Avenue Beat’s Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Sami Bearden. Photo: Delaney Royer
Avenue Beat’s Sami Bearden, Savana Santos and Sam Backoff came onto the Nashville music scene with clever, relatable songs and a fresh sound. With wry songs like “Delight” and “Be A Bro,” and relatable anthems “Ruin That For Me” and “Broke,” Avenue Beat charmed their way into the hearts of fans and industry members alike.
After signing with Big Machine Label Group’s Valory Music Co. and Tape Room Records, they released their self-titled, debut EP, which showed off their wit and interesting vocal harmonies. Their song “F2020” became a viral hit and the soundtrack for a year filled with anxiety, cultural hostility, and pain from the the COVID-19 pandemic.
To mark the pop trio’s end, Avenue Beat has announced a 12-track project, The Debut Farewell Album, will release Oct. 15 via Big Machine Records.
Ahead of the album’s release, the group dropped “This Is Goodbye,” which serves as an elegy to the adventures, the surprises and the laughter Avenue Beat has shared over the years. Featuring vocals from friend and “unofficial” fourth Avenue Beat member, Summer Overstreet, the song says good-bye to their collaboration that sustained all three girls throughout their time on a major label.
The album cover, which serves as a perfect representation of the clever, self-aware 20-somethings, only features Santos and Backoff, not Bearden.
“There’s no real drama,” offers lead singer/producer Santos. “Sami decided this life wasn’t for her. She didn’t like what it was, and it was time for her to stop. So it was time for this to stop. We didn’t really see it coming, but we wanted to support our friend.”
“And we’re so glad we got to finish the journey with these songs,” Bearden explains. “It’s all here, and it tracks us from ‘F2020’ to the very end. It’s hard when you know it’s time to go, because I’m leaving two people I really love. But I also know this is not where I need to be.
“All we ever did was process our lives through these songs,” Bearden continues. “There was no master plan, no big set-up or ideas. Just this happened, now here’s a song.”
“And now here are the last songs,” Santos picks up. “This is how it ends. Nobody saw it coming. There’s nothing else to say. But for the people who’ve been in here with us, it’s the craziest thing of all: actual closure. Everything you never get to say, it’s in these last few songs.”
The Debut Farewell Album Official Track List:
1. “F2020” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos
2. “Woman” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Joey Hendricks, Michael Whitworth*
3. “I Don’t Really Like Your Boyfriend” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
4. “Rock In Outer Space” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet+
5. “DTF” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet, Jordyn Shellhart, Emily Weisband^
6. “Space For You” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet^
7. “New Strangers” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Jason Gantt
8. “Parties” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
9. “Interlude” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos
10. “Different” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos
11. “Happy For You” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Victoria Canal, Summer Overstreet
12. “This Is Goodbye” (featuring Summer Overstreet) | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
Produced by Savana Santos
*Produced by Savana Santos, Alysa Vanderheym
+Produced by Savana Santos, Julian Bunetta
^Produced by Savana Santos, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Afterhrs
Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood Return No. 1 On MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart
/by Alex Parry“If I Didn’t Love You” by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood returns to No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart this week, marking its third week on top. The singles holds +57 spins over the No. 2 position despite losing a total of -29 spins the last two weeks.
“If I Didn’t Love You” was written by Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Morgan and Lydia Vaughan, and produced by Michael Knox.
Underwood earned a nomination for Entertainer of the Year at this year’s 55th Annual CMA Awards, which airs live from Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 10 (8:00 – 11:00 p.m. EST) on ABC. Click here to see a full list of nominees.
Click here to view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly containing the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart.
Avenue Beat Announces Break-Up With ‘The Debut Farewell Album’
/by LB CantrellAvenue Beat’s Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Sami Bearden. Photo: Delaney Royer
Avenue Beat’s Sami Bearden, Savana Santos and Sam Backoff came onto the Nashville music scene with clever, relatable songs and a fresh sound. With wry songs like “Delight” and “Be A Bro,” and relatable anthems “Ruin That For Me” and “Broke,” Avenue Beat charmed their way into the hearts of fans and industry members alike.
After signing with Big Machine Label Group’s Valory Music Co. and Tape Room Records, they released their self-titled, debut EP, which showed off their wit and interesting vocal harmonies. Their song “F2020” became a viral hit and the soundtrack for a year filled with anxiety, cultural hostility, and pain from the the COVID-19 pandemic.
