They came from Clinton: Jimmy Jay Blauw – Jayson Promotions, Inc.

By Audrey Buchanan

For The Topper

This is the eighth in a series of stories about Clinton schools alumni and where they are today.

Mr. Jimmy Jay Blauw, a 1957 graduate of Clinton High School, has made a name for himself in the country music industry. He currently owns and is the president of Jayson Promotions, Inc. in Hendersonville, Tenn.

Jayson Promotions is a multi-faceted company that produces concerts, schedules entertainment for fairs and special events, and works side-by-side with some of country music’s biggest stars. The company as it is known now, was officially formed in 1983. A subsidiary company, Concert Staging, Inc., was founded in 1984.

Concert Staging, Inc. provides events with the highest quality staging services possible. There were many steps and changes that happened along the way to make the company and its subsidiary what they are today.

Blauw did not set out with the intent of being involved in the music business. It happened quite coincidentally. He owned a painting business and store, the Jim Blauw Painting Company, in Beloit, and was very active in the Jaycees. His wife, Joann, who was from Beloit, was active in the Jaycets, which was the women’s branch of the Jaycees at that time.

The Jaycees wanted to build a boys club in Beloit. Blauw was the chairman of the fundraising committee for that project. Completely unrelated to the fundraising, his wife influenced him to attend a concert by Sonny James and Johnny Cash at the Coronado Theater in Rockford in July 1962.

As Blauw listened to the concert and noticed the large crowd in attendance, it occurred to him that hosting a concert would be a great way to raise money for the Jaycees and the boys club. He talked his way back stage and was able to speak with Sonny James.

Blauw began to book shows through the Jaycees. He also began scheduling performances for local businesses, including getting Conway Twitty to perform at the Log Cabin on highway 51. Little did Blauw know that he was beginning what would be his life-long career as a country music promoter.

Blauw took the name “Jimmy Jay” because of a suggestion from Sonny James. Blauw scheduled a lot of performances with James, and James always had trouble saying Jimmy’s last name. He suggested Jimmy go by “Jimmy Jay” instead of “Jim Blauw.” The name stuck.

Before becoming well known in the industry, Blauw expanded his business to include scheduling shows for the Rock County 4-H Fair, which he did for several years. He also began working with Walworth County Fair and is still active in scheduling their entertainment.

He now does 12 different fairs throughout the state of Wisconsin. He also does the Eerie County Fair in Hamburg, New York, which is the biggest county fair in the state, with over one million people in attendance during the 10 days they are open.

He also works with the fair in Springfield, Mass. Jayson Promotions Inc., along with Concert Staging, Inc. does the staging and production at the Wisconsin State Fair, as well as state fairs in South Carolina and Mississippi, the Georgia National Fair, and the Alabama National Fair. His company has become a nation-wide business, but he claims, “Wisconsin is still my pride and joy.”

During the years of building his business, Blauw booked shows for the high schools in Beloit and Janesville, and other areas all across Wisconsin. He booked Conway Twitty and Sonny James to play in LaCrosse.

Conway Twitty spoke with Blauw about making this his full-time business. Twitty had a new record coming out, and he told Blauw that if the record was a “big smash” Blauw would hear from him.

The record was the song “Hello Darlin’,” which became a very popular country song. Twitty called Blauw on Christmas Eve and convinced him to come to Oklahoma to talk about their future working together.

Blauw bought a Bluebird Wonderlodge Bus, and that is how he got started on the road with Conway Twitty. Loretta Lynn later joined Conway Twitty and the two began recording together. Twitty started his own agency in Nashville, United Talent, and asked Blauw to run the operation. Loretta’s husband also joined in the business.

In 1971, after accepting Twitty’s offer, Blauw moved to Nashville, Tenn. He was now working with two of the hottest stars in country music at the time. By this time Blauw and his wife had a family.

They did not move to Nashville with him immediately, because his wife did not believe this would last very long, and that he would be returning home. In 1972, the family moved to Tennessee to join Blauw. It was clear that he was a success and was going to last in the business for years to come.

Blauw continued to grow his business, working with stars such as Charlie Pride, Vince Gill, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Charlie Daniels, to name a few. At times there have been as many as 35-40 artists that the company represented. They have book all personal appearances, tours, schedule tours, do the promotion, staging, and every other aspect of making the events successful.

Blauw grew up in Avalon and attended Clinton schools. His father was the train depot agent in Avalon. Upon his father’s retirement, the depot was closed. His father also used to write the “Avalon News” column for the Clinton Topper.

One of Blauw’s first jobs as a boy was detassling corn for Tracy’s Seed Company for 45 cents per hour. He recalls, “They would give you a nickel bonus if you stuck with it.”

Blauw was a member of the Emmanuel Reformed Church in Clinton. His is proud of the fact that his father helped to start that church. Blauw remained a member there until he moved to Tennessee. He was always connected to church in some way. He refinished the pews in the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Clinton.

He moved from Avalon to Beloit when he and his wife were married. Mr. McNeeny, of McNeeny’s Department Store, helped him to start his painting business.

Blauw keeps in contact with people in Clinton, and returns to visit from time to time. Bob and Yvonne Gretschmann are two of his closest local friends. They keep him informed about local news.

During one visit to Clinton several years ago, Blauw brought Conway Twitty to town with him and gave him a tour of the area. The two ate lunch at the Clinton Kitchen.

The Kroeze family recognized Blauw from church and were surprised to realize that Conway Twitty was sitting with him. Blauw and Twitty were not just business associates, but became good friends, and Twitty wanted to see where Blauw had come from.

One of Blauw’s closest personal friends in the business is Charlie Daniels. Blauw commented, “He’s going to be 80 years old on his next birthday, and he still works more than 100 days a year on the road. He’s a very Christian man. He came to pray with me many times while my wife was sick before she passed. You just don’t find friends like that.”

Blauw has included his family in his business. His son, Jerry, is the executive vice-president for Jayson Promotions, Inc., and the vice-president for Concert Staging, Inc. He is the talent buyer for fairs and special events, builds the stages for artists all over the country, and coordinates and produces fairs and concerts.

Blauw’s daughter, Julie, is the treasurer and financial officer for the company. His son, Jeff, produces fairs and special events. Blauw’s grandson, Justin, drives the semi trucks and travels with the company to serve as staging director.

Jeff joined Jayson promotions while Blauw was still with Twitty and Lynn on Music Row in Nashville, doing the touring aspect of the business. One night at the Rock County Fair, Randy Travis was the opening act for Conway Twitty. After his performance, Travis visited Blauw’s motor home.

He met with Blauw and his wife, and asked permission to hire Jeff as his manager. They agreed to allow Jeff to accept the offer, and Jeff remained with Travis for more than 25 years, until Travis had his stroke. Now Jeff travels with Alabama and sets up their tours through Jayson Promotions.

In 1998 and 2011, Blauw received the Academey of Country Music Talent Buyer of the Year award. He had also been nominated for the same award in 2010. He was inducted into the International Entertainment Buyer’s Association (IEBA) Hall of Fame in 2011. Blauw is currently producing live entertainment for a show for Taylor Swift’s father’s company, Big Machine Records.

At the age of 77, Blauw still travels the music circuit. He enjoys visiting the fairs across the country. His future plans include allowing his sons to do more of the work. He also has three employees who have been with him for more than 20 years, who will remain with the business.

He likes to garden now, but he’s not ready to retire. He just plans to lessen the load a little bit for himself. He stated, “Eventually family will take over, but for now I’m doing my normal route this summer to work all the fairs and festivals.”