Tag: “Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame”

Kent Blazy Meets the Beatles

 in New releases, Reviews, Songwriters

By Ken Paulson –

It’s always a joy when an artist and songwriter is an unabashed music fan like the rest of us.

That’s certainly the case with Kent Blazy, whose new album From The Beatles to the Bluebird, is fueled by a love of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Blazy, a 2020 inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, has had an extraordinary track record, including writing “If Tomorrow Never Comes” with Garth Brooks, the Brooks hit “Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up” and  Chris Young’s classic recording “Getting’ You Home The Black Dress Song)”

The new album isn’t about Blazy’s hits of the last 30 years. Instead, it’s a full-throated celebration of the Beatles, songwriting and living a vibrant life.

Album opener “February 9th, 1964,” chronicles the night the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and inspired an entire generation to ask for guitars on their next birthdays. The song was co-written with Steve Allen, who also contributes vocals.

On the title track, Blazy draws a direct line from that night to his later success as a highly successful songwriter playing at the Bluebird Café, Nashville’s songwriting haven. On “Die Young,” Blazy tips his hat to Paul McCartney in his ‘80s, and offers these words of wisdom: “I want to die young at a very old age.” This should be the personal anthem for anyone with a senior discount.

The rest of the album is less Beatles-centric, but always fun and thoughtful. “Just Writing Songs” is a particularly upbeat song about how writing songs for the pleasure of it can sometimes bring unanticipated rewards.

Many successful songwriters reach a point where they set aside their art and just make regular trips to the mailbox for royalty checks, but there’s no slowing Blazy down. He still writes, performs and releases albums on a near-annual basis, still drawing on that magical night in February of 1964, as this new collection attests.

Rosanne Cash among four Songwriters Hall inductees

 in Nashville music

It’s my privilege to be a member of the board  of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in Nashville. It’s a remarkable organization that recognizes top songwriters who have either worked in Nashville, or whose careers have significantly intersected with Music City. You’ll find an interactive directory chronicling the inductees on the Hall’s website.

The Hall has just announced four new inductees, including Rosanne Cash, Mark James, Even Stevens and Craig Wiseman.  – Ken Paulson

The details from the Hall of Fame:

Rosanne Cash, Mark James, Craig Wiseman, Even Stevens

Rosanne Cash, Mark James, Craig Wiseman, Even Stevens

The four new inductees will join the 196 existing members of the elite organization when they are officially inducted during the 45th Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala on Sunday, October 11, at the Music City Center. 

“Nashville remains the primary destination for anyone with an appreciation of songwriters and the art of songwriting,” said Alger.  “Since 1970, the legacy of those great songwriters has been celebrated and preserved by the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.  Each year only a few are elected to this high honor, and this year we are proud to welcome the class of 2015:  Mark James and Craig Wiseman in the songwriter category; Even Stevens in the veteran songwriter category and Rosanne Cash as our songwriter/artist.”

Mark James’ songwriter credits include “Hooked On A Feeling” (B.J. Thomas, Blue Swede), “Suspicious Minds” (Elvis Presley) and “Always On My Mind” (Willie Nelson).  Craig Wiseman’s resume is known for “Live Like You Were Dying” (Tim McGraw), “Believe” (Brooks & Dunn) and “The Good Stuff” (Kenny Chesney).  Even Stevens is the tunesmith behind “Suspicions” and “Drivin’ My Life Away” (Eddie Rabbitt) and “Crazy In Love” (Conway Twitty).  Rosanne Cash popularized many of her own compositions, including “Seven Year Ache,” “Blue Moon With Heartache” and “Hold On.” 

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala is one of the music industry’s premier events of the year.  The evening features tributes and performances of the inductees’ songs by special guest artists.  In recent years artists such as Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffett, Emmylou Harris, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Marty Stuart, Taylor Swift, Josh Turner and Trisha Yearwood have performed at or participated in the event.  Fellow songwriters’ organization the Nashville Songwriters Association International also participates in the evening by presenting its annual awards for the year’s Best Song, Songwriter and Songwriter/Artist, as well as the Top 10 “Songs I Wish I Had Written” as determined by their professional songwriters division. 

Tickets for the Hall of Fame Gala are $250 each.  Select seating is available to the public and may be purchased as available by contacting Executive Director Mark Ford at hoftix@nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com or 615-460-6556.

