Cleft Music: ARTISTS

"My Tennessee Hills" is a true document of American heritage. Loney Hutchins (Sr.) was born into poverty in the Appalachia hills during the 1940's with one foot in Tennessee and the other in Virginia. The struggle of growing up in this part of the world is a theme throughout all of his songs, save for the occasional love ballad, of course. It is of little coincidence Hutchins could see Clinch Mountain from his bedroom window as a young boy. This cultural heritage is inescapable in his music. It's in his blood. Years later, a chance run in with June Carter Cash lead to an audition with husband, Johnny. This landed Hutchins a job working for House of Cash where he eventually became manager of their publishing end, assembling the entire catalog into one book, and often serving as pitch man to such luminaries as Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley and, Billy Sherril. He also had some of his own songs cut by both Johnny and Tommy Cash during this time.

Following his years with House of Cash, Hutchins started his own publishing label, Appalachia Music, charting independently on both Cashbox and Billboard. In the late 80's, a new calling lead him to do pioneering work in the field of music therapy with head injury sufferers, a field he continues to work in to this day. Having amassed a life time's worth of material, Hutchins recorded his first project in years with son, Loney John, who had restarted Appalachia Music earlier this decade as Cleft. With the release of "My Tennessee Hills," Cleft Music comes full circle in more ways than one. The album features a cast of musicians that have played with such artists as Charlie Louvin, Will Oldham/Bonnie Prince Billy, Lambchop, Bobby Bare Sr. and, others.

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