BOBBY KARL WORKS THE ROOM
Chapter 432
I love a good pack rat.
That’s because I save everything, myself. But as of Wednesday evening (Aug. 7), I am officially taking a backseat to Reba McEntire. I mean, the woman still has certificates and report cards from grade school, for crying out loud. Not to mention every dress she’s ever worn.
All this and more was revealed at the opening party for her Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit, “Reba: All the Women I Am.” You’ll flip at the splendor and the detail of this display. And she plans to add more and different items during its run. I hope she doesn’t swap out the Reba “Barbie” doll or the Reba lunchbox, both of which are currently in one glass case. And both of which I covet.
“It gives me a great feeling to know that y’all came out to see all the stuff I’ve saved over the years,” said the superstar to the opening-night party crowd. “I’m a pack rat. Just like my Momma.”
The exhibit includes mementos from Reba’s film and TV career, awards statuettes, vintage family photos, leather boots and cowgirl competition ribbons. A large video screen shows historic footage from her life.
“This must be like an ‘old home week’ to you,” I said to Sandi Spika Borchetta, who designed many of Reba’s most fabulous gowns in 1987-2001. Many of the ultra deluxe ones are on mannequins in the cases. They include the infamous, spangled, sheer-bodice, plunging neckline red number worn at the 1993 CMA Awards.
Costumer Sandi has also designed several of the eye-popping outfits worn by Taylor Swift. The designer’s date to the party was hubby Scott Borchetta, who is Taylor’s label guru.
Other power couples at the soiree included Dwight Wiles & Diana Johnson, David & Karen Conrad, Ray & Polly (Roper) Edenton and Kitty Moon & Pat Emery, not to mention Reba and her husband/manager Narvel Blackstock. They mingled with such uber fabulons as Gary Overton, Rod Essig, Tony Brown, Jo Walker-Meador, Kye Fleming, James Stroud, Harold Bradley, John Huie and Nancy Jones (who reports that a George Jones exhibit at the Hall of Fame is under discussion).
Following cocktails, we repaired to the Ford Theatre for the welcoming presentation. CMHoF chief Kyle Young greeted the standing-room-only crowd and introduced a songwriters’ salute to the copper-tressed diva.
Phillip & Amber White performed “I’m a Survivor.” In addition to being a big country hit, Phillip’s co-written song served as the theme of the long-running TV sit com Reba. “I was scared to death,” said Amber, who had to sing it in front of its originator, one of country’s most iconic vocal stylists.
Songwriter Richard Leigh talked of being orphaned and raised by four fathers and three mothers through foster and adoptive homes. The experience led to him to co-write “The Greatest Man I Never Knew,” the Reba hit he performed. The superstar rose from her front-row seat to hug the tunesmiths who provided her with these hits.
The Band Perry, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton sent in congratulatory videos, which were screened for the audience. Young announced that Reba will be at the Hall on Saturday (Aug. 10) at 2:30 p.m. to be interviewed about her spectacular career by Michael McCall. Needless to say, this gig will be packed. On Sunday (8/11), the museum will air the documentary GAC’s Backstory: Reba McEntire at 2 p.m.
Upon exiting the Ford Theatre, we had the option of either immediately touring the exhibit or schmoozing and snacking in the Conservatory. We chose to start with the latter and avoided the crowd by going upstairs to tour the displays later. Hors d’oeuvres, designer salads, cheeses and pork carving stations awaited, not to mention the “Reba” cocktail (cranberry juice, orange liqueur and champagne) and the “Reba” cornbread muffins.
Working the room were Holly Bell, Hunter Kelly, Katie Gillon, Kay West, Bill Carter, Bill Denny, Bob Moore, Bob Paxman, Mike Milom, Ralph Emery, Chase Cole, Vernell Hackett, Bruce Bouton, Lon Helton, Whitney Daane, Don Light, Eric Parker, Leigh Reynolds, Kirt Webster, Sandy Knox, Jennifer Bohler, Chuck Dauphin, Barry Mazor, Victoria Shaw and Jeff Walker. Nancy cartoonist Guy Gilchrist talked of his lifelong love of songwriting. In case you haven’t noticed, the strip’s character Sluggo has become a songwriter this week.
