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Lonnie Ratliff Country Music Newsletter
August 3rd. , 2008
Note: New Subscribers that would like to read old NEWSLETTERS just click the LINK below
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"Spotlight Artist"
" Mel McDaniel"
"click" PHOTO below for website
Mel McDaniel (Oklahoma)
Mel
McDaniel (born September
6, 1942
in Checotah,
Oklahoma; raised in
Okmulgee,
Oklahoma) is an
American
country
music singer.
His hitmaking years were the 1980s; his hits include "Louisiana Saturday
Night," "Stand Up," "Anger and Tears," "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On," "I
Call It Love", "Stand On It" and a remake of Chuck
Berry's "Let It Roll (Let It
Rock)." McDaniel is a member
of the Grand Ole
Opry and makes frequent
appearances on the show.
"Click" buttons below for more Mel McDaniel websites
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Tips for chasin' that neon rainbow
In this indie music world, the best thing you can do is think in terms of “Test Marketing.”
This is what food companies do before they release a new product. They release it just in Denver (for example), and see what people think of it there. They get feedback. They try a different name. They try an improved flavor, based on complaints or compliments. They try a different ad campaign. They see what works. Constantly improving.
When it's a huge success in Denver, they know they're on to something good. They can now release it in Portland, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. Do the same thing.
When everyone seems to like it, they get the financial backing to “roll it out” and confidently spend a ton of money to distribute it around the whole country, or the whole world. The people investing money into it are confident, because it was a huge success in all the test markets.
Think of what you're doing with your music as test marketing.
When you're a huge success on a lower level, or in a small area, THEN you can go to the big companies and ask for financial or resource help to “roll it out” to the country or world.
Then they'll feel confident that their big money is being well invested.
Note from Lonnie
I have produced a few artists who have played the original song demos I sent them for their friends and family and asked them to help pick out the songs they would end up recording. This is a pretty good idea as you get honest opinions from potential customers and if one or two of the songs get a lot of positive feedback that you may have overlooked it gives you a reason to go back and give them a closer listen. Need to be careful when having non musicians doing this because it is hard for the average fan to sometimes imagine what the finished product will sound like once you record it. They will tend to pick the demos that sound best over a simple guitar vocal of a better song. Adjust for that.
In doing this test marketing you should make a plan that will make you a success even if nobody comes along with their magic wand.
Start now. Don't wait for a “deal”.
Don't just record a “demo” that is meant only for record companies.
You have all the resources you need to make a finished CD that thousands of people would want to buy. If you need more money, get it from anyone except a record company.
And if, as you're following your great business plan, selling hundreds, then thousands of CDs, selling out small, then larger venues, getting on the cover of magazines... you'll be doing so well that you won't need a record deal.
And if a record deal IS offered to you, you'll be in the fine position of taking it or leaving it. There's nothing more attractive to an investor than someone who doesn't need their money. Someone who's going to be successful whether they're involved or not.
Make the kind of business plan that will get you to a good sustainable level of success, even without a big record deal. That way you'll win no matter what happens.
When you see a room full of people, make sure you are not thinking like a mosquito, looking at them as something to suck dry, to get what you want and move on.
It's important to meet people, but more important to really get to know them. Ask questions. Listen. Make a point of discovering what you can do for them.
The best opportunities will come from real friends, not “contacts”. Be a good friend. Relax. Don't be a mosquito.
No one wants to feel like they are a product of your Networking.
