Many of Cohn’s designs became signature looks for their owners. Among his most famous creations was Elvis Presley’s $10,000 gold lamé suit, worn by the singer on the cover of his 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong album. Pictured: Nudie Cohn with Elvis
Johnny Cash Museum Founder Bill Miller is set to honor classic country music tailor Nudie Cohn with a concept restaurant, dubbed Nudie’s Honky Tonk, in downtown Nashville.
As previously reported, Miller acquired Lawrence Records Building, located at 409 Broadway, in February 2016. The $10 million establishment will undergo renovations and will reopen as Nudie’s Honky Tonk this summer.
The three-floor, 12,000-square-foot space will be decorated with vintage “Nudie Suits,” including suits and clothing that belonged to artists including Hank Williams, Sr., and Johnny Cash. The venue’s walls will be adorned with music memorabilia and rare instruments.
The restaurant will include three stages for live music, and several bars, including one bar that checks in at over 100 feet long. The venue’s fare will be based on Southern comfort food.
Nudie Cohn was a Ukrainian-born American tailor who designed rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as “Nudie Suits,” and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities including Gene Autry, Johnny Cash, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Robert Redford, Porter Wagoner, and John Wayne.
Cohn also had an affinity for garishly decorated automobiles. Between 1950 and 1975 he customized 18 vehicles, mostly white Pontiac Bonneville convertibles, with silver-dollar-studded dashboards, pistol door handles and gearshifts, extended rear bumpers, and enormous longhorn steer horn hood ornaments. They were nicknamed “Nudie Mobiles,” and the nine surviving cars have become collector’s items. One of the “Nudie Mobiles,” Cohn’s personal Cadillac El Dorado, which is valued at $400,000, will be suspended on the honky-tonk’s interior entrance wall.
Bill Miller said, “Nudie Cohn is to country music what Edith Head and Bob Mackie are to Hollywood: legendary and definitive. His artistry went beyond the country genre. Everyone from Hank Williams, Sr. to Elton John and Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash wore Nudie. We will showcase his absolute mastery as the true king of rhinestone cowboy couture. Nudie’s Honky Tonk will be a shrine to country music history and will feature live music, food and drink in a fun, and energetic museum-quality setting.”
Cohn’s granddaughter Jamie Nudie added, “I’m thrilled to be working with Bill. My Grandparents would be so excited knowing their artistry will now be on display in Music City for so many people to enjoy! It’s been my mission and pleasure keeping the Nudie legacy alive. I have always said for years I want our younger generation to be educated on the Nudie story. Like Nudie they can come from nothing, work hard, be creative, and live their own version of the American Dream.”
“I’m big on Nashville,” Miller continues. “We’ve purchased two significant buildings on lower Broadway in 18 months. We’re not done with acquisitions. Nashville and the tourists who come here deserve more world-class establishments. There’s a bit of a void downtown, and we’re committed to helping fill that void.”
Nudie with one his classic decorated “Nudie Mobiles.”
Industry Ink: Red Light, GRAMMY Camp, BLA Signing
/by Sarah SkatesRed Light Debuts Newsletter
GRAMMY Camp Returns
GRAMMY Camp for high schoolers will take place in Nashville, New York and Los Angeles again this year. The camp focuses on all aspects of commercial music with instruction by industry professionals offering tracks in Audio Engineering, Electronic Music Production, Instrumental Performance, Music Business, Music Journalism, Video Production & Motion Graphics, Vocal Performance, and Songwriting.
Nashville: May 31 – June 4 (nonresidential day camp) hosted by Belmont University
L.A.: June 18 – 27 hosted by USC Thornton School of Music
N.Y.: July 31 – Aug. 8 hosted by Converse Rubber Tracks
Details about application, financial assistance and upcoming informational conference calls at www.grammyintheschools.com.
BLA Signs Shelby Lee Lowe
Shelby Lee Lowe has secured his place on the roster of the Buddy Lee Attractions talent agency. John R Roberson will be the responsible agent.
Said Lowe: “I’m excited to be a part of an agency that has represented such artists as Garth Brooks and Jason Aldean. I know what they have to offer me and I look forward to proving to them [BLA] what I have to bring to the stage.”
Josh Kelley Preps First Album For Sugar Hill Records
/by Jessica NicholsonSinger/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Josh Kelley will release his first new music in five years, a collection titled New Lane Road, on Friday, April 22.
As previously reported, the project will be Kelley’s first for new label home Sugar Hill Records. The artist spent three years writing, producing and engineering the project. Kelley also plays most of the instruments on the album.
