We have a very exciting week planned!  Because of scheduling craziness recently, we have had to record in shorter blocks of time at night.  But Wednesday evening should wrap it up. We should have all the music on the new BR recording finished!!!  We ‘re super excited about this and we feel it’s our best one yet.  Hope you like it!!

We are also doing a TV show this week and 2 major events you will not want to miss.

April 26th Television Appearance on “Your Carolina”. 

“Your Carolina” is a nationally syndicated TV show and an affiliate of CBS. The morning show is hosted by Jack Roper and Kimberly Kelley. We will perform live and talk about the show that night at the Chapman Cultural Center.

www.yourcarolina.tv/

Chapman Cultural Center – Spartanburg SC, April 26 at 7 p.m.

Balsam Range: Bluegrass Concert Along with Fayssoux and Brandon Turner April 26, 2012  This is a benefit concert for Chapman Cultural Center. Opening the show will be Spartanburg singers Fayssoux and Brandon Turner. Come early for a catered BBQ dinner. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for the concert, or $40 for both the concert and dinner. Event Times: Dinner begins at 5:30PM, the concert begins at 7:00PM

www.chapmanculturalcenter.org

PlottFest – Maggie Valley NC on Saturday, April 21 ALL DAY EVENT

To Benefit Headstart of Haywood County!! April 21, 9am-6pm – $7 adv or $10 gate. Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. Including Great Smoky Mountain Trout & Heritage Festival. Featuring music by Balsam Range (4pm), Mark and Aimee Bumgarner, Milan Miller, The Darren Nicholson Band (1pm) and more. See website to donate, get tickets, or become a Sponsor. Mountain Music Festival Celebrating Western North Carolina’s Heritage Showcasing the official NC state dog, the Plott Hound, Great Smoky Mountain Trout Fishing, Food, Crafts & Clogging Youth Plott Hound Dog Show ♦ Book signing by author Bob Plott

www.plottfest.org

Grandfather Mountain –  Linville NC on Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m.Grandfather Mountain Nature Museum

A very intimate concert setting in one of the most beautiful locations around. Advance sale tickets for adults ages 13 and up are $25 and children ages four to 12 are $15. Children under four are always free. The ticket price includes all day admission to Grandfather Mountain and admission to the concert. Grandfather Mountain annual pass holders and others who have already purchased admission to the park for the day can buy tickets to the concert online for $7 in advance or at the Nature Museum for $12 the day of the show.

www.grandfather.com

April 26th Television Appearance on “Your Carolina”. 

“Your Carolina” is a nationally syndicated TV show and an affiliate of CBS. The morning show is hosted by Jack Roper and Kimberly Kelley. We will perform live and talk about the show that night at the Chapman Cultural Center.

www.yourcarolina.tv/

Chapman Cultural Center – Spartanburg SC, April 26 at 7 p.m.

Balsam Range: Bluegrass Concert Along with Fayssoux and Brandon Turner April 26, 2012  This is a benefit concert for Chapman Cultural Center. Opening the show will be Spartanburg singers Fayssoux and Brandon Turner. Come early for a catered BBQ dinner. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for the concert, or $40 for both the concert and dinner. Event Times: Dinner begins at 5:30PM, the concert begins at 7:00PM

www.chapmanculturalcenter.org

Friday (4/13) We’ll be in Oakboro NC with some of Bluegrass Music’s biggest stars at The Big Lick BG Festival. Including a special tribute to Earl Scruggs. It’s amazing family festival with tickets dirt cheap if you get the early bird discount. Other acts include Lonesome River Band, Junior Sisk, Goldwing Express, Little Roy & Lizzie, and many more. www.biglickbluegrass.com

And get tickets now for only $7 for PlottFest at Maggie Valley Festival Grounds (4/21).  PROCEEDS BENEFIT HAYWOOD CO. HEADSTART!  It’s an all day event starting at 9am. It includes Music by Balsam Range, Mark & Amie Bumgarner, and the Darren Nicholson Band, Fishing, Food, Kids Pedal Tractor Raffle, Trout CATCH Clinic, & Clogging.  And showcasing the official NC state dog, the Plott Hound. With a book signing by Bob Plott. www.plottfest.org

And for those who got tickets, Saturday (4/14) will be so much fun!!  BR with Jeff Foxworthy in Franklin NC is officially SOLD OUT!!!

