Johnny Lee Announces Album, Releases New Single “Everything’s Gonna’ Be Alright”

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Country legend Johnny Lee, known for his dynamic stage presence and No. 1 smash crossover hit “Lookin’ for Love,” has released the new single and title track “Everything’s Gonna’ Be Alright” from his upcoming album, which will be released by BFD/Audium Nashville distributed exclusively through The Orchard on Feb. 12.

Everything’s Gonna’ Be Alright consists of 14 songs, some written or co-written by Lee, that he has saved throughout the years for the perfect album that truly reflects his life and legacy. Lee also wanted to include “Statue Of A Fool,” which was the first country song he ever learned.

“The last few years have had some major ups and downs in not only my life but in the whole world,” says Lee. “Music brings us together and gives us peace of mind like nothing else. Throughout my entire career, I have worked hard to record the best music possible and while creating this album, that was the entire goal. This is a hard world we are living in, but I want everyone to know that Everything’s Gonna’ Be Alright. I believe it so much so, it is the title track and first single on my new album. This is my legacy and I can’t wait to share it with you.”

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Lee’s hit “Lookin’ For Love,” was included on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack, and became his first Gold record. The song spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Country chart, and No. 2 on the Pop chart. Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the hit movie starring John Travolta and Deborah Winger. As part of the celebration, Lee reunited with Mickey Gilley for the Urban Cowboy Reunion Tour. At the 54th Annual CMA Awards in Nashville last November, both were recognized for their contributions to country music, and “Lookin’ For Love” was featured and performed by Old Dominion. The Urban Cowboy Reunion Tour will continue throughout 2021.

CCM News: for King & Country, Chris Renzema, Cross Point Music, Petey Martin

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for KING & COUNTRY Release Country Version Of Smash Hit “Together”

for KING & COUNTRY have released “TOGETHER (The Country Collaboration),” a brand-new rendition of their multi-week No. 1 hit featuring country singer/songwriters Hannah Ellis and Jackson Michelson. The new version places the globally recognized track against a lush backdrop of violins, steel guitars, and banjos. Since debuting the song earlier this year during the duo’s TOGETHER: A Night of Hope streaming event, “TOGETHER” has gone on to become a genre-defying global smash, spending multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard and Mediabase Christian radio charts, and reaching No. 23 on the Hot AC chart and No. 13 on the AC chart.

“In a time where this virus is not isolated to one people group or country or social class—it has become the great equalizer,” shares for King & Country’s Joel and Luke Smallbone. “It is helping us all reconsider this beautiful concept that we all bleed the same blood. And if we are able to unite, and support—be a neighbor to someone, serve someone, reach out to someone—how might those acts of kindness change the scope of our futures, together?”

 

Chris Renzema Releases Let The Ground Rest B-Sides

Chris Renzema is releasing his new EP Let The Ground Rest – B-Sides today (Jan. 8) at digital and streaming outlets. The EP features five live studio tracks, including three versions of songs from Renzema’s acclaimed sophomore LP and Centricity Music debut, Let The Ground Rest, along with two new songs : “Tear My House Down” and the single “Mercy.” The new Let The Ground Rest versions on B-Sides include the title track, “God Is Love,” and the Air1 Radio Network-featured “Springtime.” The songs were also captured on video for The Smoakstack Sessions video documentary, which was premiere-streamed this week on YouTube.

“2020 has been really hard,” states Renzema. “I think it has been a journey for me as a writer and a person, discovering what it even means to be content, what it means to let your plans change. A lot of what I wrote for the last project has taken on new meaning in the pandemic, and singing about waiting on a season to change or sitting it out through a hard time means a lot more to me now that it did then.”

 

Cross Point Music Vows To ‘Never Stop Singing’ With Centricity Debut

Nashville’s Cross Point Music releases its Centricity Music debut EP Never Stop Singing today (Jan. 8) at digital and streaming outlets internationally. Written and recorded by this collective of nearly 400 volunteer musicians, vocalists and songwriters, anchored by worship leaders Mike Grayson and Cheryl Stark, the EP includes four original songs emanating from the worship at Cross Point Church, which serves about 10,000 people across six campuses in and around Music City.

