Country Music People February 2017 | Page 3

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Douglas McPherson shoots the bull with the smooth-voiced crooner who came to fame with Lookin ’ For Love in the John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy .

evolution rumbles on . But if you don ’ t believe in God , then according to the title track of Johnny Lee ’ s new album , You Ain ’ t Never Been To Texas .

The song begins with a Texan watching “ a man in California ” talking about evolution on TV . Unable to believe what he ’ s hearing , he takes his coffee outside , looks up at heaven and then at the horse in his corral . The gist of the chorus is that if you ’ ve seen the beauty of “ a sunset out west , a cactus or a paintbrush bloom in the springtime ... a coyote crying ,” or a “ young colt take off running in the sunshine ,” then you ’ d find it hard to explain it as anything other than a gift from the Man Upstairs .

Texans , meanwhile , “ wake up every morning and look out at heaven .”

Not that there ’ s anything churchy about the track . It ’ s a typically laidback slice of traditional country with a light pop sheen of the kind Lee

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have a picture in my imagination of a large hall in heaven reserved for dead country performers . At a long high table at the top , Jimmie Rodgers sits with Ernest Tubb , Bob Wills , Hank Williams , Lefty Frizzell and George Jones . Meanwhile , at a guitar-shaped table for one some way down the room , Webb Pierce sits fuming over a glass of beer . “ I should be sittin ’ at that long high table ,” he mutters . “ How come no-one from that crowd ever wanders over to talk to me ? Didn ’ t I contribute just as much to country music ’ s heritage as them ?”

If Webb had died around 1960 , just shy of his 40th birthday , maybe , just maybe , he would have made it to that top table , hailed in every corner as a country legend . He certainly deserves to be . In the 1950s he had thirteen number 1 ’ s on the Billboard Country Chart , a record unmatched by anyone else . And this happened during one of the music ’ s golden eras , when competition was stiff . He sort of took up the baton for honky tonky after Hank Williams died , kept the spirit of pure county going , so to speak . So if you ’ re inclined dismiss his Midas touch with the hits as just a onetime fashionable artist ’ s lucky streak , I suggest you go back and check out that voice . Because frankly there ’ s never been a better one for pure , hard country .

Long before he died in 1991 , Webb had got used to being ignored or forgotten , and he didn ’ t mind letting people know how much he resented it . In the event , he didn ’ t get elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame until

24 cmp - FEBRUARY 2017 patented at the dawn of the 1980s , In A Million , Bet Your Heart On Me and slips down so smoothly that even and You Could Have Heard A Heart an atheist like Richard Dawkins would Break , Lee found tabloid celebrity as probably find himself kicking back the husband of Charlene Tilton , who and nodding his agreement that the played Lucy in the era ’ s iconic show singer probably had a point . about Texan millionaires , Dallas .

“ A friend of mine , Tony Raymee ,

That ’ s not bad for a country boy . wrote that song ,” Lee recalls . “ I was Especially a country boy who grew up doing some acoustic jobs with him . He hating country music . played it and I said , ‘ Man , I love that “ I thought it was hokey ,” admits song .’ And he said , ‘ Well , heck , record the singer who was 10-year-old it !’ So I said , ‘ I think I will .’ in the year that Elvis ’ Heartbreak

“ A lot of my jobs are down in Texas Hotel turned America ’ s youth onto and when I was singing it in Texas , rock ’ n ’ roll . “ I idolised Ricky Nelson . people were going crazy and wanting I ’ d watch him in the TV show The to buy it . So I thought it would be a Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet . good theme song for the album .”

“ I loved Elvis , Fats Domino , all the Lee , of course , hails from the Lone doo-wop groups . My cousins and I

Star state . He was born in Texas would be milking the cows and had City , no less , before growing up on the radio blasting out rock ’ n ’ roll . Then a dairy farm in Alta Loma . He got whenever my step-grandfather would his break working in Gilley ’ s , the show up , I ’ d have to switch it over to self-proclaimed biggest honky tonk country . in Texas , and indeed the world . And “ I wish I had liked country as well as scoring a string of hits back then ,” Lee reflects . “ Looking throughout the 80s , including the back , I wish I would have had the chart-toppers Lookin ’ For Love , One opportunity to go and see Lefty

The singer behind classic honky tonkers like There Stands The Glass , Back Street Affair , and I ’ m Tired is largely forgotten these days . Jack Watkins makes a case for appreciating the 1950s star famous for his guitar-shaped swimming pool .

