Restless Heart and Shenandoah (distanced) - (October 30, 2020)

RESTLESS HEART

Restless Heart lead singer Larry Stewart can remember the exact moment and place his life began to change forever.

"I was driving east on I-40 from West Nashville into town to an appointment," he recalls. "Back then, I was listening to what we were doing in my Jeep Cherokee every day. I had turned the radio on, and 'Let The Heartache Ride' was right in the middle of the acapella intro."

Stewart had been living with the song for a while, and hearing it through his car speakers wasn't that big of a deal - until he looked at the stereo and saw the numbers 97.9. "It didn't sink in because I had it in the tape deck for days, then I realized 'That's the radio. It's WSIX.' I pulled over on the shoulder around White Bridge Road and sat there with my car idling. It was like yesterday."

'Yesterday' has come full circle for Restless Heart. Then one of Nashville's newest acts, the band is celebrating their 30th Anniversary in 2013, and Dave Innis enjoys the musical ride as much as ever.

"I think it's been an amazing legacy, and it's been such an honor to have been part of an organization that is still together doing it after thirty years with the same five original guys, and it's more fun than ever."

John Dittrich, Greg Jennings, Paul Gregg, Dave Innis, and Larry Stewart - the men who make up Restless Heart have enjoyed one of the most successful careers in Country Music history, placing over 25 singles on the charts - with six consecutive #1 hits, four of their albums have been certified Gold by the RIAA, and they have won a wide range of awards from many organizations - including the Academy of Country Music's Top Vocal Group trophy. Those stats aside, Innis feels that their career goes much deeper than that.

"In the past few years, we have really started to branch out in the community, particularly our work with the Nashville Rescue Mission. We have hosted an event called Restless Heart & Friends - Music With A Mission that we do at the Schermerhorn Center with the Nashville Symphony. We invite a lot of our friends in the industry across all genres to join us, and all of the money we raise goes to the Nashville Rescue Mission. The other thing that stands out is the tours we have done in support of the men and women of the Armed Forces. We did some tours with the Air Force, going all over the world."

Those audiences have sung along with their record-shattering string of hits, such as "I'll Still Be Loving You," "Fast Movin' Train" and "When She Cries." Stewart says it's humbling to know Restless Heart has made an impact. "I'm proud of the fact that we get to hear stories from young artists and musicians that we might have made an impression or inspiring them to come to town - having number one records, and hearing the stories of what they meant to people. To know that you have been a part of something that made a difference, the power of music, the power of a song. To be a part of something that made a mark. However big or small of a mark Restless Heart made, it's still a mark. To be able to appreciate and feel blessed that we got lucky enough to get together. I feel like it was something that was meant to be."

And, the story is far from over, as Stewart says Restless Heart still has a lot of history to make. "We are still at the top of our game when it comes to singing and playing together. We've got some projects we're working on, and we want to put the Restless Heart brand out to music fans again - to let them know we're still here and making good music. We're really looking forward, not trying to rest on our past laurels, we really want to do some new music. We have some fun things we're considering to celebrate the moment, which we're trying to put together, and reintroduce ourselves to the world, and take another stab at something." Restless Heart - Thirty Years and Those Musical "Wheels" are Still Going Strong!

SHENANDOAH

When country music lovers talk about the greatest groups in the genre, Shenandoah is always at the forefront of any discussion.

Fueled by Marty Raybon's distinctive vocals and the band's skilled musicianship, Shenandoah became well known for delivering such hits as "Two Dozen Roses", "Church on Cumberland Road" and "Next to You, Next to Me" as well as such achingly beautiful classics as "I Want to be Loved Like That" and the Grammy winning "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart" duet with Alison Krauss.

Today that legacy continues as original members Raybon and Mike McGuire reunite to launch a new chapter in Shenandoah's storied career. It all began when the guys got back together to perform a benefit concert for a friend battling cancer. "We saw how folks reacted," Raybon says of the response to their reunion. "And then Jerry Phillips, son of legendary Sun Records producer Sam Phillips, said 'You guys need to make a run at this. People still love what you do. You can tell by the reaction. There's a lot of excitement in the air.'"

