Acuff-Rose Re-emerges as Name of Nashville's First Music Publishing Company.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Nov. 6, 1998--Nashville's first name in music publishing now is Nashville's newest name in music publishing.

Acuff-Rose, the company started in 1942 by Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff and songwriter Fred Rose, once again is the official business name for the publishing firm that has songs such as "Blue Bayou," "Cathy's Clown," "Tennessee Waltz" and "Jambalaya" in its catalog of more than 44,000 songs.

Since 1985, the company has been known as the Opryland Music Group, a name change that resulted from the sale of Acuff-Rose to Gaylord Entertainment Company predecessor Opryland USA Inc.

"Because of the songs of Hank Williams, Don Everly, Roy Orbison and others, Acuff-Rose for decades has been a publishing name known absolutely everywhere," said Acuff-Rose president Jerry Bradley.

"We do business around the world, and people's use of the Acuff-Rose name never really went away. The impact of history is substantial, and we understand that. That's why we've gone back to our original name. With our current stable of writers--which includes Dean Dillon, Skip Ewing, Aaron Tippin, Kenny Chesney and Michael W. Smith--Acuff-Rose continues to shine around the world," Bradley said.

Acuff-Rose has 19 country songwriters and eight contemporary Christian music songwriters. The country writers are Jimmy Wayne Barber, Kenny Beard, Casey Beathard, Buddy Brock, William Brown, Kenny Chesney, Dean Dillon, Skip Ewing, Jennifer Hanson, Ken Harrell, Adam Hughes, Donny Kees, Sarah Majors, Tommy Rocco, Don Sampson, Ray Scott, Whitey Shafer, Aaron Tippin, Scott Whitehead and Norro Wilson. The contemporary Christian music writers are Joe Beck, Jeff Borders, Keith Dudley, Trevor Morgan, Marie Reynolds, Jeff Silvey, Michael W. Smith and Geoff Thurman.

Among its singles recorded this year are "The Hole," performed by Randy Travis; "Matches," performed by Sammy Kershaw; "Too Good To Be True," performed by Michael Peterson; "A Chance," written and performed by Kenny Chesney; "I Wanna Fall in Love," performed by Lila McCann; and "If I Never Stop Loving You," performed by David Kersh.

Eighty Acuff-Rose songs have been certified as having been played at least one million times. Five of those songs have been played four million times, six have been performed three million times and 13 have been performed two million times.

The songs that have been played more than four million times are known on every continent: "Blue Bayou" (Roy Orbison and Joe Melson), "Crying" (Roy Orbison and Joe Melson), "I Can't Stop Loving You" (Don Gibson), "Oh, Pretty Woman" (Roy Orbison and Bill Dees) and "Release Me" (Eddie Miller, Dub Williams and Robert Yount).

"We are active in all areas of music publishing. Our current writers produce hit songs, and our catalog is a true treasure for singers and record producers, movies, and radio and TV commercials," Bradley said.

Acuff-Rose songs in recent movies include "Bread & Butter" in "Simon Birch"; "Cold Cold Heart" in "Deep Impact"; and "Tennessee Waltz" and "Limbo Rock" in "Primary Colors." Companies such as Ford, Arby's, Dr Pepper and DirecTV have Acuff-Rose in current commercials.

"One of the great aspects of this change back to Acuff-Rose is that it's almost as simple as changing our stationery," Bradley said. Our staff stays the same, our business location stays the same and our history and tradition continue to grow."

Acuff-Rose is a property of Gaylord Entertainment Company (NYSE symbol: GET), whose principal operations are in hospitality and attractions, broadcasting and music, and cable networks. Gaylord Entertainment's headquarters is in Nashville, Tenn.