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 Exclusive Interview, Part 1—It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since the legendary Oak Ridge Boys released their signature tune, “Elvira,” but indeed it has. And since then, the power quartet—Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, Joe Bonsall and Richard Sterban—has created a legacy of hits featuring some of the most memorable tunes in American music, from “Bobbie Sue,” “Dream On,” “Thank God For Kids” and “American Made” to “I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometimes,” “Fancy Free,” “Gonna Take A Lot Of River” and many others. But, while many Oaks fans know them only for their country hits, the roots of the group go back to their gospel days as the Oak Ridge Quartet in the mid-‘40s and include nearly 30 members before the current lineup was set in 1973. In 1945 they began performing regularly on the Grand Ole Opry, and at long last, were inducted into the hallowed institution by Little Jimmy Dickens on Aug. 6 of this year. Along the way, they’ve toured the world, performed for five American presidents, recorded with legends ranging from Ray Charles and Paul Simon to Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee and Bill Monroe, sold more than 30 million albums and still found time to be active supporters of the Boy Scouts of America, Feed the Children, the American military and a variety of other causes. So, having achieved all that, they must be about ready to hang it up, right? Not just yet. In fact, with the release today of their new CD It’s Only Natural, available exclusively at Cracker Barrel, the Oaks serve notice that not only are they still delivering that classic Oaks sound we all love, they’re doing it in a way that is totally relevant and totally contemporary—not an easy balance to achieve. The cd includes several newly recorded versions of classic Oaks songs, along with some great new tunes. Nashville.com sat down for a long chat with the guys not long before the release of their new record. Here’s Part 1 of that conversation. Part 2 will appear here tomorrow. Enjoy.
Nash: Belated congratulations on your induction to the Opry. It’s definitely well-deserved.
Joe: We have always been proud and honored to be friends of the Opry. And whenever they’ve asked us to come sing, we’ve always been proud and honored to go down there and sing. Especially at the Ryman, I’ve always felt like you could almost feel the ghosts of Opry members past singing down there. And that circle of wood at the Grand Ole Opry House . . . Duane gets to stand in that circle and sing, but I stand over on the end, and I have to make a special effort to lean over and dip my foot in the circle! (laughs)
And Jimmy Dickens coming out there and surprising us with the fact that we were gonna be members, it was a shock to us. Personally, I never had any real expectations there. We were friends of the Opry, and that was good enough. To be a member was kind of cool, but it almost seemed like that ship had sailed years ago for some reason as they were inducting all the young kids in the last several years. I know it crossed out minds back in the ‘80s, but the Opry was more demanding back then, too, in terms of how many appearances members had to make.
Duane: It was discussed about 25 years ago. But they only had Friday and Saturday night shows back then, and they asked for a commitment of 26 dates a year from members. And Friday and Saturday nights are the nights of the week that we make our livin’. So it never really got beyond that. But we’ve always thought that would be a huge honor. And when the requirements changed dramatically, and they also added Tuesday and Thursday nights—a lot of nights of the year, we leave on a Tuesday or Thursday night to hit the road— and we could just leave a little early and work the Opry and just head on out to our next date. And that’s fine with them. But we’ve had a great association with the Opry for all these years.
And I’d like to say a special shout out and thanks to Charlie Daniels, too. He was on the Opry the Saturday after our induction—he was out workin’ the night of our induction—and he gave us a warm welcome to the Grand Ole Opry. And he and Hazel sent us a beautiful arrangement of flowers on our induction night, and I haven’t had a chance to see Charlie since then, so thanks Charlie. We got the flowers and we appreciate it.
Nash: I heard Neil Diamond say once that he used to be able to tune in the Opry late at night in Brooklyn as a kid. Did any of you do the same thing? I know none of you are native Nashvillians and are from different parts of the country.
William: Way back growin’ up as a kid, my grandparents certainly had it on every Saturday night. It was a big deal. Hank Williams, the Louvin Brothers, Kitty Wells. Little Jimmy Dickens was a big deal back then. He was the Garth Brooks of that time. Roy Acuff. So, yeah, I grew up listening to all that. And Homer and Jethro, man. You probably don’t remember them.
Nash: I do remember Homer and Jethro. I’m far older than I look. (laughs)
Joe: You do remember Homer and Jethro?
Nash: I do. I dated Homer’s mama in fact. (laughs all around)
Joe: When I was growin’ up in Philadelphia, no, man. My radio was set on WIBG—wibbage radio, rock ‘n’ roll! But when I started traveling in groups—first in a part-time gospel group and then later with my friend Richard (Sterban) in the Keystones—we would listen at night to the Grand Ole Opry on a Saturday night. And, being up north, we also did a lot of listening to WWBA, the Wheeling Jamboree. And we got really familiar with a lot of the great old stars.
Richard: WSM’s signal got a little weak at times in the Northeast, so we ended up listening more to WWBA. And one of the reasons we listened was to hear our buddies in the Blue Ridge Quartet. They were on every weekend.
Joe: But, to be honest, we really didn’t know much beyond Philly or New Jersey. The Grand Ole Opry was another planet away. But we did listen to country music all the time on our buses. We did listen to WSM or WWBA. But how could one portend when you’re 22 years old, starvin’ to death on your old bus listening to somebody sing on the radio, that one day of these days you would be considered an Opry star. The first time I’d seen us referred to as Opry stars was on the printout for George Jones’ birthday celebration at the Opry House. We recorded “Same Ole Me” with George back in the ‘80s and did it at his party.
William: I remember way back when we were traveling singing gospel music, we worked some shows with Opry stars. I remember one show we did with Grandpa Jones. He came in with a suitcase, with a suit and tie on, dressed up real nice. And he came in the men’s locker room . . . dressing room . . . back there. He opens up his suitcase and gets these jeans and boots and an old flannel shirt out. Suspenders and an old rumpled up hat. He takes his suit off and puts that on. Then, here we are, we’re takin’ off all of our jeans and scruffy lookin’ shirts and puttin’ our suits on, doin’ exactly the reverse of what Grandpa had done. He goes on stage, then comes off and puts his suit back on! I didn’t recognize him bein’ Grandpa when he was comin’ in back then! (laughs)
Nash: I know you all had a lot of friends and family who were there for your induction. But who would you most have wanted to be there who wasn’t there? Do any of you have parents who are still living?
Joe: Richard’s mama is still with us. The rest of us have lost our parents. I would have loved for my mother to have seen it. That would have been wonderful for her. And I thought of other friends of ours, like Tammy Wynette and Eddie Rabbitt and Conway and Johnny and June. But the Opry is like a family, really like the ultimate family. And even though we had sung on the Opry maybe hundreds of times before we were inducted, the night we were inducted I said onstage, “Is tonight any different? You bet it is.” Every single person in that Opry came up to us and hugged our necks and welcomed us to the family. It was huge.
William: Yeah, I had my sunglasses on after the show that night and somehow got close to Joe and I could smell this fragrance. And I thought it was Jean Shepard, then I realized she had hugged him . . .
Joe: I had a little of Jean with me the rest of the night . . . (laughs)
Nash: I know this is the 30th year of “Elvira” and I have to tell you, I went to North Carolina to do a story on Eric Church a few years ago. We went back to his hometown and we were walking around the neighborhood where he grew up and his second grade teacher happened to drive by and stopped to talk. And she told me that he used to sing a song all the time and she had to keep telling him to be quiet. She couldn’t remember the name of the song . . . and finally left. Then about five minutes later, she drove by, and didn’t even stop as she yelled out the window, “’Elvira’! It was ‘Elvira’” Then Eric told me that his first public performance ever was when he got up on a table at a local catfish restaurant and sang “Elvira” when he was five.
Joe: He’s never even told us that. We’ve worked with him a few times. That’s great.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of this interview.
To win an autographed copy of “It’s Only Natural” just answer the following question: On what Paul Simon song did the Oaks sing back-up? email jerry@nashville.com with your answer.
It’s Only Natural track list
• What’cha Gonna Do?
• True Heart
• Before I Die
• Gonna Take a Lot of River
• No Matter How High
• The Shade
• Elvira
• Louisiana Red Dirt Highway
• Beyond Those Years
• Wish You Could Have Been There
• Lucky Moon
• Sacrifice . . . For Me
—David Scarlett
Contact: dscarlett@nashville.com or jerry@nashville.com
 Exclusive Interview—Since signing with the Arista Nashville record label in 2006, North Carolina preacher’s kid Jason Michael Carroll has demonstrated time and again that he not only knows how to deliver a country hit with his distinctive baritone voice—he knows how to write one, too. He did both with his emotionally charged debut release, “Alyssa Lies,” a powerfully moving tune that connected with fans and radio alike, kicking off a string of several more hits, including “Livin’ Our Love Song,” “I Can Sleep When I’m Dead,” and “Where I’m From.” While his two Arista albums produced a total of five hits, earned Jason thousands of die-hard fans with his authentic, country-to-the-core vocals and enabled him to tour with Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and others, he and the label parted ways in 2010. But, based on the quality of music on Jason’s recently released new record, Numbers—the latest addition to the Cracker Barrel music series and available exclusively at Cracker Barrel stores and at crackerbarrel.com—he not only hasn’t missed a beat, he may just be creating the best music of his career, as a writer and as a vocalist. Jason took time to chat with Nashville.com recently about his excellent new single, the new CD’s title cut, how it feels to be in control of his own destiny as an artist, what country boys like to do in the barn, his special co-write with Radney Foster . . . and much more. Here’s some of what he had to say.
