Photo Courtesy Fathom Events
Television star, actress, singer, and songwriter Kathie Lee Gifford has lent her artistry to a new film, Then Came You. Gifford wrote, produced, and starred in the film, and she wrote the music with Music Row hit-maker Brett James. Film distributor Vertical Entertainment plans a one-night showing of Then Came You nationwide via Fathom Events on Sept. 30, followed by an on-demand and digital release on Oct. 2.
Then Came You tells the story of Annabelle Wilson, Gifford’s character, who is suddenly widowed after a 32-year marriage. While reading her late husband’s will, she discovers that upon his death he wishes to be cremated and have his ashes put in a ‘box of chocolates’ because Forrest Gump was his favorite movie.
Annabelle makes a list of their favorite 20 movies, sells her house and the hardware store she and her husband owned in their hometown of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and sets out on a traveling adventure. In honor of the movie Braveheart, Annabelle goes to Scotland first. There she meets an Inn owner, Lord Howard Awd (played by Craig Ferguson), and the two develop an unlikely friendship that ultimately leads to love. The only problem is that Lord Howard Awd is engaged to Clare (Elizabeth Hurley).
Then Came You starring Kathie Lee Gifford. Credit: Vertical Entertainment
MusicRow spoke to Gifford, who now calls Tennessee her home, about the film, writing with Brett James, and what the Nashville creative community means to her.
MR: You wrote, produced, starred in, and composed the music for Then Came You.
Yes! I would have also catered it, but everybody would have died of starvation. I would do whatever it took to get this movie made.
How did you get to know Brett James?
In June of 2017, The Today Show sent Hoda [Kotb] and me down to Nashville to cover the CMAs. One of the segments we were going to do was about what it’s like to sit in one of those famous ‘writer’s rooms’ with some of the best writers in town. I am a writer, people didn’t know that I was a writer, but I have been for many years. I knew that I should have a little something prepared to go into the segment, so I wrote a very short, funny little lyric and just brought it in. They said, ‘You’re going to be writing with Brett James,’ and I had never heard of him. They said, ‘Well, he’s one of the greatest writers in town,’ and they rattled off a few songs he had written and I went ‘That’s enough. That’s good!’ ‘Jesus Take The Wheel’ is all I needed to hear!
We came down and wrote this silly little song and did a 15-second, ‘nothing burger’ of an interview, it might have lasted 2 minutes on the air. As we were wrapping up and putting all of our stuff away, getting ready to go to the next shoot—which was going to be hot chicken, giving everybody a taste of Nashville—Brett came over to me and said, ‘Kathie, I was a huge fan of your husband, and I’m so sorry that you lost him. How are you doing? How are you and your kids?’ I said, ‘Brett, I’m great. We’re great. I found him that morning and the look on his face was of wonder and awe. He saw Jesus and Jesus took his breath away. And one day I’m going to write that song.’ He just looked at me and goes, ‘Well, let’s write that song.’ So I came back to Nashville the next week and went over to Music Row where his office was.
I didn’t know what to expect. I want to learn every day; I’ve done a lot of things in this life and I’ve been extremely blessed and had success that I could have never dreamed of, but I have tons yet to learn. And I knew I could learn something from this man, but I didn’t want to insult him. I didn’t know what to do actually. So I came with three little lines: ‘A little kiss, a little coffee, a little moment to pray. Our Sunday mornings always started that way.‘ And Brett goes, ‘Well, that’s how we’re going to start our song.’ So we wrote a song called ‘He Saw Jesus,’ and then we made plans for him to come to my house in Connecticut a couple of weeks later and make the demo because I have a studio in my house up there. So that’s how it all started.
How did Brett get involved with the movie?
[He got involved] when I was there working with him. I always have in my bag the next project I’m working on. I have a yellow, legal pad and all my big pens. I don’t write on a computer. He goes, ‘What are you working on now?’ I said, ‘You know what, I’m writing a movie for a friend of mine. I just adore him. His name is Craig Ferguson.’ He goes, ‘Oh, I love that guy! I miss him on The Late Late Show. Can I look?’ So he took out the script, and I know no more how to write a hit song than I know how to write a broadway musical or know how to write a movie, I just do it. I have no idea what I’m doing, I just sit down and do it.
I had written half of the movie perhaps at that time, but I already started writing songs for it. I had written all of the lyrics for a song called ‘Once Again,’ and Brett takes it out and looks at it and he goes, ‘Oh my gosh, Kathie, these lyrics are gorgeous. Let’s write this one next.’ I just thought, ‘Well, I’ve got one of the top writers in the world wrangled here, I ain’t gonna let him go. Let’s do it!’
So when he came to my house to record, ‘He Saw Jesus,’ we wrote ‘Once Again.’ And that’s how he came to write all of the songs for the movie with me, and then he scored it with our dear friend whom he introduced me to. He’s the best gift Brett ever gave me, Sal Oliveri, this amazing producer in Brentwood, who has become a dear, cherished friend. We wrote all the songs together and then Brett and Sal scored the film.
What inspired you to write Then Came You?
Because of Brett’s schedule and my schedule, I kept coming down to Nashville on weekends. I was happy to get away from the world I was living in then. I’d lost my husband, it was lonely. I loved getting on a plane and coming to Nashville and getting just immersed in the creative joy of being here. Every time I would get on a plane to go back to New York and I would say to myself, ‘Why am I so happy here?’ And it dawned on me, because people are joyful here. People aren’t screaming at each other. I didn’t realize how much my soul had been sucked dry in that culture of chaos in New York. I had been there 40 years, I raised my children there. I married the love of my life there and he died in my arms, but along the way that culture sucked me dry. And I knew that I was dying, I know that sounds dramatic. It’s meant to. I was dying of loneliness.
