Ted Harris. Photo: Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Ted Harris has died at age 78.
According to Hall of Fame executive director Mark Ford, Harris passed away on Sunday, Nov. 22. The Columbia Daily Herald reports that the songwriter died at his residence in Lewisburg, TN.
Among his best-known songwriting hits are Charley Pride’s “The Happiness of Having You,” Dottie West’s “Paper Mansions,” Ferlin Husky’s “Once” and the Glen Campbell/Steve Wariner duet “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.” The much-recorded country standard “Crystal Chandelier” is also a Ted Harris song. He is the most-awarded country songwriter in the history of SESAC.
Born Theodore Clifford Harris in 1937, the songwriter grew up in Lakeland, Florida. He began playing guitar at age 8 and was writing songs by age 12. After working at a local newspaper, he decided to move to Nashville at age 20.
He had no contacts in Music City, but his favorite star was Hank Snow (1914-1999), so he went to visit Snow’s publishing company, Silver Star. Snow turned the Harris-composed “Chasin’ a Rainbow” into a top-10 hit in 1959. He also recorded the songwriter’s “My Lucky Friend.”
Singer-songwriter-publisher Ted Daffan (1912-1996) became the Nashville newcomer’s mentor. Despite the encouragement of Snow and Daffan, Ted Harris worked in the grocery business during his first seven years in Nashville.
In 1965, Harris co-founded his Harbot Music Publishing company. Later that year, Carl Belew recorded “Crystal Chandelier,” which became a top-10 smash. The song was subsequently recorded by dozens of others, including Mac Wiseman, Louis Armstrong, Dickey Lee, Johnny Russell, Billie Jo Spears, Charley Pride, Warner Mack and Vic Dana, who made it a pop hit.
In 1966, Ted Harris scored with “Once,” which became a major hit for Ferlin Husky. Roy Drusky recorded “Rainbows and Roses.” Dottie West followed with 1967’s “Paper Mansions,” another big hit.
Ted Harris became one of the earliest members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) in 1968. The following year, he won the first of four consecutive SESAC awards as Country Songwriter of the Year.
“You and Me Against the World” became a hit for Bobby Lord in 1970. This song has also been recorded by Roy Rogers, and as a duet by Jimmy Dean & Dottie West (1970) and Jack Greene & Jeannie Seely (1973).
Similarly, Harris’s song “Here I Go Again” was a hit for Bobby Wright in 1971 and was subsequently recorded by Lynn Anderson, Del Reeves and Nat Stuckey. In 1972, Ted Harris collected a still unequalled 17 SESAC awards as both a songwriter and publisher. By this time, he had become a board member of the Country Music Association (CMA).
Charley Pride took the Ted Harris song “The Happiness of Having You” up the charts in 1976. It won SESAC’s Country Song of the Year award.
“The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (Rules the World)” became a 1987 smash for Glen Campbell and Steve Wariner. It won yet another SESAC award. Harris has 87 of these.
Others who have recorded Ted Harris songs include Crystal Gayle, Leroy Van Dyke, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, The Wilburn Brothers, Cal Smith, Conway Twitty, Floyd Cramer, Jerry Wallace, Ray Pillow, Kitty Wells, Wilma Burgess, Porter Wagoner, Vern Gosdin, Johnny Duncan, Charlie Louvin, Jean Shepard, Margie Singleton and Connie Smith.
Ted Harris is uncommon in that he wrote almost all of his hits solo. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990. He retired in 2001 and sold his publishing company to Sony-ATV. But he remained active on the Nashville scene, occasionally playing at songwriter showcases and pitching his catalog’s tunes.
Ted Harris is survived by wife Jackie, by sons Bradley and Joshua and by three grandchildren.
Visitation is scheduled for today (Nov. 24) at the London Funeral Home in Lewisburg, Tennessee from 4:00-8:00 p.m. The funeral service will be on Wednesday (Nov. 25) at the East Commerce Baptist Church in Lewisburg.
Bob DiPiero Joins Kobalt Music Publishing
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Jody Williams, VP, Writer Publisher Relations, BMI; Bob DiPiero; Whitney Daane, SVP Creative, Kobalt Music Publishing; Stephanie Cox, VP Creative, Kobalt Music Publishing. Photo: John Russell
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Bob DiPiero has joined Kobalt Music Publishing, under a worldwide administration agreement in which Kobalt will administer and provide global creative services for DiPiero’s current and future works.
