Month: April 2023

As reported April 2, 2023, Seymour Stein, Sire Records co-founder who signed Madonna, The Ramones & other legendary artists, died at age 80. Stein began his storied career in the music industry as a teenager at Billboard, where, as an intern after school, he contributed to the founding of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The following interview was conducted and originally published in 2015.

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“I look at my schooling as, in part, my early years at Billboard.”

That’s how Sire Records co-founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame enshrinee Seymour Stein, who in January 2021 oversaw the relaunch of the Blue Horizon label in partnership with Fat Possum, recalled his industry education.

That upbringing included the unveiling of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the magazine’s Aug. 4, 1958, issue. At the time, Stein was a high school student eager to learn, and help shape, the music business, soaking up information firsthand from inside Billboard’s offices.

The Hot 100’s hot shot debut wasn’t front-page news, but it did make page two, in an editorial succinctly headlined “The Billboard Hot 100”: “On pages 36 and 37 of this issue, we are proud to present The Billboard Hot 100, the fastest, most complete and most sensitive index to the popularity of recorded music in America. This new chart feature, which each week will list the 100 most popular recorded sides, is a guide to potential, as well as the current hits.”

When the ranking premiered, ruled by Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool,” it encompassed “such factors as [radio] disc jockey plays, jukebox activity and record sales.” Today, airplay is still among the Hot 100’s data mix, with downloads continuing the form of record sales. Streaming is essentially a modern-era, digital jukebox, with clicks of a mouse having replaced the clicks of a mechanical arm selecting and dropping a 45 perfectly into place.

At the heart of the Hot 100’s launch was then-head of charts Tom Noonan, along with music-radio-TV editor Paul Ackerman and Stein. “Tom and Paul were great mentors to me,” says Stein. “It was such an honor when Tom asked me to help start the Hot 100.”

Similar to today, as Billboard wrote in its story unwrapping the first Hot 100, “Data is obtained and tabulated right up to deadline time” (with Luminate data figures having fueled the chart since 1991, and multiple streaming sources having joined in recent years). “Weighted factors in the carefully-designed formula result [in] the fastest and most complete guide to the national popularity of records.”

While the Hot 100 marks over six decades as the chronicle of American hits, Stein’s legacy has likewise become legendary. Sire’s first signee? Steven Tallarico. Then in a band called Chain Reaction, he’d change his name to Steven Tyler as frontman for Aerosmith. In 1975, Sire signed the Ramones and Talking Heads. The Pretenders followed in 1980 and Madonna in 1982. (“I realized, ‘This woman is smarter than all of us. Just get out of her way,’” Stein said of Madonna in 2012.) Other acts Sire signed in that formative era: Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Smiths and Ice-T.

In 2005, Stein was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in its lifetime-achievement category. In 2012, he was honored as Billboard’s first Icon Award recipient, presented to him at the annual MIDEM industry gathering in Cannes, France.

Here, in Stein’s words (from an interview first published in 2015), is his recollection of how the Hot 100 originated, how it helped speed up the measurement of hits, thanks to the inclusion of radio airplay data, and the story of how the chart’s name was (possibly) chosen.

On the need for a then-new chart: “Back in the day, before the Hot 100, there were many different charts in Billboard reflecting the success of singles in the marketplace [including] Best-Selling Pop Singles in Stores, Jukebox Favorites, Most-Heard on the Radio and Sheet Music.

“Then, there was an overall chart which was called the Honor Roll of Hits. This was a [composition, not singles] chart, because back in those days, there were multiple versions of just about every song. Sometimes three or four or more were successful, like in the case of ‘Unchained Melody.’ To show the strength of the song, the Honor Roll of Hits would list the points of all versions to obtain a position.

“Back then, jukebox sales were enormous. If a hot artist, like Perry Como, Patti Page or Nat ‘King’ Cole, with a successful track record put out a new single, record stores knew how to order based on their recent sales. But, in the case of new artists, and there were a lot of them in those early days of rock & roll, stores had no way of being guided. More urgently, jukebox operators needed to know quickly to get these new records into their machines.

“It was the jukeboxes, in particular, that first instigated the need for a faster way of making the charts. Fortunately, this was around the same time as the dawn of top 40 radio, and the Hot 100 used radio playlists from across the country weighted by the size of the market to help compile this new chart.

“It wasn’t entirely error-free or 100 percent accurate; remember, this was [1958]. I was just 16, working at Billboard after school. From the time I was 9 years old, I knew I wanted to be in the music business.”

On Billboard’s editorial impact: “As important as the charts were, the Billboard review sessions that picked spotlight winners of the week were even more important. If a record was accorded a spotlight review, it could stir the sales upwards of 75,000 copies by jukebox operators alone in the first week. Before the Hot 100, the charts were so slow, the jukebox operators couldn’t wait for these records to prove themselves and had to go by the reviews in Billboard.