There’s a line in the movie that I wrote for Craig. This heroin, Annabelle, is a widow, and the only life she had ever had was with this man that she married. She gave up her dreams for him. At the time I knew that there was 17 million widows in America and 5 million widowers. The other interesting statistic is that of all the mature adult women in our country, approximately 49% of them—this was a statistic from two years ago—are alone. They’re either single because they never married, they’re divorced or they’re widowed. So there’s a huge demographic out there of people that are alone. They’re sad, they’re lonely and they need hope, so I wanted to write this movie for two people like that. They don’t know yet that God loves them, they’re doing the best they can do.
In the movie when Annabelle says, ‘I love you, Fred, and I always will, but I have to go make new memories or the old ones are going to kill me.’ That’s the way I felt. [The movie] is not an autobiographical, the only thing I have in common with Annabelle is that she’s a widow, but I didn’t want it to be autobiographical. I wanted my imagination to soar, I’m bored with me. My life is nothing to sing about, but I can make up other people’s that are wonderful.
You’re putting a duet with Brett, “Whiskey and Wine,” out as a single. Tell me about writing that one.
It’s perfect for the movie. Because of my theater background, I don’t sit down to write a hit record, but I write for the characters. We shot our movie in June, so the Christmas before…I had been going through one of the worst depressions of my life for about a year. All different things that converged at the same time, like an imperfect emotional storm. My mother had passed, different friends of mine had been caught up in the MeToo movement that didn’t deserve it and I was crushed for my friends, and I was missing my husband. We were down at our house in the Keys, and my kids were there with their loved ones. Everybody had somebody but me, and only people that have lost the love of their life understand how that feels. It’s Christmas, and everybody’s happy. All of a sudden it dawns on you that the world is made up of couples and you’re not one anymore. So it was Christmas Eve, one of the darkest nights of my life and I sat down and wrote, ‘I’ll bring the whiskey, I’ll bring the wine, I’ll get my guitar, I’ll go and get mine.‘ And then when I gave it to Brett, it became this joyful thing. I wrote it in the saddest, worst night of my life in a year and a half, but it was there! This hopeful place was still there.
So we wrote ‘Whiskey and Wine’ and did a demo on it. Sometimes the demo doesn’t turn out the way you want, so I put my voice on it and then it still wasn’t as good. So he called me and says, ‘Kathie, you want me to sing it with you?’ I said, ‘Yeah, duh!’ So he came in and sang it with me and then it came to life. Our director [Adriana Trigiani] loved it so much because Annabelle, my character, was going to sing it with somebody in this Scottish pub, so she said, ‘Brett why don’t you just come [be in the movie]?’ It’s an independent movie, we can do anything we want. Brett said ‘Yes’ to Adriana, next thing you know, he’s in the movie.
What has Brett and the Nashville music community meant to you?
Oh my gosh, where do I start? I had no idea when I just picked up moved. I’m like Annabelle, that we have in common. There’s a song that Brett and I wrote in the movie that the amazing Katie O sings, it goes ‘How do I begin to begin again, breathe deep and let all the fresh clean air in? How do I find courage to say, I’m going to start a brand new life today.‘ And Brett wrote, ‘Here I go, taking a ride on a brand new road. Who knows if I’m going to make it, but I’m going to try, try. All you need is a new set of wings to fly, fly on my way to a new life, and new everything’s.‘
And that’s what it is all about.
Carrie Underwood Welcomes The Holiday Season With Christmas Album ‘My Gift’ [Interview]
/by Jessica NicholsonLast week, Carrie Underwood picked up her third Entertainer of the Year honor from the Academy of Country Music (this year in a shocking co-win with Thomas Rhett)—and with good reason. There aren’t many forms of entertainment she hasn’t conquered.
Ever since her win on American Idol in 2005, followed by her smash hit “Jesus Take The Wheel,” and 8x Platinum debut album Some Hearts, she’s kept putting points on the board, solidifying her image as a multi-faceted entertainer.
In addition to 27 No. 1 radio singles (14 of which she had a hand in writing), multi-Platinum albums, sold-out headlining tours, and seven Grammy wins, Underwood took on the daunting task of leading a live-televised musical, when she portrayed Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music Live!, played a substantial supporting role in the inspirational movie Soul Surfer, and made appearances on television shows including How I Met Your Mother, Blue Bloods, and more. With fellow country star Brad Paisley, Underwood had an 11-year run as one of the most successful hosting duos for the CMA Awards, and then returned last year to host the show alongside Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. She has also been the face and voice of Sunday Night Football since 2013.
That’s just film and TV.
She released her own athleisure line, Calia by Carrie, and earlier this year, she authored the wellness book Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, And Get Strong With The Fit52 Life, and later launched an accompanying fit52 fitness app. Over the past few years, before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down music tours around the world, Underwood upped the ante on her own tours with the in-the-round spectacles that were her 2016 Storyteller Tour-Stories In The Round (with 92 shows playing to over 1 million attendees) and last year’s Cry Pretty Tour 360, which played in more than 60 cities. She also stepped into the co-producer role for the first time on her previous album Cry Pretty.
Now, she’s adding another layer with her first full-length Christmas project, My Gift, which arrives today (Sept. 25), with a vinyl version set for Oct. 30. The 11-track album blends classics such as “O Come All Ye Faithful,” and “Away in a Manger,” alongside a few songs penned specifically for the album, including “Let There Be Peace,” and “Sweet Baby Jesus,” all bonded by gorgeous orchestration and Underwood’s glorious voice.
