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GRAMMYs

Maren Morris

Photo by Jamie Nelson

News
Maren Morris Cooks Up New Flavors On 'Girl' maren-morris-cooks-new-flavors-girl

Maren Morris Cooks Up New Flavors On 'Girl'

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Morris talks vulnerability, discovering new sounds and combating trolls
Jason Scott
GRAMMYs
Mar 8, 2019 - 10:42 am

It’s not easy to experience every milestone of your life in the spotlight. Country juggernaut Maren Morris hasn’t had it easy; since the 2016 release of her major label debut, Hero, she's worn a target on her back for genre purists and hate-mongering trolls. She's not afraid to speak her mind, even when costs (and tempers) boil over. But she’s kept her held high, her sparkling crown a little bit crooked, and that hasn’t been more evident than on her second record, Girl, which exposes startling cracks and dents to her psyche.

The album pops open with this emotional confession: "Man, this sh*t's unflatterin', all up in my head again." The titular cut sees Morris writhing around in her insecurities, almost drawing them into herself to find peace, and she does, eventually, come to grips with reality and learns to accept every tattered edge of herself. It’s a long, winding journey, of course, and she digs her heels in on other such standouts as "A Song for Everything" and "Common," a pairing with Brandi Carlile in which the two powerhouses process and cope with the world and their place within the raging firestorm.

Husband and fellow musician Ryan Hurd emerges as a prominent muse for Morris, whose gaze locks with his for the second half of the record. The singer-songwriter has never been more evocative and honest as she has with songs like "Hell and Back," a smokey stunner detailing past traumas and finding each other in the aftermath, and "Good Woman," a handwritten promise to be better in the relationship. "I don’t scare you / And I guess that’s why you didn’t save me / You didn’t think I needed saving," she observes on the former, a weepy shower of strings giving her wings.

Front to back, Girl (co-produced by Morris, alongside Greg Kurstin and busbee on select tracks) is a confetti shower of ambition, tremendous heart and womanhood. Morris is firmly planted in the eye of lush productions that feel as much her usual self as a natural stylistic progression to her songcraft. She's not only entering the second year of marriage to Hurd, but she's riding high off a collection of GRAMMY nominations at the 2019 ceremony, including all-genre nods in Song and Record of the Year for her Zedd collaboration, "The Middle."

Girl is certainly a timely release, particularly in such a heated social and political climate when women continue to struggle to be heard at radio and on the festival circuit. "I think environmentally you just write what is around you or what you’re internalizing. When I started writing for this record, it was three and a half years ago. It was during the release of Hero that I was starting to write for this," says Morris. “So, I’ve gone through a lot of things as a new artist that has been really impactful on my psyche and my heart. There were a lot of things I didn’t think I would get to accomplish so soon in my career."

"While I’ve had success at country radio in a time when there’s been a pretty significant drought for women, it makes it all the more emphasized that there’s a lack of equality. I think as one of the few women who is getting played, I would like to stand up for me sisters and say, ‘Everyone deserves a seat at the table.’ In my own way, that’s where I was coming from when I made this album,” she says.

Maren Morris spoke with The Recording Academy during her recent press tour about finding a new way in the world, diving into vulnerability, trolls, lessons learned in her 20s and much more.

With Billboard, you mentioned how you felt braver on this album in exploring what you called "frightening vulnerability." "Good Woman" is a great example of your grit and willingness to expose all parts of yourself. What provoked this song?

I've been falling in love with Ryan for the last several years, but our marriage the last year has been incredibly inspiring to this project. Writing "Good Woman," I just have never been in a love like this where I was OK to sit down and put words on paper that said, "Thank you for loving me, so in return, I’m going to love you the same way back." I feel so accepted by him. His love is so loud.  A lot of times, I don’t know if I've always been the person to give that same amount. With this song, it’s a promise that I will try each and every day to give that love back.

Love songs are so often cheesy or sticky sweet. But "Good Woman" feels very grounded and real to life.

I know what you mean. If a love song is real, you don’t have to worry about it being cheesy or cliche. You always want to avoid that as a songwriter, but sometimes, just saying it like you say it to the person in-person is the best way to go about it. With all the love songs on this record, because there is such a bigger amount of them than there was on my first record, I wanted to touch on all the different facets of being in a healthy relationship this time around and do it in my own way that wasn’t too sentimental where you get lost. But it’s a very real kind of love being depicted.

At what point did such vulnerability start to show up in your songwriting?

I think just the exposure of being an artist in such a social media-driven world has made me feel very vulnerable in itself. Then, personally, my relationship with my husband has grown so much deeper in such a chaotic time in my life. So, really, you dive into the depths of my personal psyche (and his, as well) trying to deal with falling in love but feeling so exposed as artists in public. Really grappling with those terms has been a give and take over the years. Now, we’re in a sweet spot where we know how much of our relationship we want to share with the world and what is private just to us. I think we’ve hit a good balance.

"While I’ve had success at country radio in a time when there’s been a pretty significant drought for women, it makes it all the more emphasized that there’s a lack of equality. I think as one of the few women who is getting played, I would like to stand up for me sisters and say, ‘Everyone deserves a seat at the table.’"

"Good Woman" is perfectly paired with closing track "Shade,” ending the album with a 1-2 sucker punch of emotion. They feel very triumphant, especially when you juxtapose them against the opener, “Girl.” What is that emotional journey for you leading into “Shade”?

Staring the record with "Girl" is a really important move because it’s talking directly to myself and to the listener. It goes through the ebbs and flows of what it means to be a woman today and the insecurities of just being a person where we measure so much of our value on what other people are doing and how their lives are turning out. It felt like a really medicinal song to meet with that anxiety we currently all feel. Going through the journey of listening to the record, you get deeper into the elements that make me up.

Ending with "Shade," sonically, in the most simplest of terms, it just felt good. It’s so, almost Sgt. Pepper's-esque with how weird it goes with the instrumentation. It felt like such a “hell yeah!” moment to end the album on. To be so self-reflective in "Girl" and then in "Shade" to be so partner-reflective, I loved ending there. It almost felt like...not closing the chapter but leaving a little crack for the next record and whatever happens next in my life. I can end there, but it’s an ellipses, not a period.

You co-produced many of the standout songs on the record with busbee [Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum], including "Hell and Back" and "A Song for Everything." What was your creative headspace and starting point of how you wanted to approach the production?

Those two songs are the countrier songs of the album. When you have songs like that that are so lyric-driven, you don’t want to overproduce it. busbee is so great at finding the balance of making it sound like me, which is a little bit of everything, genre-wise, but also adding some air into the production, so you can actually hear the lyrics and be touched by them, hopefully. Production-wise, he has such a great ear when it comes to the L.A. and Nashville worlds. He’s always been able to blend the two so seamlessly and in a really edgy, cool way. That’s why I’ve always loved working with him.

Then, on the other production end, this was my first time working with Greg Kurstin [Adele, Foo Fighters, Sia]. He’s obviously very renowned. I knew that going into it, but I didn’t really know what sound was going to come out. I love what he brought to the table. It was really inspiring to watch him work and create something out of nothing. He plays all the instruments on it. He really created a new sound that I hadn’t really touched on before. He’s never really worked with a country artist, and I’m a little left-of-center in those terms. I think it was a great fit with Greg. I’m excited for whatever we write next. He really took the music in such an interesting way. [Kurstin co-produced "Girl," "Common" and "The Bones"]

Strings are woven into the backbone of this album, making the music have a dream-like quality. How did that become a part of the process?

