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 Photo by Patrisha McLean The writer of what could be America’s all-time favorite sing-along, American Pie, will soon be featured in an authorized documentary. DON McLEAN: American Troubadour will be screened for Nashville residents on WNPT on March 15th. McLean granted unprecedented access and interviews for the film, revealing his personal account of a career spanning over four decades and songs that have become integral parts of American pop culture. The documentary features 17 live performances including “American Pie,” “Vincent,” “Crying” and “I Love You So” along with extensive commentary by historian and Rolling Stone journalist Douglas Brinkley.
American Troubadour is produced and directed by four-time Emmy award-winning Jim Brown whose work includes: Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, The Weavers: Wasn’t That A Time, and A Vision Shared: Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. “I let Jim Brown into my life because I respect him and trust him,” explains McLean. “We’ve known each other for forty years and he allowed my ideas to be fully realized while telling my story accurately and poetically.”
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Nashville is a song town and Jeff Green is a song guy. While on the air at his college radio station almost 35 years ago in San Francisco, Elvis Presley died. Green put together a themed show about the King. What started out as lists of songs about various topics on recipe cards developed into a loose-leaf binder, then several loose-leaf binders and eventually, five print editions of the Green Book of Songs By Subject.
The Green Book now classifies tens of thousands of popular songs and album tracks over the past 100 years by more than 2,000 themes and concepts. It’s the only continuously maintained source of songs by subject in the world and that’s because “my wife Lauren Virshup and I are too crazy to know when to stop!,” Green admits.
Green originally thought the book would help songwriters and musicians get their music played on radio stations in the ’70s, but it’s now used worldwide by thousands of libraries, CBS News, CNN and the BBC, radio/TV stations, major film/record companies (Paramount, Disney, Sony Music, just to name a few), professional sports teams (Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Padres, New Jersey Nets, Chicago Blackhawks, for example), ad agencies, television networks (MTV, Showtime, Oprah Winfrey), mobile DJs, wedding planners, dance instructors and anyone who ever works with music.
Teachers have discovered it helps students connect music to songs about history (e.g., Vietnam, the Civil War, 9/11), themes in literature (songs about prejudice to add understanding to books such as To Kill A Mockingbird, for example).
Although the Green Book is in its 5th printing of the hardback edition, it is most likely its last due to the sheer amount of information, and has shifted to an ever-growing inexpensive online subscription database. To buy the book, subscribe or just find out more just click here.
Jeff is currently VP of Country Aircheck, a Nashville-based trade publication company. He has previously worked as Executive Director for the Americana Music Association in Nashville and as Executive Editor at Radio & Records, a radio broadcast trade publication. Jeff has also served nine years in senior management with the Country Music Association. In 2004, he received the CMA’s Jo Walker-Meador International Achievement Award for efforts to promote country music worldwide.
 Martina McBride may be a country music star, but when it comes to being a mother, she says she experiences all the same things other mothers face raising two teenage daughters and a six year old. “There’s always drama. I mean in a good way. But it’s the same kind of drama that’s been playing out forever. I would imagine that whether you’re in Hoboken or Venice, Italy, you know, it’s all the same thing. So it’s just a universal experience really.” Martina is sure she provided some of that same drama for her mom when she was younger and she says, “And we all remember what it was like to be a teenager even if you don’t have teenage daughters.” Martina is currently out on the road with George Strait promoting her top ten song “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” and beginning in April she’ll be headlining her own, more intimate theatre tour.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 OK Race fans it’s almost time for NASCAR to start and Little Big Town will kick off the season with pre and post-race concerts as well as performing the National Anthem for the 34th annual Budweiser Shootout on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway.
The band will perform three songs prior to the non-points event on the pre-race stage located on pit road which will be carried live on FOX Sports. After the checkered flag waves on the 75-lap race, the group will perform a 60-minute post-race concert from the Sprint FANZONE Main Entertainment Stage.
“Our fans can expect some hard racing, loud music and an unforgettable night as the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series kick off the 2012 racing season at the ‘World Center of Racing.’ ”
In addition to their Budweiser Shootout pre and post-race concerts and National Anthem, a special $84 ticket package designed around the Little Big Town has been created that includes a Budweiser Shootout ticket, Sprint FANZONE/Pre-Race access and VIP area access to the Little Big Town pre-race performance.
Little Big Town is comprised of Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and husband and wife, Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook. The group has sold over 1.5 million records, placed 12 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, earned four Grammy Nominations and was honored with an Academy of Country Music award for Top New Vocal Duet/Group.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Taylor Swift and Viacom announced that they’re partnering for a first-ever MTV global music video premiere, featuring Taylor Swift’s ‘Safe and Sound’.
