Martin Kahan
Prominent and prolific music-video maker Martin Kahan has died at age 74.
Noted for his work with top country stars, Kahan passed away in Lakewood, New Jersey on Sunday (July 18) following a battle with cancer. The director’s career began during the dawn of the music-video era and endured into the new millennium. He was particularly noted for his work with Kenny Chesney, Sawyer Brown and Neal McCoy.
Martin Samuel “Mendel” Kahan was born in Miami. The son of a rabbi, he began his film career in documentaries. Actor Lorne Greene narrated his film about “frog-gigging” in the Florida Everglades. Kahan also created a documentary about rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins.
Moving to Toronto, then New York, he gravitated to working in the then-emerging field of music videos in the early 1980s. MTV went on the air as a pop-music outlet for videos in 1981, and CMT followed suit for country clips in 1983.
Kahan’s early clients included rock stars such as Rush, Scandal, Ian Hunter, Clarence Clemons, Bon Jovi, Loverboy, Michael Bolton, Motley Crue, Kiss, The Scorpions and Eddie Money.
By the mid-1980s, he was working in Nashville. His early country videos included career-establishing 1985-88 hits by Sawyer Brown—“Betty’s Bein’ Bad,” “Heart Don’t Fall Now,” “Out Goin’ Cattin’” and “Shakin.’”
The two 1984 clips he created for Ricky Skaggs on the streets of Manhattan drew particular acclaim—“Honey (Open That Door)” (which featured a cameo by New York Mayor Ed Koch) and “Country Boy” (with Bill Monroe in a prominent role). Another ‘80s effort was John Anderson’s “Countrified” (1986).
As the decade continued, Martn Kahan became increasingly associated with country music. He eventually established a residence in Nashville.
Some of the most iconic country videos of the 1990s were directed by him. These included the award-winning “Chattahoochie” by Alan Jackson (1993) and “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” by John Michael Montgomery (1995), plus “Then What” by Clay Walker (1998), “Hog Wild” by Hank Williams Jr. (1995) and “High Powered Love” by Emmylou Harris (1993).
Among his more than 30 country-music clients were David Ball, Billy Dean, T.G. Sheppard, Emilio, Ty England, The Gibson Miller Band, John & Audrey Wiggins, Kieran Kane, Dude Mowery, Andy Childs, The Buffalo Club and Rick Trevino.
Kahan directed multiple videos for Confederate Railroad, including “Trashy Women,” “Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind” and “When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back.” His many clips for Neal McCoy included “Wink,” “No Doubt About It” and “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye.”
In 1997, he created the “She’s Got it All” and “That’s Why I’m Here” videos for Kenny Chesney. In 2000, Chesney’s “I Lost It” became Kahan’s final music video.
Four months after completing it, Martin Kahan fell down a flight of stairs at a friend’s home in Nashville, suffering severe brain damage. He remained a lively raconteur about events from his past, but was unable to retain new information.
His declining health sidelined him professionally, and he eventually became homeless. His rabbinical family stepped in to provide long-term care at a facility in Lakewood.
Final arrangements have not been announced.
Charlie Daniels Jr. Celebrates Father’s Legacy In New Podcast [Exclusive]
/by Lorie HollabaughCharlie Daniels Jr. & Charlie Daniels
Charlie Daniels, Jr. is hosting a new bi-weekly podcast dedicated to the life and career of his father. The Charlie Daniels Podcast: From ‘Long Haired Country Boy’ to ‘Simple Man,’ The Best There’s Ever Been will air its first episode on Friday, Aug. 6 at 8 a.m. CT.
The new podcast will feature previously-recorded interviews with the senior Daniels, as well as special guests who knew him best, including producers, band and road crew members, office staff, and artists who were influenced by his music. The debut episode will feature Roger Campbell, Charlie Daniels Band (CDB) roadie and guitar tuner for 44 years.
