Monday, March 25th | 5:30-6:30pm | Beaman A&B
Don Cusic is a pioneer in Music Business education, having taught courses in the music business since 1982. He is also one of the premier historians of country music, an internationally known scholar and writer. Cusic is the author of 209 books, including biographies of Eddy Arnold, Gene Autry, Riders In The Sky and Henry Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point. He has edited books on the lyrics of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. He is currently Professor of Music Business and holds the Professorship for Music Row Professor of Music Industry History at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Don Cusic has had over 500 articles published since he began writing. He has been the Country and Gospel Editor for Record World and Cashbox, a columnist for Music City News, album reviewer and special correspondent for Billboard and book reviewer for Music Row Magazine. He has worked for the Country Music Association, Monument Records (as head of Artist Development and International Liaison) and, with partner Dan Beck, had a management company that managed Dickie Lee and Riders In The Sky.
Cusic has written album liner notes for Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Sonny James, Gary Paxton, George Beverly Shea, Sheb Wooley, the Oak Ridge Boys, Jimmy Long, Roy Drusky, Skeeter Davis, Lulu Belle and Scotty and Floyd Cramer. He worked with Mike Curb for the Sun Records 60th Anniversary boxed set and produced an album on former American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle on songs written by James Weldon Johnson. Cusic assisted with the Time-Life series on Country Music and wrote the booklet notes on the songs for Tammy Wynette. He wrote the liner notes for the Reader’s Digest album on George Beverly Shea. In addition to his articles, liner notes and papers, Don Cusic has had songs recorded by the Lewis Family, Lynn Morris, Linda Davis, Eve Goldberg, Pam Mark Hall, Carroll Baker, Darrell McCall and Chris LeDoux.
Cusic has appeared a number of times on CMT programs, including the “Controversy” series, “Greatest Patriotic Songs,” “Waiting in the Wings” and others; he appeared on a number of TNN shows, including “Life and Times” of Eddy Arnold” and the A&E Biography Series (on Hank Williams). He also appears on two BBC series, “Lost Highway: The History of Country Music” and “White Gospel.”