The project’s lead single and title track “Never Stop Singing” features Stefan Cashwell from Atlanta’s Maverick City Music, who penned the song with fellow songwriter Mary Beth Sudduth and Cross Point Franklin pastor Kevin Robison. Written before the pandemic and before Cross Point’s doors were closed following a tornado that ripped through Middle Tennessee in March 2020—damaging a large portion of Cross Point’s main building in downtown Nashville—“Never Stop Singing” has become an anthem of hope despite the adversity.

 

Petey Martin Debuts New Single ‘Come Back Home’ With Lauren Daigle

Petey Martin is releasing his Palm Tree Records debut single “Come Back Home,” featuring Lauren Daigle. The anthemic single combines Martin’s piano house production with Daigle’s powerhouse vocals.

Martin wrote and produced Celine Dion’s “Ashes” from the Deadpool 2 soundtrack, which helped catapult him into producing, where he decided to pursue a career in dance music with the help of Kygo and his Palm Tree Records team. In 2019 he wrote/produced “Think About You” by Kygo, “Bigger Than” by Seeb, and made his debut as an artist in his own right, collaborating with Matoma on their song “Keep It Simple” (feat. Wilder Woods). Last year, he wrote and produced five song’s on Kygo’s Golden Hour album, as well as releases with Loud Luxury, Frank Walker, and a remix for Seeb.

 

Country Music Singer-Songwriter Ed Bruce Dies

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Ed Bruce

Country singer-songwriter Ed Bruce died Friday (Jan. 8) in Clarksville, Tennessee, of natural causes. He was 81.

In 1957, at the age of 17, he went to see Jack Clement, a recording engineer for Sun Records. Bruce caught the attention of Sun owner Sam Phillips, for whom he wrote and recorded “Rock Boppin’ Baby” (as “Edwin Bruce”). In 1962, he wrote “Save Your Kisses” for pop star Tommy Roe and in 1963 he reached No. 109 on the Billboard “Bubbling Under” chart with his own recording of “See the Big Man Cry” (Wand 140), both published by Bill Justis at Tuneville Music. Charlie Louvin recorded “See the Big Man Cry” (Capitol 5369) in 1965; Louvin’s version reached No. 7 on the Billboard “Country Singles” chart. During his career, many songs that Bruce wrote and recorded were more successful when re-recorded by others.

In the early 1960s, Bruce recorded for RCA and some smaller labels like Wand/Scepter, singing rockabilly music, as well as more pop-oriented material such as “See the Big Man Cry.” In 1966, he returned to RCA and recorded “Puzzles,” “The Price I Pay To Stay” and “Lonesome Is Me”. He still did not achieve great charting action. He made money doing voice-overs for television and radio commercials. He scored his first charted single with “Walker’s Woods” in 1967, and also charted with his version of The Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville.” Both of these singles were minor hits. In 1969, Bruce signed with Monument Records, where he continued to have minor successes with “Everybody Wants To Get To Heaven” and “Song For Jenny.”

Meanwhile, he continued to write songs like “The Man That Turned My Mama On,” which was a major hit for Tanya Tucker in 1974, and “Restless” for Crystal Gayle the same year. He signed with United Artists Records in 1973 and released several singles, but only one single in 1974 became a minor hit. He finally made the upper regions of the charts when he made the Top 20 with his version of “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” a song he co-wrote in 1976.

Two more Top 40 hits followed for Bruce in 1976, and in 1977, he signed with Epic Records where he would score minor hits. In 1978, “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” was recorded by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. It became a major hit and continued the upward swing in Bruce’s career. In 1979, Tanya Tucker took Bruce’s 1977 song “Texas (When I Die)” into the country Top 5.

In 1980, Bruce signed with MCA Records, where he would score his biggest successes. His early hits with MCA included “Diane,” “The Last Cowboy Song,” “When You Fall In Love (Everything’s A Waltz),” “Evil Angel,” and “Love’s Found You And Me.” His biggest hit, “You’re The Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had” went to No. 1 on the country chart in 1982. This also was Bruce’s first Top 10 as a singer after 15 years. He had other hit songs that made the Top 10 like “Ever, Never Lovin’ You,” “My First Taste of Texas,” and “After All.”