“It took me a long time to decide on a long-term way to honor dad, his career and his music,” explains Daniels, Jr. ”Launching a podcast seemed to be the best way to do that. We’re also featuring dad’s music because to do a Charlie Daniels podcast without music is only giving part of the story. I can’t wait for dad’s fans to hear the many, many stories there are to tell about him.”
Upcoming guests include Daniels’ longtime manager David Corlew, CDB band member Charlie Hayward, as well as Billy Crain, brother of the late Tommy Crain who played with the CDB from 1975-1989. Both Hayward and Billy Crain performed on Daniels’ final album, Beau Weevils — Songs in the Key of E. Additional guests will be announced in the coming weeks.
The life and career of Daniels will be honored at the upcoming 2021 Volunteer Jam: A Musical Salute to Charlie Daniels, set to take place on on Aug. 18 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Additionally, Blue Hat Records and BFD/Audium Nashville have released a special tribute album dedicated to the legendary musician. Charlie Daniels & Friends — Duets features some of the biggest names in country music, bluegrass, and southern rock. The 19-track compilation is available exclusively in Walmart stories and walmart.com.
2021 MusicRow Awards Category Profile: Breakthrough Artist of the Year
/by Sarah SkatesFollowing the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 33rd MusicRow Awards, we take a look at the MusicRow Breakthrough Artist of the Year category. This category is voted on by MusicRow’s subscribed members to honor a Nashville artist who achieved significant career progress for the first time.
The MusicRow Awards will be announced virtually among multiple MusicRow platforms on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Presenting Sponsor of the 2021 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.
Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.
Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribed members. Voting is now open and closes on July 23 at 5 p.m.
To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow subscribed member here.
Tenille Arts has had a stellar year, including her single “Somebody Like That” becoming the first No. 1 song in country music written, performed and produced by all females. A native of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Arts is the first Canadian to reach No. 1 in the U.S. since 2007 and first Canadian female since Terri Clark in 2004. She also won the Rising Star award at the 2020 Canadian Country Music Association Awards. Arts is following up “Somebody Like That” with new single “Back Then, Right Now.”
BRELAND is a talented addition to the country music family. His autobiographical hit “Cross Country” is a well-written song with the dual meanings of literally moving across the country, while also crossing genre lines. Known for frequently tapping guest collaborators, he upped the ante by adding Mickey Guyton to a new version of “Cross Country.” With his career on the rise since his platinum debut song “My Truck” dropped in 2019, BRELAND has collaborated with Gary LeVox, Lauren Alaina, Chase Rice, and Sam Hunt, and most recently his second collaboration with Keith Urban on “Throw It Back.” BRELAND will kick off his first headlining tour at Bonnaroo Music Festival on Sept. 5.
Mickey Guyton had a hard-earned, much-deserved breakthrough year. Her important songs “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” and “Black Like Me” made listeners sit up and take notice. Guyton made history as the first Black female solo artist to earn a Grammy nomination in a country category, for Best Country Solo Performance for “Black Like Me” which she performed on the show. In addition, she teamed with Keith Urban to co-host this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards. “Black Like Me” is nominated for MusicRow Song of the Year.
Parker McCollum is riding into the release of his full-length major label debut album with a No. 1 single and sold-out shows across the country. The upcoming project, Gold Chain Cowboy, was produced by the talented Jon Randall and features his No. 1 “Pretty Heart” and follow-up single “To Be Loved By You.” McCollum is a perfectionistic songwriter with the talent of being able to convey a feeling while leaving the lyrics open to interpretation, such as on his just-released solo-write “Rest of My Life.” He is also nominated for MusicRow Breakthrough Artist-Writer.
Niko Moon scored his first No. 1 as an artist with debut single “Good Time.” He followed that success with new release “No Sad Songs” and is finishing up his debut full-length album with longtime collaborator and co-producer Joshua Murty. Moon’s track record is strong, with writing credits on five No. 1 hits for Zac Brown Band, plus cuts by Dierks Bentley, Ashley Monroe and others. His hit “Good Time” earned MusicRow Breakthrough Songwriter nominations for his four co-writers, including Murty.
