Bobby talks to Richie McDonald, the lead singer of Lonestar. He talks about the massive crossover success of their song “Amazed” and the stories behind their biggest hits as a band. Bobby and Eddie talk about some interesting facts you may not know about 90’s country artists, songs and rumors from back in the day. Bobby and Chuck Wicks go through the CMA nominees and give their thoughts on who will take home the trophy in each category.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
M H. Welcome to episode to sixty. We'll talk to
Richie McDonald of Lone Star and when Amazed hit from
Lone Star just how crazy it was, also unbelievable nineties
country Facts you Didn't Know and c m A Predictions
with Chuck Wicks. So it should be pretty good. Let's
start like we always do for most times. Let's do
(00:21):
my new music Top five. At number five, Luke Laird
released another new song from his upcoming album. This one's
called That's Why I Don't Drink Anymore. That was my way.
Let's think it about myself. That's why Don't drink anymore.
Luke Lard, big time songwriter who now has decided to
(00:44):
put out some music himself. So I have that. At
number five, Tyler Rich released his debut album called two
Thousand Miles. Here's a new song called feels Like Home.
Okay forget if you win beer Cozy. Kelsey Ballerini announced
(01:10):
a new stripped album called Ballerini. It's coming out September eleven.
That she removed the polish of production and just focused
on the lyrics and the voice. Here is the strip
version of Club that's out now. But I don't want
to go to the car. I don't want to watch
everybody around me trying to hook go say stuff they
(01:32):
don't mean, get drunk and get you. And the number
one for me is Adam Hambrike. He released his first
flip side project a friend of the podcast. This is
called Top Down Southbound. Well that's what the project is called.
The song is called Sunshine State of Mind. She's my song.
Su Stave Baby sons my top five This week. Lauren
(01:59):
Elena has a new eat coming out. It's out now,
I guess, called Getting Over Him. Carly Pearce is a
new song called next Door. Her next girl, Carolina Story
has a new album called Dandelion. Big Sean has a
new album called Detroit to Be fifty two is live
at US festival Billy Ocean in One World. It's about
(02:20):
it as far as music comes out. So I saw
this article on the boot dot com unbelievable nineties country facts.
You definitely didn't know that some of them. I'm gonna know,
you're gonna know eddies here by the way, because we're
such nineties country fans love it. But it's pretty funny
to read some of the stuff the nineties. I'll read
(02:40):
some of what they wrote here. The nineties changed everything
about country music. Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Alan Jackson, George Straight.
But it's some of the facts that they share. Are
you ready. Keith Urban makes an appearance in the music
video for Allan Jackson's hit Mercury Blues. He was also
the road guitarist for Brooks and On prior to becoming
(03:01):
Keith Urban. Yeah. Yeah, I think he's playing guitar on
the video, right, I don't know. I didn't know this,
feel like I've seen this video and he's one of
the guitar players in the video. What I remember most
about this was Home Improvement because Alan Jackson went on
Home Improvement and did this song until time, Right, I
remember that I know every word to the song, don't think,
probably because of that. Lone Stars hit Amazed was written
(03:23):
as writers Amy Mayo and Chris Lindsay were falling in
love with each other. Mayo says their feelings started pouring
out as they were writing the famous love ballot with
the their writing it together, Wow, I have trouble sharing
my feelings and words sometimes. Can you imagine writing a
song lyrically? And what if one of them writes a
little more passionately than the other. The other's just not
(03:45):
into it like you do love me as much. In
Tricia Yearwood and Leanne Rhymes both received Grammy nominations for
their individual versions of how Do I Live. Rhymes performed
this song at the Grammys, and then right after she formed,
she stood off stage because that was the end the
winter is and trust year would one crazy. There was
(04:09):
a whole con air fight about that song where they
had asked Trisha, I believe Tricia to do it for
the movie, and then because Leanne had already done it. Yeah,
but but Leanne did it for the movie first, right,
and they didn't I'm not using it with Tricia, So
(04:29):
they had both versions in the same category. Do they
hate each other because of that? Are they just kind
of like whatever, it's over it? I don't know. I
since we've talked to Tricia about this, right, Yeah, she
didn't seem like it's just two bothered. But she also won. Okay,
that's probably what and you I think what she said,
what she remembers Leanne doing the performance, and that categories
(04:52):
right after the performance, and then that's when you know
you're about to win because your categories right after you perform,
and so they just expected her to win. And then
booth that Leon Rons was in the movie, right, not Tricia.
Pretty sure it was Tricia. Check it. I barely remember
this as a kid, but yeah, that's an uncomfortable thing.
We'll come back to that. Little known facts about Chris Gaines,
(05:14):
who is Garth brooks alter ego. Chris Gaines was in
a teen pop group called Crush, and he spent two
years undergoing plastic surgery to repair his face after a
violent nine car crash. Really is Chris Gaines on streaming services?
I wouldn't even on YouTube, I would think, because it's
all Garth, doesn't Garth? Just keep that to Garth. I
actually liked Chris gains stuff. I'm just gonna be honest
(05:36):
with you. There's a whole part in this in that
Garth documentary that I watched on Netflix. Um, there's a
whole segment on it where they're talking about Chris Gaines
and Tricia Yearwood is just protecting it and defending it
as hard as she can, saying, like, all you guys
that hate on Chris Gaines, you got your stupid because
you didn't listen to Chris Gaines. It was amazing. I
remember liking it and everybody hating on it and being
(05:59):
like what he did Saturday Night Live as Garth and
Chris Gaines or it was just confusing for a fan
that was to explain it. You have to explain it.
You're not gonna get what they want you to get
from it. And that's what Garth said. That was the
problem with it. It was just it was too much
of an inside thing for us, and we didn't market
it right. Well, it was gonna be a movie, correct,
and that fell through, and then it just ended up
(06:19):
being the music that we're gonna make for the movie.
My did you find the land rhyme stuff? Yeah? It
was Tricia Yearwood in the movie at the end. So
what happened with lean rhymes? Then they initially went to
her to record it. She recorded it, and then they
went with Tricia's vision dirty that hurts man, Dina Carter.
Strawberry wine was inspired by Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill flavor. Gosh,
(06:42):
I know you didn't drink in high school. You don't
drink now, but man, in high school, that Boone's farm
that was the easiest to buy, and that's what everyone drank.
Numerous people passed on the song to record it, including
Tricia year Wood. Speaking of Tricia, she was like, yeah,
not for me. What it's mash huh. Early on Billy
Ray Cyrus was dogged by rumors that used to be
(07:02):
a Chippindele dancer. Dude, I think I remember that rumor.
It wasn't true, but he was so good looking. Like
that's a great thing to have as a bad rumor
about you, that you're a Chippindell dancer. You gotta be
like ripped and hot to do that. Okay, three dudes,
you're talking about this, but I'll ask you, like right now,
current country artist? Who would be a who? Who would
(07:24):
fit that rumor? Chippingdell dancer? Sam? Maybe Sam was Sam
hunt Um. Keith couldn't keep me one. He's a little
too small. I think about Dirk's No, No, just doesn't
have it. Like to be a Chipille dancer, you've gotta
be almost cartoon lee ripped. And Keith is thin and
(07:46):
in good shape. But like me, I'm thin in a
good shape, but I'm not cartoon ripped or anything. Uh, Sam?
Maybe like that? Riley Green, I was thinking that dude
ripped yeah, ripped and just like all right to leave
it there. Dustin Lynch, Maybe I don't know I see that,
though I did see that. Dustin Lynch kind of plays
(08:08):
it off of the short career as a Chip and
deal danswer back in Vegas. Yeah, George straight tried to
get the name of his movie Pure Country changed to
because he believed it was more than just a country film.
It obviously didn't work. No great movie by the way,
Uh man, I haven't. I've seen it once in a
(08:29):
long time ago. So good. Why it's just it's quotable.
Is he good in it? No, he's terrible. He's not
a good actor. But just the storyline and having George
in there, it's so good. Garth Brooks The thunder Rolls
was originally recorded by Tanya Tucker. She didn't release it.
Brooks included on No Fences, but fans left wait seven
(08:50):
years to purchase the version with a third verse. Do
you know where the third verse is? Of course? Every
What do you mean? Like? What is it? You know
where you can hear it? Oh? No, um, you can
do it in a music video. Brooks included on No Fences,
which is where we heard at first, But the third
verse wasn't in this version? Where did we get to
hear it first? Is it Central Park? Or what was
(09:13):
it the Double Eye record? Yeah? New York? Every lad
is burning? Yeah? Is that right? Yeah? Are you talking
about the third verse? I don't know. Okay, that's where
she shoots him or yeah, he shoots her. Willie Nelson's
two album, The I R. S Tapes Who Will Buy
My Memories was recorded to help settle his massive tax debt.
(09:34):
It was originally only available through phone order back in
the day. Huh I Gotta got review some critics. He
was able to pay a bunch of his debt back.
How awesome is that? You know a lot of money
to to the government. Let me just make an album
real quick and we'll just take care of it. Alan
Jackson's Chattahoochie was inspired by a book about the Chattahoochee
River and Sydney Lanier's poem Song of the Chattahoochie. One's
(09:58):
not that interesting, is it? Is? It? The same storyline
And just like a lot of little as long as
there's a snow cone in there, they talked about great
snow cone Originally. Garth Brooks said the dance had a
very different set of lyrics. Writer Tony Rotta said that
those were lost in a move and never recovered. The
version fans note today was inspired by the movie Peggy's
(10:19):
Who Got Married? The original. He doesn't even know whe
they are anymore. That's I like those, man, those are good. Yeah,
and most of them I didn't know. I kind of
heard a little stuff about it, but really didn't know.
They're all right, there you go. And that's why that
was the motivation. As to our guest this week on
Right Now, Richie McDonald, lead singer of Lone Star. Hey, Richie,
(10:41):
how's it going. How you doing this morning? Hey? Pretty good?
