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September 2017
Features
10 Jeremy Pinnell
The reformed badboy is now a family guy and, for some rootsy Outlaw and
a powerful voice, Jeremy Pinnell is the man, thinks Duncan Warwick.
16 Wayne “The Train” Hancock
Jack Watkins tracks down the retro singer and songwriter who’s not a fan of
modern technology.
24 Erin Enderlin
FAMILY
GUY
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“The Train”
WAYNE “THE TRAIN” HAS STUCK WITH HIS
SIGNATURE SOUND FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
ESCHEWING MODERN TECHNOLOGY HE TOOK
A BIT OF TRACKING DOWN BUT JACK WATKINS
GOT HIM IN THE END.
58 Glen Campbell
W
Walt Trott bids farewell to the Rhinestone Cowboy.
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hen I mentioned Wayne Hancock’s name to
the editor earlier this year, he replied: “Oh,
love him, but haven’t heard much about him
recently.” I told him I assumed the reason
might be a serious motorcycle accident, but it seems I was
wrong. “Yeah, I turned my bike into an aeroplane,” says the
artist, laughing down the telephone line from his home
in Denton, North Texas about the serious incident, which
occurred back in 2014. “I was in a critical condition for
about two and a half months, broke eight ribs, dislocated
my left shoulder, and collapsed my left lung. I was pretty
messed up for a while. But I was back on the road two and a
half months later.”
They must make them practically bulletproof down
Denton way, but from what I’ve read about Wayne Hancock,
it figures. Not only did he get back out on the road more or
less straight away, but he also began work on a new album,
which came out towards the end of last year, with long-
time associate Lloyd Maines on production duties. Slingin’
Rhythm, from a performer who found his signature sound
early on in his career and stuck to it, doesn’t disappoint.
It blends the usual ingredients of jazz age, western swing,
honky tonk, country boogie and country blues, and tops
it off with a dash of the ‘50s rebel attitude that Hancock
always manages to inject, making his sound rooted, yet
timeless.
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“...when it comes to
recording albums I
just love, love, love
fiddle and steel and
a lot of sounds that
I guess are more
associated with a
more ‘traditional’
sound... that’s the
stuff that really gets
me going recording.”
FROM HIT SONGWRITER TO HER JAMEY JOHNSON-PRODUCED
LATEST, KELLY GREGORY CATCHES UP WITH ERIN ENDERLIN.
I
n Nashville it ain’t necessarily what you
can write, sometimes who you know
is even more important. Erin Enderlin
happens to know Jamey Johnson so she
pulled him in to produce her album, and she
goes way back with Chris Stapleton so he
too gets a guest spot on Whiskeytown Crier,
her latest long player which embraces the
concept album ethos like some kind of Cowboy
Peyton Place. We witness murder amongst
the residents of Whiskeytown, we are like
voyeurs hiding in the bushes as we spy on
dying relationships, and we witness the dark
underbelly of her fictional small town. Simply
put, Whiskeytown Crier is a masterpiece, and
one that will be embraced by fans of the new
generation of female writers with attitude such
as Brandy Clark.
Erin Enderlin is the writer behind songs
such as Alan Jackson’s Monday Morning Church
(which featured Patty Loveless and was her
first cut), Lee Ann Womack’s Last Call, and even
Luke Bryan’s critically acclaimed album cut You
Don’t Know Jack. A self-proclaimed lover of a
‘story song’ Enderlin has mastered the ability to
paint a picture in the opening couple of lines, a
talent she admires in others.
As well as having Johnson and Stapleton on
board, Whiskeytown Crier also includes a stone
country duet with Randy Houser - Our Love’s
The Coldest In Town - which should warm the
cockles of any a Conway and Loretta fan.
“I met Jamey through Moose Brown years
and years ago before Jamey had his first record
deal. Him and Moose have worked together
a lot and when I finally had a budget to go in,
Moose was telling Jamey about it and he said
he wanted to be a part of it and I was honoured
to have him there,” Enderlin shares on how she
secured Johnson to twiddle the knobs.
On the big-voiced Randy Houser joining
the party Enderlin says, “I had played some
rounds with Randy and known him around
town for several years and Moose had written
and worked with him too. He just came to mind
immediately when we started looking for a
killer country singer that could really convey
the heartache in that song. Randy knows how to
put the stank on something!”
With Chris Stapleton being the hottest thing
in anything resembling real country music since
his CMA appearance a couple of years back now
everybody wants him to grace their records but
Enderlin had a Trump card.
