For 15 years, athlete and musician Barry Zito enjoyed success in Major League Baseball. His enviable curveball led to pitching positions for both the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants—including appearing in three All-Star Games and becoming a World Series winner.
In 2015, he walked away from baseball to pursue his love of music. In January, Zito released the six-song EP No Secrets, where he candidly shares his unique story of fame, fortune, temptation, struggle, and ultimately, redemption.
“I had been waiting years to go all-in with music,” says Zito, who began playing guitar while still in the minor leagues early in his baseball career and penned the track “Home” from his EP during the 2011 baseball season. “I think what was hard for me was making sure I really had closure walking away from baseball. I had crazy highs and crazy lows in my career, so for me to walk away and feel complete, unlike so many other athletes that retire, they don’t know their new identity. I got to the point where sometimes I didn’t want to do what I needed to do with baseball, because I was loving writing songs and playing guitar. For me, it couldn’t have been more perfect.”
Zito grew up with a love of music and a natural ear for cadences and melodies. His father Joe Zito was at one time a conductor and arranger for Nat King Cole, and raised Zito on the sounds of the Great American Songbook, and musicians such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, George and Ira Gershwin, Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer and more. As Barry grew older, he immersed himself in music from Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald and other adult contemporary performers.
Zito credits his wife Amber with deepening his interest in country music.
“When I met my wife Amber in 2010, that was my first real exposure to country music. It was the first time I really tried to listen to the words and stories in these songs. When you are raised around music, you tend to gravitate toward the rhythms and melodies and you don’t attach to the stories, or at least I didn’t,” Zito recalls. “But country music had these beautiful stories.”
Those country lyrics became the soundtrack for his life and the inspiration for his newfound career. He names Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy” as an early favorite, and Urban’s “Without You” was played during Zito’s wedding.
But as a young boy growing up in Las Vegas, it was Zito’s aptitude for sports that caught his father’s attention. Joe began studying the mechanics and techniques of baseball, and left the music world to help his son pursue sports. The elder Zito hired former Cy Young winner and San Diego Padres pitcher Randy Jones to privately tutor his son in the finer points of the game.
On the track “Home,” Zito pays homage to his father’s encouragement.
“We would go play ball, literally almost every day, from the time I was six to 18,” Zito says. “My father was a brilliant musician and had such success in his career, but he didn’t really know anything about baseball. It was funny that he was mentoring me more or less not on baseball, but more on principles of success. He always said, ‘I know the ingredients of success, I know the signs of failure, and you can apply that to anything.’”
Zito would go on to become a Cy Young winner himself in 2002. Four years later, Zito signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, making him the highest-paid pitcher in major league baseball history at the time.
But by 2008, disillusioned by the trappings and pressure that come with a high-powered career, Zito had reached what he calls “one of my lowest lows in baseball.” He channels those experiences of “chasing temporary highs” into the track “The Secret To Life” on his debut EP.
“That’s such a lesson for me, to have a little bit of fame and success and see how that can get out of check so quickly,” he recalls of the time. “I am constantly on guard for that now and I’m not thinking I’m the center of the world anymore like I did at that time.”
In 2014, Zito made a bold choice to step away from baseball. One year later, he made his professional return to the sport, joining the Triple-A team Nashville Sounds. While Zito was still playing with the Sounds, Nashville executive Robert Filhart contacted him about pursuing the craft of songwriting, a move that inspired Zito to pursue songwriting full-time.
“It’s so funny that I’m in Nashville. I always thought I would pursue writing in Los Angeles, but I had always wanted to pursue it in Nashville,” Zito said. “Robert started taking me into writing rooms literally the day I retired from baseball. I’ve been co-writing ever since the day I retired.”
Constructing and tearing apart lyric after lyric and melody after melody, Zito and his songwriting cohorts began turning his experiences into songs.
In a track from the EP, “My Own Path” Zito ruminates on his decision to step away from baseball completely, having pursued it for 14 years.
“It is kind of unheard of to step away at 35,” Zitos says, “but I was literally hating the game.”
He observes that it’s not unlike a common scenario in Nashville’s music circles.
“You see it all the time here. People come here to chase a dream, and they end up hating music and hating everything about Nashville. With baseball, I started hating the thing I loved most. So it was really cleansing for me to come back after a year off and play AAA for Nashville. It was like, ‘Wow, I can love the game again.’ ‘My Own Path’ tries to embrace the fact that even though this path is not pretty, it’s mine and nobody else can say that.”
