Sierra Hull

Burlington, MA - Rounder Records is proud to announce the release of “Secrets,” the national debut album by 16-year old mandolin prodigy Sierra Hull. Due May 6, “Secrets” is a remarkably mature album that balances hard-driving bluegrass with thoughtful, moving ballads.

At the age of eight, Hull became an adored and respected young picker in bluegrass circles. At the tender age of 11, Hull made her Grand Ole Opry debut, when she was invited to play with her heroine, Alison Krauss. Since then, Hull has competed in and won numerous mandolin and guitar championships, showcased at The International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass, and was a featured performer on the Great High Mountain Tour, which included an all-star bluegrass lineup (with Krauss, Ralph Stanley, and others), that performed songs from the soundtracks of O Brother Where Art Thou and Cold Mountain. Hull also hosts her own bluegrass festival (The Sierra Hull Bluegrass Festival) in her hometown of Byrdsville, Tennessee.

Recorded in Nashville, Tenn. in 2007, “Secrets” was co-produced by Hull and Ron Block (Union Station) and features Block, Dan Tyminski, Barry Bales, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Tony Rice, Jim VanCleve, Rob Ickes, Chris Jones, Jason Moore, and 17-year-old banjo whiz Cory Walker (who is in Sierra’s band, Highway 111). The album includes 13 tracks, three of which were written or co-written by Hull. “It’s amazing to listen to her precision and agility at the young age of 16. If that isn’t enough, check out her guitar playing on ‘Hullarious’ and the excellence of the self-written composition,” says fellow mandolinist Sam Bush. “Sierra’s vocals are effortless and straight to the point, while keeping the focus on melody. Her mandolin playing is smooth, in time, and downright slippery. This CD is HULLACIOUS!”

Track Listing:

1. Secrets
2. From Now On
3. Two Winding Rails
4. Smashville
5. Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool
6. Pretend
7. If You Can Tame My Heart
8. That’s All I Can Say
9. The Hard Way
10. Hullarious
11. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
12. Only My Heart
13. Trust and Obey

Share This

Nashville, Tenn. - Legendary songwriter Bob McDill will make a rare public appearance at the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum on Saturday, March 1, as the latest subject of the quarterly programming series Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters. The 2:00 p.m. program, which will be held in the Museum’s Ford Theater, is included with Museum admission and free to Museum members.

Below is a select list of McDill’s biggest hit songs recorded by artists such as Don Williams, Waylon Jennings, Dan Seals and Alan Jackson along with many others.

• Amanda
• (Turn Out The lights) And Love Me Tonight
• Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On
• Big Wheels In The Moonlight
• Don’t Close Your Eyes
• Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)
• Gone Country
• Good Ole Boys Like Me
• If Hollywood Don’t Need You (Honey I Still Do)
• Louisiana Saturday Night
• My Old Yellow Car
• Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer
• Song of the South

Museum Editor Michael Gray will conduct an in-depth, one-on-one interview with McDill, illustrated with audiovisual elements from the Museum’s collection, including recordings, photos and film clips. McDill will perform briefly during the program, and immediately following he will sign autographs in the Museum Store.

Bob McDill elevated country music for nearly three decades with artfully crafted songs of substance and insight. He managed to gain commercial success with a body of work that runs the gamut from clever ditties to poignant love songs to literary works of art. McDill is best known for penning classics such as “Carolyn At The Broken Wheel Inn” (The Seldom Scene, Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time), “Catfish John” (Charlie Waller, Mac Wiseman, The Country Gentlemen, The Keel Brothers), “I’m Not That Good at Goodbye” (The Osborne Brothers, Larry Cordle and LST), “Come Early Morning” (The Seldom Scene, Marty Raybon) and many more contemporary country hits covered by artists such as Don Williams, Waylon Jennings, Sammy Kershaw and Alan Jackson to name a few.

Growing up in Beaumont, Texas, Robert Lee McDill was influenced by his mother’s piano playing and family singing. Like the main character in his hit song “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” McDill’s childhood was colored by Thomas Wolfe’s writing and records spun by John Richbourg (WLAC-Nashville) and Wolfman Jack (WXLR-Del Rio, Texas). McDill was a product of pop radio’s diversity and gravitated toward songwriters like Johnny Mercer and Paul Simon. By age 15 he was writing songs, and a few years later, playing in the folk group the Newcomers.

