Here's The News:

New JA album available soon

John is hard at work writing and recording songs for his next album, scheduled for release soon.

He spent much of the summer of 2006 spending time with his father and music mentor, Buddy McDaniel, who lost his valiant battle with cancer at his home in Big Sandy, TN, in mid-August.

Buddy McDaniel enjoyed an exciting professional career in music before settling his family near beautiful Kentucky Lake in West Tennessee.  After years of rearing his children and encouraging them in music, he joined the cast of the Kentucky Opry, where he was a regular performer until the battle with cancer sent him through surgeries and treatments that robbed his strength.

Many thousands of loyal fans have enjoyed his singing and guitar skills over the years.  John gives him all credit for his talent and his love for entertaining people with his music.

An All-Star, A-List Music City Recording Session

Think you heard some familiar sounds on "Country as Cornbread?"

You should have!  That group John Austin assembled to play his recording sessions at Madison, TN's renowned Cinderella Studios represents some of the best, most experienced musicians Music City has ever offered.  Combined, they've provided the music for hundreds of best-selling albums over the past several decades.

Selecting the crew was no accident.  Neither was the selection of the studio, one of the rare finds nowadays with its availability of analog equipment to capture the sweet sounds of country like it used to be.

Central to the process was getting Charlie McCoy, the multi-talented instrumentalist whose awards include a best instrumental Grammy for "The Real McCoy" album, two CMA awards and seven Academy of Country Music awards for instrumentalist of the year. After 32 albums of his own, Charlie knows the business inside out, upside down and backwards.

Charlie's credits are an amazing list of show-stoppers, including numerous Elvis Presley movie sound tracks and albums and five Bob Dylan albums, including the monster hit "Blonde on Blonde."

That's his trademark harmonica heard on most of the "Country as Cornbread" cuts.

You'll also find credits for big Nashville names like: 

Wayne Moss, a founder of Barefoot Jerry and Area Code 615, now owner of Cinderella Studios, engineered the "Country as Cornbread" session and has played on hundreds of hit sessions; 

Hargus "Pig" Robbins, the blind pianist who became Nashville's top-sought keyboardist for recording sessions;

Russ Hicks, one of the great steel guitarists, who played on many of the top sessions where McCoy, Moss and Robbins also appeared.

Barry Chance, a slide guitarist extraordinaire of the Jimmy B. band, drummer Aaron Spraggs, pianist Speedy Wyatt,

Among these giants were other very talented musicians -- like Kentucky Opry stars Buddy McDaniel, whose lead guitar and vocals graced that stage for so many years; Clayton Campbell, the young fiddler and Ronnie Griggs on bass.

So one of the big bonuses you'll find in the "Country and Cornbread" album is the Who's Who credits.

John Austin pays tribute to assemblage of talent on the album itself, with his song:  "I Don't Think They Do." The title refers to fans of much of today's country music who think they have a good handle on what country music is.

He specifically cites his opportunity to play next to the greats around the studio, such as "the sho-nuff real McCoy."

John's late father and hero

Charlie McCoy: 1 of 32 albums

Wayne Moss - Barefoot Jerry

Hargus "Pig" Robbins

LINKS:  You can read about some of John's heroes in the Cinderella Studio session by clicking on the pictures at right.