As restrictions are lifting and live music is on the rebound, performing artists have the opportunity to look at their careers and decide how they are moving forward. Country music legend T. G. Sheppard has a unique position right now, looking back and looking forward. Just as Time/Life has announced their digital release of nine of his albums, he has also released “I Am a Song,” a single from his upcoming new release Midnight in Memphis, his first single solo project in 22 years.
This nod to Memphis takes Sheppard back to his musical beginnings when the music bug bit. He knew his father, a strict man, was not going to approve of his seeking a career in music. “Music wasn’t going to happen under his roof in Humboldt, Tennessee,” says Sheppard.
At fifteen—almost sixteen—he climbed out his bedroom window with nothing but sixty cents and headed to Memphis, where Sheppard says he lived in alleyways and slept on park benches, “chasing a dream God let me catch. Everything that I have in life derived from that two quarters and a dime.” He was drawn to the music of Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, so Memphis seemed the perfect destination to follow that dream.
He says his wife calls him “the real Forrest Gump,” noting the chance of his being at the local skating rink the night Elvis pulled up in his car. He believes it had to be destiny that the two built a friendship that endured until Presley’s death. The chances of a young aspiring singer having the same breaks today are slim, he says.
“It’s hard now—more competitive, more corporate. It takes a lot more money to break into the business than it did when I came into it in the mid-70s,” says Sheppard. “One good thing has happened in today’s climate: Country music is bringing a whole new audience into our business. When that audience comes in through the new performers of today, they discover the artists of my era. It’s creating more longevity for artists of the 80s on up. I notice now that when I’m on tour, I look out I’ve seen younger crowds in the audience singing along to the songs,” says Sheppard.
The partnership with Time/Life makes T.G. Sheppard’s music available for download for the first time, giving access to a new generation of listeners. “It’s a great opportunity, a whole new ballgame, and I’m loving the relationship with Time/Life,” he says. “Nobody does it better than they do.”
The opportunity for his upcoming album of new music, Midnight in Memphis, just came about, says Sheppard. “My dear friend Barry Gibb wrote the title song and gave it to me to start the album, and it grew from there.” He says it is great to have new music and to tour again, giving him a chance not just to “sing the same songs over and over the rest of your life.”
His career took a number of turns after his arrival in Memphis, including a period when he sang pop songs under the name Brian Stacy and opened for The Beach Boys, The Animals, and Jan and Dean. His attempts to make it as a country singer in Nashville didn’t take off at first, he says, noting, “It’s all in the timing.” For a while, he gave up trying to become a performing artist and worked as a record executive with RCA in Nashville and in New York. Behind the scenes with the label’s artists, he promoted the songs of such icons as Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, Charlie Pride, and John Denver.
“I learned how important a song is,” says Sheppard. “If you have a song, you have a career.” One of those songs, “Devil in a Bottle,” written by Bobby David, came to his attention and changed his career. He believed in the song and pitched it to a number of performers, including Waylon. When no one else decided to pick it up, he decided to record it himself.
He was soon signed by the legendary Berry Gordy, known for working with such superstars as Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Lionel Richie, as the first country artist for Motown’s new division Melodyland (that become Hitsville.) He enjoys telling the story that showed him, “If you believe in what you’re doing, you’ll get your day in the sun.” When “Devil in a Bottle” hit number one on the Billboard charts, he went to the mailbox, pulled out his copy of the magazine and saw his name at number one. In the same mailbox was a package with return postage from a major label, with a letter telling him they didn’t think “Devil in a Bottle” was commercial enough for radio.
“In one hand I’m holding that Billboard magazine where that song is number one,” says Sheppard, “and then in the other hand I’m holding a rejection letter saying that it wasn’t going to be a hit. I say stick to your guns. That’s what you have to do in this business.” He went on to have twenty more number one hits in the years that followed.
Sheppard was in his heyday in the late 70s and early 80s, one of the key figures during the Urban Cowboy era. He also recorded a string of successful duets beginning with “Faking Love,” penned by Matraca Berg and Bobby Braddock, sung with Karen Brooks in 1982. Judy Collins also asked him to perform a duet with her of “Home Again,” the title song for her album in 1984.
While performing in Tahoe with Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee, he got a call to record “Make My Day” with Clint Eastwood that same year. When he arrived at the studio to record, he expected Eastwood to arrive with an entourage. Instead, the actor/director arrived alone in his ‘55 Chevrolet pickup truck.
“He pulled up and climbed out by himself, walked up to me, and introduced himself. The reason he has staying power is that he has no ego. That’s true for anyone performing in our business. If you have your ego in check, you can stay a long time. The fans can take it away from you as quick as they give it to you if you get to a point where you think you’re above them,” said Sheppard, adding, “The key to longevity is being unique, accessible and kind to people. The ones that burn out fast haven’t learned that lesson.”
T. G. Sheppard has found the combination in his own career, staying true to who he is and true to his fans. “I’ve never been real traditional,” says Sheppard, “but I’ve been real country. I always had a pop edge in the Urban Cowboy days. In country music, we’ve gotten away from two things: the stories and the melodies.” Pointing to the great story songs of Merle Haggard and George Jones, he says he believes those songs are coming back around. He referred to Alan Jackson and other great traditionalists, as well as Blake Shelton, who he says is doing a lot for traditional country with great songs, and Luke Combs who is bringing back another side of country back. “I do feel that pendulum swinging back again to a traditional sound.”
While T.G. Sheppard has done some songwriting, he says he prefers to leave the songwriting to people who do it every day. “They are the master craftsmen and craftswomen. We have great songwriters in this town, everywhere you turn.” His years with RCA trained his ear for a good song. When he was ready to record new music after 22 years, he went to people who have mastered the art of writing and do it on a daily basis.
In the years between his run of number one hits and his upcoming release, T. G. Sheppard has continued to perform but has ventured out in other directions. For a while he had a bed and breakfast in the mountains, as well as the Guitars and Cadillacs nightclub chain, a theater in Pigeon Forge, and the T.G. Sheppard NASCAR team. He is also starting his third year of the T. G. Sheppard show, which airs every Friday from two to six on Elvis Radio with SiriusXM.
“I think when you when you diversify, you can stay fresher with what you do, so those diversions have helped keep music fresh for me. You can suffer burnout if you’re not careful. I love a good diversion from time to time, but I can’t afford to drift too far away from what I love, which is music. I have to be very careful not to spread myself too thin,” says Sheppard. With his album I Loved‘Em All celebrating a 40th anniversary, his nine previous albums finding a new listening audience, and Midnight in Memphis to be released September 20, T. G. Sheppard plans to continue to tour.
“I want to look out and see people standing next to each other and smiling and singing songs with us,” says Sheppard. “It’s a very exciting time to go back out because we all know it can taken away so quickly.”
See Tgsheppard.com for upcoming tour dates, merchants, and career highlights.
