Glen Campbell photo courtesy of Big Hassle PR.

The Allman Brothers Band, Glen Campbell and George Jones are among the artists announced as recipients of The Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards. All three, along with Antonio Carlos Jobim, the Memphis Horns, Diana Ross and Gil Scott-Heron, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Dave Bartholomew, Steve Jobs and Rudy Van Gelder were announced as Trustees Award honorees and Celemony and Roger Nichols were named Technical GRAMMY Award honorees.

“This year’s honorees offer a variety of brilliance, contributions and lasting impressions on our culture,” said President/CEO of The Recording Academy Neil Portnow. “It is an honor to recognize such a diverse group of individuals whose talents and achievements have had an indelible impact on our industry.” Continue Reading

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David Nail's 2011 CD, The Sound of a Million Dreams. Photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

You could almost make the argument that the current trend of infusing R&B and soul into mainstream country has a little bit to do with the success of David Nail. Singles like the Top 10 hit “Red Light” or the Grammy-nominated “Turning Home” from 2009’s I’m About To Come Alive felt like they had more than a little in common with the classic southern blues sound of artists like Joe Cocker or the Allman Brothers Band, and yet they succeeded in connecting with the country audience.

On The Sound of a Million Dreams, David’s second studio album that’s due in stores next week, the Missouri native expands on the bluesy, soulful country of his previous efforts with tender songs full of young love, nostalgia and heartache.

Themes like these are found throughout contemporary country, and David settles right in with them on the album opener “Grandpa’s Farm.” Summer dresses, honeysuckle and bare feet all make an appearance as David sings about the city girl who visits her family’s farm when school’s out and it’s too hot to do anything but find a swimming hole. However, what sets David apart is the concept and delivery. Humidity practically steams out of the speakers with swampy slide guitar and B-3 organ over a loose rhythm section while David’s engaging drawl is at once soulful and complex.

David’s ability to study a specific moment and convey all the feelings involved is compelling. The first single off the album, “Let It Rain”(written by David and hit-maker Jonathan Singleton, and featuring Sarah Buxton on backing vocals), is a meditation on regret. Building off the steady syncopation of organ and percussion, David sings, No seven years of good can’t hide the one night I forgot to wear that ring, before begging for the punishment due with a ringing chorus of, Let it rain down on me. On the epic “That’s How I’ll Remember You,” David takes a seemingly opposite approach that reaches a similar result. Continue Reading

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Josh Turner photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Josh Turner was suffering from the last remnants of a head cold, but he didn’t let it dent his spirits.

Josh joined songwriters Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip as the men of the hour at a No. 1 party Tuesday at Rooster’s in Nashville, honoring his quirky, summer-themed hit, “All Over Me.”

Coming on the heels of “Why Don’t We Just Dance,” the song made Josh one of only six artists to notch a pair of No. 1 singles this year, according to Billboard. The significance of that moment was not lost on him.

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Lee Brice photo courtesy of Curb Records.

You know that big note Lee Brice hits in the middle of “Love Like Crazy”? Turns out, that’s exactly what Lee does. Big sound. Practically wall to wall.

The song, currently in the top on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, is the title track of Lee’s debut album, released June 8. He celebrated the project Wednesday with an album launch party at Nashville’s Tin Roof, just a few blocks from the home of his label, Curb Records. The crowd was, he noted several times, dominated by music-industry folks, though he was undeterred by their executive titles.

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Loretta Lynn photo courtesy of Interscope Records.

More than 100 trophies will be handed out on Sunday at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards to honor the best in music in 2009. Overlooked, but maybe just as important, are a few honors that recognize artists and musicians — including Loretta Lynn, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and guitarist Harold Bradley — for efforts that span a much broader scope of time.

The Dirt Band’s “Mr. Bojangles” has been added to the Grammy Hall of Fame, certifying it as a recording of long-term influence. Loretta and the late Roy Orbison are among the artists who will be hailed Saturday in Los Angeles with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards. That same night, Harold will receive a Trustee’s Award for his work as a session musician, studio owner and former president of the Nashville chapters of the Recording Academy and the Musicians Union.

As if that’s not enough, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame have both been featured in the news in the last week.

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Tim McGraw photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of Curb Records.

Tim McGraw releases his new Southern Voice album Tuesday, and in gearing up for the street date, he’ll appear this weekend with host Nan Kelley on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.

The album’s first single, “It’s A Business Doing Pleasure With You,” was written in part by Chad Kroeger of the rock band Nickelback, and his current hit, “Southern Voice,” namechecks such rockers as Chuck Berry, Tom Petty, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Allman Brothers. In fact, Gregg Allman will sit in with Tim when he performs “Southern Voice” on “The Jay Leno Show” Oct. 27.

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