Exploring Nashville Music History: T Graham Brown and his Journey from 80s Hits to Modern Collaborations in Music City

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Speaker 1: Taking a Walk Nashville.

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Speaker 2: Hey, y'all, it's Sarah Harrelson, your host of the Taking a Walk Nashville podcast, and today I am sitting down with country artist Tea Graham Brown. Such rich history in Nashville. I can't wait for you to hear a conversation.

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Speaker 3: But first, I'm.

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Speaker 2: Also excited because my new EP, Just the Beginning, drops this Friday, May fifteenth. I hope you will go listen to it on all music platforms and check out the short film on YouTube. I go back to Knoxville, Tennessee, back to Birmingham, Alabama, where I'm from. So I hope you will learn more about me and my story by checking out Just the Beginning under Sarah Harrelson on all music platforms. Now join me today as I sit down and speak with country artist Tea Graham Brown. Welcome to Taking a Walk Nashville with your hosts singer songwriter Sarah Harrelson.

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Speaker 4: Hi, everyone, This is Sarah Harrelson, your host of tikawalf Nashville, and joining a today is t Graham Brown. He is one of country music's most distinctive voices, known for blending country, soul and gospel influences.

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Speaker 3: Into his style that's uniquely his own.

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Speaker 4: He first rose to national fame in the eighties with a string of hit songs including Helen, High Water, Darlene, and Wine Into Water. Over the course of his career, he's started more than twenty singles and earned a loyal following for both his powerhouse vocals.

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Speaker 3: And heartfelt songwriting.

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Speaker 4: His album From Memphis to Muscle Shole celebrated the deep soul roots that have influenced his music throughout his career and became his first number one album. Today, he continues to tour across the country and is currently.

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Speaker 3: Back in the studio working on Murray Musick. Thank you so much for being here with me.

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Speaker 1: Today, Sarah, you sure are smart. How did you know that much about.

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Speaker 4: Well? I definitely have had a lot of information, But I also grew up listening to a.

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Speaker 3: Lot of your music.

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Speaker 4: And you know you've been back in the studio working on a new album. So what can fans expect from your latest project?

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Speaker 5: Well, I don't know if you're familiar with the Gaither gospel gurger, I'm doing an album for them.

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Speaker 1: It's kind of.

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Speaker 5: A R and B gospel record, Paul, and I'm going to have Vinceville is going to be on it, and awesome gospel singer David Felts and Jason krab And a big star these days of in Christian country radio. The Christian country radio scene is Zach Williams is going to be on there, and we'll probably get a couple.

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Speaker 1: More folks on it. It's really cool. We're about halfway done with it.

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Speaker 5: I'm gonna be very happy with the end result.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I can't wait.

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Speaker 4: I can't wait to hear that, especially collaboration with Zach Williams.

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Speaker 3: And talking about previous music.

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Speaker 4: Your album From Memphis to Muscle Shoals that became your first number one album. What did that moment mean to you personally after you know, a long, cool year.

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Speaker 5: Well, you know, it goes without saying it was very cool. It was number one on the Blues album's chart, so I you know, I luckily had a big hit album on the blues, the hit album on gospel, hit album on country. So I'm doing what I want to do. I never had a rock record, but I'd love to do one.

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Speaker 1: And you know, we were talking about Zach Williams.

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Speaker 5: Zach Williams on the From Memphis to muscle shows record.

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Speaker 1: He's doing itting with me on one of a Man Loves a Woman.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, we went down to Fame Studios and Muscle Shows and cut fourteen nineteen sixties soul songs. I was talking to Dwight Yoakum and he asked me what I've been up to and I told him and he asked me if i'd cut a certain song and I said yes, and he asked if he could sing on it, and I went, are you kid? Yeah, I s I sent the tracks out to Hollywood and h he did a due it went back and sang harmony and he's a perfectionist. And when I got it back, when he sent it back to me, I thought, man, I need to call Tangier, And so I called Tanya and wine On Sammy Hagar and Zach Williams and Randy Howser, Sam Morphroms, the Late Great Sam Morphan Sam and Dad Deubert mcclennon a Little Anthony from Little Anthony and the Imperials just.

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Speaker 1: Got eleven do this on it and didn't.

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Speaker 5: It wasn't planned to be a duet album, but anyway, it's a really cool record.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: So many great collaborations on them. I think you mentioned Randy Hauser sitting on the dock.

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Speaker 3: Of the bay with you so good. How did some of those duets come together?

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Speaker 4: Did you pick some of the artists or did know I put with them agether, Oh amazing.

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Speaker 1: I wanted to have some of my heroes.

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Speaker 5: Several of those those guys and Betty Levett, they're in their eighties and I just wanted the world to see that they could still sing and still carry the mails.

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Speaker 1: So that was a lot of like like.

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Speaker 5: Delbert's you know eighty two or thirty sound More was eighty nine. Little Anthony's probably eighty eight now. Eddie Floyd, who wrote and sang the original knock on Wood du edit with me on knock on Wood and he's in probably his mid eighties so and then the rest of them are probably my age.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, I called them all up.

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Speaker 3: Very cool.

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Speaker 4: Yeah. I don't know if you've been to the latest Muscle Shoals exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame, but it's really cool. I got to go to the opening concert for the exhibit. Kandy Staton and Betty Levett performed, and it's so cool just hearing the you know, the music from the show, so I'm glad you got to put your own spin on it.

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Speaker 5: People don't realize that I cut most of my hits in muscle shows.

