Lady Antebellum 'dial back' for 'Golden' sound

Charles Kelley (L), Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum perform the song ''Downtown'' during the 48th ACM Awards in Las Vegas April 7, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

By Vernell Hackett

NASHVILLE, Tennessee | Thu May 9, 2013 5:47pm EDT

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Lady Antebellum are growing up and getting sassy with their fourth studio album, "Golden," embracing a stripped-down sound to showcase their vocal strength as they prepare for an upcoming tour with a baby on board.

The country band, formed by vocalists Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and guitarist Dave Haywood in Nashville, Tennessee, released its latest album this week, which saw band members drawing on their live tour experiences.

"When we went into the studio we wanted the new record to have that live band sound and we wanted it to be different from the last record," Haywood told Reuters.

The trio, who have picked up seven Grammy awards since their debut self-titled album in 2008 and have become a strong force in the cross-over between country music and pop music, hoped fans would hear a new side to the Lady Antebellum sound.

By keeping the production simple, Haywood said the band wanted to showcase the vocals on "Golden," due in part to the band being more secure in how their voices blend together.

Scott added that the final 12 tracks selected for the album leant themselves to the simpler production.

"It made sense to dial it back, which allowed us more time to spend on vocals and get them exactly the way we wanted them," the singer said.

While most of the band's songs feature romantic lyrics, such as "American Honey," the lead single "Downtown" from the latest album saw the band take on an edgier feel as a sassy Scott sings about demanding her boyfriend to take her out in town.

"I love the song and thought it could be a huge hit. I thought it might be a risk if the fans didn't accept it, but the boys kept saying, ‘We've seen you get sassy, and everybody else needs to see that side of you too,'" Scott said.

'ROAD BABY'

Along with a new album and upcoming tour, the band is also preparing for a big change within its dynamic, as Scott and her husband, the band's drummer Chris Tyrrell, prepare for the birth of their first child.

Scott, the daughter of country singer Linda Davis, said she grew up as a "road baby" on tour with her mother and hoped her child would benefit from the same experiences.

"I adapted as a child to my surroundings and I turned out okay, I hope, and I think our little girl will do the same. I have a feeling that being home will be more of an adjustment for her than being on the road," she said.

Kelley was also excited by the prospect of raising a child on the tour bus, saying "that baby is gonna see things no baby gets to see."

After more than five years of touring, the band said they are growing more comfortable musically and as a group, as they enter a new chapter in their career.

All three members are eager to leave an imprint with their fans as they continue to grow as a band, and they hoped they would leave a legacy behind, the central theme in the final song on the album, "Generation Away."

"One of the coolest things going on in our genre right now is the undercurrent of friendship among all the artists who came along around the same time that we did. I want to be remembered as that group of artists who were best friends, almost a Rat Pack type of thing," Kelley said.

(Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Eric Kelsey)

(This story corrects "American Honey" as not one of the songs on the "Golden" album in paragraph 8)

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Country Hall Highlights Bakersfield Sound

There was something about the California sound of country music. It sparkled on the airwaves as much as the flamboyant stage attire that the artists who made the music wore on stage. For a while, it seemed like there was somewhat of a tug-of-war between the music scene there, and the one in Nashville.

However, the two worlds come together with the opening of The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country, a new in-depth exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Music City. It takes a look at the history of the unique musical sounds that have taken place in the town once referred to as "Nashville West."

The exhibit begins by telling the story of families who moved west to California from places like Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas in the 1930s. For many, it was comparable to The Grapes Of Wrath. In most cases, they brought nothing but a few possessions and their dreams, many brought a love for country music with them.

Early pioneers that are featured include Speedy West, Merle Travis, Joe & Rose Lee Maphis, as well as Texas Playboys legend Bob Wills -- who had a weekly performance gig at Bakersfield's Beardsley Ballroom in the 1940s. Several of the early instruments used by some of these legends are on display at the Hall.

Also of note was the vibrant -- if not somewhat dangerous club scene in Bakersfield. Though the Beardsley burned to the ground in 1950, the area was filled with such night spots as the Rainbow Garden, the Lucky Spot, and, possibly the best-known of all the clubs in Bakersfield -- the Blackboard. It was there that people flocked to hear a style of music that had a little more spice, a little more kick than the sounds that were coming from anywhere else. It was country, for sure, but the twang factor was high and loud -- and infused with a rock and roll energy that was unlike anything else.

