The Bobby Bones Show - BobbyCast: #388 - Martina McBride on Why "Independence Day" Wasn't No.1 Even Though She Called Radio Stations To Fight For It + Being In A Rock Band + Dropping Out Of College After One Semester + Reveals Her Secret to 35 Years of Marriage + The Joke Loretta Lynn Made Inducting Her to The Opry

Episode Date: May 29, 2023

Happy Memorial Day! We wanted to share a recent episode of the BobbyCast with you that we did recently with Martina McBride! She recently stopped by Bobby's house to discuss her over 30-year career of being one of country music's most powerful voices, how she got her start, her passion for cooking, the secret to her 35 year marriage and explains the joke Loretta Lynn made inducting her into The Opry. Martina moved to Nashville in1990 to pursue a career in music, and since then has gotten 20 Top Ten hits and 6 number-one songs, won four CMA Female Vocalist of The Year Awards and three ACM Top Female Vocalist honors. But, success didn't always come easy. She shares how she called around to radio stations to fight for her song "Independence Day '' and how she received resistance for it. She also shares what it was like coming from a small town in Kansas with only a population of 200, to moving to Nashville and performing in front of thousands of fans. Martina also talks about her love for cooking and what led to her releasing multiple cookbooks and reveals the secret to her 35 year marriage. She also discusses the moment Loretta Lynn inducted her into The Opry and the joke she made backstage.  Follow on Instagram: @TheBobbyCast Follow on TikTok: @TheBobbyCast Watch this Episode on Youtube  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends.

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East-West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar.

This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice Podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. I just didn't get it. Not until I think years later. When somebody said something, I was like, oh my God. I was just like, yeah, the penetrators will penetrate you with our music.

Episode 388, Martina McBride. Boy, what a good. Good job, Mike. I know you worked on this one for a while. Yeah. Super cool. I've never spent a whole lot of time talking with Martina. I've talked to her occasionally. Like, we're somewhere at the same place or music.

But I never just sat with her. I don't think I've ever interviewed her. I've never met her, never even seen her until then. So you didn't even know if she was real. No. It's awesome. So at Martina McBride, if you want to follow her on Instagram, TikTok. I mean, there's just so much.

All these number ones, obviously. You want to walk through some of them? Yeah. 1995, Wild Angels. 1997, a broken wing. 1997, wrong again. 1999, I love you.

2001, blessed. 2003, this one's for the girls. What's crazy is, like, her biggest songs weren't number ones. Yeah. Like, if you talk about Concrete Angel or Independence Day, like those songs are still played today. and they weren't number one at the time. So just her songs that weren't number one were massive.

So super cool. You can go check her out on the road. Martina McBride.com. She's in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, all coming up May through June. Four CMA vocalists of the Year Awards, three consecutively. She became a member of the Opry in 1995.

She sold over 23 million albums. And just super cool to have her come over and talk for an hour. I don't know. I liked it. And you've been killing it. But we had a great chance. Chase Rice episode and then a great

Martina McRide episode? Good ones. Yeah, we're on a two streak. I don't know. I just forget who was third. I was sure before that was awesome too. But I just forget. Haley Litters.

Oh yeah, the Haley one was good too. All right, enjoy Martina McBride. So a couple of things. And if you want to wear those you can, you don't have to. We may play a song or something. Oh, okay, sure.

But you definitely don't have to. It's not right. A couple of things. I was talking to my wife, she's massive fan of yours, and she was like, someone in like her fifth grade talent show saying Concrete Angel.

fifth grade. Wow. That's what I said. And she said, she was singing a lot of your songs. She goes, you know, someone in a fifth grade talent show,

they didn't really know what it meant. They just liked the song. So they got up and sang Concord Angel and nobody really told the girl. It was a very serious song. Which, again, that is a very serious song. But there's a kid singing in a talent show

thinking it's like a happy song. That would be a peculiar situation if you really know what the song's about. Like to see a kid or anybody or just somebody screaming. I don't know what half the songs are I sing along to. Right. So when you have a song like that,

do you have to treat it extra sensitively in performance even as well because it is, at least in my mind, a lot of other folks who've seen the video who know the song, do you have to treat it a certain way as well whenever you perform it? Yeah, well, it's interesting. First of all, you said that about the child singing it because it's really super popular with little kids. and I think that they don't understand completely what it's about,

but I think it's about a child. So some part of them relates to it and is empowered by it, I guess. But yeah, when I'm singing that song, it's, I don't do it live in the show very much anymore, but it's kind of like, it's not a downer, but you know what I mean? It's like very serious. And when I was recording it, when I chose it, I went back and forth.

I think I listened to it for the album before. And then finally you just said, I have to record this song. It's so good. But yeah, there's a sensitivity to it for sure. You kind of, I try not to look into the audience because if I see somebody emotional,

I get emotional. So, you know, but yeah, there's a sensitivity to those kind of songs when you perform them. You have to have that. I would also think, and there's a theory you can hit me and tell me I'm wrong,

if you've performed that song 10,000 times, or something that I do over and over, over and over again. Although I know the impact of the meaning, if you do it a whole lot, it just starts to be a part of a process and that you'd have to read, because there are times there have been like news stories, but you have to recheck yourself and go, okay, this is the one time somebody's going to see me do this. I can't, there can't be any snickers or anything. Right, right. Even though I've done it 10,000 times and I'm like, you've got to treat this as serious you possibly can because somebody that's just seen you do it once, you got to do it like

what they feel about the song. Yeah, there's a responsibility there. I will say that after, I have to check in every once in a while. I'm kind of in the process of doing that now of really going through all of the lyrics and really start, because I have two months off from the road.

And part of my process, this two months off, is really going to be reconnecting with those lyrics again because you're right. It does get to be, not just a performance, but like, you know, you really have to check in and make sure that you understand the seriousness of the lyric, even if it's a happy song, you know what I mean?

That too, same. Yeah. Yeah. Where it's, if you just do it something over and over and over, regardless of what it is, it just becomes part of the process. And I have to do it too,

even with the happy, that's a great point. We do a segment on our show that we've done for like 15 years. It's all about positivity. And I have to remember, because sometimes I hate doing the segment because I've just done it so many times. Yeah.

And we get all this research back, and it's like, number one testing, number one. And I have to go, you know what? Some people are only hearing this twice a week. Right. And I need to approach it. Like it's the only time they're going to hear this and I need to feel great about it. But yeah, I want you to do it so many times.

