Melba Montgomery. Photo: Courtesy of Robert K. Oermann collection
Regarded as one of the greatest female stylists of country music’s “golden age,” Melba Montgomery passed away on Wednesday (Jan. 15). She made her mark in Music City as a matchless vocalist as well as an enduring songwriting talent.
As a singer, Montgomery immortalized country’s all-time motherhood classic “No Charge.” She also became the hit duet partner of the legendary George Jones. Montgomery originated the delightful hillbilly romp “Something to Brag About” as a duet with Charlie Louvin. It was memorably revived by Willie Nelson and Mary Kay Place, among others. As a studio singer, she contributed harmony background vocals to recordings by Leon Russell, Randy Travis, B.J. Thomas, Emmylou Harris and other stars.
As a songwriter, she had more than 100 compositions recorded. Melba Montgomery wrote “We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds.” That 1963 hit duet with George Jones has since been recorded by more than two dozen other stars. She also co-wrote “What Do You Say to That,” which was a smash hit for George Strait in 1999. Her 1970 song “Don’t Keep Me Lonely Too Long” has been recorded by Connie Smith, Skeeter Davis, Eddy Arnold, Dottie West, George Jones and others. More than 50 different artists have recorded Melba Montgomery songs.
Melba Joyce Montgomery was a native of Iron City, Tennessee (b. 1938). She was raised near Florence, Alabama, as the daughter of a farmer fiddler and guitarist who taught singing in the local Methodist Church. Her dad gave her a guitar when she was 10 years old. When they weren’t working in the fields, the seven children all grew up singing harmonies and playing banjo, fiddle or guitar. Like Melba, her brothers Carl and Earl “Peanut” Montgomery also became successful country songwriters.
When she was 19, she travelled to Nashville to be in a 1958 talent contest staged by WSM radio, the home of the Grand Ole Opry. She won the contest. The Opry’s Roy Acuff was so impressed with her talent that he invited her to become the “girl singer” in his touring troupe. She remained with the superstar’s show for the next four years. Her first recording sessions were as a harmony vocalist on Acuff’s records for the Hickory label.
In 1962, Melba Montgomery was signed by United Artists Records and teamed with Jones for a series of landmark duets. The honky-tonk king had previously recorded duets with Virginia Spurlock, Jeanette Hicks, Brenda Carter and Margie Singleton. But Montgomery’s drawling, soulful, Southern-accented phrasing was the perfect foil for his distinctive, bent-note vocals. After the team hit the top-10 in 1963 with her song “We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds,” she debuted on the country charts as a solo artist with “Hall of Shame” later that year.
The Jones/Montgomery team charted five more times in 1964-67. She wrote or co-wrote a dozen songs for their six duet albums during that same time period, including “Simply Divine,” “Until Then” and “Lovin’ on Easy Street.” The first Montgomery solo LP appeared in 1964. Melba Montgomery was succeeded by Down Home, I Can’t Get Used to Being Lonely and Country Girl in 1964-66. She had top 40 solo country hits with “The Greatest One of All” and “Please Be My Love” in 1964.
She switched to the Musicor Records label, which is when she teamed with her second duet partner, pop star Gene Pitney. They issued their Being Together album in 1965 and scored a hit with “Baby Ain’t That Fine” the following year. Her next stop was Capitol Records, where she was teamed with Charlie Louvin. Their 1970-71 hits included the wildly witty Bobby Braddock song “Something to Brag About” and a country version of the Brook Benton/Dinah Washington R&B smash “Baby, You’ve Got What It Takes.” Her solo efforts for Capitol were not as successful.
But her songwriting remained much admired by her peers. During the next few years, Bobby Bare, Hank Williams Jr., Conway Twitty, Kris Krisofferson & Rita Coolidge, Bill Anderson, Roy Drusky, Del Reeves and others recorded her works.
Elektra Records signed Montgomery in 1973. She debuted on the label with the top 40 success “Wrap Your Love Around Me,” which she co-wrote. The following year, she performed Harlan Howard’s emotional “No Charge.” By the time she finished recording the motherhood anthem, she was weeping. So were the session musicians. The song hit No. 1 on the charts on Mother’s Day in 1974. Black gospel queen Shirley Caesar picked up the song to give it another hit version. Tammy Wynette and Johnny Cash are among the others who recorded “No Charge.”
