Country Music in the 90’s: The Year is 1991

0:00This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human I survived nine months in captivity and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart and these are the survivor files. Every week I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the survivor files with the Elizabeth Smart on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. On the new podcast, Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering the ride on his motorcycle. I choose option B. I'm Julie Pinero and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita, trading the pity for possibility.

1:02Listen to Solita on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're a bookshelf and you're a for-you-page or equally important to your personality, welcome home. Pro Society is a weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level of discourse. Each week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet and pop culture. With your favorite writers, book talk creators and plenty of overthought opinions. Yeah, I'm just so obsessed. Listen to Pro Society on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Our hometown is not a test tube. 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town. Developers with right wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land. We need cities on a shining hill. This is our town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back.

2:05I guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to our town on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Brett Coleman and I'm Trevor Sikama. If you love football and want to understand what's really happening on the field, check out our show NFL Pro. Every week we break down the biggest plays, trends and matchups using exclusive next-gen stats, insights and NFL content you will not find anywhere else. Whether you're new to football, a fantasy football fanag, or a die hard fan, NFL Pro will help you analyze the game like a pro. Listen to NFL Pro on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to episode two of the 90s podcast.

3:06We're going back to 1991. This was the year we saw the rise of a future icon, said goodbye to one of the most beloved duo's in country music and why stay superstar go through one of the hardest chapters of her life. Oh, don't worry. We'll also hit on some of the pop culture and tech trends that made 1991 feel like a different world. Let's now jump into the top 10 most memorable country music moments from 1991. Number 10. Before Trisha Yearwood was well Trisha Yearwood the Grammy winning star and cooking show host we all know she was still trying to make it in Nashville. That all changed in 1991 when she dropped her debut album and on it was the song that would change everything and I'm talking about she's in love with the boy. But first how did she get that moment? Well she grew up in Georgia singing in school plays, singing in church, basically any place with the microphone. She went to the University of Georgia really quickly before transferring to Belmont and Nashville to study music business.

4:11From there she got an internship at MTM Records and there she started cutting demo tapes and eventually because she had done so many at such a high level she became the go to voice for background vocals. That's when she crossed paths with Garth Brooks. She's saying on his demos and he promised her if he made it big he would help her get a record deal. And as Garth often does when Garth says something he follows through. Garth introduced her to his producer and she eventually got a deal of her own. By 1991 she was opening for Garth Brooks and then came the hit. She's in love with the boy drop March of 1991. It's the story of a small town love. Katie and Tommy, young, broke, crazy about each other, despite what her father thinks. But the twist mom steps in and reminds dad of their own wild love story and then suddenly everything changes.

5:12Both in the song and in the fictional life but then also Trisha's life. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot Country songs chart and just like that Trisha Yearwood was on the map. That song launched a career that is still going strong today and even now it is still one of the most loved country songs of the decade. You may think these artists are so good there's no way they have confidence issues. That is just not the case. With most artists and with Trisha Yearwood especially. Now Trisha had no problem singing she's in love with the boy singing anything she can sing anything. But what a lot of people may not realize is that Trisha battled with her own confidence and her own ability to write her own songs because of something happened when she first moved to Nashville. I talked to Trisha about this in the origin story behind this fear in this lack of confidence and why it changed just a few years ago. When I was in college at Belmont I had a guy tell me that I was not a songwriter and I didn't even realize that it was in there like you talking about moving a lot and you don't know it's in your DNA.

6:16The body keeps the score kind of thing but I must have somehow and I just I believed it and so when I did write some in the early 90s and I never recorded anything that I wrote but I just didn't when I went to work with Garth Fundus I never said hey I'd like to write some for this project it just never occurred to me to even say it he wouldn't have said no you can't but I didn't believe in myself and so anytime anybody would say they wanted to write with me I'd be like oh you don't want to write with me I'm not really a writer and something just happened where the the switch flipped a couple years ago and I was like this guy who blesses heart you know probably doesn't even remember he said it didn't mean anything to him but apparently it stuck with me but I just kind of said that doesn't have to be the truth just because somebody else said it about me and it just kind of opened up. This whole new world so it doesn't take anything away from I mean I feel so lucky I have found the best songs in the world like the song members when I walk away Joe and she's love the boy but it's just another level that I have not that I just I kind of got out of that shell and was like that doesn't have to be the truth and it's opened up a whole new world for me I'm 11 it so much never intended to make a record of it it was really therapy is like songs to my younger self and I never thought I would make a record what context was that conversation.

7:27Where he said you're probably not a songwriter you're not a songwriter well Belmont you know everybody a lot of people Belmont were singers and songwriters aspiring and there was a group of us that were buddies and he was a friend he and his wife were in school together and. We were doing some writing in this group and he said let me see all your because I came to Nashville with my stack of poetry and my songs from high school and so I gave him this stash of stuff and he took it and said and said I'll get back with you and. See if there's anything that we can work on he brought it all back to me and basically and said yeah I don't I don't think you're a songwriter you're a really good singer. And I just was like oh and you know you're it's so personal songwriting is you have to it's so vulnerable to put yourself out there anyway and if someone gives you some negative feedback it just shut me down completely it's a weird mix of you're an impressionable creative age yep. And you're right it is so personal and impressionable and personal when they meet if they don't meet almost delicately in the right exact way.