Jameson Rodgers charted a No. 1 debut with “Some Girls” as well as his latest Top 20 hit “Cold Beer Calling My Name,” which features labelmate Luke Combs. All are on his excellent new EP In It For The Money. The Mississippi native moved to Music City more than a decade ago, and in recent years his hard work has paid off as co-writer of hits for Florida Georgia Line (“Talk You Out of It”) and Chris Lane (“I Don’t Know About You”), as well as the title track of Luke Bryan’s latest album Born Here Live Here Die Here. Rodgers is the reigning MusicRow Discovery Artist of the Year.
Glen Campbell’s Final Troubadour Set Commemorated In New Live Album, Out Tomorrow
/by Lorie HollabaughGlen Campbell. Photo: Kristin Burns / Courtesy of Surfdog Records
The magic of Glen’s Campell’s final performance at the legendary Troubadour on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip has been captured on the country legend’s new album, Live From The Troubadour, due out tomorrow (July 23) on Surfdog Records/Big Machine Records.
The show featured a stunning mix of beloved Campbell favorites like “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Galveston” along with unexpected jewels from Lou Reed (“Jesus”), Foo Fighters (“Times Like These”), Tom Petty (“Walls (Circus),” “Angel Dream”), Paul Westerberg (“Sadly Beautiful”) and Green Day (“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”). The set also included a band composed of four of his children, as well as session and live veterans from Beck, Jellyfish, Jane’s Addiction, Murphy’s Law, D Generation, and Danzig.
The Arkansas-born singer-songwriter thrilled the beyond capacity crowd with a mix of his hits and definition-expanding songs by his peers and contemporaries. Now, 13 years later, fans can enjoy the show’s special moments on the new 14-track project.
Live From the Troubadour Track List:
1. All I Want Is You (Live From The Troubadour)
2. Sing (Live From The Troubadour)
3. Angel Dream (Live From The Troubadour)
4. By The Time I Get To Phoenix (Live From The Troubadour)
5. Walls (Circus) (Live From The Troubadour)
6. Galveston (Live From The Troubadour)
7. Jesus (Live From The Troubadour)
8. Gentle On My Mind (Live From The Troubadour)
9. Sadly Beautiful (Live From The Troubadour)
10. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (Live From The Troubadour)
11. Wichita Lineman (Live From The Troubadour)
12. Grow Old With Me (Live From The Troubadour)
13. Rhinestone Cowboy (Live From The Troubadour)
14. Times Like These (Live From The Troubadour)
DISClaimer Single Reviews: Trace Adkins, Tyler Farr, MaRynn Taylor
/by Robert K OermannCountry artists are celebrating summertime this week.
Jeff Bates, Adam Doleac, Kylie Trout, Walker Hayes, Sam Williams and, especially Tebey with Una Healy all have open-air, sunshiney tunes. So does our DisCovery Award winner, MaRynn Taylor.
For that matter, toss in the dynamite, life-affirming Trace Adkins performance. It’s not about summer, but it will sure make you feel warm inside. It earns this edition’s Disc of the Day prize.
JUSTIN FABUS & CHAPEL HART / “Run”
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Label: JF
— His somewhat light tenor voice is bolstered considerably by the female trio’s harmonies. The song’s lyric is wordy and awkward. But there is promise here, so keep trying.
TRACE ADKINS / “The Way I Wanna Go”
Writers: Barry Dean/Troy Verges/T.J. Osborne/John Osborne; Producer: Jon Coleman; Label: Verge
— Nicely produced. A deliriously rhythmic swirl of keyboads & guitars envelope an epic expressive performance. The song looks at a life well lived by a proud man who has loved and fought, worked and danced, soared and sung. Hang on for the gusto coda. This mini masterpiece is the title tune of Trace’s album, which drops next month.