Nash: Congratulations on the new record. I think you’re singing better than ever. Do you think so?
Jason: I appreciate that, honestly. I’m getting more and more fans Tweeting about it and telling me they think it’s my best record yet . . .
Nash: I think it is, too.
Jason: And that means so much, because I had so much creative control on this album . . . things that I didn’t have before. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of my first two albums. But to have the creative freedom and do what I wanted to and translate what we do live, and what my fans love about our show, into audio form was a challenge. But it was very exciting.
Nash: I understand that some of your earliest public performances were when you were a waiter at a Cracker Barrel, started singing along with the in-store radio and customers heard you and asked you to sing for them.
Jason: Cracker Barrel did provide a platform for me to kind of overcome my fears while I was waiting tables . . . singing to people I didn’t know, in a low-stress situation. And it worked me into performing easy and led to getting into a band and doing shows there and playing in honky-tonks and eventually doing shows with Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn playing shows for 20,000 people.
Nash: Did you ever hit the Cracker Barrel management up for more money . . . “Well, you know, I’m a singing waiting now.”
Jason: (laughs) I may have tried it, but it didn’t work.
Nash: Let’s talk about the record. The vocals are really very good, but you’ve also written some excellent songs . . . and you’ve managed to find a few slouches to write with—Radney Foster, Rivers Rutherford, Tommy Lee James, Dallas Davidson, Kelley Lovelace, Josh Thompson, George Teren, Terry McBride and others. Would you have been intimidated writing with those people when you first moved to town? They’ve probably written at least 50-75 No. 1 songs among them. Great group of writers.
Jason: It’s funny you’d ask me about that, because one of the songs on this record was my very first co-write in Nashville, Tennessee, and it was with Radney Foster. And I’m a huge Radney Foster fan. To not only write with Radney, but to be invited to his house and sit in his basement across from him, with my guitar in hand and Radney with his guitar over there. And to be sitting there, for the first thirty minutes, all I had in my head was, “Oh my God, this is Radney Foster!”
I felt that Radney kind of picked up on that, because after 30 minutes he set his guitar down and started to walk away. He said, “Let’s just walk away from it, and we’ll come back later.” And I remember my heart sinkin’ to the bottom of my chest and I was thinkin’, “If I let this go, I might not get this opportunity back.” So I started playing something on my guitar, and he stopped halfway up the stairs and he said, “What’s that?” I said, “Somethin’ I came up with last night in the hotel room.” He said, “Keep playin’ it.” And I kept on playing it and he came back. And two-and-a-half hours later we wrote a song called “Stray.” For some reason my previous labels wouldn’t let me put it on my albums for one reason or another. I don’t understand it. But we’ve been playing it love for going on six years now, and it’s been one of the most-requested songs in my shows. And it was never a single, or even on an album. So finally, on this Cracker Barrel album, “Stray” is on the record. And it feels so good.
Nash: Was “Numbers” the only one you didn’t write? It’s a great idea for a song.
Jason: It is. How many times do numbers affect your everyday life? From the time you had to get up this morning, to the time you had to be here for the interview and what date is your deadline? Think about all that. And gas prices, for goodness sake. You think about everything that affects our life, and numbers are involved in every bit of it. And hearing the song that Patrick Davis wrote with Rodney Clawson, I wanted to record it right away. But you find out so much more when you go back and talk to the writers. I talked with Patrick and a date in June is his wife’s birthday. It’s a very happy day; they celebrate it every year. However, that same date in June in 2008, he lost his brother in a drunk driving accident. So there’s one date, two totally different meanings. And out of that tragedy, the song “Numbers” was born. So listening to the song again after hearing that story made it even more of a story I wanted to tell.
Nash: If you’d wanted to, do you think the writers would have let you put in number that had a special meaning for you?
Jason: I’m sure they would have. But there are so many in there already. I grew up in a real religious home, so talking about John 3:16 at the beginning of the bridge and then, at the very end of the bridge, we’re all waitin’ on the second coming. It’s got so many of the Christian ideas that I grew up with that I could’ve written. So, even though I didn’t write a word of it, it really felt like I had a lot of influence in this song already.
Nash: “Ray of Hope” may be one of my two or three favorite songs on the record. It’s just gorgeous.
Jason: You know, “Ray of Hope” is one of my favorite songs on the album, so thank you. To have a song like that . . . why is it that every time we go through something in our lives—and I’m talkin’ from my own experience—no matter what it is, not matter how bad or okay it is, we always feel while we’re going through it that no one knows what we’re going through? And no one understands where I am right now.
I started writing that song in Virginia. My wife Wendy and one of my sons, J.W., had driven up and some friends of mine came. And they wanted to go out to the fair and look at pig races and stuff. And I told them I really wasn’t feelin’ it and just needed to sit there for a while. So I was on the bus, then the band came back on the bus, so I went out and sat in the grass on a hill and started pickin’ out lines. And I wrote half the first verse and part of the chorus. So close, yet so far away from where I wanted to be that I can’t even notice how far I’ve come.
A couple days later, I had a writing session in Nashville with Josh Thompson, a good friend of mine. We had this idea that we were gonna write the next big honky-tonker, beer drinkin’ burn-the-honky-tonk-down kind of song. We kicked out four or five ideas and nothin’ was stickin’. So I played him the idea I’d started. I played what I had for him and told him, if he liked it, we could finish that together. I played it and he said, “Jason, I’d love to finish that with you, but I’d feel bad puttin’ my name on it, because you’ve almost got it done.” I said, “If you’ll help me finish it, your name’s on it.” So we sat down and finished “Ray of Hope,” and it’s one of my favorite songs on the record.
Nash: It really is excellent, very powerful. In the lyrics, you ask for guidance and forgiveness. Are you pretty good about discerning an answer when you ask for things like that? Are you willing to follow that guidance, even if it may be saying, “You might need to go this way instead of where your heart is telling you or where you thought you wanted to go?” Or do you have to be really hit over the head with it a couple of times?
Jason: (chuckles) I’m stubborn. So sometimes I might have to be hit over the head with it a couple times. But other times I know the right answer. Make no mistake, I believe in God. I believe God’s there lookin’ out for us and he’ll give us the answers that He sees fit. But when you’re going through those moments, those moments of doubt, you doubt everything. You wonder if anybody is even there to hear what I have to say.
Nash: On the other end of the emotional spectrum is “Meet Me in the Barn.” Did you draw from personal experience? Or is that just a fantasy every country boy has?
Jason: I literally grew up on an 82-acre tobacco farm, and wasn’t allowed to listen to anything but gospel music when I was growing up. So, when I got old enough to leave the house, a friend of mine might call me and say, “Hey man, I’m swingin’ by the house. I’ll pick you up in the truck.” Sometimes I’d have to sneak out the window and go, and we’d go down by the river and let the tailgates down and turn the country music up and start a bonfire, and about 40 of our friends would show up. It was just crazy. But it was right there on the farm, and if a pretty little thing walked up and said, “meet me in the barn” you knew the night was gonna get a little bit better. (laughs)
Nash: Another of my favorites is “Can I Get an Amen.” I especially like the opening line, I believe in a helpin’ hand, but I believe a man ought to stand up for himself. I’m not trying to get you into a political debate, but do you think Americans are generally less prone to believe in that spirit of self-reliance these days than they have been in the past?
Jason: Honestly, you look in he media today and you see stories all the time about how this person didn’t get where they are because of this, or this person got where they are because of this. And, while I do believe your environment can definitely influence your outcome, your outcome is mostly affected by your decisions. That is something that is really important to me. If people would start taking a little more responsibility for their actions, we would’ve have the PC mess we’re in in the country. I wanted to hit on some of those ideas and be a little less PC about them . . .
Nash: Without alienating half your audience?
Jason: Absolutely (chuckles)
Nash: You talk about lovin’ the Lord and raisin’ a little hell. Have you always recognized and accepted those two parts of yourself? I’m sure your dad tried to sway you in one direction more than the other.
Jason: He swayed me all right, with a leather strap. But I did accept both of those sides of myself. I blame it on the fact that I was the oldest. And my parents will even tell you that I was the guinea pig. They learned everything they know about raising kids with me. It’s funny, my dad asked my brother one time, “John, you weren’t half as much trouble as Jason. Why didn’t you do any of the things Jason did growin’ up?” And John said, “Well, Dad, I saw the things Jason did for fun, and how much trouble he got in for it. And it just wasn’t worth it.” (big laugh)
Nash: Tell me what your heart feels for country music.