8:30I can see where you would be scarred and not even purposely by the person who's saying is right because he I'm sure that you know I've talked about him and I feel kind of bad but I don't have any ill will toward him because it was me that made it the truth and I was 19 years old so. Yeah it took a it took a long time for that to kind of get out of my head and even my husband who you know he's in several songwriting hall of aims you know he's been telling me for years you're a writer and there's a song on the Cris game's project actually that I'm a co writer on but that was pulling teeth where he sat me down and said tell me tell me about growing up in a small town and we had this conversation he made it rhyme he made a poetry because I was like I'm not a writer I'll tell you I'll tell you what I know and so I I actually went to him after after all this started and I said you should write with me I'm a lot. It would be a lot more fun for you now because and we have written some together because it's I just feel different now time for a quick pause from the countdown okay when I think about 1991 as far as where I was what was happening. I was a mountain pine Arkansas doing my mountain pine thing but no final release never mind.

9:33That album to me was a masterpiece I ended up memorizing every song every word every song and obviously the biggest song was what smells like teen spirit I mean that song hit in a change everything and we don't at the time know what's going on looking back I mean it really changed the complete texture of I would say even pop music I mean because at the time going into like the early 90s pop music was very much still that glam rock type stuff those 80s hair bands it was pop music for the most part yeah sure there was new kids in the blocking stuff but those glam rockers is what was really on pop radio and as soon as Nirvana existed as soon as they put out never mind as soon as smells like teen spirit hit that started to change now wasn't as easy as the song came out and everybody was now wearing flannel very much not the case however you started to see a lot of the glam and a lot of the big hair bands just slowly start to disappear some of them would even try to change but you know when you're committed it's hard to completely flipped a script and say you're

10:45something else but man it completely eliminated the hair bands and it launched what ended up being a massive sea at all based grunge movement now there was no movement in 1991 because this was the start of the movement in the movement is when the other bands started to hit and crossover now it had been happening in Seattle for a while now looking back now you know seeing the history of it but Nirvana hits that allows Pearl Jam that allows insert all of those awesome bands from the 90s and for me there were two kinds of music all through the 90s country music and alternative music and why what country music talked about where I was coming from alternative music talked about kind of how I felt and both of those are cliche things to save a cliche is generally our for reason but man smells like teen spirit was everywhere I remember I didn't even really know what he was saying heck I don't think I really knew what he was saying until I had the internet and it could really look it up and I don't even know if you quiz me now I'd get all the words right I can sing along with it perfectly but there's a lot of

11:51I really here's a weird out even did a parody of it now that I think about this it's all coming back he did a parody of this song and the whole joke was you couldn't understand what Kurt Cobain was saying in the song smells like teen spirit so 1991 never mind comes out smells like teen spirit hits and holy crap that song changed it all Nirvana broke through alternative music broke through a more realistic version of people making music broke through is pretty dynamic it was dramatic it was amazing so that's the first one that's like the good one but also in 1991 I remember watching the press conference when magic Johnson announced the HIV I remember watching that they they put it up on all the networks and back at the time of 1990 one they were like four channels I mean you get a cable but they're really where the networks were dominating all the good shows on network TV occasionally there'd be something on cable but whenever something went across ABC NBC CBS and even Fox you know that didn't

13:00become a real network until around you know the early to mid 90s when something was that big and one on all four it was like the presidential address it was like the OJ Bronco chase it was like magic Johnson at a press conference announcing that he had HIV that was crazy and I didn't understand much about HIV rates at the time I mean no one did when you think back especially a kid I'm sure some people did but I I didn't but I was a fan of magic Johnson everybody knew magic Johnson he was on TV he was winning championships he smiling he's doing commercials he was larger than life all the sudden he was talking about something that I had mostly only heard about in like serious scary ways as a kid so 1991 was memorable in two ways Nirvana was music I loved that ended up shifting everything is big if strange it was exciting it was different magic's announcement was another kind it wasn't fun or cool but it made the world feel a little bigger and more complicated

14:08is like wait what it's all like back in 1991 with those two moments and I go those hit hard like I can remember exactly where I was when I was watching Nirvana smells like teen spirit that video for the first time or I can remember I was a magic Johnson to the press conference so that's what's up that's my personal 1991 memories that are not country related the bobby cast will be right back when I was 14 years old I was kidnapped and health captive for nine months I survived and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them I'm Elizabeth smart and these are the survivor files I just remember this low taunting voice next to my ear saying shut up don't say anything every week I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable I knew if he woke up without a doubt he was going to hurt me

15:15I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed and I just started screaming they are abducted stalked controlled and nearly silenced but these aren't stories about what's taken from them their stories about what it takes to make it out alive listen to the survivor files with Elizabeth smart on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts on the new podcast solita we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle I choose option B I'm Julie Beniero and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first I'm on a mission to reclaim the word solita trading the pity for possibility every time I tried to be alone I kept meeting people and they were like you smiled at us not a lot of people smile around here it's when you're alone that you're most receptive to the world as it is

16:20and not the lies your soul about it it can be a time where you push your limits change your mind or wake up to a new version of yourself so whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip I hope you listen to solita on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts if you're bookshelf and you're for you page are equally important to your personality welcome home this is pros society the weekly podcast that's part book club part group chat for thought daughters pop culture obsessives and anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island to deserve the same level of discourse I'm Eli Rallo and every week we're connecting the dots between books the internet and the conversations everyone can't stop having I'm gonna have to look up this story yeah I'm obsessed so obsessed from best-selling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments nothing is off the table it's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters and that is the Trojan horse

17:25whether you're looking for literary deep dives smart pop culture conversations or a community of readers who love to think a little too much you're in the right place listen to pros society on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts see you between the pages our town is small taders by most standards right but to the people who grew up here it's everything what happens when a quiet Tennessee town becomes the front line in a battle over the future of America developers with right wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land in the area the first thing you see when it pops up is high nears and apple at you but they weren't just planning houses we need cities on a shining hill that exemplifying in body the Christian way of life stop right there is that normal a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment got me to make a rule and decides to fight back do not use my hard work to sell your bull they're not just opposing what's being planned for

