In 1979, a 23 year old Indiana native named Sylvia won her very first Academy of Country Music Award for Top New Female Vocalist, kicking off a four-decades long career that included ten studio albums, two #1 singles (“Drifter” and “Nobody”) among multiple Top 10 hits, the ACM Award for Female Vocalist of the Year (1982) and more. On February 22, Sylvia will present to her fans not only her latest album, but one that goes down previously unvisited paths: her first concept album and her first release that focuses on music for children and families.
We recently spoke with Sylvia about her incredible career, country music then and now and her new album, Nature Child – A Dreamer’s Journey.
CN: Country music has changed a bit over the 40 years of your career, and perhaps that’s an understatement. What are your thoughts on some of the shifts that the genre has gone through?
Sylvia: Just about every aspect of the music industry has changed in the last 40 years. There was no Internet, no social media, and no websites in those days. Forty years ago in 1982, CDs had just come on the scene for the first time. Back then, if you weren’t signed to a major record label, it was nearly impossible to record music, let alone promote your music to radio. Much like today, the major labels were the primary entities placing music on Top 40 radio. But today, artists have many ways to get their music in front of listeners and can totally bypass traditional radio. They can cultivate their own fanbase through social media and their websites. In so many ways, it is an exciting time for independent artists to record music and have a vibrant music career! Of course as an independent artist, you are a very small fish in a very large pond. But, the up-side is that you retain creative control. You can create music free from the scrutiny of non-musical executives who hold the purse strings and have the final say over the music you record.
In the last forty years, we’ve also seen a shift away from traditional country music. Since music always reflects the culture of its time, I think today’s country music is doing just that. The majority of people live in urban areas and are exposed to many genres of music. Traditional country music primarily reflected a rural experience. (I know this is a broad generalization.) Of course, there is still a market for traditional country, but it’s a much smaller piece of the overall music pie than 40 years ago. Traditional country music fans say they find little to relate with in the modern country music genre. That’s probably why the Americana genre has taken off in the last few years. Most people would say that today’s country music sounds more like pop or rock music than country — as country music was defined by the likes of Merle Haggard and George Jones. I doubt that the majority of people who listen to Top 40 country music today would resonate with the more rural content of songs I grew up on back in the 1960s and seventies. And there is no judgment here! These are just my observations. Every artist has the right to express themselves in whatever way resonates with them — genres aside!!
CN: Which artists impress you today?
Sylvia: Dolly Parton continues to impress me and she always has! She and her music are universal and timeless. I love Jeannie Seely and admire how she has continued her career with such grace and pizzazz!! She is the face of the Grand Ole Opry right now! I have the deepest respect for her. I’m a fan of Kacey Musgraves, Carly Pearce, and Cam, just to name a few. There are many talented artists out there today! I also love Vince Gill, Keith Urban and Thomas Rhett and many others!
CN: Over the past 4 decades, the status of women in country music also changed, with many speaking out about the current lack of women on the radio specifically. What challenges did you go through when you first started your career? What advice would you give an up-and-coming female country artist trying to break into the industry today?
Sylvia: When my career was beginning, I remember one week counting 3 females on the Billboard Top 100 Country singles chart. Pretty bleak! You would think that would be discouraging to me but it wasn’t! I never doubted I would carve out a career in music! In reality, it was a very tough time for a woman to be taken seriously as artist. The same is true today. I was told “women don’t put butts in the seats” and that “a woman’s place is as an opening act on the show.” Yes, I was told that to my face. I came back with something like, “As long as you believe that, you’ll continue to make it true. Change your belief and things will change for women in this business!” I didn’t convince them then, but many women artists have proven them wrong through the ensuing years!
One of my favorite quotes is by Buckminster Fuller who was an American architect, systems theorist, inventor, and futurist. He sums up what I feel is a positive and powerful approach to creating transformative change for women and for any group of people who are oppressed. Fuller said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” That’s where I choose to place my energy, and that is what I’ve done! I created my own record label, Red Pony Records, in 1996 and began recording as an independent artist. I’m doing my small part to create a new model that makes the old model obsolete. I know many others are doing the same!
I don’t often give advice. I believe we each have our own answers within us. I have worked as a life and career coach over the past twenty years and have learned that asking people open, non-judgmental questions with genuine curiosity enables people to discover their own answers and is the best way I can be of help.
CN: Next week you will be releasing your first album since 2018. ‘Nature Child‘ is set to be released on “Twos-Day” – 2/22/22 – and unlike your past albums, this one focuses on music for children and families. Why did you decide to change gears and go in this direction?
