Ramblin’ Tommy Scott
, billed as America’s last medicine-show performer, was buried on Friday, Oct. 4, in his hometown of Toccoa, Ga.
The 96-year-old Scott died on Sept. 30 as a result of injuries he sustained in an automobile accident on Aug. 10. He was a singer, songwriter, ventriloquist, comic, actor and show business entrepreneur.
He began his career on local radio in Georgia in 1933. When a medicine-show wagon stopped in Toccoa in 1936, Scott jumped aboard. It was a show that had been launched in 1890 by
“Doc” M.F. Chamberlain. When Chamberlain retired, he turned the enterprise and its medicinal formulas over to Scott.
Using music and comedy, Scott sold the liniment Snake Oil, the tonic Vim Herb and the laxatives Herb-O-Lac and Man-O-Ree for decades.
Tommy Scott moved to North Carolina in 1938 to perform on WPTF radio in Raleigh. On WWVA in Wheeling, WV he was billed as“Rambling Scotty” when he fronted
Charlie Monroe’s band The Kentucky Pardners. He moved to WSM and its Grand Ole Opry in 1940.
Back in Georgia, Scott became a country TV pioneer with the production of
The Ramblin’ Tommy Scott Show in 1948. He later had the syndicated television series
Smokey Mountain Jamboree.
In 1949, Scott starred in the movie
Trail of the Hawk. Other films he appeared in include
Mountain Capers,
Hillbilly Harmony and
Southern Hayride.
Tommy Scott recorded for such labels as King, Rich-R-Tone, Macy and Four Star. In the 1940s, he founded his own Katona Records company.
During his career, he wrote more than 500 songs, including the bluegrass favorite “You Are the Rainbow of My Dreams.” His most successful song was “Rosebuds and You.” It became a regional success for him in 1950, and was also recorded by
George Morgan,
The Willis Brothers and
Red Sovine. Fiddler/singer
Benny Martin had a country hit with the song when he revived it in 1963.
In the 1970s, Scott began billing himself as “Doc” and reemphasizing his medicine-show roots. He marketed a TV album and was featured by such national broadcasters as
Walter Cronkite,
Charles Kuralt,
Ralph Emery,
Oprah Winfrey and
David Letterman. Scott made multiple appearances on
The Today Show and
Entertainment Tonight. He brought his show to Nashville’s Fan Fair celebration in 1977.
Over the years, “Doc Scott’s Last Real Old Time Medicine Show” featured such stars as
Stringbean,
Curley Seckler,
Carolina Cotton,
Johnny Mack Brown,
Ray Whitley and
Randall Franks. Franks directed a 2001 PBS special about Scott’s life titled
Still Ramblin.’ He also co-wrote Scott’s 2007 autobiography
Snake Oil, Superstars and Me.
Ramblin’ Tommy Scott is a member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. He was pre-deceased by his wife and co-star
Mary Frank “Frankie” Thomas Scott. He is survived by daughter Sandra Scott Whitworth, sister Cleo Scott Cheek, nephew Benny Cheek, granddaughter Pam Lawson and great-grandchildren Craig and Corey Lawson.
Name Change, Restructure For NARM and Digitalmusic.org
/by Lorie Hollabaugh“The music industry has changed dramatically over the past decade, and NARM has been evolving along with those changes, bringing in more voices from the online and mobile industries with the creation of digitalmusic.org, as well as from other areas that were not traditionally associated with music retail,” said Donio. “More segments of the business than ever before now play an active role in the commerce side of the business, so the name ‘National Association of Recording Merchandisers’ no longer reflected everyone who can participate in the organization. ‘The Music Business Association’ makes it crystal clear – and for the first time in the organization’s history, the ‘M’ stands for music.”
The Music Business Association will be structured into several sectors designed to allow members to focus their activities and interests into areas relevant to their business functions and needs. The Digital Sector work group will be co-chaired by Christina Calio of Microsoft and Kevin Arnold of OpenAura, and will focus on seamless transition of the digitalmusic.org work groups business development, subscription, and digital marketing.
The Business Development work group will be helmed by Bill Wilson and Cindy Charles of Music Biz and will help spur on innovation in the field of digital music by reducing barriers to entry for startups, entrepreneurs and others interested in creating digital products and services around music.
