Words & Music: Most people remember when they first heard a song that touched their lives. Now, learn about how the songs were written and the stories behind them in Words & Music: The Showcase for Nashville's Songwriters. Veteran entertainment reporter Harry Chapman sits down with successful songwriters who share their music and their stories, as well as important information and insights for aspiring writers. Words & Music is produced in partnership with the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
Show 1 - King's Bullet (Trey Bruce & Loni Rose)
What started as a typical Music City
songwriting session developed into one of the most talked-about new
projects in Nashville, King's
Bullet. The duo, comprised of prolific Emmy Award-winning
songwriter/producer Trey Bruce and acclaimed songwriter/performer Loni Rose,
recently released the self-titled King's Bullet, and the overwhelming praise
and attention from the music community for the eight-song EP is undeniable.
With touches of country, folk,
Americana and pop, King's Bullet blends the talents of two unique artists into
a sound that's familiar yet fresh, with lyrics that highlight themes of
heartbreak, struggle and truth. MusicRow's veteran music critic Bob Oermann
said that on "Watermelon Sun,"the
opening track of the self-titled project, (Loni's) sweet soprano takes the
lead, while (Trey) provides a dusky harmony part. This opening track wafts
across like a dry prairie breeze in late afternoon. Refreshingly
different." Urban Country News felt that
"I Won't Be Your Second Choice" is "sung with a candor that's almost
unsettling…the song's sparse arrangement breathes well and allows the vocals to
sink in."
Both members of this new duo
bring a stunning array of experience and talent to the project. Trey Bruce has
had over 100 cuts in country and rock, with multiple #1 and top ten singles in
the US
and abroad. His songs have been covered by a wide variety of artists, from
Randy Travis to Katherine McPhee, ZZ Top to Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill to
Velvet Revolver and Marty Stuart to LeAnn Rimes.
Loni Rose's
pop-country songs have found their way into films including American Pie, Lovewrecked and Unanswered Prayers, as well
as many television shows, including America's Next Top Model, Providence, Teen Mom, and The Hills. On the strength of
her Lilith Fair Music Festival performance she continued to perform to
receptive crowds with Chris Isaak, Shawn Mullins, Shawn Colvin, Nelly Furtado,
Blues Traveler and Smashmouth.
About the King's Bullet duo and
EP, Loni Rose said, "We're on this amazing ride and have no idea where it's going to go. It came from such an
authentic place, and we're having so much fun just
throwing it at the world and
seeing what's going to happen next."
On Words & Music King's
Bullet performs "Second Choice," "1997 Malibu,"
"Watermelon Sun" and "Been There."
Show 2 - JIM
COLLINS
As the songwriter behind some
of Country Music's biggest hits of the last decade, Jim Collins is pure and
simply a hitmaker. A two time Grammy nominated songwriter who has written songs
that have launched careers for new artists and created peak moments for some of
Country Music's biggest superstars.
Jim's current streak of singles
is a great example of this consistency, quality and diversity. In the past
three years, Jim has had a spree of hits which includes the multi week #1
smashes "Big Green Tractor" (Jason Aldean), "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven"
(Kenny Chesney) and "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not" by (Thompson Square) which
was iTunes "2011 Country Song Of The Year" and Country Aircheck's #1 Country Song Of The Year. Jim was also nominated for a Grammy for "Best
Country Song" with "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not." This is in addition to the
hit singles, "That Song In My Head" (Julianne Hough), "I Can Sleep When I'm
Dead" (Jason Michael Carroll), "God Must
Really Love Me" (Craig Morgan), "They Call It Falling For A Reason" (Trisha
Yearwood), "I Got My Game On" (Trace Adkins), "That's How It Still Oughta Be"
(Trent Tomlinson), "While You're Still Young" (Montgomery Gentry) and "Pound
Sign" by Texas artist Kevin Fowler. Jim currently has the singles "Wanna Make
You Love Me" by newcomer Andy Gibson and "Hauled Off And Kissed Me" by Steve
Holy moving up the charts.
Chart success is nothing new
for Jim, a native of Nacogdoches,
Texas. Among his numerous #1 songs is the co-written
smash, "The Good Stuff" which was a seven-week number one for Kenny Chesney and
was named "Billboard Song of the Year," "ASCAP Song of the Year" and "Single of
the Year" by the Academy of Country Music.
Jim's next number one song was
courtesy of his fellow Texas native and Country Music legend, George Strait,
who took "It Just Comes Natural" to the top of the charts for four weeks in
2006.
That same year, Jim was
nominated for a Grammy for "Best Country Song" with "I Don't Feel Like Lovin'
You Today" performed by Gretchen Wilson.
Other hit singles written by
Jim include "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" (Kenny Chesney), "Then They Do"
(Trace Adkins), "Hands of A Workin' Man (Ty Herndon), "Love Workin' On You"
(John Michael Montgomery) and the multi-week #1 "Yes" performed by Chad Brock.
In addition to these singles,
over 100 of Jim's songs have been recorded by such Country Music superstars as
Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Rodney
Atkins, Lee Brice, Chris Young, Little
Big Town, LeAnn Rimes, Darryl Worley, Kenny Rogers, Lonestar, Dwight Yoakum, Ronnie
Milsap, Terri Clark, Joe Nichols, Chuck Wicks and many others.
On Words & Music Jim
performs "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven, "Big Green Tractor," "I Don't Feel
Like Loving You Today" and "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?"
For more information regarding
Jim Collins, contact makeshiftmusic@comcast.net
The show airs at the following times:
Saturday
3:00am
Sunday
3:00am
Tuesday
1:00pm
Wednesday
12:30pm
