When I started in radio I worked 3 PM until 11 PM Monday through Saturday. I turned the radio station off at 11 PM and cleaned up the office (and related littler offices, if you know what I mean) before I left for home. Today my hours are different.
Most people start their careers as journeyman. I have read that some starting as newspaper journalists begin by writing obituaries.
I am one of those weird people who read obits and visits cemeteries from time to time. I know that this sounds morbid but visiting grave sites is like reading abbreviated biographies.
The week before Independence Day I visited Arlington National Cemetery and a local cemetery here in Morgantown, West Virginia.
There are 300,000 stories at Arlington and some of them we know. President Kennedy, the Challenger astronauts and more heroes than I could ever list here.
The cemetery here in Morgantown includes the grave of Zacquill Morgan, who founded this city. I ran across the grave of Thomas F. Brooks who was born in 1770. He died in 1836. I stood above the grave of Mr. Brooks realizing that he was born before the Revolutionary War and died before the Civil War.
That made me stop and think about our history and to appreciate what we have done for the world in those 236 years.
Then just three days ago someone who has been part of almost everyone’s history died. Andy Griffith.
We talk about six degrees of separation but it was much closer here in Morgantown. You see, Morgantown was the hometown of Don Knotts.
And then as a Country Music fan we all appreciated what Mr. Griffith contributed to another West Virginian’s body of work. “Waiting on a Woman” was a great song but a spectacular video for Brad Paisley and Andy Griffith was the reason.
Raise your hand if you have ever watched The Andy Griffith Show. Or Matlock. And don’t forget that Andy was associated with Gospel and Country Music during his early career.
I am not here to write an obituary for Andy Griffith. I could never do that and you can find one online if you want one.
But what I wanted to do is say thanks to Andy, to Jack Lameier, to Frances Preston and Donna Hilley and Rusty Walker.
It has been a tough couple of months for those of us in and around Country Music. It should make all of us think about how much of a family we all are.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow.)
David Nail Suits Up For MLB All-Star Celeb Softball
/by Eric T. ParkerNail will join MLB greats Ernie Banks, Andre Dawson, Rollie Fingers, Ozzie Smith and Mike Piazza as well as Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet, Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm, Glee’s Chord Overstreet and Kansas City Royals favorites George Brett, Bo Jackson and Mike Sweeney. Other celebrity participants include US National Soccer Team captain Carlos Bocanegra, US Softball Gold Medalist Jennie Finch and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel.
“They get on the field to play hard – and they do,” says Nail of his fellow players. “I know I’m honored to get out there with those folks and play softball… because they’re not joking around, and that’s the best kind of game.”
ESPN will broadcast the Softball Game immediately after the Home Run Derby on Mon., July 9 at approximately 10:30 pm ET. It will also be available through ESPN3.com, ESPN Mobile and the Watch ESPN app. For more information visit www.allstargame.com.
Nail also recently announced the release of his digital EP later this month.
Charlie Cook On Air: Andy Griffith
/by contributorMost people start their careers as journeyman. I have read that some starting as newspaper journalists begin by writing obituaries.
I am one of those weird people who read obits and visits cemeteries from time to time. I know that this sounds morbid but visiting grave sites is like reading abbreviated biographies.
The week before Independence Day I visited Arlington National Cemetery and a local cemetery here in Morgantown, West Virginia.
There are 300,000 stories at Arlington and some of them we know. President Kennedy, the Challenger astronauts and more heroes than I could ever list here.
The cemetery here in Morgantown includes the grave of Zacquill Morgan, who founded this city. I ran across the grave of Thomas F. Brooks who was born in 1770. He died in 1836. I stood above the grave of Mr. Brooks realizing that he was born before the Revolutionary War and died before the Civil War.
That made me stop and think about our history and to appreciate what we have done for the world in those 236 years.
Then just three days ago someone who has been part of almost everyone’s history died. Andy Griffith.
We talk about six degrees of separation but it was much closer here in Morgantown. You see, Morgantown was the hometown of Don Knotts.
And then as a Country Music fan we all appreciated what Mr. Griffith contributed to another West Virginian’s body of work. “Waiting on a Woman” was a great song but a spectacular video for Brad Paisley and Andy Griffith was the reason.
Raise your hand if you have ever watched The Andy Griffith Show. Or Matlock. And don’t forget that Andy was associated with Gospel and Country Music during his early career.
I am not here to write an obituary for Andy Griffith. I could never do that and you can find one online if you want one.
But what I wanted to do is say thanks to Andy, to Jack Lameier, to Frances Preston and Donna Hilley and Rusty Walker.
It has been a tough couple of months for those of us in and around Country Music. It should make all of us think about how much of a family we all are.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow.)
