Shenandoah

"It's the music that really matters to us, and it's always been the music thats made the difference," says Shenandoah drummer and co-founder Mike McGuire. When McGuire and guitarist Jim Seales started a band in Muscle Shoals, Alabama in 1984 they never drearned their dedication to great music would lead them down such a long and illustrious road.

Utilizing their success as studio musicians and songwriters, Seales and McGuire teamed up with world famous producer Rick Hall and writer/producer Robert Byrne to record seven songs with the band hoping to get a record deal in Nashville. It didnt take long. Columbia was the first label to hear the innovative music and signed the band on the spot and sent them back to the studio to finish their first album. The rest, as they say, is history.

The band scored 5 number one records including "Church on Cumberland Road", "Sunday ,in the South", and "Next to You Next to Me", then moved from Columbia to RCA records in 1993 and hit again with 4 more number ones including "If Bubba Can Dance",and "I Want to Be Loved Like That." There were some band member changes along the way but the core members were never afraid of change and always embraced a challenge. Signing with Capitol records in the mid 9O's and armed with new personnel, Shenandoah's live shows took on and exciting new dimension and the band produced more chart toppers like "Janie Bakers Love Slave", and the Grammy winner, "Somewhere In The Vicinity of the Heart".

Shenandoah faced itts biggest challenge and decision when singer Marty Raybon announced he was leaving the band at the end of 1997 to pursue a lifelong dream of a recording career with his brother. The two Shenandoah pioneers were reluctantly ready to put Shenandoah on the shelf when in early 1999 good friend and cwriter Curtis Wright came by the studio to write and jam on some new songs. As if govemed by a larger hand, these "demo" sessions began to take the shape of an album of music, the kind of music the guys had been hearing as the new Shenandoah.

Talk tumed to the possibility of rekindling Shenandoah and excitement mounted when singer songwriter Brent Lamb and the band crossed paths late in '99. The equation became complete . Brent brought with him, not onlv a penchant for writing hit songs and a track record as a successful recording artist in his own right, but he also brought to the table a world class vocal talent and shared solid family values. The extraordinary chemistry was felt by everyone, it was apparent they had all found exactly what they were looking for. "Brent just has so much emotion in his voice, doesn t matter if its a ballad or something rockin," says guitarist Jim Seales. "When he sings, you feel every word."

"This is a dream come true for me," says Lamb, a native of Nashville. "I've been blessed with a great solo career and been fortunate enough to have written with some of the best song writers in this town. I've had songs cut by some successful artists and won some prestigious awards." With a smile he adds, "But you know, I've always wanted to work with a band. Singing with a great band is exciting, sharing the energy with the guys on stage and knowing the crowd's feeling it too, ain't nothing like it. When you look at all the hits we've had you realize Shenandoah's always done "people music" - and this new project falls right in that mold. Energized, emotional, people music."

Some acts would have played it safe after establishing themselves as a successful country "Supergroup" and winning a CMA award, TNN and ACM group of the year accolades, and the much coveted GRAMMY, but not these guys. With eleven number one songs, countless chart hits, Gold albums, and a reputation as one of the hardest working touring acts in the business, this band is still evolving, taking chances, and striving for the musical perfection and performance that have made them radio and concert favorites around the country.

There's a new buzz on music row in Nashville these days and the buzz is;

"SHENANDOAH IS BACK, AND BETTER THAN EVER!"