Johnny Cash's Songwriting Takes Center Stage On New Album, "Songwriter," Made From Previously Unreleased 1993 Recordings; Due June 28 via Mercury Nashville/UMe

New music from Johnny Cash? Yes! Read on to learn more about this exciting album coming June 28...Robert Kinsler

JOHNNY CASH’S SONGWRITING TAKES CENTER STAGE ON NEW ALBUM, SONGWRITER, MADE FROM PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED 1993 RECORDINGS

 

ALL SONGS WRITTEN SOLELY BY JOHNNY CASH, ONE OF AMERICA’S GREATEST SONGWRITERS

 

CO-PRODUCED BY JOHN CARTER CASH AND DAVID “FERGIE” FERGUSON AND FEATURING NEWLY RECORDED BAND OF MARTY STUART, DAVE ROE, PETE ABBOTT AND OTHERS PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS DAN AUERBACH AND VINCE GILL

 

FIRST TRACK, “WELL ALRIGHT,” AVAILABLE TO STREAM TODAY
 

SONGWRITER DUE JUNE 28 VIA MERCURY NASHVILLE/UMe

Los Angeles – April 23, 2024 – In early 1993, the legendary Johnny Cash found himself between contracts in his then nearly 40-year career and recorded an album’s worth of songwriting demos at LSI Studios in Nashville of songs he’d written over many years. LSI at the time was owned by his son-in-law Mike Daniels and daughter Rosey, and he wanted to help the family financially while also record some songs special to him. Not long after the fruitful session, Johnny met producer Rick Rubin, and the recordings were shelved as the two embarked on an important and prolific musical partnership that revitalized the Man in Black’s career that would last the rest of his life.  

 

Some thirty years later, John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny and June Carter Cash, rediscovered the songs and stripped them back to just Johnny’s powerful, pristine vocals and acoustic guitar. Along with co-producer David “Fergie” Ferguson, the two invited a handpicked group of musicians that played with Johnny, including guitarist Marty Stuart and the late bassist Dave Roe, along with drummer Pete Abbott and several others, to the Cash Cabin, a hallowed space in Hendersonville, Tenn. where Johnny would write, record and relax, to breathe new life into the tracks, taking the sound back to the roots and heart of the songs.

 

Releasing June 28 via Mercury Nashville/UMe, the simply and aptly titled Songwriter, features songs written solely by Johnny Cash, one of America’s greatest songwriters and storytellers. Returning the focus to Johnny’s own songwriting, the 11-track collection showcases the breadth of his writing, one that has always represented the great expanse of the human condition: there are songs of love, family, sorrow, beauty, spiritual salvation, survival, redemption, and of course, some of the lighthearted humor Johnny was known for, all sung in his unmistakable, trademark, resonant voice. 

 

Songwriter will be available to stream and download, as well as on CD and a variety of vinyl options, including standard black and several limited edition color variants.

 

Songwriter is being previewed today with the release of the first single, “Well Alright,” an upbeat and infectious tune about finding love in of all places, the laundry mat. With its humorous lyrics, galloping beat and taut acoustic upright bass “Well Alright” is prime Johnny Cash, harkening back to his ‘50s hits such as “Get Rhythm,” “Five Feet High and Rising,” “Cry! Cry! Cry!” and “Big River.”

 

Listen to “Well Alright” and pre-order Songwriter here: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/SongwriterPR

 

“Dad’s advice with anything, whether it was life or making music, was always ‘follow your heart,” said John Carter. And it is this truism of his father’s that let guide him every step of the way when making Songwriter. After stripping the original recordings back to just Johnny’s vocals and guitar, he reached out to Fergie, a longtime friend and Johnny’s go-to engineer for nearly thirty years, and the two set off to create an album that would honor and amplify Johnny’s songwriting and timeless voice, while staying true to the spirit of the recordings. Along with John Carter, Fergie is arguably one of the people that knew best what Johnny liked when it came to recording as they worked together beginning in the early 1980s when he was Cowboy Jack Clement’s in-house engineer where Johnny often liked to record. He would go on to work with him on many records, including most of his Mercury albums and the acclaimed American Recordings series with Rick Rubin, even recording his last-ever songs in his final days in 2003. “He was always my hero and I just felt like the luckiest guy in the world to get to record him,” said Fergie.

