Hazel Smith

CMT will be the presenting sponsor of the first-ever Music Row Storytellers event, honoring Hazel Smith and benefiting Music Health Alliance.

“CMT is proud to celebrate Hazel’s legacy as a first class storyteller while benefitting Music Health Alliance, an organization that is literally changing lives by connecting our creative community to healthcare,” says Lucia Folk, Vice President of Public Affairs, CMT.

Music Row Storytellers is a special event series designed to honor those that stand the test of time in telling the stories that make the music industry so fascinating – the journalists, interviewers, reporters, show hosts and others who chronicle and share the stories of Music Row and its musicmakers.

The event will be held on Monday, Aug. 15 at Well Placed Smile (907 Gleaves St.) A 6 pm cocktail reception will be followed by a 6:30 pm program honoring Smith and benefiting Music Health Alliance. The evening will be filled with smiles, laughter and stories from Smith and surprise guests who have been part of her career.

Tickets are $100, or $110 for reserved seating.

Smith moved to Nashville in the late ’60s; the divorced mother of two would go on to be a songwriter, publicist, manager and journalist. Her ability to capture and translate a story are a tribute to her no-nonsense questioning, to the respect she’s earned from artists and industry leaders alike.

She is often credited with coining the phrase “Outlaw Music” in the 1970s to describe the sound that she was hearing from then-clients Kinky Friedman, Tompall Glaser, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Hazel would go on to tell many more of Music Row’s stories as a writer for Country Music magazine, a radio reporter, and a regular columnist for CMT.com.

The Music Row Storytellers organizing committee is a group of music industry professionals dedicated to celebrating the leaders, influencers and storytellers that “came before,” while providing awareness and financial contribution to a music industry related non-profit organization.

SESAC Sets Date For 2016 Nashville Music Awards

The 2016 SESAC Nashville Music Awards will kick off CMA week on Sunday, Oct. 30 at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

The invitation-only event will honor the most popular songs of 2016 with special awards being presented to the Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year and Publisher of the Year. The awards feature performances by many hit songwriters and artists.

2017 CRS New Faces Show Sold Out

Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces of Country Music Show has sold out for 2017. This marks the second consecutive year the show has sold out the day tickets became available.

A special $429 rate, which was available in a limited quantity, sold out in record time. Registration is now available at the “Early Bird” rate of $529. Registrations are available for purchase at countryradioseminar.com. Country Radio Seminar 2017 is set for Feb. 22-24, 2017 and will be held in at the luxurious Omni Nashville, in the heart of downtown Nashville.

iHeartMedia Partners With NPR

iHeartMedia has announced an agreement with NPR that will allow its Member stations to make their live News Talk programming available via iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music and live streaming radio service.

Through this agreement, more than 260 NPR Member stations will have the opportunity to stream their live programming on iHeartRadio, which is available across more than 80 unique device platforms including in-home entertainment, wearables, gaming consoles, enhanced auto dashboards and more. iHeartRadio has over a billion app downloads, more than 85 million registered users and its network reaches more than 85 million social followers offering these public radio stations the ability to reach millions of new listeners nationwide.

In support of the public radio mission, all stations that join iHeartRadio will also have access to fifty percent of their individual iHeartRadio landing page’s digital banner inventory to encourage listeners to donate and directly support the station’s public programming.

Jerry Greer

[Updated, July 13, 2016, 5:07 p.m. CST]

Funeral arrangements have been set for Jerry Greer, son of singer-songwriter Craig Morgan and wife Karen Greer. Services in memory of Jerry Greer are open to family and friends.

Visitation will be held Friday, July 15 from 5-7pm at Walnut Street Church of Christ, located at 201 Center Avenue in Dickson, TN. The funeral will be held at Covenant Presbyterian Church, located at 33 Burton Hills Blvd. in Nashville.

Arrangements for Jerry Greer are under the direction of the Taylor Funeral Home. Flowers may be sent to the family at Walnut Street Church of Christ.

Jerry was preceded in death by grandfather William Edward Horn, grandmother Betty Sue Crockett and cousin Brant Keith Kelley. Jerry is survived by his parents Craig and Karen Greer; his sister Marisa Davis, niece Bailey and nephew Jameson; his sister Alexandra Beaird, her husband Ryan and nephew Cruze; his brother Kyle Greer and his fiancé Chelsea Rogers; and his brother Wyatt Greer.

The family and friends of Jerry Greer have established a memorial scholarship fund to honor Jerry’s energy, athleticism, and love of life. The Jerry Greer Memorial Scholarship will ensure that future athletes of Dickson County High School, particularly those with dyslexia, can celebrate Jerry’s life through the opportunities they will receive through this fund. Donations to the Jerry Greer Memorial Scholarship fund may be sent to: Tri-Star Bank 719 East College St., Dickson, TN  37055.