Zito kept the EP acoustic, so he can easily replicate the EP during performances. For now, Zito is open to pursuing an artist career, but his immediate focus is on the songs.
“The ultimate goal is to write the best songs I can. I want to get great at writing songs and devote myself to that craft. So many of the artists in this town came here to be great songwriters, and got pulled into artistry. If that’s going to happen, that’s the best way for it to happen.”
Last month, Zito’s love for baseball and music collided, when he penned and provided vocals for “That Sound,” which became the theme song for his former team, The Nashville Sounds.
Glen Campbell Offers One Last Musical Goodbye With New Album
/by Lorie HollabaughGlen Campbell‘s heart-wrenching battle with Alzheimer’s disease has touched fans across the globe, and Campbell is saying goodbye to the career and life he knew as an entertainer in a poignant way with a final studio album, aptly titled, Adiós. The album, which caps off a career that has spanned more than five decades and 50 million albums sold, will be released June 9 on UMe on CD, vinyl and digitally, and is available for pre-order beginning today here.
Recorded at Station West in Nashville following his “Goodbye Tour” which was launched after Campbell revealed he was diagnosed with the disease, the album was produced by Glen’s longtime banjo player and family friend Carl Jackson. Jackson has been with Campbell since the ’70s when he first joined the band as an 18-year-old, and laid down some basic tracks and vocals for Campbell to study and practice in recording this final collection.
In her liner notes, Kim Campbell, Glen’s wife of 34 years, explains the genesis of the album, details the recording process and explains why Adiós is finally being released.
“A new Glen Campbell album coming out in 2017 might seem a bit odd since he hasn’t performed since 2012, and even more odd – if not absolutely amazing – when you consider that he has Alzheimer’s disease. Glen’s abilities to play, sing and remember songs began to rapidly decline after his diagnosis in 2011. A feeling of urgency grew to get him into the studio one last time to capture what magic was left. It was now or never. What you’re hearing when listening to Adiós is the beautiful and loving culmination of friends and family doing their very best for the man who inspired, raised, and entertained them for decades – giving him the chance to say one last goodbye to his fans, and put one last amazing collection of songs onto the record store shelves.”
The 12-track collection features songs that Campbell always loved but never got a chance to record, including several from longtime collaborator Jimmy Webb, including “Just Like Always” and “It Won’t Bring Her Back.” On “Postcard From Paris,” sons Cal and Shannon and daughter Ashley sing the line, “I wish you were here,” marking a family singing together for one last time. Willie Nelson joins Campbell for a duet of Nelson’s 1968 “Funny How Time Slips Away,” and he puts his spin on Jerry Reed’s Johnny Cash hit “A Thing Called Love” on the new collection as well. And Jackson tells Campbell’s life’s story on the autobiographical, “Arkansas Farmboy.”
“I wrote ‘Arkansas Farmboy’ sometime in the mid- to late-‘70s on a plane bound for one of the many overseas destinations I played with Glen between 1972 and 1984,” reveals Jackson. “The song was inspired by a story that Glen told me about his grandpa teaching him ‘In The Pines’ on a $5 Sears & Roebuck guitar when he was only a boy. That guitar led to worldwide fame and fortune, far beyond what even some in his family could comprehend.”
People.com is debuting the album’s first track, “Everybody’s Talkin’,” Campbell’s take on the Fred Neil-penned hit made famous by Harry Nilsson in the film “Midnight Cowboy.”
Lillie Mae’s ‘Forever And Then Some’ Out Today
/by Lorie HollabaughAlbum Cover Photo by Laura Partain
Lillie Mae‘s brand new album, Forever And Then Some, releases Friday (April 14). The Jack White-produced Third Man Records project includes the first single, “Over The Hill And Through The Woods,” which features a companion video directed by acclaimed filmmaker, Elise Tyler. A limited edition 7″ of the single will be released exclusively at Third Man’s Nashville and Detroit retail stores for Record Store Day 2017 on April 22.
Forever And Then Some features backing by the core combo of Frank Carter Rische on electric and acoustic guitars, Scarlett Rische on mandolin, bassist Brian Zonn, and drummer Tanner Jacobson. Other notables appearing include keyboardist Dean Fertita (The Dead Weather, Queens of the Stone Age), banjo player Ian Craft (The Howlin’ Brothers), and Old Crow Medicine Show pianist Cory Younts, with harmony vocals from McKenna Grace Rische and singer-songwriter Carey Kotsonis.
