Randy Travis looks back on “Storms of Life” album nearly 25 years later
Country music star Randy Travis, who is playing shows in Tulsa and Concho this weekend, is in the planning stages of a 25th anniversary album to be released next year.
“Because of what it is, we just want to make it as special as we can,” he told me in a recent phone interview.
In 1986, the North Carolina native released his genre-altering debut album “Storms of Life,” which ushered in the neotraditionalist sound after the post-urban cowboy bust.
In our interview, Travis recalled that he started out with a three-single deal at Warner Bros., which meant the label was giving him three chances to make it big. He broke into the top 10 with “1982,” his second single; the label then re-released his first single, “On the Other Hand,” which initially fell off the charts around the 60s. The second time around, it became a No. 1 hit.
He still recalls rushing to finish “Storms of Life” with now-longtime producer Kyle Lehning, who told Travis that if he could sell at least 40,000 copies, they would get the chance to make another record.
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?,” he remembers joking.
“Storms of Life” went on to sell more than 3 million units. No joke.
Lehning isn’t the only collaborator Travis is still working with decades later. This weekend, he will take the stage with fiddler David Johnson, whom he has been performing with for 33 years. They started making music together back when Travis was playing the nightclub Country City USA in Charlotte, N.C.
Travis also credits God’s grace and good material for giving him a lengthy career.
“Heck, I don’t know, the grace of God, I guess,” he said with a laugh before getting more serious. “I was joking about the grace of God, the favor of God, but I do strongly believe in that. But to me, when you look at the beginning of a career, you can take a mediocre singer if you have a good enough song, you can have a hit. … The choice of material to start that career is one of the most important things.
“All right, then you gotta have everything else to go with that. You need to be able to sing, obviously, you need to know what you can sing, what you should sing, pick what you like. That sounds real simple, but when you start doing that, then you get into (wondering) ‘Let’s see, is that something radio would play?’ You’ve gotta fight to keep away from trying to figure those things out because that’s a losing battle.
“So choose what you love, sing what you truly love and only that. This is what I believe.”
In concert
Randy Travis
When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Interstate 44 East at Exit 240A, Tulsa.
Information: (800) 760-6700 or www.hardrockcasinotulsa.com.
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Lucky Star Casino Concho, 7777 N Highway 81, El Reno.
Information: (405) 262-7612 or www.luckystarcasino.org.
-BAM
Randy Travis talks hits, humor and Carrie Underwood before playing two Oklahoma shows
Above: Venerable country music star Randy Travis will play shows in Tulsa and Concho this weekend. (Warner Bros. photo) Below: Randy Travis invites Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood to join the Grand Ole Opry in 2008; Underwood introduced Travis’ music to a new generation when she covered his hit “I Told You So.” (Grand Ole Opry photo)
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Singer Randy Travis is hoping to have fun ‘Forever and Ever’
Nearly 25 years after first album, star is having a blast recording, playing live, telling jokes
The first time a rising country artist told Randy Travis “I grew up with your music,” the venerable star admits his natural response was, “No you didn’t; I’m not that old.”
“But the truth is, yeah, I am,” said Travis, who will turn 51 May 4, with a laugh. “You know, I’ve been doing this for so long that I almost remember no part of life when I wasn’t performing in front of an audience.”
Travis started his musical career humbly enough at age 9 playing with family bands at Moose lodges, square dances and VFW halls. But since launching his recording career nearly 25 years ago, he has marked a distinctive sonic shift in country music, notched 16 No. 1 hits and sold more than 20 million albums. He continues to tour frequently, with shows this weekend in Tulsa and Concho.
“This year, (there will be) breakdancing. I’m gonna break a banjo and set it on fire out onstage. No, I’m kidding. You see that happen, and you’ll know I’ve lost my mind completely,” Travis said during a phone interview in which he joked and laughed often. “Basically you’re gonna hear the hits. And I love to joke with people; I love messing and talking. Some nights, I say stuff I don’t know where it comes from, to be honest with you.”
