Nikki Hornsby

Nikki Hornsby
Background information
Birth name	Nikki Hornsby
Born	Long Beach, California, U.S.
Genres	pop, Americana, country christian and blues
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter, record producer, arranger, author, businesswoman, band leader
Instruments	vocals, guitar
Years active	1970s–present
Labels	CJP-NHRecords
Associated acts	Nikki Hornsby and The Rangers
Website	CJP-NHRecords website

Nikki Hornsby (born in Long Beach, California growing up in Burke, Virginia) is an American pop, Americana, country and blues as a songwriter singer guitarist.

Teenage years

Nikki Hornsby^[1] was born in Long Beach, California,^[2] but grew up in Fairfax County of North Virginia where she earned her first guitar selling flower seeds in the countryside door to door at age ten. As a young teenager, Hornsby was contracted to perform as a solo singer and guitar artist representing her boarding school at social events, hospitals, and TV broadcasts. She was paid to perform by Gulf Corporation at the newly built Reston, VA community Lake Anne square for an outdoor solo concert. After graduating Fairfax Hall Waynesboro, Virginia college preparatory school, Hornsby attended Sacred Heart and Belmont Abbey Colleges North Carolina full-time, while performing at The Sheraton Motel Lounge and other various local clubs. While majoring in Psychology and Theology she transferred to George Mason University in Virginia, Hornsby continued working full-time accepting contracts for solo work as a singer and Musicians Union guitarist and stand up singer in a combo or duo. Some of these union contracts were at Marriott Hotels & Resorts Key Bridges Hotel Lounge in Arlington, Virginia. Nikki Hornsby in the early 1970s was the first female singer-guitar player performing on the Auto Train that traveled from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL and also was contracted as a stand up singer with a union piano player that she met on the auto train along with some other local union musicians in many clubs in Washington D.C. They worked the surrounding area, including Lucky Pierre's Lounge at L'Enfant Plaza, the Watergate complex in their main cocktail lounge as well as a solo guitarist at fine waterside Washington DC restaurants.

1970s

In the mid-1970s, Hornsby moved back to California and worked full-time as a club performer, where she stayed building her life and career. Many clubs in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, CA, USA like Portofino Inn, Blue Moon Saloon, Holiday Inn, Red Onion, Queensway Bay Hilton, etc.

1980s

Nikki Hornsby in 1980s

By working full time in music purchasing a home, in the late 1980s Hornsby received a local Lomita California business owner, Ken Herbert, financial backing offer to record her original songs under her own record label CJP-NHRecords. Quickly thereafter, Hornsby marketed her music to commercial radio stations making the charts and trade magazines throughout Europe and in the USA.

Only a few of Hornsby's original performed songs were recorded and released for airplay on commercial radio stations in the USA and Europe. In Mallorca, Spain, the "ACM Newsletter" as well as other print publications noted Hornsby's song "One Way Ticket" as number one.^[3] During that same time "Hungry For Love", Let Me Take You On A Dream" and "Hot Talkin’ Big Shot" were airplayed in Europe. All four songs reached the top ten on radio station charts.

In 1988, following Hornsby's releases of "One Way Ticket", "Hungry For Love", "Let Me Take You On A Dream", "Hot Talkin’ Big Shot", and "Shoe String And A Prayer", she was named Female Singer of the Year in Scandinavia. In 1989, "Shoe String And A Prayer" charted Top 5 in the USA IRC (independent) country singles, as well as in the Cash Box Top 100 USA National commercial charts.

1990s

In the 1990s again through independent investors, "Shoestring and a Prayer" obtained USA radio airplay from independent and major commercial radio stations as well as other commercial music trade publications.^[4] "Shoestring and a Prayer" was No. 1 the entire month of August on The Music Review Top 30 Independent Chart, NY, No. 3 in the Top 30 (IRC) Debut Independent Radio Chart, Nashville, TN, No. 11 on the Cash Box Independent Chart, and No. 14 Indie Bullet Mag. Top 100 Chart, Tyler, TX.