We obviously had a little bit bigger of a budget for this record. [Laughs.] And I have always loved really orchestral elements to albums when the time calls for it. You don’t want to throw strings on everything. I thought we were really sparing with our use of strings. It was a really tasteful way of incorporating a heavenly sounding instrument. It was another shade of the sound evolving and really elevates it all, as well. I have a new guy [Matt Butler] in the band who plays cello. I love adding elements like that that aren’t expected in a country or pop setting. It’s a really beautiful, valuable element to add to a recording.

The first half of the album digs into your journey to self-acceptance. Now that you’re nearing the end of your 20s, what things have been the hardest to accept of yourself?

I’m pretty stubborn. I don’t know if that is from being a Texan or having been an artist for so long. I’ve learned that I’m not always right. Even though I’m very strong in my convictions, it doesn’t mean I can’t allow someone else’s opinion to meet mine and change my mind. I’ve learned how to have a little more creativity-relinquishing when I’m around really talented people. [Laughs.]

I’ve also learned that it’s OK to have an opinion and not always share it. I feel like I’ve gotten a little bit of a rap, especially in Nashville, of being a really opinionated country artist. That is true. I have a lot of thoughts. I’ve learned you don’t need to share each and every single one. When it’s a big issue, you can just share it with your friends and family, and that’s OK. Then, when you’re really passionate about something and need to stand up for people or yourself, that is when you should speak up.

Speaking of standing up, "Flavor" reads as an anthem against detractors, particularly on the bridge: "Won't play the victim / Don’t fit that mold / I speak my peace / Don’t do what I’m told / Shut up and sing / Oh, hell no, I won’t." What drove you to write this song?

It was really being affected at the time by social media and trolls and people bashing an opinion I would have. People would threaten me with a career-end like the Dixie Chicks and that would happen to me if I kept opening my mouth. And I was so pissed off about that. It was such a cheap shot. The threat of being erased because you have an opinion just felt so unfair, so I wrote this song in the mindset of “shut up and sing / hell no, I won’t." I’m not going to be talked down to or fit into the mold of what you assume I should be. This is my life, first and foremost. In a very sassy way, I wanted to say, "F U!" [Laughs.]

Maren Morris: The Highway That Inspired "My Church"

busbee

busbee

Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

News
Songwriter/Producer Busbee Dies At 43 busbee-grammy-nominated-hit-maker-dies-43

Busbee, GRAMMY-Nominated Hit-Maker, Dies At 43

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The beloved hit-maker, who worked with Maren Morris, Shakira, Lady Antebellum and many more, passed away this weekend.
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 30, 2019 - 2:34 pm

Yesterday, Sept. 29, Warner Chappell broke the sad news, via a heartfelt Instagram post, that GRAMMY-nominated songwriter/producer busbee had passed away at age 43. His label, Altadena, was housed under Warner Records and he had a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music. Variety reports that, according to a friend of his, busbee was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, earlier this year and was receiving treatment for it.

He spent the last two decades working with a long list of popular country and pop artists in Los Angeles and Nashville, helping pen and produce infectious hits for Maren Morris, Shakira, Adam Lambert, Lady Antebellum and many more. Clearly beloved by everyone he worked with, many have shared tributes on social media.



View this post on Instagram


Our hearts are broken by the loss of our beautiful friend busbee. He was an extraordinary human being whose generosity, spirituality and humor inspired everyone around him. An amazingly gifted songwriter, he used his talent, his music, and his love to break down boundaries and bring people together. He left us far too soon. Our deepest condolences go to his wonderful family and all his many friends. We love you. - Guy, Carianne, Ben, Ryan, Katy and the Warner Chappell family Today we lost busbee, a dear friend, business partner with his company Altadena, and one of the best and brightest creative minds in music. busbee’s kindness and legacy will never be forgotten and our hearts and prayers go out to his family at this very difficult time. With love & respect, Aaron, Tom and his Warner Records family

A post shared by Warner Music (@warnermusic) on Sep 29, 2019 at 10:12pm PDT

"The Recording Academy is heartbroken over the passing of one of our own—GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and producer, busbee," Deborah Dugan, President/CEO of the Recording Academy said. She continued:

"He was an integral member of our music community, serving as a Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter Governor and Co-Chair of the Chapter's Advocacy Committee, where he helped advance the rights of artists, songwriters, and studio professionals. busbee was a creative spirit who was unconditionally committed to his craft. This is a devastating loss for the entire music community, and our hearts are with his family, friends, and all of his many musical collaborators."

Born Michael James Ryan, busbee grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where his love of music blossomed from a young age through church and both Christian and jazz radio. His natural talents in music began with piano lessons at age seven and trombone in high school. He received a college scholarship to continue his studies of jazz trombone on the East Coast, later returning home and accepting a job as a music pastor at a local church.

"There's so much music at church. You can feel when a song feels like it's inspired," busbee told Ross Golan on the May 6 episode of his podcast "And the Writer Is…," as quoted by Variety. In 2000, busbee relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a deeply inspiring career in the music industry, beginning his songwriting career with notable country and pop artists.

Pop Is Different For Busbee Now That He Does It

In 2009, he saw his first Top 40 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 as a writer on Rascal Flatts' "Summer Nights." As reported by Billboard, his work earned him (and his collaborators, of course) a total of 22 charting songs to date on the Hot 100 alone. Several of his big songs are with GRAMMY-winning country queen Morris, as he worked as a producer and co-writer on both her debut LP, Hero, and her 2019 follow up, Girl. For "My Church," her hit debut single, the pair both earned nominations for Best Country Song at the 59th GRAMMY Awards. Morris also earned a Best New Artist nomination that year, and took home a win for Best Country Solo Performance for "My Church."

She shared a touching message and picture on social media yesterday, writing, "This just doesn't seem fair. I will always love you and the songs and albums I was lucky to make with you, Busbee. Rest well, my sweet friend." Today, she shared another tribute on Twitter, a video from the studio of him working on "My Church."

This just doesn’t seem fair. I will always love you and the songs and albums I was lucky to make with you, Busbee. Rest well, my sweet friend. pic.twitter.com/9DKsU5G77a

— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) September 30, 2019

Dedicated to the craft of songwriting, he was a true collaborator as well as a mentor. During a songwriting panel hosted by the Recording Academy L.A. Chapter this spring, he discussed his journey that led him to becoming a hit-maker, emphasizing the important roles of faith, hard work and perseverance.

"Nobody else is going to get what's yours," busbee told the group of budding songwriters and artists. "You never know who's going to make the decision that changes the course of your life."

Keep scrolling to get a small taste of the many lives he touched, with moving tributes from more of his collaborators and friends; Shakira, Lady Antebellum, Golan, Lambert, Blake Shelton and Carly Pearce.

Today an uncanny talent and unique soul has departed.
Busbee you left us so early, but your music and your passion will be among us and forever cherished.
My condolences to his family and the music community in Nashville. pic.twitter.com/g9ya0eeNav

— Shakira (@shakira) September 30, 2019

 

Over a decade of life and music together. We shared some of our favorite memories with you. You were more than a co-writer, producer, or friend. You were family. We love you. pic.twitter.com/3nDgQimGKp

— Lady Antebellum (@ladyantebellum) September 30, 2019

 

I love you, Busbee. We texted every day since the diagnosis. I didn’t understand why you didn’t respond today. I’m so sad. Thank you for being there for me and Jac when we were hurting. I tried to be there for you but no one’s heart is bigger than yours. Love you, brother.

— Ross Golan (@rossgolan) September 30, 2019

 

Shocked and saddened by the news today that we have lost Busbee. I am so grateful I was able to have collaborated with him. He was brilliant and warm, with palpable joy for his craft. RIP Sir.