SAM WILLIAMS / “Kids”
Writers: Boots Ottestad/Eric Arjes/Hank Compton; Producer: Jaren Johnston; Label: Mercury Nashville
— Wafting, airy and youthful. Lovely listening. Keith Urban provides the guitar work. Sam is the grandson of the legendary Hank Williams and his upcoming album also features a collaboration with Dolly (”Happy All the Time”) and co-writes with Dan Auerbach and Jaren Johnston. Look for it on Aug. 20.
TEBEY & UNA HEALY / “Song of the Summer”
Writers: Danick Dupelle/Jimmy Thow/Tebey Ottoh; Producer: Tebey/Danick Dupelle; Label: Tebey
— Singer-songwriter Tebey has enjoyed a string of Gold and Platinum hits in his Canadian homeland. He has also been building a solid European following. Una is an Irish country-pop star. She harmonizes splendidly with his hearty, handsome lead vocal on this fresh sounding country rocker. The catchy, joyous, beautifully layered production deserves to become an anthem of this warm season.
KYLIE TROUT / “American Summer”
Writers: Kylie Trout/Dalton Baird/Jason Hamor; Producer: Bill McDermott; Label: KT
— Speaking of summer, this Radio Disney starlet and TikTok fave offers this entry as her tune for the season. Her thin, wispy voice can barely carry it.
ADAM DOLEAC / “Key to the City”
Writers: Adam Doleac/Casey Brown/Jesse Lee Levin; Producer: Casey Brown; Label: Arista Nashville
— We got life by the tail, so let’s take off and rock this town. We’re out for a good time, so look out world. Infectious.
WALKER HAYES / “Fancy Like”
Writers: Shane Stevens/Walker Hayes/Cameron Bartolini/Joshua Cole Jenkins; Producer: Shane McAnally; Label: Monument
— Country rap with the theme of poor-folks’ pleasures. This breezy little outing looks like it has a strong start on pop radio.
BRANDON LAY / “Broke”
Writers: Brandon Lay/Dean Dillon; Producer: Jonathan Singleton; Label: EMI Nashville
— It’s a cool song about a busted relationship, using a kaput car as a metaphor. He sings it well, but the choruses are over produced.
ERIN ENDERLIN / “Somebody’s Shot of Whiskey”
Writers: Erin Enderlin/Ben Chapman; Producer: Erin Enderlin; Label: Black Crow
— She’s an old-school traditionalist who sings of swimming upstream here. “I’d rather be somebody’s shot of whiskey/Than everybody’s cup of tea,” she avers, while a fiddle saws and a steel cries. A splash of clear, clean mountain water on the pancake makeup face of Music Row.
TYLER FARR / “Cover Girl”
Writers: Tyler Farr/Blake Bollinger/Ben Stennis; Producer: Jason Aldean/Kurt Allison/Tully Kennedy; Label: BBR/Night Train
— This is about escaping a domestic-violence situation. Farr performs the troubling, empowering lyric with lots of emotion, and the video ends with help-line information. Recommended listening.
MaRYNN TAYLOR / “I Know a Girl”
Writers: Nicolle Galyon/Jimmy Robbins/Shelley Skidmore; Producer: Doug Johnson & Jimmy Robbins; Label: Black River
— Roll down the windows, turn it up and head out on a country road. This soaring offering of love and fun has everything it takes. Wonderfully well written, sung with moxie and produced to perfection.
JEFF BATES / “Friends With Boats”
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Label: JB
— A beachy, good-time page from the Buffett playbook.
Big Loud Records Ups 5, Adds 2 To Promotion Team
/by LB CantrellPictured (clockwise): Stacy Blythe, Kelley Brock, Sarah Headley, Ali Matkosky, Aubrey Wilson, Tyler Waugh, Delaney Rogers
Big Loud Records is beefing up its promotion department with a round of advances and new hires.
Industry leader Stacy Blythe has been elevated to SVP, Promotion from her previous VP Promotion post. Awarded the top honor for SVP-VP/National Promotion at the 2021 CRS/Country Aircheck Awards, Blythe has been integral to Big Loud Records’ success, which has seen the label earn 11 U.S. No 1 songs with Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum certifications, plus more than 14 billion global streams to date—all in less than six years.
