Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 29, 1994 TAG: 9407290048
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV_3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By DONNA ALVIS-BANKS and MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
No wonder. He was born in Beaumont, Texas, 15 miles from his home in the rural community of Vidor.
That's because Vidor didn't have a hospital.
Not only did Beaumont have a hospital, it also had an annual fair.
"We had the Southeast Texas State Fair every year in Beaumont," Byrd said recently from somewhere on the road.
Byrd - who's fast becoming one of the most popular stars in the new wave of country music - still hasn't gotten away from country fairs.
He savors them.
"I just like the fact that the shows are outdoors. And the fairs just seem to be a lot easier to play," he said in a telephone interview last week. "People are there to have fun. They're already having a good time, walking the midway, then getting to see a show. They're ready to have a good time."
Sometimes, Byrd even joins the crowd at the midway.
"I can slip on a ball cap and sunglasses and tennis shoes," he explained, noting that he likes losing himself in the crowd and enjoying some time as a "regular" person.
Not that he minds the celebrity status and recognition he usually receives, he's quick to add:
"I'll mind when they quit recognizing me."
Byrd and his six-man band, The Only Way to Fly, spend most of the summer playing at fairs and expositions across the country.
"We play, oh, 19 to 23 dates a month," he said. "From June, July, August and September, 75 percent are fairs."
Byrd produced his first top single, "Holdin' Heaven," in 1993. A string of other hits followed, including the country standard "Someone to Give My Love To" and the new smash "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous." His latest single is the rocking "Watermelon Crawl," a song about one of Byrd's favorite things - food. A video for the song was filmed at a watermelon festival in McEwen, Tenn.
"We put on our own festival to shoot the video," Byrd said. "The grounds where we shot the video are for the barbecue festival they have there, the longest running festival in history. All the people from the town come out."
As Byrd goes from fair to fair, he hopes to promote the song by judging watermelon contests - the messier the better.
"We'd like to set up a contest where watermelon wolfers] can't use their hands. It'd be great - a break in the monotony of our routine. We're working all the time."
Byrd said he's looking forward to playing at the New River Valley Fair. The Texas singer just can't shake that hankering for the sights and sounds and smells of the country fair.
And then there's that other thing about fairs that gives Byrd the big eyes.
"I like the food," he admits. "Cotton candy and apples and barbecue and corndogs and those funnel cakes."
Tracy Byrd and the Only Way to Fly" will perform Monday at the New River Valley Fair. Two concerts are scheduled at 7 and 9 p.m.
by CNB