 

When it came time to assemble a band, two musicians were must-haves: guitarist Marty Stuart, who played with Johnny in his backing band The Tennessee Three from 1980-86, and the late, great upright bassist Dave Roe, who toured in Johnny’s band, beginning in the early ‘90s and lasting nearly a decade. For Roe, the experience was a chance for a do-over as he actually played on the original ‘93 session, but despite being a great electric bass player was so new to upright bass that his playing was lacking. In fact, after a gig around this same time, Johnny famously gave Roe money to take lessons and said he had six months to learn. Roe would go on to become one of the best slap bass players in the world and play on hundreds of albums before his death in 2023. Songwriter was likely one of his last sessions.

 

Drummer, Pete Abbott, of Average White Band fame, among many other bands and accolades, was brought in to complete the trio who both recorded together and separately at the Cash Cabin, the sanctuary and studio space that Johnny built on his property in 1979 and where John Carter continues to record. Several other of Nashville’s best, such as Ana Cristina Cash (background vocals), Matt Combs (acoustic guitar, mandolin, strings), Mike Rojas (B3 organ, piano), Russ Pahl (acoustic & electric guitar, bass, dobro, steel) and Sam Bacco (congas, percussion) were enlisted to round out the core band for the majority of the album, while others like session great and Grand Ole Opry guitarist, Kerry Marx, and vocalist Harry Stinson guested on select songs. “All those guys are the best, just cream of the crop,” said Fergie.

 

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys provides a bluesy guitar solo on the track “Spotlight” and Vince Gill lends his dulcet vocals to “Poor Valley Girl.” Johnny’s good friend, outlaw country legend, Waylon Jennings, sang on two songs in the original session, “I Love You Tonite” and “Like A Soldier.”

 

“Nobody plays Cash better than Marty Stuart, and Dave Roe of course played with dad for many years,” said John Carter. “The musicians that came in were just tracking with dad, you know, recording with dad, just as, in the case of Marty and Dave, they had many times before, so they knew his energies, his movements, and they let him be the guide. It was just playing with Johnny once again, and that's what it was. That was the energy of the creation.”

 

While the playing of the musicians on the original 1993 recordings was strong, the sound quality left something to be desired as it placed the songs into a particular time. By recording a whole new band, John Carter and Fergie, along with engineer Trey Call, brought Johnny into the modern era and made an incredible sounding record that sounds like if Johnny recorded today.

 

“We just went rudimentary,” said John Carter of the approach. “We went straight to the roots, as far as the sound, and tried not to overly enhance it. We built as if dad was in the room. That's what we tried to do. Between the both of us, Fergie and I have spent thousands of hours with dad in the recording studio, so we just tried to act like he was there: WWJCD, right?”

 

“I think this record is the way I would have liked to have made one if I would have ever been in charge of one, before Rick Rubin or after Jack Clement,” said Fergie. “I’ve known John Carter since he was a boy, so it was great to finally work with him. He gave me a lot of leeway, especially in terms of grooves and things. We went right along the same page. There wasn’t ever a conversation or plan about an end product, it was just let's do the best we can do.”

 

Songwriter kicks off in a mighty way with the opening track, “Hello Out There,” a prescient song that sounds like Johnny reaching out from the beyond concerned about mankind and the state of the world as he sings with gravitas, “Hello out there/This is planet Earth/Calling Calling Calling Calling Calling, facilitating his own echoes, before continuing, “Hello out there/our net worth is/Falling Falling Falling Falling Falling.” As the song continues, it crescendos with a glorious swirling of Marty Stuart’s spacey guitar licks, strings, steel guitar, pounding drums, angelic voices, and Johnny’s message of salvation, sonically falling somewhere between cosmic country and gospel. Recorded just before Johnny was recruited by U2 for Zooropa album closer, “The Wanderer,” the songs could be celestial cousins of sorts. “I believe dad wrote it about the Voyager spaceship sometime around when it launched,” said John Carter. “I remember him sitting in Cowboy’s office and singing it for him.”

