Biography

Contact: lynda@AirPlayDirect.com


Click here for APD’s Global Radio Showcase - Home Page



"The AirPlay Direct Global Radio Showcase Series has been a tremendous support to our artists. Through their Bluegrass and Blues showcases we had the opportunity to promote both current and catalog artists," states Ken Irwin, Co-Founder - Rounder Records. "We couldn’t have asked for better results, with stations from around the world downloading these songs, many entering the top 10 of the AirPlay Direct charts. We love the continued broad diversity within these showcases.”

These "Showcases" are for “Best of Breed” songs and musical portraits. There will be “superior ” songs, special deep cuts, or some of your favorite singles."

This program was created and launched at the consistent request of our members… oddly enough, both artists / labels, and radio programmer‘s kept asking for a best of “Best of Breed” Showcase to present artists, and for radio programmers to discover new music they may not have been exposed to before.

Another very important benefit of APD’s “Global Radio Showcase” is that all of the artists represented on these showcases have a link on the APD Artist Profile Release page that will link to each of the artist’s individual AirPlay Direct Artist Profile release page. This will allow you the “radio programmer”, to listen to more of the artists’ music and hopefully download a few more tracks from their whole album, or catalogue.

Executive Producers: Robert & Lynda Weingartz

THE ARTISTS & THEIR SONGS

1. LARRY CORDLE - LIKE A CHICKEN WITH HIS HEAD CUT OFF (3:39)
Click here to listen to - Demo Sessions

Songwriter: Larry Cordle, Larry Shell
Publishing & PRO: New Songs of SeaGayle,BMI / Pier Five Music, Inc., BMI
Administered by: Clearbox Rights, LLC

Musicians:
James Mitchell: Electric Guitar
Steven Sheehan:. Acoustic Resonator Guitar, Slide
Dave Pomeroy: Bass
Paul Scholton: Drums
Howard Duck: Keyboards
Andy Leftwitch: Mandolin
Larry Cordle: Lead Vocals, Back Vocals
Cathy Chiavola: Back Vocals

Like a chicken with his head cut off is a mostly country expression that I first heard in my childhood and it just carried over into my adult life every time I saw someone (or myself), do something that absolutely made no sense, I was apt to use the phrase. Anyone who has ever literally witnessed a chicken have it's head cut off, knows what happens, it flops around, tries to run & acts completely crazy.... quite normal behavior if you've just had your head chopped off I suppose!

That is the genesis of the expression and it is generally used, most often, to describe young men, who have been smitten by a member of the opposite sex and had perhaps a 1st early experience of getting to a base farther than he has been able to get to before. So the way it would be used (up in Kentucky where I'm from anyway).
You know Tommy has been spending a lot of time with that girl of Chuck Alley's ... she's got him acting just like a chicken with his head cut-off!

With this as a template we (Larry Shell & myself) were able to put this little ditty together in one day. We had great fun writing this one! ~ Larry Cordle


2. DREW DAVIS - SWERVE (3:46)
Click here to listen to full album - Swerve

Songwriter: Drew Davis / Jason Matthews / Bridget Tatum © 2013
Publishing: Songs of Universal, Inc. / Songwell Music (BMI), Root 49 / Cackalacki Twang (BMI), Stackin' That Cheddar / Warner Tamerlane (BMI)

“Iʼve just seen the best live act ever.” Thatʼs a mouthful, coming from two-time Entertainer of the Year, Neal McCoy, just after he heard Drew Davis soundcheck as an opening act.


3. SARAH GAYLE MEECH - NO ANGEL (3:16)
Click here to listen to full album - One Good Thing

Songwriter: Sarah Gayle Meech
Publishing & PRO: Good Timin' Woman Music , BMI

The song "No Angel" was written by Meech from her debut album "One Good Thing" released in 2012. On the song's inspiration Meech says, "I wanted to write a song for the ladies that was about being free and having fun. Seemed like all the country songs about partying and being a bad **** were all sung by men. I was tired of hearing women's country songs be all weepy and broken hearted.  You've got Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson singing about being good timing men, so with No Angel, I set out to write an anthem for the good timing women."


