BAM’s top 10 Oklahoma-connected albums of 2012: “Audra Mae and the Almighty Sound” tops the list
Audra Mae and the Almighty Sound
A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma artists make memorable music in 2012
Underground heroes, international icons and emerging upstarts all managed to make indelible statements last year on the Sooner State music scene.
Underground heroes, international icons and emerging upstarts all managed to make memorable statements in the Oklahoma music arena in 2012.
The 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie’s birth turned discerning ears toward Okemah, while the emergence of singer-songwriter John Fullbright kept them there.
Garth Brooks was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame one month and threw his enthusiastic support behind former bandmate Tom Skinner’s self-titled album release the next.
On the national scene, Sooner State-born and bred hitmakers Carrie Underwood and All-American Rejects released LPs that showed marked maturation, while local singer-songwriters Camille Harp and John Calvin left me yearning for more with excellent self-released EPs.
Oklahomans were involved in one of the biggest and best compilation albums of the year, as Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert and her Pistol Annies contributed a song to the T Bone Burnett-produced soundtrack “The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond.” Sooner State musicians also part of one of the most star-studded and stellar tribute albums of 2012, as Vince Gill, Leon Russell and Ronnie Dunn helped Jamey Johnson with his “Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran.”
Oklahoma music was just so good in 2012 that it was tough for me to limit my list of top LPs to just 10, so check out the honorable mentions at the bottom of the list:
1. Audra Mae and the Almighty Sound “Audra Mae and the Almighty Sound” (SideOneDummy Records): The sophomore LP from the Putnam City High School graduate and her aptly named backing band has stayed on my personal playlist since its release way back in February, and I’ll probably keep the swaggering romp “Little Red Wagon,” the toasty-warm ballad “Old Italian Love Songs,” the foot-stomping rave-up “Jebediah Moonshine’s Friday Night Shack Party” and more in rotation for another 11 months and beyond. The Oklahoma-born and bred chanteuse wasn’t bragging in the album’s opening number: She IS “The Real Thing.”
2. Ray Wylie Hubbard “The Grifter’s Hymnal” (Bordello Records): The 66-year-old Oklahoma-Texas music icon, who was born in Soper, throws down with a raw rock ‘n’ roll album that is by turns rootsy, bluesy and twangy but always uninhibited, a little bit messy and a whole lot ornery. The album opens with “Coricidin Bottle,” a blazing romp that boasts wicked-smart lyrics like “I got a coricidin bottle that I use as slide/And a woman sweet as a Tootsie Roll/When she kissing and licking and cussing and a grindin’/Shakes the mortal coil round my amaranthine soul,” and stays both rowdy or intelligent for a 45 solid minutes. Now that’s rock ‘n’ roll.
3. David Byrne and St. Vincent “Love This Giant” (4AD): We already knew that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer best known for fronting the Talking Heads and the Tulsa-born singer/songwriter/guitarist also known as Annie Clark were individually capable of creating artful pop-rock. But who knew the divergent experimentalists would make such cohesive collaborators, too? Their deliciously brassy duet album goes down like the musical version of a black and tan, with a full serving of Byrne’s coolly creative world music wanderings and a full serving of St. Vincent’s darkly cerebral guitar rock layered in perfect balance. And all those intricate horns are like the tasty foam topping this heady sonic brew.
4. John Fullbright “From the Ground Up” (Blue Dirt Records/Thirty Tigers): When the Grammy nominees for Best Americana Album were revealed last month, it quickly became clear that one of these things was not like the others. The Okemah-area singer-songwriter and his Kickstarter-funded studio debut will compete against Bonnie Raitt’s “Slipstream,” Mumford & Sons’ “Babel,” The Avett Brothers’ “The Carpenter” and the self-titled debut from The Lumineers also nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy, when the golden gramophones are handed out in February. If we’re judging on musical merits alone, though, I wouldn’t call him an underdog. From the fire-and-brimstone opener “Gawd Above” to the tender piano ballad closer “Song for a Child,” the authentic album Fullbright built proves that he deserves his shot at Grammy glory.