Why? Because I didn't know that. Why the process with the song? You didn't choose it and then you chose it later. Like what were you bouncing between? I just think the heaviness of it. I think I can't remember chronologically where that song came in my body of work. But I feel like probably after some, I'd probably had a few heavy songs before.

that you know i had independence day broken wing um and so and loves the only house and just some things and i think that i just thought wow this is maybe heavier than any of those because it's about a well i guess independent day is about a child too but you know it's it's definitely hard hitting and very honest and there's no kind of um skating around it with the lyric you know it's really just it's real hard it's it's real and it's real and it's real and it's real life for some people. And so I just kind of thought, I don't know, man. I do that sometimes with songs. I'm going to love you through it. It was the same way. I just kind of hesitated for a minute because I thought, how is, how is this going to be like, is anybody going to really want to sit

through this? And then, like a set list of, like, or a record. What are you thinking? On the record. Got it. You know, and I just, but at the end of the day, I just thought to myself, I have to, you know, then it just becomes sort of, you have to listen to your gut and I'm like I have to record this song and um and it was released as a single of course and was a hit so it's like that is a different I think we have a different landscape you know now I don't know if Concrete Angel was released in 2023 if it would have ever get played on the radio I don't know because I think now authenticity wins it doesn't even have to be the sonically the best song anymore as long as like people believe that it's real even if it's real stupid if it's presented real

stupid. But I think it is so, I think it would be a hit. I think it would be a hit now. The beginning right, the landscape is so different. But I do think the honesty of it still holds true to today, because sometimes we'll play. I don't pick a lot of the music that we're playing because we're doing a national show, but it'll come on occasionally. It's three or four of your songs. And I'm like, dang, this song still hits. Like, it still has, you know, you watch an old movie or an old TV show. Like, MASH will come on. And I'm like, you know, it doesn't quite hold up, but I can see why then it was good. Yeah, yeah. But with some of the, especially Concrete Angel,

Independence Day, you kind of get the same feeling. Like, like, oh, like that's it. Did you ever worry about, maybe worries not the word, having so many serious songs that you then would become the serious, the person who sang all the serious songs, like typecast even? I don't know if consciously, that was a thought process. I don't know if I kind of, you know,

interpreted it that way, but I think that was, yeah, maybe that's part of the hesitation of recording another one of those kind of songs. I never thought that about you until you started to list them all off together. Because I know your body work, just listening to it through my life. Never once that I go, you know, Martinez, she does all those serious songs. Really? But it's, right? But that's consumer versus the person who's living it every single day.

Whenever you're doing your set now, like what's the biggest pop? When what song starts? What notes hit and everybody knows this is it? This is a loud. For sure, Broken Wing and Independence Day. But this one's for the girls gets really good response. It's just such a lift in the show. I think we do it right after Love's the Only House.

And it's just that guitar, Dan Huff guitar riff starts and everybody's, you know, I always say, you know, this is for all my girls out there. And everybody just stands up and sings along. And it's a real high point in the show. I would stand up and sing along too and you'd be like, you're not a girl. But I would like, I'd be like, that's tough. I'm here. I love it. So I'm going.

But it's so funny you say that because I always say, I always say, I'm a lot. I look out there every night and there's inevitably like the biggest, manliest, burliest guy, just standing up and singing at the top of his lungs. And I'm like, I love you. That would be me, except without the manly and burly part. But I would be up there singing at the top of my lungs. I was talking to a friend earlier today. We were up at the radio studio, the other one.

And I said, hey, Martina's going to come by. And I expected her to say, because she went, wow, she lit up a little bit. I thought she would be like, wow, I love this song. She went right to your cookbooks. Really? Yeah. And she was like, I love, do you have two? Mm-hmm.

Okay. She said, I love, I don't know which one. And that was the first thing she thought about whenever I said your name was your ventures into cooking. So how much time do you spend with that now, even recreationally? Do you still cook and love to cook? Every day. Really? As much as I can every day.

If I'm home off the road for only like three days, and somebody wants to invite. us out to dinner or I'm like kind of bummed because I'm like that's one night I don't get to cook. You love to cook still. I love it. And it's so I'm so lucky, you know, that I've found another passion. Some people only get one passion in their life and one sort of thing that they can give. And I'm just really lucky that I found that I just love to cook and I love, you know, I'm thinking about writing another cookbook. And it seems like lately, just lately, like maybe in the past month or two, it started people have started to really resonate with that part of me you know do you keep notes in your phone if like oh this would be a cool recipe or this would be something cool to do in a cookbook

the same way you would if you have a song idea yeah yeah absolutely and i'm i'm i'm a paper and pen girl so i'm i like i sit down and write down this chicken pot pie is great yeah i write like what what changes i want to make next time but i'll tell you that i don't want to get off on cooking because it's not everybody's please do we have all the time but like the i start started out, first of all, I'm not a trained cook, so I'm not a chef, I'm like a home cook, and I'm still learning every day. But I started out, just

following that recipe, you know what I mean? Like, if it says half a teaspoon of salt, I'm going to put a half a teaspoon of salt, I'm not varying from any of this. And then now, it's so much more fun because I've cooked enough and I've had enough experience to really be able to riff, you know, so I can

say, well, I want to add some tarragon to this chicken salad, or I want to, you know, I think that this would, maybe I want to cook it, even prepare it a different way, because I know techniques now a little bit better. Sounds like you play jazz when you cook, because you're so comfortable in that key, and you can just kind of, you can riff it on whatever. And that's kind of what makes it fun is when you can use your instinct and experience to create and make it your own. And I think so many people are intimidated by cooking. I am.

Really? Yeah, and by people who can do it really well, both. Because it's an art. And my grandma was a great cook. and she had to learn how to cook because she grew up in the depression and you know she had to find things and learn how to make them halfway decent yeah so she was great when she actually had real ingredients and so she was awesome my wife is such a good cook that when I met her she was like I'll cook dinner and I laughed because I'm like yeah you're pretty you probably don't cook

and she's like fantastic but like you she now has the ability to go Let's try a little bit of this, a little bit of that, because she was raised cooking. Yeah, that's an intimidating thing, somebody who can really, like, chef it up. Yeah. Because it's an art, science to it as well, and I'm terrible at it. So that's also why it's intimidating. Like, I've tried. Wait, I made cookies the other night.

This isn't even cooking. This is baking. It's not even... Well, let me tell you the story. There are cookies in a pack. Oh. I literally have to just put them on a plate for... Preheat the oven to like $3.50.

Put them in. I put them in. I'm looking at them through the lot. to keep the light on. I know that. Keep the light on. And while they're in there, I push them and they're still so soft. Like that we can't be done. And so, she says, they're done. I said, I don't know. They're still way soft. She goes, what's that? And I said, yeah, but they're still so soft. There's no way they're done. She goes, no, you got to pull them out and then they get hard. I didn't know. I didn't know that. So I'm just an idiot, basically, when it comes to cooking. Baking's harder.