4. DAVE INSLEY - OWN A MOUNTAIN (5:25)
Click here to listen to full album - Call Me Lonesome

Songwriter: Dave Insley
Publishing & PRO: Crawl Daddy Music, BMI

Release Date: March 22, 2005 Crawl Daddy Music

Dave Insley: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar
P.H. Naffah: Drums, Percussion
Steve Larson: Electric Guitar
Danny White: Bass
Chris Gough: Hammond Organ, Piano
Steve Larson & Diana Lee: Background Vocals
Diana Lee: Additional Vocals

Dave Insley’s Own a Mountain is a Southern rock ballad about mortality, the uselessness of counting one’s wealth in earthly measures, and the necessity of perspective. First released in 2005 on Insley’s debut “Call Me Lonesome,” the song was recorded at Formula One Studio in Phoenix, Arizona and produced by Insley. Backed by members of Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Dave delivers a solid dose of country soul, with a rock ‘n’ roll edge, his iconic vocal catalyzed by an amazing performance by background singer Diana Lee.

Ten years now an Austin Texas resident, Insley fondly recalls working with rhythm and blues artist Lee in the studio. “This delightful, soft-spoken creature arrived and asked for a lyric sheet. In a voice larger than would have seemed possible, she stacked the choral parts, all on first takes, and then asked if we wanted an ad-lib track. The engineer [Alex Otto] and I were already super impressed, and quickly assented. What followed had our jaws on the floor and a grin pasted to my face for days afterwards. After Lee left the building I made the obvious production decision. ‘Alex,’ I said, ‘every damned bit of that is in.’” ~ Dave Insley


5. BUDDY JEWELL - THIS AIN'T NOTHIN' (3:59)
Click here to listen to - This Ain't Nothin

Songwriter: Charles Christopher Du Bois, Kerry Kurt Phillips
Publisher & PRO: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. / Hori Pro Entertainment Group

Originally recorded for a spec project for Lyric Street but this version has never been released. I have always loved this tune...the word picture it paints is very powerful, somber and thought provoking. Its lyrics draw you in and take you there, to the very spot where the story takes place and makes you stop and take time to contemplate what your reaction would be if you were in the old man's place. ~ Buddy Jewell


6. HUGH MOFFATT - OLD FLAMES CAN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO YOU (4:42)
Click here to listen to full album - Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You

Songwriter: Hugh Moffatt, Pebe Sebert
Publishing & PRO: © 1978 Rightsong,BMI / Pebe Sebert Music, BMI

Band
Kathy Mattea: Duet Vocals
Russ Barrenberg: Guitar
Mike Chapman: Bass
Jerry Kroon: Drums
Weldon Myrick: Steel Guitar
Terry McMillan:. Harmonica

"Pebe Sebert and I wrote "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" three months after we were married in 1977. It was an honest declaration of love. The song has been far more enduring than the marriage, which lasted about 7 years, but that does not diminish its honesty or how proud we both are of it. From the beginning it was special. Everyone who heard it was affected. We sang it at a friend's wedding, and a producer (Pat Carter) who was there cut it on a new artist (Brian Collins-NOT the current one). We sang it at a writer's night and Joe Sun, then head of promotion for Ovation Records (remember The Kendalls?), heard it and cut it himself for our first hit country single together. Two years later Dolly Parton heard Joe's record and recorded it for our first number one record.

Since then the song has been cut countless times (I don't know how many) by all kinds of artists. It's an Irish standard because of a number one record in Ireland by Foster and Allen. We have a version in German by Volker Lechtenbrink, a major star in Germany. It became a bluegrass standard after a soulful cover by the Osborne Brothers. Even Merle Haggard released it.

