The Story Behind The Song……………..”How Blue” – Reba McEntire (#1, 1985) Reba McEntire’s recording of “How Blue” was almost a trade-off with George Strait for “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind.” Reba turned down “Fort Worth” over its reference to beer before Strait heard it. George never did hear “How Blue” prior to its release, although it had been written originally for him. Instead, the song wound up in the hands of producer Harold Shedd, who earmarked it for Reba. The song’s composer, John Moffatt, had dabbled in many different activities prior to his move to Nashville in November of 1979. At one time, he had been an athlete, a pre-med student, a comedy writer, and an advertising executive. After winning an amateur songwriting contest sponsored by Kentucky Fried Chicken, he was inspired to head to Music City. Things were tough at first, as Moffatt toiled for a mere $200 a month (rent was $150). Then George Jones took one of his compositions, “Still Doin’ Time” to #1 on December 12, 1981, and John started to see some results from his efforts. His second #1, “How Blue,” came as an experiment out of a musical curiosity from Moffatt’s short-lived interest in the bluegrass genre, which he admittedly had no business being in. After the song’s transformation, producer Shedd then deemed it suitable for Reba. “How Blue” was about the only song that Shedd and McEntire agreed on in the process of recording Reba’s “My Kind Of Country” album. Harold wanted to take her in a more contemporary direction, while Reba wanted a traditional slant, and she eventually sought out songs for herself at the suggestion of MCA executive Jimmy Bowen. Even in the case of “How Blue,” McEntire had her doubts when Shedd presented it to her. They had gone over material for an entire day, and an exhausted Reba had reservations about the song because it was written from a man’s viewpoint. Harold suggested she make some lyrical changes, but she decided to put it off until the next morning. After Reba took in a good night’s sleep, she showed up the next morning at the studio with the decision to pass on “How Blue” without working on it any further. But Shedd had just one more recommendation: he suggested she change the word “breast” to “chest,” and because of that change, she decided to record it. After “How Blue” reached the #1 plateau on January 19, 1985, she expressed her gratitude to Harold Shedd for knowing a good song and being willing to work with it until it was right, and admitted that she was a bit lax in that department sometimes. – JH youtu.be/8ChjtKLYJ5c
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 00:07:42 +0000