Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503090045
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT OERMANN THE NASHVILLE TENNESSEAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Billy Ray Cyrus became world renowned as the "Achy Breaky Man" after his "Achy Breaky Heart" stormed the hit parade in 1992. His "Some Gave All" album ranks as one of the 10 biggest-selling albums of the '90s, yet he has faced unending critical abuse and made to feel like an "outsider" in Nashville.
During the past two years, he has been usually photographed looking hurt, sad and confused. He has not been a happy man. But things are different now. He is a settled husband and father. He has rearranged his business. The firestorm of media demands has eased.
"Storm in the Heartland," the singer/songwriter's new album, finds the lonely guy collaborating with a truckload of celebrity friends. "It's Now or Never," the new Elvis Presley tribute album, was created at a show in Memphis he shared with 14 other superstars, from pop's Bryan Adams, Michael Bolton, Aaron Neville and Tony Bennett to country's Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stuart, Tanya Tucker and yes, even Billy Ray critic Travis Tritt.
"Ain't that something?" says Cyrus with a smile. "Travis Tritt and Billy Ray Cyrus on the same album. And it took Elvis to do it."
Billy Ray Cyrus smiles much more these days.
"I've found that I've got a lot of friends in the music industry. The Jordanaires were on my last album, and I'm really proud of that. While I was working on this album, Danny Shirley [of Confederate Railroad] drove down to the Music Mill studio one night and I said, `Man, I love that truck.' He said, `Yeah, man, this is redneck heaven.' And I said, `You know, we ought to write that.'
``Then I was telling Mark Collie about it, and he wanted to get with us, too. He came up with the recitation. It is a fun song, just pure unadulterated fun."
"Redneck Heaven," featuring vocals by both Collie and Shirley, is one of the key tracks on "Storm in the Heartland." It will also be the name of Cyrus's 1995 concert tour. And he has invented a dance called "The Crow" to do to the tune.
Elsewhere on the album are such notables as Billy Joe Walker Jr., the Oak Ridge Boys, Matt Rollings and Dave Loggins.
"The very first time I ever held a CD of `Some Gave All' in my hands it was at the Music Mill. I was so happy that day. And they were recording the Oak Ridge Boys at the time. Joe Bonsall came out of the recording session. I didn't have any paper so I asked him to autograph my CD. He wrote `Good Luck,' and that CD is hanging on the wall over at my house.
"When I recorded `I Ain't Even Left' for the new album, it just felt like the perfect song to do with the Oaks. It just kind of fell into place.
"When I first heard `One Last Thrill' it made me cry. Dave Loggins was singing it [he co-wrote it], and I thought it was undeniably a hit song. Singing on it with Dave Loggins in the vocal booth was nothing short of spiritual.
"This album is my future," continues Cyrus. "One of the things I feel so comfortable and confident about is that I know I have done my job in putting my soul on a record.
"I always vowed that I would write a song about child abuse - `Enough Is Enough.' `Geronimo,' I think, makes a statement about our society today, `One Last Thrill' is the most country thing I've ever done, and `How Much' is the most rocking thing I've ever done. I've tried relaxing and singing softer on the ballads, especially `I Ain't Even Left' and `Only God Could Stop Me From Loving You.' ''
With its "oooh" vocal, `Deja Blue' recalls `Achy Breaky Heart.' `Roll Me Over' was inspired when Billy Ray wrecked his truck last year.
" `The Past' was written about a little boy I had seen over in Amsterdam playing on a school yard. He was a loner, off by himself. When I saw him, my whole life flashed in front of me.
"But I am so happy now. I feel like I have found a balance."
He married Letecia Finley on Dec. 28, 1993. Last May, they became parents of son Braison Chance Cyrus. They also have a 2-year-old daughter, Destiny Hope.
"I really am happy. And I know the difference. I have been unhappy for so long, that I know the difference between happy and not happy. I've found a good balance between my music and my fans and my family.
"I've got a manager for my career and for my publicity and for my finances. And most important of all, I have a manager for my soul. I feel like God is doing with my life what I am supposed to be doing; and I pray every single day for strength, wisdom, vision, peace and happiness inside myself.
"If I have any regrets about the `Achy Breaky' era, it's that I was working so hard, nonstop, that I missed the whole ride. It is over and done with and I still haven't seen the apple pie. Yet I'm glad I did it. I learned you have to lower your head, keep going and stay focused on what you are trying to do through all the adversities."
Billy Ray Cyrus Tonight, 7:30, Salem Civic Center. Tickets, $17.50-$30, on sale at box office (375-3004), Ticketmaster outlets, or charge-by-phone (343-8100).
by CNB