 

At the time of the original recording, Johnny was in a great place both mentally and vocally. The songs he chose to record were personal to him and had been written over many decades, with some dating back to the mid to late ‘70s. “I Love You Tonite” is a love letter to his beloved wife June Carter Cash while

“Poor Valley Girl” is about both June and her mother, country pioneer, Maybelle Carter, likely written in the wake of her passing in 1978. “Drive On” was inspired by the chronic pain he suffered from due to a broken jaw in the early ‘90s and is about the hardships that were endured by veterans in the Vietnam War. “I think he wanted to understand in his heart, to find peace with his own physical pain, that there were others out there who had pains that were greater, who had PTSD that was more profound, to gain more humility or to gain more acceptance of his own condition,” said John Carter who along with Wesley Orbison, closes the song out with some dueling psychedelic guitars.

 

Meanwhile, "Like A Soldier” is about his struggle with addiction and ultimately recovery. “It's something that that he wrote after his first stint in a recovery center,” said John Carter. “He felt like he was like a soldier getting over a war. The opponent that he had been fighting, his enemy had been addiction, and he was coming into a new life and had the great opportunity for healing. That's where the song came from.” Both “Drive On” and “Like A Soldier” were included with different recordings and arrangements on Johnny’s first American Recordings album in 1994, but these are the very first recordings.

 

Other tracks like the reverential “Have You Been to Little Rock?” sees Johnny expressing pride for his homeland over a beautiful, traditional melody, while “She Sang Sweet Baby James,” is a tender song about a young single mother singing James Taylor’s “Sweet Baby James” to comfort her baby. Johnny was a fan of Taylor’s ever since he performed on the first season of “The Johnny Cash Show” in 1971. Johnny revisits a lesser-known gem of his with “Sing It Pretty Sue,” originally released in 1962 on The Sound of Johnny Cash.

 

In the early ‘90s as country music was changing, Johnny found himself at a lull in his career, despite his songwriting and voice remaining strong. “My dad was probably just as clear as at any point in his life and I think that voice, which was kind of ignored at the time, needs to be heard,” said John Carter. “The man at that age, at that specific point in his life, deserves more attention and focus because he sadly didn’t get as much as he should.”

 

For John Carter, working on Johnny’s music is a form of catharsis and communion with his dad. “It’s not about selling Johnny Cash, he would be doing that himself,” said John Carter. “I'm grateful that this record is here, even if it was only for me, because it reminds me of who my father was, and I do believe there are people out there that knew him on somewhat of a level that I did, that will be just as touched,” said John Carter. “But I also believe that there are people out there that have never heard my father's music that will find new interest in hearing this, hearing this album and hearing my father's voice. I hope that gleans some curiosity in some people where they dig further, and they discover more because there's a lot to see within those pages.”

 

As for what Johnny might think about Songwriter, “I would think Johnny would say what he said about every record that I worked on with him, every record I think he ever made, when he got to the end of it, he always said, “I think it's the best record I’ve ever made,” said Fergie. “You could count on that. I could just hear him say that. I think he'd be really proud of it.”

 

Ultimately, Songwriter is all about putting the spotlight back on Johnny’s songwriting. “I wanted it to be songs that mostly people hadn't heard and that paid close attention to who he was as a songwriter and who he was as an American voice,” said John Carter. “One of my most important focuses in the past 10 years is to make sure that history, as best that I can possibly, is to give history the opportunity to notice him as the great writer he is. Bob Dylan says he's one of the greatest writers of all of American written music and I agree. I want to put that in the forefront. His writing voice specifically is a certain voice, that I think if America wants to know their history, that's a good place to look. Johnny Cash is definitely one true voice that we can listen to, specifically to his writings.”

