Country Music in the 90’s: The Year is 1992

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6:00Guaranteed Human. Freaking awesome. So, traditional country sensibilities in this record. But, a bit polished, a bit abnormally polished. But, it was so good. And if I were to go, Okay, what was the song from this record? That has stood the test of time the most. I still believe in you. Multiple awards. The Grammy for Best Country Song. And tons of honors from CMA. It was great and I still believe in you is still great and feels contemporary and is

7:05beloved in country music. Joe Diffie put out regular Joe. I gotta say I didn't get a chance to know Joe until later in his life, Rest in Peace Joe Diffie, but man I really enjoyed being around Joe. And growing up in Arkansas in the 90s I listened to a lot of Joe Diffie. Because he had songs that were funny, he had songs that were country, he had like the things that I was. And so I thought it was pretty cool because what would happen is I'd play the opera and Joe Diffie would be playing the opera as well. And when you play the grand old opera enough time you start to form a bit of a community with other people that performed the opera a lot. Like I think Joe Diffie is one of those guys. I think Ricky Skags is one of those guys for me. I think, I mean the first time I ever met Kicks Brooks was at the opera. And so Joe was awesome. Joe did an episode of the Bobby Cast before he passed away. And what a lot of people didn't know about Joe is that the reason he decided to move to Nashville and chase a career as a musician is because he was laid off by his everyday job back home.

8:06Joe told me this and his entire story about being a musician and moving to Nashville. Here's a clip of that. I was working on a foundry back in Duncan, Oklahoma. And they shut the plant down. They just all off and I'd been singing the VFWs. I moved to Nashville when I was 28. So a little bit older compared to the 19th and two year old moving here and out. So you get laid off? Yeah and I had been to Nashville once before with my aunt and a friend of mine. We did this little thing as a trio and we came in and my aunt had known somebody here in Nashville. And so anyway we met with them and I just fell in love with the city of the end but I didn't have an opportunity because I still had a job at the time. But when I got laid off I was like, well, you know what, I think I'm just going to try it. So I just load it up everything I could get in this old beat up car I had and off I went. So at home, are you playing my bars at home at all? Not a lot, honestly. My background was more of a, I sang in a gospel groove than I went from that to a blue

9:08grass group. I played bluegrass for six years with this group called the Special Edition. Were you known as the guy that was doing music while working at the plant by your workers? Yeah. Yeah, they don't just ask me to sing. You know, would you ever sing a work? I don't remember. Just gather them around and be like, all right boys. Yeah, I mean, they're just, they sing that song. You know, whatever. Isn't it funny how the things at the time that seemed, and this happened over my career in my life too, were really, I put finger quotes up unfortunate things that happened to us. Turn out to really be blessing. Be blessing the biggest blessing ever. Yeah. Because if I hadn't got laid off, I probably would have never left there. Yeah. So when you get laid off, do you remember how that happened? Did your boss reform and come in and go, all right, you're done. No, it was just more of a, I got a phone call, I think. And they said, yeah, play a shutdown. Don't go out there. And then immediately do you go, all right, time to go to Nashville. Like was it kind of in the chamber already? No, it took a couple of months, you know, drawing unemployment. I thought, well, you know, I might as well think of something. I had a good friend of mine.

10:09We used to discuss things. He wanted to, he moved to Dallas and became an accountant. And he said, you gotta try music. You really get at it and all that stuff. And when you got to town, did you feel like you were good enough to get in the mix immediately? I just felt really lost. Honestly, when I first got to town, because I just got divorced and I missed my kids. And you know, I was just in this new place and I didn't have a place to live and, you know, all this kind of stuff. What'd you do? I finally moved in with a musician, a guy named David Greer and we rented a house with no heater. And it was for about a year. And what are you doing when you first moved in Nashville, meaning are you out trying to meet people, play right around like what happens with the new artist? Of course, for me, I was trying. I needed some income. So I got a job. I knew a guy that worked at Gibson guitars. And so they hired me out there to work in the warehouse, shipping guitars everywhere. So and then after that, I would just do whatever I could. And then I would go to the show cases and, you know, just go hang out just to get my, get

11:12out there and meet people, you know. It's so interesting to hear about. Like I know you as a content music legend, but I love hearing like the origin story of the hustle because I think so many people don't know that there's a hustle for everyone. Man, I tell you why there was, there was, there was, they seriously, you know, we didn't have anything in the house to eat. I mean, nothing. One time I had, I think I had like, I don't know, 75 cents on me. And I went by this funny saying. I didn't know they didn't have white castles in the Duncan. So I saw it said a hamburger or 25 cents. I thought, oh, yeah. I've got, you know, so I started getting a little burger. Yeah. So I know I said, the guy said, can I help you? I said, yeah, like a hamburger, please. He goes, just one. I said, yeah, I didn't know there, you know, tiny. Joe Diffie really embodied the every man of country music, especially in the 90s. So relatable narratives was a big part of it. I mentioned the humor, but also there was the heart. Ships that don't come in. Are you kidding?