The North Carolina native has plenty of hits to choose from over the breadth of his groundbreaking career, which in the 1980s ushered in the neotraditionalist sound after the post-urban cowboy bust. The singer-songwriter who scored smashes with “Diggin’ Up Bones,” “Deeper Than the Holler” and “Forever and Ever, Amen” has reached the point where young stars point to his music as influential.
“It’s very humbling that anybody tells you that you had anything to do with them wanting to be in this business,” Travis said.
For instance, deep-voiced star Josh Turner, 32, has called Travis’ pioneering 1986 album “Storms of Life” the first record he ever bought. In 2006, Turner and Travis recorded a Country Music Television special together.
But no one has done more to introduce Travis’ music to a new generation of fans than Checotah native Carrie Underwood, who covered his 1988 chart-topper “I Told You So” for her 2007 album “Carnival Ride.” The 2005 “American Idol” winner released her version as a single in February 2009, then she and Travis re-recorded and re-released a duet rendition that spring.
The collaboration, which they performed on an episode of “Idol,” became Travis’ first chart hit since his 2003 smash “Three Wooden Crosses.”
“Radio’s just not that open to playing me that much anymore because there seems to be an age limit these days. Carrie gave me a boost and did me a favor … and she sang the fire out of that song. She’s one of the finest singers to come into this business in many years.” he said. “Carrie has attracted a group of listeners who weren’t necessarily country fans until she came into this business.”
Their duet is nominated for vocal event of the year at next month’s Academy of Country Music Awards. Earlier this year, it won the Grammy for best country collaboration with vocals. Snowed in at his Santa Fe, N.M., home, Travis wasn’t able to attend, but he admired Underwood’s Grammy performance.
“There are many great singers in this business, female and male, but there aren’t many of the caliber and the ability that would be asked to walk up and sing with Smokey Robinson and Usher and Celine Dion on a tribute to Michael Jackson like Carrie was. And as I sat and listened to that, I think she probably outsang everybody on the platform that night.”
In between tour dates, Travis is working on a silver anniversary album for next year, when he will celebrate 25 years since the release of “Storms of Life.” The young-at-heart performer is seeking new material and guest singers, including perhaps some up-and-coming stars.
“As you can tell, I don’t take a whole lot serious,” he said with a chuckle. “I think men usually only mentally age to about 18 and that’s kind of where we stay.
“Personally, I don’t see the need in really getting much older than that mentally. The body’s gonna age, and you’re gonna slow down. I’m happy to say at 51, I have not yet. I’m still breaking horses, and I’m gonna keep on doing that as long as I can. And I’m still just having fun doing the job that I do, be it acting, be it writing, be it singing.
“I’m doing my best just to enjoy life.”
In concert
Randy Travis
When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Interstate 44 East at Exit 240A, Tulsa.
Information: (800) 760-6700 or www.hardrockcasinotulsa.com.
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Lucky Star Casino Concho, 7777 N Highway 81, El Reno.
Information: (405) 262-7612 or www.luckystarcasino.org.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on March 19, 2010
Today’s featured event:
Hear singer-songwriter Cory Morrow at 9 tonight at Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan.
For more information, call 601-6276 or go to www.wormydog.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Blake Shelton talks about breaking up with Twitter and mulling marriage to Miranda Lambert
Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton recently ended his committed relationship with Twitter – by deleting the microblogging application from his smart phone.
“After I guess almost a year of being on Twitter, about three weeks ago I woke up one morning, and I was looking at it like I did every morning, and I said, ‘Man, I’ve got to move on with my life. I’m addicted to this stuff.’ I can’t think in the morning because all I can do is get on there and think, ‘All right, I’ve got to think of something funny to say to start this day,’” he told the Associated Press.
Shelton, 33, significantly raised his profile over the past year through his colorful – and sometimes controversial – participation on Twitter. The day he deleted the mobile app, Shelton had more than 76,000 followers.
“I think people are so used to country artists, celebrities, just kind of playing the middle and really not being themselves out of fear, that it was refreshing to them to get on Twitter and see well Blake Shelton wrote, ‘Oh my god, I got so drunk last night I think my liver exploded …,’” he said. “They’re going, ‘This guy is crazy. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to write next.’ Over time they realized, ‘Man, all the guy is doing is joking around,’” he told the AP.
