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Cathy Nakos Talks Greek Heritage and Country Music Management

Ms. Cathy Nakos

Ms. Cathy Nakos runs her own management company, CN Productions, in Nashville, Tennessee and serves as the artist manager of two country artists who are at the top of their game, Andy Griggs, and Buddy Jewell.

Regarding her Greek heritage, Ms. Cathy Nakos remarks, “I am extremely proud of it. My grandparents were from the islands of Karpathos and Rhodes. I still have relatives on both islands. It’s no wonder I am so attracted to water. I have 3 sons who have been able to visit the island of Corfu where their late father’s family was from.”

“I love Greek history,” Nakos acknowledges. “Our culture gave so much to the world: democracy, the Olympics, philosophy, the Hippocratic oath, spirituality, art, mythology and above all passion for what we believe in. I loved being in Greece and walking the paths of Socrates and Plato and Paul, climbing the rocks to the Parthenon and trying to grasp the magnificence of a country that was so architecturally accomplished as well as reflecting on the glory that must have been at that time. And I love the rich spirituality of the Oracles of Delphi.”

“Sitting in the Olympic arena was breathtaking as I come from a family of winning athletes,” recalls Nakos. “I encourage everyone to seek their heritage. It provides an understanding of the way you were raised. The first time I went to Greece, I witnessed why my grandparents and my father did the things they did, such as drinking from small glasses, only filling a cup of coffee half full and painting red brick houses white with blue shutters. It made me cherish my experiences even more. And to think that 300 Spartans stood their ground against thousands reminds me to be steadfast and persistent in all that I do and all the challenges I face.”

“My Greek heritage influences my music as well. I grew up going to Greek picnics with the local Greek musicians playing Greek music that we all danced to. I was also influence by my mom who was a singer with the big bands and gave her up career to marry my father. My dad grew up next door to Perry Como who was also a barber in my great uncle’s barber shop which was also in my other great uncle’s building. They encouraged Perry to pursue his singing career. Bobby Vinton went to school with my father’s cousins. The Four Coins were composed of two brothers and two cousins who were Greek and lived down the street. The brothers’ father was my dad’s Godfather. So I was surrounded by legends of the various genres of music and the love that my family shared for it all,” Ms. Nakos shares.

Ms. Nakos continues, “My mother wanted me to fulfill her dreams and had me singing on tabletops when I was three. At the age of eleven, I was singing backup on records for The Four Coins. At thirteen, I had my own folk group and we were offered numerous opportunities to record both as a group and me as a solo artist, but my father was wise and didn’t want a young teenager on the road. Just like the leading character in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Ms. Nakos was raised a traditional Greek female.

She got married and had children before going to college. She loved being a wife and mother, but something was always burning inside of her to get back into music. She started singing with a local band who played country clubs and they learned to play and sing Greek music so we did a lot of Greek dates. She also did a lot of volunteer work, especially for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as a result of her husband’s illness, which lead her to a career in non-profits. I had the opportunity to work with many entertainers through our numerous events and found a love for the country music artists. I found the country sound and passion to be similar in sound and passion to Greek music. Eleven years ago after my children were out of college, I moved to Nashville to merge my expertise in management and marketing non-profits with my love and passion for music in an environment that felt like home.”

“My company is me, along with the help of several interns and fans. Most of the work is outsourced/contracted to specialists as needed and who match them my clients. A ‘manager of country entertainers’ is more like a combination of consultant, developer, implementor, networker and psychologist.”

On becoming an artist manager, Nakos states, “I realized I loved being on the other side of the stage and could enjoy both music and the development of people in one role. I view the artist as the owner and CEO of their career/corporation and the manager as COO. The role is to manage all aspects of an artist’s career from image/branding to creation of and distribution of product to setting short and long term goals. One is constantly implementing and evaluating these goals while securing and managing the best people for their team to assure success while keeping them real.”

According to Ms. Nakos, “I’ve worked with a lot of entertainers, but in the past few years I have had the opportunity to share in the careers of two major talents who are true to themselves and who place their spiritual beliefs, family and music at the top of their list. They are humble and fun to be around. We share a mutual respect and trust. This has to be my second greatest accomplishment and one I am most proud of. I could not be a Greek Mom without recognized my greatest accomplishment, my sons and grandsons. My eldest son Alex is an accomplished estate and tax attorney in Dallas. He and his wife Joanne have given me my greatest joy in my 3 grandsons, Andrew, Max and Jack who are all extremely handsome, talented and intelligent…of course. My son Spiro, can you tell they were all named after “Papous and uncle, who is lives in College Station, TX with his new wife, Courtney and is a successful account for a company that sells equipment to oil companies. My son Jimmy is a managing CPA for Ernst & Young in Atlanta…and ladies, he’s still single. The rest is forthcoming.”

On her future plans, Ms. Nakos reveals, “to continue my journey and to stay true to my faith, my family, myself and my goals. I want Andy Griggs and Buddy Jewell to be household names for more than just their music, rather that we all share a passion to help one another and others and to walk in God’s light as imperfect beings while being an example of love, peace and freedom.”

For the Greek-American youth who wish to go into artist management in the music industry, Ms. Nakos recommends they “have the passion and fearlessness of the Spartans, as well as the burning desire for the industry. Stay true to yourself, think out of the box, stay persistent, persevere, don’t take yourself too seriously and above all, keep the faith. Another words, pray hard always thanking God for all you have, work hard, play hard and stay the course.”

Although Ms. Nakos does not visit the motherland often enough, she notes her love and admiration towards the Greek islands, as well as the country’s capital, Athens, due to its rich history.

For the Greek-American community, Ms. Nakos concludes, “I believe there is strength in the smaller communities where everyone maintains the passion for the culture, religion and relationships. I believe there is a weakening in larger communities where families are spread out and their only bond is the church and other activities tend to interfere with the time they spend together. I pray that the young people stay encouraged to stay true to their beliefs and hold strong. I pray that in some cases, they rebuild the communities and by building stronger communities within they will influence the building of stronger communities without and the domino effect will help this beautiful country we live in to heal and our heritage to survive.”

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