“Safe & Sound,” is the lead single from the soundtrack for the highly anticipated movie, ‘The Hunger Games’. The album was produced by Oscar and Grammy-winner T-Bone Burnett and ‘Safe and Sound’, featuring the Civil Wars, took the No. 1 spot on the iTunes chart the day it was released.
Reuters.com reported that the video, will air Feb. 13 at 7:54 PM ET ON MTV, and could reach as many 600 million households around the world.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Alan Jackson says there’s really no formula for writing songs. “I can’t say that I put that much thought into all of it. I don’t know why. I pretty much write what comes out at the time. I get ideas all throughout the year, you know. It could be reflective, or it could be something situational that causes me to think about it or it could be something goofy that’s on television or something. But you know, whatever, I just write down or jot down ideas and titles. Sometimes they come out as a song right away or sometimes they lay there for a while. But life always seems to bring something to write about.”
Jackson’s “So You Don’t Have to Love Me Anymore,” written by Jay Knowles and Alan’s nephew, Adam Wright, has been hitting the airwaves. The video for the single is also enjoying its share of success, as well. In fact, the clip was No. 4 on iTunes last week. It ranked just behind Nicki Minaj and ahead of Chris Brown. The digital single will be available on February 14th (Valentine’s Day)
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Jamie O’Neal, is starting the New Year off with a new business venture. O’Neal and some of Nashville’s finest industry personnel have joined forces to create her own indie label, Momentum Label Group.
O’Neal, whose hits include “There Is No Arizona,” “When I Think About Angels,” and “Somebody’s Hero,” will oversee every aspect of Momentum Label Group, including serving as the producer to some of the label’s expanding roster.
“I’m so excited about this amazing opportunity,” says O’Neal. “I’ve had my own studio for many years, and being a part of the creative process has always been one of my favorite things about the music business. By having our own label, we can now help introduce the world to some exceptionally talented new artists.”
The key team on staff assisting O’Neal with the label will be her father and manager, Jimmy Murphy, who will serve as Momentum’s General Manager and Partner; music industry veteran John Ettinger, who will head up the Radio Strategies portion of the label; Jessica Northey, who will oversee the label’s Social Media/Web Strategies division; and John Christian, who will head up West Coast promotions.
Murphy has spent his whole life in the music business as a recording artist in New Zealand, where he was a star on the Australian Bandstand. Most recently, his songs have been featured on the Desperate Housewives soundtrack and America’s Funniest Home Videos. In addition to managing O’Neal, Murphy also oversees the careers of his other daughter, Minnie Murphy, as well as Momentum’s flagship artist, Rachele Lynae.
Ettinger’s career in the music business began more than 20 years ago at Mercury Records, where he was a key player on the regional team that launched the careers of Sugarland, Billy Currington, Love and Theft, Toby Keith and Shania Twain. It was his role as VP at Mercury where he also met O’Neal and played an instrumental part in propelling her red-hot career.
Christian’s 25-year experience in the music industry with programming and broadcasting will be an asset to Momentum Label Group, as he will continue to utilize his knowledge and expertise with those in the country radio field where he has worked as a key consultant with stations across the United States.
Look for Momentum Label Group’s flagship artist, Rachele Lynae, to release her debut single, “Party ‘Til the Cows Come Home” in March.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Pictured L - R: ASCAP's LeAnn Phelan, Jonathan Singleton, BMG Chrysalis' Taylor Lindsey and Sara Johnson, David Nail and ASCAP's Ryan Beuschel. Photo by Ed Rode ASCAP Nashville toasted the creative team behind David Nail’s #1 single “Let It Rain” this week with a #1 Party at ASCAP. Not only does this mark the Grammy-nominated vocalist’s first #1 single, but it also makes history as the longest rising #1 since the inception of the country radio charts. Nail co-wrote the song with Jonathan Singleton who has penned several other #1 hits and another David Nail Top 10 Single “Red Light”. Producers Chuck Ainlay and Frank Liddell and publishers BMG Chrysalis and Carnival Music were also honored at the event.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Just as music soothes the soul, compassion soothes the heart. During life’s most difficult journeys, compassion can be as instrumental as music – it’s the music of hope.
On March 29th, 2012, Madison Heights Baptist Church in Madison, Tennessee will feature the music of hope with The Isaacs and Connie Smith, together in a benefit concert for Taira Baughman and her family. Taira battled triple negative breast cancer, and is now fighting stage 4 metastasized breast cancer to the lungs. She’s been married for 19 years to Rob Baughman; they have four children, ages 4 – 18.