Hornsby was working full-time as a club performer, solo singer guitarist, plus leader of duo to full band, throughout the time of her first recorded releases. She worked at Marriotts, Sheraton, Hilton, Holiday Inn Lounges and many more throughout the USA. Nikki did her own contract work except for a few club contracts that were booked through her non-exclusive agency Castle-Hill Ent., Los Angeles, CA. Castle-Hill Ent. is Nikki's exclusive agent for all television and film appearances, i.e. Fox Network's Parker Lewis TV Show "Diner75" in 1992.^[5]

Nikki Hornsby and The Rangers

Hornsby formed her back up band "Nikki Hornsby and The Rangers",^[6] and together she as the leader performed in many annual concerts and at local Southern California venues including Alpine Village in Torrance Hornsby herself did all the contract booking and travel arrangements. In August 1991, Nikki Hornsby and The Rangers performed at Redondo Beach's Summer Concert in the Park. That summer, they drew in the largest crowd and were invited back to perform again in a series of six years in "Concerts on the Pier".^[7] Hornsby always focused on the solo songwriting recording aspect of her career, although still performing as leader of her band at different venues.

TV appearances

Nikki Hornsby with Dr Laura Schlessinger

	Hot Talkin' Big Shot used as cue music in Dr Laura Schlessinger radio program as
Problems playing this file? See media help.

In the early 1990s, Nikki Hornsby appeared as a solo folk singer guitarist on the final show of Fox Network's "Parker Lewis Can't Lose". Shortly after, Hornsby had the opportunity to record as a solo singer-songwriter with Steve Duncan (Desert Rose Band), Jack Daniels (Hwy 101 Band), Jay Dee Manness (Desert Rose Band), John Jorgensen (Desert Rose Band) as well as Al Bruno who was a multi year Academy of Country Music (ACM, Los Angeles, CA) award winning guitarist (CA Country Music News, San Jose, CA Vol 2 No. 20, Pg 9, April 1991).

Nikki Hornsby was nominated four different years (official ACM Ballot, composer category, 1991, 1992, 1994) for a position on the ACM's Board of Directors.

Hornsby acted as a judge for the California Country Music Awards^[8] and as a Music Industry Talent Judge for the National Colgate Talent Roundup from 1990s until 2003.^[9] Hornsby has been a consultant exclusive to the music industry since she obtained the business licence in 1989.

Dr Laura Schlessinger used Hornsby's song, "Hot Talkin' Big Shot", for several years on The Dr. Laura radio program as cue music and also for a national radio commercial advertising Ms. Schlessinger's radio show.^[10]

2004 Performances in Europe

Nikki Hornsby on Spanish TV

In late 2004 Hornsby co-produced and arranged ten original songs on a CJP-NHRecords CD called "Just Wait" with Marty Rifkin, who has worked on recordings with major recording artists within the music industry for many years including "Jewel" & "The Boss".

Hornsby traveled throughout many countries in Europe from end of 2004 to 2007 test marketing her "Just Wait" CD along with other original songs. This was done before CJP-NHRecords released "Just Wait" for airplay.

In 2006, Hornsby performed the break out song from "Just Wait" called "Money's Worth" at the International Automobile Associations Annual International Event in Frankfurt, Germany.^[11] "Money's Worth" and other originals were broadcast European wide through Truck Radio which reported this song as number one on the Truck Radio European Charts.^[12]

That same year a commercial radio station, Radio Eurohertz^[13] in Eastern Germany near the Czech Republic border, invited Hornsby to perform a live three-hour show of only her own original music which was only a small percentage of her large catalog.

In 2006, The International World Cup Soccer Games took place in Europe was telecast on CNN TV internationally. Hornsby's song "This IS America" written for Joan Milke Flores from the "Just Wait" CD was broadcast^[14] for the warm up game of USA vs. Italy which was held in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Hornsby herself was one of the VIP Hosts for that city's tourist center for the six games of the FIFA World Cup Soccer Championship held in 2006.^[15]

Hornsby appeared on TV in Spain IB3 April 2006 as well as performed live original songs including songs she wrote in other languages like "Yo Tengo Un Amor" on numerous live commercial radio telecasts in Palma.^[16] She did many on air live interviews at different radio stations like Una Radio, Radio Balear, Ultima Hora and Punto Radio in Spain that same week in April 2006.