Blythe will be joined in her step-up by Ali Matkosky, who rises into the VP Promotion role from National Director Promotion. Longtime promotion member Tyler Waugh climbs to National Director Promotion, having spent the last few years as the Director Southeast Promotion.
Further, Sarah Headley progresses to Director Southeast Promotion from her former role as Promotion Coordinator; and Delaney Rogers shifts her duties as Executive Assistant from Big Loud Partner/CEO Seth England over to Blythe.
Additionally, Kelley Brock has been added to the label in the role of Promotion Coordinator. She was previously an on-air radio personality at WKDF Nashville and WUSY Chattanooga. With WUSY, she won a 2018 CMA Broadcast Award for Personality of the Year (Medium Market) with the Ken, Kelley, and Daniel show. Aubrey Wilson joins as Data & Analytics Coordinator, following the departure of Giuliana Mignone to pursue her artist career. Brock can be reached at kelley@bigloud.com and Wilson at aubrey@bigloud.com.
All advances and hires take effect immediately.
King Calaway Reemerges With Upcoming ‘Midnight’ EP, Album Release Show
/by Lydia FarthingKing Calaway. Photo: Courtesy of BBR Music Group
Rising country group King Calaway will release their new Midnight EP on Aug. 27 via Stoney Creek Records.
Following the success of their debut album Rivers – released via BBR Music Group’s Stoney Creek Records in October 2019 – the group spent 2020 honing their songwriting, harmonies, and groove. They have since emerged with brand new music as a 5-piece band, composed of original members Caleb Miller, Chris Deaton, Simon Dumas, Chad Michael Jervis, and Austin Luther.
The group signed with Red Light Management in June of 2021, and teased that new music was in the works. The upcoming project offers a first glimpse at the band’s songwriting prowess as a preview from a larger series of recordings, with more to come on future music.
“Midnight is the result of many months spent diving into new creative and sonic spaces,” shares the band. “We carefully crafted these songs with our live show in mind, and it’s only fitting that we get to share them for the first time live from Nashville.”
To celebrate the EP release, the band will also be debuting their new music with a live show at the Brooklyn Bowl Nashville on Thursday, Aug. 26. Tickets for the show are on sale now. The performance will also be livestreamed on the CTRL_MUSIC_ channel airing exclusively on Twitch.
Midnight Track List:
1. Homegrown – Chad Michael Jervis, Kevin Griffin
2. More People – Simon Dumas, Ryan Lafferty, Tina Parol Gemza
3. Heartbreaker – Simon Dumas, Neil Medley, Dave Cohen
4. Good Time To Me (feat. Lainey Wilson) – Charles Kelley, Russell Dickerson, Corey Crowder, Steven Lee Olsen
NSAI Sets Nashville Songwriter Awards For September
/by LB CantrellThe Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) will hold its annual Nashville Songwriter Awards on Sept. 14, 2021. The 4th annual awards, presented by City National Bank, will be held as a private event at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s CMA Theater.
The event will include performances honoring the Song, Songwriter, and Songwriter-Artist of the Year, the Songwriter and Songwriter-Artist of the Decade (2010-2019), as well as the ’10 Songs I Wish I’d Written,’ awards, given to the top voted songs chosen by fellow professional songwriters as exceptional songs they wish they had penned.
This year Sony Music Publishing Chairman & CEO Jon Platt will be honored with NSAI’s President’s Keystone Award, given in recognition of significant contributions to the betterment of all songwriters.
“Our deepest thanks go to Sony Music Publishing Chairman/CEO Jon Platt for enabling the half million-dollar donation that allowed NSAI to create the non-profit, tax-exempt WRITER Foundation. The Foundation quickly and efficiently got critically-needed grant funds into the hands of American songwriters and composers,” says NSAI President Steve Bogard. “Jon stepped up to help at the height of the financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Live performances were shut down and royalty checks were impacted. The $1,000 grants NSAI was able to distribute through Sony’s generosity helped songwriters who really needed it pay their bills.”