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" Nashville Nightlife Internet Radio Show "
The Song Search Process for Artists
I will try to make a few
suggestions that may help you in what is probably the most important
aspect, in my opinion, of your musical career. There is a saying in the
music business I am sure that you have heard and that is “A Hit Song
Don’t Care Who Sings It” and that is one truth that keeps
getting proven over and over. Since I work with independent country artists
this little article will be aimed at that segment of the industry. I
remember when Garth was running up and down music row trying to get a
record deal that I talked to him one afternoon down at the Douglas Corner
café about singing a demo for me and we got to talking about songs
in general. He told me that he spent more time looking for songs than
anything else he did to promote himself. At this time he said he had
already listened to 1200 songs looking for just the right tunes to record
once he got a record deal. He still had not signed with any major label but
everyone in town, except the labels, knew it was just a matter of time
before that happened. Labels are usually the last ones to figure that sort
of thing out. I remember Garth was probably more interested in getting
songs from the songwriters than the songwriters were of pitching songs to
him at that time. Even after he signed with Capitol he insisted there was a
box outside of Allen Reynold’s (His producer) office and any
songwriter that had a song for him could just drop a cassette (yep it was
cassettes back then) in the box and they listened to it. They really
listened because I heard two or three stories of songwriters leaving a
cassette in the box and getting a Garth cut. The one thing Garth had
that most people don’t was the uncanny ability to hear a song in the
roughest possible state and visualize what it would sound like when it was
recorded correctly. Everyone in town had heard Tony Arata sing “The
Dance” at writers nights but only Garth heard the potential and as
they say, the rest is history. I remember I cut the first demo of
“Wolves” for Stephanie Davis and it was a cheap
“live” guitar vocal demo and he heard it and put it on his
“No Fences” album. Most artist cannot do this so they miss
those songs in that rough a form. I’m not sure that is something that
can be learned but it would sure be worth trying to learn. I notice
that one of the hardest things for most independent artists to do is hear a
song demoed by someone of the opposite sex. They just have a lot of trouble
getting past that and just listening to the song. This is something you as
an artist need to learn to do because this will double the amount of songs
you can search through looking for that “Hit”. You will get the
first shot at a new song sometimes if you can hear a guitar vocal with the
songwriter singing it. After the songwriter spends money on a full demo
they are gonna be more interested in pitching it to Tim McGraw or some
other established act and may not get around to an Independent pitch for
months if ever. That is just the nature of the business. You as a singer
wish all the top songwriters played their new song to you first and the
songwriters wish th top artists would listen to their songs first. We just
all have to learn to deal with that. Respecting the songwriters is
something you will also learn to do if you ever make it in this business.
Keep in mind that the odds are the songwriter is not going to make any
“Big” money off your cut so the real reason they are letting
you cut it in the first place is in hopes that maybe you get lucky and get
a record deal and by some miracle the label don’t throw their song
off your album and replace it with something they own the publishing on or
a song written by the chick they are sleeping with. The other possibility
is that while you are shopping around for a record deal some producer or
label head may not sign you but falls in love with the song of theirs you
recorded and ends up cutting it on some established act. Now that you know
this you can understand why songwriters get bent out of shape when an
artist takes it upon themselves to change their lyrics. This is the best
way in the world to be universally hated by the songwriter community. You
are gonna need those guys and gals so no use cutting off your supply of
future songs. If you want to change a lyric then contact the songwriter
BEFORE YOU RECORD it. That way they have the option of letting you change
it or deciding that they would rather you not cut it if you do not want to
cut it the way they wrote it. Most of the times if the change makes sense
and does not change what they were trying to say they will let you change
it but keep in mind it is the songwriters decision to make, not yours. I
remember years ago some artist I was producing said they needed to change
some lyrics to really make the song feel like “theirs“. I told
them if they would just sing the song better than anyone else had ever sung
it that would make it “theirs“. On changing lyrics I am talking
about professional songwriters, not your neighbor down the street or the
drummer in your band who just wrote their first song and don’t care
what you do to it as long as you cut it. You just need to be aware that
professional songwriters are a lot more protective of their songs and they
will not allow you to do anything you want to just so they can get your
cut. They don’t ask to mix your vocals on your record so it kind of
evens out. One of the things I always tell Artists to do in their
searching for songs is just consider it a full time job instead of a last
minute job. What if you win the lottery tomorrow (You will want to be
Nashville bound within the hour to start recording) or what if you are
singing down at the V.F.W. and some rich dude walks up and says I think you
could be a star and I am willing to put up some money to find out. The rich
dude is gonna be pretty impressed if you say I think you are right an
I’ve been looking for songs for the last year and I got a CD with
about 15 or 20 songs I found so let’s go cut some of them. That way
you don’t just say “Thank you“, what do we do next ? Like
a Boy Scout be prepared. Looking for songs don’t cost you a
penny but if you find the right one it can make you a fortune and it just
makes sense that you stand a better chance of finding the right one if you
have spent months looking for it instead of days. Sometimes when I have an
extra hour I go on MYSPACE and look around. When I find something I like I
just set that page to MY FAVORITES on my computer and I’m done. I
don’t even have to contact the writer until I am sure I need the
song. Always make sure you have more songs than you need cause SOMETHING
WILL GO WRONG. I know, I found this singer/songwriter on MYSPACE that had a
couple of songs that were just perfect for a girl I was producing so I E
Mailed her and asked if we could record them. She said that she had just
started talking to a record label that was interested in signing her as an
artist and that she was saving them for her own deal which makes perfect
sense so I had to go look someplace else. If you don’t know a
lot of songwriters then another good source for songs, other than MYSPACE
is to go look for cover tunes on Major Artists albums. Don’t even
bother looking on the “Hit” albums and preferably not on
anything current. The fans already have heard all the Carrie Underwood
songs and the Alan Jackson songs so no matter how good you sing the song
get ready for your fans to say “well that’s pretty good but you
ain’t no Carrie Underwood” It don’t matter if you ARE
BETTER than Carrie you still better be prepared to hear those comments. If
you can be satisfied with one or two people (normally family members)
saying “I think you sang, Jesus Take The Wheel, a lot better than
Carrie did then by all means go ahead and spend your money recording it.