12:12Like that's a storytelling song right there. Ugh. The album's production was very traditional country instrumentation, but also, you know, there was a little polish in that Vince. There's a different kind of polish on this that allowed his vocals to shine through. So Joe Diffie, a massive part of country music, 1992 regular Joe comes out. It's tough to put up greatest hits because anyone that says their favorite album is the greatest hit, I go, ah, you're kind of a loser. Because that ain't your favorite album. An ain't your favorite artist if you pick the greatest hits. It does make sense why you would pick the greatest hits and it could be the record you listen to the most like I love counting crows across a live wire. But if someone said which favorite counting crows album, I definitely wouldn't say that's my favorite album because that was more of a compilation of stuff, even though it was live, those were live. So not a big greatest hits guy, if I'm going to share it and talk about how defining that that piece of music is, that collection of music.

13:13However, I'm going to go against what I say here. Randy Travis greatest hits volume one, a cornerstone compilation in the career of one of country music's most influential voices. And that's freaking Randy Travis and I'm talking about it was all the great songs from the 80s, early 90s. Randy Travis, a massive part of 90s country, but mostly I would say it was a lot of people being reintroduced to some of his songs from the 80s. Because on this it was, I'm going to love you forever, forever never amen. On the other hand, I'm digging up bones, I'm digging up bones. So it was this as a greatest hits that reintroduced to some of the young 90s listeners, how great some of his songs from the 80s were. And so the album was very much a statement on Randy Travis' enduring impact on genre,

14:16because people were still mimicking him even in different ways. But it also when he put this out kind of cemented him as the guy who was still young enough to do it, but the guy who could bridge the gap between classic and contemporary styles, especially when the 90s started to go, I want to say crazy, just different. The 90s was modifying what country music was. Greatest hits volume one, I would say that it's a celebration of all of his great songs, but also it was an invitation for new fans to discover that timeless quality of his music. Big fan of this greatest hits album, because I think it did a lot for him, other than just make him some money, which is mostly what greatest hits albums do now. If you're listening to this, I'm sure you know that Randy Travis lost his voice after suffering a stroke in 2013. And something we did on our show with Randy is he released an album thanks to AI. Now what that means is they went through and they took all of Randy's vocals. We'll call them the drive vocals. The vocals without any instrumentation over it and they put it into a machine and they

15:18were able to formulate him making other sounds and singing other songs with all of his old vocals. And we talked about how hard it was for him to accept using AI for his voice and what that experience was like. So I wanted you to take a listen to this. This is my chat with Randy and his wife when they came into the Bobby Bunch show. AI Randy, what would you say to someone who's skeptical about the technology given that you had a really positive experience with it? Not knock it till you try it. I've been skeptical of technology my whole life. But given this opportunity, I figured why not give it a shot. And we've been pleased with the results. It's encouraging to me finally get in a chance to sing again just in a different way. Hey, that's really cool. That's really cool. Let's talk about your family's reaction. What was their initial reaction once they heard your voice again for the first time in years and was there anyone who was upset by it and whose idea was it to do this? Mary said I didn't know how much I missed his voice till I've heard it again. The kids were tearing up. It's been special sharing with the people I love most.

16:21I have to give credit to Chris Lacey and the team at Warren Music for the idea. We'll see where it goes. That's AI Randy Travis and I just ask a question and he answers it. That's really cool. Pretty amazing. Mary, the first time you heard it back in its entirety, I mean, this is your husband. This is the person that you love and he's had something taken away from him, which was very important to him, his voice. So you're able to hear that again. What was the emotion you felt here in Randy's voice singing again? I just bust out in tears. I mean, just because 11 years of not hearing that voice, which I think is the greatest voice in the world. And we had with the idea of as it was developing, we had no idea how it would turn out. So when I heard it in its entirety and upon its completion, it was the greatest moment in the last 11 years. Really? Yes, everything I prayed for was just to hear his voice. And this is a different way of hearing his voice, but it's clearly his voice.

17:23Randy, what was the emotion the first time you heard it? It's just like, oh, yeah, just what you're so happy and you're super happy with it. This sounds just, I mean, as a fan of yours, if I were to just hear that by itself, I would just think that is an older recording of your voice with more contemporary sound, obviously, but I would think that was your voice. I could sound like you singing not technology helping it. Did you feel the same way? Yeah. Number nine. Let's talk about why I know the judge. Now we did talk about the Juds and we talked about in the last episode, the Farewell tour. And it was the end of an era for the Juds, an iconic country duo, iconic country artist period, like duo, trio, single artists, like they were the real deal, always will be. But why not a Judd now was tackling being a solo artist. In 1992, why not a Judd embarked on her solo career with a lot of success. Her debut album, which was called Why Notta, was released that year and boom, she was

18:25automatically freaking Why Notta. She got songs like She Is Is Only Need, I Saw The Light, No One Else On Earth, like all the top of the charts, her voice super distinctive. And you know what, she was very much the lead-ish singer of the Juds. So it's almost like a lead singer of a band or like one of the guys from I don't want to make the analogy that Florida Georgia Lion was like the Juds. But the guy from Florida Georgia Lion Tyler that's a lead singer, that's easy to go, oh yeah I know that guy, that's a familiar voice, that's Tyler Hubbard, where Brian Kelly who wasn't lead singer, like what's even happening? Like yeah I wasn't Florida Georgia Lion, but you weren't the lead singer so we didn't like know your voice. So she was able to have her voice, she crushed it. If we were to talk about the album and the awards at one, like millions and millions and millions, no one else on earth, no one else on earth, became the number one most popular country song of 1992 according to Billboard year end. I know and I also got the Billboard Music Award for Country Single for that song.

