Iconic singer/songwriters Rosanne Cash (“I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me,” “Seven Year Ache”), Sonny Curtis (“I Fought The Law,” “I’m No Stranger To The Rain”), Frank Rogers (“I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song),” “Alright”) and Steve Wariner (“Long Necked Bottle,” “Holes In The Floor Of Heaven”) will headline 2017’s “The First And The Worst.” While the assembled talent include a Rock And Roll Hall of Fame member, two members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, a celebrated hit-making producer and the winners of eight Grammy® trophies and represent the best of the music business, they’ll take to the stage to perform the very first and worst songs they have ever written as they divulge the stories and the songs that led to their biggest hits. Hosted by Grammy nominated producer/songwriter/music critic, Peter Cooper, this unique event allows the audience to peek inside the brilliant minds of hit songwriters long before they had ever written a chart-topper or had songs recorded by superstar artists, all for a worthy cause. Additional performers for 2017’s third annual event will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Proceeds from “The First And The Worst” ticket sales will benefit Music Health Alliance, the music industry’s non-profit healthcare advocate. Sponsor tables start at $1,500 and can be purchased by contacting Music Health Alliance’s Shelia Shipley Biddy at [email protected]. In addition, a silent auction will be held at the March 1 “The First And The Worst” event with items from country’s top stars and area businesses. Funds raised will help Music Health Alliance Protect, Direct & Connect music industry professionals with medical and financial solutions.

About Music Health Alliance: Music Health Alliance is music’s resource for healthcare. The mission of Music Health Alliance is to heal the music by providing access to healthcare through services that PROTECT, DIRECT & CONNECT music industry professionals with medical and financial solutions.  Music Health Alliance provides compassionate and patient-driven healthcare support with a vision of long-term prevention of illness and overall wellness from the beginning to the end of life for all genres of music across the nation.  In the last 3 years Music Health Alliance has secured over $14.5 million dollars in life-changing healthcare resources and enabled access to doctors, medicine, health insurance and financial assistance for 4,600 music industry entrepreneurs and professionals to heal the music. To learn more or donate to Music Health Alliance, visit musichealthalliance.com and engage on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About Rosanne Cash: One of the country’s pre-eminent singer/songwriters, Rosanne Cash has released 15 albums of extraordinary songs that have earned four GRAMMY Awards and nominations for 11 more, as well as 21 top-40 hits, including 11 No. 1 singles. She is also an author whose four books include the best-selling memoir Composed, which the Chicago Tribune called “one of the best accounts of an American life you’ll likely ever read.” Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Oxford-American, the Nation and many more print and online publications. In addition to continual touring, Cash has partnered in programming collaborations with Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, San Francisco Jazz, Minnesota Orchestra and The Library of Congress. She was awarded the SAG/AFTRA Lifetime Achievement award for Sound Recordings in 2012 and received the 2014 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award in the Performing Arts. She was chosen as a Perspective Series artist at Carnegie Hall and hosted four concerts (including a major show of her own in February 2016) during their 2015/16 season. She continues her association with Carnegie Hall as a Creative Partner. She also served as 2015 Artist-in-Residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. On October 11, 2015 she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. Cash’s landmark 2009 album, “The List,” won the Americana Music Album of the Year award. In her latest release, “The River and the Thread,” a collaboration with husband/co-writer/producer and arranger John Leventhal, Cash evokes a kaleidoscopic examination of the geographic, emotional, musical and historic landscape of the American South. The album has received impressive worldwide acclaim and attained the highest debut in the Billboard charts of any of her previous albums. It received 3 Grammy Awards in 2015.

About Sonny Curtis: Sonny Curtis has penned over 500 songs, recorded by legendary artists across the musical spectrum, including Holly, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Hank Williams, Jr., Bing Crosby, The Everly Brothers, The Grateful Dead, Green Day, Roy Orbison, The Clash. In addition to playing lead guitar on Buddy’s recordings of "Blue Days, Black Nights," "Midnight Shift," and his own composition of "Rock Around With Ollie Vee," he crafted one of the most recognized and recorded rock anthems in “I Fought the Law," originally recorded on the album "In Style With the Crickets." The song later made stars of The Bobby Fuller Four when they recorded it in 1964. One of the first declarations of rock and roll rebellion, "I Fought the Law" has since been covered by everyone from the Hank Williams Jr. to the Clash to garage punk bands the world over. Additionally, he wrote "Walk Right Back" for the Everly Brothers, co-wrote Keith Whitley’s “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” (1989 CMA’s Single Of The Year), and wrote “Love Is All Around”, the theme song for the Mary Tyler Moore Show.  Sonny is a member of BMI's "Million Airs Club" in recognition for "I Fought the Law," "More Than I Can Say" (co-written with J.I. Allison), "Walk Right Back," "The Straight Life," and "I'm No Stranger to the Rain," each of which achieved 1,000,000 air plays. His wide-ranging contributions to songwriting earned him a place in the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) Hall of Fame in 1991. Sonny was inducted into the "Music City Walk of Fame" in April, 2007, "The Musicians Hall Of Fame" in October, 2009 and on April 14, 2012 he was inducted into the "The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame" (along with two other Crickets).

About Frank Rogers: Frank Rogers takes pride in his reputation as a chameleon. As a producer, songwriter, publisher and independent label owner, the South Carolina native is one of Nashville’s most diverse executives.   Co-founder of Sea Gayle Music with Brad Paisley and songwriter Chris DuBois, Rogers has co-written such hits as Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” and Darius Rucker’s “Alright”; produced 39 #1 hits by the likes of Paisley, Rucker, Trace Adkins, Scotty McCreery and Josh Turner to name a few; and launched Sea Gayle Records with albums by Jerrod Niemann and Sheryl Crow. Sea Gayle Publishing has logged 40 #1 singles, including Luke Bryan’s “Drink A Beer,” Tim McGraw’s “Southern Girl” and Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” In 2016, Frank founded Fluid Music Revolution in conjunction with Spirit Music Group.

About Steve Wariner: In 1976, Chet Atkins signed Steve Wariner to a singles deal with RCA Records. His first few releases resulted in top 10 hits with “Your Memory,” “By Now,”  “All Roads Lead To You.” “Midnight Fire” and “Lonely Women Make Good Lovers.” His career took off when he left RCA for MCA in 1984. His first single “What I Didn’t Do” was a top 10 hit in 1985 continued by 18 consecutive top 10 hits and 14 number one singles. Just a few of the chart toppers included “Some Fools Never Learn,” “Small Town Girl,” and “The Weekend.”  In 1997, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Garth Brooks recorded one of Wariner’s compositions “Long Necked Bottle” which went to number one. Wariner was signed to Capital Records and released “Holes In The Floor Of Heaven” topping out in the top 5 and winning CMA’s Song and Single of The Year. Wariner is a four-time Grammy winner. Wariner has also celebrated success as a songwriter with cuts by Keith Urban and Clint Black.

About Peter Cooper: Peter Cooper is a Grammy-losing musician, producer, singer-songwriter, and recording artist. He is a Museum Editor at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and a Senior Lecturer in country music at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. He likes to think of himself as handsome and wise. Kris Kristofferson said, “Peter Cooper looks at the world with an artist’s eye and a human heart and soul. His songs are the work of an original, creative imagination… Deep stuff. And they get better every time you listen to them.” Peter’s wife, Charlotte, said, “Enough already."