September 11, 2017 Issue 567 #1 MOST ADDED! THANK YOU COUNTRY RADIO! Remembering Don & Troy The country music world took a hard blow Friday (9/8) with the passing of Country Music Hall of Famer Don Williams, followed all too quickly by news that Montgomery Gentry’s Troy Gentry died in a helicopter crash. The shock is perhaps best expressed in the experience of veteran artist manager John Dorris, who represented both at different times. “I was on the phone with Don’s son learning of his passing when John Michael Montgomery called in to tell me about Troy,” he told Country Aircheck Monday (9/11). Dorris and others who worked with Williams or Gentry share stories below illuminating just how big this loss is. Don Williams All Day All Night: Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and friends Remembering Don Williams prior to the Capitol group’s You Look Good Tour stop in Nashville Producer Garth Fundis: “Bob McDill Saturday (9/9). The trek continues in Europe beginning Oct. 1. had just finished writing ‘Good Ole Boys Like Pictured (l-r) are Marilyn Shomby, Kelley, Cumulus’s John Me.’ I was blown away. I said, ‘Jiminy Crick- Shomby, Tessa Aly and Country Aircheck’s Chuck Aly. ets Bob, that’s like classic southern literature. Have you played that for Don?’ He men- Irma: The Unwelcome Tourist tioned they were going to pitch it to Kenny More than 110 million people visited Florida last year, but this Rogers or somebody else that afternoon. I year’s Sunshine State count will include one big, unwelcome guest was heartbroken. A few months later I was at Troy Gentry in Hurricane Irma. Radio pros across the peninsula and panhan- Don’s house. He said, ‘Man, I’ve got this one dle put in plenty of overtime. Here are their stories: (continued on page 7) ©2017 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] September 11, 2017 Page 4 As noted in Country Aircheck Today, homes seems to be from down power lines, down trees, debris WCKT/Ft. Myers took the storm full force. from homes caused by high-speed winds, and some flooding over “All are accounted for and safe, which is near the water. For the most part, it seems like everyone was really the most important,” says PD Mike Tyler. prepared and stayed safe through the storm. I haven’t been able Company engineers are on the way to solidify to check my house or neighborhood yet ei- backup power and, in the meantime, the sta- ther, so hopefully I’ll get to go home tonight.” tion is streaming audio from their TV partner. The station went back to music programming CBS Radio WKIS/Miami returned to mu- today at 10am. Mike Tyler sic at noon today. “We were wall-to-wall with Flooding was a big problem in Northeast our TV partners up to then,” says VPP Rob Florida. “The city has asked we stay in place,” Morris. “Every break is post-Irma coverage says iHeartMedia WQIK/Jacksonville PD letting folks know what is open, what streets Cindy Spicer. The St. John’s “river did not are blocked by debris and where there are empty like it usually does during low tide, so down power lines.” The facility did not suffer Cindy Spicer we have a rising tide and evacuations are any damage other than a tree knocking over being ordered because of rising water.” The a wall behind the station. morning show stayed on through the day “We went through a rough night of cate- with updates and warnings from TV partner Rob Morris gory 1 winds and constant downpours,” says First Coast News. Renda WGNE MD/midday iHeartMedia WAVW/Ft. Pierce PD Heath host Ashley Wilson added, “We had power West. “Besides the eye, the upper right quad- outages, internet outages and very dramatic rant of the storm always brings some of the winds, but our team managed to stay on the worst weather, including tornados, and that’s air throughout the night to deliver informa- what passed over us. We had constant EAS tion. We’re exhausted, but doing okay.” Ashley Wilson warnings going off Sunday (9/10), but that In the Capital City, iHeartMedia’s WTNT/ finally subsided very late. The station stayed Tallahasseee PD Jason Taylor had team on throughout the entire storm with a feed coverage. “We were simulcasting all the Heath West from our TV partner and our sister station in Tallahassee and Panama City stations,” he West Palm, News WJNO. Their teams did an says. “We were spared in many ways. Many excellent job during the