While in Europe, Hornsby supported the US military community for several months. The work included such activities as performing on stage, instruction in guitar & singing, and judging in US Air Force Idol Talent Contest.^[17]

2007 Forward Additional information

Nikki Hornsby's grandfather - Dan Hornsby

As a BMI associated songwriter, Hornsby herself has written over 300 songs, some of which have been used on radio, TV, and in movies. Songs where the music by Hornsby and lyrics by Weinberg collaboration like a prior radio commercial repeated on CJP-NHRecords "Reaching Out" CD.

Her family association with Jimmy Van Heusen,^[18] Emmy and Oscar songwriter for Frank Sinatra^[19] and others, influenced Hornsby at a very young age. Documents can be found in the Library of UCLA in Los Angeles CA^[20] holding Hornsby's first recordings and industry photos among the Jimmy Van Heusen collection.

Hornsby achieved commercial airplay success years prior joined the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy's) end of 2006 as a voting member.^[21][22] The NARAS committee placed compositions of music from Hornsby's commercial charted "Just Wait" CD on the first ballot in 2007 in 8 different categories.

A European Military Community VIP base pass in June 2006 allowed access for Nikki while she was in Europe and she volunteered to play guitar and sing at the small Daenner Kaserne Chapel weekly for the military community church services on this military base in Germany. End of 2006 she was told there was a two-year waiting list and asked if she would have time to give music and vocal instructions at the community center at Vogelweh for military men and women and their families. She believed waiting that long was unacceptable and made the time with her CJP-NHRecords work to provide instructions with her very own Nikki Hornsby learning method.

2007 for appointments and networking during Grammy week, Hornsby had to take leave to travel alone to Los Angeles, CA but agreed to be back in a few days. She was injured^[23] in an international airplane in-flight accident February 8, 2007. She was unable to continue to write or professionally perform her music while recovering from these injuries for the next few years.

2009 CJP-NHRecords released "Just Wait Instrumentally" which is the instrumental version of the "Just Wait" CD released in 2006. 2010-2014 Video Support of Nikki Hornsby songs found on YouTube. DVDs made available through CJP-NHRecords.com

2014-2015 CJP-NHRecords released three singles of 1 pop dance uptempo and 2 pop orchestral of Hornsby music and lyrics from collaborative work with international talents. Singles found on iTunes and eStores worldwide. These three Hornsby pop singles are listed first ballot 2014 in the arrangement, instruments and vocal category of the 57th Grammy TV awards process for 2015.

Hornsby alone has carried on the Hornsby music family tradition as the granddaughter of the Columbia Recording artist Dan Hornsby who was a A&R representative for Columbia/RCA in Atlanta GA in the early years, was a radio program director, Radio WSB DJ, a professional musician, a producer engineer for Columbia and a singer-songwriter, a recording artist with many 78 full recordings.

Dan Hornsby was the first recorded voice of "The Arkansas Traveler" song. He recorded many other songs like "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", "Oh! Susanna", "Little Brown Jug" "Little Lisa Jane" and "Danny Boy". Hornsby never met her grandfather, who was inducted posthumously into the Atlanta Music Hall of Fame in 1986 for his lifetime of work in the music industry. The Grammy Museum, Los Angeles, CA in 2013 displayed Dan Hornsby's work for Columbia Records 360 event for a year-long. This Grammy Museum display was seen by Nikki Hornsby in a private viewing where she learned even more through the curators and Ex. Director of the Grammy Museum about the man whose work was before she was born as she carries forward in her professional life time career a noteworthy Hornsby music tradition.

Samples of music

• Just Lovin' You' Pop orchestral 2014 release'

• Flyin' Over Sweet Alabama (reached No. 27 on Cashbox charts^[1])

• Travel On

• Momma's Blues

• Just Wait

1. ^ [1] Archived October 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.

Discography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nikki Hornsby.

• CJP-NHRecords website
• Billboard.com: Nikki Hornsby listed Billboard
• Nikki Hornsby's Updated Links Page
• A List of previous paid performances
• Consulting Exclusive to Music Industry and Record Label
• Nikki Hornsby on IAA TV Frankfurt
• IAA Frankfurt Germany
• Nikki Hornsby, Just Loving You on YouTube
• Nikki Hornsby, Music Is The Only Thing Pop Orchestral YouTube
• Nikki Hornsby Broadcast Music Inc. BMI website listing
• Nikki Hornsby Grammy Museum 2013 Columbia Grandfather's Display
• Columbia Records 360 Event 2013