“These are all songs that I’ve been singing my whole life, but I don’t think I’ve ever sang them by myself—just in church or choir. We would go caroling when I was a kid and we’d go down to the nursing home on Christmas Eve and sing for the residents,” Underwood says.
Shortly after she wrapped her Cry Pretty Tour 360 last year, she began mapping out plans for the new album. Though most of the songs on the album are familiar, Underwood says it was still an interesting musical puzzle to put together.
“I had the illusion that making a Christmas album was just going to be super easy. Right? I knew I wanted to do a lot of standards, and then when you have been singing something your whole life, and there’s so many different versions, it was interesting to find a way that it’s still true to tradition, but then also find yourself in it as an artist. I made demos on my phone before we went to record them just so everybody could get a handle of what things were going to sound like.”
Oh, and then there was the challenge of making an album that is heavy on orchestration and choir vocals during the COVID-19 pandemic, where social distancing mandates can make those types of recordings difficult. Grammy-winning producer, mixer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Greg Wells (Adele, Celine Dion, P!nk) helmed the orchestral arrangements (with an orchestra led by David Campbell), working from Los Angeles, while Underwood’s vocal parts were recorded in Nashville.
“I was so fortunate to ask Greg to be part of this. I knew I was lucky to work with him in the beginning but definitely when the world kind of shut down, I was so glad this [project] was in his hands because we were just finding new ways to do things and he can play so many instruments himself at home and ended up kind of doing that as we were working on the album.”
While Underwood recorded in Nashville’s Addiction Sound Studios, Wells was in Los Angeles, but would join her in the studio virtually, via an iPad.
“It was a small space, because even when things started opening back up, I was like, ‘I don’t know how I feel about that,’ and it ended up being perfect because it was just a skeleton crew. Everyone was trying to be very mindful of how to do things, so it was best for Greg to handle orchestrations in L.A.. He would send me video clips of what they were doing and he would text me things so I kind of got to be part of what they were doing, so he was definitely keeping me updated.
“It was so good for me to get out of my album-making formula. I like to say there are steps to making an album—you start at step one and go to the end. And we started in the middle and then went back to step three and found our own way through it. And it was so nice to be able to sing, to see happy music in the middle of crises.”
Underwood also includes a few collaborations on the album, most notably with John Legend on “Hallelujah,” an original song Legend wrote with Toby Gad.
“He had heard I was doing this Christmas project and they sent the song over. I loved it and loved his voice on the demo—obviously, what’s not to love about his voice? So we asked him if he would be interested in singing it with me. He recorded his part in Los Angeles and I recorded my part in Tennessee. I was so sad we didn’t actually get to record it together, but everybody was kind of avoiding travel and it just ended up being such an amazing puzzle to do this whole project. And the song is uplifting, it’s a love song and a Christmas song, and just fit the project perfectly.”
Underwood’s five-year-old son Isaiah Fisher adds his sweet voice alongside his mother’s on one of Underwood’s favorite Christmas classics, “Little Drummer Boy.”
“He loves to sing. He loves music. I didn’t know what to expect, or if he would even want to do it. But he was all about it and excited about it and it was such a great thing to be sharing what I love to do—singing—with him and see him love it as well. I was asking my producer, like, ‘How did he do?’ I feel like to anybody in the music community, I’ve been like, ‘Listen to this!’ because I’m just such a proud mom, and they’ve been very complimentary and I feel like they mean it. He’s always had the sweetest little kid voice.”
The album’s crescendo comes with the original track “Let There Be Peace,” a Gospel-inflected siren call for unity that Underwood co-wrote with Brett James (a co-writer on her debut smash “Jesus Take The Wheel”) and David Garcia, who co-produced her Cry Pretty album.
“We wrote that in the beginning of everything shutting down. We actually wrote that on Zoom. We wanted to have a choir feel to it and a soulful, simple song that everyone could sing with. Brett had that idea and we just rolled with it. I thought if I was going to write on Zoom, I wanted it to be people that I’m super comfortable with. On the demo, the entire choir was made of Brett James singing multiple parts and just stacking the vocals.”
Having one person stacking vocals for a demo is one thing, but they had to be strategic in crafting a choir sound for the full-fledged album, given social distancing restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their secret weapon? The McCrary Sisters, who have previously worked with Underwood on songs including “Choctaw County Affair” from her Storyteller album and her Ludacris collaboration, “The Champion.”
“We knew we wanted a choir, but obviously at that time we couldn’t get a choir because you couldn’t social distance enough to have a choir. So Greg said, ‘Do you have any ideas on how we do this?’ And I said, ‘What about The McCrary Sisters?’ I have worked with them in the past and they are artists themselves and I was like, ‘I bet during this time they had been around each other, and would feel comfortable being around each other.'” The McCrary Sisters agreed, and they added in Brett James’s voice as well.
Underwood prepared for creating renditions of classics such as “O Holy Night,” “Silent Night,” and “Mary, Did You Know?” by culling numerous previously-done renditions, noting things she gravitated toward.
“I went through like every single song and I went on my iTunes and just started listening to so many versions, and marked down notes to give him an idea of what I was looking for, like Celine Dion’s version of ‘O Holy Night’ is so beautiful and big and classic. That was one I referenced. One the flip side, I didn’t think I would find a version I liked of ‘Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee,’ because so many are so march-y. I was like, ‘How can we get away from that?’ And he had the idea of me singing a cappella. I tried it and it ended up being so unique and it had a certain feeling about it that made me really happy and that’s why we put it first on the album.
“There’s so much about it that I’m so proud of and I’m glad I just finally got to make a Christmas album. I’ve been wanting to for a long time,” she says.
