A playlist is what one disc jockey played, on one certain program. A chart is created by taking a lot of playlists and adding them together. The song on the most playlists is number 1. Of course it all depends on how many playlists are added together and which playlists. A chart that only uses European playlists will be different from a chart which uses European, Australian, African, Asian, and South Pacific radio playlists. It’s like frying chicken. Chicken with a lot of different ingredients in the breading tastes, looks, and smells different from chicken with only salt & pepper in the breading. They can both be very good chicken, but they are different, because of the ingredients that went into them.

We have almost 400 radio program presenters sending their playlists for this month’s chart. It will be different from last month’s, because we had only 203 sending playlists for it. Of course, those 203 are playing some different music, also. John Melissen, President of the Dutch Country D. J. Association, signed up almost 60 presents to report their playlists to us. Those members are located in Holland and Belgium. We have also signed up many more in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and some in Asia.

This is not an easy chart to break into. It is not intended to be. Nothing worthwhile and meaningful is ever easy. It is sort of like climbing Mount Everest. Most mountain climbers dream of climbing Mount Everest, but only a few are good enough, strong enough, and dedicated enough to actually attempt to fulfill their dream. The rest find excuses not to try. Excuses like, there are other mountains that are easier to climb, or any of a dozen other excuses. The mountain climbers who do make the attempt rarely get all the way to the top of Everest. Some only get to base camp one, others get to the second, third, or fourth base camp. Only a few make it all the way to the topmost peak, but all of them come away with pride and the knowledge that they were on Mount Everest. They had the courage to chase their dream, where most laid down along the way and settled for what was easy or convenient.

There have been tens of thousands of country songs released to radio. Only a small percentage of those get played in any given month. Disc Jockeys can only play one song at a time. If they played yours, they did not play Garth, Reba, Merle, George, or Hank in that time slot. This time we had almost 400 disc jockeys sending us their playlists. On those, they reported having played more than 2,000 songs during the last month. Less than 1 out of every 10 songs played, was played by enough disc jockeys to get into the top 200. If your song is anywhere on this chart, you have a right to be very proud. Maybe your song was on a compilation or an album and another song from that CD is on the chart, but yours isn’t. You know the CD was shipped to a lot of disc jockeys, and chances are it is getting some airplay. It just didn’t get enough to break into this chart. Don’t give up hope. There is always next month. I hope this has answered most of the questions about the chart. I have several other things which I need to touch on this month.

Our web site is being built. It will be at www.radiocountry.org. I have been promised by the designer that it will be fully functional by September 10, 1999. Our first radio show will spotlight the music of two of our founding members, Kitty Wells and her husband, Johnny Wright. His first hit records were as part of the Johnny & Jack team. In 1949, "Ashes of Love" and "Poison Love" both top the charts. Jack was killed in a car wreck while on his way to Patsy Cline’s funeral. Johnny went on as a solo artist and had a long string of hit records. In 1970’s, his "Hello Vietnam" went to the top of all the charts. Kitty had her first number 1 record in 1952, when she released "It Wasn’t God Who Made Honkey Tonk Angels". She had her 23^rd number 1 hit in 1976 with "Thank You For The Roses". Most folks would have retired after three decades of radio hits, but Johnny & Kitty still have Ambassador Charlie Ray promoting them to international radio. They still tour the U. S. & Canada doing over 100 shows per year. Last year, they even flew to Australia to do some concerts. They recently celebrated more than 60 years of marriage. Last year, they joined Ambassador Charlie Ray in presenting the first annual Kitty Wells / Johnny Wright Humanitarian Award. This year and in the future, the Ambassador will present that honor alone, at the King Eagle Awards Show. This year he will be joined by Freddie Hart, to present the first annual "Easy Loving Heart Award". More information about the King Eagle Event can be had by calling +615-329-2618.

All members are encouraged to send their music to us. We’ll be featuring a lot of your music on our internet radio program. Please include a short biography, so our program host can properly introduce you to the world of internet surfers. We also need news about your concerts and record releases, so I can have up-to-date information to put in our newsletter.

Founding Member Colonel Keith Bradford was having problems with metro building codes. He needed more room for KMA records and recording studio. Unable to add to the existing building, he bought the one directly behind him, but facing another street. Now, he has all the room he’ll need for the next few years. His mailing address is 256 Kitty Wells Blvd. Madison, TN. 37115 U. S. A.