“We are so pleased to be back in person this year after presenting an entirely virtual awards event last year,” says NSAI Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Turnbow. “The more intimate setting will provide an opportunity for industry colleagues to gather and celebrate together, many for the first time in over a year. This year’s show promises to be memorable in many ways and it is our privilege to be able to partner with City National Bank again to celebrate songwriters in such a grand way.”
“Congratulations to all of this year’s Nashville Songwriter Award winners, and thank you for making our lives better by creating such wonderful songs,” adds Diane Pearson and Lori Badgett, heads of Entertainment Banking for City National Bank in Nashville, in a joint statement. “City National has a long history of supporting songwriters and the creative community. We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s winners with NSAI in person once again after everything the industry has been through over the past year and a half.” City National is a leading entertainment industry bank that provides personalized financial services to more than 80% of the country music industry in Nashville.
Official 2021 Nashville Songwriter Awards Sponsors: Presenting Sponsor City National Bank, Academy of Country Music, Jack Daniel’s, Loeb & Loeb, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), SoundExchange, Tennessee Association of Broadcasters.
Scotty McCreery Shares Details Of New Album, ‘Same Truck’
/by Lorie HollabaughScotty McCreery. Photo: Jeff Ray
Scotty McCreery will release his upcoming album, Same Truck, on Sept. 17 via Triple Tigers. Produced by Frank Rogers, Derek Wells and Aaron Eshuis, the project includes his current Top 15 single, “You Time,” and the recently released track, “Why You Gotta Be Like That.”
Intense fan demand following last week’s release of “Why You Gotta Be Like That” caused pre-sale information to leak at several key retailers. To meet the demand, McCreery and his label decided to announce the album early as a thank you to the fans for fervently supporting his music through the years.
“It’s gratifying to learn that my fans are so excited about my upcoming new album that they sought out pre-order information before it was ready to be announced….and got it,” shared the North Carolina native. “Thanks to Triple Tigers and the retailers for coming together quickly so we could make this official album announcement. I can’t wait to share this music with everyone.”
Same Truck features 12 songs, 10 of which were co-written by McCreery. Coming three years after his last album, Seasons Change, the forthcoming project is a reflection of where the American Idol alum is now in life as a man married to the love of his life who is also celebrating his 10th year as an entertainer.
“My last album was about me as a young man getting ready to get married. Same Truck is me three years later, taking a moment to acknowledge where I am now as a 27-year-old, happily married man, sharing both what I’ve learned and where I want to go,” McCreery explains.
Same Truck Track List:
1. Same Truck (Scotty McCreery, Ashley Gorley, Taylor Phillips, Zach Crowell)
2. You Time (Scotty McCreery, Frank Rogers, Aaron Eshuis)
3. It Matters To Her (Scotty McCreery, Rhett Akins, Lee Thomas Miller)
4. Damn Strait (Trent Tomlinson, Jim Collins)
5. It’ll Grow On Ya (Jeremy Bussey, Jason Blaine, Taylor Phillips, Adam Wood)
6. The Waiter (Scotty McCreery, Matthew West, Frank Rogers)
7. Why You Gotta Be Like That (Scotty McCreery, Jordan Schmidt, James McNair)
8. Home (Scotty McCreery, Frank Rogers, Brent Anderson, Tammi Kidd)
9. Carolina To Me (Scotty McCreery, Jeremy Bussey, Taylor Phillips)
10. Small Town Girl (Scotty McCreery, Ashley Gorley, Zach Crowell)
11. That Kind of Fire (Scotty McCreery, Josh Hoge, Matt McVaney, Justin Wilson)
12. How Ya Doin’ Up There (Scotty McCreery, Monty Criswell, Derek George, Tyler Reeve)
Music-Video Mainstay Martin Kahan Passes
/by Robert K OermannMartin Kahan
Prominent and prolific music-video maker Martin Kahan has died at age 74.
