September 25, 2025 • 39 mins
Imagine leaving everything you know behind, chasing a dream with nothing but a guitar and raw talent. That's exactly what Terri Clark did, transforming from a Calgary hopeful into a country music icon. How did she conquer Nashville and become a household name? Stick around to uncover the pivotal moments and relentless dedication that fueled her extraordinary rise to stardom. Terri Clark interview from yesteryears - with Brandon Morrell
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to another edition of Backstage Pass powered by the
Sports Guys Podcast with your host Brandon Morrell.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hey, it's Terry Clark and you are listening to my
duet with Dirk Spentley. Let it snow for my Christmas album.
It's Christmas Shares on the Backstage Past.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
You're listening to the Backstage Past powered by the Sports
Guys Podcast dot com. It's a grand slam of music
and sports presented by Tour Guitars, morel Afdoors, Beaumont, Fast Signs,
Reactivin dot Com and Ernest W Grocery. This is show
home for some of the hardest new artists music today
as well as some of the greatest artists from yesterday.
(00:43):
Here are Brandon Morell and Nick Canizalez exclusively on the
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dot com.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
And welcome in to the Backstage Past. Of course, they're
always powered by our good friends at the Sports Guys
Podcast dot com. That being Creative Inc. They managed that
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Speaker 4 (01:07):
Here.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
If you're in the market for a custom made guitar,
you can check those guys out at Tourguitars dot Us.
So place to welcome on a country music icon. She
got started in the nineties and of course all she
needed was road and a little gasoline, and boy, she
never looked back after that too. Place to welcome on,
Miss Terry Clark. Here to the backstage past and Terry
hard thing's going.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I'm great, Brendan. How are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Hey, We're doing good. And like I said, this is
my dream interview. So anybody that knows me knows I'm
the biggest Terry Clark fan out there, no doubt about
it too. So hey, I do want to start back
to ninety five, and let's talk a lot about better
things to do, Terry, and just the immaculate career you've
had with all the hit songs and of course millions
of albums sold. You know when you look back and
you start, time gets away from us and starts to
(01:51):
fly a little bit. Just tell me the impact of
better things to do and poor, poor, pitiful me and
just all the great songs that you had back in
the nineties two. I mean, do you still remember it
like it was yesterday?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Well, I will say this and I've heard some other
friends like in the business, like Jody Messina and people
I've interviewed for I have a radio show I've interviewed
for it that we all kind of say the same thing.
When you're in your heyday and everything explodes after struggling
for so long and working so hard and just dreaming
about these things, it almost kind of hits you, like
(02:24):
like slamming on the brakes and everything behind you. It's
like a seven car pile up, and everything's a blur.
Honest to god, everything's a blur, and everybody is kind
of you wanted everybody. You wanted people to notice you,
and everybody starts noticing you all at the same time,
and you're getting tour offers and you're going on tours
and everyone wants to be your friend, and you're the
(02:46):
most popular kid in the room all of a sudden,
and it's like and I was never the most popular
kid in the room, so I didn't know what to
do with any of it. And it was it was
it was a little awkward feeling. It was heady, it
was surreal. It was it was not super grounding. When
you take off.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Like that and and and become what you always dreamed of,
because you can try to prepare for that all you want,
but when it happens, I mean, you've got you've got
to have some some pretty.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Some pretty great anchors tethering you to the ground in
your life.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
And that's why I think a lot of artists can
go sideways really quick, because I think it's just a
really heavy experience. And there's about at least five years
of my life during that time that there's a lot
of blurry moments. Like I remember I'm on the George
Straight tour, but I had band members at the time
that would remember particular incidences and or going to this
(03:44):
bar after the show or that bar, and I'm like,
I don't even remember all of this, Like it just
was And I don't know if it was just because
I was drinking a lot more back then, but I don't.
I'm like, how do you guys remember these details about
specific venues and conversations, and like they it just retained
so much more information than I did, because you know,
they were there to play the show that night, but
(04:05):
I had so many other things going on during the
day and radio visits and it was just a lot
I cherished those days, and I wish I remembered them
in more detail than I do. I remember, I remember
the big stuff, and I remember the feeling. The feeling
was elation and disbelief, but it was it was also
(04:28):
some fear and some apprehension and some anxiety too. It's
a lot of pressure.
Speaker 6 (04:34):
It is.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
And like I said, those songs, like I said, will
be synonymous for many years to come. I guess when
you look back at those songs, like I said, a
few titles better things to do, poor poor Pitif me
girls lie to I just want to be mad. What
was so special and what I loved about it was
the writing, Terry. The writing behind those songs were amazing,
the people you worked with, the camps, I mean everything
writing songs and the message comes out where people can
(04:54):
just resonate with it. Talk about just the writing behind
those songs and the different teams that you worked with
to put the project together.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Well, you know what, you can't do anything alone in
this business. You need a team. You need it's a
concentrated effort of many. And I've had you know, I've
had three different managers during my career, but I've been
with the same one now for eighteen nineteen years Clarence Faulding,
and you know, he has an incredible team that helps
(05:23):
me with things. And Clarence has always looked for ways
to keep me out there and keep me relevant and
doing things. So but as far as the early records go,
you know, I was with Chris Waters and Tom Shapiro
were my writing partners for much of the first three albums,
and Keith Stegall, who signed me to Mercury Records, actually
(05:46):
put me in Chris waters crosshairs and said, this girl,
we're going to make a record on her. Would you
like to co produce the record and write some songs
with her? So Chris brought Tom Shapiro into the writing thing,
and I had been writing songs. I wrote If I
Were You before I ever met Chris Waters and Tom Spyro.
I wrote that song by myself when I was waiting tables,
(06:06):
and that wound up on the first album. But you know,
we became this songwriting team that we just turned out
song after song after song, and almost everything we wrote
was really good. I was on fire at the time.
I think at my peak as a songwriter. I think
there was a ten year period where I was really
writing great songs, and the people that I was getting
(06:27):
to write with were really great writers, so we honed
in on something cool. That was My style was kind
of a turbo honky tonk traditional. It was country, but
it was amped up country, and there weren't a lot
of females in the mid nineties really doing that kind
of thing. There was. It was more of a pop
(06:48):
country thing. You know. Shania was out there, and Faith
was huge, and Martina was huge, and I came along
with this cowboy hat on, wearing wranglers and kicking dust
around with my boots and singing better things to do it. It
just kind of a lot of people latched onto it,
and a lot of girls out there that were in
high school at the time, you know, and in the
four H club who felt like they didn't fit in,
(07:10):
who liked country music and lived a country lifestyle, found
somebody that they could relate to. And I've got so
much feedback on letters like that over the years from
people that more than anything, I think that's one thing
that makes me so proud is that so many young
girls were able to relate and didn't feel like they were,
you know, a misfit or out there somewhere and that
(07:32):
there was somebody out there.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
That could relate to talk to me a little bit
about your podcast, because I love Country Gold. I love
what you do on there, the fan interactiveness and of
course the unedited type stuff, and you get up real
close and personal kind of like I do here on
the show with all the great country artists out there.
What kind of brought you to podcasting? And I think
you have a fantastic show, Terry.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I love it, thank you well. It's nineties country based.
It's called Country Gold, produced by Westwood One, and I
have been doing it for three years now. First year
I got nominated for a CMA Award for Radio Broadcast Personality,
which blew me away because I never won one as
an artist, and I thought, well, maybe I'll actually get
one one of these days. But it's actually doing very well.
(08:13):
We're on one hundred and seventy stations across the country.
But we also you know, play the unedited version of
the interview on my podcast, and some of them are
just more candid than others. There are some artists that
are just just you know, I think when they talk
to another artist, there's a guard that gets let down
and the fact that they trust me and I'm not
(08:34):
going to you know, I'm not going to betray them
in any way or play something that isn't something they
would want on there, you know, because I'm an artist
too and we've known each other for twenty five years now.
Everybody's on the show, so you know, having that conversation
with them just about you know, shooting the ball about
(08:54):
the industry and how it's changed and what's going on
now and what was going on then, and how recordings changed,
music has changed, and touring in the pandemic and how
that's affecting life every day now and how different things are.
It's nice to just have a very real, candid conversation
with these artists as human beings, both of us, you know.