Inductee Biographical Information

ROSANNE CASH has released 15 albums of extraordinary songs that have earned four Grammy Awards and nominations for 11 more, as well as 21 Top-40 hits, including 11 #1 singles.  Born in Memphis to legendary Country artist Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto, Rosanne’s second album was the landmark Seven Year Ache in 1981.  The self-penned song, “Seven Year Ache,” became a #1 record (her first), as did her “Blue Moon With Heartache.”  Co-writer Vince Gill also hit with two of their songs during the ’80s:  “If It Weren’t For Him” and “Never Alone.”  From that point, Rosanne’s albums would prove worthy vehicles for her considerable songwriting talent, as evidenced by “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me,” “Second To No One,” “Hold On” (the 1987 BMI Country Song of the Year), “If You Change Your Mind,” “What We Really Want” and “The Wheel.”  Her latest release, 2014’s The River and the Thread, received three Grammy Awards earlier this year. Additionally Rosanne has been selected as the 2015 artist in residence for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where she will perform three concerts in September.

EVEN STEVENS is a noted record maker, producer and graphic artist.  The Ohio native served in the U.S. Coast Guard, then settled in San Francisco to perform in the city’s nightspots as a folkie.  Back in Ohio, he was working as a graphic artist when an uncle persuaded him to come to Nashville to pitch the songs he’d been writing.  Hooking up with the then-unknown Eddie Rabbitt, Even began collaborating on songs that would soon make his friend a superstar: “Drivin’ My Life Away,” “I Love A Rainy Night,” “Step By Step” and “Suspicions” (BMI’s 1980 Country Song of the Year).  Even’s collaborations with others resulted in hits for artists like Dr. Hook (“When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman”), Conway Twitty (“Crazy In Love”), Ricky Skaggs (“Lovin’ Only Me”), Lacy J. Dalton (“Black Coffee”) and the Oak Ridge Boys (“No Matter How High”).  “Love Will Turn You Around” by Kenny Rogers was named ASCAP Country Song of the Year in 1982.

 

MARK JAMES grew up in Houston, Texas, along with B.J. Thomas, who was the first to make his songs hits.  By the late 1960s, Mark was signed as a staff songwriter to Memphis producer Chips Moman’s publishing company.  Moman produced Thomas’ versions of “The Eyes Of A New York Woman” and “Hooked On A Feeling” in 1968-69, and these became Mark’s debut songwriting successes.  He issued his own version of “Suspicious Minds” (also produced by Moman) on Scepter Records in 1968 before Elvis Presley made it a smash the following year using the same arrangement.  These songs, as well as hits such as “Sunday Sunrise” (Brenda Lee) and “Moody Blue” (Elvis Presley) were all created by Mark as a solo writer.  Mark also co-wrote the hits “It’s Only Love” (B.J. Thomas) and “One Hell Of A Woman” (Mac Davis).  One of Mark’s biggest hits came via Willie Nelson’s 1982 recording of “Always On My Mind.” A collaboration with fellow Memphians Johnny Christopher and Wayne Carson, that song – named 1982 Song of the Year for NSAI, the ACM and the CMA – earned the writers a pair of Grammys for Best Country Song and for Best Song.

 

CRAIG WISEMAN moved to Nashville in 1985 to pursue a songwriting career and by age 24 received his first cut by the legendary Roy Orbison.  Since then, the Hattiesburg, Miss., native has become one of Nashville’s most celebrated songwriters.  He was ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year in 2003, 2005 & 2007 and in 2014 earned the organization’s Heritage Award as its most-performed Country music songwriter of the past century.  In 2005, he received a Best Country Song Grammy for “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw.  That song also earned both ACM and CMA Song of the Year honors, as did his “Believe” by  Brooks & Dunn the following year.   Other hits from Craig’s catalog include “Summertime” and “The Good Stuff” by Kenny Chesney (2003 ASCAP Country Song of the Year), “Where The Green Grass Grows” by Tim McGraw, “Love Me If You Can” by Toby Keith, the AC hit “A Baby Changes Everything” by Faith Hill, “Hillbilly Bone” by Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins, “Boys ’Round Here” by Blake Shelton & The Pistol Annies and the Rock hit “Chalk Outline” by Three Days Grace.  To date, Craig has had well over 300 cuts, 100 singles and 21 #1s.