“Don’t Let the Good Times Fool You” (1975), “Searchin’” (1975) and her version of the pop hit “Angel of the Morning” (1977) were her other top 40 successes of the 1970s. In 1977, Mary Kay Place and Willie Nelson brought back “Something to Brag About” and scored an even bigger hit with it than Montgomery did with Louvin 10 years earlier.
By 1986, Melba Montgomery had placed 30 songs on country’s popularity charts and released 26 albums — 17 solo efforts and nine duet collections with Jones, Pitney and Louvin. Her recording career was winding down, but she blossomed as a songwriter as she aged into her 50s and 60s. A host of country stars of the 1990s lined up to record her works — Patty Loveless & Travis Tritt, Tracy Byrd, Ricochet, Sara Evans, Emmylou Harris & Carl Jackson, John Prine, David Ball, Terri Clark, Randy Travis, The Derailers, Reba McEntire and Vern Gosdin, among them.
During that decade and for the next 20 years, she co-wrote with Music Row’s “young guns” — Jim Lauderdale, Kostas, Leslie Satcher, Billy Yates, Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley and their peers. In 1999, superstar George Strait hit it big with the Lauderdale/Montgomery song “What Do You Say to That.” Her songs also found favor with bluegrass music’s elite — The Lonesome River Band, Rhonda Vincent, Lost Highway, Grasstowne and more.
Montgomery published a cookbook in 1988 and issued additional solo albums in 1992, 1997, 2008 and 2010. She also appeared on Ralph Stanley’s award-winning, all-star 2001 CD Clinch Mountain Sweethearts. Following the death of her husband, guitarist/songwriter Jack Solomon, Melba Montgomery retired in 2015.
She was the mother-in-law of hit country producer Blake Chancey and is also survived by daughters Melba Jacqueline Chancey, Tara Denise Solomon, Diana Lynn Cirigliano and Melissa Solomon Barrett (and son-in-law and industry veteran Shane Barrett), by five grandchildren and by two great-grandchildren.
Arrangements are being handled by Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens Funeral Home. Visitation will be held there on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 11:30 a.m. with services to follow at 1:30 p.m.
Shelby Paul Exits Big Machine Label Group
/by LB CantrellShelby Paul
Shelby Paul has exited her role as Director of Communications at Big Machine Label Group after nearly a decade with the company.
During her tenure, Paul helped lead media campaigns for artists like Conner Smith, Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, Lady A, Brantley Gilbert, Rascal Flatts and Brian Kelley, among others. She also helped introduce rising talents Tiera Kennedy, Danielle Bradbery, Greylan James and Avenue Beat, whose viral hit “F2020” was named The New York Times’ Best Song of 2020.
Paul’s work extended to launching publicity efforts for Grammy Songwriter of the Year nominees Laura Veltz (2023) and Jessie Jo Dillon (2024/2025), with Dillon winning ACM Songwriter of the Year in 2024.
Her career has included roles in sports, TV, film, live events and philanthropy. A Central Michigan University graduate, Paul was named to MusicRow’s Next Big Thing directory in 2022 and served as a GRAMMY U mentor.
Paul’s next career move has not yet been announced. She can be reached at shelbyl.paul@gmail.com.
Jon Pardi Goes ‘Hollywood’ On Latest LP
/by Lorie HollabaughJon Pardi adds a new spark to his signature honky tonk sound on his upcoming fifth studio album, Honkytonk Hollywood, slated for release April 11 via Capitol Records Nashville. The title track from the new project, a grits-and-glitz tribute to the dual nature of Pardi’s life and mindset, is out now.
The 17-track collection features both tracks that ring with pristine, pure-country tenderness, and some that embrace fuzzed-out fiddles and soaring tripled guitars or grungy bass lines and bottomless grooves. Pardi worked with Jay Joyce for the first time as producer and stepped away from the traditional Nashville recording system on the new project, spending three solid weeks in the studio, building each track up from nothing, recording them with his own band.