(09:14):
And that's what the podcast is all about. And they're
all up on my Facebook website Terrythark dot com and
all of that if anybody wants to go check those
out now.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I love the moment too, when you got inducted into
the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame September twenty eighteen,
three times Juno Award winner two and the only Canadian
female member of the Grand ol Opry, and I will
say this. Terry got a chance to see the performance
you did there just a couple of weeks ago there
on the Opry stage on a Saturday night. You blew
it away better things to do and then brought Dirks on.
Let's talk about just those achievements on the Canadian Country
(09:48):
Music Hall of Fame. And of course every time it's
like going back to the Opry, people say it's like royalty, right.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Oh, absolutely, I shake in my boots every time. I'm
nervous every time. And now it's back on TV, you know,
and it lives online, so there's the added pressure of that.
But you know, you always want to just you want
to do well. It's like it's like the little kid
who is painting, doing a finger painting for his mom
for Mother's Day and he just sits there and wants
(10:16):
her to love it. And that's how you feel when
you're on the opera. You just want the approval of gosh,
the legends that started it, that are standing in the wings,
that everybody watching at home, and standing in that circle
is the greatest honor a country singer can ever have.
I don't care how many Grammys you have, Cmas, you
have standing in that circle is the greatest honor that
(10:36):
a country music singer can have, and I think we
all realize the gravity of that and what it means.
And I feel, you know, when I hear people talk
about the Opry, people that are friends of mine, like
Ashlar McBride, and how much she revers it and how
how she holds it to such a high, high level
of honor, And you know, you've got to have reverence
(11:00):
for who came before you and how they got there,
and how the Aubrey was built, and the fact that
you get to be a part of it is amazing.
And the fact that I was asked to become a member,
I still pinch myself. It's surreal. I can't believe. I
can't believe that that I'm sitting here still the only
female Canadian member, and I hope in my lifetime to
(11:21):
see another one go in there. But you know, I'm gonna,
of course enjoy it, and you know, fly the flag
proudly as long as I possibly can.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
We'll, I tell you, Terry, I love the new Christmas
album that came out September twenty fifth. It's Christmas Cheers,
and I tell you, we need a lot of cheers.
Right now, we're gonna get some here from Terry Clark
and our good friend Derek's Bentley. It's called let us
know here on the backstage past, presented by Tour Guitars.
Speaker 7 (11:51):
Well outside it is Frank bol but five, so delightful.
It seems we've all placed Let us no, let it snow,
Let it snow.
Speaker 8 (12:04):
It doesn't show signs of stopping. Then I brought some
corn for popping. The latch turned way down low. Let
us snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.
Speaker 9 (12:17):
When we climb the league.
Speaker 10 (12:18):
It's good night.
Speaker 9 (12:20):
How I hain't coming.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Out in the storm. But if you really hold me.
Speaker 11 (12:25):
Time all the way home, my hea, all the bars
snow it dangy, and my dear, we're still goodbye.
Speaker 10 (12:36):
But as long as you love me, so let us
not let it snow, Let it snow, and we finally
(13:10):
kiss good night.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
I hate going out in.
Speaker 10 (13:14):
The storm, but if you really hold me time all.
Speaker 11 (13:19):
The way home of me wall.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Oho.
Speaker 7 (13:24):
The fire is slowly dying, my dear, We're still good baggy, But.
Speaker 8 (13:30):
As long as you love me, so let it snow,
Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow. Let
it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow,
Let it snow.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Hey, folks, is a Gordon Vamfer here.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Listen to if I getting Buddy Brandon Morrel and the
hashtag ran neck himself cork vamper on the backstage path.
Speaker 6 (13:56):
You want some work on myself? Check it out gornmamfer
dot com.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
See you here.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
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Speaker 6 (14:49):
Hey, this is David Paul. You're talking with Brandon. We've
been talking about country easy. You can hear it a
long the Sports Guy's Podcast.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
And welcome back here to the show again. It's Let
It Snow, Let It Snow. Terry Clark and Dirk's Bentley
off Terry's new Christmas album. It's Christmas Cheers as we're
presented by our good friends over at Tour Guitars. And
I always knew you had it in us, said she's
going to do Christmas music one day. It's going to
be fantastic. And I actually bought the album the first
day you put it out, Terry, not a surprise September
twenty fifth. Thank you, and so I love what you did,
(15:25):
work with some great people on it. Just talk about
how exciting it is, especially in these times of need
and trying to, you know, spread the joy which we
need now in putting together a Christmas project. Talk about
that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Gosh, you know, it was the last thing I really
wanted to do. I did not want to make a
Christmas record. I was very because I love Christmas music.
And I love the season, and there are so many
great albums already out there that people have made. It's
these songs have been recorded thousands of times literally. But
you know, Clarence, my manager, we had a meeting one
(15:58):
day and he said, you know you, it's probably time.
You've got twenty five year career now, probably to your
fans would probably love to hear a Christmas record. And
I said, you know, I'm gonna have to find a
way to get really excited about this. And I sort
of just sat with it for a while, and a
couple of weeks later I called him and I said
I have an idea, and he said, what's your idea?
(16:19):
And I said, what if I asked the Time Jumpers
to come and play on the whole thing, so it
has that really classic retro organic sound that I associate
with Christmas music and Vince Garaldi and all of that.
The net can call stuff, Frank Sinancho stuffs, And he said,
that's not just that's not a good idea, that's a
great idea. So I called Kenny Sears at the Time
(16:42):
Jumpers and we went over arrangements at my house and
then we went in and cut the record. And I'm
so happy with the arrangements and how this sounds. It
sounds like a Christmas record. It doesn't sound like I
just took a band in and we cut Christmas songs,
do you know what I mean. I feel like we
captured the spirit of the season and it has a
classic sound. And I'm glad because I don't know that
(17:04):
I'm ever going to make another one. This is probably
it for me and there won't be a Volume three, four, five, six, seven, eight,
nine to twelve. So I wanted it to just be
like something that would stand the test of time, that
when I'm dead and gone, people will still be able
to play and they won't know what year it was
made in because they can't tell.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
It's a fantastic record. Of course, you can get it
out there across all the digital platforms. Again, Terry Clark
here on the Backstage Past presented by Tour Guitars. Hey,
I want to go back to that Greatest Hits album
that I so still own a cassette today. It shows
my age. I'd right there, Terry, when it comes down
to a cassette tapes back in the nineties, and of
course the old vinyl record talk about the greatest hits,
because one for me that still stands out today with
(17:44):
all your fans is when Boy Meets Girl. Talk about
that one and just the riding behind it, and of
course that project itself.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Oh and boy Meets Girl. Yeah, that that well, that
whole project I wrote pretty much with Chris and Tom Schapiro,
the guys I was telling you about, and we wrote
that song. You know, the hook wasn't my idea, but
we came in and realized that it had never been
(18:11):
written before. So we sat down and and I wrote
Better Things to Do with the same guys. And the
fact that the title when Boy Meet's Girl hadn't been
written before, we just plowed right into it and I
had no idea it was gonna end up becoming the
second single. But you know, back then, we could write
a song and we kind of thought, you know, I
(18:33):
think this sounds like a hit, and we were right,
and I'll never forget. After we wrote Better Things to Do,
tom My co writer, pulled a dollar bill out of
his pocket and started rubbing it on his forehead and said,
I love the feel of cashable checks or something. The
sound of it was so funny because he knew he
(18:53):
had written forty number one hits by then, so I
think I kind of trusted him. I'm like, you, you
must know what you're talking about then, because I didn't.
But it was just such a fun experience writing with
those guys, and I have very fond memories of both
of them in our relationship, and I continued to write
with Tom up until maybe just four or five years ago.
We wrote We've continued to write together over the years.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Amazing, amazing. I love that And I got to ask
you about this one because we'll throw kind of a
funny hook here, So I want to Do It All
was on there too, track eleven. Love that one off
the album The Greatest sixth Album? Now are you a
Yankees fan? I have to ask you about that.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
I'm really not. And I didn't write that song, like
a lot of I've probably written half of my hits,
and then the other half were songs that we combed
through in Nashville and went wunch publishing companies and they
sent stuff in and I didn't write I Want to
do it All. But I love the message because it's
always been kind of a grab life by the you
know person, So I love I want to do it
(19:51):
at all. And I think it's been a bit of
an anthem for a lot of people that you know,
you only live once. If you want to do something,
you need to go do it. So yeah, I feel
like I felt like that song fit in well with
my catalog and my previous hints and would you know,
you think about what's going to go well in the show?