Just keep in mind that is probably all the benefit you will ever get from
your hard earned money spent recording “Jesus Take The
Wheel. The trick, I have found to finding the good songs you can
cover is go back a few years and find those major label artist that only
had one or two chart records and listen to their album cuts that were never
released as singles. You need to find songs that were not on a big selling
album so not many people have heard them. I just went to GOOGLE and typed
in
Top Country Songs of 1988 and found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_in_country_music
There’s tons of artists and albums I had already
forgotten. You can type in any year and get that many more results. OK now
you have a place to start. Remember you want people to remember YOU for
this recording so you have to resist the temptation to cover the
“Hits” from 1988 and look through the lesser known albums by
those artists and find their album cuts. Not the charted
singles. People lose record deals for lots of different reasons all
the times so you just gotta figure out which song from these albums would
have been their next “Single” and there’s your next song
for your CD. The next problem is you could go broke buying up all
these old albums & CD’s even if you could find them. The first
thing is go to I -Tunes and search for it. You can buy the one song you are
interested in for 99 cents. You even get to listen to a 30 second sample to
see if it is even in the ballpark since you probably never heard the song
before. Try to figure out who sounds kind of like what you sound like and
likes the same kind of music you like. If you like Pop country don’t
waste a lot of time listen to old Loretta Lynn stuff but instead go for
Rosanne Cash, Deborah Allen, Charly McClain, Barbara Mandrell, K.T. Oslin,
Carlene Carter, etc! When you find a song make sure it was not the mega
selling “Single” by that artist and you have just never heard
it because you were not born yet or you were listening to some other type
music at the time.
Another cheap way to find songs is EBAY . Just go to EBAY at http://www.ebay.com/
In the EBAY Search you will see a drop down for categories.
Set that to MUSIC and then type
in
Lot Country Music CD and it will show you all the “Lots” of country CD’s for sell on EBAY at that time. You are not looking for the Alan Jackson, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwoods and Taylor Swifts. (unless you just want them to listen to) but you need to find someone who is selling obscure country artists that just might have your next “Hit” somewhere on their CD. You can usually buy these EBAY used CD’s for about .50 cents to a dollar each. I usually just pick out the ones I want when I buy a “Lot” and then sell the rest right back on EBAY or at a yard sell.
This is about all I can write now and probably about all you can digest at one setting so I will close with the most important thing to remember. Let’s suppose you have found this real “cool” song by David Lee Murphy or some other artist you never heard of til now from back in the 80’s that was never a single and it is just perfect for you. Now make sure you can get a Mechanical License on it before you spend a dime. This is a lesson you DO NOT want to learn the hard way.
Lonnie Ratliff
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"Click Banner Below for Lonnie's Website"
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Hank Cochran, Legend Of Song, Undergoes
Cancer Surgery In Nashville
Nashville, TN (July 18, 2008) -- Songwriting legend Hank Cochran is
recovering at a Nashville hospital following surgery performed to remove
cancerous tumors from his pancreas and lymph node. "I feel so blessed,"
says Hank. "The diagnosis was made very early, and the doctors expect
me to make a full recovery."
