How Richard Marx Hooked Up Vince Gill and Daughtry
Daughtry, the hard rock band that launched after Chris Daughtry's American Idol win, has a new album out called Leave This Town. And on that new album is a phenomenal song called "Tennessee Line." I say phenomenal for a few reasons. First of all, I think I hear a steel guitar. And I know I hear a fiddle in the decadently long outro. And the chorus alone sounds country, with its hook about "Tennessee line, I just changed my mind/Well, it's my heart I'll follow this time." And then there's Vince Gill's singing with Daughtry. How'd that come to be? Daughtry was writing with legendary pop star Richard Marx, who heard the song and said, "Dude, Gill would kill this song." Kill in a good way, though. So it all came together, and all Gill asked for in return was pizza and beer.
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Ken Ed says:
Great behind the scenes story, Alison. Thanks for sharing it. After reading Chet Flippo’s latest column about country artists collaborating with “outsiders,” this is a nice reminder that Nashville traditionalists like Vince do have interests outside of *gasp* country music.
Shawn P. says:
Just a correction, but Chris Daughtry didn’t win American Idol, he finished 4th during his season.
Jane says:
Tennessee Line is a fabulous song & Gill’s voice sounds amazing on it (he’s always been one of my favorite country artists). It really fits with the song.
Redmaz says:
It doesn’t surprise that Alison thinks this song sounds “Country”.
Kay says:
I think Tenessee Line is a wonderful song. I bought the CD the day it came out and I would have known that was Vince Gill singing without anyone telling me. I am such a fan of his. The collaboration was great!
Tim S. says:
I think it’s interesting that Chris came in 4th on his season of Idol, and he has gone on to be the most popular one by far from that season. I loved the group’s first album, and so far really like the second one as well. Tennessee Line is great, and you can definitely hear Vince. He has such a wonderful, unique voice, it’s almost impossible to not know who it is when you hear him in a song.
Jules G says:
Daughtry did not win Idol that year, Taylor Hicks won Idol and deservedly so. But I can see why you are confused. After Taylor Hicks won (by a big margin), American Idol and Sony records decided to throw all their support and promotion behind Daughtry because he was more commercially viable. Well that’s fine, that’s business I guess. But for the record, Taylor Hicks was thrown under the bus BIG TIME. The record company never pushed him to radio or even bothered to make a music video for him. Yet Taylor Hicks was, and remains an amazing talent, and he has never publically complained about his treatment. Nothing against Chris Daughtry because it was none of his doing, but more people need to be aware of what happened. So do yourself a favor, if you are a country music fan, check out the country Taylor Hicks on his songs “Nineteen” and “Seven Mile Breakdown”.
Brenda says:
How ironic that you say Chris “won” American Idol - try to get it right next time; Taylor Hicks WON that season and Chris finished in 4th place. Too bad Taylor wasn’t given a fair shake once the season was over - oh, yes, that’s right, Chris Daughtry signed with Clive Davis and Taylor didn’t…say no more. Chris received all the promotion that the WINNER should have.
Barbie says:
I am happy for Chris, as Vince has such a beautiful voice. I too wish Taylor Hicks who DID win Season 5 had been given the same support. In the end Taylor now has his own record label, is touring the nation in the number one musical Grease and is touching people’s hearts one soul at a time. OPA!
Redmaz says:
I didn’t know Richard Marx was Vince Gill’s daughtry? I’ll be dog. To adopt is a wonderful thing, I just hope they can adapt. btw…I loved him in “Duck Soup”. He so funny!
Tiffany says:
I love Vince. He is so talented and so supportive of other artists. I am glad to see him sing with Daughtry which I also think is very talented. I can’t see Vince doing a rap song though and saying this is where new country is going. Thank the Lord!!
april says:
First- I love Vince
Second- I don’t care for Daughtry
Third- TAYLOR HICKS WON AMERICAN IDOL
PLEASE GET YOUR FACT STRAIGHT.
sue t. Garner says:
Vince Gill singing with ANYONE is amazing!