Pop stars Meghan Trainor, Ariana Grande and Who Is Fancy performed one of DiPiero’ cuts, “Boys Like You,” Monday night (Nov. 21) on Dancing With The Stars. The single was co-written by DiPiero, Jason Gantt, and artist Fancy.
“I am so excited to write this new chapter of my career with the 21st century cutting-edge of Kobalt,” DiPiero said. “The cash flow transparency that Kobalt offers to a songwriter is unparalleled in our industry. No black boxes here. I am also a big fan of the powerful ladies at Kobalt Nashville. Whitney Daane is a warrior for songwriters. I have always hoped to work with Laura Wright Alexander, and Stephanie Cox and I go all the way back to the Little Big Town music group. I feel blessed and inspired to write songs the whole world will sing along with.”
Whitney Daane, Senior Vice President of Creative (Nashville) at Kobalt said, “We are so excited to have Bob joining our global roster. He represents the best of the past, present and future of country music; his enthusiasm for his craft, for supporting young artists and for life in general is infectious, and we are thrilled to be working with him creatively, not only in Nashville but around the world!”
DiPiero has had more than 1,000 of his songs recorded. He has penned a No. 1 country single in each of the past four decades, beginning with 1983’s “American Made,” recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys. He has amassed 15 No. 1 hits, and is an inductee in the Nashville Walk of Fame.
Among his other awards are 50 BMI “Million-Air” Awards, multiple Songwriter of the Year awards and two consecutive Triple Play awards for three No. 1 songs within a 12-month period. DiPiero is the originator of the CMA Songwriters Series and has served as its host for 10 years, bringing Nashville’s songwriters and artists throughout the United States and overseas to Belfast, Dublin, London and Paris. Most recently, the CMA presented DiPiero with their CMA Chairman’s Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the music industry and songwriting community.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Adds High Valley’s Brad Rempel
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Troy Tomlinson, Sony/ATV Nashville; Abbey Adams, Sony/ATV Nashville; Brad Rempel; Josh Van Valkenburg, Sony/ATV Nashville; Jason Turner, Keller Turner Ruth Andrews & Ghanem, PLLC; Danny Strick, Sony/ATV New York.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing has signed Brad Rempel, of country duo High Valley, to a publishing agreement. Atlantic Records/WMN recently signed the duo to a record deal.
High Valley is comprised of Brad and his brother, Curtis. High Valley released an album titled County Line on Canadian label Open Road in 2014. They won the Canadian CMA Award for Group or Duo of the Year in 2015.
In Pictures: Chris Young, Michael Ray, Allie Louise, William Michael Morgan
/by Jessica NicholsonSony Music Nashville, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Celebrate Chris Young’s “I’m Comin’ Over”
Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO Randy Goodman and Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville President/CEO Troy Tomlinson head up the smiling faces toasting the No. 1 airplay success of Chris Young’s “I’m Comin’ Over” outside the Sony/ATV office. The song was co-written by Josh Hoge, Young, and Corey Crowder.
Pictured (standing, L-R): Sony/ATV’s Dale Dodson, Terry Wakefield, Duff Berschback, and Tom Luteran; Goodman; Sony Music Nashville’s Steve Hodges and Ken Robold; Tomlinson; and Sony Music Nashville’s Taylor Lindsey, Jim Catino, Lesly Simon, Margaret Tomlin, Keith Gale, and Angie Magill; (seated, L-R): Sony/ATV’s Abbey Adams, Hannah Williams, Ed Williams, and Josh Van Valkenburg.
Michael Ray, StubHub Support Student Musicians
Michael Ray performs for students at Hunters Lane High School in Nashville. Photo: Devin Williams/StubHub
StubHub and The Mr.Holland’s Opus Foundation surprised nearly 600 students and staff of Nashville’s Hunters Lane High School with an instrument donation valued at $39,000 along with a special performance by country artist, Michael Ray.
Allie Louise Launches First Radio Tour
Pictured (L-R): Kayla McKenzie, On Air Personality (WJMQ-FM), and Allie Louise
William Michael Morgan Celebrates SiriusXM “The Highway” Success
Pictured (L -R): Jimmy Wayne, Storme Warren (Sirius XM) and William Michael Morgan
William Michael Morgan stopped by Sirius XM recently to talk with Storme Warren about his debut single “I Met a Girl” hitting No. 1 on “The Highway” countdown.
SiriusXM Names Best of 2015
/by Jessica NicholsonEric Church
Taylor Swift. Photo: Taylor Swift Facebook.
SiriusXM has announced its Best of 2015, and several artists with ties to Music City are among the highest rankings.