“All my albums have been rock and roll with a country flare—this one keeps on rockin’,” Pardi explains. “It’s also the most grown-up record I’ve ever made, all my soul basically. Honkytonk Hollywood is for the Nashville that’s in my blood and it’s also a nod to my California roots. And right now, more than ever, I hope it’s a way to honor and lift up the people of my home state.”
Kicking off the album off in overdrive, “Boots Off” explodes from the speakers with a roadhouse-rocking stomp, representing the first of many hot-and-heavy love songs. Tracks like the grungy “Rush” fuses alt-rock attitude with howling vocals, capturing the swirling ecstasy of desire, while “Love the Lights Out” is a steamy soul rocker with slide guitar hooks and a throbbing pulse, and “She Gets to Drinking” sways with an intoxicating swing.
On other songs Pardi pushes boundaries even further sonically, with the current single “Friday Night Heartbreaker” pairing a tortured blast of hard rock with a sleek vocal. “Hey California” cruises down a Sunset Strip of ‘70s-style studio-rock sophistication with atmospheric guitars, and the slow-grooving “Don’t You Wanna Know,” highlights Pardi’s twangy vocals pleading for romantic reconnection through a cloud of mellow, new-wave pop.
“He Went to Work” is a tip of the hat to the steadfast fathers of the world, while “She Drives Away” leaves listeners with a lump in your throat. Pardi goes all-in on the moody “Gambling Man,” a busted flat warning to avoid his dice-rolling ways, and the two-stepper “Bar Room Blue” aches with a woozy, San Antonio swing. He closes out the latest set with “Kinda Wanna Keep It That Way,” a tranquil anthem with the easy strut of self-confidence from an artist who has fully bared his soul and done things his way.
“We did what we wanted, and it stands out because of it,” admits Pardi. “Taking the chance paid off, and I kind of want to keep it that way.”
Honkytonk Hollywood Track List:
1. “Boots Off” (Jon Pardi, Luke Laird, Wyatt McCubbin)
2. “Friday Night Heartbreaker” (Jessie Jo Dillon, Ryan Hurd, Josh Miller, Daniel Ross, Chris Tompkins)
3. “She Gets to Drinking” (Jon Pardi, Hillary Lindsey, Hailey Whitters)
4. “Gambling Man” (Josh Kear, Josh Miller, Chris Tompkins)
5. “Hey California” (Ben Johnson, Jordan Minton, Hunter Phelps, John Reno Prentice)
6. “Rush” (Jon Pardi, Ross Copperman, Brice Long)
7. “She Drives Away” (Zach Abend, Jimi Bell, Seth Ennis, Jordan Minton)
8. “He Went to Work” (Dan Alley, Brandon Kinney, Neil Medley)
9. “Last Call Thing” (Jon Pardi, Casey Brown, Luke Laird, Travis Wood)
10. “Honkytonk Hollywood” (Bart Butler, Benjy Davis, Jacob Paul Rice)
11. “Love The Lights Out” (Jon Pardi, Jimi Bell, Matt Dragstrem)
12. “Nice Place to Visit” (Pryor Baird, Billy Lawson, James LeBlanc)
13. “Hard Knocks” (Jackson Dean, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell)
14. “Don’t You Wanna Know” (Jon Pardi, Luke Laird, Hillardy Lindsey)
15. “Bar Room Blue” (Jon Pardi, Luke Laird, Josh Thompson)
16. “Who I Don’t Wanna Be” (Jon Pardi, Rhett Akins, Will Bundy)
17. “Kinda Wanna Keep It That Way” (Marv Green, Jeff Hyde, Brice Long)
Joe Clemmons Signs With Big Machine Music & Ryan Hurd
/by Madison HahnenPictured (L-R): Big Machine Music’s President Mike Molinar, Joe Clemmons, Big Machine Music’s VP Tim Hunze and Big Machine Records recording artist/Big Machine Music songwriter Ryan Hurd. Photo: Courtesy of Big Machine Music
Songwriter Joe Clemmons has signed a co-publishing deal with Big Machine Music and Ryan Hurd.
“Joe is a beloved writer in the community whose time has come!” shares Mike Molinar, BMM’s President. “His growth as a commercial songwriter has him poised to breakout and we consider ourselves lucky to be his publisher partners for this chapter of his career.”
“Joe is my one of my most trusted co-writers,” adds Hurd. “I truly believe he is about to breakout in a big way and I am so excited to continue supporting him as a publisher partner.”
