Carl Jackson
By: James Rea
Two-Time Grammy Winner Carl Jackson appeared on The Producer’s Chair on Thursday, May 28, 2015 Douglas Corner at 6 p.m.
Anyone who knows anything about bluegrass, knows the name Carl Jackson. He now has songwriting, production or publishing credits on over 650 albums with over 450 cuts as a writer. His song “Little Mountain Church House,” which was the 1990 International Bluegrass Music Association Song of the Year, has been recorded by over 100 artists. According to Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, Carl has written eight of the top bluegrass songs of all time.
Artists featured in Carl’s enormous body of work include: Emmylou Harris (13 albums), Dolly Parton (16 albums), Vince Gill (16 albums), Glen Campbell (16 albums), Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner, Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks, John Anderson, Pam Tillis, Radney Foster, Joe Diffie, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Lorrie Morgan, Martina McBride, Marty Stuart, Tammy Wynette, Hank Williams Jr., Rodney Crowell, Linda Ronstadt, Keith Whitley, George Jones, Rhonda Vincent, Patty Loveless, Ashley Monroe, Travis Tritt, Merle Haggard, Jon Randall, Blake Shelton, Joey + Rory, Nancy Sinatra, Tony Rice, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Mountain Heart, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tricia Yearwood, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Keb’ Mo’ and the Father of bluegrass himself Bill Monroe.
He won his first Grammy in 1992, for his album with John Starling entitled Spring Training. A few months later he received a Dove Award for Southern Gospel Song of the Year,“Where Shadows Never Fall,” recorded by Glen Campbell. The beautiful ballad,“No Future In The Past,” by Vince Gill was a huge songwriting success for Carl and was named the No. 1 Country Song of the Year for 1993 by Radio & Records magazine.
Carl’s second Grammy was for the 2003 Country Album of the Year, Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’ – Songs of The Louvin Brothers. “How’s The World Treating You,” an incredible duet from the album, featuring James Taylor and Alison Krauss also won the 2003 Grammy for Vocal Collaboration of the Year, for which Jackson received a Grammy certificate.
Carl has 5 IBMA Awards, 3 ASCAP Awards, and an International TV Programming Award. He’s a Mississippi Musicians Hall of Famer and an SPBGMA Preservation Hall of Greats inductee. He won SPBGMA Songwriter of the Year twice.
Another monumental Jackson project Mark Twain: Words & Music released in 2011, tells the life story of the great Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and contains magical musical performances by Emmylou Harris, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Rhonda Vincent, Bradley Walker, The Church Sisters, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, Marty Raybon, Val Storey, Vince Gill, Joe Diffie and Ricky Skaggs, as well as narration by Garrison Keillor, along with Jimmy Buffet, as the voice of Huck Finn, and non-other than Mr. Clint Eastwood, as the legendary Mark Twain. Carl even performs a song himself, entitled “Safe Water,” co-written with his buddy, Jerry Salley.
For the past two-and-a-half years, Jackson has been engrossed in his latest project that was released on May 12, titled Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited. The project involves a multi-artist, star-studded tribute to the “Big Bang of Country Music” that happened in Bristol, Tenn. during the summer of 1927.
The state of Mississippi honored Carl with an official Country Music Trail Marker in his hometown of Louisville, Mississippi.
The Producer’s Chair: What have you been doing since our last interview in 2012?
Carl Jackson: I play every Monday night at The Station Inn with Larry Cordle and Val Storey, along with Aubrey Haynie on fiddle, Catherine Marx on keyboards, Doug Jernigan on steel guitar, Mike Bub on bass and Larry Atamanuik on drums.
The Orthophonic Joy project has taken my time completely for the past two and a half years.
I’ve worked with Dolly and with Brad Paisley. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Rhonda Vincent, Nu-Blue and The Trinity River Band have recorded my songs. I’ve got another Bradley Walker project basically in the can. I’m working on a Joey + Rory gospel project.
Did you come up with the idea of Orthophonic Joy, or was it brought to you?
Rusty Morrell brought the idea to me. He’s a native of Bristol. It was kind of a dream of his to do something to honor the Bristol Sessions. He was very familiar with the Louvin Brothers project that I did years ago and the Mark Twain project.
Rusty and I have known each other for a long time—over 20 years. It made me feel really good that he trusted me with the idea. He told me, “If you take this on I know it will get done right. If you agree to do it. I’ll come up with the funding.” We both approached the State of Tennessee and then the State of Virginia also came onboard to help fund the project. Then we were able to land distribution through Sony Legacy.
Where does one begin, on a project of this magnitude?
There’s a lot of prep work. You start making phone calls to people that you want to take part in the project. So, the first calls I made were to Vince, Marty Stuart, Emmylou, Dolly—artists like them that are my close friends. They certainly know and love the history of the music.
