Singer-songwriter Jamie O’Hara, known for being part of the country duo O’Kanes and for writing hit songs for other artists, has been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. According to a Facebook post from his wife, Lola White, that was shared by Nashville music company Moraine Music Group, O’Hara’s cancer is so far advanced that he could have only weeks.
“It is with deep sorrow, dear friends, that I must tell you that my husband Jamie, the love of my life, has been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, that has us measuring his life in weeks. Something about making such an announcement in this format seems very wrong, but there are so many people who should know, and so little time to contact everyone individually. I apologize for that, but I did want you to know. My heart is shattered, and I’m spending every moment I can with him,” White said via social media.
With The O’Kanes, O’Hara and Kieran Kane recorded three albums for Columbia Records and charted seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the No. 1 song, “Can’t Stop My Heart from Loving You.”
In a solo write, O’Hara wrote The Judds’ “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days).” The song was the duo’s sixth No. 1 hit, and won a Grammy for Best Country Song in 1986. In another solo write, O’Hara penned Ronnie McDowell’s 10-week No. 1, “Older Women.” He also self-penned “Man to Man,” Gary Allan’s first No. 1 hit, as well as many other songs recorded by artists including Tim McGraw, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Don Williams, Lee Ann Womack, Emmylou Harris, and more.
O’Hara released three solo albums, including Rise Above It in 1992, Beautiful Obsession in 2000, and Dream Hymns in 2012.
Chris Lindsey’s ‘Pitch List’ Podcast Gears Up For Season Four
/by Lorie HollabaughPitch List Podcast, hosted by songwriter Chris Lindsey, is set to launch its 4th season of the show on Jan. 14, with an episode featuring the legendary Bill Anderson.
The lineup for the rest of the season includes interviews with Emily Weisband, Cam, Sarah Buxton, Ashley Gorley and more. Lindsey, a songwriter and producer responsible for hits such as Lonestar’s “Amazed,” Blake Shelton’s “Every Time I Hear That Song,” Martina McBride’s “This One’s For the Girls,” and more, started the podcast in 2017.
Chris Lindsey
Pitch List Podcast has featured iconic writers and artists including John Paul White, Luke Dick, Lori McKenna, session musicians like Tom Bukovac, and music business professionals like Ben Vaughn and Missi Gallimore. The podcast skips the standard interview questions to dive deep into the heart of what makes writing songs so mysterious and captivating. Past seasons of Pitch List Podcast are available to listen to here.
Nashville Legal Analyst And Writer Publishes ‘MODERNIZATION OF MUSIC’
/by LB CantrellE. Maxwell, a Legislative Research Analyst for the Tennessee House of Representatives, has published MODERNIZATION OF MUSIC, a book about how technology has affected music in the digital age and one of the most important updates of United States copyright law ever: the Music Modernization Act.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee and in his last year at Nashville School of Law, MODERNIZATION OF MUSIC first began as Maxwell’s law school thesis. NSAI Executive Director, Bart Herbison, acted as his mentor in the process of writing the thesis, and interviews and statements from Herbison, NMPA President & CEO David Israelite, John Rich of Big & Rich, MLC CEO Kris Ahrend, songwriters Ross Golan and Rick Giles, and U.S. Senators Orrin G. Hatch and Lamar Alexander are also in the book.
“MODERNIZATION OF MUSIC explores how technology has affected music in the digital age,” Maxwell says. “Music is consumed much differently due to streaming services, and songwriters have been all but robbed of fair compensation under outdated laws governing their livelihoods. The book dives into the most important update of U.S. copyright law ever—the Music Modernization Act—revealing its story for the very first time through exclusive interviews from top music industry professionals and politicians across the U.S. to provide a nuanced, holistic picture of what recorded music is poised to become.”
“Songwriting almost became an extinct profession in the modern age of digital music distribution because rules more than 100 years old governed how songwriter/composer compensation was set. However, the adoption of the Music Modernization Act changed those rules. E. Maxwell manages to boil this extremely complicated topic down in an interesting and understandable way. Every music lover can get a peek behind the curtain through MODERNIZATION OF MUSIC at how the rules were updated to give American songwriters a chance to earn a fair-market wage in the era of streaming music. Job very well done!” said Herbison.