Noted for his work with top country stars, Kahan passed away in Lakewood, New Jersey on Sunday (July 18) following a battle with cancer. The director’s career began during the dawn of the music-video era and endured into the new millennium. He was particularly noted for his work with Kenny Chesney, Sawyer Brown and Neal McCoy.
Martin Samuel “Mendel” Kahan was born in Miami. The son of a rabbi, he began his film career in documentaries. Actor Lorne Greene narrated his film about “frog-gigging” in the Florida Everglades. Kahan also created a documentary about rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins.
Moving to Toronto, then New York, he gravitated to working in the then-emerging field of music videos in the early 1980s. MTV went on the air as a pop-music outlet for videos in 1981, and CMT followed suit for country clips in 1983.
Kahan’s early clients included rock stars such as Rush, Scandal, Ian Hunter, Clarence Clemons, Bon Jovi, Loverboy, Michael Bolton, Motley Crue, Kiss, The Scorpions and Eddie Money.
By the mid-1980s, he was working in Nashville. His early country videos included career-establishing 1985-88 hits by Sawyer Brown—“Betty’s Bein’ Bad,” “Heart Don’t Fall Now,” “Out Goin’ Cattin’” and “Shakin.’”
The two 1984 clips he created for Ricky Skaggs on the streets of Manhattan drew particular acclaim—“Honey (Open That Door)” (which featured a cameo by New York Mayor Ed Koch) and “Country Boy” (with Bill Monroe in a prominent role). Another ‘80s effort was John Anderson’s “Countrified” (1986).
As the decade continued, Martn Kahan became increasingly associated with country music. He eventually established a residence in Nashville.
Some of the most iconic country videos of the 1990s were directed by him. These included the award-winning “Chattahoochie” by Alan Jackson (1993) and “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” by John Michael Montgomery (1995), plus “Then What” by Clay Walker (1998), “Hog Wild” by Hank Williams Jr. (1995) and “High Powered Love” by Emmylou Harris (1993).
Among his more than 30 country-music clients were David Ball, Billy Dean, T.G. Sheppard, Emilio, Ty England, The Gibson Miller Band, John & Audrey Wiggins, Kieran Kane, Dude Mowery, Andy Childs, The Buffalo Club and Rick Trevino.
Kahan directed multiple videos for Confederate Railroad, including “Trashy Women,” “Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind” and “When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back.” His many clips for Neal McCoy included “Wink,” “No Doubt About It” and “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye.”
In 1997, he created the “She’s Got it All” and “That’s Why I’m Here” videos for Kenny Chesney. In 2000, Chesney’s “I Lost It” became Kahan’s final music video.
Four months after completing it, Martin Kahan fell down a flight of stairs at a friend’s home in Nashville, suffering severe brain damage. He remained a lively raconteur about events from his past, but was unable to retain new information.
His declining health sidelined him professionally, and he eventually became homeless. His rabbinical family stepped in to provide long-term care at a facility in Lakewood.
Final arrangements have not been announced.
Zarni deVette Signs With Big Yellow Dog Music
/by Lorie HollabaughZarni deVette
Songwriter and producer Zarni deVette has signed to Big Yellow Dog Music. deVette claimed the No. 1 spot on iTunes All Genre/Country and reached the No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Digital Sales Chart with her song “Somebody Does,” recorded by country duo Tigirlily and produced by Shane McAnally, earlier this year.
Originally from South Africa, deVette’s music reflects not only the deep roots she’s planted in Nashville, but also the cities she’s called home along the way, including Austin, Seattle and Boston. The Berklee College of Music graduate’s songs have been used in a wide variety of shows including the Late Late Show with James Corden, NBC’s Good Girls, ABC’s Mistresses, and WWE Monday Night Raw.
“From the first time we met Zarni, we knew she was a force,” says Senior Creative Director Lauren Funk. “She impressed us with not only her raw talent but her incredible work ethic. We are so excited to come alongside her in this next step in her career.”