With a voice that’s at home in multiple genres, T. Graham Brown has been a fixture in country music since the 1980s. Last month the longtime Bellevue resident released From Memphis To Muscle Shoals, a new album featuring duets with some of music’s most recognizable singers, that debuted at Number One on the blues charts. We caught up with him to talk about times, old and new.
BELLEVUE CITY LIFESTYLE
Let’s start with the new album. How did the project come together?
T. GRAHAM BROWN
I’ve always had one foot in R&B and one in country. I grew up in the 60s with a transistor radio in my hand, glued to my left ear. I listened to top 40 and all the soul music going on. I’d lay in bed at night and scroll through the dial, listening to stations from all over the country.
So, at this point in my career, I wanted to do a 60s tribute album.
The majority of my country hits were cut in Muscle Shoals or Memphis, so I went back and cut 14 tracks. Then I was talking to Dwight Yoakam, just catching up. We came up together and we’ve stayed in touch. Then he asked, “did you cut ‘I’m Your Puppet.’ And can I sing on it?” and I said, ‘yeah.’ He sent it back and it was great, and I thought, ‘maybe I oughta call Tanya (Tucker) and Randy Houser, Delbert McClinton, Sammy Hagar, Wynonna.’ It wasn’t meant to be a collaboration but there are 11 duets with some really great people.
BCLS
You’re playing about 50 dates this year. How much do you still enjoy touring and how do you decide which songs to include in your set?
TGB
Well, I’ll be 70 in October, and I’ve never had a real job! (laughs). The old saying is, ‘you get paid for making it to the show.’ And that’s still the hardest part. The show is easy. We play all kinds of stuff - R&B, gospel, country, rock, country rock – the show is all over the place. It’s fun. We play the hits that folks expect to hear but we take a left turn whenever we feel like it.
I’ve been living on a bus since my first hit in 1985 or 86. Today, we travel on a 45-foot bus that’s as luxurious as they make. But it’s still not like your own bed.
BCLS
Speaking of which, you’ve made your home in the Bellevue area for a long time. What do you like about living here?
TGB
My wife, Sheila, and I have been happily married for 46 years and have always lived on the west side of Nashville. For 30 years we’ve lived up on a ridge in Newsom Station and can see for about 10 miles, past Kingston springs. I guarantee it’s the best view in Bellevue. If you have a big heavy driver, you might be able to hit Newsom’s Mill. We just played some shows in Wyoming at a resort that’s unlike anything you could imagine. But there’s nothing like being home. Our son is 35 and lives in Sylvan Park so we get to see him. We have a wonderful life.
"I’ve been pretty varied. I like classic rock and Frank Sinatra. I'd love to sing with Andrea Bocelli. I would swim across the lake for that opportunituy."