While at Lamar University (1962-1966), he wrote “The Happy Man,” which was recorded in 1967 by Perry Como. McDill was serving a two-year stint in the U.S. Navy when the song was recorded. The following year his second hit, “Black Sheep,” was cut by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs. Memphis songwriter and song publisher Allen Reynolds had helped McDill place the tunes, and in 1970, McDill and Reynolds went to work for Jack Clement’s publishing company, Jack Music, in Nashville.

McDill had been composing folk, rock and pop tunes, but had an epiphany while listening to George Jones’ hit “A Good Year for the Roses” in the backseat of a car. After hearing an unsettling emotion brewing behind the song’s theme, he was able to truly understand the depth of country music. McDill’s first country success came with Johnny Russell’s 1972 recording of “Catfish John,” co-written with Reynolds. McDill began a rigorous schedule of completing one song a week for the next three decades and would go on to score dozens of Billboard #1 hits. He supplied several country artists with career-defining singles, and found success with recordings by artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Anne Murray, Lefty Frizzell and Joe Cocker.

McDill was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985. In 1997, he supplied Pam Tillis with the Grammy-nominated hit “All the Good Ones Are Gone,” co-written by Dean Dillon. McDill is currently enjoying retirement and still resides in Nashville.

Visitors are encouraged to ask questions at the interactive Poets and Prophets programs, which are dedicated to songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music history. Previous Poets and Prophets honorees include Hank Cochran, John D. Loudermilk, Bobby Braddock and Craig Wiseman.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.

Share This

Jim Lauderdale

The Grand Ole Opry has a great lineup of Bluegrass music on both Friday and Saturday editions of the show. Saturday night’s Opry will feature Jim Lauderdale whose “The Bluegrass Diaries” (Yep Roc) album was just awarded the Grammy for “Best Bluegrass Album of the Year.”

At this point it’s a toss up as to whether Jim will play Bluegrass on the show or will feature music from his upcoming release “Honey Songs” which features an all-star backing band including James Burton, Al Perkins and Gary Tallent.

Friday February 15

• Marty Stuart - 8:00-8:30
• Del McCoury Band - 8:00-8:30
• Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press - 8:30-9:00
• Cherryholmes - 9:00-9:30

Saturday, February 16

• Jim Lauderdale - 7:00-7:30 and 10:00-10:30
• Jesse McReynolds and The Virginia Boys - 7:30-8:00
• Marty Stuart - 8:00-8:30 and 10:30-11:00
• Del McCoury Band - 8:00-8:30 and 10:30-11:00

The Grand Ole Opry is broadcast live on WSM 650 AM radio, online at WSMonline.com and on XM Satellite Radio (XM 11). All listed times are central time.

Share This

Burlington, MA – The North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance (Folk Alliance) will honor Rounder Records as a recipient of the 2008 Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards (LAAwards) at the Folk Awards Show Wednesday, February 20, 2008 in Memphis, TN. The awards are given to those who have inspired others, achieved definitive leadership in their field and contributed to the advancement of folk music and/or dance. Each year the LAAwards honor two performers, one living and one legacy, and a person or institution involved in the business or academic side of the folk world, who have devoted their life’s work and talent to the advancement of the performing folk arts. The awards are a highlight of the Folk Alliance’s annual conference.

In 1970, with only their passionate enthusiasm for American roots music lighting the way, three Cambridge, Massachusetts college students, Bill Nowlin, Ken Irwin, and Marian Leighton Levy, cast their lot into the perilous music industry. The tenacious trio went the distance: from humble beginnings to what is now America’s premier independent record label. From its early interest in rural American music (via fiddle, stringband, blues, and bluegrass recordings) to an expansive catalogue of more than 2,500 titles running the gamut from folk to world, soul to socas, jazz to juju, Cajun to Celtic, and beyond, Rounder has emerged as the preeminent source for vital, uncompromised music of all genres.

The 2008 International Folk Alliance Conference runs from Wednesday, February 20 until Sunday, February 24. Rounder artists The SteelDrivers and Vienna Teng will be performing at conference showcases throughout the week. For the full schedule please visit: www.folkalliance.org/index.php?name=Sections&req=viewarticle&artid=13&page=1.

The Folk Alliance was founded in 1989 and seeks to create new and better opportunities for all those involved in the performance folk arts. With thousands of attendees annually, their conference offers a complete view of the business world of traditional and contemporary folk music and dance through showcases, educational seminars, films, and a networking-rich trade show.

Share This