The Digital Marketing work group will be co-chaired by Chuck Fishman of Acquia, and Lee Hammond of Universal, and will focus on coordinating the best practices for direct marketing and CRM for websites, such as tools, platforms, and strategic integrations that utilize the artists site as a hub for activity.
The Subscription Services work group will be chaired by Jack Isquith of Slacker and will focus on advocating the business of on-demand streaming and subscription services.
The Digital Supply Chain and Operations Work Group will be co-chaired by Chris Read of Sony DADC, and Shachar Oren of Neurotic Media, and will help streamline operations in the content supply chain and reporting process.
The Digital Asset Management Work Group, co-chaired by Maureen Droney of the Recording Academy and Paul Jessop of County Analytics, will help coordinate and standardize all non-recorded music assets relevant to the digital music chain, including artist images, credits, liner notes, and more.
The Knowledge Sector work group will be co-chaired by Jim Donio and Nicole Hennessey of Music Biz and will encompass areas such as events, published material and research, funding, etc.
The current members of the Board of Directors will remain in place, and six new seats have been added. Four of those new directors come from the former NARM Music Industry Advisory Council members. They are:
Brad Navin, The Orchard
Darren Stupak, Sony Music Entertainment
Matt Signore, Warner Music Group
Jim Urie, Universal Music Group
Aristo Int'l Report: British Country Music Awards, Q&A with Heather Cochran Cunningham
/by Jessica NicholsonView the report above.
The AristoMedia Group has released the October 2013 issue of its Aristo International Report. Highlights include:
AristoMedia has been issuing this quarterly review of global activities since 2008. Please click to view the newsletter online at aristomedia.com.
NaSHOF Names Executive Director
/by Jessica NicholsonMark Ford
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) has appointed industry veteran Mark Ford to the newly created position of Executive Director. In his new role, Ford will oversee strategic planning, fund raising, education, operations and brand development for the non-profit.
“It’s been a remarkable year for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation,” said Hall of Fame songwriter and NaSHOF Board Chair Pat Alger. “Following the celebration of the new Hall of Fame in the Music City Center, we are excited to welcome Mark as our organization’s first Executive Director. His long-standing personal relationship with our music community – and songwriters especially – coupled with his knowledge, experience and commitment to the Hall of Fame, make him the ideal person to lead us into the future.”
Prior to joining the Foundation, the South Carolina native spent 23 years at the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), most recently in the position of Associate Executive Director. During his time with NSAI, Ford worked closely with NaSHOF, directing the Foundation’s annual hall of fame induction dinner since 2001 and serving as that organization’s manager of affairs since 2004.
“I’m honored to represent this hall of fame and such an amazing group of songwriters,” said Ford. “The creative genius of these talented men and women has influenced American culture, added to the nation’s economy and launched countless careers – all while marking the most memorable moments of our lives. I look forward to working with Pat and the board to preserve and promote such a unique songwriting legacy.”
Songwriting Competition Deadline Extended
/by Jessica NicholsonJudges for this year’s ISC include Martina McBride, Josh Turner, Florida Georgia Line, Craig Morgan, Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show), Jeremy Camp, Michael W. Smith, Selena Gomez, Jimmy Needham, Matt Thiessen (Relient K), Imagine Dragons, Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC), Dido, Garbage, James Cotton, Keane, Robert Smith (The Cure), Bruce Hornsby, Tom Waits, Nas, Joshua Redman, Gerald Casale (Devo), John Mayall, Black Francis (The Pixies), Chayanne, Jason Isbell, Jon Secada, Anoushka Shankar and others.
ISC gives away a total of more than $150,000 in cash and prizes (including $25,000 cash for the Grand Prize winner alone), and gives songwriters opportunities in 22 different categories, including Adult Album Alternative (AAA), Adult Contemporary (AC), Americana, Blues, Children’s Music, Comedy/Novelty, Country, Dance/Electronica, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Gospel/Christian, Instrumental, Jazz, Latin Music, Lyrics Only, Music Video, Pop/Top 40, Performance, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Teen, Unsigned Only, and World Music.
Entry information can be found at songwritingcompetition.com.
America's Last Medicine-Show Performer Tommy Scott Dies At 96
/by Robert K OermannRamblin’ Tommy Scott
Ramblin’ Tommy Scott, billed as America’s last medicine-show performer, was buried on Friday, Oct. 4, in his hometown of Toccoa, Ga.
