‘Torch and Twang’
As a little girl, Pam Tillis watched her father Mel wandering around the house muttering and humming, formulating more than 1,000 country music compositions. “I never knew people didn’t write songs,’’ Tillis recalled in a telephone interview from her Nashville home, adding, “all kids are born with that creativity.’’
Pam, of course, has formulated a few ditties on her own, and recorded a slew of hits: “Maybe It was Memphis,’’ “Don’t Tell Me What to Do,’’ “Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life),’’ “Let the Pony Run.’’ She’s also written songs covered by Chaka Khan, Martina McBride, Gloria Gaynor, Conway Twitty, Juice Newton and Highway 101.
Tillis — who called her repertoire “a marriage of torch and twang’’ — performs songs from her 27-year career at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday, July 25 at the Skagit Casino and Resort in Bow. Tickets are $30, and are available through Ticketmaster at (360) 628-0888 or free of service charge at the casino box office.
The 50-year-old singer/songwriter is appearing with three new band members; she lost half her band when she decided to take a rare five-month hiatus. “Sometimes you regret change, but change can be good,’’ she said. “New guys can bring new energy.’’ The musicians will take requests from the audience. “We have a real down-home show ... No two shows are alike. I play off the crowd, the vibe.’’
Although her father was a country superstar, Tillis said it was her mother who bought her an upright piano at 8. “Dad was always on the road, so my musical development part was on my own,’’ she said. That same year, she made her Grand Ole Opry debut when Mel pulled her on-stage to sing “Tom Doolley.’’ “I was hooked from that moment on,’’ she recalled.
Her father bought Tillis a classical guitar when she was 12, and she learned to play watching a folk guitar teacher on PBS. As a teen, she remembers channeling rhythm-and-blues on her transistor radio while also being inspired by the new breed of country rockers and singer/songwriters such as Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt and the Flying Burrito Brothers, as well rockers Led Zeppelin.
Tillis attended the University of Tennessee and Belmont University in Nashville before moving to San Francisco and performing with a jazz-rock fusion band. Returning to Nashville, she sang on demo tapes, commercial jingles (including Hardee’s and Equal Sweetener), and as a backup singer. “But I was always more of a lead vocalist than a background singer,’’ she said.
Her 1983 debut album “Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey’’ was a pop-rock affair; it failed to sell.” This was pre-Amy Grant,’’ she said. “No one was having success outside of Nashville.’’ Her country singles on the Warner Brothers Records label also failed to chart. Tillis returned to Nashville and became a staff songwriter with Tree Publishing, shifting her focus to contemporary country. In 1989, Tillis was signed by Arista Nashville and scored with her 1991 label debut “Put Yourself in My Place,’’ which featured the hit singles “Don’t Tell Me What to Do,’’ “One of Those Things’’ and “Maybe It was Memphis.’’ The 1992 follow-up album “Homeward Looking Angel’’ produced the Top 5 hits “Shake the Sugar Tree’’ and “Let the Pony Run,’’ as well as the country top 20 songs “Do You Know Where Your Man Is’’ and “Cleopatra, Queen of Denial.’’ “I thought, ‘Okay God, I hear you. I’m home. I’m back.’’’
Tillis’ 1994 album “Sweetheart’s Dance’’ earned her the Country Music Association award for “Female Vocalist of the Year.’’ The album included her only chart-topping single, “Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life).’’
In 2002, the singer tackled her father’s compositions on the album “It’s All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis’’; she’d been considering the venture for years. “I never wanted to ride on Daddy’s coattails in any way,’’ she said. “ I wanted to make sure I was established so my intentions wouldn’t be misconstrued ... I really loved that album.’’ That same year, the singer was ranked number 30 on Country Music Television’s show “40 Greatest Women of Country Music.’’
Tillis has also acted on television (“Promised Land’’ and “Diagnosis Murder’’), and on stage in Tennessee Repertory’s production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.’’ She performed in the Broadway musical “Smokey Joe’s Cage’’ in 1999. Tillis joined the Grand Old Opry in 2000.
Last year, Tillis formed her recording label, Stellar Cat Records with her husband. “He works with the spreadsheets. I like to make records. So it’s a marriage made in heaven.’’ Her new album is “Rhinestoned.’’
Tillis performs about 150 shows a year. At home, she enjoys gardening (“I’m a frustrated farmer’’) and is taking a class in macrobiotic baking. “I have a real good balance in my life right now,’’ she said.
Country superstar Pam Tillis performs in Bow
Submitted Photo
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