Sylvia: This record has been in the making for 34 years! I was initially inspired to create this music at the end of the eighties when I deliberately took a break from full-time touring to write songs. I took time to reflect and think about what I was truly inspired to write about. Then, I remembered what a beautiful surprise it was that kids came to my concerts in droves! I was so touched, night after night, listening to these kids singing all the words to my songs like, “Nobody” and “Snapshot.” I felt such a deep desire to write music for these kids! Music that would encourage them to dream their dreams and feel that they were loved for who they are without changing anything about themselves. These are messages I believe every child needs to hear and feel deeply within themselves to become healthy, happy adults. In fact, we all need to hear that kind of encouragement, no matter our age! Six of the songs on “Nature Child — A Dreamer’s Journey” were written between 1988 and 1990. I wrote those songs with Verlon Thompson. I fully intended to continue writing and record the album around that time period, but life had other plans for me! There were several times I tried to record the album in the subsequent years, but it just wouldn’t happen! I knew in my heart that someday the time would come, and I would record this music! As the lyric says in “Home Is” on the album,
The dreams you dream may not come in a day
So love where you are, then give love away
No need to wait ’til your dreams all come true
There’s plenty of joy right here for you
And there was lots of joy — and sorrow and growth and adventure through the years! All the while, the child in me has remained very much alive and came out to play and create full-tilt on this album! It is perfect timing that “Nature Child” is coming out now instead of years ago. Actually, I wasn’t ready to record it then. Ah, the mystery of life!
CN: You also went down a different creative path with ‘Nature Child’ as it is a concept album, which usually provides a platform to tell a longer, detailed story. Why did you decide to create a concept album?
Sylvia: I didn’t decide ahead of time that this would be a concept album. When we finished the record, and I was able to see it as a whole, I realized it had a definite theme and that the order of the songs was crucial. In this sequence, there was a sense that you were on a journey and this album served as the soundtrack for your adventure! This is not something you can plan. I look at this album now and I’m amazed at how it all fits together like pieces of a beautiful puzzle! How did that happen without me planning it ahead of time? I don’t know — it’s a mystery!
CN: Can you take us through your songwriting process? How did writing the songs for this album differ from your past albums?
Sylvia: In general, the music almost always comes first when I write. Verlon Thompson and I would talk about the general idea of what I wanted to write about. As we were talking, a melody would emerge. Verlon is a wonderful guitarist and he would play chords that resonated with the conversation we were having and we would hum our way through creating verses, choruses, and bridges. When the music felt complete, we started from the top, played the melody and waited for images to emerge from the music. It was a mystical and magical process! I have found that metaphorically, the music is like water and the images arise like mist from the water. Then, we describe the images. It feels like the lyrics are already within the music. We just need to listen closely and write down what we hear and see.
Writing the newer music happened much in the same way. John Mock and I wrote four of the songs in 2020 within 6-8 weeks and also recorded the songs shortly after each song was written. John would write the music first, then I listened to the music until lyrics emerged. My job as a writer is to listen and get out of the way — meaning, listen with no judgment. Write down what I see and hear and edit later!
CN: Do you have a favorite track on the album?
Sylvia: On most of my previous albums, I would be able to name favorites, but “Nature Child” is different. I love each song equally and that is not typical! But, I will talk about one of them. “(Hey, Hey, Hey) It’s a New Day” is a new song written in 2020 in the middle of the recording process. John Mock wrote the music and I wrote the lyric. It is about a parent spending the day with their child. Or, it could be a grandparent and child. They spend the day together out in nature, playing, relaxing, and tapping into the mystical qualities of nature; the clouds, water, the garden, and a bluebird:
There’s a bluebird singing songs of hope
She can teach us how to sing note-for-note
If we listen close
Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s A New Day
Every day’s a brand new canvas
We paint the world we see around us, and
And then we start again
This songs speaks to the cycles of life and also to the paradox that:
Life is just one big long minute
So take your time, no rush to finish, no
And on and on it goes
CN: What would you like your fans to take away from Nature Child?
Sylvia: I hope this music serves as a soundtrack of encouragement, joy, and inspiration as they follow and act on their dreams wherever those dreams may take them!
CN: At this point in your career, is there anyone you haven’t worked with that you’d love to have the opportunity to?
Sylvia: I intend to write a book or maybe a series of books that would become a movie or a television series. I keep thinking of Ron Howard! Hmm…
CN: A bit of a flashback – what was the first concert you ever attended?
Sylvia: I can’t remember! But, one of the first was a James Taylor concert. He’s an all-time favorite!
CN: If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be and why?
Sylvia: Joyful. I have felt a deep sense of joy within me all of my life — even when things were really tough. That joy inside feels indestructible and eternal. I know it is a gift, so I can’t take any credit for it. It just is.
CN: Are there plans to tour to support the album? Where can fans see you?
Sylvia: I’m definitely looking forward to performing this music for children and families and dreamers of all ages! The obstacle is COVID. Whenever things feel relatively safe again, I plan to be back out there!! I’m imagining small, intimate settings — maybe libraries, schools, small theaters. We’ll see what wants to happen! I can also imagine singing this music with an orchestra! Now, that would be a dream come true!!
Pre-save Nature Child – A Dreamer’s Journey here.
For more information on Sylvia, visit her website sylviamusic.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.