MURFREESBORO — Middle Tennessee State University’s strong influence within
country music was on display this week, with five former MTSU students claiming
spots on national Top 40 country music radio charts.
Former students Sam Hunt,
Brett Eldredge, Chris Young and Eric Paslay can be found as solo artists on the
Billboard and Mediabase Top 40 country airplay charts, while Hillary Scott continues
to enjoy chart recognition as a member of Grammy-winning group Lady Antebellum.
By ranking order, Hunt’s
“Leave the Night On”, Lady Antebellum’s “Freestyle”, Eldredge’s “Mean to Me”,
Young’s “Lonely Eyes” and Paslay’s “She Don’t Love You” all made this week’s
chart. All attended MTSU before launching their music careers.
“This is an exciting time
for our students and faculty as we see the success of our former students in so
many areas,” said Beverly Keel, chair of the MTSU Department of Recording
Industry. “To see five former students on the country radio chart is gratifying
and thrilling. I can remember seeing Hillary Scott at the campus grill, and now
she is a superstar and inspiring a generation of college students with her
singing, songwriting and grace.”
The Department of
Recording Industry’s program part is recognized among the top music business
programs internationally, recently named to The Hollywood Reporter magazine’s
“Top 25 Music Schools 2014.” The program also was recently named by Billboard
as one of its Top 5 schools to study music internationally.
Recording industry
undergrad majors in the College of Mass Communication at MTSU can focus on
audio production, commercial songwriting or music business. A Master of Fine
Arts degree in recording arts and technologies prepares MTSU graduate students
for advanced work in audio production, recording and integrated electronic
media.
Such an in-depth program
has produced alumni who’ve found success not only in front of the mic, but also
throughout the many facets of the music industry.
“Of course, we also
continually celebrate the success of other alumni who are more
behind-the-scenes, such as Michael Knox, who produces Jason Aldean, and hit
songwriter Luke Laird, who also produces Kacey Musgraves,” Keel said. “We are
so grateful to our many alumni, such as Eric Paslay and Michael Knox, who are
giving of their time to help MTSU students.”
Knox gave a guest lecture
to students about his industry experiences earlier this month, while Paslay
will perform next month in Nashville as part of the MTSU Songwriting Series to
benefit the recording industry program.
“As the accolades continue
to roll in for our program, we strive to do our best to prepare the next
generation of music industry leaders and creators,” Keel said.
For more information about
MTSU’s recording industry program, visit http://recordingindustry.mtsu.edu.
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