Fleming to be Featured as Next “Poet & Prophet”
/by FreemanThe 90 minute program will begin at 1:30 pm and will be hosted by Museum Editor Michael Gray with recordings, photos, and film clips from the museum’s archive. Following the program, Fleming will sign Hatch Show Print posters. The program is included with admission and free to museum members.
Fleming’s long list of hit songs includes “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool,” “Smoky Mountain Rain,” “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed,” “Roll On Mississippi” and more. Her songs have been recorded by Crystal Gayle, Amy Grant, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, Tina Turner, and others. She has won over 40 BMI Awards, including three Songwriter of the Year Honors, and she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.
Brooks Sets Release Date For Solo Album
/by Caitlin Rantala“I made an album that really is close to my heart, and it’s a whole lot of fun,” shares Brooks. “For the most part, the music’s just…it’s kind of fun and games and hangin’ it out there and thinkin’ about gettin’ back in a lot of those clubs and festivals and gettin’ to play again. It’s like, you know, people come to enjoy themselves, and I think this album in a lot of ways is about that.”
The full track listing is below for New To This Town:
1. New To This Town (Featuring Joe Walsh)
2. Moonshine Road
3. Bring It On Home
4. There’s The Sun
5. Complete 360
6. My Baby
7. Tattoo
8. In The Right Place
9. Next To That Woman
10. Let’s Do This Thing
11. Closin’ Time At Home
12. She Knew I Was A Cowboy
Fans can pre-order New To This Town here.
On Tuesday, July, 10 Brooks will make his solo debut on the Grand Ole Opry.
Live On the Green Reveals 2012 Lineup
/by FreemanClockwise from top left: Alabama Shakes, Dr. John, North Mississippi Allstars
Live On the Green, Nashville’s free concert series held at Public Square Park in front of Metro Courthouse, has announced the lineup for its fourth season beginning September 6.
As previously announced, legendary New Orleans musician Dr. John will headline the season opener on September 6, supported by Jon Cleary and Moon Taxi. Other headlining highlights include beloved jam band North Mississippi Allstars on September 20 and red hot garage/soul band The Alabama Shakes on September 27. A full list of performers is included below.
“Live On the Green has grown into an incredibly popular concert series with thousands of people looking forward to it each year,” said Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. “Highly-talented singers, songwriters and musicians playing a variety of different genres is what Nashville is all about. I applaud Lightning 100 for bringing more of that to our city and for working hard for four straight years to make this such a successful event.”
The six week series, produced by Tuned In Broadcasting, Inc. in partnership with Mayor Dean’s office, takes place on Thursday nights through October 11. The shows begin at 5 pm.
2012 Live On the Green lineup:
September 6 — Jon Cleary; Moon Taxi; Dr. John
September 13 — Delta Spirit; Headliner TBA
September 20 — Roots of a Rebellion; Missing Cats Featuring John “JoJo” Hermann and Sherman Ewing; North Mississippi Allstars
September 27 — Fly Golden Eagle; The Apache Relay; Alabama Shakes
October 4 — HoneyHoney; Trampled By Turtles
October 11 — Yacht Rock Revue; Here Come the Mummies
Photos: Paisley, Young Professionals, Casey Donahew Band
/by Sarah SkatesBrad Paisley was honored to perform last night, July 4th, in the fourth annual Salute to the Military USO concert on the south lawn of the White House, hosted by President Obama and his family for troops and their families.
Brad Paisley onstage on the White House lawn. Photo: Ben Enos
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BMI welcomed the Young Music Business Professionals Networking Breakfast on June 27. The early risers were treated to waffles, breakfast casseroles, coffee, and a live performance from the up-and-coming trio Mockingbird Sun.
(L-R): BMI’s Julie Stuckey, Mockingbird Sun’s Truck Roley, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, Mockingbird Sun’s Charlie Berry, BMI’s Penny Everhard, Mockingbird Sun’s Brett Taylor, and BMI’s Bradley Collins. Photo: Drew Maynard
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The Academy of Country Music welcomed Casey Donahew and A.C. Copeland of the Casey Donahew Band for a recent performance at the organization’s Los Angeles offices. The hit Texas act released its fourth album, Double Wide Dream, in the fall of 2011. During the visit they signed up for the Academy’s complimentary one-year membership for emerging artists.
(L-R): Casey Donahew, ACM Sr. VP Membership and Industry Relations Michelle Goble, A.C. Copeland. Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of ACM
Music Video Debuts Take Humorous Approach
/by Eric T. ParkerZac Brown Band has released a humorous video for new single “The Wind,” which was directed and animated by Mike Judge (King of the Hill/Beavis and Butthead). “The Wind” appears on ZBB’s upcoming album Uncaged, which hits stores July 10 on Atlantic/Southern Ground.
