Dunno if Jeff Wall's taken off yet since he normally takes care of
these, but I'll send it out anyway.
--Jon Johnson
THE BLUE CHIP RADIO REPORT
Country Music News, Charts, Show Prep, Sales Info
March 29, 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: "Some Broken Hearts" by Bellamy Brothers.
Writer: Wayland Holyfield. Producers: Bellamy Brothers and Randy Hiebert.
Label: Intersound Country and Bellamy Brothers. CDX: volume 207. The
original country hat act, the Bellamys come from left field with this
arrangement of the 1977 Don Williams hit (under the title "Some Broken
Hearts Never Mend"). This song has a reggae beat, much more hip and jiggy
than some of the second-rate pop music flowing out of Nashburg these
days. Most importantly, the lyric is timeless. After all, some broken
hearts never mend.
Two more of radio's heavy hitters from the past year are without labels
this morning.
Toby Keith has left Mercury Nashville as Tracy Byrd exits MCA.
The news is better for Doug Stone and for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Stone returns to the major label arena with an Atlantic Nashville deal.
He had a long string of fine country hits for Epic before sliding into a
rock sound that was greeted with a collective yawn by the radio and music
public.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has signed with Dreamworks. Their first
release, scheduled for May 4th, will be "Bang Bang Bang", an album
recorded for the defunct Rising Tide label a year ago.
Ray Price was arrested on charges of possession of drug paraphenalia and
marijuana last week near his Texas ranch. He posted a $ 500 bond, pleaded
no contest to the possession of drug paraphenalia charge, and paid a $
200 fine. The 73-year-old member of The Country Music Hall of Fame is
expected to go to court at a later date on the possession of marijuana
charge.
It's not unusual for a radio station to react to a downturn in ratings by
cutting the playlist. When the pressure's on, "Play the biggest hits more
often" is always a line that a P.D. or consultant on shaky ground can
sell to the men and women in the large, carpeted offices.
How bad are things?
Trini Triggs broke into R & R's Top 50 with only 8 reporting stations
playing "Horse To Mexico". That number broke the previous low record of
22 stations on a LeAnn Rimes tune of awhile back.
You may recall that former California Governor Ronald Reagan pardoned
Merle Haggard for his felony convictions after The Hag achieved stardom.
Through the generosity of North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt, Randy Travis
now enjoys the same pardoned status. As a troubled teen, Travis was
convicted of larceny, burglary and weapons charges at various times in
his home state.
Quoted in Seventeen magazine, The Dixie Chicks' Martie Seidel said that
men haven't started throwing underwear at the group, but they'd prefer
boxers, not briefs, if and when the phenomenon develops.
Chad Brock has worked as a car salesman and as a pro wrestler. He was on
the WCW circuit using his real name and wearing cowboy togs as his
gimmick. Brock says he wrestled 19 times on TV, including one appearance
against Paul Wight, a.k.a. The Giant.
Rumors are that Brock may still want to hide soap and bottle caps in his
trunks. Some speculate that he may combine his new-found singing stardom
with a return to the WCW ring.
He'll be the good guy, no doubt.
Welcome to our new subscribers, including Rick McCracken, MD at WSOC/fm
in Charlotte NC; John Nichols of WKMH/fm in Cullman AL; Jim Murphy,
Director of Operations at Jones Radio; Catherine Gollery with
Spinner.com; Diny Schapendonk of CENTRAAL FM in The Netherlands; and,
Joel Denver.
Brock Speer of gospel music's Speer Family died earlier today (3/29/99)
in Nashville.
Speer joined his brother Ben and Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires on
Elvis Presley's first Nashville session for RCA Victor Records in 1956,
according to The Tennessean. The brothers also contributed to other
Presley sessions, but the family is legendary in gospel music circles.
Speer was a former president and chairman of the board of the Gospel
Music Association.
Brock Speer was 78 years old.
Charles Sawtelle, a founding member of the bluegrass group Hot Rize, died
March 20th from complications of leukemia.
Charles Sawtelle was 52 years old.
Inspiration is everywhere.
The Bellamys said on Crook and Chase awhile back that they got the idea
for the reggae arrangement on "Some Broken Hearts" from a bar band- a
beach bar band, in fact. In the Miami area, the brothers walked out to
the beach bar (as in "thatched tiki hut") and heard someone do a reggae
arrangement of the classic. Supposedly, they looked at each other and
said something like "Duh".
There are more than 300,000 jukeboxes still in use which play only vinyl
45's, according to an article in the current issue of The Nashville
Scene. Many country hits are pressed on 45's to service this market.
