DAVE'S DIARY - 27/7/2020 - PREVIEW OF EPISODE 10 - SERIES 44
DOLLY DOUBLE SHOT HEADLINES NU COUNTRY TV
Tennessean singing actor Dolly Parton headlines Nu Country TV with a video double shot on Saturday August 1 at 9.30 pm on Channel 31/ Digital 44.
Dolly ignites a Biblical celebration with Florida born Zach Williams in the show repeated Tuesday 4.30 am, Wednesday 10.30 pm and Friday 1 am.
Octogenarian Georgian Ray Stevens and Kentuckian J.D. Shelburne echo the religious theme in Behind Bars on a program filmed and edited by Laith Graham.
Texan Cody Johnson and Dunedin damsel Jenny Mitchell finish the show with their thematic travel tales.
Nu Country TV is a highlight of C 31 streaming list on Digital 44.
Further info - https://www.c31.org.au/
LIFE IS GOOD AGAIN FOR DOLLY
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Multi-millionaire minstrel Dolly Parton reaps massive royalties from publishing, acting and investments but has never left the stage.
The Dollywood damsel, just 74, has released more than 50 albums and starred in many movies, TV series and stage shows.
Dolly was born January 19, 1946 in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Pittman Centre, Tennessee.
She is the fourth of 12 children and wed husband Carl Dean in 1966 after meeting him at a Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville.
Dolly graduated from being the late Porter Wagoner's performing and recording partner to stellar solo and trio careers with peers diverse as Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.
Her major movie roles included 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas , Rhinestone, Steel Magnolias, Straight Talk, Frank McKlusky, C.I., Gnomeo & Juliet and Joyful Noise.
She appeared on Nu Country with dual Grammy winning expat Sydney duo For King & Country in boudoir ballad God Only Knows from their third album Burn The Ships.
Christian brothers Luke and Joel Smallbone have released five albums and four EPS in Nashville.
Joel Smallbone starred in Billy Ray Cyrus 2014 movie Like A Country Song and elder sister Rebecca St James is also a Christian singer.
This week Dolly performs in her video for When Life Is Good Again from her latest album.
CLICK HERE for our latest Dolly feature in the Diary on June 17, 2019.
DOLLY FINDS JESUS WITH ZACH WILLIAMS
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Dolly also joins Floridian Zach Williams in worship as they find their salvation in valleys and mountains in their duet There Was Jesus.
Zachary Stephen Williams was born in Pensacola , Florida on June 27, 1977 but grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
He fronted The Reformation and Brothers of Grace bands for a decade before he went solo in 2016.
Zach released his first solo single Chain Breaker in 2016.
It reached No. 1 on the Hot Christian Songs Chart and the Top 10 on Christian radio and then a five song EP Chain Breaker.
He led worship at the Refuge Campus Of Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro while on staff from 2014-2017.
Williams named his 2017 album Chain Breaker before launching second album Rescue Story that features his duet with Dolly on There Was Jesus.
Further info - https://www.zachwilliamsmusic.com/
RAY STEVENS QUARANTINED FROM CHURCH BEHIND BARS
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Georgia born singer-actor-comedian and author Ray Stevens expands our Biblical theme in Behind Bars.
Ray, now 81, streaked to chart tops often but this time explains his absence from church - because he self-isolated in new video Quarantined.
Dual Grammy winner and frequent Australian tourist Stevens has released more than 100 albums in his recording career that began in 1957.
His satiric hits include Osama, Yo' Mama, Sitting Up With The Dead, The Streaker, The Mississippi Squirrel Revival, Shriners Convention and Ahab The Arab.
Stevens scored headlines when thrown off a camel on St Kilda beach when he was promoting his Ahab The Arab hit.
He also wowed fans at Tamworth Travelodge press conference with his huge Ahab The Arab camel belt buckle that featured his camel named Clyde.
On singing Texan crime novelist Kinky Friedman Lasso From El Paso CD cover The Kinkster used a parody of the Camel cigarettes logo with him riding a camel like Clyde.
When late singer-comedienne Kacey Jones formed Ethel & The Shameless Hussies her trio character was called Ethel Beaverton.
They took their shameless hussies name from Stevens lyric in his hit - The Streak.
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings recorded Stevens classic I Saw Elvis In A UFO and Ray released another video My Grandpa Was A Democrat in 2012.
Further info - https://raystevens.com/
J.D SHELBURNE CLEAR VIEW FROM CHURCH PEW BAR STOOL
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When Kentuckian J.D. Shelburne's grandmother died she left him a guitar he learned to play at 19.
She also left a legacy of humour and religion when he grew up on a Taylorsville tobacco farm near the Ohio River.
So it was fitting Shelburne took his cue to find a pew at his local church with a bar stool that illustrated his new video.
Shelburne, now 33, recorded Church Pew Bar Stool for his third album Straight From Kentucky.
“We found a small country church in Franklin , Kentucky , that was the ideal location for this video shoot,” Shelburne revealed.