Where are you right now? Tennessee? At home? When you
go out to a restaurant, and let's just say you're
gonna go to Olive Garden or Red Lobster, where you're
gonna go for the night, anybody if it comes to
table and go, Hey, Ritchie from Lone Star, I got
this soup and Sally covered. They used to where I
had to start wearing a map, but now they don't
(11:02):
recognize that's true. The mask does stop a lot of
people knowing who you are. I bet yeah, I think so,
you know, because it kind of uh, cuts off half
the face. But if people recognize you by your eyes,
I guess you know, they're pretty good. You know, we
were talking about, you know, how big Lone Star was
as a band, but really whenever it comes to amazed
And at the time, I was a teenager and I
(11:24):
had I was working in Arkansas, I was working in
pop radio, and the song was was massive on the
pop side of things. But now that I'm over there,
you know, in country living in Nashville, and I have
a lot of friends that have songs that a country
that could crossover. I can see it from beginning to end,
from when it starts as a country song and country
radio and just continues to build momentum. What I'm curious
(11:44):
about is kind of the ride of that song from
when you put it out, did you feel like you
had a pretty good shot at a country hit, and
then how it's slowly snowballed. You know, it's crazy looking
back and thinking how that song was pitched to us
and you know over at being a records in a
song meeting and you know, the and R department was
(12:05):
just really passionate about it, and um, we kind of
got on board and you no We never had any idea.
Once we recorded it. We thought it was a very
fashionate song, a song that you know, people could relate to.
A love song. Um, we've always had great success with
the ballads. But um, you know, once we saw saw
it started coming to charts, Um, we had no idea
(12:28):
of what it was gonna do, you know, go on
to be shoot. I don't remember eight or nine weeks
on the country charts and then crossed over to the park.
You know. At one point, Uh, there were so many
different mixes of of a Maze Bobby that were uh contemporary,
hot contemporary. I mean I was driving home from Nashville
(12:51):
one day and our kids. You not heard a dance man,
you know, every little thing that you do so and
that kick drum which is beating nine is nothing. I'm thinking, well,
I wonder where that came from. But you know, it
took on a lot of its own. It really did.
(13:12):
When that song was just rocking, And you know, because
I was reading a story about how it was obviously
the number one country song forever, but it was the
number one song on the Billboard Hot one, which was
the first country song to do that since Islands in
the streams like whenever it's at the top of the
pop chart and you have not only a bigger audience
in the States, but I have to figure that the
international audience was starting to grow too, right, Oh absolutely
(13:36):
without it that it opened up a lot of doors
for us, and we went to Europe and you know,
a couple of times on just on the basically the
strength of Amazed. Uh, it's just crazy too. I think
a song could you know, could be so powerful, you know,
not just here but but abroad. When you're doing this
(13:57):
song live, do you think about every show someone would
propose during that song. Well, you know, over the years,
we've had so many, so many fans and just come
up to us before the show asked if they can
come on stage and uh, you know propose. Um, yes,
So what's happened. It's happened a lot. So I would imagine,
(14:20):
you know, probably every show there's somebody out there that
that loves that song and it's you know, they picked
their you know, perfect timing to propose to their loved one.
I gotta imagine there's a bunch of babies that are
probably like, you know, twenty three years old. Now that
we're conceived Amazed without of that. Uh, you know, I'm
(14:44):
trying to think. You know, I took a brief hiatus
from Long Star a few years and while I was out,
guys were out doing the process right, And Drew Carey
said that he called Amaze one of the love making
the songs that he'd ever heard, And um, yeah, that
(15:09):
was on that was on the Prices, right, But that's
twenty years ago. Uh, you know, we're celebrating twenty years
of the Lonely Girl album, the album that Amazed was on.
So it's crazy to think, you know, how time applies,
but a song like that, I don't know, it's just, uh,
it's timeless. Really. I mean people still come to the
(15:30):
shows to hear that song, and I mean it's just
one of those classic songs. I suppose Lone Star was
founded by you, but you were not the original lead singer.
How can you be such a good singer but not
be the original lead singer? Like and when creating a band? Okay, well,
I just think case Dean SAMs is listening this morning.
(15:51):
I got to clarify that. Actually, uh, And then there's
a lot of the typos and some of the you know,
I guess some of the information. But actually Dean Um
was working at Opera Land and I had moved from
Texas to Tennessee and I had tried out properly in
a year before we met briefly in Texas. Anyway, I
(16:13):
saw him at at Opera Name one day and he goes, Man,
he goes, I'm thinking about putting the band together. So
long story short, they can't actually uh you know that It
It was really you know, he wanted you know, he
he kind of ran the you know, his time at
Opera Land and he was ready to do something now.
So he was actually really responsible for putting Long Star together.
(16:33):
John Rich was out there. Um found Michael Brett, Key
train Water. We had two league singers at the time.
You know, John and I were sharing the responsibilities. Were
kind of like a Brooks and Done but a group,
but the label kind of wanted us to, you know,
have a direction and they wanted me to, you know,
have the responsibilities of the lead vocals. So anyway, Um,
(16:56):
John was you know, we shared that responsibility at one point.
Then I kind of took it over and he went
on to own half a Nashville. Yeah, that's true, half
of like literally land in bars John Ridge now half
of Nashville. I assume you guys are still cool. Oh yeah,
I mean, you know, John calls us to do stuff
from time to time. You know a lot of his
(17:17):
uh radio events, and we've done We've been to his
birthday parties and uh so, yeah, you know, we still
text from time to time. And the other day he
had sent us all the text we uh back then,
before we had a rec deal, we were called Texas
CE and we made this little you know, it's a
little tape we could sell out the shows and John
(17:39):
had found one in the box and took a picture
of it and sent it to us and just some
old songs that we had recorded back then. But yeah,
we're still we're still good friends. That Texas CE seems
like it would be confused because that's because you're in Tennessee.
But you all oddly were Texans, right exactly, But I
(18:00):
know where you're going to. It seems hard to say,
or hard if I'm reading it, I wouldn't. I would
be like Texas e Te Sasi. You know, there were
so many times that we pull up to club or
honky Tonk and you know, the her name would be
you know, in the Marquee and they would say Techas
or like you said, it would be spelled Texas sc
(18:21):
and this nobody could pronounce it. But and I also
give Dan credit for that as well. So who was
it that that suggested Lone Star? Well, we were actually
in the studio recording our first album with Don Cook
and Wally Wilson, and you know, the word gets out
(18:41):
the bands are in the studio looking for songs, and
Costas had Um called Don Cook one morning, said hey,
he's out here that um the you know, the labels
asking the band to change their name, and he goes,
they're off in Texas. He goes, what about Lone Star?
So I'm pretty sure that's where that happened. Did people
think that you guys were and I'm not sure that
(19:02):
the environment then, but you know, there's such a distinction
now between Texas Country and Nashville Country. Whenever Lone Star
was a band was was Texas Country such a definitive thing?
And do they think you guys fit in that category?
You know what, I don't think. I really don't think
it was not when we started, not like it is now.
And you know, I just I spent a week back
in Texas, you know, last week and love of Texas
(19:24):
where I'm from visiting my mom doing a local TV show,
But you know, and listening to some of the uh
local stations and the Texas music that is now it's
just it's you know, it's its own animal, you know.
But back then, Um, I don't know that we were
really categorized that we just because we were from Texas
(19:47):
and our name was Lone Star. I don't think it
really put us in that category. Is is Texas music
not like it is right now? Because it's like I said,
it's it's god. It's got its own identity and own sounds,
and you know, it's it has its own money. Like
I have friends at our Texas country artists and they
don't really have to tour outside of Texas, Oklahoma, a
little bit of Arkansas, and they stay completely busy and
(20:09):
making plenty of money. Oh no, oh no, it's a
crazy Lone Star has got nine number one I want
to start. This is the very first one. This is
no news here. You go, tell a friend, what does
this song to make you think about Reggie? Oh my gosh, uh,
(20:35):
I think I remember the first time we did that
video out and I want to say it was pegroom
out in that area and that old that old timing
school bus and um, you know, trying just trying to
find extras for the for the video. There was a
girl that did the girl in that video. At the time,
(20:58):
she was sixteen years old and you know, she was
the one that was on the bus just shaking it
and dancing and so that was so she's thirty one.
Now it's crazy. Okay, let's go. Let's see. Let me
roll through. Some of these come crying to me. Jam
(21:21):
obviously Amazed, that's number three. Let me play this one.
I like this one a lot too. This is a
smile from Here's a clip of Smile. So was this
the next single after Amazed? Like directly um after Amazed?
(21:41):
Same year. I know it's tough, but I wonder what
the mindset is after you have such a massive hit
and it's a ballad. Do you feel like you have
to chase another direction or do you go, you know what,
let's dance with the girl that brought us well. I
mean we had some success with that at times, you know,
with the you know front porch and Mr Mom and
(22:02):
a lot of the you know, family related songs, So
I guess, yeah, sometimes do you think that. You know,
if it ain't broke, don't break it and try it again.
But sometimes it can, you can they can backfire, you know. Yeah,
i'mna I'm gonna play a few more here real quick. Um,
I'm already there. Two thousand jam. This is this. This
(22:24):
is probably my favorite song. I know the Amazed is
the jam for most people. But being a kid that
grew up on country music, like straight up small town
in Arkansas, like this song here screams lone Star to
me more than anything else. What do you think about that? Well,
you know, um, I'm kind of partial to that song,
and it probably is my favorite song, you know, as
(22:45):
a songwriter and a performer, just because what it meant
to my family, how it happened with my four year
old saying Daddy, when you're coming home over the phone
and inspiring that song, and then the port to go
on and what his men to the men and women
in our military, you know they adopted back in two
thousand and one, Um, you know, right around not let
(23:07):
right after No. Eleven and I don't know, that song
has just meant so much to so many people over
the years. And uh that has meant a lot to me. Yeah,
that's a jam all right. Let me do a couple
more clips. Here. Here is my front porch looking in
from two thousand three. Yeah, hello, it's not from Bucks
looking and love that one and two thousand four. Here's
(23:30):
Mr Mom mean crazy? How day long? And it's only
Mondane Mr. You know what's interesting too is when you
guys put out Walking in Memphis, it peaked at number
eight and I would have thought this song was a
number one, not knowing the charts from that time, because
I heard it so much when you guys put this out,
(23:51):
this is a pretty big song for you guys, right absolutely,
But to think about that song is you know, uh,
for those who don't know, you know, that was a
pop hit before the way before it was a country
hit by us. Mark Cohne had written and recorded that
song and it was pop hit. I want to say,
I don't know what early eighties maybe, but eighties. We uh,
(24:15):
we used to do it a sound check, just messing around,
and Joe Blannie had heard us doing it one day
and said, y'all should re record that, and so we did.