— ADAM LAMBERT (@adamlambert) September 30, 2019

 

Thinking about this dude today... Gonna miss you Busbee. pic.twitter.com/TIC3zw0gGr

— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) September 30, 2019

 

No words. Rest easy my sweet, sweet friend. @busbee pic.twitter.com/EKA1FVoaIU

— Carly Pearce (@carlypearce) September 30, 2019

Hit-Makers Share The Specialized, Intuitive Art Of Crafting The Perfect Song

dixie_chicks-88207329.jpg

Dixie Chicks at the 41st Annual GRAMMY Awards

Photo by SGranitz/WireImage

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'Fly' Away: Dixie Chicks' Landmark Album Turns 20 fly-away-dixie-chicks-landmark-album-turns-20

'Fly' Away: Dixie Chicks' Landmark Album Turns 20

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Ahead of 'Fly'’s 20th anniversary, The Recording Academy spoke to a slew of songwriters on writing some of the most enduring country classics of our time
Jason Scott
GRAMMYs
Aug 29, 2019 - 7:23 am

Dixie Chicks played by their own rules. No one⏤not the establishment, not a producer, not a politician⏤was going to strip them of the right to say (and sing) exactly what they wanted. Years before a political divide would rend their standing was bonafide country superstars to a pile of rubble and flaming merchandise, they were making the kind of boundary-pushing country music that not only honored its roots but extended well across the aisle to pop.

Even on their landmark 1999 studio album, Fly, their second major-label release (which turns 20 on August 31), they displayed tremendous fearlessness and heart while maintaining a knack for melding bluegrass, blues, plaintive folk, honky tonk and outlaw. From the cold-feet, altar-sprinter "Ready To Run" to the provocative mattress-dancer "Sin Wagon" and the getaway hoedown "Some Days You Gotta Dance," the album handles themes of womanhood, independence, retribution, heartbreak and sun-kissed romance in ways Music Row had never before witnessed. Frontwoman Natalie Maines and multi-instrumentalists Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer (formerly known professionally as Emily Robison) were renegades upending convention and redefining the format at every single turn.

Where their 1998 album Wide Open Spaces put everything in motion for one of the most legendary careers in country music, Fly ramped up the energy, tenacity of lyrics and musical volatility. Together, both sets are diamond-certified by the RIAA (figures of 12 million and 10 million, respectively) and present a trio of women so strong and resilient they were connecting to consumers of all walks of life, bridging gaps no other act could or has since. Fly would go on to win the Best Country Album distinction at the 2000 GRAMMY Awards, as well as the same honor at the Academy Of Country Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and the CMAs.

The band’s 1998 debut with Sony, on the Monument Records imprint, contained such ubiquitous hits as "I Can Love You Better," "There’s Your Trouble" and the title cut. While making radio names for themselves, and becoming a global phenomenon in the process, it was Fly that let them soar to even more dizzying heights, personally and musically. When the last album single, "Tonight, The Heartache's on Me" was settling (peaking at No. 6 on the country singles chart), the visionary trio set to work collecting and writing songs for the followup.

In the spring of '99, producers Paul Worley (Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride) and Blake Chancey (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Little Big Town) both returned to helm the sophomore entry. Meanwhile, the label pushed for the group to expand their usual writing pool and held a songwriting retreat at Center Hill Lake, roughly 50 miles outside of Nashville. It was there that many of Fly’s new blood came into the picture to add what would soon become considerable contributions to the modern country pantheon.

"The beauty of the Chicks was that they already had a career in Texas. They didn’t look at it as 'if this doesn’t happen, life is over.' They were going to continue doing what they did anyway," songwriter Eric Silver (Diamond Rio, Neal McCoy) tells The Recording Academy. Digging into the sonic sheen of the record, which saw the group once again defying the norm, he notes the avoidance of "any reverb on the album. That was a point in time when everything had a lot of reverb and sounded produced. When the album first came out, a lot of people were listening to it and said, 'What’s going on with this mix? There’s no reverb on everything... it’s all dry!' That made everything more in-your-face and more raw and real," he says. "Even in that, I think it changed a lot of things technically in the way people started thinking about making a record. To a lot of people, it didn’t sound like they had finished it."

Songwriter Stephony Smith (Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Trisha Yearwood) echoes the sentiment: "I think everything about this album was a game-changer. At that time, you had Shania, Faith, Patty Loveless and all these badass women. It was all perfectly in-your-face kind of music. They fit right into that slot. 11 million records? Come on! That kind of speaks for itself."

For many songwriters involved, getting a Dixie Chicks cut at the height of the band's popularity proved to be a monumental turning point for their careers. GRAMMY winner Marcus Hummon (Rascal Flatts, Sara Evans) landed not one but two songs on the record. "I was surprised, and I knew that I was not only going to have two songs on the record but the first two singles on the record. That was just a huge breakthrough and exciting occurrence in my life," he remembers. "It’s hard to put it into perspective. They were so big, and they were also good. There’s something to be said, too, to have songs on a record and songs done by a group that you considered as good a country group as you saw. They did it the way I like it. I’m a roots baby myself. It’s guitars, banjo and piano for me. They were really the best."

He adds, "It’s the biggest breakthrough for me, professionally. I paid off my home. I own the house because of them. I've always felt that as a songwriter, if you own your home, you need to be happy. It’s a lucky occurrence."

Ahead of Fly’s 20th anniversary, The Recording Academy spoke to a slew of songwriters, including Silver, Annie Roboff and Troy Johnson, among others, on writing some of the most enduring classics of our time.

"Ready to Run"

Written by: Marcus Hummon and Martie Seidel

"Ready to Run" was released in June 1999 as the album’s lead single, serving as also the opening track. It would later find its way onto the soundtrack for Runaway Bride, a romantic comedy starring Julia Robert and Richard Gere. Following its finish at No. 2 on Billboard, the song snagged the GRAMMY Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.

Co-writer Marcus Hummon has also had such cuts as Rascal Flatts' "Bless the Broken Road,” which won him a GRAMMY for Best Country Song in 2005, and Tim McGraws’ "One Of These Days." Both songs originally appeared on Hummon’s 1995 debut album, All In Good Time, for Sony Records. He is a two-time NSAI Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee and has several other industry nominations and wins to his credit. Hummons also lends his talents on guitar for the recording of "Ready to Run."

Hummon: This was the first song we sat down to write. Martie and I wrote quite a few songs that were considered for subsequent records, too. Only two were ever recorded. I’ve always thought of it as a very special writing relationship. You never know when that’s going to happen. The reason I got to write with them is that I was on the way out. I had made a record [on Columbia], and nobody played it, basically. [Laughs.] People knew the record. It was a hybrid of roots⏤banjos, grooves, acoustic pianos. I guess, the Dixie Chicks knew at least of me and that record. When I got let go at Sony, I had said to hell with holding songs. For years and years, any songs I felt were any good, I’d hold them and not pitch them. But then, I was in a different headspace, so anyone could have anything.

Everything had changed, and suddenly, I was going to be a gun-for-hire. The other side to the way Nashville works, you get put into situations with bands and artists, and people try to match artistry. I think their song "I Can Love You Better" had been out for a week or two. I was already aware of it. It’s a very groovy record. Kostas [Patty Loveless, Jo Dee Messina, Dwight Yoakam] co-wrote it, and I loved him. I knew a little bit about the group. I have some Texas connections through my family, so I had known the Dixie Chicks, as a group, had existed for a long time. I knew that they had a new singer, and I didn’t know much beyond that.

I met Martie at Fido, a coffee shop in town, about a mile from my house. The thing about that song is she only had a couple hours before she had to get on a bus. I knew that, and so, I had actually started a wee bit of a song with a groove in the beginning of the verse. I knew they do funky groove really well, and I don’t get to write that with a lot of people. It’s not what everybody wants to do. We got a cup of coffee. It was the afternoon or early evening. When we got back to the house, she liked the blues groove. 