The 96-year-old Scott died on Sept. 30 as a result of injuries he sustained in an automobile accident on Aug. 10. He was a singer, songwriter, ventriloquist, comic, actor and show business entrepreneur.
He began his career on local radio in Georgia in 1933. When a medicine-show wagon stopped in Toccoa in 1936, Scott jumped aboard. It was a show that had been launched in 1890 by “Doc” M.F. Chamberlain. When Chamberlain retired, he turned the enterprise and its medicinal formulas over to Scott.
Using music and comedy, Scott sold the liniment Snake Oil, the tonic Vim Herb and the laxatives Herb-O-Lac and Man-O-Ree for decades.
Tommy Scott moved to North Carolina in 1938 to perform on WPTF radio in Raleigh. On WWVA in Wheeling, WV he was billed as“Rambling Scotty” when he fronted Charlie Monroe’s band The Kentucky Pardners. He moved to WSM and its Grand Ole Opry in 1940.
Back in Georgia, Scott became a country TV pioneer with the production of The Ramblin’ Tommy Scott Show in 1948. He later had the syndicated television series Smokey Mountain Jamboree.
In 1949, Scott starred in the movie Trail of the Hawk. Other films he appeared in include Mountain Capers, Hillbilly Harmony and Southern Hayride.
Tommy Scott recorded for such labels as King, Rich-R-Tone, Macy and Four Star. In the 1940s, he founded his own Katona Records company.
During his career, he wrote more than 500 songs, including the bluegrass favorite “You Are the Rainbow of My Dreams.” His most successful song was “Rosebuds and You.” It became a regional success for him in 1950, and was also recorded by George Morgan,The Willis Brothers and Red Sovine. Fiddler/singer Benny Martin had a country hit with the song when he revived it in 1963.
In the 1970s, Scott began billing himself as “Doc” and reemphasizing his medicine-show roots. He marketed a TV album and was featured by such national broadcasters as Walter Cronkite, Charles Kuralt, Ralph Emery, Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman. Scott made multiple appearances on The Today Show and Entertainment Tonight. He brought his show to Nashville’s Fan Fair celebration in 1977.
Over the years, “Doc Scott’s Last Real Old Time Medicine Show” featured such stars as Stringbean, Curley Seckler, Carolina Cotton, Johnny Mack Brown, Ray Whitley and Randall Franks. Franks directed a 2001 PBS special about Scott’s life titled Still Ramblin.’ He also co-wrote Scott’s 2007 autobiography Snake Oil, Superstars and Me.
Ramblin’ Tommy Scott is a member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. He was pre-deceased by his wife and co-star Mary Frank “Frankie” Thomas Scott. He is survived by daughter Sandra Scott Whitworth, sister Cleo Scott Cheek, nephew Benny Cheek, granddaughter Pam Lawson and great-grandchildren Craig and Corey Lawson.
Industry Ink (10-4-13)
/by Jessica NicholsonCountry performer Carrie Zaruba visited the Country Music Association offices to officially become the organization’s newest member. Zaruba’s latest single is “Woman On A Mission.” “I absolutely love everything about country music,” said Zaruba. “I’m thrilled to become a CMA member. I had a blast!”
Pictured (L-R): Brandi Simms, Director of Membership & Balloting; Carrie Zaruba; Brenden Oliver, Coordinator of Membership & Balloting. (Photo: Christian Botorff, CMA)
• • •
The Academy of Country Music welcomed Arista Nashville recording artists The Henningsens to the office while they were in Los Angeles last month. While at the Academy, the trio performed their Top 15 debut hit “American Beautiful” as well as their current single, “I Miss You.”
Pictured (L-R): Aaron Henningsen; Tiffany Moon, ACM Executive Vice President/Managing Director; Clara Henningsen; Brian Henningsen; Bob Romeo, ACM CEO. Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music.
• • •
Inside the Johnny Cash Museum.
The Johnny Cash Museum has landed at the top of both the Forbes and National Geographic must-see travel destinations lists. Forbes recently released a list of the Top 5 “Must-See” Nashville destinations, with The Johnny Cash Museum in the top slot. National Geographic published a list of the worldwide top four “Pitch Perfect Museums,” museums dedicated to a single musician. The Johnny Cash Museum earned the top placing, beating out the ABBA museum in Stockholm and the Kalakuta museum in Nigeria.