18:31here our hometown is not a test to they feel like they're standing in opposition to an entire administration guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbilly's now did you listen to our town on the iHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts I'm Britt Coleman and I'm Trevor Sikama if you ever watched a game and wondered what really made the difference beyond the final score that's exactly why we created NFL Pro Scroad got a man wide open put down stay up every week we use exclusive next gen stats insights and NFL content to break down the biggest stories matchups and moments from around the league we go beyond the box score to uncover the numbers the tendencies and details that help explain what actually happened on the field fires it out the flag the Barclay to beat one man spins past another leap so forth and don't worry this isn't just a show for stats experts we use advanced analytics to help tell the story behind the game

19:33turning the numbers into insights that every fan can understand and enjoy so whether you're a casual fan learning more about football or a hardcore fan who can't get enough analysis our goal is to help you see the game in a whole new way if you've ever wanted to know why a playwork how a matchup was won or what most fans missed on Sunday NFL Pro delivers insights you simply can't get anywhere else listen to NFL Pro on the iHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your button yes number nine while 1991 had its highs it also had one of country music saddest moments on september 4th we lost dottie west in a tragic car accident she was on her way to perform at the grand olopry want a car broke down a neighbor offered her a ride to get there on time but he ended up losing control the car and crashing into the divider at first she seemed okay but internally she had

20:37some serious injuries after multiple surgeries and 30 units of blood she sadly passed away during a third operation her driver survived but was later put on probation for reckless endangerment the entire country music world was devastated Kenny Rogers one of her close friends gave a beautiful eulogy he said when she sang about pain she felt pain when she sang about love she felt love that sums her up a bunch of artists showed up to honor her johnny cash june cardor cash connie smith it was a big loss big loss in Nashville it was big loss in country music in 2018 dottie was finally inducted into the country music hall of fame something fans and friends have been pushing for since her death she was a trailblazer the first female country artist 20 grammy a member of the the opera since 1964 her life was even made into a tv movie back in 1995 and her hometown honored her with dottie west memorial highway even decades later she's remembered as one of the women who helped shape the genre number eight august 10th 1991 a big day country music that's when Vince

21:42Gill officially became a member of the grand olopry and get this he was inducted by roya cuck himself if you know anything about country music you know the opera is sacred ground so for Vince to be welcomed in like that that was huge it was a moment that solidified his place in country music history during the ceremony he sang when i call your name and you could fill the emotion when looking back at the youtube videos of how much he appreciated not only that moment but the honor that is being a grand olopry member he first stepped on the opera stage back in 1989 and by 1991 after a run of hits awards and respect he was finally invited and then joined the grand olopry since then Vince has kept coming back to that stage still playing the opera regularly and he's even brought in some people like rascal flats and a little big town pretty cool his 1991 induction was a career milestone and all these years later it still holds a ton of weight Vince Gill has a catalog of songs they can

22:48go up against anyone a country music i'm lucky enough to know Vince i'm lucky enough to have spent a significant amount of time with him at the opry i'm lucky enough that he has been on microphones with me and we've talked about things over the years and we recently talked about his mount rush more of his own songs and what songs would make that list one two three and four and events ever gets tired of singing his own songs because he is saying them thousands and thousands of times so here's a clip of Vince Gill and myself sitting down talking about that what would you put on your mount rush more oh god good question uh well first would be go rest high on that mountain and then one might be um an obscure song a mind called young man's town i love the message of that when i call your name probably and maybe i still believe in you uh come on that one makes mine yeah are there any songs that you're in that maybe you don't love to sing as much as you used to because you're kind of over it oh i don't know about that you know because i remember when i was young and struggling to have and i struggled for a lot of years in town before i really started having some

23:50hits those years for me of of wanting to have a familiar song it made me not ever be critical of having to do a certain song for the rest of my life i'm i'm grateful for just about any song that ever showed up it did something whenever katyland's grandfather came to town i took over to the grandaloptery because anyone that comes to town and knows country music wants to go see the grandaloptery and so we go to the show luckily unfortunate enough i've played it probably around 20 times and so also to the television show and i hosted it when they launched that show in all during COVID so i have a very special relationship with the opera and so before the show i took them and we were walking around backstage and vince kill was playing that night and vince kill is the nicest guy and so i introduced katyland's grandfather to vince kill and vince kill is so nice and kind i think he probably spent 15 minutes with katyland's grandfather and that's a memory he'll never forget and that's something i'm super appreciative of so shout out vince kill and shout out 1991

24:53okay quick detour from country music because 1991 had some wild tech moments this was the year of the world wide web you know what public in 91 british scientist ten burners lee launched the first web page and basically said world here's the internet and how jacks us it dial up slow loud and painful but it was the only way in here's that sound that you would hear when you were dialing in oh and also if you were on the internet and someone picked up the phone they heard that sound

25:54to because you couldn't be on the phone if someone was dialed into the internet because well that was the phone also in 91 the game boy was dominating it was so cool because it was basically nintendo in your hand and now that seems normal but back then i didn't have one but one of our friends did and we thought it was the coolest thing ever tetris pff i sucked at it but i love playing if you were going to tetris you were automatically cool all right back to the countdown number seven let's jump back to november 12th 1991 because that is the day tracy law and strapped his debut album called sticks and stones the record had it all upbeat energy slow ballads tons of emotion right out of the gate tracy made a splash and honestly the album is still considered one of the best from the 90s james strapped produce the record and it delivered four big time hints somebody paints the wall made it to number eight running behind peaked at number four today's lonely full hit number three and the title track sticks and stones became tracy law

