Originally published in February issue, Buddy Magazine, all photos are courtesy

Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town

When you’ve listened to a musician for decades, taking in his hit-making, award-winning, neo-traditionalist honky tonk songs, you think you know him well. That’s what Texas baritone Neal McCoy has shown the world since winning a talent contest in 1981. Country music icon Janie Fricke was in the audience and apparently was so impressed with McCoy that she helped him get on tour with Charley Pride. A few years later, McCoy began touring on his own. It wasn’t until several more years that he had back-to-back hits in “No Doubt About It” and “Wink.”

OK, so you know all that, that’s all in Wikipedia and in just about every interview McCoy has given — so you think you now know Neal McCoy.

Well, maybe think again. His latest CD, You Don’t Know Me, is a fresh new look at this hit-maker. You Don’t Know Me consists of 13 songs, all hits from decades before McCoy even entered that talent show. “I’m this guy also.”

The title cut is perhaps the most recent song and the only country song in this collection, recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1956. “Because I am known for country music, it needed this song,” he said. “We put some strings and horns and a few singers in the background.”

The other 12 songs are creations of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, jazzy, bluesy songs written by Lerner & Loewe, Cole Porter, and others of that ilk. They’ve all been major hits by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin.

So, what’s it like to switch from pure country to pure swing/jazz/blues/pop with one album project? Well, let’s get to know a little more about the artist who accomplished just that.

McCoy said this is the album he’s always wanted to make. “I started with this kind of music before switching over to country,” the neo-crooner elucidated. He sought out the attention Houston’s Don Sanders, who recognized and shared the passion. Over lunch, McCoy said he dreamt out loud, “Wow, wouldn’t it be cool if Steve Tyrell would produce it!” Sanders picked up the phone and called Tyrell.

But, that didn’t seal the deal. McCoy said that, at first, Tyrell said he didn’t have time. “But, send me something so I can hear this guy.” McCoy sent him a recording he’d done with Les Brown Jr. for a PBS TV special and when Tyrell heard it, he “called Don back and said he’d like to do something with us.”

So, the preparations began with tickets to L.A. It had to happen there because “the country music industry doesn’t know how to bring this kind of music across,” McCoy said. It takes a producer who can put the right musicians together. “Tyrell got those guys who played with Frank Sinatra and such stuff. And, not just me, as the singer, but the producer needs to understand what it’s about — lyrics and phrasing — and be able to interpret it, to deliver it.”

One song that had to be included is McCoy’s mother’s favorite, “It’s Been A Long Long Time,” a song written in 1932 and popularized during World War II. “That’s about guys who were sent off to the war and greeted with a kiss when they got home.” And “my mother sang that to me as a child.”

Another no-brainer was the song he sang at a dinner club in Longview, where he crooned it to the woman who became his wife. “She wasn’t familiar with that music, and it has grown on her,” he said, adding that for a long time now, the Dean Martin hit “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face” has been their song. “It makes more sense now, because I have grown accustomed to her face.”

One of McCoy’s own favorites he describes as “music that takes a picture, that puts you in a place.” And at this point in the interview, McCoy began singing almost as much as he conversed in the more traditional style. Frank Sinatra’s “In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning.” “When people who have lost someone either through relationship or death, that’s when you think about them the most,” he said, softly.

This writer’s favorite — there’s 13 favorites here — include “I Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” because of the emotion in McCoy’s voice, and the trombone solo, pure passionate production.

“It’s my favorite album I’ve ever done. It’s true,” Neal said with a smile that verified he was speaking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Getting to know Neal McCoy a little better

Neal and his wife, Melinda, have been married since 1981. They have two children, Swayde and Miki, and two grandchildren, and they all live near enough to stay in close contact.

When asked what his friends say they appreciate the most about him, McCoy answered:

“They say I’m still a person. You can go be successful and some people have done it the right way. We can lay our heads down at night a little easier, believing we’ve set a example for a lot of folks. We tried to do the right thing, and not be a clown, and still represent the industry. (Current country headliners) Lee Brice and Tyler Farr tell me they hope they are still doing it when they get my age. ‘You’ve done it right, you’ve built your audience, and people know you are easy to deal with, and we want to be you when…’ and that’s really sweet.

“But, it takes a lot of work being that person. People want to say hello at the shows, and even out at the stores. And it takes a lot of your time to not slough them off. My family deserves a lot of the credit, too.”

Talking about songwriting, McCoy said, “I write a little bit, but I’m not really good at it. There are a lot of great songwriters out there, and I leave it up to them.”

He’s big on charities. McCoy was one who helped an impromptu fundraiser for Rockwall area tornado victims, held at Southern Junction in the hard-hit area.

“Jolie Holliday and Sonny Burgess asked me to come up to help raise money. They said, ‘With your name, we might can get more people in the door. Just sing a few songs and goof around.’ That’s exactly what we did. They (Jolie and Sonny) are really good friends and anything they believe in, I believe in.”

