Babbitt performs on "American Idol."
Renowned bass player Bob Babbitt died yesterday, July 16, in Nashville. His session work can be heard on countless classic recordings, including many as a member of revered group the Funk Brothers. He was 74 and had been battling brain cancer.
He was born Robert Kreinar in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and went on to become a member of the Motown Records studio band the Funk Brothers from 1966-1972. During this time Babbitt’s bass licks contributed to seminal hits “My Girl,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
During his career Babbitt played on over 100 million recordings, including the landmark songs “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder, “Mercy Mercy Me” and “Inner City Blues” by Marvin Gaye, and “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Babbitt moved to Nashville in the mid 80s and continued working here and elsewhere.
When The Funk Brothers were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007, Musicians Hall Pres. Joe Chambers stated, “The records that Bob played on have not only become hit records; they have become their own genre. Much like the music of the A Team became known as the Nashville Sound, the music of the Funk Brothers became the sound of Motown. There are very few musicians whose music has impacted so many generations with no signs of slowing down. Bob Babbitt and the Funk Brothers have done just that.”
Babbitt was honored with a star on the Music City Walk of Fame on June 5, 2012.
Pop/Rock Run-Down
/by Sarah Skates• A recent article in the Nashville Scene features Infinity Cat Recordings, the label started by Robert Ellis Orrall and his sons who comprise duo JEFF the Brotherhood. The band celebrates today’s (7/17) release of its major label debut with its first performance on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight.
• The Wallflowers’ Nashville recorded album Glad All Over will be released Oct. 2 by Columbia Records. Recorded at Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studio, the album was produced by Jay Joyce and mixed by Rich Costey (Bruce Springsteen). For the project, frontman Jakob Dylan was joined by band members Greg Richling, Rami Jaffee, Stuart Mathis and Jack Irons. Lead single “Reboot The Mission” is a Clash-inspired track featuring Mick Jones on vocals and guitar. The song will impact radio July 23 and will be available for free download beginning Tues., July 24 at www.thewallflowers.com.
• Nashville rockers Turbo Fruits have signed with Kings of Leon’s Serpents & Snakes Records, which will release Turbo Fruits’ new album Butter on Sept. 11. The group’s schedule includes a hometown show July 26 at Marathon Music Works with Guided By Voices. Turbo Fruits recently wrapped a 65-day tour with Deer Tick and is set for headlining shows this fall. The second single from Butter, “Harley Dollar Bill$,” can be streamed here.
• Mat Kearney is on the road with Train this summer, following almost a year of non-stop touring in support of his latest album Young Love (Aware/Universal Republic). The tour includes an Aug. 5 stop at Nashville’s Woods at Fontanel. The third single from Young Love, “Sooner or Later,” ships to radio this month.
ACM Honors Tickets On Sale Aug. 17
/by MichelleThe 6th annual ACM Honors will be held Sept. 24 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The evening of musical tribute performances and presentations celebrates the non-televised award winners from the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, which were held earlier this year in Las Vegas.
Host, presenters and performers will be announced later this summer. Tickets start at $37 and will be on sale at Ticketmaster.com and the Ryman box office starting August 17.
Special Awards Recipients:
MBI (Musician/Bandleader/Instrumentalist) Award Winners:
Industry Award Winners:
Songwriter of the Year Winner:
[Updated] Robert Plant Elopes with Patty Griffin
/by Eric T. ParkerPatty Griffin and Robert Plant. Photo: Amy Price
Update: E! News received word from Plant’s U.K.-based manager that the couple is not married. According to the manager, Plant was “being cheeky” when he made the remarks. “Robert has not married Patty Griffin. He was just referring to the fact that he’s been residing in Texas.”
Earlier this week Plant made international headlines when he told British newspaper The Independent that he “eloped” with songwriter Griffin, who is also a member of his Band of Joy.
“I eloped and ran off to Texas,” he told the paper. “So now I spend half my time there and half here.”
Griffin, 48, has had success as a songwriter and performer with hits recorded by the Dixie Chicks, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Jessica Simpson and Kelly Clarkson.
Plant, 63, was married to Maureen Wilson for 15 years before they divorced in 1983. They have three children together.
UMPG Signs Shane McAnally
/by MichelleUniversal Music Publishing Group has signed Nashville hitmaker, Shane McAnally and Smack Ink (ASCAP), to an exclusive, worldwide administration agreement.
McAnally has written hits for Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, Reba McEntire, Chris Young, Miranda Lambert, and Luke Bryan, to name a few. McAnally first gained recognition on the songwriting scene for co-writing Womack’s Top 20 single “Last Call.” Since then, he has used his talents to pen the No. 1 singles “Somewhere With You,” recorded by Chesney, and “Alone with You” recorded by Jake Owen.
Other tracks Shane McAnally has collaborated on include: “Neon” (Young), “Mama’s Broken Heart” (Lambert), “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” (Bryan), and Chesney’s current single “Come Over.”
McAnally also recently completed production on the debut album for Universal Music Nashville recording artist Kacey Musgraves (co-produced with Musgraves and UMPG writer Luke Laird).
(L-R): (front): Smack Ink's Robin Palmer, Shane McAnally, attorney Jason Turner; (back): UMPG Nashville VP Creative Cyndi Forman and UMPG Nashville Exec. VP/GM Kent Earls
Kip Moore Earns First Platinum Plaque
/by Caitlin Rantala“I can’t wrap my head around platinum,” Moore says. “I had a hard enough time wrapping my head around gold, so there’s no way I can wrap my head around platinum. It’s something that every writer and artist dreams to be a part of, something that is working like this.”
Earlier this month, Moore released his new single “Beer Money.” He is scheduled to perform its national television debut today (7/17) on TBS’ Conan.