26:57rancis first number one song the album itself climbed to number 10 on the country album charts and critics love tracy's deep baritone and the strong songwriting but really what makes the album standout is what it meant for tracy's career this album officially planted him as part of the 90s new traditionalist movement and country music and it also featured band members from garth brooks's band the g-men and producer james strapped even played drums on one of the tracks now here's something that a lot of people don't know about tracy the album was actually delayed for months because tracy was shot yeah in may 91 he was the victim of a robbery attempt in a hotel parking lot in Nashville and was shot four times he had to have surgery and recover before he could even think about releasing music and i talked down for a while about this on the bobby cast was talking with friend said hey tracy larynx coming over and he was like ask him about the time he was shot now some people in my life that have been shot don't like talking about when they were shot you know i've had to talk about it so much

27:58that uh... uh... i kind of just kind of go through the motion stuff i get glassy adnack like i'm not here i just kind of go through the deal because people are curious about it and it was it was uh... uh... it was a tough time in my life that happened uh... uh... may have not even won i just finished the background vocals on the last track on the album and i had a friend of mine that came in town that i grown up with a young lady that i graduated house with completely platonic relationship and uh... she was excited she was coming through to go see some other folks we graduated with lived in indiana and so she stayed a couple of nights came to studio we went out i took her some of the bars and stuff that i like to frequent we had a couple of beers and i was taking her back to drop her off her hotel open the door and had a pistol stuck in my face and uh... they were trying to force this up to her room they were gonna do you can imagine what and uh... i was able to fight them off and she ran the front of the hotel and they emptied two pistols on me i've had it going to my head i was on literally it's not fun it's you were shot i thank god i wasn't shot i remember that i got pistol whipped but i didn't feel it yeah you know that it got in my head and they're like i can remember

29:01my pen number like i i blanked out where i was like i don't know my pen number to get in the ATM and so they pistol with me and i was like i don't feel that and i was just praying like please don't pull the trigger but because i don't remember it or didn't feel it did you feel when you got shot i didn't feel the initial impact but what i do remember is that they shot my the the worst of it i got i grabbed the pistol with my left hand the guy was right behind me and i grabbed the gun and it went off and shot my finger and then uh... so i hit him in the mouth other people came back on me she took off running the front and they they i got hit in the hip which i still carry bullet there i got hit in the upper right arm and they shot me right through the left knee right through the joint and i out saw the leg all the way through so i had three three surgeries and in fact wound up having to have a total knee replacement in in 2016 so this is 91 though this was uh... uh... may have 91 this happened before you i mean no it was a random thing but i know but i'm saying you went through you then got to have major success after you were shot multiple times yeah yeah like you

30:06toured after you had to go through all of this that and the bad thing about it you know what uh you know how how fragile a launch is and and if you've got the priority of anybody at a record label or the powers it be you better capitalize on your opportunity while you had that moment because they're going to move on to the next flavor of the month pretty quick if you don't hit or get something rolling so i'm i'm i'm getting ready to drop my first record i got all this momentum all this belief around me and here i am i can't even forget wall that's my point and i'm like i'm mad i'm mad that i'm about to lose my slot and and if i don't come back quick so i never took care of my mental health i i didn't rehab properly i had a lot of physical issues with it that have that have plagued me for years and years and years that i still struggle with this day but i knew that if i didn't get out of that hospital bed and get back on the bus as fast as i couldn't start working that first album that i'd lose my shot and i probably wouldn't get another shot and that was my point with you toured like you had success you probably went back too early if you pull up the sticks and stones album cover i don't know if y'all have it but if you look at the back shot i'm in a pair of red acid wash jeans and you can tell how skinny i am i lost so much weight

31:12through that because i was i was hospital bit for a while uh and they literally we we did a photo shoot for that album part of it was done out at Percy Priston i'm i'm actually bit down on a rock and they had to carry me out there because i couldn't walk on that left leg so they literally i literally got on a guy's back and he carried me out there and sent me on that rock and i can't bend my knee so you can tell by the way i'm sitting that that that knee is i mean it's probably as big as a candle open that photo too but i'd lost so much weight through that period i really i really needed to take six months before i got out there and started doing what i did and how much you take oh so uh that would have happened in May i i think i was probably on the road july august wild stupid but but i didn't have a choice right you know here i mean i had to without a death just wild it too much because it's not like you can go half throttle either no that single dropped in august six and stones dropped in august so i had to was that a big story then

32:12they used it the label used it for everything that could squeeze out of it because it they'd and it just gave us something to talk about i didn't want to do it but i didn't have any control over it uh but you know who who's to say would would they have been able to launch my career without that nugget uh would prefer not to get shot uh but uh got to take advantage of the opportunities given number six number six number six in 1991 we said goodbye to one of the most iconic duos in country music history i'm talking about the juts Naomi and why known a jud they had this one of a kind mother daughter harmony and their songs were full of heart and truth but before we get to the farewell let's rewind the juts got their start in the early 80s and they blew up fast with songs like why not me and also grandpa tell me about them good old days their music connected

33:13because it was real family love struggle it was all there because that's exactly who they were then in 1990 Naomi jud was diagnosed with hepatitis C and she made the tough decision to retire from touring so they planned a one final tour to give fans a proper goodbye now it wasn't just a tour it was an event they hit major cities across the united states they shared personal stories on stage and they played all the hits love can build day bridge out of the jam between your heart and mine man people just crying in their seats flies on the butter it was all fan interaction as well they were family and they made everyone in the audience feel like family that tour was very emotional but it also marked the beginning of why known a solo career she would go on to crush that in her own right the juts didn't just make music they opened doors for women in country music and their songs