“This record is the most me of any record I’ve ever made,” says Kelley. “It’s the most honest I’ve ever been, and it’s the best subject matter I’ve ever had to write about. When I was first coming up, I was young and inexperienced, and I had to make things up. Now that I’m older and I’ve traveled the world and had kids and have seen more and felt more, I have things to write songs about.”
The full album will be available for preorder Friday, March 18. Fans who preorder the album will receive an instant download for the lead single track “It’s Your Move.”
Kelley worked with several singer-songwriters in crafting tunes for New Lane Road, including his brother and Lady Antebellum member Charles Kelley. The brothers will hit the road together on select dates of Charles Kelley’s The Driver Tour.
New Lane Road Track Listing:
1. “It’s Your Move” (Josh Kelley/Rachel Thibodeau/Ben Glover)
2. “The Rock Who Found a Rollin’ Stone” (Josh Kelley)
3. “Call It What It Is” (Josh Kelley/Charles Kelley/Alan Chang)
4. “Take It On Back” (Josh Kelley/Charles Kelley/Tommy King)
5. “The Best of Me” (Josh Kelley/Rachel Thibodeau/Kyle Jacobs)
6. “New Lane Road” (Josh Kelley)
7. “One Foot in the Grave” (Josh Kelley/Jesse Valenzuela/Danny Wilde)
8. “Anywhere You Wanna Go” (Josh Kelley)
9. “Cowboy Love Song” (Josh Kelley/Clint Lagerberg)
10. “I’ll Be Standin’ Tall” (Josh Kelley)
11. “Life’s Too Short” (Josh Kelley/Clint Lagerberg/Sean McConnell)
12. “Only God Can Stop Her Now” (Josh Kelley/Rachel Thibodeau/Jason Sever)
Parton, Ronstadt, Harris To Release ‘The Complete Trio Collection’
/by Sarah SkatesAlso set for release that day is My Dear Companion: Selections From The Trio Collection, the bonus material as a set called Farther Along, and Trio II on vinyl for the first time.
The bonus disc is loaded with 20 songs, including alternate takes of album tracks “I’ve Had Enough,” “Making Plans” and “My Dear Companion.” Also featured are 11 completely unreleased recordings from the trio spanning both album sessions including “Waltz Across Texas Tonight,” “Pleasant As May,” “Are You Tired of Me,” and the gospel standard “Softly And Tenderly.” Among the unreleased material is also an alternate version of “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?” featuring Parton on lead vocals and an acapella version of “Calling All My Children Home.”
Parton, Ronstadt, and Harris began recording together in the 1970s. Trio arrived in 1987, selling more than four million copies and winning two Grammy Awards. Trio II arrived in 1999, won a Grammy and sold more than one million copies worldwide.
The Complete Trio Collection
Track Listing
Disc One – Trio I
1. “The Pain of Loving You”
2. “Making Plans”
3. “To Know Him Is To Love Him”
4. “Hobo’s Meditation”
5. “Wildflowers”
6. “Telling Me Lies”
7. “My Dear Companion”
8. “Those Memories of You”
9. “I’ve Had Enough”
10. “Rosewood Casket”
11. “Farther Along”
Disc Two – Trio II
1. “Lover’s Return”
2. “High Sierra”
3. “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind”
4. “After the Gold Rush”
5. “The Blue Train”
6. “I Feel the Blues Movin’ In”
7. “You’ll Never Be The Sun”
8. “He Rode All The Way To Texas”
9. “Feels Like Home”
10. “When We’re Gone, Long Gone”
Disc Three – Bonus Material
1. “Wildflowers” (Alternate Take unreleased 1986)
2. “Waltz Across Texas Tonight” (Unreleased 1994)
3. “Lover’s Return” (Alternate Mix – Unreleased)
4. “Softly and Tenderly” (Unreleased 1994)
5. “Pleasant As May” (Unreleased 1986)
6. “My Dear Companion” (Alternate Take 1986)
7. “My Blue Tears” (Unreleased 1998)
8. “Making Plans” (Alternate Take 1986)
9. “I’ve Had Enough” (Alternate Mix 1986)
10. “Grey Funnel Line” (Unreleased 1986)
11. “You Don’t Knock” (Unreleased 1986)
12. “Where Will The Words Come From” (Unreleased 1985)
13. “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” (Dolly Lead – Alternate Take 1994)
14. “Are You Tired of Me” (Unreleased 1986)
15. “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues”
16. “Mr. Sandman”
17. “Handful Of Dust” (Unreleased 1993)
18. “Calling My Children Home” (Unreleased Acapella Version 1986)
19. “White Snow” (Unreleased 1986)
20. “Farther Along” (Alternate Mix 1986)
My Dear Companion: Selections From The Trio Collection
1. “The Pain Of Loving You”
2. “My Dear Companion”
3. “To Know Him Is To Love Him”