5. JD McPherson “Signs & Signifiers” (Rounder Records rerelease): The Broken Arrow singer-songwriter got a well-warranted opportunity last year to take his free-wheeling brand of retro rock nationwide when Rounder rereleased his celebrated 2010 indie debut. Recorded with vintage microphones into an old 1960’s Berlant 1/4-inch tape machine, under the tutelage of producer/bassist/studio owner Jimmy Sutton, McPherson’s fun fusion of 1950s-inspired rock, old-school R&B and rockabilly still sounds as fresh and classic as ever. Plus, the rerelease gave the Talihina-bred musician the richly deserved chance to reach a national audience, top the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and appear as the musical guest on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Conan.”
6. The Time Jumpers “The Time Jumpers” (Rounder Records): The 11-piece Western swing supergroup featuring Norman-born and Oklahoma City-bred Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill and many of Nashville’s top session players doesn’t just cover old Bob Wills songs on its studio debut. which garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album. Gill, who only officially joined the group in 2010, wrote or co-wrote five of the album’s nine superb original tracks, along with contributing his considerable chops as a singer and guitarist. His heartbreaker “Three Sides to Every Story,” which has all the hallmarks of an instant country classic.
7. Wanda Jackson “Unfinished Business” (Sugar Hill Records): It’s remarkable enough that the Oklahoma City-based Queen of Rockabilly is still belting in that distinctive voice, touring internationally and recording new albums at the age of 75. But it’s even more impressive that the Maud native continues to push herself musically. In 2011, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer released the barnburner comeback album “The Party Ain’t Over,” produced by respected rocker Jack White, and in 2012, she teamed with acclaimed alt-country singer/songwriter/producer Justin Townes Earle for the fittingly titled “Unfinished Business,” a completely different sonic experience that still sounds just like her. While “The Party Ain’t Over” celebrated Jackson’s rock ‘n’ roll trailblazing with raucous horns, scorching electric guitars and forays into neo-soul, funk and calypso, Jackson and Earle (son of wild-card Texas singer-songwriter Steve Earle) firmly planted their collaboration in her country, rockabilly and gospel roots. Here’s hoping Jackson’s 31st studio album won’t be her last because I can’t wait to hear who she teams with and what they come up with next.
8. Tom Skinner “Tom Skinner” (598 Recordings): Take Garth Brooks’ word for it: The eponymous album from red dirt elder statesman is a “very, VERY special gift” indeed, a warm and inviting showcase for the Bristow native’s vibrant storytelling and convivial voice. Although the Tulsa singer-songwriter’s name often turns up in album credits for the likes of the Red Dirt Rangers, The Great Divide and The Departed, Skinner has rarely recorded himself, preferring the energy of playing live. With his stalwart pal Mike McClure, the frontman of The Great Divide and co-founder of 598 Recordings, and the esteemed Joe Hardy, who has worked with the Georgia Satellites, Steve Earle and ZZ Top, co-producing, Skinner’s eponymous album has the laidback, cozy vibe of a great living room show.
9. Karen Dalton “1966” (Delmore Recordings): From concerts to conferences, all kinds of festivities in 2012 commemorated what would have been folk icon Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday. In contrast, the 75th birthday of folk enigma Karen Dalton, another Sooner State voice silenced too soon, passed with little fanfare last year beyond the release of this collection of impromptu, previously unheard tracks of the Enid-bred singer/musician and her then-husband, guitarist Richard Tucker, rehearsing for a gig at their remote, primitive cabin near Summerville, Colo. With her strange, goose-bump-inducing croon and natural gift as a song interpreter, it’s a shame Dalton — who like Guthrie died at the relatively young age of 55 in New York after spending much of her troubled life rambling and making music — is hardly known outside Bob Dylan’s reference to her in his 2004 biography “Chronicles: Volume One.” Bob the Bard’s praise that “Karen had a voice like Billie Holiday’s and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed” is right on the mark, and her cover of “God Bless the Child” is probably the only one that can hold a candle to Lady Day’s original.