Jason: I’ve always loved country music. I’ve only given myself to this. And this is something that, no matter what happens down the road, I’m gonna be doin’ this for a long time. As long as people want to hear my music, we’re gonna be playin’ it.
—David Scarlett
Contact: dscarlett@nashville.com or jerry@nashville.com
 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: As a member of The Oak Ridge boys, Joe Bonsall has traveled all over the world. He’s performed for six presidents, written eight books and shows no signs of slowing down, still doing 150 dates a year. From humble beginnings Joe was raised in a row house in Philly. Joe sat down with Nashville.com earlier this year to tell what us what it was like being a member of the legendary band. Don’t forget to check back next month to read David Scarlett’s exclusive interview with all of the Oaks who talk about their new CD and what it’s like being the newest Opry members.
Nash: Let’s start from the beginning. How did you find the Oak Ridge Boys or how did they find you?
Bonsall: Well that’s a long story, you probably need to read the book “An American Journey” that I wrote about the Oaks to figure that out. It’s a very unique situation. Richard Sterban and I sang in a Gospel group called the Keystone quartet starting around 1968. We sang together for several years and Richard eventually left the group and joined J.D. Sumner and the Stamps quartet around 1970. J.D. Sumner backed up Elvis so Richard was on the big Elvis tours. When Richard left the Keystones I turned us (The Keystone Quartet) more into a Gospel rock group. The Oak Ridge Boys were the cool act and the group we tried to emulate the most. The Oaks were the Gospel music rebels of the late ‘60s and the early ‘70s. They were the guys that didn’t dress alike and grew their hair longer. They were my heroes so I started promoting the Oaks and I got to know them real well. Duane Allen started a record label so we started coming down to his studio to record. Duane probably recorded nine Keystone albums. Then in 1972, the long time bass singer for the Oaks, Noel Fox, decided to get off of the road so Golden (William Lee) hired Richard Sturbin. The very next year, Willie Wynn left the group and they invited me to join. That was ’73. I was 25 years old. I am now 63 and I’m still with the Oak Ridge Boys. Those other three, they’re still here too.
Nash: You guys are pretty legendary. There’s a lot of history there.
Bonsall: Yes there is, and I love Twitter so I do these things called “ORB tidbits” or “Oak Ridge Boys history” and it always gets a ton of response. So this morning I Tweeted “Where were you in 1981? Bet you were singing oom pah pah mow mow with us”. [this year marks the 30th anniversary of “Elvira”]. Elvira won every music award given out in 1981.
Nash: Elvira was a huge song. Did that change everything?
Bonsall: Well, we had five gold albums at the time and were doing great but when we recorded Elvira, we found out how big a song could be. We could not believe the response to it. From February ‘til June it was number one on the country charts and then it slipped over to the pop market and was on the charts until October.
Nash: When you’re with three guys that much and that long, how do you not drive each other crazy?
Bonsall: I think it actually gets easier and easier. We all give each other our space. It’s a cool thing for me because I’m surrounded by like minds. And that’s an important thing for longevity.
Nash: So are the rest of the guys like family?
Bonsall: Better than family. We don’t argue as much as family. My middle name is “of the”. People are always saying “aren’t you one of the . . .?” There goes “one of the”. I think it’s an honor to be “one of the” Oak Ridge Boys.
Nash: Do you do much songwriting?
Bonsall: I don’t write a lot. I’ve written a handful of good songs. I have to be inspired.
Nash: The Oaks have done about everything. Is there anything that you haven’t done that you’d like to do?
Bonsall: We’ve done a lot of singing for our troops over here as a part of the “Spirit Of America Tour. ” And every once in a while it comes up, “Why don’t you guys go over to Iraq or Afghanistan and sing for the troops over there?” But it never seems to work out for some reason. I like to do that.
Nash: What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Bonsall: If I had to pick one . . . our friendship with George and Barbara Bush. In 1982 Ronald Reagan invited us to sing on the lawn of the White house for the congressional barbeque. And here came this tall, thin vice president running at us, telling us he wasn’t going to be able to make the show that night but that he was a huge fan. He started naming album cuts so we knew he really was a fan. So for all of these years we’ve been friends. We stayed in touch and we campained for him when he ran for president and we campaigned for him the second time when he lost to Clinton. They invite us to Kennebunkport, and our wives, every couple of years. Him and his wife are such great servants of this country, great patriots. If it weren’t for him we wouldn’t have done a lot of things. We all [The Oak Ridge Boys] came from humble beginnings. And then to find ourselves sleeping in the White house at one point . . . my wife cried all night.
Nash: Are you surprised at the amount of success that the Oaks have had and the things you’ve been able to do?
Bonsall: Not exactly. I knew I wanted to be in music. When I left my real job at Jack Frost Sugar in ’68 and joined the Keystones with Richard and starved to death for six or seven years, I was still happy because I was singing. Money didn’t matter. So I feel blessed, thrilled but not surprised for some reason. The book thing surprised me more.
 Nash: Let’s talk about the books. You had a lot of success with GI Joe And Lilly.
Bonsall: Yes, the book thing surprised me more than anything. If my old English teachers knew I had a byline on anything they’d be spinning in their graves. The coolest thing about writing GI Joe And Lilly is that it gave me the opportunity to go back and meet my parents as young people and write about them as young people. There was so much sickness in their live towards the end. My dad had a stroke at 39 and he was infirmed the rest of his life. Mom looked after him and she was never totally well either. It’s hard to go back and see your father at 19 storming the beach at Normandy. And it’s hard to see your mother as a young WAC (Women’s Army Corps) and then meeting at an airbase at Mitchell field. I never wrote a word of GI Joe And Lilly at home. I wrote it all on the road. I wrote it mainly utilizing my mom’s memoirs. Without them I don’t know I could have wrote the book. To me, my goal in writing is to inpsire.
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Marlee Scott is already a rising star in her native Canada, with a Top 20 hit there called “Here to Heaven” and a 2010 CCMA nomination. But that’s not enough for the engaging brunette with a quick wit, piercing blue eyes and a voice to die for who made the move to Nashville in 2007 to “pursue world domination in country music,” as she joked during a recent interview with Nashville.com. Marlee may not be quite dominating the world just yet, but “Beautiful Maybe,” the debut single from her upcoming first Nashville album, is definitely a step in the right direction. It’s an infectious tune featuring a great groove, an inspiring message and an excellent vocal performance by Marlee. During our chat, she talked about the song, the accompanying video, pink guitars, her passion for horses and more. Here’s some of what she had to say.
Nash: I know you’re from Canada and have been here a few years now. What sort of pre-conceived ideas did you have about Nashville? Did you find they were right on the money or were you totally wrong about any of them?
Marlee: I started making trips down to Nashville eight or nine years ago . . . probably about four years before I moved here. And it was definitely just completely different from what I thought it would be.
Nash: In what way?
Marlee: I remember going with a writer down Music Row, someone I had come down to write with, and we met him at the Pancake Pantry, which is just a landmark here in town. My mom came down with me, and he wanted to show us Music Row and Nashville. And I remember just being shocked that Music Row was just a whole bunch of homes. Music Row is just a residential street. I expected to see a lot of high rises and corporate buildings. And I didn’t realize how small the community is. Nashville is a very close-knit community.
And it’s neat how Nashville’s full of such talented people—musicians and songwriters and singers and producers and writers—and it’s neat how everybody comes together and collaborates and is working for the good of everybody. And for the good of country music. But it’s also good to see how Nashville is a hub for other kinds of music—everything comes out of here. And that’s kind of neat, too.
Nash: What was the motivation for coming here, just getting the largest possible audience for your music? Is that really the ultimate reason anybody comes here from someplace else?
Marlee: You know, I joke and say I want world domination in country music. (laughs) That’s why I came here. I put a couple records out in Canada and did fairly well up there. But my dreams were bigger. And I knew if I wanted to fulfill those dreams, I needed to move to Nashville and work really, really hard! (laughs)
Nash: I know one of those dreams was to release music here, and I have to tell you I love your first single, “Beautiful Maybe.” Excellent song and you sing it beautifully. Tell me about the first time you heard it. Did you know immediately you wanted to cut it?
Marlee: Actually, I didn’t. My manager and I were looking for songs and the publisher had given us a copy of “Beautiful Maybe” and we had liked it. Then my manager called me one day and said, “You know, you need to take a listen to this ‘Beautiful Maybe’ again.” And I came into the office and we listened to it and he said, “I think this song is great.” And when I listened to it that second time, it really touched me. And I just looked at him and said, “I completely agree with you.” It’s how sometimes you have to hear something more than once for it to really touch you. And that’s what happened with “Beautiful Maybe.”
Nash: Was the demo a lot different from how you eventually cut it?
