Author Archive: Robert K Oermann
Robert K. Oermann is a longtime contributor to MusicRow. He is a respected music critic, author and historian.
DISClaimer Single Reviews (7/27/11)
Is it hot enough for you? There’s nothing like Nashville in July-August to wear you out. And there are no ballads in this week’s column to cool you off. The new sounds from Bomshel, Randy Travis, Montgomery Gentry and Marlee Scott are particularly hot stuff.
Services Set For Songwriter House
Funeral services for Gerald “Jerry” House will be held on Saturday, July 9. The hit country songwriter died Tuesday at age 69. House spent his working career in the printing industry, but he retained a lifelong love of country music. The Alabama native first performed on the Grand Ole Opry at age 16. He wrote […]
Category: Featured, Publishing
DISClaimer Single Reviews (7/6/11)
Superstars Taylor Swift and Shania Twain are in the mix this week, but both were trumped by lesser lights. Challenging the two divas for supremacy were excellent new sounds from Craig Morgan, Robin Meade, Royal Wade Kimes and Jody Jenkins.
DISClaimer Single Reviews (6/29/11)
This listening session was dominated by hit makers of yore. Ricky Skaggs, Tracy Lawrence, Sawyer Brown, Michael Martin Murphey and Roy Head with Jeff Chance are all on board with new sounds. Ricky and Tracy, in particular, are audio delights.
DISClaimer Single Reviews (6/22/11)
Our three contenders for this edition’s DisCovery Award can all be found on independent labels and the Disc of the Day goes to the combo of Rascal Flatts with New Zealand born and Britain-created pop warbler Natasha Bedingfield.
Music Industry Art Director Bill Johnson Passes
Grammy Award winning art director Bill Johnson has died at age 68. He passed away at home in Nashville on Wednesday (6/15) following a battle with lung cancer. As the art director at CBS Records in the 1980s and 1990s, he left his visual imprint on an entire generation of country record makers. Johnson was […]
DISClaimer Single Reviews (6/15/11)
You can tickle my dancing feet or dazzle my brain with word play, but if you really want to get my attention, pierce my heart.
CMA Fest By The Numbers
The Country Music Association released its preliminary statistics on its 40th annual fan festival on Monday, and the results are impressive. There is no official estimate on how much economic impact this year’s festival had on downtown, but it is a safe bet that it surpassed last year’s $24 million.
Notable Nashville Gospel Personality Passes
Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame member J. Harold Lane died last week in Nashville at age 82. His funeral was held Monday (6/13), and he was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. Lane initially rose to prominence as a founder of the Gospel Harmony Boys. He is best known as a performer for his 22 […]