You know, you basically just take the song and add
a little still and fiddle and there you go. All right,
I got a trivia question for you. What song knocked
off Amazed from the country charts after eight weeks? I
(24:41):
want to say it was a Tim McGraw song. Mm hmm,
Shelley Wright, single white female. Oh, Shelly right, he still,
he's still irritated. That's like dang that Shelly right. No,
that's okay. She's all in the family. You know, she
worked out at oppery Land as well with me. Um,
(25:03):
do you know what song later tied Lone Star Amaze
at eight weeks on the chart at number one? Um,
I want to um, Alex, I'll go with Tim McGraw.
It's Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. It's five o'clock somewhere there.
You can well, let me let me finish with it
(25:25):
with a really cool stat and then I'm just so
grateful for your time. Amaze spent forty one weeks on
the Country Singles Chart, given it the second longest chart
of any single ever. Um, it's just, you know, for
so many people, that was such a massive song. And
then why don't you start to go through all the
number ones that Lone Star had, you know, you guys
did so much for country music. I did see two
you guys played a socially distance show pretty recently. How
(25:45):
was that? That was awesome? I mean we played arm
Utah and coming up there and did the show and
you know they did it by the book. Uh, you know,
they did the social distancing seating three you know, three
chairs six ft two chairs, and it was you know, honestly,
it was great to play. After that was our first
(26:06):
show in six months or last show was February, I
think Gulfport, Mississippi, and you know what, we didn't rehearse
and then you know, you got to You have the
jitters when you get on stage, and but um, and
there are may be a few little hiccups, but for
the most part, we just got out there. We had fun,
fans enjoyed it, and um, it was great to be
(26:28):
back on stage again. All right, Ritchie, I appreciate the time,
love your work. You can follow on Instagram lone Star
band Official and hopefully I'll see you soon. Ritchie, thank
you again for your time. Hey, Bobby, all those songs
you just played, I gotta give you a shameless plug.
We re recorded all those songs. The album is called
ten to one. It will be out next year, is okay?
(26:50):
So like the number ten ten to one, ten songs
that went to number one, so it's called ten to one.
Nice And are you re recording them so you own
the master? Well that's that's part of it. And then
also just to you know, I don't know, just kind
of freshen them up, give him a you know, there's
the same song, and there's the same you know, was
maybe just a little different instrumentation, just to they you
(27:14):
just gotta change it up. They can't sound exactly the same.
We already did that. Well, let me know whenever that
record comes out. And I say this too, if you're
a fan alone star, whenever this record comes out, play
that one. So the record company is not getting all
the money. We need the ban, we need the writers
to get the money. We need to relax with making
sure all these mega corporations to get the money off
this music. All right, there you go. That's my that's
my shameless plug for you too, Richie. Thanks all right,
(27:37):
there is Ritchie McDonald. Richie, thank you very much. Talk
to you soon. Okay, thank you all right, bye. So Mike,
you know that's what Taylor Swift has been rumored to
be doing right where it's we're still recording right where it's.
You know, she left her label Big Machine, and there
(27:57):
was all the controversy about if she and her master
she didn't know her mask yours, and then it was
what she's gonna rerecord everything, so when people go and
find the songs, they click that, and so she makes
the money off streams and downloads. It's the same thing there. Yeah,
these guys who are like man I wren't make any
money off our songs anymore. Let's re record them. The
trouble with that is, though, what's hard to do is
(28:19):
to make it sound a lot like the original. So
you've got two things. You can either try as hard
as you can to make it and it's tough because
the production value the instruments. You can try to dial
in and make it sound exactly like it, or you
can be a little risky like they're doing and do
it slightly different. So when it does sound different, it's
for a reason. So Taylor, that's hard because their voice
(28:40):
has changed so much. Just like you wish Snapchat had
a voice filter like a like the Age filter, they
could just change your voice to be sixteen again, I'd
be curiously with that. Sounds like, uh yeah, that's why
when he said that, I was like, ah ha, anyway,
good to talk to those guys, and um, I think
that might be the first time I've ever spoken with Richie.
(29:00):
I've seen them play before, like the Opery, but I
don't think I've ever spent any time with them. But
really nice guy. All right, there you go? All right?
All right? Now is Chuck Wicks who I'm bringing on
to be the musical expert here as we talked about
the c M as they just announced the nominations. Chuck,
how are you? I'm doing fantastic. I was not nominated
(29:23):
this year, but I'm doing great. Hey have you been nominated? Uh?
The only nomination I've ever gotten in my life was
for a C ANDT Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year,
and I lost to Kelly Pickler. What a joke? Right, No,
we love Kelly. I know I'm kidding. Chuck's on. We're
gonna here's what we're going to do. The criteria are
(29:44):
not who we want to win, but it's just who
do we If we had money and we had to bet,
who do we think will win? Based on what we
know about the voting system in the awards. Okay, that way,
that gets us out of trouble with having to pick friends,
because I would pick my friends in some of the
easy though I don't think they'll win, you know, right,
even though they're not that good rye, even though they're
terribly untalented. Yes, okay, so we're gonna start with Entertainer
(30:08):
of the Year. Let's start with a little clip from
Eric Church. Here you go, I'm having a record year.
Luke Cones is also in the mix. There domain Miranda Lambert,
Carrie Underwood, and finally Keith Urban. All Right, Chuck Wicks.
(30:39):
Who do you think will win? Not who deserves it?
I have to say this to myself. I'm not even
talking to you, but who do you think will win
the award? I think it's long overdue. I think Eric
Church is going to win this award. Okay. I think
Carrie wins because I think people felt like she got
screwed over last year and that is going to affect
the vote this year. I think she and in Shade's
(31:00):
this award where people think she should have won last year,
so they're like, oh crap, we can't forget her this year,
So that's my pick. Mike. Are you keeping notes on these?
I'm keeping them here because Chuck and I bet a
thousand dollars on this. Okay, I'll have all the notes
except unless I lose, and there was never a real bet. Okay,
female vocalist, and we don't need all the clips on
this one. But here is Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBride, Maren Morris,
(31:26):
Kasey Musgraves, and Carrie Underwood. Well, you're gonna go first. Yeah,
I'm gonna go with I'm gonna go with Miranda Lambert
because the Bluebird, because it was it went so it
went well for her. Yeah, I'm gonna go with Miranda too.
She is the voters, the critics, darling, and rightfully so
(31:49):
in a lot of ways. Yeah, but I'm gonna go
with Miranda as well. I don't think she'll win Entertainer,
but I think she will want female vocalists. But it'll
be weird because Carrie. I think it's gonna win entertained
even though she doesn't win female Vocalist, which entertainer is
that technically the big one? Anyway, she'll be happy, You'll
be happy, all right, let's go to Male Vocalist of
the Year, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton,
(32:15):
and Keith Urban. Male Vocalist of the Year. Uh, Luke Combs,
Luke Combs strong. That's a strong pick and I could
definitely see where Luke comes should win Entertainer of the
Year because he had the biggest year. However, I think
that don't win Male Vocalist because people go, man, I
(32:37):
can't give him entertainer, but we should give him the
second place award, which is Male Vocalist of the Year.
Chris Stapleton is the guy he's gotta beat, but I
think he can do that right. Well, yeah, he came
out with the song a little too late. You got
to realize people are voting, Like Chris Stapleton just came
out of a song, but all the votes were already
in by this. Yeah. But Chris Stapleton one like last
year or the year before and didn't put the music out.
(32:58):
People just like the vote. Yeah, would just like to
vote for Sampleton And I don't blame him, but yeah,
people it's like um this, you're not um included. But
like Maddie and Tay would get nominated for duo then
put music out in two years, So you know, it's
just sometimes the voting is weird, Okay, all right, what
we are the saying there? Song of the Year now,
(33:18):
this is a Songwriter Award, So blue Bird from Miranda Lambert,
written by Luke Dick, Natalie Himby and Miranda Lambert. That's
number one. The Bones Marion Morris, Jimmy Robbins and Laura Velts.
Even Though I'm Leaving by Luke Combs, songwriters Luke Combs,
(33:42):
Wyatt Dirett, and Ray Fulture. I Hope You're Happy Now
by Carly Pierson Lee Bry songwriters Luke Combs, Randy Montana,
Carly Pearce and Jonathan Singleton. And finally, More Hearts Than
Mine by Ingrid Andrews, written Ingrid sam Ellis and Derek Sutherland.
(34:04):
The Bluebird, the Bones, even Though I'm Leaving, I Hope
You're Happy Now, and More Hearts Than Mine go ahead.
Definitely a tough one for me because a lot of
friends in this category, a lot of songs that I'm like,
you know, preference to. I'm gonna go with the Bones
though it's a good one. That's it there. Yeah, that's
there are four of these five that I can actually
(34:25):
see winning. I really can't see. I hope you're happy
to winning. I was gonna ask you, do you not
see winning? Yeah, there's no way. I hope you're happy
now wins. Good for them for being nominated. It just
wasn't that big of a song. It was the number one,
but it wasn't like career defining for anyone, and it
took two people to get there. Yeah, that's right, And
you know I'm gonna go um Ingrid Andrews more hearts
(34:48):
than mine because that song was written from a from
a perspect I've never heard in a song before, like
it's a love song, but it's a love song not
between two people. It's love songs between She's like, hey,
if we break up, okay, well that sucks, but you'd
like hurt all my family too. And I've never heard
that in a song before. That's true. I don't disagree
with that. I say the bones though. The reason why
(35:09):
I'm going to bones is because it crossed over. It
had had a hit over in pop world as well,
so huge song again. And then you can argue Luke
Combs because he's freaking Luke Combs and that song is amazing.
And then Bluebird by Miranda's her first number one in years.
And but but I'm going in Gred, You're going Mareta Morris.
All right, all right, we're now to the New Artist
(35:31):
of the Year. You were never nominated for New Artists either, Chuck,
What the crap? I was actually really disappointed in that one.
I Kelsey Ballerie knew that one. I would have if
if Twitter was hot back then and like all that stuff,
I would have been tweeting away. I'm like, well, I
wasn't I nominated? So did you do you remember the
morning like you're waiting knowing that the nominations were coming out. Yes,
(35:53):
I actually it was a Lady Annabellum, James Otto, and myself.
We announced all the nominees. Oh no, you announced, yes,
and guess what, James Otto was nominated, Lady A was nominated.
