Jo Walker-Meador
By Robert K. Oermann
Country Music Hall of Fame member Jo Walker-Meador passed away on Tuesday evening (Aug. 15), following a stroke. She was 93.
Her grace and guidance as the 30-year executive director of the Country Music Association (CMA) served as a role model for a generation of women in the Nashville music business. Furthermore, she piloted the CMA from its struggling infancy to becoming a powerful force in America’s music industry.
There were fewer than 100 full-time country radio stations when she was hired by the CMA in 1958. By the time she retired, there were in excess of 2,000, more than any other music format. Under her leadership, the CMA built a Country Music Hall of Fame, launched the CMA Music Festival and inaugurated annual the CMA Awards telecast.
She was born Edith Josephine Denning in Orlinda, TN and initially had the career goal of becoming an English teacher and/or a women’s basketball coach. After college, she married WKDA radio executive Charles F. “Smokey” Walker in 1954.
She worked as a secretary in a gubernatorial political campaign, for the Nashville movie-theater chain Crescent Amusements and at a variety of other businesses before she took the job as office manager for the then-new CMA in late 1958.
The organization had been born out of the ashes of the Country Music Disc Jockey Association, founded in 1953. WSM radio’s Harry Stone was the first executive director, but the organization couldn’t afford to pay him.
Jo Walker-Meador was hired as the “girl Friday,” the executive assistant who did bookkeeping, typing and general office-running work. In 1959, she organized a CMA banquet, which eventually was spun off into a number of annual events presented by the organization.
Former CMA CEO Jo Walker Meador and CMA CEO Sarah Trahern at the 2016 Medallion Ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Sunday, Oct.17, 2016.
After Stone left in 1959, Minnie Pearl exhorted the CMA board to hire Jo as executive director because she was already essentially doing the job. Jo later ruefully recalled that she was hired because no man would work for so low a salary.
She officially assumed the paid executive-director job in 1962. Then came an aggressive campaign to convince radio stations that they should adopt the country format. Her diplomacy background in politics served her well as she navigated through a music business she initially knew little about.
The first Country Music Hall of Fame inductees were announced in 1961 – Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and Fred Rose. This became the organization’s first annual ritual. In 1966, the CMA successfully marketed an all-star album of country music’s biggest hits to raise funds for a Hall of Fame building. It was sold via TV, and was one of the first telemarketing music successes. The Hall of Fame building opened on Music Row on April 1, 1967. That fall, Smokey Walker passed away, making his widow the primary breadwinner for her family. Also in 1967, the CMA began a second annual ritual, the presentation of the CMA Awards.
Jo Walker-Meador and leaders on the CMA board went to ad agencies and network television to convince them that their ceremony was worth becoming a TV special. In 1968, the CMA Awards became the first music honors presented on national television. It has been a ratings blockbuster ever since.
The annual Grand Ole Opry Birthday celebration began in 1952. It evolved into the Country Disc Jockey Convention, rebranded in 1969 as Country Radio Seminar. Organizers were concerned that country fans were showing up to this industry event to star gaze. In response, Jo Walker-Meador and her CMA founded Fan Fair in 1972.
Initially held at Municipal Auditorium, it attracted little attention that first year. To boost the crowd, Jo reached out to the Fort Campbell army base with free passes. Thanks to the soldiers who came, attendance at that first Fan Fair was roughly 5,000.
She married Nashville businessman Bob Meador in 1981. The CMA’s annual fan celebration moved to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in 1982. By the time it moved to downtown Nashville in 2001, it was attracting 25,000 annually. Now known as the CMA Music Festival, it has more than 88,000 participants. It became a network TV special in 2004. Jo Walker-Meador attended every year, including in 2016.
There were only 200 members of the CMA when it was born. Under Jo’s leadership, membership swelled to more than 7,000 and the CMA became known as “the world’s most active trade association.” Although she retired from the CMA in 1991, Jo Walker-Meador continued to make appearances at Nashville music-industry events.