An East Texas native, Clemmons began guitar lessons at 15 with John DeFoore, who also introduced him to songwriting. Now based in Nashville, Clemmons’ recent songwriting credits include “Goin’ Nowhere” (Hardy ft. Morgan Wallen), “Dark Night” (Warren Zeiders), “It Ain’t Austin” (George Birge) and “Rose Needs A Jack” (Gabby Barrett), among others. His co-written track “Wish For The World,” recorded by Hurd, received a 2020 AIMP Nashville Award nomination for Publisher’s Pick.
“Mike and his team have built an incredible culture of success at Big Machine Music and I’m honored to be a part of it, plus Ryan has always been one of my biggest champions making this a dream scenario,” says Clemmons. “I couldn’t ask for a better team.”
Russell Dickerson Extends ‘Russellmania Tour 2025’ Into Summer
/by Lorie HollabaughRussell Dickerson has added a round of dates to his “Russellmania Tour 2025,” extending into amphitheaters this summer beginning June 5.
Jake Scott and Niko Moon will support on select dates on the tour, which will visit Asbury, New Jersey, Boston, Indianapolis and more. Tickets for Round 2 are available now at RussellDickerson.com.
Dickerson has earned Platinum or better status on singles including “Yours” (three-times Platinum), “Blue Tacoma” (two-times Platinum), “Every Little Thing” (Platinum), “Love You Like I Used To” (Platinum) and “She Likes It” ft. Jake Scott (two-times Platinum). In 2023, he scored his fifth No. 1 with “God Gave Me A Girl.” His current single, “Bones,” marked the biggest radio debut of his career.
Newly-Added “Russellmania Tour 2025” Dates:
June 5 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17
June 6 – Asbury, NJ – Stone Pony Summerstage
June 7 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion
June 13 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater
June 14 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amp
CRS Releases Full 2025 Agenda
/by LB CantrellCountry Radio Seminar (CRS) has revealed its full agenda at a glance for CRS 2025, taking place Feb. 19-21.
The organization will continue to reveal talent lineups for various events and luncheons over the next few weeks. The CRS App is set to officially launch during the first week of February.
Tuesday, February 18, 2025:
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Express Badge Pick Up Only
Wednesday, February 19, 2025:
7:30 AM – 5:00 PM: CRS Registration Open
8:00 – 8:50 AM: Y’all Means All: Diversity Breakfast
9:00 – 9:50 AM: Streaming 101: Everything You Want to Know / DMS
9:00 – 9:50 AM: Know All the Sales Angles as a PD
10:00 – 10:50 AM: Stop Trying So Hard: Become a Better Content Creator
10:00 – 10:50 AM: Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork: Capitalizing on the Country Moment in Streaming / DMS
11:00 – 11:50 AM: Cycle of a Song: Ella Langley “You Look Like You Love Me”/DMS
11:45 AM – 12:00 PM: Pre-Lunch Performance Featuring Remy Garrison
12:00 – 1:50 PM: Lunch and Performance Sponsored by Warner Music Nashville
2:00 – 2:50 PM: CRS Honors
3:00 – 3:50 PM: Why Can’t We Be Friends: The Label, Radio, and Streaming Relationship / DMS
3:00 – 3:50 PM: Are You AI Curious?
4:00 – 5:00 PM: Programming Networking Happy Hour
6:00 – 8:30 PM: Amazon Music Presents Country Heat at CRS 2025
Thursday, February 20, 2025
8:00 AM – 4:30 PM: CRS Registration Open
8:30 – 9:20 AM: Sound Off: What Is “Mainstream” Country?
