Nashville, TN – February 12, 2019 — Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated songwriter Desmond Child, The Last Songwriter and Real Country featured artist Jamie Floyd and four-week #1 smash “Speechless” co-writer Laura Veltz will take the stage at Nashville’s City Winery on March 26, 2019 to perform the very first and the very worst songs they ever wrote, in addition to their biggest hits, all in support of Music Health Alliance. “The First And The Worst,” now in its fifth year, is a one-of-a-kind event only Nashville can deliver as our greatest talents come together to showcase their silliest and most shameful songs, all while competing for the audience-voted “Crappy” trophy.
Desmond Child, whose credits appear on more than eighty Billboard Top 40 singles spanning five decades (“Livin’ On A Prayer,” “Dude Looks Like A Lady,” “Livin’ La Vida Loca”), Grammy-nominated songwriter Jamie Floyd (“The Blade,” “Yet To Come,” ) and Laura Veltz (“Speechless,” “Rich,” “Lonely Eyes”), whose #1 songwriting credits include Dan + Shay, Maren Morris, Eli Young Band and Chris Young, will headline 2019’s “The First And The Worst.” Concepted by Grammy-nominated songwriter Sandy Knox (“Does He Love You,” “Why Haven’t I Heard From You”) and hosted by Grammy nominated producer/songwriter/music critic, Peter Cooper, this unique event allows the audience to peek inside the brilliant minds of hit songwriters long before they had ever written a chart-topper or had songs recorded by superstar artists, all for a worthy cause. Additional performers for 2019’s fifth annual event will be revealed in the coming weeks.
“The First & Worst has become a cornerstone of the foundation of Music Health Alliance,” said Music Health Alliance Founder & CEO Tatum Allsep. “In the last 5 years, this event has raised over $500,000 for our programs and services enabling access to life-saving healthcare for the music industry in their most vulnerable time of need.”
Proceeds from “The First And The Worst” benefit Music Health Alliance, the music industry’s non-profit healthcare advocate which provides free support to songwriters, artists, musicians and music industry professionals at every stage of their career to find affordable healthcare solutions and financial resources. Individual tickets are on sale now, priced at $75 for balcony seats at https://citywinery.com/nashville/firstandtheworst032619.html. Sponsor tables start at $250 and can be purchased by contacting Music Health Alliance’s Shelia Shipley Biddy at shelia@musichealthalliance.com. Funds raised will help Music Health Alliance Protect, Direct & Connect music industry professionals with medical and financial solutions.
About Music Health Alliance: As advocates, Music Health Alliance fights so those in our industry never have to feel alone in a health crisis. The eight-person team at Music Health Alliance remove obstacles so patients can receive lifesaving care. Thanks to the direct efforts of Music Health Alliance, more than 9,700 members of the music community across 38 states and all genres of music have gained access to lifesaving heart, lung, kidney and liver transplants, medications to treat Parkinson’s, end of life care and many other crucial services. Since 2013, Music Health Alliance has saved over $40 Million dollars in healthcare costs including insurance premium savings, medical bill reductions and discounted medications. Its services are free to any person who has worked in the music industry for two or more years, or who has credited contributions to 4 commercially released recordings or videos. Spouses, partners, and children of qualifying individuals may also receive access to the non-profit’s services from birth to end of life. Learn more at MusicHealthAlliance.com. The non-profit’s FREE services, advocacy, education and preventative care initiatives are provided thanks to generous individual and corporate donors. Donations can be made at musichealthalliance.com. Members of the music community can contact Music Health Alliance at 615-200-6896 or info@musichealthalliance.com to learn more about their free services.
About Desmond Child: Grammy winning and Emmy nominated songwriter-producer Desmond Child is one of music’s most accomplished hitmakers. He is also a film and television producer, recording artist, performer, author and motivational speaker. His credits appear on more than eighty Billboard Top 40 singles spanning five decades, including “Livin’ On A Prayer,” “You Give Love A Bad Name,” “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” “Dude Looks Like A Lady,” “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” “Waking Up In Vegas.” and many more. From Aerosmith to Zedd, his genre-defying collaborations include Bon Jovi, KISS, Cher, Joan Jett, Michael Bolton, Cyndi Lauper, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Meat Loaf, Christina Aguilera, Sia, Mickey Mouse and Kermit the Frog, selling over 500 million records worldwide with downloads, YouTube views and streaming plays in the billions. Desmond Child was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and serves on its Board of Directors as well as the Board of ASCAP. In 2018, he received ASCAP’s prestigious Founders Award celebrating 40 years as a proud member of ASCAP. He also co-founded the Latin Songwriters Hall Of Fame (LatinSongHall.org) where he serves as Chairman Emeritus. Child has recently completed his upcoming autobiography LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER: BIG SONGS BIG LIFE with David Ritz. He also wrote and co-produced “LADY LIBERTY” on Barbra Streisand’s new album “WALLS.”