In 1984, he returned to RCA Records and scored a No. 3 hit with “You Turn Me On Like A Radio” in 1985. His last Top 10 single was “Nights” in 1986 and his last Top 40 single (and last chart single to date) was “Quietly Crazy” in 1987.

During this time, Bruce began to act and do commercials. One of his biggest acting roles was as the second lead on the television revival of 1957’s Maverick, called Bret Maverick. Starring James Garner as a legendary western gambler, the series ran on NBC-TV during the 1981-82 season, but was unexpectedly canceled. Bruce played the surly town lawman who found himself reluctantly co-owning a saloon with Maverick, with whom he seemed to maintain a surreally adversarial relationship more or less throughout the entire season. Bruce also sang and wrote the theme song to the show, while Garner himself sang the same song over the end titles at the show’s close.

After the 1986 album entitled Night Things and a 1988 self-titled follow-up, Bruce made a conscious decision to cut back on his music to focus on his acting career, appearing in several made-for-TV films. He hosted two shows in the late 1980s, Truckin’ USA and American Sports Cavalcade. Bruce has also appeared in several theatrical releases, including Fire Down Below with Steven Seagal.

Bruce wrote “One,” recorded by George Jones and Tammy Wynette, off their 1995 album of the same name.

He was honored with the Arkansas Country Music Award for Lifetime Achievement on June 3, 2018 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Funeral arrangements were not announced at press time.

IBMA Winner Justin Moses’ New Album ‘Fall Like Rain’ Slated For January 22

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Justin Moses is releasing his new album Fall Like Rain on January 22nd.

Moses’ songwriting skills and musicianship are highlighted on the new self-produced, full-length project on Mountain Fever Records. Featuring a slew of stringed instruments, from flat-top six-string and Weissenborn guitar, to mandolin and banjo, Fall Like Rain not only sheds light on Moses’ many talents, but on the skill and perseverance it takes to piece them all together to create the polished finished product.

Acclaimed musicians Del McCoury, Shawn Lane, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, Jerry Douglas, Cody Kilby, Barry Bales, Michael Cleveland, Jason Carter, and more can all be heard between the album-opening Eric Clapton cover, “Fall Like Rain,” and its tenth and final track, “Locust Hill.”

Moses has toured with Blue Moon Rising, The Dan Tyminski Band, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Blue Highway, and The Gibson Brothers, and in his two-year stint with Tyminski, he realized an early dream of playing the Grand Ole Opry for the first time and recorded the 2009 IBMA Album of the Year and Grammy-nominated album, Wheels. In 2018 and 2020, he received the IBMA’s Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year award. Moses has appeared on stage or in studio with artists including Alison Krauss, Del McCoury, Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley, Joe Diffie, Jerry Douglas, Vince Gill, Bruce Hornsby, Peter Frampton, Rosanne Cash, Dwight Yoakam, and Barry Gibb.

75 Or Over? Nashville Now Offering COVID-19 Vaccinations

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Nashville residents ages 75 and over are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Residents are required to make an appointment to receive the vaccine. Appointments are available on Saturdays and Sundays beginning this Saturday, Jan. 9.

Qualifying residents can call 615-862-7777 or click here to make appointment.

Grammy Winning Singer-Songwriter Jamie O’Hara Passes

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Jamie O’Hara

Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Jamie O’Hara has died at age 70. He courageously battled cancer and sadly succumbed on Jan. 7, with his wife, Lola White O’Hara, by his side.

O’Hara won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song for “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days),” a 1986 hit for The Judds. He was also noted as half of the performing and recording duo The O’Kanes alongside Kieran Kane. The O’Kanes had six consecutive top 10 hits in 1986-88, all of which were co-written by O’Hara and Kane.

James Paul O’Hara was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. He was an all-American high-school football star who was offered a tryout by the Detroit Tigers right out of high school, which he turned down to play football at Indiana University. A knee injury ended his football career. During his recovery, he took up the guitar and started writing songs.

Despite family and friends’ disapproval, he moved to Nashville at age 26. Within a year, he was signed as a staff songwriter by the industry giant Sony-ATV (then called Tree International Publishing).