8:30 – 9:20 AM: Showcase Your Assets
9:30 – 10:30 AM: CRS Research Presentation
10:30 – 11:30 AM: Honky Tonk to TikTok: Country Music’s Wild Five-Year Ride by the Numbers
11:30 AM – 1:50 PM: Team UMG at the Ryman
2:30 – 3:20 PM: Cycle of a Song: Tucker Wetmore – “Wind Up Missin’ You”/DMS
3:30 – 4:00 PM: Sustaining Momentum: How to Turn Moments Into a Career / DMS
4:00 – 4:50 PM: Artist Interview: Old Dominion
7:00 – 9:00 PM: Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley Featuring Sponsored by Country Top 40 with Fitz, Skyview Networks, and First Horizon Bank, with Bar Sponsored by ASCAP
9:00 PM – 11:00 PM: BBR Music Group Decades Party: Hits of the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s & Beyond
Friday, February 21, 2025
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM: CRS Registration Open
7:30 – 8:45 AM: Women’s Networking Breakfast Sponsored by Nu VooDoo Media
8:00 – 9:00 AM / 9:00 – 10:00 AM / 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Workshop Alley: Skills That Kill/ Be an Extraterrestrial/AI
8:50 – 9:40 AM: Culture: The C Word You Should Say
8:50 – 9:40 AM: All Shook Up: AI’s Legal Impact on the Country Music Industry
10:00 – 11:00 AM: We’ve Got Some Help: How to Embrace Crossover Artists and the New Audience
10:00 – 11:00 AM: Artist Development: The Sparks Behind the Streams
11:10 – 11:40 AM: Evolving Your Playlist: F*#@ the Format
11:10 – 11:40 AM: 30 Sales Ideas in 30 Minutes
11:10 – 11:40 AM: Everyday I’m (Side) Hustling: Give Yourself a Raise
11:45 AM – 12:00 PM: Pre-Lunch Performance Featuring Robby Johnson
12:00 – 1:50 PM: Lunch and Performance Sponsored by BMLG
2:00 – 2:50 PM: Cycle of a Song: Dasha – “Austin”/DMS
3:00 – 3:50 PM: The Conversation: Eric Church and JellyRoll Get the Last Word at CRS 25
5:15 – 6:30 PM: New Faces Cocktail Reception
6:30 – 10:00 PM: New Faces of Country Music Dinner and Performance Sponsored by ACM and Charity Partner St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Online registration for CRS 2025 will close today (Jan. 17) at which point the cost will increase to the walk-up rate of $799, which can be purchased onsite at the Omni.
Industry Celebrates Parmalee’s Fifth No. 1 Hit
/by John Nix ArledgePictured (L-R, back row): Adrian Michaels, Josh Tomlinson, Matt Turner, Abram Dean, Greg Gallo, David Fanning, Andy Friday, Andy Sheridan, Kari Barnhart, Tom Luteran, JoJamie Hahr, Jon Loba; (L-R, front row): Scott Thomas, Matt Thomas, Josh McSwain, Barry Knox; Photo: Larry McCormack
BMI brought Parmalee and their team together on Wednesday evening (Jan. 15) to celebrate the group’s fifth No. 1 hit “Gonna Love You.”
Industry members, friends and family gathered inside the warm lobby of BMI before receiving an equally warm welcome from BMI’s Josh Tomlinson. Gathered on stage behind him were songwriters Abram Dean, David Fanning and Andy Sheridan alongside Parmalee’s Matt Thomas, Scott Thomas, Barry Knox and Joshua McSwain.
Tomlinson began by congratulating Parmalee’s Thomas, a co-writer on the track, along with manager and producer Fanning on their significant achievement of five No. 1s. He then turned the spotlight to Sheridan and Dean to present them with a custom Taylor guitar for penning their first No. 1 track.
Reservoir’s Greg Gallo was the first to speak, congratulating Parmalee with a commemorative plaque and a special donation in their name to MusiCares. Following Gallo, Concord’s Matt Turner took to the podium to speak about Dean, praising, “Abram is a dream songwriter to work with, he is talented, he sings his butt off and he is just an amazing friend.” Turner then joked, “I told him that after he has multiple No. 1s I am going to change his name to Abraham because he will be the father of many hits.”
To speak on Sheridan, Major Bob’s Andy Friday stepped up, saying, “The thing I look up to Andy the most for is the way he lives his life, it’s Jesus first, then his family and then his job. If you look behind the scenes, and look at his family, that is how you figure out someone’s true character and their work ethic and Andy has both.”
Other speakers included Sony Music Publishing’s Tom Luteran, Studio Bank’s Kari Barnhart, who presented a donation to The Mental Health Initiative in the crew’s honor, and Stoney Creek’s JoJamie Hahr and Adrian Michaels.
