HLN host Robin Meade and prominent entertainment lawyer Joel Katz, who are teaming up to raise money for charity this fall, have both philanthropy and music in common.
The host of “Morning Express With Robin Meade” has just released her second album, “Count on Me.”
“A lot of viewers know me visually; they don’t necessarily know my music,” Meade said in an interview.
The recording is available at Target stores and by iTunes download. (If you want just a sample, we recommend the awesome bluegrass version of “True Colors.”)
“Why do a cover that’s just going to sound like the other person’s version?” she mused. “I do like putting country touches on songs.”
Fans of the album include Katz, a legend in entertainment law with a client list that started with James Brown and has included Dallas Austin, Michael Jackson, Jimmy Buffett and Justin Timberlake.
“Joel Katz is recognized as powerful, but more often what people say about him is how involved he is on a personal level,” Meade said. “I recently wrote an email. He wrote back saying, ‘How are you doing? I know you have your second album.’”
Before long, Katz, the chairman emeritus of the annual Atlanta Best Cellars Dinner benefiting the T.J. Martell Foundation, had persuaded Meade to co-host this year’s event. The foundation, headquartered in New York with divisions in Nashville covering the Southeast and in Los Angeles covering the West Coast, raises money to fund leukemia, cancer and AIDS research. In Atlanta, the foundation supports the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.
“For me, it combines the love of music and (journalism); my job is to bring the latest news about what is going on,” Meade said. “I couldn’t think of a better group to do it with.”
On Thursday, Katz hosted a kickoff party for this year’s event at Greenberg Traurig, where he heads the firm’s global entertainment and media practice.
“We keep a lot of the money locally,” he said of the funds raised by Best Cellars. “People in our community really do benefit.”
This year's event, co-hosted by Larry Beckwith, Robert Polay and David Kurzweil along with Meade, is planned for 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Buckhead Ritz-Carlton. The dinner is being co-chaired by Don Perry and Dr. Bill Torres, and the wine host co-chairs are Angelle and Art Hamilton and Merry McCleary and Ann Pasky. The entertainment advisory board co-chairs are Lonnie Cooper, Bernard Parks and Steve Smith.
Sponsorship levels begin at $1,700 and individual tickets are $800. Contact LHuck@TJMartell.org for more information.
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