Blair Garner To Release Compilation CD

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For nearly two decades Blair Garner has hosted his nightly syndicated radio show, “After MidNite,” conducting candid interviews with some of Country’s biggest artists. In addition to his busy broadcast schedule, Garner recently announced he will be releasing Beyond The Hits, the debut compilation CD from his newly formed TriPower Production Company. The CD will feature non-single tracks off previously recorded albums by Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and more.

“Obviously not all the songs get the spotlight of being a single; it just doesn’t work that way. Because of that I think some songs may not get their fair share of attention. Beyond The Hits looks to change that. We want fans to realize the sheer depth and brilliance of these artists. Every cut on Beyond could have been, in my opinion, a number one. I’m just lucky to be the guy to bring them to light,” Garner says.

Beyond The Hits Volume 1 will be available on iTunes as a $9.99 digital album beginning January 10, 2012. A percentage of the profits from the sales of Beyond The Hits will benefit charity.

Beyond The Hits track listing:

Alan Jackson – “If Jesus Walked the World Today”
Martina McBride – “Sunny Side Up”
Luke Bryan – “First Love Song”
Tim McGraw – “Can’t Tell Me Nothin’”
Brad Paisley – “Better Than This”
Jason Aldean – “I Believe In Ghosts”
Sara Evans – “You Don’t”
Trace Adkins – “Southern Hallelujah”
Lady Antebellum – “Slow Down Sister”
Darius Rucker – “Be Wary of a Woman”
Miranda Lambert – “Guilty In Here”
Kenny Chesney – “In a Small Town”
Carrie Underwood – “You Won’t Find This”
Keith Urban – “My Heart Is Open”
Josh Turner – “Gravity”
Rascal Flatts – “Cool Thing”
Toby Keith – “Hurt a Lot Worse When You Go”
Sugarland – “One Blue Sky”
Billy Currington – “Heal Me”
LeAnn Rimes – “You Take Me Home”

Weekly Chart Review (12/2/11)

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Bill Gentry (L) makes special delivery of his new single, "This Letter," to KJJY/Des Moines PD RW Smith (R). Gentry has been out promoting the song, which appears on his upcoming 2012 CD release.

SPIN ZONE
Raise a glass, people. Eric Church’s “Drink In My Hand” has ascended to the CountryBreakout Chart’s No. 1 spot, making it his first chart-topping single. Then there’s a chaser (ha!) of The Band Perry’s “All Your Life” and Zac Brown Band’s “Keep Me In Mind” at No. 2 and 3, respectively. Also moving up are Luke Bryan’s “I Don’t Want This Night to End” at No. 4 and Rascal Flatts’ “Easy” at No. 5

Taylor Swift’s performance of “Ours” on the CMA Awards apparently had quite an impact. Less than a month later, the song is her official new single and just snapped up a gain of 467 spins to debut at No. 55. And maybe programmers are kind of waking up from the Thanksgiving turkey slumber, because there are numerous singles piling on 200-plus spins: Brad Paisley’s “Camouflage” (No. 15), Keith Urban’s “You Gonna Fly” (No. 16), Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup” (No. 17), George Strait’s “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” (No. 23), Trace Adkins’ “Million Dollar View” (No. 24), and Faith Hill’s “Come Home” (No. 34).

Frozen Playlists: KBCN, KDKD, KIAI, KTHK, WHMA, WKWS, WXFL

 

On a recent West Coast run to promote his debut single “Cowboy Up and Party Down,” NuCorp Entertainment artist Darren Warren (R) stopped by KNCI in Sacramento to visit with Music Director Matt Vieira (L).

Upcoming Singles
December 5
Taylor Swift/Ours/Big Machine
Steve Holy/Until The Rain Stops/Curb

December 12
Josh Thompson/Comin’ Around/RCA
Tim Dugger/Way Past My Beer Time/Curb
Brantley Gilbert/You Don’t Know Her Like I Do/Valory

• • • • •

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Taylor Swift/Ours/Big Machine — 55
Her and Kings County/White Trash Country Boy/Warner Bros./WMN — 74
Casey Donahew Band/Double—Wide Dream — 75
Jonalee White/Brand New/Lick — 76
The Lost Trailers/Underdog/CO5 — 78
Brent Anderson/Amy’s Song/Arista — 80

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Taylor Swift/Ours/Big Machine — 467
Keith Urban/You Gonna Fly/Capitol — 313
George Strait/Love’s Gonna Make It Alright/MCA — 311
Faith Hill/Come Home/Warner Bros. — 291
Toby Keith/Red Solo Cup/Show Dog-Universal — 258

Straight Shooter's Alexandra Demetree (L) stopped by Wichita's 100.5 the Wolf and hung out with Colby Ericson (R) during the Wolf Morning Show.