And in truly versatile entertainer fashion, Underwood has teamed with HBO Max for a Christmas special to coincide with the album. The special will be executive produced by Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks for Playtone, along with Underwood and her manager Ann Edelblute; the show will tape this fall and will include a live orchestra and choir (no air dates have been set so far).
Though no one could have predicted the uncertainty and tragedies that the world has experienced this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Underwood says she is even more grateful to be able to make a project that can help comfort and uplift those who hear it.
“I’ve wanted to make this project for so long, and it just seemed to be the right year for it. It ended up really being the right year for it, and we didn’t even didn’t even know 2020 was going to be like it is. It just feels like it’s a fitting time to release an album like this.”
Photo: Joseph Llanes
Kent Blazy Gets ‘Authentic’ On New Collection
/by Lorie HollabaughKent Blazy is releasing a brand new project, Authentic, today.
The hit singer/songwriter also played electric guitar on the new album, which also features Jon Pardi’s bass player, Lee Francis, and drummer, Kevin Murphy locking in the groove, Steve Allen from the pop band 2020 on electric guitar, and Josh Martin on guitar, mandolin, and vocals.
“My aim was to have this record bring hope,joy, gratitude and fun to anyone listening,” Blazy said. “I am blessed to have two songs that are on this album that have been recorded by other artist, but not yet released on their individual projects. Garth Brooks has recorded, ‘Me Without You’ and Steve Wariner recorded ‘Scotty Moore.’ It was an emotional and joyful experience to play with other musicians again and to hear them bring to life the songs I had been creating. I love the way it all came together with ease. I miss playing live and doing album release shows and look forward to the day that will be possible again. I hope the listeners will enjoy hearing these songs as much as I did creating it.”
The new music is available to order on Kent Blazy’s website kentblazy.com and on streaming and digital platforms.
Blazy is a current Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee. The Kentucky native is known for his writing collaborations with Garth Brooks, which yielded the classics “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “Ain’t Goin’ Down (’Til The Sun Comes Up),” “Somewhere Other Than The Night,” “It’s Midnight Cinderella” and “She’s Gonna Make It.” Kent also was a co-writer on the Brooks & George Jones duet “Beer Run,” as well as on “That’s What I Get For Lovin’ You” by Diamond Rio, “My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me” by Danny Gokey, and “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song)” by Chris Young, among others.
Paul Cauthen, Orville Peck Team For Some ‘Unrighteous Brothers’ Fun On New Collaboration
/by Lorie HollabaughPaul Cauthen and Orville Peck have joined forces on a fun new project as “The Unrighteous Brothers” and released their debut via digital retailers. Proceeds from the collaboration will be donated to MusiCares, helping musicians with critical assistance in times of need.
The project finds the pair covering the legendary Righteous Brothers hits “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and “Unchained Melody,” which were produced by Beau Bedford and Butch Walker and recorded at the legendary RCA Studio A in Nashville.
“When I first heard Orville’s voice, I knew we’d sound good together,” said Cauthen. “I’ve always wanted to cover some Righteous Brothers tunes, but it took time to find the person I could pull it off with. I knew Butch and Beau would be perfect for this project. I pitched the idea to Orville and we were off to the races. I’m glad the world will finally get to hear The Unrighteous Brothers. Never knew the unrighteous could be so righteous and I’m damn lucky to be a part of it.”
Peck said, “I’ve been obsessed with Paul ever since I first heard his voice a year or two ago. I finally got to see him play while we were both on tour in Nashville and that’s when we first met. He has such a larger than life, soulful presence, so when they brought me the idea of us doing The Unrighteous Brothers, it was just a no-brainer.”
“The Unrighteous Brothers” will also be released as a limited edition 7-inch single for Record Store Day’s “RSD Drops” this Saturday (Sept. 26) via the New West Records distributed Lightning Rod Records.
Ray Stevens Showroom CabaRay To Reopen In October
/by Lorie HollabaughRay Stevens is reopening his West Nashville showroom, CabaRay, following the government-mandated shutdown due to COVID-19 earlier this year. The country funnyman will resume live concerts at the entertainment venue on Thursday, Oct. 1, and concerts will be held every Thursday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. CT.CabaRay will reopen with a limited capacity of 125 concertgoers with socially-distanced tables setup throughout the venue. During the initial reopening phase, dinner will not be available, but Stevens plans to offer guests snacks, drinks and desserts.
“We are reopening CabaRay on Oct. 1,” Stevens said. “We’re excited to be able to get back to playing music, singing, laughing and having fun, all at a CDC-approved social distance of course!”
Perennial funnyman Stevens kept his trademark humor intact during the shutdown with the release of “The Quarantine Song.” The tune originally debuted on RFD-TV’s Larry’s Country Diner and was later uploaded to the internet. To date, the video has surpassed one million views on YouTube and currently boasts more than 6.9 million views on Facebook, totaling an audience of nearly eight million.
Kathie Lee Gifford Talks New Movie, Working With Brett James, And New Beginnings [Interview]
/by LB CantrellPhoto Courtesy Fathom Events
Television star, actress, singer, and songwriter Kathie Lee Gifford has lent her artistry to a new film, Then Came You. Gifford wrote, produced, and starred in the film, and she wrote the music with Music Row hit-maker Brett James. Film distributor Vertical Entertainment plans a one-night showing of Then Came You nationwide via Fathom Events on Sept. 30, followed by an on-demand and digital release on Oct. 2.
Then Came You tells the story of Annabelle Wilson, Gifford’s character, who is suddenly widowed after a 32-year marriage. While reading her late husband’s will, she discovers that upon his death he wishes to be cremated and have his ashes put in a ‘box of chocolates’ because Forrest Gump was his favorite movie.