What do people associate you with at that point? And
(20:13):
a lot of people associated me with the you know fun,
kick your kick the heels of your boots up and
have a good time. And you know you're you're putting
on a show to get get people away from their
everyday lives and give them some joy for ninety minutes.
And that song definitely fit the bill for me.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Well, I love this song and Terry Clark here on
the backstage pass. It's Christmas cheers. This one's called Cowboy Christmas,
featuring one of the all time greats, Ricky's Skaggs. Of course,
you can get your copy across all the digital platforms.
It's Terry Clark, Ricky's gags. It's called Cowboy Christmas. Here
it is on the backstage pass presented by Tour Guitars.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Away a manger.
Speaker 7 (21:05):
That's the song that he hunts, pitching hay for the cat.
Speaker 9 (21:11):
And he's got horses to.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
The snow on the punts.
Speaker 10 (21:17):
It's like tens shines.
Speaker 9 (21:21):
There's work to be done, but he doesn't mind.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
His Christmas lights.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Are stars in a montail Scott.
Speaker 9 (21:35):
His Christmas cookies are ham biscuits.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
He fries a stocking, spies fier, just his own cattle
of gus a glass raise to his maker.
Speaker 9 (21:52):
That's a cowboy Christmas. Strong cup of coffee beans and
corn bread.
Speaker 10 (22:03):
No visions of sugar.
Speaker 7 (22:05):
Plums dancing his head, just dreams at all.
Speaker 9 (22:11):
Though they were, and they spin what he would and
he could hold her again.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Work wire, rat fance.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Posts like gardens on trees.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
No mistle toe, no sweetheart, no presence, He'll see, just
the warmth.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Of the fire and his.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
Own cattle dog girls.
Speaker 9 (22:43):
A last raise to his maker. That's a cowboy Christmas.
Speaker 7 (23:06):
The doggies are sleeping, the wind's whining.
Speaker 10 (23:10):
Look it's time to bed down.
Speaker 7 (23:15):
But in the fire lights globe, he opens his bottle, the.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Water his farm.
Speaker 11 (23:23):
A game reads the story Jesus.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Born on Christmas Day. It's Christmas.
Speaker 4 (23:33):
Lights are start in the Mountall Scott's.
Speaker 6 (23:39):
Christmas cookies, our ham biscuits.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
He fries.
Speaker 10 (23:46):
Nor stockings by his fire, just his.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
Old cattle doggers.
Speaker 9 (23:52):
A glass raise to his maker. That's a cowboy Christmas.
He'll give his hat to his mate. That's a cowboy Christmas.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
What help y'all?
Speaker 6 (24:26):
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Speaker 2 (24:35):
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Speaker 6 (24:35):
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Speaker 2 (24:38):
Podcast dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
And hey, guys, don't forget to listen to The Chris
and Sandy Show. It's a show co hosted by Chris
and Sandy Benton. It's a fun and inspiring show wrapped
around country music. Their marriage is their uniqueness, as they've
been a twenty four to seven couple for over seventeen
years of marriage. With Chris's love of talking in Sandy's
love of country music, they are the perfect team for
the show. They talk about crazy news, tell inspiring stories,
(25:02):
all while interviewing great rising country stars. Their interviews won't
be just about music, but digging deep into each artist's
life to tell their raw stories. Go to Chrissandyshow dot
com for more details, or find them on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram at Chris Sandy Show Again, The Chris and
Sandy Bitton Show our partners here at the Sports Guys
podcast dot com. Keep listening.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Hey, this is Parker McCollum and you're listening to the backstage.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Fast and welcome back here to the show again. Brandon
Morell inside the backstage pass with the country music Icon.
My favorite of all time, Terry Clark, And like I said, yes,
I am biased, so I'm gonna say it here on
the backstage pass right here as we're presented by tour guitars. Hey, Terry,
let's talk about Cowboy Christmas. I think it was a
great feel for what you and Ricky were trying to
(25:50):
do on the song. The instrumentation, the vocals, how it
came out was amazing. I love it well.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
This song was written by Aaron anderlenn and Dave Gleason
and it's the only original song on the album. You know,
I was going to originally just go with public domain
traditional Christmas songs, but Aaron sent me this song, and
you know, with the time Jumpers and the fact that
they have the really cool retro steel and upright bass
(26:17):
and eight thousand fiddles in the band and it just
has the coolest old almost almost kind of old Bob
Will's cowboy type stuff. And I heard the lyric and
it's a story song and it's about you know, it's
about a cowboy, a real cowboy, not just a dime
store cowboy, but a real one, and how he spends
(26:38):
Christmas and what he thinks Christmas means. And I thought
it would really fit the project. I'm like, you know,
if there's going to be an original song on this
this one's great. And it's a three quarter time Walls.
We didn't have one, really, and there's a lot of swing,
a lot of jazzy classic Christmas swing type stuff, but
we didn't have something like that. And it's a really
(26:59):
really sweet story. It's got you know, it's got some
It paints a brush of faith and what Christmas is
about and religion and appreciating, you know, what God gives
you and the stars and the moon and loving what
you have even if it's not everything, and appreciating what
(27:21):
it's all about. So I really love the pictures that
that song painted. So I wanted to record it and
when after I finished my vocal I knew that it
was just missing something and it needed just one really wonderful,
pure voice with me. And Ricky Skaggs was one of
my biggest influences as a kid, and I've always admired
(27:41):
his talent and so much. I used to learn how
to sing harmony by listening to his records and learning
parts on the guitar by watching his fingers when he
was on TV. I'm not trained formally in any way,
but I had teachers like that, So having him on
this is a real honor for me.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
You know, there's a lot of great Canadians, like you said,
making an impact here. We're going to talk to one
here on the show. In a couple of weeks, just
saw her on the ACM Awards to Neil Town's Fantastic
Country Music Artist. I guess what is it about Alberta
producing more and more of these great you know, just
great country artists like yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Well, it's so cold there for like eight months out
of the year that we have nothing else to do
but sit and figure out how to sing and play
guitar and write songs. That's all I'm gonna say. I
love that I think dan Neil Towns is one of
the best new female artists south there, American or Canadian.
I'm a big fan, and I really she's a talented girl.
(28:37):
She's a great songwriter, she writes songs of substance, and
she's just I think she's got a lot of good
things coming her way.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
I'll tell you back to the Greatest Hits album. Then
we'll get into a little rapid fire, little series of
funny questions we ask and no right or wrong answers.
But I loved Emotional Girl, what you did with that one,
and of course second part of it was You're Easy
on the Eyes. I love that. Two great songs off
of that one kind of give me the scoop on.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Emotional Girl was written for the second album, and I
was a co writer on that one as well, and
it's I think it was I think I came in
with the idea. I can't remember, but we had so
much fun writing it. You know, a lot of my
songs were a little on the tongue in cheek side
in the nineties, and so in the year two thousand,
(29:21):
when I had decided to make the Fearless record, I
decided to go a lot deeper and really get more
introspective and as a songwriter just kind of broadened my
horizons because I felt like I was being sort of
shoved into one corner at that time. But Emotional Girl
was part of you know that the lead up to that,
and was a big hit. And we still have these
(29:42):
songs in my show. I mean, I play all of
these hits in my show. And easy on the Eyes
was from the third record, How I Feel, and again
wrote it with Chris and Tom. We wrote all much
of the first three records together. And you know about
you know, it's it's not all. Don't judge a book
by its cover. It's not always gonna just because it
(30:04):
looks good doesn't mean it is on the inside too.
You know, I think a lot of people can relate
to that if they've been there.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Now I'm gonna take you back to the two thousand
and three. This is when I kind of felt young terry.
Now you get older, I start saying, man, it's just
the body just does different things. And of course, you
know how it is, like I said, we age, it's
just part of life as it goes. But three, I
love what you did with pain to Kill the entire album.
