Will Jennings

All Clear Music and Fuji Music Group has acquired 100% interest of the publishing rights and writer’s share of songwriter Will Jennings’ catalog.

Jennings has penned timelessly beloved songs for an eclectic range of artists such as Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, Roy Orbison, B.B. King, Celine Dion and Tim McGraw, among others. His iconic hits include “Back in the High Life Again,” “While You See a Chance,” “Please Remember Me,” “Where Are You Christmas,” “Somewhere in the Night,” “Higher Love,” “Up Where We Belong,” “Tears In Heaven,” “Can’t We Go On Together,” “People Alone” and “Street Life.”

Jennings’ biggest hit remains the 1997’s Titanic theme “My Heart Will Go On.” The song, written by Jennings and composer James Horner and sung by Celine Dion, earned numerous Oscars, Grammys and Golden Globes, and became the most-played radio hit in history according to the Songwriter Hall of Fame.

Jennings was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York and The Texas Songwriters Hall of Fame in Austin.

Born in Kilgore Texas, and relocated to Tyler, Texas as a child, Jennings primarily loved the iconic blues songs influenced by B.B. King. He recognized that he couldn’t make a living writing three-chord songs about the blues, so he studied poetry and earned degrees that landed him a job as an Associate Professor of English and French literature at the University of Wisconsin. Jennings’ love of music overwhelmed his desire to teach, and he eventually decided to move to Nashville to write songs. That move caught the attention of music publisher Lance Freed.

“We signed Will Jennings to a publishing agreement with Almo/Irving Music publishing around 1974,” shares Freed, President of All Clear Music. “His work as a lyricist initially landed him several opportunities to write contemporary pop songs, and he began a collaboration with Richard Kerr (‘Mandy’). He moved on and wrote songs with notables like Joe Sample, Steve Winwood, B.B. King, James Horner, Jimmy Buffet, Roy Orbison, and Rodney Crowell.”

“Will’s catalog is so diverse and rich, it’s a publisher’s dream,” adds Darrell Franklin, SR VP of Sheltered Music, All Clear Music’s Nashville Division. “He excelled in whatever direction his musical muse led him. Whether it was pop, rock, R&B, country, the blues or music for film, he wrote songs that we have all come to know by heart. He was never bound by any specific genre.”

Ichi Asatsuma, Chairman of Fuji Music Group, adds, “We are very honored to represent one of the world’s finest songwriters with Lance Freed’s All Clear Music, and we will give his music the very best promotion and all the respect it richly deserves.”

Avery Anna. Photo: Ford Fairchild.

Avery Anna taps into her realest emotions when writing, spinning lyric ideas from her journal entries that date back through her childhood.

The singer-songwriter grew up playing sports in Arizona. In order to process the emotions that come with growing up, she turned to journaling, and then to music.

“Whenever something would happen in my life, I would just write about it. I didn’t even know, really, what I was doing,” Anna tells MusicRow. “The first time I ever started journaling, I was eight. When I got baptized at my church, my aunt got me a journal with a bunch of pictures of me on it. She said to write down how I felt so I didn’t forget about it. Ever since then, I’ve always just written it down.

“I would cram in music in any of the free time I had, like late at night and then early in the mornings,” she shares. “I was just doing sports while growing up. Then, when COVID hit, I was able to have the space to really create.”

Anna spent the pandemic season honing her skills, and sharing her songs and more with a growing audience on social media. Her videos of singing covers in her mother’s bathroom garnered lots of industry attention, and caught the eye of Parmalee‘s Matt Thomas.

“All of the stars have really aligned. I’m just so grateful to be here. I don’t even know how this happened to me. It was just so random—they plucked me out of Arizona and now I’m here,” Anna remembers. One of her early tracks to take off online was “Narcissist,” a deeply personal musing that Anna says hit the hardest.

“The whole journaling thing inspires all of my songs,” says Anna. “I could live without releasing them, really. I just wrote [songs] to get it off my chest. In releasing them, I feel like it’s created a space for people to share their stories, which is the goal for songwriting for artists.”

The RIAA Gold-certified “Narcissist,” written with Andy Sheridan, Ben Williams and David Fanning, gained even more traction when Kelly Clarkson covered it on her famed Kelly-oke segment on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

In June 2022, Anna signed with Warner Music Nashville. She released her debut EP, Mood Swings, later that year.

“Self Love,” a ballad co-written with Fanning, Andrew Goldstein, Ava Suppelsa and Zarni de Vette, marked Anna’s first release of 2023. “It’s [about] just being the people pleaser and giving and giving and giving—and then knowing that you need to love yourself and give yourself the time of day,” Anna explains.