Annabelle makes a list of their favorite 20 movies, sells her house and the hardware store she and her husband owned in their hometown of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and sets out on a traveling adventure. In honor of the movie Braveheart, Annabelle goes to Scotland first. There she meets an Inn owner, Lord Howard Awd (played by Craig Ferguson), and the two develop an unlikely friendship that ultimately leads to love. The only problem is that Lord Howard Awd is engaged to Clare (Elizabeth Hurley).
Then Came You starring Kathie Lee Gifford. Credit: Vertical Entertainment
MusicRow spoke to Gifford, who now calls Tennessee her home, about the film, writing with Brett James, and what the Nashville creative community means to her.
MR: You wrote, produced, starred in, and composed the music for Then Came You.
Yes! I would have also catered it, but everybody would have died of starvation. I would do whatever it took to get this movie made.
How did you get to know Brett James?
In June of 2017, The Today Show sent Hoda [Kotb] and me down to Nashville to cover the CMAs. One of the segments we were going to do was about what it’s like to sit in one of those famous ‘writer’s rooms’ with some of the best writers in town. I am a writer, people didn’t know that I was a writer, but I have been for many years. I knew that I should have a little something prepared to go into the segment, so I wrote a very short, funny little lyric and just brought it in. They said, ‘You’re going to be writing with Brett James,’ and I had never heard of him. They said, ‘Well, he’s one of the greatest writers in town,’ and they rattled off a few songs he had written and I went ‘That’s enough. That’s good!’ ‘Jesus Take The Wheel’ is all I needed to hear!
We came down and wrote this silly little song and did a 15-second, ‘nothing burger’ of an interview, it might have lasted 2 minutes on the air. As we were wrapping up and putting all of our stuff away, getting ready to go to the next shoot—which was going to be hot chicken, giving everybody a taste of Nashville—Brett came over to me and said, ‘Kathie, I was a huge fan of your husband, and I’m so sorry that you lost him. How are you doing? How are you and your kids?’ I said, ‘Brett, I’m great. We’re great. I found him that morning and the look on his face was of wonder and awe. He saw Jesus and Jesus took his breath away. And one day I’m going to write that song.’ He just looked at me and goes, ‘Well, let’s write that song.’ So I came back to Nashville the next week and went over to Music Row where his office was.
I didn’t know what to expect. I want to learn every day; I’ve done a lot of things in this life and I’ve been extremely blessed and had success that I could have never dreamed of, but I have tons yet to learn. And I knew I could learn something from this man, but I didn’t want to insult him. I didn’t know what to do actually. So I came with three little lines: ‘A little kiss, a little coffee, a little moment to pray. Our Sunday mornings always started that way.‘ And Brett goes, ‘Well, that’s how we’re going to start our song.’ So we wrote a song called ‘He Saw Jesus,’ and then we made plans for him to come to my house in Connecticut a couple of weeks later and make the demo because I have a studio in my house up there. So that’s how it all started.
How did Brett get involved with the movie?
[He got involved] when I was there working with him. I always have in my bag the next project I’m working on. I have a yellow, legal pad and all my big pens. I don’t write on a computer. He goes, ‘What are you working on now?’ I said, ‘You know what, I’m writing a movie for a friend of mine. I just adore him. His name is Craig Ferguson.’ He goes, ‘Oh, I love that guy! I miss him on The Late Late Show. Can I look?’ So he took out the script, and I know no more how to write a hit song than I know how to write a broadway musical or know how to write a movie, I just do it. I have no idea what I’m doing, I just sit down and do it.
I had written half of the movie perhaps at that time, but I already started writing songs for it. I had written all of the lyrics for a song called ‘Once Again,’ and Brett takes it out and looks at it and he goes, ‘Oh my gosh, Kathie, these lyrics are gorgeous. Let’s write this one next.’ I just thought, ‘Well, I’ve got one of the top writers in the world wrangled here, I ain’t gonna let him go. Let’s do it!’
So when he came to my house to record, ‘He Saw Jesus,’ we wrote ‘Once Again.’ And that’s how he came to write all of the songs for the movie with me, and then he scored it with our dear friend whom he introduced me to. He’s the best gift Brett ever gave me, Sal Oliveri, this amazing producer in Brentwood, who has become a dear, cherished friend. We wrote all the songs together and then Brett and Sal scored the film.
What inspired you to write Then Came You?
Because of Brett’s schedule and my schedule, I kept coming down to Nashville on weekends. I was happy to get away from the world I was living in then. I’d lost my husband, it was lonely. I loved getting on a plane and coming to Nashville and getting just immersed in the creative joy of being here. Every time I would get on a plane to go back to New York and I would say to myself, ‘Why am I so happy here?’ And it dawned on me, because people are joyful here. People aren’t screaming at each other. I didn’t realize how much my soul had been sucked dry in that culture of chaos in New York. I had been there 40 years, I raised my children there. I married the love of my life there and he died in my arms, but along the way that culture sucked me dry. And I knew that I was dying, I know that sounds dramatic. It’s meant to. I was dying of loneliness.
There’s a line in the movie that I wrote for Craig. This heroin, Annabelle, is a widow, and the only life she had ever had was with this man that she married. She gave up her dreams for him. At the time I knew that there was 17 million widows in America and 5 million widowers. The other interesting statistic is that of all the mature adult women in our country, approximately 49% of them—this was a statistic from two years ago—are alone. They’re either single because they never married, they’re divorced or they’re widowed. So there’s a huge demographic out there of people that are alone. They’re sad, they’re lonely and they need hope, so I wanted to write this movie for two people like that. They don’t know yet that God loves them, they’re doing the best they can do.
