Darryl Worley 'Darryl Worley' album

You ain't heard nothin'yet. Country-music listeners probably think they know the music of Darryl Worley because of hits like "I Miss My Friend," "A Good Day to Run" and "Have You Forgotten."

But the 6'6" Tennessee traditionalist is issuing an album that completely reinvents him as an artist. Darryl Worley, his 2004 DreamWorks Records collection, is a revelation in every way. The songwriting, his vocal performances, the sound quality, the energy level and the sheer musicality of this album are all a leap beyond anything he has done to date.

Darryl Worley is this man's first real statement as an artist.

"This almost feels like my first album," Worley comments. "The other records got me ready to make this one. We did some things in the studio very differently this time. I wanted this to have a bit more of an edge. I wanted some honky-tonk 'grease' on it. I wanted to pick up the tempo. I wanted to have fun."

"The sonic tone of this music has changed drastically. I told the guys in the studio, 'Let's not worry too much about the technical end. Let's not try to make this thing sound perfect. Let's make it sound like live music.' You can definitely feel that in the performances. And I think I'm singing better than I ever have."

"I feel something in this music that I have never felt before. We're still cutting country records, and I'll always write and sing songs with messages. But this time the lyrics are with music that has cooler grooves. My music has grown a lot. And I think when people hear it, they're going to say, 'You've come a long way.'"

It's clear from the opening notes of "Awful Beautiful Life." The rumbling "outlaw" bass and stuttering electric guitars, announce that Darryl Worley is here to kick some serious musical butt. "Was It Good for You" is a sexy, romping merry maker. Worley's chesty delivery of "Better Than I Deserve" is backed by bouncing fiddle bows, twanging guitars and a stompin' groove. As is typical of this CD, there's a message in the lyric, as well as a lively new sound.

"While we were out on the road, I watched the dynamics of other artists' shows - Keith Urban, Montgomery Gentry, Trace Adkins - and I noticed how they moved along better. I thought, 'If I'm lacking anything, it's probably a little more tempo to the show.' So this album has better grooves, more tempo. But you know me: Even the uptempo stuff has usually got a hard-hitting message to it."

For an illustration, consider "Work and Worry." There's a moral prescription inside its wildly entertaining, loose-limbed, good-timey, funky musical vibe. "If It Hadn't Been for Love" has a dark, moody, intense track with a strong rhythmic undertow. All of which perfectly fit its tale of murder and imprisonment. The story song "If Something Should Happen" has a lilting melody and a breezy production. Yet it is told from the point of view of a man who's going to be operated on for cancer.

When he first appeared on the scene four years ago, Darryl Worley was in the vanguard of what became a full-fledged back-to-country movement among newcomers in Music City. His supremely expressive honky-tonk phrasing on the steel-drenched "If I Could Tell the Truth" and the lonely, yearning "Find Me" prove that he still takes a back seat to no one as a traditional country singer. On "What Makes a Man Do That," his baritone vocal dips are appropriately chilling. And there isn't a performance on disc today that is as gut-bucket country as Worley's is on the hilarious barroom yarn "I Love Her, She Hates Me."

He tackles the problem of the spread of rural drug abuse in "Wake Up America." And Darryl Worley is just as powerful a communicator in his inspirational meditation on death that closes the album, "Whistle Dixie."

Songs like those are reminders that he is one of our most gifted country songwriters. But it took years for the artist, himself, to realize the extent of his musical abilities.

Darryl Worley was raised in Hardin County, TN - the home of Walking Tall sheriff Buford Pusser. Both sides of his family were musical, and the boy was singing and playing guitar before he reached his teens. He turned to songwriting during his high-school years.

But Worley honored his father in seeking a professional career, rather than pursuing music. He graduated from the University of North Alabama in 1987 and took a job as a research biologist in Tuscumbia, AL. Later, he formed his own chemical-supply business. Yet all the while, he was writing songs and performing in honky-tonks.

"There are volumes of songs. You wouldn't believe how much of my stuff has never been published. I played these songs in all those beer joints - North Alabama, West Tennessee, North Mississippi -- and every time I'm back in those areas, somebody says, 'What about that song so-and-so? Are you ever going to do anything with that?' One of these days, I might make a whole album of that stuff."