34:14still live on today number five november 1991 NBC premiered a show called hot country nights think of it as saturday night live meets the opera it featured performances from big names like looking back alibama vincill Travis trit that's also of those there were comedy bits from people like Tim Allen and Jeff don't know they weren't blue collar comedy yet but you get it right there's little music little stand up all packed into one show it was created by dick Clark and gene weed and they were hoping to ride the wave of countries mainstream boom i mean 90s country was out of its mind so they wanted to make a show that reflected that unfortunately it went up against some of the other massive shows at the time like murder she wrote dang you jeska landsbury is it on him jeska landsbury i don't have to go to google here in my mind it was jeska landsbury her name is drum roll please angelo landsbury and her fictional character was jeska fletcher dude that's my mind my mind

35:19gave me both answers and because of that neither were right i was double wrong so the actor was angelo landsbury who played jeska fletcher in murder she wrote dang what did my brain do crap like that well yeah anyway i went up against murder she wrote and angelo landsbury was solving crimes yeah good luck beating that also america's funniest home videos back when you actually made videos and hankuttonites 12 episodes and done still it was a cool attempt to bring country music to prime time and it gave a lot of artists a big national spotlight even if it were just for a short while it's hard to picture country music without reba but we did come very close to losing her in 1991 that year reba's band was flying out of sandiego when their plane hit bad weather and hit the side of a mountain all ten people on board were killed including the pilot and the copilot reba was not on the flight but she was devastated these weren't just band members they were her friends

36:21she considered walking away from music altogether but instead she did what reba does she turned heartbreak into something powerful she dedicated her next album for my broken heart to them the title track still one of her most emotional songs she hosted a benefit concert in Nashville to raise money for a scholarship in their memory that loss changed her forever but it also showed the world reba's strength and thankfully she kept going she kept singing and she kept being reba let's take a quick pause from the countdown 1991 was a wild year in america in general and all of it whether we realize it or not ended up touching country music in some way here are a few of the major headlines from that year that tell us where we were as a country and maybe why certain songs hit a little bit harder the goal for begins and ends fast it was January of 1991 operation desert storm launched and it was the first war that most people actually watched on live television

37:22this was america's first scene in war we were glued to our tv's watching night vision bombs drop in real time i just remember seeing red what looked like rockets flying through the top of the screen in a dark night it was crazy it also sparked a massive wave of patriotism especially in southern and rural communities aka country music's core audience suddenly flag wave and song started getting a lot more airplay tobi Keith wouldn't hit until a few years later but the groundwork for that post 9-11 sound it was being laid right there thanks to lee greenwood alibamas song of the south and even garth sliding in themes of pride and tradition on roping the wind the rodney king beating gets caught on tape march 3rd 1991 rodney king is beaten by lapd officers and a guy happens to catch it on his camcorder this wasn't like today where everybody had a phone the guy just happened to have a camcorder the video airs everywhere it's shocking and for the first time americans are seeing police brutality on their home televisions it starts a national conversation around race

38:28and justice that would carry over for decades now this wasn't something the country music tackled directly in 1991 because the genre didn't move that fast but it did signal a moment where artists started to get more socially aware you could argue this helped plant the seeds for the outlaw revival that came later like stergill and isbell and artists who would actually write about this kind of stuff Jeffrey Dahmer's arrested in 1991 he's arrested him a walkie in july and the public finds out what he's been doing and i'm not going to get to graphic but let's just say he was doing things that made serial killers like ted bundy it looked like part-timers and maybe you seen the show on Netflix but holy crap this was the true crime boom before it was the podcast category there were documentaries and new specials and magazine covers they definitely added to this weird undercurrent of the darkness of the early 90s in america that paranoia in the suburbs feeling again not something that was saying about directly in country music but the vibe was dark

39:30and this was the time where a lot of dark started to be translated through all kinds of music in october of 91 the entire country watched as Anita Hill testified before congress accusing supreme court nominee clearance thomas of sexual harassment this was another first it was the beginning of america grappling with sexual harassment in the workplace and it forced these conversations into the mainstream it was messy political everybody watched and a lot of women who had never spoken out before started speaking out if you want to draw a line from that moment to the rise of strong outspoken women in country music reba atrisha the chicks and Miranda a lot of people do say it starts here at least a version of it does the whole i'm not just going to be a supportive wife valid um starts to take root here and it had been started years and years before but this was a new generation of women that started to take ownership of their own story

40:31and in 1991 michael jordan finally broke through after years of being the most talented guy in the mba but always getting knocked out by the pistons jordan and the bulls finally did it they swept the pistons in the eastern conference finals then beat magic johnson and the lakers for michael jordan's first ever mba championship that's right and why does that matter in a country music podcast because this is the exact moment when michael jordan became more than just an athlete he became a global brand air jordan's took off gatorades be like mic commercials hit hard and suddenly we're living in a world where sport stars are now pop culture icons not just players it's that same crossover energy that we start seeing a country music right around this time garth becomes a stadium act reba becomes a tv star line dancing becomes mainstream and just like jordan country stars are no longer playing just to their base they're crossing over into everything music tv fashion branding 1991 was the year just being great stop being enough you had to be iconic

