Tag

Country Music History

Sep 16
Love29

Kenny Chesney

By Music, Podcast No Comments

Our host, Gary Scott Thomas, has spent nearly 50 years in radio, and during that time he has met plenty of artists who went on to become stars. But there was one he never saw coming: Kenny Chesney.

This week on Once Around the Country, Gary walks through Kenny’s full journey, from a self-produced demo album sold out of the trunk of his car in Johnson City clubs to a publishing deal at the Opryland Music Group to a first record deal that ended when the label shut down to the persistence that finally landed him a deal with BNA Records. Gary also shares a personal memory from a moment in a program director’s office, when a young and slightly discouraged Kenny Chesney needed a laugh and a little belief from the people around him.

Years later, when Kenny had become a superstar, he returned the favor by being the first big guest on KRTY’s new streaming radio station. This is a story about Kenny Chesney, hard work, humility, timing, and what happens when someone keeps going even when the path ahead isn’t obvious.

This episode is sponsored by:

Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!

(Use code “Gary” to get $89 off any service!) License #: 679261

In this Episode:

  • Kenny Chesney’s childhood in Luttrell, Tennessee, and his athletic beginnings
  • Attending Gibbs High School, the same school that later produced Morgan Wallen
  • Discovering bluegrass music at East Tennessee State
  • Meeting Alison Krauss while both were still students
  • Selling over a thousand self-produced albums with no promotion
  • Moving to Nashville and playing the Bluebird Cafe and the Turf
  • Signing his first record deal on Capricorn Records in 1994
  • The label closing and what came next
  • Signing with BNA Records in 1995 and his first top ten hits
  • The moment Gary and his radio partner Julie helped Kenny push through self-doubt
  • Kenny agreeing to help launch the radio station’s move to streaming
  • What Kenny Chesney is really like, according to someone who has known him for decades

Bio:

Kenny Chesney is one of country music’s biggest stars, but his story started far from the stadiums. A Tennessee native and former college baseball and football player, Chesney discovered bluegrass at East Tennessee State before moving to Nashville and building his career one club, song, and fan at a time. Known for hits like “How Forever Feels,” “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” and “That’s Why I’m Here,” Chesney’s career is a story of hard work, persistence, and knowing when to change course.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennychesney/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug 31
Love42

Dolly Parton

By Music, Podcast No Comments

We lost the biggest star country music has ever had.

This week on Once Around the Country, our host, Gary Scott Thomas, takes you back to a Saturday afternoon in Red Level, Alabama, where an eight-year-old boy stood in a plowed field, fire ants and all, as Porter Wagoner performed on a flatbed trailer and a young Dolly Parton walked onto the stage. Gary had no idea then that he was watching someone who would become one of country music’s biggest stars.

In this episode, Gary shares what he remembers about that day, industry insight from his years in country radio, and a heartfelt tribute to a woman who built an empire, stayed true to herself, and never forgot where she came from.

Gary also talks about Dolly’s relationship with Porter, her rise from country music star to cultural icon, her marriage to Carl Dean, and the few moments he was lucky enough to speak with her. And at the end, he’ll tell you what happened when he asked Dolly if she remembered that first concert. Listen now.

This episode is sponsored by:

(Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!)

In this episode:

  • Gary’s first concert ever, and why it still sticks with him today
  • The real story behind Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton’s partnership and eventual split
  • How “I Will Always Love You” started as a professional goodbye letter
  • Dolly’s business instincts, including the decision that cost Elvis Presley the song and made Dolly millions
  • Dollywood, her marriage to Carl Dean, and what she was like one-on-one
  • Why Gary believes Dolly was country music’s first true crossover starrescue

Quotations:

“Honey, when you’re singing on a flatbed trailer on a hundred-degree day in Red Level, Alabama, you don’t forget that.” – Dolly Parton

“She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.” – Gary Scott Thomas

Bio:

Dolly Parton is a country music legend, singer, songwriter, actress, author, and entrepreneur who rose from a large, poor family in Tennessee to become one of the most recognizable and beloved artists in the world. Known for her distinctive voice, songwriting talent, humor, and business sense, she built a career that crossed from country music into pop culture while remaining proud of her Appalachian roots. Her catalog includes classics such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “I Will Always Love You,” and her legacy extends beyond music through Dollywood, philanthropy, and her commitment to literacy and children’s causes.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dollyparton/

Aug 17
Love45

Shania Twain

By Music, Podcast No Comments

Before Taylor Swift, there was Shania Twain.