 

ALBUM TRAILER: https://youtu.be/wjXlx6J9zIc

 

JOHNNY CASH – SONGWRITER TRACKLISTING

CD/DIGITAL

1. Hello Out There
2. Spotlight

3. Drive On

4. I Love You Tonite

5. Have You Ever Been to Little Rock?

6. Well Alright

7. She Sang Sweet Baby James

8. Poor Valley Girl

9. Soldier Boy

10. Sing It Pretty Sue

11. Like A Soldier

 

VINYL

Side A

1. Hello Out There

2. Spotlight

3. Drive On

4. I Love You Tonite

5. Have You Ever Been To Little Rock?

Side B

1. Well Alright

2. She Sang Sweet Baby James

3. Poor Valley Girl

4. Soldier Boy

5. Sing It Pretty Sue

6. Like A Soldier

 

Media Release: Walmart Exclusive - Charlie Daniels & Friends 'Duets' set to be released on July 16, 2021

WALMART EXCLUSIVE: CHARLIE DANIELS & FRIENDS — DUETS SET TO RELEASE ON JULY 16

 

 

Charlie Daniels & Friends: Duets | Credit: Erick Anderson / @eafoto

 

Nineteen-Track Album Features Daniels Dueting with Dolly Parton,

Brooks & Dunn, Darius Rucker, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley,

Brenda Lee, Gretchen Wilson and More

 

 

Nashville, Tenn. (June 17, 2021) — Walmart is helping pay tribute to the late Charlie Daniels by exclusively carrying an upcoming collaborative album that features the Country Music Hall of Fame member dueting with some of the biggest stars in country music, bluegrass, and southern rock. The physical edition of Charlie Daniels & Friends - Duets (via Blue Hat Records & BFD / Audium Nashville) will be available for purchase in all Walmart stores and walmart.com on Friday, July 16.

 

"It goes without saying that it’s been a rough year for my mom and I, our CDB family and dad’s fans,” says Daniels’ son, Charlie Daniels Jr. “But his music will live on forever, and we’re happy that this Duets collection will add to his legacy."

 

The nineteen-track compilation features Daniels singing and pickin’ with a slew of top-notch stars including Dolly Parton, Brooks & Dunn, Darius Rucker, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Brenda Lee, Gretchen Wilson, Marty Stuart, and more.

 

The album includes several of Daniels' biggest songs such as “Long Haired Country Boy” (w/ Brooks & Dunn, as well as an additional version w/ Hal Ketchum and John Berry), “The South’s Gonna Do It (Again)” (w/ Keith Urban on guitar), “Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye” (w/ Montgomery Gentry), and “Waco” (w/ Garth Brooks singing harmony), as well as classic tunes like “Jackson” (w/ Gretchen Wilson), “Let It Be Me” (w/ Brenda Lee), and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” (w/ Vince Gill).

 

“The process of putting this project together was a wonderful time of reflection and it became an overwhelming reminder of how great these tracks are,” explains Blue Hat Records president and Daniels' longtime manager David Corlew. “The best of the best joined Charlie in sharing musical styles and great songs. Thanks to all who participated in honoring Charlie."

 

Pre-orders are available now at walmart.com.

 

The life and career of Daniels will be honored at the upcoming 2021 Volunteer Jam: A Musical Salute to Charlie Daniels, set to take place on August 18 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Tickets are available for purchase now via ticketmaster.com. Click here for the full artist lineup.

 

Charlie Daniels & Friends - Duets Track Listing:

1. What'd I Say (w/ Travis Tritt) 
2. Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours (w/ Bonnie Bramlett)
3. Jackson (w/ Gretchen Wilson) 
4.  The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (w/ Vince Gill) 
5. Maggie's Farm (w/ Earl, Gary and Randy Scruggs) 
6.  Daddy's Old Fiddle (w/ Dolly Parton) 
7. Like A Rolling Stone (w/ Darius Rucker)
8. Evangeline (w/ The Del McCoury Band)
9. Let It Be Me (w/ Brenda Lee)
10. Long Haired Country Boy (w/ Brooks & Dunn)
11. God Save Us All From Religion (w/ Marty Stuart)
12. Drinkin' My Baby Goodbye (w/ Montgomery Gentry)
13. Jammin' For Stevie (w/ Brad Paisley) 
14. Waco (w/ Garth Brooks singing harmony vocals)
15. The South’s Gonna Do It (Again) (w/ Keith Urban on guitar) 
16. All Night Long (w/ Montgomery Gentry) 
17. Texas (w/ Ray Benson and Lee Roy Parnell)
18. Southern Boy (w/ Travis Tritt)
19. Long Haired Country Boy (w/ Hal Ketchum and John Berry) 

