Charlie Daniels Announced As 2009 Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum Inductee

Blue Hat/Koch recording artist Charlie Daniels has been named one of the inductees for the 2009 Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum.

Three-time Grammy award winning guitarist and Grand Ole Opry member, Steve Wariner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member and 2009 Songwriting Hall of Fame Inductee, Felix Cavaliere made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville.

Grammy Award winning, Grand Ole Opry member, singer, fiddler, guitarist, songwriter, and country musician, Charlie Daniels, has been performing the music he loves since the 1950's. From his early days as a Nashville studio musician that included playing on Bob Dylan albums, and recordings from Leonard Cohen, Al Kooper, Marty Robbins, to becoming a number one hit songwriter with his platinum selling "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," to gaining status as one of the most beloved figures in country music, Daniels continues touring and packing houses, as well as giving of his time, energy, and talents performing tirelessly for men and women in uniform, all over the world, who love his honest mixture of country and southern rock influences, along with originality, that has lasted for over five decades.

The musicians will be officially inducted at the 2009 Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum Awards Show on October 12th at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Other 2009 inductees are Chet Atkins, Billy Cox, Dick Dale, Victor Feldman, Fred Foster, Paul Riser, and Toto.

Inductees are nominated nationally by the Musicians Union who has a membership of over 90,000 as well as a stellar list of other music industry professionals. Past inductees include: Booker T. & The MG's, The Crickers, Duane Eddy, Al Kooper, The Memphis Horns, The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Billy Sherrill, The Nashville A-Team, The Blue Moon Boys, The Funk Brothers, The Memphis Boys, The Tennessee Two, and The Wrecking Crew.

Brad Paisley Completes the Circle at the Opry

The microphone at the Grand Ole Opry House is located in the center of a circular piece of wood taken from the old Ryman Auditorium stage where such artists as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Ernest Tubb regularly performed.

So when Brad Paisley played the Opry Saturday, the full-circle sentiment took on added meaning when he saw the first traces of his adult life brought together in person. Steve Martin made his Opry debut that night, and it marked the first time Brad had been introduced to the comedian. It was particularly significant because it was Steve’s movie Father Of The Bride in which Brad first saw his future bride, Kimberly Williams-Paisley. She, of course, was on hand at the Opry, too; she hadn’t seen Steve in about a decade, and Brad and Kimberly went just to say hello.

"Her worlds collided in a way that I didn’t ever think they would," Brad says. "I thought I’d probably meet Steve Martin one of these days. I didn’t think it would be on ‘our’ turf — I didn’t think it would be on the stage of the Opry. And I didn’t think it would be with me about to sing while a song is sitting at No. 1 called ‘Then.’ And as I stood there, and she stood on the side of the stage, and Steve Martin was backstage — this reason that I even know who she is — I said to the crowd, ‘I went to see Father Of The Bride in ‘91 because Steve Martin was in it and I thought it would be funny. And there was somebody else who was in that movie, and I thought I loved her then.’"

Kimberly teared up, Brad was moved, and so was the crowd.

Look for Brad to whip out "Then" during his American Saturday Night Tour, beginning Friday in Charlotte, N.C., with opening acts Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne.

"Inside Music Row" Celebrates 100th Episode

Country music news and entertainment television series "Inside Music Row" will air its 100th episode this Sunday, June 7, on WNAB/CW58 in Nashville at 9:30 p.m. CST.

The milestone episode will re-cap memorable moments from the show's history. It airs nationally during the week of June 1-7 and can be also be viewed online at www.InsideMusicRow.com beginning Wednesday, June 3.

"We hoped that when we launched 'Inside Music Row' a couple years ago we would receive positive feedback from the local country music community and then expand into other markets," says IMR Executive Producer Jeff Moseley. "We're pleased to say that the demand has exceeded our expectations."

A production of CJM Productions and The Program Factory, LLC, "Inside Music Row" first aired in October 2006 and has continued to increase its viewership, currently airing in nearly 100 markets since partnering with the AMG-TV network in December 2007. The weekly show now reaches a total of 24 million homes.

"I can't believe this is already our one hundredth episode," says IMR Director Brian Covert. "It seems like just the other day that we were filming our first one! Being a part of a show like this and watching it continue to grow is extremely gratifying. In fact, just recently we've seen increased interest from the country music community overseas, which lets us know that what we're doing is really catching on."

"Inside Music Row" receives nearly 10,000 hits each month and has generated international interest in the program from countries like England and France.

"Inside Music Row" currently airs in Nashville on WNAB/CW58 every Sunday night at 9:30 p.m.

Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses June Tour Dates

Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
JUNE 2009 - TOUR DATES

Jun 2 Terlingua, TX Starlight Theater
Jun 3 Lubbock, TX Cactus Theater Courtyard
Jun 4 Austin, TX Texas Union Ballroom
Jun 5 Dallas, TX House of Blues
Jun 6 Conroe, TX Crighton Theatre
Jun 8 Baton Rouge, LA Chelsea's
Jun 12 New Braunfels, TX Gruene Hall
Jun 21 Pryor, OK Pryor Creek Music Festival

Ryan Bingham's Roadhouse Sun Draws Strong Reviews Upon Its Release

This Texas troubadour can bring to mind a gravelly-voiced version of another: Ryan Adams. But there are also traces of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan (see "Dylan's Hard Rain") along this rootsy road.
-PEOPLE (3-Star Review)

Bingham’s captivating songwriting easily matches the mark set by 2007’s highly-touted Mescalito.
-American Songwriter (4-Star review of "Roadhouse Sun")

The year’s best Americana record so far is Ryan Bingham’s upcoming Roadhouse Sun.
-Popmatters

Ryan Bingham is the real deal. His sophomore release, Roadhouse Sun, moves from powerhouse country-rock to politically-inspired folk to piano-fueled barrelhouse blues to psychedelic exploration.
-Relix

The Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country's Big Boom

Megalomaniac or marketing genius? Savior or savage? Biographer Patsi Bale Cox in The Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country’s Big Boom (May 2009, Center Street, $24.99) reveals the inner-workings of music’s best-selling solo artist and how he challenged the status quo of Nashville’s recording industry while creating a rising tide for all of country music during the genre’s peak in the 1990’s.

With more than a decade of access to the artist, and the insider knowledge that comes from working for Capitol Records—Brooks’ former label—Cox compiles a biopic that contrasts the meteoric rise of Garth Brooks with that of the entire industry, crediting the singer with the overall surge in popularity. Along the way, The Garth Factor treats the reader to tasty bits of boardroom drama and corporate machinations that illustrate why the Oklahoma boy that came to Nashville in 1985 did so with a fair amount of caution, instilled by his mother Colleen, a former singer herself who knew the business’ pitfalls.

Chronicling his life from birth to current time, Cox presents Brooks as an empathetic, fair, yet driven and passionate man. Cox also showcases the friction between Brooks and Capitol Records. Cox writes, “It is a misconception that Nashville’s stars are the ones on the stage. Inside the town’s business the real stars are the personalities who run record labels. They control artists and they control the music.” Eschewing the accounts that portray Brooks as a bully, such as the one that appeared in former Capitol Records label chief Jimmy Bowen’s 1997 autobiography Rough Mix, Cox exposes the truth behind the turmoil at the label which had everything to do with pinching every penny—usually at the artists’ expense using “creative” accounting—and nothing to do with Brooks. Bowen’s antipathy towards Brooks probably resulted from a new contract that was negotiated above Bowen’s head with his bosses in New York, writes Cox—a deal unprecedented for Nashville more on par with contracts for the likes of Madonna or Michael Jackson.

From being one of a crop of new “hat acts” in 1989, Garth Brooks rose beyond all contemporaries and set new records in every category. With the success, however, came low times as well. In short succession Brooks faced the death of his mother, negative reviews for the “Chris Gaines” project, and a crumbling marriage. Compounding the stress, Brooks felt he should be more present in the lives of his three little girls. Brooks announced his retirement in 1999—leaving a vacuum the industry has not replaced.

Married to recording artist Trisha Yearwood in 2005, Brooks is a full-time father co-parenting his three children in Oklahoma. Since his retirement, he has sold an additional 28 million records, released new music, and been involved in numerous other projects and performances.

Since Brooks’ retirement, country music sales have taken a huge slide, with a slight rebound in 2004. Despite the absence of his sales volumes, Brooks’ contributions to Nashville are still evident writes Cox. “He brought country music concerts to new energy standards, seen now in so many concert tours, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, and Keith Urban, to name but a few…He also pumped up Nashville’s writing community, bringing so many great songwriters to the attention of the industry…He also greatly broadened the scope of song subjects.”

Recalling the disputes with Capitol, the details of which she is privy having been a staffer, Cox believes, “One of the best things Garth did for Nashville is that for which he is most often criticized. He continued in the Outlaw tradition, and when he believed had to, he held his record label’s feet to the fire. By paying attention to the business side of music he often faced reproof.”

“When all is said and done,” Cox writes, “Garth proved that country music is not only a big tent, but that expansion does not necessarily mean dilution.”