To mark the pop trio’s end, Avenue Beat has announced a 12-track project, The Debut Farewell Album, will release Oct. 15 via Big Machine Records.
Ahead of the album’s release, the group dropped “This Is Goodbye,” which serves as an elegy to the adventures, the surprises and the laughter Avenue Beat has shared over the years. Featuring vocals from friend and “unofficial” fourth Avenue Beat member, Summer Overstreet, the song says good-bye to their collaboration that sustained all three girls throughout their time on a major label.
The album cover, which serves as a perfect representation of the clever, self-aware 20-somethings, only features Santos and Backoff, not Bearden.
“There’s no real drama,” offers lead singer/producer Santos. “Sami decided this life wasn’t for her. She didn’t like what it was, and it was time for her to stop. So it was time for this to stop. We didn’t really see it coming, but we wanted to support our friend.”
“And we’re so glad we got to finish the journey with these songs,” Bearden explains. “It’s all here, and it tracks us from ‘F2020’ to the very end. It’s hard when you know it’s time to go, because I’m leaving two people I really love. But I also know this is not where I need to be.
“All we ever did was process our lives through these songs,” Bearden continues. “There was no master plan, no big set-up or ideas. Just this happened, now here’s a song.”
“And now here are the last songs,” Santos picks up. “This is how it ends. Nobody saw it coming. There’s nothing else to say. But for the people who’ve been in here with us, it’s the craziest thing of all: actual closure. Everything you never get to say, it’s in these last few songs.”
The Debut Farewell Album Official Track List:
1. “F2020” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos
2. “Woman” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Joey Hendricks, Michael Whitworth*
3. “I Don’t Really Like Your Boyfriend” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
4. “Rock In Outer Space” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet+
5. “DTF” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet, Jordyn Shellhart, Emily Weisband^
6. “Space For You” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet^
7. “New Strangers” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Jason Gantt
8. “Parties” | Sam Backoff, Sami Bearden, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
9. “Interlude” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos
10. “Different” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos
11. “Happy For You” | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Victoria Canal, Summer Overstreet
12. “This Is Goodbye” (featuring Summer Overstreet) | Sam Backoff, Savana Santos, Summer Overstreet
Produced by Savana Santos
*Produced by Savana Santos, Alysa Vanderheym
+Produced by Savana Santos, Julian Bunetta
^Produced by Savana Santos, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Afterhrs
Brett Young Plans New Christmas Album, CMT Crossroads Special
/by Lorie HollabaughBrett Young is giving fans an early Christmas gift this season with his first-ever Christmas album, Brett Young & Friends Sing The Christmas Classics, on Oct. 22. The eight-song collection is available for pre-order with “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” featuring Sam Fischer available everywhere now.
Young enlisted an all-star lineup of guests for the project, including Colbie Caillat, Fischer, Dann Huff, Darius Rucker, Maddie & Tae, Chris Tomlin and Phil Wickham. Producer Noah Needleman helped Young produce the project after getting in the spirit with his release of the classic “Silver Bells” last year.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to make a Christmas album one day, it was just a matter of figuring out how I could do something a little bit different,” Young says. “We tapped into an old school, lo-fi sound with ‘Silver Bells,’ and knew we had the blueprint for a full album. It means the world that so many incredible artists who I respect were open to singing with me on the project… we don’t take the title Brett Young and Friends lightly!”
Later this year, Young will bring the album’s must-see duets to TV on the special CMT Crossroads Christmas: Brett Young & Friends. More details on the show will be announced in the coming weeks.
Brett Young and Friends Sing The Christmas Classics Track List:
Silver Bells
White Christmas ft. Colbie Caillat
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) ft. Phil Wickham
The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) ft. Dann Huff
Silent Night ft. Chris Tomlin
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! ft. Maddie & Tae
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree ft. Darius Rucker
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas ft. Sam Fischer
RaeLynn Takes Fans Back Home On Full ‘Baytown’ Album [Interview]
/by Lydia FarthingRaeLynn. Photo: Alysse Gafkjen
Two-time ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year nominee RaeLynn has many things to celebrate this season with the birth of her first child, daughter Daisy Rae, on Sept. 8, and the release of her new full-length album, Baytown, which is available everywhere today (Sept. 24).
