janie

Two-time CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year Janie Fricke announces the release of ‘It Ain’t Easy: The Complete Hits’ through Real Gone Music on August 9. This 41-track, 2 CD compilation includes many of her 18 number one hits including “What’re You Doing Tonight,” “It Ain’t Easy Being Easy,” “He’s A Heartache (Looking For A Place To Happen),” “Tell Me A Lie” and more. All forty-one songs released on ‘It Ain’t Easy: The Complete Hits’ will be available at Amazon.com. Also included are popular duets with Johnny Duncan, Merle Haggard, Charlie Rich, George Jones and Larry Gatlin.

“It is with thankfulness and sheer pride to see this project appear at a time in my life when I least expected such a special gift,” says Janie Fricke. “The team who researched my recordings worked many hours to come up with choice songs from my recorded repertoire. As I look back to those years of hours spent in the studio with the best producers, musicians and engineers, I never dreamed that it would become a pretty package all wrapped up, presented to me and the world in 2019.”

Raised on a farm in Indiana, Janie Fricke began singing in church, and later turned that talent into a career which began as one of the marketing industry’s most successful jingle singers. Long before her success as a country artist, millions of people became familiar with Fricke’s voice through ads for United Airlines, Coca-Cola, 7-Up, McDonald’s and Red Lobster. She soon became a session singer where she was singing background in the studio with some of the biggest country stars of the late 70’s and early 80’s, including Loretta Lynn, Eddie Rabbitt, Crystal Gayle, Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell, and Mel Tillis.

After a string of duets with such greats as Merle Haggard and Moe Bandy, Fricke landed a solo recording contract in the early 80’s and scored several hit singles, including “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me Baby,” “He’s a Heartache” and “You’re Heart’s Not In It.” She won CMA’s coveted “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 1983 and ’84 and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards. She has been credited with over 1,600 album projects and scored 36 hit singles.

In recent years, Sony Music Entertainment made four of Fricke’s classic albums available to fans on Spotify, Apple Music and other digital platforms via the Legacy Digital Vault campaign, including The First Word In Memory, The Very Best of Janie Fricke, Black & White and Saddle in the Wind! The collection of albums features the 18-time chart-topper’s biggest hits, including “It Ain’t Easy Being Easy,” “Tell Me a Lie,” “She’s Single Again” and more. Legacy Recordings also released The Essential JANIE FRICKE to all digital service providers earlier this year.

In addition, Fricke put a bluegrass spin with some fresh interpretations to many of her beloved tunes with the release of Country Side of Bluegrass. The 13-track collection was produced by Bil VornDick, whose credits also include Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck, and Marty Robbins, and features some of the finest pickers in the industry.

Janie Fricke ‘It Ain’t Easy: The Complete Hits’ Track Listing
1. What’re You Doing Tonight
2. Come A Little Bit Closer (with Johnny Duncan)
3. Stranger (with Johnny Duncan)
4. Baby It’s You
5. Please Help Me, I’m Falling (In Love With You)
6. On My Knees (with Charlie Rich)
7. Playing Hard To Get
8. Love Your Troubles Away For A While
9. Let’s Try Again
10. But Love Me
11. Pass Me By (If You’re Only Passing Through)
12. He’s Out Of My Life (with Johnny Duncan)
13. Down To My Last Broken Heart
14. Pride
15. I’ll Need Someone To Hold Me (When I Cry)
16. Do Me With Love
17. Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me Baby
18. It Ain’t Easy Being Easy
19. You Don’t Know Love
20. He’s A Heartache (Looking For A Place To Happen)
21. Tell Me A Lie

Disc 2:
1. Let’s Stop Talkin’ About It
2. If The Fall Don’t Get You
3. Your Heart’s Not In It
4. A Place To Fall Apart (with Merle Haggard)
5. The First Word In Memory Is Me
6. Who Cares (with Ray Charles)
7. All I Want To Do In Life (with George Jones)
8. She’s Single Again
9. Somebody Else’s Fire
10. Easy To Please
11. Always Have, Always Will
12. When A Woman Cries
13. Are You Satisfied
14. From Time To Time (It Feels like Love Again (with Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers)
15. Baby You’re Gone
16. Where Does Love Go (When It’s Gone)
17. I’ll Walk Before I’ll Crawl
18. Heart
19. Give ‘Em My Number
20. Love Is One Of Those Words

See Janie Fricke On Tour, right here at Granbury Live!:
AUG 17 – The New Granbury Live / Granbury, Texas

A two-time CMA & ACM Female Vocalist of the Year, Fricke has hit the #1 spot on the Country charts an astounding 18 times. She was named Billboard Magazine Top Female Vocalist, was the First Female Voice on the Moon, and was named the UK’s Country Music Round Up’s Most Popular International Female Solo Act. Her music has reached Gold and Platinum sales status worldwide, and the talented and personable Indiana native has recorded numerous jingles for Coca-Cola, Pizza Hut and United Airlines. Janie has released 25 albums and 36 hit singles, and she remains one of the most-beloved entertainers in the Country field. For more information, go to www.janiefricke.com.