# 1 Artist of the 1950s 13 # 1 Singles

Chart debut : Jan 1952 - Wondering - 4 weeks at # 1

96 charted singles

Last charted single : Oct 1982 - In The Jailhouse Now - with Willie Nelson - a new version of his 1955 charttopper

Inducted to the country Music Hall of Fame - 2001

Ahead of his forthcoming UK visit , a very busy Jim Lauderdale talks to Duncan Warwick .

Featuring co-writes with country soul legend Dann Penn , Hall & Oates ’ John Oates , Odie Blackmon and Kendell Marvell , London Southern was recorded with Nick Lowe ’ s band and his coproducers Neil Brockbank and the late

South London that is ! For his latest offering is a soulful stew cooked up Bobby Irwin . south of the river in Balham .

Lauderdale concurs that Nick Lowe

Over the years we ’ ve come to is deserving of ‘ national treasure ’ expect just about anything from the status , “ Oh yeah , and ever since I first multi-talented North Carolina born heard Nick he became a hero to me . and South Carolina based artist . He stopped by the studio a couple of Jim Lauderdale is equally adept at times and that really inspired me . I got Bakersfield-style twang as he is to tour with him back in the mid-90s hardcore bluegrass , and as at home in the States and the UK and Europe at the top of the country singles chart when I had this record out called Pretty as the writer of charttoppers for Close To The Truth . That ’ s how we got George Strait and Mark Chesnutt , as to know each other better and I got to he is hosting the Americana Awards know some of the guys .” show . He was also recipient of this However , perhaps surprisingly for a year ’ s Wagonmaster Award - a writer as prolific , and as successful , as lifetime achievement award for being Lauderdale , he confesses that all too one of the most valuable contributors often for him , procrastination is king . to the Americana genre and it was “ When I went over to record the George Strait who presented him record it was super intense for me to with his trophy . just get the songs together . When I The new album is suitably titled went over there I had really one song London Southern and follows just a and I ’ d been talking to Neil Brockbank , few months on the heels of his last the producer and engineer , and for release which was recordings of his several weeks before I went over they most Texas sounding songs and could wanted to hear the songs and I kept have been called ‘ Austin Southern ’ kinda stalling because I didn ’ t have the but was actually titled This Changes material . Everything and was one of the finest “ That ’ s kind of common for me . releases of 2016 .

Unfortunately , when I do my records ,

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Michael Hingston finds the East Nashville songwriter has experienced some difficult times , and with the help of two alter-egos is in a better place .

odd Snider is a talented songwriter who is adept at telling a good story , often about his own misfortunes . He also writes witty , irreverent and sometimes cutting songs from a left-wing , hippyish viewpoint and he is quite open about his liking of recreational drugs . You could probably guess that from the title of the last album he released under his own name , Agnostic Hymns And Stoner Fables , which came out in 2012 . As you can guess , he is not the darling of Republicans or conservative Christians .

Since that album , his muse deserted him and he found inspiration by adopting not just one , but two pseudonyms to write under . As part of the band The Hard Working Americans he adopted the moniker Blind Lemon Pledge and he has also performed and recorded an album of short rock ‘ n ’ roll songs called Eastside Bulldog under the name Elmo Buzz . This album has now been released under Snider ’ s real name .

I had a fascinating and very honest conversation with him where he told me about the experiences that have shaped the

60 cmp - FEBRUARY 2017 last few years and how adopting these personas and being part of a band helped him through some difficult times .

The music business in Nashville is divided between the more commercial side , located around Music Row , and the more bohemian area of East Nashville on the other side of the Cumberland River . Unsurprisingly , Snider is part of the East Nashville community , hence the title of the album Eastside Bulldog . He was also a resident there until recently , as he told me . “ I just moved away from East Nashville , but I still have the house there . Do you know where Johnny Cash had the house on the lake ? I found a house right by his house and I rented it , but I don ’ t know how long I will stay here .”

However , Snider still considers himself as part of the East Nashville community and sees a sharp dividing line between East Nashville artists and those on Music Row .

“ I feel I got into making up music because I wanted to run away from home and that seems to be general to folk and rock ; you make music because things didn ’ t go well with Plan A . Country music is for popular people , quarter backs , prom queens … you come here

2001 , which seems pretty shameful , but you have to remember that he ’ d had ruffled a lot of feathers in his day . One writer had the great idea to write his biography after his passing , but was frustrated in his efforts because virtually no-one in Nashville wanted to share their memories of their old associate .