“Thank y’all for all your love and support,” said Reba. “I hope you enjoy the exhibit….It’s just a little piece of my life, and you’re here tonight because you’re a part of it. I wouldn’t be here without you, and I wouldn’t want to be here without you.”
“Reba, we will love you forever,” responded Kyle Young. “This has been a joy…..Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Surrounded by memorabilia from some of the world’s most revered artists—ranging from Johnny Cash’s Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award to a photograph of Levon Helm’s Ramble at the Ryman—Jed Hilly sits in his office and ponders his role as executive director of the Americana Music Association. “My job is to help artists protect their inspiration, and that’s way over my head,” he muses humbly. “It’s the most exciting, thrilling job I could have ever dreamed of having. From day one I felt like, yes, it’s a trade association, but I work for the artists and my job has an educational function. The first thing was to sell more records, but also to embrace what it was as a genre and as a community of music loving fans.”
It may be a tall order, but Hilly has made leaps and bounds to boost Americana music’s profile since taking the reins of the organization in 2007. Membership is at an all-time high of 1800-plus, up from a 2008-09 slump of about 800. The organization’s flagship event, the Americana Music Festival and Conference, has grown from 56 acts on the official showcase lineup to 140 for the upcoming festival, running Sept. 18-22.
Hilly’s enthusiasm for the music he promotes is apparent as he holds the trophy Cash forgot to pick up at the association’s first awards show in 2002. Cash and wife June Carter Cash gave a surprise performance at the event at the Hilton ballroom, where the 200 people assembled didn’t know at the time they were witnessing the couple’s last public performance.
Now in its twelfth year, the Americana Honors and Awards has upgraded to the Ryman Auditorium. It is the centerpiece of the Festival and Conference, where offering quality performances is Hilly’s top priority. “Our event is to the music business what Sundance is to the film business,” he suggests. “What makes our festival different than other music festivals is that we curate the event. I think it’s important, because the moment you don’t, you lose control and money becomes the deciding factor as to whether or not an artist can perform.” He acknowledges that the downside to approving all performance slots often means sacrificing sponsorship dollars. But the association allows occasional exceptions, including partnering with the BBC for a co-curated showcase at the upcoming event.
The festival and conference operates on a shoestring budget, paying $150 across-the-board to showcase artists, regardless of stature. Operating modestly is possible thanks to artists and volunteers who are equally passionate. “A lot of the artists tell us it’s their favorite night of the year and they are busting their ass to make it happen,” says Hilly. “Buddy Miller [the awards show’s annual band leader] is working for two months putting this thing together.” Miller and awards show host Jim Lauderdale are among the few artists who participate every year, because when Hilly took over, one of his first orders of business was nixing artist performances in consecutive years. He also focused on attracting consumers by adding the word festival. “I realized we couldn’t build on an industry that’s crumbling, so we opened the doors to fans, added more showcases.”
Hilly has worked hard to brand the word and the genre Americana. “I consider Americana to be the umbrella that country, blues and bluegrass sit under. One of the raps surrounding Americana when I took the job in 2007 was ‘it’s country music that doesn’t sell.’ But I never heard that in the music, and never thought of this genre as country or even alt country.”
Two missions he successfully pursued were set in motion by his father, who pointed out that the word Americana wasn’t in the dictionary, and questioned whether or not the stalwarts the organization boosted would return the favor.
So Hilly tracked down Levon Helm, the iconic member of The Band, and went to his home in Woodstock, New York for one of his Midnight Ramble sessions. Hilly convinced the singer to bring the show to Nashville. “In 2007, he hadn’t left New York in over a decade,” Hilly recalls. “Our accountant said we could only survive three more months, so I asked Levon to do a Ramble at the Ryman [to raise money] and we shook hands in his kitchen. I consulted all the Nashville venue owners about bringing him down here for a concert—I was scared to death because I didn’t have a dime—and they all said we were going to lose our shirt. But the show was an enormous success and took us out of debt. It totally changed the course of the organization. We embraced Levon and he embraced us.” The respect fellow musicians had for Helm gave the Americana Music Association a newfound credibility, helping attract bigger artists including Lyle Lovett to that year’s festival.