Eric Church and Taylor Swift were named among the SiriusXM Artists of the Year, alongside Adele, Calvin Harris, and The Weeknd.
SiriusXM Breakthrough Artists of the Year includes Old Dominion, as well as Elle King, Jidenna, Kygo, and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats.
Garth Brooks ranks alongside Janet Jackson and Giorgio Moroder for SiriusXM “Welcome Back” Artists of the Year.
New Sony Nashville artist Maren Morris is named alongside Daya, Declan McKenna, Nothing But Thieves, and Tory Lanez as SiriusXM Artists To Watch in 2016.
These selections were determined by members of the SiriusXM music curation team and were driven by subscriber feedback.
“We are thrilled to recognize this group of extraordinary artists who have struck an emotional chord with our subscribers and helped expand the boundaries of music in 2015,” said Steve Blatter, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Music Programming, SiriusXM. “Our year end music lists are based on regular feedback from our community of more than 29 million subscribers across America and demonstrate our commitment to music discovery.”
Old Dominion
Garth Brooks
Watershed Music Fest Announces Two Consecutive Weekends
/by Troy_StephensonThe Watershed Music and Camping festival has announced that the 2016 festivities will take place over two consecutive weekends. The country festival will take place July 29-31 and Aug. 5-7 at The Gorge in George, Washington. Both weekends will feature the same lineup of soon-to-be announced headliners.
“Watershed was the very first festival we launched four years ago,” said Brian O’Connell, President of Live Nation Country Touring. “Thinking back to when we started we had no idea how quickly it would take off. The fans who we now know as ’Shedders have become very important to us on this journey. We’ve been listening to their feedback and adding a second weekend seemed like the next logical move. It’s hard to describe the unique vibe you feel at Watershed, it’s such a special and awe-inspiring event and now more people will have the opportunity to see what it’s all about.”
Watershed received a nomination for “Festival of the Year” by the Academy of Country Music and has been named a “must-see” summer festival by Country Weekly, Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone.
More information, including full lineup and on-sale dates, will be announcing in the coming weeks. Visit watershedfest.com for details.
Sponsors and Investors Announced for Project Music’s 2016 Accelerator
/by Eric T. ParkerProject Music has revealed a comprehensive list of sponsors and investors to support its 2016 Accelerator. The program will feature industry heavyweights joining the investor group to help provide mentorship in addition to $47,000 in funding for each startup chosen to participate.
Title sponsors the Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC) and the Country Music Association.
Platinum sponsors include YouTube and LaunchTN. Silver Sponsors & Donors include Avenue Bank; BMI; DevDigital; Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy; Patterson Intellectual Property Law; and Rock Paper Scissors, Inc. Gold sponsors are Anderson Benson Insurance, Belmont University Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, Linda and Doug Howard, Music Business Association, and Beth Lee and Thom Oliphant.
Partners for 2016 are Flo Thinkery, Baker Donelson, Sherrard & Roe, LBMC and American Music Water.
Investors for the coming year are Broken Bow Label Group, RCA recording artist Chris Young, Galante Entertainment, Landscape Capital, Maverick, Red Light Management, Shopkeeper Management, Sony/ATV, Beth Lee and Thom Oliphant, Universal Music Group, Vector Management, and Warner Music Group.
“The Project Music Accelerator investors for year 2 represent virtually every aspect of the music industry,” notes Heather McBee, Program Director of Project Music. “The group includes artists, managers, labels, publishers and others, showing support for the goal of identifying opportunities to grow and advance the industry, not only in providing funding, but also illustrating support for the program and the startups that will emerge.”
Total applicants grew by nearly 55 percent over 2015, drawing from 19 states in addition to 25 percent of applications coming from outside the U.S., as Argentina, Australia and Azerbaijan.
“Year two of Project Music is leading the charge to define Nashville as THE city for music-minded entrepreneurs to start, launch and grow their businesses,” states Stuart McWhorter, Nashville Entrepreneur Center CEO & President. “The depth of the 2016 Investor and Sponsor groups, coupled with applicants’ diverse hometowns reflect the program’s growth as it becomes known as the premier global destination for music tech entrepreneurship.”
Project Music 2016 Accelerator starts Jan. 31, 2016 at the EC with participants revealed in mid-December.
Country Now Releases Holiday Classics On YouTube Channel
/by Troy_StephensonCountry Now, YouTube’s dedicated country music channel, has begun to air holiday classics performed by artists such as Frankie Ballard, Sara Evans, Tracy Lawrence, Natalie Stovall and The Drive and Charlie Worsham. Viewers will also hear from Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, and Love and Theft as they reveal what they want for Christmas. The videos were mostly shot during sessions of Country Now’s “Live From Blackbird.”