Forever And Then Some Track Listing:
Exclusive: Musician, Athlete Barry Zito Plays A New Game With Debut EP ‘No Secrets’
/by Jessica NicholsonFor 15 years, athlete and musician Barry Zito enjoyed success in Major League Baseball. His enviable curveball led to pitching positions for both the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants—including appearing in three All-Star Games and becoming a World Series winner.
In 2015, he walked away from baseball to pursue his love of music. In January, Zito released the six-song EP No Secrets, where he candidly shares his unique story of fame, fortune, temptation, struggle, and ultimately, redemption.
“I had been waiting years to go all-in with music,” says Zito, who began playing guitar while still in the minor leagues early in his baseball career and penned the track “Home” from his EP during the 2011 baseball season. “I think what was hard for me was making sure I really had closure walking away from baseball. I had crazy highs and crazy lows in my career, so for me to walk away and feel complete, unlike so many other athletes that retire, they don’t know their new identity. I got to the point where sometimes I didn’t want to do what I needed to do with baseball, because I was loving writing songs and playing guitar. For me, it couldn’t have been more perfect.”
Zito grew up with a love of music and a natural ear for cadences and melodies. His father Joe Zito was at one time a conductor and arranger for Nat King Cole, and raised Zito on the sounds of the Great American Songbook, and musicians such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, George and Ira Gershwin, Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer and more. As Barry grew older, he immersed himself in music from Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald and other adult contemporary performers.
Zito credits his wife Amber with deepening his interest in country music.
“When I met my wife Amber in 2010, that was my first real exposure to country music. It was the first time I really tried to listen to the words and stories in these songs. When you are raised around music, you tend to gravitate toward the rhythms and melodies and you don’t attach to the stories, or at least I didn’t,” Zito recalls. “But country music had these beautiful stories.”
Those country lyrics became the soundtrack for his life and the inspiration for his newfound career. He names Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy” as an early favorite, and Urban’s “Without You” was played during Zito’s wedding.
But as a young boy growing up in Las Vegas, it was Zito’s aptitude for sports that caught his father’s attention. Joe began studying the mechanics and techniques of baseball, and left the music world to help his son pursue sports. The elder Zito hired former Cy Young winner and San Diego Padres pitcher Randy Jones to privately tutor his son in the finer points of the game.
On the track “Home,” Zito pays homage to his father’s encouragement.
“We would go play ball, literally almost every day, from the time I was six to 18,” Zito says. “My father was a brilliant musician and had such success in his career, but he didn’t really know anything about baseball. It was funny that he was mentoring me more or less not on baseball, but more on principles of success. He always said, ‘I know the ingredients of success, I know the signs of failure, and you can apply that to anything.’”
Zito would go on to become a Cy Young winner himself in 2002. Four years later, Zito signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, making him the highest-paid pitcher in major league baseball history at the time.
But by 2008, disillusioned by the trappings and pressure that come with a high-powered career, Zito had reached what he calls “one of my lowest lows in baseball.” He channels those experiences of “chasing temporary highs” into the track “The Secret To Life” on his debut EP.
“That’s such a lesson for me, to have a little bit of fame and success and see how that can get out of check so quickly,” he recalls of the time. “I am constantly on guard for that now and I’m not thinking I’m the center of the world anymore like I did at that time.”
In 2014, Zito made a bold choice to step away from baseball. One year later, he made his professional return to the sport, joining the Triple-A team Nashville Sounds. While Zito was still playing with the Sounds, Nashville executive Robert Filhart contacted him about pursuing the craft of songwriting, a move that inspired Zito to pursue songwriting full-time.
“It’s so funny that I’m in Nashville. I always thought I would pursue writing in Los Angeles, but I had always wanted to pursue it in Nashville,” Zito said. “Robert started taking me into writing rooms literally the day I retired from baseball. I’ve been co-writing ever since the day I retired.”
Constructing and tearing apart lyric after lyric and melody after melody, Zito and his songwriting cohorts began turning his experiences into songs.
In a track from the EP, “My Own Path” Zito ruminates on his decision to step away from baseball completely, having pursued it for 14 years.
“It is kind of unheard of to step away at 35,” Zitos says, “but I was literally hating the game.”
He observes that it’s not unlike a common scenario in Nashville’s music circles.
“You see it all the time here. People come here to chase a dream, and they end up hating music and hating everything about Nashville. With baseball, I started hating the thing I loved most. So it was really cleansing for me to come back after a year off and play AAA for Nashville. It was like, ‘Wow, I can love the game again.’ ‘My Own Path’ tries to embrace the fact that even though this path is not pretty, it’s mine and nobody else can say that.”