About Jamie Floyd: Jamie has written songs for film, television and recognized artists reaching audiences all over the world. She has written songs recorded by Ronnie Dunn, Ashley Monroe, Miranda Lambert, Hayden Panettiere, Kellie Picker, Lucie Silvas and Brian McKnight, among others. Her critically acclaimed EP Sunshine & Rainbows features “The Blade,” a song that was also recorded by Ashley Monroe and Miranda Lambert. Their version of the song earned Floyd her first Grammy nomination. “The Blade” was also named one of “The Best Songs of 2015” by The New York Times, Billboard Magazine and NPR. Jamie also performed the song during her network television debut as a finalist on USA Network’s first season of Real Country, and her rendition was met with a standing ovation by Shania Twain! Most recently, Floyd, along with John Martin, appeared in, co-wrote and recorded the entire 12-song official major motion picture soundtrack for Burt Reynolds’ final film, The Last Movie Star, starring Reynolds, Ariel Winter and Chevy Chase. The soundtrack features a guest appearance by Willie Nelson and was released nationwide, along with the movie on March 30, 2018. The Last Movie Star had its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and is distributed by the renowned A24 (responsible for the success of Lady Bird and The Disaster Artist). In addition, “Yet To Come” (co-written by Jamie) that closes the final scene of the movie, was awarded “Best Original Song In A Feature Film” by the Nashville Film Festival. Jamie is also featured in the new critically acclaimed music documentary The Last Songwriter alongside Garth Brooks, Jason Isbell, Emmylou Harris and Hall of Fame songwriters Allen Shamblin, Tony Arata and Tom Douglas.
About Laura Veltz: Originally from New York City, Laura Veltz has spent her entire adult life writing and performing music. After a decade touring and recording with her family band, Cecilia, culminating in a record deal with Atlantic Records, she zeroed in on her love of commercial songwriting in 2008 and was lured to Music City by Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame inductees Kye Fleming and Mark D. Sanders. Since then, Laura has garnered cuts and hits by Country’s newest and hottest superstars alike, and has become one of today’s most respected songsmiths. Her list of hits and placements continues to grow daily including the four-week #1 smash, “Speechless” co-written and performed by Dan + Shay, as well as the chart toppers “I Could Use A Love Song” (Maren Morris), “Drunk Last Night” (Eli Young Band), and “Lonely Eyes” (Chris Young). She is also a co-writer of “There’s A Girl” (Trent Harmon), and the 2018 hit “Rich,” one of four co-written songs from Morris’s GRAMMY® nominated album, Hero. Upcoming, RCA recording artist, Ryan Hurd, is set to release the co-written single “To A T” to terrestrial radio in February 2019. Veltz had previously collaborated with Hurd on the song “Diamond or Twine” which hit #1 on the Sirius XM’s The Highway Top 30 in June of 2018. Veltz has also co-written songs from the latest albums by Dierks Bentley (“One Way”), Little Big Town (“We Went To The Beach”), Kane Brown (“Live Forever”), The Brothers Osborne (“Weed, Whiskey, and Willie”), Dan & Shay (“Keeping Score” featuring Kelly Clarkson), Carly Pearce (“Color”) and Cody Johnson (“Y’all People”). Her songs have also been recorded by such artists as Devin Dawson, The Cadillac Three, Maddie & Tae, Cassadee Pope, and the Queen of Country Music, Reba.
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Media Contacts for Music Health Alliance:
Cindy Hunt / Heather Conley
Monarch Publicity
615-429-2203 / 615-202-5070
cindy.hunt@monarchpublicity.com / heather.conley@monarchpublicity.com