Joe Nichols
Man With a Memory (Universal South)
Performing Nov. 15 at Gaylord Entertainment Center
In the parlance of Nashville’s star-making machinery, country singer Joe Nichols is hot, young and new. All good things to be, of course. And when Nichols steps onstage at the Gaylord Entertainment Center on Friday night, he’ll not only be the opening act for country’s current leading statesman, Alan Jackson, he’ll be putting the exclamation point on the first phase of his own budding career.
Currently riding high with his recent No. 1 single, “The Impossible,” Nichols, who turns 26 this month, is a likable guy with a look that’s slightly different from your garden-variety country singer. Without buckskin, fringe or cowboy hat, Nichols looks more like the lead singer from an alternative rock band than the latest savior of tradition-leaning commercial country. On the other hand, when Nichols starts to sing, his voice harks back to early George Strait or Randy Travis.
Nichols’ new CD, Man With a Memory, reinforces this connection to Music Row’s best, history-conscious product. It’s also the signature album released by the new Universal South label, a joint venture with New York-based Universal Records run by former MCA Nashville president Tony Brown and former Arista Nashville exec Tim Dubois.
“Joe is definitely the flagship artist for Universal South,” says Dubois. “He came to us just as we were starting the label. He’s the first brand-new artist on a brand-new [Nashville] label to have a No. 1 song. He’s at the start of what should be a great career.”
Nichols hails from Rogers, Ark. His upbringing appears to have been typical and otherwise unremarkably small-townish. His father was a truck driver and honky-tonk bass player; Nichols got his first taste of singing as a teenager accompanying an uncle’s karaoke machine. While still in Arkansas, he signed a record deal with Intersound, a small independent label based in Nashville. An album followed, but to little avail, other than to give the then-19-year-old a taste of the business. “It’s daylight and dark,” Nichols says somewhat dismissively, comparing Man With a Memory to that early effort. He moved to Music City in 1997.
“I came here with a girlfriend,” says Nichols, echoing a common refrain of country wannabes. The relationship didn’t work out, though Nichols is now the father of a 3-year-old daughter named Ashelyn. “I held several different odd jobs,” he continues in his mellow drawl. “I was a cable guy, I sold steaks for a day and I worked for UPS for a little while. Honestly, I really didn’t get focused until later. At first, I just came to Nashville and survived. But I did get serious about getting some songwriting done.”
Things picked up in 1999 when Nichols’ best friend, guitarist Brian Spradlin, who was then working at a local music equipment company, met studio guitarist Brent Rowan. “Brian talked to Brent on several occasions about producing and then gave him an acoustic demo we had done with both original and cover material,” says Nichols. “It was pretty raw stuff.” Spradlin’s persistence paid off. A get-acquainted lunch at the Cooker resulted in Rowan’s agreement to take Nichols on; Rowan soon pitched the singer to Giant Records.
“We got a record deal in late ’99, but the label was so tied up financially, it was very hard to get actual face time with decision makers,” Nichols says. “Giant ended up closing its doors in early 2001, at which point Warner Bros. called and expressed an interest in our contract. We were there for a few months, and in the meantime kept looking for songs, building relationships with publishers. To their credit, Warner gave us an open-ended release, and that started our meetings with other labels. I was most excited about the potential of Universal South.”
And why not? Between the two of them, senior partners Brown and Dubois have been responsible for the careers of Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley and many others. “Joe appears to be a typical 25-year-old,” says Dubois. “We didn’t try to change his look or style. He doesn’t have a traditional look, but we’re aware that record buyers are a much younger audience. And we have found that Joe’s image is very acceptable to country radio listeners. His appeal is similar to the early Merle Haggard, Gene Watson or Keith Whitley.”
Nichols concurs. “I’m very conscious that my look is different,” he says. “That’s actually something that I shoot for. Sometimes it catches people off guard, ’cause it’s not the same old thing. People need change and a little bit of freshness.” But if audiences in the hinterlands—in Tampa or Little Rock or other recent stops along Jackson’s Drive tour—puzzle with some curiosity about the image of this new artist, they seem to agree that his sound is immediately acceptable.
Nichols’ warm, flexible baritone makes for good music, to be sure, but Man With a Memory functions as much as a showcase for its producer. Rowan is maybe Nashville’s most reliable and versatile studio guitarist, and his imprint is all over the record. His many recording sessions represent well over 100 million records sold, with credits on CDs by leading country and pop artists of the last two decades, including Strait, Travis, Shania Twain and Sting. “Brent is one of the premier session players,” says Dubois. “We wanted him to have a shot at producing someone, and he delivered an absolutely wonderful album—in the vein of Jackson or Strait.”
Not surprisingly, the CD’s overall production is accessible, Nashville cool and commercial in every way, featuring top-flight studio talent and guest appearances by Gill and Dobro virtuoso Jerry Douglas. Song selection, according to Nichols, was “very collaborative,” with input from Brown, Dubois, Rowan and Nichols himself.
The current big hit, “The Impossible,” a solid piece of Music Row tunesmithing by Kelley Lovelace and Lee Thomas Miller, leads off the set. It’s sentimental, yet it conveys its hopeful, “dreams can come true” message with sincerity, Top 40 assuredness and sophisticated arrangements. “Joe’s Place” is a lively up-tempo paean to bar life, featuring Gill’s high tenor harmonies. “She Only Smokes When She Drinks” is an effective if unspectacular snapshot of a honky-tonk angel in pensive repose, reminiscent musically of Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing at All.”
The Nichols co-writes on the album include “Everything’s a Thing,” a bluesy bit of nonsense wordplay; “Can’t Hold a Halo to You,” a pleasant ballad featuring Dan Dugmore’s winding and whining steel guitar licks; and “Cool to Be a Fool,” which, in its fun-loving, Western-swing way, recalls George Strait’s first records laced with some of the sassiness and swagger of a good Clint Black song. “Man With a Memory” concludes the album; it’s a classic country-pop tune by Charlie Black and Rory Michael Bourke, expressive of Music Row writing at its very best.
Right now, promotional efforts in support of Nichols and his music are in high gear. He’s made his debut appearance on CMT’s popular video countdown show, Most Wanted Live; his video for “The Impossible” is in the cable broadcast’s rotation; and he made a brief, nationally televised appearance on last week’s CMA Awards show. Nichols has also become a semi-regular on the Grand Ole Opry, where older audiences, if they close their eyes, can connect immediately with his music. The Nichols story is tinged with bittersweet sadness, though. His dad, Mike, passed away from a respiratory ailment this past summer, but not before he saw his son make his Opry debut.
In the midst of all this recent attention and activity, Nichols appears unfazed, rather calmly businesslike. If he’s overwhelmed by, or in awe of, the momentum his career is generating, it certainly doesn’t show; he’s thinking about the future too.
“I hope to keep the same creative mind and keep on in that same traditional path,” he says. “And I think we’re going to take chances sometimes. I think Universal South is about risk...but a very confident risk. I think we’ll see some unique sounds that are different from what people might normally consider 'radio releases.’ When the Dixie Chicks came out, nobody considered bluegrass radio stuff, either. But they had strong songs and made a huge impact. Hopefully, we can do that same thing.”