41:39let's take a quick pause for a message from our sponsor when i was 14 years old i was kidnapped and health captive for nine months i survived and i've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them i'm a Elizabeth smart and these are the survivor files i just remember this low taunting voice next to my ear saying shut up don't say anything every week i'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable i knew if he woke up without a doubt he was going to hurt me i started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed and i just started screaming they are abducted stalked controlled and nearly silenced but these aren't stories about what's taken from them their stories about what it takes to make it out alive listen to the survivor files with the list of a smart on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you

42:42get your podcasts on the new podcast solita we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman i can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle i choose option b i'm julie biniero and i travel by myself because it's a rare space where i can say yes without asking anyone else first i'm on a mission to reclaim the word solita trading the pity for possibility every time i tried to be alone i kept meeting people and they were like you smile that's not a lot of people smile around here it's when you're alone that you're most receptive to the world as it is and not the lies your soul about it it can be a time where you push your limits change your mind or wake up to a new version of yourself so whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip i hope you listen to solita on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts if your bookshelf and your four you page are

43:46equally important to your personality welcome home this is pro society the weekly podcast that's part book club part group chat for thought daughters pop culture obsessives and anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level of discourse i'm ilai rallo and every week we're connecting the dots between books the internet and the conversations everyone can't stop i'm gonna have to look up this story i'm obsessed i'm obsessed from best-selling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments nothing is off the table so like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters and that is the trojan horse whether you're looking for literary deep dives smart pop culture conversations or a community of readers who love to think a little too much you're in the right place listen to pro society on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts see you between the pages bartenders small taters by most standards right but to the people who grew up here it's everything

44:51what happens when a quiet tenancy town becomes the front line in a battle over the future of america developers with right wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land in the area the first thing you see when it pops up is high nears and apple etchum but they weren't just planning houses we need cities on a shining hill that exemplify and embody the christian way of life stop right there is that normal a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment god need mentor and decides to fight back do not use my hard work to sell your they're not just opposing what's being planned for here our hometown is not a test too they feel like they're standing in opposition to an entire administration i guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbilly's now did you listen to our town on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts i'm brit colman and i'm chair versica ma have you ever watched a game and

45:53wondered what really made the difference beyond the final score that's exactly why we created nfl pro strong got a man wide open every week we use exclusive next gen stats insights and nfl content to break down the biggest stories matchups and moments from around the league we go beyond the box war to uncover the numbers the tendencies and details that help explain what actually happened on the field fires it out the flat the barkley who beats one man spins past another leap so good for and don't worry this isn't just a show for stats experts we use advanced analytics to help tell the story behind the game turning the numbers into insights that every fan can understand and enjoy so whether you're a casual fan learning more about football or a hard-core fan who can't get enough analysis our goal is to help you see the game in a whole new way if you've ever wanted to know why a playwork how a matchup was won or what most fans missed on sunday nfl pro delivers

46:56insights you simply can't get anywhere else listen to nfl pro on the i heart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast nfl 3 let's talk about some of the artists who hit number one in 1991 and think kind of never look back meaning they were cemented mark chestnut brother jukebox that songs all about heartbreak and finding comfort in things that won't leave you like a jukebox sister wine mother freedom father time that's country music poetry right there it was originally recorded though by dawn everly in 1976 and Keith Whitley had a version but in February of 91 mark chestnut took it all the way to number one for two weeks his first number one song and one that still hits today Brooks and done brand new man it was their debut single it was an instant smash brand new man hit number one in 1991

47:58introduced the world to the perfect mix of hockey talk and modern energy the song was sub beat and basically announced we're here we're gonna be huge and they were and they still are my greed had to walk on faith now before my greed ever taught the charts he was an NFL player for the bangles after injuries forced him to retire he pivoted to country music and nailed it for those that don't know my greed think of sam hunt played college football went and tried out for the chiefs now country music star pivoted nailed it walk on faith was his only solo number one but he co-wrote tons of hits for other stars walk on faith was released in late 1990 but it hit number one February of 1991 and became a standout for its message of hope and resilience how about this one treasure year wood she's in love with the boy we talked about this one earlier but it's worth repeating she's in love with the boy with treacherous first number one and helped launch a

48:59powerhouse career she'd go on to have five number ones but this is the one that started it all and it is her number one most stream song ever number one is she's in love with the boy going from memory here because i just had her over at the house we were talking about this number two is x's and o's and number three is how do i live without you remember she recorded that and lean and rhymed record of that it was all weirdered because the movie and yeah check that whole story out there's a line of cartwright leap of faith this was line of cartwrights only number one song it came in September of 1991 it's a love song on the surface but the deeper message is about believing in yourself and going all in both in relationships and in life he later became a preacher so it kind of tracks alan jackson i'd love you all over again alan's first number one came from his debut album and it hits the top of the chart march of 1991 he actually wrote it for his wife Denise as an anniversary gift and it's a straight up love song beginning to end that track

50:02and the whole album made alan jackson a household name dug stone in a different light what a jam this one came from his debut album and hit number one in mid-91 it's about seeing someone in a completely new way once they're outside their workday persona by the way dug stone non-general name his role name is dug brooks but he went by stone to avoid confusion with that other brooks who was blown up at the time yeah good call good call but love that song diamond reo meet in the middle man what a jam my youth's director had this CD and we would play it in the church van all the time because he would come and pick us up on sundays Wednesdays it felt like we were always in the church van and we were always listening to diamond reo also the very first concert ever went to and magic springs it was a theme park and stalarkin saw who played freaking diamond reo meet in the middle dang the first debut single by our group to ever go number one in the billboard country chart

