New Faces to Reign at Country Awards

Few old-timers are on the program for the 24th annual Country Music Assn. awards Monday as newcomers scramble to become the heirs to the legends of country music.

Leading the pack is Garth Brooks, 28, who comes into the nationally televised show at the Grand Ole Opry House with five nominations.

Brooks sang his way through Oklahoma State University and first hit the country music capital four years ago, only to leave discouraged after one day. But he returned in 1987 for a one-night club showcase where Capitol Records discovered him.

On the strength of “Garth Brooks,” his first album that sold 1 million copies and crossed over to the pop charts, Brooks has been nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year, best music video and the Horizon Award for “career development.”

Brooks’ second album shipped only last month has already sold 900,000 copies and hit both the pop and country charts.

Also on a country roll with four nominations apiece are the Kentucky Headhunters, Clint Black, Alan Jackson and Kathy Mattea.

Black, 28, guided by Z Z Top’s legendary manager Bill Ham, honed his talent six years in Houston lounges before a stellar rise with last year’s album “Killin’ Time” for RCA.

Jackson moved to Nashville in 1985 from Georgia and broke in by sending around demonstration tapes to the major labels.

The Kentucky Headhunters formed their band in 1984 to bring a contemporary blend of bluegrass, the blues and country rock to the Nashville scene.

Mattea, last year’s CMA female vocalist of the year, is a West Virginia college dropout who moved to Nashville and worked briefly as a tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

She is the only woman nominated for the Entertainer of the Year award and one of only a few female singers nominated for any of the 12 awards on the show co-hosted by country stars Randy Travis and Reba McIntire.

Nominees in major categories:

Entertainer of the Year--Clint Black, Kathy Mattea, Ricky Van Shelton, George Strait and Randy Travis.

Single of the Year--”Here in the Real World” by Alan Jackson, “If Tomorrow Never Comes” by Garth Brooks, “Killin’ Time” by Clint Black, “When I Call Your Name” by Vince Gill and “Where’ve You Been” by Kathy Mattea.

Female Vocalist--Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, Reba McEntire, Lorrie Morgan, Tanya Tucker.

Male Vocalist--Clint Black, Garth, Rodney Crowell, Ricky Van Shelton, George Strait.

Vocal Group--Desert Rose Band, Highway 101, Kentucky Headhunters, Restless Heart, Shenandoah.

Hall of Fame--Tennessee Ernie Ford, Don Gibson, George Jones, the Louvin Brothers and Webb Pierce.