Schuyler, Shamblin, Bettis, Brooks and Jackson to enter Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame

 in Songwriters

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation announced today that Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, John Bettis, Tom Schuyler (pictured) and Allen Shamblin are its newest inductees.
(Full disclosure: Sun209: Americana Music Journal editor Ken Paulson is on the hall’s board and cast a ballot for nominees.)
The hall’s press release:

The five new inductees will be welcomed into the elite songwriting community by their peers at the41st Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony, presented by AT&T, on Sunday, October 16th at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.
“These five very talented individuals are among an era of powerhouse writers and artists who propelled country music to unparalleled heights beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and also made substantial contributions to popular and rock music,” said John Van Mol, chairman of NaSHOF. “We look forward to a fantastic evening of recognition for our inductees, and great entertainment for all who attend.”
Van Mol said the NaSHOF board of directors decided to increase the number of inductees this year to five from the traditional three, as has been done in some years in the past. “Songwriters and songwriter/artists with ties to Nashville have made our city the songwriting capital of the world,” Van Mol said. “This year’s inductees have greatly enhanced that reputation and are richly deserving of Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame honors.”
Bettis’ songwriter credits include Pop/Country crossover hits such as “Top Of The World” (The Carpenters, Lynn Anderson) and “Slow Hand” (The Pointer Sisters, Conway Twitty). Schuyler’s resume is known for hits such as “Love Will Turn You Around” (Kenny Rogers) and “A Long Line Of Love” (Michael Martin Murphey). Shamblin is the tunesmith behind “I Can’t Make You Love Me” (Bonnie Raitt) and “The House That Built Me” (Miranda Lambert). Brooks popularized many of his own compositions such as “The Thunder Rolls” and “The River.” Jackson created hits from many of his self-penned songs such as “Chattahoochee” and “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).”

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony is one of the music industry’s foremost events of the year. The evening features tributes and performances of the inductees’ songs by special guest artists. NaSHOF’s sister organization, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), also presents its annual awards for the year’s best Song, Songwriter and Songwriter/Artist, as well as the Top 10 “Songs I Wish I Had Written,” as determined by the professional songwriters division.

A 2011 inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York,John Bettis is the only songwriter of his generation who has repeatedly topped the Pop, Country, R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. His biggest Country hits include “Heartland” (George Strait), “Only One Love In My Life” (Ronnie Milsap) and “One Of A Kind Pair Of Fools” (Barbara Mandrell). His successes on the Pop hit parade include “One Moment In Time” (Whitney Houston), “Human Nature” (Michael Jackson) and “Crazy For You” (Madonna). “Top Of The World” topped both charts (Lynn Anderson, The Carpenters), as did his Nashville-written “Slow Hand” (The Pointer Sisters, Conway Twitty), while The Carpenters’ “I Need To Be In L ove” and “Yesterday Once More” topped the AC charts. The California native has been co-writing in Nashville since 1971 and has been a full-time resident since 1996.

Certified by the RIAA as the #1 selling solo artist in US history,Garth Brooks has sold more than 128 million albums and is the only solo artist in RIAA history to have six albums top the 10 million mark. His most recent release The Ultimate Hits has been certified 5x platinum. His body of work includes groundbreaking albums No Fences, Ropin’ The Wind, The Hits and Double Live – all of which helped propel country music as a genre to the front pages of newspapers and magazines worldwide. Since breaking onto the charts in 1989, Brooks has covered a variety of styles, including working class blues, honky tonk, bluegrass and arena rock. As a songwriter his credits include“If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “The Thunder Rolls,” “Unanswered Prayers” and“We Shall Be Free,” to name a few. Brooks has received every accolade the recording industry can bestow on an artist, inclu ding two Grammys®, 17 American Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, 18 Academy of Country Music Awards, five World Music Awards, 12 People’s Choice Awards, and 36 Billboard Music Awards. He was named Artist of the ‘90s at the 1997 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, received the Artist Achievement Award at the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, was named Artist of the Decade at the American Music Awards in 2000 and the Academy of Country Music Awards in 1999. In 2001, in the midst of one of the most successful careers in music history, Brooks retired and moved back to Oklahoma to raise his children. In 2008, Brooks headlined President Obama’s Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. In 2009, Brooks emerged out of retirement and entered a five-year performing relationship with Las Vegas resort developer, Steve Wynn. He recently finished an astonishing nine concerts to raise $5 million for the flood relief efforts in Nashville, Tennessee.