Marlee: Yeah, the demo was a lot more acoustic sounding. And we kind of rocked it up and made it real groovin’ and have a great beat to it. It’s just fun to play live, and fun to play acoustically. I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Nash: I saw a video of you doing it live, by yourself, and was impressed with how you nailed it in a setting playing for a radio station or in a conference room. And it got me thinking about how few women I’ve seen in those situations who actually accompany themselves on an instrument the way you did. Why do you think so relatively few women do that? Most of the time a male guitar player gets dragged along to play for them.
Marlee: When I was a kid, I wanted to take guitar lessons and my mom didn’t think I could do it. She said, ‘girls don’t play guitar.’ She wasn’t trying to be mean or anything. It’s just not something that you do see a lot. She actually wanted me to take flute lessons. And the flute teacher had a guitar. I saw this pink electric guitar and told the teacher, that’s what I really want to play. And it turned out she could teach me that as well. And that guitar just pulled me right in. It is interesting to see that not a lot of women do play guitar, and I think they should. I love being able to pick up an instrument and play. And being out on my radio tour, it’s been great to be able to bring my guitar and not have to worry about having a guitar player come along. It’s been great to be self-contained.
Nash: What kind of kid were you? Were you somebody who was a risk taker? Were you a daydreamer? Good in school? What kind of kid were you?
Marlee: I think I was a pretty good kid. I definitely was a bit of a ham. I liked attention, and my mom has a ton of home videos of me and my sister putting on plays or shows that we would do. It was a really big part of my life, being entertaining. It was always a love of mine. So it didn’t shock anybody in my family when they day came that I said, “this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Nash: How old were you when you made that announcement?
Marlee: I remember being like 15 and kind of praying at night when I was going to sleep that I would be . . . the next big thing. (chuckles) But I definitely didn’t really pursue it until about 17 or 18, when I graduated high school.
Nash: How far along are you with the rest of the album? Are you still writing it? Still looking for songs? What’s the status of it?
Marlee: Well, it’s about half done. We’re in the studio on and off when I’m back in town from being on the road. I just can’t wait for people to hear the tracks. They’re kind of different, a little edgy and just fun music.
Nash: How much of it have you written?
Marlee: A lot of it I actually haven’t written. At first, I remember thinking, “Well, I kind of want to write everything.” But I just fell in love with so many outside songs. And I couldn’t give them up. There are some beautiful songs on there and some fun songs, and I just couldn’t give them up. But there are a few songs written by me.
Nash: Have you co-written much here in Nashville?
Marlee: I have. I actually got the chance to write with Marcus Hummon, which was really cool. He’s one of the writers on “Beautiful Maybe.” And just to get the chance to write with him was so cool. But I remember going into that session just being so nervous, because everybody knows who he is and he’s had so many hits. But I walked in the room and two minutes later, I was comfortable. He’s such a great guy and very friendly and very nice. I had a great day writing with him, and the song we wrote is going to be on the record. It’s called “Kiss of Coming Home.” It’s about being out on the road and traveling and coming home to that special person. And when you’re out on the road, it kind of makes it easier when you know you have someone to come home to.
Nash: Do you?
Marlee: (laughs) Why? Are you interested? (huge laughs)
Nash: I’m spoken for, so I’m not shopping around! (laughs) I saw you had a dog in a video on your website. Is that the relationship in your life these days . . . or was that just a stunt dog?
Marlee: That was a stunt dog! We were at a friend’s house, and that’s his dog. It was kind of funny. The dog matched the background. He had this red collar on, and we thought he matched the red hammock. So we just said, “Put the dog in the video!” (laughs) And I’m an animal lover, so it was really kind of fun to have a dog in there. It reflected who I am.
Nash: Have you done any horseback riding since you’ve been in Nashville? I know that’s been one of your passions.
Marlee: I haven’t down here. When I go home, I get to ride once in a while. My mom ended up taking my show horse and turning her into a trail horse, but we couldn’t give her up. My mom got back into riding and she said, “I’ll keep the horse.” So when I go home and visit my parents, I get to ride.
Nash: Were you a jumper or into dressage?
Marlee: Both, actually. I did three-eventing. So I did dressage, jumping and cross country. And I almost gave my mom a heart attack every time I’d go to a show because cross country involves jumping over very fixed things, into water and over ditches. I’m sure my manager doesn’t like hearing that I ride when I go home. He probably thinks I’m going to break a leg or an arm (laughs).
Nash: He’s probably rather have you just put a quarter in a horse in front of a grocery store and ride your heart out.
Marlee: Exactly! One of those machines.
Nash: Is there a timetable for the album to be completed and released?
Marlee: We’re working on it and hoping for a release sometime in the fall. It’s just coming together really well and I’m very happy with what we’ve got. I think everybody who listens to this record is going to find something to relate to.
Nash: I really like the video for “Beautiful Maybe.” Tell me a little about shooting it.
Marlee: It was so much fun. We shot it on a farm out in Franklin. And we had this cute little boy who played Superman. He was so great. And it was funny, because it was a two-day shoot. And the first day he was out there, the director asked him to hold my hand and he said, “I’m not ready!” And we all thought, “Oh, how is this gonna work?” (laughs) The next day was all filming with him. And he was great. It turned out fantastic. He’s just such a cute character. And there’s a cat in the video, which I loved. There’s a cute scene with him and this cat. And it tells a story of the little boy coming into people’s lives, just for a short period of time, and how he touches them, just for a moment. It just captured the song so well. The video is beautiful.
Nash: Tell me about some beautiful maybes you’ve had in your life. Most of us can recall those early moments of a potential new romance . . . that sort of beautiful maybe. Have you had others?
Marlee: Just getting the chance to do what I’m doing is a beautiful maybe for me. That’s what the music business is. You never know what’s gonna happen next. So, it’s definitely a maybe. And to get the chance to do what I’m doing . . . I have to pinch myself, because there are so many people in the world who want this so bad. I still have a ton of stairs to climb, but to get as far as I have is just huge. Definitely that is my kind of beautiful maybe.
Nash: Do you have specific milestones along the way that’ll tell you how you’re doing? Whether it’s a Top 10 or a gold record or an appearance on the Opry? Anything specific you can cross off your list as you achieve it?
Marlee: Oh yeah. I’d love to get a chance to sing on the Opry. And, of course, to chart with a single. To get a Top 10 would be amazing. I’d be so thrilled. To see your name on that Billboard chart would be so neat. I can’t wait for that moment.
Nash: So did you miss the Calgary Stampede this year?
Marlee: I did. I grew up in Alberta, about three hours away from Calgary, so I got to go quite a bit as a kid. I remember going to the chuck wagon races. I remember grabbing a horse shoe I found in the road, and I put it up in my room above my door for good luck. It’s such a good time, with musicians brought together and cowboys and chuck wagons and fans and people who just want to go and have a good time. The whole city just comes alive at Calgary. Every year when it happens and I’m not there, I’m always very jealous of all my friends who are there having a good time, ‘cause I was so used to going every year, even just for a day.
Nash: But you have the Pancake Pantry here.
Marlee: It’s true! (laughs) They don’t even compare!
Nash: Good luck with the record. I love the way you sing.
Marlee: Thanks so much. It’s been great talking with you.
—David Scarlett
Contact: dscarlett@nashville.com or jerry@nashville.com
 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: When working as a server at Cracker Barrel years ago, Jason Michael Carroll never dreamed one day his own album would be sold in Cracker Barrel Stores all over the country. However, the restaurant played a bigger part in his career than most people realize.
“I ended up singing for the first time in public, other than church, at a Cracker Barrel,” he revealed. “I was walking by a table one night singing to the in-store radio, and this lady heard me singing and asked if I could sing to her. I asked my manager and he said I could. So I went out there and kneeled down by the table and said, ‘Ma’am, I’m gonna sing to you.’ She told me to hang on and she stood up in the middle of the restaurant and said, ‘Y’all be quiet, this young man’s gonna sing to me.’ I ended up singing the song and getting a tip from a table across the restaurant that wasn’t even mine.”
Singing isn’t the only musical talent Jason has. Of the 12 songs on his new album, “Numbers,” he wrote or co-wrote 11 of the tracks. The one song he did not write is his current single, and title track, “Numbers.” It was written by Patrick Davis and Rodney Clawson.
“It’s a great song, I really like the story it tells,” he said. “You know, how many times do numbers affect our every day life. So thinking about it that way was cool. Then hearing Patrick Davis tell the story about why he wrote it. June 29, I hope I’m right, is his wife’s birthday, it’s a happy day, they celebrate it every year. But on June 29, 2008, he lost his brother to a drunk driving accident. So after that, the same date had two totally different meanings. So out of that tragedy the song “Numbers” was born.”
His hit song, “Alyssa Lies,” is also on his new album. “It’s been a positive song, helping change people’s lives,” he said. “The fact that I wrote a song like that, that’s been such an impactful song, it blows my mind. The fact that you can sit down with a pen and paper and scratch out ideas that turn into a life-changing thing, it’s awesome.”
