Marcy asked if I could feature her favorite, Diamond Rio and the answers is yes!  They were already on the future schedule.  DR was on the charts for a good long while with a very interesting back story.  And after all the success, they always seemed to do it the hard way.  But they did it, sold a bunch of albums and made some history along the way. They were exceptionally popular during their run and their fan base loved them.

Debut Songs Get No Bigger Than This!

Their story goes back to the early 1980's when they were formed at Opryland USA Park and known as Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys.  The original three included Ty Herndon who you may remember went on a solo career and had a few hits in the mid 1990's. The group went through a whole bunch of personnel changes over a number of years, but in 1989 the group settled on 6 permanent members and the name was changed to Diamond Rio, with Marty Roe as their lead vocalist, which was a great move.  They also considered Kilroy and T-Town Mavericks as their new name, but chose DR just like the heavy semi tractor truck maker.

More Early Success

When DR hit the charts in 1991 with their self titled first album, the single, Meet In The Middle was a gigantic hit, as it went number one, and they became the first group to ever have a debut single go number one in country music history.  They would go on to chart great songs over the next 15 years or so, and have huge success, but they will always be known for that incredible feel good anthem that seemingly everyone loved and still does.  Country songs don't get much more popular than that song.

Always Loved This Song

They went on and charted a ton of hits over the years and pretty much every album was certified platinum or gold.  They were a staple on the charts and radio.  They had a new, fresh and young look that was basically mandatory then as country was discovering a younger and energized fan base as never before.  Younger fans loved them for every reason there was.  They had a new sound, traditionally based with a thump, and really slick harmonies.  They were very accoustic for the time, and I think that served them very well. They stood out.

This Song Was Huge #1 - Makes You Happy

Meet In The Middle was one of those songs we could have played every 15 minutes and no one would have minded. It was one of those rare songs that made everyone happy and took us all back to a simpler time, and it was arranged wonderfully.  The singles that followed, many of them had the same feel to a degree, and fans loved them for that.  Then they kind of hit the mid season rough spot. From about 1993 to 1995 they were still there, but the chart success was not as strong.  I was concerned at the time they may have lost the edge to a degree. 

Great Little Song #2

But when the IV album came out, they shoved it back into high gear.  A slew of big songs came off that album and the albums that followed, along with a greatest hits package.  What is interesting about this is, many times once the slip begins for an artist or in this case a band, it can be tough to turn it back around. But they did it, and then some -  enjoying some of their biggest success later on.  Going against the grain and doing it the hard way.

This #1 Spoke To A Whole Lot Of People

They were also groundbreaking in the fact that when recording albums, they insisted on doing all their own playing, which is rare in Nashville. There are studio musicians that play for  - and on most artists albums, but Diamond Rio played their own.  Clint Black's band did the same thing if I remember correctly, and I respect that.  DR has sensational harmonies and are gifted players, so why not?  Again, against the grain, but it worked wonderfully.  I think it's one of the reasons they sounded different, which was smart at the time with a TON of bands out there.

Beautiful Mess - #1

Diamond Rio charted songs till about 2003 or so, and scored a bunch of big hits, including 5 number ones and many top tens.  They were Grammy and Country award winners a few times and were nominated every year for pretty much all of the 1990's.  They were loved, in an era where there were many very popular country bands going, they cut through and were a big part of country's big decade of the 1990's.

One thing is for sure, you certainly knew when a Diamond Rio song was on the radio. They had a sound, a style and great success!~