She goes, "You know what would really sound great with that?" And she takes her fiddle out, and she plays the most Celctic melody you’ve ever heard. I remember thinking, "Wow, that’s really funky. That has nothing to do with what I’m doing, and I just love it." I think I must have said something to that effect, and then, we just powered into that song. There are sort of three different genres, really, and made this strange child of a song. She went off, and I thought, "Man, I love this, but they’re never going to do this."

However, I did a demo of it, and actually, they weren’t so huge yet. So, she still had some time in Nashville. She came by, and she played that fiddle part and worked on the demo with me. Then, we just handed it off, and I didn’t really hear anything.

Paul Worley was a friend of mine, the guy who had signed me to Sony, and he often lets me play guitar on these things. He called me up, and he said, "You know, I think we need the way you play guitar. We’ve cut the whole track, and the acoustic guitar at the center of it is too straight. Can you come and swing it?" I remember going to the studio, and he said, "By the way, we’re thinking of making this the first single." I got so nervous. [Laughs.] By the time they’re cutting "Ready to Run," [the Dixie Chicks are] a huge, worldwide phenomenon. I said, "Are we going to do several takes?" And he said, "No. You get one. If I wanted perfect, I would have gotten someone else. I want you to play it with some aggression."

That’s exactly what I did. I remember when I put the headphones on, and I was playing along with it, they had added the Irish penny whistle, which we did not put on the demo. It was a stroke of genius. It’s not the kind of thing you would expect on a country record. That didn’t happen often, despite all the connections of Irish music and Celctic music and Scotts-Irish, and it’s obviously a huge part of what country music is. It’s not like people put Irish whistles on songs. I remember thinking, "Damn, this is great! Don’t screw it up…"

Runaway Bride soundtrack

Hummon: That was a funny deal. My understanding is that the studio [Paramount] told the Dixie Chicks that they wanted "Ready To Run" to be the theme song for the end title. But the deal was that the Chicks had to incorporate the film in a video on CMT⏤they had to do one of those videos where you had scenes from the film. The girls were like, "No, no thanks." As it turns out, what had happened, I believe that they had done their own treatment. That first record sold so many records, and it was such a big deal. Then, there was the idea of the sophomore slump, which, of course, it wasn’t at all. 

Even before all the political stuff that happened, the one thing that those who worked with them closely knew about them was that they were going to determine their own path. They were going to do it their way, and they were. This was just another example. They had an idea they thought was fun and funny and appropriate. They didn’t care about Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. [Laughs.] They got on the movie anyway, but only in a little 15-second [scene] of Julie hitting a punching bag. It didn’t really matter, though. That video is hilarious!

"If I Fall You’re Going Down with Me"

Written by: Matraca Berg and Annie Roboff

"If I Fall You’re Going Down With Me" was released in early 2001 as the album’s sixth single and eventually peaked at No. 3 on Billboard.

Matraca Berg has a wealthy pedigree of songwriting cuts. Most notably, her credits include "Strawberry Wine" by Deana Carter, "Wrong Side of Memphis" and "XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)" by Trisha Yearwood, "I’m That Kind Of Girl" by Patty Loveless" and "Wild Angels" by Martina McBride.

Annie Roboff has other such cuts as Diamond Rio’s "Walking Away," Faith Hill’s "This Kiss" and many others. A musician and composer by trade, she originally lived in Los Angeles to pursue a career and moved to Nashville in 1994, a decision that quickly paid off.

Roboff: Everyone knows and respects Matraca's writing. It might have just been that we decided to write together. It was a few years after I had been in Nashville. I walked in and she said, "Let me play this for you. I’ve played it for a few people. Nobody’s really jumped on it." After she played me that dynamite hook, I musically knew what the bridge should be. Musically, I also had a good sense of what would be a good setup for the chorus. I was like, "Well, I’ll work on that. That’s fabulous!" The channel going up to the chorus, I wanted it to change keys or modulate a little.

I don’t remember how much of the lyrics had been written before lunch, but I know we came back from a Meat & Three without a musical verse. I played around with it and Matraca thought it should  go in a more Tom Petty direction. I followed her idea and that was that. Again, I knew musically where it could go, but Matraca wrote 100 percent of the lyrics. Songwriters in a room contribute to everything. I didn’t just do anything myself. The only thing Matraca did before we walked into the room was the chorus, which is a big deal, but once you’re in a room with another writer, you’re writing the song together. 

They are an incredible group that were able to connect with the general public. It wasn’t just country fans. You can talk to people up in New York, and you can say, "The Dixie Chicks are on!" And they’ll want to listen to it. They just know how to take a song and make it their own, and they did a really good job on this song. If you listen to a Dixie Chicks song, Natalie’s voice with Emily and Martie were great together. As a whole, they’re stronger than their parts. They’re an exceptional band. Their sales were blazing.

I’ve never been able to force a song to be a hit. I’ve never had one of my lesser songs be a hit. A lot of people have, but I haven’t. I’ve never had a hit with a song that made someone go, “Why’d they do that song?” When you’re writing a song, you can get really excited and say, “Damn, this sounds like a hit!” But I don’t start with thinking I’m going to write a hit song.

I remember playing the Bluebird, and a friend of mine who’s a doctor came to the show. She and her husband brought one of their parent’s daughters. We were playing in the round. The next time I saw the doctor, she said, “Oh my god, when you played that song, it was the best song.” She loved that song and couldn’t believe we were there playing it. You just don’t know what kind of impact it has on people.

"Cowboy Take Me Away"

Written by: Marcus Hummon and Martie Seidel

"Cowboy Take Me Away" was released in November 1999 as the second single and would become a chart-topping hit on Billboard the very next February. Previously, Hummon has gone on record to detail mis-hearing the title as "Calgon Take Me Away" (while eating canned spaghetti), but here, he goes a bit deeper into the songwriting, as well as the song’s reception and legacy.

Hummon: It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever been a part of. By the time we wrote this, the band had sold a lot of records, so they were very much in demand, in terms of co-writes. I had a relationship with Martie and had an opportunity to write with her. The three women had cottages, and so they were sequestered. It was the knowledge that someone else was coming at 3:00 to write. We had been working for quite awhile on a song for two days that really wasn’t very good. But when she said she had this title and that she wanted to write something for her sister’s wedding, I realized, "Oh my gosh, I’ve almost missed my opportunity." That’s really what we should have been working on.

The writing of it itself, as I remember it, is I had a few lines started. It was like a poem. I think it was the first few lines of the song, and she pulled out the mandolin and had that melody. It was one of those moments in time when everything comes unbelievably easily. It was almost as if we were speaking the lines through each other. I don’t remember it taking hardly any time at all. In that sense, it’s a really beautiful experience. 

I remember about Hank Williams, and he had talked once about how in writing sometimes a song comes out fully formed and quickly. For some reason, I think he used the metaphor of a calf being born. They plop out, mom cleans it up and they’re walking! That song was like that. I think that what he was saying is that you do all this work and use those muscles, and you’re constantly thinking about words and music. Every now and then, for a variety of reasons, there’s that moment a song comes out fully formed.

I don’t know if we even edited the song much. I remember we wrote it, and she seemed kind of happy about it. Then, I never heard anything. I went off and did a demo. I knew we had achieved a purpose. I was later told to go buy a People magazine by someone, "Oh, hey, there’s a little article about the Chicks and Emily’s wedding, and they sang a new song called 'Cowboy Take Me Away.’” I saw that and said, "Wow, that’s great." But that was it. I just thought that that was the end of it. It was one of those songs that’s a beautiful little poem that was about her sister literally marrying a cowboy. Obviously, in a larger sense, it was about going back to the earth. It was a very country idea about things that are real and substantive and natural. That was really what was driving the music.