After releasing a six-song EP by the same name in 2020, the Baytown album expands upon the original set by adding eight more tracks to the full-length project.
Baytown, named after RaeLynn’s hometown outside of Houston, Texas, draws serious inspiration from the place that made her the person and artist that she is today.
“Any artists I meet that didn’t come from Nashville are all unique in their own way. What makes them unique is where they grew up, what they were around, what music they were surrounded by, and what their environment was,” RaeLynn tells MusicRow. “For the first couple of years, I was trying to figure out who I was in Nashville. I realized that what makes me different and what makes me special is that I grew up in a place called Baytown and being the baby of eight kids. I realized that all of these different things that are woven inside of me have made me who I am, and that’s going to show into my music,” she explains.
“The best way for me to describe Baytown is country people with a little grit and sass.” When describing Baytown in a sonic sense, she sums, “It’s like if Cardi B and Dolly Parton had a baby. It’s fun, but a little ratchet in the best way.”
With tracks like the heartfelt “Small Town Prayer” and the revealing “Only In A Small Town,” RaeLynn offers up the different shades of growing up in a place like Baytown on the aptly named record.
“I love those two songs because they go to show the undeniable pureness and authenticity of a small town that makes us who we are, but then they also have the rowdiness of what a small town represents too. Everybody knows each other and gets into a little bit of trouble, but everybody has each other’s back too,” she comments.
Additionally, the album includes a couple of welcomed duets, including the entertaining “Why I Got A Truck” with her former The Voice coach Blake Shelton, and the flirty “Get That All The Time” with Mitchell Tenpenny.
Baytown also features familiar favorites like “Keep Up,” “Judgin’ To Jesus,” “Rowdy,” and “Bra Off,” while also giving fans new tracks that showcase more sides of the Platinum singer-songwriter that they haven’t heard before.
RaeLynn. Photo: Ford Fairchild
“She Chose Me,” which undoubtedly serves as the album’s centerpiece, takes listeners behind the curtain of RaeLynn’s life as she learned that she was the result of an extramarital affair. Giving a vulnerable invitation into how she came into this world, the track chronicles her mother’s momentous choice to keep the pregnancy despite the small town scrutiny while also serving as a prequel to her 2016 breakout Gold-certified single, “Love Triangle.”
Coming full-circle from there, RaeLynn also shares a demo version of “Made For Me To Love,” which make her own daughter, Daisy, her muse for the first of what’s sure to be many times to come.
With over 840 million career streams and nearly half a million album equivalents sold, one of country music’s newest parents will be spending the next few months diving into motherhood with plans of returning to the road in early 2022.
“I don’t know anything about [motherhood] so it’s all gonna be new to me, but I’m beyond excited,” she shared as she was preparing for Daisy’s arrival. “This pregnancy has honestly been an incredible experience… I’ve had such a beautiful time being pregnant, and it’s been so cool to be able to do something beyond myself.
“I’m gonna miss being pregnant for those special moments, but I am excited to drink a margarita,” she jokingly admits.
RaeLynn’s full-length album, Baytown, is available now.
Co-Founding Member Of The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Jimmy Carter, Releases Solo Album
/by LB CantrellJimmy Carter, the last original member of The Blind Boys of Alabama, released his first solo album Blind Faith on Sept. 20.
Carter is the eldest member of The Blind Boys of Alabama, the five-time Grammy-winning, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winning, Gospel Hall of Fame members. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama and has featured a changing roster of musicians over its history, the majority of whom are or were visually impaired.
Carter dedicated the song “I Am With You Still,” the first single off of Blind Faith, in memory of his good friend, co-founder of The Blind Boys of Alabama, Clarence Fountain.
Produced and co-written by songwriter and musician Ron Pullman, Carter aims to send a Gospel message and a source of peace with the solo album.
Carter says, “This is my first solo album and I am excited to be able to sing some original music that’s in harmony with traditional Gospel, while using a range of different musical genres that embrace the Gospel sound with an up-lifting message.”
