CMA Elects Clarence Spalding as Board President

CMA Elects Clarence Spalding as Board President

By Peter Cronin

From fledgling promoter to full-time road manager to artist's manager for some of Country Music's biggest stars, Clarence Spalding's career has taken him from a small town in Kentucky to places he never dreamed he would go. As he heads into 2007 and steps into his new role as President of the Country Music Association's Board of Directors, Spalding is feeling a mix of emotions.

"I'm excited and a little intimidated by the whole thing," Spalding said. "Coming from Lebanon, Ky., you didn't think you could make a living in the music business. There must have only been 12 people who made a living in the music business, that's the way I thought about it."

Spalding began his music business career while he was a student at University of Kentucky, majoring in communications and booking show bands into fraternities and sororities in and around Lexington and Louisville. That one-man business also led the young entrepreneur to his first Nashville connection.

"I worked for a guy named Lee Maxie," Spalding said. "He had a partner named Pat Patrick and they had a company named Maxie Patrick. I still run into Lee and he's still doing the same thing and doing great at it."

When Spalding talked about his career, the conversation was peppered with the names of the characters he has met and worked with along the way, and he seemed to have a story about every one of them. That "people person" quality is one of the things that has made Spalding a great artist's manager and the company he started in 2004, Spalding Entertainment - which currently represents Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Sarah Buxton, Terri Clark, Pat Green and Ashley Monroe - such a success. According to outgoing CMA Board President Mike Dungan, President/CEO of Capitol Records Nashville, that's just one of the reasons why Spalding is the right man at the right time to head the CMA Board.

"I think Clarence is very much a people person, and he's just a very, very bright guy who has a firm grip on all aspects of our industry," Dungan said. "A couple of years ago, we decided that we as a Board were going to work closer with the artist community, and that's where Clarence comes from. He may not be an artist, but he's been right next to them and he's been managing and handling their careers for as long as he's been in Nashville. We do have artists on the Board, but artists aren't always as subjective about themselves and how things work as they need to be. I think in this case management fits very well and Clarence is at the top of the game. He's also a great 'common sense, don't waste any time' kind of guy, and since I am neither, I am thrilled that he is on the team."

"I do approach it differently because I'm dealing with artists and every facet of their careers every day," Spalding said. "Strengthening our artist relations is one of CMA's core strategies and I bring a certain sensitivity toward the artists. We have artists such as Trace Adkins, Kix Brooks, Jay DeMarcus, Sara Evans, Troy Gentry, Brad Paisley and John Rich serving on this Board and that's part of what I really feel is a good change.

"I have had a full year in the President-Elect position attending all of the events and committee meetings and this has helped me prepare. I was able to sit there and take it all in, and with that, I've grown. I know exactly what I'm stepping into, which makes it all the more intimidating - but then, I have Mike Dungan as a partner."

Spalding's long history with CMA dates back to his days as road manager for Exile. When he hired the group as the house band at a local Kentucky club he was booking, they had one pop hit ("Kiss You All Over") and were in the process of reinventing themselves as a Country act. The band went on to land a record deal with Epic Records' Nashville division, and Spalding started traveling to Nashville on a regular basis.

"CMA used to do the SRO Convention, three or four days in and around the CMA Awards," Spalding said. "It was mostly for managers and agents - showcases for baby acts, and a place to network. When I was in Lexington I would come down for that, trying to learn as much about the business as I could."

Throughout the next few years, Spalding would take those lessons to heart, traveling with Exile and building a substantial list of all-important industry contacts. When he was offered the opportunity to get off the road and go to work for manager Stan Moress, he jumped at the chance to work with the industry veteran's stellar roster of artists that included Roger Miller, Ronnie Milsap, Lorrie Morgan, K.T. Oslin, Eddie Rabbitt, Mike Reid and Restless Heart.

"I learned the label nuances and really it was about knowing people," Spalding said of his time with Morress.

In 1993, Spalding left Moress' company and joined manager Bob Titley at his company, Titley Management. The management firm had signed a new duo on Arista Nashville known as Brooks & Dunn in 1991, and Spalding hit the ground running with Titley, applying everything he'd learned to developing their career. Before long, Brooks & Dunn were established as one of Country Music's true superstar acts, and the company had changed its name to Titley/Spalding & Associates.

"I got lucky," said the humble manager. "I'm going on my 13th year with Kix and Ronnie. We wanted their career to grow and we wanted to take care of it and do the right things. But we weren't looking 14, 15 years down the road. It was more like, 'Can we sustain this for two more years?' Who knew? To be involved with them I get to play in the major leagues, and the major leagues are fun to be a part of."

Spalding's wide and varied CMA experience has equipped him with a detailed and long range view of the organization's many accomplishments and future goals. Through the years he has served (along with Tony Conway, President/Co-owner of Buddy Lee Attractions and CMA Music Festival Executive Producer) as head of the CMA Music Festival Committee as well as on the Executive and CMA Awards Television Committees. With the important groundwork laid by his predecessors, Spalding has learned that the organization really does make a difference and he looks forward to the challenges in store.

"Clarence has been an invaluable member of the Board and has contributed a great deal to CMA's core initiatives," said CMA Chief Operating Officer Tammy Genovese. "He has great passion for the music and the artists, and the business experience to execute his vision. He brings so much to this important volunteer position at a critical time for the industry and the Association as we move forward with our new network partner at ABC and further define the future of our premiere events, the CMA Music Festival and the Awards.

"Clarence is a great visionary, a great leader and very influential with our Board and our industry. I love working with him - he tells it like it is and I love that about him. I look forward to working with Clarence as CMA's new Board President."

On the Web: www.CMAworld.com

February 14, 2007