MODERNIZATION OF MUSIC is available on Amazon now, with a portion of the proceeds going to MusiCares.
Chris Young and Kane Brown’s “Famous Friends” Most-Added At Country Radio
/by LB CantrellChris Young and RCA Nashville label-mate Kane Brown are starting off 2021 with the most-added single at country radio, as “Famous Friends” tallies a total 53 combined Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase stations.
“Famous Friends” was also most added on MusicRow‘s most recent CountryBreakout Radio Chart.
Written by Young with Cary Barlowe and Corey Crowder from a tour stop in Tampa in 2018, the autobiographical song mentions Rutherford County, where Young grew up in Tennessee, and Brown’s hometown of Hamilton County, along with Nashville’s Davidson County.
“Famous Friends” is Young and Brown’s first collaboration since working together on Brown’s 2017 song “Setting the Night On Fire.” Additionally, the song reunites the former tour mates from Young’s 2018 Losing Sleep Headlining Tour—which included a sold-out hometown show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena—and is a full-circle moment for Brown, since his first live concert experience as a young country fan was a Brad Paisley and Chris Young tour stop.
Little Big Town, Brandi Carlile, Scotty McCreery, More Join YETI To Raise Money for Road Crews
/by LB CantrellYETI has partnered with Crew Nation—a charitable organization created to support the touring and venue crews impacted by COVID-19—to fundraise for crews through an auction of YETI coolers, customized by artists.
Over the past few weeks YETI sent out its Roadie 24 Hard Cooler to more than 30 popular bands and musicians and asked them to personalize the cooler in some unique way. Artists participating in the auction include Little Big Town, Brandi Carlile, Scotty McCreery, Cam, Billie Eilish, Tyler Childers, The Head And The Heart, Midland, FINNEAS, Mavis Staples, Wynonna Judd, Tanya Tucker, Shovels & Rope, Beastie Boys, Brittany Howard, Martina McBride, and more.
Pictured (top row, L-R): Cam, Brandi Carlile and family, Brittany Howard, Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet; (bottom row, L-R): Wynonna Judd, Scotty McCreery and wife, Tanya Tucker
Starting yesterday (Jan. 5), and running through Jan. 12, YETI is auctioning off these customized coolers to the public as part of its “One for the Roadies” campaign, with the proceeds going towards Crew Nation’s efforts. YETI also plans to match all funds raised up to $100,000. Customized coolers are available for bidding here.
This is the second edition of YETI’s One for the Roadies initiative, having auctioned off nearly 40 coolers in August customized by a variety of musicians, including Jason Aldean, Green Day, Chris Stapleton, Tommy Lee, Portugal the Man, Eric Church, Leon Bridges and Reba. That first campaign raised $135,000 for these road crews.
IBMA Women In Bluegrass Virtual Summit Set For Thursday
/by Lorie HollabaughThe IBMA Women in Bluegrass Summit will take place this Thursday (Jan. 7) from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. CT. The virtual interactive summit will feature panel discussions and presentations on gender equity from renowned artists and women in business. Dialogue is encouraged and topics are slated to include:
The summit’s Zoom meeting room has reached capacity, but it will be viewable live on the IBMA Facebook Event page. The summit is being presented in partnership with Women in Music, the industry’s leading non-profit working to advance the awareness, equality, diversity, heritage, opportunities, and cultural aspects of women in the musical arts through education, support, empowerment, and recognition.
Tim McGraw And Tyler Hubbard Partner Up On New Single “Undivided”
/by Lorie HollabaughTim McGraw and Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard are offering up some sage wisdom during a trying time in their brand new single recorded together, “Undivided.” The heartfelt collaboration is being released to radio and streaming services on Jan. 13, along with a behind-the-scenes video featuring the two friends in the studio.