We appreciate all the support over the past month.  Buddy is on the mend and performing good as ever.  He’s still resting and trying not to over do it.  But we are on the brink of finishing the 4^th, and in my opinion, the best recording we’ve ever done.  Hope you like it and can’t wait to see you!!!

Just wanted to say thank you. You’re our friends and musical family. Buddy, his family, and the rest of us sure appreciate all the kindness and care you’ve shown. THANK YOU. We are the luckiest group of people in the world to have you.

We’re happy to report that Buddy is resting some better but this will be a long slow process. Please be thinking of Buddy and his family… as this is the toughest stretch of his recovery. Buddy has no visitors besides immediate family and medical staff at this time, so we’ll continue to record on our 4th album this week until we leave for the festival in Shaumburg IL. Special thanks to Eddie Rose, another Haywood Co. boy, who is really helping us until Buddy can go again.

We have been so blessed with promoters and attendees for an overwhelming feeling of support and understanding during this time. Many of the amazing festivals, stations, and publications have updated, reposted etc. This is an amazing community. We appreciate you. Please come see us on the road soon. We can all use the positive vibes and share some laughs. Again these next few days are still his toughest. Please lift him up in thoughts and prayers.

We’ll record again tmrw evening and then it’s off to Shaumburg IL. Please come be with us at one of the best festivals and organizations (Midwest BG Assoc.) in the world. We’ll be there again with our pal Audie and many more. You’re support means to the world to ALL of us and we cannot thank you enough! We miss you Buddy…get well soon!!

03/24/12	Schaumburg, IL	Great Northern Bluegrass Music Festival
04/01/12	Mooresville, NC	SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) Fundraiser
04/07/12	Canton, NC	The Colonial Theatre
04/13/12	Oakboro, NC	Big Lick Bluegrass Festival
04/14/12	Franklin, NC	Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts
04/21/12	Maggie Valley, NC	PlottFest
04/26/12	Spartanburg, SC	Chapman Cultural Center

The wisest man I ever knew, Buddy Melton, taught me something I never forgot. And although I never forgot it, I never quite memorized it either. So what I’m left with is the memory of having learned something very wise that I can’t quite remember.

With that being said …I am SO HAPPY to report that my friend, colleague, and inspiration …Buddy Melton …is good after a long, delicate surgery in Asheville, NC today. I have been worried sick, as most of you have, and I’m at a point of great comfort tonight. THANK YOU ALL for the support. I am thanking you, this wonderful medical team, and God every moment tonight. I’m not sure what you believe but at least thank somebody or thAnk about something. Just keep up the good thoughts and hope for a speedy recovery.

Buddy’s surgery today (about 10 hours) was completed with great success. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!  We love you all and could not anything without you.  Dr. Parworth, the maxillofacial surgeon just came in and gave everyone a run down of the surgery a bit ago. He says Bud is awake!!!  And he asked Buddy how he was and Bud said he was good. Dr. Parworth was very happy and pleased with the procedure. Dr. Fowler, Bud’s neurosurgeon, stopped in and also gave us great news on the operation. Everything was smooth and successful!  Dr. Fowler is the one who requested bluegrass to be played in the OR during the surgery. That awesome. Dr. Parworth, Dr. Fowler, and Brian RN have lifetime free passes to any show, free CDs, and whatever else they may need from BR!!  Carla (Bud’s wife) came busting in with a huge smile and gave us the news and she had kept us posted throughout the weekend until we could get there. The nurse in the OR, Brian Sadler, also happened to be a huge Balsam Range fan. He had not realized who he was helping until later in the procedure. Go figure.

Caleb got to see Buddy afterwards and said he looks great and was ready to get out of there. Hahaha   And he said “I’m ready for the second set”.

We want to thank ALL of you, all the prayer and internet warriors who’ve been dialed in. This was an extremely emotional weekend for me. Buddy means the world to me. I talk to him every day of my life and Buddy, along with the rest of this band, have become such a huge part of my life on every level. We have a business, we entertain & play music together…but they’re also my brothers.  SO GLAD to report good news.  THANK YOU, our friends and family, for the massive outpour of support and prayer.  We feel like something very special happened today that ties all or our paths and connects us.  And if you’re reading this then …yes that means YOU.

