Hey, it's Mom Picket. We are on our way to the legendary Broken
Spoke. Come on, let's get out the truck and head inside. Come
on, it's going side, getting ready for another Tale from the Broken Spoke.
Hi, there, it's Mom Picket. You enjoyed our conversation with Terry
McBride. It's been a great conversation so far. Well, here it is
the part you've been waiting for. Part three of her conversation with Terry McBride
on Tails from the Broken Spoke. Yeah, those guys I've always looked up.
I mean, my grandparents meant so much to me. They helped raise
me, and I have such respect for older generation that had all this wisdom
because they did and I respected it. You know. That's the only thing
that kind of kept me in check, kept me in line. My parents
split when I was in the eighth grade and my dad was on the road.
So I had this house next door to my grandparents, which I basically
had a home all the way through freshman year to myself. If you can
imagine, I mean, we we'd rehearse the band there, we'd have parties
there. You know, my grandparents did call the cops on me one time,
but uh, just to teach me a lesson, and you had it
coming. Yeah, I had it coming for sure. We're practicing, we're
playing, so it's getting late, we're playing loud, it's getting late,
and all of a sudden, there's a knock on the drawer. Hey,
hold it, everybody, And I went hello, and the other side of
the door with this cop that we knew because we would have him been our
dances to security. He said, it's the heat, he said, And
we knew this guy. He goes, hey, man, he goes,
we got a complaint, I said, a complaint. He goes, like
next door. My grandparents had called the cop. Yeah, just to kind
of teach me a less chain little bit. Yeah, I was ignoring them,
and I wasn't. I was getting a little you know, full of
myself. You know, we were in this popular band and I could do
I thought whatever I wanted. Then I had to realize I need to respect
them. My parents, grandparents got up at four point thirty in the morning,
you know, every day of their lives. And my dad was my
grandfather was a cowboy. He was he was a rodeo guy. And then
after rodeo, what do you do. He became a bus driver for a
Greyhound. He he would take these like a minor league baseball players all the
way to New York City and back. And he did that for a lot,
a lot of his life. And that's what he was doing. I
went with him. He would catch the bus in Gatesville, Texas. I
went over there for thirty in the morning. I'm getting up. He'd make
this route like up to Abilene and they were delivering mail and packages. You
know, that's what the bus did. Sure back in the day, they
were part of the way before there was a FedEx and all that stuff,
and you know what we have today. It was part and unfortunately because of
that, you'd make forty seven stops between here and Abilene and Amarillo wherever you're
going. It would take for a full day to get up there and back,
you know. But it was interesting. And then he raised horses and
cutting horses all my life. But he was just an old cowboy trying to
find his way. But my grandparents, they really they felt so you know,
not guilty, but they just felt bad for me because my parents had
such a bad split and they tried to do everything for me. It's a
great line. Just an old cowboy trying to find his way. But that's
a great time, man. I bet you can sell that to George.
Well, you don't sell him, you lease them. People always say you
have how do you sell a song? But you don't. You can.
We're gonna partner with you on this one. Yeah, yeah, that's good
money. Remember that I may not so uh you have mcbriden the ride again?
Is it the original? It's original cast. They were here about a
month ago. We saw that happen. You never talked to each other,
which is just great. People though it's so good. We had so much
fun back in the day. Business got in the way and really it was
McBride and the ride, so all of the spotlight was on me and those
guys were part of the band. It made me feel really odd a lot
of the time, you know, because interviews like this, you know,
they might not even want to talk to those guys, and it's like,
you know, we are a band, you know, and but now we're
all grown up, we're all older, and we appreciate what we had and
we still enjoy what we're doing with it. You know. Billy Thomas is
one of my fatally humans but he has birthday yesterday, turned seventy years old
yesterday. I will bet he is just a great singer. I'll talk about
great stories. Talented and talented. Here's the story how he even got to
Nashville by way of Rick Milson, Rick Nelson and also the he did so
much more than that Mac Davis as well when Mack was his superstar. He
did all those He was at the MGM when it caught on fire, but
he was in the band at that time. But yeah, he's he's just
and he's he's like a rock drummer that brings that energy at seventy years old.