51:05meet in the middle had a message that still holds up compromise communication meet in half way in a relationship killer harmonies tight musicianship and still such a jam also very hard to sing because once i sang this with deirkspentlies comedy band hot country nights and we'll talk about that later kind of but they played it in its original key holy crap that song high mid and mid oh you don't even know how high it is until you try to sing it but it is a jam still to this day number two we mentioned garts band the g min let's talk a little more about garth which you're going to be hearing a lot of all through the 90s because obviously well it's garth in 1991 garth brooks had firmly started rewriting the record books that year at the acm awards garth went six for six yeah i went every category he was nominated for taught male vocalist album of the year for no fences song of the year for the dance video of the year for the dance single of the year

52:09for friends on low places and of course entertainer of the year can you imagine giving six different acceptance speeches one night at some point you just start thinking your dog i like think Stanley and Ella without them being good dogs i don't know that i'd be here like six speeches that's crazy garth held the record for most acm wins in a single year until faith tied him in 1999 and christstayppleton matched it again in 2016 one of the coolest moments of that night though back then was when garth accepted male vocalist and gave a heartfelt shout out to the legends who paved the way garth always talking about others who allowed him to do what he does classic garth move that night basically locked garth in as a country superstar like everybody already knew but now they had to accept it and he eventually went on to be named acm artist of the decade big night big era yeah big garth before we wrap up 1991 let's talk about some of the artists that were born in 1991 you want to feel old okay here's a quick rundown of some of the most famous people

53:13born in 1991 Ed Sheeran Emma Roberts Austin Butler Jeremy Alan White Travis Scott Tyler Childers and of course a good friend of mine shei mooney from dan and shei shei barely made the list because he wasn't born until late december 91 but we got to put him in there you probably no dan and shei from speechless and tequila they have 11 massive number one songs and since we can't really play songs on the podcast itself because i will go to podcast jail i thought i'd play this clip of shei in studio of my radio show doing public domain karaoke this was to avoid paying any sort of fee and yeah you can sing these songs because they're over a hundred years old shei had no idea this was coming but being as talented as he is here is shei from dan and shei born in 1991 doing public domain karaoke would you how about a little hush little baby public domain oh can be saying for free oh nice yes keep would you mind giving us 15 20 seconds hush little baby oh he's

54:17standing oh he's standing oh here i've been waiting my whole life for this i actually i was practicing this this morning can go he's gonna perform it to me as well which you know for you to get out on the fact i'm trying to make sure i know the words this i might screw this i don't know what i a little baby don't say a word daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird and if that mockingbird don't see that's all right because dan and shei is here to do it for you baby there we like that that's good thank you thank you guys oh we're done good we got it we got it we have to do it bingo b-i-n-g-o is done by shei public domain yeah okay this is b-i-n-g-o yeah yeah that's it's like bingo's hi n-g-o b-i-n-g-o b-i-n-g-o happy go us his name oh yeah go out all right thank you that's your next single so it is actually that's it's okay you know it's gonna go the last freebie a song we can do for free

55:21Mary had a little lamb as done by dan and shei all right okay i think this is kind of the rendition of like our silent night you know and honestly though Mary had a little lamb like it's not too far off from dan and shei's sound you know grown back is like the savage garden country the og and i've said that in 15 years give me a break it was happy me a break that's pretty good i love the savage garden give me a break i'm on all right let's see here he started too high dang this is harder than i thought it was good a bit what's the rest of the word little lamb little lamb Mary had a little lamb oh that's i was doing the wrong i was doing the wrong melody what were you doing i don't know i don't know i don't know i don't know look at you Mary had a little lamb little lamb let's go no no no everybody Mary had a little lamb

56:24what code was what i know everybody now Mary had a little lamb bobby um horrible little lamb Mary had a little lamb something white eyes snow they dan and shei come on that's been a podcast listeners thanks so much why don't you were doing it first i don't know but i it was it's not familiar didn't it yeah like i was like is he didn't robo roger about i didn't know what it was but it was something you run a pocket i'll tell you this it was another uh public domain that hasn't been written yet they'll have checked back in two hundred years i've been thinking you know dan i've been having a discussion about this for our next album it's going to be all public domain songs actually for free there's not enough of i mean christmas Christmas maybe you guys are smart because you do originals but also you can record the classics or free it's unbelievable it's unbelievable yeah yeah it's great and make them on it what are you doing twinkle twinkle little star that's what it was Amy yeah twinkle twinkle

57:24now we're singing very had a little lamb just we saw did more or more than had an interpolation it's been a little star today yeah neon star written by earnest well it's sick how does twinkle all to go though twinkle twinkle love you should let me sing it for you bye twinkle twinkle little star got it how i wonder what you are up above the neon signs wait wait wait wait wait is it is it is twinkle twinkle little star public domain it is sure is being bang boom you know and they kicked the door in right now in a rest danish yeah no number one one one one one one one one one one that's not an effect that's my voice number one we mentioned brookson done earlier let's take a second talk about those guys august 13th 1991 brookson done dropped brand new man and it was a game changer for all of country music for me for you for everyone still today it is a game changer the record was packed with hits

58:24my next broken heart neon moon come on neon moon one of the top 10 greatest country songs of all time or how about brand new man the song that we talked about earlier and the song that alone launched them into the stratosphere the album blended traditional country with a very modern twist and set the tone for a whole new career because they were solo artists and they were kind of matched up together and i was talking to them about that and here they are kind of giving that i mean we were throwing together you know 1990 and uh... just told the girl right songs and we don't know what we're doing i mean for what project and it was in in this room a different form of this room and uh... we we did it over a weekend and took them uh... few of the songs back to brand new man and the next broken heart back to timid boy who was starting to arrest the records with uh... clob Davis at the time and some new man some boots good and boogie some of them found some of that what i hear those like an arranged marriage it feels like musically arranged