Allie C has a great new album being played in several countries. He is putting together a new show for an upcoming tour. He will be entertaining our military men and women at several overseas military bases. Rumor has it that he’ll be one of the first American entertainers to visit the NATO troops in Kosovo. Congressman Bob Clement of Nashville is helping him through the tangle of red tape.

Founding Member Rein Wortelboer of Holland will be visiting the U. S. again, in September. This will be his third time to attend the King Eagle Awards. Hans Jacob Larsen of Norway is also a founding member. He will be attending for his second time in two years. Another of our overseas founding members is Guy Polder of Belgium. His wife, Ninon, is nominated for an award and will be singing at the King Eagle Event. She will also be recording an album while in Nashville.

Founding members Buster Doss, Chuck Dixon, Jason Hawkins, Keith Bradford, and Charlie Ray will have several of their artists at the King Eagle Event. Bold 1 Records is expected to showcase Kody, and Native American recording artist Storm Seymour will be performing. He was the featured act at the I. F. C. O. show during Fan Fair. He was the only one to receive a standing ovation. Founding member Jim Fullen is always a show stopper. He’ll be doing his famous gospel rap, "God Doesn’t Take American Express".

Becky Nix of Dalton, Ga. is working on her debut album. We’re hearing a lot of good things about this talented young lady. She still has several songs to pick, so if you have a good song or two get them to her at the King Eagle Event. She has the first 4 songs in the can. Everybody who has heard the sneak previews say she is a hard country singer that reminds them of a young Loretta Lynn. There is talk about teaming her with either Allie C or Storm Seymour to see if the magic Conway & Loretta once had can be recaptured.

The major label CMA is having real problems. About 7 years ago, Jason Hawkins began using his position as publisher of "Airplay International" magazine to reveal their apparent major label connections and their apparent bias against all non-major label recording artists. He published a long series of articles asking his readers, "What has the CMA ever done for you?" He had membership card burnings, and generally created, then led the revolt against their heavy handed slaps at non-major label artists. They made a number of intelligent decisions. They refused to allow the Johnson sisters to continue having their annual International Fan Club Organization Show at the fair grounds. The I. F. C. O. show was moved several miles away, to the Ryman Auditorium. The distance, the terrible traffic during Fan Fair, and the lack of downtown parking was suppose to prevent people from attending. Their next move was to make drastic cut-backs in the booth space that non-major label artists were allowed. They didn’t seem to realize that Fan Fair was a much bigger thing for the small record companies and independent recording artists than it ever could be for the major labels and artists. The small companies and independent artists created most of the excitement that once was Fan Fair. These small town artists caused their friends, family, and fans to buy tickets and attend Fan Fair. They filled every hotel and motel room for miles around Nashville. They spent money, lots of money on rooms, food, beverages, and souvenirs. The sales taxes on their purchases helped both the state and local governments fund their services. The major label CMA decided Fan Fair didn’t need a bunch of small timers getting in the way of their big shots. Each year since those decisions were made, Fan Fair has drawn fewer people. This year it was a real flop. Their answer to that is not to go back to what worked for many years. They won’t throw out the welcome mat for the non-major label folks. Such a move would be admitting that Jason Hawkins was right and that his campaign against them had brought them to their knees. Instead they will franchise Fan Fair to other countries such as England, Germany, and Japan. The Country music artists there are almost entirely not major label. So what worked for so many years in Nashville, will now be given a chance in cities like London and Berlin. It just won’t be given another chance in Nashville. That would reveal to the world just how unwise it was to throw us out in the first place.

Throughout history a few people have had the courage to step out in front and take a stand. When Jason first began slamming the major label CMA, a lot of people ran for cover. They just knew that the almighty wrath of the CMA would be more than poor little Jason could stand and survive. I remember hearing many non-major label artists and companies saying how much they agreed with him, but how foolhardy he was to go against such a powerful force. They predicted he would be out of business in less that a year. It is now almost 8 years later. Airplay International is still here. The 7^th annual King Eagle Awards show will be held in October. Every year it gets bigger, and every year Fan Fair gets smaller. Thank you, Jason, for leading the way! Yea, though you walked through the valley of the shadow, you feared no evil!

August Newsletter