And as we speak, a new recording is being prepared to release in August: a duet by Kesha and Dolly on Kesha's new album. The version you hear in this collection by AirPlay Direct is the version I recorded on Loving You, my first album for Rounder/Philo Records, released originally in 1987 and still available on CD. It's a duet with Kathy Mattea, to whom I am still mucho grateful for gracing the track with her gorgeous voice. Thank you Kathy! ~ Hugh Moffatt


7. GEORGE THOROGOOD - PICTURES FROM LIFE'S OTHER SIDE (2:49)
Click here to listen to - Pictures From Life's Other Side

Songwriter: Adam Lee, David Jonathan Mcqueen, Neil William Mcqueen
Publishing & PRO: Sony/ATV Acuff Rose Music, BMI / Universal Music Publishing Group

George Thorogood: Vocals, Guitar

Surprising though it may be even to some hardcore George Thorogood fans, Hank Williams was as much a musical influence and hero, by George's own admission, as Bo Diddley and John Lee Hooker. "Move It On Over" was a perfect tune for the Destroyers, as it was for Hank himself in a completely different way; and here George has personalized Hank Williams's rendition of "Pictures From Life's Other Side," with affecting results, as he pays tribute not only to Hank Sr. but to the troubled souls and less fortunate folks all around us.


8. GREGG ALLMAN - MY ONLY TRUE FRIEND (4:17)
Click here to listen to - My Only True Friend

Songwriter: Gregg Allman, Scott Sharrard
Publishing & PRO: D-Dem Music, BMI / Brickyard Blues Music, BMI

Produced by: Don Was

Band
Gregg Allman: Vocals, Guitar
Brett Bass: Bass
Jay Collins: Horns
Ard Edmaiston: Horns
Mark Franklin: Horns
Peter Levin: Keyboards
Steve Potts: Drums, Percussion
Mark Quinones: Drums, Percussion
Scott Sharrard: Guitar

Gregg Allman"s final studio album - coming September 8, 2017
10 tracks featuring the single "My Only True Friend"

"'My Only True Friend' was Gregg's attempt to contextualize the course of his life," says producer Don Was. "The man that his fans saw performing onstage was the essential Gregg Allman - he was whole and truly satisfied when he was up there playing music. The trials and troubles he faced in life were mostly the result of not knowing what to do with himself in between shows. In this song, he's addressing a woman and explaining that, although he loves her and doesn't want to face living his life alone, being away on the road and performing every night is his lifeblood. If you understand this about Gregg Allman, every other aspect of his life makes complete sense."


9. THE TIME JUMPERS - SO FAR APART (3:44)
Click here to listen to full album - The Time Jumpers

Songwriter: Dawn Sears / Jimmy Miles / Steve Oliver
Publishing & PRO: Mrs. Britches Music, ASCAP, Steve Oliver Music, BMI, Long-cut Publishing, BMI

Band:
Dawn Sears: Vocals
Dennis Crouch: Upright Bass
Larry Franklin: Fiddle
Paul Franklin: Steel Guitar
Vince Gill: Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
"Ranger Doug" Green: Vocals, Acoustic Rhythm Guitar
Kenny Sears: Vocals, Fiddle
Joe Spivey: Fiddle, Vocals
Andy Reiss: Electric Guitar
Jeff Taylor: Accordion, Piano
Billy Thomas: Drums, Vocals

Beautiful, beautiful cut by one of the finest singers in country music… Dawn Sears!

In a city that's home to as many fine pickers as Nashville, it takes something special to become a local legend, and the Time Jumpers have earned a large and loyal following in Music City for their loving, lively take on classic Western Swing and old-school country.


10. J.D. CROWE & THE NEW SOUTH WITH KEITH WHITLEY - I'LL BE YOUR STEPPING STONE (3:43)

Click here listen to full album J.D. Crowe and The New South

Band
J.D. Crowe: Banjo, Baritone (Vocal), Mixing, Performer, Primary Artist
Jerry Douglas: Dobro
Tony Rice: Guitar
Bobby Slone: Fiddle
Keith Whitley: Guitar, Vocals
Doug Jernigan: Dobro, Steel Guitar
Jimmy Gaudreau: Mandolin, Tenor Vocal
Steve Bryant: Bass
Bill Asham: Drums
Jimmy Ashby: Drums

"Stepping Stones" is in itself a stepping stone in progressive bluegrass, a classic of that style. With Keith Whitley's soulful and timeless lead and gorgeous band harmonies, there could scarcely be a more perfect or uniquely soulful version of this song than that of J. D. Crowe & the New South when the late Keith Whitley was their lead singer.


