Interview: Deana Carter celebrates album anniversary
Deana Carter, a multi-platinum Grammy-nominated country music icon, headlines the Dubois County Boots & Bull event on Saturday, June 5, 2021. In our Q & A conversation, Deana previews the acoustic show and talks about her trailblazing career. Plus, hear how she’s celebrating the 25th anniversary of her breakthrough album Did I Shave My Legs For This?
This Saturday, you’re headlining the Dubois County Boots and Bulls concert. What can fans expect from your show?
Well, we are going to be doing sort of a storyteller's thing, which is so much fun. My husband and I come with our guitars; it's not a full band. We have a little bit more of a laid-back version with some stories behind all the songs on Did I Shave My Legs For This? and a couple of others. We have a great time together. It's a fun time.
There are a lot of songs these days that reference “Strawberry Wine” in them. Thomas Rhett just hit number one with his single “What’s Your Country Song,” and it has that line, “Who’s your Strawberry Wine,” and there are several others. How does it feel to have “Strawberry Wine” become such an iconic song and still receive attention 25 years later?
Just pinch me! I feel so blessed to be able to be a part of it. And to have all these new artists coming up and either give me a hug or say thank you because it influenced them. A lot of people started listening to country music because of that record and it never gets old. We just love playing those songs over and over, year after year, so it's really a special thing.
A few years ago, you performed at the CMT Music Awards with Tanya Tucker, Brandi Carlisle, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, and others. And I remember standing there in awe because that was a lot of powerful women onstage there. You, in particular, I remember you standing your ground for a lot of things when it came to your career. Like putting a drum loop on “How Do I Get There,” and you brought this exciting rock and roll energy to country music when it came to your live show. I would imagine you have to be pretty proud of doing things your way and blazing your own trail in your career.
Oh, thank you so much. I mean, it takes a village, right? So there were a lot of people that helped, all the record label folks and the radio people that helped get the record out. When you have a creative vision, stick by your guns. My dad used to always say, 'Just be yourself because there's only one you.' I know it sounds corny, but when you're truly yourself, then there's room for everybody to have a spot, instead of trying to copy somebody else and what they're doing, so I really treasure that for having that kind of advice.
As someone who adores all of your albums, you’ve done an outstanding job of creating an authentic listening experience. They are all very intimate, and everything from the songwriting, sequencing, musicians, and artwork is flawless. For me, I always thought your song “One Day at a Time” should’ve been a much bigger radio hit because it had such a cool vibe. Are there are any songs from your catalog that maybe didn’t get released as a single that you wish would have?
Oh, my goodness, we will, as artists. We had five singles on that first record, which was unheard of for new artists, and you always want to keep doing it. But "Did I Shave My Legs For This" was one that I wanted to keep going up the chart. That would have been awesome, but we moved on to the next record. I would have loved for my version of "You and Tequila" to have come out, but if it did, then I might not have the Kenny Chesney version that we have today. So I'm honestly just grateful for the way that everything turned out.
What’s on the horizon for 2021? Any new music or projects?
Yeah, we definitely have been touring again this year, which has been so much fun. We've been wanting to get out there. I think everybody's ready to get out and have a good time. And we're celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Did I Shave My Legs For This? album. We're going to be putting out a new version of that in the fall, with Universal Records. I'm working with them right now to finalize a plan for that.