"It's kind of like riding a bicycle," McGuire says of the band reigniting that chemistry on stage. "We had done so many shows over the years together, even though we spent 17 years apart, we got back up on the stage and it was like we never stopped. We knew those songs inside out. They were still dear to our hearts. It was great to get back up there and do them together again."

Raybon and McGuire formed the band in 1984 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with bassist Ralph Ezell, keyboardist Stan Thorn and guitarist Jim Seales. McGuire invited noted producer Robert Byrne out to see the band perform and he was so impressed he recorded a demo on the group and pitched them to Columbia Records. Shenandoah inked a deal with the legendary label and began establishing a national fan base with their self-titled debut in 1987. However, it was the band's sophomore effort, The Road Not Taken, that spawned their first top ten hits— "She Doesn't Cry Anymore" and "Mama Knows." Shenandoah followed with three consecutive No. 1 hits— "Church on Cumberland Road," "Sunday in the South" and "Two Dozen Roses." "The Church on Cumberland Road" spent two weeks at the top of the chart and made country music history as it marked the first time that a country band's first No. 1 single spent more than one week at the summit. It also helped propel sales of the album to more than half a million units thus giving Shenandoah their first gold album.

Great songs have provided the foundation for Shenandoah's illustrious career. "We knew a hit song when we heard one," Raybon says. "We are songwriters and we wrote some of those hits, but we really prided ourselves on having an ear for songs. Mike, in particular, has always been a good song guy. When he played us a song he found, we knew it was going to be special."

Shenandoah became known for delivering songs that celebrated the importance of faith and family while reveling in the joys of small town life. "Next to You, Next to Me" topped the charts for three weeks and "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart," a beautiful duet with Alison Krauss, won a Country Music Association Award for Vocal Event of the year and a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

Shenandoah also won the Academy of Country Music's Vocal Group of the Year in 1991.

McGuire credits Raybon's vocals for providing Shenandoah with an identifiable sound. "When you hear Marty Raybon sing there's nobody that sounds like him," McGuire says. "There's nobody that's got the same chops that he's got and he's singing from his heart. That's one of the reasons that everybody wants to hear him sing. Marty and me, we go way back. We've done a lot of things together and we love each other like brothers."

Shenandoah recorded nine studio albums and placed 26 singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. The boys from Muscle Shoals have left a potent legacy at country radio with such enduring hits as "Ghost in This House," "I Want to Be Loved Like That", "Rock My Baby," "Janie Baker's Love Slave," "If Bubba Can Dance (I Can Too)", written by Raybon and McGuire and "Her Leavin's Been a Long Time Comin," in which former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman was in the video (also written byMcGuire).

"Today Shenandoah is in the top five recurrents on all the XM radio shows," Raybon says. "That's amazing to know that you are in the company of Alabama and George Strait. It's hard to believe."

Though they've secured their place in country music history, Raybon and McGuire aren't content to rest on their laurels and are currently working on new Shenandoah music. "I've spent the last 15 years looking for hit songs," McGuire says. "We have access to really top drawer material, and have found some great songs that we will be producing ourselves."

Even as Shenandoah records new music and hits the road on their upcoming tour, Raybon will still perform select solo dates. In the years since he exited Shenandoah, he's established himself as an award-winning bluegrass artist, a natural home for his soulful country voice. Though much has happened since Raybon and Shenandoah parted ways, the bond has never been broken. It was music that brought them together and music that continues to bind them as they enter this next chapter. "We were fortunate enough to have songs that seemed to touch a great deal of people and while doing so it created a lot of memories," says Raybon. "I truly do believe that the real reseasons in life and I believe that there is a time and a place when God allows things. We've sat down and talked about reuniting before but it wasn't the right time for it then, but I do believe it is time for it now."

McGuire agrees. "We are really proud of the quality of the material that we have in our catalog and how it's touched so many people's lives," McGuire says. "As far as the future goes, I'm expecting more of the same. We're still the same guys. Marty still has the same voice he had back in that day and I still have the same harmonies that I sung on all those records. I expect the records we cut in the future are still going to sound like Shenandoah and the songs are going to be just as good.