19:26Best new country artist in 1992, which is crazy because again she wasn't a new artist, but she was a new artist in that capacity, being a solo artist and critics loved it and people loved it and that's the hardest thing to do is to get critics to love it and people to love it. But guess critics are low snobby about stuff. The album was massive for her, it was a breakthrough and it really launched you know the next 10 years of her solo career. Let's do a bonus here. The real world premiered, which pioneered reality television. The real world was a long running television show. If you don't know if you're a child, if you are a toddler, listen to this. This is the show. Big brother, survivor, even those early shows that you're like, man, that was all started because real world happened. For those who don't know, here's a little background on the real world. It followed a group of diverse individuals, typically in the early 20s who were selected to live together in a house or apartment in a major city and then the cameras were just always on. Now, I wasn't so much a real world fan, I got to be honest with you. Didn't have MTV growing up.

20:27And so once I got to college, it had been on for a while and mostly I was just listening to that counting crows record I was talking about the whole time and then studying. But you cannot not give it credit for what it did. Cameras were everywhere. First time that had happened and it was getting small interactions and relationships and conflicts and experiences and jobs and social activities and it started at all. The first season of the real world took on various social and personal issues and then set the tone for everything else. So you can't have a show about 1992 without bringing up the real world. There you go. And now let's get back to the countdown. Number eight. Next up, George straight, he decided to add more to his legendary career by the way, already legendary 1992. But he decided I'm a little acting and he acted in the film Pure Country. In the movie, George straight plays Dusty Chandler, a famous country star who is feeling disconnected from his music and his roots and he walks away from all the glitz. Just looking for meaning, looking for authenticity.

21:30And Pure Country did okay in the theaters, earned just over $15 million, took 10 million to make it, again to strong following, particularly among country music fans, but the people still quote it. I mean my friends still quote it. The most famous scene of Pure Country is Dusty's performance, aka George straight, of I cross my heart. He's playing that for Harley during the finale and spoiler alert, except I should have said that before I did the spoiler. So overall, his role in Pure Country allowed him to expand into acting while also staying true to his country roots because he played somebody that was true to their country roots. The movies remember for being Hart felton, his presence and that soundtrack became a massive part of George straight's legacy. This message is brought to you by Ralph's. If you're listening to this podcast, chances are you like to make the most of your time. That kind of thinking can go a long way at home too. And even on busy nights, Ralph's has fresh, convenient options and easy meal solutions,

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26:38Let's talk about He-Ha. You know, last episode, we talked about the show Hot Country Nights and how it was short lived. Well, this time around, I do want to talk about He-Ha. I think you probably all know what He-Ha is, right? I don't know if he's only seen the pictures or the clips, but He-Ha was awesome. And why I want to talk about it in 1992 is because of the significant changes the show made and the backlash it received along with those changes. Now first up, let's talk about the history of the show. He-Ha was iconic. It was a country-themed variety show. First hit the screen in 1969. It was inspired by the success of other rule comedy shows like Rowan and Martin's laugh in but tailored toward a more country audience. His music is comedy, his sketches. It was corny, rural humor, and I'm not doing a corny joke. They literally were at times in the corn. The show became a Saturday night staple, puns, slapstick stuff, memorable cast members like Bucco, Owens and Roy Clark. It was massive and iconic.

27:39Now anytime you mess with anything iconic, people are going to be upset. The show's creators did mess with it. They wanted to overhaul the show to attract a younger audience. Now some of the changes were a new title, The He-Ha Show. More pop oriented country music to go with the times and the music that people are listening to now. Well, in 1992. A change in the setting from the iconic barnyard to the city street and shop and mall backdrops. Ah, safe to say that people didn't love it. But people don't like when anything changes in country music. Many people felt alienated. It wasn't comfortable to them. And one of the aired. And it got its first ratings, boom big dip. The production of The He-Ha Show was halted in the summer of 1992. The show then transitioned to the name He-Ha Silver, which celebrated the show's 25th season by featuring a mix of classic tapes and also some new footage hosted by Roy Clark. And although the show had a brief improvement in the ratings with the new format, the show

