-------------------------------------- Date: 1.3.1999 19:40 Uhr From: DelanoBoy THE BLUE CHIP RADIO REPORT News, Charts, Show Prep, Sales Info March 1, 1999 Bill Miller Editor & Publisher The Blue Chip Radio Report is a free weekly newsletter for people in the radio and music industries. To add your name to our e-mailing list, or to remove your name, send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks! The Blue Chip Song of the Week: "Stranger In My Mirror" by Randy Travis. Writers: Skip Ewing and Kim Williams. Producers: Randy Travis, Byron Gallimore and James Stroud. Label: Dreamworks Records. CDX volume 207. This one jumps out of the speakers. Clearly distinctive from the rest of the pack. Vince Gill was in David Foster's Malibu CA studio last Monday (2/22) with Barbra Streisand. In The (Nashville) Tennessean, Jay Orr reported that Gill recorded a duet with Streisand on a Richard Marx song with an undisclosed title. Word is that it will be on Streisand's next album. Mr. Streisand, James Brolin, is a big country music fan, apparently explaining the connection between Streisand and country music. Vince Gill may have drawn the biggest laugh of the Grammy awards show when he held his trophy his ear and said, "Somebody told me that if you listen real close, you can hear Garth Brooks play baseball.'' Whoever was directing the shot selection for CBS must have been a country music fan (or extremely lucky for an inside laugh). The camera panned to Trisha Yearwood who looked as if she'd just swallowed a tablespoon of vinegar. Lots of country artists were wearing black at the Grammy Awards. Most, if not all, won't be around long enough to earn a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The original man in black, Johnny Cash, got his last week. June Carter Cash accepted the award for her husband. John R. was resting at the family home in Jamaica. Clint Black won a Grammy for his role in the "Tribute To Tradition" album. It was Clint's first win after 14 nominations. Patti Page also won her first Grammy Wednesday night. Vince Gill won his 12th in the past 10 years. Best quote by a winner goes to Ricky Scaggs, winner of Best Bluegrass Album, on why bluegrass continues to grow in audience size: "(Bluegrass) never had to make a fashion statement to be cool. Bill Monroe survived The Beatles. He survived Bob Dylan. He even survived Nashville." Welcome to our new subscribers, including Loretta Crawford with the morning show at WPOR 101.9 in Portland ME; Dugg Collins from KFDI in Wichita KS; songwriter John Bettis; Chuck Edwards with KSCS-fm in Dallas/Ft. Worth TX; and Hiromi Chida, Country DJ at FMK Radio in Kumamoto, Japan. Actor B.T. Stone played an investigative reporter on last night's episode of "The Practice" on ABC. Those of you in Tennessee and Kentucky will probably remember him as WIVK's Bob Thomas. Bob spent 20 years on-air at the Knoxville station before heading to Hollywood. Blue Chip Radio Report reader Terri Fricon, with The Fricon Entertainment Company in Nashville, has been busy lately. Terri was the music supervisor for "Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke", the mini-series starring Lauren Bacall and Richard Chamberlain which aired on CBS last week. Fricon also supervised the music for the recent Miramax release "Down In The Delta" starring Wesley Snipes and Alfie Woodard. Next up: "Fatal Error", a made for TBS movie starring Janie Turner, Robert Wagner, and Antonio Sabato, Jr., which will premiere on The Superstation March 28th. According to Country Weekly, John Michael Montgomery likes to listen to demo tapes in his pickup truck. "I want the song to touch me just like I was hearing it over the (radio) for the first time", says John Michael. By the way, John Michael Montgomery is the latest country singer who has let it be known that he'd like to be in the movies. The rumble is that VH1 wanted to play The Dixie Chicks' "Wide Open Spaces", but wanted to edit out the fiddle parts. The group refused. Guess the banjo didn't bother them. Jeff Cook from Alabama is selling his home. "Excalibur", on Lookout Mountain near Ft. Payne AL, is a castle featuring a Japanese-style kitchen with an eat-around hibachi grill, 8 bedrooms (including 4 master suites), pool with rock waterfall and other luxuries. Asking price is $ 4,820,000. Austin based drummer Donald Lindley died February 3rd of cancer. He had been diagnosed with the illness in December. Lindley may have been best known for his work with Joe Ely, Lucinda Williams, Dave Alvin, Julie and Buddy Miller, and others. A memorial page has been established at http://www.tcb2000.com/donald . Clay and Allene Blaker have established an excellent tribute page to the great steel guitar player Jimmy Day, who died a few weeks ago. Visit http://www.clayblaker.com/jimmyday1.html . Shania Twain in The New York Daily News on why women are