4. “Telling Me Lies”
5. “Farther Along”
6. “ Lover’s Return”
7. “After The Gold Rush”
8. “The Blue Train”
9. “You’ll Never Be The Sun”
10. “When We’re Gone, Long Gone”
11. “Waltz Across Texas Tonight” (Unreleased 1994)
12. “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” (Dolly Lead – Alternate Take 1994)
13. “Wildflowers” (Alternate Take 1986)
14. “Calling My Children Home” (Unreleased Acapella Version 1986)
Artist News: Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Pete Scobell, ‘Nashville’ Tour, Vintage Hymns
/by Sarah SkatesNew MuttNation Products
Miranda Lambert has teamed with Petmate to launch the MuttNation™ Fueled by Miranda Lambert brand. The collection of bedding, collars, leashes, toys, apparel, feeding and watering products will debut at Global Pet Expo March 16-18, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. Every purchase will help fund rescue and adoption programs of MuttNation Foundation™, the organization established by Miranda and her mother Beverly Lambert in 2009.
Aldean Rocks Down Under
Jason Aldean recently sold out headlining tour dates in Melbourne, Sydney, and at the CMC Rocks QLD Country Music Festival. Upon returning stateside, Aldean will perform on the ACM Awards airing April 3 on CBS, where he is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, and will vie to retain his title as Male Vocalist of the Year.
Photo: Greg Sylvia
Nashville On Tour
The stars of ABC’s Nashville will take the show on the road again this spring with a concert tour across the U.S., featuring cast members Clare Bowen, Chris Carmack and Charles Esten. Joining in select cities will be Will Chase, Jonathan Jackson and Aubrey Peeples. Additionally, the Nashville in Concert tour will stage its first international run in the United Kingdom with Bowen, Carmack, Esten and Sam Palladio. The Music of Nashville, Season 4, Volume 2 will be released May 13 on Big Machine Records. The television series returns March 16 on ABC.
Pete Scobell Cruisin’ With Kid Rock
Country artist Pete Scobell has joined the line-up on Kid Rock’s Chillin’ The Most Cruise, setting sail for Jamaica March 10-14. Scobell’s new album, Walkin A Wire, is a 12-song collection featuring songs penned by hitmakers Dierks Bentley, Travis Meadows and Rodney Clawson, as well as guest vocals from Wynonna. Scobell’s single “Walkin a Wire” is rising fast on the MusicRow chart.
Pete Scobell
Soulful Hymns Reimagined
LifeNotes: Music Veteran and SXSW Festival Co-Founder Louis Meyers Passes
/by Sherod RobertsonPhoto: facebook.com/louis.meyers.589
Veteran music manager and SXSW co-founder Louis Jay Meyers passed away in Austin, Texas on Friday, March 11, 2016, which was also the opening day of this year’s South By Southwest festival. The cause of death is not immediately known.
Meyers is the co-founder, creator, and former director of the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference (SXSW). He was part of a small group of Austin boosters who established SXSW in 1987. The first event showcased 200 acts in one hotel. The festival now occupies large areas of the city and incorporates film and technology as well as music.
Once the festival was established, Louis Meyers moved on to become the executive director of Folk Alliance International, 2002-2010. He then became that organization’s special projects director. It was during this phase of his career that he graduated from Nashville’s Leadership Music program in 2012.
In recent years, he has been managing the bluegrass band The Hillbenders. The group made headlines by re-recording the songs of The Who’s rock opera Tommy in bluegrass style. The resulting 2015 CD was titled Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry, released on Nashville’s Compass Records label.
Born in 1955 and raised in Austin, Texas, Meyers was a musician for 45 years, performing live and recording on guitar, banjo, and pedal steel guitar. His credits include recordings or performances with Willis Alan Ramsey, Bruce Robison, Killbilly, Bill & Bonnie Hearne, The Killer Bees, Jello Biafra, Mojo Nixon, Fastball, Michael Hearne, Stonehoney, Tennessee Boltsmokers and many others. As a producer, Meyers won the NAIRD award for Independent Reggae release in both 1987 and 1989 for his work with The Killer Bees.