The Roof is Coming off in June 01

I love it when I look at the calendar and see a whole month full of exciting and fun shows! I think the month of June offers something for almost every type of music fan!

We start out the month with the fabulous Doug Allen Nash performing his amazing Tribute to Neil Diamond! I cannot image even the most discriminating Neil Diamond fan not liking this show! Backed by a full band Doug will sing all the great Neil Diamond hits the whole world loves! Doug sells this show out all over the country and receives rave revues. This will be special.

We are also starting a new trend at Granbury Live with our “Thursday Night Start Your Weekend Right!” shows. Our first group is the fantastic “Confederate Railroad” on June 6th and then Jason Petty in “Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes” on June 13. Both shows are on a Thursday evening and set so you can go grab a bite before the show, have a glass of wine, and then come see a terrific show and still make It home by ten o’clock! Confederate Railroad has sold over 5 million albums and Jason Petty has made this show famous on the stages of Broadway, Nashville and around the country! These are big names who will provide a dynamite show you will not soon forget!

You think we are finished? No hardly, on June 29th we have “An Innocent Man: A Tribute to the Music of Billy Joel” starring Tim Georgeff, the “Texas Piano Man”. The real Billy Joel is going to be touring Texas this summer and ticket prices begin with three digits! This is a chance to hear Billy Joel music in a real listening room, rather than a ballpark, and have a true professional deliver this powerful music in a way that will truly touch your heart. I don’t know how a Billy Joel fan could miss this show!

One of my favorites is always “The Best Show Ever”. The June 22nd edition of this great musical variety show features Grammy winner and CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Bryan White, nationally recognized standup comedian Jan Norton, as well as a tap-dancing act, a fortune teller, a magician, and all sorts of special surprises! This fast-moving show will absolutely fill all your senses! Great music, comedy, specialty acts, and more! America Has Got Talent has nothing on this show; that is why it is the Best Show Ever! Fun Fact: this show is presented like a live tv show so there are even in show commercials just like those famous television shows like Ed Sullivan and the Dean Martin Show! This show is a hoot!

If you are looking for a terrific musical sound come to the New Granbury Live on June 15 and see the Rosemont Kings. These guys all grew up on Rosemont street in the Oak Cliff section of south Dallas and they play a great variety of music from pop, rock, Motown and more. The last time these guys were here the audience literally got up and was dancing in the theater. FUN FUN FUN is the only way to describe this show! You may not know this band, but you will know the music and you have my personal guarantee these guys can deliver! How about this: If you come to this show and don’t like it, I will give you your money back! That sounds like a guarantee to me! Pretty confident, aren’t I?

Happily, The Granbury Live Follies will be back on June 8th with two shows of “Rockin and Rollin” featuring some of the best music from the 60; and 70’s! You will hear the Beatles, The Beach Boys, Motown, Carole King, and a whole lot more. Some of the greatest music ever recorded performed by some of the top musicians and vocalists in Texas! This show is always a big hit!

There you have it! Great shows which will appeal to almost everyone! Get your tickets today and come and join the fun and see one of these great performances in ‘the most intimate venue in Texas”! You won’t be disappointed!

See you at the shows!

crowd hero

Can you believe we are right in the middle of spring and good old summertime will be here before you know it! The kids will be out of school and people will be heading to vacations, and a whole bunch of folks will be coming to Granbury to either enjoy our lake or to visit our terrific square! Fortunately, we have some great shows coming up in June which will satisfy almost anyone’s taste!

Tribute shows are a popular attraction at Granbury Live and in June we have a Neil Diamond Tribute show starring Doug Allen Nash on June 1. Doug has been selling out theaters all over the country and if you enjoy Neil Diamond you will love the voice, energy and sound of Doug Allen Nash. A true fan favorite!

On June 29th we have “An Innocent Man” a tribute to Billy Joel at 2pm and again at 7pm. I am so excited about this show because “The Texas Piano Man” Tim Georgeff will be slapping the piano keys! He has worked and studied with some of the band members who work with Billy Joel and I truly believe this show will be incredibly like an actual Billy Joel production. This is going to be a tremendous experience for all of you Billy Joel fans out there. Don’t miss it!