28:39was ultimately canceled in June of 1993. All in all, 1992 was a pivotal year for He-Ha because they tried to fix it and they couldn't. And eventually it died, like all good things do. Now time for a quick pause from the countdown. Also in 1992, The Lost Angelus riots. Also known as the Rodney King riots. Now I touched on the Rodney King video in the 1991 episode, but after the acquittal of the four white police officers involved in the videotape beating of Rodney King riots in suit in Los Angeles is crazy. Now the incident took place March 3rd, 1991. And I can give you a quick recap on that. Rodney King was pulled over by LAPD, a bystander captured a video. And the craziest part of this was the video, it wasn't like everybody had phones like they do now. Like you had to actually have a video camera, which in 1991, people didn't just have a video camera. So a bystander captures the video of the officers, repeatedly striking Rodney King with

29:42batons and using excessive force during the arrest. The footage becomes widely publicized. There's outrage, obviously, to the apparent brutality, the racial bias. In April 1992, which puts us in this episode, a jury acquitted all four officers of charges related to the use of excessive force despite the video evidence. And I will say that's a jury without a single black member. The verdict led to frustration, then anger, and basically minority communities saw this as systemic racism and injustice. After the verdict, Los Angeles erupted into the violent protests and riots. Six days, extensive looting, arson, violence, many buildings were damaged and destroyed. There were numerous injuries and fatalities. The California Governor of the time, Pete Wilson declared a state of emergency and requested assistance from the National Guard. Eventually, the combined efforts of law enforcement and the National Guard helped quell the riots. But the damage to the city and the scars left on the city persisted for years to come.

30:45The aftermath of the riots led to discussions about police reform, community policing, and the need for addressing underlying systemic issues. Still a significant moment, the 1992. And unless you watch it on television, I don't think you even get it. I guess you can watch some of the YouTube videos now, but it's crazy. 1992, the Rodney King riots. And now, let's get back to the countdown. Number six, number six, number six. You've heard me talk about Alan Jackson a few times on this series and it's no surprise. So we're going to talk about him again because, well, the 90s were huge for Alan Jackson's career. 1992 was no different. He had three songs reach number one. Here we go, the first one. Dallas. Released in December of 1991, this was the third single of Alan's second album, Don't Rock the Jute Box. Alan was a co-writer on the song with his longtime producer and legendary songwriter Keats' Teagle. The song tells the story of a man whose lover named Dallas leaves him to return to her

31:45home city, which is also Dallas, Texas. He then expresses a wish that Dallas was in Tennessee, so his love wouldn't be so far away from him. The whole inspiration from this song came from a performance at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth, Texas. The comment after the show that he wished Dallas was in Tennessee, and that comment was the basis for the song. Next up, Love's got to hold on you, written by Carson Chamberlain and Keats' Teagle. Alan Jackson released this song, July of 1992, as the final single from his Don't Rock the Jute Box album. This was the only song that Alan did not co-write on the album, and the only single of his so far that he did not take place in the songwriting process. The song hit the top of the charts. It held number one for two weeks in September of 1992. The song is about a man falling in love, but he isn't really sure why he's acting different. So what does he do? He goes on to ask his doctor and his friends' wife's feeling this way. Then he finds out that Love's got to hold on him. The final number one song.

32:45She's got the rhythm, and I got the blues. Written by Alan Jackson and Randy Travis, this song was released in October of 1992, and appeared on his album, A Lot About Living, and A Little About Love. The two artists wrote the song, Wall-On Tour Together, in 1991, and the original plan was to offer the song to Be Me King, the legendary blues artist. But Alan Jackson later decided, I think I'll keep that in record of myself. The song tells the story of a guy watching his old dance partner dance with someone new. Then he talks about how he has regret and sadness, and it's all through a blend of mournful delivery, and also a little humor as well. Still a hit today, I love the song. And it has lasted generations, and when Alan plays shows now, you even see 12-year-old singing it. That's a good song. Number five. Let's also look back to February of 1992, because that's when Travis Tritt and Marty Stewart were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. So Travis Tritt first. At the time of his induction, Travis Tritt was the youngest member to be inducted into

33:46the Opry at 29 years old. This was extra significant for Travis Tritt, because he had always believed that his style, which was rowdy and his rock influences, would prevent him from being invited to join the more traditional country music institution. But a big reason that Tritt was invited and got the support of the Opry is because he had another legend take him under as wing. And I'm talking about Roy Acuff. Acuff was vocal about seeing Travis Tritt on the Opry stage more, which led to his induction in 1992. And at the time of that induction in 1992, Travis Tritt had a duet that was rapidly climbing the charts. And who was it with, you guessed it, Marty Stewart. The song, well the whiskey, they working anymore, peaked at number two on the charts. And it was a big year for both artists on it, because nine months after Travis Tritt, Marty was inducted by Jimmy Dickens. Unlike Travis Tritt getting inducted, just a year after his first appearance, Marty had to wait two decades before his induction. But he was also just 13 years old when he played the Opry for the first time.

