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Monday, 1 November, 2010 2:35 AM
Switching Hats: Country Artists
Connect as Radio Hosts (CMA)
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Photo
by Tyne Whitten
Dierks
Bentley |
| By
Vernell Hackett |
| ©
2010 CMA Close Up News Service |
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
-- For as long as there’s been radio, there have
been on-air personalities whose talents centered on keeping listeners
tuned in long enough to connect with artists and advertisers. For
performers seeking to build their fan base, this formula has worked
for decades, especially when encouraged by radio tours, to visit
with DJs in as many markets as possible and encourage them to play
their new single.
But with media, roles,
options and other elements in the business shifting around so quickly,
some artists are looking to expand their choices for exposure. And
one trend involves artists moving to the other side of the microphone,
as hosts of their own radio programs.
| In years past, it
wasn’t unusual for a singer to hold down a gig at a local
radio station before moving to Nashville. Tom T. Hall, Waylon
Jennings, Willie Nelson and Charlie Walker did it — but
Holly Dunn reversed the formula in 1997. Already a recording
artist with a string of hits that included “Are You Ever
Gonna Love Me” and “Daddy’s Hands,”
she accepted a job that year as morning DJ at WWWW/Detroit.
Dunn, who had majored in broadcasting at Abilene Christian University,
averaged more than 300,000 listeners per day for a year before
returning to Nashville. |
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Today, Kix Brooks is
heard nationally as host of “American Country Countdown with
Kix Brooks” over Citadel Media. Kenny Chesney has overseen
his own online show, “No Shoes Radio,” since August
2009. And in March, three artists — Dierks Bentley, Jim Lauderdale
and Pam Tillis — have launched their own weekly, hour-long
shows on 650 WSM-AM/Nashville, each one beginning at 2 PM/CT. The
shows can also be heard online at www.WSMonline.com
or as podcasts via iTunes.
The idea was conceived
by Joe Limardi, Operations Manager, WSM Radio. “We have so
many artists in as guests,” he explained. “Some are
so good and have such good stories to tell and a love for music
that’s not their own, I thought, ‘Why not let them be
creative on air and offer them the opportunity to do their own show?’”
The first person Limardi
asked was Bentley. “When I was approached about doing the
show, I jumped on it,” the singer recalled. “I love
WSM, I love its history and I love the idea of having my voice broadcast
on those airwaves.”
Bentley came up with
the name for his show, which airs every Monday. It’s called
“The Thread” because it embraces all of the music that
has influenced Bentley. He spent a lot of time at the Station Inn
after his arrival in Nashville; today, performances from that famous
acoustic/bluegrass venue are often featured on his broadcasts. Other
hours are dedicated to themes reflected in their titles, which include
“Ray Price: Priceless” and “The Thing About Don
Williams.” Every now and then something unexpected adds to
the mix, including a visit by WSM DJ Eddie Stubbs one day as he
was in the midst of taping his show.
“He is a hero of
mine and I try to imitate him,” admitted Bentley, who added
that while it was challenging to come up with a focus for each show
and material to fit that focus, the process has become easier with
time.
After “The Thread”
started airing, Tillis got in touch with Limardi and expressed interest
in doing a show as well. “Pam came up with the name ‘Lettin’
My Roots Show,’ and if you listen to it (on Tuesdays), the
show does go back to her roots in music and the relationships she’s
built in Nashville,” said Limardi. “She has a genuine
appreciation for all styles of music.”
Having grown up in Country
Music, Tillis enjoys sharing memories and stories from her childhood
in Nashville and on the road with her father, Country Music Hall
of Fame member Mel Tillis. Each of her shows also centers on one
theme, ranging from Native American music to political Country and
The Beatles’ impact on Country Music.
“My first reaction
about doing the radio show was that it sounds like fun but I don’t
know how I could fit one more thing into my life,” Tillis
said. “It would have been easier to just randomly pull songs,
but I really like the idea of themes, which is harder to do and
takes more effort.”
Though she does most
of this work, Tillis credits her radio producer, Shannon McCombs,
for helping her pull it together. “Sometimes Shannon will
go, ‘Please just let me run with it,’” she said.
“But I’m real hands-on with everything I do. I get manic
about it, but it’s been worth it to me.”
One of the singer’s
favorite shows was about her family. Her brother Mel Jr., known
as Sonny, and sister Carrie April had never been on radio before
being featured on “Lettin’ My Roots Show.” “My
brother wrote ‘When I Think About Angels,’” Tillis
said, referring to the Jamie O’Neal No. 1 single that he wrote
with O’Neal and Roxie Dean. “So I played some of his
songs. And my baby sister is an amazing singer, so I played some
of her work. I even found something with her and me in Branson.
And I ran across this old audio clip of dad and me, when I was 17
and I was on ‘The Mike Douglas Show’ with him. I was
sitting at the computer, programming this for my show, and I was
crying because things like that are fun to share.”
Having established the
model with Bentley and Tillis, WSM didn’t have to go too far
when it decided to look for an artist to host an Americana show.
“Jim Lauderdale hosts our weekly roots show (‘Music
City Roots: Live from the Loveless Café’), and we thought
he would be perfect for an Americana show,” Limardi said.
“He has such eclectic taste in music, which you can hear on
his show.”
Lauderdale had some background
as a radio host as he launched “The Jim Lauderdale Show,”
which airs every Wednesday. Along with that experience at a college
radio station in South Carolina, he brings a selection of CDs from
home for each show that he tapes, which he supplements by going
through the WSM library.
“I have a general
idea of what I might play, and Shannon (McCombs) is a big help with
organizing and suggesting,” Lauderdale said. “I love
WSM, and what I try to do on the show is play about two-thirds traditional
Country and some bluegrass and then throw in some singer/songwriter
stuff. I don’t want to get too way out. The music has to flow
with the rest of the songs that day on the station.”
After the Nashville flood
in May, Lauderdale tried something a little unusual on his show.
“I had the urge to do the show live, which is something I
really enjoy doing and will do again as my schedule allows,”
he said. “The WSM studio out by Opryland was under water,
so we had to go out to Brentwood, south of Nashville, to the studio
at the big tower, which is just off of Interstate 65 South. My slot
is right after Joe Limardi’s show, so he runs things for me
technically. Shannon was there too, and we really had a great time.
I hope that comes across on the air.”
Once he had these three
artists in place, Limardi needed to fill the 2 PM slot on Thursday.
As a result, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show comes in the
third Thursday of every month to play music from his personal collection
of recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. The remaining Thursdays
feature a rotating list of hosts, which have included Mark Chesnutt,
Dailey & Vincent, Billy Dean, Jack Ingram, Jewel, Sammy Kershaw,
Lorrie Morgan and Dana Williams of Diamond Rio.
“The coolest part
of it all is that it started with the idea of one artist and snowballed,
with all these great artists who come in and say they’d like
to do a show,” Limardi said.
While all of these artists
enjoy dabbling in radio, none is ready to trade the stage for the
studio as their top professional priority. “I enjoy this but
what I love is performing and touring and writing songs and making
records,” Bentley insisted. “That occupies a lot of
my time.”
“I love finding out the history of the music, turning up things
I didn’t know,” Tillis said. “I’m learning,
and I hope the audience is enjoying learning with me. I’ll
come up with an idea and think, ‘How am I gonna do a show
around this?’ And somehow I find it. I did a cowgirl show
— who would think you could do that, but I did!”
On the Web:
www.WSMonline.com
Photo
by Matthew Spicher
Pam
Tillis
AmericaJR.com
is Detroit's exclusive media outlet for this syndicated weekly column!
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