FLORENCE – Music was changing in fall of 1975.
Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” had lost ground to “Fame,” David Bowie’s super-charged funk rock song that features John Lennon. Disco was becoming more firmly entrenched on the radio waves. Punk rock was in its nascent stages, a reaction to the mainstream progressive and string-heavy pop that dominated the times.
This is the backdrop that Dr. Frank McArthur, then head of the University of North Alabama’s Department of Music, and Muscle Shoals studio owner and record producer Terry Woodford had to establish the Commercial Music Program at the institution.
With help from Henry Romersa, the coordinator of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Institute, the program was among a few in the nation and the first in Alabama.
What set UNA’s program apart – what makes it so intrinsically special – is the proximity of the department to the Muscle Shoals music community. Then, as now, students capitalized on the aggressive internship program with local music companies and other music centers in the U.S.
Now, 50 years later, the Department of Entertainment Industry, as it has been known since 2009, is celebrating this milestone with the launch of a video series celebrating the evolution of the program as well as the pivotal figures’ part of its earliest decades.
The series is available on the department’s YouTube channel at this link. Some of the videos will also be featured on UNA.edu as well as in short-form reels on social media.
“With a long-standing tradition, the University of North Alabama’s Department of Entertainment Industry will celebrate 50 years of educating students for careers in the music and entertainment industry in the fall of 2025,” said department Chair Janna Malone. “The program has been at the forefront of shaping the future of music professionals, and we are proud to continue empowering the next generation of industry leaders.
“As we mark this significant milestone, we look forward to even more groundbreaking achievements and opportunities in the years to come.”
Among those included in the video series are John Briggs, former vice president of American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and department alum; Kevin Lamb, publisher, department alum, and former adjunct professor in the department; Dr. Frank McArthur, co-founder of the program and retired UNA dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Jimmy Simpson, retired UNA faculty and chair of the Department of Music; program co-founder, studio owner, publisher, and producer Terry Woodford; and Walt Aldridge, award-winning songwriter, Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame inductee, Academy of Country Music Poet’s Award recipient, publisher, producer, and former faculty member in the department.
“With this collection of interviews, we wanted to set the stage for our alumni to tell the story of the department from their perspective,” said Ben Flippo, department staff member and producer of the series. “Stories from John Paul White, Lillian Glanton, Dillon Hodges, Kenny Rodgers, and many others are still to come. It’s been interesting to hear all these individual stories and see how they weave together to tell the story of the department.”
The department hosts annual events to showcase the talents of the students and faculty, one of whom is White, a Grammy Award-winning artist and graduate of the program. He also serves as Eminent Visiting Artist of Practice in the department.
“I love spreading the good word about the Department of Entertainment Industry at UNA,” said White. “I owe so much of my success to the foundational support, tutelage, and networking expertise.
“Fifty great years – and the best is yet to come.”
In addition to White, some of the other notable alumni from the department include Kodi Chandler, director of Client and Business Development at Hill Entertainment Group; Blake McDaniel, talent agent at Conway Entertainment and Founder of Daps Landing Media; Ben Skipworth, video director and producer, Academy of Country Music Video of the Year recipient; Mark Narmore, hit songwriter; Maggie Mitchell, road manager for John Paul White; and Cody Payne, talent agent at Conway Entertainment and manager of the Red Clay Strays.
In the summer of 2012, the department moved to 122 West Tombigbee Street in downtown Florence, which houses faculty and staff offices, classrooms a MIDI lab, a writer’s room, two recording studios, and the Mane Room, a 450-seat venue.
Throughout the years, the program has proven successful in generating graduates with a music/entertainment industry degree who are songwriters, recording artists, musicians, music publishers, record company executives, attorneys, producers, engineers, artist managers, venue managers, and more.
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