I’m Back

10/18/1994

I was born in Mississippi, in a little shack way out by the woods…everybody used to call me Patches…

Okay, so the “Patches” reference may be carrying it a bit too far. The fact is, I was born in Mississippi and raised on Country music. Unlike my contemporaries in the publishing field, my roots run deep. It’s harder to get any more Country than Columbia, Mississippi, a tiny town (population 5,000) in the southwestern part of the state. It wasn’t until I visited the big metropolis of Jackson that I realized I was a redneck. It didn’t take long after that realization to be proud of my neck.

My earliest dream was to be a Country music singing star. Unfortunately, unlike Rock & Roll, it is almost mandatory that to become a Country music singing star, one must be able to sing. Being a true redneck, I didn’t let this “small” default slow me down. Besides, I was surrounded by the best in my quest. At one of my first studio sessions (at Malaco Recordings in Jackson), the arranger and drummer was another young “comer” named James Stroud. Fortunately for James, he produced and played better than I sang. I kept saying it was the microphone. James made me believe the cotton he was jamming in his ears was because of an infection.

After listening to the final product, I, as a true redneck, blamed the outcome on the studio and material. So I tried Muscle Shoals. My fellow Mississippian, Mac McAnally, wrote the song and with Mac on guitar, I recorded an aptly named tune, “Another Dry Run.”

It was.

With all my money gone, I returned to radio and plotted and waited. I saved my money and went to Nashville. Reality sometimes gets through, even to a redneck. So maybe I couldn’t sing, but I could damn well produce. I had a couple of acts (who “acted” like they could sing) and I acted like I could produce. With all due respect to David Allan Coe, I even wrote the perfect Country song entitled, “The Number One Song In The Country.” I figured if I could get just one station to play it, at least a few people would know I had written the number one song in the country. You get the picture?

Nobody else did.

I returned to my home state to become Chief of Staff for the Governor. While in this position, I spearheaded the establishment of the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame. The first inductee? Charlie Pride. I then ran for Congress. Some of Nashville’s most prominent music executives were kind enough to contribute to my effort, though I suspect most, like Bruce Hinton, did so more to keep me from returning to radio than to send me to Washington. The run for Congress was more like a walk. Although my campaign manager (Harry Nelson, now PD of WBCS Boston) and I toyed with the idea of hitching two mules up to a wagon and barnstorming the district, the idea was nixed by my daddy who said he had a reputation to maintain. (Editor’s note: Harry kept one of the mules and lives with it to this day!) Rusty Walker claims he voted for me, but after analyzing the tabulations, we could account for every vote within my immediate family…except one. I’m convinced my brother turned on me at the last second. I think it was the mules that got him.

So I returned to radio…programming KFRC San Francisco for five years…much to the dismay of Jack Lameier. Jack was the guy who had to scramble for concert tickets for me every time Willie Nelson played anywhere near northern California.

I said all that to say this: I’m back. First I tried singing Country music. Second, I tried producing Country music. Now, I’ll write about Country music…and I promise you, the third time will be the charm.

The Country Section in Network 40 is a personal dream come true for me. It is the culmination of much hard work and research by the entire staff of the magazine. With the publishing of the Country Section comes a commitment from Network 40…a commitment to produce a weekly publication that serves the Country radio and record industries.

Barry Freeman, VP/Country Editor, will be opening our Nashville offices in December. In the coming weeks, we will be announcing additions to our Country staff to make Network 40’s Country Section the very best in the business.

How do we indend on achieving our goal? By reflecting the interests and needs of Country radio and Country record companies. Unlike R&R, Network 40 wants to know what you want. We won’t tell you what’s best for us. Our intent is to make your jobs easier…not dictate policy that undermines your ability to maximize your efforts. Network 40 is successful because we work with the record and radio industries.

I don’t have the room and you don’t have the time to point out all the problems with R&R’s Country Section. (I used the word “section” liberally.) One of the most glaring errors is evident in R&R’s chart weighting. Forget, if you can, all the other problems R&R has, (you won’t have to forget very long…we’ll remind you) the chart is ridiculous. Country music needs a chart based on criteria determined by Country radio popularity and Country music sales…not a weighting system used by all other formats. Country music is unique. The charts should reflect that.

Network 40 commissioned two research projects to identify Country music influence and sales. Instead of using Arbitron’s ADE (Area of Dominant Influence), Network 40 will use our own ACE (Area of Country Dominance). A market will be weighted by how it generates Country music listeners and Country music sales, not by total population and total record sales.

Many have shared their thoughts with us over the past few months. Your continued insights are what will make the Network 40 Country Section a true reflection of the realities within Country radio and music. We are working with Country programmers and music executives to insure an accurate, representative chart. And unlike R&R, we won’t print it until we get it right.

I want to thank each of you who are working with us to create the “perfect” Country Section. And I want to personally thank Rusty Walker for kicking my butt to get it done quicker.

Network 40 is proud to be a partner with the format of today and tomorrow. And we’re proud to move into our house in Music City, U.S.A.