CMA Songwriters Series to Return to Library of Congress on April 21

9 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on CMA Songwriters Series to Return to Library of Congress on April 21
bill anderson cma songwriters series
Bill Anderson will perform during the CMA Songwriters Series at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, April 21.
(Photo: CMA)

The wonderful CMA Songwriters Series is returning to the Library of Congress on April 21, 2015! Telling the stories and singing the songs at the Coolidge Auditorium will be Bill Anderson, Mac Davis, Mo Pitney, and Pam Tillis.

Read more in the press release below:

“We value our ongoing partnership with the Library of Congress,” said CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern. “Country Music, and our heritage of strong storytelling, is perfectly suited to the Library’s mission of acquiring, preserving, and providing access to America’s culture and stories through song.

“Presenting the CMA Songwriters Series in Washington, D.C. is also a vital reminder in the Capitol of the importance of protecting intellectual property and the work of our songwriting community, which is the very foundation of the format.”

The CMA Songwriters Series has been presenting the very best of Country Music’s songwriters, whose hits are known worldwide, since 2005. CMA Songwriters Series shows are intimate presentations where songwriters can exhibit their craft and share many of the stories behind the songs they have penned.

“Whispering” Bill Anderson has as many prestigious membership cards as No. 1 hits, including the Grand Ole Opry (1961), the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1975), and the Country Music Hall of Fame (2001). BMI named Anderson the performance rights organization’s first Country Music Songwriter Icon in 2002 alongside R&B legends Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and James Brown. At 19, he composed the Country classic “City Lights” and had a string of chart-topping hits that followed including:

2005 CMA Song of the Year “Whiskey Lullaby” (performed by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss)
2007 CMA Song of the Year “Give It Away” (performed by George Strait)
2001 CMA Vocal Event of the Year “Too Country” (performed by Brad Paisley, Anderson, Buck Owens, and George Jones)

Other musical talents to record Anderson’s compositions include Brown, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Price, Debbie Reynolds, Porter Wagoner, and Kitty Wells.

Mac Davis inhabits the space between both ends of the spectrum: he is a singer/songwriter, film/stage actor, and TV/radio personality. Born in Buddy Holly’s hometown of Lubbock, Texas, Davis started performing in local rock groups while he was a teenager.

He scored a No. 1 pop hit with “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked On Me,” which reached the Country Top 20 and continued with crossover success in the 1970’s with singles such as “Stop and Smell the Roses,” “Burnin’ Thing,” and “Forever Lovers.” A member of The Songwriters Hall of Fame since 2006, he wrote “In the Ghetto” and “Don’t Cry, Daddy” for Elvis Presley. He co-wrote “White Limozeen” with Dolly Parton. He composed songs with Glen Campbell, Bobby Goldsboro, Rascal Flatts, Lou Rawls, and Kenny Rogers. Davis is also a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

A name you may not know, but you will soon, Mo Pitney was born and raised in Cherry Valley, Ill. He began his career in music at 12 and taught himself how to play the banjo, bass, and drums. His influences include bluegrass artists such as Tony Rice and J.D. Crowe; and vocally he was inspired by Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Randy Travis, and Keith Whitley. He writes songs that reflect what he’s about: love, faith, family, friends, and his passion for the outdoors. Pitney encompasses it all; he is a true entertainer, musician, songwriter, and lives and breathes the lifestyle he represents.

“My music, and what I do, what I write about and what I say, are things that I know about and that I’ve experienced,” he said. “Everything I sing about is very connected to me personally; it means something to me personally. When I sit down and write a song, what comes out, I’ve never heard it called anything else but Country Music.”

Pam Tillis is the offspring of Music City royalty Mel Tillis, but it didn’t take this former rebel long to find her own voice as a singer/songwriter and earn a reputation as one of the most gifted vocal stylists of her generation. Throughout her career she has maintained a strong point of view and has insisted on writing and recording songs that spoke from the soul.

Tillis’ breakthrough single was 1991’s “Don’t tell Me What To Do” the same year “One of Those Things” and “Maybe It Was Memphis” reached the Top 10. She had her first No. 1 in 1994 with “Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life).” Other songs Tillis has written/recorded: “Hearts Breakin’ All Over Town,” (recorded by Conway Twitty), “Cleopatra, Queen of Denial,” “It’s Lonely Out There,” “Spilled Perfume,” (each recorded by Tillis) and “Someone Else’s Trouble Now” (recorded by Highway 101)

The former CMA Female Vocalist of the Year (1994) is a member of the Grand Ole Opry – in fact her first performance on the hollowed stage was when she was only eight years old.

The CMA Songwriters Series returns for its 11th season and a second decade which kicked off the first shows of 2015 at the world famous Sundance Film Festival.

The CMA Songwriters Series shows at the Library of Congress’ Coolidge Auditorium have come to be praised as some of the greatest showcases of the series in such a prestigious venue with past shows including Jim Beavers, Kix Brooks, Bob DiPiero, Brett James, Little Big Town, Lori McKenna, Ronnie Milsap, Lorrie Morgan, John Rich, and Victoria Shaw.

The CMA Songwriters Series at the Library of Congress is free, but a ticket is required. Tickets can be attained at www.ticketmaster.com. Patrons who are unable to obtain tickets are encouraged to try for standby tickets on the evening of the concert, starting at 6:30 PM/EDT. Tickets are often available even for sold-out events. For more details please visit www.loc.gov/concerts.

 

Liv Carter

Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
Liv Carter