So I'm like, I'm for sure I was the only
one on stage. I'm like, yeah, let's take a picture
(36:13):
for all the nominees and you're like, they're like, everybody
who got the nominations take one step forward. All right, Chuck, Now,
that's sorry. That sucks. That sucks. Okay, we go. New
Artist of the Year Jimmy Allen, Ingrid Andrews, Gabby Barrett,
Carly Pierce, and Morgan Wallen. Now what's interesting is Carly
(36:36):
was up last year too, So this is our second
year in a row. I'm being on New Artist of
the Year. Um, the rest are our first timers. Who
do you got I have won in this one? Why
is that? Because he's the only artist, I think, not
even new artist when seven Summers came out. When I
(36:57):
go for a run every day, I put on the
top fifty stream songs right like, I'm like, what's hot?
What's hot right now? And he was up there with
all the pop songs like he was. He was like
number three and he did that. I mean, I don't
think I've ever seen a country art to do that. Yeah,
I mean him and Luke Combs are the guys that
have just separated themselves in the streaming world. I'm picking
(37:19):
Morgan Wallen too for the same reason that he's just
separated himself from all of the all those guys that
I had great new artists years. Morgan Wallen had a
great year for anybody in the format, Like an amazing year.
Um and I'm also and I think you probably may
relate to this, is that I'm around country music so
much like the current countrymus is being made. I don't
(37:39):
really gravitate to loving a whole lot of things because
I'm right in the middle of it. But when I do,
I'm like, man, this is so freaking good. And that's
how I felt about Morgan wall and stuff. Yeah, although
Jimmy Allen did do a song with Nelly that is
kind of cool, and Gabby Berry with Charlie pouthn he
did subway commercials. Come on, I didn't know that. Yeah,
even thinking about that. All Right, we're both called Morgan Wallen.
(38:03):
We're pretty similar on most of these. We've got a
few more here. Let's do change up on purpose, I
change up on purpose. Going forward, Vocal Group of the Year.
We'll play some clips on this one. All right. Up,
first is Lady Annabellum, whoa lady A? Sorry? Alright, sorry, sorry,
I know, I know, I know where they get. No, No,
(38:24):
we're not to edit. I just messed up. I'm apologizing,
lady A. Here you go. Also, up is a little
big Town Midland is in the Vocal Group of the Year.
Group Old Dominion and finally Rascal Flats. All right, Chuck Quicks,
(38:58):
who's you picked for Vocal Group of the Year? Okay, um,
two part Old Dominion's gonna win. Old Dominion hands down
is gonna win. But really Rascal Flats needs to win
because they were I feel like they're going to retire
after this year and if they win. If they win,
I think it will keep them together. So I'm gonna
(39:19):
go with Rascal Flats. Do you think if they win
they go, well, guys, you know Are seven three awards
didn't really keep us together, but Are seven? I really
feel like that's the thing. Yeah. I think they had
a rough year. I think everybody's lost a lot of
money this year or either got fired for a living,
and they were one of them. So I think I
think Rascal Flats awards that they stay together. Okay, Okay,
(39:42):
I'm also with you. I'm Old Dominion. This has been
their award the last bunch of years. They just put
out hit after hit after hit. Although they had to
jump off their latest single, They're on a new single now.
They had a really slow song that I love that
Thomas ra and Matthew Ramsey wrote together. Whose people do
some people do. Yeah, it was a little too slow,
and I saw they had They were like, we gotta,
(40:04):
you know, start bailing water on this. They switched their
singles up. M m. Maybe they maybe they'll deserve it them.
That's right, all right, just a few more here, vocal
duo of the Year. We have Brooks and Done, brothers Osborne,
Dan and Shay Florida Georgia, Line and Maddie and Tay. Yeah,
(40:33):
prognostication please, Mr Wicks, Dan and Shay. I mean they're
all great. Obviously, Brooks and Done the best ever. But
Dan and Shay because Sha actually, speaking of Brooks and
Done and Bean and Sha, Shay is the new Ronnie
go ahead, because Ronnie Done. If Ronnie Done was a
soulars to begin with, if he would have won every
(40:53):
Male Vocalist of the year, he's like one of the
best singers ever. To be fair, let me stop you
for one second. Ron He Done did try as a
solo artist and failed at Okay, go ahead, so she
is like that she could win every male vocals for me.
He's the best singer ever. So Dan and Shay and
Dan smickers and smilers, right, Dan is like a great,
(41:16):
great producer. I mean there's a good act, good act.
I agree Dan and Say have separated themselves cleanly from
the rest. However, you know, for what they do, and
and I know they don't have the streams or the crossover.
And I'm picking Dan and Shade, but I understand why
brothers Osborne sneaks in and wins sometimes or they want
a bunch of years in a row before Dan and
Shade did. Is that what they do is different, it's distinct,
(41:40):
it's good and although it may not get the the
mainstream country music love like, they have a passionate base,
a fan base, and a critic base. And so Danna
and the cool factor when they're not trying to be cool, right,
because you know, some folks try to be cool and
(42:00):
sometimes it comes off cool, sometimes it doesn't. But those
guys never try. Yeah, they always seem to be super cool,
kind of like yourself. Chuck Wicks, thank you so much, welcome,
Thank you welcome, You're welcome. Let's see, let's do we'll
do two more of these album or the year. What
you see is what you get. Luke Combs Heartache, Medication,
John Party Never Will, Ashley McBride Old Dominion Old Dominion
(42:23):
or Wild Card Miranda Lambert. Jeez um, I'm gonna be honest,
this is a tough one for me because I haven't
listened to an entire album in a long time. Well, luckily,
your music opinion doesn't matter. You have to guess what
the people's opinions that that voted. That's right, that's right.
I'm so sorry. Yeah, I feel like I feel like
(42:45):
Luke Comb. Yeah, Luke Comb Church is not in this. Yeah. Well,
you didn't have a record, a full record, does he?
I mean his records not out right now. There's only
a few tracks out and I didn't put one out
last year at all. Okay, Luke Combs all the Old
Dominion did do a cat album this year. The Meal
Mix album didn't make it. I think it was right
the six Yeah, right at that line where they cut
(43:07):
off the I'm going Luke Combs to it. Just it
just did so much better than every other album in
the country music this year. Um okay uh. And then
finally Single of the Year, which is the artist not
the songwriter award, but it's like the artist, the producer
of the mixed engineer you have, I hope from Gabby
Barrett Beer Never Broke My Heart, Luke Combs, ten thousand Hours,
(43:29):
Dan and Shay and Bieber, Bluebird, Miranda and the Bones,
Marin Morris. That's a tough one, right there, real tough. Um.
Oh man, you know, I'm sorry, let me go back.
I think the industry is gonna pick Wow, Okay, good.
(43:52):
I mean I have the industry is gonna pick Luke Combs,
Beer Never Broke My Heart. I mean I think Luke
Combs probably comes away with five awards out of six,
if you when he doesn't win as entertainer, and then
with that too, I feel like he might. You know,
can you can you imagine being Luke Combs right now?
Like you just got married. He's got five, six, seven nominations,
(44:13):
and he's got his own crocs. I know I can't.
And I hadn't thought about that last element of it
until you brought it up. So here's the thing about
his crocs, because I had some of them. They sent
me some. The thing about crocs when they're made specialty
for folks, it's the same croc. All they do is
put the little nubbins on it. Yeah, because my dog
(44:36):
gate all the what do you call it? Giblets? I'll
get all the giblets off my crocs, and they're just
like normal crocs. I don't look like Luke Combs crocs
my dog gate there's now, they're just normal crocs. Do
you wear them all the time? Never? You've never worn
them once? Like in on the purpose. I will wear
them if I need to walk in the backyard, but
they they're just crocs generally for me. Those big ones
(44:58):
aren't the kind of shoes like the flip flops. But
I don't really like them with the holes in them.
What I can put in this, I'll take them. I
thought it was gonna send me one. I thought Chuck
was gonna go listen, I got to shoot for you.
I'm gonna send it to You're gonna love it. Instead,
He's like, are you gonna have them? Gonna have them?
We're pretty close to uh announcing Chuck's deal, right Mike. Yeah,
(45:21):
we won't do it right now because we'll bring Chuck
up on the radio show to do that. But we're
pretty close to announce and Chucks to deal. As you
can see, I like to have one so you guys
can know just how freaking funny Chuck Wicks is. Um anyway,
thanks for coming on. You can follow Chuck on Instagram.
Throw your name out there, Chuck at Chuck Wicks. Pretty simple.
Yeah it is. Hey, I saw you at a softball
game the other night. Were you watching one of your
(45:42):
your daughter's games? Yeah? So I got three bonus daughters.
Two of them are inca was but one of his
nine years old, and she's back. We were a little concerned, Bobby,
because she said, I don't want to play softball anymore.
And then the whole pandemic hit and there was no softball.
But then her best friend at her new school said,
oh my god, we should play softball together, and she
said yes. So we're like pumps. Were watching her. She's
(46:05):
being athletic, she's doing her thing. We felt normal for
a hot second. Um, so it was good. It was
good stuff when they play because their kids and something.
I mean, are they because I wanted to play softball?
This is a very selfish question. Is the only reason
I asked about this, because I'm very selfish, is that
I want to have a softball team here in town,
and I thought I better not. I'm an adult man,
(46:25):
I've other adults out there. We can't play because it
just look bad. Even if we don't get sick. I
feel like it will just look bad for me to
be running a team. And so I like that sports
are playing. I think especially with kids who definitely have
stronger immune systems. Are they doing anything while they play
to cover their face or they just letting it rip?
(46:46):
They're letting it rip. They have signs around the complex
because there's like five fields out there. In every single
field was taken with you know, teams, so a lot
of people are out there. They just had signs to
say six ft apart. And I saw one person with
a mask on. It was actually a kid, um, which
I found interesting. She was walking with her mom. Her
(47:06):
mom didn't have a mask on, but she did um
and then she know there was no mask. I mean,
and everybody kind of I don't know. I think we're
at a point now with everything that's going on, is
that we just we're more aware of things, so we
just generally are just more cheerful about what we're doing. Yeah,
I think so too. I mean I would go watch
a softball game like you did as well. I mean,
if it were because again you're outside, you know, you
(47:29):
don't have to be super close but I bet you
it's probably hard for you though, to beat off all
the autographed seekers, Like how do you sit on the
bleacher when everybody's trying to pop right to you and
get all the get something signed? You know you're right
all dude, all them softball moments there after me. You
know what I'm saying. I'm like, ladies, ladies, my wife's
right here with but in the oven. Okay, we're bregnant.
