09.29.05 (MusicPortal.com) Executive-produced by founding member Robbie Robertson, THE BAND's new career-spanning box set, "A Musical History" -- the most comprehensive collection ever created for the group -- has been released. Packaged within a 108-page hardcover book brimming with previously unseen photos and memorabilia are five CDs and one DVD documenting THE BAND's entire recording career from 1963 to 1976. Among the set's 111 audio and video tracks are 37 previously unreleased recordings and filmed clips captured live and in-studio. Issued by Capitol/EMI Music Catalog Marketing, this definitive collection features a cover painting of THE BAND by world-renowned artist Ed Ruscha and extensive biographical liner notes by the Grammy-winning writer Rob Bowman. In-demand production partners Cheryl Pawelski and Andrew Sandoval, who also teamed for the in-depth restoration of THE BAND's original Capitol albums in 2000 and 2001, joined Robertson on the project. "This is by far the most comprehensive, in-depth, and beautifully put together collection of THE BAND's musical journey," says THE BAND's Robbie Robertson. Among "A Musical History"'s previously unreleased audio tracks are live and studio recordings THE BAND created with Bob Dylan and Ronnie Hawkins, as well as various song sketches, while the DVD's nine film clips include rare and previously unreleased concert performances, a filmed studio jam, and three songs THE BAND performed on television "Saturday Night Live" in 1976 which have never before been issued in their entirety. "A Musical History"'s release concludes a comprehensive restoration campaign for THE BAND's entire Capitol Records catalog. By the late 1960s, THE BAND was one of the most popular and influential Rock groups in the world, and the group's members shared an extensive collaborative history dating back to the late 1950s and early '60s. Between 1958 and 1962, the then-teenaged multi-instrumentalists Levon Helm (drums, vocals), Robertson (guitar, piano, vocals), Rick Danko (bass, vocals), Richard Manuel (keyboards, vocals, drums) and Garth Hudson (keyboards, horns) first performed and recorded together as members of the backing band for Ronnie Hawkins called THE HAWKS. In late 1963, THE HAWKS struck out on their own and became LEVON & THE HAWKS, playing and recording under that name in 1964 and 1965. In 1965, Robertson met with Bob Dylan in New York, just as Dylan was seeking an electric guitarist for his touring band. The Band was born, with all of the former members of THE HAWKS backing Bob Dylan on the road from October 1965 through 1966 as he incensed audiences in the U.S., Australia and Europe, performing electric sets. Disheartened by the vocally disdainful "folkie purist" audience response to their first plugged-in performances with Dylan, Helm left THE BAND in November of 1965. After the 1966 tour concluded, THE BAND woodshedded for the next year in upstate New York, often in the company of Bob Dylan, forging a highly original sound that in one... [full story]
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09.28.05 (AP) From clashes with her label chief to missed appointments and erratic behavior, Country singer MINDY McCREADY's much-publicized troubles go back further than her recent run-ins with the law. The 29-year-old from Fort Myers, Florida came to Nashville in 1994 with tapes of her karaoke vocals and earned a contract with BNA Records. Just two years later, her uptempo 'Guys Do It All the Time' hit No. 1 and its dig at male chauvinism endeared her to female fans. But her subsequent albums didn't sell as well, and McCready lost her record deal. Attempts to restart her career tanked. Since August 2004, MINDY McCREADY has been arrested on drug and drunken driving charges, jailed for a probation violation, nearly beaten to death by a former boyfriend who is the father of her unborn child and hospitalized twice after apparent suicide attempts. "This isn't something that happened overnight," said Schatzi Hageman, a veteran Music Row publicist. "I quit working with her because I felt like there were lots of demons she was dealing with, and all too often the focus was on the drama and not on the actual talent and music itself." McCready's attorney, Lee Dryer, did not return phone messages. A moving truck was parked in front of the singer's town house today. Neighbors said the house had been sold at auction, and that they had not seen McCready since she was rushed to the hospital September 23rd after apparently trying to kill herself by overdosing on antidepressants. "I feel bad for her because the reality is that she's going to be spending a lot of time recovering from this after all of the media attention is over, which I think feeds some of this," Hageman said. Even before her recent problems, MINDY McCREADY reportedly had an uneasy relationship with some in Nashville's music industry. A 1998 British documentary called "Naked Nashville" chronicles a petulant, perpetually late young star clashing with her record label head, Joe Galante, over McCready missing deadlines and generally not wanting to hustle after she hits the big time with her first single. As the camera rolls, Galante nearly loses his composure when McCready fails to turn up for a media luncheon. He's particularly perturbed by the influence of her then-boyfriend, actor Dean Cain, best known for his title role in the '90s TV series "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman." McCready, a striking blonde, insists she knows better than Galante what's best for her career. At one point she says, "His age group isn't buying country music. Mine is." Galante responds, "At 21, we all know best." Galante declined to comment for this story, as did several industry executives and insiders who cited respect for McCready's privacy. "I don't want to get into a negative story, and that's what it would be because of where Mindy's been lately," said Stan Moress, her former manager. "Obviously it's time to rally around Mindy and help her out and not continue to push her down. She's been through a lot, and I would leave it at that." MINDY McCREADY's debut album, 1996's "Ten Thousand Angels," yielded four hit songs and sold 2 million copies.
