Parmalee recognizes the importance of their people
Gregg Allman dies at 69
and listening to. And the people we grew up around are just as much a part of this music as we are.”
In 2016, Parmalee was nominated for ACM’S New Vocal Duo/group of the Year. Their debut album, Feels Like Carolina, earned the group three Top 10 singles: “Carolina,” “Close Your Eyes,” and “Already Callin’ You Mine.”
The band recently released “Sunday Morning,” the new single from their upcoming album, 27861. In a band tweet, the group gave information on the importance of the album title. “We all have 27861 tattooed on us. It’s the zip code to Parmelee, North Carolina where we started this band.” Musical pioneer Gregg Allman
has passed away Gregg Allman, known for his historymaking role as part of the Allman Brothers Band, passed away last Saturday at his home in Savannah, Georgia. He was 69.
Health issues in recent years stopped Allman from touring like he would have loved to. In August 2016, Gregg of the Allman Brothers revealed that serious health issues would force him to cancel 28 shows.
Allman returned to the stage in late October for two shows, but his winter tour was postponed soon after, due to a vocal injury that required several months of recovery.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a long, long, time,” Allman said in a statement at the time. “I’ve been on the road for 45 years because I live to play music with my friends for my fans. As much as I hate it, it’s time for me to take some real time off to heal.”
In March, Allman announced that he would not be touring in 2017. No explanation was given but in late April we heard that the musician was in hospice. His manager denied those reports.
In a statement posted to the Allman Brothers Facebook page Saturday afternoon, May 27, Allman was remembered as a “brilliant pioneer in music.”
“I have lost a dear friend and the world has lost a brilliant pioneer in music. He was a kind and gentle soul with the best laugh I ever heard. His love for his family and bandmates was passionate as was the love he had for his extraordinary fans. Gregg was an incredible partner and an even better friend. We will all miss him,” Allman’s longtime manager, Michael Lehman, wrote. Gregg Allman is survived by his wife, Shannon Allman, his children, Devon, Elijah Blue, Delilah Island Kurtom, and Layla Brooklyn Allman as well as three grandchildren.
For his work in music, Allman was referred to as a country rock pioneer and received numerous awards, including several Grammys; he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
His distinctive voice placed him in 70th place in the Rolling Stone list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” Allman released an autobiography, “My Cross to Bear” in 2012.
Allman died at his home in Savannah, Georgia, on May 27, 2017, due to complications from liver cancer. He will be buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia, where his brother Duane, and fellow band member Berry Oakley are buried.
Prior to his death, Allman recorded his last album, Southern Blood, with producer Don Was at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The album was recorded with his then-current backing band.
The release was set originally for January 2017; his manager, Lehman confirmed the album is now set for a September 2017 release.
ACM special Awards The Academy of Country Music announced the winners of the Special Awards for the 52nd Academy of Country Music Award. Honorees will be celebrated during the 11th Annual ACM Honors, an evening dedicated to recognizing the special honorees.
The event will take place Wednesday, August 23, 2017 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. and will be broadcast at a later date on the CBS Television Network. Here are the names of three nominees in the Poet’s Award category.
Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, and Shel Silverstein (awarded posthumously) have been chosen to receive the Poet’s Award. This award is presented to a country music songwriter for outstanding and longstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout his career, with special consideration given to a song or songs’ impact on the culture of country music.
Toby Keith has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and is often cited as one of country’s top businessmen with bars, restaurants, racehorses and golf courses to his name, but it’s his accolades as a songwriter than mean the most to the Oklahoma native. Keith
began writing as a teenager and charted his first self-penned No. 1 with his debut single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” Since then, he has pretty much ignored the Nashville tradition of cutting Music Row writers’ songs and personally written or co-written just about every song he’s ever recorded.
Among the highlights of his twodecade hit-making career are blue-collar anthems “How Do You Like Me Now,” “Beer for My Horses,” “I Love This Bar” and “American Soldier.” A 12-time ACM Award winner, Keith was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.
I will give you more details about all the other categories in an upcoming column. Have a great weekend!