saturating the country charts in greater numbers: "Women are being taken more seriously in all professions. Women have been rising to the top. Music is no exception." Of course, it's a mere coincidence that the women being taken "more seriously" in country music wear considerably less clothing than the women of 10 years ago. Who was the rock artist who recorded a song, years ago, entitled "Video Killed The Radio Star"? Trio II, the long-awaited album from Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, debuted moved at # 5 on Billboard's Country Albums chart last week. This week, it moved up to # 4. According to Richard Lawson in The Nashville Business Journal, the album sold over 50,000 units in its first two weeks on the market. I haven't heard it on the radio, though, have you? Dollywood in Gatlinburg TN is hiring hundreds of seasonal employees, including a number of entertainers. If you might be interested in what's available, immediately call 1-423-426-3386. Asylum has re-serviced Monte Warden's "Someday" on the latest CDX . "Someday" is a former Blue Chip Song Of The Week. It's up-tempo country with a pop sound, but without the tiring, loud drum mix so prevalent today. Yeah, I know the percentage of Top 10 hits with a loud drum mix. But the percentage of songs that bomb with a loud drum mix is much higher. But don't trust me- pull out 100 or more of your latest promo copies, listen, and do the math. Loud drums have long been an indicator of weak lyrics and melody. The word out of Nashville is that Tammy Wynette's daughters have fired their attorney and hired lawyers with higher profiles. The Wynette autopsy request is getting heavy media play in the music business city. In what may be a first for a country star(s) with a former # 1 hit, Amanda and Tyler Wilkinson were recently grounded for breaking curfew. It seems the kids lingered too long after a church hay ride. MerleFest will take place April 29-May 2, 1999 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Merlefest honors the great Doc Watson and his late son, Merle. For more info, visit http://www.merlefest.org, or call Myers Media at 212-977-8111. For ticket info, call 1-800-343-7857. Turner Broadcasting System plans to launch a new regional cable TV channel geared for viewers in the southeastern U.S.A. The company hopes to eventually reach 6 million homes. The channel will draw on shows from the Turner movie and TV series library, pro sports (Braves, Hawks, Thrashers), country music and other regional favorites. A weekly program from The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville is on the programming menu. Garth Brooks may have sat on the bench for his high school baseball team, but he's starting to impress several of the San Diego Padres. Not with his playing, of course, but with his work ethic. The players have noticed that Garth is first on the field every day and last off every night. He takes extra batting practice, fields extra grounders, runs extra windsprints. Then he signs autographs for several hours after practice, an act of kindness that most players detest and avoid. He's also more mannerly than most players, even thanking the batting practice pitcher every time he leaves the cage. As manager Bruce Bochy says, "He's awfully nice." Wrote Ann Killion in the San Jose Mercury News: "For those of us used to the regular rude boys of baseball, it was stunning." Is there a lesson or two here? Someone with the academic credentials to pull it off will write a textbook on Garth someday. He's a living, breathing model of the perfect business marketing strategy. Dwight Yoakam used to date Sharon Stone. Now he's been seen around L.A. with Bridget Fonda. Who says the Hollywood babes don't like guitars, Cadillacs and hillbilly music? And whatever happened to Sammi Jo? TWANG T.V.: 3/1...........Randy Travis on Donny & Marie 3/1...........Barbara Mandrell on "At Home With...", HGTV 3/2...........Trisha Yearwood on "Jag", CBS 3/2...........Dolly Parton on Donny & Marie 3/2..........."The Life and Times of Deana Carter", TNN 3/3...........Shania Twain special, CBS 3/3...........Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Mindy McCready on "Girls Night Out", CMT 3/3............Reba McEntire on Donny & Marie 3/6............Vince Gill, Martin McBride on "Austin City Limits", PBS * 3/8............Garth Brooks on Conan O'Brien, NBC 3/13...........Hank Thompson, Ray Price on "Austin City Limits", PBS * * Check local listings for all shows, especially syndicated programs and "Austin City Limits". Special thanks to Katie Pruett at SuperStar Country KYNG/fm in Dallas/Ft. Worth TX and her work on the station's website, http://www.superstarcountry.com , a source for many of the Twang TV listings. CROOK & CHASE musical guests: (afternoon shows repeat the next morning) 2/26........Mark Wills 3/1..........Tareva Henderson 