 

About Charlie Daniels

From his Dove Award-winning gospel albums to his genre-defining southern rock anthems and his CMA Award-winning country hits, few artists have left a more indelible mark on America's musical landscape than the late Charlie Daniels. An outspoken patriot, beloved mentor, and a true road warrior, Daniels parlayed his passion for music into a multi-platinum career and a platform to support the military, underprivileged children, and others in need. The Charlie Daniels Band has long populated radio with memorable hits and his signature song, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Over the course of his career, Daniels received numerous accolades, including his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame and becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Daniels helped to shine the spotlight on the many causes that were close to his heart. He was a staunch supporter of the military and gave his time and talent to numerous charitable organizations, including The Journey Home Project, that he founded in 2014 with his manager, David Corlew, to help veterans of the United States Armed Forces. Daniels passed away on July 6, 2020. He was 83.

 

For more information, visit charliedaniels.com.

 

About Bob Frank Distribution (BFD)

Bob Frank Distribution (BFD) was formed in 2013 as a boutique independent music distributor with a global sub-distribution arrangement with the Orchard. BFD currently represents over 50 labels and artists with thousands of masters including earMUSIC, Charly, Absolute, Righteous Babe, BlueHat / Charlie Daniels masters, Astor Place Recordings, Big Deal Records, Once Upon A Time Music, Node Records, Cleveland International Records, Peak Records, Woodward Avenue Records, The Atlantic Screen Group (Filmtrax), REMT, PRA/Bad Dog, and UFO, as well as artist owned labels and catalogs including Crystal Gayle, Dale Watson, Dave Davies, Anthony Gomes, Mark Collie, Darryl Worley, Lee Roy Parnell, Trini Lopez and many others.  

 

Visit more information, visit bobfrankent.com.

Sights and Sounds: Kim Gordon, Chris Hillman, The GRAMMY Museum®

Check out my roundup of breaking music news...Robert Kinsler

Kim Gordon releases new video for “Hungry Baby” starring Coco Gordon-Moore, directed by Clara Balzary From Solo Debut Album No Home Record, Out Now on Matador

Today legendary musician and multi-disciplinary artist Kim Gordon releases the new video for “Hungry Baby,” directed by Clara Balzary and starring Coco Gordon-Moore, produced by Ways & Means. “Hungry Baby” is on Kim’s solo debut album, No Home Record, which was released last Fall on Matador Records to critical acclaim. Clara Balzary says of the video, “I came up with the idea for the video after listening to “Hungry Baby” on a 2020 angst fueled walk around my suburban neighborhood. Coco is an amazing performer, and loved her as this character with such a raging internal world set against that quiet + empty backdrop of the parking lot. I’m so grateful to Kim for being so supportive and open to the idea. She is such a role model as someone for whom an art practice always comes before worries about ego or branding. The talented Sadie Wilking worked with Coco on choreography, and we couldn’t have done any of it without the legendary cinematographer and friend, Christopher Blauvelt, who is always so generous with his craft.”