She was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995 and was present for every successive Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony for other inductees. Jo Walker-Meador was given the Cecil Scaife Visionary Award in 2013. Husband Bob Meador accompanied her when she was presented with a star in the Music City Walk of Fame in 2008. He died in early 2015.
Jo Walker-Meador is survived by her brother Pete Denning, daughter Michelle Walker, stepchildren Karen Meador and Rob Meador.
Ryan Follese To Drop Self-Titled Debut This Friday
/by Lorie HollabaughFollese penned the collection’s 12 tracks with writers like his father Keith Follese (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill), mother Adrienne Follese (Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride), brother Jamie Follese (Hot Chelle Rae), and producer Cameron Montgomery (Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj). The EP was co-produced by Dann Huff.
“I am so excited to put out this full album for the fans who grew up alongside me to those who I’ve just met out with Sam Hunt, FGL and Locash this year,” said Follese. “You have all been a part of my return home, to my roots, and I’m really thankful for your patience during the writing process. I truly believe these songs have always been a part of me, and I hope you’ll feel something too.”
Ryan Follese Track List:
1. “Lose A Little Sleep” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery *
2. “Put A Label On It” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery
3. “Float Your Boat” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery
4. “One More Round” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery
5. “Sounds Like You” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery
6. “No Headlights” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery, Ben Schofield, Stephen Schofield
7. “Summer Like You” | Ryan Follese, Jamie Follese, Jesse Lee, Cameron Montgomery
8. “Growing Up” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery, Josh Montgomery
9. “One Thing Right” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery *
10. “Wilder” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery
11. “Roots” | Ryan Follese, Adrienne Follese, Jamie Follese, Keith Follese, Cameron Montgomery
12. “Sing It” | Ryan Follese
*Produced by Cameron Montgomery and Dann Huff
Dolly Parton To Release First Children’s Album, ‘I Believe In You’
/by Eric T. ParkerA digital release of the new album will be available in advance, Sept. 29.
All 14 tracks on I Believe In You (below) were written and performed by Parton. Tom McBryde, Richard Dennison and Tom Rutledge produced various tracks with executive producers Paul T. Couch and Parton.
Pictured (L-R): Sony Music Nashville SVP A&R, Jim Catino; EVP Marketing/New Business John Zarling; Dolly Parton; Danny Nozell, President, CTK Management; Sony Music Nashville’s EVP Promotion/Artist Development Steve Hodges; and Kirt Webster, President, Webster PR. Photo: JB Rowland
“My first album was released 50 years ago and it’s been an amazing 50 years since then. I am very excited that now I’m coming out with my first children’s album in all of those 50 years. I’m proudest of all that all of the proceeds from this CD will go to the Imagination Library,” Dolly said. “It’s been 20 years since the Imagination Library was launched. We’ve seen 100 million books get into the hands of children and hopefully there will be many more.”
Since its beginning in 1996 in Dolly’s hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee, the Imagination Library has expanded into four countries serving more than one million brand new books each month.
At a press conference yesterday, Aug. 15, children and special guests witnessed the unveiling of the I Believe In You album cover, track listing and performances of “I Believe in You,” “Makin’ Fun Ain’t Funny” and “Brave Little Soldier” in addition to reciting her Coat Of Many Colors book. The press conference ended with Dolly answering questions and taking family photos with all the guests.
What other work have you released for kids?
I write kids songs all the time. We [have] put a compilation of kids songs we sold through the Imagination Library, but never put a public album out. I also write songs for the little playhouse [at Dollywood].
What inspired these songs?
There’s a few songs that talk about attitude with a good message. These are all songs that uplift children and really talk to them. We have a lot of sick children and one of the songs is called “Chemo Hero” that is related to my own family. My niece Hannah Dennison was diagnosed with Leukemia and was at Vanderbilt hospital for years so I wrote a little song for her and all the other sick children. Most of these songs are inspired by the books we give out through the Imagination Library.