In a recent phone interview, the hunting enthusiast said he particularly enjoyed using Twitter to poke fun at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
“Oh, yeah, that’s one of my favorite pastimes is making fun of PETA. Anybody that attacks my way of life, they’re gonna hear about it from me. And of course, you know that I love to hunt and I was raised in a part of the country where people depend on raising cattle as a big part of their living and the way they make it in this world. And when somebody attacks that, I’m gonna have some things to say about it,” he told me.
The Ada native still Tweets, but not as often without the mobile application. Since the release of his “Hillbilly Bone” album earlier this month, his followers have actually increased to more than 81,000, thanks, in part, to the success of the album’s title track.
His “Hillbilly Bone” duet with longtime pal Trace Adkins just reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Songs chart. It’s also nominated for vocal event of the year at next month’s Academy of Country Music Awards.
While Shelton has broken up with Twitter, he told the AP his relationship with fellow country star and his Tishomingo neighbor Miranda Lambert is solid. Shelton, who was divorced in 2006, said he is finally open to the idea of marriage again.
“Miranda and I have been together, it’s getting close to five years now,” he told the AP. “We’ve had our good years and our bad years and our really bad years. But I think right now, she and I have a stronger relationship than we’ve ever had, even in the early times when it was new and exciting, it still didn’t feel like it feels right now. We’ve been through a lot together, and we’ve toughed it out. It’s exciting to me.”
“Probably for the first time I can realistically say, I can see us being together forever,” he added. “I can see us getting married one day, maybe, where before you would never have gotten me to say something like that. As far as I’m concerned we’re definitely closer than we’ve ever been to maybe taking that step.”
-BAM
Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins take “Hillbilly Bone” to No. 1
Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton has taken “Hillbilly Bone,” his raucous duet with fellow star Trace Adkins, to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Aircheck (Mediabase) charts.
It becomes Shelton’s sixth No. 1 single. It also is nominated for vocal event of the year honors at the Academy of Country Music Awards, which will be handed out April 18 in Las Vegas.
“Hillbilly Bone” is the lead-off single to Shelton’s new album, which recently debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Albums list. It also became Shelton’s highest album debut on Billboard’s Top 200 chart to date, coming in at No. 3.
Shelton, an Ada native who now lives in Tishomingo, will celebrate his latest hit tonight as he plays his first headlining show at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. Appropriately enough, the show is a sell-out.
In the NewsOK video above, see a clip of the hilarious “Hillbilly Bone” music video and hear a clip of my recent interview with Shelton.
-BAM
Taylor Swift bringing superstar status, teen relatability to Oklahoma City’s Ford Center March 31
Taylor Swift accepts the album of the year trophy at the 2010 Grammy Awards. (Associated Press file photo)
Country music superstar Taylor Swift will be bringing her blockbuster “Fearless” tour to Oklahoma City’s Ford Center March 31.
Swift’s 2010 string of sold-out shows is just the latest high point for the 20-year-old country singer-songwriter, whose “Fearless” record was recognized as the most awarded album in the history of country music at a private dinner Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn.
Even a less-than-stellar performance at the Grammy Awards, where she won the top prize, album of the year, has not doused Swift’s white-hot career or the fervor of her legions of loyal fans.
In the latest issue of wimgo’s free entertainment magazine Look@OKC, which hit newsstands today, my colleague George Lang postulates that Swift’s relatability has been key to her meteoric rise. She has used her own experiences with the highs and lows of adolescence in her songcraft, and those wide-open lyrical confessions have forged strong ties between Swift and her fans. As George writes:
That close identification is a key reason why “Fearless” sold more than 4 million copies domestically, becoming the top-selling album of 2009, and why tickets to her March 31 concert at the Ford Center were all spoken for in less than an hour. Swift not only wrote or co-wrote every song on “Fearless,” but the songs speak to the concerns and insecurities of real teenagers, who can tell the difference between the lyric voice of one of their own and the faintly remembered sentiments of a middle-aged songwriting team.
