Band That ‘Defined 90s Country’ Has New Documentary
I didn’t realize it at the time, but the start of my career in country radio coincided with the rise of the format’s greatest era. I was there from the start for the likes of Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunn and Tracy Lawrence. I was front and center for the very best from Reba McEntire, Vince Gill and Martina McBride. And that time period was also the golden era of country groups. My gosh from Alabama, to Shenandoah, to Restless Heart, to Little Texas, I was blessed to be around some fantastic musicians. One band that stands out in so many ways is/was Sawyer Brown.
LONG before there was “American Idol” or “The Voice,” the country’s signature talent show was the syndicated, “Star Search.” Sawyer Brown won that competition. Sawyer Brown played country music. Sawyer Brown DID NOT look like they played country music. That’s what set them apart. It also served as the mountain they constantly had to climb.
Perhaps that’s why I loved them and their music so much. I was a rock and roll fan who ended up in country music. Fronted by electric lead singer, Mark Miller, if you saw Sawyer Brown and you were not entertained, you needed to be checked for a pulse. They were seasoned road warriors who gave audiences there all more than 250 nights a year. Sawyer Brown has now released more than twenty albums and put more than fifty singles on the country charts. I can’t imagine the 1990s without “The Walk,” “Some Girls Do,” “The Dirt Road,” “Thank God For You,” and more. And now, there’s a documentary film to remind some of us, and educate others about this band.
Executive produced by Blake Shelton (who says the group “defined 90s country”), “Get Me To The Stage On Time” tells the Sawyer Brown story-just in time for the band’s 40th anniversary. It had its premier last week in Nashville, and I can’t wait to see it. As of right now, this Sawyer Brown documentary is not available on any streaming service, but it’s probably just a matter of days/weeks until it is.
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