He initially tasted success as a songwriter in 1980-87 with cuts by John Conlee, T.G. Sheppard, Conway Twitty, Johnny Lee, Michael Johnson and other stars of the era. In 1981, Ronnie McDowell scored back-to-back smash hits with O’Hara’s “Wandering Eyes” and “Older Women.” The 1986 Judds hit “Grandpa (Tell Me Bout the Good Old Days) earned Grammys for the duo’s performance as well as for O’Hara’s songwriting.

Jamie O’Hara next formed The O’Kanes with fellow songwriter Kieran Kane. The duo debuted on the charts with the 1986 top 10 hit “Oh Darlin.'” The O’Kanes scored a No. 1 hit in 1987 with “Can’t Stop My Heart From Loving You.” This was followed by the 1987-88 top 10 successes “Daddies Need to Grow Up Too,” “Just Lovin’ You,” “One True Love” and “Blue Love.”

The duo issued three LPs – The OKanes (1987), Tired of Runnin’ (1988) and Imagine That (1990) – before amicably parting ways.

Don Williams had scored a top 10 hit in 1988 with O’Hara’s co-written “Desperately,” and Tammy Wynette succeeded with “Talkin’ To Myself Again” in 1987. So O’Hara returned to writing for others. Trisha Yearwood, The Chicks, Randy Travis, Emmylou Harris, Mark Collie and Michael Martin Murphey were among those who recorded his songs in the early 1990s. Tanya Tucker popularized his farm-crisis song, “Bidding America Goodbye.”

The songwriter returned to recording with the 1994 solo CD Rise Above It. His second solo CD was 2001’s Beautiful Obsession, and in 2012 he followed it with Dream Hymns. The first of these contained his notable Vietnam War elegy “50,000 Names.”

O’Hara’s songwriting success continued with “You’ve Got to Talk to Me,” a major hit for Lee Ann Womack in 1997. George Jones (2000’s “The Cold Hard Truth”) and Wynonna (1997’s “When Love Starts Talkin’”) also maintained O’Hara’s songwriting prominence.

Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris included his “When We’re Gone Long Gone” on their 1999 Trio II collection. In 2001, Gary Allan had a No. 1 hit with “Man To Man,” and he also recorded several other O’Hara compositions.

Tim McGraw, Sara Evans, Joey & Rory, The Oak Ridge Boys, Pam Tillis and Josh Turner were among those who have recorded O’Hara songs in recent years. He also has a number of bluegrass-music successes.

During his songwriting career, Jamie O’Hara provided songs to dozens of stars. The list includes Janie Fricke, Mel McDaniel, Brady Seals, Shelby Lynne, Mandy Barnett, Kathy Mattea, Larry Stewart, Dave & Sugar, Tom Wopat and Stacy Dean Campbell, among many others.

There are no plans for a public memorial at this time. In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted in Jamie O’Hara’s name to Bonaparte’s Retreat, Doctors Without Borders, MusiCares, and SmileTrain.

MusicRow’s LB Cantrell Promoted To Director Of Content

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MusicRow‘s Director of Content LB Cantrell.

MusicRow magazine’s LB Cantrell has been promoted to Director of Content.

In this newly created position, Cantrell will oversee all MusicRow and MusicRow-related content, including managing the editorial team.

MusicRow Publisher Sherod Robertson says, “LB has quickly become an integral part of the MusicRow team. Her ability to manage administrative and project-based processes, while also understanding the editorial needs that serve our industry members, is a valued asset for the continued growth and success of our publication. This promotion is well-deserved.”

She will continue to manage the MusicRow social media accounts, head up specific, large-scale projects for the company, and assist in day-to-day operations. Cantrell also manages all MusicRow memberships, and facilitates the company’s annual events, including the MusicRow Awards, CountryBreakout Awards and Rising Women on the Row.

Cantrell joined MusicRow full-time in January of 2019, after interning and working part time for the company. She is from Blairsville, Georgia and graduated from the Recording Industry Management program at Middle Tennessee State University.

She can be reached at LBcantrell@musicrow.com.

