CMT News

Songwriters, singers, musicians and other members of the entertainment trade packed the main room at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville Monday (Jan. 12) to hail the release of the historical concept album This Is My America. "All this was done by a talent pool of some of the best in the world," said Douglas Hutton, the project's executive producer. A Canadian who made his first visit to Nashville in 1964, Hutton spoke of his great fondness for the U. S. and its people. The three-disc set contains 38 songs specifically commissioned for the work from 56 songwriters. Among the singers and songwriters on hand for the party were Billy Dean, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Matt King, Tim Ryan, Rory Bourke, Wood Newton and Jon Vezner. Hutton said he launched the project in January 2008 with a visit to the offices of the Nashville Songwriters Association International to recruit composers. Artists featured on This Is My America include Dolly Parton, Kathy Mattea, Charley Pride, Billy Burnette, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. "In Nashville, everybody's ready to share," Hutton said. "There's no selfishness."