Cochran, a "go-to" man for
performers like George Strait, Brad Paisley, Ray Price, Mark Chesnutt, and
a favorite writer of the late Eddy Arnold and Patsy Cline, is the writer of
timeless classics like "I Fall To Pieces," "Make The World Go Away," "Ocean
Front Property" and "The Chair." He is expected to remain in the
hospital for several weeks.
Fans and friends can send
their regards to Hank at www.myspace.com/songwritersingerhankcochran
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When you "Click" on the ICON above the DOWNLOAD for iTunes 7 will be in the upper right corner of page
Shop for music, movies, TV shows, audiobooks, podcasts, and games. For Mac + PC.
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Gina
Michaells ~ It's All Uphill
" Fly A Little
Closer To The Sun "
"When It's Too Country For Everyone Else, It's Just Right For Me"
Erin Hay
THE COLLECTION "Click" Photo to purchase Erin's CD's THE CIRCLE
"Click" Yellow Button below to play
Lo-Fi Samples from THE CIRCLE CD
Lo-Fi Music Samples from this 23 song CD
"click" on EBAY Logo below
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.... Demo sung by Stan
Cox ("click" PHOTO for YouTube
video)"Redneck
Alabama"
(Lonnie Ratliff / Erin Hay)
(Verse 1)
She never liked the way that Alabama clay
Would cling when
it stuck to her bare feet
One more heavy burden, tellin' her for
certain
She's in Redneck, Alabama on a dead end street
(Verse
2)
Raised up like an outcast heard 'em whisper white trash
But words alone she knows don't make it so
Mem'ries will remind
her they could have all been kinder
But in Redneck, Alabama that's
the way it goes
(Chorus)
In Redneck,
Alabama
There's no sweet home memories
When you're sixteen and pretty
All you know is you gotta leave
And there's a man in a Cadillac
With a hundred dollar bill
Out of Redneck, Alabama
The roads all run
uphill
(Bridge)
She tucks that hundred dollar bill into her dimestore purse
Leaves yesterday behind and prays tomorrow won't be worse
(Repeat Chorus)
Lonnie Ratliff / Erin
Hay
Copr. Okie Acres Music
(BMI)
This Newsletter section is meant to help introduce you to some of the other Subscribers to this Newsletter. Just click on the Photos or Banners to go to their websites where you can read about them, send them and E Mail or sign their guestbooks. Take a few moments to get to know some of these subscribers. Lonnie Ratliff
"Click" PHOTOS below
Vienna
Swingers ...
.......Darlene
Marie McCoy...
...
Nelson
Colt...
..Stephanie
Reid.
.
Debbie
Watson...
........Jesse Beck...
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Excerpt from my future book " The Wordweaver "
Early family history (The Weaver side of the family)
By Lonnie Ratliff
They say that we are the choices that we make in life, I can’t argue with that. We are also equally influenced by our ancestors and especially the generations that we can remember. Since I mostly write country music, I see my family’s influence in almost every song I write. “We were as country as cornbread”. Sometimes in the songs I write I have to change the names to protect the guilty as Waylon would say and sometimes I just use the names because they sound so perfect. In the song “Midnight At The Old Soldiers’ Home”, I wrote with Erin Hay we made the central character’s name, Sgt. Luther Tibbs. To me that name sounds like the name of someone who might have stormed the beaches at Normandy, like the soldier in our song. As far as I know I didn’t have any family members at Normandy Beach. The truth of the matter is my father’s name was Luther, although he went by L.C. Ratliff, and my Great Grandma Ratliff ‘s maiden name was Tibbs, we combined them for mine and Erin’s soldier‘s name.
This story is about my mother’s side of the family. I have mined that family source for song material on several different occasions.
My mom was Catherene Florene Weaver and I have no qualms about admitting I was always a mama’s boy. Losing her was the hardest thing I have ever gone through in my life.