Can't can't touch this. All right? There he is Chuck
(47:50):
Wicks at Chuck Wicks. Chuck, I'll talk to you soon. Man.
Thank you for being on the podcast.
M H. Welcome to episode to sixty. We'll talk to
Richie McDonald of Lone Star and when Amazed hit from
Lone Star just how crazy it was, also unbelievable nineties
country Facts you Didn't Know and c m A Predictions
with Chuck Wicks. So it should be pretty good. Let's
start like we always do for most times. Let's do
(00:21):
my new music Top five. At number five, Luke Laird
released another new song from his upcoming album. This one's
called That's Why I Don't Drink Anymore. That was my way.
Let's think it about myself. That's why Don't drink anymore.
Luke Lard, big time songwriter who now has decided to
(00:44):
put out some music himself. So I have that. At
number five, Tyler Rich released his debut album called two
Thousand Miles. Here's a new song called feels Like Home.
Okay forget if you win beer Cozy. Kelsey Ballerini announced
(01:10):
a new stripped album called Ballerini. It's coming out September eleven.
That she removed the polish of production and just focused
on the lyrics and the voice. Here is the strip
version of Club that's out now. But I don't want
to go to the car. I don't want to watch
everybody around me trying to hook go say stuff they
(01:32):
don't mean, get drunk and get you. And the number
one for me is Adam Hambrike. He released his first
flip side project a friend of the podcast. This is
called Top Down Southbound. Well that's what the project is called.
The song is called Sunshine State of Mind. She's my song.
Su Stave Baby sons my top five This week. Lauren
(01:59):
Elena has a new eat coming out. It's out now,
I guess, called Getting Over Him. Carly Pearce is a
new song called next Door. Her next girl, Carolina Story
has a new album called Dandelion. Big Sean has a
new album called Detroit to Be fifty two is live
at US festival Billy Ocean in One World. It's about
(02:20):
it as far as music comes out. So I saw
this article on the boot dot com unbelievable nineties country facts.
You definitely didn't know that some of them. I'm gonna know,
you're gonna know eddies here by the way, because we're
such nineties country fans love it. But it's pretty funny
to read some of the stuff the nineties. I'll read
(02:40):
some of what they wrote here. The nineties changed everything
about country music. Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Alan Jackson, George Straight.
But it's some of the facts that they share. Are
you ready. Keith Urban makes an appearance in the music
video for Allan Jackson's hit Mercury Blues. He was also
the road guitarist for Brooks and On prior to becoming
(03:01):
Keith Urban. Yeah. Yeah, I think he's playing guitar on
the video, right, I don't know. I didn't know this,
feel like I've seen this video and he's one of
the guitar players in the video. What I remember most
about this was Home Improvement because Alan Jackson went on
Home Improvement and did this song until time, Right, I
remember that I know every word to the song, don't think,
probably because of that. Lone Stars hit Amazed was written
(03:23):
as writers Amy Mayo and Chris Lindsay were falling in
love with each other. Mayo says their feelings started pouring
out as they were writing the famous love ballot with
the their writing it together, Wow, I have trouble sharing
my feelings and words sometimes. Can you imagine writing a
song lyrically? And what if one of them writes a
little more passionately than the other. The other's just not
(03:45):
into it like you do love me as much. In
Tricia Yearwood and Leanne Rhymes both received Grammy nominations for
their individual versions of how Do I Live. Rhymes performed
this song at the Grammys, and then right after she formed,
she stood off stage because that was the end the
winter is and trust year would one crazy. There was
(04:09):
a whole con air fight about that song where they
had asked Trisha, I believe Tricia to do it for
the movie, and then because Leanne had already done it. Yeah,
but but Leanne did it for the movie first, right,
and they didn't I'm not using it with Tricia, So
(04:29):
they had both versions in the same category. Do they
hate each other because of that? Are they just kind
of like whatever, it's over it? I don't know. I
since we've talked to Tricia about this, right, Yeah, she
didn't seem like it's just two bothered. But she also won. Okay,
that's probably what and you I think what she said,
what she remembers Leanne doing the performance, and that categories
(04:52):
right after the performance, and then that's when you know
you're about to win because your categories right after you perform,
and so they just expected her to win. And then
booth that Leon Rons was in the movie, right, not Tricia.
Pretty sure it was Tricia. Check it. I barely remember
this as a kid, but yeah, that's an uncomfortable thing.
We'll come back to that. Little known facts about Chris Gaines,
(05:14):
who is Garth brooks alter ego. Chris Gaines was in
a teen pop group called Crush, and he spent two
years undergoing plastic surgery to repair his face after a
violent nine car crash. Really is Chris Gaines on streaming services?
I wouldn't even on YouTube, I would think, because it's
all Garth, doesn't Garth? Just keep that to Garth. I
actually liked Chris gains stuff. I'm just gonna be honest
(05:36):
with you. There's a whole part in this in that
Garth documentary that I watched on Netflix. Um, there's a
whole segment on it where they're talking about Chris Gaines
and Tricia Yearwood is just protecting it and defending it
as hard as she can, saying, like, all you guys
that hate on Chris Gaines, you got your stupid because
you didn't listen to Chris Gaines. It was amazing. I
remember liking it and everybody hating on it and being
(05:59):
like what he did Saturday Night Live as Garth and
Chris Gaines or it was just confusing for a fan
that was to explain it. You have to explain it.
You're not gonna get what they want you to get
from it. And that's what Garth said. That was the
problem with it. It was just it was too much
of an inside thing for us, and we didn't market
it right. Well, it was gonna be a movie, correct,
and that fell through, and then it just ended up
(06:19):
being the music that we're gonna make for the movie.
My did you find the land rhyme stuff? Yeah? It
was Tricia Yearwood in the movie at the end. So
what happened with lean rhymes? Then they initially went to
her to record it. She recorded it, and then they
went with Tricia's vision dirty that hurts man, Dina Carter.
Strawberry wine was inspired by Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill flavor. Gosh,
(06:42):
I know you didn't drink in high school. You don't
drink now, but man, in high school, that Boone's farm
that was the easiest to buy, and that's what everyone drank.
Numerous people passed on the song to record it, including
Tricia year Wood. Speaking of Tricia, she was like, yeah,
not for me. What it's mash huh. Early on Billy
Ray Cyrus was dogged by rumors that used to be
(07:02):
a Chippindele dancer. Dude, I think I remember that rumor.
It wasn't true, but he was so good looking. Like
that's a great thing to have as a bad rumor
about you, that you're a Chippindell dancer. You gotta be
like ripped and hot to do that. Okay, three dudes,
you're talking about this, but I'll ask you, like right now,
current country artist? Who would be a who? Who would
(07:24):
fit that rumor? Chippingdell dancer? Sam? Maybe Sam was Sam
hunt Um. Keith couldn't keep me one. He's a little
too small. I think about Dirk's No, No, just doesn't
have it. Like to be a Chipille dancer, you've gotta
be almost cartoon lee ripped. And Keith is thin and
(07:46):
in good shape. But like me, I'm thin in a
good shape, but I'm not cartoon ripped or anything. Uh, Sam?
Maybe like that? Riley Green, I was thinking that dude
ripped yeah, ripped and just like all right to leave
it there. Dustin Lynch, Maybe I don't know I see that,
though I did see that. Dustin Lynch kind of plays
(08:08):
it off of the short career as a Chip and
deal danswer back in Vegas. Yeah, George straight tried to
get the name of his movie Pure Country changed to
because he believed it was more than just a country film.
It obviously didn't work. No great movie by the way,
Uh man, I haven't. I've seen it once in a
(08:29):
long time ago. So good. Why it's just it's quotable.
Is he good in it? No, he's terrible. He's not
a good actor. But just the storyline and having George
in there, it's so good. Garth Brooks The thunder Rolls
was originally recorded by Tanya Tucker. She didn't release it.
Brooks included on No Fences, but fans left wait seven
(08:50):
years to purchase the version with a third verse. Do
you know where the third verse is? Of course? Every
What do you mean? Like? What is it? You know
where you can hear it? Oh? No, um, you can
do it in a music video. Brooks included on No Fences,
which is where we heard at first, But the third
verse wasn't in this version? Where did we get to
hear it first? Is it Central Park? Or what was
(09:13):
it the Double Eye record? Yeah? New York? Every lad
is burning? Yeah? Is that right? Yeah? Are you talking
about the third verse? I don't know. Okay, that's where
she shoots him or yeah, he shoots her. Willie Nelson's
two album, The I R. S Tapes Who Will Buy
My Memories was recorded to help settle his massive tax debt.
(09:34):
It was originally only available through phone order back in
the day. Huh I Gotta got review some critics. He
was able to pay a bunch of his debt back.
How awesome is that? You know a lot of money
to to the government. Let me just make an album
real quick and we'll just take care of it. Alan
Jackson's Chattahoochie was inspired by a book about the Chattahoochee
River and Sydney Lanier's poem Song of the Chattahoochie. One's
(09:58):
not that interesting, is it? Is? It? The same storyline
And just like a lot of little as long as
there's a snow cone in there, they talked about great
snow cone Originally. Garth Brooks said the dance had a
very different set of lyrics. Writer Tony Rotta said that
those were lost in a move and never recovered. The
version fans note today was inspired by the movie Peggy's
(10:19):
Who Got Married? The original. He doesn't even know whe
they are anymore. That's I like those, man, those are good. Yeah,
and most of them I didn't know. I kind of
heard a little stuff about it, but really didn't know.
They're all right, there you go. And that's why that
was the motivation. As to our guest this week on
Right Now, Richie McDonald, lead singer of Lone Star. Hey, Richie,
(10:41):
how's it going. How you doing this morning? Hey? Pretty good?
Where are you right now? Tennessee? At home? When you
go out to a restaurant, and let's just say you're
gonna go to Olive Garden or Red Lobster, where you're
gonna go for the night, anybody if it comes to
table and go, Hey, Ritchie from Lone Star, I got
this soup and Sally covered. They used to where I
had to start wearing a map, but now they don't
(11:02):
recognize that's true. The mask does stop a lot of
people knowing who you are. I bet yeah, I think so,
you know, because it kind of uh, cuts off half
the face. But if people recognize you by your eyes,
I guess you know, they're pretty good. You know, we
were talking about, you know, how big Lone Star was
as a band, but really whenever it comes to amazed
And at the time, I was a teenager and I
(11:24):
had I was working in Arkansas, I was working in
pop radio, and the song was was massive on the
pop side of things. But now that I'm over there,
you know, in country living in Nashville, and I have
a lot of friends that have songs that a country
that could crossover. I can see it from beginning to end,
from when it starts as a country song and country
radio and just continues to build momentum. What I'm curious
(11:44):
about is kind of the ride of that song from
when you put it out, did you feel like you
had a pretty good shot at a country hit, and
then how it's slowly snowballed. You know, it's crazy looking
back and thinking how that song was pitched to us
and you know over at being a records in a
song meeting and you know, the and R department was
(12:05):
just really passionate about it, and um, we kind of
got on board and you no We never had any idea.