The father of four may love singing and writing songs, but the one aspect of his career that he doesn’t enjoy so much is being away from his family. “I try to come home every week, if not, every two weeks for sure,” he said. “But the touring can keep up really busy, we were out for two months at one point. During that time I’d actually fly the family out and they’d stay with us a few days.”
Music is one of Jason’s biggest passions in life and he knows that touring and performing is what he is supposed to be doing. His latest album, “Numbers,” is in Cracker Barrel Stores now. He is also traveling and performing around the country this summer. To see a list of tour dates, visit www.jasonmichaelcarroll.com.
—Tessa Prince
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 He may have sold more than 35 million records and earned 40 No. 1 hits with such classics as “Smoky Mountain Rain,” “It Was Almost Like a Song” and “What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life,” but, fortunately for the rest of us, Grand Ole Opry legend Ronnie Milsap still loves making records and playing for his fans. With the release this week of new CD Country Again, Ronnie demonstrates that, nearly 40 years since moving to Nashville, he’s still as soulful as he was in his early days in Music City singing on The Roof at Roger Miller’s King of the Road Motor Inn (now a Days Inn) on 1st Street. Ronnie recently took time to chat with Nashville.com about his incredible career, his excellent new single, “If You Don’t Want Me To,” and a very special gift he gave to a songwriter on the new CD. Here’s part of what he had to say.
Nash: Ronnie, I want give you a little blast from the past and talk with you about your early days in Nashville, playing on The Roof at Roger Miller’s King of the Road. What do you recall about those early ‘70s times? You truly were the talk of the town.
Ronnie: Well, God bless you, man. I appreciate that. That was a great thing, coming to Nashville and actually having a job! What a concept.
Nash: I know one of the things that made you such a “must see” act back then was that you were doing everything from soul to R&B to rock to country and everything in between. And you’ve never really had to give up doing any of that music, have you?
Ronnie: No, thank goodness I haven’t. That was just the result of having all of those influences in my life.
Nash: Can you talk a little about how you got that gig and what it did for your career?
Ronnie: I remember it was election day in 1972 and we were over at this place called the Anchor Motel. I was playing at this little joint called The Villa. And this guy who was the manager of the King of the Road came down and said, “I want to talk to you. Where are you playing?” And I said, “I’m playing down in Memphis.” And he said, “I want you to play on the roof of Roger Miller’s King of the Road hotel. How many nights do you play?” “Six nights.” “I only want you to play five. How much money you makin’?” I told him and he upped it and I said, “Wow.” I got more money for one less night a week. He said, “I want you to start December the 26th of this year. Can you do that?” I said, “Yes sir. Reporting for duty, sir. I certainly can.” I was there for a year. And when I left the King of the Road, I want on the road with Charley Pride for a year.
Nash: When you think back to those days, did you have a destination in mind for your career? Or was it more a case of just making good music and seeing where the ride would take you?
Ronnie: Well, it was some of that. I actually wanted to be in Nashville. And when Pride saw us out in Los Angeles, he said, “You need to move to Nashville.” I said, “I can’t right now, ‘cause I’ve got a job in Memphis. I don’t have a job in Nashville.” And Charley Pride said, “Well, you need to find one and get on over to Nashville.” But my wife is the one who’s orchestrated this whole thing. She’s the one who really believed in me and got me in touch with Jack Johnson (Ronnie’s manager at the time) and Tom Collins, who administrated Charley Pride’s publishing company at the time. So we started making records for RCA. Jerry Bradley was so encouraging. And every time we cut something, we’d go to him and say, “What do you think? Is this a single?” And he’d say, “Ah, that’s a B side.” And we’d say, “Okay.” And we were always willing to listen to him. I figured, this is Owen Bradley’s son, and we need to be listening. And I definitely did. He was dead on every time.
Nash: Let’s talk about the new music, Country Again. I really like it and it sounds like you’re singing as well or better than you ever have. Do you think so?
Ronnie: Well, you know, when you do things and you know it’s right, there’s a certain feeling about that. You kind of grade yourself. People are gonna write about this and grade it any way they want to, but I felt like it was some of my best work. And here I am at this time in my life, actually trying to reinvent myself.
Nash: Why do you feel the need to do that? Does the industry require it periodically?
Ronnie: I think they probably do. But the main thing is, I still want to do it. I absolutely love doing it. I love to work in music It’s kind of like Ray Charles; it consumes every moment you’re breathing. Ray was that way and I’m that way. I was with Eddie Stubbs one night over at WSM and he said, “Ronnie, have you ever thought about doing a country album again?” I said, “Yeah, I think about it, Eddie. Would it sell?” He said, “I don’t know if it would sell or not. You’ve gotta do it to find out, but you’ve got a great fan base and I believe it would work.” I said, “Well how about you being executive producer on it?” He said, “I’ll do whatever I can to help you.” I love that guy.
So right then and there I started looking at what I had from song searches on my computer, and I had some. And a friend of ours, Mila Mason, went around to some publishing companies and found some new songs. I thought, well we’ve got the stuff to do this. We ought to get in the studio and do this.
Nash: Do you usually know immediately when you hear a new song whether you’re going to cut it or not, or do they sometimes have to grow on you?
Ronnie: Sometimes they have to grow on you. With “Almost Like a Song,” I remember all during 1976 while I was out on the road, I kept playing this demo of Archie Jordan singing that song. My wife was saying, “Ronnie, why are you listening to that thing again?” I said, “This is really a great song. I think so.” But nobody really knew it. And I got home from the tour that fall and got on the piano in the living room and worked out the arrangement. And she was the first one to say, “My Lord, that’s not the same song.” And I said, “Yeah, it is.” So she called my producer, Tom Collins, and he came over and heard it and said, “We’ve got to book the studio. We have to record that.” So that took some time to develop, but I knew if I ever got behind a piano and put my own arrangement to it, it would work.
Nash: You mentioned a minute ago that you wondered if this CD would sell. Vince Gill did a tune a few years ago about Nashville being a “Young Man’s Town.” Basically saying generations come and go and there can be an obsession with youth sometimes. Is that something about Nashville that’s been frustrating for you, knowing that you still have the chops and can still do as well or better than you ever have? And Vince certainly can.
Ronnie: Yes, he can. Well, I don’t think about that too much. I understand what they say, it is all about youth and it’s certainly about how you look. I know that.
Nash: Well, I have to tell you, you’re as pretty as you ever were.
Ronnie: (big laugh) Well, God bless you, David! I do know the twenty-first century is all about images, and people make a judgment call in a split second, whether they’re impressed or not with what you’re doing. But there’s something kind of fun about doing all this, and continuing to want to do it. I’m driven by the shows I do on the road. I’ve got a great band and team out there that really does work. That’s still the best thing I do, the live performance. We do about 100 shows a year.
Nash: I love the first single from the new record, “If You Don’t Want Me To.” Great groove and a great way to start the record off.
Ronnie: God bless you.
Nash: And I’ve got to ask you about “Cry Cry Darlin’.” I’m a sucker for country waltzes.
Ronnie: Yeah, me, too. I think about all that early stuff from Vince Gill when he went to MCA. What were they? They were waltzes.
Nash: I love those. I do, too.
Ronnie: I knew “Cry Cry Baby” was a Jimmy Newman song back before he was Jimmy C. Newman. He cut this thing in ’54 and I still remembered it and found a new way to deliver it.
Nash: And on the other end of the groove spectrum, I love “Oh Linda.” What a great song that is. That’s maybe one of my two or three favorites on the album.
Ronnie: Yeah, I love that. One of the writers saw me on an airplane flying out to L.A. and he said, “Man, I appreciate the cut on ‘Oh Linda.’ Now, what do you do? Do you have lyrics?” And I said, “I sure do.” I told him the formula I go through. I get it up on my computer, then type out the lyrics to the song. Then I convert it to a grade 2 Braille document. Then I turn on my embosser and send it over to the Braille embosser and go over there and tear the paper out and there are my lyrics to take to the studio. And he said, “Do you still have that?” I said, “I sure do.” “Will you autograph a copy of that?” And I did and told him I’d send it over to my manager’s office for him to go pick it up. He wanted that so much and I was so happy I was able to do it for him.
Nash: Well, speaking of sight issues, that song has a lot of great mental images . . . talking about short skirts and eatin’ that juicy peach and lookin’ back when she walks by. I know the images I get in my mind; what about your mind? Are there images you get when you sing that song? What are they like?
Ronnie: Yeah, I do. I get those, too. Always when you’re in the studio singing a song, you visualize something. It helps you deliver the song right. So I think about in my life, how many Lindas have I known? Well I’ve known quite a few Lindas in my life. So maybe I’m just gonna sing to one of ‘em in my head. I’m not gonna tell anybody, but maybe that’s what I’m doing. (chuckles)
Nash: What gets your juices flowing these days, either professionally or personally?
