THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070063
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
HERE'S A MARQUEE billing for you - Doug Stone and pig.
The country singer does get top billing in ``Gordy,'' due for release this fall, a family flick featuring the performer as a struggling musician who gets mixed up with a porker.
``I told `em at the audition - I've been that all my life,'' he said.
Those days have been behind him since 1990 when ``I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)'' made Stone an instant star.
Next came one platinum and two gold albums and a dozen singles that hit the Top 5 - eight of them in the No. 1 position.
That gives Stone beaucoup hits to sing at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base on Sunday.
He promises a guitar surprise for his fans, plus the chance to hear some new and different material from an album due for October release.
``It's totally different,'' Stone said. ``There'll still be ballads - but a different kind, deeper subject matter.''
For instance, ``Faith In Me, Faith in You'' is about a single mother with two children, homelessness and prejudice.
On the other hand there is ``Honky Tonk Mona Lisa'' which Stone describes as ``great. People will be boot-scootin' to that thing till they fall over.
``We're talking about 10 singles off the album. I know we've got 10 major hits. Song selection is the secret of success. I bought an album one time that had 10 good songs. I bought that artist's next album and there were only three songs I liked.''
Stone does a lot of record buying - country, rhythm and blues, jazz.
The Atlanta-born performer has been playing country music since he was a youngster.
At times Stone concentrated on the blues.
His parents divorced when he was 12, an experience that taught him ``nobody gives you anything. Life is what you make it.''
His own divorce resulted in lengthy separations from two children. Two years ago Stone went through emergency heart bypass surgery to repair blockage in four major arteries.
The good news is a good wife. He wed Carie eight years ago. He has two children with whom he is very close, and is enjoying a sizzling career.
The latter got going after he played a VFW hall in Newnan, Ga., impressing a woman who became his manager. He later impressed Epic Records.
Stone's hits include ``I Never Knew Love'' ``Come In Out of the Pain,'' ``Fourteen Minutes Old'' and ``Why Didn't I Think of That?''
``Even our worst shows,'' he said, ``people say we're great.'' ILLUSTRATION: Doug Stone promises a guitar surprise for his fans at the show
Sunday at Little Creek.
CONCERT FACTS
Who: Doug Stone and Tim McGraw
When: 3 p.m. Sunday; gates open at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base
How much: $8 in advance, $10 at the door; available at
Ticketmaster outlets and military ITT ticket offices.
Tell me more: Show is open to the public and is held outdoors.
Call 363-4311.
by CNB