The Franklin Theatre Songwriters Series returns August 22 featuing Jimmy Nichols, Frank Myers, Billy Montana and Deborah Allen.
About Jimmy Nichols:
Jimmy Nichols was born James Ginnetti in Columbus, Ohio. He started playing professionally at the ripe old age of 9! By 10, he and his brothers, Tony, Joe, and Fred were practically household names in Columbus’ music scene. Following in the footsteps of his well-known and multi-talented father Joey Nichols, Jimmy and his brothers continued to make a name for themselves around Ohio until 1980, when they set out to capture the hearts of fans nationwide. OK, so that only kinda happened! What did happen is they made the transition from pop-oldies act to country music recording artists, touring with such illustrious names as Eddie Rabbitt, Kenny Rogers, Barbara Mandrell, Mel Tillis, Roy Clark, and many, many others. This would eventually bring the boys to Nashville for the first time, where Jimmy got his first taste of the Nashville recording scene. In 1986, the brothers scored a billboard pick with their song, “That’s When You Know It’s Over”. How prophetic, because he label went belly up before it could chart, and the brothers found themselves once again on the road trying to support their family. In 1992, a fateful turn through a small town called Olean, N.Y. would change everything for Jimmy and The boys. They met Terry and Kim Pegula, a successful husband and wife business team who believed the boys deserved a chance in Music City once more. With their support, The Nichols Brothers embarked on another project to get them a record deal. While this also did not pan out, this time it did unite young Jimmy with legendary producer David Malloy. David began using Jimmy on all of his projects, beginning with a young artist named Mindy McCready. A double platinum album later, Jimmy and his wife Tonya found themselves touring with Mindy, Jimmy doing band leader/keyboard/vocal duties, and Tonya road managing and running sound! Jimmy and Tonya left the road shortly afterwards, as Jimmy’s recording career took off. Recordings with Reba, Andy Griggs, Daryle Singletary, and Lila McCann followed, and Jimmy was off and running. In early 2001, Jimmy was asked to be musical Director and pianist for Reba on her upcoming tour, an opportunity he couldn’t resist. He toured with Reba, putting together a stellar group of session players, which would become the new standard for top bill acts. Then it 2005, after recording with Faith Hill on her Fireflies sessions, he would leave Reba to become MD for the largest and most successful tours in Country music history.......Soul2Soul II would tour for 2 years and again set the standard for tours for years to come. As if not busy enough, and with lots of success stories under his belt, Jimmy reunited with his friends Terry and Kim to form Black River Music Group. While there, he oversaw the signings of newcomer Sarah Darling and Due West, as well as reuniting with Jeff Bates, who’s first two albums with RCA he had recorded on. His tenure at Black River lasted 4 years, and helped the startup label gain a foot hold in the highly competitive Nashville recording community. It was while at B.R. that Jimmy realized his true passion was in artist development, which led to his current position at Vision. While he continues to record for artists like Carrie and Scotty McCreery, his vast history in various aspects of the music business, along with his tireless work ethic, will no doubt provide him with the tools necessary to bring this next phase of his career to soaring heights. Jimmy lives in Nashville with his business partner and wife of 30 years, Tonya, and their weiner dogs, Wladimir, Poco, Bullitt, and Nico!!
About Frank Myers:
Frank J Myers is from Dayton, Ohio. He moved to Nashville in 1981.Frank got his start in Nashville as band leader, road manager and leadguitarist for Eddy Raven in 1981 and worked with Eddy for 9 years. Itwas with Eddy that Frank started writing, playing and co producingsessions. They had 2 number ones, 5 number twos and 3 top tens.Songs such asI Got Mexico, Bayou Boys, You Should’ve Been Gone By Now, Sometimes A Lady and many others. It was in 1982 though, that Frank had his first single (a song he wrote by himself) with You and I for Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle which stayed number one: four weeks country, number two for six weeks AC and number 6 for four weeks Pop. It was during his time with Eddy Raven that Frank met Gary Baker. They had their first number one together in 1993 with Once Upon A Lifetime by Alabama. Gary and Frank recorded one album forMCG/Curb Records as Baker & Myers and were 3 time nominees for Duo Of The Year at the ACM’s and CMA’s. Their greatest accomplishment as writers together came when John Michael Montgomery recorded I Swear which was number one for 4 weeks on the Country charts. The song was then recorded by All 4 One and went to number one on the pop charts and stayed there for 11 weeks.