Zito kept the EP acoustic, so he can easily replicate the EP during performances. For now, Zito is open to pursuing an artist career, but his immediate focus is on the songs.
“The ultimate goal is to write the best songs I can. I want to get great at writing songs and devote myself to that craft. So many of the artists in this town came here to be great songwriters, and got pulled into artistry. If that’s going to happen, that’s the best way for it to happen.”
Last month, Zito’s love for baseball and music collided, when he penned and provided vocals for “That Sound,” which became the theme song for his former team, The Nashville Sounds.
Ashley Gorley Honored During ASCAP’s “I Create Music” Expo
/by Lorie Hollabaugh(L-R): Co-Head of A&R at Warner-Chappell Music Katie Vinten, ASCAP Publisher board member Jon Platt, ASCAP President Paul Williams, songwriter Ashley Gorley, ASCAP Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Matthews, and ASCAP Executive Vice President of Membership John Titta at ‘You Should Be Here: A Peek into the Country Music Market’ during the 2017 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO on April 13, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Maury Phillips/Getty Images for ASCAP
Writer Ashley Gorley was recognized during yesterday’s opening day (April 13) of ASCAP’s “I Create Music” Expo in L.A. with a special plaque acknowledging his milestone achievement of penning 30 No. 1 hits. Gorley performed as part of ASCAP’s Annual Membership Meeting, along with Michael McDonald, Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T’s, and Brett McLaughlin, and was then featured on the panel “You Should be Here: A Peek Into the Country Music Market.” Gorley’s co-panelists for the session were moderator Beth Brinker, Creative Manager/ASCAP Nashville, and songwriters Zach Crowell and Matt Jenkins.
During the panel, ASCAP President Paul Williams and Warner/Chappell Music Chairman & CEO Jon Platt presented Gorley with the plaque recognizing his amazing slate of hits. Gorley was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year in 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2009, as well as Billboard Country Songwriter of the Year in 2013 and 2016.
Gorley also appeared on ASCAP’s “We Create Music” panel, which brought together a group of creators to discuss what binds songwriters from all genres together. Also featured on that panel, which was moderated by Melinda Newman, were Jeff Cardoni, James Fauntleroy, Sam Hollander and Dave Pirner.
Pictured (L-R): ASCAP Creative Manager Beth Brinker, songwriter/producer Zach Crowell, songwriter Ashley Gorley, and songwriter Matt Jenkins speak onstage at ‘You Should Be Here: A Peek into the Country Music Market’ during the 2017 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO on April 13, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Maury Phillips/Getty Images for ASCAP
Pictured (L-R): Songwriter Ashley Gorley, composer Jeff Cardoni, and singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy speak onstage during the 2017 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO on April 13, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP
Signings: BMI, Full Circle Music, BMG Management, Kent Wells Productions
/by Lorie HollabaughBMI Signs Jamie McLaughlin
Pictured (L-R): Jamie McLaughlin, Jody Williams of BMI
Singer/songwriter Jamie McLaughlin has joined BMI. The son of BMI songwriter Pat McLaughlin, Jamie has been busy writing and performing at Nashville venues.
Full Circle Music Signs Connect Worship
BMG Management, Kent Wells Productions Sign Taylon Hope
Taylon Hope
Eleven year-old singer-songwriter Taylon Hope recently signed a management & development deal with BMG Management & Kent Wells Productions soon after the release of her new single, “Showin’ My Roots.”
“Taylon possesses a tremendous amount of talent. It didn’t take much to convince me that this young lady is going to see an extraordinary amount of success with her career,” said BMG Management President, Jeff Riley.
“Taylon Hope is one of the most talented young artists I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Wells says. “She has a bright future ahead of her.”
Almo/Irving Publishing Plans Family Reunion Show In Nashville
/by Robert K OermannMore than 20 writers who were once affiliated with Almo / Irving Music are scheduled to perform at Third & Lindsley in a “Family Reunion Show.” They include Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame members such as Mike Reid, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Craig Wiseman and Pat Alger, as well as such tunesmiths as Gillian Welch, Tony Mullins, Anthony Smith, April Barrows and David Hungate.
The Nashville office of Rondor Music was established by David Conrad and Mary Del Frank Scobey in 1981. Known as Almo / Irving for its ASCAP and BMI divisions, it was a creative haven for such talents as Emmylou Harris, Paul Kennerley, Bekka Bramlett, John Anderson, Kye Fleming and the late Kent Robbins and Waylon Jennings.