In the movie when Annabelle says, ‘I love you, Fred, and I always will, but I have to go make new memories or the old ones are going to kill me.’ That’s the way I felt. [The movie] is not an autobiographical, the only thing I have in common with Annabelle is that she’s a widow, but I didn’t want it to be autobiographical. I wanted my imagination to soar, I’m bored with me. My life is nothing to sing about, but I can make up other people’s that are wonderful.
You’re putting a duet with Brett, “Whiskey and Wine,” out as a single. Tell me about writing that one.
It’s perfect for the movie. Because of my theater background, I don’t sit down to write a hit record, but I write for the characters. We shot our movie in June, so the Christmas before…I had been going through one of the worst depressions of my life for about a year. All different things that converged at the same time, like an imperfect emotional storm. My mother had passed, different friends of mine had been caught up in the MeToo movement that didn’t deserve it and I was crushed for my friends, and I was missing my husband. We were down at our house in the Keys, and my kids were there with their loved ones. Everybody had somebody but me, and only people that have lost the love of their life understand how that feels. It’s Christmas, and everybody’s happy. All of a sudden it dawns on you that the world is made up of couples and you’re not one anymore. So it was Christmas Eve, one of the darkest nights of my life and I sat down and wrote, ‘I’ll bring the whiskey, I’ll bring the wine, I’ll get my guitar, I’ll go and get mine.‘ And then when I gave it to Brett, it became this joyful thing. I wrote it in the saddest, worst night of my life in a year and a half, but it was there! This hopeful place was still there.
So we wrote ‘Whiskey and Wine’ and did a demo on it. Sometimes the demo doesn’t turn out the way you want, so I put my voice on it and then it still wasn’t as good. So he called me and says, ‘Kathie, you want me to sing it with you?’ I said, ‘Yeah, duh!’ So he came in and sang it with me and then it came to life. Our director [Adriana Trigiani] loved it so much because Annabelle, my character, was going to sing it with somebody in this Scottish pub, so she said, ‘Brett why don’t you just come [be in the movie]?’ It’s an independent movie, we can do anything we want. Brett said ‘Yes’ to Adriana, next thing you know, he’s in the movie.
What has Brett and the Nashville music community meant to you?
Oh my gosh, where do I start? I had no idea when I just picked up moved. I’m like Annabelle, that we have in common. There’s a song that Brett and I wrote in the movie that the amazing Katie O sings, it goes ‘How do I begin to begin again, breathe deep and let all the fresh clean air in? How do I find courage to say, I’m going to start a brand new life today.‘ And Brett wrote, ‘Here I go, taking a ride on a brand new road. Who knows if I’m going to make it, but I’m going to try, try. All you need is a new set of wings to fly, fly on my way to a new life, and new everything’s.‘
And that’s what it is all about.
Edison Research Takes A Look At Radio Listener Profiles In New Survey
/by Jessica NicholsonThe study included more than 3,000 interviews, conducted in January and February 2020, prior to COVID-19 disruptions. These online interviews supplemented the Infinite Dial telephone-based survey.
The ethnicities of those taking part in the survey were 66% white, 13% African-American, 16% Hispanic-Latino, while 5% selected “other.” The country radio format had the highest percentage of white listeners in the study, at 87% (11% of Hispanic/Latino panelists listened to country, while 1% of African-American participants reported listening to the country radio format). The R&B radio format had the highest percentage of African-American listeners in the survey (55%), followed by Hip-Hop/Rap (25%) and contemporary Christian (19%).
The formats where P1 listeners were most likely to own an in-home radio include Classic Hits, Classic Rock, Country, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, News/Talk, and Sports. Formats less likely to own an in-home radio include Alternative Rock, Contemporary Christian.
Among P1 listeners who were least likely to own a smart speaker are Country listeners, as well as listeners of Classic Hits, Classic Rock, Contemporary Christian, and News/Talk, while younger P1 listeners of Alternative Rock, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, Hip Hop/Rap, R&B, Sports, and Top 40, are more likely to own one.
Study participants who listened mostly to Country radio reported using the social media platform Facebook the most (62%) followed by Instagram (10%) and Snapchat (8%). Country listeners reported that the audio brand they used most often was Pandora (30%), followed by Spotify (25%), with Apple Music trailing at 16%.
R&B listeners used YouTube for music most frequently with 57% reporting they had used YouTube for music or music videos in the last week, followed by Hip Hop/Rap listeners (55%), Hard Rock/Heavy Metal (50%), Top 40 (49%), Classic Rock (43%), Alternative Rock (42%), Contemporary Christian (39%), Country (38%) and Classic Hits (25%).
The survey also asked listeners to rate the importance of learning about and staying up to date with music. 41% of Country listeners said it was “somewhat important,” while 40% rated it as “not at all important.” Only 19% of Country radio listeners reported learning about and staying up to date with new music as “very important.” Contemporary Christian listeners mostly rated it as “somewhat important” (49%), while 41% rated it as “not at all important,” while only 10% considered it important to stay up to date with music. Meanwhile, the majority of Hip-Hop/Rap listeners (46%) rated it as “somewhat important,” while 37% rated it as “very important.”
The top platforms Country listeners, R&B listeners, and Contemporary Christian listeners used to keep up to date with music were AM/FM radio, YouTube and friends/family members. Hip-Hop/Rap listeners primarily used Spotify, YouTube and friends/family to learn about new music.
“Migrating loyal radio listeners from traditional radio hardware to smart speakers and mobile devices is essential to the future of radio,” said Ivey. “Consumers of audio should be thinking of radio when they make their listening choices.”