No Home Record was produced largely by Justin Raisen (Charli XCX, Ariel Pink, Sky Ferreira) at Sphere Ranch in Los Angeles, along with contributions from Shawn Everett (Jim James, The Voidz, The War on Drugs) and composer/filmmaker Jake Meginsky (L’appel Du Vide). Gordon’s solo debut album’s title is a nod to the French-Belgian director Chantal Akerman’s film No Home Movie. “Why a solo record? And why now?,” Gordon mused of the upcoming solo debut. “I don’t know, but it wouldn’t have happened without the persistence of Justin Raisen. Living in LA the last few years it feels like home, but the transience of the place makes it feel sometimes like no home.” Since co-founding the seminal Sonic Youth in the early 80’s, Kim Gordon has remained at the nexus of music, fashion, art and (more recently) books and film. In the past few years alone, Gordon has debuted in the #1 spot on the NY Times Bestseller List with her 2015 memoir Girl In A Band, acted alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Jonah Hill under the direction of Gus Van Sant (in 2018’s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot”), released music and performed as one half of Body/Head alongside Bill Nace, and opened multiple solo-exhibitions at internationally renowned museums.  Listen to No Home Record HERE. Praise for No Home Record: "The art star queen of New York cool...The music is a swirling aural collage with splashes of vintage Sonic Youth noise rock, offset by jagged, impressionistic lyrics..."  - The New York Times "Kim Gordon is like the Joan Didion of indie rock, an avatar of laconic California cool, a figure both utterly familiar and inscrutable...as ferocious as she’s ever been." - Vogue "Kim Gordon’s thrilling solo debut lives at the vanguard of sound and performance, shot through with the beautiful, unsparing noise that has always defined her art." - Pitchfork, Best New Music "...a set of hard-hitting songs that can also feel dreamlike. The searing, searching album evokes music from Eighties New York rap to experimental electronics to Sonic Youth’s tidal noise rock..." - Rolling Stone "...A heavily electronic soundscape that mostly leaves behind the squalling guitars of her longtime band Sonic Youth and finds new ways to sound experimental" - Vanity Fair "One of the finest and most captivatingly intense rock records of 2019" - The FADER "Through every heady drone, spacious dub, riotous punk rager and lysergic trap beat, Gordon's scorched rasp scrapes the shocked psyche clean." - NPR "Her new album is an explosion of her freedom to be the artist that she’s always been, mixing poetry, music and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny lyrics." - Jen Kirkman, Playboy.com "Gordon delivers a collection of biting observations on consumerism and pop culture, braiding threads of noise rock, hip-hop, and electronic music into her own unique fabric - New York Magazine’s Vulture, "The Best Albums of 2019” “this longtime queen of the NYC underground stretches out again through layers of noise and melody, guitars and electronics, taking cues equally from the Stooges and underground hip-hop, with lyrics that are jagged and impressionistic...Gordon is dependably uncompromising, reflecting on tensions past and still to come." - LA Times “A disorienting meditation on image and fantasy, LA’s bread and butter." - Cultured Magazine "A defiant solo debut perfectly attuned to the ambient anger of the moment" - Consequence of Sound "It’s jagged, chaotic and mesmerizing in a way that pulls you inevitably into the thick of it, as if the songs were exerting their own inescapable gravity." - Paste Magazine, “Best Punk Albums of 2019” "No Home Record: a primal collection of songs that seem to come from the deepest and freest parts of her soul. There is no start or end; just freedom." - LADYGUNN "A personal evolution, bringing all aspects of Gordon’s multidisciplinary creativity together under one roof. Her preferred minimalist aesthetic...is adeptly channeled into the sparsely layered songwriting on No Home Record." - Premier Guitar KIM GORDON Website / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Store

Chris Hillman's compelling autobiography 'Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother and Beyond' goes into second printing; will appear at Far West Folk Alliance

Appearing in virtual interview at Far West Folk Alliance on March 3, 2021 and in Signature Sounds interview on March 7, 2021

Chris Hillman is arguably the primary architect of what’s come to be known as country rock. After playing the Southern California folk and bluegrass circuit, he joined Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke as an original member of The Byrds. He went on to partner with Gram Parsons to launch The Flying Burrito Brothers, recording a handful of albums that have become touchstones of the Americana genre.

 

Hillman then embarked on a prolific recording career as a member of Stephen Stills’ Manassas, as a solo artist, and as a member of several groups that he insists sound more like law firms than bands: Souther-Hillman-Furay with acclaimed songwriter J.D. Souther and former Buffalo Springfield and Poco member Richie Furay; McGuinn, Clark & Hillman with two of his fellow former Byrds; and Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen with legendary bluegrass musicians Tony Rice, Larry Rice, and longtime collaborator and duo partner Herb Pedersen. As a songwriter, he appeared on the Billboard singles charts in four consecutive decades, and his songs have been recorded by a diverse range of artists, from Steve Earle to Patti Smith to Roy Rogers. In the 1980s, Hillman launched a successful mainstream country group when he formed The Desert Rose Band with Pedersen and John Jorgenson, scoring eight Billboard Top 10 country hits. In the midst of his country success he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with the other original members of the Byrds. He has since released a number of solo efforts, including 2017’s highly-acclaimed Bidin’ My Time, which was the final album produced by Tom Petty with executive producer Pedersen.

