Music Charts Magazine News

George Strait’s Love Is Everything debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — (Wednesday, May 22, 2013) – Love Is Everything, the new album from MCA Nashville recording artist George Strait, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart this week, selling 119,843 units in its first week. That also earned Strait the No. 2 position on the Billboard Top 200. The album contains the hit single “Give It All We Got Tonight,” which Mediabase named as the most played song on country radio this week, earning Strait an unprecedented 60th No. 1 song. Love Is Everythingis Strait’s 40th studio album.

 
“This has been a fantastic birthday week,” said Strait, who turned 61 last Saturday (May 18). “I’m thankful that my fans are excited about the new album and enjoying the music.” 
 
Love Is Everything, which Strait co-produced with longtime collaborator Tony Brown, continues to receive great reviews, including:
 
 “His voice is in superb form and … the album sparkles. Among the highlights is ‘That’s What Breaking Hearts Do,’…. conjuring sensibility similar to Bruce Springsteen’s ‘All That Heaven Will Allow.’ ‘Blue Melodies’ is a reminder of how effectively a heart can be broken by a voice, an acoustic guitar, and lyrics that succinctly summarize when a sentiment is ‘too sad to sing.’”  – Boston Globe
 
“Since he began churning out country hits in 1981…Strait has cultivated a kind of stoic dependability unmatched among his peers. On Love Is Everything, his stirring new album…. [Strait’s] vocals feel newly vulnerable, particularly in ballads like ‘Blue Melodies’… and the gorgeous ‘I Just Can’t Go On Dying Like This,’ which Strait wrote back in the mid ’70s….He’s putting more of himself in the music, too….There’s the unusually vivid language in ‘That’s What Breaking Hearts Do,’ which Strait co-wrote with his son Bubba…. But neither of those cuts prepares you for ‘I Believe,’ another song by George and Bubba Strait (with Dean Dillon) that appears to be about the shooting last year at Sandy Hook Elementary School. ‘The night’s as clear as a big desert sky / But it’s hard to see stars with these tears in my eyes,” Strait sings over delicate acoustic fingerpicking, “Yeah, it’s hard not to cry / There’s 26 reasons why.’ ‘I Believe’ goes on to ponder ‘broken hearts that’ll never beat the same’ and ‘shattered lives still reeling from the pain,’ yet insists in a chorus swollen with strings that ‘there’s someone who’s looking after me.’ Carefully rendered and unabashed in its optimism, it’s as personal as anything Strait has ever recorded. And it’s completely devastating.  Three stars.” – Los Angeles Times 

George Strait – Photo Credit_by Art Streiber

 
Strait kicked off 2013 in high gear for the first leg of his The Cowboy Rides Away Tour. Only the June 1 show in San Antonio’s Alamodome remains in the sold out tour. Known as the “house they built for George,” the Alamodome sold out within an astounding six minutes of going on sale. The Country Music Hall of Fame member is the highest ranked country act on Pollstar’s 2013 Worldwide Tickets Chart. Dates for the second leg of his tour, taking place in 2014, will be announced later this year.
 
For more information on Strait, Love Is Everything, The Cowboy Rides Away Tour and more, visit www.GeorgeStrait.com.

Ray Manzarek – The Doors

Raymond Daniel Manczarek, Jr., known as Ray Manzarek (February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013), was an American musician, singer, producer, film director and author, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of “The Doors” from 1965 to 1973. He was a co-founding member of Nite City from 1977 to 1978, and of Manzarek–Krieger from 2001 to his death.

From 1962 to 1965, he studied in the Department of Cinematography at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he met film student Jim Morrison. At UCLA, he also met Dorothy Fujikawa, whom he married. They have a son, Pablo. Forty days after finishing film school, thinking they had gone their separate ways, Manzarek and Morrison met by chance on Venice Beach in California. Morrison said he had written some songs, and Manzarek expressed an interest in hearing them, whereupon Morrison sang a rough version of “Moonlight Drive”. Manzarek liked the songs and co-founded the Doors with Morrison at that moment.

Manzarek occasionally sang for the Doors, including the live recording “Close To You” and on the B-side of “Love Her Madly,” “You Need Meat (Don’t Go No Further).” He also sang on the last two Doors albums, recorded after Morrison’s death, Other Voices and Full Circle. Additionally, he provided one of several guitar parts on the song “Been Down So Long.”

Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Manzarek

George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette.

Over the past 20 years, Jones has frequently been referred to as the greatest living country singer.

Throughout his long career, Jones made headlines often as much for tales of his drinking, stormy relationships with women, and violent rages as for his prolific career of making records and touring. His wild lifestyle led to Jones missing many performances, earning him the nickname “No Show Jones.”

The shape of his nose and facial features have given Jones the nickname “The Possum.”

George Jones has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1956.  Jones has received many honors during his long career, from Most Promising New Country Vocalist in 1956, being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, and being named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2008.  In 2012 he was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.  At the ceremony his longtime friend Merle Haggard paid tribute to him.

George Jones died April 26, 2013 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.  He was hospitalized April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure.

A True Country Music Legend – “George Jones”

Read more at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jones

Check out this month’s issue of Classic Drummer Magazine!

It is Volume 12, Issue 1.  It has Doane Perry, drummer for Jethro Tull on the cover.  Clifford Hughes’s article is located at the very back pages of the magazine.

Like Drums? Want to order a copy of Classic Drummer this month?

Go check them out at:

www.ClassicDrummer.com

 

Newly Painted Belton, Mo. Landmark Reads “Home of Tate Stevens, Live the Dream!”

BELTON, Mo. (April 15, 2013) – Syco/RCA Nashville recording artist Tate Stevens is experiencing a lot of firsts this year following his first place finish on FOX’s The X Factor, including landing a record deal, releasing new single “Power of a Love Song” to country radio, and his upcoming April 23 self-titled debut album release.  Now Stevens can claim a new “first” as his hometown honors him with an impressive 160′ City of Belton water tower, freshly painted with “Home of Tate Stevens, Live the Dream!”

Stevens, a former blue collar road worker for the city, always displayed such appreciation for his small hometown while pursuing his life-long dream of becoming a country music star on The X Factor.  Viewers were captivated by this unassuming Southern gentleman with the powerhouse vocals.  Among those viewers was a contingent of Belton residents, who led the charge to raise 100% the funds for the water tower repainting and dedication.

“It’s moments like this that really make me smile,” shares Stevens. “The support I’ve felt from the community is incredible, and I hope I can continue to make them proud. I’m so incredibly humbled by this honor.” 

Belton officials unveiled the landmark, located near Stevens’ home off Interstate 49 and M-58 Highway on Sunday, March 31 with the formal dedication, which Stevens will attend, scheduled for Monday, April 22, with media call-time at 10:30a.m. CDT.  Stevens will perform a sold out show in Kansas City, Mo. at the Midland by AMC on Sunday, but fans can still purchase a limited number of tickets to his Monday night performance here

For a list of upcoming tour dates and latest happenings on Tate Stevens, visit www.tatestevensofficial.com

 

Kacey Musgraves – Same Trailer Different Park

People who watch what we refer to as reality television might remember Kacey Musgraves from the former USA Network show, Nashville Star. Kacey was a contestant during Season Five, back in 2007, and finished in seventh place. Recently, however, she caught the attention of country music fans with the release of her debut single, “Merry Go ‘Round.” It’s not just listeners who like what they are hearing from Kacey, it is the program directors and station managers at the top country music radio stations nation-wide. Her single is sitting in the No. 11 spot on country music’s Top 40 Chart, and Kacey is ready to introduce the world to more of her music music, with the release of her first album. 

Available in now, the new album is titled “Same Trailer, Different Park”, which incidentally is a line from her current single, Merry Go ‘Round. While today is the official release date for the CD, I had the pleasure of listening to this album a few weeks ago. And I don’t mind telling you, I listened more than once.

Kacey co-wrote all of the songs on the new album, which was produced by Shane McAnally. The 12 songs on the debut album are: Silver Lining, My House, Merry Go ‘Round, Dandelion, Blowin’ Smoke, I Miss You, Step Off, Back on the Map, Keep it to Yourself, Stupid, Follow Your Arrow, and It Is What It Is. While a few of the songs remind me of something I just heard on the album, every one of them is unique in its own way. From the story it tells to the melody and instrumentation, there is something unmistakeably ”Kacey’ in everything “Same Trailer, Different Park” has to offer.