Buddy’s text before we hit the stage Friday was … “Wanted to tell you all how much I love you guys and appreciate all your support and friendship to only me but my family. The amount of support that I have been given from all over the world is a testimony of our work as a group. We have apparently made friends and impacted in a positive way. I don’t think we have scratched the surface of what we can do or what we are to do. Sometimes we just need something to put in all in perspective. Please know I am so glad and relieved you all are going on with the show! It has given me great peace today. See you boys next week!! Play hard and sing pretty. Love ya!” (Buddy)

I am so happy to say everything went so well. The great folks at Dillard BG Fest gave some of their proceeds to help Bud…they were great about lifting us up this weekend …all the friends there.  It was amazing to be around such great folks and knowing they all love Buddy like we do.  A special thanks again to our friend… the incredible Eddie Rose (Highway 40 Band) who did an amazing job filling in with us and has been so great to agree to help until Buddy’s return.

Hope you enjoy this picture of Bud playing his little girl’s fiddle.  hahaha classic.  Can’t wait to see you guys in Schaumburg, IL next weekend, and we ALL look forward to seeing Buddy down the road!

As many of you already know, our beloved Buddy Melton was severely injured in a farming accident today. Thanks to all our friends and family for the overwhelming show of support. We just want to report that Buddy is in stable condition and showing signs of improvement. We are all very hopeful that his condition will continue to improve. I spent the evening at the hospital with him, and he was in good spirits, all things considered. There are several surgeries to come within the next week. Please check our official website and facebook for updates. The Melton family, and the Balsam Range families appreciate your continued prayers and support. When asked by the head of our record label this evening what statement he would like to make to the press, Buddy replied, “One cow, free to good home.”

Please accept our apologies if we haven’t responded to e-mails, calls, texts, posts, etc. It’s been a very hectic time, where our main concern has been Buddy’s welfare and privacy. Thank you for understanding.

At Buddy’s request we will be touring as listed on the official website until he fully recovers. We will perform with a temporary replacement until he is well. We will look forward to friendly handshakes, hugs, fellowship …as well as laughter as we return to Dillard GA this weekend.  Wish you were with us Buddy.  We love you so much pal!!

We’re very excited about the return see all our friends in Burnsville NC! We’ll be back at the Burnsville Town Center next Friday night (3/2) at 7:30pm. GREAT setting …like the audience and the band are in your living room. So Bring your friends and come on. It’s always a fun time where we can really cut loose and relax.

Of course the show next Saturday at the Colonial with Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle, and Jerry Salley only has about a dozen tickets left.  These guys NEVER get to this area and are truly legends in Country and Bluegrass music. I told you a few weeks ago about Carl but here is the rundown on Jerry and Larry.  They are amazing singers, writers and performers.  We are so excited to bring this caliber of talent to Haywood County.

Jerry Salley
Referred to by Billboard Magazine as “One of Music Row’s greatest veteran tunesmiths,” Jerry Salley – the 2003 “SESAC Country Music Songwriter of the Year” – has had over 300 songs recorded in his multi-award winning career.

From Sir Elton John’s only chart single to appear on the Billboard Country Chart (“Where We Both Say Goodbye” – duet with Australian artist Catherine Britt) to a Gospel song so popular it has been included in Church Hymnals (“His Strength Is Perfect”); from songs recorded by country music legends Loretta Lynn and The Oak Ridge Boys to some of today’s biggest country stars like Reba McEntire, Toby Keith and Brad Paisley, Jerry’s long list of accomplishment’s speaks for itself.

Born in the small southern Ohio town of Chillicothe, he signed with Performing Rights Organization SESAC at eighteen years old. Writing and singing in Nashville since 1982, he has written multiple hits in Country, Bluegrass and Gospel Music and may well be the most successful songwriter to have earned equal recognition from all three genres of music – not to mention his recent activity of songs/awards recorded by some of the best/current artists in the “Americana” music genre.

His country hits include the Reba McEntire smash “I’m Gonna Take That Mountain”, “Breakin’ New Ground” (Wild Rose/Universal Records), “I Fell In The Water” (John Anderson/BNA Records), “How Do You Sleep At Night” (Wade Hayes/DCK/Columbia Records), and four other Billboard chart records. His has written Three #1 Gospel hits, several #2 Gospel hits and over a dozen other top ten/top twenty gospel songs. In addition to songs recorded by the previously mentioned artists, he has had songs recorded by Patty Loveless, Joe Nichols, Darryl Worley, Travis Tritt, Tracy Lawrence, Neal McCoy, Mark Chesnutt, Cece Winans, The Whites, and many others. He is a six-time Dove Award nominee, having won a prestigious Dove for the 1990 Inspirational Song of the Year “His Strength Is Perfect”, recorded by and co-written with Steven Curtis Chapman.

