Mountain Stage Radio Show

Since 1983, West Virginia Broadcasting has been conducting the show, Mountain Stage. Mountain Stage is a very eclectic radio show that has featured every genre of music, ranging from Country to Jazz. Mountain Stage will be broadcasting live from Bristol to help commemorate the classic recordings that Ralph Peer made 80 years ago that propelled the futures of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. The show will bring to light how the music has evolved through the years in the Appalachians. Host Larry Groce, will be featuring the following artists at this celebration: Dierks Bentley, Joe Ely, Kelly Willis, and many others.

WSM: Country Music Staple

Classic Country Radio is all but extinct. To those who can't afford satellite radio classic country stations are becoming more sparse as the years progress. However, here in Nashville we still have the very faithful WSM Radio. WSM has stayed true to the genre since it's conception. This landmark for country music has been in existence since 1925, which was founded by the National Life and Accident Insurance Company. The University of Illinois Press will be publishing a book, written by journalist Craig Havighurst, called Air Castle of the South: WSM and the Making of Music City. It is about time that a chronical of how important WSM has been to country music and to Music City in general is being made available to the public. WSM named Nashville "Music City USA" one of the famous monikers of any city in the USA. I mean think about all of the countless people that have listened to the Grand Ole Opry on WSM. There are still people who not only listen to WSM today but have tuned in since Joe Allison's broadcast of "Noontime Neighbors" or hearing Hank Williams on "Mother's Best Flour," which was a spotlight for artists. Through the years, listeners probably have noticed that some famous voices from WSM have become local and national celebrities. Charlie Chase and Pat Sajak both were DJs for WSM, and have become respectable personalities on T.V. Here at Pure Country Music just to be true to our customers and just to have a good rhythm while we work, we pretty much always have WSM on line playing through the computer's speakers. Let's just face it, it doesn't get any better than the music that they play.

In Memory of Boots Randolph

According to the Tennessean, Nashville's premiere newspaper, the family of Boots Randolph asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the The Boots Randolph Scholarship Fund, Blair School of Music, US Bank, 600 S Main St, Goodlettsville, TN, 37072.

The Blair School of Music is part of Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville. The Blair School of Music offers classroom instruction to pre-collegiate musicians and adults plus students enrolled in Vanderbilt. For more information about Blair--click on the following link:

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Blair/

Little Country Music Representation at Live Earth Concerts

I was just looking over the concert schedules for this weekend's Live Earth concerts (7/7/07)--and I only saw one country music artist to perform. That artist is Keith Urban. Do the promoters of Live Earth think that country music fans would not be interested in environmental issues? Well, it is also interesting that Al Gore, a Tennessee native and Nashville resident, who is serving as a partner for the Live Earth production, didn't try to involve some Music Row's best country acts. Or maybe he did, but the country label executives weren't interested. Well, anyway, it looks like it is going to be a cool concert series held in different cities all around the world on Saturday (7/7/07). I just would have liked to have seen more country acts performing--maybe next time.

July The Fourth from Music City

Happy July the 4th--Independence Day! We hope everyone enjoys the day with their family and friends--maybe some good BBQ will be had.

On a side note: Barbara Mandrell's former residence off Whites Creek Pike just outside of Nashville proper (it is now owned by two Music Row execs) is going back on the market. How does 27,000-square feet and 136 acres of land sound? Well, if you have $14 million, then maybe it's the place for you.

Boots Randolph passes away

Country Music during the sixties was defined by it's signature Nashville Sound. You just didn't hear the preverbial steel guitar cry or the fiddle, but whole string and brass sections were being used to create this unique sound. Boots Randolph, born in Paducah, Ky, was a main session player during this era, and played on artist's records such as Eddy Arnold, Brenda Lee, and Elvis Presley. Sadly, Boots passed away this afternoon at 80 years old due to complications of a subdural hematoma he suffered last week. Boots is best known for his energetic instrumental hit "Yakety Sax", back in 1963. But Boots had about 13 songs to hit the charts throughout the 60's and 70's. He was the driving saxophone behind the Brenda Lee hit "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". If the name Boots Randolph is still not ringing any bells. "Yakety Sax" was also the theme song for the popular British TV show, The Benny Hill Show. A memorial service will be held by the Local Musicians Local Chapter at later date.

Randy Owen Receives Founder's Award

The benevolence of country music artists has always been inspirational. Randy Owen of Alabama was recently awarded on June 30th by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for the charity Country Cares which he created back in 1989. The award took place at the 50th anniversary celebration of this amazing hospital. Randy first started Country Cares back in 1989 after meeting with Danny Thomas, the famous founder of St. Jude. Randy is only one of the examples of country music artist raising and giving money to fight cancer. Bowling, softball, ski trips, and plenty of other fundraisers have been led by country artists to fight cancer. These examples show you that country music has artists that know how to give back to a cause that's just not beneficial to them.

George Mccorkle Passes Away

Southern Rock has always been closely related to Country Music. Many of the country music artists that exist today would not have the popularity that they have experienced if it weren't for bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special, and the Byrds. On Friday, June 29th, we lost one of the founding members of the Marshall Tucker Band. George Mccorkle, the rhythm guitarist for MTB, lost a month long battle with cancer. Lead singer Doug Gray is now the only surviving member. If you are not familiar with their music, you can hear their influence through other artists. Waylon Jennings covered their hit, "Can't You See" and took it to number four on the country charts. Mark Chestnutt did a worthy remake of the song "Heard It In a Love Song", which is probably the most memorable song to come out of the Marshall Tucker Band catalog. You can definitely tell that Travis Tritt was inspired by the Marshall Tucker Band. Let's hope that another band or artist can take their place and just as influential.