Hillman’s memoir, Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother and Beyond, first published November 17, 2020 by BMG Books, has gone into its second printing and will be available at retail on February 23, 2021.

 

Hillman remains active on the interview circuit. On March 3 he will be featured at Far West Folk Alliance’s virtual conference, “Best of the West & Beyond,” interviewed by journalist Randy Lewis. He will appear on the Signature Sounds Interview series on March 7.

 

Four tours have been postponed due to the pandemic: The East Coast shows will move to spring of 2022. Midwest dates will move to September, Florida shows to October and Texas shows to November of this year.

 

In the memoir, Hillman takes readers behind the curtain of his quintessentially Southern Californian experience. Raised in San Diego County’s then-rural Rancho Santa Fe, Chris grew up in an idyllic 1950s environment that was filled with TV cowboys, horseback riding, exploring the outdoors, surfing, discovering girls, and falling in love with music. When his older sister came home from college with a stack of records by folk artists such as Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly, Chris was hooked. He soon fell in love with the bluegrass music of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and The Stanley Brothers, spending hours mastering the guitar and mandolin. Once the Beatles invaded America, the various aspects of Hillman’s musical DNA came together that would eventually lead to him become a pioneering founding father of country-rock. 

 

According to Hillman, "I never anticipated such an incredible response to my book, Time Between, and to already be in the second printing is just phenomenal. I'm grateful to the many people who have embraced it."

 

“BMG has been so pleased with the reaction to Chris’s book,” adds Scott B. Bomar, Publisher and Senior Director of the company’s growing Books department. “We knew it was great, which is why we signed it, but even we were surprised by how swiftly we needed another printing. Nearly the entire first print run was accounted for by the time it hit the market, and we had to scramble to get another print run initiated during the busy holiday season. That’s a good problem to have. The critics and, more importantly, the fans have really resonated with Chris’s direct and honest style. We’re thrilled to be a part of helping him tell his story.”   

 

The book won press accolades upon publication. “It’s fascinating to read about his view from slightly out of the spotlight as countless memorable characters drift in and out of his life,” noted Variety. Forbes echoed: “To say that musician Chris Hillman had an interesting musical career would be a definite understatement. In the 1960s, Hillman was a member of two pioneering bands ... So it only makes sense that Hillman, who continues to record as a solo artist, pen a memoir about his time with those bands.”

 

Singer-songwriter Wesley Stace, reviewing in The Wall Street Journal, wrote: “Mr. Hillman, a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer with four Grammy nominations to his name, has a solid claim as anyone — though he modestly does not make it — to have invented the entire genre of country rock ... The cutthroat mentality of a band on the make is tactfully told. Mr. Hillman, a longtime Christian who understands that it's all about motes and beams, is as discreet about other people's bad choices as he is about his own, and Time Between gives him a chance to reflect, make amends and give thanks.”

No Depression summed it up: “Chris, who is still an active musician, has written a concise memoir that’s narrated in an easy-going conversational manner ... it’s hard to put down.” 

“Chris Hillman has been a well-kept secret in the history of rock. Yeah, we all know how great he was in the Byrds, but his contributions go well beyond that. Chris was a true innovator — the man who invented country rock. Every time the Eagles board their private jet Chris at least paid for the fuel.” —Tom Petty

“Chris Hillman is a bona fide pioneering godfather to generations of musical souls who’ve sought inspiration at that divine crossroads where rock & roll, country, bluegrass, folk, honky tonk, and gospel music intersect and harmonize. He’s a national treasure, truly a statesman.”  

