As Interviewed by Will Estell October 29, 2024
If you know much about music then you likely know at least something about the talented Texan turned singer, songwriter, actor, and producer, Lyle Lovett.
As if fourteen albums, twenty-five singles to date, four Grammy Awards (including wins for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, and Best Country Album) were not enough to prove his creative genius, Lovett has also managed to snag over forty acting credits in film and television, in addition to thirty plus vocal and scoring credits.
In addition to all of his entertainment accolades, however, the multi-talented Lovett -who will be celebrating his 67th birthday on November 1st, while performing at Moon Crush Cowboy Moon- can also add to that impressive resume: Dad to seven-year-old twins.
In advance of his Friday and Sunday (November 1st and 3rd) Moon Crush performances, I sat down to talk with Lyle about everything from fatherhood, music, acting, and his time playing along our beautiful beach communities.
The entirety of our rather lengthy discussion will run later in various publications, including Destin Life, SoWal Life, FWB Life, BayLife and PCB Life. However, we are taking the opportunity to share some excerpts from the future Lyle Lovett feature magazine articles here, and reminding you that you can still grab your Moon Crush, Cowboy Moon passes to see Lyle and a talented array of other artists at https://Topeka.Live.
Man, You’re quite the work horse. You’re playing two of three nights at Moon Crush in Miramar Beach, and then you head out for a UK tour where you are literally playing five nights in a row, from Glasgow to Dublin to Belfast then two dates in London. That has to be incredibly exhausting to play so many days in a row. Most artists I talk with just don’t do that… or can’t. How do you handle that with such a small amount of vocal rest?
You know, I don’t really worry about doing shows multiple nights. My voice is not such an instrument that I have to take that kind of care of it. I mean, I sort of sound the way I sound no matter what [laughing].
Have you always done numerous back-to-back dates like that, across most of your touring career?
We have to, you know, just because of the size of our group. I mean, with the full band we had 32 people on the road this summer, so we really do have to work in five or six nights a week. And you know, I would rather be productive when I’m away from home than have a night off somewhere and do nothing. So that then when I am home, I get to really be home and spend time with my family.
There are plenty of artists that don’t choose to do it that way, but one thing that I’ve found over the years, to quote one of my mom’s training axioms, when she was a training specialist at Exxon, “There are many, many correct ways to do something.”
I’m guessing having twins in first grade also makes being home as often as possible very important, right?
Absolutely it does. And I’m home far more than I’m gone. In fact, I’ve kind of kept track, and since they were born in 2017 I’ve only missed 12 days [at once] away from home, and that was just for logistical reasons. Many times, I even fly back home when I have one day off between shows. It’s hard for me to go for more than a week without seeing them. So, most of the time, I’m able to get on an early flight out and be home even if it’s just for the day, you know. But when I’m home, I’m really home and I get to take them to school in the morning.
You’ve stayed close to your roots having grown up just outside of Houston, and still calling that general area home. What made you stay there?
Yeah, I grew up in Klein [a rural Texas town near Houston]. My mom was a Klein and my great, great grandpa was the first Klein there. So that’s our place. We’ve got a real family connection to the area. And that’s just one reason it’s important to me. Ours is one of the last rural properties in the area and we’re surrounded by subdivisions at this point.
In many ways that place has been my life’s work. To hang on to my grandpa’s farm place, you know. Buying it back over the years after being sold out of the family back in the early 80’s. And, you know, reassembling it.
I think it’s safe to say that your music is most typically associated with the country genre, but the truth is your compositions are really amalgamations of everything from blues and jazz to folk and gospel. What does Lyle Lovett consider his music to be, and where did that influence come from?
I grew up in Houston, which was, as you know, one of the big media markets in the country. And I listened to pop music. I listened to country music. I listened to my parents’ record collection, which had Glenn Miller records, Ray Price records, Ray Charles records, and Nat King Cole records. So, to me, that was all just great music. My writing just reflects my taste, really.
What about the gospel element to some of your songs. What brought that into the writing room?