Of the songwriters, Sheridan spoke first, “When I was really young and wanted to quit piano lessons, my parents told me, ‘When you make a commitment you don’t quit.’ Thank you to my wife, family and Major Bob for not quitting on me. Most of all, thank you God for this blessing and thank you God that when you make a commitment you don’t quit.”
“I’m just glad I didn’t cry first,” teased Dean. “The word on my mind is thank you – thank you to Matt, David and my wife for keeping me sane as this song slowly worked its way up the chart for 60,000 weeks.”
Fanning spoke next, congratulating the songwriters, “For me, there is no better two people to have a number one with. These are two of the most hard working and talented guys I have ever worked with. I am in awe of y’all’s talent.”
Finally, Matt, Scott, Barry and Joshua closed out by thanking their co-writers, label, video production team and families, “Thank you so much to everyone in here who had a hand in making this song go No. 1 and everyone who stood beside us. We truly appreciate you.”
The Kentucky Gentlemen Ink With River House Artists
/by Madison HahnenPictured (L-R): Zebb Luster, Lynn Oliver-Cline, Derek Campbell, Brandon Campbell and Lance Houston. Photo: Jaime Bilotti
Twin brother country duo The Kentucky Gentlemen have signed a record deal with River House Artists.
“The second we met Lynn [Oliver-Cline] and the River House Artists team, we knew they truly believed in us and our vision,” says the duo. “We’re beyond excited for what’s to come with this next chapter of The Kentucky Gentlemen alongside River House. We can’t wait to continue to share who we are and our music with the world.”
The Kentucky Gentlemen have become one of Nashville’s most buzzed-about new acts, amassing over a million streams with their recent singles “Leave Right Now,” “Neon Cowboy,” and “Beg Your Parton.” With a rapidly expanding fanbase and growing respect from industry peers, the duo have spent the past year touring with The War & Treaty and collaborating on tracks with Will Hoge (“Can I Be Country, Too?”) and Fancy Hagood (“Better Man”).
Named one of GLAAD’s “New Voices in Country Music,” they’ve also earned spots on numerous “Artists to Watch” lists from outlets like NPR, BET and Nashville Scene. Their 2022 debut EP, The Kentucky Gentlemen: Vol. 1, received widespread praise.
“I first met Brandon and Derek at a Music City Bowl event in 2023,” shares Oliver-Cline, River House Founder. “After that, I kept seeing them everywhere…shows, interviews. Not only are they talented and hardworking, they are very country! And they represent a time in the genre that shows it’s a place for everyone to gather. I can’t wait for everyone to hear their record later this year and especially see a live show. It’s incredibly special and fun and we are honored to be their partner in the next phase of their career.”
Additionally, the duo released their newest track “Country Hymn” today (Jan. 17). The brothers co-wrote the track with David “Messy” Mescon, who also produced the single. The feel-good country anthem invites listeners to embrace their true selves, paired with a music video showcasing the duo dressed in their rhinestone-studded Sunday best.
“‘Country Hymn’ is our heartfelt anthem reminding us to return to the basics, embrace our roots and truly start extending each other’s grace in this world,” adds The Kentucky Gentlemen. “We feel that those values are timeless and we live by them. We cherish our roots and it feels amazing to tap even further into our love for country music with this song. ‘Country Hymn’ is our invitation to simply come as you are.”
Lainey Wilson’s ‘4X4XU’ Stays Atop The MusicRow Radio Chart
/by John Nix ArledgeLainey Wilson maintains the No. 1 spot the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart again this week with her track “4x4xU.”
The song is part of her fifth studio album Whirlwind and was written by Wilson, Jon Decious and Aaron Raitiere.
Last week, Wilson performed alongside Jelly Roll at Tennessee’s Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. The pair gathered to show their support for second chances, playing for over 300 active inmates.
“4x4xU” currently sits at No. 12 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and No. 7 on the Mediabase chart.
Click here to view the latest edition of the MusicRow Weekly containing the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart.
Country Star Melba Montgomery Dies At Age 86
/by Robert K OermannMelba Montgomery. Photo: Courtesy of Robert K. Oermann collection
Regarded as one of the greatest female stylists of country music’s “golden age,” Melba Montgomery passed away on Wednesday (Jan. 15). She made her mark in Music City as a matchless vocalist as well as an enduring songwriting talent.