10. Shiny Toy Guns “III” (Five Seven Music): The highly anticipated return of vocalist Carah Faye Charnow , whose crystalline pipes helped propel the Shinys to a 2007 Best Electronic/Dance Album Grammy nomination for “We Are Pilots,” turned out to be more than just a reunion. It was a full-blown revitalization for the electro-pop band, which bassist/synth player Jeremy Dawson and singer/guitarist Chad Petree, who hail from Shawnee, founded back in 2001. The rhythms on “III” smoothly shift from dreamy to driving and back again, and It’s a testament to the album’s overall strength that I wind up with a new favorite track every time I listen to it.
Honorable mentions: Jimmy LaFave “Depending on the Distance” (Music Road Records); The Departed “Adventus” (Underground Sound/Thirty Tigers); Chad Sullins and the Last Call Coalition “Incommunicado” (Smith Music Group); Parker Millsap and Michael Rose “Palisade” (self released); and K.C. Clifford “The Tag Hollow Sessions” (Free Skipper Records).
-BAM
Video: Ashley Monroe announces new March 5 release date for solo debut album “Like a Rose”
Ashley Monroe, one of Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert’s bandmates in the all-girl trio Pistol Annies, will release her first Warner Nashville solo album, “Like A Rose,” on March 5.
According to a news release, Monroe is set to debut two songs from “Like A Rose” at the Grand Ole Opry with Oklahoma native Vince Gill on Dec. 22.
“The great Vince Gill and I have written a brand new song that I love so much I have to put it on my new album,” Monroe says to explain the new street date.
As previously reported, Monroe’s album was originally set for Jan. 22 release.
Most folks, as soon as they hear Monroe, instantly recognize one thing: she’s the real deal. Her songs resonate so profoundly because they reflect the experiences of an artist who, although she is just 26, has already seen both the best and worst that life has to offer.
“Like a Rose” has been a long time coming. Monroe has been creating music for more than half of her life—attracting along the way kudos from such music world giants as Gill, Dolly Parton, Guy Clark and Jack White. Her new, full-length album release serves both to fill in the back-story and impart to us who she is today. At times her songs are dead serious, at others utterly hilarious, but always Monroe is an original with a compelling story to share.
Monroe spent her childhood in Knoxville, Tenn., where she immersed herself in all varieties of music ranging from country—she’s not-too-distantly related to members of the legendary Carter Family—to rock, pop, rap and even opera. When she was 11, Monroe won a talent contest singing “I Want To Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” and two years later her father gave Ashley her first guitar. She developed a passion for writing songs, discovering that she could easily communicate her thoughts and sentiments through a six-string and her dynamic, exceptional voice.
Shortly thereafter tragedy struck, upending the young girl’s world. Monroe’s father was diagnosed with cancer and died when Ashley was 13. The young girl immersed herself in music. Monroe and her mother moved to Nashville so that Ashley could pursue her dream. It didn’t take long to find believers. Within a year Monroe had signed a song publishing deal, secured a recording contract and released a single, “Satisfied,” a sizable hit that put her on the map. Then another roadblock: Her record label merged with a larger company, and declined to release her already-recorded album. Although the “Satisfied” album found a home on iTunes, Ashley, only 20, was, in a sense, back where she’d started.
She didn’t let that stop her though, and with a lot of hard work and determination, Monroe kept honing her craft and putting herself in front of anyone who would listen. Her fandom grew steadily and fellow artists began to notice.
In 2008, Ashley cut a highly praised EP with singer-songwriter Trent Dabbs and a few years later, at the invitation of Jack White, she sang background vocals on an album he was producing by Oklahoma music icon Wanda Jackson. And just to prove how versatile she is, Monroe also contributed vocals to the track “Bruises” on the 2012 album “California 37″ by the rock band Train.
But one of the most rewarding artistic adventures for Ashley to date has been the Pistol Annies, a trio she co-formed in 2011with her friend Lambert, whose chart-topping hit “Heart Like Mine” Ashley co-penned, and newcomer Angaleena Presley. Pistol Annies have provided Monroe with yet another outlet for her music. Their album, “Hell on Heels,” garnered rave reviews. The All Music Guide called the trio “a remarkably democratic supergroup” while veteran music critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A grade, citing its “expertly executed tunes.”