Then you branch off and you get superb artists like my dear friends, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, etc. I try to mix things up a lot when I do these things—I have some country artists on this one. I’ve got some pop artists like Sheryl. Keb’ Mo’ is on there. There’s a wide variety—plus some new artists. I always try to include some new artists that deserve recognition.
As far as new artists, I added The Shotgun Rubies, a group I put together made up of Val Storey, Delnora Reed, and Dani Flowers. There are The Church Sisters who are phenomenal singers. They’re an ancient 19 years old. And a new kid named Corbin Hayslett. Corbin is the winner of our contest. We had a contest similar to what Ralph Peer did in 1927, when he put the ad in the paper and asked people to come to Bristol to show up to audition. We did a Facebook campaign.
Originally there were 76 tracks recorded during the Bristol Sessions. How did you decide what songs were going to be on the new project?
I went through the box set of the Bristol Sessions more than once. I picked out probably my 25-30 favorites. And as I started bringing the artists on board I would usually have two or three tracks in mind that I felt would be best for them. It was kind of like the Louvin Brothers Project. It just fell into place.
Vince Gill said, “I want to do a Jimmie Rogers tune.” I said, “Well, Jimmie Rogers only did two tunes on the sessions.” Those were his first two recordings ever, and that was, ‘Sleep, Baby, Sleep’ and ‘The Soldier’s Sweetheart.’” He said, “Well, I dang sure don’t yodel. So let’s do ‘The Soldier’s Sweetheart.’”
Who are the musicians on the album?
Some of the bands are self-contained, like the Rangers. But there is also Aubrey Haynie, Andy Leftwich, Kevin Grantt, Dennis Crouch, Bryan Sutton, Ashley Campbell, Steve Martin is playing the banjo on his track, Adam Steffey, Spencer Strickland, Rob Ickes, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Tony Creasman, Catherine Marx and I’m playing probably 85 percent of the guitar.
Who engineered the project?
The tracks were recorded by John ‘Hip Hop’ Caldwell. And Luke Wooten did mixing and mastering for me, as always.
Where did you record the album?
I recorded the vast majority of it at Station West, Luke’s studio over in Berry Hill. There were a couple of things that were done outside of there. I did Sheryl’s vocals at her place. I did Vince’s vocals over at his house. Brad’s guitar and vocal parts were done at his house.
Does the album, in some fashion, pay tribute to Ralph Peer?
There are 37 tracks on this 2-CD set, but 18 of them are music and 19 of them are narrations. My narrator is Eddie Stubbs and the script was written by Dr. Cindy Lovell who is the director of the Mark Twain Home and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. It’s a beautiful script, and Eddie was the perfect voice to tell the story. And, yes, we tell the entire story. Pop Stoneman finally gets the credit he deserves for encouraging Ralph Peer to come to Bristol in the first place. Pop Stoneman is really a lot more behind the whole Bristol Sessions than people realize. He was already a big star in 1927.
Is there was one magic moment that stands out during the project?
Do I have to pick one?! There were many. I love the song “The Storms Are On The Ocean.” It’s one of my favorite songs that was recorded back in ’27 on the Sessions. Written long before then, I’m sure. That was my favorite one, so I was holding it back for Dolly. She liked it a lot, of course, but then she asked me to play her some more things just to see what else I had in mind. I played her “When They Ring Those Golden Bells.” And she immediately said, “That’s the one I want to do. I’ve been singing that since I was a little girl.” So that was a really neat moment, a bit of divine intervention.
I wanted Keb’ Mo’ on the project, but he was one of the few artists that I didn’t know. But my engineer John Caldwell knew him and picked up the phone and called Keb. We were in the studio at Station West, and when he called Keb was one block away carrying one of his guitars over to Joe Glaser. And Keb came straight to the studio and we recorded “To The Work.” And I had never met him before. He was a super nice guy and great player. And so that was another bit of divine intervention.
Keb had a young boy with him who was a protégé of his. He was even named after him. His name was Keb Hutchings McMahon. He calls himself ‘Keb’ H’ Mac’. While Keb and I were talking about what we were going to do on the record, he looked over at me and said, “It might be a good idea to let little Keb play on here, too.” I had heard little Keb and he was good, so we wound up putting little Keb on his first ever recording with Keb’ Mo’ doing “To The Work.” That was a special thing that I was able to give to somebody. Corbin Hayslett winning the contest and being on the project was another. Corbin is a great guy, and he’s an old soul. He’s 21 years old, but if he’d been born in 1927 he’d have been bigger than Babe Ruth. Babe hit 60 homeruns in 1927. That’s pretty big.
Are any of the descendants of any of the original artists on the project?