The songs on this new album are mostly what I could call ‘mid-tempo’. They aren’t super fast, and they aren’t ballads either. “Stupid” is one of the fastest. And oddly enough, it’s my least favorite of the 12 tracks. That said, I really like “Follow Your Arrow,” and it’s also a little faster, so my problem isn’t with fast vs. slow here. I am certain that every country music fan who hears this album is going to enjoy what Kacey has done with it. When I got done listening to the album for the first time, it left me wanting to see Kacey Musgraves in concert. So, if that was one of the goals of the CD – goal accomplished!

This 24-year-old Texas native is a real story-teller. Whether it is the waitresses in the diner talking about bigger dreams in “Blowin’ Smoke,” or descriptions she gives of seeing the world from inside her mobile home in the song, “My House,” there is a story being told that everyone is going to want to hear. She has a way of telling us how she sees life using words that most of us would not think of, but yet we understand exactly what she’s talking about. It takes a special talent to find the right words to express their thoughts, and be able to create a feeling. Kacey Musgraves can do that. The words tell stories, the melodies are catchy, and every time one song comes to an end, you are anxiously waiting for the next one to begin.

I don’t think there’s much in life that Kacey has missed. Not much she hasn’t noticed. She reminds me of a person who could ask how you do something, just as easily as she could tell someone ‘that’s how it’s done.’ I don’t have to know her to know that I like the way she seems to look at life. Everything she has ever seen or done seems to come through in her music.

Kacey has been busy throughout her career. She has already been on tour with Lady Antebellum, and she wrote “Mama’s Broken Heart” for Miranda Lambert.  She is nominated for Top New Female Artist, Top Female Vocalist, and Music Video of the Year-Merry Go ‘Round, at the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards, which will be televised live on Sunday, April 7, at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Currently on tour with Kenny Chesney, Kacey has a calendar full of upcoming shows that you can view when you visit her web site http://www.kaceymusgraves.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter @KaceyMusgraves. Be sure to visit Country’s Chatter, too, where you can find all the latest news from Nashville, view videos, and even enter contests to win CDs, t-shirts, and other great prizes from up-and-coming artists, as well as some of biggest names in country music. The web address is http://www.countryschatter.com , and follow us on Twitter @countryschatter.

 

Music Charts Magazine Kacey Musgraves CD Review by

Country’s Chatter dot com ( Your source for Country Music )

Kenneth Daniel Ball ( 22 May 193 – 7 March 2013) was an English jazz musician, best known as the bandleader, lead trumpet player and vocalist in Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen.

Ball was born in Ilford, Essex. At the age of 14 he left school to work as a clerk in an advertising agency, but also started taking trumpet lessons.  He began his career as a semi-professional sideman in bands, whilst also working as a salesman and for the advertising agency. He turned professional in 1953 and played the trumpet in bands led by Sid Phillips, Charlie Galbraith, Eric Delaney and Terry Lightfoot before forming his own trad jazz band – Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen – in 1958.  His dixieland band was at the forefront of the early 1960s UK jazz revival.

In 1961 their recording of Cole Porter’s “Samantha” became a hit, and in March 1962 they reached No. 2 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart, with “Midnight in Moscow”. The record sold over one million copies, earning gold disc status.

Read more at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Ball

 

Lee Brice – Photo Credit: Eric Welch

 

Benefit for T.J. Martell Foundation Scheduled for October 5-8, 2013 at the Reach Resort

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (March 5, 2013) – For the fifth year in a row, country music will come together on the scenic beaches of Key West, Fla. to benefit the music industry’s largest foundation that funds leukemia, cancer and AIDS research: the T.J. Martell Foundation. Long-time friends and songwriting buddies Lee Brice, Randy Houser and Jerrod Niemann will triple headline the final night of Country On The Beach, as super duo Montgomery Gentry hosts and GAC’s Headline Country’s Storme Warren emcees. Country music fans are invited to attend and get an up-close-and-personal experience with their favorite country stars as they let loose in one of Florida’s most popular vacation spots.