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Speaker 1: I've been going to muscle shows since eighty four. I know all about muscle show.

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Speaker 5: I'll probably go see that ex it, but I guarantee you there's nothing in the exhibit that I don't already know, and that I was right in.

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Speaker 1: The middle of it.

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Speaker 5: And I'm near the Muscle Shows rhythm section the Swampers I played on three or four of my hits.

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Speaker 1: I know them all.

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Speaker 5: And one of the coolest things about this tremendous to Musca Shows record is I got to get my friend David Hood, who's the bass player of the original Mosca shows Vio Sis.

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Speaker 1: So it was kind of like a full circle moment. No, man, I know most of shows.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, that's amazing. You recorded most of your hits there.

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Speaker 4: It's such a short drive from Nashville, and this year you're also celebrating the fortieth anniversary of your hit single I Wish that I Could Hurt that way again. You've recorded more than a dozen albums, charted over twenty singles. What's the biggest lesson this music industry has taught you over the year.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't know, and I'll brag the man.

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Speaker 5: I want an Emmy too, and I'll get to be in movies every now and then.

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Speaker 1: I have wed I tell you, I had a show on serioush Sam you did.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's on Prime Country channel.

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Speaker 4: I've definitely listened to that and tuned in how did you?

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Speaker 1: I did bug them.

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Speaker 5: For about three years and they finally, I think they finally just wanted to get me, you know, shoe me away, and they say, okay, we'll let you do this. And that's seven and a half years ago, so that's a lot of fun. But yeah, man, the good thing is I'm seventy one and nobody tells me what to do anymore. I've already been there and done that. All these new artists are having to try to get their songs played everywhere it is, you know, you know, whatever format is in I've done all that. I'm glad. I would hate to be starting out right now. I'm glad it's all behind it.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it's definitely a different dynamic now and you're taking the reins. But in addition to radio and your album, your voice has also been recognized on other campaigns like McDonald's the Taco Bell Run for the Border television spots.

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Speaker 3: What got you into writing jingles?

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Speaker 1: I had a friend to call me up the first time. The first jingle.

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Speaker 5: I I went to New York Tom Anthony Music and we did a Coca Cola commercial.

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Speaker 1: I've been lucky, man.

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Speaker 5: I've done Coke and Mountain Dew and selling up and uh Doctor Pepper and uh Taco Bell, McDonald's, Hardy's, Burger King, KFC, every car and truck, uh basically every Budwiser, Stros Miller Cours, all these I even did.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't.

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Speaker 5: The Almond, Joy Commerce, Disneyland, Harris Casinos just own and on them. I used to be the man both. You know, if I wanted, if they wanted something, they called me.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's so cool that you have the opportunity to do that. Definitely a recognizable voice.

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Speaker 4: I think anyone listening in should check out your Taco Bell commercials.

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Speaker 1: They're fun to go on YouTube and look at a young t Gray and Brown. Go to YouTube and look up the one with little Richard.

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Speaker 3: Me I sware to. They need to resurface those commercials. Yeah, no, kid, Well, you are also a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

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Speaker 4: I loved seeing the video of Van Scale introducing you to become a member of the opry.

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Speaker 3: Such a special moment.

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Speaker 4: Do you remember the first time you stepped onto the Opry stage as a performer.

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Speaker 1: It's kind of hazy.

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Speaker 5: It would have been in nineteen eighty five, and people always asked me if I remember remember it or remember who introduced me? The night they inducted me, they showed these old videos and reporter Wagner introducing me, and I looked so young, and I thought, man, that might be the first time I was ever on it. So but hey, I was on an opry last night. I'll be on it two times next week. I loved standing in that circle. Was nothing like it. It's the biggest career achievement of Sheila and I have ever gotten.

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Speaker 3: Wow. Yeah, that's wonderful.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, people can look forward to you still performing at the Grand Ole Opry. See Graham Brown, thank you so much for being on taking a walk in Nashville today. I had one last question for you. What is the most memorable walk you have taken in Nashville?

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Speaker 1: The most memorable walk. Yes, God, Lee, Bob, that's hard, that's hard to say. I used to love going to the Parthenon. Have you ever been to the vall time?

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Speaker 3: I have?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that was one of my favorite things.

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Speaker 5: I guess one of my favorite walks would be when I first moved to town. I started singing demos and I would walk up and down Sixteenth Avenue when it was still music road and beg for opportunities to sing demos.

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Speaker 1: And then that all.

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Speaker 5: Came true and I got to be the guy on demos, and then that led to my first record deal on Capitol Records. So that's probably one of my favorite waltz is going up and down Sixteenth Avenue.

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Speaker 4: It's so funny because John Barry said earlier the same thing.

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Speaker 3: He's like, well, I love Centennial Bark, but when I wasn't doing that walking up in.

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Speaker 1: Down sixties really well, hey, that's the way.

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Speaker 3: It was exactly. Yeah.

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Speaker 4: Well, thank you so much for beings today, and I hope listeners will check out your new music timeless hits and check you out at the grandele Opera.

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Speaker 1: You know what, Sarah, you are very good at this.

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Speaker 3: Thank you.

00:12:32
Speaker 1: I bre and God bless you thanks for listening to Taking a Walk Nashville with Sarah Harrelson.

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Speaker 2: Please check out our other shows produced by Buzznight Media Productions Comedy Save Me and Music Save Me hosted by Lynn Hoffman, and Take It a Walk hosted by Yours Truly buzz Night.

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Speaker 1: All shows are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and are part of the iHeart podcast network