At 85 years old it’s really cool to have Jesse McReynolds on it and playing his granddaddy’s fiddle which was played on the original 1927 sessions. Charles McReynolds played the fiddle that Jesse is playing. In 1927 Charles played it on the original session in a group called The Bull Mountain Moonshiners, I believe. Jesse has recorded Johnny Goodwin and “The Girl I Left Behind” with just me and him standing in the studio with just guitar and fiddle and then also talking about it. And there’s also Jimmy Edmonds, whose granddaddy Norman Edmonds played on the original sessions. Jimmy is part of The Virginia Luthiers. They’re on the record, too, doing “Train On The Island” with Larry Cordle.
How about the musical arrangements—did you do all of them?
I did them all. There’s a couple of cases, like in Corbin’s case. Corbin sent his video for the contest of him doing “Darling Cora”with just him and a clawhammer banjo. It absolutely smoked off the screen. So, I cut Corbin live with a bass. It’s Corbin Hayslett along with Dennis Crouch playing bass, and its Corbin’s arrangement.
I gave Doyle Lawson the arrangement on “I’m Redeemed.” It’s the opening track. It was originally done by the AlcoaQuartet. It’s an old traditional hymn. Doyle went in and did it with his group. So, in other words, there are a few things. “Sweet Heaven When I Die”—Steve Martin and The Steel Canyon Rangers—we all basically arranged that together. But most of them I’m the arranger on.
Has anyone presented the thought of a documentary or a movie about the Bristol Sessions?
We’re doing it. It’s already in the works! We’ve got tons of footage from the project that is being put together that we hoped would be out at the same time to release in a package. I hope there will be a package that contains everything at some point. But the documentary is to follow, yes.
Is there a possibility that there might be a tour or a concert of some sort?
Yes, there is. We actually opened in Galax, Virginia last weekend. We did two days with about 10 of the artists off of the CD. There is talk of doing some things. We are going to do Larry’s Country Diner. On June 2, we’re doing Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam and yes, there is talk of doing a theatre run or something like that. It’s a really cool thing for stage.
Disc One
- “Don’t Deny Yourself The Sheer Joy Of Orthophonic Music” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “I’m Redeemed” performed by The Alcoa Quartet) Eddie Stubbs
- “I’m Redeemed” (Traditional arrangement by Doyle Lawson) Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
- “All They Needed Now Was Talent” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “Bury Me Beneath The Willow” performed by The Carter Family) Eddie Stubbs
- “Bury Me Beneath The Willow’” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson) Emmylou Harris
- “Tonight He Is Playing The Old, Old Tune At Police Headquarters” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “Black-Eyed Susie” performed by J.P. Nester & Norman Edmonds) Eddie Stubbs
- “Black-Eyed Susie” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson) Marty Stuart
- “An Early Tradition of Scrapping For Rights And Royalties” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “When They Ring Those Golden Bells” performed by Alfred G. Karnes) Eddie Stubbs
- “When They Ring Those Golden Bells” (Dion De Marbelle) (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson) Dolly Parton
- “I Wish I Had Some Rocks To Throw At Them” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “The Storms Are On The Ocean” performed by The Carter Family) Eddie Stubbs
- “The Storms Are On The Ocean” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson) Ashley Monroe
- “Any Song With A Story Will Go To The People’s Hearts” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “I Am Resolved” performed by Ernest V. Stoneman & His Dixie Mountaineers) Eddie Stubbs
- “I Am Resolved” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson) The Shotgun Rubies
- “A Hoedown Social In A Mountain Cabin” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “Sweet Heaven When I Die” performed by The Tenneva Ramblers) Eddie Stubbs
- “Sweet Heaven When I Die” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson, Steve Martin, and The Steep Canyon Rangers) Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers
- “Daddy Never Knew When He Would Come Up With An Idea For A Song” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “The Soldier’s Sweetheart” performed by Jimmie Rodgers) Eddie Stubbs
- “The Soldier’s Sweetheart” (Jimmie Rodgers) Vince Gill
- “Where The Blues Meets The Church” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “To The Work” performed by Alfred G. Karnes) Eddie Stubbs
- “To The Work” (Fannie J. Crosby & William H. Doane) Keb’ Mo’
Disc Two
- “Singers Who Had Not Visited Bristol During Their Entire Lifetime Arrived” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “Where We’ll Never Grow Old” performed by Alfred G. Karnes) Eddie Stubbs
- “Where We’ll Never Grow Old” (James C. Moore) The Church Sisters
- “Love, Loss, And The Perils Of The Moonshine Business” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “Darling Cora” performed by B.F. Shelton) Eddie Stubbs
- “Darling Cora” – (Traditional arrangement by Corbin Hayslett) Corbin Hayslett
- “Ramblers Riding The Longest Train I Ever Saw” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “The Longest Train I Ever Saw” performed by the Tenneva Ramblers) Eddie Stubbs
- “In The Pines” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson) Brad Paisley & Carl Jackson