The most prominent musician at the Blackboard was area radio and TV personality Bill Woods. His band was one of the best known in the town, and included a hot-shot guitarist by the name of Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens." Already developing a reputation as one of the top session players in Los Angeles, Owens was featured on sessions by such top acts as Tommy Collins.

Others included in the exhibit include Jean Shepard and Ferlin Husky -- whose "A Dear John Letter" was a major hit in 1953 -- though of interest to fans might be a 78 RPM of the original recording, between Fuzzy Owen and Bonnie Owens.

The Bakersfield Sound picks up steam in the late 1950s, with Owens becoming the ringleader of the musical movement. Starting with "Under Your Spell Again," the singer began a streak of successes that qualify as legendary, dominating the charts throughout the 1960s. Of course, attention is paid to the legacy of his backing band, the Buckaroos. Over the years, some of the musicians that played for Owens included steel players Ralph Mooney, Tom Brumley, and Jay Dee Maness, drummers Willie Cantu and Jerry Wiggins, bassist Doyle Holly, and "Dangerous" Don Rich.

Rich started playing for Owens while still a teenager, and developed into one of the greatest lead guitarists / fiddlers / harmony singers that the format has ever known. His Telecaster is on display, and in one of the more emotional inclusions in the exhibit -- a list of notes that Owens made before giving the eulogy at Rich's funeral in July 1974 -- following his death in a motorcycle crash.

While Owens was never the same musically following Rich's death, another former Buckaroo had picked up the baton and was running with it. Merle Haggard -- a native son of Kern County, and former resident of San Quentin -- shot to prominence in 1963 with "Sing A Sad Song," and had created a long line of classic recordings such as "Branded Man" and "Just Between The Two Of Us," a duet with Bonnie Owens -- Buck's ex-wife. The two were married from 1965-1978, and Bonnie sang harmony in Merle's band, the Strangers, for years thereafter. Many lyric transcriptions of Haggard classics are on display at the Hall, including "Today I Started Loving You Again." Also included is the 1972 document granting Haggard a full pardon -- signed by then-California governor Ronald Reagan!

Haggard is also featured on a video that plays throughout the exhibit featuring a conversation with the man who took over where Owens and Haggard left off in popularizing the Bakersfield sound, Dwight Yoakam. There is also some Yoakam-related memorabilia at the Hall, including many items from Yoakam's 1988 video with Owens, "Streets Of Bakersfield."

Walk through The Bakersfield Sound, and we think you will hear that musical legacy loud and clear. You will also see it -- up close and personal. The rhinestones still shine, and the instruments are all there in full view. If only they could talk.

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Edmundo Ros, who took Latin sound to London, dies (AP)

LONDON – He introduced wartime Britain to the percussive rhythm of the rumba, so capturing the nation's imagination that its young princess chose his songs for her public dancing debut.

Bandleader Edmundo Ros, 100, died peacefully in his sleep, his family said Saturday.

Born in Trinidad to a Venezuelan mother and a Scottish father, Ros's musical career began in the Venezuelan army but took off after he moved to London in 1937. His five-piece Rumba Band was a runaway hit, playing for high society and international royalty.

His music was so popular that then-Princess Elizabeth had her first public dance to the sound of Ros' band in the 1940s. As queen, she would award him the Order of the British Empire for his services to entertainment.

Ros was effectively London's "ambassador for Latin American music," his son Douglas told The Associated Press.

Ros was a prolific artist, making more than 800 recordings over the course of his career. His 1949 number, "The Wedding Samba," sold 3 million copies.

His band was a fixture at Regent Street's Coconut Grove club, which he bought in 1951 and which counted Britain's Princess Margaret, Monaco's Prince Rainier and Sweden's Prince Bertil among its regulars, according to the musician's website.

The club's demanding standards — ladies wearing broad-brimmed hats or trousers were denied admittance — kept the clientele exclusive through the 1950s, but the relaxation of Britain's gambling laws in the 1960s began to hit his takings.

Ros sold the club and later retired to the Spanish resort city of Alicante, where he died on Friday night, according to a family statement.

Douglas Ros said a private funeral ceremony would take place in Spain.

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Online:

http://www.edmundoros.com/

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