How was writing different for this album?
It gives me a chance to be more playful and relax. I keep tree houses and playhouses for all my nieces and nephews when they come to visit me. Usually when I write these children’s songs I go up in a treehouse and try to put myself back in their place to become a kid again. It’s so easy to tailor make [songs] to my nieces and nephews that I’m with all the time because I hear what they’re going through and what their feelings are. It think it puts me in a more tender place rather than a commercial place to make money.
Will there be a holiday movie this year?
We were very excited that we got nominated for an Emmy for The Christmas Of Many Colors, and Coat of Many Colors did so well with the ratings. It makes you know people are looking for family, faith-based movies. I don’t think we have enough of that—the world is so out there anymore. We may eventually do another of the Coat of Many Colors. I’d love to do enough to where all the kids were born, because the last one Mama was pregnant with twins and I had another sister, Rachel, born after.
We’re still working on Jolene, trying to decide if we’re going to do it as a movie or series, or both. We don’t have an air date but that’s one of the hot ones coming up. I’m going to be producing movies and we’ve got some things in the works with more of the songs I’ve written.
Why was it important for you to be involved with Kenny Rogers’ final show?
You never know who the kinds of people [fans] will tag you to. We really didn’t have all that many hit records. We were just so magical when we were together, and of course “Islands In The Stream” was a huge, huge hit. He said, ‘I’m not doing it without Dolly.’ And I’m looking forward to having the audience see us sing the last time live. Although I hope to still be friends with Kenny and that he’ll be around a long time.
How did you decide to be a part of Kesha’s album, Rainbow, released this week?
Kesha? Is that how you [pronounce] her name? I’m so far behind the times…
Mostly, I know her because of her mother. Her mother wrote “Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You” that I did as a duet with my brother Randy years ago. So when Kesha became famous she called to ask me to sing on “Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You.” I said, “Well, of course we have to do it.” I really think it turned out great, I really put my heart and soul in to it. And her mother was there when we recorded it. She told me how she wrote it, living with a hippie in a van, and how it all came about. I hope her album does great!
Any plans to tour in the near future?
No plans for touring. We were successful with the Pure & Simple Tour. We were happy and proud we did so well. We toured for six months. It’s the biggest tour I’ve ever done since I started. So I’m going to concentrate on the TV things, and producing—trying to spend a little more time with my family.
I Believe In You Track Listing
I Believe in You*
Coat of Many Colors (new recording)+
Together Forever*
I Am a Rainbow*
I’m Here*
A Friend Like You*
Imagination*
You Can Do It*
Responsibility*
You Gotta Be*
Makin’ Fun Ain’t Funny+
Chemo Hero+
Brave Little Soldier+
Bonus track (spoken audio): Coat of Many Colors
*produced by Tom McBryde and executive produced by Paul T. Couch
+produced by Tom Rutledge and Richard Dennison and executive produced by Dolly Parton
Pictured (L-R): MusicRow‘s Eric T. Parker, Dolly Parton, MusicRow‘s Sherod Robertson
Savur Threadgold Moves Nashville Office To Music Row Area
/by Lorie HollabaughThe firm, which represents VP Music Group, Mexican Summer, Rough Trade Publishing, Bank Robber Music, and Lever & Beam Artist Management among others, originally opened its Nashville office in January of 2016, with Daniel Novick as its managing attorney. Licensed to practice law in California, New York, and Tennessee, Novick represents clients in the entertainment industry and emerging businesses worldwide with respect to contract negotiations, trademark and copyright, new media & intellectual property licensing, technology, and corporate matters.
Among Novick’s clients are recording artists Kelly McGrath, Chris Mann, Kylie Morgan, Jay Allen, Matt Thomas, Julia Cole, Patrick Thomas, The Royal Foundry, and The Dangerous Summer, as well as songwriters Erik Belz, Deanna Walker, and Rick Beresford. Novick also represents companies such as House of Blues Studios, The Vocal Company, Rock City Studios, Bang Productions, Anacrusis, and Evamore.
