Over the past few years, the Grascals have made quite a bit of musical history. They have won big at the SPGMA and IBMA Awards, have become one of the biggest sellers in Bluegrass Music, and were a part of the Hank Williams Jr. tour last year. With all that in their rear view mirror, their current project is more than a little special.
The supergroup has teamed with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store to release The Grascals & Friends: Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin, a disc that teams them with several of Country Music’s all-time greats on some of the format’s biggest songs of all time. According to vocalist / bassist Terry Smith, it’s a perfect combination all the way around----starting with their business relationship.
“We all love Cracker Barrel anyway, and we eat there when we’re on the road a lot. A lot of the people that go there regularly are traditional country and bluegrass fans. So, it’s tailor-made for people and bands like us. It’s been a good experience for us,” he said in a recent interview to promote the album.
Is the cooking at Uncle Herschel’s place better than what he has had from his mother’s table, CMT personality / renowned cook Hazel Smith? “Well, I may have to plead the fifth on that. I might get into trouble, one way or the other. Cracker Barrel cooks great, and you can’t beat Mom’s cooking----they’re both equally good.”
The music on the new album is just as tasty, as well. Smith said that of the legendary guests like The Oak Ridge Boys, Tom T. Hall, and Charlie Daniels. “They are absolute professionals---not just only stars. Some of the artists mailed their parts in, but the ones that did come in---most of them got it in just one or two takes. They just walked in, asked ‘Where’s the mic? and perfect! To have someone like Dolly Parton in with us---the word charisma was made for her. Just to be around her was such an uplifting thing---even if she wasn’t singing on something. It was such an absolute honor to sing with all those people and get to work with them in this capacity. We’re so tickled with the way that it turned out. You couldn’t ask for it to be any better.”
Parton guests on a cover of “The Pain Of Loving You,” originally recorded by herself and Porter Wagoner in the early 1970s. The track is one of four to feature the original artist who made the song famous. How did Smith and the Grascals feel about re-creating history? “You worry so much about doing one of those, because they cut the mold on it. They hung it up the way it was supposed to be hung up the first time. Charlie Daniels came in with the recitation on ‘Georgia,’ and I have never heard him do it better. Tom T. Hall came in, and did “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died” in one or two takes. He brought Miss Dixie with him, did his thing, said ‘It’s a pleasure to be with you,’ and see you later.” There’s also a re-cut of “Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight,” a Rodney Crowell classic that the Oak Ridge Boys took to the top in 1980. “They took it to their studio and they went in there and just did what they did, and just knocked it out.”
The track that is garnering the most attention right now is their collaboration with Brad Paisley on Buck Owens’ “Tiger By The Tail.” He said they definitely had the original 1965 version in mind. “We tried to pay homage to it a little bit. We definitely listened to Buck’s version----a number of times over the years anyway. Buck Owens and Don Rich---that is Country Music----one of the essential building blocks. It was just a thrill to do that. A lot of people say that was country when country was country, you know. It was great. We put our parts down, and with Brad---he’s so busy, I mean Entertainer of the Year, and all—he was one of the people we had to send it to, and he did his thing and mailed it back to us. Of course, we were tickled to death when we heard it. Brad’s not going to do anything bad, so he picked on it, and sang on it, and did just a remarkable job on it. That was a great experience, and I hope we did it justice.”
A cut that is featured twice----with guest stars and without--is “I Am Strong.” Terry said the song is very special to the group, as it tells the stories of some special people. “We went to St. Jude---me, Terry Eldredge and Jamie Johnson. We were there, looking at different things and taking a tour of the place. On the wall, in one of the areas there, was these different drawings, and the theme was ‘I am.’ They had it in alphabetical order, and the kids would put stuff on there like ‘I am lonely,’ ‘I am nauseated,’ and different things, but there was one on there that said ‘I am strong.’ Jamie saw this and he came back home and wrote a song with his wife, and it turned out so good. When we heard it for the first time, it turned out so good, and we said ‘We’ve got to do that song on some project. This was before we even knew about the Cracker Barrel project, and we were planning on cutting it anyway.”
As the old saying goes, the song was at the right place at the right time. “When that came about, we were thinking that we’re trying to do traditional songs here, but…this is such a special tune, and one that we feel will make an impact that we’d really like for ir to be on this album. Everyone who has heard this song has loved it. Part of the proceeds from the single goes to St. Jude, and if it can help them, that would mean everything to us. That would mean everything to us----it would be like icing on the cake.”
An artist that isn’t featured on the album is Hank Williams, Jr. Still, the group decided to try their hand at some “Bocephus” classics, paying tribute to the man who included them on his tour last spring. What were their thoughts about Williams? “Well, he’s definitely got his rowdy side. You can always tell that something can happen at any moment, but he’s the ultimate professional. He flies in to his dates—he only does about twenty a year, the limo brings him there, then he goes to his bus, hangs out there a little bit and does a meet and greet. He goes on stage, does about an hour and a half, gets through, gets back in his car, to the airport, and flies home. In that sense, it’s pretty business-like. His shows are just remarkable. When he hits the stage, there’s nothing like it. The word “Entertainer” was meant for him. The people absolutely love him. He’s got some serious fans. He gets it done!”
It’s not the first time that the two acts have worked together. The Grascals provided accompaniment on “All The Roads,” a cut from his excellent 127 Rose Avenue album. Williams has always been an admirer of Bluegrass. Does Smith think that would surprise fans of the legend? “I think that maybe a bit, but Hank is apt to do anything musically----I guess personally, too. But he’s done different musical things over the years, so I don’t think his fans are truly shocked at any direction he goes in. He’s a very big Bluegrass fan----he loves the old stuff---Flatt and Scruggs, the Osborne Brothers, Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin. He knows all about those guys, and he plays the banjo and fiddle. He knows his stuff. He’s a student of the music.”
Playing on the Williams tour was a big deal for the Grascals, as Smith explains. “For a Bluegrass band to be able to do that is cool within itself. For us personally, to go and play for audiences of that size--it was a little intimidating at first. You don’t know how you’re going to be accepted. You’ve got Hank’s audiences, and all of a sudden, here comes a Bluegrass band, and you don’t know if they’re going to go get a beer at that point or not. We just presented it as live energy, fast tunes, and it really worked well. The crowds accepted us. It went great. It was an absolute thrill to get to do that.”
What does 2011 hold in store for the group? “A lot of the same, and hopefully a lot of things different,” said Smith. “We definitely want to cut another album this year,” he says. “We’re trying to branch out as far as our booking goes. We hope to be doing some more things with St. Jude’s. We definitely would like to help that organization as much as possible because it does so many good things,” he says of their goals for the New Year, and of course, they want to keep taking their music to the masses. “We just want to go out, meet some old fans, and make some new ones too,” he says. With a track record like theirs, I wouldn’t bet against them!
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