Despite her list of previous accomplishments, everything she’s done so far feels like it’s been pointing the way toward “Like a Rose.” With songs that run the gamut from feel-good to controversial to contemplative, the album, produced by Country Music Hall of Famer Gill, offers the full range of Monroe’s songwriting and performing skills.
To maintain the honesty of Ashley’s songs, Gill and the singer chose to record the album the way most of the greatest albums ever were made: sans gimmickry.
“We just got the band in a circle and started playing the songs,” Ashley says in the release, “and once we felt like we had a feel for it, I’d do my vocal live—I never went back in to do a second vocal. Everyone put everything we had into the songs. There was a buzz in the room. We all had fun—it felt like a big old family, the way records used to be made.”
Some of the songs were newly written for the album; others date back several years and felt right to revisit. The semi-autobiographical title track, one of the highlights of the set, was co-written about six years ago with another totem of the American song-crafting community: Texas legend Guy Clark.
One song that is bound to raise some eyebrows refers to the same favored flower of the title tune, but in a much different sense: “Weed Instead of Roses” tells of a woman’s desire to get a gift she actually desires from her beau, not just something that smells good.
Monroe co-wrote “You Got Me” with Karen Fairchild. Says Ashley in the release, “It’s about an addiction to something—one thing or another, whether you’re stuck in a bad relationship or alcohol or whatever it is—and you try to hide it and fight it but you’re kind of saying, ‘Alright, you got me.’
On a more light-hearted note is “Monroe Suede,” based on “a slick character that tries to get away all the time.” Another is the self-explanatory “You Ain’t Dolly (And You Ain’t Porter),” a duet featuring Lambert’s husband and fellow Tishomingo resident, CMA Entertainer of the Year Blake Shelton.
“Morning After” confronts that uneasy feeling that often follows a too-good time, and “She’s Driving Me Out Of Your Mind,” written with Jon Randall Stewart, comes straight from one of Ashley’s many journals. “Two Weeks Late” was suggested by singer-songwriter Shane McAnally, who co-wrote it with Monroe.
“He came in and said, ‘I heard this phrase at the ATM: I’m a dollar short and two weeks late.’ That was another one that just fell out. I grabbed the guitar and we started writing it up,” Monroe says in the release.
“Used,” another standout, is an update of a song that appeared on Monroe’s “Satisfied” album.
“It came to me when I was about 17 and my manager at the time had just bought me this old 1950s Gibson guitar,” she says in the release. “It came into my mind that things are worth more used, and I thought about my mom, who had lost my dad when she was 38. I was thinking, she had two kids, she’s been through a lot, and, bless her heart, it’s all gonna be worth it. Vince and I worked up this new version, which made it fresh for me.”
Check out the title track and “Used”:
-BAM
Vince Gill confirmed for Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival
Vince Gill
Oklahoma-born and bred Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill will join Eric Clapton and other internationally-acclaimed guitarists at the 2013 Crossroads Guitar Festival scheduled for April 12-13 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Clapton hosted similar events in 2004, 2007 and 2010 to raise money for Crossroads Centre, a drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation facility located on the Caribbean island of Antigua, according to CMT.com.
Others scheduled to perform at the festival include Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, the Allman Brothers Band, John Mayer, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Robert Randolph, Sonny Landreth, Albert Lee, Robbie Robertson and Gary Clark Jr.
As previously reported, Clapton will a major U.S. tour leading up to his Crossroads Guitar Festival. The tour will include a March 20 show at Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena.
It will be Clapton’s third time to play the OKC arena, following performances on June 9, 2004 and March 5, 2007, according to an email from a venue representative.
For more information on the OKC tour date, go to www.chesapeakearena.com.
-BAM
Vince Gill to join Boston Pops for its 2013 spring season opener
The legendary Boston Pops will kick off its 2013 spring season May 8 with an Opening Night Concert featuring Oklahoma-born and bred Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill performing a selection of his most popular hits.
