Country music has changed since Suzy Bogguss released her first album. It’s twisted, turned into a modern culmination of pop music and heavily produced electric instruments. Bogguss, who released her first record in 1989 and has won a Grammy, has been a traditionalist in the world of country - sticking to the country music that tells a story in a song, the country music that many grew up on. Though she did a break to release a jazz album in 2003, Bogguss is still strong to her roots. That’s what makes Bogguss a champion for country custom, and an artist that keeps it alive.
Soon Bogguss will make a stop at the Memorial Opera House for a special performance: A ‘Swingin’ Little Christmas’. But before she takes the stage I recently spoke to Bogguss about her latest album, the journey she’s taken through her career, and her plans for her stop in Valparaiso.
Suzy Bogguss came on the scene as a singer at Dolly Parton’s Dollywood, making her start on a small stage. Soon after she was what the industry calls “discovered”, which lead Bogguss to record 10 albums on Capitol records, and charted eight top five singles. Bogguss, unlike many other artists, took a break towards the middle of her career to take time to be with her family and then became an established artist in the independent recording world. Her path from extreme exposure to a more low-key way of being an artist isn’t something that Bogguss feels is erroneous, it’s a movement that she’s embraced.
“It’s been a lot of different experiences for me,” Bogguss explained. “When I first started I had the big machine of Capitol behind me, so selling a half a million or a couple million records was a lot easier and accessible than the cottage industry of selling records out of our home. The funny thing about it to me though that because I started out so big it doesn’t seem foreign to me or unnatural to now sell 22,000 records instead of a million and being satisfied with that. I’m happy with this world, with the guerilla touring because there’s only four of us on the road instead of this dramatic production. Nothing’s flashy, but the pickin’ is absolutely amazing, and I wouldn’t want to be out with anyone other than my amazing musicians.”
With a handful of albums behind her, Bogguss’ latest is one that some would call a risk. In February of 2014 Bogguss released “Lucky” - an album of Merle Haggard covers; an album that was publically funded and independently recorded. The decision to release a record full of the work of one of country music’s most legendary showman stemmed from hearing his music as a child and growing up with him as an idol.
Her first record was named after a song of Haggard’s, she’s performed with him in the past, and brings his own sound into hers. Still, for anyone who’s familiar with Haggard knows that his songs are filled with masculine, cowboy stronghold songwriting that anyone’s father would’ve got inspiration from - but that didn’t deter Bogguss a bit. She took up the challenge of covering the songs regardless of gender, which is something that isn’t so common for women in music to take on.
“When I was a kid I rode around with my dad in his pickup truck, and Merle was always on the radio. That’s when I fell in love with his music. I still have all of his old 8tracks of Merle’s albums with me,” Bogguss stated. “My idea with coming up with doing an album of his songs was to show the world on how great of a songwriter he is, and how relatable his lyrics are. It doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female, the songs are so human. The ones I picked to put on the album necessarily weren’t about the lyrics, but the ones that melodically worked with my voice and my style. Some of them were tricky to work around, especially one that was about a man on death row, but in the end it just mattered that the song can cut right into your heart - no matter who's telling the story.”
Bogguss also noted that Haggard himself has heard the album, and surprised her by calling to congratulate Bogguss on the record.
“I didn’t even have to let him know I covered his songs, is the thing! He loved it and called me first. I just about to wet my pants when I got the call,” Bogguss exclaimed. “I was just walking around the house hyperventilating when he was talking to me on the phone. He gave me the ultimate compliment when he said, ‘I thought we were always kind of alike.’ But I read that as we’re both electric as music goes - we both like a little bit of everything. The music he writes are perfect country songs, but if you want to put a sax solo in there you can do so. That’s what makes them fantastic.”
With that record in tow, along with new material being recorded on the road, Bogguss’ “guerilla” touring is now in full swing. Bogguss will soon be making her stop at Valparaiso’s Memorial Opera House with her four-piece band in tow. Bogguss’ return to the Opera House stage is more of a welcome return to the Midwest, an area of the country she feels at home in due to her upbringing in Northwestern Illinois.
“It’s funny, because I’ll talk to certain people across the country and really get to liking them and then I find out that they’re from Indiana, Illinois, or Michigan and then it all makes sense,” Bogguss explained. “You gravitate and get along with people who have similar backgrounds - like people in the South - and that’s what it’s like coming back to the Midwest. Touring a hundred or so days a year is a lifestyle that I’m used to and enjoy, and it just feels wonderful to me to travel across the country with making stops at places I love. It gets me acquainted with new people, and brings me back to audiences that I haven’t played to in a long time. It is nice to be back where there’s so much sky, otherwise I feel incredibly claustrophobic.”
Due to the show’s date being in December it won’t just be a show filled with Bogguss’ original work, it’s also an opportune time to insert some Christmas music. In the past Bogguss has released two holiday albums of her own and will put that material into play. In the end, though, Bogguss stated that she’s looking forward to returning after so many years to the Opera House - a place that she “can still envision so vividly”.
“It’ll be a lot of fun - bringing the Christmas material to the show,” Bogguss stated. “I’ll also have my piano player in tow, so having that added to the show is always great. We’ll be doing the hits, Merle Haggard stuff, and because a lot of people like to sing along with the stuff we play I’m never surprised when it turned into a hootenanny. But I’m really looking forward to coming back. The acoustics are fantastic - you don’t have to get loud to make hear beautiful music. I think it’ll be a good welcome back to town.”
Tickets for Suzy Bogguss’ show at the Memorial Opera House are still available. The show is a benefit for the Memorial Opera House Foundation, and tickets can be bought here: http://www.memorialoperahouse.com/events/mohfboggus
Photo Credit: Amy Dickerson