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Taylor Swift/Ours/Big Machine — 36
Faith Hill/Come Home/Warner Bros. — 14
Brantley Gilbert/You Don’t Know Her Like I Do/Valory — 12
George Strait/Love’s Gonna Make It Alright/MCA — 11
Sawyer Brown/Travelin’ Band — 8
Gloriana/(Kissed You) Good Night Emblem/WMN — 8
The Lost Trailers/Underdog/CO5 — 8

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Love and Theft/Angel Eyes/RCA — 151
Jackie Arredondo/Rockin’ the Trailer/Gold Voice — 150
Sawyer Brown/Travelin’ Band — 147
Bill Gentry/This Letter/Tenacity — 147
Wade Bowen/Saturday Night/Sea Gayle/BNA — 145
Brantley Gilbert/You Don’t Know Her Like I Do/Valory — 138

Jake Owen Celebrates First No. 1

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(L-R): BMI’s Jody Williams, Cal IV Publishing’s Daniel Hill, co-writers Dylan Altman and Terry Sawchuk, Jake Owen, co-writer Eric Paslay, producers Joey Moi and Rodney Clawson, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, and Sony’s Gary Overton. Photo: Steve Lowry

Jake Owen celebrated his first No. 1 hit “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” with a packed house at CMA on Tuesday night (11/29). The Sony Music Nashville star was joined by songwriters Eric Paslay, Terry Sawchuk and Dylan Altman at the event co-hosted by ASCAP and BMI. “Barefoot…” is also the first No. 1 for Paslay and Sawchuck, and the second for Altman.

“I’ve been to a lot of these things, standing in the back over there, drinking a free beer,” Owen laughed, “so to be up here right now is amazing.” He quickly shared the spotlight though, thanking his band, label and songwriters. He pointed out that the song would not have been successful without a genuine team effort. “There’s no single way that one person makes the big difference, unless you’re the Indianapolis Colts,” he joked, referring to the Colts’ 0-11 record while QB Peyton Manning is sidelined with an injury this season.

Paslay, a new artist signed to Capitol Nashville, got a little choked up addressing the audience. “This is the first talk like this I’ve given to a crowd about thanking them,” he explained, taking a moment to collect himself. Like Owen, Paslay expressed his gratitude to those around him, thanking his parents for his first guitar and Cal IV for jump-starting his career with an internship.

The song, which has racked up 115,000 radio spins, was produced by Joey Moi, Rodney Clawson and Tony Brown. It is one of only six songs released in 2011 to reach Platinum download status.

Owen is following up the success of “Barefoot…” with new single “Alone with You.” The video, featuring a cameo by his bulldog Merle, is premiering on Facebook. The single is already No. 24 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout chart.

“This song changed my life,” added Owen of his first No. 1. “I’m so grateful to the songwriters, who have become really good friends of mine. Feeling the support of this amazingly talented community is hard to describe. It’s just awesome to be part of it. This has been the best year of my life.”

Sony/ATV Hangs At Top of Publisher Airplay Chart

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Sony/ATV has been poised firmly at the pinnacle of the Top 10 Country Publishers Airplay Chart (published in Billboard) for six of the last seven quarters. The publishing company had 14.1% of market share for country airplay during the third quarter 2011, measured by HFA between July 1 and Sept. 30. This percentage is down slightly from Sony/ATV’s Q2 and Q1 shares, which were 14.8% and 15.9%, respectively, but still ranked No. 1 on the list.

Rounding out the top five publishers on the newly released Q3 country rankings are: No. 2 EMI Music Publishing (13.1%), No. 3 Warner/Chappell Music (11.7%), No. 4 UMPG (10.8%), and No. 5 Words And Music Copyright Administration (10.8%). The complete top ten list is in the Nov. 19 issue of Billboard.

Looking at the overall charts, EMI Music Publishing had the largest share of airplay for the sixth consecutive quarter with 17.9%. Nashville based Words & Music ranked No. 8, driven in part by “Tonight Tonight” (Hot Chelle Rae) and “Remind Me” (Brad Paisley/Carrie Underwood).

Kimberly Perry ranked No. 6 on the Top 10 Songwriters Airplay Chart, the only country writer on the overall list.

Her solo-write “If I Die Young” landed at No. 15 on the Top 20 Airplay Songs chart, and Hot Chelle Rae’s “Tonight Tonight” ranked No. 11.

HFA determines a publisher’s share of a song and compiles the charts based on the top 100 country songs at 192 stations monitored by Nielsen BDS. A publisher is defined as an administrator, copyright owner and/or controlling party.