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RPMentertainment artist Maggie Rose recently released a lyric video, which even includes an alpaca, for her new single “I Ain’t Your Mama.” The single was also the most added at monitored radio last week.
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A&M/Octone Records’ duo Miss Willie Brown, Kasey Buckley and Amanda Watkins, released the video for their debut single, “You’re All That Matters To Me.” The track, written by Robert John “Mutt” Lange and produced by Nathan Chapman, goes to radio July 9. The video was directed by T.K. McKamy and recorded at Nashville Autohaus.
“We had a specific vision for the video as far as fighting over a man and showcasing our humor and friendship. When the director, TK, came back with this hilarious treatment, we knew we wanted to work with him,” said Buckley. “It was such a rad shoot…a lot of laughing and playing tricks on each other, which is pretty much how every day on the road is for us.”
Weekly Register: Predicting An Up Year For Country
/by bossrossLooking at country in 2010 the first six months of album sales accounted for 43% of the year’s total. In 2011 that percentage was 44%. Country albums sales (physical and digital) YTD 2012 are 19.467 million. So averaging the half-year percentage for the last two years predicts 2012 year-end country sales will be 44.75 million or an uptick Y/Y of 4.26%.
So Weekly Register is officially guessing that country sales will end the year up about 4% and all genre sales will be flat.
Country Quarters: 21%-22%-22%-35%
Based on the above discussion, we can estimate that country sales for Q1, Q2, Q3 might total about 65% of the year’s sales (about 22% per quarter), leaving Q4 the herculan task of ringing up a whopping 35% of total annual sales. Now you can appreciate why sales departments work so hard to create special releases and marketing plans around the fourth quarter. That three month endcap on the year makes a lot of difference when they have to present sales numbers to the “higher ups” in Jan.
The Week’s Tonnage
Chris Cagle enters the country album list at No. 6 this week with almost 15k scans (37% digital). Higher up on the sales chain, Mr. Chesney saw week 2 sales of his Fishbowl release sink 68% to about 61k, while still keeping him afloat in the No. 1 position. Luke Bryan remains in the No. 2 spot again this week. His album has been on sale for 47 weeks, but still added almost 22k units to his RTD total of 1.225 million. Bryan’s label, “scrappy Capi” is obviously not throwing in the proverbial towel till the last merger document gets signed. That Murphy Rd. crew (with assists from Jackson and Church) proudly owns positions 2, 3 and 5 on this week’s Top 75.
The Top 200 list this week was a battle of the bands with Linkin Park edging out Maroon 5 for the No. 1 position with scans of 223k. Maroon 5 was close behind in no. 2 with 222k. Justin Beiber’s week two slide (about the same as Chesney) was 69% which landed the hearthrob in No. 3.
In country’s digital tracks arena Luke Bryan’s “Drunk On You” (77k units) remains on top, with Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” climbing from 4 to 2 (72k units) and Chesney’s “Come Over” sliding slightly from 2 to 3 with about 66k downloads. Keep an eye on Gloriana’s “(Kissed You) Good Night” which passes the 500k RTD mark this week as it inches from No. 10 to No. 9 (37k).
Zac Brown Band’s July 10 release, Uncaged, will be country’s next big platter-to-matter on the summer sales train. All aboard….
Vassar Receives Distinguished Virginian Award
/by Caitlin Rantala“This is an incredible honor,” said Vassar. “I am extremely proud to be a Virginian. The music and creative environment for me growing up in Lynchburg played a huge part in who I am today.”
“Most everyone knows Phil Vassar for his talents in songwriting and performing; he is legendary in that arena,” said Randy Smith of WSET-TV in Lynchburg. “But there’s much more to Phil than just his phenomenal music career. The impact that Phil has on the world around him, especially back in his home town of Lynchburg, is nothing short of remarkable, yet it is something that you will never hear him boast of.”
Smith listed numerous benefit concerts Vassar has performed to support his hometown, such as the annual events to benefit The Miller Home for at risk teenage girls. Smith concluded by saying, “Phil Vassar is the true definition of the person we seek to be the Virginia Association of Broadcaster’s Distinguished Virginian.”
Vassar is back on the road this week performing shows in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Wisconsin through the weekend. “Don’t Miss Your Life” is his current single.
Exile Preps Album Release and Single
/by Eric T. Parker“We continue to be very serious about our music,” commented Exile’s J.P. Pennington. “We feel that Airplay Direct gives us the platform we need to prove this to fans old and new – worldwide.”
People Get Ready is on Exile’s own Big Horse Records label, which is distributed digitally by GMV Nashville. The title cut is currently available for download at most digital retailers.