Swift might not ever need to write her autobiography — in essence, she’s been doing it since she wrote her first song, titled “Lucky You,” when she was 10. When she got bullied by mean girls in junior high, she went home and put pen to paper, then lyrics to music.
To read more of George’s analysis of Swift’s mega-watt fame, click here.
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Carrie Underwood talks new tour, secret wedding date and acting experiences in Country Weekly
Country music superstar Carrie Underwood talks about her new “Play On Tour,” her secret wedding date and her acting experiences in the March 22 issue of Country Weekly magazine, on sale now.
The Checotah native is featured on the magazine’s cover in a story titled “Holding Nothing Back.”
Underwood launched her “Play On Tour,” which unfortunately isn’t coming to Oklahoma, last week with a sold-out show in Reading, Pa., and she told the magazine that fans can expect a major production.
“We are really holding nothing back,” she tells Country Weekly.
The “American Idol” winner also tells the magazine that she and her fiance, professional hockey player Mike Fisher, have not yet announced a firm date for the wedding because they want to keep the day for family and friends.
“We want to make sure that it’s a special day for us,” she says in the interview.
In addition, the Oklahoma-born star talks about her recent acting experiences, which include the shooting of her first feature film role in the inspiration biopic “Soul Surfer.”
“I did the best job I could and everyone was really nice and patient with me,” she says.
Underwood’s latest hit single, the tearjerking ballad “Temporary Home,” is currently No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
-BAM
Weekend Warmup for March 12-14, 2010
Steve Poltz
Here is a list of events going on around the state this weekend. For more events, go to www.wimgo.com:
- Hear singer-songwriter Steve Poltz at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley. Information: 524-0738 or www.bluedoorokc.com.
- Celebrate the release of Oklahoma singer-songwriter Ali Harter’s new CD “No Bees, No Honey” at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Conservatory, 8911 N Western. The show also will feature Samantha Crain, Mayola and Jabee. Information: www.conservatoryokc.com.
- Watch the casino caper “Tuna Does Vegas,” presented by Celebrity Attractions, at 8 tonight, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Civic Center, 201 N Walker. Information: (800) 869-1451 or www.celebrityattractions.com.
The 2009 Oklahoma City St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Photo by John Clanton/The Oklahoman Archives)
- Get in an Irish mood when the annual Oklahoma City St. Patrick’s Day Parade begins at 1 p.m. Saturday at Fifth and Broadway. Information: 627-6555 or www.okcstpatsparade.com.
- Listen to Oklahoma guitarist Edgar Cruz play the free Concert at the Cowboy from 6 to 9 tonight at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63. The show is in conjunction with the exhibit “The Guitar: Art, Artists and Artisans.” Information: 478-2250 or www.nationalcowboymuseum.org.
- See the antics of Elmo, Big Bird and Abby Cadabby at “Sesame Street Live 1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo and Friends” with multiple performances today-Sunday at Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens. Information: www.coxconventioncenter.com.
Kenny Rogers (Associated Press file photo)
- THACKERVILLE – Hear Kenny Rogers at 8 p.m. Saturday at WinStar World Casino. Information: www.winstarworldcasino.com.
- NORMAN – Tour various galleries and shops around Norman from 6 to 10 tonight during the Second Friday Circuit of Art. Information: www.2ndfridaynorman.com.
- View new artwork and hear live music at the monthly LIVE on the Plaza art walk from 7 to 11 tonight in the Plaza District, NW16 between Penn and Classen. Information: www.plazadistrict.org.
The Thunder’s Kevin Durant (Photo by Steve Sisney/The Oklahoman Archives)
- Watch the Oklahoma City Thunder play the New Jersey Nets at 7 tonight and then take on the Utah Jazz at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Ford Center, 100 W Reno. Information: www.thunder.nba.com.
- Hear Tumbledown with Two Cow Garage, Andrew Anderson and John Moreland at 6:30 tonigh at The Conservatory, 8911 N Western. Read Gene Triplett’s interview with Two Cow Garage by clicking here. Information: www.conservatoryokc.com.