“The one-room church was located 20 miles off the interstate on a rural road in Kentucky . Tucked away back between some trees, this church made the perfect backdrop to help tell the story. The ambiance of the small sanctuary reminded me of something out of a Hollywood film. It created a very distinct vibe for the song.
What I remember the most that day was how the producer created a sunbeam glow through the stained glass from a spotlight that stood outside the church window. You'll see that in the second verse of the song. We took some photos on set that day as well and it looks as if a natural ray of sunlight was beaming through the glass. The added haze effect really set the tone.”
The song was penned by Mark Nesler, Marty Dodson and Jennifer Hanson.
“The first time Mark Nesler pitched me this song, I fell in love with the story and the melody,” J.D. explained.
“So many people can relate to this story. I felt that the song needed to be filmed in a church to really show you where the story leads. Sin or Salvation? The person depicted in the song started out as a sinner, stating the line, “I forget to pray unless I'm in trouble,” but by the end of the song he finds faith in “the good book says to do what he would do and I do.” No matter what road you may lead, sin or salvation, He accepts you in whatever way you come and changes you. This song portrays that message. This song is powerful, and the message speaks volumes. No matter which way you turn, God always listens and is there for you. I think in today's time people tend to forget that, whether you are sitting on a church pew or a bar stool.”
J.D. debuted on Nu Country in 2015 when he visited Taylorsville in his video for Hometown - title track of his debut album.
He played the 2015 Kentucky Derby long after singing for tips at college bars and graduated from the University of Kentucky.
Further info - http://www.jdshelburne.com/
CODY JOHNSON REVIVES TRAVELLING SOLDIER
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Texan Troubadour Cody Johnson revives a classic song penned by fellow Lone Star State hit writer Bruce Robison in our show finale - travel double shot.
Johnson, 32, performs a live version of Travelling Soldier that soared charts for the Dixie Chicks before radio bans.
It followed Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines London speech when she told concert fans she was ashamed to come from the home state of president George Dubya Bush during the Gulf Wars.
Many conservative country radio station chains dropped Travelling Soldier from airplay and urged listeners to burn copies of the band's sixth CD Home.
The album sales surged beyond six million and took total sales beyond 30 million but it also caused the trio to take a recording hiatus.
It gave Robison, 40, and a strapping 6 foot 7 in, the highest profile of his career and boosted publishing royalties from album sales.
Ironically, the reformed Dixie Chicks dropped the Dixie from their name shortly after Lady Antebellum became Lady A - because of perceived racist links.
Luckily, there were no Dixie Chicks or Lady Antebellum statues to tear down but the song's writer Robison and singing spouse Kelly Willis continued recording.
But the cluster bombing rendered collateral damage to the former basketball star and slashed his airplay income.
Ironically, Robison cleaned up when another of his tunes - Angry All The Time - became a huge hit for singing actor Tim McGraw.
Cody and his drummer guitarist dad Carl were prison warders at famed Huntsville before his career took off.
The former rodeo rider released seventh album Ain't Nothing To It and appeared on Nu Country with videos for Dear Rodeo , Who I Am, On My Way To You and Doubt Me Now.
Further info - http://www.thecodyjohnsonband.com/home.php
JENNY MITCHELL TRAVELLING BONES
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Dunedin damsel Jenny Mitchell returns with the second of our travel tunes.
Jenny performs Travelling Bones from her second album Wildfires.
“It was written in a Sydney motel while reflecting on a whirlwind year,” Jenny revealed.
“It was born out of that nostalgic feeling of loving travel while also missing home.' It's an all-too-familiar feeling, not only for musicians but also anyone who has left home in search of adventure. There's always that question in the back of one's mind: am I doing the right thing?
“I'm so fortunate to tour and see places I probably wouldn't see otherwise and this track is a stripped back, honest song that reflects on all the adventures I've had along the way.”
It was recorded with Matt Fell at Love HZ Studio in Sydney - the video was produced by Acorn Photography & Cinema in Dunedin.
“I loved working with them on Let Me Be , my last single, and I knew they would be the perfect team to put this story together,” she recalled.
Jenny appeared on Nu Country last year with her live Troubadour video in a Dunedin studio.
It portrayed her life on the country road that brought her here in November last year to the Spotted Mallard and Caravan Club in Melbourne and Maldon folk festival and Ararat.
She toured here with Luke O'Shea, Felicity Urquhart and Brad Butcher.
Further info - http://www.jennymitchell.co.nz/
HOW TO KEEP NU COUNTRY ON AIR
We need your support in Nu Country TV's 44th series with Australian record companies and major artists teaming to ensure our survival.
Singing Texan crime novelist Kinky Friedman has donated his 18th album Resurrection that features Willie Nelson.
You can join Watling & Bates as members and win their 13 track CD Small Town Tales and Kip Moore's third album Slowheart.
We also have other CDS by major artists you can win by becoming a Nu Country TV member or renewing your membership.
They include Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and late larrikin legend A.P. Johnson.
CLICK HERE for our Membership Page for details.