DATE: APRIL 11, 2024

FROM: LYNDIE WENNER, SRO

BELMONT UNIVERSITY HONORS TWO STUDENTS
WITH INAUGURAL BILL PURSELL MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
SCHOLARSHIP FUND WILL HONOR THE LEGACY AND DEDICATION OF BELMONT UNIVERSITY’S 37-YEAR
MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MENTOR BILL PURSELL

Photo of Bill Pursell

NASHVILLE, TN – This past Monday (April 8) the inaugural Bill Pursell Memorial Scholarship at Belmont University was awarded to students Matthew Oliver and Sam Wood, honoring the two students’ outstanding musical works and accomplishments. The ceremony was held at the Massey Performing Arts Center during Belmont University’s Scholarship and Award Day.

“This scholarship is a tribute to the legacy Bill (Pursell) left at Belmont, the countless composition and commercial music students he taught and mentored over the years who have gone on to do great things,” says Terry Klefstad, Professor of Music. “Student scholarships are the best way to honor his dedication to music and teaching. Bill was devoted to his students and gave of himself freely as a teacher. This scholarship is a way to continue that legacy.”

Photo Credit: Katie Hodgson/Belmont University
L to R: Stephen Eaves, Dean, College of Music and Performing Arts – Belmont Univ.; Mark Volker, Professor of Music – Belmont Univ.; Matthew Oliver, Student and Scholarship Fund Recipient; Sam Wood, Student and Scholarship Fund Recipient, Laura Pursell, Professor Bill Pursell’s daughter and Netcom Music Recording Artist; Terry Klefstad, Professor of Music, Belmont Univ. and David Johnston, Scholarship Friend.

A musical tribute for the late composer, arranger, pianist, and Belmont University’s 37-year Professor of Music, Dr. William Pursell (Bill), was held last summer (June 15) to a packed house at Nashville venue 3^rd & Lindsley. Netcom Music recording artist and daughter of Bill Pursell, Laura Pursell, the Nashville All-Stars and the Nashville Recording Orchestra conducted by Steve Mauldin performed many of Bill Pursell’s iconic arrangements and songs that he performed on recordings during his 50-year musical career with iconic artists such as Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Dan Fogelberg, Chet Atkins and more along with some of his last original works. Country Music Hall of Fame musician, Charlie McCoy opened the evening accompanied by an A-list of musicians onstage comprised of guitarists Tom Hemby and Pat Bergeson, bassist Jim Ferguson, drummer Bob Mater and pianist Jason Coleman.

Read more HERE. An album of the songs was in the process of being recorded by Bill and Laura but unfortunately Bill passed from Covid -19 in September of 2020.

Album cover art: “Lost In Time – A Tribute To Bill Pursell”

Listen to Bill Pursell’s Final Recordings and Compositions HERE

“It was my dad’s dream to finish this very personal album. He wasn’t able to do it in his lifetime, and I’m so grateful to Netcom Music for allowing me to complete it,” says Laura Pursell. “We are very proud and excited at Netcom Music to release our newest album, Lost in Time. This collection of songs contains the last work of my brother, Bill Pursell, and the brilliance of his arrangements of this music truly embody his spirit and musical genius. We know you will love it!” stated Raymond Clawson, owner of Netcom Music.

MORE ABOUT BILL PURSELL

Bill Pursell had worked as a session pianist, composer and/or arranger through the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and beyond for the following artists: Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Boots Randolph, Chet Atkins, Marty Robbins, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Johnny Paycheck, Joan Baez, Scotty Moore, J.J. Cale, Dan Fogelberg, Bob Dylan, Burl Ives, Eddy Arnold, James Galway, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Ray Price, Bobby Vinton, Charlie Pride, Buddy Emmons, Lefty Frizzell, Brenda Lee, Charlie McCoy and more.

AWARDS & CO-WRITES

• “Our Winter Love” (instrumental written by Johnny Cowell),spent 14 weeks on the Billboard 100 chart in 1963, peaking at No. 9 on March 30, while reaching No.4 on Billboard’s Middle Roads chart, No. 20 on Billboard’s Hot R & B Singles chart, No. 12 in Australia, and No. 25 on Canada’s CHUM Hit Parade. Bill Pursell’s version was ranked No. 54 on Billboard’s end of year ranking “Top Records of 1963.”
• 2 x nominated for a Grammy, the first for inspirational performance (non-classical) on the album Listen for Ken Medema in 1974. His second Grammy nomination was for his 1978 arrangement of “We Three Kings” for National Geographic.
• Named “Composer of the Year” by the Tennessee Music Teachers Association (1985).
• Received a Doctorate from the Eastman School of Music at the age of 70, with distinction.
• Named “Professor Emeritus” upon his retirement from Belmont University, where he taught musical composition, orchestration, and history of commercial music for 37 years.