Garth Brooks rapped out a single in an exhibition game a few days ago.
The victim was White Sox hurler Mike Sirotka.
Last time I checked, Garth was 1-for-13 on his way to Cooperstown. They
say he handles hecklers better than he handles a hard breaking ball.
Shania "Coo-ul" Twain is adding a string of venues to her concert tour.
She'll revisit several of the cities where ticket demand was highest,
including Detroit, L.A. and Indianapolis.
Claudia Church is a former Paris model.
Marty Stuart received Mississippi's Governor's Award for Excellence in
the Arts a few days ago. According to The Tennessean, Eudora Welty and
Morgan Freeman have also received the select honor.
Stuart's first album in 3 years is due in May. Party Marty is putting the
finishing touches on the album. His guest list will include Emmylou
Harris, Pam Tillis and Ralph Stanley.
The Grand Ole Opry tends to draw a polite and reserved audience. For that
reason, it was pleasantly surprising to see Freddy Fender bring the
audience to its feet with dynamic renditions of "Wasted Days & Wasted
Nights" and "Before The Next Teardrop Falls" on Saturday night's TV
telecast of the show.
Is Freddy making a comeback, or has the country audience recovered from
the heavy burn-out of yesterday's hot oldies?
Gina Mendello is back in Nashville after 9 years in Australia. At various
times down under, she held positions with Mercury Records Australia, Curb
Records, and Sony Music Australia. Gina can be reached at (615) 383.0643,
or e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] .
TNN (formerly The Nashville Network) will televise the first of 13 weekly
one-hour segments of "Century of Country" on Wednesday night. Part of me
is excited that CBS is documenting country music's history for the ages.
Another part of me fears that it will be a revisionist interpretation,
spun to the needs of the pop marketing establishment of the music
business city.
First red flag: the host will not be Ralph Emery or someone with a
trusted sense of country music history or other strong country
credentials. The host will be James Garner and the narrator will be CBS
newsman Bob Schieffer.
So you wanna be a country music star.
At the SXSB Music Festival in Austin last week, Lucinda Williams told a
bothersome story. According to The Tennessean, Williams was dismayed to
find that one of her songs, "One Night Stand", had been licensed for use
in a porno film without her knowledge or consent.
Porter Wagoner will make a guest appearance at the Tennessee Songwriters
Association International weekly meeting on Wednesday (3/31/99) at
Belmont University in Nashville. Non-members are invited to attend.
For more info on Porter's appearance or on The Tennessee Songwriters
Association International, visit the group's website at
http://www.ClubNashville.com/tsai.htm or call the TSAI hotline at (615)
969-5967.
The Nash-rockers will be pleased to hear that Ricochet will release a
single on the old Eagles hit "Seven Bridges Road". The tune was an oldies
rotation staple on A/C stations in the 1980's.
And whatever happened to Dick Feller?
TWANG T.V.:
3/29...........Dixie Chicks on "Howie Mandell"
3/29...........Willie Nelson on "Howard Stern", E!
3/30...........Willie Nelson on "Howard Stern", E!
3/30...........Sawyer Brown on Donny & Marie
3/30..........."The Life and Times of Conway Twitty", TNN
3/31..........."Century of Country" (Pt. 1 of 13), TNN
4/7.............Shania Twain's Winter Break on VH-1
* 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)
3/29........Tareva Henderson
3/30........Ian Tyson
3/31........Mickey Gilley, Tareva Henderson
TNN PRIME TIME COUNTRY musical guests:
3/29........Alan Jackson, Brady Seals
3/30........Shania Twain
3/31........Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood
THE BLUE CHIP ADULT COUNTRY CHART (25-49 demographics)
3/29/99
LW TW Title Artist
----- ----- ------- --------
1 1 You Were Mine . . . . . . . . . . .Dixie Chicks
2 2 How Forever Feels . . . . . . . . Kenny Chesney
3 3 I'll Think Of A Reason Later . ..Lee Ann Womack
8 4 Ordinary Life . . . . . . . . . . . .. Chad Brock
6 5 Gone Crazy . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alan Jackson
9 6 I Can't Get Over You . . . . . . ..Brooks & Dunn
4 7 Busy Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...Billy Ray Cyrus
10 8 Wish You Were Here . . . . . .. Mark Wills
5 9 Meanwhile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Strait
12 10 Love Ain't Like That . . . . . . . .Faith Hill
14 11 Anyone Else . . . . . . . . . . . . Collin Raye
13 12 You Won't Ever Be Lonely . . .Andy Griggs
17 13 Everytime I Cry . . . . . . . . . . Terri Clark
16 14 Don't Come Crying To Me . . . Vince Gill
15 15 Hands Of A Working Man . . ..Ty Herndon
20 16 Two Teardrops . . . . . . . . . . ..Steve Wariner
18 17 Can't Get Enough . . . . . . . . . Patty Loveless
19 18 I'm Leaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aaron Tippin
22 19 Drive Me Wild . . . . . . . . . . . .Sawyer Brown
24 20 Maybe Not Tonight . . . . . . . ..Sammy Kershaw & Lorrie Morgan
21 21 What's The Matter..... . . . . .. Claudia Church
7 22 Powerful Thing . . . . . . . . . . ..Trisha Yearwood
25 23 You Don't Need Me Now . ... . Clint Black
27 24 Better Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Warren Bros.