In the 1980’s, Meyers was a concert promoter producing hundreds of shows at Austin’s legendary Liberty Lunch concert venue and was the primary talent buyer for Austin’s famous Antone’s Nightclub in the late 90’s.
After leaving SXSW in 1995, Meyers directed the LMNOP Music Conference (New Orleans), Rockrgrl Music Conference (Seattle), A2A: Access to Amsterdam Conference (Amsterdam), and the Austin Music Network (AMN) before taking the position as Executive Director of the Folk Alliance International organization and conference in 2005.
A Celebration of Life will be planned with details announced in the coming weeks.
Warner/Chappell Music Signs Cale Dodds
/by Jessica NicholsonCale Dodds
Warner/Chappell Music has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with singer/songwriter Cale Dodds. Dodds has had recent success with his song “Drunk Dial,” which was recorded by A Thousand Horses and broke the Top 25 on U.S. Country Airplay charts.
As a performing artist, Dodds has opened for Sam Hunt, Brett Eldredge, Billy Currington, and Canaan Smith. He is currently working with writer/producer and ACM nominee Corey Crowder.
For more on Dodds, watch the EPK below.
Toby Keith To Launch Interstates & Tailgates Tour In May
/by Jessica NicholsonFans can also catch Keith’s SoundStage concert on PBS stations.
May 21: Louisville, Kentucky (KFC Yum! Center)
June 18: Holmdel, New Jersey (PNC Bank Arts Center)
June 24: Brainerd, Minnesota (Lakes Jam Festival)
June 25: Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Denny Sanford Premiere Center)
June 30: Cherokee, North Carolina (Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Resort)
July 1: Biloxi, Mississippi (Harrah’s Gulf Coast Casino & Hotel)
July 8L Virginia Beach, Virginia (Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater)
July 9: Washington, D.C. (Jiffy Lube Live)
July 10: Raleigh, North Carolina (Walnut Creek Amphitheatre)
July 14: Toronto, Canada (Moison Canadian Amphitheatre)
July 15: Darien Lake, New York (Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)
July 16: Hartford, Connecticut (XFINITY Theatre)
July 21: Bangor, Maine (Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion)
July 22: Boston, Massachusetts (XFINITY Center)
July 31: Sweet Home, Oregon (Oregon Jamboree)
Aug 4: Bethel, New York (Bethel Woods Center for the Arts)
Aug 5: Cleveland, Ohio (Blossom Music Center)
Aug 12: Chicago, Illinois (Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre)
Aug 13: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (First Niagara Pavilion)
Aug 14: Saratoga Springs, New York (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)
Sept 8: Cincinnati, Ohio (Riverbend Music Center)
Sept 9: Indianapolis, Indiana (Klipsch Music Center)
Sept 10: St Louis, Missouri (Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre)
Sept 23: Tampa, Florida (Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheatre)
Sept 24:West Palm Beach, Florida (Perfect Vodka Amphitheater)
Oct 15: Dallas, Texas (Cattle Baron’s Ball)
Oct 16: Austin, Texas (Austin 360 Amphitheater)
TBA: Las Vegas, Nevada (Route 91 Harvest Festival)
Levi Hummon To Release Self-Titled EP April 1
/by Jessica NicholsonThe Valory Music Co. artist Levi Hummon will release his self-titled EP on Friday, April 1.
Singer-songwriter Hummon contributed to four of the five tracks. Jimmy Robbins produced and co-wrote on four of the five tracks.
In 2014, Hummon’s songs caught the attention of songwriter and publisher Desmond Child, which resulted in “Make It Love” being included in Two: The Story of Roman & Nero. Hummon also co-wrote Steven Tyler’s current country single, “Red, White and You.” Levi credits early lessons in songwriting to his Grammy-award winning father Marcus Hummon (Rascal Flatts’ “Bless The Broken Road” and Dixie Chicks’ “Cowboy Take Me Away”).
He has been on the road opening shows for Kelsea Ballerini. This spring Hummon will open dates on Billy Currington’s Summer Forever Tour.
LEVI HUMMON EP TRACKLISTING
1. “Life’s For Livin’” (Levi Hummon, Matt Jenkins, Jimmy Robbins)
2. “Chain Reaction” (Levi Hummon, Jon Nite, Jimmy Robbins)
3. “Love You Hate You Miss You” (Ryan Hurd, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz)
4. “Guts And Glory” (Levi Hummon, Tom Douglas, Travis Hill)
5. “Window Down Days” (Levi Hummon, Jon Nite, Jimmy Robbins)
Music Agent Curt Motley Joins UTA
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Brendan Rich, Lance Roberts, Curt Motley, Nick Meinema
Nashville music agent Curt Motley has joined UTA from Paradigm.