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09.15.05 (MusicPortal.com) The cherished recordings that music legend JOHNNY CASH made at the historic Memphis Sun Studios in the mid-1950s have been meticulously restored to their original versions and compiled into a 61-song box set, "Johnny Cash - The Complete Sun Recordings 1955-1958," due for release on November 8th. The three-disc set chronicles the singer's early days and the birth of what became his unmistakable performance style. Timed to reach stores just as a new biopic, "Walk The Line," (starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon) hits movie theaters nationwide, "Johnny Cash - The Complete Sun Recordings 1955-1958" is the first elaborate box set from the newly revamped retail music division of Time Life. Sun Studios was home to innovative producer Sam Phillips, whose staunch reputation for refusing to churn out assembly line-sounding records like so many Nashville studios were doing at that time drew JOHNNY CASH in. Fresh from his sessions with a new singer named Elvis Presley, Phillips boldly decided to make Cash's voice the most important instrument on his songs; deep, warm, and larger than life. It was within the Sun Studios walls that the "Man In Black" was born. With Nashville's slick Country sound dominating the music charts, the Sun recordings were shocking in their simple purity - mistakes and all. It was Phillips who recognized the true talents of JOHNNY CASH and dared to let the singer be himself, embracing the powerful barebones voice that resonated with honesty. 'Cry, Cry, Cry' was the first song to break, cracking the country charts for a week in 1955, but it was 1956's 'I Walk The Line' that would propel him into musical history. "Johnny Cash - The Complete Sun Recordings 1955-1958" includes the original JOHNNY CASH Sun Recordings gems 'Folsom Prison Blues,' 'Give My Love To Rose,' 'Cry, Cry, Cry' and 'I Walk The Line,' set alongside Rockabilly classics such as 'I Love You Because' (Leon Payne), 'Oh Lonesome Me' (Don Gibson), 'I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow' (Hank Williams), and 'Blue Train' (Billy Smith). In his final days with Sun, JOHNNY CASH also recorded songs written by others, including Gene Autry ('Goodbye Little Darlin''), Roy Orbison ('You Tell Me'), and several by Hank Williams ('You Win Again,' 'Cold Cold Heart,' 'Hey Good Lookin',' 'I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow,' 'I Can't Help It'). "Time Life will continue to carefully craft and deliver to the consumer genre-defining compilations that appeal to collectors and the everyday music lover," says Mike Jason, the newly appointed Senior Vice President of Audio & Video Retail at Time Life, regarding future projects like "Johnny Cash - The Complete Sun Recordings 1955-1958." "However, I very much look forward to combining the powerful Time Life brand with high quality multi-disc sets as well as creating audio and video offerings in some newer genres." The Cash project is the first of hopefully many such offerings."