It's shocking to a country sort of feel, you know. It creates
so much energy in the band. Having a drummer like that, the guy
that can do that high harmony third part as the other guy in your baby
playing runs for events. I think when I saw with Billy Boce does he
still does that on the side, that's what he does. I know he
was I met him. I think I met him. Think he was picking
with Emmy when he was in the Hot band. Yeah, he and Steve
Fischel. Yeah, when I met him, and he was just like just
the greatest cat in the world. Still exactly the same. He hasn't changed
in the day I met him, I knew the same person. He just
wanted to you know. All I wanted was Ritt Nelson stories, and he
had a mess out of Tony Brown had this idea, you know, he's
he signed me, and then he invited Kathy and I my wife to UH
New Year's even San Antonio, George Straight, Patty and Vince Gill. And
he took me in the dressing room with that show and said, man,
Terry, here's the deal. I want to sign you to the label.
You can be the first act, but I want you to think about something.
I want you to consider something. We need a band for the label.
We have the Desert Roseman and they're done. They're it's over for them.
And he goes, you're a band guy, you know. He goes,
you could play bass, you could sing. We'll build a band around
your songs. And I thought, dang, I don't really want to be
in a band, but I don't want to continue starving either, you know.
And Tony Brown was my guy. I have all the people I met
in Nashville, he was the one person I wanted to work with. So
I thought, this is his suggestion, and this is his lead, maybe
I better follow it. And he knows what he's doing, and he knows
what his track record was, you know, speaks for himself, and so
I thought, yeah, he had just cut that first law I loved record,
and Ray Herndon was in Lyle's band and played on those albums. So
he was making a list of people that might work out for because that's the
way he does. If he's putting a dinner party together, he's putting a
list together who would be cool to be at this party. He's always been
that way because he's a producer, you know, he's in charge of all
of it and making it work and pulling it off. So he knew Billy
from the Hot Band, of course, and Billy was singing harmony on those
Vin Skill records that Tony Brown was produce and so he went, I know
this guy would be good. I know that guy would be good. Steve
Fischel was the original fourth member, and then we we let Steve be the
co producer and the band just became the three of us as far as the
partnership of it. But and that's how it happened. He introduced us.
I met Ray at the Paramount Theater here with Lyle, went and hung out
with Ray. We liked each other. I met Billy at the Elliston Place
soda shop. We went down, had our first meeting. We hit it
off, and Billy was so kind. He's like, Terry, these songs
you're writing, man, you know, Tony's played them for me, and
I'm so excited about it. And so it was just a great feeling,
you know. Then we started rehearsing and went over and rehearsed, and Tony
would just bring these people through all day long, managers, promoters, lawyers,
you know, whatever we might need in the future, and we'd play
the four same four or five songs over for everybody. Then they'd run them
out, run some more people in. We went, we're off, we're
doing something here. Something might happen, you know. I think that first
time I heard y'all live, I think it was in Chicago or somewhere in
the Midwest, somewhere in the Midwest, and you know, because I knew
Terry from home. Was it The Cubby Bear maybe or no. No,
it's like a big theater. I think y'all were opening for Lyle or something
was an early tit. I remember we were, you know, whatever,
like playing a club just a few whatever doors down or a mile away or
something, and we came in and just walked into the theater and no ship.
I thought it was canned music and it was sound check and I'm walking
towards the theater to open the door because we knew Billy, so we're gonna
go next with Billy and Terry from home. And we came in. I
was just like, whatever that is. That sounds fantastic, and then somebody
went hold it, it's and I just went, oh my gosh, this
is going on right now. That's not a record, this is this is
just these guys at sound check. And it was so cool and I went,
yeah, they're gonna have some big hits. This was damn and you
know, and it was just the three of y'all. It was Holly and
the crickets. It was nothing. Yeah, you know, you even consider
doing some of that because it's the harmony is what makes it so big and
fuller, you know. But you know, two hundred days a year will
turn you into pretty good band if you got some talent, and that's what
we were doing. Back then, we had those, We had those songs
that were just heared, those little Bill and Ruth tunes. We were riding
here, Can I count on you? You know, we had no idea,
and then we got together with the band. The song was good,
and then all of a sudden, those harmonies played such a big part of
that, you know, and the song becomes a record, turned it into
something completely different and so much fun hearing it, and even to this day
that that's that's the simplest three chords, so simple that the label thought that
song will never make it. You know, they research and test everything they
could, and that song, I think came back at the very bottom slow
three chords. You know, that's never gonna make it. And then Tony
Brown said, ment, I'll tell you what I signed you because that song.
