Roots, Boots, And Timeless Hit Songs
It's a good thing the performers on the Roots and Boots tour don't try carrying along their award-winning records on the walls of the bus. There might not be room for the artists.
Sammy Kershaw is a Multi-Platinum-Selling Artist with six gold and three platinum albums. He has more than 25 top 40 singles – 11 top 10 singles, including two #1 hits with “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful” and “Love Of My Life”.
As for Colin Raye's and Aaron Tippin's awards...well, you get the idea. Some fans call the three artists "legends" and some prefer "icons", but either will work. As Kershaw puts it, "Man, for someone like me who had George Jones music imprinted in my DNA before birth, the last few years have been rough as a fan of country music. Country music is not a formula. It's a music with its own soul and I'm all about saving that soul!" Kershaw's current album "Honky Tonk Boots" is in keeping with the theme of the tour.
One reviewer says of Raye: "Five times nominated as country music's Male Vocalist of the Year, Collin Raye has consistently used his stardom to advance social causes.
"Collin Raye is nothing if not passionate. His fiery delivery has made country standards of such searing ballads as 'Love, Me,' 'In This Life," 'Not That Different,' and 'Little Rock.' Always an electrifying showman, he has also blazed through such vivid rockers as 'My Kind of Girl,' 'That's My Story,' 'I Can Still Feel You' and 'I Want You Bad.'
"Collin shot to fame with 'Love, Me' in 1991. Listeners were so touched that they used its lyrics at funerals and memorial services. That set the cornerstone for a career built on meaningful songs. 'Little Rock' was an anthem for the recovery community. 'Not That Different' pleaded for tolerance. 'In This Life' became a wedding favorite. He won awards for the child advocacy video 'I Think About You.'"
Tippin's life and output would merit a volume of its own on any 90s fan's bookshelf, from "East Bound and Down," "Driving My Life Away," and a host of others. As Tippin says of that era and his new album "Overdrive": “I feel like there’s still great music in me. The only evolution is that I’m putting more of the roots where I came from — the Carolinas — into the sound. It has the southern-rock influence, with that rockin’ guitar sound from The Marshall Tucker Band and Charlie Daniels. I’m cross-breeding that with the steel and fiddle. And you’ll still hear me yodeling on the new stuff."