“Conan is so special for me because when my sister was in her car accident and in the hospital for seven months, Conan was one of the few people who could make her smile,” he says. “She thinks he is so funny and so do I. I have always been such a fan of the show and him as a person. It’s definitely amazing to get to play on national TV with that many people watching, and I am so glad that this is the first late-night show I am playing.”
Moore has been touring extensively, performing his own shows and opening for Billy Currington and David Nail. He will join Eric Church’s The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour this fall.
Swift to be Honored with Ripple of Hope Award
/by Caitlin Rantala“Taylor Swift’s dedication to advocacy at such a young age continues to inspire me, and I’m delighted to honor her as one of our 2012 Ripple of Hope Award recipients,” said the center’s president Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Robert Kennedy.
Kennedy noted Swift’s support for arts education, disaster-stricken communities, and her fight against bullying and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) discrimination.
Past award honorees include President Bill Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bono, George Clooney and Vice President Al Gore.
Details on the event here.
Bassist Bob Babbitt Passes
/by Sarah SkatesBabbitt performs on "American Idol."
Renowned bass player Bob Babbitt died yesterday, July 16, in Nashville. His session work can be heard on countless classic recordings, including many as a member of revered group the Funk Brothers. He was 74 and had been battling brain cancer.
He was born Robert Kreinar in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and went on to become a member of the Motown Records studio band the Funk Brothers from 1966-1972. During this time Babbitt’s bass licks contributed to seminal hits “My Girl,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
During his career Babbitt played on over 100 million recordings, including the landmark songs “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder, “Mercy Mercy Me” and “Inner City Blues” by Marvin Gaye, and “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Babbitt moved to Nashville in the mid 80s and continued working here and elsewhere.
When The Funk Brothers were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007, Musicians Hall Pres. Joe Chambers stated, “The records that Bob played on have not only become hit records; they have become their own genre. Much like the music of the A Team became known as the Nashville Sound, the music of the Funk Brothers became the sound of Motown. There are very few musicians whose music has impacted so many generations with no signs of slowing down. Bob Babbitt and the Funk Brothers have done just that.”
Babbitt was honored with a star on the Music City Walk of Fame on June 5, 2012.
Bucky Covington Teams With Shooter Jennings, Kellie Pickler
/by Eric T. ParkerShooter Jennings and Bucky Covington
Bucky Covington tapped Shooter Jennings for his new self-produced single “Drinking Side of Country,” and recruited Kellie Pickler for the video. Now at radio, it is the first music available from his Sept. 11 sophomore release Good Guys.
The up-tempo party song, written by Covington, twin brother Rocky Covington, and friend Donald Medlock, was first recorded after it was written in 2010. Covington wanted to add Shooter Jennings to the track so he waited to release it. “Getting to produce your own music rocks, but being able to say you produced Shooter Jennings just takes it to a whole other level,” Covington said.
Covington and Jennings recently shot a video for the song in Greensburg, KY. The video will feature appearances by Pickler, TNA Wrestler Mickie James, and Motocross Freestyler and X Games medalist Cowboy Kenny Bartram.
Snapshots: Craig Morgan, Little Big Town, HER & Kings County
/by Caitlin Rantala(L-R): Sasha Alexander, Craig Morgan, and Angie Harmon. Photo: TNT/Doug Hyun
Craig Morgan will celebrate his birthday and make his scripted acting debut tomorrow (7/17), when he appears on TNT’s drama Rizzoli & Isles. Morgan makes a guest appearance as Dr. Billy Ray Higgins, a medical examiner who comes to Boston for the Bullet and Blast Injuries Symposium. While visiting, he helps Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander) with a murder case. Tune in to TNT to catch the premiere at 9:00pm ET. Learn more about the show and the episode here.
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(L-R): Jimi Westbrook; President Sandbox Entertainment & Little Big Town manager, Jason Owen; Karen Fairchild; Capitol Records Nashville SVP of Marketing, Cindy Mabe; Kimberly Schlapman; Creative Director, Raj Kapoor; Phillip Sweet
Little Big Town performed at the Rascal Flatts Changed tour stop on Friday night (7/13) at Dallas’ Gexa Energy Pavilion. Label and management team members joined them at the show.
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Florida Georgia Line Signs to Republic Nashville/BMLG
/by Eric T. ParkerPictured (L-R): Front Row–Big Machine Label Group Pres./CEO Scott Borchetta, FGL’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, Republic Nashville Pres./BMLG EVP Jimmy Harnen; Back Row – BMLG GM Andrew Kautz, Big Loud Mountain Partner/Florida Georgia Line Manager Kevin “Chief” Zaruk, Big Loud Mountain/Florida Georgia Line Manager Seth England, Big Loud Mountain Partner Craig Wiseman, BMLG VP A&R Allison Jones, and Big Loud Mountain Partner/Florida Georgia Line Producer Joey Moi. Photo: Ivan Clow
Earlier today (7/16), Florida Georgia Line inked its first major record deal with Republic Nashville/BMLG.
Monroe, Georgia’s Tyler Hubbard and Ormond Beach, Florida’s Brian Kelley recently released a digital EP, It’z Just What We Do on Big Loud Mountain, a partnership between Craig Wiseman, Joey Moi, and Kevin “Chief” Zaruk. The debut single, “Cruise,” has sold over 100,000 downloads to date. Republic Nashville will amp up promotion efforts for the title.
“Florida Georgia Line has built a gigantic army of loyal fans, one by one all across the USA and Canada! Their talent, energy and work ethic are second to none,” said Republic Nashville President and Big Machine Label Group EVP Jimmy Harnen.
The duo will maintain existing commitments on Jake Owen’s and Brantley Gilbert’s tours, and recently appeared on the Country Throwdown Tour.