I wasn't really baking. I was just literally just taking me. I was just trying to count to eight minutes and pull them out and that didn't work. So a third cookbook, huh? Yeah. What would be the difference? Like, what would you do differently in this one? You know, that's the hardest part of a cookbook for me. It's like, first of all, with anything that I do creatively, I think this is a process for a lot of people. Sometimes I have a really concrete idea, like, about why would I want a record to sound like, sometimes I'm like, I don't know, I don't know, you know? So for me with a cookbook, it's like, where do I start? Like, what? Everybody always wants an answer. angle. Like, is it a vegetarian cookbook? Is it a 30 minutes under on the table cookbook? Is it,

you know? So I'm just kind of stuck as to what, where to start. I mean, for me, like, cookbooks are like a collection of people's favorite recipes, which I think that's enough, right? What does it have to have? Isn't that the angle? Could that be the angle? It could. Well, so my wife did some, just, she moved to her pandemic. Everybody was doing whatever just to stay sane. And she's not someone who likes to be on camera, but she loved to cook. So I was like, hey, let's do some cooking videos. And I'll hop in some of them with you. And she did, she did them really well.

And she was like, I don't like be on camera, but well, Food Network called her. And they were like, they were like, would you like, they didn't offer a show or anything. But they were like, what we'd like to do is put people who are good on some of these panel shows. And they can, like, judge. And she was like, ah, that's really not for me. Like, thank you. But, you know, I appreciate that. And so I tried to learn while she was doing it, you know, while she was cooking.

I tried to learn from her a little bit. But it was also, like, what's the theme? She's like, I don't even know. Like, what's the theme of this video? Like everybody wants like a gimmick as to what we're going to create and how we're going to create it. And when we got married, we got sent like 300 recipes from her family. Wow. That was like, there's a cookbook right there.

That's the theme. We already have it written for us. We'll just take credit for it. Yeah. Caitlin's family recipes. There we go. Stamp it. There you go.

Mail it off. You were out doing the Judd's tour. So were you filling in? Were you part of that? Because I know there were some changes once the death happened. Or were you already on that tour? I was already on the tour. So they asked me back in the summer, well, I don't know, I guess we toured in the fall.

So in the summer to come on every show and do 45 minutes. Oh, like a full set. Like a full set before every show. And then they were going to have, well, then it was going to be Winona and Naomi. And then when Naomi passed, they restructured and still wanted me to be on every show, thank goodness. and then had several other women fill in. So there was Kelsey Ballerini, Ashley Judd, Trisha Yearwood, Brandy Carlisle, Tanya Tucker.

I'm forgetting someone. Faith was on a show. And so, you know, so I got to, yeah, I got to be on every show. The story of Tanya Tucker and your dad, like talking to you. Yeah. Because you grew up a Tanya Tucker fan. Yeah. I think like most anybody.

I grew up in rural Arkansas, so you almost had to be. Yeah. So what is the story? I know you were in a family band for a while. And so was that passed down through you, the Tanya Tucker fandom? You know, was your dad, your mom fans? Yeah. You know, I was, my dad had a cover band that played on the weekends.

And so we would just play like whatever was on the radio. So I sang in the band. I sang Texas when I, you know, when I die. I may not go to heaven, Texas when I die. And a couple of her other songs. And I went, one of my first concerts actually was, I think my first concert might have been Alabama with my parents. But then we went to see Tanya Tucker in this little town in Kansas, about 30 miles from where I grew up.

And so my mom passed three years ago. So I call my dad every night since that. And so I was on, Tanya asked me to come over to her bus after one of the shows just a couple weeks ago. And so I went over there and we were visiting. She was playing me music. It was really, really awesome. And I said, I have to go. because I have to call my dad.

And she goes, well, let's call him. Call him up. I'd love to talk to your dad. That's awesome. And it was so sweet. What are you like, dad? Or did you say, I don't know, how do you set it up? I think I just said, hey, dad, I'm, I've got, you know, and then she just jumped in.

She's like, hey, dad, it's Tanya. That's awesome. Hang tight. The Bobbycast will be right back. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Cliver Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reaction. my journey from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment.

And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes.

And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that, trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends, Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care.

So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Ego Wodom. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, Anchorman, Saturday Night Live and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with him one day.

And I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and

it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Welcome back to the Bobbycast. What's Sharon Kansas like? There's about 140 people that live there. It's very rural. It's about 90 miles from Wichita, which is the biggest city in Kansas. And it's just like dirt streets, no stoplights. There's a couple of maybe three churches. There's no grocery store.

There are no restaurants. It's got to be a dollar store, though. No. No, no. It's tiny. Wow. Because I'm from a town of 700 and we just got a dollar store. There you go.

And then it turned into $2 stores. Wow. Not a $2 store, but $2 stores that now compete for that $700 people. Wow. So you had no, how many traffic lights? None. Stop signs. Yeah, us too.

We didn't have a, we have a traffic light. And dirt streets. There's a couple of paved streets, but mostly the side streets are all dirt streets. What about the school? Did you have like Sharon Elementary? We had elementary through high school. And then, like I had 10 people in my graduating class. That is small.

I thought 40. I had 40 and I was, wow, that's a whole different level. We had 38, the year I graduated, we had 38 students in the whole high school student body. Did they combine classes ever? No. No. So if there were 10 people, it was 10. Class after me was five kids.

And the year my brother graduated, he's two years younger than me, they shut down the school and consolidated, which really was just the end of, really the end of the town. because there were no more team sports really in that town. And I don't know, the high school was really the hub of the whole town. So the band that you were in with your dad, your family band, was it called The Shifters? And so was he a musician when he was younger? Did he ever try? Like, I'm going to give this the real try to make it as an artist. Or was he always just someone who loved it recreationally and got pretty good at it?

Yeah, I think so. I mean, he was a farmer as well and a woodworker, built houses and things like that. And he like entered some constant. contest when he was a kid, but just never really thought of actually picking up and moving to Nashville. Is it because nobody else did it? So he didn't know it was a real thing? I don't know because nobody else I knew did it either. But it was a whole different, you know, generation. But like, I don't know why. I mean, I think he was really, really happy playing in that local band. It was kind of a big deal. We were like, you know, regionally respected and

we worked a lot. And I think that, you know, that was good. for him. I mean, that was probably good enough for him. How was he, when it came to you doing your own thing, support-wise? Very supportive. My parents were both very supportive. They always said, you know, we didn't come from a lot of, like, college graduates. So going to college wasn't really that important. It was, you know, for me, I think everybody, we just always assumed that I would sing in some capacity. And they always said, when I, when I decided to move to Nashville, my husband and I decided to move to Nashville.