Motley will be based in UTA’s Nashville office where he will continue to represent major live and touring acts. In joining the UTA Music roster, Motley’s clients will have access to UTA’s full spectrum of services across numerous practice areas. Also making the move to UTA Music is Paradigm agent Brendan Rich.
Motley was most recently co-head of music at Paradigm Talent Agency in Nashville. He began his career in 1990 at TKO Artist Management, then in 1995 came to Monterey Artists (acquired by Paradigm in 2005) from his own in-house booking agency, As The World Tours.
“Curt Motley has been a veritable force in the music business for more than 25 years,” said UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer. “We welcome him to UTA Music and we are excited about his many contributions as we expand our team.”
Motley’s clients include Toby Keith, Jamey Johnson, Mac McAnally, Ashley Campbell, Kim Campbell, Krystal Keith, JT Hodges, Ned LeDoux, Waterloo Revival, Western Underground, Erik Dylan, Walker McGuire, Chris Bandi, and Scotty Emerick.
“I really got to know UTA and Lance Roberts when Chris Janson was added to Toby Keith’s summer tour dates last year,” said Motley. “UTA is building something special in music, and I’m excited at the many new opportunities.”
In 2015, UTA acquired The Agency Group, the world’s largest independent music agency, to form UTA Music, a leading music touring and representation practice.
New Honky-Tonk Will Honor ‘Nudie Suits’ Tailor Nudie Cohn
/by Jessica NicholsonMany of Cohn’s designs became signature looks for their owners. Among his most famous creations was Elvis Presley’s $10,000 gold lamé suit, worn by the singer on the cover of his 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong album. Pictured: Nudie Cohn with Elvis
Johnny Cash Museum Founder Bill Miller is set to honor classic country music tailor Nudie Cohn with a concept restaurant, dubbed Nudie’s Honky Tonk, in downtown Nashville.
As previously reported, Miller acquired Lawrence Records Building, located at 409 Broadway, in February 2016. The $10 million establishment will undergo renovations and will reopen as Nudie’s Honky Tonk this summer.
The three-floor, 12,000-square-foot space will be decorated with vintage “Nudie Suits,” including suits and clothing that belonged to artists including Hank Williams, Sr., and Johnny Cash. The venue’s walls will be adorned with music memorabilia and rare instruments.
The restaurant will include three stages for live music, and several bars, including one bar that checks in at over 100 feet long. The venue’s fare will be based on Southern comfort food.
Nudie Cohn was a Ukrainian-born American tailor who designed rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as “Nudie Suits,” and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities including Gene Autry, Johnny Cash, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Robert Redford, Porter Wagoner, and John Wayne.
Cohn also had an affinity for garishly decorated automobiles. Between 1950 and 1975 he customized 18 vehicles, mostly white Pontiac Bonneville convertibles, with silver-dollar-studded dashboards, pistol door handles and gearshifts, extended rear bumpers, and enormous longhorn steer horn hood ornaments. They were nicknamed “Nudie Mobiles,” and the nine surviving cars have become collector’s items. One of the “Nudie Mobiles,” Cohn’s personal Cadillac El Dorado, which is valued at $400,000, will be suspended on the honky-tonk’s interior entrance wall.
Bill Miller said, “Nudie Cohn is to country music what Edith Head and Bob Mackie are to Hollywood: legendary and definitive. His artistry went beyond the country genre. Everyone from Hank Williams, Sr. to Elton John and Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash wore Nudie. We will showcase his absolute mastery as the true king of rhinestone cowboy couture. Nudie’s Honky Tonk will be a shrine to country music history and will feature live music, food and drink in a fun, and energetic museum-quality setting.”
Cohn’s granddaughter Jamie Nudie added, “I’m thrilled to be working with Bill. My Grandparents would be so excited knowing their artistry will now be on display in Music City for so many people to enjoy! It’s been my mission and pleasure keeping the Nudie legacy alive. I have always said for years I want our younger generation to be educated on the Nudie story. Like Nudie they can come from nothing, work hard, be creative, and live their own version of the American Dream.”
“I’m big on Nashville,” Miller continues. “We’ve purchased two significant buildings on lower Broadway in 18 months. We’re not done with acquisitions. Nashville and the tourists who come here deserve more world-class establishments. There’s a bit of a void downtown, and we’re committed to helping fill that void.”
Nudie with one his classic decorated “Nudie Mobiles.”