Internationally he has penned no less than seven (7) #1 Country hits in Australia just since 2001. To date Jerry’s songs have sold in excess of fourteen (14) million records worldwide.

As an artist, Jerry has performed on numerous stage shows, including the honor of performing as a soloist many times on the world famous GRAND OLE OPRY. His television appearances include LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, REGIS AND KATHY LEE, NBC’S TODAY SHOW and several different TNN (THE NASHVILLE NETWORK) shows.

In addition to his Dove recognition from the Gospel Music Association, Jerry has received numerous awards from different associations for his songwriting accomplishments (IBMA, NSAI, SESAC, GOSPEL VOICE MAGAZINE, etc.). In 2006, Jerry received his second IBMA Award for his contribution (as an artist) to the 2006 IBMA “Album of the Year” – “Celebration of Life” (Skaggs Family Records).

Along with friends Carl Jackson and larry Cordle, the trio (Cordle, Jackson & Salley) recorded the song “You’re Running Wild” on the Louvin Brothers Tribute on Universal South Records, which features numerous country music stars singing songs made famous by the legendary duo. Entitled “Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’ – Songs Of the Louvin Brothers”, this project won the 2003 Grammy for Country Album Of The Year.

In 2007, Jerry released his first solo project, “New Songs, Old Friends” on the Mountain Home Records Label. A Bluegrass CD which includes all new songs written by Jerry and performed by him along with some of his favorite singers – all of whom have recorded his songs. Guests like The Oak Ridge Boys, Rhonda Vincent, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs & Sharon White, Darryl Worley, Del McCoury, Doyle Lawson, Sonya Isaacs, Alecia Nugent, Jamie Johnson, Lisa Shaffer and buddies Carl Jackson and Larry Cordle. The project was one of the final nominees for the 2007 IBMA “Recorded Event of the Year”.

From the liner notes of “New Songs, Old Friends”:
“Jerry is not only a friend, in the truest sense of the word, he is also a songwriter’s songwriter… an artist that completely understands the idea of “painting a picture” using the marriage of lyric and rhyme; someone that fully grasps the art of crafting a song, rather than throwing words against the page. His paintbrush is a pen, his canvas a legal pad and his goal always another masterpiece.”…. Carl Jackson (long time friend).

LARRY CORDLE

Larry Cordle was born and raised on a small family farm in eastern
Kentucky. While a young child he was introduced to bluegrass, country, and gospel music, by his great grandfather Harry Bryant, an old time claw hammer banjo stylist, fiddle player and dancer. He recounts, “mom said I could sing “I’ll Fly Away”, all the way through when I was 2”! Cordle fondly remembers this early influence by pointing out, “we lived so far away from everything, that we had to make our own entertainment. Papaw would get the fiddle out in the evenings sometimes and play and dance for us. Just as soon as I was old enough to try to learn to play I did so & kinda seconded after him on the guitar. He ran an old country store and I spent many happy hours in there with him playing, talking about and listening to music. It was our escape into another world, something we grew up with and looked so forward to. I was always happiest when we were in a jam session”.

After graduating from high school, Larry spent four years in the Navy and after being honorably discharged, attended Morehead State University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in accounting. “I just didn’t see how I could ever make a living doing only music,” he explains, so, I worked for a CPA firm during the day and played in clubs at night”. All the while, Larry desperately wanted to devote all of his time to music, but his commitments would remain divided, until writing a song, that changed everything for the aspiring young singer/songwriter.

East Kentucky was not only home for Larry, but also for his childhood friend and neighbor, musical prodigy, Ricky Skaggs. Upon hearing Larry’s new song, “Highway 40 Blues”, Ricky promised that he would one day record it. In the summer of 1983, it was the number one song in the nation, helping to launch Larry’s songwriting career and skyrocketing Skaggs’ already solid country music career.