"It was a very country idea about things that are real and substantive and natural. That was really what was driving the music."

I play the song all over the country. I played a corporate gig the other night for Southwest Airlines. I guess they had rented out an entire bar downtown with a couple hundred people there. I started in on "Cowboy Take Me Away," and I don’t know if I’ve ever heard it sung back to me so lustily. [Laughs.] I just stopped playing and let them sing. In that sense, it’s very rare to have a song like that.

I remember a review of Fly. It was a big review. The writer singled out "Cowboy Take Me Away" as being the "disappointing" song on the record because it just sort of implied that the woman in the song needs the cowboy to make the dreams come true. I remember thinking, "Man, you have totally missed the song." One of the reasons that song has resonance is that it actually tied itself into the fiercely independent nature of the Dixie Chicks themselves as people. Obviously, outwardly, Natalie is a powerful, self-assertive person. If you think about the line "I want to grow something wild and unruly," it’s really about that. That’s where it connected. So, the times I’ve heard them in concert and they sing it, it’s the very strong character sharing their love of simple things, honest things, true things. Also, it’s their determination to be in that space at all costs. That’s the spirit of the song.

What you get with "Cowboy Take Me Away" is that you still have that sense of fierce independence, but you also have someone saying, "I love you." Natalie is as good a singer as I remember in my time in the business as I’ve ever come in contact with. I have a handful of voices that I love, and it’s been an extraordinary era to be a part of. Really, nobody is better than Natalie. She has all kinds of emotion, technique and versatility. She’s just a remarkable singer.

"Hello Mr. Heartache"

Written by: Mike Henderson and John Hadley

Mike Henderson is a founding member of The Steeldrivers, along with Chris Stapleton and Tammy Rogers. With the original lineup, the group earned several GRAMMY nominations, including Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Blue Side Of The Mountain" and Best Bluegrass Album for 2010’s Reckless. Henderson won the 2017 GRAMMY for Best Country Song for penning Stapleton’s "Broken Halos." He has also had cuts with Patty Loveless, Kenny Rogers, Travis Tritt, Trisha Yearwood and Randy Travis.

John Hadley has had songs cut by George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Reed, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker and countless others.

Henderson: John and I had been writing together for years. We used to write on a pretty regular basis, usually once a week. As I recall, I had that title somehow. I don’t remember now how it came to me or where it came from. For us, it was just a regular writing appointment. We’d just sit down and write a song. We’d always finish it. He and I both work pretty quickly.

They had the Dixie Chicks stationed out a state park around Center Hill Lake. They were running songwriters out to write with them. I went out there, and Natalie and I tried to write a song. I don’t think we got very far with it. You got three hours, and then, the next guy was coming in. At that writing appointment, I pitched the song to Natalie. Blake had already heard the song and passed on it. But I thought, "Well, I’m going to give it one more shot." So, I gave it to Natalie. I guess they listened to it and liked it, and they started playing it in their live shows. When it came time to record, they told Blake they were going to cut it.

When you have a writing deal like I had, you have to keep your calendar pretty full with writing appointments. I think most anybody in town would tell you that you write a song and you do your best to forget it, so that all your songs don’t sound the same. You want to come into each appointment with an open, clear mind, so that you’re not writing the same song over and over again. I would just write them and forget about them. When it came time to make demos, we would usually do four or five songs on a session, and I think the publisher, as I recall at EMI, would have about as much input as I did. 

If there was one I felt strongly about, I could cut it. The way that would work is you’d have a demo session every four or five weeks. You’d have four or five new songs for them to run with. Once you got the demo done, you could say, "Oh, that sounds like something that’d be good for X or Y." Usually, it would take being done with the demo to decide who you were going to try to go to with⏤rather than just the work tape, which is just a guitar and vocals. 

Neither Hadley nor I were much of a singer, so you couldn’t really tell how the song was going to sound until we had a real singer come in. I think Joy White came in and sang the demo. I used to use her on a lot of stuff. I’m pretty sure she would have been the one to sing that. 

"Sin Wagon"

Written by: Stephony Smith, Natalie Maines and Emily Robison

Though never released as an official radio single, "Sin Wagon" soon took on a life of its own and has become a legacy fan favorite. 

Stephony Smith has written such chart hits as Tim McGraw & Faith Hill’s “It’s Your Love," Reba’s “How Was I to Know,” Trisha Yearwood’s “Perfect Love,” Kenny Chesney’s “Big Star” and Heidi Newfield’s “Johnny and June,” among others. She was named BMI’s Songwriter of the Year in 1998.

Smith: I was asked to come out to a little place outside of Nashville for a writer’s retreat. I wrote one with Emily, and we were sitting around at the end of the day after we had finished. I think Natalie was stood up by somebody else, so she was like, "Well, hey, let’s just write one while we’re sitting here." She's so laid back, and she said, "I got this title from Grease." It just jumped off from there. We're like, "Why not!"

I was playing guitar, and Emily was too. I was doing a Bonnie Raitt kind of groove. It had a similar swing to it. We got the chord structure and the words started spitting out. It was cool. It was easy. They’re so good, and it just flowed. We did a lot of laughing. There were some raunchy rhymes here and there that we didn’t use. My favorite part of writing this with them was⏤at the end of it, Natalie said, "Hey, can I play your guitar for a second?" I said, "Sure." So, I handed it to her. There was a coffee table in front of me, and she put her foot up on it. She put the guitar up on her knee, and she said, "I hear it like this." And she does this bluegrass strum, up-down, up-down, up-down. I was like, "OK, whatever. Sounds great to me!" Somebody said, I can’t remember who, "Nobody’s going to cut it anyway. They’re never going to let us cut it."

They were sitting around with Paul and Blake, and they asked, "Have we heard all the songs?" The girls were like, "Yeah, we played you everything." They were like, "No, think back. Is there anything else?" We didn’t even do a work tape of the song because we didn’t think anything was going to happen with it. We thought it was suggestive, and we didn’t mean it that way. But we thought the country market would take it that way. So, they’re sitting there, and they go, "Well, there’s this one song called 'Sin Wagon.'" As I understand it, they just sang it a cappella to Paul and Blake, and they lost their minds and did the arrangement right there. 

I couldn't have been happier. When I heard it, I thought, "How the heck did we get from where we started to that?" It was basically what Natalie heard in her head⏤that bluegrass-y slam.

One particular line, “On a mission to make something happen / Feel like Delilah lookin' for Samson / Do a little mattress dancin' / That's right I said mattress dancin',” drew tense sideways glances from label executives for what was perceived as a sexual overtone. That line was nearly cut from the final version.

Smith: I never saw that line as that. I saw that line as a guy and a girl on a mattress just jumping up and down and acting silly. And the label took it the other way. As I understand it, the girls were pretty forceful about leaving that line in.

In 2000, "Sin Wagon” was the target of $500,000 lawsuit filed by the family of Albert E. Brumley, songwriter of the 1929 hymn "I’ll Fly Away." The entire basis of the suit was centered around a sample of the hymn used to bookend the song.

Smith: In a nutshell, when someone says, “Oh, you used part of our song,” what they think is that you started the whole song with that. We did not start the song with that. That was a last-minute thought and a tip of the hat kind of thing. The song started with the "Sin Wagon" line in Grease. We won that lawsuit because there was no intent from the beginning to base it around "I’ll Fly Away." That’s not even the subject of the song. It’s just a funny piece at the end.

"Without You"

Written by: Eric Silver and Natalie Maines

“Without You” was released as the album’s fifth single in August 2000. It hit the chart summit at the top of the following year.

Eric Silver has also written songs by Diamond Rio (“This Romeo Ain’t Got Julie Yet,” “Can’t You Tell,” “Nothing in This World”), Neal McCoy (“The Luckiest Man in the World,” “Tails I Lose”), Toby Keith (“You Don’t Know Anymore”) and Reba (“I’m Not Your Girl”).