We'd just gotten married about a year before that or two years. My parents were always like, look, somebody's got to make it, right? Like literally, maybe tomorrow there's going to be a new artist that gets signed and makes a record. Why couldn't it be you? If you get in the right place at the right time and you work really hard, why not? Why not you? And I was like, yeah. So I think, you know, probably like you, when you have, when you grow up with something that you believe, it's just kind of part of you,

you have a confidence, you know, especially when you're young. You have a confidence that I could probably do this. A little naive, a little confident. It's a real lethal mix at times. And I think you have to see it. Like, I think you have to be able to visualize walk. Like, for me, I always visualize walking up on CMA steps and accepting an award, you know? I think you have to see it.

Otherwise, you won't go for it. Especially if there's no one around you that can tell you that it can be a reality. I mean in Mountain Pine, Arkansas, nobody left. You worked at the mill or you worked in Hot Springs. That was it. And so there was never anybody that was like, this is a reality. You can actually pursue it. But at the same point, there was nobody that said it.

You couldn't. It was just a TV thing. It was like fairy tale. Yeah. Probably like moving to Nashville. Yeah. But to have parents that were so optimistic. Yeah.

Like, what an asset for a kid. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. And, you know, also just being able to watch the CMA Awards or watch he-ha or watch whatever we watched and see, you know, Loretta Lynn. and Tanya Tucker and Reba and all of these amazing women doing that. I mean, you just saw yourself there. You're like, well, I could do that.

I mean, she's from Oklahoma, you know, a little town in Oklahoma, little town in Kentucky. Like, they came from small towns. Why couldn't I do that? When you were singing as a kid, when did people start to treat you special? Like, oh, you're better than other kids at that age doing that thing. It's interesting because, you know, I'm very,

Kansas is very Midwestern in a lot of ways. And praise isn't really something that's bandied about. Like, it's not really freely given. So they think you're going to get an ego or a big head or something. So, like, kids are like, I think I recognize that people recognize that what I did was good. I was the only kid that did it. Like, everybody else was into sports and things like that. So, but it wasn't, nobody was going around going, oh, my God.

You're, you know what I mean? So I think I probably recognized that it made people pay attention and made people happy when I was probably about seven years old. That is a lot younger than I thought you were going to say. Could you like nail pitch at seven? Yeah. You know, I was a belter. You know, I didn't have any lessons. We didn't have like my lessons in high school.

The way I learned to sing was from listening to records and singing along with records. to Ronstadt records, Bonnie Raite records, Reba records, and singing those cover songs in the band. That was really how I learned to increase my range and try to match their nuances and all of it, you know, how long they held notes, how big the sound was. And so I forgot your question, but... Just about other kids treating you different and you at seven being able to hit, just match a pitch at all. But you just got it from listening. I just got it from listening. And, you know,

We lived way, I didn't live in the town, the booming town of Sharon, Kansas. I lived on a farm about 10 miles away. The suburb of Sharon, obviously, yes. It was like literally 10 miles or 8 miles down a dirt road. And then there's a house. And my grandparents lived a mile down the road before you got to my house. So it's very isolated. And my mom didn't drive.

So until we could drive, we were just, you come home from school, you're there. Like, you're not going to run around and go down to the corner. I mean, it's just like, so my parents always had instruments for us, though, piano, guitar. We had little tape recorders that we would record ourselves messing around in the utility room, me and my brother, my younger brother. So that was our entertainment and records. And I can remember having kids home from school, like my classmates, to play after school or to stay all night or whatever.

And I would be playing them all these records. And they just didn't. I found a friend in high school that was a little. older than me that loved music like I did, but, you know, most of the kids in my school were just not that interested. It was just like background, you know? And so we would sit and listen to records, and after about 30 minutes, they'd be like, is this all we're going to do? Like, let me go outside and play. I'm like, yeah, okay. Your music maturation, I guess, jumped quickly because that's what you had a lot of at the house. Yeah. What, did your parents care what kind of music you listened to?

Are the rules on what you couldn't listen to? At 12, 13, 14 years old? I don't know if it was rules, but there was they they they my my dad was a country fan like he like I somehow my old I have an older brother and an older sister my older brother was into like credence clear water and um I don't know just like really cool rock bands and my sister was into pop like Livy Newton John and Casey in the Sunshine band whatever was on the radio and so I got those influences from there but when we were in the car it was specifically with my parents country music and my mom loved, like, she loved more, like, crooners. Like, um...

Like Nashville sound type crooner? Yeah. No, like, you know, like Frank Sinatra. No, like, we didn't have any Frankssonatra records. Oh, like the real cruners. Like, got it, got it. Like the rap pack guys. A bubley now.

Yeah. Yeah. And my dad loved, he did love Ray Charles. And so we did have Ray Charles records and Edda James. So, but then I got into high school and I got into like, like, my first concert that I went to without my parents was Ozzy Osbourne. Right? The Blizzard of Oz tour.

It was so like rock and roll and was so exciting to me And so some of that music I would listen to with headphones Yeah You finish high school, you go to college Now you mentioned college a minute ago Because there wasn't a lot of college graduates in your family Same here So it was a whole new world to me again

I'm somewhere I don't really have anybody to lean on To go, how do I do this? How was your experience with college? Short lived I went to a community college I got a scholarship for music and academic, and I went there. Okay, so, but we, like, my kids grew up in Nashville and had all of this college prep. They've got a college counselor.

They've got all of these people that help them know what to expect, help them with the application process, all of that stuff. Okay, I had the opposite of college prep. I had no college prep. So I show up. I'm literally so overwhelmed. I don't know. This whole schedule thing. you know and how you have to find your classes and it was just completely overwhelming to me

plus I was living off campus I was singing in a rock band and I was working at Dairy Queen I had a boyfriend so I had a lot going on that was pulling me in a lot of directions but I went one semester and was just like I don't know what I'm doing at all the fact that you came from such a small school and I'll speak from experience as well it's more than just not having college prep as well it's like a culture change yeah going from 10 kids in a class to, it doesn't matter, a community college, a mid-sized school. Like, that is like moving to New York City.

It was to me. Yeah, yeah. So it not only was, wow, nobody in my family's ever been to college before. I'd never been around so many people. Right. Yeah. And it's always all been on me, but now I'm having to go and do the same thing.

Yeah. And so, speaking of your rock band, the penetrators. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Just, well, you're in a room who says, let's go with it. Well, okay, but in my defense, You don't need a defense.

I was 17 years old when I joined that band. And I'd lived a pretty sheltered life. And we didn't have the internet or anything like that. Three channels on the TV. One was fuzzy. So, like, I just didn't get it. Like, I really, not until, I think, years later, when somebody said something, I was like, oh, my God. I was just like, yeah, the penetrators will penetrate you with our music.

What role did you have when you entered the band at first? Were you pure front man? Yeah. Like that's it. And do they not have a singer before? Are we just way better than the one they already had? They had one and she quit or moved or something. And so, yeah, they actually, one of the guys in the band worked at a music store that my parents frequented, you know, when we'd go to the big town of Wichita or whatever.

