Nashville is a town that knows how to pay tribute to its real stars: the songwriters. A Number One party is designed to do just that, but when the recording artist that took it to the top of the charts is also one of the song’s creators… well, that’s the icing on the cake.
That was the case at the Number One party held Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at The Local in Nashville, where friends and family joined with members of the music industry to pay tribute to the writers of “My Boy,” the debut hit for Elvie Shane.
Elvie Shane hugs his “My Boy” co-writers (L to R): Nick Columbia, Lee Starr, Russell Sutton. Photo credit: Preshias Harris
“My Boy” came to fruition at the hands of songwriters Elvie Shane, Russell Sutton, Lee Starr and Nick Columbia. The story behind the song is a very personal one for Shane who recalled the writing session with his co-writers as they sat with their guitars on the back porch. At that time, none of them had song publishing deals or record label deals and were living pretty much “paycheck to paycheck.”
Lots of news about Country artists and songwriters, record labels, upcoming albums, singles and tracks, and all of it will be in the April 2022 edition of my column, Inside Track on Music Row, the longest-running country music column in the USA, published by Nashville Music Guide. Scroll down for a sneak peek at some of the news items already scheduled for the April column – and check out the March 2022 column, posted here at Nashville Music Guide, with my thanks to Amanda and her crew at NMG for always making the column look SO good!
Opry to celebrate life of Merle Haggard April 6
Merle Haggard in 21971. Photo: Wikipedia
The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate one of country music’s most influential artists, Merle Haggard, on the anniversary of both his birth and his death, Wednesday, April 6. Haggard was born on April 6, 1937 and passed away April 6, 2016.
The special Wednesday Night Opry will feature performances by just a few of the countless artists who have been influenced by the legend including Suzy Bogguss, his son Marty Haggard, Cody Johnson, Joe Nichols, Eli Paperboy Reed, and ACM New Female Artist winner Lainey Wilson, among others. Artists will perform Haggard classics as well as their own hits influenced by the Country Music Hall of Famer. Tickets for the “Opry Salutes Merle Haggard” Wednesday Night Opry are on sale at (615) 871-OPRY and https://www.opry.com. The special Wednesday night show is part of a special three-week run of Wednesday Night Opry shows during the spring break period. Wednesday shows are scheduled to return for an extended run this summer. The special Wednesday Night Opry can be heard on opry.com and https://wsmradio.com, SiriusXM Willie’s Roadhouse, and the show’s flagship radio home, WSM Radio.
If Gavin Lee feels totally at home in the Great Outdoors, the stage is quickly becoming his second home.
Gavin spent his formative years with his stepfather, working their farm under the hot summer sun in Florida, and hunting and fishing together in the Fall. It was during these years that Gavin developed his love of music, learning to play guitar in his early teens and listening to the local rock and country radio stations.
This is one of a series of interviews conducted during the 2022 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) in Nashville.
“The songs that influenced me were a lot of Brooks & Dunn, Travis Tritt, definitely a lot of Hank, Jr.,” said Gavin about his musical influences. “A lot of older country, but definitely a lot older rock as well. I’m kind of a big Poison and AC/DC fan and all that. As far as pushing me in one direction, so to speak, one song that stands out in my mind in particular was “Check Yes Or No” by George Strait. That was the song that pushed in the direction of country. Before that I was listening more to rock, because my parents were both big fans of rock and roll, but my mom was a huge fan of Alan Jackson, so I listened to a little bit of Alan Jackson and a whole lot of rock and roll!”
He graduated from Molly Hatchett and Lynyrd Skynyrd to feeling an affinity with the Country artists of the 1990s and the storytelling that was relatable to the everyday working man and woman.
New novel, co-written with James Patterson, drops March 7
by Preshias Harris
Dolly Parton has seen the music industry from both sides – the good and the bad – during her many decades as a performer, recording artist, hit songwriter and business entrepreneur. Now Dolly has joined forces with bestselling author James Patterson to write a novel, Run, Rose, Run, published March 7, 2022.
Dolly Parton and James Patterson appearing CBS Sunday Morning
The book is about a young singer-songwriter named Rose with her eyes set on fame and fortune in Nashville. However, she finds there is a darker side to the journey towards success in the world of entertainment and must guard a secret that could derail her blossoming career.
Interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning on March 6, Dolly revealed that she has experienced this ‘dark side’ in her own career, stating that there are: “people that will rip you off, they try to steal your songs, they’ll con you, they’ll do whatever. I have seen it all.”
Dolly will also be releasing an album of songs inspired by Run, Rose, Run, and (joined by Kelsea Ballerini) sings one of the songs from the album while hosting the 57th Annual Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards, streaming live on Amazon Prime Video, Monday, March 7 at 7:00 pm CST. Dolly hosts the ACM Awards with co-hosts Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett.
Find Run, Rose, Run at Amazon here and other book retailers. More about Dolly Parton at her official website here. @DollyParton #RunRoseRun
Preshias Harris is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available here. Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com
Hands up everyone who received their college diploma from Sir Paul McCartney? Anyone? Anyone? Step forward Alyssa Bonagura.
Attending the Paul McCartney Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts – and having the diploma placed in her hands by Macca himself – is just one of the notable moments in the unique career of Nashville-area native Alyssa Bonagura, an accomplished singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Her current release, “New Wings” is being followed by her newest song, the evocative “Paper Airplane.”
“It was three of the best years of my life,” said Alyssa, recalling her time in Liverpool. “I was looking for a school that specialized in music production, but I didn’t really find any in America that I was excited about. One day I was at a Christmas party with my parents and we met the English singer-songwriter Siobhan Kennedy who is from Liverpool. We were talking at the party and Siobhan said, ‘Have you heard of the Paul McCartney School?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding me? Paul McCartney has a school?’ She told me about it and the next day I applied. I told myself that if I was accepted that I would go. Well, I got accepted and I received a full scholarship from Sennheiser, the German audio electronics company. It was such a blessing.”
This is one of a series of interviews conducted during the 2022 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) in Nashville.
New project “Ambush” highlights her passion for western lifestyle
By Preshias Harris
Only a small handful of female Country artists – think Tanya Tucker and Taylor Swift – began their successful careers in their early teens and are still wowing audiences today. It’s time to add another name to that short but prestigious list: Mikayla Lane.
While still a ‘tween,’ Oklahoma native Mikayla recorded and released her debut EP, Rooftop Nights, and by the age of 13 she earned a spot on the talent roster of Ole Red (Blake Shelton), initially at the venue in Blake’s hometown of Tishomingo. She has now become a regular performer at all the Ole Red venues, including Nashville and Gatlinburg in Tennessee and Orlando, Florida. Quickly establishing a reputation as a must-see performer, Mikayla was soon playing notable venues including Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, OK, where she opened for Jon Wolfe and is that venue’s youngest opener to date.
This is one of a series of interviews conducted during the 2022 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) in Nashville.
Now – and still only sixteen years old – Mikayla has compiled an impressive catalog of original tunes that she has written and co-produced. She has released seven studio recordings including “Superman” that has racked up 80,000+ streams and counting. The music video for “Superman,” filmed in Tulsa, OK, premiered on CMT.com in October 2020.
Mikayla co-wrote and co-produced “Drive” in 2021, rapidly premiering in the Top 10 on the New Music Nashville Spotify playlist.
Single, “American Made,” cracks MusicRow chart; “Hippie @ Heart” set to follow
By Preshias Harris
A few decades ago, ‘Outlaw Country’ shook up the country music scene as personified by Waylon, Wille, Kris Kristofferson and David Allan Coe. Now along comes a new ‘bad boy’ of country music: Dakota Poorman who is happy to step outside the boundaries that surround many country artists.
‘New’ isn’t really the word to describe Dakota Poorman who has been earning his chops the hard way: playing gigs in bars and venues throughout the Northwest, surrounding his hometown of Maple Valley, Washington, and fronting the Dakota Poorman Band since 2010. However, he might be a ‘new’ name and a breath of fresh air in Music City.
This is one of a series of interviews conducted during the 2022 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) in Nashville.
Cranking up the excitement – and audiences – with what he describes as “Red, White and Blue Collar Country,” Dakota delivers his unique blend of country rock highlighted with banjo and fiddle that build on his influences as diverse as Travis Tritt, Bob Seger and The Marshall Tucker Band.