Ronnie: Well, the music certainly does. Gettin’ a chance to make a new album. And the song “If You Don’t Want Me To” has been around a while, and they play it on a jukebox in Lafayette, Louisiana, down in that area. And they invented a dance for it called The Freeze. And when I’d go play down there, they’d make me do that song live and say, “You can’t leave until you play that.” So we did it and shot the video down there.
Nash: Talk about the Opry a little bit. Do you still get a thrill every time you walk on that stage?
Ronnie: Lord, I surely do. I joined Feb. 10, 1976. And Jeanne Pruett was the one who got me to guest on the Opry, and I loved it. I loved being out there. [Play the audio clip below to hear how Ronnie was asked to be a member]
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Nash: If someone hadn’t told you where you were, and they just brought you to the building and walked you in, what would tell you you were at the Opry?
Ronnie: That’s a good question, David. That’s a real good question. I think the only tip-off would be the Opry family, the people who were there. Jim Ed Brown would come over to say hello. And I loved Billy Walker. He’d always come over and talk to me. And Bill Carlisle. He was always so encouraging. As soon as I heard these folks talkin’, I’d know . . . I’m at the Grand Ole Opry!
Nash: What are you especially looking forward to in the next few months?
Ronnie: Well, we’re excited about this album and we’re going to be doing a lot to support it. I’ll be out doing shows on the road and doing some media in New York. And there’s a show that’s basically gonna wrap this thing up for us at the end of August at Riverfront Park in Nashville. Marty Stuart’s on the show with me and it’s gonna be a great show.
Nash: Well, I’ll definitely come out to see you there.
Ronnie: I love that and come up and tap me on the shoulder and let me know you’re there. I look forward to that. It’s been a joy to talk with you today. Thank you my friend.
—David Scarlett
Contact: dscarlett@nashville.com or jerry@nashville.com
 Exclusive Interview: When you hear the name Terri Clark, two things come to mind: super talented female country singer, cowboy hat. Then, some of her terrific hit songs cross your mind: “I Just Wanna Be Mad,” I Wanna Do It All,” Girls Lie Too and “Better Things to Do.”
I’ve been a fan for years, but never quite understood why Miss Terri Clark didn’t reach the superstar status of, say, a Reba, Martina or Miranda. The “You’re Easy on the Eyes,” singer certainly has the goods: talent, looks, pipes, hit songs and a penchant for entertaining the masses.
So, what’s the deal? It’s almost like the Karma Fairy threw her a curve ball. The mysteries and complexities of the music business certainly comes into play here, but the old saying “Life’s not fair,” may also apply. If I had my way, Terri Clark would be a household name. But, alas, it’s not my call.
When I heard that she has a new album coming out, I jumped at the chance to talk with her about it. “Roots and Wings,” (Terri co-wrote nine of the 10 tracks) has a digital release July 26 (iTunes and Amazon) and a physical release date of September 13. (Buy it now by going to her website: www.terriclark.com).
Terri, who sadly lost her mother to cancer in 2010, has no regrets, doesn’t dwell on what might have been (in her career), enjoys a healthy sense of self and her sense of humor is alive and well. She’ll be the first one to say she’s happy in her own skin, looking forward to whatever the future might bring.
The multi-platinum artist called from her lake house in Canada to sit through a series of personal and career-related questions. And she graciously endured some career advice regarding her next single (from the album). Can you say “Good Sport,” boys and girls?
Nash: Congrats on your new album “Roots and Wings.” I’m always intrigued by how artists come up with the titles to their albums. Tell us how this title came to you.
Terri: I lost my mom last year from cancer. She and I were very, very close, and she always encouraged me to stay tethered to my roots and not forget where I came from and who I came from. I’ve always maintained that bond. When she passed away, I bought a place in Canada. I’ve always spent a lot of time there but I decided to plant more roots down there. It’s around a lot of my family: my grandmother, my dad, really close friends I grew up with … my sister. I wrote two songs and recorded some songs that go along with that theme. “Northern Girl,” and “We’re Here for a Good Time.” There are some northern references on the album. That’s the roots part. And the wings part has got several meanings. I feel freedom to really live life again after watching my mom battle cancer and her being sick and just fighting to survive. We all kind of got in the ring with her and fought for her to survive. And instead of fighting to live, I want to just live now. And I want to lighten up and get back to the good things in life and enjoy the moment. It’s kind of freeing. I feel like I have a bit of a new lease on life, and I’m enjoying it again. My mom too, I feel has a set of wings in heaven and looks out after me. And she flew to the next place. She always encouraged me to do what I needed to do and to be free so there’s a lot in that title for me. I didn’t want it to be just cliché and call it by one of the song titles because I think the album has so much more than just one song about it.
Nash: I lost my mother 30 years ago. She was very, very young when she passed away, and I was devastated. I don’t think people who have never lost their mother understand how hard it is to lose your mother.
TC: Oh, a daughter losing their mother – or sons – yes, it’s very hard because as a woman, that’s your extension, you know? And when that’s gone, it’s like … you go through everything from feeling like an orphan to earning your adult stripes, and you’re kind of out there alone. My mom was 60 so she was relatively young. It’s very difficult and nothing you can really prepare yourself for.
 Terri and her mom. Nash: You dedicated your song “Smile” to your mother. What a poignant song. Was that difficult for you to get through?
TC: Yeah, I had to sit in the kitchen on the chair and sing it 30 times to the walls to do it without crying. When I finally got it in front of a live audience … it was funny because when we were in the studio recording it and we finished, usually the musicians will say something and you could have heard a pin drop. Dead silence. It’s getting a huge reaction when I play it for people because so many people have been through this. It’s my story but what I’ve learned is it’s not just my story, it’s a lot of people’s story. My mom did tell me that in her last days. She said, “I want you to smile.” So she wrote the song.
Nash: I listened to your entire album, and I’m going to lobby for you to send out “Lonesome’s Last Call” to radio as your next single. I love that song! It’s my favorite song on the album. Is there any chance I can persuade you to have that cut as your next release?
TC: (Laughs) Well, thank you first of all. We’re going to country radio in Canada with “Here For a Good Time,” then we’re going to release “The One.” I love “Lonesome’s last Call,” and I totally hear what you’re saying. I think it would definitely be something that you wouldn’t expect to hear on the radio these days because it’s got such an old-school sound to it.
Nash: Which is one reason I love it so much! It has such a classic country sound, it just cries out traditional country, kind of a Hank Williams feel with your beautiful voice, wow!
TC: Thank you! I wrote it 21 years ago. I wrote that song with Jim [Rushing] back when I was still a kid, and I had just moved to Nashville before I had a record deal. And it sat in the back of my mind for all these years, and I’ve always thought that one of these days I’m going to record that song. It was just time. It had been sitting around collecting dust all these years, and I thought: you know what, a song like that is timeless, and I can record it, and it’ll stand up whether I wrote it 20 years ago or 20 years from now because it’s just got that classic sound.
Nash: What’s your strategy when you release a new album?
TC: I’m mostly going for radio airplay in Canada now. In the U.S. it’s hard for me to get mainstream airplay because I’m independent. It’s a very major label dominated format. It’s not something that I think is going to happen very easily unless I want to really pursue that financially, and that’s a pretty big leap. It’s not cheap.
Nash: I love your songs: “I Just Wannna Be Mad,” “I Want to Do It All,” “Girls Lie Too,” “Better Things to Do.” You’ve had some great hits. How can we hear Terri Clark on the radio again in the United States?
TC: Gosh, you know what, if I had the answer for that I’d be on the radio. Sometimes it just takes sending it out there and if somebody plays it and it starts to react, I can have an organic hit but that’s a very difficult thing to do in today’s climate. It’s very competitive, and like I said, I don’t have that big-bucks marketing machine and power of a major label behind me so I slip under the radar a little bit more. However I have creative freedom to record whatever I want, how I want it, when I want to, and I’m writing almost everything again like I did on my first few albums. I’d love to have a hit in the U.S. again but if I don’t I’m OK with that too. I mean I feel pretty content where I’m at.
Nash: I also like your cut: “Wrecking Ball.” Have you ever been a wrecking ball in a relationship?
TC: Yeah … (Big laugh) … like every single time.
Nash: You just flex those muscles and knock ‘em over, huh?
TC: Oh, sometimes.
Nash: “Breakin’ Up Thing” is a catchy song that will get the attention of women who are dating men with ice in their veins. The guy (in the song) broke up with the girl without batting an eye. Have you ever had that happen?
TC: I’m going to make myself look bad here. I’ve probably been on the other side of that coin more than the narrator. I don’t think I’ve been that bad … it’s not that I don’t bat an eye but when I make up my mind that I’m done, I’m done. I will give it every shot I’ve got and everything it takes to make something work but if my buttons get pushed too often in the wrong ways over and over again, when I finally do reach a decision, I will turn around and walk away without a look back. That song is about a guy who is a serial dater, and that’s not me at all, but it was a song that came about from an idea that Kristen Hall had. We just sort of wrote around her idea. It’s pretty fictional as far as relating to anyone in particular.
