Hometown News
| Company type | Independent |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Country music albums and singles |
Hometown News was a country music duo from the United States, composed of singer-songwriters Ron Kingery and Scott Whitehead, both serving as vocalists and guitar players. They independently released two albums and achieved chart success with two singles on the Billboard country charts, their most successful track being "Minivan," which peaked at number 37 in 2002.
History
Prior to forming the duo, Ron Kingery gained experience as a studio engineer for several Nashville country musicians and also composed music for children. Scott Whitehead, a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin and a former United States Navy pilot, was working as a songwriter in Nashville when he encountered Kingery at a songwriting workshop in 1996. Together, they performed at the Grand Ole Opry and various military installations.
Recording career
In 2002, Hometown News signed with VFR Records and released their album Wheels, featuring the Top 40 hit "Minivan." They embarked on a nationwide tour sponsored by Ford Motor Company. However, after VFR Records shut down in 2002, the duo lost their recording contract.
The pair also delivered renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America" during game six of the 2004 National League Championship Series held at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
By 2005, they had secured a deal with independent label Quarterback Records and issued their second album, Hometown News, in 2006; this release did not produce any singles that entered the charts.
Scott Whitehead passed away on March 12, 2021, due to causes that were not disclosed.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Wheels |
|
| Hometown News |
|
Singles
style="font-size:smaller;"| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | |||||||||
| 2002 | "Minivan" | 37 | Wheels | ||||||
| "Wheels" | 47 | ||||||||
| 2003 | "First Second Chance" | — | |||||||
| 2004 | "Revitalize" | — | |||||||
| "If I Could" | — | Hometown News | |||||||
| 2005 | "That's Country to Me" | — | |||||||
| 2006 | "Brand New Me" | — | |||||||
| "God Bless the Children" (with Wayne Warner and the Nashville All-Star Choir) | — | Turbo Twang'n | |||||||
| "—" indicates singles that did not chart | |||||||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Revitalize" | |
| "If I Could" |