 

Jordan Davis Ranks No. 1 On ‘MusicRow’ CountryBreakout Radio Chart

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Jordan Davis moves two positions, climbing to No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart this week with his single “Almost Maybes.” The single appears on Davis’ self-title EP and was written by Davis, Hillary Lindsey, and Jesse Frasure.

Davis sat down with MusicRow to discuss “Almost Maybes” and his latest project. “It’s just looking back at past relationships and not just taking the negatives from them, since they didn’t work out,” Davis says. “For me it led to me findin’ my wife, and now we have a six month-old daughter. But looking back on those relationships and not thinking about them in a bad light, just realizing that I learned a lot about myself. With the good and the bad, I’m a better person because of it.” To read the full interview, click here.

Click here or above to view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly.

Aaron Watson Reflects On Strength Of The ‘American Soul’ On Latest Project

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Aaron Watson‘s latest album, American Soul, is out today (Jan. 8) and available now on all platforms.

The 10 track full-length album, produced by Watson with Phil O’Donnell, includes the current single, “Silverado Saturday Night,” along with the first single off the album, “Whisper My Name,” which pays tribute to the start of Watson’s career and has racked up over 2.5 million total streams to date. The project also includes tracks like “Long Live Cowboys,” “Dog Tags,” and “Touchdown Town,” songs that pay tribute to the lifestyle and strength of the American soul.

Watson’s last album, Red Bandana, opened at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Country Sales chart and was penned solely by Watson to commemorate his 20-year anniversary as an artist.

American Soul Track Listing:
1. Silverado Saturday Night (Aaron Watson, Monty Criswell, Phil O’Donnell)
2. Boots (Aaron Watson, Anthony Enriquez)
3. Whisper My Name (Aaron Watson, Phil O’Donnell)
4. Best Friend (Aaron Watson)
5. Long Live Cowboys (Aaron Watson)
6. Stay (Aaron Watson, Monty Criswell)
7. American Soul (Aaron Watson, Phil, O’Donnell)
8. Out Of My Misery (Aaron Watson, Phil O’Donnell)
9. Touchdown Town (Aaron Watson)
10. Dog Tags (Aaron Watson, Monty Criswell)

Sony Music Nashville Promotes Olivia Laster to Director, Marketing

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Olivia Laster. Photo: Matthew Berinato

Sony Music Nashville Senior Vice President of Marketing, Jennifer Way, announced today (Jan. 8) the appointment of Olivia Laster to Director, Marketing, Sony Music Nashville. Reporting directly to Way, Laster begins her new role immediately.

As Director of Marketing, Laster will oversee the strategy, development, and execution of targeted marketing campaigns and consumption growth for her portion of the Sony Music Nashville roster of artists.

“Olivia’s marketing skills have been an incredible asset to our team for years. She’s always gone above and beyond to bridge the gap between our marketing and promotion teams—consistently finding innovative ways to use her marketing mind to create unique opportunities for our artists and their music. This is a natural transition for Olivia and I can’t wait to watch her evolve in her new role,” says Way.

“I’m so thankful to Jen Way for this incredible opportunity and to Steve Hodges for allowing me to grow and giving me the tools to learn an immense amount within my previous role at Sony Music Nashville. Marketing has always been a great passion of mine. It is a true honor to be able to work alongside the talented and dedicated artists and teams inside and outside the company. I am humbled to be a part of a team that constantly challenges one to be their best, strives to be forward-thinking and encourages one another along the way. Sony Music Nashville is a leading force in the music industry and I am thrilled to be able to play a role in capitalizing on the momentum thus far and cultivating innovative ways to deliver music to the market,” says Laster.

Prior to accepting this position, Laster held the title Associate Director, Promotion and Artist Development at Sony Music Nashville. Within this role, she strategically integrated national and local radio initiatives into marketing, brand partnerships, digital, and media campaigns for the entire SMN roster. Experiences varied from launching the first tour-diary podcast series with iHeartMedia for Old Dominion’s self-titled album release to ideating and implementing artist virtual events across various national radio chain’s digital and terrestrial multi-genre platforms to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic industry shift.

In 2015, Laster graduated from Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. From 2015-2018, she worked with SMN’s Media, Marketing and Arista Nashville Promotion teams.

Laster can be reached at olivia.laster@sonymusic.com.