CMT News

Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Crystal Gayle, John Prine and Rodney Crowell are among those featured on Unsung Hero: A Tribute to the Music of Ron Davies. Singer, songwriter and record producer Gail Davies supervised the 22-track compilation as a tribute to her brother who died in 2003 at age 57. Ron Davies recorded two albums for A&M Records in the early '70, but he was best known as a prolific composer whose songs were cut by Joe Cocker, Dave Edmunds, Joan Baez, Dobie Gray, Anne Murray, Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs and Gill, among many others. His most famous compositions are "It Ain't Easy" (recorded by Three Dog Night and David Bowie), "Long Hard Climb" (Helen Reddy, Maria Muldaur), "The Man He Used to Be" (Jerry Jeff Walker) and "Dark-Eyed Gal" (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). Others featured on Unsung Hero include Bonnie Bramlett, John Anderson, Shelby Lynne, Delbert McClinton, Jim Lauderdale, Mandy Barnett, Suzy Bogguss, Guy Clark, Robbie Fulks, Jeff Hanna, Matraca Berg, Jonell Mosser, Jimmy Hall, Kevin Welch, Kelly Hogan and BR-549. One song on the album is a duet by Ron and Gail. All proceeds from the album will be donated to Nashville's W. O. Smith Music School. It will be released on March 25.