This week on Once Around the Country, Gary breaks down the real story behind one of the most successful and most underrated careers in music history. Shania Twain grew up as Eileen Edwards in Windsor and Timmins, Ontario, raising money for her family by singing in bars from age 8. She lost both of her parents in a car accident at 21 and stepped in to raise her younger siblings while working six nights a week at a resort. From there, she became Shania Twain and built a career that redefined what a country artist could be, from the record-breaking sales of The Woman in Me and Come On Over to a Super Bowl halftime show and a heartbreak so public it played out like a soap opera.

This episode covers her childhood, her early years playing bars for tips, the loss of her parents, her marriage to producer Mutt Lange, the explosion of Come On Over, her Lyme disease diagnosis and vocal struggles, and how she rebuilt her voice and her career on her own terms.

This episode is sponsored by:

(Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!)

In this episode:

  • Shania Twain’s childhood in Windsor and Timmins, Ontario
  • Growing up with food scarcity and family hardship
  • Singing in bars at age eight to help support her family
  • The loss of her parents and raising her siblings
  • How Eileen Edwards became Shania Twain
  • Meeting producer Robert “Mutt” Lange
  • The Woman in Me and Come On Over album success
  • Shania Twain’s record-breaking album sales
  • Her Super Bowl halftime performance
  • Her divorce from Mutt Lange and the story behind it
  • Her Lyme disease diagnosis and vocal cord dysfunction
  • Why Shania Twain deserves more credit as a music industry pioneer

Bio:

Shania Twain is one of the most successful and influential country music crossover artists of all time. Born Eileen Edwards in Ontario, Canada, she began performing as a child and overcame a difficult upbringing before building a career that would take her from small-town bars to the biggest stages in the world. With hits like “Any Man of Mine,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “From This Moment On,” along with the massive success of The Woman in Me and Come On Over, Shania helped redefine what a country music superstar could be. Her story also includes personal heartbreak, the loss of her singing voice, and an extraordinary determination to keep performing and creating.

Aug 10
Love41

Johnny Cash

By Music, Podcast No Comments

Long before Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson got credit for starting outlaw country, Johnny Cash was already living it. 

This episode of Once Around the Country traces how a poor farm boy from Arkansas, born with only initials for a name, became the man behind one of the most legendary live albums ever recorded.

The episode covers Johnny’s growing outlaw reputation, his arrests, his drug use, and the empathy he developed for the men he met behind bars. That empathy led to a dream he chased for over a decade: recording a live album inside Folsom State Prison. Record executives thought it was a terrible idea. Johnny thought it might save his career.

On January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash walked into Folsom State Prison alongside June Carter, the Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins, and his backing band the Tennessee Three. He recorded a concert that revived his career and became one of Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums of all time.

This episode is sponsored by:

(Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!)

In this episode:

  • Why Johnny Cash wasn’t actually born “Johnny”
  • The tragedy that shaped his childhood
  • How Sun Records changed his career
  • The surprising reason he always wore black
  • Johnny Cash’s arrests and drug struggles
  • Why Folsom Prison became his greatest performance
  • How Merle Haggard’s life changed after seeing Johnny perform
  • Why At Folsom Prison still ranks among the greatest live albums ever made

Quotations:

“God works in mysterious ways. Maybe you just get the talent you need, not what you want.”

“When you grow up poor, you learn what you need to spend money on. And washing a suit every other day is just something you don’t need to.”

Bio:

Johnny Cash (born J.R. Cash, February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an iconic American singer, songwriter, and musician. Known as “The Man in Black,” he blended country, rockabilly, rock and roll, folk, and gospel. He sold over 90 million records, earned 13 Grammy Awards, and was inducted into both the Country Music and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame.