On the new episode of I Miss…90s Country Radio with Nick Hoffman on Apple Music Country, Hoffman brings back the 90s line dancing craze, with commentary from Bryan White, Scott Hendricks, Danny Myrick and more. Listen on demand now.
Bryan White on what “being young” was at the beginning of his career
I was passed on a lot in the beginning. And the consensus was, “Man, you’re just too young.” And I was 18 at that time, 18, 19 at that time. And it’s funny now, 19’s not nearly as young as 19 was in 1995.
Bryan White on his song “Rebecca Lynn”
I can’t think of my journey without that song. It’s meant so much to me. And I still love the sentiment behind it. I love the spirit behind it. It’s just such a sweet song with a great melody. And so I’m proud to be the guy that got to sing it.
Nick Hoffman on Joe Diffie
He’s one of my favorite country singers of all time and he falls right into that theme we got going on here of a singer that you know exactly who he is the second you hear him, and he was also one of the nicest guys. I remember one time backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, he came up to me right after I got done playing and I was walking off the stage, a guy I barely knew… and he gives me a big old hug and he made me feel like I was part of the Opry family. And trust me when I tell you, that I’m far from the only person who thinks Joe Diffie was amazing. He had a way of delivering a song that was just different from everybody else.
Scott Hendricks on remixing Brooks & Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”
I called Kix and Ronnie. I said, “Would you guys mind if I experiment with your song and try to come up with something that’s a dance mix? We’ve never had one in country music.” So, they said, “Yes.” And I went back to the label, went to Ronnie and Kix, and said, “What do you think of this?” And they’re like, “Wow, boy, that is crazy. I’d never heard anything like it.” And it was the very first dance mix in country music. So, I think that was a big element of the nineties as well, was just the craze of line dancing people going into clubs, having fun, listening to that kind of music.
Bryan White on his duet with Shania Twain “From This Moment On”
They said, “We’re writing a song and it’s a duet and we had you in mind for it. Would you be interested in being a part of it?” And, of course, I said, “Yeah.” And so they started singing the song to me, the chorus over the phone. Mutt would say, “Can you sing that back to me, Bryan?” And I was, “Yeah. Yes, sir.” And I’d sing it back to them. And they really just wanted to get a commitment, a confirmation that I wanted to do it, and then they wanted to get the right key. And that was it. They were like, “Okay, we’ll see you in two weeks.”
Just to be a part of a record that iconic is just such a huge honor. And two of the most talented people in the world just being able to be asked to be a part of it is just incredible.
Ward Guenther on Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road”
This song is one of the testaments to the power of music, because it is a really intense song about a Vietnam veteran coming back to grow marijuana in the hills and avoid the helicopters from the DEA. It’s crazy, but the music is so good and it’s so powerful that it got people line dancing, and it’s played to this day down on Broadway multiple times a day, and people just rock out to it. Not necessarily taking into account the full lyrical thing, but sometimes life is better when you’re just line dancing along and not taking it too seriously.
Danny Myrick on Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road”
Shoot. Hearing Steve Earle “Copperhead Road” for the first time, man, it was like somebody took your granddaddy’s old pickup and converted it to a rocket fuel engine hauling moonshine from the Hills of Kentucky, straight into the radio. Is this country? No man, I think it’s rock. Wait, it sounds country, but it rocks your face off and it was dangerous, and rebellious, and aggressive, and visual, and picturesque and still. And if it comes on the radio today you got to crank it to 11.
“Copperhead Road” was such an atypical dance anthem. It’s so trippy. You had this hillbilly highway moonshine anthem that people identify with that culture. Suddenly midnight in some dance club, it comes on. And when those guitars kick in and it’s just cranking, it transforms a club into like a Celtic stomp ritual somewhere. And it wasn’t 808’s and low-end bass and all that. It was just like work boots on the floor, stomp, with loud guitars and bagpipes. People couldn’t get enough of it.