Silver: I was very good friends with the girls when they first started their career. We met at a party at Sony Records for the release of an album by the Kinleys. They were the new act that was at the label. The focus was all on the Kinleys. Everyone thought that band would be the next big thing. That’s not what happened. It was the Chicks.

I definitely feel like I’ve participated in modern country music. I don’t know if I’ll be bold enough to say "contributed." The interesting thing about "Without You" is that in that era of what the Chicks were becoming and becoming known for⏤which was a female act that wasn’t afraid to voice their mind and be a little on the edge⏤this song came into the fray late in the game. It wasn’t that. It was much more of a typical country song. 

I remember when Natalie sang the melody to me, what she was imagining as the melody, I remember thinking, "This just doesn’t sound like what I think it’s supposed to sound like, but I’ll go with it." She has her own way. It’s a brilliant melody, but it took me a while to wrap my head around it. It wasn’t something I thought of. The girl I was dating had broken up with me right about the time we were finishing the song. Natalie said to me, "Well, what do you think about the second verse?" I said, "I don’t know. I have to think about it." She said, "Well, your girlfriend just dumped you. You must be able to think of something sad!"

In the chorus, when it got to the last part, I said to her, "I think I’ve got the lyrics for the whole thing, except the line right before the hook." The only thing I could think of was "my heart is stuck in second place," and then it needs to have a rhyme. I just kept going, "ooo, ooo, without you." I said, "I’m just trying to figure out what to put in at the 'ooo, ooo.'" She said, "Well, what’s wrong with ‘ooo, ooo’?" I said, "Well, everybody will say we just copped out. Gotta say something!” She said, "No, it doesn’t. Listen. [sings] 'My heart is stuck in second place / Ooo, ooo / Without you…'"

I had already written some songs with Emily and some songs with Martie, but Natalie and I started that song at the songwriting retreat. We recorded it on a cassette, but it was the end of the day. We were kind of tired. We recorded it, and I didn’t even listen back to the tape. Then, when I heard it, it was so garbled that I couldn’t even hear what we had done. We talked a little about the song because they were getting ready to go into the studio. I said, "I can’t really hear anything we said." Things got really confusing. They started working on the album, and we’d not finished the song. She asked me a couple times what I thought and if I wanted to finish it. I said, "Yeah, I want to finish it whenever we can!" They got really busy. 

At some point, she reached out to me and asked if I thought the song could be a slow song. Apparently, I wasn’t really privy to what was going on, but they must have been lacking a ballad or something. I said, “Sure, any song can be driven any direction.” I did a different version of it. I remembered a little bit of the lyrics. She said, “Well, we’re pretty busy, but if you get ideas for the song, can you just send them to the studio?” At the time, I had to send all my ideas via fax. While they were recording, I went in to my studio thinking and writing, and everytime I had an idea, I’d send it to her.

She liked it, and she’d send back a thumbs up and a “I like this part, I like that part.” That’s how I got through the lyrics. Then, I never heard back. Again, I’m thinking, “Clearly, this isn’t happening.” She called me one day and said, “You know, have you recorded the song?” I said, “No, I didn’t know what was happening with the song.” She said, “Well, I need to put a vocal on it.” I was really in the dark and went ahead and recorded the song. She came by one day and sang the melody. She said, “Just give me a rough copy of it on a cassette.” I did and said, “Do you want to put harmonies on it or anything?” “No, no, I just want to show it.”

Basically, I didn’t hear anything back. I didn’t even know "Without You" had made the album. The Chicks had become such a hot commodity at that time that they started keeping all the news and information about the records really close to the chest. I worked a lot of the sessions as a musician, too, so I was calling all the guys I knew in the band that were recording and kept saying, "Do you remember this song? Did you cut a song called ‘Without You’?" The Chicks had had a couple songwriting retreats where they booked a place and had different writers come out and work for a few days.

“Some Days You Gotta Dance”

Written by: Troy Johnson and Marshall Morgan

Troy Johnson has had other cuts with Sara Evans, Thompson Square, Trace Adkins, Montgomery Gentry, Little River Band and Keith Urban.

Johnson: This is the first country song I ever wrote. I was in college. Before coming to Nashville, I was writing songs but just as a teenager. I was writing more pop-oriented material. While I was at Belmont University, my dream was to be a songwriter and get a publishing deal. I hadn’t written any country material, so I sat down in my terrible apartment at the time with my guitar. I thought, "If I’m going to write for this town, I’m going to need to write some country material." So, I had just learned how to play guitar pretty recently, and I knew a handful of chords. The only thing that really popped into my head when it came to country music was the train beat. I grabbed an A and started playing that rhythm. As a 19-year-old, all these lyrics started popping out of my head. The hook came out of my head instantly. I just went with it. I didn’t know what I was doing at the time.

That song was birthed in about 20 minutes. I wrote a couple more tunes and put together a demo and started to pass it out to as many people as possible. My first publisher was with Alex Torrez and Marshall Morgan. Marshall really thought the song had some legs, so we got together and sort of re-structured the ends of the verses and how it went into the chorus. I learned a lot from that particular writing session. The song itself has had a pretty decent life when you think of it. It was very visceral as far as emotions go. It was a simple song that a nothing writer at the time came up with in the solace of his dinky apartment.

During that time of their career, the Chicks did a Crossroads with James Taylor, and he ended up choosing that song to do for the show. He ended up cutting it on one of his records, too [2008’s Covers]. I couldn’t be prouder of the little ditty that I came up with.

Landing On The Album

Johnson: I got a call from my publisher saying, “You won’t believe what just happened, but the Chicks are going to cut your song!” I was like, “You gotta be freaking kidding me.” It was their second record, and their first one had done so well that the anticipation was pretty high. By that time, I had worked with Blake Chancey on some other projects and gotten to know him to a certain degree. The first time I heard the cut, we were out somewhere. He said, “Come out to my car, and let me play you what we did.” So, I went out to his truck, and he played me what they cut. I think it was just the board mix of the day. I was just floored. They took a three-chord song and really turned it into something special. I was very thankful.

I was thinking, “Man, I’ve made it. I’m on my way! I hope there’s many down the road.” I certainly felt gratified for a long time⏤just to know you’re on a record of that quality.

"Heartbreak Town"

Written by: Darrell Scott

Darrell Scott has enjoyed a healthy career writing, playing and recording with many of Nashville’s elite. His songwriting cuts include Travis Tritt’s “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive,” Faith Hill’s “We’ve Got Nothing But Love to Prove” and Robinella’s “Head South,” among many others. He’s also collaborated with Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Mary Gauthier and more in varying capacities. In 2007, he won Song of the Year at the Americana Association for “Hank William’s Ghost,” from his 2006 studio album The Invisible Man.

"Heartbreak Town" originally appears on Scott’s debut album, 1997's Aloha from Nashville.

Scott: Blake was an old friend of mine, always helped me out. He was always trying to help me and get me on sessions. Well, there was a period where Paul, especially, was trying to get the Chicks to write with others. Paul put me together with Natalie while they were working on the Fly album. So, while Martie was overdubbing on fiddle, Emily was literally writing with Mary Chapin Carpenter in another part of the studio complex. Then, Paul set me up to write with Natalie in another part. The way I talk about that is it’s like there’s a party going on on a carnival cruise and people getting to know each other and having a great time ⏤ and then suddenly I get helicoptered in to the boat out in the middle of the ocean. They all know each other, and I’m the odd guy out. That was the atmosphere of it. I go off with Natalie to write, someone who I’ve never met before. It was a factory of sorts, a nice factory, but we’re going to get some work done.