He heads up a charity called the East Texas Angel Network, which helps provide money for families of seriously-ill children. He explained how that came about, saying, he was playing a benefit in Arizona in the early 1990s where he met a 9-year-old boy with bone marrow cancer. “He hit me right in the heart. I felt guilty. And so, 21 years ago, we started the Angel Network.” It’s about helping where the help is needed most, he continued, “sometimes even keeping the electricity on or putting a lift for a child’s family van, or providing gasoline money for transportation. So far, we’ve helped more than 600 families.”

The majority of the funds come from a yearly concert he and his Nashville cronies put on at the Belcher Center in his hometown, Longview, and have featured in the past Martina

McBride, Tracy Lawrence, Joe Diffie, all giving their time. It’s a “If you’ll come sing at my benefit concert, I’ll come sing at yours” kind of trade-off. Win-win. The next one will be September 24.

About Nashville v Texas music, “Because of my age, I missed the Texas music stage. I spent my time around the U.S. and the world.” No brag, just fact. He’s a big fan of Josh Weathers. “I love him, he’s terrific.” But, when he’s at home, that’s where he is — at home. “I don’t think it is right for me to come in (from a tour) and go out to go hear music.”

And speaking of being on the road, McCoy said his favorite place to play is “Where the troops are.” He’s traveled on 15 U.S.O. tours in the Middle East, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, England.. “anywhere I get to hug a troop or shake a hand or sing them a song means the world to me.”

This year, Neal started posting the words to the Pledge of Allegiance” along with encouragement to repeat it, and questions of his followers as to where they are when they read that — every morning on his Facebook page. “I think it’s something the world has forgotten, and we need to bring it back.”

In the U.S., McCoy’s favorite place to play is the Hodag Country Festival in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. “I’ll be there this year for the 27^th year, 22 years in a row. They are the greatest fans, because they are so passionate about whatever they do. That includes drinking and football — and country music. There will be 30,000 people there, all listening, and screaming and hollering and clapping. No audience could be any better anywhere.”

So, what is a perfect day for this hit-maker? He answered that question by saying, “I’m having one right now. I’m at home. I got my workout in this morning- gotta keep my girlish figure and I work out a lot. I fed the dogs. The grandkids are coming over after a while. And I’m talking with a nice lady right now about my albums.” To unwind from those 200 shows he’s still playing every year, McCoy said he likes “to play a little golf, fish a little, shoot a few guns, and that’s about all.”

You Don’t Know Me isn’t released yet, except through hard-copy CD purchases from his Website, NealMcCoy.com, or at his live shows, which are also listed on the Website. “We don’t have a date to release it yet,” he explained. “We are trying to figure out if we are going to promote it ourselves or shop it to a label.

First printed in the November 2015 issue of Buddy Magazine.

If a musician can use life on life’s terms for material, Bart Crow has a wealth of positive experiences about which to write and sing. And he seems to draw upon those when writing, co-writing, or choosing cover songs, as evidenced by the lyrics in “Top of Rock Bottom,” off his newest CD, Parade: “It seems nobody cares about love songs anymore, they’re here for the party, they’re here for the score.” Then he sings, “God gave me a brain, so I can think and I can feel.”

Parade is full of songs with equal depth and conviction, stunning in its stark simplicity. That evidence of simplicity is the result of top writing, top recording, top production, and top musicianship.

Crow remains, in spite of that song title, at the top of the Texas honky-tonkers.

Bart graduated from high school in Maypearl, Texas, in 1995, and almost immediately went into the U.S. Army. He served two years, he said, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. That done, he moved back to Texas and graduated in 2004 from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, earning a degree in Business Public Relations. He and his wife then moved to Austin, where they continue to live with their three sons: Townes, 4 1/2 years old, and 2-year-old twins River and Parsons. His wife “holds down the fort,” he said with respect and admiration in his voice.

It’s fairly apparent from the names of his sons just who some of Crow’s musical influences were. Townes Van Zandt was an early-childhood influence, and obviously the twins were named for River Phoenix and Gram Parsons.

Crow said that he doesn’t delve deep into the lives of those who influenced him.

“I don’t start snooping around, some weren’t always the upper echelon of character, I just listen to their music and absorb their art. Someone told me one time to let your heroes just be your heroes.” He also holds in high esteem classic country artists (Let’s just use first names here — you know them all), Merle, Waylon, Jerry Jeff; and rockers Pearl Jam, Metallica and the like; and throw in the soul sounds of giants in that field, too. OK, is he honky-tonk or Americana? You, dear reader, decide.

Now, 20 years past high-school and college graduations, military service, marriage and family, and spending at least 130 nights on the road and half a dozen CDs under his belt, what has Bart learned and now applies to his music and his life?

“Music is supposed to be fun. You are the bard, always around alcohol and smoke and people and stages, and the music is the universal glue that binds all of it together. If Miller Light were nutritious, I would be the most nutritious person out there,” said this man who is often described as the musician with the smile always on his face. “I take songwriting seriously and band rehearsal and performing, too, but when you get out there and perform, it’s should be fun, and it is fun.”