He says he was living wild in those days, perhaps running from the destiny he secretly knew might be his.

"Even when I was working, I always played music. I thought I needed my dad's blessing to go forward with the music. Really it was me holding me back more than anything. But I think that was part of the plan. That 'other' side of me was really raging wild at that time. I'm not even close to the same person that I was then. I probably would have screwed it all up if I'd been given a break.

"I had a career. I was making a lot of money. When I chose music, I had a lot of people say to me, 'You're losing your damn mind.' My dad wasn't that hard-core against it, but he was pretty strongly in favor of 'a regular check.' Mom is a great singer herself, and talented in every direction. She said, 'You're a grown man, and I can't tell you what to do. But don't let the sun go down on your dreams.'"

So in 1992 Darryl Worley ditched a "regular check" to become a $150-a-week songwriter in Muscle Shoals, AL. But repeated overtures to become a Nashville recording artist failed. By 1994, he felt he was spinning his wheels.

He returned home to work as a landscaper by day, songwriter at night and Nashville music-business explorer on off days and weekends. As a result, EMI Music offered him a Music Row songwriting contract in 1995.

"I'd resigned myself to the fact that my dream of making records might not come true. I hadn't given up on my artistry, because I get just as much a thrill out of playing at songwriters' nights. So I insisted that me being an artist was not to be the focus when I signed with EMI. I wanted to be signed as a songwriter and to make my living as one. So they agreed."

"After I recorded my first five songs at a 'demo' session, they said, 'We think we can get you a record deal!' I said, 'C'mon, man, that's not what we talked about.' They said, 'Yeah, but that's what you've always wanted.'"

He refused to perform in Nashville for record labels that were interested, telling them they could come to see him on his "home turf" if they chose. To his surprise, DreamWorks Records executives flew in to hear him play at one of his weekly honky-tonk gigs in Savannah, TN. He signed with the label in February 1998.

Darryl Worley debuted on the country charts with a trio of top-20 hits in 2000-01, "When You Need My Love," "A Good Day to Run" and "Second Wind." All were taken from his CD Hard Rain Don't Last.

His breakthrough year was 2002. Worley's touching ballad "I Miss My Friend," the title tune to his second CD, became his first No. 1 hit that spring. It was followed by the bluesy, swinging "Family Tree" later in the year. After performing as a Horizon Award nominee on the 2002 CMA Awards national CBS telecast, he spent Christmas entertaining America's troops in Afghanistan.

Then current events intervened. After overhearing a conversation about the Afghan War, he quickly wrote and recorded the topical "Have You Forgotten." In early 2003, it shot up the charts to No. 1 and brought him an Academy of Country Music Top New Male Vocalist award nomination. The label quickly assembled 12 tracks from his first two CDs, including five of his singles, and Worley provided four new tunes. The resulting Have You Forgotten CD became his first Gold Record. "Tennessee River Run" and "I Will Hold My Ground" were pulled as two more charting singles last year.

"I have to accept the fact that 'Have You Forgotten' is going to get the best response of the night whenever we play it, for the rest of my life. And I'm very thankful for the song. Every time I do an interview, that's the very first thing that comes up, and that may never change. Still, I had to figure out a way to move on."

"That's why I went dormant for about six months. I spent the month of December touring the Middle East [for the troops]. When I got home, I said, 'I need to get away, write, work on the music and hide out.'"

Fortunately for Darryl Worley, hiding out is fairly easy. His hometown of Savannah, Tennessee is a classic rural community that's near the banks of the Tennessee River, just north of the historic Shiloh Civil War battlefield and scenic Pickwick Lake. It's not only the perfect songwriter's "getaway," it's the roots of Worley's raising.