One of my favorite shows is The Best Show Ever on June 22 at 2pm and 7pm. For those of you who don’t know, this show is very similar to the classic Ed Sullivan shows! It features great music, comedy, variety acts and always a few surprises! This edition features Grammy award winning performer Bryan White, who was also the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year! The great comedian Jan Norton will also be part of the show, along with the Best Show Ever Band! Where else can you go and see a Grammy winner, great comedians, specialty acts, with a hall of fame band, and have it all in one show. There is a reason it is called “The Best Show Ever!”: It is terrific!

I do hope that if you are a regular patron of Granbury Live, or simply making a visit, you will come and experience the New Granbury Live; “the most intimate venue in Texas”. I think you will fall in love with our shows, the sound, the theater, and our hospitality!

See you at the shows!

Sam Houston
General Manager/Granbury Live

best show 2

This past weekend we highlighted another edition of “The Best Show Ever”; our very own variety show which is modeled after the great Ed Sullivan show. Some might ask why we would go to all the trouble to produce a show with so many moving parts and with so many different styles and types of entertainment. My answer has been “We want to produce the best entertainment our customers could ever experience” and thus the Best Show Ever was born. I am not sure where but at the New Granbury Live a person can come and see an Emmy award winner like Linda Stogner, a 4 time Grammy nominated performer like Dave Alexander, a Will Rodgers award winner like the great Billy Mata, Braden the Magician, Miss Texas Madison Fuller doing her ventriloquist act, Kelli Fiori as a Marie Empanada the Fortune Teller, and see it all in ONE show! This past weekend the music had people rocking, the comedians had them falling out of their chairs, and the interactive audience part of the entertainment was a big hit! People had a good time, laughed and loved this fast-paced variety show. We even have old TV commercials as part of the show; Do you remember “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!”? I promise if you were not at GBL you missed something special!

The Best Show Ever returns on June 22 and this show is going to include the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year and multiple Grammy award winner, Bryan White. You remember those great songs he sang like “Rebecca Lynn” and “Someone Else’s Star”. I promise the rest of the cast will be just as exciting and the music, comedy and fun will keep coming. These are don’t miss shows, so put the Best Show Ever on your calendar and come experience live, variety entertainment, performed like live tv! There is a reason it is named “The Best Show Ever”!

Santa's not the only one coming to town!

Well the Christmas season could not have started off better than it did this past weekend! On Friday night the Historic Granbury Merchants produced their annual Christmas Parade and it was spectacular! Lots of floats and lots of folks there to watch all the Christmas spirt unfold! I would hate to hazard a guess as to how many people were in the parade and how many were watching, but it was packed and the best parade I have ever seen! Really a great testimony to the wonderful town of Granbury and to the Merchants Association! Way to go! Really a production to be proud of!

On Saturday things got even better with the Texas CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Holly Tucker presenting her show, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”. This amazing young talent was terrific and had the audience eating out of her hand as she performed her own songs as well as a variety of Christmas and gospel songs. I cannot express in strong enough terms how much talent I think this young lady has, nor even begin to relay what a wonderful person she is. I am thrilled every time I hear her voice and have the good fortune to be around her. If you missed Holly, she performs very regularly all over Texas and I would suggest you go to her web site or Facebook page to see when she is going to be playing again near you! It is worth the price of the admission!

So this week it is the energetic and amazing Michael Hix as he performs on Friday November 30 at 7, on December 1 at 2pm and 7pm, and December 2 at 2pm. I love me some Michael Hix and word has it he is going to break out some new Christmas songs which he has written which are sure to become some of your holiday favorites. Michael always puts on a show which has the audience standing and cheering, so get your tickets and come join the fun.

We still have Radney Foster, Shenandoah, the Granbury Live Follies, Penny Gilley, Dale Morris Jr, and our Christmas is for Kids show to come in December. Gosh I love this time of year and the shows that are coming to Granbury Live!

See you at the shows!

5 funny blog

Not sure many people enjoy music more than I do. For me, one of the best things about being associated with the New Granbury Live is the opportunity to regularly attend great music concerts from a wide arrange of artists.

Every now and then, it is nice to take a break from music and have a little different form of entertainment. This past Saturday night at Granbury Live the” Four Funny Females”, a standup comedy troupe from the Metroplex, performed and it was wonderful! The four ladies, all professional women in their day jobs, entertained the audiences with a variety of jokes and stories delivered in a first rate style and with top notch results. These girls topped the Dallas “A List” two years running and it is easy to understand why! It was laughs a minute and I had a bunch of folks stop me and asked me to make sure to have them back in Granbury Live in the near future! Look for “The Females” to be back around the middle of 2019 and watch for when tickets go on sale! I am pretty sure the next time through they will sell out and if you don’t get your ticket early, you will be on the outside looking in!

