a singer and disc jockey at WDIA where he earned the nickname “Beale Street Blues Boy,” which was later shortened to “Blues Boy” and then to “B.B.”

Numerous acclaimed songs would follow, including “How Blue Can You Get,” “Everyday I Have The Blues,” “3 O’Clock Blues,” “Please Love Me,” “You Upset Me Baby,” and “The Thrill Is Gone,” which garnered King his first Grammy in 1970, for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance.

Classic albums included 2000’s double platinum-selling Riding With The King, 1997’s gold-selling Deuces Wild, 1971’s Live in Cook County Jail, 1970’s Indianola Mississippi Seeds, and numerous others.

Herb McCollugh

Veteran Nashville songwriter Herb McCullough died at home in Florida on Tuesday, May 5, at age 70.

More than 100 albums contain his tunes. Among the stars who’ve recorded his songs are Diamond Rio, Josh Turner, Charley Pride, Highway 101, Wade Hayes, Rhett Akins, Hal Ketchum, Mel McDaniel, Mark Chesnutt, Joy Lynn White, T.G. Sheppard, Marie Osmond and John Schneider.

John Anderson made the country charts with McCullough’s cowritten “Down in the Orange Grove” in 1988. Although the songwriter never had a major hit, his songs were recorded steadily for more than 30 years.

He is particularly noted for bluegrass recordings. Among the genre’s stars who have recorded Herb McCullough songs are The Seldom Scene, The Lynn Morris Band, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, The Isaacs, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Harley Allen, David Parmley and Mike Auldridge. Among McCullough’s best-known bluegrass tunes is “The Man with the Travelin’ Teardrop Blues,” as popularized by The Del McCoury Band in 2001.

He frequently collaborated with dulcimer virtuoso David Schnaufer (1952-2006) and with good friend Shawn Camp. Other Americana artists who recorded McCullough songs include Barry & Holly Tashian, Rattlesnake Annie, Hobo Jim, Toni Price and Jim Rooney.

Herb McCullough moved to Nashville from Winter Haven, Fla., in 1974 at age 30. He signed his first song-publishing contract in 1978, the year that Moe Bandy became the first of many artists to record his songs.

He retired to Apopka, Fla. several years ago. Herb McCullough is survived by his wife, Joann, daughter Christie Williams and son Sean McCullough. At his request, he will be cremated today, May 11, with a celebration of life to follow on May 16 at the Dunnellon, Fla., Funeral Home.

Dorothy “Dottie” Dillard

Singer Dottie Dillard, one of the cornerstone figures of The Nashville Sound of the 1950s and 1960s, has died at age 91.

As a member of The Anita Kerr Quartet, Dillard won two Grammy Awards and sang back-up for a who’s-who of Nashville music, including Red Foley, Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, Perry Como, Bob Dylan, Skeeter Davis, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow, Webb Pierce, Brook Benton, Connie Frances and Jimmie Davis.

Among the hits featuring her vocals are Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (1958) and “I’m Sorry” (1960), Burl Ives’ “Holly, Jolly Christmas” (1964), Dottie West’s Grammy-winning “Here Comes My Baby” (1964), Bobby Bare’s Grammy-winning “Detroit City” (1963), Roy Orbison’s “Only the Lonely” (1960) and “Running Scared” (1961), Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (1957) and “The Three Bells” by The Browns (1959), which was the first Nashville Sound record to hit No. 1 on the pop charts.

Dorothy Ann Dillard was born and raised in Springfield, Mo. She graduated from Drury College in 1945. She auditioned for WSM radio in Nashville that year and became a regular pop-music vocalist on the station.

In 1955, she formed The Anita Kerr Quartet as the alto vocalist alongside soprano Kerr, tenor Gil Wright and baritone/bass Louis Nunley. Producers Owen Bradley and Chet Atkins were soon using them as studio background singers.

The Anita Kerr Quartet and The Jordanaires helped to soften the country sound and make it possible for records to become pop as well as country hits. It is estimated that Dillard sang on one quarter of all the records made in Nashville in the 1960s.