“We call the growing gang of fans who attend our annual tropical reunions ‘the world’s largest dysfunctional family,’” Warren states lightheartedly.  “Now that we’re adding Lee, Randy and Jerrod in to the mix, that family just got a whole lot more dysfunctional. The hits will be flying from the stage. I can’t wait!”  

Tickets are available by visiting www.countryonthebeach.com and proceeds from the weekend’s auctions and special excursions will benefit the foundation. Meet-and-greets with the artists will be available, and fans can expect a laid-back environment where a few ‘surprise’ off-the-cuff acoustic performances are never out of the ordinary.

To-date, the T.J. Martell Foundation has raised more than $250 million for research with the help of hundreds of volunteers and music industry professionals, which has been successfully leveraged into several billion dollars in order to support innovative medical research focused on finding cures and supporting early-stage research projects aimed at developing effective treatment. For more information on the T.J. Martell Foundation, visit http://www.tjmartellfoundation.org/.

For more information about Country On The Beach, visit the official website, www.countryonthebeach.com.

About Lee Brice
Brice’s moving single “I Drive Your Truck” is the fastest moving single of his career, currently climbing the Top 10 at country radio.  The new track follows two consecutive PLATINUM certified No. one hits “A Woman Like You” and “Hard To Love” off his sophomore release HARD 2 LOVE on Curb Records, which was named one of The New York Time’s Top 10 Albums of 2012 alongside artists including Frank Ocean, Kesha and Taylor Swift. iTunes also handpicked the album as part of their Best of 2012 feature as the “Top Country Breakthrough Album of the Year.”  Brice is currently nominated for “New Male Vocalist” and “Song of the Year” at the upcoming 48th Annual ACM Awards. For more information, visit www.leebrice.com.
 
About Randy Houser
The Los Angeles Times wrote Stoney Creek Records’ Randy Houser adds “grit to the genre” and The New York Times calls him a true “crowd pleaser.” Celebrating his No. 1 Gold-certified smash hit in “How Country Feels,” Houser’s latest album, How Country Feels, hit stores Jan. 22 and has been called “a buoyant, hook-filled outing (Washington Post) that’s infused with “a balance of revelry and introspection” (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) and shows off Randy’s powerhouse voice hailed “one of the best in Nashville,” (GAC) among others. His latest single, “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight” is currently climbing the country charts. Houser will be joining Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley on dates in 2013. Visit www.randyhouser.com for more information.
 

Jerrod Niemann
Photo Credit: Jeremy Cowart


About Jerrod Niemann
Sea Gayle/Arista Nashville recording artist Jerrod Niemann celebrated the release of his new album Free The Music on Oct. 2, which features a mix of classic and cutting-edge technology, reinvented instruments to create an unconventional sound for the country format. Top 15 single “Shinin’ On Me” was the first single from the album, prior to latest poignant ballad “Only God Could Love You More,” which is currently climbing the charts. The song has been called “incredibly compelling” and “it earns five stars on its own” by Country Weekly. In 2010, Niemann launched a trio of hits with his acclaimed album, Judge Jerrod & The Hung Jury, which included “One More Drinkin’ Song,” the Gold-certified “What Do You Want,” and the Platinum #1 single, “Lover, Lover.”   Niemann has quickly become a fan and industry favorite, earning award nominations from the ACM, CMA, CMT, and the American Country Awards, while headlining his own shows and touring with such artists as Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley. For a full list of dates and more information on Jerrod Niemann, visit www.jerrodniemannofficial.com.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Bands Will Supplement This Joint Excursion With Individual Headline Dates 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Company have announced The 40 Tour – a co-headline tour that takes the bands coast-to-coast for 12 dates.  Both bands celebrate significant 40th anniversaries in 2013, with Lynyrd Skynyrd having released their debut album on August 13, 1973 and Bad Company being formed that same year.  While the pair have shared the stage and Paul Rodgers has toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company and Skynyrd have never toured as co-headliners together.

