An intimate performance featuring 3 of the “Greats” from the world of international song writing
www.greenroomdublin.ie

On Monday 18th February IMRO will host a very special evening of entertainment, which will see some of the world’s most influential songwriters perform together on stage. With tales about the inspiration behind their numerous international hit songs and stories about the performers that made them hits this promises to be an event that you won’t want to miss!
This showcase will feature a guest appearance by Ruth Anne Cunningham, one of Ireland’s rising hit writers and the recipient of a “Best Pop Award” at the 2007 ASCAP Awards.

Date: Monday 18th February 2008
Venue: The Green Room @ The Holiday Inn, Pearse Street, Dublin 2
Time: Doors 7:30pm (performance 8:00pm)
Adm: EUR10
Phone 01 6703666 or info@greenroomdublin.ie
Please reserve a seat by sending a confirmation email to keith.johnson@imro.ie

Performances by:

DON SCHLITZ

Don Schlitz was born and raised in North Carolina, and moved to Nashville in 1973. His first recorded song, ‘The Gambler’, won a Grammy and the Country Music Association’s and the Academy of Country Music’s Song of the Year. Don’s songs have played major roles in the careers of Kenny Rogers, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alison Krauss, and many others.

His fifty Top Tens have included 24 Number Ones. He also wrote the Broadway musical The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer. Schlitz was the ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year for four consecutive years from 1988-91. He has won three CMA Song of the Year awards, two ACM Song of the Year awards, two Grammy’s, and many more nominations. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association’s Hall of Fame in 1993.

PAT ALGER

Raised in Georgia, Pat Alger taught himself to play guitar as a teenager, and by the late ’60s he had evolved into a popular performer in the burgeoning Southeast folk scene. In 1973 Pat migrated to Woodstock, New York, eventually recording and performing with the celebrated Woodstock Mountains Revue, and later formed a duo with acoustic jazz guitarist Artie Traum. After time spent in Boston and Manhattan, Pat finally scored his first hit in 1980 with Livingston Taylor, James Taylor’s younger brother. The song, ‘First Time Love’ became a Top 40 pop and a Top 10 AC hit and with that success under his belt, Pat headed south to try his luck in Nashville.

Exploring the Nashville craft of collaboration, while fine-tuning his already well-developed skills, Pat soon blossomed into a successful songwriter. Early on, his songs were recorded by acts like Mickey Gilley and Dolly Parton, as well as The Everly Brothers.
Ultimately, Pat hit the top of the country charts in 1988 with Kathy Mattea’s version of ‘Goin’ Gone’. Other Number 1 hits followed, including Trisha Yearwood’s ‘Like We Never Had A Broken Heart’. His song writing collaboration with Garth Brooks yielded four Number 1 singles for the mega-star, going on to collectively sell over 60 million albums. As a two term President of The Nashville Songwriters Association International, he was respected as an advocate for the intellectual property rights of creators. In 2006 he taught the ASCAP Country Writers Workshop in Nashville. His four songs on the current Number 1 Country CD - Garth Brooks, The Ultimate Hits as well as the Christmas single ‘Nothin’s Gonna Bring Me Down (At Christmas Time)’ by Randy Travis.

RALPH MURPHY

Canadian songwriter Ralph Murphy has achieved near-legendary status in Nashville through his career as a performer, producer, songwriter, publisher, and most recently, Vice President, International and Domestic Membership, ASCAP.
He had his first UK Number One in 1965 with ‘Call My Name’ recorded by James Royal. Other hits followed with acts like Vanity Fair and The Brotherhood of Man.

In 1969 Ralph moved to New York as Director of Production for Belwin/Mills Publishing, where he produced demos for Broadway musicals and started two successful record labels. Among the many acts he produced during that time was legendary Canadian Rockers April Wine, for whom he produced two gold albums. He had a country hit in 1972 by Jeanie C. Riley ‘Good Enough To Be Your Wife’. With Roger Cook, he formed the Picalic Group and Pic-A-Lic Music Publishing and has had more than twenty Number One records and was publisher for Song of The Year, ‘Talking In Your Sleep’ by Crystal Gayle. Pic-A-Lic became one of the most successful independent publishers in Nashville and was eventually sold to EMI.

Ralph has had recent success in the UK chart with ’21st Century Christmas’ (co-written by Paul Brady), a Number Two for Cliff Richard. He is also an instructor for the respected Nashville Songwriters Association International Song Camps.

RUTH ANNE CUNNINGHAM

Singer/Songwriter Ruth-Anne, from Dublin, Ireland breathes new life into the music scene with her unique new sound. Her poignant blend of R&B and soul is a fusion of Alicia Keys, Norah Jones and Beyonce. Coming from a country of other music legends such as Enya and U2, Ruth-Anne takes the mystical charm of her homeland and transcends it into her music, creating a sound that blurs the lines of music genres.
Ruth-Anne, who won the Irish 2fm Jacobs song writing contest in 2004, has spent the last year between Los Angeles, New York and her home in Dublin, writing and recording with amazing music industry legends that have led to chart-topping hits for other artists.

Teen pop artist JoJo released “Too Little Too Late” as the leadoff single for her sophomore record, The High Road, which debuted on the Top 200 at #3. “Too Little Too Late” was co-written by Ruth-Anne alongside multi Grammy award winning songwriter Billy Steinberg (Like a Virgin - Madonna, Eternal Flame - The Bangles). The song has already topped the singles and album charts (#3 for both) of Billboard Magazine and went to number #2 on the Radio & Record’s Top 40 Airplay charts! The single also went on to be number 1 in Brazil, number 2 in Ireland, number 4 in the UK and went top 20 in over 15 other countries worldwide. It was always included on the “Now 23″ compilation which went double platinum in the US. The song is also featured on the UK’s “Now 64″ compilation which has just been released.

Another collaboration of Ruth-Anne and Billy Steinbergs has now been released as Katharine McPhees debut single off of her debut self-titled album. The song “Over it” is currently still on the billboard hot 100 after 14 weeks, sustaining inside the top 50, peaking at number 21 and the album peaked at number 2 on the billboard 200. She is also a backing singer on this song.

In June 2005, Australian girl band Shakaya released title track “Are You Ready” as their leadoff single. This Los Angeles collaboration topped the Australian airplay radio charts for 4 weeks and was included on the “So Fresh” double platinum compilation album in Australia.
As a result of holding the #1 position for over 5 months on www.musicfreedom.com, Ruth-Anne was awarded her own NYC showcase, which led to her signing a huge deal with prestigious publishing company Shapiro Bernstein. She just recently won a “Best Pop award” at the 2007 ASCAP awards for “Too little too late.”

Ruth-Anne has been writing songs since she was 8 years old, taking inspiration from her own life experiences and those of people close to her. Music and performance is her life, thriving on the energy and creativity in a recording studio and the performing of her own material. She is an ambitious and driven individual, determined to have a very successful music career in every sense of the word and wants to create a name within the industry that will never be forgotten. She currently has over 80 of her own songs recorded.

www.greenroomdublin.ie