“It’s a great honor to receive the ongoing positive comments and rankings from top publications and organizations,” said founder Bill Miller. “It’s a tribute to and validation of Johnny Cash’s continuing popularity and our ability to honor him with a top notch venue in an amazing city.”
IBMA's World of Bluegrass Week Has $10 Million Impact
/by Jessica NicholsonThe $10 million estimate does not include local spending, nor does it include a multiplier of indirect or induced impacts.
The World of Bluegrass Week included the four-day IBMA Business Conference, the International Bluegrass Music Awards Show, Bluegrass Ramble and the two-day Wide Open Bluegrass Street Fest, which partnered with the N.C. Whole Hog Barbecue State Championships.
The events brought approximately 84,000 visitors from outside of Wake County to the area.
“To say that Raleigh ‘rolled out the red carpet for us’ is a bit of an understatement. It’s probably more accurate to say that they rolled out the carpet, bought new furniture, and built a new home for us. The work of the GRCVB, the Raleigh Convention Center staff, all the host hotels, city and regional government, the United Arts Council and a hard-working local organizing committee was evident in a number of ways great and small,” said Nancy Cardwell, executive director of IBMA.
Nashville Music Community Comes Together For Seneff Benefit
/by Lorie HollabaughJoel Seneff
Phil Keaggy, Petra, Kenny Marks, Rick Cua, Michael Omartian, Gordon Kennedy, and many other members of the Christian music community are coming together to perform at a benefit for Christian music attorney Greg Seneff and his wife Cheryl, who lost their 24-year-old son Joel in a tragic motorcycle accident in July.
“Sene-fit”–A Concert Of Love For The Seneffs will take place at 7 p.m. CT on Oct. 29 at Belmont Church on Music Row. Proceeds from the upcoming concert will go toward expenses associated with Seneff Jr.’s accident and funeral.
“Greg Seneff is a most beloved member of the Christian music community,” says concert promoter Brian Mason. “He has given selflessly of himself to so many. This opportunity to bless him and his wife is just a small token of how much we love Greg and his family.”
Tickets for the benefit go on sale Friday (Oct. 4) and are $20 for adults, $10 for children. Tickets will be available at the door or can be purchased online at brianmason.com/sene-fit.htm.
'MusicRow' No. 1 Song
/by Eric T. ParkerBlake Shelton
Warner Bros. Records artist Blake Shelton lands at this week’s MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart No. 1 spot with “Mine Would Be You.”
The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year sits atop the chart thanks to Canadian singer-songwriter Deric Ruttan and 2013 MusicRow Song of the Year award winners Connie Harrington and Jessi Alexander, who penned the title.
As one of the few ballads we’ve seen take the No. 1 title this summer, it has taken 17 weeks for the title to migrate to the position. Not to mention, Shelton’s wife Miranda Lambert is storming up the charts behind him with her RCA single, “All Kinds of Kinds,” in the same amount of time.
Shelton can currently be seen on Season 5 of NBCs The Voice, which premiered Sept. 23 and coincides with the end of his Ten Times Crazier Tour this weekend (Oct. 5) in Wichita, Kan. In addition to those weekly primetime slots on NBC, Shelton is nominated for five trophies in November at this year’s CMA Awards on ABC, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Musical Event of the Year and Video of the Year.
Shelton will appear on Nov. 22 as part of the 2013 George Jones Tribute Concert in Nashville, alongside a slew of additional guests who will honor the legend.
Jason Aldean To Hold "Concert For The Cure" Oct. 25
/by Jessica NicholsonJason Aldean
Jason Aldean will help celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with his eighth annual “Concert for the Cure” concert, which will be held Fri., Oct. 25 in New Orleans at his sold out 2013 NIGHT TRAIN TOUR stop at the New Orleans Arena. Throughout the year, Aldean sets aside 50 cents of each concert ticket sold, then selects one show market in October and donates all proceeds to their local Susan G. Komen Affiliate.
“Last year the Komen New Orleans team needed a little over $1 million to meet all their needs, but they were only able to fund about half of that,” said Aldean. “If we raise the half a million that we did last year in Dallas we’ll be able to help these women meet their goal and provide the services the town needs. I can’t wait to see an arena full of pink in support of such a great cause!”
Aldean has three nominations at the upcoming Country Music Association awards on Nov. 6 in Nashville, including his third consecutive Entertainer of the Year nomination. He is also nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year and Musical Event of the Year (for “The Only Way I Know” feat. Luke Bryan and Eric Church).