NEWS
ANAHEIM, CA – Peavey announced the acquisition and relaunch of Composite
Acoustics at the NAMM show in January. The guitars are now being built
in a brand new, state-of-the-art facility in Meridian, Mississippi, that was
designed with the direct assistance of the original Composite Acoustics
design and development team.
PEAVEY ACQUIRES, RELAUNCHES
COMPOSITE ACOUSTICS
BY REBECCA DIRKS
Enter for Chance
to Meet Eric Clapton
BY REBECCA DIRKS
The Louvin Brothers’ music
was rooted in traditional country and gospel, but the duo
produced mainstream hits like
“When I Stop Dreaming,” and
“I Don’t Believe You Met My
Baby.” The Louvin Brothers
broke up in 1963 and Charlie
pursued a solo career while Ira
struggled with substance abuse
before dying in a car accident
in 1967.
Over more than 45 years of
solo work, Charlie Louvin never
turned his back on the traditional, Appalachian country,
and continued recording and
playing shows until his death.
His most recent album, The
Battles Rage On, is a collection
of war songs dating back to the
American Civil War that was
released on November 9, 2010.
Louvin was a member of the
Grand Ole Opry for more than
50 years and was inducted into
the Grand Ole Opry Hall of
Fame in 2001.
COACHELLA, CA – A new contest from Ernie Ball will give
15 guitarists the opportunity to
meet Eric Clapton in London.
The prize includes access to
Clapton’s private rehearsal and
an exclusive meet-and-greet
in advance of Clapton’s Royal
Albert Hall show. Airfare and
hotel accommodations as well
as tickets to the concert are also
included.
The grand prize is part of
Ernie Ball’s Experience Clapton
promotion, exclusive to Guitar
Center. Ernie Ball string packs
purchased at Guitar Center
between February 1 and April
30 will have unique codes
that serve as an entry when
entered on the Ernie Ball
website. In addition, Ernie
Ball will be including colored
picks that correspond to other
prizes in select string packages.
Additional prizes include:
•;Airfare;to;Anaheim,
California for the 2012
Winter NAMM Show
( 10 winners)
Country Singer and
Guitarist Charlie
Louvin Dies at 83
BY REBECCA DIRKS
Ernie Ball will select the 15
grand prize winners at random
from the codes submitted online.
“Eric Clapton has been playing Ernie Ball strings for nearly
50 years,” said Brian Ball of
Ernie Ball. “He is a true guitar
legend and a close friend of the
Ernie Ball family. We’re thrilled
that Ernie Ball and Eric are able
to provide our loyal customers
with an unparalleled opportunity to experience one of the
world’s great guitarists, Eric
Clapton, like never before.”
ernieball.com/ericclapton
WATRACE, TN – Country Music
Hall of Famer Charlie Louvin
lost his battle with pancreatic
cancer on January 26, 2011, at
age 83. Louvin was guitarist and
vocalist in the Louvin Brothers
with his older brother Ira from
the 1940s through 1960s.
Louvin also won a Grammy in
2004 for Best Country Album
for Livin’, Lovin’, Losin’: Songs of
the Louvin Brothers, a musical
tribute to the Louvin Brothers.
Charlie Daniels
Band Guitarist
Tommy Crain
Dies at 59
BY REBECCA DIRKS
FRANKLIN, TN – Tommy Crain,
former guitarist for the Charlie
Daniels Band, died on January
13, 2011, at age 59. Crain
played on 20 Charlie Daniels
Band albums and co-wrote
more than 60 CDB songs,
including hits “The Devil
Went Down to Georgia” and
“In America.”
Crain spent 15 years with
the band, beginning in 1975,
before leaving to help raise
his family. In recent years,
Crain had played with the
Crosstown Allstars.
Charlie Daniels paid tribute to Crain on his website
with a remembrance entitled,
“I Remember Tommy.” In it,