According to an obit for Greer, “Jerry Michael Hardy Greer is the son of Craig and Karen Greer. He was 19 years old on the day of his going home. Jerry was the smile that instantly lit up any room. He was a superstar without even trying. He was a natural athlete that accomplished what most spend a lifetime attempting to achieve. He was a devoted and dedicated son, brother and friend. He loved his God, his family, his friends and his country more than anything. His passions were football, soccer and the outdoors. He will be greatly missed by everyone who came in contact with him. He will be forever in our thoughts, in our words, and in our hearts.”

[Updated, 9:58 p.m., Monday, July 11, CST]

The Humphreys County (TN) Sheriff’s Department recovered the body of Jerry Greer this evening after a search that began Sunday following a boating accident on Kentucky Lake in Tennessee. A 2016 graduate of Dickson County High School, Jerry planned to play football for Marshall University in the fall.

The family is grateful for the outpouring of support and requests prayers at this time as they privately mourn this terrible loss. Jerry is survived by parents Craig and Karen Greer, sister Aly Beaird and brother-in-law Ryan Beaird, brother Kyle Greer and fiancé Chelsea Rogers and brother Wyatt Greer.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

[Previous story, 8:41 a.m. CST]

Craig Morgan’s Son Missing After Boating Accident

Jerry Greer, the 19-year-old son of country artist Craig Morgan and wife Karen Greer, is missing after a boating accident.

Recovery efforts to locate him are underway, according to a statement released jointly by Morgan’s publicist and record label, as well as Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis.

The accident occurred Sunday (July 10) on Kentucky Lake in Humphreys County, Tennessee. The family resides in Dickson County.

The statement concluded, “The family is grateful for everyone’s support and prayers and requests privacy during this difficult time.”

Pictured (L-R): Producer Derek George, SESAC songwriter Justin Wilson, Houser, and ASCAP songwriters John King and Matt Rogers.

For Nashville songwriter John King, Randy Houser is the recording artist who gave him his first No. 1 chart-topping song, with “We Went.”

Houser is also a generous tipper.

“This dude’s the best singer, maybe in the world,” said King, to the cheers of the industry crowd packed into Tootsies Orchid Lounge for a No. 1 party hosted by ASCAP and SESAC. “Three years ago, I was doing a 10 o’clock slot at [Nashville restaurant/venue] Puckett’s and I was doing a three-hour set. I didn’t have a record deal or a publishing deal. Nobody knew me. I saw this dude sitting in the back at the bar. He had a trucker hat on and a beard. I was playing the last set, and I was in the middle of an original song. This guy walks up and drops a $100 bill in the tip bucket. It was Randy Houser, three years ago. I don’t know if you even remember this. Since that day, and even before then, he’s always been one of my favorite artists. He’s what artists like me aspire to be.”

Now, King is signed as both a songwriter and artist with Black River Entertainment, and celebrating his first chart-topping single with a song Houser recorded. “We brought the whole dang wagon from Georgia for this,” quipped King.

The music industry crowd packed the upstairs bar area at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge to honor ASCAP writers King and Matt Rogers and SESAC writer Justin Wilson for “We Went.” Representatives from ASCAP, SESAC, Black River Entertainment, Broken Bow Records, ole, Magic Mustang, Razor & Tie, CMA, CRB, and more were on hand to honor the Houser and the songwriters.

“It’s a really hard thing to get a No. 1 song in the country,” said Houser, who gave thanks to BBR and Stoney Creek Records. “One thing I always love about my label is they have always been one of the little engines that could. The people that nobody saw coming, that came and whipped your ass. It’s a really special and unique thing they have there. They have really gritty people…they are the people that are on the phone and getting it done. That’s what I’ve always loved. I see people that are in the grind. That’s the coolest thing. For myself, I never saw a quick rise to fame. You keep grinding, and things happen. I’m very proud of all my people at Stoney Creek.”

“We Went” is the fourth No. 1 song for Houser, and the first single from Houser’s fourth studio album, Fired Up, which released in March.

Pictured (L-R): (front row) Derek George, Justin Wilson, Randy Houser, John King, Matt Rogers, (back row) Razor & Tie’s Brad Kennard, Black River’s Dave Pacula, SESAC’s Shannan Hatch, Magic Mustang’s Juli Newton-Griffith and Lydia Schultz, ASCAP’s Beth Brinker, Black River’s Kelly Bolton, ole’s John Ozier, and Broken Bow Records’ Carson James and Jon Loba.