“Paul Ackerman invited me to attend these music review sessions on Wednesday nights and even provided me with a due-bill to stay at one of the hotels close to the Billboard offices and that way I could get up and take the subway to Lafayette High School in Brooklyn. It was at these sessions that I met people like Syd Nathan of King Records, Leonard Chess, George Goldner, Lew Chudd of Imperial, Herman Lubinksy of Savoy, Don Pierce of Starday and publishers like Freddy Bienstock and Al Gallico, to name a few.”

As for the name Hot 100? “I can only imagine that what the industry was looking for was a hotter, quicker way of getting chart information. Tom [Noonan] could have come up with the name. I certainly did not. It might have been one of the reporters, or Paul Ackerman. I just don’t remember. Then we added star performers to show quick movement upward, aka, bullets.

“Reaction was, of course, positive from every corner of the music business. These were still the early days of rock & roll. Mitch Miller and Hugo Winterhalter were still the heads of A&R of Columbia and RCA Victor, the two leading majors, and rooting for rock & roll not to happen. Milt Gabler over at Decca was the first of the majors to embrace rock & roll and it was Steve Sholes at RCA who arranged to buy Elvis Presley’s contract from Sun; but not without first taking the advice of Paul Ackerman.

“Record stores certainly reacted favorably and radio stations, too.

“Through the success of the chart, more execs were drawn up to the Billboard offices, often with their artists in tow, whether it was for a story or just to say thanks for acknowledging their No. 1 position.”

Following the passing of Southern rock star Gary Rossington in March, the 2023 CMT Music Awards decided to pay tribute to the late superstar and his impact with Lynyrd Skynyrd on Sunday night (April 2).

Taking to the stage for the evening’s final performance, country singers Cody Johnson, Wynonna Judd and LeAnn Rimes were joined by Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers and former Allman Brothers Band members Chuck Leavell and Warren Haynes for a tribute to the late guitarist, performing the band’s iconic tracks “Simple Man” and “Sweet Home Alabama.”

The star-studded group of performers was introduced by British rock star Peter Frampton, who lauded Rossington as a “Southern rock icon,” saying the star “helped define a band’s sound, and he inspired millions of fans and musicians” before joining his fellow bandmates “in rock n’ roll heaven.”

For their performance, the superstar group turned the stage into a Southern swamp of talent, backed by images of murky waters and reeds, as the musicians grooved their way through “Simple Man,” with Johnson and Rodgers trading verses back and forth. Once they finished out the classic track, the supergroup launched into a rollicking performance of “Sweet Home Alabama,” bringing the cheering crowd to its feet for a big finish to the annual ceremony.

Johnson, Judd, Rimes and company were far from the only performers to take to the CMT stage on Sunday. Stars including Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Jelly Roll and Carrie Underwood all performed at the awards show, while Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown hosted the telecast and delivered sets of their own.

Carrie Underwood delivered her highly anticipated CMT Music Awards performance on Sunday night (April 2) when she unleashed her Denim & Rhinestones hit “Hate My Heart” onstage in front of the capitol building in Austin.

Fittingly dressed in a Queen of Hearts-inspired blazer, corset and shorts — and holding a heart-encrusted microphone — the country superstar delivered the track as fireworks blasted off behind her. “Hate My Heart” was up for video of the year at this year’s ceremony, though it ultimately lost to Kane and Katelyn Brown’s “Thank God.”

Underwood’s “Ghost Story” was also nominated for female video of the year.

The singer is no stranger to the CMT Music Awards, as she’s taken home 25 total trophies throughout her career. She also has the most video of the year wins and female video of the year wins of any artist.

“I wanted to have fun from the get-go,” the 40-year-old star previously told Billboard of Denim & Rhinestones, which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart. “That was definitely mission No. 1. With some other albums, it took me writing for a while before I figured out where the album’s gonna go. It’s got a lot of vintage sparkle. It’s not solidly throwback, but we have a couple of songs that are a little more ’70s feel and some that are in the ’80s pop world and some ’90s rock stuff, and obviously country. But we wanted to have music that was fun and felt good.”

Honoring ten years of CMT’s “Next Women of Country” series, a quintet of female singer-songwriters delivered Alanis Morissette‘s star-making 1995 post-breakup anthem “You Oughta Know” at the 2023 CMT Music Awards. Morissette was joined by previous honorees Lainey Wilson, Ingrid Andress, Madeline Edwards and Morgan Wade for the performance.

Wearing a sequined shirt over a white tee, Alanis led the All-Star vocal group in a performance of the incendiary Jagged Little Pill classic — with, appropriately enough, an actual blaze going on behind them. The performance was a mostly faithful rendition, albeit with some more complex harmonies added to the chorus, befitting the vocal talents of the singers assembled, and Alanis still stole the show with her piercing “ohhhhhh“s on the song’s wordless bridge.

The performance was the second ’90s alt-rock crossover event of the evening, following Gwen Stefani and Carly Pearce teaming up for a run through “Just a Girl,” originally by the former’s best-selling band No Doubt. Lainey Wilson had previous taken the stage for her ballad “Heart Like a Truck,” and also picked up a pair of awards earlier in the evening: female video of the year (for “Heart Like a Truck”) and collaborative video of the year (for “Wait in the Truck,” along with HARDY).

