Belmont University | FYI


February 27, 2009

BELMONT NEWS


Belmont Kennedys Share Musical Legacy, Wisdom
KennedyIV.jpgOn Wed., Feb. 25, the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business welcomed to the "Insider’s View" stage the talented Kennedy family. Led by father Jerry, an inaugural inductee in the Musician's Hall of Fame, the Kennedy men have all significantly impacted the music industry, and all three sons attended Belmont.

Jerry Kennedy spent more than three decades successfully playing guitar, producing records and working in A&R. He eventually became vice president of Mercury Records' Nashville division in 1968 before starting his own company. His career credits include working on projects with such diverse and luminary names as Bob Dylan, Elvis, Joan Baez, The Statler Brothers, Kris Kristofferson, Reba McEntire, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison. "Some of the most creative, talented people I worked with later in my career were people who graduated from here," he said. "Stay here until you get it done, and believe in what you're doing."

Eldest brother Gordon is an accomplished guitarist and songwriter with album cuts that include Eric Clapton’s “Change the World,” which won the Song of the Year Grammy in 1996. Gordon recounted how the song was first written in 1991 as a demo for a group he was in, but the deal fell through. Wynonna then had the song on hold, but her recording schedule was postponed. Five years after it was written the song finally struck Grammy gold with Clapton's performance. "You step back and say, 'God what do you have in mind here?'" Gordon noted. "Because God's plan is so much better than anything I could have dreamed up."

The younger Kennedy brothers also made their own marks on the music business. Bryan began his industry career plugging songs for his father, before writing several hits for Garth Brooks' records, including three No. 1 radio songs: "Good Ride Cowboy,” “Beaches of Cheyenne” and “American Honky Tonk Bar Association.” Youngest brother Shelby served as a key A&R man for Lyric Street Records, directing the likes of Aaron Tippin, Rascal Flatts and SheDaisy, and later represented Writer Relations at BMI. In addition to serving as an adjunct in the Curb College, Shelby now serves as Sr. VP/COO of Cherry Heart Music.

Belmont Marks Start of Lent with Ash Wednesday Service
AshWednesday.jpgOn Wednesday, Belmont marked the beginning of the 40-day season of Lent, a time of preparation for Holy Week and Easter, with an Ash Wednesday service in Neely Hall. Co-officiating at the service was the Most Reverend David R. Choby,
Bishop of Nashville. Bishop Choby was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the first native Nashvillian to head the diocese. He attended Father Ryan High School and Aquinas College before doing graduate studies at The Catholic University of America and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Belmont’s Spiritual Emphasis Week/Emerge speaker, Dr. Sherry Mortenson, also participated in the service. Mortenson is pastor of Spiritual Formation at Whittier Area Community Church, a 4,000 member Baptist congregation in California.

Also leading the service was Rev. Dr. Todd Lake, vice president for spiritual development at Belmont. He noted, “As a Christian university, we are strengthened by marking the seasons of the Christian calendar. In just the past few years we have initiated a campus-wide Advent Devotional, national PBS broadcast of 'Christmas at Belmont' and an Ash Wednesday service. It is thanks to our sisters and brothers in the liturgical churches that we add these practices to our rich Baptist heritage at Belmont.”

Several hundred Belmont students participated in the Ash Wednesday service, which was covered as a major feature in The Tennessean titled "Evangelicals rediscover Ash Wednesday rituals." Click here to read the story and view a video of the event.

Alumni Sing Hits for 'Belmont at the Bluebird'
Bluebird2.jpgTuesday marked the second annual “Belmont at the Bluebird” Homecoming event. Sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations and the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, the evening featured Belmont alumni Gordon Kennedy, Don Poythress, Larry Stewart and Ben Cooper performing in the round to a packed house.

Audience members heard renditions of Kennedy’s “Change the World,” notably recorded by Eric Clapton; “Bluest Eyes in Texas,” performed by Stewart, lead singer of Restless Heart who made the song famous; Poythress’s “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind,” a recent Kellie Pickler hit; and a heartfelt love song “Toujours Moi” written by Cooper and Kennedy and performed by Cooper.

Mayor Announces Proposal to Create Joint Information Center at Belmont
karl_dean_official_200w.jpgMayor Karl Dean and Belmont University President Bob Fisher announced this week a partnership agreement between the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Belmont University to help the city establish a Joint Information Center (JIC) in the event of a major disaster in Davidson County. The administration filed an ordinance on Friday requesting the Metro Council to approve the memorandum of understanding (MOU).

The MOU guarantees a site on the Belmont University campus for the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management to establish a Joint Information Center in the event that a major disaster strikes Davidson County, requiring a full activation of the Emergency Operations Center. The Joint Information Center becomes the primary location for local, state and federal government leaders to disseminate emergency information to the public through the news media. Click here for more on this story.


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