The 2013 Boston Pops season, May 8-June 15, under the direction of Keith Lockhart, will present a season-long tribute to the world of movie music, along with programs featuring a wide variety of American musical styles, including jazz, bluegrass, country, gospel, pop, classic standards from the ’50s and ’60s, and showstopping songs of Broadway and the American Songbook. For the programs focusing on the season theme, “Best of Hollywood Film Music,” audiences will hear their favorite music from classic movies and today’s popular soundtracks performed live by the Boston Pops, while the accompanying movie clips are projected onto a giant screen suspended above the orchestra.
Designed to appeal to audiences of all ages, highlights of the film-focused season include “Fantasia in Concert” featuring musical selections from “Fantasia 2000″ and the original 1940 movie “Fantasia”—one of the crown jewels of feature animation highlighting some of the most memorable classical music ever composed; “Pixar in Concert,” with hits from the movie studio’s 13 feature films, including “Finding Nemo,” “Monsters, Inc.,” and “Brave,” among others; a tribute to the legendary film and Broadway composer Marvin Hamlisch, creator of the iconic scores to “A Chorus Line,” “The Way We Were,” and “The Sting”; and the ever-popular Film Night, under the direction of Boston Pops Conductor Laureate John Williams, one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and for the concert stage.
The Boston Pops spring season inspired by the music of the movies will kick off May 8 with a Lockhart-led Opening Night featuring classic movie themes from films including “Gone with the Wind,” “Casablanca,” and “Cinema Paradiso,” as well as the classical music brought to animated life in Disney’s Fantasia and some recent hits from Williams. The second half of Opening Night of Pops welcomes Gill’s country crooning.
Second only to the legendary Brooks and Dunn for winning the most country music awards in history, the Norman-born and Oklahoma City-bred singer/songwriter/musician has 26 million album sales under his belt, and has produced hit songs such as “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away,” “When I Call Your Name,” and “Whenever You Come Around” during a career spanning three decades. Gill’s post-intermission set will feature some of his most best-known tunes and a complimentary pre-concert reception will be available to ticket holders free of charge during the Opening Night festivities.
In celebration of the 2013 Boston Pops season theme, the orchestra invites film music fans to participate in programming the season by submitting their favorite themes to popsmoviemusic@bso.org; the top three selections will be performed during the 2013 Boston Pops season.
“We are delighted to present the ‘Best of Hollywood Film Music’ 2013 Boston Pops season, May 8-June 15,” said Lockhart in a news release. “Since virtually everyone loves movies and movie music, I can’t think of a better season theme to draw our loyal audience and welcome new comers to experience the thrill of hearing this extraordinary music performed by the one and only Boston Pops in the remarkable setting of Symphony Hall. I hope movie lovers near and far will send in their favorite themes to popsmoviemusic@bso.org and help us fill in our programming with what is sure to be the very best of what the world of film music has to offer.”
In addition, the 2013 Boston Pops season will present two of today’s most popular singers from the worlds of television and Broadway. Megan Hilty, star of the hit NBC series “Smash” and the Broadway stage makes her Boston Pops debut in an evening of “Hollywood’s Greatest Love Songs,” including “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” among other selections. Tony-award nominated Matthew Morrison, now instantly recognizable as Will Schuester from the hit Fox television show “Glee,” will join the Pops in an evening of song and dance reminiscent of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and other classic movie dance moments.
The 21st annual Gospel Night at the Boston Pops will feature conductor, pianist, and composer Charles Floyd, the all-volunteer Boston Pops Gospel Choir, and a special guest appearance by the inspirational baritone Wintley Phipps on May 25. Rounding out the season with programs of the classic standards of the ’50s and ’60s, Boston Pops concerts on May 21, 22, 13, 23, and June 1 draw inspiration from the award-winning AMC television show ‘Mad Men.’ These performances welcome Steve Lippia, who Pops conductor Lockhart has called, “the absolute vocal reincarnation of the Sinatra sound.”
The 2013 Boston Pops ends June 13-15 with a tribute to Nashville’s “Music City Hitmakers,” celebrating the songwriters behind some of country music’s biggest hits, including Hillary Lindsey and Oklahoma-bred Brett James. This special program will focus on patriotic music that honors the men and women who have served in the armed forces, with selections including “It’s America,” “Coming Home” from the film “Country Strong,” and “There’s A Place For Us,” which Checotah native Carrie Underwood co-wrote and initially recorded, from the last installment of “The Chronicles of Narnia” film series.
