Dolly Parton Has A New Label, Dolly Records
- In Ken Barne’s USA Today blog he crowns “Online” from Brad Paisley as his pick of the week, but also gives a shout out to Adam Hood and Jon Christopher Davis for “Never Comes Easy” and “The Bottom Line”.
- Dolly Parton plans to launch her own record label with the release of an album next February. Her manager says it’s really the first mainstream album she’s done in 17 years and that the label will not sign any other artists. Nozell went to the major labels and didn’t find any appetizing deals, which led him to put together his own marketing plan. The first single “Better Get to Livin’” hits radio on September 24th.
- October 23rd marks the release of Trace Adkins first book, A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions of a Freethinking Redneck.
It’s not exactly a memoir, but more of a look at the state of the country as I’ve seen it through the lens of my admittedly colorful life.” Topics in the book include the environment, immigration and the war on terror, according to a press release.
At first I thought he was talking about the state of country music through his eyes, which would have been more interesting.
- Listen: Two of the four songs from Earl Pickens‘ Turn On the Radio EP are available on his MySpace.
- Free show in Nashville on August 23rd. Performances by Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, and Lady Antebellum.
- Laura Bell Bundy, the star of Broadway’s “Legally Blonde”, recently released her debut album and cites Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash as her country influences.
“I really, really loved doing this album,” she said. “It was such a growing experience for me and I’ve worked on music for such a long time but I’ve never really been responsible for my own album in terms of co-writing and producing and being really, really immersed in the creative process of it.”
She calls her blend of country and alternative music “y’alternative.”
Could possibly be worth checking out.
- Shooter Jennings wrote 9 of the 13 tracks for his upcoming album, The Wolf, due out on October 23rd.
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Dolly Parton // Earl Pickens // Laura Bell Bundy // Shooter Jennings // Trace Adkins
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August 2, 2007 at 8:21 am Permalink
“…cites Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash as her country influences.”
Sounds like name dropping to me. Those artists are only very loosely musically related.
August 2, 2007 at 8:52 am Permalink
Congrats to Dolly Parton for building her own empire. When you can’t find someone who can build to your specifications, draw up your own blueprints. I can’t wait to hear the new album!
August 2, 2007 at 5:42 pm Permalink
I agree Jim. New artists are always listing legends as influences, but always leave it to speculation as to how they were influenced by them and what affect it’s had on their music. In this instance she might be alluding to those artists because they all comes from a time before she was born (something she talks about in the article), but it could also be a silly marketing ploy to get people like me interested.
Cynthia - I’m all about artists starting their own labels, too, as long as the quality of music is improved.
August 2, 2007 at 7:46 pm Permalink
At the same time, guys like The Derailers list Buck Owens and the Beatles as their influences, but the inspiration is readily noticed in their look and sound.
August 2, 2007 at 8:27 pm Permalink
Yes, Jim is right. Johnny Cash especially is an easy target, which is why, despite my appreciation for Johnny Cash, I roll my eyes whenever a young artist covers a Cash song or cites him as an influence.
Loretta, Patsy and Merle aren’t quite as bad, but we’re not exactly digging deep into country music history. I like to hear young artists talk about Webb Pierce or Carl Smith; not obscure by any means, but you have to appreciate country music to cite them as influences.
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