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Sunday 19 January 2014

Jo Dee Messina will release her new album, Me, on March 18.

Jo Dee Messina will release her new album, Me, on March 18. The project’s title was chosen by her fans, who helped fund the project through a Kickstarter campaign last year. Jo Dee wrote or co-wrote many of the songs found on the album and she’ll release it on her own newly-established label, Dreambound Records.

Jamie O’Neal will release her first new album in five years on March 18.

Jamie O’Neal will release her first new album in five years on March 18. Eternal will feature Jamie’s spin on 11 classic hits by the likes of Patsy Cline, Bruce Cockburn, Deborah Allen, Larry Gatlin, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Juice Newton, Connie Smith and others.

“Eternal is a little different for me,” Jamie said. “I grew up listening to these songs and was shaped by the artists who originally made them famous. It was an honor and a challenge to record such wonderful songs. I had so much fun recording this whole album and was a little sad when it was finished, but now I get to finally release it, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!”

The album also features “Wide Awake,” the only original song on the project. It was co-written by Jamie and her father/manager, Jimmy Murphy. “It’s a funny song I wrote with my dad as an ode to everyone who gets to sleep with a ‘snoring moose’ every night,” Jamie said of the fan-favorite.

Jamie will be on tour nationwide throughout the year in support of her new music. She will join Vince Gill, Kenny Rogers and more on one of country music’s biggest cruises January 19-26. For tour dates and more information, www.jamieoneal.com

Rodney Crowell’s New Album Tarpaper Sky Out April 15

Rodney Crowell has partnered with New West Records to release his new, self-produced album, Tarpaper Sky. Available April 15, the album comes on the heels of Old Yellow Moon, his critically acclaimed collaboration with Emmylou Harris, which is nominated for a 2014 GRAMMY Award and was named 2013 Album of the Year by the Americana Music Association.

Tarpaper Sky is a reunion between Rodney and Steuart Smith, his longtime musical accomplice who was an integral part of Rodney’s sound in the late ‘80s. Celebrating 40 years of making music, Rodney created set out to create an album reminiscent of the most revered work in his catalog such as Diamonds and Dirt and Life Is Messy.

The songs found on Tarpaper Sky are full of warmth and familiarity. “Frankie Please,” a track about falling fast for a fast woman, plays like a jukebox classic, much like“Fever on the Bayou.” On the other hand, “God I’m Missing You” and Grandma Loved That Old Man” are in line with the themes Rodney has long been drawn to – vivid characters, heartbreak and life’s lessons.

Rodney also has a full list of tour dates on his schedule. Visit www.RodneyCrowell.com for dates and ticket information.

Happy Birthday Dolly

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actress, author and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music.

Beginning her career as a child performer, Parton issued a few modestly successful singles from 1959 through the mid-1960s, showcasing her distinctive soprano voice. She came to greater prominence in 1967 as a featured performer on singer Porter Wagoner's weekly television program; their first duet single, a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind", was a top-ten hit on the country singles charts, and led to several successful albums before they ended their partnership in 1974. Moving towards mainstream pop music, Parton's 1977 single "Here You Come Again" was a success on both the country and pop charts. A string of pop-country hits followed into the mid-1980s, the most successful being her 1981 hit "9 to 5" (from the film of the same name), and her 1983 duet with Kenny Rogers "Islands in the Stream", both of which topped the U.S. pop and country singles charts. A pair of albums recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris were among her later successes. In the late 1990s, Parton returned to classic country/bluegrass with a series of acclaimed recordings.

Non-musical ventures include the creation of Dollywood, a theme park in the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, and her efforts on behalf of childhood literacy, particularly her Imagination Library, as well as Dixie Stampede and Pirates Voyage.

Dolly is the most honored female country performer of all time. Achieving 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards, she has had 25 songs reach number 1 on the Billboard Country charts, a record for a female artist. She has 41 career top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career charted singles over the past 40 years. All-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage during her Hall of Fame career have reportedly topped a staggering 100 million records worldwide. She has garnered 8 Grammy Awards, 2 Academy Award nominations, 10 Country Music Association Awards, 5 Academy of Country Music Awards, 3 American Music Awards and is one of only five female artists to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award. In 1999, Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She has composed over 3,000 songs, the best known of which include "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper for Parton, as well as an international pop hit for Whitney Houston), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors","9 to 5", and "My Tennessee Mountain Home"

As an actress, she starred in the movies 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, A Smoky Mountain Christmas, Steel Magnolias, Wild Texas Wind, Gnomeo & Juliet, Straight Talk, Unlikely Angel, Blue Valley Songbird, Joyful Noise.