Rodney Atkins has inked new contracts with longtime homes Curb Records and Curb Publishing. Since 1996, the partnership has resulted in four studio albums and six multi-week No. 1 hits.

“Mike Curb encouraged me to learn about songwriting, how to write songs, how to go in and produce those songs,” says Atkins. “He allowed me to get in the studio and experiment and learn the process. Hats off to Mike for really sticking with artist development for a long time—for believing in that.”

Curb adds, “Rodney Atkins represents everything that we believe in. Rodney worked with us for almost 10 years before his first major hit, and since that time he has had the Billboard No. 1 Record of the Year twice with ‘If You’re Going Through Hell’ and ‘Watching You,’ and his recent multi-week No. 1 record ‘Take A Back Road’ is one of the top three country records of the year in 2011.”

Hank Williams Jr. Photo: Michael Krouskop

Hank Williams Jr. performed an acoustic benefit concert at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Dec. 6, marking the close of a four-year run of Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy exhibit.

Hank Jr.’s performance infused personal memories and raised $75,000 to benefit the Hall. He also announced that many artifacts he loaned for the exhibition will stay in the museum and archives.

The 90-minute show included Williams’ own hits, youngest son Sam singing “The Blues Man,” new tunes from a forthcoming CD, and classics from Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.

Special guests in the audience included Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Williams’ wife Mary Jane, and children.

After the concert, Williams greeted audience members and posed for pictures in the Ford Theater. A reception followed in the Hall of Fame Rotunda, and fans received a signed poster commemorating the exhibit.

Family Tradition opened on March 28, 2008. Originally scheduled to close on Dec. 31, 2009, the exhibit became the most popular and acclaimed exhibition in the museum’s history and was eventually extended through Dec. 31, 2011.

Hip hop legends Beastie Boys are among the 2012 Rock Hall inductees.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland announced its 2012 inductees today. The 27th Annual Rock Hall Induction Ceremony will take place April 14, 2012 in Cleveland and premiere on HBO in early May. The ceremony will be again be open to the public, as it was for the 2009 inductions.

Performers being inducted include some of the 1980s’ biggest rock stars, like early hip hop outfit Beastie Boys, L.A. funk rock troublemakers Red Hot Chili Peppers, and hard rock legends Guns N’ Roses (the remnants of whom just played Nashville last Sunday, Dec. 4). 1960s Scottish psychedelic folkie Donovan also made the cut, as did English rockers The Small Faces, and its later Rod Stewart-fronted incarnation known simply as Faces. The late singer/songwriter Laura Nyro, responsible for penning hits such as “Wedding Bell Blues” and “Stoned Soul Picnic” for the 5th Dimension and many more, will also be honored. Blues legend Freddie King will be inducted posthumously as an Early Influence, thanks to the impact he had on Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Jeff Beck and countless other blues-based guitar players.

The Ahmet Ertegun nonperformer induction will be presented to veteran Don Kirshner, whose work as co-owner of Aldon Music published some of the Brill Building’s biggest songwriters including Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, and more. He additionally served as producer for The Monkees, and collaborated with Bobby Darin on many jingles and songs. He passed away earlier in 2011, at the age of 76.

Inductions for Musical Excellence go to New Orleans engineer Cosimo Matassa, who engineered and recorded music by Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew, Professor Longhair and many of the city’s finest R&B performers at his studio; Tom Dowd, who engineered and produced albums for Atlantic Records including Ray Charles, LaVern Baker, and Aretha Franklin among others; Engineer and producer Glyn Johns, who produced the Who’s Who’s Next, Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers and Faces’ A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse, in addition to the Eagles’ first three albums.

2012 Inductees:

Performer Category:
Beastie Boys
Donovan
Guns N’ Roses
Laura Nyro
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Small Faces/The Faces

Early Influence:
Freddie King

Ahmet Ertegun (nonperformer) Award:
Don Kirshner

The Award for Musical Excellence:
Cosimo Matassa
Tom Dowd
Glyn Johns

Webster & Associates Public Relations president Kirt Webster has announced the addition of music industry veteran Claire Cook as Senior Director, Publicity.

Most recently she served as an independent publicist through her own Cook Media & Marketing firm, where she worked with a variety of artists and projects such as Keni Thomas and City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge. Prior to that, she served as Director, Media/Artist Relations for Dreamcatcher Entertainment.

Cook earned a B.A. in Journalism from California State University, Northridge, and started her career at Capitol EMI/America Records in Los Angeles. She later joined Windsor Publications as a book publicist before moving to Nashville to work with Magnatone Records.

Reach her here or 615-777-6995 ext. 224.