His commitment to the community is strong. After staging a televised "homecoming" event in 2001, Worley inaugurated his "Tennessee River Run." The three annual concert/picnic/festival events staged at Pickwick Landing State Park since then have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Darryl Worley Foundation. The money is distributed to locals who face financial hardship - a burned home, a burial for an impoverished family, scholarships for needy students and the like. An area anti-drug effort is a current beneficiary. And some funds also go to national causes such as Cystic Fibrosis and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

"Since the beginning, I have stayed true to my home town and to my roots in traditional country music," says Worley. "I want the reputation with the fans as being someone they can depend on. Maybe with most artists, you're going to buy an album and get maybe three or four good songs on it. But if you buy that Darryl Worley CD, you're gonna get 12 good songs - every time. You're going to get your money's worth. It's not rocket science: It's three chords and the truth. But it's good music."

"This stage that I'm going through, this new musical thing, I'm not going to let it stop now. I can't. I've come to a brand new place, and I just want to keep that happening. Because this is where I'm supposed to be."

CUT-BY-CUT

1. "Awful Beautiful Life" (Darryl Worley/Harley Allen)

I finally sat down with Harley Allen and wrote a song for this album. That's something I've been trying to do for years. Basically, it talks about the ups and downs we deal with on a daily basis. A lot of my music talks about that stuff, and I think that's why we make a connection with the audience. This song has some great examples of how real people live and has a little bit of philosophy on life.

The way we recorded it is with a "Waylon" groove. It has a heavy kick drum and a really cool tempo. There's a great "signature" guitar lick that goes on throughout the song. It's a really uptempo thing, and that was a goal for this album.

2. "If I Could Tell the Truth" (Darryl Worley/Jerry Salley)

This is a classic-country moment for me on the album. I was writing with Jerry Salley and said, "What if you got up one morning and said 'No matter who I run into today, no matter what they ask me and no matter what I stand to lose, I am going to tell the truth every time?' Man, by the end of the day, you wouldn't have a friend or a job." And that's what led to this.

We recorded it with the feeling of Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings." I think it's one of the best things we did.

3. "I Love Her, She Hates Me" (Kim Williams/Buddy Brock/Casey Beathard)

This is a real departure from the kinds of songs that I have been doing. I talked to my manager and the label and said, "Maybe it would be nice to come out with something that's not so heavy for a change." This is a funny, funny song about a guy named Earl. You're in this bar with buddies discussing the state of the world, and everybody's got an opinion. Somebody turns to Earl and asks him if he thinks the stock market will recover. He looks down at his glass of bourbon and says, "I love her. She hates me. I drink." Basically, he don't care about none of that stuff.

It's a silly, cool, very country waltz. We've already been doing this one in the live show, and it gets a huge response.

4. "If Something Should Happen" (Dave Turnbull/Jim Brown/Dan Demay)

The record label has gotten incredible response to this when they've played it for radio stations. As soon as I started listening to it, it just floored me. Basically, it talks about a guy who thinks maybe he has cancer. He's going in for surgery and talking to a best friend about looking after his family if something should happen.

I actually thought these songwriters had gone and called my family, because my grandpa Clyde passed away with cancer, and my grandmother's name was Kathryn. Her best friends were Mary Ann and Bobby, who spent time with her, took her to movies and took her out to eat after my grandfather died. As soon as I heard those names in the chorus, I said, "All right. Turn it off. I'll cut it." It instantly brought tears to my eyes.

There are some other things on down deep in the song that are just as uncanny. So this song is about a part of my life. I could've written it myself. I think this came my way because it was meant to.

5. "Work And Worry" (Darryl Worley/Steve Leslie)

I didn't have any idea this was going to turn out to be all that it is. I was coming out of the woods one morning, turkey hunting with my dad. He'd slipped and fell on this branch and wasn't in too good of a mood. He was kind of mumbling, "Work and worry, work and worry, that's all my life is, is work and worry." I thought, "I ain't saying a word. I'm going to write that song and play it for him." I just thought it was such a cool message.

But the most incredible thing about the song happened when we got into the studio. I told the musicians I wanted to keep the blues in it, but to have it be like a Delta, New Orleans, jazzy, piano blues meeting honky-tonk guitars. We started tinkering around with it, trying to figure out where it was going. [Producer] Frank Rogers said, "Let's just cut one and see what happens." We recorded it from top to bottom and didn't change a single thing. It's live from start to finish. I promise, it will light you up.