“There are basically two kinds of music publishers — creative ones and banks,” observes former A&M Records chairman Jerry Moss. “Almo / Irving always sought to remain in the creative camp.”
“There was no better place to learn about songs and songwriting,” comments Darrell Franklin, who came up with the “Family Reunion” concept. “I wanted to figure out a way to that we could celebrate a company that was the foundation of so many amazing careers.”
“Being with the staff and writers and hearing some of the songs that made up the best years of my professional life is going to be a total blast,” says Conrad. Universal bought Almo / Irving and its catalog in 2000.
Proceeds from the “Family Reunion” will benefit the W.O. Smith Community Music School. Doors for Tuesday’s show will open at 6:00 p.m. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.There will be a $20 minimum donation taken at the door. Tickets can also be purchased online at 3rdandlindsley.com.
Weekly Chart Report (4/14/17)
/by Troy_StephensonClick here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report.
Cumulus Media Promotes Three To Executive VP Roles
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Bob Walker, Dave Milner, Mike McVay
Cumulus Media has promoted three executives to newly-created EVP posts. Mike McVay, Senior Vice President, Content & Programming, has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Content & Programming. Dave Milner, Senior Vice President, Operations, has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Operations. Bob Walker, Senior Vice President, Operations has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Operations.
Mary Berner, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cumulus Media, said: “These promotions recognize the strong performance of these key members of our senior leadership team. Mike, Dave and Bob are terrific executives and have each been instrumental to the success we’ve achieved during the first year of executing our turnaround plan for the company.”
McVay and Walker are based in Atlanta, while Milner is based in San Francisco.
EXCLUSIVE: Song Suffragette Kalie Shorr To Perform At Rising Women On The Row
/by Eric T. ParkerKalie Shorr
Song Suffragettes member Kalie Shorr will bring her musical talents to MusicRow’s sixth annual Rising Women On The Row sold-out event on April 25.
The 2017 selected honorees previously announced are Tatum Allsep (Founder/Executive Director—Music Health Alliance), Virginia Davis (Managing Partner and Artist Manager—G Major Management), Kerri Edwards (President—KP Entertainment), Kella Farris (Business Manager—Farris, Self & Moore), Laura Hutfless (CEO and Founding Partner—FlyteVu Agency), Juli Newton-Griffith (Vice President—Magic Mustang/BMG). MusicRow has announced business manager Lou Taylor as the featured speaker.
Shorr is represented by CAA, Writerslist for publishing, Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy for business management and Cassetty Entertainment for management.
The 22-year-old Portland, Maine native’s “Fight Like A Girl” became the second best-selling single by a debut country female in 2016 (behind only Maren Morris) with 35,000 singles sold and over 1.6 million Spotify streams. Shorr became a SiriusXM Highway Find, a CMT Artist Discovery and a Taste Of Country Critic’s Pick.
The singer-songwriter penned every original song on her EP, Slingshot, produced by Aaron Eshuis (Ryan Hurd). Radio Disney Country has added all five tracks from the EP into rotation. So far this year, Shorr has been named a “New Artist You Need To Know” by Rolling Stone and one of only seven Taste Of Country “RISERS” artists for 2017.
The youngest of six children, Shorr got her start on YouTube when Perez Hilton scouted her talent and tapped her as an opening act to the Backstreet Boys for his birthday party. Taking extra coursework to graduate high school, Shorr moved to Nashville and took a gig selling hot dogs and cigarettes. She became part of the first Song Suffragettes in 2014 and has performed at CMA Fest.
City National Bank is the Presenting Sponsor for the 2017 Rising Women on the Row.
Kings Of Leon To Headline First Tennessee Park’s Inaugural Concert
/by Jessica NicholsonKings Of Leon is set to headline First Tennessee Park’s first major concert in the stadium’s history, on Sept. 29. First Tennessee Park is home to the Nashville Sounds.
Tickets for the event go on sale April 21 at 10 a.m.
“We’re very excited to bring Kings of Leon in as the first major concert event in the history of First Tennessee Park,” said Sounds General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Adam Nuse. “To bring in a renowned group back home is a thrilling way to showcase this beautiful ballpark.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to be the first act to play First Tennessee Park. It’s always special for us to play our hometown, but being the first, in such an awesome venue, is going to be something we’ll never forget,” said Kings of Leon member Jared Followill.
Last year, Kings of Leon previewed their latest album, Walls, with a performance at another Nashville venue, Ascend Amphitheater.
The show at First Tennessee Park is part of the band’s Walls tour. The second leg of the tour launches April 28 in Chula Vista, California.