Nashville Scene

While Scotty McCreery is learning about American history, the 17-year-old country singer is also busy making some of his own. In May, he won Season Ten of American Idol, becoming the youngest male winner in the show's nine-year history. A record-breaking 122.4 million votes were cast for Scotty and runner-up Lauren Alaina. The final show garnered 29.3 million viewers and 38.6 million people tuned in to see the winner's name announced. A week later, he made country music history when his debut single, "I Love You This Big," earned the highest debut for a new artist's first single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart since at least 1984. The song, which hit the Top 20 in seven weeks, is one of the fastest-rising debut singles for a new country artist in history. He's recording his debut album for Mercury Nashville/19 Recordings/Interscope. He recently made his Grand Ole Opry debut and performed with Josh Turner at Nashville's LP Field during CMA Music Fest. He's performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Today show. He is currently performing through September with the American Idols Live tour. "I've always dreamed of having a career in country music," Scotty says. "I just never thought it could happen. I had never really given myself a chance. Idol gave me the chance and I ran with it. I'm having a good time with it. It's what I wanted to do and I'm making a career out of it."

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

Bill Anderson has been using that philosophy for almost fifty years to capture the attention of millions of country music fans around the world, en route to becoming a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and one of the most popular, most enduring entertainers of our time.

He’s known, in fact as “Whispering Bill,” a nickname hung on him years ago as a result of his breathy voice and his warm, soft approach to singing a country song. His credentials, however, shout his prominence: One of the most awarded songwriters in the history of country music, a million-selling recording artist many times over, television game show host, network soap opera star, spokesman for a nationwide restaurant chain, and a consummate onstage performer. His back-up group, The Po’ Folks Band, has long been considered one of the finest instrumental and vocal groups in the business.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

Arista recording artists, The Henningsens have come a long way in a few short years. First, this farm family from Illinois, including Brian (dad), Aaron (eldest son) and Clara (daughter) achieved something that many new writers in Nashville only dream of. They have had eight of their songs recorded by major artists. Their cuts include the super group Band Perry's You Lie which reached a near chart topping #2 and the the two week #1 smash All Your Life. They also wrote Alone, recorded by Sara Evans, the title cut of country legend Highway 101's Christmas album, Six Gold Coins and Love Out Loud recorded by the legendary Wynona Judd as a tribute to her mother Naomi, and appeared on The Judd's Oprah Network television series.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

Holly has been using music to tell the story of her life and those around her for quite some time. Starting at age eight, Holly filled a notebook she called “Holly’s song folder” with her own compositions, though the lyrical content was far beyond the comprehension of your typical elementary school student. The first of these songs titled “Who Am I” told the story of a young woman facing a broken marriage and mounting confusion about her place in life. Holly’s penchant for addressing life’s ups and downs through song was clearly established at this point, as was her songwriting method.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

One of the most respected vocalists to emerge during the urban cowboy era, John Conlee was known for his superb taste in material and his distinctively melancholy voice. Conlee was born and raised on a tobacco farm in Versailles, KY, in 1946, and took up the guitar as a child, performing on local radio at age ten. He went on to sing with the town barbershop chorus, but didn't initially pursue music as a career, instead becoming a licensed mortician. He also worked as a disc jockey at numerous area radio stations, and made important industry connections via that area when he moved to Nashville in 1971. Five years later, Conlee's demo tape got him a contract with ABC. He released a few singles, but didn't find acceptance until 1978's "Rose Colored Glasses," a song he'd co-written with a newsman at his radio station, rocketed into the country Top Five. Conlee spent the next decade or so scoring hit after hit, nearly all of them helmed by producer Bud Logan. He had two number ones in 1979 alone -- "Lady Lay Down" and "Backside of Thirty" -- and four number two hits through 1981, which included "Before My Time," "Friday Night Blues," "She Can't Say That Anymore," and "Miss Emily's Picture." Conlee returned to the top of the charts three times over 1983-1984 with "Common Man," "I'm Only in It for the Love," and "In My Eyes," and had his last number one in 1986 with "Got My Heart Set on You." All told, Conlee made the Top Ten 19 times through 1987, when he moved from MCA to Columbia and reached the Top Five with "Domestic Life." Never much for touring, Conlee subsequently curtailed his recording activities as well, instead devoting his time to charity work (often on behalf of American farmers), raising his family, and running his own farm outside Nashville.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