So they actually came down and talked, set in our little. room and talk to my parents. These were older, you know, I don't know, I guess they're probably in their mid-20s, 30s, and said, you know, we want more, looking back on it, it seems like a blur. I don't really cognizantly remember, like, having that, I kind of remember sitting there going, okay, these guys want me to sing in their rock band. I'm going to be a rock star. I love it, you know. And my parents were like, well, you seem like good, good people, you know, they kind of gave their blessing. And I spent the next year and a half riding around in a van. with a hole in the floor, you know,

pooling all of our money together to get two jars of peanut butter and two loaves of bread and, like, that's what we were going to eat for the week. You know what I mean? It's like just playing locally, but singing Pat Benatar and heart and journey, and it was fun. Well, you have to be nourished if you can penetrate properly.

Yeah, I mean, I completely understand. Have your protein. Absolutely. You mentioned those three artists. Like, what are the, I was going to ask, like, what songs do you hear in a reminder? you at that time period. Like if you hear it on the radio

or playing at Walgreens, you mentioned Journey, like, don't stop believing. No, we did any way you want it. Oh, yeah, good. Any way you want it. And we did Pat Benatar, we did, oh my God.

Get me with your best shot? Did you that one? I don't know if we did that one. I did that live every once in a while now, but we did promises in the dark. We did fire and ice. It was probably a little bit later, Pat Benatar, because I remember when Pat Benetter came out.

I was at my grandmother's. I was folding clothes and I was listening to Casey Kisem's top 40 and Heartbreaker came on the radio and I was like, what is that? I was so knocked out by that. He's a, jeezer, yeah, yeah, yeah, got it, got it. Yeah, and then later I got to do crossroads with Pat Venetar, which was unbelievable. Was that like one of the coolest? Yeah, for sure. For me, if I get to hang out with people that I loved as a kid, it's way cooler than somebody that could be massive like in celebrity stature.

Yeah. but for me to be able to, I remember like John Michael Montgomery, right? Like he's been over here and we, and to him, he's just John and lives in Kentucky, drove down, listens to the show, but I'm like, I don't know if I need to remind you, you're John Michael Montgomery. Like that to me is super cool because as a kid, listen to a lot. Yeah. And so for you to be able to do that, that's awesome.

It was awesome. And it was so surreal because I thought to myself, okay, never in a million years would I have dreamed that I would be on stage with Pat Benatar singing her songs. but then also I have songs that she's going to learn and sing. That's so, that's even beyond. But no, it's not lost on me. Like when I was standing on the stage a couple weeks ago with Winona and Tanya Tucker and me. And I'm like, and Tanya, you know, put her arm around me like, oh my God, what am I doing?

Peers. Yeah, it's so crazy. And when you kind of allow yourself to look at it that way. Yeah, that's super cool. The penetrators, how long do you guys play before you stop penetrating? It was pretty short-lived. It seemed like a long time, but I think it was probably, I don't know, because I moved to Wichita to sing in another band, five nights a week at a club when I was probably 18, so maybe eight months a year. At 18, did you kind of have it figured out somehow, some way you were going to sing? Like, oh yeah. Did you know you would go to Nashville eventually, or was it, let's just see where you were. it takes me. No, I always dreamed of making records and doing, you know, doing the big thing,

but I couldn't at that point of my life, 18, 19, 20 really subtle on country music. I was kind of I was kind of like singing all kinds of music. So I was singing with this cover band, I was singing everything from Aretha Franklin to Whitney Houston to Madonna to, you know, just whatever was on the radio at the time, plus some classics like that. And I love that too. So I was like, I don't know if I'm really ready to go and do country music full time. And I had an aha moment. I had to quit singing for a while because I was, I was like waiting tables and singing in clubs five nights a week. And I started to get like some vocal fatigue and that they did a scope and said, you know, you don't have nodules, but it's not looking good. You should probably take some time off from singing. So I did. And in the

meantime, of course, I couldn't just completely take a time and not singing. So I started singing harmony vocals in this country band these two brothers called the Fowler brothers that played locally. I'd go and sit in and sing harmony and then I started sing with my dad's band a little bit again and we did a battle of the bands which is so weird we never did that the entire time I was growing up

who's the way your dad? Me and my dad and that band yeah and it was at a club and it was in Wichita and we did this battle of the bands and something clicked for me like a light bulb went off and I said I said one of the DJs that was judging the contest actually said to me,

I don't know what you're going to do with your singing, because I know you're singing a lot of other stuff, but I hope you decide to sing country music because that would be really great. And I, that comment coupled with the experience of singing that music again and realizing how important the lyrics were, how important the singer is,

it just felt like home to me. I said to my mom, she was there, she ran the soundboard, actually for the band. And I said, I think I've made a decision. I'm going to move to Nashville and pursue a career in country music. And I told my, I asked, you know, didn't tell my husband, well, maybe I kind of did. I think I said, I want to move to Nashville. And he had a local sound company that was doing, you know, local sound and touring a little bit, regionally. And he was like, all right, let's go. And he moved his entire sound company. We didn't know, we knew John K.

from Steppenwolf, because John had worked with him and toured with him doing monitors. But we really didn't know anybody and we talk about naive like i would go i knew i had to find songs so i'd go to these publishing companies and walk up down walk up and down music row and knock on the door and say i'm a singer and i want to get a record deal can you play me some songs that i can record for demos and they're like um sure come on in it was so odd that they were probably slightly welcoming but confused yeah like you this is really not how it works but okay you know right wow so okay you were you married you were married at the the time. You and your husband. So how long had you been married there before you moved here? We got

married in May of 1988 and we moved here January of 1990. That's a pretty adventurous first year and a half there. So you get here, you don't know anybody. You're walking up and down. How did you even know Music Row was a thing though? Well, we ran into, we came down before we moved and made a demo and actually we went in to see this guy at a publishing company that John Kay had known. So it's kind of like a friend of a friend and sat down with him and played him a demo that we had made back in Kansas. And he said, that's not good. That's not going to cut it. Like, you know, that's not good enough. You need to find real, real musicians. It was recorded in a warehouse. It was like really echoies. Like, you need to find a studio. And he gave us a list of names of people that maybe could

help us do that, studio musicians. And John made a couple of calls. And I think the third person he called was a bass player named Mike Chapman who said, yeah, I actually. I could. I got a friend Lonnie Wilson, who's a drummer, played on tons of my records. Do you know Lonnie? I know. He's so great. And he said he's got a studio in his like rec room or garage or whatever. How about tonight?

I'll put a little band together. You can come out because we were only in town for like three days. And I went out there and we recorded a couple of original songs that one of the musicians had said, here you can record these songs. And I'm like, I like, I like these songs. And took it back to the guy the next day. And he said, yeah, that's good enough. That's a real demo, right?