I think if we don't release it, you know, what do you
think? I said, man, I think if you're into it, lit'ten
do it. And we had this video to the video credit Bill Young.
Did you ever do any videos with him out of here? You remember,
Yeah, he was a legendary kind of guy. He took us in cut
that video. It was so tender, so sweet that back then country videos
were so popular with you know, Nashville Network. Everybody had their own little
videos show many Man, and that took off. That video really created such
a buzz. It made radio have to play it in some some markets,
you know that weren't It just became so popular. Weay because you were so
we got love here time. I remember my dad was an ill and it
was ninety two the beginning, but uh, I remember the guys from George
State straight, like Ben MacArthur and those guys calling me at the hotel going,
man, you got lined up all the way around the damn club.
I thought, these guys are calling to tail. It's so thrilling. They
we're so proud of you. And we got there and it was like,
oh man, it was just one of those nights you know, where screaming
and the crowd was just incredible. I remember my dad he was just so
impressed. He hadn't seen He could barely get on the bus, but he
was so proud and I was just so happy he could be there. But
it was all because he's you know, in case one, O one and
cave that just playing the heck out of those songs. Man. And when
you take that stage and you hit that simple guitar intro to come account on
you and the crowd he erupts. You know you've done something, you know,
you know you're connecting in a way that's it's really special. And also
what I always tell people is like when you when you have a song this
this number one in one city and then not played it all the night.
What that means is the song is good enough to have been number one,
yeah, you know it just sometimes it translates nationwide. And back particularly back
then, you still could have regional hits, regional hit you know. Yeah,
and you know now I don't I don't think he can think about the
label we were on back then. I mean, you know, we were
doing okay, but we were also and and Tricia and George. It was
a powerhouse label. I remember they brought us in one time and said,
man, you guys, we got to step it up. You're only selling
gold. We might lose our deal over a gold record. I was on
a gold record and the and the and the Cat lost. The artist lost
his deal because he was only going gold. I'm still putting this on my
wall. Just the same multi multi pla over there were killing it. You
well, yeah, that that age of that age of garth where you just
got y. You know, it was fun to be around. It was
funny. It's a good time to go get It's cool now when you do
a show and you see the audience come back and they know every song and
it's it's like a big family getting back to go. And also that the
audience that loves country music. They didn't they didn't, they didn't go away.
They're just being told you don't get to have this music anymore. But
yeah, telling what they're telling show business back is actually, yes we do.
And that's why Straits numbers are bigger than they've ever been. Oh yeah,
y'all are back together selling out shows because your audience is going to excuse
the hell out of me. Yeah, we love this music and we will
listen to this music. And that's just how powerful music. I mean.
We've got those we've got those original fans from thirty years ago. We see
them, hear from them every day. And then we have their children who
maybe as passionate as this mom and dad was because they have these stories they're
willing to share with you about being in that truck. My dad put that
cassette in and it just is something special with those kids. Of course they're
thirty mid thirties to forty years old themselves. Now again it's all timeless.
Yeah, it is what great music is. And then we do have these
young kids that are just out there searching and looking and curious, you know
about that generation, that era of music. But it's fun. I mean,
you know, the bottom line is we enjoy getting together, or we
wouldn't be doing it, you know. I mean, we're not killing it
out there as far as just financially set. You know, one night it's
rock Star and we're back, and the next time it's like where's the crowd.
