Country Music Artists Lee Roy Parnell & Lisa Stewart Discuss Life 'On the Road'

08/19/20 • 62 min

Lee Roy Parnell grew up in Texas, surrounded by Country Music royalty. His father was great friends with the legendary Texas Swing fiddle player and bandleader, Bob Wills. Parnell is also cousins with Americana singer/songwriter, Robert Earl Keen.

As a teenager, Parnell began his music career as a drummer before picking up the guitar. The young musician spent a decade playing in the bars, dance halls, and honkytonks of Texas before making the move to Music City in 1987 as a songwriter. He quickly parlayed his singing ability with his tremendous slide guitar skills, which created his own identifiable sound and stretched the boundaries of Country Music.

Parnell continues to tour and tear the roof off of theatres and electrify festivals. He is passionate about his songwriting and most recently his Blackberry Smoke cut, "Good One Comin' On," which as featured on the hit TV series, "Yellowstone."

Mississippi native Lisa Stewart sings with Parnell, yet her incredible talent stretches into recording voiceovers and acting. Like Parnell, Stewart began performing at an early age by singing in church, eventually moving to Nashville in 1987 to attend Belmont University on the Roy Acuff scholarship. Stewart earned her stripes in the music industry by playing clubs in Nashville while a full-time student. After a demo session with Byron Gallimore, she landed a contract with BNA Records. Besides promoting her singing career, Stewart hosted several nationally syndicated and cable entertainment news shows while balancing her touring career. She has shared the stage with artists as diverse as Lenny Kravitz to Kenny Rogers. And she has shared the silver screen with Oscar winners Gwynneth Paltrow and Melissa Leo. The young singer put her career on hold for several years when she married former Little Texas band member, Brady Seals, in 2002. After divorcing in 2018, Stewart has been touring with Parnell.

I interviewed Parnell and Stewart via phone in May of this year after they were forced to cancel performances due to the coronavirus pandemic. I first saw this duo in April of 2019 when they performed at City Winery in Nashville at a benefit concert for fellow singer/songwriter, John Berry.

Parnell and Stewart, who are raising young children from previous marriages, discuss their individual musical backgrounds and how their combined love of singing and performing has brought their careers together.

Previous Episode

Emily Scott Robinson, from Magnolia Queen to Traveling Mercies

As a child growing up in North Carolina, Emily Scott Robinson didn't necessarily envision herself as an Americana recording artist. One thing she knew is she wanted to help others.

The Furman University alum graduated with degrees in Spanish and History. Emily spent time as a social worker - a noble calling indeed - before embarking on a musical journey that has taken her down roads unimagined. The journey continues.

When she decided to switch gears and become a full-time artist, this singer-songwriter had a plethora of stories to tell. Now all she had to do was to get them down on paper and make records. For some, that's easier said than done. However, it doesn't appear to be the case with Emily's songs.

In 2016 Emily recorded Magnolia Queen, an eight-song compilation including the title track which describes a typical small-town housewife with the lines:

"I spent all that, time practicing my smile; because I had babies and went to work, we raised the kids up in the church. Sunday's I play and sing, Monday's are for Junior League. I wanted all those things...Magnolia Queen."

Another track, "Marriage Ain't the End of Being Lonely," discusses a challenged young lady who eventually married, working on being a good husband and wife.

"Well our demons didn't take to long to show up. Turns out when I drink I love to fight. And then you leave you the house and wouldn't tell me where you went to ease your sorrows late at night. And we fought for three whole days when I got pregnant. Where I disappeared to no one knew. When I came home I carried myself different. It was all the growing up I had to do."

Her current album, Traveling Mercies, sets the young Americana artist apart from many of her contemporaries. Rolling Stone magazine named her one of "10 New Country and Americana Artists You Need to Know" for 2019. Accolades from Billboard and American Songwriter also followed.

Her emotional penning of "The Dress" that caught the attention of critics and fans alike.

At the age of 22, Emily was raped after being drugged at a bar by her date. The next few years brought forth an array of emotions ranging from guilt to anger to depression. She realized she was telling one story to her therapist, one to her parents, and another to the man she would eventually marry. "I needed to reconcile me and my story," Robinson told me in a phone interview during our podcast.

Emily has moved on. The painful memories transpose themselves into positive energy. She hopes they will help others struggling with life-issues. Yet there are so many more stories to tell and songs to write.

"Westward Bound," "Better with Time," and White Hot Country Mess" tell the story of Emily Scott Robinson in detailed yet simplistic statements.

She and her husband have logged well over 250,000 miles, and both are eager to get back in their paid-for, used RV. The line in "White Hot Country Mess" explains some of the challenges a female singer encounters on the road in these few lines:

"You put men in charge of dressing rooms, there will be beer and whiskey, that's assumed, but not a single mirror to be found. It's just dirty bathrooms, dingy lights, dealing with the drunk sound guy; 'hey buddy, can you turn the readers (lights) down?'"

Penned during the coronavirus pandemic, Emily asked fans to submit photos and videos of their stay-at-home lives to include in the official music video of "A Time for Flowers."

Emily talks about these topics and much more during our interview while spending time with family back in North Carolina. Like our previous episodes, you don't want to miss this conversation.

Next Episode

Jim Messina Discusses Six Decades of Making Music

Music lovers who favor Pop, Rock, Country, or Americana have undoubtedly heard songs produced, written, or performed by Jim Messina. Over the past six decades, this multi-talented artist has hundreds of songs to his credit.

Messina was born in California and spent his formative music years in Texas. He recorded his first album in the early 1960s. His foray into the mainstream music scene came a few years later when he was the recording engineer on Buffalo Springfield's "Last Time Around" album. Before he knew it, Messina found himself as the group's bass player.

After the band dissolved, Messina and Richie Furay formed Poco. Moving from bass to lead guitar, he was an intricate part of their "country-rock" sound. The group recorded three albums until Messina was exhausted after hundreds of live performances. He also wanted to move back behind the soundboard instead of living the life of a touring musician.

It was in December of 1970 when an aspiring singer/songwriter by the name of Kenny Loggins showed up at Messina's door. Loggins didn't bring a guitar, so Messina handed him one of his and asked if he wanted to record a couple of songs. Recognizing the young singer's talent, Messina asked record company executives if he could help Loggins in his first studio sessions.

Among the songs recorded by the duo were the hit, "Danny's Song," "Listen to a Country Song," "Same Old Wine," and "The Trilogy." It was suggested that the duo we named Messina and Loggins, however, the experienced engineer and musician requested the names be reversed, so that if and when Messina ever left the duo, Loggins's name would more easily carry forward.

The duo recorded nine albums before Messina ventured into a solo career in 1977. Over the next four decades, Messina has released eight albums and still maintains an active touring schedule.

Besides his incredible musical abilities, Messina is a talented furniture maker and craftsman. He also finds time to mentor young and up-and-coming recording artists and musicians from his farm in Middle Tennessee.