34:49That's right, 13 years old. He was the mandolin player for Lester Flat, the blue grass legend. And before he accepted the Opry's invitation, Marty Stewart wanted the blessings of country music icons, Roy Acuff and Mini Pearl. Since his induction, Marty has gone to introduce artists like Terry Clark, Dirk Spentley, Charlie Daniels, and speaking of Dirk Spentley, I asked Dirk's what he loves about Marty. Marty Stewart. And this is what he said. Marty is just one of those guys, like a Hank Jr. Like a Garth was his too, is the bridge for people. He bridged the gap between certain errors of music. Garth, he listens to Garth, he brings you in, but he takes you back to a different genre of era of time. And Marty is the same way. He listened to his record like, tempted, or for me, that's country, which has really got me into country music. When he find out, oh man, he used to play with Johnny Cash and he used to play with Flatten Scruggs. And so he's just this guy that like brings in younger people, they get interested in his music. And then you dig into who he is, and he takes you back to like, Whalen and his two former

35:52employers. Johnny Cash and Flatten Scruggs. So he's just a bridge. He's such an important person in country music. Now, he's obviously a great artist. And when he's done this career, all my favorite singers are the ones that marinated in bluegrass first, Ricky Skags, Marty Stewart, Keith Whitley. I think that's why I like Zach Topps so much. Same story, the bluegrass marination to do that. To be a great bluegrass musician, you have to study so much music, all the people that came before you, there are different ways of doing it. You know, as a man and a limplayer, Marty had to learn obviously how Bill and Road played it, but also how to door a loss and play it. And how did Osborne brothers, how did Bobby Osborne play the Mandalan? So you have to study all these greats before you make your own sound and then you get to contribute to it. So there's a humbleness that comes with a bluegrass or like that. Someone that loves, you don't play bluegrass music unless you love the music. You're not doing it for like money. That's for sure. And obviously got into the music because they just love the music. First and foremost, love being in a band because that's all bluegrass music is. He's one of those, it's a lot of layers. You know, his first record that came out, there was a country record.

36:53He actually apologizes to Lester Flatton there about saying, I'm sorry I'm going off and doing my own thing. But I got to listen to the music inside of me because he was a big departure to go to this hillbilly rock, as he called it. But he was like, I got to follow it since I'm here. Well, that's what got me in the Marty's store. It was like those cool stuff. That's country. That's John Deere tractor and all this stuff. An akundah, a halon in the yard. I was like 17 year old kid drinking beer going, this is cool. Well, then you dig in a little deeper. Wow, this guy's got layers to him. So he's just probably one of the most important people in country music in general for his knowledge of the music and how much he's brought some people back to, you know, the good stuff that earlier stuff. Can you speak on his importance to the opera and the opera's importance to him? I feel like the ground opera was made for someone like Marty Stewart. He can go out there and, you know, he's on some shows for us, which is a weird thing. But a hook go out there and I watch younger people. They don't really necessarily know who he is. And by the end of the third song, they're like all in. They know entertainment when they see it. So he's a perfect guy for the opera because he still is the present. He's still entertaining people at every age group, but his roots run right through that

37:57building. He knows the history of the music so well and that's what the opera is. It's the past present and a future of country music. And, you know, so some like Marty that can, that can, knows the history so well, can help guide it towards where it needs to go. And I feel like, you know, those two opera, the general opera and Marty Stewart are kind of like, they're more on the same. Marty has said that he views the opera as a foundational institution to country music and his induction only solidifies his dedication to preserving and promoting country music traditions. So at all, 1992, a big year for both Travis Tritt and Marty Stewart. Number four. It wouldn't be a 90s country podcast without talking about Garth Brooks. Let's face it, he dominated, especially early on. And in 1992, he went far beyond just success, especially just success in the country's genre. In August of 92, he released his first Christmas album, Beyond the Season. And it became the year's best selling holiday album and reached number two on the Billboard

39:00200 and Top Country Albums Chart. Yeah, the guy even made smash hit country Christmas albums. Then a month later, he released his album The Chase. The Chase debuted number one on both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts, which was a record at the time. Off the album came all kinds of hits, like somewhere other than the night and I went to work for that summer. A teenage kid so far from home. Thousand jam, although kind of creepy, Thousand jam. We talked about the LA riots earlier in the countdown. And since Garth was so influential on pop culture at the time, he co-wrote and released We Shall Be Free, which was all about the riots and it was his first single released from the album. And let's not forget about his album, Roping the Wind, which was released in 1991, but it was still the top selling album of 1992 and it was the first country album to top the year end album pop chart. So Garth Brooks is killing it multiple albums in 1992. At the year, Garth took home the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance.

40:01At the ACM, he took home Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist, and he took home Album of the Year and Entertainer of the Year at the CMAs. He also came out with a video titled This Is Garth Brooks. Think about This Is Garth Brooks as a concept that's popular these days with Netflix and all the documentaries, but back then, to see his performances with 15 country songs and bonus behind the scenes footage, it was unheard of. It was far ahead of its time. And while 1992 was a wildly successful year for Garth, there was also a notable incident that happened that year after a concert in Fresno, California. After Garth finished the show, he returned with his band to a hotel and was locked out of his room. And as legend has it, his bandmate thought he was already aboard and asleep in the back of the bus. So what do they do? They packed up and they left, of course. The crew later realized they left Garth Brooks behind and had to come back and pick him up at 2 a.m. from his hotel. But that might have been the worst part of the year because he was killing it. Garth Brooks in 1992, well he was the king of 1992.

