BILLBOARD.BIZ/NEWSLETTER/EDITED BY TOM ROLAND,
[email protected] APRIL 16, 2012 | PAGE 1 OF 17 INSIDE THE BANJO IS BACK It’s a clanky little five-string instrument with a bluegrass history that Thompson Square Joins was all but extinct in mainstream country music. But as Rascal Billboard Summit Flatts’ “Banjo” enters the top five on Hot Country Songs, it’s clear >page 4 that the banjo is once again relevant to contemporary country sound. Ilya Toshinsky has the distinct privilege of playing banjo on “Banjo,” though he’s hardly the only guy working it in Nashville studios. Producer Nathan Chapman plucked one on Taylor Keith Urban, Swift’s Jonathan Yudkin Vince Gill “Hall” Grammy Award-winning “Mean,” In $465k handles it on Big & Rich’s “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy),” and >page 6 Keith Urban plays the banjo — or, to be precise, a six-string Deer- ing ganjo—on a bundle of songs that get heavy recurrent attention on country radio. In fact, Urban’s “Somebody Like You,” which cel- Blake Shelton ebrates its 10th anniversary this summer, was a significant factor Has Cause For in the banjo’s return to prominence. Celebration >page 6 “He has an extremely unique take on it,” says Urban’s co-producer Dann Huff, who is also one of Nashville’s most accomplished gui- Rascal Flatts performs “Banjo” with Steve Martin at tarists. “He has a way of attacking it. His is a real reckless banjo the ACM Awards. From left are group member Joe Don playing, and it stems from his style as a guitar player.