So, yeah, it was just, it was just like meant to be, I guess. Well, it sounds very divine in that the battle of bands happens, where you had a jara ha moment where somebody happened to be there and go, hey, I would like to give you affirmation that what you're doing here is the right thing. Like all those little particles came together. And then you knew somebody that knew somebody, and that person, first of all, not only helped, let's do it tonight, but it's also like still,

like that same, he's still in your life. Yeah, yeah. I mean, all of that's not coincidental. Right. But pretty cool that when the dominoes fell, you weren't afraid to kind of go with them. Mm-hmm.

Because that's all so brave. Yeah. You know, here you are, you're, I don't know, how old are you at this time? 22. Okay, I'll make a demo with guests. For 23, maybe. Musicians here.

How did you feel singing with, experts. Did that? Because again, they're the best, they're doing studio work. You've got to be really good to do that kind of stuff. Yeah. Did you think about that at all? Were you just like, I can sing, let's go. I don't remember. I journal, I have to look up. I got to go, I'm going to go back through and read all of my journals because your perception of things and how it really happened are different. But I think I was probably just nervous and blown away and kind of like, but let's do this. You know, it's kind of quite equal parts of of, of, because I, because, you know, I was in my element musically, but out of my element situationally, you know, so I don't know. You come back with that demo, when you move here, do you start passing it around? Are you duplicating it? Or are you like, okay, this will get me into another room where I can then record even more or better songs? Yeah, I think we ended up borrowing some money to move here. And we set out, this was like a two-song demo.

So the songs, the next demo that we made was the one where the songwriter said, here record these songs. and we went to Fireside, I think, and recorded the tracks for like five songs, which I just found that demo the other day, by the way. And then we went to the music mill,

which was a big studio here at the time and recorded the vocals. And then we, so we pitched that around to every record company got turned down by everybody. Why? I don't know. They just said,

we're not looking, it's not what we're looking for. Standard answer, it ain't for us. Yeah. And then, I made a second demo. This is all within about a year, year and a half.

And John was out as production manager for Garth. He got that job in the meantime. And so we made a second demo. And Mike Chapman, the original bass player guy, said, you know what you need to do. Somebody had told me at a publishing company because I was singing demos. They said, we hear that RCA is looking to sign a female artist.

I was like, okay. So Mike Chapman said, You need to put your demo in an envelope and you need to write. They don't just take stuff off the street, which I didn't know. You got to write on their requested material and put a phone number on it. And I was like, all right. So I went down to Kinko's and I got this bright purple envelope. And I wrote, I think John actually wrote, requested material, Martina McBride, and a phone number.

And about three weeks later, we got a phone call from Josh Leo, the head of A&R at the label. And they wanted to see a showcase. And we heard through the grapevine. There was like me and two or three other. girls. So we put together a band and we went to AAC clubs. We did a showcase and they came back that night and said come in tomorrow and you've got a record deal. Why all that that advice

of just write requested material on there? So they'll think that they actually were the ones who wanted this. That that paid off. Obviously it was you who closed but sometimes you can have all the talent in the world but if you don't have a way to get that talent to where it needs to go, it's a tree falling in the woods. Yeah. That is so

crazy. He's like just write requested material and they'll just believe they wanted it and that they were the ones that were in control the whole time. Yeah. And that's it worked and you know, on my, I think my 40th birthday, Randy Talmadge, the head of A&R gave me that envelope. He'd saved it all those years and he framed it and gave it to me and now I think it's in my Hall of Fame exhibit. So it's, yeah, it's, it's wild, you know. I mean, I just think some things are meant to be. And if you can meet it, you know, if you have enough determination and sort of passion and personal, perseverance to meet it where it is, you know, then it's, then it, like you said, the dominoes start to fall. Yeah, and it's okay to fall with him.

Yeah. We interrupt this interview to bring you a message from our sponsor. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became. became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

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follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess. with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends,

Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care, so they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves.

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Wodam. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. My dad gave me the best advice ever.

I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think, I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot.

He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

This is the Bobbycast. So you've been married 35 or so years. Almost. So got married for the first time about a year ago. Never been married. Was never engaged. Was never in a serious anything. ever. She's the first person I ever told

that I loved because she was the first person I loved, right? So I'm a little stunned in that part of my life because I was just so dedicated to my career. And I met her and it's been a year, a year, a year and a half or so. What is, there is, I know there's no universal key. You can't give me a key to the city and I open every door with it. What is it? What's the secret that's not that secret that's just right in front of me? I think it's determination and deciding.

you kind of decide I'm going to stick I mean unless there's abuse or you know if it's just really not healthy that's a whole different thing but like if it's healthy and you found your person who wants to grow with you and encourages you and makes you laugh every day and and has a sense of adventure and some of the really important things then um you just decide we're in this and there's going to be times when you know maybe you go oh my god what have I done you know what I mean for him and me But you go, that passes, it passes, or you talk about it, or maybe it was just a mood or a season. And then you just, you know, then you start to have all these shared experiences. And I don't know, I think you, honestly, I think you just decide to be dedicated to it if it's a good relationship. Whenever your success really started to grow and as a new artist that has a bit of momentum, you're gone a lot. People think new artists are just making tons of money. New artists are out grinding harder than anybody. Oh, yeah.

Making no money. How was that for the relationship with you and your husband? Was that a really hard time, or was he able to take what he does and take that along? A little bit of both. So he was my sound engineer on the road. So we did travel together, and we still do. That really, I think, has made things easier than if it would have been a different situation because we get to share everything together.

We've kind of grown through this together. and um but when we were first getting when i first got a record deal he's he tells the story of how you know he was kind of like my manager for lack of not really but you know what i mean he was like the biggest he wrote on the envelope he went and dropped it off he was like a big supporter and so you know we go do this thing rca used to have this thing during country radio seminar that was like a boat show so he went on this general jackson boat and all of the radio people were there and it was like a showcase like you did your new material or whatever so the first time i went on there my promo guy my radio guy came and got me and said i want to take you around and introduce you to

some people and john says it's like he just like you just left with the real people you know what mean and left and he was kind of left standing there and and also a lot of people weren't he had to go through a lot of things where till people would get to know him and respect him and not see him as the the husband that was going to be in the way or, you know, all of those stereotypes that people have. So it was, I would say it was harder for him than me. But, you know, once people spend any time with him and recognize his talent and his passion and his heart, you know, then that came around. 1993, you get inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. You mentioned Loretta Linn earlier. She's the one who does it. What do you remember about that night? It was part of a television special. It was like an anniversary

of the opera and Loretta's so funny she came to do the rehearsal and they gave me a plaque and she said well

during rehearsal she said is this what I'm supposed to give you this is what you get for joining the opera and I said yeah I guess so and so she said she kind of laughed and during the ceremony she said welcome to the opera honey this is what you get

that's super cool that it was her and she's the one like just first of all anything with her but she's the one inducting you into the greatest country music space in the history of the world the grandel opera like what a special memory

did you know that she was going to be inducting you before like rehearsals with it because sometimes you know they the invite us a surprise was that a surprise to you yeah but they didn't do it like they did they didn't just show up and surprise you I went to lunch with the head of the opera and he asked me at lunch.