Nash: I see you co-wrote quite a few songs with Kristen Hall who was an original member of Sugarland. How did you two get together to write songs?
TC: Interesting because her house flooded in the Nashville flood. My house flooded too but my house was still livable and her’s had a lot more problems. I was going to Canada for a month right after the flood because my mom had just passed away. So she came and stayed at my house. When I was in Canada, I got the idea for “Northern Girl” and I wanted her to co-write it with me … she’s from Michigan. So I’m emailing her from Canada, and we go back and forth with Mp3 files, and we wrote most of “Northern Girl” on line, and then when I came back to Nashville we just kept writing songs, and wound up writing a bunch of great songs together. She’s also one of my best friends. She’s somebody I would befriend and hang out with whether she could write a song or not because she’s just really salt-of-the-earth good people.
Nash: I saw you in concert a few years ago when you were touring with Trace Adkins. How long has it been since you’ve toured? I haven’t seen you around. Did you stop touring?
TC: I’ve never stopped touring. I’ve been working very, very hard. I do unplugged shows. I sit with my acoustic guitar for two hours. If you go to my website (www.terriclark.com) and go to past shows, you’ll see everywhere I’ve been touring. I’ve been pretty busy. I don’t do the major fairs and festivals anymore so everyone thinks I’ve dropped off of the face of the earth but I’ve played a bit.
Nash: Have you thought about touring with a group of artists? That seems to be the norm now for most artists.
TC: Yeah, I’ve thought about it but I prefer to do my own thing and do a more singer/songwriter format now. I’m going out and selling out rooms all over the United States just me and the guitar. I want to keep doing more of that because I think it’s really different. It’s unique, and it’s something that not everybody does or can do to be quite honest. I might as well take advantage of what I can do that not everybody else does and be unique with it. It’s creative, it’s something fresh and new and different. It’s not like watching the same show you’ve seen me do for 15 years. You’ve got to keep engaging your audience and yourself and not getting stale with what you’re doing. It’s very challenging because it’s harder to do that. It’s two hours of just me.
Nash: You’ve got a great singing voice, you’re fun to watch on stage. I love your hit songs. You’ve got the whole package. I’ve always thought you had the potential to be a country superstar. Was that your goal when you first started out, and how bumpy has that road been for you?
TC: Well, you know, we of course all want that in the beginning. Nobody’s worked harder. I’ve worked my ass off for many, many years. I’ve toured nonstop and made records. For whatever reason I don’t know why it didn’t get up to that level but I kind of look at it like God gives you what you can handle. I’m a pretty ordinary, normal girl and I don’t know how I would have handled that. That might have been hard for me. I find that I’m at a really comfortable place with it where I can go out and be … sometimes I’ll get recognized, and if I do then it’s in a big way or I’m just completely under the radar and go to the grocery store and walk down the street and nobody bats an eye. It’s kind of nice because when I put makeup on and the hat and I get on stage, I can be a star but I can also take it all off and not be [recognized], and a lot of people are so big that that it doesn’t matter what they do, they walk around in that star suit 24/7, and that’s something I would find extremely difficult handling something like that. I kind of believe that it happened the way it was supposed to and I don’t have any regrets or feel like I got shortchanged. I’m not bitter. I’ve had a lot of people tell me they think I’ve been very underrated and deserved more, and I appreciate that but at the same time I also think I got just what I came for and I’m pretty content with it.
Nash: You came to Nashville in 1987 and didn’t have your first hit “Better Things to Do,” until 1995. That was eight years of struggling. Was that a hard road? Did you ever feel like you were never going to get there?
TC: Good question. I spent many nights crying myself to sleep because somebody would show interest at a record label and then say oh I can’t do it. There were a lot of letdowns. I had some broken-heart moments for sure. I was waiting tables and tending bar and painting houses and working at retail in a Western store. I was married at the time and he and I were just kind of like: what the hell is going on in this town? Somebody would say in one breath that I was the most powerful female country singer they’d ever heard, and then the next breath they’d say: but it’s not what we’re looking for, or: we’ve got our quota of females, we’ve already got enough women here we don’t know what to do with. So, yes, I had a lot of letdowns. But every time a door closed behind me, another one opened in front of me, and it kept me going. It kept me motivated to keep going so I could say: you know what, I didn’t give up. And I didn’t give up and eventually one relationship led to another of networking, and I wound up sitting in the office of Mercury and they signed me.
Nash: I interviewed you some years ago and want to revisit a few questions I asked you back then to see if things have changed or stayed the same. Do you mind?
TC: No, not at all.
Nash: I asked you, “If you could ask God one question about yourself and get an immediate answer, what would you ask?” You said, “I’d probably ask God if I’m supposed to have children or not, although I’m leaning against not doing it at this point in my life. I’d ask Him if I’d regret it.” Have you resolved the children issue?
TC: Absolutely. I’m definitely not having them. (Big laugh). That’s a definite no.
Nash: So you don’t want to wipe noses and change diapers, huh?
TC: No. You know what, when you asked me that question I was 37. From the ages of about 33 to 37, I contemplated it, but I realize it’s just not in the cards for me, and I’m really content with my life.
Nash: Back then I also asked you: “How important is it for you to be in love on a scale of 1 to 10; 10 being really in love and 1 being: nah, don’t need it.” You said then, “Boy, I’m always a 1, don’t need it until I feel that feeling and then I’m all about it – then I’m a 10.” Where are you now?
TC: About the same. (Big laugh) That hasn’t changed. It’s so funny, I always get these grandiose ideas about being alone and free – footloose and fancy free. I’m just going to be an independent single woman and go out and just be alone, then the next thing I know, I’m in a relationship. I think I’m a serial monogamous. I think I was embarking on a pretty long relationship when you talked to me and that ended about six months ago, and I’m already in another one. (Laughs)
Nash: That says a lot about you. You’re probably very easy to love.
TC: Ohhhhh, that’s so sweet. I don’t know, but every time I would like to be done. I don’t want to go from relationship to relationship but I’ve always been a late bloomer in my life. Part of it is just the choices I’ve made in picking potentials that weren’t quite what I needed even though I thought I wanted it at the time. It wasn’t what I needed. I’m finding now I’m closer than I’ve ever been to being with somebody who is my absolute equal in every way. There’s no red flags. There’s always been: well, we can overcome this, or I’ll get over that, or I’ll fix that, or I’ll change that about you, and you know what, I’m not experiencing any of those feelings this time so I think I’m kind of getting it right finally.
Nash: Are you open to marriage or not so much?
TC: No … honestly, I’ve been married twice and to me it’s a piece of paper. I think marriage is in your heart. Some people may not agree with me on that but I really believe that it’s the day to day and getting up and saying I chose you over everybody else on this earth – that’s what matters. Sometimes I feel like marriage can be almost a contract to get complacent.
Nash: I asked you an Oprah question: “What do you know for sure?” Your answer was: “ I know for sure that my mother loves me … one thing I know for sure is that if you don’t have your health, you have nothing.” (Terri’s mother was just diagnosed at the time.)
TC: That’s still very true. I think my mother still loves me no matter where she is.
Nash: Sometimes I feel my mother’s spirit. Do you?
TC: Yes, absolutely. I think it’s the only thing that makes this bearable is that I don’t feel like she’s gone. I just feel like she’s sitting on a different plain right now. I can’t physically reach out and grab her but she’s around.
Nash: One more: “Finish this sentence: “I’m tired of hearing about…” And you said, “I’m tired of hearing about my cowboy hat.” I saw Chris Young on GMA the other day, and he announced he’s losing the hat. How about you? You still love the hat?
TC: (Laughs) I don’t think I was tired of my hat, I think I was just tired of being asked about it. I’m wearing it on the new album cover. I go back and forth with it. I know it’s a trademark and it’s a brand that not everyone has, and I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and I’m comfortable in it. I’m a tomboy. It works. It feels right. I actually enjoy wearing it. I feel like Superman when I put that thing on. The thing [now] I’m most tired of hearing about is the media can get going on something and it’s like: OK, can we move on now?
Nash: I agree. Casey Anthony trial comes to mind.
TC: Exactly. They just go on and on about it. It’s all you see, and they just tend to go overboard.
Nash: Before I let you go, I want to ask you about one of my favorite Terri Clark songs: “I Just Wanna Be Mad.” What a great anger management song. How do you relate to that song in general?
TC: Well, if you’re in a relationship you know you need your space. You just need to let somebody have their feelings and then things will be alright. You can’t force somebody to get over something right away. When I heard it I found an instant relateability to it and figured that other people would too.
Nash: Last word: Remember what I said: “Lonesome’s Last Call.”
TC: I will, Pat. Thank you!