“Understanding the device ownership, discovery habits, social media preferences, and podcast tastes of P1 listeners is incredibly valuable insight for AM/FM radio stations as they continuously refine their online strategies,” said John Rosso, President of Market Development at Triton Digital. “Understanding how to reach their P1’s online will undoubtedly help broadcasters further engage with their most loyal listeners.”
DISClaimer Singles Reviews: Priscilla Block, Brandy Clark, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, And More
/by Robert K OermannPriscilla Block
Country goes topical this week.
In this stack of tracks we have an ode for world peace, an anti-racist message, a gay man’s song and a coronavirus composition. And they’re all pretty darn good.
The Disc of the Day award is being divided into categories. The Female honor goes to Brandy Clark (with a harmony assist from Brandi Carlile). The male prize belongs to Luke Combs. The Duo/Group platter to pick belongs to Jon Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles.
Our DisCovery Award is for newcomer Priscilla Block. She sounds like a comer.
ADAM DOLEAC/Meet Me in the City
Writers: Adam Doleac/Sarah Buxton/Andy Skib; Publisher: none listed; Producer: none listed; Arista
-Buoyant and bubbly, this is a rush of smiling energy. Romantic, youthful, joyous and utterly delirious. Get up and twirl around the room.
LUKE COMBS/Without You
Writers: Daniel Paul Isbell/Luke Albert Combs/Wyatt Beasley Durrette III; Publisher: none listed; Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews & Jonathan Singleton; River House/Columbia/Country
-My main man brings it home yet again. This is a stirring, personal anthem to his loving fans. He sings that his stardom is nothing without them. Spoken like a country star, amen. That’s Amanda Shires on fiddle backing him.
PAISLEY FIELDS/Stay Away From My Man
Writers: Paisley Fields/Mya Byrne; Publishers: none listed; Producers: Trace Faulkner/Don Giovanni
-He’s an out gay man with country song titles like “Ride Me Cowboy.” This track is an uptempo, stuttering-guitar romp cautioning, “I’m gonna slap you silly if you touch my hillbilly” to the guy in the bar who’s coming on to his lover. He’s not the strongest singer in the world, and the band is ragged-but-right. But there’s energy and verve here.
BRANDY CLARK & BRANDI CARLILE/Same Devil
Writers: Brandy Clark/Marla Cannon/Hailey Whitters; Publishers: none listed; Producer: Brandi Carlile; Warner
-This haunting, echoey ballad explores a variety of troubled souls with a ghostly female choir soaring softly in the background. The two voices weave and blend imaginatively while the production swirls. Captivating. Clark deserves country superstardom like nobody’s bizness.
PRISCILLA BLOCK/Just About Over You
Writers: Priscilla Block/Emily Kroll/Sarah Jones; Publishers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Mercury Nashville/InDent
-This song became a TikTok viral sensation, which led to her being signed by Universal. Block has a strong, emotive country voice which she most effectively applies to this plaintive lyric. It’s almost closing time in the bar, and she’s got a nice wine buzz going, feeling good about herself. Then her ex walks in and ruins everything. Sounds like a relatable relationship, right?
JON BON JOVI & JENNIFER NETTLES/Do What You Can
Writer: Jon Bon Jovi; Publisher: none listed; Producer: none listed; Big Machine
-These two previously won a Grammy for their No. 1 hit “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.” This country-rocking track appeared on Bon Jovi’s CD as a response to the coronavirus pandemic a couple of months ago. Now Nettles has added her terrific vocal to create another memorable duet. Their two voices hit all of the highlights of our “new normal,” social distancing, closed schools, lost paychecks, skipped graduations, PPE, front line workers, yearning for a vaccine, etc. The message is that we will survive this if we love one another. Filmed on the streets of New York City, the video is downright inspirational. This just might be the ultimate song of our COVID-19 times.
RILEY GREEN/If It Wasn’t for Trucks
Writers: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Producers: none listed; BMLG
-A song about trucks? What a novel idea. Lucky for us, Riley’s great country vocal, honest presentation and true-to-life lyrics raise this one head and shoulders above the rest. Ya gotta love him. Folks like Mr. Green and Mr. Combs are going to lead us out of the pop-country wilderness.
CHARLES J. JONES/What Color Am I
Writer: Troy McConnell; Publishers: none listed; Producer: Troy McConnell; Metamundo
-Back in the 1990s, this guy was billed as “J.C. Jones” on Rising Tide Records (”One Night,” 1998). He has returned with this timely ode’s anti-racist message. The lyric profiles African American, Native American and Latino American people, asking, “What color am I on the inside?” and “Can you tell how I feel by the shade of my skin?” and “Just like you, I laugh and I cry.” The video shows soldiers, first responders, medical professionals and law enforcement people of various races, working together.
MADELINE MERLO/If You Never Broke My Heart
Writers: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Producers: none listed; Open Road
-This Canadian won on the NBC-TV songwriting competition Songland. She has since penned a Lady A hit (”Champagne Night”) and issued her own “Kiss Kiss,” as well as this heartache ditty. Promising.
JEFF CARSON/God Save the World
Writers: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Producers: none listed; Curb
-Originally put out in 2003, this is a reissue of a stately ballad that pleads for world peace. Who can argue with that?
Brantley Gilbert Honors Friend’s Memory On New Deluxe Edition Of ‘Fire & Brimstone’
/by Lorie HollabaughBrantley Gilbert is releasing a special deluxe edition of his fifth album, Fire & Brimstone. The expanded release, Fire & Brimstone (Deluxe Edition) will include two new songs—current single “Hard Days” and “Old Friends,” a somber, reflective ballad written after the unexpected passing of Gilbert’s long-time crew member and friend Al Ditch. The project is set for release Oct. 2.
