Jody Williams Heads Vince Gill’s Management Team

Jody Williams, founder and CEO of independent music publishing company Jody Williams Songs (JWS), has taken on management duties for singer, songwriter and musician Vince Gill. The new management entity is called Little Guitar Management.
 
After working with Gill for four years as his publisher, Williams will now oversee all aspects of Gill’s career going forward.
 
Larry Fitzgerald, Gill’s manager for more than 40 years, remains as consultant to Williams. Jennifer Templeton remains Gill’s day-to-day manager.
 
“Taking on this new role with Vince feels like a calling and a natural evolution,” states Williams in a release. “My motivation is to ensure that Vince’s career aspirations for the near future are realized and his long-term legacy includes milestones he has not yet reached. Nobody does Vince Gill like Vince Gill. His unique musical aesthetic has served him well his whole career. I’m honored to work alongside Vince, and very grateful for Larry and Jennifer’s support.”

Williams will continue as CEO of JWS in addition to managing Gill. VP and General Manager of JWS, Nina Jenkins Fisher will continue to oversee all day-to-day aspects of the publishing company, a joint venture with Warner Chappell Music.
 
Williams, a long-time publishing figurehead in Nashville, previously held posts as VP, Creative for BMI, President of MCA Music Nashville, and his previous independent publishing company Jody Williams Music. He is former Chair of the Board of the Country Music Association. Currently, he is Board Chair of The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as a trustee. 

Williams steps into one of the most enduring management roles in Music City. Fitzgerald began his career in the mailroom of the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills in 1962. The next four years were spent working with Andy Griffith as part of Griffith’s management team. His career ascended quickly and in 1967 Fitzgerald was approached by Jim Guercio to create a management company which became the iconic Caribou Management and Caribou Ranch Studio. Their initial success included breaking the band Chicago.

Under the Caribou management umbrella, Fitzgerald worked with The Beach Boys and Billy Joel, and in 1976, while still with Caribou, Fitzgerald co-promoted, alongside Concerts West, “Wings Over America,” the first U.S. tour for Paul McCartney & Wings. Fitzgerald continued his working relationship with McCartney for the next 12 years.

In 1977, he partnered with Mark Hartley to establish Fitzgerald Hartley Management. Over the course of the next 42 years, he managed the careers of Glenn Frey, Toto, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Patty Loveless, Brad Paisley, The Brothers Johnson, Gill and countless others. He dissolved Fitzgerald Hartley in 2019 and opened Hey Buddy Management, with Gill as its sole client. In retirement, Fitzgerald plans on spending time with his family and on his Bacon Creek Ranch in the mountains of Idaho. “Throughout my career I’ve put great care into putting teams together around our artists, yet it was only recently that I used those skills one final time for my buddy Vince,” adds Fitzgerald. “I’ve always admired Jody’s vision, organizational, and decision-making skills, and he has an ability to engage with talent in meaningful ways. Already a member of Vince’s team as his publisher, we know his passion is unparalleled.”