- “Twenty-One Good Years At The Throttle” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “The Wreck Of The Virginian” performed by Blind Alfred Reed) Eddie Stubbs
- “The Wreck Of The Virginian” (Alfred Reed) Ashley & Shannon Campbell
- “Prized And Practical, Brutal Ballads” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “Pretty Polly” performed by B.F. Shelton) Eddie Stubbs
- “Pretty Polly” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson) Carl Jackson
- “Tremendous Heart Punch And Appeal” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “The Wandering Boy” performed by The Carter Family) Eddie Stubbs
- “The Wandering Boy” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson) Sheryl Crow
- “Gotta Catch That Train” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “Train On The Island” performed by J.P. Nester & Norman Edmonds) Eddie Stubbs
- “Train On The Island” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson & Larry Cordle) Larry Cordle & The Virginia Luthiers
- “History Saws And Strums Along With Itself” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “Johnny Goodwin” performed by the Bull Mountain Moonshiners) Eddie Stubbs
- “Johnny Goodwin/The Girl I Left Behind” (Traditional arrangement by Jesse McReynolds & Carl Jackson) Jesse McReynolds & Carl Jackson
- “Introducing The Orthophonic Choir” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “At The River” performed by the Tennessee Mountaineers)
- “Shall We Gather At The River” (Traditional arrangement by Carl Jackson) The Chuck Wagon Gang & The Orthophonic Choir
- “The Birthplace Of Country Music” (Narrative: Cindy Lovell; Background score: “I’m Redeemed” performed by the Alcoa Quartet, “At The River” performed by Tennessee Mountaineers, and “Shall We Gather AT The River” (Refrain) performed by The Chuck Wagon Gang & The Orthophonic Choir) Eddie Stubbs
Mountain Music Champion Passes Away
/by Robert K OermannJoe Wilson
Folk-festival organizer Joe Wilson died on Sunday, May 17, at age 77.
Wilson was a passionate champion of the music of his Appalachian homeland. He is best known as the director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts. He was also a sideman, a journalist, a lobbyist and a fund-raiser.
Joe Wilson was a native of the community named Trade in the East Tennessee mountains. Raised in a musical family, he left home at age 17. After earning a two-year degree at Lees-McRae College in North Carolina, he hitch-hiked to Nashville.
He got a job in Marty Robbins’ band and went on the road with the superstar. Then he began writing for The Progressive magazine, covering the civil-rights movement in the Deep South. He also became a fund-raiser for historically black colleges.
Wilson was hired to lead the NCTA in 1976. This organization was founded in 1933, but achieved new prominence under his leadership. During his 28 years with the NCTA, he put together nearly 50 national and international tours that took mountain musicians such as Ricky Skaggs around the world.
He was a mentor to the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Jay Orr and a hero to such musicians as Dudley Connell of The Seldom Scene, Sammy Shelor of the Lonesome River Band and Jerry Douglas of Allison Krauss & Union Station.
Joe Wilson helped to create the Blue Ridge Music Center near Galax, VA. He wrote the text for all of its exhibits and narrated all of the video clips at the venue.
The Crooked Road music-heritage trail in Virginia was also his brainchild, and he wrote a 2006 book about it. He helped to reinvigorate the National Folk Festival and came to Nashville with it in 2011. Among the performers were The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Darrell Scott, Larry Cordle, The McCrary Sisters, The Whites, Aubrey Ghent and Emmylou Harris.
He wrote the liner notes for the 1988 CD that reissued the pioneering 1928-30 country records of Grayson & Whitter. The duo was the first to record the famous folk tune “Tom Dooley.” After his retirement, Wilson settled in Whitter’s hometown of Fries, VA.
Joe Wilson had been in declining health for several years. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Blue Ridge Music Center.
The Producer’s Chair: Carl Jackson
/by contributorCarl Jackson
By: James Rea
Two-Time Grammy Winner Carl Jackson appeared on The Producer’s Chair on Thursday, May 28, 2015 Douglas Corner at 6 p.m.
Anyone who knows anything about bluegrass, knows the name Carl Jackson. He now has songwriting, production or publishing credits on over 650 albums with over 450 cuts as a writer. His song “Little Mountain Church House,” which was the 1990 International Bluegrass Music Association Song of the Year, has been recorded by over 100 artists. According to Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, Carl has written eight of the top bluegrass songs of all time.
Artists featured in Carl’s enormous body of work include: Emmylou Harris (13 albums), Dolly Parton (16 albums), Vince Gill (16 albums), Glen Campbell (16 albums), Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner, Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks, John Anderson, Pam Tillis, Radney Foster, Joe Diffie, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Lorrie Morgan, Martina McBride, Marty Stuart, Tammy Wynette, Hank Williams Jr., Rodney Crowell, Linda Ronstadt, Keith Whitley, George Jones, Rhonda Vincent, Patty Loveless, Ashley Monroe, Travis Tritt, Merle Haggard, Jon Randall, Blake Shelton, Joey + Rory, Nancy Sinatra, Tony Rice, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Mountain Heart, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tricia Yearwood, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Keb’ Mo’ and the Father of bluegrass himself Bill Monroe.