41:05Let's take a quick pause from the countdown, the Barcelona Olympics. The debut of the freaking dream team, the 1992 Summer Olympics were held in Barcelona, Spain. This is the first time that the Olympics were held in a non-democratic country after the end of its dictatorship. Now, 1992, it's all about dream team, it's all about Jordan and Pippin and Carmelone, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. I mean, we could go through all of them. Charles Barkley, John Stockton, David Robbins, Patrick Yuan, Chris Mullen, Clyde Drexler, Christian Laitner. The Laitner thing was funny. He was the only college guy on there. I didn't get to play a whole bunch, but still super cool. The dream team is really one of the greatest sports teams ever assembled. And a lot of people will credit the dream team to popularizing basketball on a global scale. I mean, think about that. Michael Jordan is coming to your country. That's crazy. That's like, if in Mountain Pine, Arkansas, if Garth Brooks came to Mountain Pine, Arkansas, where I'm from, you'd be like, what? This is wild. Like, we knew he would places, but we never thought he'd come to this place a bit.

42:06That's what it was. And the dream team dominated. They were superior in every way. The team won all eight of its games in the tournament by Big Margians for the most part. They got the gold medal and Michael Jordan, in which we talked about in 1991. The dream team with Michael Jordan brought a bunch of attention to the sport. Pretty cool. Also, they played it perfectly as well. Like, they knew they were the biggest ticket in town and they embraced that. And that was super cool. The dream team is pretty much credited with making basketball non-American anymore. And by that, like, all the best players are in America anymore. And mostly because the dream team was like, look at us. Basketball is cool. And now we got like, Luca, you got, Yannis, you got, Yoke Edge. Those are all the best players. Shay, all non-American. That's crazy. Like, maybe the four best players, four of the five best players in the NBA, non-American. And you know who we have to thank? The 1992 Olympic dream team. Still legendary, still iconic. People still wear those jerseys. It's pretty cool.

43:07We could do a whole episode on that. Hank tight. The Bobby cast will be right back. This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culture East. That's with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This is Bowen Yang from Lost Culture East. That's with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. You know when people try a new food and suddenly it's like, okay, hold on. I got a new favorite food. That's the reaction a lot of people are having when they first try Cupid Mayon. Yeah, it's the one with the red cap and the little baby on the bottle. You've probably seen it at the grocery store. And this mayo is different. Most mayonnaise uses whole eggs. Cupid only uses egg yolks, which gives it this rich umami flavor. Smoother, deeper, almost buttery. Once people try it, they start putting it on everything. Egg sandwiches, fries, burgers. Chefs use it, restaurants use it. People who really care about flavor use it. Put it on just about anything. Then you'll understand. Cupid, the original Japanese mayonnaise. Hey, what's up guys? It's Hayley Bailey. Okay, I need to tell you about something. I just got YouTube Premium. It's got tons of awesome features like offline downloads so I can download my favorite videos before I travel and watch them whenever I don't have Wi-Fi.

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46:11Learn more at HyundaiUSA.com slash Hope on Wheels or ask about Hope on Wheels at your local Hyundai dealer. Hey, this is Kevin. This is Joe and Nick Jonas from Hey Jonas. This episode of Hey Jonas is brought to you by the all new drink lineup at McDonald's. I don't have to tell you that there are already so many great drink options at McDonald's. The new drink lineup, I mean, it takes things to another level. They've got delicious caffeinated refresher like the strawberry watermelon refresher crafted sodas like the Spriteberry Blast. And now the all new Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer. We're talking about a total game changer made with Red Bull. It's mixed with blue raspberry flavor and topped with freeze dried dragon fruit. Wow. McDonald's has given us a refreshing new boost for your day. And the Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer is arriving just as you're heading back to the dorms for the fall semester. It's got a boost of energy and a kick of flavor when you need it the most. You know, powering through those lectures and studying sessions, you're going to need it.

47:12Kicking the afternoon slump or rallying for the weekend. Try one of the many new drinks like the Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer, also available with Red Bull Zero. Now at McDonald's. Number three, Johnny Cash is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let's go back January 1992 because that is when Johnny Cash got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And I know this isn't the top 10 highlights of Rock and Roll in 1992, but this is Johnny Cash we're talking about. His big night came on January 15th and he was inducted by a Lyle Love It. The introduction came with a little bit of controversy and all because of that argument that's been going on since the beginning of time. And his rock, who is country? You know what I'm talking about, but the facts are Johnny Cash had influence in music well outside of country. In his speech, Johnny Cash was extremely grateful for his induction, saying, I'm extremely proud of it and whether I belong here or not, I'm going to show it off at home.