As a singer, Montgomery immortalized country’s all-time motherhood classic “No Charge.” She also became the hit duet partner of the legendary George Jones. Montgomery originated the delightful hillbilly romp “Something to Brag About” as a duet with Charlie Louvin. It was memorably revived by Willie Nelson and Mary Kay Place, among others. As a studio singer, she contributed harmony background vocals to recordings by Leon Russell, Randy Travis, B.J. Thomas, Emmylou Harris and other stars.
As a songwriter, she had more than 100 compositions recorded. Melba Montgomery wrote “We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds.” That 1963 hit duet with George Jones has since been recorded by more than two dozen other stars. She also co-wrote “What Do You Say to That,” which was a smash hit for George Strait in 1999. Her 1970 song “Don’t Keep Me Lonely Too Long” has been recorded by Connie Smith, Skeeter Davis, Eddy Arnold, Dottie West, George Jones and others. More than 50 different artists have recorded Melba Montgomery songs.
Melba Joyce Montgomery was a native of Iron City, Tennessee (b. 1938). She was raised near Florence, Alabama, as the daughter of a farmer fiddler and guitarist who taught singing in the local Methodist Church. Her dad gave her a guitar when she was 10 years old. When they weren’t working in the fields, the seven children all grew up singing harmonies and playing banjo, fiddle or guitar. Like Melba, her brothers Carl and Earl “Peanut” Montgomery also became successful country songwriters.
When she was 19, she travelled to Nashville to be in a 1958 talent contest staged by WSM radio, the home of the Grand Ole Opry. She won the contest. The Opry’s Roy Acuff was so impressed with her talent that he invited her to become the “girl singer” in his touring troupe. She remained with the superstar’s show for the next four years. Her first recording sessions were as a harmony vocalist on Acuff’s records for the Hickory label.
In 1962, Melba Montgomery was signed by United Artists Records and teamed with Jones for a series of landmark duets. The honky-tonk king had previously recorded duets with Virginia Spurlock, Jeanette Hicks, Brenda Carter and Margie Singleton. But Montgomery’s drawling, soulful, Southern-accented phrasing was the perfect foil for his distinctive, bent-note vocals. After the team hit the top-10 in 1963 with her song “We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds,” she debuted on the country charts as a solo artist with “Hall of Shame” later that year.
The Jones/Montgomery team charted five more times in 1964-67. She wrote or co-wrote a dozen songs for their six duet albums during that same time period, including “Simply Divine,” “Until Then” and “Lovin’ on Easy Street.” The first Montgomery solo LP appeared in 1964. Melba Montgomery was succeeded by Down Home, I Can’t Get Used to Being Lonely and Country Girl in 1964-66. She had top 40 solo country hits with “The Greatest One of All” and “Please Be My Love” in 1964.
She switched to the Musicor Records label, which is when she teamed with her second duet partner, pop star Gene Pitney. They issued their Being Together album in 1965 and scored a hit with “Baby Ain’t That Fine” the following year. Her next stop was Capitol Records, where she was teamed with Charlie Louvin. Their 1970-71 hits included the wildly witty Bobby Braddock song “Something to Brag About” and a country version of the Brook Benton/Dinah Washington R&B smash “Baby, You’ve Got What It Takes.” Her solo efforts for Capitol were not as successful.
But her songwriting remained much admired by her peers. During the next few years, Bobby Bare, Hank Williams Jr., Conway Twitty, Kris Krisofferson & Rita Coolidge, Bill Anderson, Roy Drusky, Del Reeves and others recorded her works.
Elektra Records signed Montgomery in 1973. She debuted on the label with the top 40 success “Wrap Your Love Around Me,” which she co-wrote. The following year, she performed Harlan Howard’s emotional “No Charge.” By the time she finished recording the motherhood anthem, she was weeping. So were the session musicians. The song hit No. 1 on the charts on Mother’s Day in 1974. Black gospel queen Shirley Caesar picked up the song to give it another hit version. Tammy Wynette and Johnny Cash are among the others who recorded “No Charge.”
