Maceo native and “America’s Got Talent” standout Marty Brown will be in Nashville this week promoting his new radio single to disc jockeys from around the world during the annual CRS (Country Radio Seminar) conference.
Now living in Franklin, Kentucky to be closer to Nashville, Brown recently signed with Plowboy Records and wrote all the songs for his new album “American Highway,” which is scheduled to be released in May.
The first single, “Umbrella Lovers,” will be released to radio Feb. 18.
TasteofCountry.com calls “Umbrella Lovers,” a “guitar-driven mid-tempo song that finds the narrator and his love walking in the rain and stopping for a public display of affection, impervious to the weather.”
The community might notice a familiar face or two in the video. Shellie Brown, Marty’s wife and manager, told Owensboro Times that parts of the video feature Owensboro residents Emma Brown and her boyfriend, Bruce Taylor.
Marty has stayed busy writing and performing since his appearance on season eight of “America’s Got Talent,” where he made it to the semi-final round. His performance of Bob Dylan’s “To Make You Feel My Love” from that audition was viewed 6.1 million times on YouTube and fueled a resurgence to his music career.
In the early ‘90s, Brown made a lot of noise in Nashville when he recorded three albums with MCA records and shared the stage with country music stars like Garth Brooks and Alabama.
In that span of years, Brown released eight radio singles as a recording artist including “Every Now and Then,” “High & Dry,” “Wildest Dreams,” “Cryin, Lovin, Leavin” and “It Must Be the Rain,” which reached #62 on the country charts.
He scored a #3 hit as a songwriter in 1998 for “I’m From the Country and I Like it That Way,” which was recorded by Tracy Byrd. The song has been in heavy rotation since, and BMI Nashville will be presenting Brown with a 5-million spins milestone award for that song during the “American Highway” album release party May 16.
In support of “American Highway,” his first studio album in nearly 25 years, Marty is prepared to once again be very busy.
Here in Owensboro, he will appear in-studio at WBKR on March 8 as part of his radio promotional tour. He is also scheduled to appear on Bill Cody’s Heartland on WSM RadioTV and “Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour” on KET/WNIN/ RFD-TV on March 1 and 6. Brown has also been nominated for the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and will find out in March if he is inducted into this year’s class.
If you want to see Marty in concert, he will be appearing live at Lewisport Heritage Festival on May 30 and Renfro Valley Entertainment Center in Mount Vernon, Ky., on May 31.