Eventually, the work of Helm and Hilly came full circle with two Grammy wins. Hilly helped persuade the Recording Academy to add the Grammy category Best Americana Album, and later Best American Roots Song, both of which fall under the American Roots Music field. Helm’s Electric Dirt won the Best Americana Album award in 2010, the first year it was presented, and the live recording of his second annual Ramble at the Ryman won the trophy in 2012. That second happening included guests Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Sheryl Crow, Sam Bush and Billy Bob Thornton, and was broadcast on PBS thanks to video gurus Danny Petraitis and Martin Fisher.
Since then, the television deals have kept coming. Eventually the Honors and Awards landed on PBS’s Austin City Limits, and last year the show was picked up by AXS. In 2011, the word Americana was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Planting Roots
The organization, which Hilly proudly notes is “in the black for the first time,” recently moved to new office space at the Factory at Franklin. With five employees it had outgrown its digs in Nashville’s Berry Hill neighborhood. Though he initially grappled with leaving Music City, he is excited about building a “roots world headquarters” in Franklin, along with Sugar Hill Records, which also recently moved to the former manufacturing plant.
Hilly, who studied political science and history in college, is inspired by the story of the Franklin area’s early settlement, where he says European immigrants, American Indians and African slaves came together and played music. According to Hilly, it is where the banjo met the fiddle, and therefore a prime location to plant Americana’s roots.
Though Hilly doesn’t mind a little geographical separation from the country music capital that is Nashville, he’s equally keen on dissolving musical borders. To that end the Americana Music Association is developing the Cross County Lines Festival, which will be held in Franklin at a future date. “It will be a one-day community event, a celebration of the music and culture of this incredible region,” says Hilly. In June, Jerry Douglas and Alison Krauss teamed for a concert to raise seed money for the festival.
Hilly is also working with philanthropist Aubrey Preston (who started the Tennessee Trails & Byways driving tour) on the Americana Music Triangle, a tourism and history initiative. The series of driving tours will highlight places where music history was made. For two years Hilly and Preston have been visiting famous and off-the-grid sites ranging from the Louisiana home and memorabilia shop of Jerry Lee Lewis’ sister, to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, to the birthplaces of Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley.
Hilly Leaves New York For Nashville
The fiddle and banjo also collided as part of Hilly’s upbringing in 1960s Vermont, having as much impact on his youth as one of his favorite albums, Neil Young’s Harvest. By his late 20s he was living in New York City pulling double duty as a band member and its manager, securing gigs at CBGB and the like. When the band ran its course, his management skills landed him his first music business job. Starting in 1991, his quick rise through the ranks came thanks to cunning moves such as leaving a valuable baseball card on the desk of an executive who was a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan.
“I had seven jobs at Sony over 12 years,” Hilly recalls of his early career. “In the beginning, one of the bosses asked what I wanted. Because he was Italian, I told him I wanted someone to fly me to Italy, so I could eat well. He said, ‘good luck with that.’ Five years later I got a job as VP of International Marketing and took a flight to Milan and someone picked me up and took me to dinner. My Sony education was like graduate school. I worked from below the mailroom through distribution, label marketing, international marketing, IT development, Sony electronics and Sony film. I got to experience so many different aspects of the company. My last job there was part of a new division called the Digital Asset Management Group; our tag was ‘the Napster response team.’ I remember holding up a pack of cigarettes in the conference room and saying ‘if it doesn’t fit in this box, [consumers] don’t care.’ I almost got fired.” His tenure at Sony included overseeing regional distribution, working on Michael Jackson’s team of point people, and overseeing product for major rock act Creed.
Like many New Yorkers, the 9/11 terrorist attacks changed Hilly’s course, leading him to Nashville. “I was in London when the buildings went down,” he remembers. “And when I got home, it was too much. I had three children and I was living in Greenwich Village. I thought I had it all, and I kind of did. I had a great building and apartment with a garage. I would drive to dinner—nobody does that. After 9/11 I looked at Tennessee and decided to give it a shot. My kids’ mom is from here. Donna Hilley (no relation and former head of Sony/ATV publishing) hired me as a consultant after I moved. Her boss was Paul Russell, and he brought me and Donna together.” This wasn’t the first or last time the relationships Hilly established during his Sony years paid off.
