A Conversation with  Allison Moorer  (continued)

PM: So, it's interesting how you came to Nashville to be a backup singer, ended up with a big MCA deal. And did you do a couple albums for them and a couple for Universal South, or more for each?

AM: I did two for MCA. Then when Tony Brown left to go to Universal South, I did one studio album for them and one live album.

PM: Right. And then you moved on to the comparative freedom of one of the biggest small labels, Sugar Hill.

AM: Yeah, I woke up one morning in February of 2003 and said to myself, "I can't wake up any more mornings and dread the phone ringing."

PM: Wow.

AM: And Butch and I went and had lunch, and I went to Tony's office--I called Tony Brown and I said, "Can I come by? I need to talk to you." And he said, "Yep. Come on by." And he could tell that it wasn't going to be good.

PM: Right. He knew something was up.

AM: And I said, "You got to let me go. Because this isn't working, and you know it."

PM: Wow.

AM: "Let's not kid ourselves anymore. You know this isn't working." And he did know, and he didn't want to let me go. But thankfully--

PM: He didn't want to let you go.

AM: No. In fact, it took a little bit of convincing him that I was serious.

PM: That day, or in the days to come?

AM: It took a couple weeks. I love Tony Brown with all my heart.

PM: He's a great guy, huh?

AM: He has been nothing but wonderful to me and still supports everything I do. It just came to the point where I couldn't be there, because it wasn't about music anymore. And my situation, and specifically, it was just not a good environment. It wasn't a creative environment.

PM: You mean it was just about numbers, it wasn't about music?

AM: It was making me feel bad. It was making me feel bad because I felt like the old shoe in the corner. And I said this the other day: If somebody hires you to make baseballs, and they want to sell the baseballs that you make for them, they're not going to know what to do when you give them footballs.

PM: Yeah, right.

AM: And they're in the business of doing one thing. I knew that.

PM: Yeah, of course.

AM: And my vision and their vision got further and further away through no fault of theirs or our own, that just happened to be the way it happened. I want nothing more than to get better. And I think that's not as appreciated in that system as it could be, because creativity doesn't sell.

PM: Oh, yeah, I mean it's barely valued in that system.

AM: I just said, "This isn't the place for me anymore. It makes no sense for me to be on this label."

PM: And how many albums did you owe them at that point?

AM: I think I probably owed them four more.

PM: Wow. And he still let you go. That's a good friend.

AM: Yeah. I mean, he's a wonderful guy. I was very fortunate that they let me go, because they didn't have to.

PM: So Sugar Hill didn't have to buy you out at some huge figure. He just said, "Okay, you're right," eventually.

AM: Yeah, he let me walk.

PM: That's amazing. Well, good on him. That really stands to his credit.

AM: Yeah.

PM: And so how did things with can Sugar Hill come together? Who did you hook up with there that made you think that, "Okay, this could be for me"?

AM: Well, I met Steve Buckingham--

PM: There you go.

AM: --through my work with the Chieftans. Actually, Steve hooked us up, he hooked me up with the Chieftans, and I didn't even know the guy.

PM: Wow.

AM: He was working with Paddy Moloney on a record or something.

PM: He's the piper, right?

AM: Uh-huh. And Paddy said, "I would love to find a singer to go out on our next U.S. tour. Do you know anybody great?" And Steve evidently said, "Well, I don't know her, but she kills me. Call Allison Moorer and see what she's doing, because she would be perfect."

PM: What a great endorsement.

AM: I know. [laughs] So I got the call, and I was thrilled, because those guys have been around forever.

PM: Come on, the Chieftains, talk about world class...

AM: They're so amazing. I mean, they have only made like fifty records or something.

PM: [laughs]

AM: And one of my favorite ones was with Van Morrison.

PM: Oh, God.

AM: And I said, "Yeah, I'm there. I'm so there." So I did a tour with them-- this is in 2002--and I think the following spring they came to Nashville to make a record. And Steve was involved in the production of it, and that's when we finally met. So last year when I left Universal South, Steve got wind of my departure and called me up. And we started talking, and I thought then that Sugar Hill might be a good place for me.

PM: Wow. He's been an angel in certain very interesting careers. I mean, he was certainly an angel in Mindy Smith's recent career, too.

AM: Yeah.

PM: That must be an interesting role to play in people's lives.

AM: Yeah. And I think, once again, he is someone who has the very best intentions. And he is a music lover, and he's a voice lover, he really is.

PM: Ah, a voice lover.

AM: He really loves singing. So I was just very fortunate to land there. And so far they've been really good to me.

PM: Right. And the record is doing pretty dang well, is it not.  
continue

print (pdf)     listen to clips     puremusic home