“Don’t Let the Good Times Fool You” (1975), “Searchin’” (1975) and her version of the pop hit “Angel of the Morning” (1977) were her other top 40 successes of the 1970s. In 1977, Mary Kay Place and Willie Nelson brought back “Something to Brag About” and scored an even bigger hit with it than Montgomery did with Louvin 10 years earlier.
By 1986, Melba Montgomery had placed 30 songs on country’s popularity charts and released 26 albums — 17 solo efforts and nine duet collections with Jones, Pitney and Louvin. Her recording career was winding down, but she blossomed as a songwriter as she aged into her 50s and 60s. A host of country stars of the 1990s lined up to record her works — Patty Loveless & Travis Tritt, Tracy Byrd, Ricochet, Sara Evans, Emmylou Harris & Carl Jackson, John Prine, David Ball, Terri Clark, Randy Travis, The Derailers, Reba McEntire and Vern Gosdin, among them.
During that decade and for the next 20 years, she co-wrote with Music Row’s “young guns” — Jim Lauderdale, Kostas, Leslie Satcher, Billy Yates, Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley and their peers. In 1999, superstar George Strait hit it big with the Lauderdale/Montgomery song “What Do You Say to That.” Her songs also found favor with bluegrass music’s elite — The Lonesome River Band, Rhonda Vincent, Lost Highway, Grasstowne and more.
Montgomery published a cookbook in 1988 and issued additional solo albums in 1992, 1997, 2008 and 2010. She also appeared on Ralph Stanley’s award-winning, all-star 2001 CD Clinch Mountain Sweethearts. Following the death of her husband, guitarist/songwriter Jack Solomon, Melba Montgomery retired in 2015.
She was the mother-in-law of hit country producer Blake Chancey and is also survived by daughters Melba Jacqueline Chancey, Tara Denise Solomon, Diana Lynn Cirigliano and Melissa Solomon Barrett (and son-in-law and industry veteran Shane Barrett), by five grandchildren and by two great-grandchildren.
Arrangements are being handled by Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens Funeral Home. Visitation will be held there on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 11:30 a.m. with services to follow at 1:30 p.m.
Red Street Publishing Adds Adam Hambrick, Ava Suppelsa To Roster
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R, back row): Red Street’s Amanda Roach, Kelly King and Alex Valentine; (L-R, back row): Red Street’s Jay DeMarcus, Adam Hambrick and Red Street’s Dan Crockett
Songwriters Adam Hambrick and Ava Suppelsa have signed with Red Street Publishing, the company founded by songwriter, producer and Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus.
Hambrick is a pastor’s son who found his voice singing in small country churches throughout Arkansas and Mississippi. While making the rounds playing college bars at the University of Central Arkansas, he caught the attention of Arkansas native and country star Justin Moore, who encouraged him to move to Music City. Hambrick has since penned No. 1s like Dan + Shay’s “How Not To” and Moore’s “Somebody Else Will,” and has had a plethora of cuts by Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Sara Evans, Walker Hayes, Maddie & Tae, Eli Young Band and more.
Pictured (L-R, back row): Red Street’s Amanda Roach, Kelly King and Alex Valentine; (L-R, back row): Red Street’s Jay DeMarcus, Ava Suppelsa and Red Street’s Dan Crockett
Suppelsa, a newcomer on the rise, brought her Chicago roots and Berklee College of Music education to try her hand in Nashville at just 19. Her wide range of musical influence has landed her cuts by artists like John Paul White, Keith Urban and Jamie O’Neal, and most notably tracks like Carly Pearce’s “Things I Don’t Chase,” Max McNown’s “Better Me For You” and Ryan Griffin’s SiriusXM The Highway’s No. 1 hit “Salt, Lime & Tequila.” Just a few years into her career, Suppelsa’s songs have amassed over 120 million streams.
“We could not be more excited to have Adam and Ava joining the Red Street team,” says Red Street Records and Publishing General Manager Alex Valentine. “These two are incredibly gifted songwriters, and Kelly [King], Jay and the entire team can’t wait to watch them continue to hone their craft and establish themselves as some of the best and brightest creatives in town!”
Hambrick and Suppelsa join Red Street’s roster of writers which includes Kelley Lovelace, Brian White, Ryan Griffin and newcomer Daymon Osborn.