For more information, go to www.bso.org. See the Boston Pops 2012 season schedule after the break.
John Fullbright earns 1st Grammy nomination; Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill & Time Jumpers and Kelli O’Hara also get nods
John Fullbright
From Friday’s The Oklahoman.
Underdog Oklahoma musician John Fullbright earns Grammy nomination for debut studio album
Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill and Kelli O’Hara also are among the artists with Sooner State ties to get nods from The Recording Academy.
John Fullbright picked a new Facebook profile picture Thursday: the cartoon character Underdog.
The Bearden singer-songwriter adopted the animated avatar just hours after The Recording Academy announced that his debut studio album, “From the Ground Up,” earned a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album.
“Hell of a day. Thanks, everybody,” Fullbright wrote Thursday on his Facebook page, which began to fill up with well-wishes from fans and fellow Oklahoma musicians soon after the nomination was revealed late Wednesday.
When the 55th Annual Grammy Awards are handed out Feb. 10, Fullbright, 24, indeed will face formidable competition: His album — funded through Kickstarter.com, released on his own Blue Dirt Records label and distributed via a deal with Nashville, Tenn.-based Thirty Tigers — is nominated alongside Bonnie Raitt’s “Slipstream,” Mumford & Sons’ “Babel,” The Avett Brothers’ “The Carpenter” and the self-titled debut from The Lumineers, also nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy.
Carrie Underwood (Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Oklahoman Archives)
Along with Fullbright, Oklahoma has its own heavy hitters who will contend for Grammy glory in 2013, particularly in the country music categories.
Three artists with Sooner State ties are nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance category alone: Checotah native Carrie Underwood for her chart-topping story-song “Blown Away,” Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton for his hit power ballad “Over” and former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn for his timely tale “Cost of Livin’.”
Dunn and Phillip Coleman also got a nod for Best Country Song for penning “Cost of Livin’,” while Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins are nominated in the category for writing Underwood’s “Blown Away.”
“Wrote songs all day. Just got home and my phone lights up a few minutes ago,” Dunn wrote on his Facebook after his two nominations were announced. “I’m speechless.”
Shelton’s wife and fellow Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert earned a Best Country Album nomination for her fourth effort, “Four the Record.” Shelton, an avid Twitter user, took to the social media site to praise his spouse.
“Congrats to the absolutely drop dead beautiful and ridiculously talented Miranda Lambert for her Grammy nomination!!!” Shelton tweeted.
The Time Jumpers
The 11-piece Western swing band The Time Jumpers, which counts Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill among its members, got a Best Country Album nod for its self-titled studio debut. The Norman-born and Oklahoma City-bred singer/songwriter/musician co-wrote and sings lead on the jaunty track “On The Outskirts Of Town,” which garnered the band a nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
Gill’s propensity for musical collaborations is apparent with this year’s Grammy nominations: He, Dunn and Lawton-born Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell are among the guest stars on Jamey Johnson’s “Living for a Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran,” another Best Country Album nominee.
Also, Gill, Midwest City High School graduate Kevin Welch and Soper native Ray Wylie Hubbard are featured on “This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark,” which is nominated for Best Folk Album.
Kelli O’Hara
Four-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O’Hara, who was born in Elk City and raised in Edmond, shares principal soloist duties with Matthew Broderick on the Broadway cast recording of “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” nominated for Best Musical Theater Album.
The lasting legacy of Okemah native Woody Guthrie can be seen in several Grammy categories — particularly appropriate since the musical world has spent 2012 celebrating the 100th anniversary of the folk icon’s birth.
Jeff Place and Robert Santelli, compilation producers, and Pete Reiniger, mastering engineer, are nominated for Best Historical Album for “Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection.” Art director Fritz Klaetke is competing for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for the centennial box set. And Elizabeth Mitchell’s “Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie” got a nod for Best Childen’s Album.