storm while we all thousands of people are without power in our hunkered down. Today it’s all about clean up. area.” The station returned to music at noon We have lots of downed power lines and trees with updates twice an hour on gas availability and some localized flooding. But all in all, and power outages. Country Radio Hall of we’re in good shape.” Jason Taylor Famer and Red Cross spokesman Dan Haly- Beasley WQYK/Tampa OM/PD Tee burton has been there since yesterday (9/10) Gentry reports, “We’re good. We are live, and will leave tomorrow for his next assignment. “We’re not sure where they are sending us yet,” he says. –Paul Williams Tee Gentry taking calls from listeners and checking in with ABC Action News. Trying to get as much information out as possible.” On a personal note, “My first hurricane. Not a fan. No power Chart Chat at home, but luckily no damage either.” Congrats to Dustin Lynch, Carson Staffers spent the weekend together at James, Lee Adams, Jim Malito and the Cox WWKA/Orlando, “All of us that were Broken Bow team on landing this week’s No. on-air throughout the storm or working with 1 with “Small Town Boy,” which is the second our news station here have not left since chart-topper from his new album Current Ashley Saturday,” says MD/morning host Ashley Mood. Songwriters are Rhett Akins, Ben Dustin Lynch Stegbauer Stegbauer. “The most damage at people’s Hayslip and Kyle Fishman. ©2017 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] September 11, 2017 Page 7 And kudos to Katie Bright and the WMN reps on notching 100 adds for Blake Shelton’s “I’ll Name The Dogs,” topping this week’s board. News & Notes WideOrbit and Cumulus have entered into a licensing agree- ment to install WO Traffic and other software at all 447 Cumulus radio stations. LLC Classic Hits KXXF/Winnie-Beaumont, TX has flipped to Classic Country as “105.3 Free.” Restless Heart was recently awarded the 2017 Operation Troop Aid Chris Kyle Patriot Award. Brad Paisley will honor Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last ride with the JR Nation Appreci88ion Tour free concert Oct. 8 for attendees of the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. More info here. Thompson Square will host the Third Annual Rollin’ For A Reason ride Oct. 1 to benefit the USO of Nashville. More here. The Week’s Top Stories Don Williams and Garth Fundis Full coverage in the archives at countryaircheck.com. • 2017 CMA Awards broadcast and artist nominations were giving things room to breathe. He tried to do the same thing in his released (9/4). concerts. He’d walk out, sit down in his chair and plug in his gui- • Nielsen released August PPM Ratings (9/5). tar, tip his hat to the audience, nod to the boys and start the first • Dick Broadcasting purchased 20 stations from Alpha (9/5). song. He could do three songs in a row without ever speaking. • Cris Lacy was promoted to SVP/A&R at Warner Music Nashville The applause would die down and it would get completely quiet. (9/6). Don would say, ‘Well, thank you.’ And the audience would erupt • Zack Owen and John Elliott marked 25 years at WACO/ in applause all over again. (laughs) That quiet power served him Waco, TX (9/6). well – in life, in making records and in responding to the audi- • Rodney Crowell will receive the ASCAP Founder’s Award (9/7). ence. I’ve never seen anybody quite be able to do it that way.” • BMI broke its revenue mark for the third year in a row with Bassist and AFM/Nashville’s Dave Pomeroy: “When I started $1.130 billion (9/7). playing with Don, I’d had in the back of my mind the idea of • Don Williams passed away at 78 (9/8). an electric stand-up bass that a hero of mine, Eberhard Weber, • Troy Gentry died in a helicopter crash (9/8). played. I couldn’t afford it, so I went to Don and asked him if he’d loan me the money for half of the cost. He didn’t bat an eye. I paid him back, but he did that without hesitation. Remembering Don & Troy “He got our road band a deal with MCA. We made a record (continued from page 1) which went nowhere, but we got to make a record – and Don and song here, but I don’t know if I can do it. It’s kind of heavy.’ He Garth Fundis produced it. At that time in particular, no artist would sang ‘Good Ole Boys Like Me.’ I told him he could do it, I was sure do that for their band. Over the years I heard a lot of horror of it.