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Jubilee
label, Acts Sweep Wrangler Awards
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BY DEBORAH EVANS PRICE NASHVILLE In an unprecedented sweep, Colorado Springs, Colo.based Western Jubilee Recording Company will be picking up the Wrangler Award trophies in all the music categories at the 40th Western Heritage Awards. The company will also be the recipient of the first-ever Wrangler Award presented to a western record label. "It is such a cool deal," says Scott O'Malley, a partner at Western Jubilee along with Dane Scott, Kathie O'Malley, and Kathleen Fox Collins. "I planned on us being there at some point, but I thought it would be longer than four years. I'm totally honored." Presented by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (formerly the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center), the ceremony is slated for Saturday (21) in Oklahoma City. Award winners are announced in advance. The MCs for the 2001 event are David, Keith, and Robert Carradine. Sons of the San Joaquin are serving as musical hosts. Joni Harms, Wylie Gustafson, and Brad Johnson are among the presenters. The Western Heritage Awards' Wrangler trophies are bronze replicas of a Charles M. Russell sculpture of a cowboy astride a horse. Awards are presented in 15 categories recognizing contributions to western heritage in the fields of music, TV, film, and literature. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is also among those to be inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners. Western Jubilee artists and producers will collect awards in the outstanding original composition and outstanding traditional western album categories. Sons of the San Joaquin, comprising brothers Jack, Joe, and Lon Hannah, will receive the outstanding original composition honor for "Charlie and the Boys," marking their second consecutive win in this category. (Last year, "He Just Can't Be Seen From the Road" took the prize.) Penned by Jack Hannah, "Charlie and the Boys" tells the story of a cowboy's first trail drive with legendary cattleman Charles Goodnight. From the album Sing One for the Cowboy, |
the song was produced by O'Malley and Rich O'Brien. Don Edwards and Waddie Mitchell's Prairie Portrait was named outstanding traditional western album. The project features cowboy crooner Edwards and poet/humorist Mitchell teaming with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. The acts share the Wrangler with producers O'Brien and Collins.EDWARDS An accomplished musician and pro ducer, O'Brien has either played on or produced five previous Wrangler-win ning albums. Formerly artistic admin istrator of the Colorado Springs Sym phony Orchestra, Collins is currently president of the Opera Theater of the Rockies, in addition to being a partner in Western Jubilee. This is the third Wrangler Award for Edwards, who calls the honor the "cowboy Grammy." "When I got one, I just thought it was the greatest thing that ever happened," says Edwards, who recently made his Grand Ole Opry debut. "I never knew I'd get up to three." Edwards expresses surprise that Prairie Portrait won. "It's a little bit different from the norm. A lot of people think you wouldn't have a symphony around a campfire, but, after all, they are playing traditional acoustic music. It just hap pens to be that there's 75 of them," he says with a laugh. "It's another dimension of the music, and I'm glad they recognize it as such." O'Malley says the fact that the label, its three flagship actsEdwards, Mitchell, and Sons of the San Joaquin-and the outfit's partners and producers are all being lauded on the same night will make for a special evening. "What's cool about it is none of us sat down and dreamed about having a record company. We'd done artist representation, management, booking, publishing, and all that goes with it all these years," he says, | referring to Scott O'Malley & Associates, a booking agency and management company. "The only reason it made sense to do Western Jubilee is because of Don, Waddie, and the Sons," he adds. "I'm biased, but I feel like they are the cream of this whole western deal. When they were trying to figure out a new home, that's what spawned this concept of doing this real artist-friendly company." Since the demise of Warner Bros.' Warner Western label, Western Jubilee has provided a new home for western music's cream of the crop. Partners O'Malley and Scott attribute the label's success to its talented roster. "We've got to give credit where it's due-Don's 40 years' singing at the White Elephant [in Fort Worth, Texas] and other places to get to this overnight recognition," O'Malley says of Edwards, who gained national attention with his performance in Robert Redford's film The Horse Whisperer. "Waddie has 25 years of cowboying and 15 years of professional reciting. There's just this accumulation." Dane Scott says the label and its roster have also been buoyed by the booking agency. "You can't discount the effect of Scott [O'Malley] and our sister company, the agency," he says. "His hard work on tours and booking keeps the artists out there playing. That makes all the difference in the world-the fact that they are touring. Everybody's itineraries are pretty strong, and we're finding new places." In addition to Edwards, Mitchell, and the Sons, the Western Jubilee roster includes O'Brien, Cowboy Celtic, and Katy Moffatt, whose label debut bows this fall. "Finally we've got something so we don't look so chauvinistic," O'Malley says with a laugh, referring to Moffatt's status as the first female addition to the roster. "We do like women out here in the West." Scott and O'Malley are happy to see their outfit expanding. "We're growing at such a nice clip. It looks like we're here to stay, and I'm real happy about that," says Scott. "There is indeed an audience out there for us. We've always thought there was, and they are reacting to what we're doing. They're liking the music we're putting out." |