All posts in "CMA Close Up"

Nathan Lee Jackson photo courtesy of the CMA. Photo credit: Abigail Hadeed

By Bob Doerschuk
© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Nathan Lee Jackson nourished his talent with a regimen of piano lessons, church choirs, talent contests and opening slots at shows around Winchester, Ky. Moving to Nashville after high school graduation, he followed the well-trod path into the music business, though with two unusual advantages. The first was one of his roommates, Billy Strange’s former wife, who happily introduced the young newcomer to her industry friends. Continue Reading

The Oak Ridge Boys Photo Credit: Jarrett Gaza

By Bill Friskics-Warren

© 2009 CMA Close Up ® News Service / Country Music Association ®, Inc.

If anyone has proven the merits of the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” it’s The Oak Ridge Boys.

For more than 35 years, the internationally renowned quartet has been making hit records, collecting honors that include three CMA Awards and selling out concert halls with much the same ebullient blend of Country, pop and gospel — and, except for one late ’80s interruption, the same four voices.

So what’s with the version of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” on the quartet’s new Spring Hill Music album, The Boys are Back? And not just that, but what about the hip-hop-inflected rhythms on the title track and producer David Cobb’s blues- and rock-influenced arrangements elsewhere on the album? Continue Reading

Sarah Jarosz. Photo: Scott Simontacchi

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Music found its way early to 18-year-old Sarah Jarosz, beginning with solfège and ear training in kindergarten and culminating with her participation for seven consecutive years in the Organization of American Kodaly Educators National Honor Choir.

But her true muse came in the form of a mandolin, given by her parents one Christmas when she was almost 10 and living in Wimberley, Texas. Her proximity to Austin may have been the final ingredient in leading her toward American roots music. Continue Reading

Hank Williams Sr. and Ray Price. Photo: courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

By Deborah Evans Price

© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Ray Price could relax and look back on an incredible career. Instead, the Country Music Hall of Fame member is looking ahead. He’s starting his own record label, recording new music and performing for his enthusiastic fans.

But doesn’t he ever think about taking it easy, maybe doing a little fishing? “I’d be wondering why the hell I ain’t out there singing — that’s what I’d be doing on a fishing boat,” he said. “I love making music. It’s my life. I was born for it, I guess. I want to do it better and better and better and better. I’m not satisfied. I don’t think anybody should be.” Continue Reading

Gloriana photo courtesy of Emblem Music Group. Photo credit: Kristin Barlowe.

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Established through club gigs in North Carolina as a duo, brothers Mike and Tom Gossin moved to Nashville in 2007 and soon after hooked up with Rachel Reinert. Working now as a trio, they connected with Cheyenne Kimball, a member of the audience during one of their gigs at Nashville club 3rd & Lindsley; instrumentally as well as vocally, she proved the last ingredient in the sound of Gloriana.

They rehearsed for six months before sending a demo to Emblem Music Group. Matt Serletic, founder of the new record label, responded immediately, welcomed them to the roster and got to work lining up material for their debut album. Continue Reading

Holly Williams photo courtesy of Mercury Nashville. Photo credit: Autumn de Wilde.

By Tim Ghianni
© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

The blonde with the face that carries the delicate features of her grandfather likes to drop in to check out the goods in her upscale Nashville boutique, where boots that were dragged by a truck through Italian dirt go for $1,200-plus.

“I love it,” said Holly Williams, granddaughter of Hank, daughter of Hank Jr., talking about her Nashville store H. Audrey, whose stock of contemporary clothing and accessories ranges from those Golden Goose boots at the higher end to some $198 jeans on sale for $50. Audrey is her middle name as well as the name of her dad’s mother, the woman who inspired Hank Williams to compose some of Country’s greatest songs of heartbreak and love. Continue Reading

Justin Moore photo by Kristin Barlowe, courtesy of The Valory Music Co.

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

If you can make your past come alive through music, then you’ve got a gift that will serve you well. In this department, Justin Moore is amply blessed.

Case in point: Though written by Randy Houser and Jeremy Stover, Moore’s first single, “Back That Thing Up,” conjures how life must have felt back on the Arkansas farm where he was raised. Kids grew up there hunting, fishing, milking the cows and working the land — the kind of routine that feeds the good-natured, double-entendre swagger in this tale of a country boy as he introduces a city lass to the wonders of rural recreation. Continue Reading

Craig Morgan, with Duke and Jay Bush, graduates from Grill U. Photo courtesy of Bush's Baked Beans.

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

There were plenty of reasons why it made sense that Craig Morgan and Bush’s Baked Beans could form an ideal partnership of artist and product, each enhancing and benefiting from what the other had to offer. But for Morgan himself, none of it mattered if not for one essential truth.

“I love to grill,” he said. “I could probably try to sell something I’m not that into, but when I’m looking at potential sponsors or endorsements I try to affiliate myself with products I would use. I ride Kawasaki motorcycles. When I’m on a tractor, it’s my Case IH. I’m loyal to these products.” Continue Reading

Promotional collateral for Red Roof Loves Country. Courtesy of Rink Entertainment.

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Several years ago, seeking a better insight into their customer base, Red Roof Inn assigned its public relations and marketing partner, Florida-based Hill & Knowlton/SAMCOR, to look into the subject.

The results of the investigation were clear. “The Red Roof Inn customer is ‘gray-collar,’ not quite white- or blue-collar,” said Jim Rink, President, Rink Entertainment. “They don’t need to spend a lot of money. They don’t care about frills. And their passion lifestyle experience is dead on target with two areas: NASCAR and Country Music.” Continue Reading

Eric Church photo courtesy of Capitol Records Nashville. Photo credit: Jim Wright

By Vernell Hackett

© 2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

When Eric Church wanted to leave college to pursue music, his dad made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. “He told me if I’d graduate from college, he would pay for my first six months living expenses in Nashville,” the North Carolina native recalled. “I graduated with a degree in marketing and my dad was true to his word.”

That degree has paid off. Church’s sophomore album, Carolina, is out. He has already wrapped up the 37-stop first phase of “The Young & Wild Tour,” to resume in mid June. And his fan base, known as the Church Choir, is expanding not only because of their hero’s all-stops-out shows and originals-only sets but also because of where many of those shows take place – like, for instance, Lollapalooza. Continue Reading