Alan Jackson’s songs are distinguished by straightforward, honest and back-to-basics Country sincerity. He has written or co-written 24 #1 songs for himself, including “Remember When,” “Good Time,” “Drive (For Daddy Gene),” “Don’t Rock The Jukebox,” “Where I Come From” and the career highlights “Chattahoochee” and “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).” “Chattahoochee” won a CMA Song of the Year award. “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” won Song of the Year honors from the CMA, the ACM and the Grammys. He was ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year in 1993, 1994 and 1998; Jackson was ASCAP’s Country Songwriter/Artist of the Year in 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2009; and in 2010 he was honored with the prestigious ASCAP Founders Award. Jack son was NSAI’s Songwriter/Artist of the Year in 1991, 1992, 2002, 2007 and 2008. In addition, he has penned or co-written hits for other artists, notably the #1 songs “A Better Class Of Losers” (Randy Travis) and “If I Could Make A Living” (Clay Walker). The Georgia native is a three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year and a member of the Grand Ole Opry – in fact, he’s one of the most-honored singer-songwriters of the last 20 years, with a total of two Grammys, 16 CMA Awards and 17 ACM Awards to his credit. Jackson’s songs span 13 studio albums, three hits collections, two holiday albums and a critically-acclaimed gospel album with combined global sales of nearly 60-million. He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2001. One of country music’s most-prolific songwriters, Jackson’s latest hit is “Long Way to Go,” the first singl e from his forthcoming debut album on EMI Records Nashville and his own ACR (Alan’s Country Records) venture. Recent credits also include “You’d Be Lonesome, Too,” from the new Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams project, spearheaded by Bob Dylan. Jackson completed the song based on original unfinished lyrics by the legend.

During his Nashville career, Bethlehem, PA native Thom Schuyler has worn many hats — A&R executive at RCA; recording artist for Capitol Records (solo) and for MTM Records (as a member of the trios S-K-O [Schuyler, Knobloch & Overstreet] and S-K-B [Schuyler, Knobloch & Bickhardt]) and songwriting instructor at Belmont University. Additionally, he is often credited as a founder of Nashville’s popular “in the round” style of songwriter showcases. After moving to Music City in 1978, Thom was signed to Eddie Rabbitt’s publishing company. In 1982, Thom’s “Love Will Turn You Around” (Kenny Rogers) was named ASCAP Country Song of the Year. Other songwriting credits include “I Don’t Know Where To Start” (Eddie Rabbitt), “A Long Line Of Love” (Michael Martin Murphey), “My Old Yello w Car” (Dan Seals), “I Fell In Love Again Last Night” (The Forester Sisters), “Years After You” (John Conlee) and “Love Out Loud” (Earl Thomas Conley). His “Point of Light” (Randy Travis) was the theme song for President George H.W. Bush’s volunteerism campaign. “16th Avenue” (Lacy J. Dalton) is the unofficial anthem of Music Row’s songwriting community.

Allen Shamblin was born in Tennessee but raised near Houston, Texas. He moved to Music City in 1987. He is noted for heartfelt sentimentality in such hit titles as “He Walked On Water” (Randy Travis), “In This Life” (Collin Raye) and “Life’s A Dance” (John Michael Montgomery), as well as hits such as “Thinkin’ Problem” (David Ball), “Walk On Faith” (Mike Reid) and “We Were In Love” (Toby Keith). His co-written “Don’t Laugh At Me” (Mark Wills) won NSAI’s 1998 Song of the Year. Among his Contemporary Christian cuts is the Dove-Award winner “It’s In God’s Hands Now” (Anointed). His biggest successes have come with Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-nominated Pop renditi on of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “The House That Built Me” (Miranda Lambert), which was named 2010 Song of the Year by NSAI, the ACM and the CMA.

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announces nominees

 in Songwriters

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its 2011 nominees, and the roster is extraordinary. (Full disclosure: I’m a member of the Hall’s board.)

Here’s the announcement that was released today:

Five highly successful artists and ten songwriters whose work has been recorded by some of the biggest names in popular and country music have been nominated for one of the nation’s highest songwriting honors – induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Amy Grant, Townes Van Zandt and Larry Gatlin are the 2011 nominees in the Songwriter/Artist category. John Bettis, Robert Byrne, J.J. Cale, Jan Crutchfield., Mark James, Dan Penn, Gretchen Peters, Tom Schuyler, Allan Shamblin and John Scott Sherill are the Songwriter category nominees.