Sneak peek at March edition of Inside Track on Music Row
Catch up with what’s happening with my monthly column, Inside Track on Music Row, the longest-running country music column in the USA. You can read the entire column when it is posted at Nashville Music Guide. Meanwhile, click here to read the full February 2022 column, complete with photos, graphics, music links and more, at NMG.
Scroll down for a sneak peek at some news items set for the March column, featuring Elvie Shane, Cole Swindell, western artist Bobby Marquez, songwriter Steve Dorff, Scotty McCreery, The upcoming ACM Awards, and the launch of Country Rebel Records…
Elvie Shane’s “County Roads” a ‘most added’ song at Country radio
On the heels of his No. 1 smash hit “My Boy,” Wheelhouse Records singer/songwriter Elvie Shane’s new single “County Roads” launched at country radio, and immediately became one of the ‘most added’ songs of the week. Co-written by Shane with Dan Couch and Oscar Charles, his new single is full of untamed energy, flying like an unguided missile of passion down “County Roads” and paints a picture of Shane’s early days in Grayson County, KY. Listen to “County Roads” here.
“The story in ‘County Roads’ is the American graffiti that painted my coming-of-age years,” shared Shane. “Knowing where you came from is important to understand where you are and where you could go. All the full throttle mistakes made, lessons learned, and good times had are equally important. The choice for next single was a no-brainer after showing my better sides with ‘My Boy.’”
The Gold-certified “My Boy” is taken from Shane’s just-released debut full length album, Backslider. Shane is currently on his first-ever headlining My Kinda Trouble Tour. Dates, tickets, music and more here.
Cole Swindell’s Stereotype set for April release
Grammy-nominated multi-Platinum superstar Cole Swindell will release his fourth album, Stereotype, on April 8. Stereotype includes Swindell’s milestone, 10th career, multi-week No. 1 “Single Saturday Night,” as well as his current fast-rising single, “Never Say Never,” with Lainey Wilson. Produced by Zach Crowell, Chris La Corte, Jordan Schmidt and Michael Carter, Stereotype highlights Swindell as a hit-making songwriter across the project.
Kenny Chesney joined with friends and members of Nashville’s music business community to honor the writers of his 34th Number One hit, “Knowing You.”
It seems like forever ago, but Number One parties were a regular occurrence in Music City – sometimes several in a month – but concerns for the coronavirus put an end to the festivities. For those gathered at The Sutler in Nashville on January 25, it felt like a chance to reconnect and celebrate together.
(L to R) Kat Higgins, Kenny Chesney, Brett James, Adam James. Photo credit: Alister Ann
Clay Bradley, Vice President of Creative at BMI Nashville, opened the proceedings saying that Number One parties celebrate the milestones in the lives of songwriters and there would be more such celebrations as the music industry returns to normal.
Released in March 2021 on Blue Chair/Warner Nashville, “Knowing You” was written by Adam James, Brett James and Kat Higgins, and produced by Chesney and Buddy Cannon. It was the fourth single release from his 2020 album, Here and Now. The song marks the 26th Number One country hit for Brett and a first chart-topper for both Adam and Kat.
My column, Inside Track on Music Row, is the longest running monthly country music column in America. Catch the January edition at Nashville Music Guide here, along with photos, videos, links and more. Meanwhile, here is a sneak peek at just a few of the items I am working on for the upcoming column for February 2022. Scroll down to read them now…
Lady A’s new single is ‘a love letter to fans’
Lady A launches into the new year with their next single “What A Song Can Do” (BMLG Records), available now and impacting Country radio on January 31. The title track from their eighth studio album serves as a love letter to fans that is steeped in music’s power to get us through and has already garnered nearly 4 million on-demand streams.
Written by the group’s Charles Kelley with Ryan Hurd, Sam Ellis and Laura Veltz, “What A Song Can Do” also illustrates the patience and optimism the trio has taken from their years together and is available at all digital retailers here. “We have been overfilled with gratitude after releasing this album and we don’t take it lightly that after eight albums our music still resonates with so many people,” Kelley said. “This song is the summation of where our hearts are right now and how much music can really pull us through in times of need. We love writing songs about lost love and things like that, but I feel like our favorite material comes with a strong positive message.” More information here.
