Music Publishing
Ron Rowe served as President of JW Pepper following the tennor of his dear friend Dean Burtch. The two men were not only incredible business partners, they were close personal friends. Using the same passion and ethics as Dean, Ron helped grow the business during very trying times including a...
Charles Slater had a rich background in music publishing, having worked with a number of companies before arriving at JW Pepper. At Pepper, Charles worked on many projects over the years and expanded his interest in the accounting department to the level of becoming the CFO. His passion for...
Kathy Fernandes was lucky enough to have an inspiring flute teacher while in high school that helped encourage and foster Kathy’s interest in music. In fact, Kathy pursued a career as a school music teacher thanks to those teachers she learned from. While in graduate school, she was hired as a...
George Pajon Jr. is a founding member of the Black Eyed Peas and the musical producer and director for Fergie, Carlos Santana and Los Lonely, among others. His music career began as a guitarist and over the years he has been active within the music products industry. Among the companies he has...
Rick Hall was born just down the country road from Sam Philips, the founder of Sun Records in Memphis. Perhaps there was something in the Florence River there near Muscle Shoals because Rick too went on to establish a famous recording studio, Fame! Rick entered the music publishing industry in...
Michael Puryear is the president of Final Four Music in Nashville, a music publisher that has worked with Amy Grant, The Oak Ridge Boys and Vince Gill, among many others. Michael’s career has covered many aspects of the music industry including being a songwriter himself. In fact, since his...
Lee Paynter outlined the rich history of the JW Pepper Publishing Company during his NAMM Oral History interview. Lee covered the founding of the company in 1876 by James Welsh Pepper who in the early days not only printed sheet music but also made musical instruments. In fact, Lee told the story...
Diane Cobb is the Director of the Church Music Publishers Association (CMPA). The association was formed back in 1926 to create a united front on key areas that concern its membership including education and copyright protection. Diane has played a vital role in the goal of facilitating outreach...
Dickey Lee grew up in Memphis and began playing at dances and parties at an early age. He would often introduce a new song that he wrote along with the hits of the day. In 1957, Dickey recorded for Sun Records and later became known for his teenage tragedy songs such as “Laurie (Strange Things...
Jerry Foster was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame based on his long and successful career in music. Over the years he has penned such country classics with his partner Bill Rice as “Southern Rains” recorded by Mel Tillis and “We’re in this Love Together” recorded by Al Jarreau...