Music City Hit-Makers is a Symphony Pops Program featuring today’s hottest songwriters. Scored for symphony orchestra (with versatile instrumentation options) and a 6 piece band, this exciting musical event will not only introduce your current subscribers to the singer/songwriters responsible for the chart topping hits of today’s brightest stars, but will reach out to a new audience entirely!

Grammy Award-Winning songwriters Brett James and Hillary Lindsey are two of the most successful songwriters of the past decade and are among the elite of Nashville’s storied song writing tradition. In 2007, James and Lindsey, along with Canadian pop star *Gordie Sampson, won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song, “Jesus Take The Wheel,” recorded by American Idol mega-star Carrie Underwood. The song spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard Country chart, was Song of the Year at the 2006 ASCAP Awards and is the RIAA certified most downloaded digital single to date.

Visit www.musiccityhitmakers.com for more infomation.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert Photo Credit: Robyn Beck/Getty Image

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton have recorded a duet that will appear on Lambert’s upcoming album, Four the Record, due Nov. 1. “Better in the Long Run” was written by Ashley Monroe (of the Pistol Annies), Charles Kelley (ofLady Antebellum) and Gordie Sampson (“Jesus, Take the Wheel”). Lambert wrote or co-wrote six of the 14 tracks on the album. Other guests includeBrandi Carlile, who wrote and provided background vocals for “Same Old You.” Carlile also sang at Lambert and Shelton’s wedding. Lambert’s current single, “Baggage Claim,” features Josh Kelley on background vocals and Steve Winwood on Hammond B-3 organ. A limited edition deluxe version ofFour the Record, also due on Nov. 1, will offer a bonus song and a DVD featuring Lambert’s stories behind each song.

Source - CMT.com

Gordie Sampson isn’t exactly a household name. Except maybe in Carrie Underwood’s house.

The Nova Scotia native has co-written two No. 1 hits for the country-pop superstar, including her career-making, Grammy and Juno-winning single Jesus, Take the Wheel. That has opened doors for him down in his adopted home of Nashville. But it hasn’t made the ex-pat singer-songwriter a star in his home and native land. And he’s just fine with that.

“To be honest, that’s not even a battle I’ve attempted to fight,” the 35-year-old says down the line from Cape Breton. “A singing career is not something that I ever put a lot of energy into, so I don’t expect too much back. The vast majority of my energy is put into writing songs for other people. That’s what I do. That’s what I enjoy the most.”

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In a way, it’s unfortunate that Gordie Sampson’s solo work doesn’t garner the same attention that his song writing does. While you might tend to think that the two go hand-in-hand, his proper albums never seem to turn heads in the very same way that his songs have. Almost Beautiful, Sampson’s fourth solo record, sees him cover radio friendly pop with country undertones, proving he is indeed one of the finest songwriters to emerge from Atlantic Canada. Sounding whether at ease behind fun, upbeat tracks like Hurricane Jane or penning poignant ballads such as Tough Town and Fear of Flying, Sampson’s ability to deliver a world-class record versus an “East Coast” sounding one is truly remarkable. Now if only he can get some light shed on these terrific little records he is making, all will be right in the world.

Read this article at http://musicnerd.ca/ Gordie Sampson – Almost Beautiful (Turtlemusik).