The melody is the same as "Streets of Laredo" with the song about a prisoner determined to break out. Stuart closes "Country Music" with the haunting, mournful "Walls of a Prison," a song recorded by Stuart's ex-father in law, also known as Johnny Cash, about 40 years ago. We've put a blue collar price on the ticket. The first person I thought about was Merle because he's written the soundtrack to the common people. Everything is so urban and pop driven that our original country audience has been left behind."Īfter thinking about the old Grand Ole Opry shows with Roy Acuff, Stuart went with the idea of having making "a hillbilly circus out of it. I also saw it as a life that country music had gone off and kind of forgotten. The more I played these small towns, the more I fell in love with the atmosphere of small town America. I noticed people were starting to come again. We started playing small towns across America. I said let's go back to places where there is not so much pressure. The '90s have run their course, and we're basically starting over again. "A year ago when I first put the new band (the Fabulous Superlatives) together, my request to the booking agent was to hype me. The Barnyard tour also includes bluegrass star Rhonda Vincent, BR549 and Smith. Of course, with Merle on it, it gives it another whole level of credibility and interest." That I think that is one of the finer things I've ever been a part of. "If we tour, we should sing a song together. "It just seemed like country music marketing 101," says Stuart. That's an outgrowth of the Electric Barnyard tour they are doing this summer. Merle Haggard also appears on the album singing "Farmer's Blues" with Stuart. When Stuart was 13, he left his home to hit the road with Lester Flatt of Flatt & Scruggs fame. I can tell it, but you can also hear it." Josh and Earl are true masterful teachers. Go back to my old alma mater of the Foggy Bottom Boys. "Why just tell the same old joke one more time? The more I thought about it, the more I listened to it.it became a vehicle to use (Dobroist) Uncle Josh Graves and Earl (Scruggs) on the record, and that made a lot of sense to me. "I didn't know that I wanted to tackle that again," he says of the subject matter. Stuart had another motive in mind as well in recording the song. The song felt like a sermon that I wanted to preach." The second half mentioned bands like Charlie Daniels Band and Creedence Clearwater Revival, 'which are absolutely valid bands, but I wanted to rewrite the song.and make it more traditional. While calling it "well written," Stuart put his own stamp on it.
"I passed on the song."īut the more Stuart listened the song of former Boy Howdy lead singer Jeffrey Steele, the more he liked it. "I thought I've talked this kind of language for so long," says Stuart.
When "Tip Your Hat" was presented to Stuart, he, at first, begged off. "Finding 5 or 10 great songs, finding things that will stand the test of time is the hardest thing of all," says Stuart. "The upside to that is it's totally my product, but the downside is a lot of work to put on any artist when they tour.
"Tony Brown (former MCA label head) and MCA just depended on me to bring it all in," says Stuart. Having written 5 of the 12 songs on "Country Music," Stuart relied on staff to find "Tip Your Hat," Mike Henderson's "Wishful Thinking" and "If There Ain't." "I always had the benefit of an A&R staff that I'd never had the benefit of before," says Stuart, referring to the label staff that signs artists and also helps them with recording. "First and foremost, they let me alone, and I think that's great." Stuart says he feels he's at a better place now with Sony. He had another hit with Tritt as well, "This One's Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time)" and on his own with "Burn Me Down."īut after enjoying moderate success with "Now That's Country" (as you can see, Stuart's been plying for country music for a long time), Stuart continued a downward spiral commercially, culminating in "The Pilgrim." From 1990 to 1992, he scored top 10s with "Hillbilly Rock," "Little Things," "Tempted" and his biggest hit, "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'," recorded with soul mate Travis Tritt. When things with Sony didn't work out, Stuart went to MCA where he enjoyed his greatest success. After one self-released disc and "Busy Bee Café" on Sugar Hill in 1982, Stuart eventually signed with Columbia, which released "Marty Stuart" in 1986.
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