You know, it's like it's a hit and miss thing. Still,
it's not guaranteed every night for us. We're still out there kind of finding
our way and reminding people who we used to be. Let's talk about your
new record, because you haven't stopped at all. What's the new record that
Yeah, Well we've got this Marlborough's and Avon is the new EP that's out,
and we got a Christmas song that drops Friday. Wow, we're shipping
that out called It's really good. It's for here. It's called honky talk
and exmus down in Texas. It's so much fun. It's we brought Larry
Franklin still filled on it in Gordon mode on piano. It's just very honky
talk, right a swing, very cool, real real tongue in cheek all
the way through the course. But the EP was our first and almost twenty
five years, you know, for new music, and really looked high and
low for a lot of songs. I still have all my cassettes from the
nineties. I went through all those those Harlan Howard pitches and costas and everybody
else to send us songs back in the day through mc A and then we
wrote one with the band. And then I found a couple that had written
years ago, and I had this guy from out in Sweetwater, Texas sent
me this Marlborough's nave on going, hey man, this sounds like a McBride
and the right song. What do you think a lot of talent out of
Sweetwater, Texas? But I was knocked out. Usually when people send you
something to say, I think this is gonna say you hear it? Oh,
It's like, what do I even say to One of my favorite things
is that man, I got an idea for a number one I scope I've
written that's fantastic now and your induction is in February. Yeah, February twenty
fourth is the action with the Moody Theater. Yeah, that's what they have
it. And Ronnie Dunns the host, which is going to do extra special
and he's so excited. He's like, I think I'm more excited than you
are. And I don't know about that. But how do we get tickets?
We got to get tickets? Yeah, how do you go That's a
good question. I guess a ACOL website probably right. Yeah, But you
know that that organization, they really do a great job and it's really really
a cool deal. They all came to Nashville and they did it. It
was It made me feel so good. You know, they're so excited about
it. They had a luncheon with all the previous inductees and from Bob McDill
to you know, Lee Roy was there and Hay's Carl just some people I
knew, didn't know, and but it was great. You know, Alan
Shamblin is sitting there and people that I've known forever and ever. But it's
a pretty cool club to be involved. With and be associated with. And
so I'm thrilled. I don't slow down now that you're fame. Don't slow
down. Oh I won't have plenty of energy. Still I still like going
and doing and and being and uh, you know, I get to go.
It's it's great for me after all these years because I get to go
and do these solo shows, the songwriter shows and talking about you know,
things I can't do with the full band. We don't take time like that
usually. So like last week we were MONTGOMERYO the Arena, cool little twenty
five hundred seeds. It was great, and then this weekend a lone star
still doing the nineties shows, package things. It's really cool. But the
songwriter, I can really take my time and and really play more of a
variety of songs with McBride and right, it's just McBride and the right hits
and things that we've done. But but I can really talk about Ronnie,
how these songs were created, and not every song has a story. With
those that do, people seem to find that interesting and they dig them.
And I think it's so wild that at those writers deals, the audiences are
extraordinarily well trained. They know they're quiet. They are, they pay attention.
They pay attention, and though they're they're there to pay attention. Rooms
that are geared towards that it's the best. One hundred people might be all
you need to have a fantastic time. I love those really. Some of
the best moments have come from those amen smaller shows like that, where they're
just so engaged, you know, thinking of a new career. I think
of a new duo. You've got Done and McBride, Well, you never
know what the future of my home, you know, That's what I'll tell
Ronnie. I said that Done and McBride got a ring. You got a
guy from you get a guy from Taylor, Texas, you get him together.
Of course, you know Ronnie got kicked out of college. Man,
that's another story. That's but that's you know, there's there's a future there.
Yeah, I tell you we've joked about that in the past because I'd
be on the road with him singing and her voices they blending well, and
we do you know, you're on there on you on the road. Just
got a little cassette deck back in the day, you know, and we
start putting these songs down, you know, and I sing the harmony part,
and then Ronnie's say, man, I like your voice sounds good.
So then I started singing on the records. You know, that was exciting
and another, you know, little part of what I was contributing out there.
I wanted to, you know, earn my keep. And then then
Ronnie called one day and said, hey, man, we're making some changes
in the band. We want you to come and play bass in the band.
