{"id":18589,"date":"2019-09-19T06:00:16","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1812044"},"modified":"2019-09-19T06:00:16","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T12:00:16","slug":"steve-wariner-considers-himself-a-musician-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/music-news\/steve-wariner-considers-himself-a-musician-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Wariner Considers Himself a Musician First"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:ao:image:cmt.com:681915?width=1200&amp;height=675&amp;.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"byline\">by <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/author\/shelburnec\/\" title=\"Posts by Craig Shelburne\" rel=\"author\">Craig Shelburne<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"date\">30m ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<p>Before he established himself as a major label recording artist or an award-winning songwriter, Steve Wariner worked as a sideman, touring with the likes of Chet Atkins, Bob Luman, and Dottie West. Those seminal experiences shaped an enduring career that would lead to his own string of hits, including \u201cHoles in the Floor of Heaven,\u201d \u201cSome Fools Never Learn,\u201d and \u201cThe Weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Known as a musician\u2019s musician, Wariner has collected four Grammys in his career due to collaborations with Asleep at the Wheel, Vince Gill, Mark O\u2019Connor, Brad Paisley, and Ricky Skaggs, among others. A Grand Ole Opry member since 1996, the good-natured Indiana native invited CMT.com to his home studio to chat the earliest days of his career.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CMT: I want to start by asking about the Musicians Hall of Fame. Why is that honor special to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>SW: I think because it really brings me full circle. I know that\u2019s real clich\u00e9, but it really does. I came here as a teenager, I wanted to play music, I wanted to play in somebody\u2019s band. I had a job when I came here working for Dottie West. I met her in Indiana and she brought me here. So it really brings me back full circle to being what I started to do in the first place \u2014 to be a musician and come here to Music City.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/auXfuY21RKw?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/auXfuY21RKw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p><strong>You were what, 10 years old when you started playing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I was real young. I started singing in church when I was probably younger than that. I remember as a little bitty kid, my dad would get me up in church and sing with him. My dad was in a huge family, so I had lots of aunts and uncles, and everybody sang and played. But yeah, about 10, I started playing with my dad out in public. He played American Legions, VFW\u2019s, just for weekends \u2014 and extra money, probably looking back now \u2014 but he loved music.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What did he think of Dottie West?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Oh, when I was a kid he was in love with Dottie West. I remember when the record Paper Mansions came out, I was a kid in the late \u201960s. We lived in Louisville, Kentucky, at this time, and I remember my dad was like, \u201cI love this record, I love Dottie West.\u201d So I already knew all about her by the time I met her. I was like, \u201cMy dad loves you.\u201d And she was really very kind to my mom and dad, too.<\/p>\n<p>I remember my dad was thrilled that I was going to go on the road at a tender of age of 17, 18 years old. I was getting on the road, moving away, and coming here [to Nashville]. Because when he was 17 he was in the Navy. My mom, not so much. I think what put her mind at ease was one day over at Dottie West\u2019s house, over in Green Hills, Dottie put her arm around my mom and she said, \u201cEileen, I will be like his mother when you\u2019re not around.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uC73ulbu9qw?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uC73ulbu9qw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>When the me-too stuff unfolded, I was thinking, \u201cYou guys don\u2019t even know all the feminist movement stuff.\u201d I was thinking, \u201cDottie was doing that in the \u201960s, man.\u201d She was girl power all day long back then. I remember when I was working for her, she was using all kinds of salty language \u2014 \u201cI\u2019m not letting no men in these record labels tell me what to do\u2026.\u201d and she was really headstrong.<\/p>\n<p>You know, trying to talk people into considering her for the Country Music Hall of Fame, I would say, \u201cGuys, she was the first female country artist to win a Grammy \u2014 with a song she wrote!\u201d I\u2019m going, \u201cMan, what do you guys want here?\u201d That\u2019s pretty powerful to me. And doing it really in that world, can you imagine that good old boy world? I mean it\u2019s that way now, but can you imagine in \u201964 what it was like? My little part of it I saw it big time, the politics, and just the boy\u2019s club, really.<\/p>\n<p>But boy, Dottie had a temper though. She could get mad. I had her mad at me a lot of times because I was a teenager. And a teenager out on the road, and oh my God I was in trouble all the time. I always say I don\u2019t know how she kept from booting me after six months. \u2026 I was starting at ground zero because I didn\u2019t know crap about being on the road. They were teaching me from the ground up.