Country Radio Broadcasters (CRB) will
present the latest installment of its CRS360 webinar series at 1 p.m.
CT on Tuesday, Oct. 22, with a discussion about “Country Music,” the
eight-part, 16-hour film chronicling the history of America’s
most-programmed music genre. Writer/Producer Dayton Duncan, and artist Vince Gill,
who was prominently featured in the film, will be special guests, to
talk about the impact of this documentary, how it triggered music sales,
and discussion about the genre’s past, present and future. This
discussion will be co-moderated by longtime Nashville writer/journalist,
Rob Simbeck, and CRB Executive Director, RJ Curtis.
“During
the two weeks this expansive and compelling film aired on PBS, it was
the constant topic of conversation in our industry,” commented Curtis. “Sixteen
hours is a lot to process; even Country music experts learned things
about our music and artists they never knew previously. This led to a
collective, and thoughtful analysis of how and why our format has
evolved, where it may be headed, and what its challenges may be. Dayton
Duncan and Vince Gill will help provide greater insight, and we’re
honored to have them share with our industry.”
Dayton Duncan
is the lead producer and writer of Country Music. He is the author of
13 books and has been involved with the work of Ken Burns for nearly 30
years. For The West, broadcast in 1996, Duncan was the co-writer and
consulting producer. It won the Erik Barnouw Award from the Organization
of American Historians. He was the writer and producer of Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, broadcast inNovember 1997. The film attained the second-highest ratings
(following The Civil War) in the history of PBS and won a Western
Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, a Spur Award from
the Western Writers of America and a CINE Golden Eagle, as well as many
other honors. He was the co-writer and producer of Mark Twain, andwriter and producer of Horatio’s Drive, about the first
transcontinental automobile trip. The National Parks: America’s Best
Idea (2009), which Duncan wrote and produced, won two Emmy Awards – for
Outstanding Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction
Programming – and earned him and Burns the designation of Honorary Park
Ranger from the National Park Service. His most recent film with Burns
was The Dust Bowl, a two-part series about the worst man-made ecological
disaster in American history, broadcastinNovember 2012. It won a CINE Golden Eagle and a Western Heritage Award;
his script won a Spur Award and was nominated for an Emmy. Duncan has
also served as a consultant or consulting producing on all of Burns’s
other documentaries, beginning with The Civil War and
including Baseball, Jazz and The War.
One of the most popular singers in modern country music, Vince Gill is famous for his top-notch songwriting, world-class guitar playing, andwarm, soaring tenor, all wrapped up in a quick and easy wit. Gill
achieved his big breakthrough in 1990 with “When I Call Your Name,”
which won both the Country Music Association’s Single and Song of the
Year awards as well as a Grammy. Gill has won 18 CMA Awards, including
Song of the Year four times – making him the most-awarded artist in that
category in CMA history. Since 1990, Gill has won 21 Grammy Awards. A
wide-ranging songwriter, his compositions earned him entry into the
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. The Academy of Country Music
has conferred on Gill eight awards, including its prestigious Home
Depot Humanitarian Award and the 2011 Career Achievement Award. Gill was
inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. He is also a
member of the Grand Ole Opry. In August 2012, Gill was honored with a
star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is a member of the Grammy-winning
band The Time Jumpers. Gill has produced albums for The Time Jumpers,
LeAnn Rimes, Amy Grant,andAshley Monroe and has made guest appearances on more than 1000 albums,
including those by Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Dolly
Parton, George Jones, and others. In 2017, Gill was invited to join the
Eagles for a number of festival shows and continued to join them onstage
throughout 2018 and 2019. For a full list of tour dates, news, images
and more, visit www.VinceGill.com.
Rob Simbeck
has been Nashville Bureau Chief of Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40 since
1995. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Rolling Stone,
Guideposts, Country Weekly, and. He has written album release specials
for Blake Shelton, Hank Williams Jr., Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, and
George Strait, and bios for Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Tim McGraw,
Florida Georgia Line, and many others. His 20+ books include American
Music Legends, written with longtime Grand Ole Opry photographer Les
Leverett, and 50 Seasons: A History of the Nashville Symphony.
CRS 2020, will be held Wednesday, February 19th – Friday, February 21st at the Omni Hotel in Nashville. Registration opened August 1st and remains available; to register, click here.