Once we recorded it. We thought it was a very
fashionate song, a song that you know, people could relate to.
A love song. Um, we've always had great success with
the ballads. But um, you know, once we saw saw
it started coming to charts, Um, we had no idea
(12:28):
of what it was gonna do, you know, go on
to be shoot. I don't remember eight or nine weeks
on the country charts and then crossed over to the park.
You know. At one point, Uh, there were so many
different mixes of of a Maze Bobby that were uh contemporary,
hot contemporary. I mean I was driving home from Nashville
(12:51):
one day and our kids. You not heard a dance man,
you know, every little thing that you do so and
that kick drum which is beating nine is nothing. I'm thinking, well,
I wonder where that came from. But you know, it
took on a lot of its own. It really did.
(13:12):
When that song was just rocking, And you know, because
I was reading a story about how it was obviously
the number one country song forever, but it was the
number one song on the Billboard Hot one, which was
the first country song to do that since Islands in
the streams like whenever it's at the top of the
pop chart and you have not only a bigger audience
in the States, but I have to figure that the
international audience was starting to grow too, right, Oh absolutely
(13:36):
without it that it opened up a lot of doors
for us, and we went to Europe and you know,
a couple of times on just on the basically the
strength of Amazed. Uh, it's just crazy too. I think
a song could you know, could be so powerful, you know,
not just here but but abroad. When you're doing this
(13:57):
song live, do you think about every show someone would
propose during that song. Well, you know, over the years,
we've had so many, so many fans and just come
up to us before the show asked if they can
come on stage and uh, you know propose. Um, yes,
So what's happened. It's happened a lot. So I would imagine,
(14:20):
you know, probably every show there's somebody out there that
that loves that song and it's you know, they picked
their you know, perfect timing to propose to their loved one.
I gotta imagine there's a bunch of babies that are
probably like, you know, twenty three years old. Now that
we're conceived Amazed without of that. Uh, you know, I'm
(14:44):
trying to think. You know, I took a brief hiatus
from Long Star a few years and while I was out,
guys were out doing the process right, And Drew Carey
said that he called Amaze one of the love making
the songs that he'd ever heard, And um, yeah, that
(15:09):
was on that was on the Prices, right, But that's
twenty years ago. Uh, you know, we're celebrating twenty years
of the Lonely Girl album, the album that Amazed was on.
So it's crazy to think, you know, how time applies,
but a song like that, I don't know, it's just, uh,
it's timeless. Really. I mean people still come to the
(15:30):
shows to hear that song, and I mean it's just
one of those classic songs. I suppose Lone Star was
founded by you, but you were not the original lead singer.
How can you be such a good singer but not
be the original lead singer? Like and when creating a band? Okay, well,
I just think case Dean SAMs is listening this morning.
(15:51):
I got to clarify that. Actually, uh, And then there's
a lot of the typos and some of the you know,
I guess some of the information. But actually Dean Um
was working at Opera Land and I had moved from
Texas to Tennessee and I had tried out properly in
a year before we met briefly in Texas. Anyway, I
(16:13):
saw him at at Opera Name one day and he goes, Man,
he goes, I'm thinking about putting the band together. So
long story short, they can't actually uh you know that It
It was really you know, he wanted you know, he
he kind of ran the you know, his time at
Opera Land and he was ready to do something now.
So he was actually really responsible for putting Long Star together.
(16:33):
John Rich was out there. Um found Michael Brett, Key
train Water. We had two league singers at the time.
You know, John and I were sharing the responsibilities. Were
kind of like a Brooks and Done but a group,
but the label kind of wanted us to, you know,
have a direction and they wanted me to, you know,
have the responsibilities of the lead vocals. So anyway, Um,
(16:56):
John was you know, we shared that responsibility at one point.
Then I kind of took it over and he went
on to own half a Nashville. Yeah, that's true, half
of like literally land in bars John Ridge now half
of Nashville. I assume you guys are still cool. Oh yeah,
I mean, you know, John calls us to do stuff
from time to time. You know a lot of his
(17:17):
uh radio events, and we've done We've been to his
birthday parties and uh so, yeah, you know, we still
text from time to time. And the other day he
had sent us all the text we uh back then,
before we had a rec deal, we were called Texas
CE and we made this little you know, it's a
little tape we could sell out the shows and John
(17:39):
had found one in the box and took a picture
of it and sent it to us and just some
old songs that we had recorded back then. But yeah,
we're still we're still good friends. That Texas CE seems
like it would be confused because that's because you're in Tennessee.
But you all oddly were Texans, right exactly, But I
(18:00):
know where you're going to. It seems hard to say,
or hard if I'm reading it, I wouldn't. I would
be like Texas e Te Sasi. You know, there were
so many times that we pull up to club or
honky Tonk and you know, the her name would be
you know, in the Marquee and they would say Techas
or like you said, it would be spelled Texas sc
(18:21):
and this nobody could pronounce it. But and I also
give Dan credit for that as well. So who was
it that that suggested Lone Star? Well, we were actually
in the studio recording our first album with Don Cook
and Wally Wilson, and you know, the word gets out
(18:41):
the bands are in the studio looking for songs, and
Costas had Um called Don Cook one morning, said hey,
he's out here that um the you know, the labels
asking the band to change their name, and he goes,
they're off in Texas. He goes, what about Lone Star?
So I'm pretty sure that's where that happened. Did people
think that you guys were and I'm not sure that
(19:02):
the environment then, but you know, there's such a distinction
now between Texas Country and Nashville Country. Whenever Lone Star
was a band was was Texas Country such a definitive thing?
And do they think you guys fit in that category?
You know what, I don't think. I really don't think
it was not when we started, not like it is now.
And you know, I just I spent a week back
in Texas, you know, last week and love of Texas
(19:24):
where I'm from visiting my mom doing a local TV show,
But you know, and listening to some of the uh
local stations and the Texas music that is now it's
just it's you know, it's its own animal, you know.
But back then, Um, I don't know that we were
really categorized that we just because we were from Texas
(19:47):
and our name was Lone Star. I don't think it
really put us in that category. Is is Texas music
not like it is right now? Because it's like I said,
it's it's god. It's got its own identity and own sounds,
and you know, it's it has its own money. Like
I have friends at our Texas country artists and they
don't really have to tour outside of Texas, Oklahoma, a
little bit of Arkansas, and they stay completely busy and
(20:09):
making plenty of money. Oh no, oh no, it's a
crazy Lone Star has got nine number one I want
to start. This is the very first one. This is
no news here. You go, tell a friend, what does
this song to make you think about Reggie? Oh my gosh, uh,
(20:35):
I think I remember the first time we did that
video out and I want to say it was pegroom
out in that area and that old that old timing
school bus and um, you know, trying just trying to
find extras for the for the video. There was a
girl that did the girl in that video. At the time,
(20:58):
she was sixteen years old and you know, she was
the one that was on the bus just shaking it
and dancing and so that was so she's thirty one.
Now it's crazy. Okay, let's go. Let's see. Let me
roll through. Some of these come crying to me. Jam
(21:21):
obviously Amazed, that's number three. Let me play this one.
I like this one a lot too. This is a
smile from Here's a clip of Smile. So was this
the next single after Amazed? Like directly um after Amazed?
(21:41):
Same year. I know it's tough, but I wonder what
the mindset is after you have such a massive hit
and it's a ballad. Do you feel like you have
to chase another direction or do you go, you know what,
let's dance with the girl that brought us well. I
mean we had some success with that at times, you know,
with the you know front porch and Mr Mom and
(22:02):
a lot of the you know, family related songs, So
I guess, yeah, sometimes do you think that. You know,
if it ain't broke, don't break it and try it again.
But sometimes it can, you can they can backfire, you know. Yeah,
i'mna I'm gonna play a few more here real quick. Um,
I'm already there. Two thousand jam. This is this. This
(22:24):
is probably my favorite song. I know the Amazed is
the jam for most people. But being a kid that
grew up on country music, like straight up small town
in Arkansas, like this song here screams lone Star to
me more than anything else. What do you think about that? Well,
you know, um, I'm kind of partial to that song,
and it probably is my favorite song, you know, as
(22:45):
a songwriter and a performer, just because what it meant
to my family, how it happened with my four year
old saying Daddy, when you're coming home over the phone
and inspiring that song, and then the port to go
on and what his men to the men and women
in our military, you know they adopted back in two
thousand and one, Um, you know, right around not let
(23:07):
right after No. Eleven and I don't know, that song
has just meant so much to so many people over
the years. And uh that has meant a lot to me. Yeah,
that's a jam all right. Let me do a couple
more clips. Here. Here is my front porch looking in
from two thousand three. Yeah, hello, it's not from Bucks
looking and love that one and two thousand four. Here's
(23:30):
Mr Mom mean crazy? How day long? And it's only
Mondane Mr. You know what's interesting too is when you
guys put out Walking in Memphis, it peaked at number
eight and I would have thought this song was a
number one, not knowing the charts from that time, because
I heard it so much when you guys put this out,
(23:51):
this is a pretty big song for you guys, right absolutely,
But to think about that song is you know, uh,
for those who don't know, you know, that was a
pop hit before the way before it was a country
hit by us. Mark Cohne had written and recorded that
song and it was pop hit. I want to say,
I don't know what early eighties maybe, but eighties. We uh,
(24:15):
we used to do it a sound check, just messing around,
and Joe Blannie had heard us doing it one day
and said, y'all should re record that, and so we did.
You know, you basically just take the song and add
a little still and fiddle and there you go. All right,
I got a trivia question for you. What song knocked
off Amazed from the country charts after eight weeks? I
(24:41):
want to say it was a Tim McGraw song. Mm hmm,
Shelley Wright, single white female. Oh, Shelly right, he still,
he's still irritated. That's like dang that Shelly right. No,
that's okay. She's all in the family. You know, she
worked out at oppery Land as well with me. Um,
(25:03):
do you know what song later tied Lone Star Amaze
at eight weeks on the chart at number one? Um,
I want to um, Alex, I'll go with Tim McGraw.