—Marty Stuart

For more information about Chris Hillman, visit:
www.chrishillman.com
www.rounder.com (label)
www.skylineonline.com (for booking)

GRAMMY Museum announces 'Live From The Vault' digital series in partnership with Iron Mountain

FEATURED ARTISTS INCLUDE MAVIS STAPLES AND RINGO STARR   SERIES DEBUTS TODAY ON GRAMMY MUSEUM'S OFFICIAL STREAMING SERVICE, COLLECTION:LIVE

LOS ANGELES (February 4, 2021) — The GRAMMY Museum® announced today a new Live From The Vault series in partnership with Iron Mountain Entertainment Services (IMES), a division of Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the storage and information management services company. Since 2008, the GRAMMY Museum has curated more than 80 exhibits, hosted more than 1,000 programs and captured more than 2,000 hours of archived video footage. As the Official Preservation Partner of the GRAMMY Museum, IMES has stored the Museum's most prized physical artifacts in a climate-controlled vault and will now store, manage and distribute its video archives using Iron Mountain's secure digital content repository technology platform.   The GRAMMY Museum and IMES will curate specific archived videos as part of a new series, Live From The Vault, which takes fans inside the vaults of some of the Museum's most iconic programs, showcasing rarely seen footage. Mavis Staples will be the first artist featured from her 2010 program in the Museum's Clive Davis Theater, released starting today on the Museum's official streaming service COLLECTION:live with free access to all viewers. To further increase access, the Museum will utilize Iron Mountain's Content Localization Services (CLaaS) system to transcribe the Museum's archives into other target languages, including subtitles.   "As we’ve seen in the past year, it’s vital for museums to increase their digital presence and the GRAMMY Museum has been doing just that," said the Museum's President Michael Sticka. "We're thrilled to partner with IMES for our new Live From The Vault series to preserve these important recordings and moments in music history from our archives."   This series will also include a previously recorded program with Ringo Starr, which will be released on March 4 on COLLECTION:live. Additional artists and special programming will be announced soon.   “Our mission is to help our customers protect and activate their archives,” said Lance Podell, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IMES at Iron Mountain. “Our long relationship with the GRAMMY Museum is rooted in this shared dedication to preserve musical history. We’re proud to be the Museum’s Official Preservation Partner to help safeguard their diverse treasure trove and propel it into the streaming age, featuring dynamic artist interviews and performances. We’re excited about sponsoring the Live from the Vault series and its debut episode with musical pioneer Mavis Staples - what a privilege it is to hear in her own words how her upbringing and social justice convictions inspired her music.”

ABOUT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM The GRAMMY Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating a greater understanding of the history and significance of music through exhibits, education, grants, preservation initiatives, and public programming. Paying tribute to our collective musical heritage, the Museum explores and celebrates all aspects of the art form — from the technology of the recording process to the legends who've made lasting marks on our cultural identity.   For more information, visit www.grammymuseum.org, "like" the GRAMMY Museum on Facebook, and follow @GRAMMYMuseum on Twitter and Instagram.   ABOUT COLLECTION:LIVE COLLECTION:live is the GRAMMY Museum's official online streaming service, featuring an artfully curated collection of newly produced artist interviews, performances and livestreams, as well as special releases from the GRAMMY Museum archive. The Museum's popular Public Programs series has been recorded over the last decade from the Clive Davis Theater in Los Angeles and has since surpassed the 1,000 program mark. Proceeds benefit the Museum's music education initiatives.   About Iron Mountain Entertainment Services  Iron Mountain Entertainment Services (IMES), the media and entertainment division of Iron Mountain Incorporated®, is the go-to physical and digital media archiving service for the media and entertainment industries. IMES partners with clients ranging from the broadcast, film, music and sports sectors to brand archives and individual artists' collections and estates, to protect and activate media archives to preserve our collective cultural heritage. A global leader in media preservation, restoration and archive management, IMES offers industry-leading archive, storage, chain-of-custody processes and physical and digital content preservation solutions to ensure the complete protection of some of the world’s most treasured and iconic assets. Visit https://www.imes.media/ for more information.   About Iron Mountain Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), founded in 1951, is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of more than 90 million square feet across approximately 1,450 facilities in approximately 50 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include secure records storage, information management, digital transformation, secure shredding, as well as Intelligent Content Service Platform, data centers, cloud services and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a more digital way of working. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information.