Singled Out (11/29/11)

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Let's have a party!

Just in case you weren’t already playing it like crazy, Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup” is now “officially” a single. The viral video sensation, also featured on Keith’s album Clancy’s Tavern, is already at No. 18 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart after six weeks of airplay. And as further proof of its cultural phenomenon status, the beloved Fox show Glee will feature the song in its Dec. 6 episode—which will undoubtedly sound better than my relatives and I trying to reprise it over Thanksgiving dinner.

• • •

Another new track that does not discourage the consumption of alcoholic beverages among responsible (or otherwise) adults is Tim Dugger’s “Way Past My Beer Time” (Curb Records). A devoted NASCAR fan, the Alabama native has built a live following around the racing circuit and endeared himself to many of the sport’s drivers and crews. “Beer Time” goes for adds Dec. 12.

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Curb is also releasing Steve Holy’s “Until The Rain Stops,” which goes for adds on Dec. 5. Written by Matt Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, and Matt Jenkins, “Until The Rain Stops” is the second single from Holy’s third studio album Love Don’t Run.

• • •

Following his recent No. 1 “Country Must Be Country Wide,” Brantley Gilbert’s new single to radio will be “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do.” Gilbert will join forces with Eric Church in 2012 on the Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour, which is slated to hit over 50 US cities.

• • •

The Farm: Nick Hoffman, Krista Marie, Damien Horne

Meanwhile, back at The Farm… Elektra Nashville is releasing “Home Sweet Home,” The Farm’s debut single to country radio. The new trio features Nick Hoffman (vocals, fiddle), Damien Horne (vocals, keyboard, guitar) and Krista Marie (vocals, guitar) and grew out of an impromptu songwriting session. Hoffman co-produced the band’s forthcoming debut album, which is due out in 2012.

• • •

Joplin, Missouri-based band LiveWire has released its song “Miracle of the Human Spirit” (Way Out West Records) on the six-month anniversary of the deadly tornado that struck the city in May 2011. Scenes from the video were filmed in the ruins of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Joplin. All proceeds from sales of the song on iTunes will go to the Joplin Tornado First Response Fund c/o Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri.

• • •

Joplin has also been getting much-needed support from Nashville songwriter (and Joplin native) Kenny Foster, whose song “Hometown” was written in the aftermath of the storm and is currently making the rounds at radio and video. The video can be streamed here, and proceeds from the sale of the song will benefit the United Way of Southwest Missouri and Southeastern Kansas for tornado relief.

Radio Legend, CDX Founder Charlie Douglas Passes

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Charlie Douglas

Country Radio and DJ Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Douglas passed away on Thanksgiving day (11/24). His career began in 1953 at KLIC/Monroe, LA, and eventually led him to WWL/New Orleans, where he created the first all-night radio show geared toward truck drivers. Among his numerous other station stops, Douglas spent thirteen years at WSM/Nashville.

According to All Music Guide, Douglas’ on-air stunts included broadcasting while sailing in a hot air balloon, parachuting from an airplane, and standing in a lion’s cage.

He served two terms as president of the Country Radio Broadcasters.

Douglas and Paul Lovelace opened Compact Disc Express (CDX) in 1991, and Douglas eventually retired from radio to run the music promotion service.

A memorial service will be held Saturday (12/3) at Mill Creek Baptist Church, 11 Old Kiln Rd., Picayune, MS 39466.

New Faces Show Performers Announced

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Hunter Hayes, David Nail, Sunny Sweeney, Thompson Square and Eli Young Band will perform at the CRS 2012 New Faces of Country Music Show®.

The 2012 New Faces of Country Music Show will be held Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, at Country Radio Seminar inside the downtown Nashville Convention Center. Co-sponsored by the Academy of Country Music and Muscular Dystrophy Association, the annual new artist showcase event officially closes out the three-day seminar and remains one of the most anticipated performances each year at CRS. Tickets to last year’s New Faces show sold out more than six weeks prior to CRS 2011.

“The future of Country radio happens every twenty minutes on the New Faces of Country Music Show!  Radio has spoken clearly with this year’s wonderful lineup of Hunter Hayes, David Nail, Sunny Sweeney, Thompson Square and Eli Young Band for the crown jewel of CRS 2012,” says New Faces Committee Chair John Crenshaw.

CRS sponsor Lucchese Boots is proudly providing each New Faces performer with a custom-made pair of Lucchese Boots.

The $499 Regular Registration rate for CRS 2012 is currently available at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com.