And then I got to, I got to invite, I got to ask who I wanted to induct me. So I chose Loretta. So you chose Loretta. Okay. Man, being told at lunch by someone who, an executive is like being proposed to on the phone. It's like, I mean, you're still getting married and that's awesome, but you didn't even get on a knee. Yeah, I don't think they did it like that back then. Now I love how they do it now where they, I got to be that person for Charlie Daniels.

I got to ask him to join the Opry. And he didn't know you were there. You guys kept it completely secret? That's the greatest. Those videos where people are surprised. I would say the history, because you're right, they didn't do it like that 25 years ago. I think like 20 years.

They started doing it a little bit. But those videos are people get surprised. And they're like, oh my God, they're awesome. Only second to whenever somebody from the military comes home and surprises their kids. Oh, I love those videos. Man, those are good too. What I don't like when they show the videos of the dogs with one eye and Sarah McLaughlin's things. Those videos I don't like, but I like what they're doing.

I just don't like those videos. Yeah. You know what comes to me. You sign a record deal, 91. How fast until you actually take off and have a hit? From the moment you signed until you're on the radio and you got a number one song. Yeah. It was a second record.

I didn't have a number one song to the third record. Wild Angels was my first number one. It actually just happened the other day. I think it was in 1996. So it took five or six years to really get to that place. But before Wild Angels, I had Independence Day. And I had, my first three... Independence Day wasn't a number one song.

No, it was number 10. Maybe, again, I'm just the consumer here. The song that I would know you for the most. Yeah. Wasn't even a number one song. Right. That's a whole story. Like, you know, we had a lot of resistance at radio with that song.

Because? The subject matter. And I think it was really because she burned the house down. You know, it was like she was taking. she took action that just didn't set very well with a lot of radio people. Bizarre. And so it's funny because I was so passionate about that song. Like it literally changed my life, not only career-wise, but just my awareness and my, you know, wanting to try to help some way and all the letters that I got and the people that I talked to and heard their stories.

And it was so big for me. And so my pro bono guy once again, Mike Wilson came to me and he said, I think we're losing the song. I don't think it's going to make it. And I was like, what? How is this possible? And he goes, well, there's, there's, you know, maybe 20 stations that won't refuse to play it. And I said, can I talk to them? Can you give me their numbers?

And I want to have a conversation. And he was like, sure, I guess. Like, that's not usually done, but I guess so. And so I got on the phone with these guys. And I was just like, talk to me. Like, tell me, what is it? and some of them would say we just don't think it's appropriate that it's on our station and i said and we oddly enough this is right independent stay came out maybe seven weeks before

nicole brown cinson was murdered so all of a sudden it was on that story was everywhere and so i was i said you know it's interesting because you're talking about domestic violence every night every day several times a day on your newscasts right yet you don't feel like this song can be listened to or whatever and I turned a few of them around there were 10 stations that never did play it but but I was able to they would give it a chance you know

one guy said to me that video like if I'm sitting with my daughter and that video comes on then I have to talk to her and explain things and I'm like yeah dude that's maybe not a bad idea so it was interesting it's just a different time you know

Is it odd when people just think that song is about 4th of July yeah like on 4th July you hear the song and you're like, no, it's not the same thing, guys. We're not talking about literal Independence Day of America. Yeah. Because sometimes I'll be like, it's your July 4th playlist. Oh, all the, every year.

Yeah. Yeah. Independence Day comes on. I think, I think that's what you were talking about earlier, how sometimes you can just sing a song for years and not really ever, you kind of just sing the chorus and you're distracted during the verses or whatever. Because I think a lot of people don't know what that song is about still, but then so many people do.

And that's, you know, that's the song that I've heard. and thought to myself, somebody needs to hear this song. It's going to be the song for somebody. Yeah. And, you know, then I get letters, people saying, that's what I got in the car and I heard that song in the radio. And that's, I decided I'm out of here. I've had enough, right?

So it's like, that's the power. That's not me. That's the power of music and the power of a song. Let's take a quick pause for a message from our sponsor. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits. the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, Never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes.

And Rule 2, never mess with her friends either. We always say that, trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends... Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care.

So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Vodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Farrell. Woo-woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever.

I went and had lunch with him one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up-and-coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you.

You're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore. It's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck.

Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And we're back on the Bobbycast. Three questions for you. when you finally win for female vocalist, because you grew up a couple times in like the late 90s, but in like maybe 2003 or so, I think you won the first time. Three in a row, by the way, it was like, bam, bam.

Yeah, it was in 1999. Is that you won a 99? Okay. So the first time you win, and you had always been able to envision yourself winning, did you have that moment while it was happening where you're like, I've always, like, while it was happening, like, I always could see this and now it's actually happening.

Yeah, kind of. Yeah. It was like, not an out-of-body experience, but like, it's so, okay, I want to say this and not have it come off in a conceited way because I'm not, but, and it's not where it's coming from. But like, it goes back to what I was saying before. You kind of have to believe it. You kind of have to believe it. Otherwise, all of the rejection and the being away from home, the traveling and the recording and all of the stuff that you do is, you know, you have to believe it's going to pay off in that moment as in that moment. So, you know, there was a, I don't know, maybe, it might have been even four or five years we were nominated and didn't win. And, and you, you just go, what's going to happen? It's going to happen. So you still believed it was going to happen. Oh, yeah, yeah. When you got that close and didn't. Yeah. Because it was too, maybe premature. Like, I feel like we, one thing I'm really, that was a good feeling for me was when we finally won, I felt like we'd been around long enough to kind of deserve it in a way. And my team, you know, everybody that works so hard, they, they, it was rewarding. It was just kind of like, oh, I'm so glad it didn't happen too fast. I'm so glad I feel like I'm kind of in this industry and that people really wanted me to win maybe. So, but yeah, there's that moment where you go, well, this is it, you know? The first times that you didn't win, are you like listening for, um, and it is, ah, is it deflating or is it, do you really feel, like, anytime I ever lose, I'm not honored to be there. Right. I'm like, this sucked. Yeah. Or are you honored just to be there?