In 1985, at Ricky’s urging, Larry, by now out of the accounting business and back playing nightclubs again, gave up the security of a full time gig to move to Nashville and become a staff songwriter for Ricky’s new company, Amanda-Lin Music, with whom he (Ricky) had wisely partnered, with Lawrence Welk’s mega successful publishing company, Welk Music. “$200 bucks a week Cord laughs, that wouldn’t go far these days but I made myself a promise that if I ever got a chance, one foot inside the door, that I was gonna work my behind off, as hard as I could to stay inside of it. I met people there at Welk… Jim Rushing, Carl Jackson, Lionel Delmore, Johnny Russell, Dickey Lee, Bob McDill, countless others, and learned what it was gonna take to be a ‘real’ songwriter from them.
They taught me the ropes and I had the talent God gave me, some incredible luck and much love, help and encouragement from my peers and my family.

At last count, Cordle’s songs had appeared on projects that had to date sold a combined total of more than 55 million records, by artists such as Skaggs, Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, Garth Brooks, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Diamond Rio, Alan Jackson, Trace Adkins and many others.

Though songwriting took Larry to Nashville, his desire to perform never waned. With his band, Lonesome Standard Time, Cordle has the perfect platform to share his music with fans everywhere. The band has been awarded song of the year by the International Bluegrass Music Association on two separate occasions, garnered two Grammy nominations for best bluegrass album, received nominations for vocal group and instrumental group, landed #1 slots on the Bluegrass and Americana charts and gained the respect of their peers and had many accolades during their existence.

Lonesome Standard Time is comprised of seasoned, esteemed musicians in their own right, providing Larry with an outlet to feature his original material, trademark singing and his engaging personality, immediately connecting fans to his music.

In addition to his songwriting and role as a bandleader, Cordle is sometimes featured as a lead and/or background vocalist on some of Nashville’s most awarded and popular music. He’s provided harmony vocals for artists such as Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, Bradley Walker, Billy Yates, Rebecca Lynn Howard and co-writing pal, Jerry Salley. His lead & harmony singing is featured on Livin, Lovin, Losin: A Tribute to the Louvin Brothers, which won a GRAMMY for Best Country Album in 2003 and was named recorded event of the year by IBMA in 2004. He’s also featured on two tracks of Moody Bluegrass, alongside artists such as Tim O’Brien, Alison Krauss, John Cowan, Harley Allen et al and is recently featured as lead vocalist again on Moody Bluegrass II.

Cord remains extremely active in all facets of his career. He regularly records, and tours in the US and occasionally abroad with Lonesome Standard Time. Larry is also still first and foremost a songwriter, now writing independently for his own company, Wandachord Music, BMI.

Larry is a long time resident of Nashville suburb, Hendersonville, Tennessee. He makes his home there with wife Wanda, and their daughter, Kelvey Christine but still enjoys the opportunity to make frequent trips back to his East Kentucky home place and his roots.

I called my buddy Carl who I worked with years ago in Nashville and pulled a favor.  Now 3 of my great friends and musical heroes are coming to Canton. I’ll be sending info out on all 3 but I’ll start with my good friend Carl.  Tickets are nearly gone for this one too.  Get tickets at the Colonial 828-235-2760 or here at www.balsamrange.com

Renown Nashville based songwriters/producers Cordle, Jackson & Salley (also known as Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson, and Jerry Salley) will band together on March 3rd for a VERY rare NC concert with us at the Colonial!!
Songwriters Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson and Jerry Salley have had songs recorded by Garth Brooks, Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless, Alison Krauss, Diamond Rio, Gene Watson, Pam Tillis, The Osbourne Brothers, Johnny Paycheck, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Mel Tillis, George Jones, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Anderson, Glen Campbell, Nancy Sinatra, Dolly Parton, John Michael Montgomery, Travis Tritt, Steven Curtis Chapman and various other artists. Their songs have resulted in sales of over 75 million recordings. Two time Grammy winner Carl Jackson is also a highly respected record producer, whose most recent Grammy was earned for his amazing production of a tribute album to the Louvin Brothers and resulted in the participation of many of Nashville’s greatest music stars.
Concert attendees should plan on a rewarding evening of hardcore honky-tonk, hot-country rockers and bluegrass music!

Multiple Grammy award winner, Carl Jackson, was born in the small town of Louisville, Mississippi on September 18, 1953. By the time he was eight years old, thanks to his father’s influence and a burning desire inside, he was already well on his way to being an accomplished musician.

