To put it simply, John Anderson is one of the greatest country music singers to ever step up to the microphone, possessing one of the most instantly recognizable vocal instruments in the history of the genre.
I had the privilege of chatting with John recently about his newest album “Goldmine,” which is set to be released on May 26th and will mark his first new music in 9 years! He is truly genuine, salt of the earth and couldn’t have been more gracious. Here are some questions and answers with John about the new album as well as some fun facts you may not know about him and is country music career!
CMP: Your music is timeless and just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. Music plays such a big part making us feel a certain emotions that take us back to some good times in our lives. And your music does just that, so we are so excited you are coming out with a new album!
JA: Well thank you, I appreciate that! Thank you for your support!
CMP: What is different about “Goldmine” than other albums that you have done in the past?
JA: Well, one thing that is different from the last four or five albums that we produced is the fact that I went into the studio with my good friend, Joe Spivey and produced the record without any other opinions or influence. We had a great group of players and were left to go in and do these songs again just the way we thought they ought to go. And that’s pretty much the way Goldmine turned out!
CMP: What is your favorite song on your new album “Goldmine”?
JA: It’s hard to chose a favorite…I’ve got about three or four that I like quite a bit. And I think could be favorites of mine. I like the “Back Home” song…and I like the song “The Mountains Sing.” And “On and On” is one of my favorites as well as Merle’s song “Magic Mama”
CMP: What do you hope your fans get out of the new album?
JA: My fans, bless their hearts, hopefully they are ready for some new music from us. I just hope this particular album lives up to their expectations. You know I did work hard on it, and I feel like it’s a real good one, and the whole time I was making it I was trying to make a record that they would enjoy with songs they would want to hear, and hear us play live when they come see us. So I hope we’ve just achieved that and I hope that this record will just step things up to the level that we will see them out on the road!
CMP: Do you have any plans for an upcoming tour?
JA: Actually we will be touring all this year, on and on as far as the schedule, we’ve not designated it as being the “Goldmine” tour yet but you never know, we just may do that any day now.
CMP: Your brand of country, that is just good ol country, seems to become more rare these days as the twang is bring is substituted with rap breakouts, do you feel that being more “classic” country that you’re a life line to the real deal, or does any part of you feel that you need to start to morph to what these youngsters are putting together and calling “country”?
JA: As far as me changing what I’m doing, it would be pretty tough at this time. It would be kind of like teaching an old dog new tricks, leading a horse to water and all that other deal. I’m very happy actually writing the kind of songs we write, and I’m very happy to have them played I guess what you call the traditional country way. Country music is very wide spread and very diverse at this point, but I still feel like there is a whole lot of room and I feel like there a whole lot of fans out there waiting for some good traditional country music.
CMP: What song do you do that you still, after all these years never gets old to play and still get you fired up when you play it for the crowd?
JA: We’ve got a couple of great songs like that actually, for “Swingin” I guess that would have to be the #1 choice. And then behind that it would probably be “Seminole Wind” and “Black Sheep”
CMP: Who was the band or artist that you had the most fun performing with?
JA: Oh goodness, we’ve got a lot of them! I’ve stood on the stage with Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits. It would be hard to pick just one, it really would. There are some real highlights like you say, setting with Dire Straits in Canada and I was able to sing on Waylon Jennings last recording he made when he was living. And just the fact to work on the TV show with Johnny Cash many years ago, that was a real privilege also.
CMP: Did you enjoy performing with Keith Urban on CBS as part of the televised “ACM Presents Superstar Duets?”
JA: I sure did, and it was a great experience for me. Keith is really a phenomenal talent I must say, writing and singing and he’s a wonderful guitar player. Actually he played a wonderful guitar ride on “Swingin” and I’ve said since then it was like a breath of fresh air hearing him and his band play “Swingin” the way that they did.
CMP: I saw that picture from ‘98 of you and Chuck Norris on set, and I’m convinced your biceps could have brought his down in an arm wrestle match, do you think that’s the case?
JA: (Laughs) Oh no, not ever, not me! Chuck is a bad, bad man! (Laughs) Yeah, Chuck shot me…that will tell you how long I lasted with Walker Texas Ranger. Usually he just judo chops everybody, he shot me! So there, you have it…that ended my acting career right there in Utah.
CMP: What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment as an artist?
JA: Oh, as an artist? My goodness, I would say my greatest accomplishment would be after 40 years of doing this, I still get to look forward to next week to packing up my guitar and my clothes and getting on my bus and go play for our fans. That’s a big deal. And I don’t mean that to sound redundant it really, really is that way with me.
CMP: How would you like to see the next 5 years of your life musically go for you
JA: Oh goodness! Well I hope I’m doing another couple albums like Goldmine! Of course with each song and record we hope to grow and progress a little bit but as far as me doing anything 5 years from now different than what I’m doing today, I don’t know as I’d change anything, I really love doin’ what I’m doin’ and I just hope I can continue to do it 5 years from now.
John Anderson has a proven track record of success since he first came to Nashville back in 1971. His career has produced multiple award nominations, including a Grammy nomination, an ACM Career Achievement Award, a CMA Horizon Award, induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, 23 albums and over 60 singles, 26 of which reached Top 10!
John Anderson has been a staple in Country music throughout his 44 years in the business. With multiple hits under his belt including, “Seminole Wind,” “Swingin’,” “Straight Tequila Night,” “Money In The Bank,” “Wild And Blue,” “Black Sheep” and “When It Comes To You,” Anderson is now releasing a brand new 13-track album, “Goldmine.” The new album was produced under his very own newly-formed record label, Bayou Boys Music, on May 26th and will guarantee more hits to add to the list.
The album features 12 tracks either written or co-written by Anderson and leadoff single “I Work A Lot Better” hitting radio TODAY, May 11th and will be available for download on iTunes, Amazon and other major digital retailers. The rocking mid-tempo track is in the style of his previous chart-topping hits, such as “Money in the Bank.”
With a busy tour schedule through the summer of 2015 and additional dates booked into December. For additional information on John Anderson’s upcoming album and tour dates, visit his official webpage at www.JohnAnderson.com.
You can also follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to see what he’s up to and for more great music!