Frank also co-wrote I’m Already There, the 7-week number one smash by Lonestar, which was nominated for a Grammy and CMA Song and Single OfThe Year. The song also went to number 2 on the AC chart. It was also named American Songwriter Magazine’s Country Song of the year and Frank was voted Country Songwriter of the year along with Gary Baker and Richie McDonald. His single My FrontPorch Looking In by Lonestar is the first record in R&R history to go to #1 fall to number #2 for 6 weeks and go back to #1. His latest #1 was Tomorrow by Chris Young which was also nominated for ACM Single of the Year. Frank has had songs recorded by over 50 Country and Pop Artists. He’s had 12 number ones and 20 top tensand a 2021 Nashville Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame Nominee. Frank’s Artist co-writes and Productions include Kenny Loggins, Richie McDonald, Lonestar, Vince Gill, Billy Ray Cyrus, All 4 One, Pam Tillis, The Gatlins, Andy Griggs, Eddy Raven, John Rich, Dave Fenley, Angie Keilhauer and many others.
About Billy Montana:
Billy Montana has achieved three Number 1 country records which include Garth Brooks, “More Than A Memory”, Sara Evans "Suds In The Bucket" (2004) and Jo Dee Messina "Bring On The Rain" (2002). "Bring On The Rain" was nominated for awards by both NARAS (Grammys) and the Country Music Association and reached Number 6 on the A/C chart. It appeared on the Country and A/C Charts for a combined total of 66 weeks! "Suds In The Bucket" was the most played female country song of 2004 and “More Than A Memory” is the fastest rising single in the history of country music. Billy Montana was first inspired to pick up a guitar as a teenager in rural upstate New York by his musician father and soon after formed a country/rock band with his brother. In college Billy decided to try music full time and traded studying agriculture at Cornell University for a record deal on Warner Brothers. His 1996 Warner Brothers release "No Yesterday" was critically acclaimed by such publications as USA Today, Music Row, and Billboard. Billy's songs have recurring themes of faith, love, and rural life. Many prominent artists including Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Garth Brooks , Pat Green, Jo Dee Messina, Sara Evans, Blake Shelton, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Sister Hazel, Steve Holy, Kenny Rogers and Lee Ann Womack have recorded his songs.
Billy writes on guitar, is an accomplished vocalist and some of his co-writers include Lee Brice, Kyle Jacobs, Steve Dean, Brian White, and Rodney Clawson.
About Deborah Allen:
Deborah Allen, an extraordinarily talented singer, songwriter, performer and producer, is one of those rare artists who forged her own path to success, building a world-class career in the process. Deborah?s signature smash, Baby I Lied, broke all barriers and confirmed the idea that an artist could have success in several formats with the same song, Country, Pop and Adult Contemporary, resulting in two Grammy nominations for the Delta-songstress. The true measure of Deborah's influence in contemporary music is underscored by the hit singer's diverse radio success. Songs like, I've Been Wrong Before, I Hurt For You, Rock Me, If You're Not Gonna Love Me, Wrong Side Of Love, and Break These Chainsare just a few of the singles that made their way up the billboard charts during her career. With more than 2000 compositions written and published, Deborah's songs have been recorded by such notable artists as LeAnn Rimes, Brooks & Dunn, Patty Loveless, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Tanya Tucker , Janie Frickie, John Conlee, Vern Gosdin, Joe Nichols, Isaac Hayes, Millie Jackson, Diana Ross, Sheena Easton, Fleetwood Mac and many more. Additionally, her songs have been featured on several major motion picture soundtracks, such as Coyote Ugly, River Rat, Clinton and Nadine, as well as River Phoenix's final film, The Thing Called Love. Throughout her phenomenal journey of hits and accomplishments Deborah Allen's success has earned her Legendary status by remaining true to her artistic vision. From her discovery by Roy Orbison, to her friendship with her song writing mentor, Shel Silverstein, as well as her work with George Jones and Prince, Deborah creates art on her own terms. Expanding her talents into radio, TV and film, the dynamic artist from Memphis keeps her sights set on new horizons continuing to tour and amaze audiences around the world.