It was a heck of a lot of fun and while music soothes your soul, a good laugh heals the heart!

rosemont 576x284

I love it when Granbury Live sort of branches out and brings a new act to town! This past Friday it was our great pleasure to have the Rosemont Kings, a wonderfully talented band from south Dallas come and perform. It was incredible! They played Motown, R and B, Pop, and a little Rock and Roll to boot! People got up and were dancing in the aisles; and yes, there were some people dancing you would never expect to be dancing but the music was just that good!!!

Kraig Lloyd, the lead singer also performs somewhat regularly with our Granbury Live Follies. His voice will never disappoint! I so love my country music, especially swing music, but a guy just can’t miss with classic songs like the Rosemont Kings performed! They will be back, and I promise you need to come and see this great group of young men the next time they are in town! They will never disappoint! It was a memorable night!

follies willie

The Granbury Live Follies knocked it out of the park again Saturday! As a group we were really excited to create a show which featured the music of the legendary Willie Nelson; songs which he performed and songs which he wrote which have been performed by other people. Did you know Willie Nelson has written over 2000 songs and the list keeps growing? We even included a song off his latest album, “Last Man Standing”.

Scott Hall dressed up in pig tails and long red hair and a whole bunch of folks thought his voice was spot on! It was a great thrill to have Holly Tucker, the TCMA Female Vocalist of the Year, and current candidate for TCMA Entertainer of the Year, as part of the cast. Alecia Echols and DeAwna Woods just simply owned “Crazy” and “Angel Flying to Close to the Ground”, and I thought Holly’s rendition of Georgia On My Mind was one for the books. Here are some of the comments people emailed to me about the show:

Great show as usual! It is hard to imagine how you get so many great performers on one stage.

Wasn’t a weak voice in the group…they were all terrific!

Loved it! Can’t wait to come back!

The Follies Band is spot on and I know a little bit about music! They are terrific!

If you haven’t been to a Follies show you owe it to yourself to come and see one. On September 22 we will have the greatest hits of Motown and Rock and Roll and it will knock your socks off! Get your tickets now! These Follies shows are something to see!

new standard

The New Granbury Live has had its doors open for just over a year. There have been some great shows, and some well-known national entertainers who have adorned the Granbury Live stage during that time! I think about the Bellamy Brothers, Gene Watson, Moe Bandy, Janie Fricke, Gary P Nunn, and I get a little weak in the knees. I mean, these shows were simply fantastic, and you wonder how a show could get any better.

This past weekend, the one and only Michael Hix appeared at Granbury Live. For those of you who have never seen Michael, let me just say he is a talented singer, but truly one of the best entertainers I have ever witnessed. He has an energy level which is off the charts, and for the two sold out crowds that saw him Saturday, the music, laughter and fun was non-stop. Michael just kept pouring on his personality and the audience gobbled up every spoonful he dished out! I do not remember being to two shows in one day where the audience was more pleased and satisfied with the performance they just saw. Michael was simply spectacular by any type of measurement! I would stack him up with anyone for entertaining a crowd!

Michael will be back at GBL on September 1, performing and as the MC for “The Best Show Ever”, our new hit variety show which people are absolutely in love with! He will also be back on October 20th for two shows; one at 2 and another at 7pm, and for four fun filled Christmas shows on November 30, December 1 and December 2. Get your tickets now, and I mean right now, because I promise these shows will sell out just like this past weekend. You don’t want to miss Michael!

See you at the shows!

best show

Ok. I must admit, it was a little optimistic to name a show “The Best Show Ever!”. I truly felt like with a special appearance by the iconic Michael Hix, and a rooster of performers which included Nikki Vassar, Wisper Cox, Kelli Fiori Watson, Braden Daniels the Magician, Ridge Roberts, Alexis Adair, and the amazing Rafi, we would have a very entertaining production, but even I was surprised by the reaction of those present! Here are some of the comments which got posted on Facebook;

“Great Show!”

“Very fun night! Loved the show!”

“Was a fantastic show!”

“Granbury Live never disappoints!”

As the Producer I can tell you we had a few minor hiccups and things I wish a few little things had gone better. However, I think the bar has now been set high and I am even more excited to see what the next show will be like! I do know I am very excited to announce Michael Hix will be bac, this time as the Host of the Best Show Ever! I think you will love the new entertainers which will be part of the show.

I hope you get your tickets bought for the September 1 performance because I expect we will have a big crowd enjoying a whale of a good time! After all, it is “The Best Show Ever!”.