Daddy rocked us to sleep with the Rolling Stones; Mama woke us up with Loretta Lynn. So we get it honest." - Kimberly Perry The Band Perry's "modern throwback" style combines classic Country with an eclectic infusion of Rock, Gospel and Soul. As songwriters and musicians, their sound is rounded out by perfect three-part harmonies. The self-titled debut album, THE BAND PERRY, was released in October 2010 by Republic Nashville and one year later, has been certified Platinum. The Band Perry currently counts a 2012 Grammy Best New Artist nomination and a 2012 ACM Vocal Group of the Year nomination among their list of honors. They are the reigning 2011 ACM New Artist of the Year as well as the CMA New Artist of the Year. They earned the 2011 CMA Award for Single of the Year while Kimberly Perry was honored with the 2011 CMA Song of the Year award.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

To be called a legend in the entertainment industry, one must first be a pioneer and then proceed to accomplish many more "firsts". JEAN SHEPARD has done that and much more. A sample listing of some of her "firsts" includes: *Starring in the 1st network country music show, THE OZARK JUBILEE. The 1st female in country music to sell a million records. The 1st country music female vocalist to overdub her voice on records. The 1st country music female to make a color TV commercial. The 1st female country singer to be a member of the GRAND OLE OPRY for 47 years.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

Mike Snider, (born May 5, 1961), is an American bluegrass banjo player and humorist. He learned to play banjo at the age of 16. Although he is well known for irreverent humor, he is a well respected banjo player. Much of his comedy is based on stories about his wife, Sabrina, referred to as Sweetie.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

It is a Nashville legend that Connie's first record, the aching and unforgettable "Once a Day," written by Bill Anderson and recorded on July 16, 1964 when she was just 23, became one of the most celebrated singles in country music history—the first debut single by a female country singer to go to Number One, a position it held for eight weeks. Forty-seven years later it is still the only first single ever to have done that. When Connie sang "Once A Day" in the all-star B-movie musical Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar the following year, she was introduced on-screen as "The Cinderella of Country Music." "Once A Day," and her stunning rendition of "How Great Thou Art" remain the two most requested songs by her fans to this day. Connie's memorable string of hits would include "You and Your Sweet Love" "If It Ain't Love" "Where Is My Castle?" "Run Away Little Tears" "Just One Time" and "I Never Once Stopped Loving You." The passion for singing and for the songs, and the singular vocal precision in delivering them that marked those standards-to-be are fully on display in this return to recording. "If you add up all the songs on this album," Ms. Smith says, "it would add up to my personality. It's me talking again, after so many years, with a message no different than I've always had. It's just that I love you, and I want that love to come back." It's bound to.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

Im a small town girl from a big ass state living the life out a suitcase dream - writing songs & singing them to anyone who'll listen. People believe in Kristen Kelly. Candid and down to earth, with a room-filling smile and a voice that echoes the heart of what she sings, Kristen laughs as she describes her music as “a little more grease than polish.” And that grease is an exciting mix, distilled from her country, blues, and classic rock influences into a passionate, playful, often sexy, and always heartfelt reflection of real life as she knows it.

“I have a hard time singing or writing about something I can’t relate to,” she says, and that philosophy is front and center on her Arista Nashville debut album, co-produced by nine-time CMA Award-winning producer Tony Brown and two-time GRAMMY®-winning songwriter Paul Overstreet.

“Paul got the ball rolling,” Kristen says. A chance meeting at a 2010 benefit concert impressed Overstreet enough to invite her to write with him, sparking a chain of events that ultimately led to her record deal. But Kristen was far from an “overnight” discovery.

Born in Waco, Texas, Kristen Kelly grew up in the country, living on 10 acres in small-town Lorena, Texas. “You blink, you miss it,” she smiles. She credits her outdoorsy, adventurous spirit in adult life to those days of “simple country living.”

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

If there is one word best suited to describe Jim Ed Brown, it is veratile. As a dynamic component in duets and a trio, as a solo recording artist, and as a popular television host, in the course of his professional lifetime, he has filled role after role with shining success. The last career of this balladeer from Arkansas can easily be likened to a well-cut gem, with its facets reflecting light on many different planes, yet collectively achieving the warm, enduring brilliance of an unforgettable star, a TRUE LEGEND...

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media