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09.14.05 (MusicPortal.com) Following up the hit single 'Don't Ask Me How I Know' from his current album, "A Man Like Me," Country crooner BOBBY PINSON is back strong with another good song in 'One More Believer,' a tale of hope and faith as we walk through life. Born of triumph and tragedy, BOBBY PINSON's songs embody the power and integrity to take them across the width of today's musical landscape. Political statements, personal mantras, real-life situations, and the examination of the human condition all find a place in Pinson's diverse material. When the panhandle Texan sings of who he is, where he's been, and at what cost, his photographic voice rings with gritty truth. "I've been wrong enough to know what right is," says Pinson of his life that's so vividly depicted in the music that he affectionately calls "Gutter And Grace." "A John Deere tractor with an airplane engine" best describes BOBBY PINSON's explosive mixture of Country roots, Rock 'N' Roll energy, and down-to-earth lyrics that spring from his heart. The son of a high school football coach and an elementary school teacher who "grew up fifty miles past the middle of nowhere in the land of wind and dirt where football was life, Dad was boss, and Christ was King," BOBBY PINSON was raised in a string of small Texas towns - the perennial new kid learned that you immediately had to find a connection with somebody, while at the same time having almost a blatant disregard for what they thought. "You had to figure out what mattered to them, and at the same time, have a real strong sense of what mattered to you," says Pinson. "I think that's why my music is what it is. I lived in these towns without radio. The one trucker station we could get faded in and out, then off at midnight. I wasn't allowed to go to any concerts and I never bought many records. Not that I was deprived, I just did other things. I'd sing around the house and play my Dad's guitar, but my musical influences didn't really come until later in my life. My music is passionate and honest and is carved from pieces of my life. Not that everything is literally true, but the feelings are true, and the emotions and experiences are real, even if they're not mine. I put myself into the character of that small town guy who's made it out, or the one who hasn't. I think there are a lot of lessons to be learned without saying, 'Here's what ya gotta do.' I've never come from that spot. My parents didn't come from that spot with me. It was like they were telling me, 'you'll figure it out, but if you want a hint, here it is.' That's what I try to do with my songs. I'm just a guy who's been 'the idiot' who doesn't mind saying so for a good cause. I think people will hear 'the idiot' long before they'll listen to the man on the soapbox. Some people have called me an 'outlaw.' Boy, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash would get a good laugh out of that. I just think for myself and speak my mind. With that often comes the 'outlaw' tag, but I'm just honest and real and not askin' anyone for permission to do what I do. If that scares the Hell out of somebody, then so be it!"
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09.12.05 (AP) CLARENCE "GATEMOUTH" BROWN, the singer and guitarist who built a 50-year career playing Blues, Country, Jazz and Cajun music, died Saturday in his hometown of Orange, Texas, where he had gone to escape Hurricane Katrina. He was 81. Brown, who had been battling lung cancer and heart disease, was in ill health for the past year, said Rick Cady, his booking agent. Cady said the musician was with his family at his brother's house when he died. Brown's home in Slidell, La., a bedroom community of New Orleans, was destroyed by Katrina. "He was completely devastated," Cady said. "I'm sure he was heartbroken, both literally and figuratively. He evacuated successfully before the hurricane hit, but I'm sure it weighed heavily on his soul." Although his career first took off in the 1940s with Blues hits 'Okie Dokie Stomp' and 'Ain't That Dandy,' CLARENCE "GATEMOUTH" BROWN bristled when he was labeled a bluesman. In the second half of his career, he became known as a musical jack-of-all-trades who played a half-dozen instruments and culled from Jazz, Country, Texas Blues, and the Zydeco and Cajun music of his native Louisiana. By the end of his career, Brown had more than 30 recordings and won a Grammy award in 1982. "I'm so unorthodox, a lot of people can't handle it," Brown said in a 2001 interview. Brown's versatility came partly from a childhood spent in the musical mishmash of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. He was born in Vinton, Louisiana, and grew up in Orange, Texas. Brown often said he learned to love music from his father, a railroad worker who sang and played fiddle in a Cajun band. Brown, who was dismissive of most of his contemporary Blues players, named his father as his greatest musical influence. "If I can make my guitar sound like his fiddle, then I know I've got it right," Brown said. Cady said Brown was quick-witted, "what some would call a 'codger.'" Brown started playing fiddle by age 5. At 10, he taught himself an odd guitar picking style he used all his life, dragging his long, bony fingers over the strings. In his teens, Brown toured as a drummer with Swing bands, and was nicknamed "Gatemouth" for his deep voice. After a brief stint in the Army, he returned in 1945 to Texas, where he was inspired by Blues guitarist T-Bone Walker. Brown's career took off in 1947 when Walker became ill and had to leave the stage at a Houston nightclub. The club owner invited Brown to sing, but Brown grabbed Walker's guitar and thrilled the crowd by tearing through 'Gatemouth Boogie' - a song he claimed to have made up on the spot. He made dozens of recordings in the 1940s and '50s, including many regional hits - 'Okie Dokie Stomp,' 'Boogie Rambler,' and 'Dirty Work At The Crossroads.' But he became frustrated by the limitations of the Blues and began carving a new career by recording albums that featured Jazz and Country songs mixed in with the Blues numbers.