Mom’s parents and my Grandparents were Grandpa Bill (Willie Smith Weaver), who was a twin to Uncle Wilson Weaver, and my Grandma Sadie Weaver. Grandma is the “Sister Sadie who played piano” in my song, “Running Down The Road“. My Mom’s brothers and sisters included Uncle Harry who became a Pentecostal preacher and as far as I was concerned was a perfect example of a hypocrite. He was the only one of all my kinfolks I never had much use for. All I ever took from Harry’s life was the sad truth, there’s some jerks in this world that sometimes turn up as your kinfolks. My Aunt Rachel, (Billie Rachel) Webb was everything an Aunt should be and I have always loved her. From her I learned some conservative values such as, we don’t have to be a victim just because of the station in life we are born to. I am sure she never had any idea I was paying attention or knew that she and her husband Uncle Walter, set a good example for a little snot nosed “Okie” kid.
My Uncle Leo was one of my heroes and I always thought he was just like “Elvis”. I wanted to be like Uncle Leo. We both had a weakness for pretty girls and fast cars during the early part of our lives. I learned from Uncle Leo not to be nervous around women. Just from watching him I learned to be very comfortable around women. All of my life there's been a lot of women who are very close friends that have added so much to my life. I see it in my songwriting and my life has been better for it.
Uncle “Snake” (Kenneth Ray Weaver) is one of a kind, if there ever has been one. “Snake” was the baby in the Weaver family and probably a book unto himself, if I had the time to write it. He was what people back then called a “change of life” baby and all I know is he changed everybody’s life who ever came in contact with him. He was only two years older than me and we pretty much grew up together. I learned from him how to get along with people who were not easy to get along with. The other thing I learned by being around “Snake” was that my Grandma Sadie loved him more than life itself.
As a little kid it did not make a lot of sense to me because he would do some things that would drive Grandma Sadie crazy. She would just say “Now Kenneth that ain’t nice”. She never called him “Snake”. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you how he got that “nickname”. When he was a little kid he would always stick out his tongue at everyone, hence the name “Snake”.
The last one of the Weaver’s in my Mom’s immediate family was known as Little Susie Ann. She died as a child and has always had an almost spiritual hold over our family. I have never quite understood it, even though I myself hold Little Susie Ann with the same reverence everyone else in the family does. Maybe her death was such a milestone in my Mom and Aunt Rachel’s life who were also children when she died. The love for her along with the sorrow has managed to be passed down through the family all these years.
I talked to my younger sister Shirley Ann last week on the phone. She told me she had been out to the Darwin Cemetery and put some flowers on my Mother’s and Little Susie Ann’s graves so they would look nice for Decoration Day. Little Susie Ann died at least 75 years ago but there have been Weaver’s and Ratliff’s putting flowers on that little girl’s grave all these years. There will probably be children and grandchildren of those same Weaver’s and Ratliff’s taking care of her grave for years to come.
We all are the choices we make in life and are influenced by our ancestors. Little Susie Ann has left our family with a tradition and I can’t find any word other than sweet to explain it. I would have to say that is not too bad a family tradition as far as traditions go.
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Lonnie’s Economy Recording Music Package
Check out my little side business. For you artists that can’t afford the time or money to come to Nashville to record right now or just need a song or two to finish out your CD or to put up on MYSPACE etc! - I have a website of songs I own the Master Recordings on and I can lease you the music track and furnish you with a Mechanical license so you are 100% legal for $250 - The only catch is that you have to be able to sing them in the key they are recorded in so just go to the website below to find out. They are much like the Karaoke tracks you buy except most of them are original songs though not all of them and you will have a Mechanical License giving you the right to use the songs. You can post it on MYSPACE, YouTube, Sing it on American Idol, Put it on your CD to sell or sell downloads of it on the internet. You can pay for these music tracks with your credit card if you prefer. I then mail you a CD with the music track and you just take it into your local recording studio and add your vocals and harmony and you got it. If this sounds like something you may be interested in just go to my website below and see if there is anything you like there that is in your key. I have most of the Lyrics posted. Just “Click” on lyrics to see them. Any questions just E Mail me NashvilleShowcase@comcast.net
Visit my website to see what songs are available
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Artists release your songs worldwide on
Gary Bradshaw's WHP Compilation.
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Artists looking for someone to help you with your CD Cover artwork, printing and pressing your CD ? Check with Karen Bruno at Amazon Audio
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