—Pat Gallagher
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Deborah Allen can’t remember a time when music wasn’t a part of her life. Even before she was born, Deborah’s mother prayed that her daughter would have a strong voice. She did, and as she grew up, she began to realize just how strong her voice was. It wasn’t long before she realized that music was the career she wanted to pursue.
“It’s hard for me to pin point when it went from me just enjoying singing to a profession,” she said. “I knew I loved to sing, and I used to walk down the road singing when I was growing up. Soon I started having those dreams that a lot of kids have about wanting to be a singer. One thing just led to another.”
Most fans associate Deborah with her hit song, “Baby I Lied.” It’s become somewhat of her signature song and a song that she says she is most grateful for. Deborah wrote the song with Rory Bourke and Rafe Van Hoy.
“It just changed my life so much,” she said. “It took me around the world. Even when I go to radio stations today, promoting my new single that’s out, people are still talking about “Baby I Lied.”
While working toward a career in the music industry, Deborah discovered she is not only a great singer, but also a talented songwriter. Although she may have been overlooked by some as a songwriter, she has penned hundreds of hit songs. She has had songs cut by LeAnn Rimes, Patty Loveless, Brooks and Dunn and many more. Deborah loves to write songs and she can find inspiration from anywhere.
“The more you live, the more you have to write about. I can’t imagine not having anything to write about. There’s always something new. Just when you think you’ve seen it and heard it all, something else happens.”
Like most artists, Deborah’s favorite part of her music career is performing for her fans. “Touring and going on the road is fun when you have a great band. It’s like a traveling family on the road,” she reveals. “Mostly I just enjoy the experience of performing and the experience of exchanging feelings with the audience.”
Deborah’s career is now busier than ever. She is currently producing a record for Margaret Phillips. She also has her own new album, “Hear Me Now,” coming out on August 16. Her first single off the new album, “Anything Other Than Love,” is at country radio now.
—Tessa Prince
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
 Exclusive Interview: There’s probably no one in Nashville with a better musical pedigree than Shelton Hank Williams, a.k.a. Hank3. But there’s also probably no one that despises the cookie cutter Nashville sound more than Hank3. The grandson of country music legend Hank Williams and the son of Hank Williams Jr. feels as though he’s finally able to spread his musical wings now that he’s out of his contract with Curb records. He’s started his own label and the alt-country star is wasting no time, releasing three new projects. “Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown”, a double-album set of Cajun flavored country, “Attention Deficit Domination”, a heavy metal doom rock collection and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin’, an unusual blend of heavy metal and actual cattle auctioneering. There’s no doubt Hank3 makes the music he wants now. He sat down to talk with Nashville.com and here’s what he had to say:
Nash: Why did you decide to start your own label?
Hank3: Basically for creative freedom more than anything. If you look at my history I’ve been sat on for the last 15 years. I’ve been with Curb records for about 15 years and they’ve only put out five records on me and if you look at Hank Jr, he probably has about 120 records out through his career. So they were killing me creatively and musically they were holding me back. I wanted to not have that problem anymore. If I want to make a country record I’ll do it, if I want to make a heavy metal record I’ll do it, if I want to make a blues record I’ll do it. That’s the main inspiration.
Nash: Did you ever think of just going with another major label?
Hank3: No. I had the option to but I just didn’t want to. There’s just too much lawyer work. Usually when you’re dealing with the majors you have to deal with four extra lawyers and four other people’s say so. I like getting straight to the point and my motto is get it done sooner than later. That’s a lot harder to do on a major.
Nash: Does it make more financial sense for you to start a label?
Hank3: It depends on what you’re in it for. If you’re in it for just making music, yeah. If you’re in it to play the Nashville game and get a number one song on the radio and make a million dollars off of a song, probably not. It’s kind of a double edge sword. With all of the outlets today, the internet, selling your own merch, you have a lot of ways to run your own show that people didn’t have 20 years ago.
Nash: Do you plan to sign any other artists?
Hank3: No, it’s hard enough just doing my thing. I would never want to take the chance of doing another musician wrong.
Nash: Let’s talk about your three new projects. Why are you releasing four CDs at one time? (Ghost to a Ghost is a two CD set)
Hank3: The main reason is being held back for so long, but for the next two years I’m going to be in touring mode. I’m not going to be in recording mode. And this is the first time in 14 years I’ve actually been able to sell a CD at my own merch booth. That’s another reason I wanted to have all three styles available and in the can. It’ll probably be a couple of years before I make another set of records. In general I’m just a bar band. My best marketing system is to say hello. I shake every hand and sign every autograph. If you got something good or bad to say to me at the end of the night I take it.
Nash: Ghost to a Ghost/Guttertown is your new country CD but it has a lot of the Cajun sound in there. Where does that come from?
Hank3: Basically I’ve always been a fan of that style of fiddle playing and the openness that the old Cajun sound had. It didn’t really matter if you were that in tune or not. They were just doing their thing. It’s just been a music, that over the years has calmed me down when ever I might get in an unsettled area. And also in goes hand-in-hand. My dad was born in Louisiana, Hank Williams had that big strong connection down there. To me it’s just a feel good kind of music.
Nash: 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin’ is a very unusual combination of heavy metal woven around actual cattle auctioneering. How did you come up with that?
Hank3: I use to spend my summers in Missouri with my granddad on his cattle farm. Half the time I was working cattle and I’d be going to the auction barns with him. I was always fascinated with the high speeds of these auctioneers. And as time went on I thought that would be a really cool combination. Just being able to line up the tracks with the auctioneers was a lot of fun. More than half the people [auctioneers] I wanted to use were not into it. They’re older men and they just didn’t see my vision. There’s not one cuss word on this record and that’s because some of these guys asked “will there be a cuss words on this record” and I said “if you’re willing to work with me, no there won’t.”
Nash: There’s a song called “Demons Mark” on Attention Deficit Domination, your heavy metal album. Your grandfather and you’re father both had their demons to fight and you’ve had your demons as well. Are those times behind you now?
Hank3: I don’t think it ever ends. It’s always a struggle. If it’s light verses dark or good versus bad it’s always a struggle. I mean I don’t think it ever goes away. You got to take it day by day and do the best that you can and approach it like you might not be here tomorrow.
Nash: Is there anybody special in your life right now?
Hank3: I’m married to the road. It takes a certain kind of person to be use to that. My boy is in college. He’s a grown man now. I got my dogs. Me and my mom are running my business and my merch.
Nash: Has your son ever shown any interest in the music business?
Hank3: He messes around with it. He’s having more fun with it. My best advice for him right now is while you’re in the habit of staying in school, you might as well stay in school as long as you can until you figure out what you really want to do. He’s not taking it real serious right now.
Nash: Does your son feel any pressure to follow in the family foot-steps like you or your dad might have?
Hank3: No, I always played music because I wanted to. My mom and dad didn’t push me to get in it. I think my son knows he has that option but he knows how intense it is because he sees how much work goes into it.
You can catch Hank3 in Nashville on Wednesday July 27th at The End. At the Exit/in on Aug 6th and at The Factory on Aug. 27 for a Happy Tails fundraiser, a no kill animal shelter. For more info on Hank3s tour check out http://www.hank3.com/tour.htm
—Jerry Holthouse
Contact: jerry@nashville.com
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Exclusive Interview, Part 1—It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since the legendary Oak Ridge Boys released their signature tune, “Elvira,” but indeed it has. And since then, the power quartet—Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, Joe Bonsall and Richard Sterban—has created a legacy of hits featuring some of the most memorable tunes in American music, from “Bobbie Sue,” “Dream On,” “Thank God For Kids” and “American Made” to “I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometimes,” “Fancy Free,” “Gonna Take A Lot Of River” and many others. But, while many Oaks fans know them only for their country hits, the roots of the group go back to their gospel days as the Oak Ridge Quartet in the mid-‘40s and include nearly 30 members before the current lineup was set in 1973. In 1945 they began performing regularly on the Grand Ole Opry, and at long last, were inducted into the hallowed institution by Little Jimmy Dickens on Aug. 6 of this year. Along the way, they’ve toured the world, performed for five American presidents, recorded with legends ranging from Ray Charles and Paul Simon to Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee and Bill Monroe, sold more than 30 million albums and still found time to be active supporters of the Boy Scouts of America, Feed the Children, the American military and a variety of other causes. So, having achieved all that, they must be about ready to hang it up, right? Not just yet. In fact, with the release today of their new CD It’s Only Natural, available exclusively at Cracker Barrel, the Oaks serve notice that not only are they still delivering that classic Oaks sound we all love, they’re doing it in a way that is totally relevant and totally contemporary—not an easy balance to achieve. The cd includes several newly recorded versions of classic Oaks songs, along with some great new tunes. Nashville.com sat down for a long chat with the guys not long before the release of their new record. Here’s Part 1 of that conversation. Part 2 will appear here tomorrow. Enjoy.
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