48:16And you may say to yourself, I don't think Johnny Cash was that rock and roll. But think about the songs like I walked a line and false on prison blues, heavy rock ability. And what's the first part of that word rock and roll? Yeah, rock and roll. That's right. Nobody embodied the rock spirit like Johnny Cash did either. Like he was trouble a lot. And if you look back at the project he did before he died, that project with Rick Rubin, that was a rock audience. That was a country audience. Hurt the song that he did that was a nine inch nail song. That was a nine inch nail song. So there's a lot of rock and roll in Johnny Cash. His induction night, he performed Big River and in his band was Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones. John Fogarty from Credence Clearwater Revival, The Edge from YouTube, Steve Copper and Carlos Santana. That is a heck of a band. So whether you think Johnny Cash is truly rock and roll or not, the one thing you can't deny is that he is legendary and he influenced so much that his rock music today.

49:20Number two. So we talked about Travis Tritt a little bit ago and how rowdy he was and he was known to be problematic at times then. Heck, he's still known that way now. But 1992 was interesting because he got into a feud with Billy Ray Cyrus. Dang. Travis Tritt made headlines when he criticized Billy Ray's song as it dominated the charts. He said in an interview he thought the song was frivolous and that the song didn't make much of a statement. In an interview, Travis Tritt said he did not want country music to turn into a butt wiggling contest, except he didn't use the word butt. And because of the popularity of Aiki Breakey Heart, well because everybody loved it, Travis Tritt kind of became the villain that summer. So you ask how did Billy Ray respond? Well, at first, he didn't say much, but then months later, at the 1993 AMA Awards, he got on stage, he delivered a message. And as he won an award in this message, he said to those people who don't like Aiki

50:23Breakey Heart, here's a quarter, call someone who cares. Now of course, the name of Travis Tritt's song from 1991 is here's a quarter, call someone who cared. The feud was controversial at the time, looking back, not much to it, but it did bring attention to the already rapidly growing country music fan base and it was getting more and more mainstream. And as they say, any publicity is good publicity. I don't believe in that, but in this case, it definitely was. In the end, Travis Tritt realized he was a little rude about it, and he did acknowledge he hurt Billy Ray's feelings, he didn't like that, but he did stand by his feeling of the song. Travis Tritt and Billy Ray eventually made peace and even performed together a decade later at a memorial for Whalingin' Ginnings. And as I said a bit ago, we gotta talk about Billy Ray, so let's get into it. Number one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, that's not an effect, that's my voice. Number one! After his initial struggle, Billy Ray was finally able to sign a deal with Mercury

51:26Records and he released his debut album, Some Gave All in 1992. The album was a hit, the album took America by Storm, but that's because, Aiki Breakie Heart was a storm. It was an Aiki Breakie tornado, and it was crossing over. I mean, Billy Ray went from the line dance guy, the guy with the country music hit to, that's a country music artist with a mullet that is now crossing over into mainstream America. I remember seeing him on the nanny, and when you made the nanny, you officially crossed over. Aiki Breakie Heart massive, and if you didn't have an Aiki Breakie Heart t-shirt, you probably knew someone that did, but when you go back and look at the actual genesis of this song and how it became a hit, it's pretty crazy because the first, the record label thought that Billy Ray and Aiki Breakie Heart, that was going to be too difficult to sell to country radio. So if we go back to that year, Sandy Nees, who was the director of public relations at Mercury Records, and so she's there when Billy Ray is signed, and she thought his mullet

52:29was too long, according to the internet, and she thought he was too shy. She really couldn't get anyone in the press to talk to him, he also didn't have any hits, so why would anyone want to talk to him? And he also looked kind of odd. Everybody at the label had seen Billy Ray Cyrus play live, and they would see how women reacted to him because he was a really good looking guy, so they decided what we're going to do is we're going to develop this around visuals. They were going to get this guy, and the image of this guy, and the video of this guy, in front of as many women as possible, and then demand, once they showed it could be done, the country radio played the song. So they hired a choreographer, they made up the Aki Breaky line dance, they scheduled a video shoot, which they did, and then they sent that video to every country music club in the United States, and they said, hey, to the big clubs, if you do this, we'll have a dance contest, and whomever wins, we'll be sent to Nashville and be featured on television. So by the time the label actually released Aki Breaky Heart, the song already had an audience, I will say this, I believe that Aki Breaky Heart made line dancing significantly

53:34more popular in the 90s because yet people that weren't even country doing country dancing. Aki Breaky Heart, a big deal, because the steps were easy, and sometimes I would go to the country music clubs, I'd be like, I can't do this, this is too much, just way before my dancing with the stars days. But yeah, very easy to do, the song was super catchy, next thing you know, Billy Ray's all over the place, and then the mallet, I mean he was the mallet before Morgan Wallin was the mallet, Aki Breaky Heart has been recorded in so many languages, there's a Japanese version, there's a Welsh version, there's a Spanish version, it was massive in Mexico. Aki Breaky Heart still lives in the hearts of millions of country music fans, and before the song was ever a hit, it had a different name, and Billy Ray was playing it at a disco when he realized how popular it was, I had Billy Ray Cyrus on the bobby cast a few years ago, and we talked about the origin of this song Aki Breaky Heart. We talked about signing with Mercury Records, and we talked about how he went from his

