Chuck Mead To Bring Memphis Vibe to “Close To Home”
From his important work with the throwback country outfit BR549, to his long and productive solo career, to numerous causes and enterprises behind-the-scenes few catch wind of, Chuck Mead has on the front lines of helping to save country music for a quarter century. On June 28th, the country throwback will release his fourth solo album via Plowboy Records called Close To Home, and this one promises to have a distinct Memphis feel to it.
“I really delved into the Memphis music scene when I was living there for four months,” Chuck Mead says. “I got to know a lot of people in the scene, and I’d known producer Matt Ross-Spang for quite a while. At night the cast would record at the original Memphis Recording Service (better known as Sun Studios) and that’s where I first met Matt. He was very young but was the head engineer and really brought the old studio back into shape. I started hanging out with him, and he kept talking to me about cutting a record in Memphis.”
There was a reason Mead was spending so much time in Memphis, and why it was looming so large in his mind. At the time, he was working as as the Musical Director, Supervisor, and Producer of the hit Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet, and later he worked on the well-received CMT drama series, Sun Records. These projects brought the stories of the birth of country and rock and roll out of Memphis to a new generation through the characters of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins, and Chuck Mead was one of the people behind-the-scenes helping to make it all happen.
“I’ve recorded in some cool Nashville studios like the Quonset Hut, RCA Studio B, and The Castle,” Mead says. In fact his 2012 record was called, Back At The Quonset Hut. “But there was something almost supernatural about working at Phillips. You could feel Sam’s spirit. Matt wanted me to make a bigger record, something that was out of my box and I was all for it. So I turned it over to him and he took things in a direction I didn’t foresee. It’s probably the least-country record I’ve ever made, but at the same time, it’s really a country record.”
You can hear what Mead is talking about on the title track that he’s made available ahead of the record (hear below). Everything is still set in the throwback style that Chuck Mead fans are used to, but the epicenter is the shores of the Mississippi as opposed to the streets of Music City.
“I really wanted to make a record that was a little bit different from what I had been doing,” Mead says. “Looking back, I really have done that on every record I’ve made, because why make the same record every time?”
Memphis is a hot spot of old school music right now. Dale Watson recently made a partial move there from Austin, and took his annual Ameripolitan Awards with him. And with the rising rents of Nashville and Austin, many musicians are heading to the city in hopes of greener pastures. Chuck Mead’s Close To Home will be another entry into roots music’s move to Memphis.
‘Close To Home’ is out June 28th.
norrie
April 10, 2019 @ 9:19 am
Looking forward to this.Enjoy all of Chucks music with BR549 and his solo albums.
Saw BR549 twice in the late 90”s when they came over to Scotland would love it if Chuck came back with his Grassy Knoll Boys.
Dave D.
April 10, 2019 @ 10:23 am
Looking forward to this, as well. Saw Chuck perform Saturday night and was hoping he might have advance copies available for sale. No such luck.
Benny Lee
April 10, 2019 @ 10:31 am
That’s a fun song. Need to check out his other stuff now. Any recommendations on a good starting point?
Jim L.
April 10, 2019 @ 10:52 am
“Back At The Quonset Hut” is an excellent collection of old forgotten classic songs. And BR549 had a bunch of killer tunes, like “That’s What I Get”, “Look Me Up”, and “A1 on the Jukebox”.
Trigger
April 10, 2019 @ 11:13 am
BR549 really was the beginning of the throwback neotraditonal movement in independent country we’re arguably still in today. Their importance can’t be understated.
Ryan
April 11, 2019 @ 8:25 am
Free State Serenade is a great album as well.
Rebecca Gavin
April 10, 2019 @ 11:05 am
I remember him from back in the Homestead Gray’s days in Lawrence, Ks.
albert
April 10, 2019 @ 1:33 pm
sounds pretty damn COUNTRY to me …I can hear Waylon singing this .
real nice stuff …
Kevin Smith
April 10, 2019 @ 1:35 pm
I’m a hardcore BR549 fan from the beginning. Can’t say enough about Chucks passion and contribution to real country music. Thrilled to hear about this new album.
Just visited Sam Phillips studio. It’s as great as everyone says. Met Matt Ross Spang, very cool dude. He’s become the go to guy if you wanna record in Memphis. Dale Watson’s new record was done at Sam Phillips also.
Janice Brooks
April 10, 2019 @ 6:01 pm
I’m supposed to get an advance of this and can’t wait. Also I’ve been programing a new track from Gary Bennett the last couple months.
Dave From Kansas
April 10, 2019 @ 10:34 pm
I’ll just say it: “Back to the Quonset Hut” is every bit as good as NGDB’s “Will the Circle be Unbroken.”