The message you were sending out there to fans. Two
songs O there. One had to be Pain to Kill,
which was the title track. Loved it, you nailed it,
(30:33):
And then of course one that I kind of went
under the radar for me. I was like, this is
gonna be hit song. It's gonna be hit song, three Mississippi.
Talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
Man.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
We all thought the three Mississippi was going to be
the career record for me when it came out, so
we had big expectations and for whatever reason, they could
not get it past a certain point in the chart.
And I played that song in my show today and
people respond, it was on the chart for a really
long time. There's some funny things that go on at
(31:03):
radio with testing and all of this stuff, and if
you don't get it to a point where it's testing
and time, then radio stations will start to jump off
of it and they'll say, you know, well, it's not testing.
Well you haven't played it enough for people to know
it yet. So it kind of suffered under that kind
of faith faith a little bit. But Pain to Kill
I loved. I loved that whole record, and it's the
(31:28):
title track. Pain to Kill. I'm actually have been toying
with putting it back in my show and opening my
show with it. That we were going to open our
shows with that song in twenty twenty. So maybe we're
gonna have to open our shows with that song in
twenty twenty one because there is no twenty twenty it's
been canceled. I hope you do.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
Like I said, we get out there and see some shows,
no doubt about it. Would love to come back to
a Terry Clarks show. All right, taper a little rapid fire,
so we throw a little serious, funny questions around and
I've heard I love that you do on the Country
Gold podcast too. At the same time, all right, let's
talk a little bit about Terry during this time. Any
good TV programs, Binge watching some television if you have
what have you been?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Kind of into Sex and the City, the West Wing.
I watched Homeland, some new shows and some comfort shows,
some comfort TV things that take you away back and
guilty Pleasure. Was this merit at First Sight thing? Oh
my god, it's something else.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
I love that. I think for me, I got into
a couple of those haunted series, The Haunting of Hillhouse,
and then there was one called The Haunting of Blind Manner. Yes,
a little bit nervous.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
I watched The Haunting of Hillhouse right after it came
out and probably didn't sleep for about a week. But
it's great.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
A little mind ties there and stretches the mind, if
you will.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
I love I love American horror story. I'm waiting for
a new season of that. Oh it's so it's so creepy.
It's unreal.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Look, it is creepy, no doubt about it. All right.
What about favorite foods or foods during this time that
you've gotten into takeout cooking? What's in the kind of
the foods of choice?
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I have been cooking my butt off, because you know
what I just take out gets here half the time
it's cold or mushy, and I just don't do it.
So I just I've been cooking a lot, trying a
few different things here and there. Cook you know, it's
it's definitely been a nesting period. In the first three months,
like April, May and June, the COVID nineteen around my
(33:25):
waist was starting to creep up quite a bit, so
I had to kind of put a cuposh on that.
And in the first part of August, I went, Okay,
this has to stop. So I went back on the
I do some intermittent intermittent fasting and stick with basically
a pretty diet that consists of fiber, protein and vegetables
(33:45):
and fruit, but no like refined carbs and sugars and
stuff like that. So but back in that direction, and
things seem to have been leveling out a little bit better.
But I try to cook that way. I just do
a lot of cooking, and I love to cook, and
people tell I'm good at it. So I've been experimenting
with a few new things and it's been a lot
of fun.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
All Right. Favorite thing to cook, what would you say
it is?
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Steak?
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Okay, Yeah, that's one thing I find I cannot do
a rib I cannot do a steak. So I'll have
to try the Terry Clark ribbi one day if I
ever get to Nashville, no doubt about it. What about
hobbies away from music, I guess some artists have said
they've picked up some new skills or new hobbies any
for you.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Fishing I got. I've always loved fishing, but I got
I went and took it to a new level over
the summer and I was up in Canada. I have
a place up there. I went there for three and
a half months because when you go into Canada right now,
you have to quarantine for two weeks at your property
before you can leave it. So I thought, you know what,
I'm not going to go. I can't go back and forth.
So I pretty much stayed there, and I got into
(34:47):
fishing for northern pike. And did I do bass fishing
too and a half for the last ten years, but
not super serious or like, you know. I would go
out with some of my neighbors and go fish for bass,
and we catch some bass, and I'd have with that.
But this year I started going out even on my
own and fishing for northern pike and pulling like ten
twelve pounders out of Lake Erie and by myself. And
(35:10):
I thought, you know, I'm, first of all, I'm going
to need a bigger net, and I'm probably going to
need to get a rod holder because I can't. They
thrash around so much that you know, it's hard to
do that on your own. But I got really really
into it. So since I got home, I'm just ordering
all these fancy lures and things on Amazon. There's an
envelope that comes with a new lure in it every day.
(35:32):
It's like a collection of having so much fun.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Good hobby to have no doubt about it too.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Yeah, I really love it.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
How you've done a lot of great duets in your career.
Was there one or two duets I guess from the
book could be Christmas side of thing with the album
It's Christmas Cheers, or just regular country duets. They kind
of stand out for you throughout your entire career if
they do, what are they?
Speaker 2 (35:52):
I've done a lot of you know, when I think
about the people that I've sung with on tracks on
my records, I can't believe who I've I had the
opportunity to work with Alison Krauss, Emmy Lou Harris Gosh,
I mean, Sammy Kershawn. I did a duet one time,
Vince Gill a couple of times, Ricky Skaggs a couple
(36:13):
of times, Griba, Tanya Tucker, Dirks Bentley a couple of times.
Actually three times. I've worked with Dirk three times because
I did something for his Nashville Knights project which was
kind of a tongue in chet song called JA Make
It hard. But before that, we did a Classics Golden
(36:38):
Ring a classic on my Classics record in twenty twelve
together the George and Tammy hit. So this Christmas duets
our third thing together. But I've had the opportunity to
really work with some amazing people like and Vincent. I
won one of IBM a for the Bluegrass Award for
singing together on the Louvin brother There's Tributy project that
(37:01):
Carl Jackson produced several years ago. So there's been a
lot of really cool things that I have had opportunity
to do. Sung with Jen Artin and Deep Brody, Dallas Smith.
I mean, god, these are all Canadian artists, but they're
huge in Canada. I've sung on I sang on a
Paul Brant Christmas record. I mean, the list goes on
and on. There's been a lot of collaborations that I
(37:22):
sometimes forget about that I'm like, Wow, this is cool,
and there might be another one coming up in the
next six months or so.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
So you never know, man, I'll tell you what. It's
always good to have it. And I got to ask
you about this when The Country Gold is a podcast
out there. We talked a little bit about any surprising
guests coming up. People can expect.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
I'm actually going to be talking to Marty Raven and
Larry Stewart on Monday. I'm going to be we might
get a chance to talk to Dolly Parton again soon
and talking to Diana Carter tomorrow morning. So yeah, And
you know, some of the best conversations I've had are
with Ty Herndon because I know him so well. Sarah
Evans is always so camped and funny. You know, I've
(38:03):
just had some a chance to really catch up with people.
I ran into Tracy Bird on the golf course last
week and I'm like, hey, dude, you have not been
on my show yet. And He's like, give me his number.
So I'm going to get him on the show soon
and do an interview and catch up with Tracy. So
it's I can't believe he hasn't been on the show yet,
but I saw him. I'm like, okay, because I've been
talking to you about you with the producer that we
got to get he just pulls up in a golf cart.
(38:25):
I'm like, all right, then, there it is.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Well, I tell you, Terry, he hasn't been on mine.
He's from my hometown. Here in Beaumont, Texas where I'm
down here in Texas. So definitely tell Tracy until Dina
a Dina to the show about a month ago. Tell
him I said hello to definitely and we'll get in
touch with it. Love Tracy Bird from good old Southeast
Texas down here, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
Absolutely abstely great.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Terry Clark here on the backstage past, presented by Tour Guitars.
Go get your copy. It's Christmas Cheers. It came out
September twenty fifth. A great album out there working with
some of the finest musicians in Nashville and Terry, thanks
so much for all the great contributions the great music
of the nineties, one of my all time bridge. Appreciate
you dropping by here on the backstage pass and hey
continue success going forward. Best to luck with the Christmas
(39:05):
album and the Country Goal podcast.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
I appreciate you well, thank you for the kind words,
and thanks for having me on Brendon. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
That's a Terry clarking. Check her out at Terry Clark
dot com and of course go get the album. It's
Christmas Cheers across all digital platforms. You got to stay
tuned for more
Welcome to another edition of Backstage Pass powered by the
Sports Guys Podcast with your host Brandon Morrell.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hey, it's Terry Clark and you are listening to my
duet with Dirk Spentley. Let it snow for my Christmas album.