and you're like, I'll get him next time. Yeah, I was kind of like that. I was really, because I would look at the category and the other females in the category, and I was just like, wow, wow, like, it's so amazing that I'm even in the same, like these people even know, I remember when I walked past Alan Jackson one time

at an award show, probably the first CMA awards that I went to, and he's in the front row, and I walked by him and kind of, you know, I was, I'm not, I'm kind of an introvert, really, honestly, extroverted introvert. Same. So I'm not the kind of, I'm always the kind of person

that doesn't want to go up to somebody and introduce myself. I don't want to bother them. You know what I mean? But I walked past him, and I just kind of looked at him and thought to myself, oh, my God, that's Alan Jackson. And he said, I love your stuff. And I was like, oh, my God, Alan Jackson knows who I am and has heard my music. What in the world? You know, so it was like that. I don't think you came off, conceded at all. And I'm a big believer in what I would call a healthy arrogance, because if I don't have it, if I don't believe in me so much, nobody else is

going to. Yeah. Like, I have to. Because at times other people are going to go, yep or nope, or I don't know, prove it. But if I don't believe in me and I don't believe what I'm putting out, it's worth people buying a ticket if I'm doing a comedy show or spending 20 minutes with me in the morning or reading a book, if I don't believe it and I don't believe it's great, nobody else will. Yeah, that's true. So I have to be that.

It's just for me at times, I think I get so insecure that that healthy arrogance tends to come off the other way because I'm so insecure that it's like, well, I've got to prove to everybody that I don't take any crap and let's go. That's my problem when things started to really. pop for me. There were a couple times where I had to be like, whoa, you got to check yourself. Luckily, I have that

awareness. I was going to say, you're aware of it. Luckily. Yeah. Did you ever have to have that talk with you? That's a weird question to ask where you're like, well, it's hitting now. Let's make sure we make some wise decisions. Not because of an arrogance thing or insecurity

really, but, you know, I just, it took me a really long time to realize that I had some power. Like, you know, nobody tells you that. When you start out, they're like, there's all kinds of people that want you to do what they think you should do. And I mean, everybody from video directors to art directors to producers to everybody, executives. And it took, I think it was my husband actually that said, you know, they're kind of working for you in a way. And I was like, oh my God, yeah.

So then you kind of, you can kind of assert your power over your creativity and your own persona and how people see you. over yourself. And that can get pretty heady. So sometimes I feel like, especially, I don't, you know, as a woman, I kind of had to check that a little bit just to not alienate everyone. Does that make sense? Yeah, absolutely it does. My final question is kind of a two-parter. If you go to your home, inside your home, what is your favorite professional picture that you have that if somebody could stumble across? It's in a frame somewhere. And what is your favorite personal picture that you have that somebody could just stumble across. Be like, oh, look at this. Oh, you're duck

hunting. I don't know what it could be. But, you're, but, you're, you're, But give me both of them. Okay, well, I don't really have any professional pictures of me framed. But nothing like you had a singing at the opera, anything at all. Not in my house. But a friend of my Nathan Chapman, who I think has been on this show. Love him. Yeah, saw him at the rock.

We played a show to go to the rhyming. Yeah. Yeah, a few days ago. He's an amazing human being. And my favorite bass player, really, no offense to all the other bass players out there. But he's so good and he's a great singer and a musician and I just love him. I can't say enough good things. But he also, because he's good at everything he does,

is an amazing photographer. So he called me up a few weeks ago and said, can I jump on your bus and just, I just want to come out and shoot photos? I was like, absolutely. So he took this photo of me, too, actually. One, me going up the stairs to the stage. And it's kind of blurry and out of focus.

It's so iconic. And then another one of me on stage from the back, which is my best angle, by the way. And there's nothing for me to critique or pick apart. It's like, it's the back of my head. My hair looks good. It's fine. And so that picture.

And I haven't got him framed yet, but he made me huge prints, like as big as that when you have here. So I'm probably going to frame a couple of those. That's super cool. What about personally? One of my favorite pictures is my picture with Loretta. I have a couple of snapshots with her that I have framed. And I just look at, I walk by them and just think, I just was so lucky to know her. So lucky to know her.

You know? And then, of course, I've got pictures with my kids when they were from all, all. through their whole, you know, their whole lives. I've got some newborn pictures with all of them. So, you know, that's personally, I guess when I said, when you said personal picture and I said me and Loretta, that did feel like a personal relationship to me, so, but that's probably more in the professional category. So pictures of me with my kids would be the second one. So you're doing shows a few in May and in June. Now you're taking a break right now, though, for the most part, is what you're saying. Are you going to be?

back out in the fall. Is it been announced yet? No. Okay. We're putting that together. I don't want to go to tour jail, so I'm not going to push. I don't know what's up. I just decided this year to take a little bit more, try to tour a little smarter because

we were, for the past, since COVID, since touring started back up again, we were really hitting it every single weekend, like Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, every single week, maybe with a week off here or there. And it just gets to be so discombobulating. There's always this, first of all, I'm a real home body. I love to be at home. but I love to tour, but there's this re-entry that comes, every time I come on off the road, there's about a day where it just takes a minute to get settled and in the groove.

And that's just jarring and nothing ever gets unpacked and everything's, I'm transporting things back and forth. And so this year I said, I kind of wanted to work in chunks. So we did the judge tour. We've got April and May off, no, March and April off. And then we work in May, June, a little bit in June, July. Then we're going to do a tour in the fall for probably 15 dates. and then we always do a Christmas tour. So we'll probably end up doing the same amount of shows,

but they're just spread out a little more. It's been a real treat. I appreciate you coming and just talking with me about the stuff that I don't ever get to hear from you. I want to know about Sharon. Yeah. I want to know about your mom and your dad. And so I hadn't heard this,

so I really appreciate you taking an hour and spending it and sharing that with me. That's the coolest thing for me to get to do this. So if you want to get tickets, you go to martina McBride.com or go to our socials. Quite the Instagram following, I must say. You kind of kill it over there. I love it. It's fun.

At Martina McBride. And then the final, final question. Do you still love singing? I do. Yeah. I do. I mean, I do. And I think I'm learning to love it in a different way.

For a long time, it was just this thing I did. And it was just this, I sort of had complete control over it. I don't. I honestly, I took it for granted. But, you know, now I'm older. I've gone through a couple of vocal issues, which I'm resolving, and I appreciate it more. I think I'm more connected to it in a different way.

And I think the next few years I'm going to enjoy it more than ever. Well, thank you for your time. This has been a real treat for me. I guess that's it, right, Mike? All the stats and stuff we read before you got here. I'm glad you didn't know what I was here. Well, we didn't want you to get too cocky, you know. So, all right, Martina McBride, everybody.

Love this episode of the Bobbycast. Subscribe on IHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the Cliford show on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I bowed. I will be his last target.

He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This week on the Sports Slice podcast,

it's all about the NFL draft, and we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for

to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slice of Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.