Author: truecountrypodcast

Hilary Williams, granddaughter of the one-and-only Hank Williams, and daughter of country superstar Hank Jr, joins the podcast to talk love for music at an early age in the family (1:47), the car wreck that nearly took her life and was the inspiration for the music on her 1st record (3:04), making her Grand Ole Opry debut, and the talent throughout the Williams family (8:23), the venues and locations that she’d love to play (11:20), the relationship between the Williams family, its legacy on country, and country music fans (12:18), what True Country is to her (15:00), and more.

Rod Picott, singer-songwriter based out of Nashville, joins the podcast to share how he’s built a long career with his guitar and the songs he’s written.

Frank Foster, Nashville-based independent artist with a unique approach to his success, joins the podcast and talks songwriting inspiration, selling out shows before he’d ever played live, what True Country is to him, and more.

Lloyd Maines, prolific musician & producer, father of Dixie Chicks Superstar Natalie Maines, and ACL Hall of Fame inductee joins the podcast! He discusses how he started playing music and where he got his first pedal steel guitar (1:55), developing from a teenage honky-tonk player to studio musician (5:16), the different styles he played that brought him different work (7:00), coming to produce, play, or both on more than 4,000 records (12:27), some of his favorite musicians to work with while making current records (16:53), tough moments in his career (18:50), one of the best decisions he made in his career that lead to his success (22:02), getting to see and contribute to his daughter Natalie’s success with the Dixie Chicks (25:06), what it’s like to be a successful musician and also a father to a superstar artist (27:38), keeping things in perspective while watching his daughter and the Dixie Chicks become wildly successful (28:22), what he’d do differently if starting out today (32:20), a chance encounter with Chuck Berry (39:21), what True Country is to him (44:25), and more.

Radney Foster, singer/songwriter with multiple top-ten hits, joins the podcast and discusses starting out as a musician (2:43), answering the call from Nashville (6:25), his development in the songwriting process (10:17), the tough moments in a long career (16:35), personal voices and perspectives that are represented in each song written (18:44), the best moments in a long career (20:54), what he sees in the industry today, and how he would approach it as a newcomer (22:21), what he’s working on today (28:00), a unique day of writing with Guy Clark and another unexpected star (31:19), what True Country is to him (35:57), and more.

Country Legend Johnny Lee, the Urban Cowboy, joins the podcast and shares insights on his early career (1:43), how things changed after his success with the classic film ‘Urban Cowboy’ (4:42), the lows (7:50) and highs (9:33) of a long career in the music business, what he’d do differently if starting his career today (12:03), what True Country is to him (15:12), and more.

Ray Scott, artist and songwriter based in Nashville TN, joins the podcast and tells all about how he started playing music (1:40), his goals when arriving in Nashville (5:07), what it took to get songs cut and progress made in Nashville (7:31), a few key things he learned from that process (11:55), the good and bad of working as an independent writer and artist (17:45) and support for that music (19:54), what he is working on next (27:55), what he’s doing differently with his current efforts with years of experience as a successful independent artist (30:51), what True Country is to him (35:05), and more.

Mike Severson, founder and owner of Songwriter City based in Nashville TN, joins the podcast and talks how he got started in the music business (2:46), making the move to Nashville (6:30), what he experienced during the big radio station consolidations (9:56), some of the high points in his career (15:20), how he started Songwriter City and what his unique shows provide (20:09), what True Country is to him (25:28), and more.

Beth Nielsen Chapman, Hall of Fame Songwriter with multiple #1 hits to include Strong Enough To Bend (#1 for Tanya Tucker) and Nothin’ I Can Do About It Now (#1 for Willie Nelson) to name a few, Beth is a True Country professional with decades of experience. She joins the podcast and discusses her roots in songwriting (2:00), experiencing and participating in the incredible music from Muscle Shoals (4:25), the top 20 Billboard single “Down on my Knees” being heard for the first time by then-receptionist Trisha Yearwood, through the wall of the publishing company office they worked at together (5:45), the time it took to come back to music after her first major solo effort went nowhere (7:30), one of the Beach Boys pushing Beth to move to Nashville after hearing her songs performed in a lounge in Mobile, AL (9:18), the major struggles in personal life and the industry that she endured during her career (11:00), the high points of her career, including getting a call to write a song personally for Willie Nelson and being inducted into the Hall of Fame (18:32), what True Country is to her (29:13), and more.

Joe Nichols discusses how he got started as an artist (1:29), the tough but defining moment when he knew he belonged (3:29), the funny odd jobs he worked to get by (5:23), how he coped with disappointment and rejection when coming to Nashville (8:24), being told ‘no’ on every one of his first 31 opportunities (9:40), his 1st Grammy experience, and an odd encounter with Queen Latifah and Halle Berry (12:53), what he’d do differently if starting out in the music business today (15:10), what inspired his ‘Never Gets Old’ album and the response he’s seen from it (16:14), what True Country is to him (19:13), and more.

Country music legend Mickey Gilley joins the podcast and discusses his first recording taking 50+ years to do anything for him (2:05), musical trivia of artists who played on his records (2:40), how a B-side jukebox throwaway tune became his first #1 record (3:27), wanting to be a rock-n-roller like cousin Jerry Lee Lewis (4:45), Urban Cowboy reunions (6:02), camaraderie with the fans (9:53), highest points of his career (11:08), finding his niche when creating his hit songs (15:07), the next Mickey Gilley on keys (18:25), what True Country is to him (19:42) and more.

Glen Templeton, rising star based in Nashville, talks following in his father’s footsteps (2:06), songwriting being key to country artists’ identity (4:16), his own turning point to making the dream become his reality (6:10), the peaks & valleys from a struggling musician to playing for thousands (9:55), the true value of living out the American dream in this country (10:45), giving fans what they ask for in traditional country music artists (12:40), calling on his rural upbringing in his music and songwriting (14:20), the move to Nashville (15:22), adoption into the Texas scene (18:04), carving the hard path the right way (22:14), a story about George Jones’ special medicine (25:48), what True Country is to him (28:47), and more.