In 2004, his experience and connections in international marketing landed him a job with publisher Barbara Orbison, who oversaw the work of her late husband and global icon, Roy Orbison. With years of experience to his credit, Hilly realized he still had room for growth. “Working with Barbara really got my engine going after working in the corporate Sony world,” says Hilly. “Her marketing ideas were a breath of fresh air. I remember her saying ‘we are not marketing Roy, we are just reminding them.’ From her, I learned about respect in music and respecting the players.”
Hilly’s wide spectrum of past roles contribute significantly to the success of his current post as worldwide purveyor of Americana. But of all the knowledge gained along the way, he says the most valuable is the importance of “relationships and respect—that you earn and that you learn.”

It’s time for a soul cleansing. Our journey begins this week at the Eastside Gospel Music Store on Gallatin Pike near Trinity Lane. Owner Jeffrey Wilford maintains a rack of CDs there by Nashville-based artists. It reveals that CeCe Winans, Take 6, Bobby Jones, BeBe Winans and The McCrary Sisters are merely the tip of a very large iceberg of local African-American religious singers. From that rack comes our Disc of the Day by the Rev. Lawrence Thomison. I bought the DisCovery Award winner there, as well. She is Karen Clark Sheard. Rounding out this Christian-music column are three of the genre’s mainstream stars. Among them is Jason Crabb, who is essential listening.
EVERETT DRAKE/Amen Goes Right There
Writers: Derrick Lee/Everett Drake; Producer: Derrick Lee; Publishers: Dherico/Alkian/Conexion, SESAC/BMI; DM (track)
-The title tune to Drake’s current CD is a big-production, synth-dominated ballad with socially conscious lyrics. A soaring choir answers his earnest tenor entreaties. This Nashville singer has performed as a backup vocalist for Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett, Donna Fargo, Barbara Mandrell, Brooks & Dunn, Brenda Lee, Wynonna, Eddie Rabbitt, Martina McBride and Garth Brooks and is a featured vocalist on the Bobby Jones Gospel TV show on BET.
DeWITT JOHNSON/Thou Art Holy
Writers: DeWitt Johnson; Producer: Daniel Miree; Publisher: none listed; Commandment
-His group The James Johnson Ensemble has earned a Gold Record and a Grammy nomination, and he has a local TV show that airs on Channel 5+ and Fox Channel 17. Johnson is noted for his songwriting ability, as this title track of his current CD reflects. His hoarse, urgent, penetrating vocal delivery suggests that he is a dynamic live performer. Recommended.
BENITA WASHINGTON/The Word Remains
Writers: D. Weatherspoon/B. Washington; Producers: Daniel Weatherspoon and Virgil Straford; Publishers: Spoonfed/MySymone; ASCAP; Shanachie (track)
-This soulful, funky, horn-punctuated track kicks off her CD with panache. Her wailing delivery remains pretty much at the top of her vocal range throughout the track. Fortunately, she tones it down elsewhere on the album.
REV. LAWRENCE THOMISON/Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Writers: T. Chisholm/W. Runyan; Producers: Jonathan Winstead & Chris Carr; Publisher: Hope, ASCAP; Lawrence (track)
-I have been a big fan of this guy ever since his days of recording for New Haven Records on Music Row. He remains a gripping, soul-piercing stylist on his current collection, Hymns of the Church. On this standard, he deploys superb vocal dynamics, ranging from a whisper to a hair-raising shout. A mighty, mighty man.
ELDER ZEEK McPHEE/Heaven Is My Home
Writer: Elder Zeek McPhee; Producers: Chris Carr and Jonathan Winstead; Publisher: none listed, BMI; EZM (track)
-This has an old-timey feel with its simple piano and hand-claps accompaniment. He pauses in mid-song for a spoken-word, “testifying” passage about his conversion as a boy in the Bahamas. Sincerity is the hallmark here, rather than vocal athleticism.