“When I moved into Nashville in 2003,
I moved into a house with several other
songwriters and music business folks. Chris
had a bachelor apartment in the basement that
shared a kitchen and living room with the rest
of the house and I rented a room upstairs and
that’s how I first met Chris. He is truly one of
the most talented singers and songwriters in
Nashville and a wonderful person to boot. I was
honoured that he’d take the time to come and
sing on my project.”
Recalling her early days in Nashville, Enderlin
says, “I moved to Murfreesboro, TN just outside
of Nashville to go to Middle Tennessee State
University in their Recording Industry program.
When I first started going out to shows in
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Courtesy of Billboard Inc.
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4 News
8 Tour Guide
21 The David Allan Page
22 Nice to meet y’all - Esther Rose
28 Nice to meet y’all - Jeremy Parsons
61 Americana Roundup
64 Americana & UK Country Charts
65 Billboard Country Charts
17
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Regulars
Charts
11
Page 10
Hancock
The man with the incredible baritone speaks to Duncan Warwick.
30 Album Reviews
53 Live Review
S
ome things are hard to fake. Being real might be the most
difficult of all. You can walk and talk like a country singer, you
can cite a list of Haggard, Jones and Lefty as being your biggest
influences, and claim to drink from a Mason Jar, drive a truck,
chew tobacco, fish, and even have the dirtiest of dirt poor
upbringings, but country fans know authenticity when they hear it. Sure,
there might be an endless list of songs that tap into as many country
clichés as a round of songwriters can pull together in a writing session,
package it up for some young gun in a Stetson, and we can all sing along
to it when we’ve had a few Wild Turkeys and 7UPs, but when the chips are
really down, when it comes to singer-songwriters, we know deep down if
it’s for real. This music we love so much is supposed to be the white man’s
blues after all. Ask Hank Williams, or Kris Kristofferson, Waylon, Jamey
Johnson, or even Doug Seegers.
For that matter, ask Jeremy Pinnell. When he sings of a night in the
county jail, a needle in his arm, or getting drunk, he’s not trying to be a
badass, he’s telling true stories through his songs. The way it’s meant to be.
Pinnell’s past is so chequered, in fact, that his songs have been the only
place he will actually talk about many of his experiences. The listener
can piece together snatches of a life that might have gone off the rails for
a while and has been redeemed by Pinnell opening his soul to the world
through his music. You know, the way it’s meant to be with music, when
it’s… real!
Wayne
54 Ray Scott
Reviews
HE SURE IMPRESSED WITH HIS OH/KY DEBUT AND
FEWER ALBUMS CAN HAVE BEEN MORE EAGERLY
AWAITED THAN PINNELL’S LATEST, TIES OF BLOOD AND
AFFECTION. DUNCAN WARWICK FINDS THE SINGER-
SONGWRITER IS IN HIS HAPPY PLACE.
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From hit songwriter to her Jamey Johnson-produced latest, Kelly Gregory
catches up with Erin Enderlin.
62 Who Killed Country Music? You keep replying. R
JEREMY
PINNELL
THE
RAYAL
McCOY
DESPITE THE TITLE OF HIS LATEST ALBUM BEING
GUITAR FOR SALE, RAY SCOTT HAS FOUND HIS
NICHE AS AN INDIE ARTIST SINCE LEAVING WARNER
BROTHERS TWELVE YEARS AGO. THE DEEP
BARITONE TALKS TO DUNCAN WARWICK
W
hen it comes to a baritone voice they don’t come
much more bassy than Ray Scott. Talking, singing,
either way it booms. It has gravitas, it has authority,
and it commands attention. If the albums dry up
for Ray Scott he could probably do rather well in Hollywood
voicing trailers for blockbusters and disaster movies and if
he pursued a career in politics he’d be downright dangerous.
Fortunately for us, though, Ray Scott has set a perfect example
of how to make it as an indie artist since leaving Warner
Brothers twelve years ago.
In his time with the majors Scott charted two singles on the
Billboard Hot Country chart, and set his cards on the table
with his now classic My Kind Of Music (which peaked at 39 but
enjoyed 25 weeks on the chart). Looking back at it now, it’s a
wonder that anything so forthrightly country could even make
it onto the chart in 2005, let alone one in which Scott ditches
his girlfriend because of her poor taste in music.
However, sticking to his old-school country guns Ray Scott
has continued releasing the records he wants to release and in
so doing has built a considerable fan base.