At age fourteen, after playing backstage at a local concert for Jim and Jesse McReynolds, he was asked to be a Virginia Boy by the bluegrass greats and soon found himself on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. He played banjo for Jim and Jesse for almost five years before joining The Sullivan Family for a short time as a guitarist. Carl then broke away and journeyed to Columbus, Ohio to form a group called “The Country Store” with close friends Jimmy Gaudreau, Bill Rawlins, and the late Keith Whitley. The band in its original form would last little more than a week, for just around the corner lay another big break for the boy from the hills of Mississippi.

Glen Campbell came into town to play the state fair and being huge fans of his, Carl and Keith went out to see the show. Afterwards they ran into Glen’s banjo player, Larry McNeely, who persuaded Carl to come by the next day for a jam session. After picking for a while, Larry suddenly told Carl he had been looking for someone to take his place with Glen because he was tired of traveling and that Carl was the man. Larry took him to meet and play for Campbell and Glen hired him on the spot. For the next twelve years, Glen featured Carl everywhere he went as “the greatest banjo player in the world”.

During his years with Glen, Carl started to concentrate on his vocal and songwriting abilities as well as his musicianship. He recorded two albums for Capitol Records, (“Carl Jackson: Banjo Player” and “Old Friends“), three for Sugar Hill, (“Banjo Man: A Tribute To Earl Scruggs“, “Song Of The South“, and “Banjo Hits“), and then in 1984 his signing with Columbia Records produced a couple of top forty country songs, (“She’s Gone, Gone, Gone” and “Dixie Train“).

It was at this time that Carl made the decision to leave Glen Campbell and strike out on his own. It has turned out to be a very wise one. As a vocalist, you can hear him on recordings with the likes of EmmyLou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner, Garth Brooks, Janie Fricke, Dolly Parton, Sweethearts Of The Rodeo, Marsha Thornton, John Anderson, Mac Davis, Pam Tillis, Radney Foster, Joe Diffie, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Holly Dunn, Glen Campbell, Lorrie Morgan, Martina McBride, Marty Stuart, Ken Mellons, Tammy Wynette, Hank Williams Jr., Rodney Crowell, Mike Reid, James Bonemy, Mindy McReady, Linda Ronstadt, Keith Whitley, George Jones, Rhonda Vincent, Patty Loveless, Ricky Van Shelton, Shawn King, Ashley Monroe, Alecia Nugent, Mark Newton, Bradley Walker, Travis Tritt, Merle Haggard, Jon Randall, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Joey + Rory or Roger Miller just to name a few; or you may hear a Jackson song recorded by such artists as Glen Campbell (“Letter to Home“), Wild Rose (“Breaking New Ground“), Pam Tillis (“Put Yourself In My Place“), Garth Brooks (“Against The Grain” & “Fit For A King“), Trisha Yearwood (“Lonesome Dove“),  Diamond Rio (“Close To The Edge“), Patty Loveless (“You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are“), Steve Wariner (“The Same Mistake Again“), Vince Gill (“Real Lady’s Man“), Daron Norwood (“My Girl Friday“), Rhonda Vincent (“I’m Not Over You“), Mike Snider, The Seldom Scene, Charly McLain, Nancy Sinatra, The Chuck Wagon Gang, Bobbie Cryner, The Lewis Family, Keith Stegall, Tony Rice, Red Steagal, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Ricky Skaggs, The Whites, lllrd Tyme Out, The Rarely Herd, Alecia Nugent, Continental Divide, The McCarters, The Country Gentlemen, Mark Newton, Johnny Paycheck, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Mel Tillis, Bradley Walker, Jim & Jesse, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Jon Randall, Ricky Lynn Gregg, Mountain Heart, Terri Clark, The Oak Ridge Boys, Brad Paisley, Marty Raybon, Joe Diffie or The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Carl’s work can even be heard at baseball and football games as he has penned theme songs and jingles for the California Angels (“California 9 to 5“), (“Dreams“) and (“Something To Shout About“) and the Ole Miss Rebels (“ ‘Neath The Oaks In The Grove“).

Jackson’s “Little Mountain Church House” was voted the 1990 International Bluegrass Music Association song of the year and a more recent version by George Hamilton IV was a 2005 Dove Award nominee for bluegrass song of the year.  On February 25th, 1992, for his album with John Starling entitled “Spring Training”, Carl was awarded his first Grammy. A few months later he received a Dove Award for southern gospel song of the year, “Where Shadows Never Fall“, recorded by Glen Campbell. The beautiful ballad, “No Future In The Past“, by male vocalist of the year Vince Gill was a huge songwriting success for Carl and was named the #1 Country Song of the Year for 1993 by Radio & Records magazine. In 1998, after hearing Carl’s demo,  Garth Brooks decided to include the Jackson spiritual entitled “Fit For A King” in his “Sevens” project.  All in all, Carl has had hundreds of his songs recorded, with sales in excess of forty million units.  A poll conducted by Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine several years ago found Carl to have written eight of the top 200 bluegrass songs of all time.