It's Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. It's five o'clock somewhere there.
You can well, let me let me finish with it
(25:25):
with a really cool stat and then I'm just so
grateful for your time. Amaze spent forty one weeks on
the Country Singles Chart, given it the second longest chart
of any single ever. Um, it's just, you know, for
so many people, that was such a massive song. And
then why don't you start to go through all the
number ones that Lone Star had, you know, you guys
did so much for country music. I did see two
you guys played a socially distance show pretty recently. How
(25:45):
was that? That was awesome? I mean we played arm
Utah and coming up there and did the show and
you know they did it by the book. Uh, you know,
they did the social distancing seating three you know, three
chairs six ft two chairs, and it was you know, honestly,
it was great to play. After that was our first
(26:06):
show in six months or last show was February, I
think Gulfport, Mississippi, and you know what, we didn't rehearse
and then you know, you got to You have the
jitters when you get on stage, and but um, and
there are may be a few little hiccups, but for
the most part, we just got out there. We had fun,
fans enjoyed it, and um, it was great to be
(26:28):
back on stage again. All right, Ritchie, I appreciate the time,
love your work. You can follow on Instagram lone Star
band Official and hopefully I'll see you soon. Ritchie, thank
you again for your time. Hey, Bobby, all those songs
you just played, I gotta give you a shameless plug.
We re recorded all those songs. The album is called
ten to one. It will be out next year, is okay?
(26:50):
So like the number ten ten to one, ten songs
that went to number one, so it's called ten to one.
Nice And are you re recording them so you own
the master? Well that's that's part of it. And then
also just to you know, I don't know, just kind
of freshen them up, give him a you know, there's
the same song, and there's the same you know, was
maybe just a little different instrumentation, just to they you
(27:14):
just gotta change it up. They can't sound exactly the same.
We already did that. Well, let me know whenever that
record comes out. And I say this too, if you're
a fan alone star, whenever this record comes out, play
that one. So the record company is not getting all
the money. We need the ban, we need the writers
to get the money. We need to relax with making
sure all these mega corporations to get the money off
this music. All right, there you go. That's my that's
my shameless plug for you too, Richie. Thanks all right,
(27:37):
there is Ritchie McDonald. Richie, thank you very much. Talk
to you soon. Okay, thank you all right, bye. So Mike,
you know that's what Taylor Swift has been rumored to
be doing right where it's we're still recording right where it's.
You know, she left her label Big Machine, and there
(27:57):
was all the controversy about if she and her master
she didn't know her mask yours, and then it was
what she's gonna rerecord everything, so when people go and
find the songs, they click that, and so she makes
the money off streams and downloads. It's the same thing there. Yeah,
these guys who are like man I wren't make any
money off our songs anymore. Let's re record them. The
trouble with that is, though, what's hard to do is
(28:19):
to make it sound a lot like the original. So
you've got two things. You can either try as hard
as you can to make it and it's tough because
the production value the instruments. You can try to dial
in and make it sound exactly like it, or you
can be a little risky like they're doing and do
it slightly different. So when it does sound different, it's
for a reason. So Taylor, that's hard because their voice
(28:40):
has changed so much. Just like you wish Snapchat had
a voice filter like a like the Age filter, they
could just change your voice to be sixteen again, I'd
be curiously with that. Sounds like, uh yeah, that's why
when he said that, I was like, ah ha, anyway,
good to talk to those guys, and um, I think
that might be the first time I've ever spoken with Richie.
(29:00):
I've seen them play before, like the Opery, but I
don't think I've ever spent any time with them. But
really nice guy. All right, there you go? All right?
All right? Now is Chuck Wicks who I'm bringing on
to be the musical expert here as we talked about
the c M as they just announced the nominations. Chuck,
how are you? I'm doing fantastic. I was not nominated
(29:23):
this year, but I'm doing great. Hey have you been nominated? Uh?
The only nomination I've ever gotten in my life was
for a C ANDT Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year,
and I lost to Kelly Pickler. What a joke? Right, No,
we love Kelly. I know I'm kidding. Chuck's on. We're
gonna here's what we're going to do. The criteria are
(29:44):
not who we want to win, but it's just who
do we If we had money and we had to bet,
who do we think will win? Based on what we
know about the voting system in the awards. Okay, that way,
that gets us out of trouble with having to pick friends,
because I would pick my friends in some of the
easy though I don't think they'll win, you know, right,
even though they're not that good rye, even though they're
terribly untalented. Yes, okay, so we're gonna start with Entertainer
(30:08):
of the Year. Let's start with a little clip from
Eric Church. Here you go, I'm having a record year.
Luke Cones is also in the mix. There domain Miranda Lambert,
Carrie Underwood, and finally Keith Urban. All Right, Chuck Wicks.
(30:39):
Who do you think will win? Not who deserves it?
I have to say this to myself. I'm not even
talking to you, but who do you think will win
the award? I think it's long overdue. I think Eric
Church is going to win this award. Okay. I think
Carrie wins because I think people felt like she got
screwed over last year and that is going to affect
the vote this year. I think she and in Shade's
(31:00):
this award where people think she should have won last year,
so they're like, oh crap, we can't forget her this year,
So that's my pick. Mike. Are you keeping notes on these?
I'm keeping them here because Chuck and I bet a
thousand dollars on this. Okay, I'll have all the notes
except unless I lose, and there was never a real bet. Okay,
female vocalist, and we don't need all the clips on
this one. But here is Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBride, Maren Morris,
(31:26):
Kasey Musgraves, and Carrie Underwood. Well, you're gonna go first. Yeah,
I'm gonna go with I'm gonna go with Miranda Lambert
because the Bluebird, because it was it went so it
went well for her. Yeah, I'm gonna go with Miranda too.
She is the voters, the critics, darling, and rightfully so
(31:49):
in a lot of ways. Yeah, but I'm gonna go
with Miranda as well. I don't think she'll win Entertainer,
but I think she will want female vocalists. But it'll
be weird because Carrie. I think it's gonna win entertained
even though she doesn't win female Vocalist, which entertainer is
that technically the big one? Anyway, she'll be happy, You'll
be happy, all right, let's go to Male Vocalist of
the Year, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton,
(32:15):
and Keith Urban. Male Vocalist of the Year. Uh, Luke Combs,
Luke Combs strong. That's a strong pick and I could
definitely see where Luke comes should win Entertainer of the
Year because he had the biggest year. However, I think
that don't win Male Vocalist because people go, man, I
(32:37):
can't give him entertainer, but we should give him the
second place award, which is Male Vocalist of the Year.
Chris Stapleton is the guy he's gotta beat, but I
think he can do that right. Well, yeah, he came
out with the song a little too late. You got
to realize people are voting, Like Chris Stapleton just came
out of a song, but all the votes were already
in by this. Yeah. But Chris Stapleton one like last
year or the year before and didn't put the music out.
(32:58):
People just like the vote. Yeah, would just like to
vote for Sampleton And I don't blame him, but yeah,
people it's like um this, you're not um included. But
like Maddie and Tay would get nominated for duo then
put music out in two years, So you know, it's
just sometimes the voting is weird, Okay, all right, what
we are the saying there? Song of the Year now,
(33:18):
this is a Songwriter Award, So blue Bird from Miranda Lambert,
written by Luke Dick, Natalie Himby and Miranda Lambert. That's
number one. The Bones Marion Morris, Jimmy Robbins and Laura Velts.
Even Though I'm Leaving by Luke Combs, songwriters Luke Combs,
(33:42):
Wyatt Dirett, and Ray Fulture. I Hope You're Happy Now
by Carly Pierson Lee Bry songwriters Luke Combs, Randy Montana,
Carly Pearce and Jonathan Singleton. And finally, More Hearts Than
Mine by Ingrid Andrews, written Ingrid sam Ellis and Derek Sutherland.
(34:04):
The Bluebird, the Bones, even Though I'm Leaving, I Hope
You're Happy Now, and More Hearts Than Mine go ahead.
Definitely a tough one for me because a lot of
friends in this category, a lot of songs that I'm like,
you know, preference to. I'm gonna go with the Bones
though it's a good one. That's it there. Yeah, that's
there are four of these five that I can actually
(34:25):
see winning. I really can't see. I hope you're happy
to winning. I was gonna ask you, do you not
see winning? Yeah, there's no way. I hope you're happy
now wins. Good for them for being nominated. It just
wasn't that big of a song. It was the number one,
but it wasn't like career defining for anyone, and it
took two people to get there. Yeah, that's right, And
you know I'm gonna go um Ingrid Andrews more hearts
(34:48):
than mine because that song was written from a from
a perspect I've never heard in a song before, like
it's a love song, but it's a love song not
between two people. It's love songs between She's like, hey,
if we break up, okay, well that sucks, but you'd
like hurt all my family too. And I've never heard
that in a song before. That's true. I don't disagree
with that. I say the bones though. The reason why
(35:09):
I'm going to bones is because it crossed over. It
had had a hit over in pop world as well,
so huge song again. And then you can argue Luke
Combs because he's freaking Luke Combs and that song is amazing.
And then Bluebird by Miranda's her first number one in years.
And but but I'm going in Gred, You're going Mareta Morris.
All right, all right, we're now to the New Artist
(35:31):
of the Year. You were never nominated for New Artists either, Chuck,
What the crap? I was actually really disappointed in that one.
I Kelsey Ballerie knew that one. I would have if
if Twitter was hot back then and like all that stuff,
I would have been tweeting away. I'm like, well, I
wasn't I nominated? So did you do you remember the
morning like you're waiting knowing that the nominations were coming out. Yes,
(35:53):
I actually it was a Lady Annabellum, James Otto, and myself.
We announced all the nominees. Oh no, you announced, yes,
and guess what, James Otto was nominated, Lady A was nominated.
So I'm like, I'm for sure I was the only
one on stage. I'm like, yeah, let's take a picture
(36:13):
for all the nominees and you're like, they're like, everybody
who got the nominations take one step forward. All right, Chuck, Now,
that's sorry. That sucks. That sucks. Okay, we go. New
Artist of the Year Jimmy Allen, Ingrid Andrews, Gabby Barrett,
Carly Pierce, and Morgan Wallen. Now what's interesting is Carly
(36:36):
was up last year too, So this is our second
year in a row. I'm being on New Artist of
the Year. Um, the rest are our first timers. Who
do you got I have won in this one? Why
is that? Because he's the only artist, I think, not
even new artist when seven Summers came out. When I
(36:57):
go for a run every day, I put on the
top fifty stream songs right like, I'm like, what's hot?
