Historic MCA Brand Tuning Out

By: Tamara Conniff
The Hollywood Reporter

LOS ANGELES - The MCA moniker -- first used in 1924 -- may cease to exist by the end of the year.

The current plan is to eliminate the MCA Records brand and move the majority of the label's staff and some of the roster under the Geffen Records banner, sources said.

Both MCA and Geffen are units of Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company.

Insiders said the MCA brand has become "tarnished" by a history of acquisitions and mergers as well as the label's decline in sales and prestige during the past few years.

The Nashville Sound Is Hotter Than Ever
But is it really country?

By: William Porter
Denver Post Staff Writer

Amid the martial thrash of Darryl Worley's "Have You Forgotten," the Pepsodent-perky warblings of Shania Twain and the amped-up posturing of a hundred Nashville Lite acts, a faint whirring is heard.

It is the sound of Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family spinning in their graves. Could these country music icons even recognize the genre they founded?

Country might be hotter than buttermilk biscuits - SoundScan, which tracks music sales for the industry, reports the genre enjoyed a 12 percent boost in 2002, while rock and R&B sales plummeted - but old-time fans argue that much of the music scarcely qualifies as country at all.

Consider: This year's Academy of Country Music Awards ceremonies will be held at a Las Vegas casino. To paraphrase Waylon Jennings' cautionary hit: Are you sure Frank done it this way?

June Carter Cash 1929-2003

CARTER FAMILY FAME WAS JUST BEGINNING

By: Geoff Boucher
LOS ANGELES TIMES

June Carter Cash, a singer and songwriter who grew up in the famed Carter Family and then created a musical bridge to a new generation of country music with her long marriage to Johnny Cash, died yesterday at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn. She was 73.

Mrs. Cash died eight days after open heart surgery ended with severe complications, said Lou Robin, longtime manager to the couple. Her husband and family members were at her bedside. Mrs. Cash had co-writing credits on Ring of Fire, Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man and Jackson. Performing as a duo with husband Johnny, her hits included the 1964 reworking of the Bob Dylan song It Ain't Me Babe and their fiery 1967 recording Jackson, which won the couple a Grammy, as did their 1970 version of If I Were a Carpenter, written by Tim Hardin.

For much of her life, Mrs. Cash could have played second fiddle in a famous family.

Instead, she shaped herself into a star in her own right, although she often put her family obligations ahead of career.

Patsy Cline Does Ballet

May 15, 2003

Country music comes to the ballet stage at the Ballet Tennessee spring production, "Ballet Goes Country....And More".

The performance includes Barry Van Cura's work in progress "Ballet Goes Country," a lighthearted tribute to country music legend Patsy Cline. Van Cura is the Executive Director of Ballet Tennessee.

Also in the performance is Van Cura's "The Genie's Wish," a new choreography which received an honorable mention at this year's PANOLPLY choreography festival.

In addition, choreography by Stephanie Braly-Beutjer of the Huntsville Ballet and Marcus Bugler of the New York Metropolitan Opera ballet will also be performed.

The performance is Saturday, May 17 at the UTC Roland Hayes Auditorium at 8:00 p.m.  Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children and students.

'Sweet Dreams' of Winchester
Memories of Patsy Cline linger in the Shenandoah Valley town the singer called home

By: Marion Winik
Special to the Sun
Originally published April 13, 2003

Her grave is a simple one -- a bronze plaque with a name and an epitaph: "Death cannot kill what never dies." On a cold, bright day in March 40 years after her death, it is clear that something does live on, as a crowd of 50 gathers to heap the marker with flowers.

"People come and leave things all the time -- bouquets, letters, scraps of paper with song lyrics, sometimes objects that symbolize the song titles: three cigarettes in an ashtray, say. A lot of times they leave money, thinking that there really ought to be a monument here. At least we got the bell tower," says J.D. Thompson, treasurer of the Always Patsy Cline Fan Club.

Thompson gestures toward a simple structure visible from Route 522, the road that runs by Shenandoah Memorial Park into Winchester.

A town of 24,000 people, Winchester has a lovely location in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Founded in 1752, it is said to be the oldest chartered city west of the Blue Ridge. Though it lies at the top of the Shenandoah Valley, about a 90-minute drive west of Baltimore, its grand public buildings and renovated downtown district have a refined Southern feel.

And in addition to its historic and architectural charms, Winchester offers visitors a chance to immerse themselves in the life of singer Patsy Cline. It's no Graceland or Dollywood -- but a quieter, closer experience of the settings and stories of a fascinating woman.

Chance To Buy Stars' Cars Lures Fans To Sale

By: HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer

Opening the door of a sleek, black Cadillac limousine owned by her late husband, Minnesota Fats, Theresa Bell took a step back and said she felt as though she were in his presence.

On the back seat lay a small stuffed rabbit, the favorite toy of the pool-playing legend's dog, Side Pocket.

"The car still smells like him," Bell said. "It gives me chills."

The 1980 Cadillac Fleetwood was among almost 50 cars — some owned by stars, others simply classic — auctioned yesterday at the Music Valley Car Museum, which is preparing to shut its doors because of declining profits.

Gaylord To Sell Radio Stations WSM-FM, WWTN-FM, Will Keep WSM-AM

By: KEITH RUSSELL
Staff Writer

Gaylord Entertainment Co. announced this morning it will sell its two FM radio stations, 95.5 WSM-FM and 99.7 WWTN-FM, to Cumulus Media for $65 million in cash.

Nashville-based Gaylord said it plans to keep ownership of WSM-AM, the longtime broadcast home of the Grand Ole Opry, but will have Cumulus manage local and national advertising for the legendary country radio station.

Proceeds from the sale of WSM-FM and WWTN, Nashville’s no. 1 sports-talk station, will be used to fund a portion of the construction of Gaylord’s Opryland Texas Resort & Convention Center near Dallas, as well as previously announced renovations to the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.

"This transaction is another step in our transformation as we sharpen our focus on our core business — Gaylord Hotels and the Grand Ole Opry," Gaylord President and Chief Executive Officer Colin Reed said in a written statement. " The Grand Ole Opry remains our premier entertainment brand, and WSM-AM is an integral component of our strategy to extend the reach of this brand."

Cline's 'Bandstand' Tapes Lost

By: Don Rhodes

Charlie Dick would be happy if Dick Clark could find tapes of theAmerican Bandstand TV shows featuring Mr. Dick's late wife, Patsy Cline.

Mr. Dick said Miss Cline performed on the Philadelphia-based show in the late 1950s, singing Walkin' After Midnight. She also performed on Nov. 8, 1961, (the Willie Nelson-penned Crazy had just become a No. 9 pop hit), and again on Feb. 22, 1962, (lip-synching She's Got You).

Unfortunately, those show tapes have been lost for years, Mr. Dick said in a recent call. That revelation came when I asked if Miss Cline might be featured on NBC's American Dreams, which has featured other Bandstand performers of the period.

Being featured on the American Dreams show would be appropriate this season, with fans around the world commemorating the 40th anniversary of the plane crash on March 5, 1963, that took Miss Cline's life.