Paul walks Natalie and I back to the other part and goes, "I’ll see you in a couple of hours." So, he leaves, and here’s the two strangers in a room to write. I start saying, “Oh, we could write this kind of tune.” And I’d play a song for her that was that style. Then, “There’s this kind of tune we could write.” One of those tunes that I played for her just to show her an array of style was “Heartbreak Town.” When that song finished, she said, “Oh, I love that song!” Then, we started trying to work on a song together. Well, that went on for awhile, and we really weren’t coming up with anything. There were a couple of lines. 

A couple of hours went by. Paul came back to check on us. He said, “Hey, how’s it going in here?” We said, “Well, we sort of have something, but we’re not very far on it.” Then she said, “But he played me a song that I love.” Paul looked at me like “you idiot, you weren't here to pitch songs, you were here to write songs.” He didn’t say that, but that’s what his look said. I wasn’t aware of the pitch, on my part, so to speak. I was literally just trying to show her my many styles.

She just loved "Heartbreak Town" and drove it through the next process. We didn’t get any further on whatever song we sort of started. The next thing I knew, the band had recorded it. Then, the next thing I knew, they had over-recorded for the album. They had cut 40 but only needed 12. Then, I heard this song made the second cut, and then it made the album. All this time, I hadn’t even heard the recording or anything. I’m not one of those guys who hangs around the studio where someone is supposedly cutting my song. I stay out of the way completely. Really, the first time I heard the song was on the album. It made the whole gauntlet. 

The girls became a fan of what I was doing, so if I had a record out, they had a wide-open net of listening. I was on their radar. They’d also come to shows. When I’d play Austin, Natalie would come out with her dad and mom. Natalie was in my corner and followed what I was up to.

Writing His True Nashville Story

Scott: When I moved to Nashville in ‘92 from Boston, that song was my story of moving there. Details like literally crossing the state line and honking the horn, that’s how we drove from Massachusetts to Tennessee. When I was a kid, we didn’t take a lot of vacations. I think we took our first vacation when I was six, and that was to Nashville from northern Indiana. Every time we crossed a state line, we’d honk the horn. I still do that, to tell you the truth. 

"Heartbreak Town" is absolutely autobiographical, and it’s anticipating the cold shoulder. Whether it was true or not, it certainly felt that way for awhile. It broke, of course, and suddenly, I was playing tons of sessions and records and getting cuts. Lines in there like "square people in a world that’s round"⏤those are my biting comments toward commercialized Nashville. My first record I made, which this was on, was called Aloha! From Nashville. You know, “aloha” means "hello" and "goodbye," and I was very aware of that. I just knew that when I made my record, I was going to blast through there. I was just going to tell my little truth about how hollow Nashville can be sometimes. 

It’s funny that the Chicks, who were already a very successful group, would want to sing a song about somebody who is on the other side of success. That’s to the credit to those girls.

Any time I tried to write for somebody, the songs would always suck without exception. They sounded as bad as a lot of other songs sound. I never wanted that. I wanted the songs that stood up and stood out, so I didn’t do that. What I did was write what I wanted to write. “Heartbreak Town” was written for me and my experience of coming to a new area and feeling like I wasn’t quite accepted. The rest of my writing career is pretty much exactly the same. I caught on early that I should be writing what I feel like. I follow my muse and let the chips fall. I did not chase very strongly at all the idea of following market trends or who’s cutting or what kind of song this person wants and all that. I did not play that game. Anytime I did play that game, I came up with shitty songs. I’m one who believes there is enough shitty songs in this world.

The Chicks' Legacy

20 years later, the Dixie Chicks legacy is as strong as ever. The songwriters leave with some final thoughts on the band’s work and their lasting imprint on Nashville.

Mike Henderson: I thought [the band] was interesting and it was a good idea⏤the way they brought the banjo and all that into the music. The banjo had kind of been poison for a long, long time. They were good. They could actually sing and play well. They were very successful. People liked them.

Troy Johnson: Well, I have to say I first thought their name was a little silly. At the time, it was like, "Who am I?" I was probably a lot more braggadocious in my younger days than I am now. I probably said more things than I should have back then. I’m sure that’s one thing I might have mentioned to Blake. They’ve obviously proven my stupid ass wrong. They’re wonderful musicians, and Natalie’s a killer singer. 

Darrell Scott: I always thought the Dixie Chicks were amazing at following that line⏤of commercial and integrity. They didn’t kowtow. They were a standout and outspoken on all levels. The bottom line is, they had the music and talent and chutzpah to pull all of it off. They were undeniable. I remember the first time I heard them. I was playing a festival called MerleFest, and they were, too. This was long before they had any radio hits at all. I remember specifically they were doing an obscure James Taylor song, and they were doing three-part harmony and killing it. I remember thinking, "I don’t know who these women are, but this is fantastic." It was with Natalie but pre-release. I heard them before the influence of radio going crazy for them. I knew they had it then.

"They didn’t kowtow. They were a standout and outspoken on all levels. The bottom line is, they had the music and talent and chutzpah to pull all of it off. They were undeniable."

Eric Silver: To think back to that era when the Chicks were selling 10 million, 12 million albums, that feels pretty amazing to be a part of. I talk to some of the songwriters⏤we’re all still in touch⏤and it’s something you never dreamed was going to be so unusual. It seemed really cool at the time. Basically, the big three that were going on at the time were Garth, Shania and the Dixie Chicks. At the same time, it didn’t ever register in my mind that that was as big as it was going to get in the industry.

Being a semi-older-timer from Nashville, the one thing I have seen is having worked with Shania in the very beginning of her career, as well as the Chicks, I don’t think anybody could have ever planned exactly what happened. Those artists did what they do well. They did what was really true to them, and that’s what has seemed to have worked. I didn’t work with Garth, but I saw Garth happening from the beginning. I was friends with his manager. The common thread was they weren’t copying anybody. They were doing their thing.

Where Do You Keep Your GRAMMY: Jimi Westbrook Of Little Big Town

GRAMMYs

Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby & Amanda Shires of The Highwomen
Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby & Amanda Shires Of The Highwomen Are "Redesigning Women" | Newport Folk 2019

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"We don't want more; we want the same opportunity," Morris told the Recording Academy of the supergroup's message at Newport Folk Festival
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 28, 2019 - 2:28 pm

The Highwomen stole the show on opening night of Newport Folk Festival 2019. The new supergroup composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires have been storming the country world with a powerful and poignant message, and they're having fun doing it.

The Highwomen On Their Inclusive Message

"Redesigning Women" arrived as an anthem for the modern female—but the single serves to unite, not divide, which was very clear as the group closed out their Newport set with the song. Their second single, "Crowded Table," a siren song for inclusivity, also dropped just ahead of their Newport debut.

We caught up with three-quarters of The Highwomen backstage at Newport Folk to talk about their debut album, due out Sept. 6., about the lack of representation of women in country radio, why they call Carlile the group’s “wide receiver” and more.

Let's start with Newport and the debut last night. How did it feel to finally present this project live? What's special about this festival in particular?

Morris: I mean, it felt amazing. We felt like when we walked on stage that all these people that came to see us were already on our side. It went by too quick. That was my only complaint.

Hemby: Yeah. It went by really fast. I was kind of relieved it was over, but kind of sad that it was over. But it was very electric. It was like everybody was waiting for us and it was just, I felt I was really nervous. This is my first time to Newport and being on stage with the girls. We had been rehearsing and it was kind of emotional because it was all coming to fruition, you know?

Shires: It seemed electric. You know, we walk out there and we're ready to play, they want to hear us. Then we're also at Newport. I've been coming here a long time and I haven't felt a audience as charged as what I felt on that stage last night. I'm not saying I was here when Dylan did his thing, but I'm sure that was almost as electric as what we did.

