NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – There are a dozen new members of the Musicians Hall of Fame. They include a legendary blues man, a British rock guitarist and a country singer. Country singer? It makes sense when the singer is Barbara Mandrell, who also plays the steel guitar. Buddy Guy and Peter Frampton were among the biggest names among the new inductees, which also include Randy Bachman. He played with The Guess Who and is the man who put the “Bachman” into Bachman Turner Overdrive.
Folk icon Pete Seeger, known for such social and political anthems as “We Shall Overcome,” “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “This Land Is Your Land” died Monday (1/27) at age 94. Many country artists have recorded Seeger’s songs, among them: Johnny Cash andJune Carter Cash (“If I Had A Hammer”), Eddy Arnold(“Where Have All The Flowers Gone”), Dolly Parton(“Turn, Turn, Turn” ,”Where Have All The Flowers Gone”) and Emmylou Harris (“We Are The Boat”).
NEW YORK /PRNewswire/ – Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is proud to announce the release of Out Among The Stars (Columbia/Legacy), a remarkable new album comprised of 12 recently discovered Johnny Cash studio recordings, on Tuesday, March 25, 2014.
The tracks on Out Among The Starswere originally recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at Columbia Studios in 1981 and 1111 Sound Studios in 1984 and produced by Billy Sherrill, the architect of the “countrypolitan” sound who was heading A&R at CBS Records Nashville at the time.
On these songs—which include duets with June Carter Cash and Waylon Jennings—Johnny worked with an expanded ensemble featuring a young Marty Stuart on guitar and mandolin and Nashville A-Team members Jerry Kennedy (guitar), Pete Drake (steel guitar), Hargus “Pig” Robbins (piano) and Henry Strzelecki (bass).
The recordings, which have never been released in any form, are not demos, outtakes or alternate versions. They remained in the vaults during the years Columbia Records released Johnny Cash’s last albums for the label and were subsequently forgotten.
The recordings on Out Among The Stars first surfaced in 2012, when John Carter Cash, along with the Cash experts at Legacy, was cataloging his father’s and mother’s exhaustive archives in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and at the Sony Music Archives. “When my parents passed away, it became necessary to go through this material,” he says. “We found these recordings that were produced by Billy Sherrill in the early 1980s…they were beautiful.”
John Carter Cash, along with co-producer and archivist Steve Berkowitz, enlisted Marty Stuart, Buddy Miller and Carlene Carter, as well as other master musicians, to collaborate in restoring the album at the Cash Cabin Studios in Hendersonville, TN.
The result, Out Among The Stars, is a great lost Johnny Cash album connecting the revolutionary rockabilly of his Sun Recordsyears to the epochal final albums he made for American Recordings.
Across five decades of making music, Johnny Cash was not only one of the most prolific artists to ever cut records, he was also an American music archetype, the Man in Black who crossed over into pop culture and never sold out.
Thirty years in the making, Out Among The Stars is a classic Johnny Cash album, about to be heard for the very first time.
Hee Haw The Musical is headed for Broadway. Spearheaded by Gaylord Entertainment Group President and Nashville executive producer Steve Buchanan, the script was crafted by veteran writer/producer Robert Horn with music and lyrics by Nashville songwriters Brandy Clark and ShaneMcAnally. “We are very excited about bringing this new incarnation of Hee Haw to the stage,” says Buchanan. “Our writing team is extraordinary and perfect for this original work. We held readings in New York City for Hee Haw The Musical and received a wonderful and very encouraging response from the Broadway community.”
LOS ANGELES (AP) – When Kacey Musgraves says she couldn’t believe her ears when she learned she won a Grammy – she wasn’t speaking metaphorically. She says she was sitting with her mom when the winner for best country album was announced. And she says while she heard the presenter say “Same Trailer, Different Park,” it didn’t register. She says she thought she had lost – until her mom poked her and told her to go up there and claim her award. Darius Rucker also won a Grammy in the country field. His was for Wagon Wheel. And the Civil Wars won for best duo/group performance.
Miranda Lambert‘s Mutt Nation Foundation donated more than $250,000 to animal shelters in each state as a result of the “50 States/50 Shelters” initiative. Criteria for choosing shelters included high adoption success rates, low euthanasia rates, high volunteerism, fiscal responsibility, fundraising, specialization and community presence. “We are thrilled to be able to reach out to every state and recognize shelters and organizations working at a grassroots level to help animals,” Lambert says. “It’s those people on the ground, day in and day out, who really make a huge difference.” More here.
Luke Bryan will headline the Daytona 500 Budweiser Pre-race Show Feb. 23. Ticket packages including grandstand seats, Fanzone access and VIP access to Bryan’s performance are available. The performance will be televised on FOX-TV. More here.
The Band Perry will perform at the NFL Tailgate Party Feb. 2 before the Super Bowl. The official pre-game show will also include performances by American IdolPhillip Phillips and casts of the Broadway musicals Jersey Boysand Rock of Ages. Part of each performance will be televised on FOX-TV. More here.
Garth Brooks will return to Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, to perform two shows this summer before embarking on his previously announced worldwide tour. The Garth Brooks Comeback Special Eventwill take place July 25 and 26 in the same venue that hosted his sold out shows in 1997. “Before we go back on tour in the Fall of 2014, I want to challenge myself, the band, and crew,” Brooks says. “In ’97, we were lucky enough to play Croke Park, the stadium was under construction – 130,000+ of some of the greatest fans in the world. I was quoted then as saying, ‘When this stadium is finished, I would love to come back and try to fill it again…this time to the brink.’ And we’re back to do just that.” Tickets go on sale Jan. 30.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – He’s done baseball, Vietnam, and the Gettysburg Address. Now it’s country music that is getting the Ken Burns treatment. The PBS documentary maker’s newest project will see him dig into the roots of country music – tracing its history to where it is today. Among those who will be profiled will be the Carter Family, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and others. Don’t go rushing to check your local PBS listings for it just yet. It isn’t due out until 2018.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – They are celebrities in their own right. But the most honest musicians will acknowledge they get hyped too when they see other musicians at the Grammys. Lee Brice is sure that when he’s at the Staples Center on Sunday there will be – as he put it – “some starstruckness going on.” He says he has met and hung out with many of his fellow country music artists – like Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks and George Strait. But he says he’s a fan of all music and is excited that he might get to see someone like Steven Tyler – or one of his favorite musicians, John Mayer.
Blake Shelton will kick off his Ten Times Crazier Tour 2014 in June with help from The Band Perry, Neal McCoy andDan + Shay. The tour includes more than 20 dates; details here.
Luke Bryan will reschedule Friday night’sconcert in Lexington, KY to Feb. 21 following damage to a piece of the stage sustained during load out after the tour opener in Columbus, OH. The damage occurred after the show ended and no fans were in the building. Local news reports a forklift was involved and four crew members were injured; see it here and read the official statement here.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – There are a dozen new members of the Musicians Hall of Fame. They include a legendary blues man, a British rock guitarist and a country singer. Country singer? It makes sense when the singer is Barbara Mandrell, who also plays the steel guitar. Buddy Guy and Peter Frampton were among the biggest names among the new inductees, which also include Randy Bachman. He played with The Guess Who and is the man who put the “Bachman” into Bachman Turner Overdrive.