Led by core members Gary Rossington (guitar), Johnny Van Zant (vocals) and Rickey Medlocke (guitar), along with longtime drummer Michael Cartellone, Lynyrd Skynyrd has maintained a tremendous legacy that began over 40 years ago in Jacksonville, Florida, and continues with the recently released Last Of A Dying Breed (Roadrunner).  The band’s career was halted for a decade after the 1977 plane crash that killed three band members, including Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, and then subsequently faced adversity through the losses of Billy Powell, Ean Evans, Allen Collins, Leon Wilkeson and Huey Thomasson, yet they rock on.  With a catalog of over 60 albums, sales beyond 30 million worldwide and their beloved classic American rock anthem “Sweet Home Alabama” having over two million downloaded ringtones, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Lynyrd Skynyrd remains a cultural icon that appeals to all generations.  The current line-up features Gary Rossington (Guitar), Johnny Van Zant (Vocals), Rickey Medlocke (Guitar), Mark “Sparky” Matejka (Guitar), Michael Cartellone (Drums), Johnny Colt (Bass), Peter Keys (Keyboards), and Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase as The Honkettes (Backing Vocals).

Bad Company were dubbed a super-group upon the  band’s formation due to the union of Free’s Paul Rodgers (Vocals / Multi-Instrumentalist) with Mott The Hoople’s Mick Ralphs (Guitar) plus King Crimson’s Boz Burrell (Bass) and Free’s Simon Kirke (Drums).  Over the next nine years, the band released a string of six albums, yielding international hits “Can’t Get Enough,” “Bad Company,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” and many others penned by the main songwriters Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs. Original members Rodgers, Ralphs, and Kirke will be joined by guitarist Howard Leese and bassist Todd Ronning (from Paul Rodgers solo band).  Original bassist Boz Burrell passed away in 2006. 

Bad Company has inspired many of today’s musicians.  Most notably, Metal band Five Finger Death Punch who scored a #1 Active Rock hit with a cover of the song “Bad Company”. Since 2001, the band has only played 11 isolated performances, and has not staged a tour of The United States until now.  In front of the run, Rodgers shares, “When Mick and I formed the band in the 70’s we were amazed at the instant success.  It didn’t hurt to have Led Zeppelin behind us, and we wrote some decent songs that still resonate.  This one is for fans.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Johnny Van Zant offers, “Every member of Skynyrd has been fans of Bad Company from the get go.  Personally, Paul is one of my favorite rock singers.  We have a deep appreciation for Bad Company’s music and look forward to being on the road with them and sharing the stage.”  Paul Rodgers reveals, “The Skynyrds and I go back to the 70’s and the days and nights at the Hyatt House on Sunset in LA aka the Riot House.  In the 90’s the band introduced me to my wife Cynthia, and that’s why I am so damned happy and healthy these years.” 

Special guests and Kentucky-bred hard rockers, Black Stone Cherry, will be kicking things off on The 40 Tour.  Their music has been described as Southern-fried hard rock about everything from being proud of where you come from and true to who you are.

The co-headline tour will stage performances at the following venues:

Jun 20 | Auburn, WA | White River Amphitheater
Jun 21 | Ridgefield, WA  | Sleep Country Amphitheater
Jun 23  |  Mountain View, CA  |  Shoreline Amphitheater
Jul 11  |  Houston, TX  |  Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Jul 13  |  Charlotte, NC   |  Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Jul 14  |  Bristow, VA  |  Jiffy Lube Live
Jul 17  |  Camden, NJ   |  Susquehanna Bank Center
Jul 19  |  Burgettstown, PA  |  First Niagara Pavilion
Jul 20   |  Noblesville, IN  |  Kilpsch Music Center
Jul 23  |  Clarkston, MI  |  DTE Energy Music Theater
Jul 24  |  Cincinnati, OH  |  Riverbend Music Center
Jul 26  |  Gilford, NH  |  Meadowbrook (Not a Live Nation date)
Jul 27  |  *Bethel, NY  |   Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
 
*Black Stone Cherry not appearing on this date
 
 

 

Jewel Eugene Akens recorded with The Medallions on Dootone, with The Four Dots on Freedom, and then with singer Eddie Daniels as “Jewel and Eddie” on the Silver Records label in 1960. A number of his recordings featured Eddie Cochran on guitar. He later went solo and recorded “The Birds And The Bees” in 1965, on the Era Records label. The single went to Number 3 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year, and Number 2 on the Cash Box chart. It reached Number 29 in the UK Singles Chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.  But the follow-up, “Georgie Porgie” only reached Number 68.

Read more at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewel_Akens