The Quartet also gained fame under its own name. In 1956, the group commuted to New York and won on the nationally televised Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts show. They subsequently became regularly featured vocalists on it.

Back in Nashville, the group had a string of releases on Decca and RCA Victor, including “Rockin’ Chair,” “Once in a While” and “You and the Night and Music.” Billed as “The Little Dippers,” they scored a top-10 pop hit with “Forever” in 1960. In 1962-63, the singers made the lower reaches of the pop hit charts with “Joey Baby” and “Waiting for the Evening Train.”

The Anita Kerr Quartet was part of the ground-breaking 1964 country package tour of Europe alongside Jim Reeves, Bobby Bare and Chet Atkins.

In 1965, the group’s LP We Dig Mancini won a pop Grammy Award and its collaboration with George Beverly Shea on Southland Gospel Favorites won a gospel Grammy.
Kerr left the group and moved to California around 1966, but Dillard, Nunley and Wright continued working in Nashville studios with substitute soprano vocalists.
After a 36-year career in Nashville, Dottie Dillard returned to Springfield in 1981 to care for her mother.

The singer died in Springfield on Wednesday, May 6. Her visitation and funeral are scheduled for today, May 11, at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, 1947 E. Seminole St., Springfield, MO 65804 (417-886-9994).

Dottie Dillard is survived by nieces Suzanne Dillard Burke and Sarah “Sally” Young, plus cousins George Dillard, Lynn Thompson, Karen Thompson, Patsy Thompson and Nancy White.

Memorial donations may be made to the Drury University Women’s Auxiliary Endowed Scholarship Fund, 900 N. Benton St., Springfield, MO 65802.

Dan Burton Wilson, Jr.

Songwriter and publisher Dan Burton Wilson, Jr., died April 21, 2015 at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, Tenn. He was 69.

Wilson worked at Sony/ATV (Tree) Publishing in Nashville for 20 years as a song plugger, writer, producer and VP of Creative Affairs.

He also penned numerous songs, which were recorded by Ricky Skaggs, The Oak Ridge Boys, Jerry Reed, and others. Wilson co-penned “War Is Hell (On The Homefront, Too),” a No. 1 hit for T.G. Sheppard in 1982. Wilson retired from the music industry in 1996.

A celebration of life will be held at Ligon & Bobo Funeral Home on Tuesday, May 12 at 6 p.m. His family will receive visitors on Tuesday, May 12 from 4 p.m. until services begin at 6 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Dan Wilson Memorial Trust at any Suntrust Bank branch. Ligon & Bobo Funeral Home is located at 241 West Main St. in Lebanon, Tenn.

Wilson, Jr. is survived by daughters Tori (Mark) Langellier of Heyworth, Ill., and Karen Fischer of Normal, Ill.; grandchildren Gage, Carsyn, and Kannon Langellier of Heyworth, Ill., Kaleb Peterson, Jake Fischer of Normal, Ill.; sister Betty Mitchell; niece Wynne Luter; and nephew Tom Mitchell.

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood with Alan Mayor’s sister, Theresa Smith.

Photos by Bev Moser, Moments By Moser

The life of music photographer Alan Mayor was celebrated last night (April 20) during a memorial service at BMI, co-hosted by BMI and Dickinson Wright. Misty Loggins and friends performed and loved ones spoke to the crowd, while a carousel of photos displayed in the background.

Mayor passed away February 23, 2015 and was laid to rest during a private ceremony.

Over the past 30 years, the renowned photographer accumulated an unrivaled archive of country music’s elite. Some of his career highlights include capturing Paul and Linda McCartney on stage with Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner, and photographing the wedding of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. He was the principal photographer of Garth Brooks’ early career, and the two developed a strong friendship. Mayor was the longtime photographer for MusicRow magazine and released the 1999 book, The Nashville Family Album: A Country Music Scrapbook.

Heather Lawrence remembers Alan Mayor fondly.

(L-R): Marc-Alan Barnette and Jimbeau Hinson perform.

Misty Loggins performs.

Unique bookmarks were handed out at the service.