What's hot right now? And he was up there with
all the pop songs like he was. He was like
number three and he did that. I mean, I don't
think I've ever seen a country art to do that. Yeah,
I mean him and Luke Combs are the guys that
have just separated themselves in the streaming world. I'm picking
(37:19):
Morgan Wallen too for the same reason that he's just
separated himself from all of the all those guys that
I had great new artists years. Morgan Wallen had a
great year for anybody in the format, Like an amazing year.
Um and I'm also and I think you probably may
relate to this, is that I'm around country music so
much like the current countrymus is being made. I don't
(37:39):
really gravitate to loving a whole lot of things because
I'm right in the middle of it. But when I do,
I'm like, man, this is so freaking good. And that's
how I felt about Morgan wall and stuff. Yeah, although
Jimmy Allen did do a song with Nelly that is
kind of cool, and Gabby Berry with Charlie pouthn he
did subway commercials. Come on, I didn't know that. Yeah,
even thinking about that. All Right, we're both called Morgan Wallen.
(38:03):
We're pretty similar on most of these. We've got a
few more here. Let's do change up on purpose, I
change up on purpose. Going forward, Vocal Group of the Year.
We'll play some clips on this one. All right. Up,
first is Lady Annabellum, whoa lady A? Sorry? Alright, sorry, sorry,
I know, I know, I know where they get. No, No,
(38:24):
we're not to edit. I just messed up. I'm apologizing,
lady A. Here you go. Also, up is a little
big Town Midland is in the Vocal Group of the Year.
Group Old Dominion and finally Rascal Flats. All right, Chuck Quicks,
(38:58):
who's you picked for Vocal Group of the Year? Okay, um,
two part Old Dominion's gonna win. Old Dominion hands down
is gonna win. But really Rascal Flats needs to win
because they were I feel like they're going to retire
after this year and if they win. If they win,
I think it will keep them together. So I'm gonna
(39:19):
go with Rascal Flats. Do you think if they win
they go, well, guys, you know Are seven three awards
didn't really keep us together, but Are seven? I really
feel like that's the thing. Yeah. I think they had
a rough year. I think everybody's lost a lot of
money this year or either got fired for a living,
and they were one of them. So I think I
think Rascal Flats awards that they stay together. Okay, Okay,
(39:42):
I'm also with you. I'm Old Dominion. This has been
their award the last bunch of years. They just put
out hit after hit after hit. Although they had to
jump off their latest single, They're on a new single now.
They had a really slow song that I love that
Thomas ra and Matthew Ramsey wrote together. Whose people do
some people do. Yeah, it was a little too slow,
and I saw they had They were like, we gotta,
(40:04):
you know, start bailing water on this. They switched their
singles up. M m. Maybe they maybe they'll deserve it them.
That's right, all right, just a few more here, vocal
duo of the Year. We have Brooks and Done, brothers Osborne,
Dan and Shay Florida Georgia, Line and Maddie and Tay. Yeah,
(40:33):
prognostication please, Mr Wicks, Dan and Shay. I mean they're
all great. Obviously, Brooks and Done the best ever. But
Dan and Shay because Sha actually, speaking of Brooks and
Done and Bean and Sha, Shay is the new Ronnie
go ahead, because Ronnie Done. If Ronnie Done was a
soulars to begin with, if he would have won every
(40:53):
Male Vocalist of the year, he's like one of the
best singers ever. To be fair, let me stop you
for one second. Ron He Done did try as a
solo artist and failed at Okay, go ahead, so she
is like that she could win every male vocals for me.
He's the best singer ever. So Dan and Shay and
Dan smickers and smilers, right, Dan is like a great,
(41:16):
great producer. I mean there's a good act, good act.
I agree Dan and Say have separated themselves cleanly from
the rest. However, you know, for what they do, and
and I know they don't have the streams or the crossover.
And I'm picking Dan and Shade, but I understand why
brothers Osborne sneaks in and wins sometimes or they want
a bunch of years in a row before Dan and
Shade did. Is that what they do is different, it's distinct,
(41:40):
it's good and although it may not get the the
mainstream country music love like, they have a passionate base,
a fan base, and a critic base. And so Danna
and the cool factor when they're not trying to be cool, right,
because you know, some folks try to be cool and
(42:00):
sometimes it comes off cool, sometimes it doesn't. But those
guys never try. Yeah, they always seem to be super cool,
kind of like yourself. Chuck Wicks, thank you so much, welcome,
Thank you welcome, You're welcome. Let's see, let's do we'll
do two more of these album or the year. What
you see is what you get. Luke Combs Heartache, Medication,
John Party Never Will, Ashley McBride Old Dominion Old Dominion
(42:23):
or Wild Card Miranda Lambert. Jeez um, I'm gonna be honest,
this is a tough one for me because I haven't
listened to an entire album in a long time. Well, luckily,
your music opinion doesn't matter. You have to guess what
the people's opinions that that voted. That's right, that's right.
I'm so sorry. Yeah, I feel like I feel like
(42:45):
Luke Comb. Yeah, Luke Comb Church is not in this. Yeah. Well,
you didn't have a record, a full record, does he?
I mean his records not out right now. There's only
a few tracks out and I didn't put one out
last year at all. Okay, Luke Combs all the Old
Dominion did do a cat album this year. The Meal
Mix album didn't make it. I think it was right
the six Yeah, right at that line where they cut
(43:07):
off the I'm going Luke Combs to it. Just it
just did so much better than every other album in
the country music this year. Um okay uh. And then
finally Single of the Year, which is the artist not
the songwriter award, but it's like the artist, the producer
of the mixed engineer you have, I hope from Gabby
Barrett Beer Never Broke My Heart, Luke Combs, ten thousand Hours,
(43:29):
Dan and Shay and Bieber, Bluebird, Miranda and the Bones,
Marin Morris. That's a tough one, right there, real tough. Um.
Oh man, you know, I'm sorry, let me go back.
I think the industry is gonna pick Wow, Okay, good.
(43:52):
I mean I have the industry is gonna pick Luke Combs,
Beer Never Broke My Heart. I mean I think Luke
Combs probably comes away with five awards out of six,
if you when he doesn't win as entertainer, and then
with that too, I feel like he might. You know,
can you can you imagine being Luke Combs right now?
Like you just got married. He's got five, six, seven nominations,
(44:13):
and he's got his own crocs. I know I can't.
And I hadn't thought about that last element of it
until you brought it up. So here's the thing about
his crocs, because I had some of them. They sent
me some. The thing about crocs when they're made specialty
for folks, it's the same croc. All they do is
put the little nubbins on it. Yeah, because my dog
(44:36):
gate all the what do you call it? Giblets? I'll
get all the giblets off my crocs, and they're just
like normal crocs. I don't look like Luke Combs crocs
my dog gate there's now, they're just normal crocs. Do
you wear them all the time? Never? You've never worn
them once? Like in on the purpose. I will wear
them if I need to walk in the backyard, but
they they're just crocs generally for me. Those big ones
(44:58):
aren't the kind of shoes like the flip flops. But
I don't really like them with the holes in them.
What I can put in this, I'll take them. I
thought it was gonna send me one. I thought Chuck
was gonna go listen, I got to shoot for you.
I'm gonna send it to You're gonna love it. Instead,
He's like, are you gonna have them? Gonna have them?
We're pretty close to uh announcing Chuck's deal, right Mike. Yeah,
(45:21):
we won't do it right now because we'll bring Chuck
up on the radio show to do that. But we're
pretty close to announce and Chucks to deal. As you
can see, I like to have one so you guys
can know just how freaking funny Chuck Wicks is. Um anyway,
thanks for coming on. You can follow Chuck on Instagram.
Throw your name out there, Chuck at Chuck Wicks. Pretty simple.
Yeah it is. Hey, I saw you at a softball
game the other night. Were you watching one of your
(45:42):
your daughter's games? Yeah? So I got three bonus daughters.
Two of them are inca was but one of his
nine years old, and she's back. We were a little concerned, Bobby,
because she said, I don't want to play softball anymore.
And then the whole pandemic hit and there was no softball.
But then her best friend at her new school said,
oh my god, we should play softball together, and she
said yes. So we're like pumps. Were watching her. She's
(46:05):
being athletic, she's doing her thing. We felt normal for
a hot second. Um, so it was good. It was
good stuff when they play because their kids and something.
I mean, are they because I wanted to play softball?
This is a very selfish question. Is the only reason
I asked about this, because I'm very selfish, is that
I want to have a softball team here in town,
and I thought I better not. I'm an adult man,
(46:25):
I've other adults out there. We can't play because it
just look bad. Even if we don't get sick. I
feel like it will just look bad for me to
be running a team. And so I like that sports
are playing. I think especially with kids who definitely have
stronger immune systems. Are they doing anything while they play
to cover their face or they just letting it rip?
(46:46):
They're letting it rip. They have signs around the complex
because there's like five fields out there. In every single
field was taken with you know, teams, so a lot
of people are out there. They just had signs to
say six ft apart. And I saw one person with
a mask on. It was actually a kid, um, which
I found interesting. She was walking with her mom. Her
(47:06):
mom didn't have a mask on, but she did um
and then she know there was no mask. I mean,
and everybody kind of I don't know. I think we're
at a point now with everything that's going on, is
that we just we're more aware of things, so we
just generally are just more cheerful about what we're doing. Yeah,
I think so too. I mean I would go watch
a softball game like you did as well. I mean,
if it were because again you're outside, you know, you
(47:29):
don't have to be super close but I bet you
it's probably hard for you though, to beat off all
the autographed seekers, Like how do you sit on the
bleacher when everybody's trying to pop right to you and
get all the get something signed? You know you're right
all dude, all them softball moments there after me. You
know what I'm saying. I'm like, ladies, ladies, my wife's
right here with but in the oven. Okay, we're bregnant.
Can't can't touch this. All right? There he is Chuck
(47:50):
Wicks at Chuck Wicks. Chuck, I'll talk to you soon. Man.
Thank you for being on the podcast.
Host
Bobby Bones
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