He won his first Grammy in 1992, for his album with John Starling entitled Spring Training. A few months later he received a Dove Award for Southern Gospel Song of the Year,“Where Shadows Never Fall,” recorded by Glen Campbell. The beautiful ballad,“No Future In The Past,” by Vince Gill was a huge songwriting success for Carl and was named the No. 1 Country Song of the Year for 1993 by Radio & Records magazine.
Carl’s second Grammy was for the 2003 Country Album of the Year, Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’ – Songs of The Louvin Brothers. “How’s The World Treating You,” an incredible duet from the album, featuring James Taylor and Alison Krauss also won the 2003 Grammy for Vocal Collaboration of the Year, for which Jackson received a Grammy certificate.
Carl has 5 IBMA Awards, 3 ASCAP Awards, and an International TV Programming Award. He’s a Mississippi Musicians Hall of Famer and an SPBGMA Preservation Hall of Greats inductee. He won SPBGMA Songwriter of the Year twice.
Another monumental Jackson project Mark Twain: Words & Music released in 2011, tells the life story of the great Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and contains magical musical performances by Emmylou Harris, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Rhonda Vincent, Bradley Walker, The Church Sisters, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, Marty Raybon, Val Storey, Vince Gill, Joe Diffie and Ricky Skaggs, as well as narration by Garrison Keillor, along with Jimmy Buffet, as the voice of Huck Finn, and non-other than Mr. Clint Eastwood, as the legendary Mark Twain. Carl even performs a song himself, entitled “Safe Water,” co-written with his buddy, Jerry Salley.
For the past two-and-a-half years, Jackson has been engrossed in his latest project that was released on May 12, titled Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited. The project involves a multi-artist, star-studded tribute to the “Big Bang of Country Music” that happened in Bristol, Tenn. during the summer of 1927.
The state of Mississippi honored Carl with an official Country Music Trail Marker in his hometown of Louisville, Mississippi.
The Producer’s Chair: What have you been doing since our last interview in 2012?
Carl Jackson: I play every Monday night at The Station Inn with Larry Cordle and Val Storey, along with Aubrey Haynie on fiddle, Catherine Marx on keyboards, Doug Jernigan on steel guitar, Mike Bub on bass and Larry Atamanuik on drums.
The Orthophonic Joy project has taken my time completely for the past two and a half years.
I’ve worked with Dolly and with Brad Paisley. Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Rhonda Vincent, Nu-Blue and The Trinity River Band have recorded my songs. I’ve got another Bradley Walker project basically in the can. I’m working on a Joey + Rory gospel project.
Did you come up with the idea of Orthophonic Joy, or was it brought to you?
Rusty Morrell brought the idea to me. He’s a native of Bristol. It was kind of a dream of his to do something to honor the Bristol Sessions. He was very familiar with the Louvin Brothers project that I did years ago and the Mark Twain project.
Rusty and I have known each other for a long time—over 20 years. It made me feel really good that he trusted me with the idea. He told me, “If you take this on I know it will get done right. If you agree to do it. I’ll come up with the funding.” We both approached the State of Tennessee and then the State of Virginia also came onboard to help fund the project. Then we were able to land distribution through Sony Legacy.
Where does one begin, on a project of this magnitude?
There’s a lot of prep work. You start making phone calls to people that you want to take part in the project. So, the first calls I made were to Vince, Marty Stuart, Emmylou, Dolly—artists like them that are my close friends. They certainly know and love the history of the music.
Then you branch off and you get superb artists like my dear friends, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, etc. I try to mix things up a lot when I do these things—I have some country artists on this one. I’ve got some pop artists like Sheryl. Keb’ Mo’ is on there. There’s a wide variety—plus some new artists. I always try to include some new artists that deserve recognition.
As far as new artists, I added The Shotgun Rubies, a group I put together made up of Val Storey, Delnora Reed, and Dani Flowers. There are The Church Sisters who are phenomenal singers. They’re an ancient 19 years old. And a new kid named Corbin Hayslett. Corbin is the winner of our contest. We had a contest similar to what Ralph Peer did in 1927, when he put the ad in the paper and asked people to come to Bristol to show up to audition. We did a Facebook campaign.
Originally there were 76 tracks recorded during the Bristol Sessions. How did you decide what songs were going to be on the new project?
I went through the box set of the Bristol Sessions more than once. I picked out probably my 25-30 favorites. And as I started bringing the artists on board I would usually have two or three tracks in mind that I felt would be best for them. It was kind of like the Louvin Brothers Project. It just fell into place.
Vince Gill said, “I want to do a Jimmie Rogers tune.” I said, “Well, Jimmie Rogers only did two tunes on the sessions.” Those were his first two recordings ever, and that was, ‘Sleep, Baby, Sleep’ and ‘The Soldier’s Sweetheart.’” He said, “Well, I dang sure don’t yodel. So let’s do ‘The Soldier’s Sweetheart.’”