Now, after all these years, too, he has sold more than 40,000 of those albums, completely produced without outside backing, which gave him 100% artistic say on them; seen the inside of Billboard and Texas music charts; and earned the respect of the most respected of Nashville songwriters. On Parade, he’s co-written songs with Gary Nicholson, Trent Sumner, and Mando Saenz. It was the Nicholson-Sumner-Crow trio who wrote the song which has spent 6 months on the Texas Music Chart and remained at No. 2 as of the end of October, “Life Comes At You Fast,” which is also right up there on the Texas Regional Radio Report chart. That’s not, at all, ‘rock bottom.’

“I try not to get bogged down and worry about it (where a song is on the charts.) It’s one less thing to worry about.”

Now, with those 20 years of hard-core living behind him and probably more decades ahead of him, Crow got pretty serious when asked if he has ever been told he’s influenced others. “I get a handful of that, and I don’t take it lightly. I’m very flattered by that. I try to be gentle and not make a joke… I don’t. I say, ‘Thank you.’ It doesn’t happen every day, and when it does, it’s a pretty incredible feeling.”

Step it up more on Parade

Parade was recorded by the same group of musicians, Crow said, who made his previous record project, Dandelion, the success it was. “I met those guys the day we started recording and we captured it pretty good together then. We’ve been pals for almost four years ago. That was January 2012, and fast forward to December 2013, 1.5 years later, (when they began working on Parade), and we now have a comfort level and trust with each other. That’s definitely a plus factor. Those guys record together a lot, and they knew I wasn’t just another guy who hired them. I trust their opinions, they trust that I bring incredible material to the table.”

Crow said, “Three years to write new material and play 300 more shows. We didn’t have to begin as strangers this time. The comfort level is the biggest thing. We kept our nose to the grindstone, writing songs and coming in with a pocketful of material.”

Bart continued to explain that they did the arrangements in the studio. “If I got lucky and nailed it in the writing process… I’d say, ‘here’s what I wrote,’ and they are so much more professional than I am. I might be the one to say, ‘what if we try this chord’ or note or slow it down, we’d try it before deciding.” It all goes back to trust, he elaborated.

The writing part is, for Crow, often like kneeling down on a concrete floor and slamming your head on it. “Sometimes it’s hard to squeeze something out of nothing, and sometimes you catch a bolt of lightning. I made a promise to the music gods and, when that happens, I’ll stop and listen. And I keep the promise.

“Sometimes ‘lazy’ wins,” Bart laughed. Sometimes, in the wee hours of the morning, ‘old man lazy’ wins the battle.”

“This is the Bart Crow album we’ve been waiting for,” said KHYI program director Chuck Taylor.

Parade features 11 new songs. Thirty Tigers began distribution in late October. A window into Crow’s life, values, experiences, and dreams, this project, along with the artist’s blue-collar, professional personality, will have Crow extending those aspirations far beyond his nose.

Where to from here?

“It’s so early in the game. I try not to put my plans too far beyond my nose.”

Bart said he’s worked hard to put a good team together to help all of those in the band, and to release the album and spread the music. “I hope new people discover the music and we get to keep getting to eat.”

He does plan to continue to travel to Nashville to write songs with others and “better myself and be creative.

“I am working now on co-writing, to have more songs under my belt so when I make the next record, we have material.” In addition to those iconic songwriters already mentioned, Crow is co-writing, too, with

Matt Chase, Gary Nickelson, and Ben Danaher, to name a few more.

And, “We’re keeping busy, playing around 125 shows a year now, without it killing us.”

During the past year, the band has traveled to Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, Idaho, Chicago, St. Louis, New Mexico, Arkansas and Arizona, Oklahoma and, of course, criss-crossed all over Texas.

Crow and the band played the Grand Ol’ Opry in August. How’d that happen? “We sent them the music and they enjoyed the record and sent us an invite and we soaked it all in and had a magical evening.”

The not-at-all-unique-to-musicians situation of balancing road work with family and home is a challenge for Bart, as it is for most traveling troubadours. I’m trying to get better at it every day. ‘Just to my best’ is the motto, quality over quantity at home. Sometimes, I know, I miss that mark, probably more than I’d like to admit. It’s definitely not easy.”

At the end of the discussion with Bart Crow, he answered the question, “Is there anything else you’d like to say that hasn’t been asked?” He laughed, and said, “Well, I’m pretty transparent and pretty boring. If there is one more question, it would be… ‘How in the hell did I ever record the best thing you ever heard?”

We here at Buddy Magazine can only hope that’s already been answered.

The Bart Crow Band will be playing November 20 at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth and on November 28 at Southern Junction Steakhouse and Dancehall in Rockwall/Royse City. On December 1, Bart Crow, Casey Donahew, William Clark Green and Mike Ryan will be leaving for Dublin, Ireland, for their Red Dirt Pub Crawl.