Songwriter Loudon Wainwright III once summed up the Grammys with the immortal line, "I'd like to thank my producer, and Jesus Christ."
That same mix of industry self-love, schmooze-fest and spiritual fervor goes double when the country music industry takes its turn each fall."The 29th Annual CMA Awards" television special airs on CBS from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. MST Wednesday, Oct. 4. (KUTV, Ch. 2, in Salt Lake City.)
In typical awards show format, country stars like Mary Chapin Carpenter, George Strait and Pam Tillis will perform, read cue-card jokes and accept awards with speeches - some not too far removed from Wainwright's parody.
Vince Gill, who cleaned up at last year's show with the entertainer and male vocalist awards, will be host of the show for the second year running.
Producer Walter C. Miller, who has been running the CMA Awards for a quarter-century, said the perennially high-rated show isn't broke, so there's no need to fix it.
"We paid a lot of money for a survey on what people liked and didn't like about it," Miller said. The conclusion: "Everyone's happy."
Miller has produced the Grammys for 16 years, and the Tonys for nine. "They're all nominee-driven shows,' he said. "That's just it."
Though old hands like Gill, Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire dominate the nominees list once again, there are some fresh faces on the program.
A banner year for crossover bluegrass-based artist Alison Krauss was recognized with four nominations: female vocalist, single and vocal event of the year, and the Horizon Award for most promising artist. Krauss will perform, as will a very different 1995 success story - Shania Twain.
Twain is married to rock producer Mutt Lange, who added a touch of Def Leppard when he produced her second album, "The Woman in Me." The result was a million-selling crossover smash. Twain is nominated for best single and The Horizon Award for most promising.
She will perform the nominated song "Any Man of Mine" - arguably the first time the Grand Ole Opry stage ever rocks to the rhythm of Queen's "We Will Rock You," which Twain and Lange appropriated for her hit.
Icon Dolly Parton will perform, as will McEntire, David Ball, John Michael Montgomery and John Berry. One surefire poignant moment will be the induction of Roger Miller of "King of the Road" fame into the Hall of Fame.
Miller was an inventive and well-liked artist in Nashville whose heyday was in the 1960s, with a string of hits including "Dang Me," "Little Green Apples" and "Engine Engine No. 9." He died of cancer in 1992.
About 7,000 country music industry insiders nominate and vote on who to award. The Academy of Country Music stages a similar show in California in the spring, and each summer the "TNN Music City News Awards" are awarded. The latter awards are fan-voted.
"The CMA Awards" historically have been a ratings winner for CBS, almost always ranking in the top 10 for the week. The show will air on BBC-2 in England, and will be syndicated in Canada.
"When I started doing this, my friends in New York all asked me, `What are you doing country music for?' " producer Miller said. "In the past five years, as country music has grown, I've had more positive feedback than ever before."
- FINALISTS - Here are the finalists for 1995 Country Music Association awards:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR:
Brooks & Dunn
Garth Brooks
Vince Gill
Alan Jackson
Reba McEntire
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Alison Krauss
Patty Loveless
Reba McEntire
Pam Tillis
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
John Berry
Vince Gill
Alan Jackson
John Michael Montgomery
George Strait
SINGLE OF THE YEAR (for singer):
"Any Man of Mine," Shania Twain
"Baby Likes to Rock It," The Tractors
"Gone Country," Alan Jackson
"The Keeper of the Stars," Tracy Byrd
"When You Say Nothing at All," Alison Krauss & Union Station
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
"John Michael Montgomery," John Michael Montgomery
"Lead On," George Strait
"When Fallen Angels Fly," Patty Loveless
"When Love Finds You," Vince Gill
"Who I Am,' Alan Jackson
HORIZON AWARD:
David Ball
John Berry
Faith Hill
Alison Krauss
Shania Twain
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR:
BlackHawk
Diamond Rio
The Mavericks
Sawyer Brown
Shenandoah
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR:
Bellamy Brothers
Brooks & Dunn
Brother Phelps
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
John & Audrey Wiggins
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR:
"Any Man of Mine," Shania Twain
"Baby Likes to Rock It," The Tractors
"I Don't Even Know Your Name," Alan Jackson
"The Red Strokes," Garth Brooks
"When Love Finds You," Vince Gill
SONG OF THE YEAR (for songwriter):
"Don't Take the Girl," Craig Martin, Larry Johnson
"Gone Country," Bob McDill
"How Can I Help You Say Goodbye," Burton Banks Collins, Karen Taylor-Good
"Independence Day," Gretchen Peters
"Thinkin' Problem,' David Ball, Allen Shamblin, Stuart Ziff
VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR:
Chet Atkins and Suzy Bogguss, "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"
George Jones and Alan Jackson, "A Good Year for the Roses"
George Jones and Tammy Wynette, "One"
Shenandoah and Alison Krauss, "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart"
Diamond Rio, Lee Roy Parnell and Steve Wariner, "Workin' Man Blues"
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR:
Eddie Bayers, drums
Paul Franklin, steel guitar
Brent Mason, guitar
Mark O'Connor, fiddle
Matt Rollings, keyboards