Xentel - Confederate Railroad



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Confederate Railroad

During the first half of the '90's when country music made a dramatic stylistic shift towards uptempo material, Confederate Railroad rose to prominence with contributions like "Trashy Women" and "Queen of Memphis." In doing so, this Southern-rock influenced band fortified a collective musical style that helped put Americans from every walk of life back onto the dance floor, while at the same time providing classic ballads which helped define '90's country music.
Those songs also helped to establish an international reputation for Confederate Railroad. Lead singer Danny Shirley cites some seven foreign music industry awards and what he calls a surprising level of familiarity with the group's songs. "We were really surprised at how many people know our stuff over there, especially in Germany, France, England, and Ireland. In Germany, 'Elvis Andy' is a favorite.'
Although Confederate Railroad has taken its blend of simply themed emotional ballads and turbo-charged dance floor favorites all over the map and up and down the music charts, the group's roots are traceable to several of country music's revolutionaries including Waylon Jennings, The Charlie Daniels Band and Hank Williams, Jr. In a 1992 interview, Chattanooga-born Shirley explained, "Our roots are real deep in Southern rock. I used to run with the boys in Lyrnyrd Skynyrd, but what turned me on to country music was when Waylon and Willie hit. I saw that the music I grew up around could have some kick to it."
By the time Atlantic records released Confederate Railroad's self-titled debut album in 1992 the group had ten years of live performing experience, and had developed a high energy road show which melded traditional country sensibilities with the free-wheeling energy of rock, including several years as the house band at Miss Kitty's, a storied Atlanta area night club.
Led by Shirley, the original group which came to the attention of Atlantic president Rick Blackburn, consisted of guitarist Michael Lamb, Gates Nichols on pedal steel, keyboard player Chris McDaniel, Wayne Secrest on bass and Mark DuFresne on drums. Lamb left the group in 1995 and was replaced by Jimmie Dormire.
Peaking in the Top 10 on Billboard's country charts, the platinum-plus "Confederate Railroad" was produced by well-known studio wizard Barry Beckett, a veteran of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, and the shepherd of many critically acclaimed albums by artists such as Hank Williams, Jr., Alabama and Bob Dylan. A little more than two years prior, Beckett had produced a breakthrough album for superstar-to-be, Lorrie Morgan.
In early April of 1992, Confederate Railroad bowed on Billboard's country singles chart with "She Took It Like A Man," a gender-bending word play on an injured relationship, which became the group's first Top 40 hit. Despite Confederate Railroad's outward appearance as a tougher-than-leather Southern rock band, it was a reflective ballad which spoke of two old reliable loves which vaulted the group into stardom. 'Jesus and Mama" entered the country chart during the warm months of 1992, and hit the Top Five that autumn. By that time, newcomer Billy Ray Cyrus had turned heads with the danceable but weird song, 'Achy Breaky Heart,' and duo Brooks & Dunn were riding high with "Boot Scootin' Boogie." Garth Brooks was delivering consistent chart toppers and Confederate Railroad firmly joined the ranks of hot new stars with "Queen of Memphis," one of the winter's biggest hits. So sturdy was "Queen of Memphis," it played steadily alongside Christmas music during the holiday season and didn't reach the top of the charts until the end of February 1993.
Subsequent hits seemed unstoppable as "When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back" dominated the airwaves through early summer that year, followed closely by "Trashy Women," a controversial yet irresistible declaration of low brow lust which gave the group yet another top 10 hit. "She Never Cried" was the first single release from "Confederate Railroad," which rose into the top 30 in early 1994.
Confederate Railroad wasted no time in turning in a follow-up album entitled "Notorious," which appeared on the charts in the spring of '94. Propelled by the strength of the lead single, "Daddy Never Was The Cadillac Kind," the new album rose to No. 6 on the retail charts, and quickly sold more than one million copies.
"Elvis And Andy" was the song that gave Confederate Railroad entrée to European fans. The accompanying video clip aired prominently on Country Music Television's European channel, which in turn created a demand for European record releases and concert bookings.
"When And Where", Confederate Railroad's third album for Atlantic, spawned four more chart hits and was wildly popular in dance clubs. So great was the demand for "When And Where", that a special CD release was issued for night clubs.
In 1996, Atlantic released a best-of package entitled "Greatest Hits" which revisited each of the Confederate Railroad's mammoth hits to date.
Confederate Railroad continues to build loyal fans and performs to enthusiastic crowds all over the globe, including a substantial following in Brazil. Shirley says, "It was so wild to see them react to our music because only about 2 percent of them speak English." Shirley adds that it was actor Mel Gibson's 1994 film "Maverick" which spurred the interest in South America. "We took the old Waylon Jennings song, 'Ladies Love Outlaws' and did it for the soundtrack and that's how they got to know us." The "Maverick" soundtrack also yielded the hits "Renegades, Rebels And Rogues" for label mate Tracy Lawrence and Clint Black's "A Good Run Of Bad Luck."
Upon the release of "Keep On Rockin", Confederate Railroad's fourth album of new material, Shirley says, "We wanted to do some stuff that wasn't necessarily in style for country music. Just great songs that we like. We decided that it was time for some fun in country music and that the public was really ready for it, so we went in and did the best kind of Confederate Railroad album we could do." He adds, "We knew that a lot of the publishers wouldn't have the kinds of songs we wanted, so we went directly to the writers. We go hold of songs like 'I Hate Rap' which is really our kind of song."
Speaking of the slightly irreverent "The Big One," Shirley continues, "We have to play that one early in the shows because of the demand. We can't do it late in the show."
Shirley says "Keep On Rockin'" is highly comparable to the group's debut disc. "I think this record is just as good if not better than our first one because it has the same kinds of songs. You know, the kind of songs they holler for us to do every night. We made this record for those people who come out to see us play."
Shirley says a typical Confederate Railroad audience is really two-dimensional. "They want the hot licks and dance tunes, but they want the stuff like 'Jesus And Mama,' too. We have similar good songs such as 'A Bible And A Bus Ticket Home on this new album. I really like 'Sunday Morning And Saturday Night', for the same reason."
As much as Confederate Railroad contributed indelibly to the 1990's country music landscape, the youthful, energetic approach the group takes with everything from selecting the right songs to delivering them on stage, screen and video should serve them well in the new millennium. No matter how far uptown their infectious blend of music takes them, there's a bit of healthy down-home reflection that emerges from that sound which evokes a not so glamorous time, and keeps them connected to their own roots and musical heritage.

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