I was like, oh no, I mean I wanted to, but
I didn't want to be an employee. Now I'm a friend, I'm a
co writer. Now I'm now I'm in the band. It's a different thing.
Put me in there, and now I've got to be there every day
for sound check. Where before I could come and go a couple of trips.
I wouldn't even go if I had family. Whatever I wanted to do,
you know, but Ronnie said, hey, man, take the gig.
He goes, You're out here eating her catering every night anyway, you
know, because you feel guilty every angle. And he goes, you know,
we're gonna keep writing the songs. You're gonna travel with me. Nothing's
gonna change. And he goes, But the first night if you take the
gig, We're gonna get a little jit. We're gonna fly to Omaha,
Nebraska, and we're gonna open for the Rolling Stones. That'll be your first
night. I went, I could always quit after that the rolling so I
did, and it was fun. We were off and running after that,
you know, it was it was really cool. Nothing really changed much other
than we I got Ronnie off of that bus because he liked to just sit.
I said, let's get up. Let's get off this bus. So
we go work out. You know, Ronnie, they can do anything they
want. So they have a van, we go fire. The tour managers
find the best, you know, health club, and they give him some
tickets. They worked out great, you know. But sometimes we show up
late. The band would already be sound checking. I'm running in there,
going, oh my gosh. It made me feel strange. But yeah,
I'm with the boss. So that's so only so much I could do out
there. But yeah, and then that band was phenomenal and a lot of
those guys are still in the in the group to this day, had that
gig for twenty something years. I wrold Steel guitar player Gary Morris is in
the is still out there. I still wish they'd go back to the studio
and do another album. I really do. Yeah, I don't know what's
going to happen there. A lot of people have been asking me about it.
Ronnie hasn't really brought it up, but uh, I know some songwriters
out they're they're like a big coming of the I hear they might be cutting
you know, it'd be nice. Ronnie's been doing a solo record. He's
got a real quick solo records are great. He's given the cover the cover
solo record that was amazing. One of the greatest vocal performances in the history
of country music. And I do not say that lightly. I'm talking about
you talk Jimmy Rodgers, Ap Carter Up till this Afternoon is Ronnie Dunn's Costs
to Livings High and Gone. Yeah, that is one of the greatest local
perform That guy is singing that song live, that song. That is not
wrong. That's that's just that guy living that song. He loved that song
and that that vocal performance is like I'm salonso my crier. Yeah, it
does have a little mournful It's just stunning. It's just every word is just
the purity of that. I lived with that song a lot because that's just
me and Ronnie singing on that song. I know it is. I can
really hear my voice on all the of all the songs, that one in
particular, because it's just the two of us on it. But yeah,
he did have a great performance. He's just strong even live. He doesn't
sound like an old guy yet, you know what I mean, he's seventy.
Whether he wants to admit it or not, he's seventy years old.
But he really sings good. He just sent me he's got a lot of
Texas kind of songs he's been working on. He's he's all immersed in Texas
now again, you know, but he's trying to do these more classic traditional
type of songs and he can pull it off. I mean, he's he's
great at anything, I think, and you know, yeah, definitely one
of my one of my favorites. When he talks about you know, his
folks called if they get help, but they're just getting by themselves. Yeah,
good Night Nurse is incredible. Anyway, I knew that was all and
yeah, that was just that's one of the purest greatest country performance in and
and and history will not remember what that did or didn't do on the charts.
Like I tell people all the time, Buddy Holly's ravaon peaked at thirty
seven? Is that what you're going to remember, or that it was one
of the greatest vocal performances of all time? Cross the Living Tide by Ronnie
Done is one of the greatest vocal performances in the history country. I'll let
him know that. He probably knows it too. Let him know that I'm
thinking about Done. He's probably thrilled. But pass all this, you'll say,
pick it? Wh which which Bob? Was that? All day to
listen to the podcast? Just check. Have you had fun doing it?