The trouble started after Webb launched the Cedarwood music publishing company in 1953 with promoter and Grand Ole Opry director Jim Denny . Webb had this unattractive policy of putting himself on the cocredits when a writer came up with a good new song , ensuring he cut himself in on a share of the profits . This was not uncommon practice , but Webb exploited it to the maximum , to the undying resentment of the likes of Mel Tillis . Then there was the singer ’ s high opinion of himself as a performer . In 1956 , after Denny was fired by the Opry , Webb decided to cut loose too , believing he had outgrown the show , and could make bigger money touring as a name in his own right . That went down like a barn full of mouldy hay , but Webb ’ s capacity to get up people ’ s noses didn ’ t stop there .

Soon , he became among the first of the “ bad taste ,” showing-off-theirprivate-life music stars , opening up his home in Nashville to tourists so they could admire his guitar-shaped swimming pool , and his Pontiac Bonneville , with its customised door handles like Wild West six-shooters , and steer horns on the engine grille .

the songs usually don ’ t take place until I ’ m in there which is really nerve-wracking and just super pressure , but somehow it makes it all come together for me musically and mentally and lyrically . So I had the song that I wrote with Odie Blackmon called We ’ ve Only Got So Much Time and the funny thing is is that what I like to do a lot of times is write after I do a gig at night . I just stay in the dressing room , I have to get the permission from the club to hang around , and that is also when I really get my juices flowing . I had four gigs booked over in the UK with one day off before the first session started , and the first one was in Glasgow and I thought , ‘ Well , here it is . I ’ ll write the stuff on the plane and I will write it after these gigs .’ And so when I got to the airport there was some miscommunication with me and I missed my first flight . The plane was sitting there but the gate was closed and I was pleading with … I got there and they said , ‘ No , we ’ ve already closed the doors .’ I said , ‘ Come on , I ’ ve got this connection in JFK , I ’ ve got to get to Glasgow . I have to get there .’ And this guy was stubborn and wouldn ’ t let me … Anyway , I missed that flight and took one several hours later . When I finally arrived in Glasgow ,

with your parents and your parents are proud . They want you to ‘ make it ’ and all that shit that people in East Nashville don ’ t understand . Our parents are ashamed of us . If the kid whose big dream is to be a star starts coming to East Nashville because people like me and Jason Isbell are making some bread ; that is going to become a challenging thing . Right now it ’ s so altruistic , no-one cares about money and wherever you go there are people sitting around singing their new songs .”

Snider believes that acts such as Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton have maintained their East Nashville credibility , despite gaining wide recognition and substantial commercial success .

“ Those two , there is just no arguing which side of town they are from ; they ’ re ours . There is another kid named Sturgill Simpson , they own the town ! If you are somebody who knows anything about music , you know that currently those three cats own this town along with Jack White . There is a part of country music that people consider cheesy , but even inside of that there are really great cats like Kenny Chesney or George Strait or Alan Jackson . In my opinion there is always a normal country singer that is greater than he day I spoke to Reba it was 34 years to the day since she achieved her first number one single with Can ’ t Even Get The Blues . “ Wow !” exclaims the red-headed diva , stifling a laugh and completely unaware of the significance of the day . But when you ’ ve charted around 100 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart and placed 24 of them in the top spot it ’ s probably difficult to keep count . Admitting , “ It ’ s scary in a way ,” the Oklahoman songstress is full of gratitude to the fans who have kept her there . “ I ’ m so thankful and grateful that I ’ m still able to do what I love to do at the level I can do it . It ’ s just amazing . The fans are so loyal and they ’ ve stayed with me through thick and thin , going to Broadway , movies , television , and back to music again . I ’ m so appreciative and thankful .”

In addition to the stage , screen , and music , Reba developed her own line of clothing and shoes on her way to shifting more than 56 million albums ,

Reba McEntire is about to release her first album of inspiration and faith , and ahead of her C2C headline spot next month she talks to Duncan Warwick .

but her latest release finds the former in my computer that I ’ d been kinda barrel racing champ riding into new hoarding for years , and asking friends , territory with her first faith-based ‘ What song would you like to hear me recording - the double-disc release - sing on a Gospel album ?’ And I put all Sing It Now : Songs Of Faith & Hope . these songs together and the record

Whilst the genre may be new to labels were fine with it . We teamed Reba ’ s catalogue , the powerhouse up with Bill Hearn over at Capitol vocalist insists , “ I ’ ve always wanted to Christian and also my record label do one . which is Nash Icon . Jim Weatherson