The Thursday evening concert will feature Dove award winners “The Isaacs” and Grand Ole Opry legend Connie Smith. Connie Smith has performed with award winning artists, including Martina McBride. Two members of The Isaacs family, Sonya Isaacs Yeary and husband Jimmy Yeary, along with Ben Hayslip, co-wrote “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” a song made famous this year by Martina McBride.
Soon after being featured as one of the survivors in Martina McBride’s new music video of “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” Taira Baughman began looking for a way to be instrumental in cancer patients lives. In just three weeks, she created the “Operation—We’re Gonna Love Them Through It,” project and orchestrated teams of angels around the nation. The project’s angels delivered over 1,000 stockings in thirteen states. Each stocking was filled with hopeful items for cancer patients going through chemotherapy during the week of Christmas. Martina McBride joined Taira Baughman and TeamMartina.com for the delivery in Nashville.
Taira’s compassion for others is exemplary. Her remarkable faith is evident to everyone who knows her. To blog readers, her unfolding story is one of determination—one courageous step at a time. The Baughman family has experienced the full wrath of cancer, from physical to emotional to spiritual to financial. Yet, they are determined to beat cancer head on.
That is what inspired four organizations to come together to spearhead the benefit concert. Madison Heights Baptist Church, TeamMartina.com, BecauseHopeMatters.com, and Middle Tennessee YMCA of Rutherford County—After Breast Cancer Program orchestrated all arrangements for the concert. The cost of cancer is high. But the potential of hope is much higher. It’s not walking in someone’s shoes that matters most, it’s your willingness to walk beside them that matters more.
Details and advanced tickets available at Madison Heights Baptist Church or online at www.TeamMartina.com
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Through the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a good bit of time with Dierks Bentley, conducting interviews on his bus, backstage before shows, at his home and elsewhere. And, while I don’t know that either of us ever consciously thought about any ongoing themes in those conversations, beyond the particulars of the individual songs and career milestones we discussed, it’s hard to look back on those interviews without seeing the importance of family and having someone or something to care about in Dierks’ life. Sometimes we’d talk about his parents and brother back in his native Arizona; other times it would be about his faith and his strong belief in things bigger than himself.
Then, in one particularly revealing moment back in his single days, he touched on how it felt to pull into Nashville after being on the road with his band—his second family in many ways—and have them all eager to get off the bus and head home to wives and kids. Meanwhile, he’d try to convince them to stay on the bus a little longer and play Xbox games with him because he had no one waiting for him at home. “I also had a lot of friends, like Cody Canada in Cross Canadian Ragweed, who were starting to have kids. And I felt like I was being left behind,” he told me at the time.
If Dierks might’ve sounded a little melancholy then about not having anyone to greet him at home, a good listen to his excellent new CD, Home, will tell you all you need to know about what a married father of two—a man happy in his life and his career—sounds like. Released today, Home applies in so many ways to where the project finds Dierks, onstage and off. Whether rockin’ the house with the great party tune and earlier single “Am I The Only One,” relieving the pain of hard times—if only briefly— in “Tip It On Back” or giving sage advice about the domino effect of getting married in “Diamonds Make Babies,” Dierks is at the top of his game throughout the new CD and is “back home” in mainstream country after a foray into bluegrass and roots music with his previous Up On The Ridge.
But Dierks doesn’t totally forsake bluegrass on Home as he calls on good buddies Sam Bush and Tim O’Brien to add some tasty pickin’ to the infectious “Heart of a Lonely Girl.” And Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild offers up some beautifully heartfelt vocals on “When You Gonna Come Around,” a soulful tune about the first tentative longings in a new relationship. Just gorgeous.
As good as the rest of the record is, two songs stand out as truly special. The title cut is simply an emotion-packed treasure, with its loving tribute to the land of his birth and its acknowledgment that, while she may be imperfect, America is worth working hard to preserve as the place we all call home. It is absolutely my favorite Dierks Bentley tune . . . ever. If he did nothing else in his career, “Home” would be more than enough to assure his place in country music history.
But as special as it is, it’s hard to top the record’s final cut, “Thinking of You,” for emotional impact as Dierks shares the microphone with his three-year-old daughter, Evie, in a song he wrote for her. If you were fortunate enough to see them sing it on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium last week, you already know how moving the scene was. If you weren’t there, you owe it to yourself to find the performance on YouTube and watch it . . . with a tissue close by. It’s truly heartwarming. And, if home truly is where the heart is, Dierks playing his new music with his precious daughter, on a stage he reveres in a land he loves, truly must’ve felt like home for him. It did for the rest of us.—David Scarlett
Photo: James Minchin III
Contact: dscarlett@nashville.com or jerry@nashville.com
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