09.07.05 (MusicPortal.com) TRISHA YEARWOOD's new album, "Jasper County," is set for release next week on Tuesday, September 13th via MCA Nashville Records. A collection that comes from a period of re-evaluation, introspection, reinvigoration and self-reflection, the multi-Platinum, multi Grammy-winning star has never before given as much consideration and concern to a recording project. "I've never taken this long to make a record," comments Yearwood. "I've never recorded as many songs. I'd never completely started over on an album like I did on this one. Overall, it was a two-year process to make this record." Reunited with her original producer Garth Fundis, TRISHA YEARWOOD seems to dig deeper into her expressive powers on "Jasper County" than ever before - the 11 resulting soundscapes all being intense listening experiences. After 12 years of non-stop touring and career building, Yearwood decided to take a break following 2001's Gold-certified "Inside Out" album and its top-10 single, 'I Would've Loved You Anyway.' "I planned to take a year off. I just thought it was a good time to take a break for a lot of reasons. A year goes by really quickly, even if you're not doing anything. Then I started getting ready to make a record and listening to songs. I think I was just so anxious to get back into the studio that Garth Fundis and I just went in and cut a bunch of stuff. Then, for the first time, I stopped and reevaluated: 'These songs are good, but are they the right ones?' At that point, we had to say, 'You know what? It's OK to start over.' Once we did that, we were able to get to the next layer of songs, to dig a little deeper. When we got into the second set of sessions, it felt instantly right. That's when I knew. You could just feel that it was special. It's been such a long road to get here, and there've been so many road blocks along the way. You feel really protective of your music. You don't want to just throw it out there. You really want everybody on board and focused. So now the timing seems right. I think there were probably reasons for it to have taken the time it did." In the interim, the radio landscape has changed profoundly. So has the live-performance business. She says she's eager to embrace the Country industry's evolution. "How can they miss you if you don't go away?" Yearwood says with a chuckle. "It wasn't intentional to be gone this long, and a lot has changed in four years. But the response I've had to the new music has been just so nice. Radio people were saying, 'We're just really happy to hear your voice again.' The new people at MCA who don't know me very well are on board. There's a momentum. The more things roll along, the more optimistic I am. It's just like coming home," says Yearwood. "Everything is in the best perspective of my life, both professionally and personally. I feel wiser. I am just very, very happy. I consciously took a break, but I am not finished. I miss performing, and I do love the applause."
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09.06.05 (MusicPortal.com) 16-year-old Pop hopeful HOPE PARTLOW releases her debut album "Who We Are" today via Virgin Records. There are a myriad of ways to become a Top 40 siren these days, it seems -- starring in a reality show or a movie, chief among them -- but possessing a unique and natural vocal ability is often the least of the prerequisites. Which is why, when a homegrown singer like HOPE PARTLOW comes along, the world can't help but sit back and notice. Though the phrases "plucked from obscurity" or "straight off the farm" do not do justice to the richness of Partlow's background, it is an inescapable fact that just two short years ago, the precociously talented young singer was getting up at 5 a.m. to pick peas on her family's farm in the tiny town of Drummonds, Tennessee. It was in that simple rural setting that HOPE PARTLOW's talent first began to bud. By day, she and her three siblings worked the land. By night, Partlow pursued her goal of becoming a singer, heading down to the Strand Theater in nearby Millington to sing Country songs while her Dad played guitar. "The first time I got onstage, I was five years old, and I sang 'Folsom Prison Blues,'" she says, chuckling at the memory. "Actually, I made the train sounds, and my father sang the song. People tipped based on how much they liked you -- I made twenty-five dollars that night." Together, she and her father learned hundreds of Country and Gospel songs, all of which became part of their live repertoire over the years. It didn't take long for the young girl with the deep, rich voice to gain a devoted following. "I knew I could sing well," she says, "and people were always coming up to my Dad saying, 'She's unique, she's different. You need to try to get some record company people to hear her.'" With the help of her aunt, a songwriter in Nashville, HOPE PARTLOW and her parents decided to write and record her first demo. One thing led to another, and it wasn't long before Partlow found herself performing an impromptu gig in the offices of Virgin Chairman and CEO Matt Serletic. By then a seasoned performer, the singer clinched her very first record contract -- at the tender age of 14. Though Partlow spent her early years singing Country and Gospel, her musical tastes now veer more toward Pop and Rock. "I love country music," she says, "but I feel that I am at a place in my life where I can better express myself through pop music." The songs on HOPE PARTLOW's debut album demonstrates a singer with a remarkable sense of self-possession who long ago learned the art of conveying the most heartfelt emotion through song. And though the scenery has changed for this homegrown talent, the roots of her Tennessee upbringing will always run deep. "I loved being in New York working on my album," she says. "But I always miss my home. I miss the sunlight and the open space. When I'm home, I often take a walk to the Mississippi River to just sit and relax."
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[Country News: August 2005]
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