Tamm says:
First… Vince Gill is amazing and having him recommended to Chris by Richard Marx is awesome.
Second… The fans are the ones that voted for Taylor Hicks to win that season of AI… it was the fans who should have remained diligent in this day and age of the internet to keep Taylor in the forefront despite whomever he signed with, yet they didn’t… doesn’t matter about promotion… they could have gotten his music via iTunes, Amazon, yada yada yada… get over it. Chris is an amazing talent in his own right and he and his band - Daughtry - have another amazing CD out.
Third… all Vince wanted was pizza and beer as payment for services rendered… that is one fantastically cool dude. I’ve been a fan of Vince’s for years and was thrilled when I heard that he was singing backup on one of the songs for Daughtry.
This story about how they hooked up is a cute one, but the author of the story really needs to check their facts first — i.e., Taylor Hicks winning the season and not Chris.
Denise says:
It’s true that Chris Daughtry didn’t win American Idol, but I have to mention that Vince Gill and Richard Marx are two of the best that the music business has to offer. I happen to really enjoy Daughtry as well. Tennessee Line is a fantastic song :) Kudos to Marx for the hookup.
Jules G. says:
Tamm said: “Second… The fans are the ones that voted for Taylor Hicks to win that season of AI… it was the fans who should have remained diligent in this day and age of the internet to keep Taylor in the forefront despite whomever he signed with, yet they didn’t… doesn’t matter about promotion…”
Tamm thank you for your thoughts, I wish it were that simple. Every artist coming off American Idol has their fanbase. Taylor sold 700,000 records just on the merit of his own popularity on the show. But after that, proper promotion is EVERYTHING to grow and even maintain a fanbase. Taylor’s fans were very active in requesting songs on the radio, until some DJ told one of the fans he couldn’t play Taylor’s music because they weren’t pushing him to radio. The record company didn’t even bother to release a single until 2 months after the album was released. That is unheard of for a major release. Finally, the record company made a request for the fans to actually STOP requesting Taylor’s song to radio stations. It was really unbelievable and all documented. You can’t win against that sort of power, but the fans were definitely out in force to help Taylor succeed.
Sorry to infringe on the Daughtry/Vince Gill conversation. Nothing against Daughtry, I’ve heard the song and it’s good. But we just want to remind people that Taylor Hicks won American Idol when the playing field was fair, but the music business is not always fair and people with a lot of talent are sometimes hung out to dry.
Maybe Alison can do a story on Taylor Hicks and his album “The Distance” which he did on his own after he split from Sony, using some of the top Nashville songwriters, and the album is actually better and represents him more accurately as the artist he is.
NorthernObserver says:
As I recall, the American Idol Season 5 results were:
Taylor Hicks - Winner (by a landslide)
Katharine McPhee - 2nd Place
Elliott Yamin - 3rd Place
Chris Daughtry - 4th Place
The American public voted who should be the winner. They chose Taylor. Then, some powerful entities decided to screw Taylor over and treat Chris like the winner. Such a slap in the face to all those who voted throughout the season! NOT COOL!!!
Taylor is multi-talented, a very gifted musical artist. He’s thriving despite all the roadblocks put in his way. Nothing against Daughtry, but he did NOT win AI Season 5, so Alison please stop spreading such falsehoods.
Debbie says:
Love Richard Marx, it’s not Chris’s fault that American idol is an a**. Hate Vince Gill, and Taylor’s song and video is hot, but no one will put it on CMT. Checkout AOL’s music video’s out of the top ten it’s number 1, and has been for awhile, the other 9 have been Michael’s for the most part.
Debbie says:
http://music.aol.com/video/seven-mile-breakdown/taylor-hicks/bc:22321014001
Most viewed on AOL as of the 22 of July, 2009.
Terrie says:
Just for the record”I voted for Taylor Hicks.
Just for the record”Daughtry’s music and his character speaks for itself. Some of us get breaks and some of us work for what we are given.
Holly says:
It’s an awesome song. I sat there in my car listening to it for like the 4th time going “That HAS to be Vince Gill!” He and Chris both have very unique voices and it’s a great collaboration.