Weekly Register: Kacey Musgraves Enjoys “Simple Times” With Top Country Album & Song Debut
/by Lydia FarthingKacey Musgraves. Photo: Sophia Matinazad
Kacey Musgraves nabbed the top country streaming song and album debut this week. The Grammy-winning songstress’ fourth studio album, Star-Crossed, debuts at No. 1 on the country albums charts and No. 3 overall with 77,000 first-week streams. Her nostalgic track, “Simple Times,” also made its debut at No. 16 on the country streaming songs chart, earning 4 million streams, according to Nielsen.
Monument’s Walker Hayes continues his reign at No. 1 on the top country streaming songs chart as “Fancy Like” earns a staggering 14 million streams, bringing him up to 137 million streams RTD. Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood follow at No. 2 as “If I Didn’t Love You” adds 7.4 million streams, Ryan Hurd & Maren Morris‘ “Chasing After You” adds 7 million streams in the third spot, and Nelly & Florida Georgia Line drop to fourth with “Lil Bit” gaining 6.5 million streams. Cracking the top five, Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan‘s “Buy Dirt” receives 6.5 million streams this week.
After 36 weeks, Morgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album falls to the No. 2 spot on the top country streaming album chart, adding 38,000 streams, according to Nielsen. Luke Combs takes the third spot with What You See Is What You Get and the fifth spot with This One’s For You, earning 22,000 and 15,000 streams, respectively. Hayes fills out the top five as Country Stuff remains at No. 4 with 16,000 streams.
DISClaimer Single Reviews: Jameson Rodgers, Marty Stuart, Lily Rose
/by Robert K OermannJameson Rodgers. Photo: Matthew Berinato
The vets outshine the shiny new stars today.
Asleep at the Wheel, Lyle Lovett, José Feliciano, Dolly Parton and Marty Stuart sound a whole lot better than most of the major-label country contenders do. One exception is Sony’s Jameson Rodgers, who earns the Disc of the Day award.
Also check out the worthy new efforts by Lily Rose, David Nail and Scotty McCreery.
We have no newcomers in this edition of the column, hence no DISCovery Award.
AARON VANCE / “Five Bucks Says”
Writers: Aaron Vance/Rich Karg; Producer: Aaron Vance/Rich Karg; Label: Windy Holler
— Vance strips it down to an acoustic track for this ballad. The song contemplates what Lincoln would say if he could see where we are as a country today. The singer-songwriter added “producer” to his resume for his current Cabin Fever album. I loved the innovative sounding title track. This single continues his creative forward motion.
BRANTLEY GILBERT / “Gone But Not Forgotten”
Writers: Brantley Gilbert/Brock Berryhill/Jason Blaine/Jay Brunswick; Producer: Brantley Gilbert/Brock Berryhill; Label: The Valory Music Co.
— He’s still a cool singer, and the message is admirable, but this production is muddy and muffled.
DREW GREEN / “Cold Beer and Copenhagen”
Writers: Drew Green/Smith Ahnquist/Brent Anderson; Producer: Mark Trussell; Label: Villa 40/RCA
— He loves everything that’s bad for him—beer, snuff and her. Is this vocal double tracked or is every sound here just processed to death?
SCOTTY McCREERY / “Damn Strait”
Writers: Trent Tomlinson/Jim Collins; Producer: Frank Rogers/Derek Wells/Aaron Eshuis; Label: Triple Tigers
— Very well written. The lyric weaves the titles of George Strait hits into a tale of heartbreak and nostalgia. McCreery is on a definite roll.
COLE SWINDELL / “Some Habits”
Writers: Scooter Carusoe/Josh Miller/Chris LaCorte; Producer: Zach Crowell; Label: Warner Music Nashville
— It’s a lilting love lyric about living right by breaking bad habits, except for his habit of romance. He sounds like any generic male country singer, so the star here is the song.
JOSÉ FELICIANO & DOLLY PARTON / “Eagle When She Flies”
Writers: Dolly Parton; Producer: Rick Jarrard/John Willis/Gilles Godard; Label: Anthem Entertainment
— Now this is what a real country duet sounds like. The voices challenge and lift one another, collaborating equally and powerfully throughout the performance. Dolly originally wrote it as a theme song for Steel Magnolias, but the film never used it. She scored a modest sized hit with it in 1991. This new interpretation brings out the real strength of her lyric and underscores the song’s anthem qualities.
