Holly Gleason is an American music critic, songwriter, and music industry consultant. Focused primarily on country and roots music, she has written for '' Rolling Stone'', the '' New York Times'', and ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', among others. As a publicist, Gleason has worked with artists including Kenny Chesney,

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were solo ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

, John Prine, and Rodney Crowell. Under the name Lady Goodman, she co-wrote "

Better as a Memory "Better as a Memory" is a song written by Scooter Carusoe and Lady Goodman and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Chesney. It was released in March 2008 as the fourth and final single from Chesney's 2007 album '' Just Who I Am: Poets ...

," a #1 hit on the ''Billboard Hot Country'' charts for Chesney in 2008.

Early life and education

Gleason grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She earned a BA in communications from the University of Miami and an MFA in writing from Spalding University.

Career

Music critic, publicist

While still in college, Gleason began her career as a music critic for the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...

.'' From 1990 through 1993, she worked as a publicist for Sony Music Nashville, and subsequently founded Joe's Garage, a Nashville-based public relations and artist development agency. While the company was active (1993-2008), she additionally served as the features editor for ''

Hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

'' (1998-2000), and founded a blog, ''The Yummy List.'' Gleason has freelanced as a music critic and journalist since 1993. She was nominated for Best Cultural Reporting for her 2015 essay, “The Impossible Lightness of Being Taylor Swift,” by the International Network of Street Papers. In 2016, she was awarded a fellowship by the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

’s CWRU Center for Pop Music Studies. Gleason edited ''Woman Walk the Line: How the Women in Country Music Changed Our Lives,'' a collection of essays by female music writers on the artists that inspired them. It was published in September 2017 by the University of Texas Press as part of their American Music Series.

Lady Goodman

Gleason writes songs under the pen name Lady Goodman, a character in the film '' Almost Famous.'' She has collaborated with Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Bill Deasy, Matchbox 20's Kyle Cook, Restless Heart's Larry Stewart, Marc Lee Shannon and Andrea Zonn. After working as Chesney's publicist, she co-wrote "Better as a Memory" with

Travis Hill Travis LaVell Hill (October 3, 1969 – March 28, 2018) was an American professional football player who played two seasons in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers. Drafted in the 7th round by the Clevelan ...

(credited as Scooter Carusoe). Chesney recorded the song unaware that Gleason had written it, and included it on his 2007 album ''Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates.''

References

External links

Official site

The Yummy List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleason, Holly Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Rock critics American country songwriters People from Shaker Heights, Ohio Spalding University alumni University of Miami School of Communication alumni