Who are the musicians on the album?
Some of the bands are self-contained, like the Rangers. But there is also Aubrey Haynie, Andy Leftwich, Kevin Grantt, Dennis Crouch, Bryan Sutton, Ashley Campbell, Steve Martin is playing the banjo on his track, Adam Steffey, Spencer Strickland, Rob Ickes, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Tony Creasman, Catherine Marx and I’m playing probably 85 percent of the guitar.
Who engineered the project?
The tracks were recorded by John ‘Hip Hop’ Caldwell. And Luke Wooten did mixing and mastering for me, as always.
Where did you record the album?
I recorded the vast majority of it at Station West, Luke’s studio over in Berry Hill. There were a couple of things that were done outside of there. I did Sheryl’s vocals at her place. I did Vince’s vocals over at his house. Brad’s guitar and vocal parts were done at his house.
Does the album, in some fashion, pay tribute to Ralph Peer?
There are 37 tracks on this 2-CD set, but 18 of them are music and 19 of them are narrations. My narrator is Eddie Stubbs and the script was written by Dr. Cindy Lovell who is the director of the Mark Twain Home and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. It’s a beautiful script, and Eddie was the perfect voice to tell the story. And, yes, we tell the entire story. Pop Stoneman finally gets the credit he deserves for encouraging Ralph Peer to come to Bristol in the first place. Pop Stoneman is really a lot more behind the whole Bristol Sessions than people realize. He was already a big star in 1927.
Is there was one magic moment that stands out during the project?
Do I have to pick one?! There were many. I love the song “The Storms Are On The Ocean.” It’s one of my favorite songs that was recorded back in ’27 on the Sessions. Written long before then, I’m sure. That was my favorite one, so I was holding it back for Dolly. She liked it a lot, of course, but then she asked me to play her some more things just to see what else I had in mind. I played her “When They Ring Those Golden Bells.” And she immediately said, “That’s the one I want to do. I’ve been singing that since I was a little girl.” So that was a really neat moment, a bit of divine intervention.
I wanted Keb’ Mo’ on the project, but he was one of the few artists that I didn’t know. But my engineer John Caldwell knew him and picked up the phone and called Keb. We were in the studio at Station West, and when he called Keb was one block away carrying one of his guitars over to Joe Glaser. And Keb came straight to the studio and we recorded “To The Work.” And I had never met him before. He was a super nice guy and great player. And so that was another bit of divine intervention.
Keb had a young boy with him who was a protégé of his. He was even named after him. His name was Keb Hutchings McMahon. He calls himself ‘Keb’ H’ Mac’. While Keb and I were talking about what we were going to do on the record, he looked over at me and said, “It might be a good idea to let little Keb play on here, too.” I had heard little Keb and he was good, so we wound up putting little Keb on his first ever recording with Keb’ Mo’ doing “To The Work.” That was a special thing that I was able to give to somebody. Corbin Hayslett winning the contest and being on the project was another. Corbin is a great guy, and he’s an old soul. He’s 21 years old, but if he’d been born in 1927 he’d have been bigger than Babe Ruth. Babe hit 60 homeruns in 1927. That’s pretty big.
Are any of the descendants of any of the original artists on the project?
At 85 years old it’s really cool to have Jesse McReynolds on it and playing his granddaddy’s fiddle which was played on the original 1927 sessions. Charles McReynolds played the fiddle that Jesse is playing. In 1927 Charles played it on the original session in a group called The Bull Mountain Moonshiners, I believe. Jesse has recorded Johnny Goodwin and “The Girl I Left Behind” with just me and him standing in the studio with just guitar and fiddle and then also talking about it. And there’s also Jimmy Edmonds, whose granddaddy Norman Edmonds played on the original sessions. Jimmy is part of The Virginia Luthiers. They’re on the record, too, doing “Train On The Island” with Larry Cordle.
How about the musical arrangements—did you do all of them?
I did them all. There’s a couple of cases, like in Corbin’s case. Corbin sent his video for the contest of him doing “Darling Cora”with just him and a clawhammer banjo. It absolutely smoked off the screen. So, I cut Corbin live with a bass. It’s Corbin Hayslett along with Dennis Crouch playing bass, and its Corbin’s arrangement.
I gave Doyle Lawson the arrangement on “I’m Redeemed.” It’s the opening track. It was originally done by the AlcoaQuartet. It’s an old traditional hymn. Doyle went in and did it with his group. So, in other words, there are a few things. “Sweet Heaven When I Die”—Steve Martin and The Steel Canyon Rangers—we all basically arranged that together. But most of them I’m the arranger on.
Has anyone presented the thought of a documentary or a movie about the Bristol Sessions?
We’re doing it. It’s already in the works! We’ve got tons of footage from the project that is being put together that we hoped would be out at the same time to release in a package. I hope there will be a package that contains everything at some point. But the documentary is to follow, yes.
