John Michael Montgomery talks about the secret ingredient for a hit song.

John Michael Montgomery is saying goodbye to the road, goodbye to touring at the end of this year. Remember the first time you heard John Michael Montgomery's song "The Little Girl" on the radio? John was surprised the label wanted him to record the song.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bob Peggott Radio. I'm Bob pay it another great story
for you today. Had a chance to interview John Michael
Montgomery a couple of years ago. Now this is the
year that John Michael Montgomery's going to quit touring. If
you want to hear John Michael Montgomery sing, you've got
to go see him. Not his house, but you've had
to go see him in Kentucky. He's given it up
on the road. John Michael Montgomery's done a lot of

(00:20):
great songs, been very good for radio. I mean, I
swear I love the Way You Love Me sold the
Grundy County auction incident. But you remember the very first
time you heard a John Michael Montgomery song called the
Little Girl. Yeah, yeah, still remember that. I got chills
the first time I heard it. I had a chance
to talk to John Michael Montgomery about that song and

(00:42):
about his philosophy of cutting story song song that you recorded.
And I've been in radio nearly fifty years, but the
song that really hit me, and it hit a lot
of our listeners was the Little Girl.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
My goodness, yeah, you know, And I was really surprised
when the label played that song for me. Uh you know,
I I was like, they said, what do you think
that you said the song you think you would cut?

Speaker 3 (01:11):
Uh? And I'm like, oh absolutely.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
I said, if I can't cut songs like that on
an album, I just to quit singing country music.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
And and I said, I.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Definitely want to cut it, and uh uh.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
So we ended up putting on the album.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
What surprised me was the fact that the label said, well,
we want this to be the first single.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
And I went.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Really like, I said, you know, the content of that
song was a little dark and uh, but they said, yeah,
we want to We're going to give it a try,
and and radio absolutely uh embraced it and it became,
you know, a really big song for me. But I
you know, I grew up listening I tell people, I

(01:54):
grew up listening in an era back in the seventies
where you know, the trucker cbe radios and trucker song
for a bit, and you know, uh, you know, like
Red so Vine and guys like that, and they and
their songs were all about story songs, you know, these
songs that they would tell you this story and you
just sit.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
There and I mean your tears would be in.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
Your eyes and and uh, and then at the end
of the song there was this beautiful ending to it
and all that, and I just love those kind of songs.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
So, uh that.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Song and Letters from Home, yeah, kind of rounded out
my you know, rounded out my you know, uh, I guess, uh,
my full circle of kinds of music that I love singing.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
I love the love songs. I love the fun songs.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Uh, songs about life, you know, like life of Advance
and uh, things like that.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
But adding the.

Speaker 4 (02:48):
Story songs to you know, my career really really kind
of brought that awful circle. And and so and I
tell you know that when I sing the song sometimes
it's usually you look out in the crowd and sometimes
you see a couple.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
Of people out there in tears are coming down their eyes.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
I mean, I'm sitting there trying to hold back mind,
you know. I mean, because it's definitely powerful words. You
don't no doubt about it.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
Well, that's when you know you touch somebody too. You
got the emotions so crying watch down stage it on.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
And to me, that's what music's all about.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
I mean, if you can't sing a song that can't
bring people the mute emotion out, whether it's laughing, or crying,
you know, love it.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
I mean it's uh.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Like you know, I'm an old nightclub I spent years
in nightclubs and my job was to sing songs that
got people either on the dance floor or I mean,
you know that was I was an entertainer first. It's like,
you know, that's what how our dad raised me. In
my brother Eddie, you know, on stage, you have to

(03:53):
engage the crowd and if you want them to you know,
uh come back and say again. And and you know,
so obviously my philosophy when I went in the studio
was I don't really want to change how I'm doing
things from the club other than I want to find.

Speaker 3 (04:12):
My own songs to do it, you know.

Speaker 5 (04:14):
And and but to me, that's what especially country music
has been, that's what it's all always been about, is
the whole emotion that you know, people fall in love
with a song and it's it's it's.

Speaker 3 (04:32):
For the rest of their life, you know.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
And if you can make that happen where you've got
a fan for the rest of your life.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
So true. John Michael Montgomery, listen, go see John Michael
Montgomery on his final tour, because you will not be disappointed,
More stories, more interviews coming up again tomorrow. Bob Pickett Radio.
Remember follow me on Instagram. Bob Picket Radio on Instagram.
Check out some of these interviews on YouTube. Bob Pickett
Radio on YouTube. Yeah, I know it's the same name,

(04:57):
and of course we'll see on ihear art country stations
all across this country. A little bit later Bob Pickett Radio.
Spread the word and keep it country.