I grew up in church, but I grew up in the Lutheran church. So, singing that kind of gospel music didn’t really happen. But I always liked that kind of gospel music. My dad was raised Baptist, and when we’d go visit his home church, I could hear the difference. They’d have a gospel quartet for music. I love church music and I’ve always been intrigued by different styles of music.
I’ve asked artists from the late great Jimmy Buffett to Kenny Chesney to Darius Rucker What the biggest changes have been over their musical career, that actually made a specific impact on how they do things. You’ve come up in some of that same time frame. What industry changes have impacted you the most?
Well, the changes I’ve seen are more from just observing and listening, but I don’t feel like they do impact me, as much as they have some. But, you know, there’s, there’s certainly more pop influence in country than ever before. I mean, the style of country –what’s considered country– has changed dramatically even since the eighties when my first record came out.
I’ve kind of always been into doing my own thing. I started out playing solo, or with one other person, doing my own songs. I mean, I’ve always played singer songwriter rooms and folk clubs. So, my approach to performing has always been more from that point of view. I really never was thinking about how I can write a hit like one that’s on the radio right now, or what sort of styles I need to write. I was able to make up songs that appeal to me for personal reasons, rather than, you know, sort of trying to guess what the market might want at any given time.
What keeps you going? What is the driving force behind Lyle Lovett all these years later?
I just love being able to do what I get to do. It was very important to my parents that I went to college and got a degree, so I did. My parents both worked really hard and made decisions based on what they had to do. And, by doing that they were able to afford me the ability to instead do something I wanted to do. I never ever want to take that for granted, and I believe I owe it to them and me to be the best I can at this. No matter how long I do it.
What would you be doing if you weren’t writing and performing music or acting?
I have no idea, Will. [laughing].
Then I guess it’s a damn good thing that you’re so good at what you do. [both laughing]
I saw you perform at 30A Songwriter’s Festival, when I was covering that event, and you’ve mentioned to me that was your first time along our Northwest Florida beach communities. What do you think of our area? Have you been able to hit the beaches and spend any time out taking in scenery that has drawn so many of your fellow artists, and Texans, to spend their vacations along our shores?
When I was there for the 30A Songwriter’s Festival [2023] that was really the first time that I’d spent any time there, besides just driving through.
April, my wife, used to go to Destin every summer with her parents and she’s really fond of the area. I mean it’s beautiful, as you know. I’m excited that we get to be there for a few days this weekend. I grew up going to Galveston and Surfside [Texas beaches] where the beaches are quite different. Where the sand is kind of brown. So, it’s a whole different deal. And I know it is quite the destination for lots of folks.
Any parting thoughts or perils of Texan wisdom you’d like to leave for our readers?
Get out and see the shows this weekend! Our shows with The Large Band [the actual name of Lovett’s full band] are just incredible. I absolutely love what the people in my band bring to my songs and how they make my songs better and more musical. You know, I get to play music with some of my heroes. Legends in the business. I mean, we have Russ Kunkel playing drums this weekend. Leland Skylar playing bass, and Jim Cox playing piano. James Herr along with Jeff White on guitar. That’s quite the lineup, right? You know, to step on stage with them when those guys are trying their best to help me, that’s a great feeling.
Will Estell is a writer, editor, and media consultant with over 700 published magazine features in an array of genres including tourism, music, real estate and automobile editorials. Will has penned one-on-one cover interview features with such well-known artists as Kenny Chesney, Jimmy Buffett, Alan Jackson, Darius Rucker, Styx, Amy Grant, Sara Evans and numerous others. And now, Lyle Lovett, too. He is the chief creative officer of Estell Hussey Media, LLC, and over the past 26 years has been instrumental in co-founding 12 new magazine titles from concept to fruition—both for other publishers and himself—as well as serving as editor in chief for numerous others, locally and nationally. Originally from the backwoods of rural Mississippi, Will is a father of three who splits his time between Destin and Navarre Beach, Florida, along with his wife, WEAR ABC 3 Florida Gulf Coast news anchor, Laura Hussey-Estell. Will is a regular contributor to Life Media’s family of publications.
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