- NORMAN – Listen to David Bazan and Headlights at 9 tonight at The Opolis, 113 N Crawford. Information: www.starlightmints.com/opolis.html.
- Celebrate the release of Penny Hill’s new album/cassette at 10 tonight at 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51 Street. Information: www.myspace.com/51speakeasy.
-BAM
CD review: Gary Allan, “Get Off on the Pain”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. Look for my interview with Gary Allan next week.
Country
Gary Allan “Get Off on the Pain” (MCA Nashville)
Compellingly raw, deeply personal and surprisingly soulful, Gary Allan affirms his unique status as a mainstream country-rocker with the heart of a honky-tonk maverick with the eminently listenable “Get Off on the Pain.”
Penned by Oklahoman Brett James, Bill Luther and Justin Weaver, the title track nonetheless opens Allan’s eighth album with an autobiographical feel. With his gritty vocals reverberating with honesty, Allan admits his affection for long shots and wrong roads while acknowledging he’s old enough to know better.
The California native, who will play March 20 at Norman’s Riverwind Casino, again taps the truth and vulnerability under his tough-guy persona with the confessionals “I Think I’ve Had Enough” and “Along the Way.”
Allan shows his sexy side with “We Fly by Night,” about a harried couple finding solace in the bedroom, then bares his soul with the R&B-tinged “When You Give Yourself Away,” about lovers opening their hearts to one other. He also broadens his outlaw country repertoire with the raucous “That Ain’t Gonna Fly,” which mingles classic pop and gospel flourishes with steel guitar.
But Allan is at his best when he’s crooning about heartache. With its clever turn of phrase and relatable lyrics, “Kiss Me When I’m Down” is one of the best country power ballads to come along in awhile.
Music doesn’t get much more personal and heartbreaking than the album’s closer, “No Regrets,” one of five tracks Allan co-wrote. With the stripped-down ballad, Allan frankly addresses the lingering pain over wife Angela’s 2004 suicide, while proclaiming “I know I’m blessed to have been loved like that.”
— BAM
Rascal Flatts wraps “Unstoppable Tour” after playing for nearly 800,000 fans
Rascal Flatts (Associated Press file photo)
The decade’s top-selling and most awarded group in country music Rascal Flatts wrapped the final leg of the “Rascal Flatts American Living Unstoppable Tour,” sponsored by JCPenney with associate sponsor Hershey’s, Wednesday in Houston, Texas.
The tour played 57 shows during its run of June 2009 to March 2010 with fan attendance near 800,000. This total also includes the two sold-out stadium concerts at Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Columbus’ (Ohio) Crew Stadium last summer.
Rascal Flatts, which includes Joe Don Rooney of Picher, will take a little time off the road this spring to work on a new album and will soon announce their new summer tour, anticipated to launch in June. Hopefully, Rooney also will get a chance to spend some quality time with wife Tiffany Fallon and son Jagger Donovan, 21 month, as they prepare to welcome another baby in September.
Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Rooney have kicked off 2010 with a bang as they mark not only the beginning of a new decade but also celebrate 10 years of making great music together, becoming one of the hottest touring acts and the top country group of the new millennium. The band has delivered 11 No. 1 singles to the top of the chart and have more titles in Billboard’s Top 100 Songs of the Decade than any other group in the format.
Over 10 years, the band has sold more than 20 million albums and 25 million digital downloads, while all six of their studio albums made Billboard’s Top 100 Country Albums of the Decade listing. As the most awarded country group of the new millennium, Rascal Flatts has brought home nearly 40 trophies from the Academy of Country Music, American Music Awards, Country Music Association, People’s Choice Awards and more.
In concert, Rascal Flatts continues to be one of the hottest touring acts of the decade with more venue attendance records than any other country act. They have played 400 dates as a headline act, 700 total since 2000, with a ticket tally of nearly 6 million. Among these shows includes 3 consecutive sold-out performances at Madison Square Garden; the band also became the first and only country music act to sell out Wrigley Field.
The trio also has traveled to visit U.S. troops in Iraq on a United Service Organization tour and partnered with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., to raise more than $3 million in the past few years.
- BAM