The announcement of the single comes shortly after Hubbard and FGL band-mate Brian Kelley uploaded a video to social media where they talked about pursuing their own music individually, with Kelley announcing a solo album and Hubbard speaking of collaborations with other artists. They also reassured fans that they weren’t breaking up.
“Undivided” will be included on the deluxe version of McGraw’s No. 1 album Here On Earth, due out later this spring on Big Machine Records. It was co-written by Hubbard and Chris Loocke, produced by Corey Crowder, Hubbard, McGraw and Byron Gallimore, and came out of Hubbard’s time spent soul searching on his bus while waiting out a positive COVID-19 quarantine. Examining his own ability to judge too quickly during that time, he considered the values he was raised with and looked to his faith for guidance and inspiration. But rather than writing a somber song, he wrote “Undivided” from a place of positivity and hope.
“Music gives us hope and brings us together in a way nothing else can. This doesn’t mean we don’t have work to do. Quite the opposite,” McGraw said. “I loved the positivity of this song and that it called me to check myself and to remember that love is bigger. It’s why I knew this song had to be my next single with Tyler as soon as he sent it to me.”
“I knew immediately when I finished it, I had to text it to Tim. He has a way of communicating with the world that is unique in music,” Hubbard said. “For him to want to perform with me was an amazing feeling. The song is about coming together, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Country Songwriter Jamie O’Hara Diagnosed With ‘Aggressive Cancer’
/by LB Cantrell“It is with deep sorrow, dear friends, that I must tell you that my husband Jamie, the love of my life, has been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, that has us measuring his life in weeks. Something about making such an announcement in this format seems very wrong, but there are so many people who should know, and so little time to contact everyone individually. I apologize for that, but I did want you to know. My heart is shattered, and I’m spending every moment I can with him,” White said via social media.
With The O’Kanes, O’Hara and Kieran Kane recorded three albums for Columbia Records and charted seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the No. 1 song, “Can’t Stop My Heart from Loving You.”
In a solo write, O’Hara wrote The Judds’ “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days).” The song was the duo’s sixth No. 1 hit, and won a Grammy for Best Country Song in 1986. In another solo write, O’Hara penned Ronnie McDowell’s 10-week No. 1, “Older Women.” He also self-penned “Man to Man,” Gary Allan’s first No. 1 hit, as well as many other songs recorded by artists including Tim McGraw, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Don Williams, Lee Ann Womack, Emmylou Harris, and more.
O’Hara released three solo albums, including Rise Above It in 1992, Beautiful Obsession in 2000, and Dream Hymns in 2012.
Who Ruled 2020 Year-End Sales? Luke Combs, Gabby Barrett, Morgan Wallen, Maren Morris, Dan + Shay
/by LB CantrellPictured (L-R, top row): Maren Morris, Gabby Barrett; (L-R, bottom row): Luke Combs, Dan + Shay with Justin Bieber, Morgan Wallen
According to Nielsen, Gabby Barrett tops the Top 5 on-demand audio Streaming Country Songs for 2020, with her breakout single, “I Hope,” garnering 409 million streams.
Maren Morris follows Barrett, with “The Bones” earning 342 million streams. Morgan Wallen‘s collaboration with Diplo and Julia Michaels on “Heartless” comes in at No. 3 with 340 million; and his “Chasin’ You” is at No. 4 with 303 million streams. Dan + Shay‘s collaboration with Justin Bieber, “10,000 Hours,” rounds out the Top 5 on-demand audio Streaming Country Songs for 2020 with 281 million streams.
Notably, each song in the top five—apart from Wallen’s “Chasin’ You”—has a pop radio remix or collaboration. Barrett’s remix of “I Hope” that included Charlie Puth went to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 all-genre chart and No. 1 on their Adult Top 40. Morris’ remix of “The Bones” with Hozier was a No. 1 Adult Top 40 song. Diplo and Wallen’s “Heartless” has been certified 3x-Platinum.
