European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse By Elisabeth Dunham associated press Odney Crowell May to this year s newcomer to mainstream country music but behind the Success of his diamonds & dirt album is a solid career that s touched nearly every facet of the music Industry Crowell s older tans his cult As he puts it kept his wide ranging talents a secret until recently. He s written hits Lor big name artists he produced the Brilliant King s record shop up for his wife Rosanne Cash and he helped make a legend out of Emmylou Harris As a member of her hot band in the 1970s but 1989 was his year. Diamonds & dirt Crowell s fifth album has produced four no 1 singles on to country charts the Lisl time Lour lop singles have been written produced and performed by the same artist the album also earned him three grammy awards and the Academy of country music named him its top new male vocalist it was an Honor the 38-year-old performer might have scoffed at had he not won it s funny How you can justify either Side of the Crowell said ii you Don t win. You say i m an artist awards Don t mean anything then suddenly you win. And the hypocrite comes out and says hey. This is not bad " last month Warner records released the Rodney Crowell collection his Lisl greatest hits album. Crowell s new up Lor lbs records is due in october. He recently talked about his new popularity and his arrival alter years in the background not Long ago Crowell watched his wife s career take Oil while his own talents were lucked away in the production Booth i got sidetracked in the role of producer a few years Back and i got involved to the Point where i could t give any attention to Singer Rodney Crowell has released is fifth album diamonds & Rodney Crowell not just or. Roseanne Cash my own personal desires he said. And while doing that Rosanne was having a great Deal of Success. It was really Lough. The Bottom line was that she was doing better than Crowell does t like to hear labels pinned on his music though he acknowledges that country music radio is his window to the his disdain for categories started when he was a child in Austin Texas he said. The 60s was a Good time musically because i would go to the store and buy a beatles record a Merle Haggard record a Buck Owens record and a Flatt and Scruggs record All on the same rack. They did t separate them i d buy them at the grocery store. That s Why i bristle when somebody pegs it All Down because i would easily go from country to something classical Ravel to the rolling stones. Music is something to be appreciated for How it feels How it Speaks to your heart not your Crowell hooked up with Emmylou Harris in 1974, alter she recorded some of his songs and sent out word she wanted to meet the Young songwriter. He visited her at her Home in the Washington d.c., area and later followed her to los Angeles. She came through Austin where i was hanging out at the time handed me an airline ticket and said c Mon move to la and i said ok.1" before Long Crowell was lagged the next Gram Parsons a reference to the Man considered one of the founders of country Rock Parsons who discovered Harris and later recorded with her died in 1972 of a heroin overdose. I did l know Gram Parsons Crowell said. I suppose that comparison is Only natural Given the tact that Emmylou was his Collaborator then he died and i became her the hot band proved a Strong foundation Lor Crowell s first album in 1978, Ain l Livin Long like this which featured by Cooder or John Ricky Skaggs and James Burton. Like the albums that followed it received Strong critical acclaim but had Little commercial Success. At the Lime Cash was an aspiring actress also living in los Angeles. But the two met by Chance in Nashville ten where they both happened to be visiting i found out she lived in la. We became friends and that turned into a Romance Crowell said when she left acting for a singing career Cash asked Crowell to produce her first album. He has since produced Allol Cash s albums in the past Lew years the couple have weathered Well publicized drug and marital problems. They now live in Nashville with their four children and the hard times and jealousy seem to be things of the past. Ii anything Cash s Success seems to be More of an inspiration than a threat to Crowell. That s one thing about Rosanne she s a real seeker of any kind of growth emotional artistic intellectual. She is very creative and is not mtg changes face by John Horn associated press he 1980s burned through a lot of fads but mtg music television has refused to join the Trendsetter trash Heap. Growing stagnant mtg and its music video format have been revamped from lop to Bottom and have emerged on its eighth anniversary As one of television s More robust and diverse enterprises. In the Wake of a two year overhaul spread across mtg and its two affiliated channels vh-1 and Nickelodeon Nick at Nile mtg networks now features a mix of game shows children s programs newscasts dance shows sitcom reruns and rap music. Mtg s archly irreverent Remote con re quiz show has become so popular that it s now a hit in the to syndication Market. Nickelodeon jammed with offbeat children s shows will deliver 2,343 episodes this year an increase of More than 300 percent since 1986. After losing about $50 million in its first two years mtg networks now has a combined subscriber base of 125 million viewers mtg says and a growing following overseas. Earnings for the three channels through the second Quarter of this year were up 21 percent from a year ago to $17.9 million. All the same mtg s evolution has been Clumsy at times and the future is dotted with challenges. Even after a redesign soft Rock vh-1 still attracts meager ratings. And Nick at Nile has yet to become More than a rest Home for old sitcoms. In the coming months both mtg and Home Box office will introduce All comedy Cable channels. We think a comedy Channel is a real logical next step or us said Tom Freston mtg network s president and chief executive officer. With Hai As mtg s comedy Channel will be called mtg will be chasing the Competition. I think that what we re doing is unique and innovative and what they re doing is already available on other Cable channels said Beahrs president of Hob s comedy Channel the comedy Channel which debuts in november will be composed of Brief comedy sketches culled from movies and nightclub performances complemented by occasional feature length films and sitcoms. A using longer form program packages premieres april 1. Mtg s other channels continue to be reworked. Vh-1, now 4 years old faces perhaps the most difficult Battle. Freston labels vh-1 a work in a few Cable operators have called it something else unnecessary. Vh-1 s problem is that it is still seen As the dry for mtg flotsam. It was a repository for everything mtg did t want to play Freston said. And it still has a Way to vh-1 these Days offers an Eclectic musical blend of artists such As Enya Fine Young cannibals 10,000 maniacs and Edie Brickell & the new bohemians. Gone for Good vh-1 promises Are Julio Iglesias and Neil Diamond. The Channel also has added lifestyle reports entertainment news nostalgia programming such As my Genera i on and the sunday jazz show new visions. A new comedy program will join the vh-1 lineup this fall. John Reardon the new president of mtg. Echoed the theme of diversifying Asho explained the burst of packaged shows now arriving on mtg s schedule clearly we be been trying to keep the viewer interested so mtg s videos from acts such As Bon Jovi Madonna and Prince Are being supplemented by the dance program club mtg the rap show to mtg raps Only Python s flying circus regular news broadcasts occasional concerts and a variety of other original programs including Remote control. Among other projects discussed for mtg s future Are a daily soap opera at least two movies and a music rating show. Originally a property of Warner amex Nickelodeon is mtg s oldest property at age 10. Its Gross and Billings have grown from $31.8 million in 1988 to an estimated $48.2 million this year according to Paul Kagan and associates. The children s service which switches to the sitcom heavy Nick at Nile at 8 . In most time zones offers whimsical programming such As the Messy game show double dare the Legal Send up kids court and the talk show Don t just sit there among the now shows being added to the network s schedule Are Eureka s Castle an ambitious daily series for preschoolers and hey dude a weekly situation comedy set at a dude ranch. A children s cooking show a daily news program and a soap opera also Are being planned. And then there s Nick at Nile. Although Nick at Nile s been around since 1985, its first original program a spoof review show called on the television was just announced this july. Other than that Nick at Nile consists of reruns of such ancient sitcoms As or. De my three sons and laugh in the stars and stripes Page 17