Because we've been trying to get you in. I know you can. We
kept saying we all love this has been Kids on tenfold said hit that sweet
spot. Go? What was I thinking? Somebody asked that, They said,
you gotta go work in the This ain't work, man. This is
this is. When I pulled up today, I have Dominic with moves on
the road with us and does our socials and to our managers. He's wearing
all kind of hats. But when I pulled up today, I was been
telling him about the broken spoke, you know, but just seeing it again
after all these years, of course, it looks nothing like the neighborhood we
remember back in the day. Walk inde. The building itself has not changed,
man, from that dance floor to that little stage where I had some
fantastic moments, man, including playing with my dad here, you know,
and James really thought a lot of my dad back in the day. And
we'd come here, and you know, even when we weren't playing, we
come here, it'd be somebody cool we want to hear always and that hasn't
changed obviously, that's still happening. Man. You played with a crow,
Yeah, i'd played. We played some old George Jones songs I didn't really
know, and I mean he let me know it right away. He's like,
you don't know that song? I got wit of some one of the
three chords that I didn't you know, I went to the one that I
didn't know at the right time, but you know it by the end it
Yeah, it makes sense to me. I feel it now today. Hey,
I've had that so many times in my life as the bass player.
That's a big note. Like with Brooks and dun back in the day.
I used to like to have a cocktail or two. I don't anymore,
as you know, we've all had our moments. But I would keep myself
in check because that bass note is you had fifteen thousand people out there,
you slip up one fred off and that bass note can turn every hit.
I mean a guitar player you might get away with it. Fiddle, any
other instrument you can kind of flub and keep moving. The bass note you
got to be on right. I mean, my dad let me know that.
Early on. He would say things like the band's dragon Terry right.
But he's just like subtle, you know, very subtle little hints that you
need to keep it up. And of course I love my dad and looked
up to him like you know most guys do, and I did not want
to disappoint. So he really the fear you know of you know, not
doing well, was so strong that I he made me. That was when
I really spent my time in rehearsing as a young person. I mean,
I was already in high school, knowing I was already the eighth grade.
I was already in the fifth grade, knowing what I was gonna do,
you know, taking my guitar to school and playing. Hey, Jude changed
my life because he got me out of class all day. I got a
built in audience and I'm not having to do school work. This is my
this is my my direction. I'm going in here. And then it just
kept on from there. But really, I say, Dad, and hauling
hay in Texas in July was another real uh motivation to go home and practice.
I go home after day at home and hey and go, I gotta
get into I gotta get serious about this because I don't want to end up
doing something like this. And early on that you know, the chicks,
Doug guys that picked the guitar just as much they did football players, and
we didn't have to do two a days one. Yeah, you gotta,
you gotta really want to. I mean I was an average athlete at best.
I think my coach said it best one time in the interviewed. Terry
had a lot of heart, he said, but I love sports, you
know, and all my friends played, so it's something we all did.
And football as a well alive here. But who two days in Texas.
You've got to be tough, son of a gun to make me ladies I'll
just take this guitar out. Just fine. This summer it's been I'm so
so grateful you did this. I hope that next time you're in Austin,
can we do it again. Its so much for the invite. This is
just this is the last you always have. These are the These are the
perks of getting to do this business. You get to sit around and visit
with old friends and talk about the business a little bit, maybe learn a
couple of things you didn't know. And uh, you know, I doubt
your listeners learned anything today, but maybe they found that's something they didn't learned
today. It's been great and I'll be a thing in February that guys there.
That would be great. I mean, is it what's a dress code?
We're in Austin, Man, you kidding? I'll be in a suit,
okay. Pick I remember the days of coming in here with my dad
and getting that chicken fried steak that took up the size of your year.
Yeah, I mean they still do that. You have fantastic It was it
was a it was a big moment getting to come here and play that.
And this is a big moment. Thanks guys for having me. It's just
great, looking forward to it and and I can't wait to listen back and
see what the heck says. Remember Terry McBride, Tales and Broken Spoke,
And we promise you there'll be more tales very very soon, Amen, all
right. Tales from the Broken Spoke is recorded live at The Broken Spoke in
Austin, Texas, hosted by Country Radio Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Pickett and
Monty Warden, recorded mixed down and produced by Mike Rivera