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Local musician Curly Surles teams with Nashville legends on new album
Mountain Home native, Curly Surles, teamed up with country music legends such as Kitty Wells, Jean Shepard and Little Jimmy Dickens as well as other Grand Ole Opry musicians to put out a new album in late July.
The military brought Surles to Mountain Home in the late 1950s. He started playing at Joe's Club and at John's Barn.
His first album "Makin' Believe," with Kitty Wells, had the song "John Deere Letter" that hit 62 on the billboard charts in the late 1980s.
Jeff Sorenson, a friend of Surles contacted him in July 2005 about a song Sorenson wrote called "Just a Dream."
Surles then contacted Jimmy Capps, his producer in Nashville, Tenn.
"I had already recorded a CD a few years back and Jeff (Sorenson) and Jimmy (Capps) decided to have me record it (the song "Just a Dream").
In November 2005, Sorenson obtained the rights to the album with Kitty Wells' "Makin' Believe" because they "needed an album to put us on. It was just too expensive to release one song," said Sorenson.
On Jan. 22, 2006, Sorenson and Surles went to Nashville, remastered some of the previous album's recordings and added four songs to the original album: "Love Letters in the Sand," by Pat Boone (remake), "Just a Dream", Don't Go," and "The Dear John Letter," by Jean Shepard.
Surles made two trips to Nashville and spent two weeks recording. Tom Peck, a six-time Grammy award winning engineer, put the album together.
"We feel honored to have the opportunity to go back and record with top talent in Nashville," said Surles.
Jean Shepard, Little Jimmy Dickens and Kitty Wells sang on the album with Surles, and musicians such as Hoot Hester, staff fiddler player at the Grand Ole Opry; Jimmy Capps, staff lead guitar for the Grand Ole Opry; Gene Chrisman, Elvis' previous drummer and Weldon Myrick, steel guitar for Grand Ole Opry, also performed on the album.
"We feel good about the product and hoping we'll get some air play. There's no guarantee in this industry," said Surles.
He was assured there would be marketing and promotion with this album.
It is common for someone to make a recording and not have marketing and air play, said Surles.
"The 'John Deere Letter' was nominated by the Country Music Association for awards, but we didn't have the major label behind it," said Surles. "The industry's changed a lot the last 13 years with the internet. You used to have to have a major label contract."
The album's release date will be announced at a later date because an infomercial with John Deere Company and Ralph Emmery from Nashville WSM AM radio is next.
It is because of the infomercial that they "don't know the title to the album yet because we were told John Deere might endorse the song (The John Deere Letter)," said Surles.
Until they have confirmation from John Deere Company, the name of the album will tentatively be titled either "Just a Dream" or "The John Deere Letter".
"I feel really blessed and fortunate and of course at my age, I've kind of done it all and I'm grateful for the experiences I've had.
"Don't know how I was chosen to have the honor, opportunity and pleasure to be in same studio as these on my CD," said Surles
Surles will still visit Nashville on music related business even though recording for his second album is completed. He was told he would be going back to Nashville as a guest with Little Jimmy Dickens on the Ernest Tubb Record Shop Midnight Jamboree.
When Surles is not in Nashville making music, he is doing it right here in Mountain Home.
"I still do some singles and work with a band." Recently he performed at the fourth of July Festival in Carl Miller Park. "We sure enjoyed that, and I hope the people did, too."
For more information about Curly Surles' album visit pbmrpublishing.com.