August film-crew visits to county fairs in Elkhorn, Wis., and Buffalo, N.Y., will provide the basis for two unique TV specials to be broadcast by the Nashville Network this fall.
”Fairs are an American tradition, reflecting the best in community spirit, local craftmanship, music, showmanship and agriculture,” says C. Paul Corbin, TNN director of programming.
He adds that the pair of specials, each to last 60 minutes, will include segments of concerts by Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty and George Jones at the New York event and Eddie Rabbitt, Don Williams and Highway 101 in Wisconsin, but that they also will capture the color and flavor of the two varied fairs themselves, one in rural Walworth County, Wis., and the other in urban-centered Erie County, N.Y.
The programs, Corbin says, will include ”the human element-the apprehension of a teenager waiting for the judges to examine his prize calf and the pride of a grandmother awarded a blue ribbon for her watermelon rind preserves.”
Hosted by young banjo player Mike Snider, who recently has become a star of the ”Hee Haw” syndicated TV series, the two specials are to be aired in October.
On the Record: CBS Records is making sure there are a lot of shopping days left until Christmas for the purchase of Ricky Van Shelton`s new Yuletide album. It is to be in stores Aug. 22. . . . One of the weirder stories of the year is that of the forthcoming (Aug. 29) RCA album by Becky Hobbs, ”All Keyed Up.” It turns out to be Hobbs` 1988 album of the same title on now-defunct MTM Records, except that three of the songs on the MTM package were dropped and two new ones added. The explanation, it turns out, is that RCA had commissioned Hobbs and producer Richard Bennett to make demonstration records of some songs in 1987, but then RCA had passed on the result and MTM picked it up instead.
Now, with more time to think about it (and perhaps consider the fact that Hobbs hit the country Top 40 with one of the tunes, ”Jones on the Jukebox”), RCA decided not to pass a second time. . . . Song Title of the Week: ”I Was Born With a Broken Heart” by A. Tippin and J. McBride.
Johnny Cash has recorded a narration of the gospels for the Thomas Nelson Publishing Company. The cassette recordings are reported to be available at Christian bookstores across the nation.
On the Road: The 3d Annual Michael Martin Murphey West Fest, scheduled Sept. 2-4 at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado, will celebrate the music, art and culture of the old and new West and will feature such performers as Dan Seals, Foster & Lloyd, Clint Black, Jimmy Ibbotson of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Hot Rize and Guy Clark. Copper Mountain Resort is off Int. Hwy. 70 west of Denver. . . . Emmylou Harris, ace fiddler Johnny Gimble and folk singers Robin & Linda Williams joined Garrison Keillor at the Majestic Theater in Dallas June 1 to tape the Disney Channel`s ”A Prairie Home Companion: 3d Annual Farewell Performance,” to be aired at 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
Cajun Fest `89-a unique show featuring Louisiana-rooted performers Doug Kershaw, Queen Ida, Rockin` Sidney, Jimmy C. Newman and Eddy Raven-is has concluded performances at Pier 84 in New York and Bally`s Grand in Atlantic City.
”We had many people who had seen the show the day before in New York who then attended again the next day in Atlantic City,” says Nashville-based Joe Sullivan, head of the show`s national production company. ”We also had a great number of people who went to the first show in Atlantic City, then went out to the booth and bought tickets for the second show.”
An offstage star of the Fest is Randol of Randol`s Restaurant in Lafayette, La.; at each venue, thanks to a special mobile kitchen, he offers authentic Cajun cuisine.
Et cetera: Grayghost, a hot new band from Ft. Smith, Ark., recently won out over 21 other developing acts to do a 60-minute national spot for Miller Genuine Draft Beer. . . . Larry Boone recently made his debut appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. . . . Country Music Television (CMTV), the full-time country music TV channel, has increased its viewership by 22 percent since June 30, 1988, and now reaches 13 million subscribers, according to a report compiled by Jeff Walker and Aristo Video Promotions. The report adds that the Nashville Network expects to be wired into 47 million cable TV homes by year`s end and that VH-1 is formulating a country segment to begin airing in early fall. . . . The Bellamy Brothers will select and record two grand prize winners in the 1989 Kentucky Fried Chicken Songwriting Contest, for which entries must be postmarked no later than Sept. 1. Co-sponsored by the Nashville Network and about 600 radio stations across the U.S., the competition is open to any amateur songwriter who never has had a nationally distributed song. Each entry must be less than 3 and a half minutes long, be recorded and be mailed on a separate tape to: KFC Amateur Songwriting Contest, 211 E. Ontario St., Suite 1300, Chicago, Il. 60611.
The CD copy of Marty Stuart`s reprise of Johnny Cash`s first single,
”Cry Cry, Cry”-Stuart`s debut for MCA after a marginally successful stint on CBS-contains a colorful reminiscence of the late, great country singer-songwriter-guitarist Merle Travis.
”One night after a show in Memphis, we struck up a serious poker game,” Stuart recalls. ”After a while I was down to 10 dollars, and he knew it. His aces beat whatever I was holding. After he put my money in his pocket, he sold me some advice. `I hear you`re gonna be a country singer.` I nodded and he said, `You`re gonna be in for plenty of ups and downs, but you gotta tough it out if you`re gonna count.
” `And after you`ve had a streak of that bad luck, what you need to make you feel better is a new Cadillac (so I got me one, it only has 110,000 miles on it), a new hillbilly suit (I got one), a good looking woman (I got one) and dream up a song that sets you straight. Find your guitar, and get to singing it. Then just watch the future brighten up!` ”