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K3VPzEuxGJM?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K3VPzEuxGJM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p><strong>So, did Dottie lead you to Chet Atkins?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, in a roundabout way. Not long after I started working for her, we went to Europe, and it was all the RCA big acts at the time. They only took one band to back everybody up, so Dottie\u2019s band backed up everybody but Danny Davis. He had his own unit. We played all around England, then London, and then went through Europe from there and played.<\/p>\n<p>Chet was going to do the one in London, and then the rest of Europe \u2013 so, the last half. I was so excited because as a kid I had my dad\u2019s Chet Atkins records I studied and lived with. Dottie said, \u201cWell, I\u2019ll introduce you to Chet.\u201d We played Wembley, and I remember meeting him, going down into one of the dressing rooms \/ locker rooms at Wembley and met Chet.<\/p>\n<p>I was scared. I was just a kid and scared to death. And he was so kind. It was just a quick hello. But then I re-met him in I think \u201976, and that\u2019s when I hooked up with him through Paul Yandell. But that was the first time I met Chet. And he was really as I thought he would be \u2014 he was real kind. He certainly didn\u2019t have to be. I was just a little kid bass player with Dottie, and he took the time and made an impression.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/isWBCsDKx7Y?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/isWBCsDKx7Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p><strong>Chet signed you to your first record deal, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, he did. I signed in \u201977, with him and with RCA. I didn\u2019t understand all the politics going on, but the very first thing he did, once he committed to signing me, he said, \u201cYou should go with\u2026\u201d and he started naming some other producers to produce me, and I go, \u201cNo. I want you to produce me.\u201d He goes, \u201cI\u2019m stepping down, and in the midst of retiring, or working that way.\u201d I was like, \u201cNope, I want you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was an idiot kid. \u201cNope, I want you to produce me.\u201d And I\u2019m glad he did. He said, \u201cWell, OK. Let\u2019s go in the studio, and let\u2019s cut a few things and see what happens.\u201d So he took me into Studio B, and that\u2019s the first and only time I cut at Studio B. But we went in there and cut some demo kind of stuff. I\u2019m so glad I did that because I might be toward the last people that cut in there. Or close to it anyway.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But your success didn\u2019t happen right away. It took a few years. I was curious how you stayed optimistic during that time.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I wouldn\u2019t have without him. He said, \u201cHey, man. Just keep doing what you\u2019re doing. We\u2019ll get it.\u201d I was playing with him on the road by this time. He asked me to play in his band, too. I\u2019d been working with Bob Luman, but he had passed away. I remember I was in those meetings with Chet and probably had $10 in my pocket. I was living in Kentucky, and I barely had enough money to get back home.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\">Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jKL1nY_sBWw?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jKL1nY_sBWw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>And he knew that, I think. It couldn\u2019t be because of my wonderful bass prowess, I don\u2019t think. But he offered me to play with him on the road, which he didn\u2019t play a ton, but he played some awesome gigs. He would play Wolf Trap in D.C., or Chicago with the Chicago Symphony. He was doing some awesome gigs. It was better than the Hitching Post that I had been playing, or whatever.<\/p>\n<p>At one point Chet says, \u201cYou know, I think you\u2019re not going to have a hit record with me as long as I\u2019m producing. You should go with another producer.\u201d So finally he passed the baton, and he explained some politics stuff that I didn\u2019t understand, and he said, \u201cIf you want a hit record, you need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So I wound up going with Tom Collins and my first record with Tom was a song called \u201cYour Memory\u201d and it went Top 10. When it was a hit, Chet brought me in and said, \u201cYou got your first hit.\u201d And I go, \u201cYeah, man. It\u2019s really good.\u201d Then he goes, \u201cYeah, congratulations. You\u2019re fired.\u201d And I went, \u201cWhat?\u201d And he fired me from playing bass.<\/p>\n<p>I always tell young people, that\u2019s a good lesson. If you\u2019re going to get fired, get fired by the best. I know what he was doing. He was just like, \u201cGet on out there, go on and do your stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1812044\/steve-wariner-considers-himself-a-musician-first\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Craig Shelburne 30m ago Before he established himself as a major label recording artist or an award-winning songwriter, Steve Wariner worked as a sideman, touring with the likes of Chet Atkins, Bob Luman, and Dottie West. Those seminal experiences shaped an enduring career that would lead to his own string of hits, including \u201cHoles [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-13 15:41:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}