It's Christmas Shares on the Backstage Past.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
You're listening to the Backstage Past powered by the Sports
Guys Podcast dot com. It's a grand slam of music
and sports presented by Tour Guitars, morel Afdoors, Beaumont, Fast Signs,
Reactivin dot Com and Ernest W Grocery. This is show
home for some of the hardest new artists music today
as well as some of the greatest artists from yesterday.
(00:43):
Here are Brandon Morell and Nick Canizalez exclusively on the
Sports Guys Podcast dot com and one hundred Mixed Film
dot com.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
And welcome in to the Backstage Past. Of course, they're
always powered by our good friends at the Sports Guys
Podcast dot com. That being Creative Inc. They managed that
very website and also are good friends at Tour Guitars.
They have a big sponsor for the program.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Here.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
If you're in the market for a custom made guitar,
you can check those guys out at Tourguitars dot Us.
So place to welcome on a country music icon. She
got started in the nineties and of course all she
needed was road and a little gasoline, and boy, she
never looked back after that too. Place to welcome on,
Miss Terry Clark. Here to the backstage past and Terry
hard thing's going.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I'm great, Brendan. How are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Hey, We're doing good. And like I said, this is
my dream interview. So anybody that knows me knows I'm
the biggest Terry Clark fan out there, no doubt about
it too. So hey, I do want to start back
to ninety five, and let's talk a lot about better
things to do, Terry, and just the immaculate career you've
had with all the hit songs and of course millions
of albums sold. You know when you look back and
you start, time gets away from us and starts to
(01:51):
fly a little bit. Just tell me the impact of
better things to do and poor, poor, pitiful me and
just all the great songs that you had back in
the nineties two. I mean, do you still remember it
like it was yesterday?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Well, I will say this and I've heard some other
friends like in the business, like Jody Messina and people
I've interviewed for I have a radio show I've interviewed
for it that we all kind of say the same thing.
When you're in your heyday and everything explodes after struggling
for so long and working so hard and just dreaming
about these things, it almost kind of hits you, like
(02:24):
like slamming on the brakes and everything behind you. It's
like a seven car pile up, and everything's a blur.
Honest to god, everything's a blur, and everybody is kind
of you wanted everybody. You wanted people to notice you,
and everybody starts noticing you all at the same time,
and you're getting tour offers and you're going on tours
and everyone wants to be your friend, and you're the
(02:46):
most popular kid in the room all of a sudden,
and it's like and I was never the most popular
kid in the room, so I didn't know what to
do with any of it. And it was it was
it was a little awkward feeling. It was heady, it
was surreal. It was it was not super grounding. When
you take off.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Like that and and and become what you always dreamed of,
because you can try to prepare for that all you want,
but when it happens, I mean, you've got you've got
to have some some pretty.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Some pretty great anchors tethering you to the ground in
your life.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
And that's why I think a lot of artists can
go sideways really quick, because I think it's just a
really heavy experience. And there's about at least five years
of my life during that time that there's a lot
of blurry moments. Like I remember I'm on the George
Straight tour, but I had band members at the time
that would remember particular incidences and or going to this
(03:44):
bar after the show or that bar, and I'm like,
I don't even remember all of this, Like it just
was And I don't know if it was just because
I was drinking a lot more back then, but I don't.
I'm like, how do you guys remember these details about
specific venues and conversations, and like they it just retained
so much more information than I did, because you know,
they were there to play the show that night, but
(04:05):
I had so many other things going on during the
day and radio visits and it was just a lot
I cherished those days, and I wish I remembered them
in more detail than I do. I remember, I remember
the big stuff, and I remember the feeling. The feeling
was elation and disbelief, but it was it was also
(04:28):
some fear and some apprehension and some anxiety too. It's
a lot of pressure.
Speaker 6 (04:34):
It is.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
And like I said, those songs, like I said, will
be synonymous for many years to come. I guess when
you look back at those songs, like I said, a
few titles better things to do, poor poor Pitif me
girls lie to I just want to be mad. What
was so special and what I loved about it was
the writing, Terry. The writing behind those songs were amazing,
the people you worked with, the camps, I mean everything
writing songs and the message comes out where people can
(04:54):
just resonate with it. Talk about just the writing behind
those songs and the different teams that you worked with
to put the project together.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Well, you know what, you can't do anything alone in
this business. You need a team. You need it's a
concentrated effort of many. And I've had you know, I've
had three different managers during my career, but I've been
with the same one now for eighteen nineteen years Clarence Faulding,
and you know, he has an incredible team that helps
(05:23):
me with things. And Clarence has always looked for ways
to keep me out there and keep me relevant and
doing things. So but as far as the early records go,
you know, I was with Chris Waters and Tom Shapiro
were my writing partners for much of the first three albums,
and Keith Stegall, who signed me to Mercury Records, actually
(05:46):
put me in Chris waters crosshairs and said, this girl,
we're going to make a record on her. Would you
like to co produce the record and write some songs
with her? So Chris brought Tom Shapiro into the writing thing,
and I had been writing songs. I wrote If I
Were You before I ever met Chris Waters and Tom Spyro.
I wrote that song by myself when I was waiting tables,
(06:06):
and that wound up on the first album. But you know,
we became this songwriting team that we just turned out
song after song after song, and almost everything we wrote
was really good. I was on fire at the time.
I think at my peak as a songwriter. I think
there was a ten year period where I was really
writing great songs, and the people that I was getting
(06:27):
to write with were really great writers, so we honed
in on something cool. That was My style was kind
of a turbo honky tonk traditional. It was country, but
it was amped up country, and there weren't a lot
of females in the mid nineties really doing that kind
of thing. There was. It was more of a pop
(06:48):
country thing. You know. Shania was out there, and Faith
was huge, and Martina was huge, and I came along
with this cowboy hat on, wearing wranglers and kicking dust
around with my boots and singing better things to do it. It
just kind of a lot of people latched onto it,
and a lot of girls out there that were in
high school at the time, you know, and in the
four H club who felt like they didn't fit in,
(07:10):
who liked country music and lived a country lifestyle, found
somebody that they could relate to. And I've got so
much feedback on letters like that over the years from
people that more than anything, I think that's one thing
that makes me so proud is that so many young
girls were able to relate and didn't feel like they were,
you know, a misfit or out there somewhere and that
(07:32):
there was somebody out there.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
That could relate to talk to me a little bit
about your podcast, because I love Country Gold. I love
what you do on there, the fan interactiveness and of
course the unedited type stuff, and you get up real
close and personal kind of like I do here on
the show with all the great country artists out there.
What kind of brought you to podcasting? And I think
you have a fantastic show, Terry.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I love it, thank you well. It's nineties country based.
It's called Country Gold, produced by Westwood One, and I
have been doing it for three years now. First year
I got nominated for a CMA Award for Radio Broadcast Personality,
which blew me away because I never won one as
an artist, and I thought, well, maybe I'll actually get
one one of these days. But it's actually doing very well.
(08:13):
We're on one hundred and seventy stations across the country.
But we also you know, play the unedited version of
the interview on my podcast, and some of them are
just more candid than others. There are some artists that
are just just you know, I think when they talk
to another artist, there's a guard that gets let down
and the fact that they trust me and I'm not
(08:34):
going to you know, I'm not going to betray them
in any way or play something that isn't something they
would want on there, you know, because I'm an artist
too and we've known each other for twenty five years now.
Everybody's on the show, so you know, having that conversation
with them just about you know, shooting the ball about
(08:54):
the industry and how it's changed and what's going on
now and what was going on then, and how recordings changed,
music has changed, and touring in the pandemic and how
that's affecting life every day now and how different things are.
It's nice to just have a very real, candid conversation
with these artists as human beings, both of us, you know.
