By Edward Morris
Listening to Australia’s Dead Ringer Band at its Nashville debut was a lot like witnessing the Judds for the first time. There was the same simple acoustic instrumentation, the same Appalachian-blue vocal harmonies, the same earnest and eager-to-please mannerisms—even the same song to clinch the singers’ emotional contract with their audience. Just as Naomi and Wynonna had done on their get-acquainted tour of Music Row in 1983, the Dead Ringer Band brought listeners to tears with “The Sweetest Gift,” James B. Coats’ tale of a mother’s unflinching love for her “erring but precious son.” The band made its local bow Nov. 20 at a BMI reception for industry insiders—a group not given to weeping unless the bar closes prematurely. Almo Sounds Records helped underwrite the band’s trip to the U.S. and is eyeing it for a possible record deal.
The Dead Ringer Band is a family act comprised of Bill and Diane Chambers, their daughter Kasey, and their son Nash. (Diane did not perform at the BMI event.) In 1993, they earned the People’s Choice Award as Australia’s most popular country group. Earlier this year, the band’s Home Fires album won the best country release honor from the Australian Recording Industry Association. Given the tastes of the times, the Dead Ringers may be judged “too country” for radio. Or, again like the Judds, they may be precisely what the times demand. The band is represented by John Lomax III of Kinetic Management.
Currents
♦ The Holmes and Moriarty of cable TV are back together again. After a series of well-publicized spats and a cooling-down separation of several months, TNN and Crook & Chase will reunite officially this January. Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase, who earlier hosted TNN’s prime time Music City Tonight series, are now slotted to emcee Today’s Country for the network. Starting Jan. 6, the hour-long show will air Mondays and Thursdays and will cover country music news via live interviews and taped, on-scene coverage. A second show, This Week in Country Music, will be broadcast on weekends and will recap country music news of the week past. Hosts and air-times for this second show have not been announced. Jim Owens & Associates will produce both programs.
♦ Shania Twain is devoting the proceeds from the sale of her new single, “God Bless the Child,” to hunger-relief projects in the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. recipient is Kid’s Cafe, a program sponsored by Second Harvest Food Banks. In Canada, the donations will go to the Canadian Living Foundation’s Breakfast for Learning. “God Bless the Child,” which Twain performed on the recent Country Music Association Awards Show, is the Canadian-born singer’s first release since her record-breaking The Woman in Me album. That collection has now sold nearly 10 million units worldwide. The single is accompanied by a music video currently in rotation on CMT and TNN.
♦ The Songwriters Guild of America and the Nashville Humane Association will jointly sponsor “Jingle Bell Mock,” Dec. 3 at 328 Performance Hall. The show will feature representatives of Music Row publishing companies performing parodies of hits in their catalogs. In addition, there will be an auction of stuffed animals donated and autographed by a variety of stars, including Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, George Strait, Brooks & Dunn, Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, and Bryan White. WSIX’s Devon O’Day will host the affair, which commences at 6 p.m. Income from the $10-a-ticket event will be donated to the Humane Association.
♦ Country singer Ricky Lynn Gregg has been named to the advisory board of the Circle of Nations School in Wahpeton, N.D., a residential learning center for Native American children. Gregg, who is part Cherokee, has been active in gathering supplies for the school as part of his “Trail of Hope” campaign. MultiMedia Interactive is developing a series of products around the campaign, including a video documentary and an album. Gregg formerly recorded for Liberty Records.
♦ The best Christmas album to come along this year so far is Collin Raye’s The Gift. Backed by a full orchestra, Raye does a wonderful job of breathing new spirit into old chestnuts, including those legendary ones still “roasting on an open fire.” The only non-standard—and it deserves to become one—is Will Robinson, Tamara Hyler, and Bruce Burch’s “It Could Happen Again.” The song recalls the Christmas Eve of 1914, when warring German and British soldiers called their own truce and celebrated the holiday together on the battlefield. Johnny Cash narrates the introduction. The Beach Boys, meanwhile, aid Raye on “Winter Wonderland.”
♦ The best Christmas album to come along this year so far is Collin Raye’s The Gift. Backed by a full orchestra, Raye does a wonderful job of breathing new spirit into old chestnuts, including those legendary ones still “roasting on an open fire.” The only non-standard—and it deserves to become one—is Will Robinson, Tamara Hyler, and Bruce Burch’s “It Could Happen Again.” The song recalls the Christmas Eve of 1914, when warring German and British soldiers called their own truce and celebrated the holiday together on the battlefield. Johnny Cash narrates the introduction. The Beach Boys, meanwhile, aid Raye on “Winter Wonderland.”