Carl has also had a hand in the production of several great artists such as Ruby Lovett, Slickerbilly, Mike Ward, Real Surreal, Carly Goodwin, Bering Strait, Jim & Jesse and Bobbie Cryner, whose first effort on Sony Records received the honor of Best Country Album of 1993 in USA Today. He is currently producing new artists, Shawn King, Jennifer Wayne, Bradley Walker (2007 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year) and Alecia Nugent, as well as hot new country sweethearts, Joey + Rory.

For some hot guitar pickin’, listen to Carl along with Steve Wariner, Mark O’Conner and Jimmy Olander sizzle on “Hap Towne Breakdowne“, included on Steve’s instrumental album, “No More Mr. Nice Guy”.

Carl has two great writer’s CD’s along with pals, Larry Cordle & Jerry Salley, entitled “Against The Grain” and “Lonesome Cafe”. He is also the producer of the critically acclaimed tribute to the late Gram Parsons called “The Gram Parsons Notebook”, available on Shell Point Records.

One of Carl’s finest production successes is entitled “Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’ – Songs Of The Louvin Brothers” and was the 2003 Grammy winner for Country Album of the Year.   “How’s The World Treating You”, an incredible duet from the album, featuring James Taylor and Alison Krauss also won the Grammy for vocal collaboration of the year.  The CD was released in September 2003 and contains other performances by EmmyLou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Patty Loveless & Jon Randal, Dolly Parton & Sonya Isaacs, Joe Nichols & Rhonda Vincent, Glen Campbell & Leslie Satcher, Johnny Cash & Pam Tillis, Vince Gill & Terri Clark, Ronnie Dunn & Rebecca Lynn Howard, Harley Allen & Dierks Bentley, Marty Stuart & Del McCoury, Kathy Louvin & Pamela Brown Hayes, as well as three performances by Carl himself; one with songwriting pals, Larry Cordle & Jerry Salley, one with country legend, Merle Haggard, and one with the incredible Linda Ronstadt.

Speaking of Merle Haggard, Carl played guitar, as well as sang and produced all the harmony vocals on Hag’s release, “The Bluegrass Sessions“, except on one song.   Alison Krauss joins Carl and lends her angelic voice to “Mama’s Hungry Eyes”.

Carl lends his talents to the brand new Brad Paisley project, singing harmony on the title track, “This Is Country Music”, as well as “A Man Don’t Have To Die”, along with the awesome, Sonya Isaacs.  He is also featured, along with Marty Stuart and Sheryl Crow, on the bluegrass gospel classic, “Life’s Railway To Heaven”, not only singing some high lonesome tenor, but also soloing on five string banjo.

In October of 2011, another stellar project produced by Jackson was released to the public and is currently getting rave reviews across the country.  “Mark Twain: Words & Music” tells the life story of the great Samuel Clemens and contains magical musical performances by Emmylou Harris, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Rhonda Vincent, Bradley Walker, The Church Sisters, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, Marty Raybon, Val Storey, Vince Gill, Joe Diffie and Ricky Skaggs, as well as narration by Garrison Keillor, along with Jimmy Buffet, as the voice of Huck Finn, and non-other than Mr. Clint Eastwood, as the legendary Mark Twain.  Carl even performs a song himself, entitled “Safe Water”, co-written with dear friend, Jerry Salley.

On December 26^th, 2011 the state of Mississippi honored Carl with an official Country Music Trail Marker in his hometown of Louisville.  The beautiful marker, which highlights Jackson’s career, stands within a stone’s throw of the historic Strand Theatre.  Carl performs his annual “Home For Christmas” concert every December in the very building where he used to see movies as a kid, not to mention being born on the third floor, which housed a clinic back in 1953.   

Since those days in Mississippi fifty some odd years ago, two-time SPBGMA songwriter of the year, Carl Jackson, has realized many of his dreams. But with each dream that becomes a reality, a new dream lies ahead………..