(09:14):
And that's what the podcast is all about. And they're
all up on my Facebook website Terrythark dot com and
all of that if anybody wants to go check those
out now.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I love the moment too, when you got inducted into
the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame September twenty eighteen,
three times Juno Award winner two and the only Canadian
female member of the Grand ol Opry, and I will
say this. Terry got a chance to see the performance
you did there just a couple of weeks ago there
on the Opry stage on a Saturday night. You blew
it away better things to do and then brought Dirks on.
Let's talk about just those achievements on the Canadian Country
(09:48):
Music Hall of Fame. And of course every time it's
like going back to the Opry, people say it's like royalty, right.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Oh, absolutely, I shake in my boots every time. I'm
nervous every time. And now it's back on TV, you know,
and it lives online, so there's the added pressure of that.
But you know, you always want to just you want
to do well. It's like it's like the little kid
who is painting, doing a finger painting for his mom
for Mother's Day and he just sits there and wants
(10:16):
her to love it. And that's how you feel when
you're on the opera. You just want the approval of gosh,
the legends that started it, that are standing in the wings,
that everybody watching at home, and standing in that circle
is the greatest honor a country singer can ever have.
I don't care how many Grammys you have, Cmas, you
have standing in that circle is the greatest honor that
(10:36):
a country music singer can have, and I think we
all realize the gravity of that and what it means.
And I feel, you know, when I hear people talk
about the Opry, people that are friends of mine, like
Ashlar McBride, and how much she revers it and how
how she holds it to such a high, high level
of honor, And you know, you've got to have reverence
(11:00):
for who came before you and how they got there,
and how the Aubrey was built, and the fact that
you get to be a part of it is amazing.
And the fact that I was asked to become a member,
I still pinch myself. It's surreal. I can't believe. I
can't believe that that I'm sitting here still the only
female Canadian member, and I hope in my lifetime to
(11:21):
see another one go in there. But you know, I'm gonna,
of course enjoy it, and you know, fly the flag
proudly as long as I possibly can.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
We'll, I tell you, Terry, I love the new Christmas
album that came out September twenty fifth. It's Christmas Cheers,
and I tell you, we need a lot of cheers.
Right now, we're gonna get some here from Terry Clark
and our good friend Derek's Bentley. It's called let us
know here on the backstage past, presented by Tour Guitars.
Speaker 7 (11:51):
Well outside it is Frank bol but five, so delightful.
It seems we've all placed Let us no, let it snow,
Let it snow.
Speaker 8 (12:04):
It doesn't show signs of stopping. Then I brought some
corn for popping. The latch turned way down low. Let
us snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.
Speaker 9 (12:17):
When we climb the league.
Speaker 10 (12:18):
It's good night.
Speaker 9 (12:20):
How I hain't coming.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Out in the storm. But if you really hold me.
Speaker 11 (12:25):
Time all the way home, my hea, all the bars
snow it dangy, and my dear, we're still goodbye.
Speaker 10 (12:36):
But as long as you love me, so let us
not let it snow, Let it snow, and we finally
(13:10):
kiss good night.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
I hate going out in.
Speaker 10 (13:14):
The storm, but if you really hold me time all.
Speaker 11 (13:19):
The way home of me wall.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Oho.
Speaker 7 (13:24):
The fire is slowly dying, my dear, We're still good baggy, But.
Speaker 8 (13:30):
As long as you love me, so let it snow,
Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow. Let
it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow,
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Speaker 1 (13:47):
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Speaker 2 (13:49):
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Speaker 4 (14:00):
See you here.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
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Speaker 6 (14:49):
Hey, this is David Paul. You're talking with Brandon. We've
been talking about country easy. You can hear it a
long the Sports Guy's Podcast.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
And welcome back here to the show again. It's Let
It Snow, Let It Snow. Terry Clark and Dirk's Bentley
off Terry's new Christmas album. It's Christmas Cheers as we're
presented by our good friends over at Tour Guitars. And
I always knew you had it in us, said she's
going to do Christmas music one day. It's going to
be fantastic. And I actually bought the album the first
day you put it out, Terry, not a surprise September
twenty fifth. Thank you, and so I love what you did,
(15:25):
work with some great people on it. Just talk about
how exciting it is, especially in these times of need
and trying to, you know, spread the joy which we
need now in putting together a Christmas project. Talk about
that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Gosh, you know, it was the last thing I really
wanted to do. I did not want to make a
Christmas record. I was very because I love Christmas music.
And I love the season, and there are so many
great albums already out there that people have made. It's
these songs have been recorded thousands of times literally. But
you know, Clarence, my manager, we had a meeting one
(15:58):
day and he said, you know you, it's probably time.
You've got twenty five year career now, probably to your
fans would probably love to hear a Christmas record. And
I said, you know, I'm gonna have to find a
way to get really excited about this. And I sort
of just sat with it for a while, and a
couple of weeks later I called him and I said
I have an idea, and he said, what's your idea?
(16:19):
And I said, what if I asked the Time Jumpers
to come and play on the whole thing, so it
has that really classic retro organic sound that I associate
with Christmas music and Vince Garaldi and all of that.
The net can call stuff, Frank Sinancho stuffs, And he said,
that's not just that's not a good idea, that's a
great idea. So I called Kenny Sears at the Time
(16:42):
Jumpers and we went over arrangements at my house and
then we went in and cut the record. And I'm
so happy with the arrangements and how this sounds. It
sounds like a Christmas record. It doesn't sound like I
just took a band in and we cut Christmas songs,
do you know what I mean. I feel like we
captured the spirit of the season and it has a
classic sound. And I'm glad because I don't know that
(17:04):
I'm ever going to make another one. This is probably
it for me and there won't be a Volume three, four, five, six, seven, eight,
nine to twelve. So I wanted it to just be
like something that would stand the test of time, that
when I'm dead and gone, people will still be able
to play and they won't know what year it was
made in because they can't tell.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
It's a fantastic record. Of course, you can get it
out there across all the digital platforms. Again, Terry Clark
here on the Backstage Past presented by Tour Guitars. Hey,
I want to go back to that Greatest Hits album
that I so still own a cassette today. It shows
my age. I'd right there, Terry, when it comes down
to a cassette tapes back in the nineties, and of
course the old vinyl record talk about the greatest hits,
because one for me that still stands out today with
(17:44):
all your fans is when Boy Meets Girl. Talk about
that one and just the riding behind it, and of
course that project itself.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Oh and boy Meets Girl. Yeah, that that well, that
whole project I wrote pretty much with Chris and Tom Schapiro,
the guys I was telling you about, and we wrote
that song. You know, the hook wasn't my idea, but
we came in and realized that it had never been
(18:11):
written before. So we sat down and and I wrote
Better Things to Do with the same guys. And the
fact that the title when Boy Meet's Girl hadn't been
written before, we just plowed right into it and I
had no idea it was gonna end up becoming the
second single. But you know, back then, we could write
a song and we kind of thought, you know, I
(18:33):
think this sounds like a hit, and we were right,
and I'll never forget. After we wrote Better Things to Do,
tom My co writer, pulled a dollar bill out of
his pocket and started rubbing it on his forehead and said,
I love the feel of cashable checks or something. The
sound of it was so funny because he knew he
(18:53):
had written forty number one hits by then, so I
think I kind of trusted him. I'm like, you, you
must know what you're talking about then, because I didn't.
But it was just such a fun experience writing with
those guys, and I have very fond memories of both
of them in our relationship, and I continued to write
with Tom up until maybe just four or five years ago.
We wrote We've continued to write together over the years.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Amazing, amazing. I love that And I got to ask
you about this one because we'll throw kind of a
funny hook here, So I want to Do It All
was on there too, track eleven. Love that one off
the album The Greatest sixth Album? Now are you a
Yankees fan? I have to ask you about that.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
I'm really not. And I didn't write that song, like
a lot of I've probably written half of my hits,
and then the other half were songs that we combed
through in Nashville and went wunch publishing companies and they
sent stuff in and I didn't write I Want to
do it All. But I love the message because it's
always been kind of a grab life by the you
know person, So I love I want to do it
(19:51):
at all. And I think it's been a bit of
an anthem for a lot of people that you know,
you only live once. If you want to do something,
you need to go do it. So yeah, I feel
like I felt like that song fit in well with
my catalog and my previous hints and would you know,
you think about what's going to go well in the show?