For press and all media inquiries please contact:

SRO PR:
Lyndie Wenner, lwenner@sropr.com

DATE: FEBRUARY 2, 2024

FROM: LYNDIE WENNER, MITCH SCHNEIDER / SRO PR

LAURA PURSELL
TODAY (FEBRUARY 2) RELEASES
THE VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE
“SHOOTING STAR,”

THE LATE 80’S BOB DYLAN SONG AND TITLE TRACK
FROM HER NEW ALBUM ‘SHOOTING STAR’

THE VIDEO WAS FILMED IN AND AROUND
DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE’S MUSIC AND HISTORIC LANDMARKS
PURSELL PAYS HOMAGE TO THE PARTS OF HER HOMETOWN AND THE MUSICAL ROOTS THAT HAVE THANKFULLY REMAINED AUTHENTIC

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

© 2024 Netcom Music

Singer and songwriter LAURA PURSELL today (February 2) releases “Shooting Star,” the video and title track from her latest album. Watch it HERE. Marking the first single from her SHOOTING STAR album that came out on Netcom Music this past September, it is PURSELL’s distinctive and finely etched interpretation of the BOB DYLAN composition that appears as the final track on his 1989 Oh Mercy album. Listen to “Shooting Star” on all streaming platforms HERE.

The “Shooting Star” video was filmed and directed by Andrew Rozario and Cinematographer Mike Stryker for Casting Life Films in various downtown Nashville musically historical locations. Viewers will see the famous alleyway behind Tootie’s Orchid Lounge, the backstage entry to the Ryman Auditorium, and just across the alley is the back entry to Roberts Western World, “Nashville’s Home of Traditional Country Music.”

The final scene in the video is atop the pedestrian bridge next to the Tennessee Titans’ Nissan Stadium that offers up the best view of Nashville’s nighttime city skyline, reflecting the city’s growth. “Nashville is where I was born and raised, and I wanted to honor and pay homage to the soul of Nashville I grew up in—the places within our ever-changing skyline that have thankfully been allowed to remain authentic as our city continues to grow,” says LAURA.

“Shooting Star” was the last song LAURA performed live on the evening of March 16, 2020 when she and her band (consisting of drummer Chris Ross, bassist Jeff Takaguchi, and pianist Rick Hils) were told to fold up and leave the stage of a Burbank, CA venue as the city of Los Angeles was shutting down at midnight due to the Covid-19 pandemic mandate. “Chris Ross had brought this song to my attention as we were looking for hidden gems to cover and possibly record. Ironically, the night we performed this song, my dear friend and guitarist, Barry Zweig had passed away and the song’s lyrics struck me even deeper.”

“Shooting Star” was never a single for Dylan, “and after we recorded it,” says LAURA, “I played it for the head of my record label, Netcom Music’s Ray Clawson. He responded to the musical conversation that was happening between my vocal and Kenny Meredieth’s guitar. He loved the connection and the feeling that was captured on this recording.”

(click on image to watch official video)

During the time of the lockdown, LAURA and her band began to meet daily in her living room at her then-home in Studio City, CA to rehearse and keep their chops up, work on new tunes, and figure out the road ahead. Facing an uncertain future, they recorded a collection of songs at producer and guitarist Kenny Meriedeth’s Deep End Music Studios in Burbank. They set their focus on material from the Americana, country and roots rock idioms. LAURA states, “This album reflects a pivotal time when I began to stretch out vocally, work on different genres, and embrace a new vibe that reflected what the band members and I were going through at the time. Recording this album kept us all somewhat sane and energized.”

Halfway through recording SHOOTING STAR, LAURA’s beloved father Bill Pursell—a respected Nashville pianist, composer, and orchestrator/arranger—passed away from Covid-19. SHOOTING STAR was shelved indefinitely, and LAURA relocated back to her hometown of Nashville to settle her father’s estate and solidify his musical legacy. In the fall of 2021, LAURA picked up where she and the band had left off while recording SHOOTING STAR. Out of dozens of recorded tracks, 10 songs were chosen for inclusion for the album. SHOOTING STAR is an ode to loss and memory, and the perfect title for this collection of songs.

For more information about LAURA PURSELL, visit:

BIO
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

For more information on Netcom Music visit:

NETCOM MUSIC

For press inquiries, please contact:

SRO PR:

Lyndie Wenner – lwenner@sropr.com

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