Dan + Shay and Bieber’s “10,000 Hours” made history on Billboard‘s Streaming Songs chart by becoming the highest-charting non-holiday country song in the history of the chart, beating Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise.”
As far as albums, there were 19 country titles in the top 200 overall for 2020. Luke Combs‘ What You See Is What You Get is the highest ranking country album at No. 10 in the top 200. His This One’s For You is the second highest title, at No. 25.
Other country albums in the top 200 for 2020 include:
Morgan Wallen’s If I Know Me (No. 27)
Sam Hunt’s SOUTHSIDE (No. 62)
Chris Stapleton’s Traveller (No. 65)
Blake Shelton’s Fully Loaded: God’s Country (No. 71)
Gabby Barrett’s Goldmine (No. 100)
Maren Morris’ Girl (No. 106)
Luke Bryan’s Born Here Live Here Die Here (No. 107)
Kenny Chesney’s Here And Now (No. 112)
Dan + Shay’s Dan + Shay (No. 125)
Kane Brown’s Experiment (No. 133)
Carrie Underwood’s My Gift (No. 137)
Jason Aldean’s 9 (No. 138)
Zac Brown Band’s Greatest Hits So Far… (No. 141)
Kane Brown’s Kane Brown (No. 156)
Old Dominion’s Old Dominion (No. 159)
Kane Brown’s Mixtape Vol. 1 (No. 168)
Lee Brice’s Hey World (No. 175)
Maggie Rose To Host New Podcast Highlighting Her Favorite Women In Music
/by LB CantrellOsiris Media announced the premiere of Salute the Songbird, a new podcast hosted by Nashville-based rock and soul singer, Maggie Rose. The podcast was developed in partnership with Rose and her manager, Austin Marshall of Starstruck Entertainment, and features candid conversations with Rose’s female musical heroes about their lives in and out of music, challenging the status quo, and with a desire to offer guidance for young artists starting their careers.
The podcast will feature guests such as Grammy nominee Mickey Guyton, singer-songwriter Nicki Bluhm, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, Martina McBride, Chrissy Metz, and other female musicians, songwriters, producers, and industry members who detail their journeys as women in the music industry.
“We are thrilled to start 2021 by welcoming our first Artist Spotlight show led by a female artist,” said RJ Bee, CEO of Osiris Media. “Maggie hosts real, raw conversations with some of the leading female musicians of our time. We’re grateful to be able to provide a platform for Maggie to talk about the obstacles and opportunities associated with being a great female artist.”
The first episode, with Grammy-nominated songwriter Ruby Amanfu, is available now. Amanfu is a Ghana-born, Nashville-based vocalist and songwriter. She wrote the Top 40 radio single, “Hard Place” by multi-Grammy-winning artist H.E.R.. Amanfu has released nine critically acclaimed solo albums, and has contributed vocals to Beyonce’s “Don’t Hurt Yourself” on her Grammy-nominated album Lemonade, as well as on Jack White’s debut solo single “Love Interruption,” and his two acclaimed solo albums, Blunderbuss and Lazaretto.
BREAKING: The Recording Academy Postpones Grammy Awards To March
/by LB Cantrell[UPDATED: The original show date (March 21) announced by The Recording Academy has subsequently been changed by the organization to March 14 and updated in the story below.]
The Recording Academy has postponed the Grammy Awards to March 14, 2021. The show’s postponement is due to health concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday (Jan. 4), California set a new single-day record of 74,000 new cases.
The 63rd Grammy Awards were to broadcast from Los Angeles on the CBS network on Sunday, Jan. 31.
In a joint statement, Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason jr.; Executive Vice President, Specials, Music, Live Events and Alternative Programming, CBS, Jack Sussman; GRAMMY Awards Executive Producer, Fulwell 73 Productions, Ben Winston, said:
Nominees for the 63rd Grammy Awards were announced in November of 2020. Yesterday (Jan. 4) was the last day for Recording Academy members to vote for the winners. Grammy-nominated comedian Trevor Noah was slated to be the host of the 2021 Grammys, but it is unclear if he will still host this year’s show.