I called Wade and he answered “Hello.” My comments are in italics and parentheses. The rest are his.
(Hey there, what’s going on with you?) I just walked into the room. Your timing is good. You doing all right? You sound like you may have a little allergy or something. (I’m just kinda croaky some days.) I’m the same way. (If it’s very early in the morning I could sing bass.) I’m the same way. I always like to do vocals about 10 o’clock in the morning. That’s my favorite time, because I still have a little bit of that low end from the morning.
(I imagine it’s pretty good to be on the road again). Yes. Definitely. Things are much, much better. To have a little income coming in and having something to do. Not working on the house, but getting back into music. It’s great. I’m very, very thankful. Thinking about trying to get in and record some new songs that have been written. I’m trying to tweak one. I’ve written this song called, “John Wayne Movie” and it’s about how back in that era when movies were being made, wrong and right was very defined. You knew where you stood and these days it’s just gray lines. There’s no wrong or right. It’s about that. I’m trying to tone it down a little bit. It’s unbelievable, even writing the song, I had to worry about offending people. ‘Cause morality and right and wrong is a touchy subject. It’s a weird, weird time and I don’t see anybody hitting the brakes on it. It’s rolling and picking up steam. (You used to know who the heroes and the bad guys were.) Exactly. I’ve noticed, in modern movies, even the good guy in the story is really flawed and does really bad things. It’s weird. It worries me and upsets me. I’ve had to quit watching news.
(I saw where you did a project lately with Jimmy Yeary called “In the Chapel.” How did that come about?) He’s an old friend, and I recorded one of his songs when I was doing a little spec deal on RCA that didn’t work out. We met and became friends back then and he’s actually gone on to be a very successful songwriter. In fact, one of his songs a couple of years ago was called, “I Drive Your Truck.” - a Lee Brice tune. He’s written several hits since then. Anyway, he just called me up and asked me to come do this VLOG show he does. Of course, I agreed. It was good to see him. We did a couple of hymns and stuff that I had written and hits and stuff like that. It was fun. He’s a real good player and singer, too. (I was surprised at Sonya Isaacs being there - the harmony on “Old Rugged Cross” was superb.) That’s his wife. She’s really good. Her family harmony - good grief - it doesn’t get any better than that.
(What’s been keeping you busy? Anything else, besides possums?) We found out - that little guy - we knew he was messed up somehow, but couldn’t figure out what it was, because he was walking funny, but found out he’s missing an eye. (Awww) But he’s growing. He seems to be getting healthier. He sleeps all day and parties all night. Possums are that way. We’ve got a little den built for him out of towels in the laundry room. He stays curled up in there all day. We’ll check on him from time to time, and he’ll show us his teeth. He comes out at night and wanders around and likes to eat. We pet him and he’s all right. We’ve read where you’re supposed to wait until they get to 3 pounds before you turn them out in the wild. We’re just trying to get him healthy. He’s still really scared. We handle him with kid gloves.
(You talked about writing the "John Wayne Movie" song Is there anything else in the pipeline?) Yes, there’s another one, based on Romans 7. Romans is a book that resonates with me, aways has. There’s another one I’m trying to finish up that has yet to be titled. It’s laid out, I just need to put the puzzle pieces together. (I’d never heard of songwriting in that way.) That’s exactly what it is. You get the idea and the melody and you just start piecing it together. That’s how you do it. At least that’s how I do it. (I’ve had songwriters tell me that it’s a discipline - they write from 10 to 12 every day. Another said, “It’s organic. I just go out on the back porch and wait for something to come to me.”) It’s different. Everybody’s different. I don’t write until I have to, until it’s screaming to get out of my head. I wish I were more militant about it. I’ve tried it and it just never works out for me. I get them started that way, but finishing them, I have to wait for it to percolate. (That’s 2 new ways for me to think about songwriting - “screaming to get out of your head” and the need to “percolate.” It’s great to talk with you. I appreciate all your thoughts.)
(Note from Helen: Wade and Lea rescued a baby possum that was abandoned in their yard. Also, Jimmy Yeary noted at the end of the VLOG that he thought it was the best one he’d done. There’s a link below to the hour show. Very enjoyable.)
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Wade tours his hometown with Adam Hampton. A well-done, interesting, insightful 30 minute live interview. So well-done that it won a Heartland EMMY Chapter nomination.
Here’s the public release information:
‘We are excited to announce that Outsiders picked up a Heartland EMMY Chapter nomination for the Play It Loud episode featuring
Wade Hayes! And congratulations to Adam Hampton to for getting a nomination for his writing on Play It Loud!"
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You don’t want to miss this delightful hour of acoustic music and conversation with Wade. Jimmy Yeary is a well-known songwriter with such hits as “I’m Gonna Love You Through it,” (Martina McBride); “I Called Mama,” (Tim McGraw); and “I Drive Your Truck,” (Lee Brice). The Brice recording was the 47th CMA Song of the Year, as well as the 49th ACM Song of the Year.
Sonya Isaacs, Jimmy’s wife and an outstanding singer-songwriter in her own right, joined Wade and Jimmy for the last half of the show. The 3 part harmonies on “Old Rugged Cross” and “I Saw the Light” will give you goose-bumps. (Also known as ‘chicken skin’ in Wade’s Oklahoma vernacular). As well as the gospel songs, Wade performed 5 that he had recorded. He joins the session at the 8 minute mark of the hour show.
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Opry performances are always special. You can tell that the audience loves him. You can find his April 9th appearance in the Friday Night Archives. His 3 song spot begins at 1 hour and 8 minutes.
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This show is always a treat. As well as his vocal performances, watch Wade have fun reading the "Redneck Night Before Christmas" to his assembled "children."