11. DOUG MORELAND - A BOY LIKE ME (2:31)
Click here to listen to full album - Doug Moreland

Songwriter: Doug Moreland, Matt Skinner
Publishing & PRO: ASCAP

Band
Doug Moreland: Fiddle, Vocals
Matt Skinner: Guitars, Harmony Vocals
Eric Lenington: Upright Bass, Trombone
Andrew Silver: Drums, Percussion
Clay Corn: Piano
Seth Allen: Cello
Bob Lopez Trumpets
Travis Toy: Pedal Steel, Banjo, Dobro
Amanda Brown: Harmony Vocals

You could call it Texas Music, but that doesn’t quite nail it. You could call it dancehall music, or honky-tonk music, but that doesn’t get it either. Give one good listen to Doug Moreland - the Texas-based singer, songwriter, and fiddler – and you’ll hear a dazzling variety of musical styles, from acoustic-flavored ballads to full-tilt western swing. Indeed, Doug Moreland can’t be pigeonholed. But if you wanted to compare him to an artist, perhaps the best would be another singer-songwriter who did it his own way, the brilliant Roger Miller, who could craft heartbreaking country classics and then turn around and knock out a raucous novelty number.


12. THE NASHVILLE PIEHOLES - MAN ENOUGH TO BE A WOMAN (3:28]

Click here to go to The Nashville PieHoles - Neon Boneyard

Songwriter: Annette Barkley, Frank Kupstas, Bruce Miller
Publishing & PRO: Annette Barkley Music, SOCAN / Silent Tide Music, BMI / Fahrenheit Songs, SOCAN

Band
Annette Barkley: Lead and Harmony Vocal, Rhythm Acoustic Guitar
Max Hutchinson: Drums
Howie Moscovitch Lead Guitar
Bob Nobles: Bass
Bruce Miller: Fiddle

Frank had the title and we laughed and chuckled about the pink hammer. I actually have a pink hammer. It turned out to be real traditional country sounding which is great but to me the last line of the chorus wasn't rhyming enough with the word "woman". The line we had was about having a baby. It was close but not there yet.

Then one day Bruce (Miller) our fiddle player (also a #1 Nashville Music Row hit writer) was at the house and heard me playing it and really liked the song. I told him about the last line in the chorus that wasn't quite working for me and immediately he said, "oh that's easy, how about...could you stand the pain of a baby comin', tell me are you man enough to be a woman". There's the line we needed! ~ Annette Barkley


13. JIMMY ARNOLD - THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN (3:39)

Click here to go to Jimmy Arnold - Southern Soul

Songwriter: Robbie Robertson
Publishing & PRO: Canaan Music, ASCAP

Band
Jimmy Arnold: Lead Guitar, Lead & Harmony Vocals
Mike Auldridge: Dobro
Jeff Scheneman: Drums
Tim Callahan: Rhythm Guitar
Roy Self: Bass

If ever there was a musician who embodied the image of free spirited independent “Mountain Man,” it was Virginia-born Jimmy Arnold. In his often wild, too short life (he passed away of a heart attack in 1992 at the age of 46) Arnold learned from legends and became one himself. He spent several years playing on the road with Charlie Moore’s Dixie Partners and Cliff Waldron’s New Shades of Grass but toward the end of his life he was performing mostly as a solo act, sometimes with Vassar Clements, Tex Logan or Mike Auldridge. He was fascinated by stories of the Civil War, and his years living in Fredericksburg, Virginia culminated in his masterpiece, Southern Soul, a strongly evocative homage to the Civil War South and considered by many to be one of the all-time classic concept albums.

Southern Soul marked Arnold’s debut as a vocalist and as a fine writer of more than just instrumentals. Familiar tunes such as Charlie Moore’s “Legend of the Rebel Soldier” and The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” were balanced nicely alongside of Arnold originals such as “Jesse James,” “Heroes,” “Georgia Moon,” “The Dixon Line,” and others. Several songs, including “My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mountains,” were given new and/or additional lyrics to make them more Civil War-friendly. Instrumentally, Jimmy shone on tunes such as “Sail Away Ladies,” “Southern Comfort,” and “Bonaparte’s Retreat.”


14. STEVE YOUNG - SEVEN BRIDGES ROAD (3:44)
Click here to listen to - Seven Bridges Road

Songwriter: Stephen T. Young
Publishing & PRO: Universal Music Publishing Group

Steve Young: Guitar, Vocals

Haunting and beautiful melody, words & vocal. As Waylon Jennings famously said "If he gets any better I'm gonna kill him"!

Steve Young was inspired to write "Seven Bridges Road" during a sojourn in Montgomery, Alabama, in the early 1960s: according to Young "a group of friends...showed me [a] road [that] led out of town...After you had crossed seven bridges you found yourself out in the country on a dirt road. Spanish moss hung in the trees and there were old farms with old fences and graveyards and churches and streams. A high-bank dirt road with trees. It seemed like a Disney fantasy at times. People went there to park or get stoned or just to get away from it all. I thought my friends had made up the name 'Seven Bridges Road'. I found out later that it had been called by that name for over a hundred years. "

Steve Young was a soulful singer/songwriter who grew up throughout the south absorbing the sounds he heard into an intense mix of blues, country, gospel and folk. He first recorded Seven Bridges Road in 1969 but it was the Eagles live version which brought the song greater attention and it is their version that is most familiar to most people. Steve’s version here will hopefully introduce many to one of the great singers and writers of the early years of country rock and still hold up today as a stunning representation of a great American artist.


15. LARRY CORDLE - SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL (4:35)

Click here to go to Larry Cordle & LST - Lonesome Skynyrd Time

Songwriter: E. King, R. Van Zant
Publishing & PRO: Universal-Duchess Music Corp., BMI

Band:
Larry Cordle: Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Harmony Guitars, Backvocals
Booie Beach: Lead Guitars
Kim Gardner: Dobro
David Talbot: Banjo
Andy Leftwitch: Mandolin
David Pomeroy: Bass
Tom Roady: Percussion
Jenee Keener: Fiddle
Mark Howard: Vibra-slap
Carol Chase: Backvocals
Kim Morrison: Backvocals
Terry Eldridge: Backvocals
David Talbot: Backvocals

The first and maybe only southern rock gun control song. This song was way ahead of its time and although not a commercially big song for Skynyrd, I just always loved the complexity of the arrangement. Lemme tell you this thing was hard to do with these instruments, but we stuck it out and I love this track, maybe more than any on this disc. I especially love the arrangement shifts & the girls (Carol & Kim;s) great backing vocals. Love that soprano thingy Kim does at the end, real witchy sounding in my opinion. ~ Larry Cordle


Carl Jackson, 3 Time Grammy Winner / APD Artist Ambassador shares: “Robert, you should be very proud of what you have created with AirPlay Direct. You not only dreamed of it, but actually created a whole new way of delivering and promoting catalog music to the global music industry that we had never seen before. No one in history has ever accomplished this, and you should be very humbled by this major achievement.

More importantly, I am, and the industry as a whole should be very grateful to you for all the opportunities you have created and now made possible for all of us in the ‘New Music Industry of 2017’. Thank you my friend.”

Live showcases can be “very” advantageous at times. We do them with our clients on a regular basis. This depends upon who is setting up the showcase, where it is, the cost, and most importantly who shows up.

The opportunity for all AirPlay Direct members to have the chance to earn their spot to present and “showcase” their music to all of AirPlay Direct’s Global Radio Programmers; 10,000+ radio station members around the world... priceless. There is NO FEE to submit for these compilations for AirPlay Direct radio /label members. Keep in mind, these showcase are not only for new releases, but also for very cool, deep catalogue cuts as well.

MORE TO FOLLOW… SOON!