DAVID NAIL / “St. Louis”
Writers: David Nail; Producer: David Nail/Reed Pittman; Label: DN
— The Missouri native muses beautifully in this enchanting ballad about love and loss, using his state’s most iconic city as a memory trigger. I have always been a major fan of this guy, and this indicates that he still has the goods. The gentle, echoey, super tasteful production is a major plus, too.
MARTY STUART / “Poor Side of Town”
Writers: Lou Adler/Johnny Rivers; Producer: Marty Stuart; Label: MS
— The sixth release from Marty’s 20-tune digital collection Songs I Sing in the Dark is a flawlessly rendered revival of a 1966 Johnny Rivers chart-topping classic. The country star’s vocal “owns” the song with nuances and subtle phrasing that the pop singer didn’t match. A gem of a performance.
CASSADEE POPE / “Tomorrow Night”
Writers: Cassadee Pope/Devin Guisande/Aaron Chafin; Producer: Cassadee Pope/Nickolas Wheeler/Karen Fairchild; Label: CP
— Pope tries a pop/grunge approach here. It fails. She doesn’t have the voice for it.
JAMESON RODGERS / “Bet You’re From a Small Town”
Writers: Jameson Rodgers/Smith Ahnquist/Will Bundy/Lynn Hutton; Producer: Chris Farren/Jake Mitchell; Label: River House Artists/Columbia Nashville
— This is a well-worn (worn out?) country-song topic, but the craftsmanship in the writing here is unmistakable. Rodgers really knows how to communicate as a singer, and with a lyric this strong, he is unstoppable. It’s the title tune of his fine debut album.
LILY ROSE / “Stronger Than I Am”
Writers: Griffen Palmer/Geoff Warburton; Producer: Joey Moi; Label: Big Loud/Back Blocks/Republic
— Terrific. Rose goes for the jugular on this heartbreak power ballad. This artist has the vocal talent to speak directly to the listener on an extraordinarily personal level. I am in thrall every time she sings.
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL & LYLE LOVETT / “There You Go Again”
Writers: Ray Benson; Producer: Ray Benson/Sam Seifert; Label: Home/Thirty Tigers
— The shimmering, shoulder-shaking groove doesn’t let ya go for a second as these country jazzbo’s slink their way through this feel-good, audio delight. The New Orleans horns push it on home. The track is drawn from Half a Hundred Years, an album celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wheel making western-swing magic. The 19-track collection also features guests Willie, Emmylou, Strait, Lee Ann Womack, Johnny Gimble and many former Wheel bandmates. The concert celebrating the album and the anniversary is scheduled for Oct. 15 in Austin.
‘CMT Artists Of The Year’ To Honor Mickey Guyton As Breakout Artist Of The Year
/by Lydia FarthingMickey Guyton. Photo: Bonnie Nichoalds
CMT will honor Mickey Guyton with the Breakout Artist of the Year award at its CMT Artists of the Year event taking place live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. CT on CMT.
Guyton has made history this year as the first Black female solo artist to earn a Grammy nomination in a country category (Best Country Solo Performance) for “Black Like Me.” This past April, she also co-hosted the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS alongside Keith Urban.
She is currently nominated for CMA New Artist of the Year. Guyton also received two nominations for the 2021 MusicRow Awards, including Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Song of the Year (“Black Like Me”).
“We are thrilled to honor the immensely talented Mickey Guyton as this year’s Breakout Artist of the Year. After relentlessly chasing her dreams in country music for years, her perseverance, tenacity and spirit have culminated in this spectacular moment of recognition where she’s finally receiving the credit she deserves,” shares Leslie Fram, Senior Vice President, Music & Talent, CMT. “Congratulations Mickey! We look forward to celebrating with you, and all of our honorees on Oct. 13.”
This marks the fourth time in event history that the Breakout Artist of the Year honor will be bestowed, with previous honorees including Chris Stapleton (2015), Kelsea Ballerini (2016) and Ashley McBryde (2019).
As previously announced, this year’s CMT Artists of the Year will honor its class of 2021, including Chris Stapleton, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini and Luke Combs. Musical pairings, special guests and additional performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.