3/2..........Trisha Yearwood 3/3..........The Del McCoury Band, Tareva Henderson 3/4..........David Kersh 3/5..........Aaron Tippin TNN PRIME TIME COUNTRY musical guests: 3/1.........Trini Triggs, Wynonna 3/2.........Davis Kersh, Shania Twain 3/3.........Alan Jackson, The Wilkinsons 3/4.........John Michael Montgomery 3/8.........Michael Peterson 3/10.......Billy Ray Cyrus THE BLUE CHIP ADULT COUNTRY CHART (25-49 demographics) 3/1/99 LW TW Title Artist ----- ----- ------- -------- 1 1 I Don't Want To Miss...... . . .. Mark Chestnutt 2 2 Powerful Thing . . . . . . . . . . ..Trisha Yearwood 3 3 You Were Mine . . . . . . . . . . .Dixie Chicks 7 4 No Place That Far . . . . . . . ...Sara Evans 10 5 Busy Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...Billy Ray Cyrus 6 6 Hold On To Me . . . . . . . . . . .J. M. Montgomery 11 7 Meanwhile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Strait 8 8 Unbelievable . . . . . . . . . . . ...Diamond Rio 9 9 How Forever Feels . . . . . . . . Kenny Chesney 12 10 I'll Think Of A Reason Later . ..Lee Ann Womack 14 11 Gone Crazy . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alan Jackson 13 12 Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Wilkinsons 17 13 I Can't Get Over You . . . . . . ..Brooks & Dunn 15 14 Keepin' Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alabama 18 15 Ordinary Life . . . . . . . . . . . .. Chad Brock 16 16 Love Ain't Like That . . . . . . . .Faith Hill 5 17 For A Little While . . . . . . . . . Tim McGraw 23 18 Wish You Were Here . . . . . .. Mark Wills 20 19 Hands Of A Working Man . . ..Ty Herndon 22 20 You Won't Ever Be Lonely . . ..Andy Griggs 4 21 Wrong Night . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reba McEntire 24 22 Anyone Else . . . . . . . . . . . . Collin Raye 19 23 That Don't Impress Me...... . . Shania Twain 28 24 Don't Come Crying To Me . . . Vince Gill 25 25 Somebody's Out There . . . . ..The Kinleys 26 26 Drive Me Wild . . . . . . . . . . . .Sawyer Brown 27 27 Can't Get Enough . . . . . . . . . Patty Loveless 29 28 Everytime I Cry . . . . . . . . . . Terri Clark 21 29 When Mama Ain't Happy . . . .Tracy Byrd 32 30 I'm Leaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aaron Tippin 31 31 No More Looking Over ..... . . Travis Tritt 33 32 You Don't Need Me Now . ... . Clint Black 35 33 What's The Matter..... . . . . .. Claudia Church 34 34 You Still Shake Me . . . . . . . .Deana Carter 38 35 Better Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Warren Bros. 36 36 Say Anthing . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shane McAnally 37 37 With You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lila McCann 39 38 Hillbilly Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery Gentry *** 39 Your Own Little Corner . . . . . .Blackhawk *** 40 Maybe Not Tonight . . . . . . . .Sammy Kershaw & Lorrie Morgan DROPPED: Dodd, Messina NASH-ROCK (a.k.a "Young Country") (Teens, 18-24 demos) LW TW Title Artist ----- ----- ------- -------- 1 1 I Don't Want To Miss..... . . . ..Mark Chestnutt 2 2 Unbelievable . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diamond Rio 5 3 You Were Mine . . . . . . . . . . . Dixie Chicks 6 4 Powerful Thing . . . . . . . . . . . .Trisha Yearwood 4 5 Hold On To Me . . . . . . . . . . . J. M. Montgomery 8 6 No Place that Far . . . . . . . . . Sara Evans 9 7 Busy Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Billy Ray Cyrus 10 8 That Don't Impress Me..... . . . Shania Twain 12 9 Meanwhile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Strait 13 10 How Forever Feels . . . . . . . . .Kenny Chesney 11 11 Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wilkinsons 14 12 Keepin' Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alabama 17 13 I Can't Get Over You . . . . . . . Brooks & Dunn 15 14 Somebody's Out There . . . . . Kinleys 16 15 I'll Think Of A Reason Later . . Lee Ann Womack 18 16 Love Ain't Like That . . . . . . . .Faith Hill 19 17 Ordinary Life . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chad Brock 20 18 Gone Crazy . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alan Jackson *** 19 Wish You Were Here . . . . . . Mark Wills *** 20 Anyone Else . . . . . . . . . . . ..Collin Raye DROP: McGraw, McEntire Letters To The Editor (Please indicate your permission to publish your letter online by writing "Letter To The Editor" in the subject line of your e-mail. Letters subject to editing. Keep 'em short and to the point. E-mail addresses will be added to your signature unless otherwise requested) The Letters To The Editor feature will return soon. Blue Chip Communications produces great-sounding, easy-to-sell radio features! Special thanks this week to Joyce Symans and Fred Vail. The Blue Chip Radio Report is a copyrighted feature of Blue Chip Communications, All Rights Reserved. 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