26 July 2018

Country music royalty and a fifty year member of the Grand Ole Opry, Jeannie Seely, will be honoured with a star on Music City Walk of Fame during an induction ceremony on Aug. 21, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. in Music City Walk of Fame Park. Jeannie’s vivacious stage presence and sultry voiced combined with her deeply moving vocals earned her the nickname of “Miss Country Soul,” a title that’s still used today. Inductees are recognized for their significant contributions to preserving the musical heritage of Nashville and for contributing to the world through song or other industry collaboration. In addition to Ms. Seely, Brenda Lee, Ray Stevens and Ben Folds will also be inducted into the Walk of Fame. “I’m so thrilled, honored and blessed,” states Jeannie Seely! “ To be recognized for your contribution to the Country Music industry with your own star on the Walk of Fame Park is more than I could ever have dreamed” Jeannie Seely’s recordings have spanned six decades and she continues to entertain at full speed today. Seely is a host on SiriusXM “Willie’s Roadhouse,” where she shares personal memories and fun stories about the songs she spins. Jeannie was recognised for ranking #2 in Billboard’s Top TV Songs Chart in January 2018 for her composition, “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand),” written in 1964 and recorded by Irma Thomas. The familiar song has been featured consistently in numerous episodes of the Netflix science fiction anthology series, “Black Mirror.”  Acclaimed music artists Seal and Boyz II Men recorded their own versions in 2017, and the song is the trailer theme for the new “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.” She is a prolific songwriter who recently released “Written In Song,” a CD project with 14 tracks all co-written or self-penned by Seely. Many of the songs were recorded by Hall of Fame members. Jeannie earned a Grammy for her recording of “Don’t Touch Me” in 1967. A country music legend and trailblazer, Seely became the first female to regularly host segments of the weekly Opry shows and is credited for being the first to wear a mini-skirt on the Opry stage. She hosted a show on the Armed Forces Network, wrote a book and starred in several major stage productions.

CountryLine (www.countryline.tv) has launched the world’s first and only global digital fan club for country, Americana and roots music. Serving up a world class proposition of music, interviews, sessions and features, CountryLine has been designed to connect country artists and their fast-growing global community of fans more intimately than ever before. Available on web, iOS, Android, tvOS and Amazon Fire, CountryLine works as a digital membership club for country lovers and the ‘country curious’. Alongside an exclusive mix of premium video content, CountryLine will add further membership features in 2018 including gig guides, ticketing and rewards. CountryLine has partnered with Sir Elton John to celebrate the release of Restoration, the acclaimed album featuring thirteen country stars re-imagining the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, which was featured as BBC Radio 2’s Album of the Week. Nathalie Cox, CountryLine’s co-founder and creative director, sat down with Elton to talk exclusively about the album and its stars from Little Big Town and Chris Stapleton to Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. You can watch that here: Nathalie said, “At CountryLine we try and get behind the music, so it was truly special to hear first hand from Elton why he loves country music and what this record means to him. “As a fan, what drove me to create CountryLine was the same passion for the genre and desire to build a platform for up-and-coming artists alongside the world’s greats. “Elton is a legend, but what makes him truly special is that relentless and generous focus on new talent. Restoration is CountryLine’s favourite album of the year, and we couldn’t have dreamt of a better project to showcase for CountryLine’s launch.” Sir Elton John said: “I’m just delighted to support CountryLine – a wonderful innovation whose time has come. Restoration was a passion project for Bernie and me, and the artists on the record are simply amazing – the musicianship out of Nashville is the best. “The country music scene has never been healthier and it’s growing so fast in the UK with an exciting new audience. It’s about time the world had something like CountryLine and it’s so great that it’s come out of the UK.” CountryLine is now live in the UK and US with plans to roll out globally in 2019.