59:26the average but me but you but you didn't know it was no not a clue very we were thinking worst case scenario we're thinking one thing would lead to another and we we go out and find you know other jobs or get record deals or whatever but it took off like immediately you know i don't know what i don't know what that had to be nine i mean thirty five years yeah a lot of ebb and flow for sure you know went through that period of um... we've both been doing this a long time without a whole lot to show for it honestly and um... all of a sudden number one number one number one number one number one like what in the hell you know it's just weird when you beat up bars and you work so hard and you feel like here every bit is good then as you are now but what just happened well what did happen because again you're both doing it individually yeah you get together but so what's the difference like what what was that i mean what was the combination that you think worked uh... uh... within the group and don't know we still wonder about that

1:00:31which is what what for the other and do what we told uh... are not told uh... but there was just a lot going on i mean there's such a such a broad reference to different circumstances that have happened at the time you know timing that's not to do with it i'm sure politics when the record labels and the business you know you know i think the country singer thing to say is gosh darmer just glad to be here you know three chords and two it's got it yeah i think we didn't have hits yeah dark we're not here now and i think we had some pretty good songs but i think we had absolutely nothing in common we had nothing in common on stage we came from totally different backgrounds as far as performing went and i think it was kind of a NASCAR race it's like there's a wreck there's a wreck on the way you know so let's watch this for a while and see how are they at the wall you know and we did plenty of times but i think i think there was some nervous energy between the two of us kind of always has been we didn't know we didn't know if it took me

1:01:34to start at that level where you don't even know who's going to be the lead singer i mean or if there is going to be a lead singer that feels honestly awkward i mean if i was just saying it to you guys and both of you guys are great singers that feels awkward that you have to have that discussion i don't know that we ever had the discussion now except that we just went yeah Ronnie was singing hits right off the bat even though we wrote next broken heart and brand new man he grabbed on it i couldn't have sung either one of those songs near that well it's easy for me to look back on it i think we're both trying so hard with our egos involved not knowing how it's going to go you know but it shook out to me realizing really what a great singer he is and i don't have any trouble saying that now after 35 years we've been through freaking miles of up and down and mud and running through the fricking daisies out there you know it's just it's it's crazy to look back on even going through 2010 when we quit and minute you know but it didn't take but a couple of years and and a couple of

1:02:37gigs showed up and we never really lost that whatever it is that happens on stage and especially when Reba got involved you know we've done a couple of big tours with her and she drug us into Vegas and then we're doing a two and a half hour show just shooting the bull and singing the songs we both had a pretty good handful of hits and like damn this is fun and just reminded us this is great and we put this thing together with Reba but damn we got a hillbilly band back there that's our hockey talk bands it's truth and and uh let's go bang that again because that really was fun you know get over our BS and we tried to blow it yeah who do you credit as to keeping it from being blown our manager clients clearance yeah especially with this sudden resurgence of things with the reboot projects and stuff i can remember in being in cancun Reba Narval's place and we were

1:03:40we were all like like out face in the ocean in the pool you know in this rock star Reba's house and kick it back and going you know i don't i don't care normal if i never sing again i think i'm good i'm good right right here right now hey guys well just just be still for a minute let things let things pan out well but it wasn't two weeks probably after that that he he and clearance came to us and said you don't want to do Vegas i thought well sure i don't care how much how much and it just you know it just everything snowball from there again next thing you know they sell over a million albums except now it certified seven times platinum so it's very very very very very very very successful dang seven million they actually wrote a bunch of the songs themselves at one awards and decades later they're still playing those songs and also still making a lot of money from those songs that they wrote a long time ago

1:04:44the album cover them setting on offense with a sunset behind them pure country vibes i love Brooks and done ah beautiful yes coming next spoiler alert it's the year after 1991 i'm talking about 1990 two there you go thank you guys for listening to this series or two episodes in i hope you enjoyed it we're gonna do after 1992 brace yourself 1990 three thank you uh follow me on instagram at mr bobby bones or at bobbycast let's see you next week or next year that's stupid that's a stupid joke that's like when people go see you next year on new years except my joke was a little stupider all right bye everybody love this episode of the bobbycast subscribe on i heart radio apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts

1:05:48on the new podcast solita we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman i can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering the ride on his motorcycle i choose option b i'm julie piniero and i travel by myself because it's a rare space where i can say yes without asking anyone else first i'm on a mission to reclaim the word solita trading the pity for possibility listen to solita on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts i survived nine months in captivity and i've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them i'm a lizbath smart and these are the survivor files every week i'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable abducted stalked controlled and nearly silenced these are stories about what it takes to make it out alive listen to the survivor files with the lizbath

1:06:49smart on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts if you're bookshelf and you're for you page are equally important to your personality welcome home pro society is a weekly podcast that's part book club part group chat for anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level of discourse each week we're connecting the dots between books the internet and pop culture with your favorite writers book talk creators and plenty of overthought opinions yeah i'm obsessed listen to pro society on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts our hometown is not a test tube 90 miles northeast of Nashville a battle for the future of america plays out in one small town developers with right wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land we need cities on a shining hill this is our town a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now did you listen to our town on the i heart

1:07:53radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts i'm Brett Coleman and i'm Trevor sick of them if you love football and want to understand what's really happening on the field check out our show NFL pro every week we break down the biggest plays trends and matchups using exclusive next gen stats insights and NFL content you will not find anywhere else whether you're new to football a fantasy football fanag or a die hard man NFL pro will help you analyze the game like a pro listen to NFL pro on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts this is an i heart podcast guaranteed human