Is there a possibility that there might be a tour or a concert of some sort?
Yes, there is. We actually opened in Galax, Virginia last weekend. We did two days with about 10 of the artists off of the CD. There is talk of doing some things. We are going to do Larry’s Country Diner. On June 2, we’re doing Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam and yes, there is talk of doing a theatre run or something like that. It’s a really cool thing for stage.
Disc One
Disc Two
Luke Bryan Shares Details Behind Artifacts in New Exhibit
/by Eric T. ParkerLuke sees his exhibit for the first time with his mother in the background and manager Kerri Edwards behind. Photo: Jason Davis/Getty Images for CMHOF
Luke Bryan’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum summer exhibit, Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diary presented by Citi, opens to the public today, May 22.
Bryan took time to answer questions about a handful of the most meaningful artifacts during a press preview event in Nashville earlier this week. Those included his first guitar, the first song he wrote, a piano from his room and a backpack he almost lost at school.
“For years, some of my first instruments were at home,” said Bryan. “We loved having them there, but this forced us to bring them to Nashville. Once they leave here, I’ll be able to take them to some of my guitar guys to get them tuned up for wherever their resting place may be.”
Luke Bryan’s childhood piano. Photo: Jason Davis/Getty Images for CMHOF
“I was really pleased at the stuff my mother was able to find,” said Bryan. “I’m just so enamored by the city of Nashville and the music scene. Anytime I can be associated with the staples of Nashville: The Opry, The Hall of Fame, Music Row–I’m very honored.
“I remember taking my dad through [the Hall of Fame] one time watching a video of Garth when I first moved here. It’s pretty cool knowing that people will be moving to town, taking their families and showing them my exhibit.
“I’m a total geek. Today I was pulling off Wedgewood [Avenue] and saw the Hall of Fame’s billboard. I remember being here 10-years ago driving on the 440-loop seeing other artists up there. It’s surreal.”
Additional items in the summer exhibit include:
Luke Bryan: Dirt Road Diary will run through November 8, 2015 at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame.
Weekly Chart Report (5/22/15)
/by Troy_StephensonClick here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report
Would You Like That Beer To Go? New Law Will Allow It
/by Sherod RobertsonThe approved block is on Fifth Avenue between Demonbreun Street and Korean Veterans Boulevard and allows people to carry alcohol as they walk between Music City Center, Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Omni hotel. The goal was to make these three buildings a more cohesive unit rather than create a downtown environment where patrons walk around with a drink in their hand.
Last year, a bill attempting to allow open containers to be carried on Lower Broadway failed to gain enough support to be passed.
While the law only allows for open containers on the one block, it begs the question: Does this limited area set the stage for potentially expanding the area to include additional streets in the future?
Stay tuned.
Ticketmaster Snags Ex-Show Dog Director, Sloane Cavitt Logue
/by Eric T. ParkerSloane Cavitt Logue. Photo: Krista Lee
Sloane Cavitt Logue has been named Manager of Client Relations for Ticketmaster Artist Services in Nashville.
Logue will serve as the primary contact for Ticketmaster’s Nashville-based artist and manager clients, providing access to and advice on how best to utilize Ticketmaster’s artist programs.
“I look forward to helping artists super-serve their fans. In this role, I will be able to share all the great products and services Ticketmaster has to offer to Nashville’s exploding music community,” said Logue.
Zeeshan Zaidi, SVP/GM of Artist Services for Ticketmaster added, “Serving our clients in Nashville is a major priority for us so we needed a strong local presence. Sloane is a perfect fit—a talented music marketing executive who is plugged into the industry. We’re excited to have her representing Ticketmaster in the Music City.”
Logue previously served as Director of Digital Marketing at Show Dog Universal Music, where she worked for more than seven years. She can be reached at sloane.logue@ticketmaster.com or 615-932-5216.
Keith Urban: Meets Fan Demand With New Video, Joins Jason Derulo Track
/by Sarah SkatesUrban’s “Come Back To Me” video.
Keith Urban has released a video for his song “Come Back To Me” at the request of fans, even though the track is not a single. The bonus video marks the success of his current album FUSE, which spawned four No. 1s, including his 18th charttopper, “Raise ‘Em Up.”
The video was shot last December in Nashville and was directed by Chris Hicky. “Come Back To Me” was written by Shane McAnally, Brandy Clark and Trevor Rosen and was co-produced by Butch Walker and Urban.
Tonight (May 21), Urban and John Mellencamp will perform “Pink Houses” on NBC’s star-studded charity event Red Nose Day, 8-11 p.m. ET, to raise money for children living in poverty in the U.S. and around the world. Also on the show, see Blake Shelton visiting a mobile health clinic in Los Angeles that is providing free, life-changing care to underprivileged children.
In more Urban news, he and Stevie Wonder are featured on a new Jason Derulo track, “Broke.”