Kenny Chesney Live Album Reveals Tracks With Taylor Swift, Eric Church
/by Lorie Hollabaugh“As I was listening to some of these tapes, I decided: they’re as much the people who’ve been coming out to the shows as anybody’s! I shouldn’t be the only one listening – and that sent me down a tube into all these summers out there rocking,” explains Chesney. “When I told the record company how many songs, they thought I’d lost my mind… And that was before we added ‘Young,’ which really started and defined this chapter, to the list!”
The project features plenty of Chesney fan favorites as well as appearances by his friends, co-writers and tour-mates, ranging from Eric Church, Mac McAnally, David Lee Murphy, and Old Dominion, to Grace Potter, Taylor Swift and the Zac Brown Band.
“No Shoes Nation not only knows no boundaries, we love all kinds of music,” Chesney allows. “It’s why Grace Potter is as loved as Eric Church, why David Lee Murphy gets the same response as Zac Brown and his guys. We love life, we love music and we all really love each other!”
Live in No Shoes Nation Track Listing:
Flora–Bama
Summertime
Big Star (with Taylor Swift)
Boston
When I See This Bar (with Eric Church)
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems
Anything But Mine
Down The Road (with Mac McAnally)
Guitars And Tiki Bars
Hemingway’s Whiskey
Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven (with Zac Brown Band)
I’m Alive
Save It for a Rainy Day (with Old Dominion)
Pirate Flag
Somewhere With You
I Go Back
One Step Up
American Kids
You And Tequila (with Grace Potter)
Young
There Goes My Life
Out Last Night
Dust On The Bottle (with David Lee Murphy)
Coastal
The Boys of Fall
Noise
Old Blue Chair
The Joker / Three Little Birds (with Dave Matthews)
Happy on the Hey Now
Olivia Rudeen Signs With Deluge Music
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): Mark Friedman (President Deluge Music) Olivia Rudeen and
Emily Dryburgh (Deluge Music Creative Manager)
Singer/songwriter Olivia Rudeen has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Deluge Music.
Rudeen grew up in Colorado and moved to Nashville in 2013. She has had songs featured in several TV shows, including Nashville.
“When I heard her songs I had the same feeling I did back in 2008 when I heard Brandy Clark for the first time! Olivia is multi talented and one to watch for sure!” says President Of Deluge Music Mark Friedman.
CMA’s Jo Walker-Meador Passes
/by Robert K OermannJo Walker-Meador
By Robert K. Oermann
Country Music Hall of Fame member Jo Walker-Meador passed away on Tuesday evening (Aug. 15), following a stroke. She was 93.
Her grace and guidance as the 30-year executive director of the Country Music Association (CMA) served as a role model for a generation of women in the Nashville music business. Furthermore, she piloted the CMA from its struggling infancy to becoming a powerful force in America’s music industry.
There were fewer than 100 full-time country radio stations when she was hired by the CMA in 1958. By the time she retired, there were in excess of 2,000, more than any other music format. Under her leadership, the CMA built a Country Music Hall of Fame, launched the CMA Music Festival and inaugurated annual the CMA Awards telecast.
She was born Edith Josephine Denning in Orlinda, TN and initially had the career goal of becoming an English teacher and/or a women’s basketball coach. After college, she married WKDA radio executive Charles F. “Smokey” Walker in 1954.
She worked as a secretary in a gubernatorial political campaign, for the Nashville movie-theater chain Crescent Amusements and at a variety of other businesses before she took the job as office manager for the then-new CMA in late 1958.
The organization had been born out of the ashes of the Country Music Disc Jockey Association, founded in 1953. WSM radio’s Harry Stone was the first executive director, but the organization couldn’t afford to pay him.
Jo Walker-Meador was hired as the “girl Friday,” the executive assistant who did bookkeeping, typing and general office-running work. In 1959, she organized a CMA banquet, which eventually was spun off into a number of annual events presented by the organization.