Holiday content is available on the Country Now YouTube Channel, including music from Tracy Lawrence (“Cold Beer”), Sara Evans (“At Christmas”), Frankie Ballard (“Run Rudolph Run”), Natalie Stovall & The Drive (“Mary Did You Know”), Charlie Worsham (“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town“), and more.
Americana Honors & Awards Set For Australia Broadcast
/by Jessica NicholsonThe Americana Honors & Awards will be featured on Australia’s Country Music Channel (CMC), as a special broadcast highlighting performances from this year’s event. The program will debut on CMC at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25, with encore broadcasts airing each day until Nov. 30.
Stateside, ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2015 will air on PBS in the United States this week, in the Austin City Limits timeslot nationwide.
Recorded live at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium in September, The Americana Music Association’s 14th Annual Honors & Awards ceremony is a best-in-show of Americana music.
EPISODE SETLIST
Robert Randolph featuring The Fairfield Four and the McCrary Sisters “Rock My Soul”
Don Henley “Praying for Rain”
Rhiannon Giddens “Waterboy” featuring Hubby Jenkins
Jason Isbell “Something More Than Free”
Lee Ann Womack “Don’t Listen to the Wind”
Shakey Graves with Esmé Patterson “Dearly Departed”
John Hiatt “Long Time Comin’”
The Lone Bellow “Then Came the Morning”
Keb’ Mo’ “How Blue Can You Get”
Ry Cooder, Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White “Over in the Glory Land”
Buddy Miller with Marc Ribot “Cold, Cold Heart”
Los Lobos “Will the Wolf Survive”
Industry Ink: The Turks, CMHoF, NMPA, Centricity Music
/by Eric T. ParkerTurks Publishing Group Donates Turkeys
Pictured (L-R): Pat Higdon, Billy Lynn, Clay Myers, Lynn Gann & Jeff Carlton. Not pictured: Chris Oglesby, Mark Brown, Mike Sebastian, Pat Finch, Sam Ramage, and Tim Hunze.
Music Row publisher group The Turks provided Turkeys for Nashville Rescue Mission holiday meals last week (Nov. 20) after a news story reported they were still in need of 1,000 Thanksgiving turkeys.
CMHoF Seeks Donations in #GivingTuesday
Liz Rose pictured during a recent Words & Music session with Moesha, a seventh grader from the Bronx, and classmates. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images
On Dec. 1, The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (CMHoF) will seek donations as part of the global #GivingTuesday, an annual day of giving the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Donations are aimed at helping Fund for Youth Education, offering hundreds of music education programs throughout the year for students, locally and across the globe, including Words & Music and activities in the Taylor Swift Education Center.
Gifts of $25 and above help to provide the following opportunities:
$25: Strings for education program guitars
$50: Hands-on activities for fifty students who visit the museum
$125: Words & Music program via videoconference technology
$250: Bus transportation for seventy students
$500: Banjo or mandolin for educational programs
$1,000: Student art installation in the Taylor Swift Education Center
$2,500: Lesson guides for three hundred teachers
NMPA Honors Top Songwriters at California Event
Pictured (L-R): Justin Tranter, Lisa Loeb, and Ilsey Juber. Photo: Brian Kramer.
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) held a songwriter showcase last week at West Hollywood’s The Sayers Club with songwriter Justin Tranter (Kelly Clarkson “Nostalgic,”, Justin Bieber “Sorry,” Selena Gomez “Good for You”), Lisa Loeb (“Stay (I Missed You),””) and Ilsey Juber (Mariah Carey “Infinity,” Pitbull “Fireball”).
NMPA Multi Platinum Awards were presented to Tranter for “Centuries” (Fall Out Boy) and “Good for You.” Loeb received an NMPA Gold Songwriting Award for her 1994 mega-hit.
Centricity Music Adds JJ Weeks Band
Pictured (L-R): Jon Poole, David Hart, JJ Weeks Band; Scott Brickell, Brickhouse Entertainment; Cody Preston, JJ Weeks Band; John Mays, Centricity Music; JJ Weeks; Jon Sell, Steve Ford, Chad Segura, Ben Stauffer, Centricity Music
Centricity Music has announced the signing of Christian group, JJ Weeks Band to its artist roster. The group’s seventh album is being produced by Jonathan Smith (Tim Timmons, Mia Fieldes) and will release early April 2016, with the first single going for adds at radio in February. The Macon, Georgia-based band is comprised of lead singer/songwriter JJ Weeks, bassist David Hart, drummer Jon Poole and guitarist Cody Preston.