‘Christmas With Ronnie Milsap’ Sees Holiday Reissue After 35 Years
/by Lorie HollabaughChristmas with Ronnie Milsap, the sole holiday album from the legendary country star, is being reissued by Craft Recordings and released on Nov. 12. Originally released in 1986, the release marks the first time in 35 years the project will now be available on CD. The album is available for pre-order now.
Backed by orchestral arrangements, Milsap offers a country take on traditional yuletide favorites while peppering in originals like “Only One Night of the Year” and the bluesy “It’s Just Not Christmas (If I Can’t Spend It With You).” He also offers a spoken message to his fans in “Christmas Thoughts,” before closing with “We’re Here to Love,” which originally appeared on his bestselling 1983 LP, Keyed Up.
Christmas with Ronnie Milsap was originally released at the height of Milsap’s fame, when he was enjoying an incredible streak of No. 1s on the Billboard country chart, as well as crossover success with songs like “Show Her,” “Stranger in My House” and the Grammy and ACM Award-winning “Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night).”
The 78-year-old recording artist continues to release new material and entertain fans around the world, most recently releasing his 29th studio album, A Better Word for Love, this year.
Noel Prelude
Only One Night of the Year
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Christmas Medley: Carol of the Bells / O Come, O Come Emmanuel / Silent Night / Joy to the World
It’s Christmas
It’s Just Not Christmas (If I Can’t Spend It With You)
Silver Bells
O Holy Night
Christmas Thoughts
We’re Here to Love
Nashville A-Team Musician Bob Moore Dies
/by Lydia FarthingPictured: Bob Moore, circa 1960. Photograph by: Bill Forshee, courtesy of CMHOF
Nashville A-Team bassist, Bob Moore, has died. He was 88.
Throughout his more than 60-year career, Moore was one of the lead musicians to utilize the bass guitar as a country music instrument and was the first-call bassist on Music Row’s A-Team of session musicians from the 1950s through the 1970s. Along the way, he provided rhythmic support and ideas for an array of classic country hits, including Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces,” Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry,” Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Roger Miller’s “King of the Road,” Elvis Presley’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” Marty Robbins’s “El Paso,” Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” and Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’,” among countless others.
Pictured: Bob Moore on bass during a Brenda Lee recording session at Bradley’s Film and Recording Studio. Photograph by: Elmer Williams, courtesy of CMHOF
Born in 1932, he was raised by his grandmother near Nashville’s Shelby Park. By age nine he set up a shoeshine box near the entrance of the historic Ryman Auditorium, and before long was invited backstage to shine the boots and shoes of Opry stars.
Only a year later, Moore had begun performing in a band he formed called the Eagle Rangers. When Moore was 14, he joined the Grand Ole Opry duo Jamup & Honey before joining Little Jimmy Dickens’ band at 18. At age 23, he accepted an offer to play on the famed Red Foley television show, Ozark Jubilee.
Moore eventually met pianist and record producer Owen Bradley, who told Moore that he would soon be operating a Nashville office for Decca Records to which Moore would be a regular session bassist.
In the 1950s, Moore began playing on Nashville recordings that represented what would become known as rockabilly, including for Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee, Bobby Helms, Wanda Jackson, and Johnny Burnette and the Rock & Roll Trio.
In 1961, Moore also enjoyed a major pop hit of his own with his instrumental recording “Mexico.” The song went No. 1 in Germany and reached No. 7 on the U.S. pop charts.
Moore was honored as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museums’ Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Session Players program, and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007, along with other members of the Nashville A-Team.
“Bob Moore’s contributions to American music are incalculable,” shares Kyle Young, CEO, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “Raised in East Nashville, he was a musical master and the most-recorded bass player in country music history. As a key member of the much-vaunted ‘A-Team’ of Nashville session players, he was both an inspiration and an innovator. He was the heartbeat behind classics including Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy,’ Sammi Smith’s ‘Help Me Make It Through the Night,’ Kenny Rogers’s ‘The Gambler,’ and hundreds of other recordings that changed the course of country music. He played with Johnny Cash, Tom T. Hall, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and so many others, and he helped establish Monument Records, where he was a player, a producer, an arranger and a hit artist. He once said, ‘Anyone who has heard me play the bass knows my soul.’ We’re fortunate that he shared his soul with us for so many years.”
Memorial arrangements have not yet been announced.