One of the reasons for this has been a continual high
standard of recording. Scott may have left Warners but the
quality of his output remained the same. “That’s always
been the goal.,” declares the singer born Carlton Ray Scott in
Semona, North Carolina.
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Glen
CAMPBELL
WALT TROTT LOOKS AT THE CAREER OF GLEN CAMPBELL
WHO PERSONIFIED COUNTRY-CRO SSOVER AND RECENTLY
SUCCUMBED TO ALZHEIMER’S.
“I
’m not a country singer
per se, I’m a country
boy who sings,” claimed
superstar Glen Campbell,
who on Aug. 8, at 81,
succumbed to Alzheimer’s, following a
lengthy fight with that disease. Famed
for crossover successes such as Wichita
Lineman, Rhinestone Cowboy and
Southern Nights, Campbell was also
hailed as a first-rate guitarist, backing
such legendary stars as Elvis Presley,
Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra. He even
toured as a Beach Boy when member
Brian Wilson bowed out.
We first met during his early 1970s
European tour, backstage at the
Jahrhunderthalle concert venue in
Frankfurt, Germany, where newcomer
Anne Murray was sharing the bill. I
was in his dressing room prior to our
interview (with my wife), when he
emerged from the shower wearing
nothing but a towel around his waist.
(He soon slipped into a robe and my Mrs.
hastily departed.) He was a character,
but a good interview, always upfront and
obviously pleased by his success.
Following his Grammy award-winning
1967 breakthrough hit Gentle On My
Mind, he hosted the Emmy-nominated
Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (CBS-TV,
1969-1972), and appeared opposite
John Wayne in the ’69 Oscar-winning
film “True Grit,” which earned Glen
a Golden Globe nomination, and he
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1936-2017
starred in “Norwood,” both adapted
from Charles Portis’ novels.
Glen recorded over 70 albums, nine at
#1, including Platinum-selling Gentle On
My Mind, By the Time I Get To Phoenix,
Wichita Lineman and Galveston. His
last #1 was Southern Nights (1977),
though he went on to score Top 10s or
better including Any Which Way You
Can (heard in the Clint Eastwood movie
of that title), The Hand That Rocks The
Cradle” (with Steve Wariner) and his
final hit, She’s Gone, Gone Gone (#6,
1989).
Glen Travis Campbell was born April
22, 1936 in Delight, Ark. (near the family
farm in Billstown). He was the seventh
son in a family of eight boys and four
girls, who all sang and played guitar.
Glen began pickin’ the strings at age
4, and a year later was gifted with his
very own guitar. Among his inspirations
growing up were the artists on WSM’s
Grand Ole Opry, and recordings by
Barney Kessel and Django Reinhardt. A
natural evolvement was Glen’s singing
in the Church of Christ choir.
As a teenager, he drifted off to
Houston, Texas, landing a stint in a
three-piece band, before gravitating
to his uncle Dick Bills’ country band
in Albuquerque, which toured the
Southwest honky tonk circuit (1954-
’58). He was only 17 when he married
first wife Diane Kirk, 15, who gave birth
to their first baby, who died. Before
divorcing, they had a daughter, Debby.
At 24, Glen moved to Los Angeles,
soon writing commercials and recording
demos, while also occasionally touring
with The Champs, a pop music troupe
famed for their single Tequila. His “in”
with L.A.’s Wrecking Crew session
players, made him a much in-demand
guitarist, as well as backup vocalist, for
the distinguished likes of Ricky Nelson,
Merle Haggard and The Mamas & Papas.
Glen’s indie recording of Jerry
Capehart’s Turn Around, Look At Me
garnered attention enough to convince
Capitol Records to sign the promising
talent. The song was later covered
by such acts as The Lettermen, The
BeeGees, The Vogues and Esther Phillips.
First, Glen was “featured” on an album
Big Bluegrass Special, headlining the
Green River Boys (1962), which boasted
a Top 20 single Kentucky Means Paradise
(written by Merle Travis, another of his
pickin’ heroes).
Finally five years later, Glen scored
a Top 20 solo with his revival of Jack
Scott’s classic Burning Bridges, which
gave full advantage to his dynamic
vocals. Months later, he hit the jackpot
with John Hartford’s effusive ballad
Gentle On My Mind, earning both
Glen and the song Grammy awards.
Amazingly enough, the single peaked out
at only Top 40 pop and #30 country, but
spawned his #1 best-selling LP of that
title, charting Billboard 88 weeks, selling
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