Highwomen go electric.

Shires: Yeah.

You closed the set with "Redesigning Women," a song that makes a bold statement, but it's also a lot of fun. Was the video as fun to make as it looked?

Morris: Yeah. It was the hottest day in Nashville and we were wearing firemen gear.

Hemby: Which is so heavy.

Morris: Then we built a fire. So we were melting by the end of it. But it was so fun. Tanya Tucker and Wynonna Judd came out in support. Yeah, it was probably just the easiest video I've ever done.

Hemby: Yeah. Elizabeth Olmsted did it and she was incredible.

Shires: I think the song though... Natalie, wrote it and as far as I can tell, it's about owning what it is to be a woman.

Hemby: Yes.

Shires: And I think making that video and then including all our friends, you know, up and coming and the legends. I think that has a lot to say for the unity of the project.

Hemby: Well, I mean you touched on it perfectly. It's basically, I didn't want to sound preachy writing the song. I wanted it to just be real and be kind of funny. It is the life we lead, we are doing as women now more than ever. We're running businesses and taking care of families and it's a different time we live in and it's just sort of like the hilarity of it all.

Morris: There were dudes singing "Redesigning Women" in the crowd last night. It was awesome.

Shires: I love the evolved ones.

Hemby: Yeah.

Morris: It's for everybody.

Yeah, everybody was singing last night. Also, the second single came out this week, "Crowded Table." Can you talk about where that song came from?

Hemby: Well I wrote that one, again... I actually wrote these two songs before I actually even joined the band, so I feel like it was sort of my rite of passage to get in the band. I wrote that with Lori McKenna and we sat down at my piano and I told her about what they were looking for for the Highwomen project. I had this title that I wanted to write for a long time called "Crowded Table."

We sat down at a piano and we wrote it literally in 30 minutes and then I took it to Brandi and I was like, is this something that works? And she changed it. Just like a few lines on it and it was just perfect. We just wanted to write a song about women getting pitted against each other. We wanted to write a song about like, "Hey, I've got you." It's not just women, actually. I think men too. Like, I want a big house that has lots of friends and family. Just something sort of heartwarming, you know?

Morris: This motto of the band, it fits so perfectly with that song because I think the message we're trying to get across is like, you can sit with us. This is a very inclusive project.

Shires: We're singing in unison so people can sing along.

Amanda, I read this project came out of noticing a lack of representation at women in radio and country radio specifically. Can you talk about a little bit what you found and how that turned into this project?

Shires: It was something I had noticed before, but I really don't operate in that genre. When the idea really started was after my daughter was born and I was thinking, what if Mercy grows up and decides she wants to be a country artist? Like, what can I do and how can I in any way try and change it or at least make it easier? That's sort of the whole thing for me. And then, you know, as ideas do, they grow and they become something much larger than you ever could even imagine. I feel very lucky that these people wanted to do this with me.

And how have you seen this project already have an impact on the conversation about gender equality so far with these first two singles?

Hemby: Well, I think we just want to shine a light on all different types of artists. It's exactly what Maren said in her video. 

Morris: We don't want more than anyone else. We want the same as everyone else.

Hemby: Exactly. I think that's the key to it all. In the Top 50 charts of country music, there's not very many women on it. 

Shires: Apparently Maren's number one. Watch out. Fire.

Hemby: She is currently number one. This girl right here. I don't know yet what happened.

Morris: But it is cool. To be at Newport and do the Highwomen debut the same week that "GIRL" went number one. It just feels like, I don't know, I'm pretty superstitious, but sometimes the stars just align and it's just timing.

Hemby: But it didn't use to be an issue of having women on country radio. We used to have Tricia [Yearwood], Shania [Twain], Faith [Hill], all of the them.

Morris: Dixie Chicks.

Hemby: Dixie Chicks. Through the years it's just, it's been so much less inclusive and that's kind of our point. It's not, we don't want more. We want the same opportunities.

Well, what you're doing is incredible. Maybe because she's not here, we can talk about Brandi. What does she bring to the group?

Morris: We have dubbed her the wide receiver.

Hemby: She's the wide receiver. If you have a ball and you want to do something, Brandi will take that ball all the way. She was like, I'm going to catch the ball and we're going to score a touchdown and we're going to win the Superbowl.

Shires: And then she'll run back down and get it again.

Morris: Yeah. She's definitely a doer. Like, she has an idea and she manifests it.

Shires: I think her work ethic matches the power of her voice.

Hemby: Absolutely.

Morris: Unparalleled vocalist.

Shires: The amount of work she can do, the amount of, you know, air she can take.

Hemby: Yes. That powerful voice. That's how she works too. And she's also, she is a very big supporter.

Shires: All we do is hold onto the reins.

Morris: She's really supportive. In our show last night, I was like, Brandi has amazing stage banter. I'm kind of glad I can sit back. She had the crowd in the palm of her hand when she was speaking.

Hemby: She is definitely made for this, for sure.

The album comes out Sept. 6. How in the world did you record this with four very busy schedules?

Hemby: Well, you work. Dave Cobb produced our record and she's worked with Dave several times.

Shires: Yeah, I have worked with Dave a lot. But when I first had the idea for this before it became even this, I told Dave about it and then I told him that I wanted him to produce it. Then he was like, you gotta go meet Brandi. And I met Brandi and then everything started coming together. I mean, we have the songs, we have awesome bands, we have awesome suits.

Morris: I recorded for two days. Well three, I guess with cocktails. What was the life span of the studio time? It was probably-

Shires: It was two weeks. We did a lot of stuff the first week and came back and did it the second week.

Hemby: Yeah, and we tracked a lot of the vocals-

Morris: We were writing in the studio also. Like, on "My Name Can't Be Mama," they wanted me to help write my verse and so it was very collaborative and creative. I love the way Dave operates. He's really into live tracking. So you've got humans around you making music and you can look at each other and you're all on each other's wavelength. I loved recording that way.

Molly Tuttle On 'When You're Ready,' Her Modern Nashville Bluegrass Classic | Newport Folk 2019

GRAMMYs

Lizzo

Photo:  David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

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Summerfest 2019: Lizzo, Brandi Carlile & More summerfest-2019-lizzo-brandi-carlile-rodrigo-y-gabriela-more

Summerfest 2019: Lizzo, Brandi Carlile, Rodrigo Y Gabriela & More

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The massive festival will take place June 26–30 and July 2–7 in downtown Milawaukee and will also feature Billie Eilish, The Roots, The Lonely Island and Atmosphere
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Apr 10, 2019 - 4:48 pm

Brandi Carlile, Jimmy Eat World, Lizzo and Rodrigo y Gabriela are among the over 100 headlining musical artists that have been announced for Summerfest, the 11-day music festival in Milwaukee, this year.

The massive festival will take place June 26–30 and July 2–7 in downtown Milawaukee and will also feature Billie Eilish, The Roots, The Lonely Island and Atmosphere. The full lineup can be seen at the Summerfest website. 

https://twitter.com/Summerfest/status/1115570099811909632

Here's your 2019 Summerfest presented by @amfam lineup! See the lineup at https://t.co/W8UnHckMJE #Summerfest #SmileOn pic.twitter.com/wJOXrAZ1JS

— Summerfest (@Summerfest) April 9, 2019

Last week, the fest announced that Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and Schoolboy Q will headline the last day of performances at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, which will host a series of performances with tickets that can be purchased separately from the Summerfest general admission ticket (but also include G.A. access). A weekday admission ticket can also be purchased. More info on the variety of tickets can be found here.  

Summerfest features 12 stages and over 800 acts in 11 days, according to the fest. For more information on ticket sales, visit the Summerfest website. 

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