CMA Fest Kick-Off Concert Performers Announced
/by Kelsey_GradyPerformers include A Thousand Horses, Greg Bates, Annie Bosko, Ruthie Collins, Jessie James Decker, Clare Dunn, Haley Georgia, Haley & Michaels, Sonia Leigh, LoCash, Jackson Michelson, Logan Mize, Jess Moskaluke, Old Dominion, James Otto, Outshyne, Parmalee, Carly Pearce, Adam Sanders, Canaan Smith, Dallas Smith, and Sundy Best (lineup subject to change).
“The CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Concert has been extremely popular with our fans and adds another day of free music to the event,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “It is just another way we can thank the local fans for supporting the Festival while also welcoming Country Music fans from around the country and world to Nashville.”
“We are excited to be working with the CMA for the first time on the official kick-off event for CMA Music Fest featuring SiriusXM Highway Finds. We’re looking forward to curating a lineup of Highway Finds artists and putting together a great stage to kick off the week’s festivities,” said John Marks, CMA Board Member and Senior Director, Music Programming, SiriusXM.
CMA also announced this year’s national anthem singers for the 2015 CMA Music Festival. Katie Armiger will perform the national anthem on Thursday, June 11 at the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage. Performing the national anthem at LP Field Thursday night will be Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, followed by Restless Heart on Friday, Kellie Pickler on Saturday, and Lee Greenwood on Sunday.
Last Days: Nashville’s Sub Stop Closes Next Week
/by Sherod RobertsonTouting high quality food, generous portions and friendly service, this local hang’s most popular dishes include homemade chicken salad sandwiches, Italian and reuben sandwiches and a wide assortment of cakes.
In August of last year, MusicRow reported Nashville would soon be home to a SkyHouse luxury high-rise apartment building at the current Sub Stop location. The 25-story, 352-unit building being built by Novare Group and Batson-Cook Development Company would include more than 10,600-square-feet of ground level retail.
Although no official update has been received on the new development, one thing is for sure: Sub Stop shutters its doors in eight days.
MusicRow Awards: Breakthrough Artist of the Year
/by Sarah SkatesThe fastest rising female act in eight years, Maddie & Tae scored with sassy debut single “Girl In A Country Song.” It reached No. 1 at country radio, sold over 600K downloads, and reeled in over 22 million VEVO video views. They co-wrote all four titles on their EP, and earned an ACM nod for Vocal Duo of The Year. They are about to head out on Dierks Bentley’s Sounds of Summer Tour.
Kelsea Ballerini’s self-penned debut single “Love Me Like You Mean It” is quickly scaling the country radio and sales charts, while debut album The First Time hit shelves this week. She is co-headlining the career-boosting CMT Next Women of Country Tour.
Chase Rice’s album, Ignite The Night, debuted at No. 1 on the country albums chart. It yielded the Platinum-certified, Top 5 hit “Ready Set Roll” and new follow-up single “Gonna Wanna Tonight.” He sold out nearly every stop on his own Ignite The Night Tour last year, and will keep the momentum going on Kenny Chesney’s The Big Revival Tour this summer.
Sam Hunt’s Montevallo is the best-selling country debut album since 2011, and the best-selling country album of 2015, with sales topping 500K. The Georgia native earned back-to-back Platinum singles with “Leave the Night On” and “Take Your Time.” Hunt co-wrote every song on his album, including “Cop Car,” made famous by Keith Urban. He also has writing credit on the Billy Currington hit “We Are Tonight.” Hunt spent the fall on the CMT tour with Kip Moore.
Cole Swindell, MusicRow’s 2014 Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year, is back with a nomination for Breakthrough Artist after a blockbuster year. He earned three straight No. 1s: Platinum-certified “Chillin’ It” and Gold certified “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” and “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight.” As a songwriter, he has credits including “This Is How We Roll” (Florida Georgia Line ft. Luke Bryan), “Roller Coaster” (Bryan) and “Get Me Some of That” (Thomas Rhett), the latter two songs were penned with Breakthrough Songwriter nominee Michael Carter. Next up Swindell will head out on tours headlined by Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney.
The MusicRow Awards are often a key predictor for select CMA Awards. Almost every year since 2006, MusicRow’s Breakthrough Artist winners also received the CMA New Artist/Horizon Award later the same year, including Kacey Musgraves (2013), The Band Perry (2011), Zac Brown Band (2010), Lady Antebellum (2008), Taylor Swift (2007), and Carrie Underwood (2006).
Award winners are voted on exclusively by Subscriber Members of MusicRow. Honors will be presented during an invitation-only ceremony at ASCAP on Tuesday, June 23 at 5:30 p.m., saluting the Breakthrough Songwriter, Breakthrough Artist, Producer of the Year, Song of the Year, and the Top Ten Album AllStar Musicians. The eligibility period is May 1, 2014 – April 30, 2015.
Click to see the full list of nominees.