Tony Brown To Be Honored

Tony Brown

Tony Brown will be honored for his contributions to the music industry with the 2009 Cecil Scaife Visionary Award on Mon., March 2 at The Musicians Hall Of Fame. Among those set to pay tribute to the acclaimed producer are musical guests, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and U.S. Congressman Marsha Blackburn. A silent auction will include autographed items from Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame member James Burton, who will be in attendance; as well as George Strait, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Amy Grant and others. Email NashvilleCelebrates@gmail.com to request an invitation to the event which benefits The Cecil Scaife Music Business Scholarship Endowment. A $200 donation secures admission.

With credits on over 100 million albums sold and 100 No. 1 singles, Brown most recently produced hit albums including Reba McEntire‘s Reba Duets, Heidi Newfeld’s solo debut, and George Strait’s Troubador, for which Brown won CMA and Grammy Awards. Brown started his career as a piano player with Elvis Presley, and eventually spent two decades helming MCA Nashville, where signed and/or produced superstars such as Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood, Wynonna Judd and Gill.

LaRawn Scaife Rhea founded the The Cecil Scaife Visionary Award to honor her father who was one of the first people to envision a music business program at Belmont University. His career included time at Sun Records alongside legendary producer Sam Phillips and a young Presley, as well as later work with Charlie Rich, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and others.