What's funny to me is that the subject of the song is serious and the music is saying, "Here's how you ought to live it, like this."

6. "If It Hadn't Been for Love" (Chris Stapleton/Mike Henderson)

You know you're getting back to real country music when you can record a good ole killin' song. The reason I recorded this one is because it reminded me of "Frankie and Johnny." That was one of the songs that my grandfather just loved. He played it for us on the banjo and sang it to us. He did a lot of stuff like that, a lot of ballads that told stories.

It also reminded me of the intensity of "The Thunder Rolls." So we recorded it with a haunting sound, with dobro, fiddle and upright bass. I think it fits in real well with the rest of the things we recorded for the album.

7. "Was It Good for You" (Casey Beathard/Jim Collins/Ted Owens)

We wanted to do something that we could just get down and honky-tonk on. Let the guys play just as "stupid" and "ignorant" as they possibly could.

I was talking about what we could do with a video of this. The only thing I could think of was at the end this guy and this girl drive off in one of those big limos with a hot tub in the back with a sign on the trunk that says, "Just Met."

Anyway, this has a great groove and feels really good. Once again, it's something that will bring a fun, uptempo, rockin' element to our live show.

8. "Find Me" (Darryl Worley/Don Poythress/Wynn Varble)

This is a really lonesome song about a guy who has spent so much time looking for that perfect mate, the right person in his life. You look until you give up and figure that's just what people talk about in fairy tales.

We wrote it in about two hours one day. Sometimes the best ones come that way. It just came together. It's got a little bluesy thing going on. Maybe my Muscle Shoals influence is rearing its head just a teeny little bit.

The song has really touched a lot of women we've played it for. I think they somehow can relate to that romantic longing.

9. "Wake Up America" (Darryl Worley/Frank Rogers/Chris Stapleton)

One of my co-writers on this song, Chris Stapleton, comes from a small town like Savannah, TN, where I grew up. There's a huge, intense problem with drugs in these places now. And there are so many people right in my hometown who won't acknowledge that. They are all in denial that it could be possible.

As a matter of fact, not too long ago, I was talking to this lady in my hometown and I said, "I can pick up a rock and hit a crack house from here." She just wouldn't accept that. But I know it's true. My family has been directly affected by it in some really negative ways.

So I just felt like there was a message that needed to be spoken. It's a heavy message, but it's one that people need to know.

10. "What Makes A Man Do That" (Darryl Worley/Frank Rogers/John Michael Davis)

There's a couple of places on this album where we just went right down a dirt country road, and this is one of them. This is just so real, something that I think 90% of the people in this country deal with. And it's not just men. When we play it live, sometimes you can see the women reacting to it because they were the "man" who's being unfaithful.

11. "Better Than I Deserve" (Casey Beathard/Tom Shapiro)

The song says, "It's cold out this morning. It's raining, it's pouring. My back's acting up. But so what? I'm alive and I'm breathing. So I'm doing better than I deserve. I guess I could complain that things could be worse. There's a lot of folks out there with a lot of good reasons to curse. All things considered, I'm doing better than I deserve."

I feel that way a whole lot. I think someone as blessed as I am probably should find a way to give more back. I'm very, very thankful for everything that has come my way. That's why this song really fits who I am.

12. "Whistle Dixie" (Darryl Worley)

I played this for everybody out at the Opry one night before I went on stage. A couple of people cried. A couple more came up to me and hugged my neck. I played it for my mom and dad, and both of them cried, too. And everyone said, "You ought to think about putting that one on your album."

It's a song about a guy who has been through a lot of stuff in his life. He's still not where he would like to be, and he doesn't have it all together. But he at least has come to terms with the fact that if it all ended today, he'd be all right. It's a celebration.

The chorus says, "When that cold wind comes to get me, I don't want nobody standing around, shedding tears and feeling sorry. Because I've gone to see my God. Everybody whistle 'Dixie' when they lay me 'neath the sod."

Do you also would like to share your opinion? If so, please register or login here.

Details

Popular Songs

New Songs

Tracklisting

Darryl Worley - Darryl Worley