Former CMA CEO Jo Walker Meador and CMA CEO Sarah Trahern at the 2016 Medallion Ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Sunday, Oct.17, 2016.
After Stone left in 1959, Minnie Pearl exhorted the CMA board to hire Jo as executive director because she was already essentially doing the job. Jo later ruefully recalled that she was hired because no man would work for so low a salary.
She officially assumed the paid executive-director job in 1962. Then came an aggressive campaign to convince radio stations that they should adopt the country format. Her diplomacy background in politics served her well as she navigated through a music business she initially knew little about.
The first Country Music Hall of Fame inductees were announced in 1961 – Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and Fred Rose. This became the organization’s first annual ritual. In 1966, the CMA successfully marketed an all-star album of country music’s biggest hits to raise funds for a Hall of Fame building. It was sold via TV, and was one of the first telemarketing music successes. The Hall of Fame building opened on Music Row on April 1, 1967. That fall, Smokey Walker passed away, making his widow the primary breadwinner for her family. Also in 1967, the CMA began a second annual ritual, the presentation of the CMA Awards.
Jo Walker-Meador and leaders on the CMA board went to ad agencies and network television to convince them that their ceremony was worth becoming a TV special. In 1968, the CMA Awards became the first music honors presented on national television. It has been a ratings blockbuster ever since.
The annual Grand Ole Opry Birthday celebration began in 1952. It evolved into the Country Disc Jockey Convention, rebranded in 1969 as Country Radio Seminar. Organizers were concerned that country fans were showing up to this industry event to star gaze. In response, Jo Walker-Meador and her CMA founded Fan Fair in 1972.
Initially held at Municipal Auditorium, it attracted little attention that first year. To boost the crowd, Jo reached out to the Fort Campbell army base with free passes. Thanks to the soldiers who came, attendance at that first Fan Fair was roughly 5,000.
She married Nashville businessman Bob Meador in 1981. The CMA’s annual fan celebration moved to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in 1982. By the time it moved to downtown Nashville in 2001, it was attracting 25,000 annually. Now known as the CMA Music Festival, it has more than 88,000 participants. It became a network TV special in 2004. Jo Walker-Meador attended every year, including in 2016.
There were only 200 members of the CMA when it was born. Under Jo’s leadership, membership swelled to more than 7,000 and the CMA became known as “the world’s most active trade association.” Although she retired from the CMA in 1991, Jo Walker-Meador continued to make appearances at Nashville music-industry events.
She was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995 and was present for every successive Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony for other inductees. Jo Walker-Meador was given the Cecil Scaife Visionary Award in 2013. Husband Bob Meador accompanied her when she was presented with a star in the Music City Walk of Fame in 2008. He died in early 2015.
Jo Walker-Meador is survived by her brother Pete Denning, daughter Michelle Walker, stepchildren Karen Meador and Rob Meador.
Carrie Underwood, Sam Hunt Take Home Teen Choice Honors
/by Jessica NicholsonTwo country artists took home honors from the recent Teen Choice Awards when it aired Sunday (Aug. 13) from the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Carrie Underwood earned Choice Country Artist, while Sam Hunt‘s “Body Like A Back Road” earned Choice Country Song.
The honor marks Underwood’s sixth Teen Choice Award, including her third consecutive as Choice Country Artist. Underwood was also nominated in the Choice Country Song category this year, as part of “The Fighter” with Keith Urban.
This marks Hunt’s first Teen Choice Award. He was also nominated for Choice Country Artist, Choice Summer Tour, and Choice Song: Male Artist (for “Body Like A Back Road”) this year.
Additionally, The Voice, which stars Warner Music Nashville artist Blake Shelton, won the Choice Reality TV Show honor.
CMA Music Festival 2017 Brings In $57.7 Million In Direct Visitor Spending, Down Slightly From 2016
/by Jessica NicholsonLast year brought a daily attendance of 88,500 fans. Daily attendance totals for 2017 was not available at press time.