33 25 Please Remember Me . . . . .. Tim McGraw
31 26 Stranger In My Mirror . . . . . .. Randy Travis
28 27 With You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Lila McCann
29 28 Hillbilly Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . .Montgomery Gentry
11 29 Keepin' Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alabama
26 30 Your Own Little Corner . . . . . .Blackhawk
36 31 I Will Be There For You . . . ...Jessica Andrews
35 32 I Was . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...Neal McCoy
23 33 No Place That Far . . . . . . . ...Sara Evans
37 34 She's Always Right . . . . . . .. Clay Walker
40 35 Man! I Feel Like A Woman . ..Shania Twain
*** 36 Whatever You Say . . . . . . . . Martina McBride
38 37 A Night To Remember . . . . . Joe Diffie
*** 38 One Honest Heart . . . . . . . . .Reba McEntire
30 39 I Don't Want To Miss...... . . .. Mark Chesnutt
*** 40 Who Needs Pictures . . . . . . .Brad Paisley
DROPPED: Toby Keith, Shane McAnally, J.M. Montgomery
NASH-ROCK (a.k.a "Young Country") (Teens, 18-24 demos)
LW TW Title Artist
----- ----- ------- --------
2 1 How Forever Feels . . . . . . . . ..Kenny Chesney
1 2 You Were Mine . . . . . . . . . . . Dixie Chicks
6 3 Wish You Were Here . . . . . . ..Mark Wills
7 4 I Can't Get Over You . . . . . . . Brooks & Dunn
8 5 I'll Think Of A Reason Later . . .Lee Ann Womack
10 6 Ordinary Life . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Chad Brock
3 7 Powerful Thing . . . . . . . . . . . .Trisha Yearwood
11 8 Love Ain't Like That . . . . . . . ..Faith Hill
12 9 Gone Crazy . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Alan Jackson
13 10 Drive Me Wild . . . . . . . . . . . .Sawyer Brown
4 11 Busy Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Billy Ray Cyrus
5 12 Meanwhile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .George Strait
14 13 Every Time I Cray . . . . . . . . . Terri Clark
15 14 Please Remember Me . . . . .. Tim McGraw
16 15 Anyone Else . . . . . . . . . . . ...Collin Raye
17 16 Can't Get Enough . . . . . . . . . Patty Loveless
18 17 Hands Of A Working Man . . . Ty Herndon
19 18 You Won't Ever Be Lonely . ... Andy Griggs
20 19 She's Always Right . . . . . . . ..Clay Walker
*** 20 Man! I Feel Like A Woman . ..Shania Twain
DROPPED: Alabama
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)
In response to Fred Vail's comments last week I thought of a quote from
Jeff Goldblum in the movie Jurassic Park..."life finds a way."
Concerning the many ways and methods of recording artists to "kick that
door of opportunity" open I say....."talent finds a way."
Always has, always will. Don't let those big ol' mean ol' boys networks
scare ya"!
Stoney Richards
APD/MD
Y108 CBS Pittsburgh
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Just a brief comment on the fact that Haggard never had to pose for
Playgirl magazine--
1) Merle in the nude would not sell many magazines. Now son Noel could
sell plenty.
2) If you are one of the men that think Shania Twain is properly
dressed--let me remind you that Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, and Tammy
Wynette never had to have 'crotch shots' during a show to get a song
sold. Would Loretta please teach that girl how to dress? And don't even
did me started on those Chicks--safety pins and piercing--Country my
backside!!!
Yes, I am a female fan of country--and as Gary P. Nunn said--where'd all
these pretty boys come from? One of the best groups I've heard in years
won't do well because they do look like a bunch of "OLD DOGS"
LynEll
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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