Art director Noah Wall is nominated for Best Recording Package for “Love This Giant,” the collaborative album from Tulsa-born singer/songwriter/musician St. Vincent and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Byrne.
The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, fun., Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean and Kanye West each earned a leading six nominations; the Black Keys, Chick Corea and Miguel got five nods a piece; and producer Jeff Bhasker, mastering engineer Bob Ludwig and Nas are each up for four awards.
-BAM
55th Annual Grammy Awards nominations: Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill & Time Jumpers, John Fullbright and Kelli O’Hara among the nominees
Ronnie Dunn (AP file)
From multiplatinum country superstars and an Americana up-and-comer to an acclaimed Broadway belter and a late, great folk icon, Oklahoma was well-represented when the nominations list for the 55th Annual Grammy Awards were unveiled tonight (Wednesday night).
For the fifth year, the nominees in the top categories were revealed on the CBS special “The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night,” co-hosted this year by LL Cool J and Taylor Swift.
As expected, several Oklahomans earned nominations in the country music categories. Three artists with Sooner State ties are nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance alone: Checotah native Carrie Underwood for her chart-topping story-song “Blown Away,” Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton for his hit power ballad “Over” and former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn for his timely anthem “Cost of Livin’.”
Dunn and Phillip Coleman also got a nod for Best Country Song for penning “Cost of Livin’,” while Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins are nominated in the category for writing Underwood’s “Blown Away.”
Vince Gill (AP file)
Shelton’s wife and Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert earned a Best Country Album nomination for her fourth effort, “Four the Record.” The 11-piece Western swing band The Time Jumpers, which counts Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill among its members, earned a nod in the category for its self-titled studio debut.
The Norman-born and Oklahoma City-bred singer/songwriter/musician co-wrote and provides the lead vocals on “On The Outskirts Of Town,” which garnered The Time Jumpers a nomination in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
Gill’s propensity for musical collaborations is apparent among the nominations: He, Dunn and Lawton-born Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell are among the guest stars on Jamey Johnson’s “Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran,” another of the Best Country Album nominees. Also, Gill, Midwest City High School graduate Kevin Welch and Soper native Ray Wylie Hubbard are featured on “This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark,” which is nominated for Best Folk Album.
John Fullbright
Bearden native John Fullbright earned a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album with his debut studio effort, “From the Ground Up,” which he recorded at 115 Studios in Norman and released on his own Blue Dirt Records label.
Four-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O’Hara, who was born in Elk City and raised in Edmond, shares principal soloist duties with Matthew Broderick on the Broadway cast recording of “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” nominated for Best Musical Theater Album.
The lasting legacy of Okemah native Woody Guthrie is represented among the nominations, which is particularly appropriate since much of the musical world has spent 2012 celebrating the 100th anniversary of the folk icon’s birth. Although he died in 1967, Guthrie’s name appears in several Grammy categories:
Elizabeth Mitchell’s “Little Seed: Songs For Children By Woody Guthrie” is nominated for Best Childen’s Album. Art director Fritz Klaetke is competing for Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package for “Woody At 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection.” In addition, Jeff Place and Robert Santelli, compilation producers, and Pete Reiniger, mastering engineer, are nominated for Best Historical Album for “Woody At 100.”
Art director Noah Wall is nominated for Best Recording Package for “Love This Giant,” the collaborative album for Tulsa-born singer/songwriter/musician St. Vincent and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Byrne.
The 55th Annual Grammy Awards will live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 10 on CBS.
The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Fun., Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean and Kanye West top the nominations with six each; the Black Keys, Chick Corea and Miguel each received five nods; and producer Jeff Bhasker, mastering engineer Bob Ludwig and Nas are each up for four awards.
-BAM
Video: Ashley Monroe to release new solo album, “Like a Rose,” produced by Vince Gill
Ashley Monroe, one of Tishomingo resident Miranda Lambert’s bandmates in the all-girl trio Pistol Annies, announced on Facebook today that she will release of her new solo album “Like A Rose” digitally on Dec. 18. The physical version of the album hits stores on Jan. 22
The album will feature a duet with Lambert’s husband and fellow Tish resident Blake Shelton. According to Taste of Country, their duet is titled “You Ain’t Dolly (and You Ain’t Porter).”
Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill produced the album along with Justin Niebank.
Monroe shares writing duties on the album with some of Nashville’s hottest writers, including Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, Jon Randall Stewart and Shane McAnally, according to Taste of Country.
Along with working on her solo album, Monroe recently recorded a collaboration, including a music video, with the band Train called “Bruises,” which is featured on the group’s album “California 37″
Fans of the Pistol Annies shouldn’t fret about all Monroe’s solo activity, though. Lambert also was on Facebook today to report some big news:
“Was up early. Why? Because I’m excited! Today we start record number 2 for Pistol Annies! Can’t wait till y’all hear this stuff!” Lambert wrote.
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: CMT reairing the 2012 CMA Awards tonight, over the weekend
Checotah native Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley appear onstage during the 2012 CMA Awards. (AP file)
CMT will rebroadcast the 46th Annual Country Music Association Awards at 8 tonight, for those who may have missed it earlier this month. The awards show originally aired live from Nashville on ABC with co-hosts Brad Paisley and Checotah native Carrie Underwood.
The CMA Awards also will be rebroadcast on CMT at 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. To read my CMA Awards wrap-up, click here.
And check out these memorable performances by Carrie and other superstars with Oklahoma ties at this year’s CMA Awards:
-BAM
Vince Gill, Alicia Keys, Katy Perry and more to perform at benefit tribute to Carole King
Carole King (AP file)
Alicia Keys, Amy Grant, Herb Alpert, John Legend, Katy Perry, Lani Hall, Quincy Jones and Oklahoma native Vince Gill will perform at a star-studded evening being billed as “You’ve Got a Friend … A Celebration of Carole King and Her Music” to benefit Paul Newman’s The Painted Turtle camp.
The magical evening of performances will take place Dec. 4 at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre. King herself also is on the lineup for the event.
“Carole King’s music spans decades and genres as evidenced by the musical diversity of the artists participating,” said producer Lou Adler in a news release. “The event is a celebration of the impact Carole has had on the world of music, and her ongoing support of Paul Newman’s philosophy and the Painted Turtle’s mission, that through innovative camp programs children with serious medical conditions can recapture their childhoods and begin to re-imagine the possibility of their lives and simply be kids.”
Following the evening of performances, a VIP after-party will take place at The Ray Dolby Ballroom.
The Painted Turtle is a camp in The SeriousFun Children’s Network, which is a growing global community of innovative camps and programs founded by Paul Newman that provide life-changing support to children with serious illnesses and their families. Since opening in 2004, the Painted Turtle has provided children throughout California who suffer from chronic and life-threatening illnesses the opportunity to rediscover the ordinary joys of being a child through a year-round camp and hospital outreach programs. To date, more than 22,832 children and their families have been served by over 10,281 doctors, nurses and program volunteers. No child or family pays to attend The Painted Turtle.
For more information, go to www.dolbytheatre.com.
-BAM
Photo gallery: Memorable moments from 2012 CMA Awards
Oklahoma native Reba McEntire and Tim Allen present an award Thursday night at the 2012 CMA Awards. (AP photos)
It was a momentous night for two country music couples with Oklahoma ties at Thursday’s 46th Annual CMA Awards.
Tishomingo residents Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, who wed in 2011, scored four big wins between them, while Thompson Square – Miami, OK, native Keifer Thompson and his wife Shawna – earned their first vocal duo trophy from the Country Music Association.
Also, first-time winners dominated when Shelton and Lambert weren’t cleaning up. Eric Church received the album of the year award for “Chief,” Little Big Town for single of the year for “Pontoon” and vocal group of the year and Hunter Hayes for new artist of the year. As producer of both “Chief” and “Pontoon,” Jay Joyce earned album and single of the year honors, also marking his initial CMA Award wins.
Kelly Clarkson and Oklahoma native Vince Gill perform. (AP photos)
Taylor Swift performs.
The Band Perry performs.
Eric Church accepts the album of the year award.
Little Big Town accepts one of its two awards.