“ I have never done a Gospel album was thrilled to pieces about it . It ’ s been before . My little sister , Susie McEntire , a fun project and I ’ ve really enjoyed she ’ s the one that was always in getting to work with [ Rascal Flatts ] the genre of Gospel / Christian ,

Jay DeMarcus who co-produced some inspirational songs . I always try to of the songs and Doug Sisemore , my find songs that can go either secular musical director and band leader , on or inspirational Gospel that would some of the other songs . I co-produced touch everybody ’ s heart . So I feel that the album with those two guys and it ’ s not that big of a stretch for me had great musicians , backup singers , but to do one specifically called an special guests like Kelly Clarkson inspirational Gospel album was my and Trisha Yearwood , The Isaacs are ex-manager , Bill Carter ’ s , idea . He kept singing with me on some of the songs . saying , ‘ Reba , you need to do one now , So we ’ ve just had a blast getting to do it ’ s really the time .’ And I said , ‘ Alright , it .” I ’ ll think about it .’ And then Tony

In her 30 + year career Reba has Brown , my producer , he kept saying , undoubtedly had to endure more than ‘ An inspirational album is the way you her fair share of press junkets , but her need to go .’ So I started looking for excitement about the new project is songs and I picked songs that I had palpable .

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anyone . Brad Paisley is the other one from this decade and I actually like Taylor Swift too . She is for younger people . That chick is really good at that shit , she doesn ’ t seem like a person who came here to get a trophy , even though she is getting lots of them ; I think she just has to sing .”

After many years as a solo artist , Snider became part of the band The Hard Working Americans in 2013 along with renowned musicians Dave Schools , Neal Casal , Chad Staehly , Duane Trucks and more recent recruit Jesse Aycock . Their first , self-titled album was released in 2013 . It was all covers and included songs by Randy Newman , Hayes Carll , Will Kimbrough , Tommy Womack , Chuck Mead , Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings .

“ We are like a jam bad . I am a country music fan in a jam band , so I feel like when I am talking about country music , it is from the bleachers .”

A live album followed in 2014 called The First Waltz , a reference to Scorsese ’ s film of the farewell gig by The Band The Last Waltz . The Hard Working Americans has moved on to creating their own material and the latest album , Rest In Chaos , has all original material ( apart from one track , The High Price Of Inspiration

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contents

February 2017 cmp

Features

12 Reba McEntire

Reba returns with Songs Of Faith & Hope ahead of her headline performance at C2C . She speaks to Duncan Warwick .

18 Johnny Lee

Douglas McPherson talks to the singer who went from Urban Cowboy to Texas Legend .

24 Webb Pierce

Jack Watkins assesses the 50s honky tonker known for his love of bling and a guitar-shaped swimming pool who was the number one artist of the 50s .

50 Jim Lauderdale

The hit songwriter goes from South Carolina to south London for his latest .

He talks to Duncan Warwick .

56 Canaan Smith

Fresh from supporting The Shires on their recent tour , the hit songwriter returns for C2C and his own dates . Douglas McPherson gets the lowdown .

60 Todd Snider

Michael Hingston meets the singer-songwriter who is helping to make East Nashville weirder .

Reviews

30 CD Reviews 49 Book Reviews

Regulars

4 News 8 Tour Guide 10 Nice To Meet Y ’ all - Kayla Luky 11 The David Allan Page 23 The Nashville Skinny 28 Nice To Meet Y ’ all - Jenny Don ’ t & The Spurs 55 Americana Roundup

Charts

64 Americana & UK Country Charts 65 Billboard Country Charts

Courtesy of Billboard Inc .

REBA

“ I had a great run on the charts and in the concert stage ... That ’ s what ’ s so great about the music business : you can perform as long as you want .”

JOHNNY LEE URBAN LEGEND he debate over creationism versus

T

I

“ I didn ’ t learn to appreciate country music until I got my head out of my ass in my early 20s .”

WEBB

PIERCE

WEBB FACTS

JIM LAUDERDALE

Gateway to the South

or his latest recording , singer , hit songwriter and Americana giant Jim

FLauderdale went to the deep south to guarantee authenticity –

TODD SNIDER

T

T

That peculiarly severe nasal quality was like a voice from another era , of harder times , when a country boy just got up and sung the guts out of a song , straight and simple .

You gotta have

FAITH !

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