“You Oughta Know” served as Morissette’s breakout hit in 1995, as the first single pulled from her Jagged Little Pill album, and made her a phenomenon with its furious (and much-debated) lyrics and impassioned delivery. Jagged Little Pill would ultimately go on to be certified diamond by the RIAA, and ranks at No. 7 on Billboard‘s Greatest of All-Time Billboard 200 chart.

The fan-voted CMT Music Awards have come and gone for 2023! This year, the event was held at Austin’s Moody Center, and aired live on CBS, while streaming live on Paramount+ on Sunday, April 2.

Lainey Wilson led in nominations with four, while Kane Brown, Jelly Roll and Cody Johnson are right behind her with three. (Jelly Roll was victorious in all of his categories.) In the days heading into the ceremony, Shania Twain was announced as the recipient of the CMT Equal Pay Award, which celebrates artists who are advocates for “elevating diverse and underrepresented voices in country music,” according to the CMTs. She is the third artist to receive the honor, whose previous winners were Jennifer Nettles and Linda Martell.

Brown and Kelsea Ballerini co-hosted the event, which featured performances from Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and many more. Presenters included Megan Thee Stallion, HARDY, Noah Schnapp, Travis Kelce and others.

See the full list of 2023 CMT Music Awards winners below:

Video of the year

Carrie Underwood – “Hate My Heart”
HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson – “wait in the truck”
WINNER: Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown – “Thank God”

Female video of the year

Carly Pearce – “What He Didn’t Do”
Carrie Underwood – “Ghost Story”
Gabby Barrett – “Pick Me Up”
Kelsea Ballerini – “Heartfirst”
WINNER: Lainey Wilson – “Heart Like A Truck”
Maren Morris – “Humble Quest”
Miranda Lambert – “Actin’ Up”

Male video of the year

Bailey Zimmerman – “Rock and A Hard Place”
Cody Johnson – “Human”
Cole Swindell – “She Had Me At Heads Carolina”
WINNER: Jelly Roll – “Son Of A Sinner”
Kane Brown – “Like I Love Country Music”
Luke Combs – “The Kind Of Love We Make”
Morgan Wallen – “Wasted On You”

Group/duo video of the year

Dan + Shay – “You (Performance Video)”
Lady A – “Summer State Of Mind”
Little Big Town – “Hell Yeah”
Parmalee – “Take My Name”
The War And Treaty – “That’s How Love Is Made”
WINNER: Zac Brown Band – “Out In The Middle”

Breakthrough female video of the year

Avery Anna – “Narcissist”
Kylie Morgan – “If He Wanted To He Would”
MacKenzie Porter – “Pickup”
WINNER: Megan Moroney – “Tennessee Orange”
Morgan Wade – “Wilder Days”
Tiera Kennedy – “Found It In You”

Breakthrough male video of the year

Bailey Zimmerman – “Fall In Love”
Corey Kent – “Wild as Her”
Drake Milligan – “Sounds Like Something I’d Do”
Jackson Dean – “Don’t Come Lookin’”
WINNER: Jelly Roll – “Son Of A Sinner”
Nate Smith – “Whiskey On You”

Collaborative video of the year

Elle King feat. Dierks Bentley – “Worth A Shot”
WINNER: HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson – “wait in the truck”
Ingrid Andress with Sam Hunt – “Wishful Drinking”
Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown – “Thank God”
Midland feat. Jon Pardi – “Longneck Way To Go”
Russell Dickerson feat. Jake Scott – “She Likes It”
Thomas Rhett & Katy Perry – “Where We Started”

CMT performance of the year

Black Pumas & Mickey Guyton – “Colors” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Chris Stapleton – “Whenever You Come Around” (from CMT Giants: Vince Gill)
WINNER: Cody Johnson – “‘Til You Can’t” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Cole Swindell & Lainey Wilson – “Never Say Never” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Darius Rucker – “Let Her Cry” (from CMT Storytellers)
Emmy Russell & Lukas Nelson – “Lay Me Down” (from Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of the Life & Music of Loretta Lynn)
Keith Urban – “Wild Hearts” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
LeAnn Rimes with Ashley McBryde & Carly Pearce – “One Way Ticket” (from CMT Crossroads: LeAnn Rimes & Friends)
The Judds – “Love Can Build A Bridge” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Wynonna Judd & Brandi Carlile – “The Rose” (from Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration)

CMT digital-first performance of the year

Charley Crockett – “Time of the Cottonwood Trees“ (from CMT Campfire Sessions)
Chris Young – “Gettin’ You Home” (from CMT Stages)
Ingrid Andress – “Wishful Drinking” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
WINNER: Jelly Roll – “Son of A Sinner” (from CMT All Access)
Megan Moroney – “Tennessee Orange” (from CMT Viral To Verified)
Scotty McCreery – “Damn Strait” (from CMT Campfire Sessions)

CMT equal play

WINNER: Shania Twain