What do people associate you with at that point? And
(20:13):
a lot of people associated me with the you know fun,
kick your kick the heels of your boots up and
have a good time. And you know you're you're putting
on a show to get get people away from their
everyday lives and give them some joy for ninety minutes.
And that song definitely fit the bill for me.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Well, I love this song and Terry Clark here on
the backstage pass. It's Christmas cheers. This one's called Cowboy Christmas,
featuring one of the all time greats, Ricky's Skaggs. Of course,
you can get your copy across all the digital platforms.
It's Terry Clark, Ricky's gags. It's called Cowboy Christmas. Here
it is on the backstage pass presented by Tour Guitars.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Away a manger.
Speaker 7 (21:05):
That's the song that he hunts, pitching hay for the cat.
Speaker 9 (21:11):
And he's got horses to.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
The snow on the punts.
Speaker 10 (21:17):
It's like tens shines.
Speaker 9 (21:21):
There's work to be done, but he doesn't mind.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
His Christmas lights.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Are stars in a montail Scott.
Speaker 9 (21:35):
His Christmas cookies are ham biscuits.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
He fries a stocking, spies fier, just his own cattle
of gus a glass raise to his maker.
Speaker 9 (21:52):
That's a cowboy Christmas. Strong cup of coffee beans and
corn bread.
Speaker 10 (22:03):
No visions of sugar.
Speaker 7 (22:05):
Plums dancing his head, just dreams at all.
Speaker 9 (22:11):
Though they were, and they spin what he would and
he could hold her again.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Work wire, rat fance.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Posts like gardens on trees.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
No mistle toe, no sweetheart, no presence, He'll see, just
the warmth.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Of the fire and his.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
Own cattle dog girls.
Speaker 9 (22:43):
A last raise to his maker. That's a cowboy Christmas.
Speaker 7 (23:06):
The doggies are sleeping, the wind's whining.
Speaker 10 (23:10):
Look it's time to bed down.
Speaker 7 (23:15):
But in the fire lights globe, he opens his bottle, the.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Water his farm.
Speaker 11 (23:23):
A game reads the story Jesus.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Born on Christmas Day. It's Christmas.
Speaker 4 (23:33):
Lights are start in the Mountall Scott's.
Speaker 6 (23:39):
Christmas cookies, our ham biscuits.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
He fries.
Speaker 10 (23:46):
Nor stockings by his fire, just his.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
Old cattle doggers.
Speaker 9 (23:52):
A glass raise to his maker. That's a cowboy Christmas.
He'll give his hat to his mate. That's a cowboy Christmas.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
What help y'all?
Speaker 6 (24:26):
Bava boo with mocking the Greek. Check it into you
right now with the fort Guy Podcast. Y'all want to
catch up on everything. If usic 'sport relad.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Get him up.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
Check him out at www dot peport Good.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Podcast dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
And hey, guys, don't forget to listen to The Chris
and Sandy Show. It's a show co hosted by Chris
and Sandy Benton. It's a fun and inspiring show wrapped
around country music. Their marriage is their uniqueness, as they've
been a twenty four to seven couple for over seventeen
years of marriage. With Chris's love of talking in Sandy's
love of country music, they are the perfect team for
the show. They talk about crazy news, tell inspiring stories,
(25:02):
all while interviewing great rising country stars. Their interviews won't
be just about music, but digging deep into each artist's
life to tell their raw stories. Go to Chrissandyshow dot
com for more details, or find them on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram at Chris Sandy Show Again, The Chris and
Sandy Bitton Show our partners here at the Sports Guys
podcast dot com. Keep listening.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Hey, this is Parker McCollum and you're listening to the backstage.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Fast and welcome back here to the show again. Brandon
Morell inside the backstage pass with the country music Icon.
My favorite of all time, Terry Clark, And like I said, yes,
I am biased, so I'm gonna say it here on
the backstage pass right here as we're presented by tour guitars. Hey, Terry,
let's talk about Cowboy Christmas. I think it was a
great feel for what you and Ricky were trying to
(25:50):
do on the song. The instrumentation, the vocals, how it
came out was amazing. I love it well.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
This song was written by Aaron anderlenn and Dave Gleason
and it's the only original song on the album. You know,
I was going to originally just go with public domain
traditional Christmas songs, but Aaron sent me this song, and
you know, with the time Jumpers and the fact that
they have the really cool retro steel and upright bass
(26:17):
and eight thousand fiddles in the band and it just
has the coolest old almost almost kind of old Bob
Will's cowboy type stuff. And I heard the lyric and
it's a story song and it's about you know, it's
about a cowboy, a real cowboy, not just a dime
store cowboy, but a real one, and how he spends
(26:38):
Christmas and what he thinks Christmas means. And I thought
it would really fit the project. I'm like, you know,
if there's going to be an original song on this
this one's great. And it's a three quarter time Walls.
We didn't have one, really, and there's a lot of swing,
a lot of jazzy classic Christmas swing type stuff, but
we didn't have something like that. And it's a really
(26:59):
really sweet story. It's got you know, it's got some
It paints a brush of faith and what Christmas is
about and religion and appreciating, you know, what God gives
you and the stars and the moon and loving what
you have even if it's not everything, and appreciating what
(27:21):
it's all about. So I really love the pictures that
that song painted. So I wanted to record it and
when after I finished my vocal I knew that it
was just missing something and it needed just one really wonderful,
pure voice with me. And Ricky Skaggs was one of
my biggest influences as a kid, and I've always admired
(27:41):
his talent and so much. I used to learn how
to sing harmony by listening to his records and learning
parts on the guitar by watching his fingers when he
was on TV. I'm not trained formally in any way,
but I had teachers like that, So having him on
this is a real honor for me.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
You know, there's a lot of great Canadians, like you said,
making an impact here. We're going to talk to one
here on the show. In a couple of weeks, just
saw her on the ACM Awards to Neil Town's Fantastic
Country Music Artist. I guess what is it about Alberta
producing more and more of these great you know, just
great country artists like yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Well, it's so cold there for like eight months out
of the year that we have nothing else to do
but sit and figure out how to sing and play
guitar and write songs. That's all I'm gonna say. I
love that I think dan Neil Towns is one of
the best new female artists south there, American or Canadian.
I'm a big fan, and I really she's a talented girl.
(28:37):
She's a great songwriter, she writes songs of substance, and
she's just I think she's got a lot of good
things coming her way.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
I'll tell you back to the Greatest Hits album. Then
we'll get into a little rapid fire, little series of
funny questions we ask and no right or wrong answers.
But I loved Emotional Girl, what you did with that one,
and of course second part of it was You're Easy
on the Eyes. I love that. Two great songs off
of that one kind of give me the scoop on.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Emotional Girl was written for the second album, and I
was a co writer on that one as well, and
it's I think it was I think I came in
with the idea. I can't remember, but we had so
much fun writing it. You know, a lot of my
songs were a little on the tongue in cheek side
in the nineties, and so in the year two thousand,
(29:21):
when I had decided to make the Fearless record, I
decided to go a lot deeper and really get more
introspective and as a songwriter just kind of broadened my
horizons because I felt like I was being sort of
shoved into one corner at that time. But Emotional Girl
was part of you know that the lead up to that,
and was a big hit. And we still have these
(29:42):
songs in my show. I mean, I play all of
these hits in my show. And easy on the Eyes
was from the third record, How I Feel, and again
wrote it with Chris and Tom. We wrote all much
of the first three records together. And you know about
you know, it's it's not all. Don't judge a book
by its cover. It's not always gonna just because it
(30:04):
looks good doesn't mean it is on the inside too.
You know, I think a lot of people can relate
to that if they've been there.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Now I'm gonna take you back to the two thousand
and three. This is when I kind of felt young terry.
Now you get older, I start saying, man, it's just
the body just does different things. And of course, you
know how it is, like I said, we age, it's
just part of life as it goes. But three, I
love what you did with pain to Kill the entire album.
The message you were sending out there to fans. Two
songs O there. One had to be Pain to Kill,
which was the title track. Loved it, you nailed it,
(30:33):
And then of course one that I kind of went
under the radar for me. I was like, this is
gonna be hit song. It's gonna be hit song, three Mississippi.
Talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
Man.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
We all thought the three Mississippi was going to be
the career record for me when it came out, so
we had big expectations and for whatever reason, they could
not get it past a certain point in the chart.
And I played that song in my show today and
people respond, it was on the chart for a really
long time. There's some funny things that go on at
(31:03):
radio with testing and all of this stuff, and if
you don't get it to a point where it's testing
and time, then radio stations will start to jump off
of it and they'll say, you know, well, it's not testing.
Well you haven't played it enough for people to know
it yet. So it kind of suffered under that kind
of faith faith a little bit. But Pain to Kill
I loved. I loved that whole record, and it's the
(31:28):
title track. Pain to Kill. I'm actually have been toying
with putting it back in my show and opening my
show with it. That we were going to open our
shows with that song in twenty twenty. So maybe we're
gonna have to open our shows with that song in
twenty twenty one because there is no twenty twenty it's
been canceled. I hope you do.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
Like I said, we get out there and see some shows,
no doubt about it. Would love to come back to
a Terry Clarks show. All right, taper a little rapid fire,
so we throw a little serious, funny questions around and
I've heard I love that you do on the Country
Gold podcast too. At the same time, all right, let's
talk a little bit about Terry during this time. Any
good TV programs, Binge watching some television if you have
what have you been?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Kind of into Sex and the City, the West Wing.
I watched Homeland, some new shows and some comfort shows,
some comfort TV things that take you away back and
guilty Pleasure. Was this merit at First Sight thing? Oh
my god, it's something else.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
I love that. I think for me, I got into
a couple of those haunted series, The Haunting of Hillhouse,
and then there was one called The Haunting of Blind Manner. Yes,
a little bit nervous.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
I watched The Haunting of Hillhouse right after it came
out and probably didn't sleep for about a week. But
it's great.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
A little mind ties there and stretches the mind, if
you will.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
I love I love American horror story. I'm waiting for
a new season of that. Oh it's so it's so creepy.
It's unreal.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Look, it is creepy, no doubt about it. All right.
What about favorite foods or foods during this time that
you've gotten into takeout cooking? What's in the kind of
the foods of choice?
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I have been cooking my butt off, because you know
what I just take out gets here half the time
it's cold or mushy, and I just don't do it.
So I just I've been cooking a lot, trying a
few different things here and there. Cook you know, it's
it's definitely been a nesting period. In the first three months,
like April, May and June, the COVID nineteen around my
(33:25):
waist was starting to creep up quite a bit, so
I had to kind of put a cuposh on that.
And in the first part of August, I went, Okay,
this has to stop. So I went back on the
I do some intermittent intermittent fasting and stick with basically
a pretty diet that consists of fiber, protein and vegetables
(33:45):
and fruit, but no like refined carbs and sugars and
stuff like that. So but back in that direction, and
things seem to have been leveling out a little bit better.
But I try to cook that way. I just do
a lot of cooking, and I love to cook, and
people tell I'm good at it. So I've been experimenting
with a few new things and it's been a lot
of fun.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
All Right. Favorite thing to cook, what would you say
it is?
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Steak?
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Okay, Yeah, that's one thing I find I cannot do
a rib I cannot do a steak. So I'll have
to try the Terry Clark ribbi one day if I
ever get to Nashville, no doubt about it. What about
hobbies away from music, I guess some artists have said
they've picked up some new skills or new hobbies any
for you.
Speaker 2 (34:24):
Fishing I got. I've always loved fishing, but I got
I went and took it to a new level over
the summer and I was up in Canada. I have
a place up there. I went there for three and
a half months because when you go into Canada right now,
you have to quarantine for two weeks at your property
before you can leave it. So I thought, you know what,
I'm not going to go. I can't go back and forth.
So I pretty much stayed there, and I got into
(34:47):
fishing for northern pike. And did I do bass fishing
too and a half for the last ten years, but
not super serious or like, you know. I would go
out with some of my neighbors and go fish for bass,
and we catch some bass, and I'd have with that.
But this year I started going out even on my
own and fishing for northern pike and pulling like ten
twelve pounders out of Lake Erie and by myself. And
(35:10):
I thought, you know, I'm, first of all, I'm going
to need a bigger net, and I'm probably going to
need to get a rod holder because I can't. They
thrash around so much that you know, it's hard to
do that on your own. But I got really really
into it. So since I got home, I'm just ordering
all these fancy lures and things on Amazon. There's an
envelope that comes with a new lure in it every day.
(35:32):
It's like a collection of having so much fun.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Good hobby to have no doubt about it too.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Yeah, I really love it.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
How you've done a lot of great duets in your career.
Was there one or two duets I guess from the
book could be Christmas side of thing with the album
It's Christmas Cheers, or just regular country duets. They kind
of stand out for you throughout your entire career if
they do, what are they?
Speaker 2 (35:52):
I've done a lot of you know, when I think
about the people that I've sung with on tracks on
my records, I can't believe who I've I had the
opportunity to work with Alison Krauss, Emmy Lou Harris Gosh,
I mean, Sammy Kershawn. I did a duet one time,
Vince Gill a couple of times, Ricky Skaggs a couple
(36:13):
of times, Griba, Tanya Tucker, Dirks Bentley a couple of times.
Actually three times. I've worked with Dirk three times because
I did something for his Nashville Knights project which was
kind of a tongue in chet song called JA Make
It hard. But before that, we did a Classics Golden
(36:38):
Ring a classic on my Classics record in twenty twelve
together the George and Tammy hit. So this Christmas duets
our third thing together. But I've had the opportunity to
really work with some amazing people like and Vincent. I
won one of IBM a for the Bluegrass Award for
singing together on the Louvin brother There's Tributy project that
(37:01):
Carl Jackson produced several years ago. So there's been a
lot of really cool things that I have had opportunity
to do. Sung with Jen Artin and Deep Brody, Dallas Smith.
I mean, god, these are all Canadian artists, but they're
huge in Canada. I've sung on I sang on a
Paul Brant Christmas record. I mean, the list goes on
and on. There's been a lot of collaborations that I
(37:22):
sometimes forget about that I'm like, Wow, this is cool,
and there might be another one coming up in the
next six months or so.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
So you never know, man, I'll tell you what. It's
always good to have it. And I got to ask
you about this when The Country Gold is a podcast
out there. We talked a little bit about any surprising
guests coming up. People can expect.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
I'm actually going to be talking to Marty Raven and
Larry Stewart on Monday. I'm going to be we might
get a chance to talk to Dolly Parton again soon
and talking to Diana Carter tomorrow morning. So yeah, And
you know, some of the best conversations I've had are
with Ty Herndon because I know him so well. Sarah
Evans is always so camped and funny. You know, I've
(38:03):
just had some a chance to really catch up with people.
I ran into Tracy Bird on the golf course last
week and I'm like, hey, dude, you have not been
on my show yet. And He's like, give me his number.
So I'm going to get him on the show soon
and do an interview and catch up with Tracy. So
it's I can't believe he hasn't been on the show yet,
but I saw him. I'm like, okay, because I've been
talking to you about you with the producer that we
got to get he just pulls up in a golf cart.
(38:25):
I'm like, all right, then, there it is.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Well, I tell you, Terry, he hasn't been on mine.
He's from my hometown. Here in Beaumont, Texas where I'm
down here in Texas. So definitely tell Tracy until Dina
a Dina to the show about a month ago. Tell
him I said hello to definitely and we'll get in
touch with it. Love Tracy Bird from good old Southeast
Texas down here, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
Absolutely abstely great.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Terry Clark here on the backstage past, presented by Tour Guitars.
Go get your copy. It's Christmas Cheers. It came out
September twenty fifth. A great album out there working with
some of the finest musicians in Nashville and Terry, thanks
so much for all the great contributions the great music
of the nineties, one of my all time bridge. Appreciate
you dropping by here on the backstage pass and hey
continue success going forward. Best to luck with the Christmas
(39:05):
album and the Country Goal podcast.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
I appreciate you well, thank you for the kind words,
and thanks for having me on Brendon. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
That's a Terry clarking. Check her out at Terry Clark
dot com and of course go get the album. It's
Christmas Cheers across all digital platforms. You got to stay
tuned for more
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.