The number of visitors attending decreased from 85 percent in 2016 to 80 percent in 2017, as the number of Nashville locals attending increased to 20 percent of total attendees. The number of international visitors to CMA Music Festival remained approximately the same as past years, at 11.2 percent of total attendees.
The event saw an increase in attendance for millennials (25.8 percent in 2017 vs. 21.2 percent in 2016) and families (12.6 percent in 2017 vs. 8.8 percent in 2016).
New features this year included the free Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater and the Budweiser “Forever Country” Park Stage, as well as the VIP Nash Pass, all providing more activations for both locals and visitors to enjoy.
“It was a historic and exciting year for all of us in Nashville as all eyes were on our city with CMA Music Festival and the Stanley Cup Finals, both with a national TV audience,” said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern. “CMA Music Festival has long welcomed fans from around the globe, and much of their interest in visiting, and desire to return, is due in part to the generous hospitality that our neighbors, those that call Nashville home, extend to our visiting fans. We are glad that more people from our community participated as well.”
The three-hour ABC Television Network special CMA Fest, co-hosted by Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini, airs Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. CT, bringing even more global marketing exposure to Nashville.
Music City Roots Presents Dylan, Cash And The Nashville Cats Show
/by Lorie HollabaughTickets are $15 for reserved seats or $10 for general admission and can be purchased at musiccityroots.com or at the door. The first 50 people to arrive at the concert will receive an exhibit book for Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats, and every ticket buyer will receive a coupon for $3 off museum adult general admission.
Legendary “Nashville Cat” Lloyd Green and veteran West Coast session musician Jay Dee Maness, who both played pedal steel guitar on the Byrds’ 1968 classic album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, will perform instrumental versions of songs from that album. They will be accompanied by an ace band that includes bassist Dennis Crouch, drummer John Gardner, and guitarists Russ Pahl and Al Perkins. Tracy Nelson will perform songs that she originally recorded in San Francisco and Nashville in the late 1960s while fronting Mother Earth. Charlie Worsham will pay tribute to some of his musical heroes who are featured in the exhibit, and Jon Randall and friends will also perform on the special show.
The concert will be live-streamed at musiccityroots.com/livestream. The exhibition Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City runs through Feb. 18, 2018.
Scotty McCreery Signs with Triple Tigers Records
/by Alex ParryPictured (Top row, L-R): Nate Towne (WME), David Boyer (FBMM), Scott Stem (Triple 8), David Crow (MHCRK), George Couri (Triple 8/ Triple Tigers), Nancy Quinn (Thirty Tigers), Kevin Herring (Triple Tigers). (Bottom row, L-R): Norbert Nix (Triple Tigers), Scotty McCreery, David Macias (Thirty Tigers/ Triple Tigers)
Triple Tigers Records announced today (Aug. 15) that the record label has signed Scotty McCreery to its roster.
“We are very proud to represent Scotty McCreery,” said Triple Tigers Records General Manager Norbert Nix. “He is an absolute pro and an artist of great integrity. We were blown away when we heard “Five More Minutes” and are looking forward to representing Scotty’s new music to his millions of fans.”
“I’m very excited to become part of the Triple Tigers/Sony Music Entertainment family,” said McCreery. “They believe in me and my music, they work hard, and for being a brand new company, they are already succeeding. I am fired up to see what we can achieve together.”
The ACM, BMI and CMT Award winner is currently rising up the charts with his emotional single, “Five More Minutes,” which has already earned more than 15 million streams. The song is currently #40 on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart, #46 on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase Chart, and #58 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout chart. In its first week of release, it sold more than 22,000 paid downloads and earned the No. 6 spot on the Billboard Country Digital Sales Chart, his highest ranking on that chart since his debut single in 2011.
“Five More Minutes” was released independently without a record label; instead it has been entirely marketed and promoted by McCreery and his Triple 8 Management team.
McCreery is managed by Triple 8 Management and booked by WME Entertainment.