Blackberry Smoke on Their Strange Country Success
It’s a stormy Good Friday afternoon in Nashville and the members of Blackberry Smoke are soundchecking on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium. A tornado warning siren sounds in the distance, but it doesn’t faze the long-haired players. They are focused squarely on that night’s milestone gig: a sold-out show at the historic venue, the Mother Church of Country Music. The Southern rock band has always had an affinity for country — they recorded “Yesterday’s Wine” with George Jones for their 2009 album, Little Piece of Dixie, and toured with Zac Brown Band — but their new LP, Holding All the Roses, solidified that connection. Upon its release in February, the album debuted at Number One on Billboard‘s Country Albums chart.
Nearly two months later, it still strikes the band — singer-guitarist Charlie Starr, drummer Brit Turner, his bassist brother Richard Turner, guitarist Paul Jackson and keys man Brandon Still — as somewhat of an oddity. After all, “Rock & Roll” is painted in big letters on Brit Turner’s kick drum.
“I have another one that says ‘Country,'” he quips backstage, where he and Starr are decompressing after soundcheck. “But I don’t know, man. A lot of people have said that rock & roll radio disappeared and became pop and rap, and the only thing similar to it was country music. It was Eighties rock production and it was an easy fit, so that may have had something to do with it.”
Whatever the reason for their country crossover, the Atlanta-based group is grateful for the success. With next to no radio support, Blackberry Smoke have been building a loyal base on the road, so when Holding All the Roses hit stores, fans were ready to snatch it up. It’s a sign that the old-fashioned system of tireless touring behind an honest product still works.
“It’s a good solid climb. We work hard and we see results. I don’t feel like we’re sliding back,” says Turner.
Though the band came dangerously close to doing just that with its last album, 2012’s underrated The Whippoorwill. Released on Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Artists, the album broke the Top 10 on the Country Albums chart but suffered from a label staff stretched too thin.
“God bless Zac, he’s our friend, but things fells apart,” Starr says. “I mean, he’s a busy guy, he can’t micromanage a record label. Steve Gorman [of the Black Crowes] said, ‘Hell, the Beatles couldn’t even make a label work.'”
Now on Rounder Records, Blackberry Smoke is back on solid ground. “It really feels like we earned it, having a Number One album. At Rounder, all cylinders are firing. To come from nothing, we can really look at what we’ve accomplished and say, ‘We did that.'”
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