CountryBreakout No. 1 Song

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What a run! Notching its fourth consecutive week at No. 1 on the CountryBreakout Chart, once again, it’s Lady Antebellum’s “We Owned The Night.” Enjoy the video below…

Weekly Chart Report (11/23/11)

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Twang City Records/Flying Island Entertainment recording artist Coy Taylor (R) celebrates his single “Fall” with KEAN/Abilene’s Rudy Fernandez (L).

SPIN ZONE
It’s a short holiday week for most, and there’s a higher than usual amount of frozen playlists comprising this CountryBreakout Chart edition. Positions 1-7 remain unchanged, with Lady Antebellum’s “We Owned The Night” clenching No. 1 for a fourth consecutive week. Alan Jackson’s “Long Way To Go” moves up to No. 8, followed by Martina McBride’s “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” at No. 9, and Justin Moore’s “Bait A Hook” reels in the last spot of the Top 10.

Despite the slow moving chart, songs performed on the CMA Awards telecast are still experiencing a bump. The biggest spin gainer is Faith Hill’s “Come Home,” moving up to No. 45 in its second week charting. Newly entering the chart is the Sugarland and Matt Nathanson collaboration “Run,” which plants its feet at No. 76.

That’s all for today… everyone have a happy Thanksgiving!

Frozen Playlists: KBCN, KBCR, KBXB, KBOE, KCJC, KCNY, KDXY, KFTX, KGMN, KICR, KMKS, KVAY, KVOM, KWEY, KWWR, KXBZ, KXIA, KXKZ, KYEZ, KYKX, KYYK, KZZY, WEIO, WIBL, WKBQ, WKDZ, WKKW, WLJE, WMEV, WOOZ, WQNZ, WTCM, WZMR, WTHO, WUCZ, WUPY

WMN newcomer Jana Kramer (center) recently visited the nationally syndicated Rick and Bubba Show.

Upcoming Singles
November 28
Shawna Russell/Waitin’ On Sunrise/Way Out West

December 5
Steve Holy/Until The Rain Stops/Curb
Taylor Swift/Ours/Big Machine

December 12
Josh Thompson/Comin’ Around/RCA

• • • • •

 

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Sugarland and Matt Nathanson/Run/Vanguard — 76
Chris Weaver Band/Go Easy On Me — 79

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Faith Hill/Come Home/Warner Bros./WMN — 177
George Strait/Love’s Gonna Make It Alright/MCA — 159
Sugarland and Matt Nathanson/Run/Vanguard — 139
Toby Keith/Red Solo Cup/Show Dog-Universal — 113
Zac Brown Band/Keep Me In Mind/Southern Ground/Atlantic — 95

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Faith Hill/Come Home/Warner Bros. — 12
George Strait/Love’s Gonna Make It Alright/MCA — 6
Rodney Atkins/He’s Mine/Curb — 5
Trace Adkins/Million Dollar View/Show Dog – Universal — 4
Sugarland and Matt Nathanson/Run/Vanguard — 4

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Her and Kings County/White Trash Country Boy/Warner Bros./WMN — 144
Joanna Mosca w/Richie McDonald/Where Does Good Love Go?/Dolce Diva Music — 144
Bill Gentry/This Letter/Tenacity Records — 136
Jackie Arredondo/Rockin’ the Trailer/Gold Voice — 135
Brent Anderson/Amy’s Song/Arista — 122

Skyville Records’ Stealing Angels performed the national anthem at a recent NASCAR race in Phoenix. The trio’s new single “Little Blue Sky” has just been released to radio. (L-R): Jennifer Wayne, Adam Jeffries (KJUG/Visalia-Tulare), Tayla Lynn and Caroline Cutbirth

Cumulus Radiothon Today, And More Benefits

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• All local Cumulus radio stations are commercial-free today (11/21) from 5 a.m. – 7 p.m. for their annual radiothon to raise money for the Nashville Rescue Mission. $2.26 will provide a meal for a homeless person. To donate call (615) 312-1500 or click above. Cumulus stations include Supertalk 99.7 WTN; 92Q Nashville’s Big Station, WQQK; 95.5 FM WSM; Classic Hits 97.1, WRQQ; and i106 All the Hits, WNFN.

• There is also a benefit tonight (11/21) at Music City Bar & Grill for songwriter Earl Clark, to help with his medical costs. He is behind the hits “Renegades, Rebels and Rogues,” “Can’t Break it to My Heart,” “I Know it’s Not the End of the World,” and “I Found Jesus on the Jailhouse Floor.”

• The Springs Music Hall in Salado, TX is proud to present Kinky Friedman and B.J. Thomas on Sat., Nov. 26, benefiting The Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch. Thomas’ credits include “Hooked on A Feeling,” “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head.” Tickets are on sale for $35 and can be purchased online here.