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Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award

Presented by Leadership Music at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel

August 23, 2009

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Garth Brooks, Jim Foglesong and Allen Reynolds have been selected as the 2009 recipients of the Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award, it was announced by the Board of Directors of Leadership Music. The three country music titans, whose legendary careers intertwined when Brooks was signed to Capitol Records with Foglesong at the helm, and Reynolds produced his groundbreaking albums, will be honored at a gala tribute banquet on Sunday, August 23, at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville.

Garth Brooks' music strikes a chord that touches the souls of his listeners. The RIAA certified him as the Number one selling solo artist in US history with more than 128 million records sold, and he is the only solo artist to earn six Diamond Awards (for six albums with sales in excess of 10 million each). Seven of his albums have debuted at No. 1 on the pop chart, a feat unmatched by any country artist. Signed to Capitol Records in 1988, the Oklahoma native has recorded songs that deal with everyday life in an extraordinary way: from songs about private talks with God and pleas for tolerance all around the world to classic honky-tonk to, of course, the song that touched the world, "The Dance." When Garth Brooks was named "the solo artist of the 20th Century" by the RIAA, he responded, "I am most proud that this honor rests under the flag of country music."

Jim Foglesong -- known as one of the true gentlemen of Nashville's music business -- left his mark on decades of country-music history as a label head that advanced careers of many important artists and mentored the following generation of industry decision-makers. He began his career in New York as a professional singer and learned the record business as an executive and producer for Columbia, Epic and RCA. He relocated to Nashville in 1970 to direct Dot Records, where he guided the recording careers of Roy Clark, Don Williams and Donna Fargo, among others, and became, in 1973, the first executive on Music Row to be given the title of president of a major record company. After ABC Records purchased Dot, "ABC/Dot Records" signed Barbara Mandrell, the Oak Ridge Boys, and Freddy Fender, and during his tenure at MCA Records, the label signed George Strait, Reba McEntire and Lee Greenwood. While he was president of Capitol Records/Nashville, the label renewed the career of Tanya Tucker and famously signed country music's all-time sales champion, Garth Brooks. A graduate of Leadership Music's 1989 inaugural class and a 2004 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Foglesong recently completed ten years as director of the music business program at Trevecca Nazarene University. He has been an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music since 1991.

Allen Reynolds has made an indelible impression on popular music through his multi-track career as a producer, songwriter, studio owner and music publisher. Renowned for his production work on virtually every Garth Brooks album, he also contributed to the lengthy hit streaks of Kathy Mattea, Don Williams, Crystal Gayle and Hal Ketchum. His songwriting credits boast such hits as "Five O'Clock World" (The Vogues, Hal Ketchum), "Ready for the Times to Get Better" and "Somebody Loves You" (Crystal Gayle), "I Recall a Gypsy Woman" and "We Should Be Together" (Don Williams), and "I Saw Linda Yesterday" (Dickey Lee). Prior to his recent retirement, he owned the legendary Jack's Tracks recording studio on Music Row (where artists including Brooks, Williams, Gayle, Mattea and Ketchum recorded), and was a partner in the award-winning publishing company Forerunner Music. Winner of four CMA and five ACM trophies, Reynolds was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000.

The Dale Franklin Leadership Award, named for the first executive director of Leadership Music, was created in 2004 “to recognize a music industry leader who exemplifies the highest quality of leadership and leading by example.” The Bradley Family joins previous Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award winners Tony Brown (2004), Gerry House (2005), Emmylou Harris (2006), and Frances W. Preston (2007).