Her latest single, “Worst In Me,” released Aug. 4. Co-written with Suppelsa and Danielle Blakey, features Anna diving deep into her emotions in real time. “I feel like I wasn’t really ready to let this person go in my real life. I didn’t want to write about it because that would mean that I had to move on.”

For Anna, the shift to becoming a touring musician was an adjustment, but has also brought a lot of joy. Being on stage keeps her motivated to interact with fans who are eager to hear her and share in her story.

“I was scared that I would hate it because [artists] have to tour, but I love it so much. Music has been such a safe place for me for my whole life. On the other hand, it’s really cool to create a space for other people to be who they are and feel how they feel.”

Online, Anna has racked up over 1.5 million followers and 35 million likes across platforms. She is releasing as many singles as she can for her fans, and is preparing for the release of her album.

The works of the late, legendary country photojournalist Alan L. Mayor are being presented in a one-of-a-kind exhibit crafted by the Bobby Hotel team, the Americana Music Association, MTSU’s Center for Popular Music and the Alan L. Mayor Estate at the Bobby Nashville.

The exhibition’s opening shot, Dolly Parton at the 1989 CMA Awards. Photo: Alan L. Mayor

Mayor’s extensive archive includes images of iconic country artists reflected through the decades of the country music industry. The exhibit, “The Collection: Alan L. Mayor: A Nashville Retrospective 1974-1999,” went on display Sept. 6 and will remain open through Jan. 6, 2024. The public exhibit is located within the common areas of Bobby Nashville, including the lobby, the Union Tavern Bar and restaurant, as well as the second floor. There is no admission fee.

From the 1970s, Mayor established himself on Music Row as the go-to photojournalist of the Nashville music industry, capturing the personal lives and careers of many Nashville artists before his passing in 2015. Over 60 of his photos are on display, and the exclusive retrospective takes viewers back to a time during country’s evolution as young talents were emerging.

Mayor’s lens captured the wild energy of the outlaw movement, the rise of artists such as Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, and countless other candid moments. Many of the images reflect iconic moments on stage, from Porter Wagoner’s bedazzled suits to a duet with Tammy Wynette and George Jones, while other photos capture more intimate moments behind the scenes such as Ricky Skaggs and wife Sharon White in the crowd at the Station Inn.

Mayor published a collection of photos, The Nashville Family Album, a Country Music Scrapbook during his career. His clients included The Tennessean, Nashville Banner, Billboard, MusicRow Magazine and many more.

Music Health Alliance (MHA)’s sixth annual “Heal The Music Day” has been set for Oct. 20. Music makers across all genres are invited to join Spotify, the Grand Ole Opry, Dave Matthews Band, Keith Urban, Dan Aykroyd, Alabama Shakes, Phish, Vince Gill, Lauren Daigle and more to raise awareness and funding in support of MHA, the music industry’s resource for healthcare.

Funded entirely through individual and corporate donations, grants and fundraising, the nonprofit has provided free healthcare advocacy, resources and mental health support to more than 20,000 working music professionals worldwide for more than 10 years.

Launched in 2017, “Heal The Music Day” is the brainchild of Grammy-winning artist and songwriter Rodney Crowell. Crowell is championing this year’s campaign to raise awareness and support for the emergent and ongoing medical, dental and mental healthcare needs of the music community—76 percent of whom are self-employed or part of a small business—many with limited resources, and often uninsured or underinsured for healthcare. In just six years, “Heal The Music Day” has raised over a million dollars  to provide a lifeline for those struggling with health or mental health issues in the music industry.

“Calling everyone who makes a living in the music industry and those who are passionate fans! We’re at a critical juncture and reaching out to you for your invaluable support. In the past year, our requests for assistance have skyrocketed by a staggering 50 percent, encompassing vital needs such as mental health support, medical bill negotiations, emergent dental care and end of life planning,” says Tatum Allsep, MHA Founder & CEO. “It’s a heartbreaking reality that many in the music industry are forced to make the agonizing decision between putting food on the table and accessing essential medical care. MHA refuses to let this continue, and your commitment to ‘Heal The Music Day’ is key to ensuring that no one in our music community faces such dire choices. Please let the music play and donate to ‘Heal The Music Day.'”

To become a partner in healing, industry members, businesses dependent on the industry and fans can pledge a percentage of a single day’s earnings or event to support MHA’s critical resources and help fellow creators in need.

For every dollar donated, MHA provides $30 in life-saving healthcare resources. Services are free to any person who has worked in the music industry for three or more years. Spouses, legal domestic partners and dependent family members may also qualify. For more information, click here.