The group’s 2013 produced the No. 9 song “Let Them See You,” on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart and remained on Billboard’s National Audience Chart for 29 weeks. The seasoned musicians have built a loyal following of fans for 12 years, touring over 120 dates a year.
LifeNotes: Songwriting Great Ted Harris Passes
/by Robert K OermannTed Harris. Photo: Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Ted Harris has died at age 78.
According to Hall of Fame executive director Mark Ford, Harris passed away on Sunday, Nov. 22. The Columbia Daily Herald reports that the songwriter died at his residence in Lewisburg, TN.
Among his best-known songwriting hits are Charley Pride’s “The Happiness of Having You,” Dottie West’s “Paper Mansions,” Ferlin Husky’s “Once” and the Glen Campbell/Steve Wariner duet “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.” The much-recorded country standard “Crystal Chandelier” is also a Ted Harris song. He is the most-awarded country songwriter in the history of SESAC.
Born Theodore Clifford Harris in 1937, the songwriter grew up in Lakeland, Florida. He began playing guitar at age 8 and was writing songs by age 12. After working at a local newspaper, he decided to move to Nashville at age 20.
He had no contacts in Music City, but his favorite star was Hank Snow (1914-1999), so he went to visit Snow’s publishing company, Silver Star. Snow turned the Harris-composed “Chasin’ a Rainbow” into a top-10 hit in 1959. He also recorded the songwriter’s “My Lucky Friend.”
Singer-songwriter-publisher Ted Daffan (1912-1996) became the Nashville newcomer’s mentor. Despite the encouragement of Snow and Daffan, Ted Harris worked in the grocery business during his first seven years in Nashville.
In 1965, Harris co-founded his Harbot Music Publishing company. Later that year, Carl Belew recorded “Crystal Chandelier,” which became a top-10 smash. The song was subsequently recorded by dozens of others, including Mac Wiseman, Louis Armstrong, Dickey Lee, Johnny Russell, Billie Jo Spears, Charley Pride, Warner Mack and Vic Dana, who made it a pop hit.
In 1966, Ted Harris scored with “Once,” which became a major hit for Ferlin Husky. Roy Drusky recorded “Rainbows and Roses.” Dottie West followed with 1967’s “Paper Mansions,” another big hit.
Ted Harris became one of the earliest members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) in 1968. The following year, he won the first of four consecutive SESAC awards as Country Songwriter of the Year.
“You and Me Against the World” became a hit for Bobby Lord in 1970. This song has also been recorded by Roy Rogers, and as a duet by Jimmy Dean & Dottie West (1970) and Jack Greene & Jeannie Seely (1973).
Similarly, Harris’s song “Here I Go Again” was a hit for Bobby Wright in 1971 and was subsequently recorded by Lynn Anderson, Del Reeves and Nat Stuckey. In 1972, Ted Harris collected a still unequalled 17 SESAC awards as both a songwriter and publisher. By this time, he had become a board member of the Country Music Association (CMA).
Charley Pride took the Ted Harris song “The Happiness of Having You” up the charts in 1976. It won SESAC’s Country Song of the Year award.
“The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (Rules the World)” became a 1987 smash for Glen Campbell and Steve Wariner. It won yet another SESAC award. Harris has 87 of these.
Others who have recorded Ted Harris songs include Crystal Gayle, Leroy Van Dyke, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, The Wilburn Brothers, Cal Smith, Conway Twitty, Floyd Cramer, Jerry Wallace, Ray Pillow, Kitty Wells, Wilma Burgess, Porter Wagoner, Vern Gosdin, Johnny Duncan, Charlie Louvin, Jean Shepard, Margie Singleton and Connie Smith.
Ted Harris is uncommon in that he wrote almost all of his hits solo. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990. He retired in 2001 and sold his publishing company to Sony-ATV. But he remained active on the Nashville scene, occasionally playing at songwriter showcases and pitching his catalog’s tunes.
Ted Harris is survived by wife Jackie, by sons Bradley and Joshua and by three grandchildren.
Visitation is scheduled for today (Nov. 24) at the London Funeral Home in Lewisburg, Tennessee from 4:00-8:00 p.m. The funeral service will be on Wednesday (Nov. 25) at the East Commerce Baptist Church in Lewisburg.