McDowell                          Brown                                Fortune

    Ticket sales for the upcoming Ronnie McDowell, T. Graham Brown and Jimmy Fortune have been much greater than expected. In response to brisk ticket sales, First Class Productions has begun selling tickets to a second show, a matinee performance.   

Ronnie McDowell emerged on the country music charts in 1977 shortly after the death of Elvis Presley. McDowell’s tribute to Presley, “The King is Gone,” sold more than 5 million copies. McDowell went on to record several other top ten hits including “Watching Girls Go By” and “Older Women.”

T. Graham Brown catapulted to fame in 1986. Since then he has charted 20 top ten hits and recorded 13 studio albums. Graham is known for such hits as “Darlene”, “I Tell it Like it Used to Be”, “Hell and High Water” and others.

Jimmy Fortune is best remembered as the tenor of the Statler Brothers. Fortune wrote and sang the #1 hit “Elizabeth.”

McDowell, Brown and Fortune will perform two shows. The first is at 3 p.m. and the second is at 8 p.m. on Friday June 15 at Country Tonite on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. For ticket information call 865-453-2003. 

                                         Ronnie McDowell

              T. Graham Brown                                  Jimmy Fortune

   It’s been a big year for country music star T. Graham Brown. In a telephone interview Brown discussed his latest projects and his upcoming performance at Country Tonite with Ronnie McDowell and Jimmy Fortune.

   Currently, Brown is putting the finishing touches on three CDs he plans to release before the end of the year.

  “ I am working on a gospel album entitled “Working on a Building,” with Marty Raybon and Jimmy Fortune. Marty is building a mission in Haiti and all the money is going to that.  There’s a lot of my friends on the record. There’s Aaron Tippin, Jason Crabb, Glen Campbell and George Jones all singing solos. I am also working on a Christmas CD with Jimmy Fortune and I have a country music record that I am working on. It’s been a fun year.”

  Brown  catapulted to fame in 1986. Since then he has charted 20 top ten hits and recorded 13 studio albums. Graham is known for such hits as “Darlene”, “I Tell it Like it Used to Be”, “Hell and High Water” and others.

  Along with his own CDs, Brown has worked on several collaboration albums with T.G. Shepherd, and others. “I did a record with Carol Channing once,” Brown said. “She is great. We sang ‘Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree With Anybody Else but Me,’ with her. She is in her 90s and still going strong. That was a lot of fun. I sang a song on T.G.’s CD ‘Partners in Rhyme’ and I did a song on the tribute album for Dr. Ralph Stanley. I Worked with his grandson, Nathan. That was a lot of fun.”

  Ronnie McDowell emerged on the country music charts in 1977 shortly after the death of Elvis Presley. McDowell’s tribute to Presley, “The King is Gone,” sold more than 5 million copies. McDowell went on to record several other top ten hits including “Watching Girls Go By” and “Older Women.”

  Jimmy Fortune is best remembered as the tenor of the Statler Brothers. Fortune wrote and sang the #1 hit “Elizabeth.”

  “It’s been a fun year,” Brown said. “I’ve had a real good year. We’re making people happy and doing what God wants us to do.”

  Ticket sales have been much greater than anticipated. For that reason First Class Productions has added a second show.

 Brown, McDowell and Fortune will perform two shows. The first is at 3 p.m. and the second is at 8 p.m. on Friday June 15 at Country Tonite on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. For ticket information call 865-453-2003.