“This is an amazing group of songwriters and songwriter/artists,” said John Van Mol, chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF), which owns and administers the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. “Every one of them is extremely worthy of induction, and it is our honor to place each of their names in nomination.”
Van Mol said the ballot seeks to recognize songwriters whose first significant works achieved commercial success and/or artistic recognition at least 20 years ago and who have “positively impacted and been closely associated with the Nashville Music Community and deemed to be outstanding and significant.” This year’s inductees will be announced in the coming weeks before the dinner, he added.

The 10 Songwriter Category nominees reflect multiple genres and eras:
John Bettis (“Slow Hand” by Conway Twitty/The Pointer Sisters * “Top Of The World”
by The Carpenters/Lynn Anderson)

Robert Byrne [1954-2005] (“Two Dozen Roses” by Shenandoah * “Rose Bouquet” by Phil Vassar)

J.J. Cale (“Cocaine” by Eric Clapton * “Call Me The Breeze” by Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Jan Crutchfield (“Statue Of A Fool” by Jack Greene/Brian Collins/Ricky Van Shelton * “Dream On Little Dreamer” by Perry Como)

Mark James (“Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley * “Always On My Mind” by Willie Nelson)

Dan Penn (“I’m Your Puppet” by James & Bobby Purify * “The Dark End Of The Street” by James Carr/Archie Campbell & Lorene Mann)

Gretchen Peters (“Independence Day” by Martina McBride * “The Chill Of An Early Fall” by George Strait)

Thom Schuyler (“16th Avenue” by Lacy J. Dalton * “Love Will Turn You Around” by Kenny Rogers)

Allen Shamblin (“I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt * “The House That Built Me” (Miranda Lambert)

John Scott Sherrill (“Nothin’ But The Wheel” by Patty Loveless * “Would You Go With Me” by Josh Turner)

The five nominees in the Songwriter/Artist category enjoyed some of their greatest successes with their own compositions:
Garth Brooks (“If Tomorrow Never Comes” * “Unanswered Prayers” * “The Thunder Rolls”)

Larry Gatlin (“Broken Lady” * “Statues Without Hearts” * “All The Gold In California”)

Amy Grant (“Baby Baby” * “Every Heartbeat” * “Tennessee Christmas”)

Alan Jackson (“Don’t Rock The Jukebox” * “Chattahoochee” * “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)”)

Townes Van Zandt [1944-1997] (“If I Needed You” * “Pancho And Lefty” * “White Freight Liner Blues”)

Two Songwriters and one Songwriter/Artist will be inducted at the NaSHOF’s annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony to be held Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. Tickets for the event will go on sale in late August.

For more information on each nominee, please visit: http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/2011/15-nominated-for-nashville-songwriters-hall-of-fame.aspx

About the 2011 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Ballot
The ballot was recommended to the board by the NaSHOF’s Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, which is comprised of Hall of Fame members and Music Row historians. Votes are cast by Hall of Fame members and Professional Songwriter members of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), as well as the boards of the NaSHOF and NSAI.

About the 2011 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony
One of the music industry’s foremost events of the year, the Hall of Fame Dinner features tributes and performances of inductees’ songs by special guest artists. In recent years artists such as Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffett, the Del McCoury Band, Emmylou Harris, Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson, Barbara Mandrell, Michael McDonald, Ronnie Milsap, Bonnie Raitt, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Marty Stuart, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, Gretchen Wilson and Trisha Yearwood have performed at or participated in the event. Also that same evening, NaSHOF’s sister organization, the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), presents its annual awards for the year’s best Song, Songwriter and Songwriter/Artist, as well as the Top 10 “Songs I Wish I Had Written,” as determined by its professional songwriters.

About the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation
Established in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit foundation dedicated to honoring and preserving the songwriting legacy uniquely associated with the Nashville Music Community. The Hall boasts 179 members, including songwriting luminaries such as Bill Anderson, Bobby Braddock, Felice & Boudleaux Bryant, Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Tom T. Hall, Harlan Howard, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Bob McDill, Roger Miller, Bill Monroe, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Dottie Rambo, Don Schlitz, Cindy Walker, Marijohn Wilkin, Hank Williams Sr. and Hank Williams Jr.