KAREN CLARK SHEARD/Favor
Writers: Israel Houghton/Aaron Lindsey; Producers: Karen Clark Sheard, Israel Houghton and Aaron Lindsey; Publisher: Integrity’s Praise/Aaron Lindsey, BMI; Word/Curb/Warner
-Most of Sheard’s It’s Not Over CD is recorded live. Among the three studio tracks is this lustrous ballad. As a singer, she is capable of both ecstatic, “in the spirit” shouting and the sweet, lilting, caressing delivery displayed here. In any mode, she is a powerhouse.
THE ORIGINAL VOICES OF NASHVILLE/There Is A Man
Writer: Howard Wilks, Jr.; Producer: Howard Wilks, Jr.; Publisher: none listed, BMI; HW (track)
-The Original Voices of Nashville are the Rev. Howard Kelly Wilkes, Howard Kelly Wilkes Jr., Chanita D. Caldwell and Carmelita D. Wilkes. They stir the soul on their CD. This title tune, for instance, boasts thumping rhythm and mesmerizing, call-and-response vocals featuring extemporaneous interjections and shout-outs from all four singers. Definitely back to church.
MATT MAHER/Lord, I Need You
Writers: Matt Maher/Jesse Reeves/Kristian Stanfill/Christy Nockels/Daniel Carson; Producer: Paul Moak; Publishers: Thankyou/EMI CMG/worshiptogether.com/sixsteps/Sweater Weather/Valley of Songs, PRS/ASCAP/BMI; Provident/Essential
-This Nashvillian is unusual in the CCM field in that he is Catholic. His CD All the People Said Amen collects 13 of his favorites, including this inspiring, intensely sung shout of praise that begins softly and builds to a crescendo. Dazzling.
STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN/Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
Writers: Louisa M.R. Stead/William J. Kilpatrick; Producer: Brent Milligan and Steven Curtis Chapman; Publisher: none listed; Cracker Barrel
-Christian superstar Chapman is marketing his Deep Roots CD via Cracker Barrel. It’s a collection of standards interpreted in acoustic arrangements that reflect his Kentucky childhood. On this lead-off track, he is accompanied by mandolin strums, keening fiddle and sighing dobro. Ricky Skaggs guests on “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” A refreshing change of pace for this always involving stylist.
JASON CRABB/Love Is Stronger
Writers: none listed; Producers: Jay DeMarcus, Ed Cash and Wayne Haun; Publisher: none listed; Gaither (track)
-This guy gets me every time. His searing tenor delivery is a burning arrow of soul power. On the title tune of his new CD, he sends shivers up and down your spine with each note. If you haven’t heard this man sing, you haven’t lived. Thrilling in the extreme.

A recent comprehensive study shows that Nashville’s music industry contributes $5.5 billion annually to the local economy, for a total output of $9.7 billion within the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The study, commissioned by the Music City Music Council, also showed that Nashville has more music industry jobs than any other U.S. city in relation to population and total employment, including New York or Los Angeles.
According to the study’s findings, Nashville’s music industry creates and sustains more than 56,000 jobs in the Nashville area, supporting more than $3.2 billion of labor income annually.
Other findings supported are the core employment in Nashville’s music industry per 1,000 population and per 1,000 total employment, which exceeds New York and Los Angeles by 2.5 to 4 times. Nashville’s density of music industry activity is up to 10 times greater than New York or Los Angeles and is currently 2 to 30 times greater than the nation overall.
The study highlighted opportunities for Nashville, including potential to become a top music education hub via a music consortium. Growing video and film industries work as sibling industries to the music business and music entrepreneurship is steadily growing (nearly 23 percent of Nashvillians are self-employed, a figure much higher than the 18 percent national level).
“Music is what Nashville is known for worldwide, and now this study further validates its importance as an economic engine for the city,” Mayor Karl Dean said. “It’s clear that Nashville’s ability to attract musicians and other creative people in the music community is unparalleled. This report gives us insight into what’s driving our success in this industry so that we can further build on what’s already working. The message we want to send to the world is: If you’re in the music business, this is the place to be.”
The Music City Music Council is co-chaired by Mayor Dean and Randy Goodman, a longtime Music Row executive. The study was conducted by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Research Center.
To view the full report, visit nashville.gov.