“‘Old Friends’ is about treasuring friendships with those folks who always have your back through thick and thin, the ones you make memories with that last a lifetime,” shares Gilbert. “Al was that kind of friend, and he had that kind of impact on the entire crew. He made sure we’d have plenty of good memories to look back on, and we’re so blessed to have had him with us for eight years.”
The release commemorates the one-year anniversary of the album’s original release, and the Georgia native will host fans for the “Hard Days” acoustic performance video YouTube premiere.
“When you write as much as I do, there’s just no sense in holding it back, especially when it fits in so well with what BG Nation is listening to at the moment,” said Gilbert. “After hearing our fans and knowing so many of them are going through it, we wanted to commemorate the one-year anniversary of our latest album with something special.”
Pre-order and pre-save options for Fire & Brimstone (Deluxe Edition) are available now.
Track listing for Fire & Brimstone (Deluxe Edition):
1. Fire’t Up (Brantley Gilbert, Brandon Day, Justin Weaver)
2. Not Like Us (Brantley Gilbert, Rhett Akins, Brock Berryhill, Amy Wadge)
3. Welcome to Hazeville (Brantley Gilbert, Rodney Clawson, Andrew DeRoberts, Colt Ford) featuring Colt Ford, Lukas Nelson and Willie Nelson
4. What Happens in a Small Town (Brantley Gilbert, Rhett Akins, Brock Berryhill, Josh Dunne) featuring Lindsay Ell
5. She Ain’t Home (Brantley Gilbert, Brian Davis, Justin Weaver)
6. Lost Soul’s Prayer (Brantley Gilbert, Andrew DeRoberts)
7. Tough Town (Brantley Gilbert, Blake Chaffin, Andrew DeRoberts, Josh Phillips)
8. Fire & Brimstone (Brantley Gilbert) featuring Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss
9. Laid Back Ride (Brantley Gilbert)
10. Bad Boy (Brantley Gilbert, Andrew DeRoberts, Josh Phillips)
11. New Money (Brantley Gilbert, Rhett Akins, Brock Berryhill, Brandon Day)
12. Breaks Down (Brantley Gilbert, Jaida Dreyer, Josh Mirenda, Justin Weaver)
13. Man of Steel (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Cole Taylor)
14. Never Gonna Be Alone (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Erik Dylan)
15. Man that Hung the Moon (Brantley Gilbert)
DELUXE TRACKS:
16. Hard Days (Brantley Gilbert, Jimi Bell, Brock Berryhill, Jay Brunswick, Logan Wall)
17. Old Friends (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Randy Montana)
Shenandoah To Release All-Star Collaborations Album
/by Jessica NicholsonShenandoah, the band behind classic ’90s country radio hits such as “The Church on Cumberland Road,” and “Two Dozen Roses,” will return with their first album of original material since 1994, and they are welcoming an all-star lineup with the release of Every Road (Foundry Records) on Nov. 13.
Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Ashley McBryde, Dierks Bentley, Lady A, Zac Brown Band, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson and Brad Paisley take part in the new project, with Zac Brown Band collaborating on the lead single “I’ll Take Another One of Those.”
The album was produced by Buddy Cannon, executive produced by the band’s manager Cole Johnstone, and engineered/mixed by Tony Castle.
Since the band’s debut album in 1987, the’ve earned 13 No. 1 hits and charted 26 songs on Billboard‘s country charts, including the classic radio hits “Sunday in the South,” “The Church on Cumberland Road,” “Two Dozen Roses,” “Next to You, Next to Me,” and “If Bubba Can Dance (I Can Too).”
In 1994, the band’s sixth studio album In The Vicinity of the Heart included the lilting title track, a collaboration with Alison Krauss that became a Top 10 hit on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart, and won a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and a CMA honor for Vocal Event of the Year. The single’s followup, “Darned If I Don’t (Danged If I Do),” became a Top 5 hit.
EVERY ROAD TRACK LIST:
1. “I’d Take Another One Of Those” (with Zac Brown Band)
Brett Beavers, Stephen Robson, Brett James
*Zac Brown Band appears courtesy of Home Grown Music
2. “Make It Til Summertime” (with Luke Bryan)
Dallas Davidson, Marty Raybon, Mike McGuire
*Luke Bryan appears courtesy of Capitol Records Nashville
3. “If Only” (with Ashley McBryde)
Lori McKenna, Phil Barton, Jaron Boyer
*Ashley McBryde appears courtesy of Warner Music Nashville
4. “Every Road” (with Dierks Bentley)
Brett Beavers, Jamie Moore, Kevin Griffin
*Dierks Bentley appears courtesy of Capitol Records Nashville
5. “Then A Girl Walks In” (with Blake Shelton)
Adam Sanders, Lance Miller, Brad Warren, Brett Warren
*Blake Shelton appears courtesy of Warner Music Nashville
6. “High Class Hillbillies” (with Cody Johnson)
Marty Raybon, Mike McGuire, Wade Kirby, Jim Collins
*Cody Johnson appears courtesy of Warner Music Nashville/COJO Music
7. “Every Time I Look At You” (with Lady A)
Dallas Davidson, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood
*Lady A appears courtesy of BMLG Records
8. “Life Would Be Perfect” (with Brad Paisley)
Wade Kirby, Phil O’Donnell, Bill Luther
*Brad Paisley appears courtesy of Sony Music Nashville
9. “I’ll Be Your Everything” (with Carly Pearce)
Marty Raybon, Barry Hutchens, Mark Narmore
*Carly Pearce appears courtesy of Big Machine Records
10. “Boots On Broadway”
Austin Merrill
Weekly Radio Report (9/25/20)
/by Haley CrowClick here or above to access MusicRow’s weekly CountryBreakout Radio Report.