54:34highest moment in his career to his lowest, so here it is, me with Billy Ray Cyrus. 1989, in one week I wrote three of the songs of the album, Some Gave All, including Some Gave All, I'd made a Vietnam veteran in Huntington West Virginia, to Little Bar I played that night, and that song happened to be the song that I played for Harold Shade when after ten years of being told no, for the first time somebody said yes, and... That was the song that made someone go, hey, I see like a flicker of something in you. That's right, I came in, and it was actually, I was down, that was going to be my last try. I said, if this doesn't work, I better get a job, it's railroad, and I had this song, I'd written, some gave All's The Song I Should Play, and then he said, I'm going to structure your little deal, and Mercury Records started a process of offering me a record deal, and it took a year or two to make that, and the album, the record, it took two weeks

55:35to make the record. In the summer of 1991, two weeks I was living in my car parked in the, parking lot of the music mill, and we recorded all ten, nine tracks during the first week of June, and I stuck around and sang all my vocals, and did all my harmonies, and all my overdubs on the second week of June, and then I went back to my gig in West Virginia, and got fired. A big fist bite broke out, and some guns were involved, and me and the band stopped playing, and the owner said, if you don't keep playing, you're fired. So out of the highest moment of my life came the lowest, and I found myself in Richmond, Virginia at a disco where they just hated us. I mean, they hated everything we did, except for when we would play this new song I'd cut called, at the time it was called Don't Tell My Heart. And I noticed, no matter how bad they hated us, when I played Don't Tell My Heart, they packed the dance floor. And after that I told Mercury Records, it's a man that won't sing, don't tell my heart,

56:38it's a dance song, even the boot scooters. They'd get out there and scoot them boots across the floor, and I said, I think that's a song might be called Aki Breaky Heart, because they ought the drunks, and whoever always say, play at Aki Breaky Song. That's how you suggested it, because people at the bar were like, play Aki Breaky. Aki Breaky, that's funny. But it was called Don't Tell My Heart. And Don Von Tristovietn on veteran who ironically wrote the song, when he came to meet me at the music meal, I said, hey, sir, did you ever think about changing the name of that song to Aki Breaky Heart? And he said, I don't care what you call it, let's just get him to put it out. And they did. Did you think, and I have some questions about Aki Breaky Heart in a minute, but some gave all, that's what you wrote in my guitar. And I have affinity for that song and for the message, when you cut that record, which is some gave all, that's the title track, did you feel like that was going to be the song for you that represented who you were first?

57:40Everything was on the line with some gave all, because that was the big test for me and my band. One of the things I had insisted on was I wanted to use my band on the session. We played every night together and we'd work the songs up very similar to the Springsteen E-Street sound. We just had a band sound. I said, I really want to use my band in Harold's shit, said, you know what, we'll try them for one song. And on January 3rd of 1991, they gave us a test at the meal and we got to cut one song and we cut some gave all. And they said, okay, we love it. Let's do nine more. And they scheduled the nine for the June. So that's like, oh man, I got to live five, six more months. And that's when don't tell my heart came into my life. And I threw off one of my songs I'd written and added that one just because it felt special. So you threw off, so last song basically that was that package of some gave all the record

58:40was Aki Breakey heart. Almost. I added one more that came that I didn't write and it was called it could have been me. And it was the follow up to Aki Breakey heart written by Reed Nielsen. And those two songs I added and threw off to mine. The one I threw off was called Whiskey Wine and Beer. And I think I wrote about the same time I wrote stuff picking on Willie. I kind of hated it. I was in a zone for a moment. I was writing a bunch of songs in 1989. Yeah. But whenever Aki Breakey heart, they come to you and go, hey, won't this be the first single? Are you like, I agree or are you like, I don't know. I have these other songs that I feel very passionate about. I felt like there was one. Like there was something about it that especially just because when we would play it, you could just feel the energy and the dance floors would pack. And again, but then I started getting these little jobs at country clubs where they had a lot of boot scoot dancing and that kind of thing.

59:43And that really wasn't my expertise. I was more like either I was playing Southern Rock or songs I'd written or George Jones and Johnny Cash and like the standards of country. And but when I'd play Aki Breakey, they'd just pack it out. And it just so that was kind of, it felt like a hit. I don't know what a hit feels like, but it felt like a hit. That's going to wrap it up for 1992. Thanks for listening to another episode of the series. Or put your first, thanks for checking it out. You did hop in at a weird time though because there's a couple of years we've already done. If you want to check all the episodes out, we'll go do it. Same feed. Just scroll up. And now let's play the game. What's the next episode? If you guess 1993, yeah, you're correct. All right, so come back for that. Thank you guys. We'll talk to you next week or next year. Love this episode of the Bobby Cast. Subscribe on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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