Underrated Country Songs of the‘90s: #87 Better Man by The Warren Brothers
87.) The Warren Brothers - Better Man
Songwriters: Brad Warren, Brett Warren, Gary Nicholson
Billboard Peak: #32, 1999
The second single from The Warren Brothers provides a relief to the glossy and overproduced country music of the late '90s. "Better Man" from their debut album Beautiful Day in a Cruel World lands on this countdown at #87.
In this Episode:
The Warren Brothers endure longevity with the support of their label, resulting in award nomination streaks.
BNA Records signed young artists and had several legendary artists - we'll dive into roster.
What are the Warren Brothers doing now?
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You are listening to Across the Country with Amanda, and on this podcast, I am continuing my series of 90 underrated songs from the 90s, and at number 87, it's the Warren Brothers with a hit from 1999.
The Warren brothers, Brett and Brad Warren, they began their musical careers by playing in Christian heavy metal bands. After moving to Nashville in the mid 90s, they signed to BNA Records. Going back to that time period, the biggest selling artists at BN A, they were Kenny Chesney, who was gradually becoming a huge star and had a consistent string of top 20 singles during that late 90s period.
Lorrie Morgan was the label's biggest act. She signed with them in 1992, platinum record after platinum record, so many radio hits during that time. Same thing with John Anderson, his remarkable comeback in the 90s. That was with BNA - his Seminole Wind era.
BNA did not have a stacked roster like MCA, RCA, or Curb Records in those days. It was primarily acts that had one or two albums and maybe a few singles that made a little traction at radio. Acts like B. B. Watson, Ray Vega, Turner Nichols, and the Remingtons. They hit a stride in the mid-nineties with the double platinum success of Mindy McCready and her debut Ten Thousand Angels. Plus, they had Lonestar who was becoming really favorable at radio during this time.
BNA continued signing new young acts like Jason Sellers, Jennifer Day, and the Warren Brothers. The song “Better Man” only got to number 32 on the charts, but their label continued to release their music. “Better Man” was the second single off their first album, Beautiful Day in a Cruel World. And again, we are back in a time when country radio played a lot of overproduced, glossy records.
“Better Man” was completely opposite of all of that. It was very simple in terms of lyrics and instrumentation. The Warren Brothers had a very loyal listening base, they had likability within the industry, and they released three more albums with BNA Records. This led them to being nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year by the CMA for seven years in a row. Same thing with the Academy of Country Music. There were seven nominations, plus nominations for new artist and vocal event of the year. By the early 2000s, the Warren Brothers, they began to focus on songwriting. They got cuts from Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, who were big champions of them and even took them out on tour.
More superstar artists like Keith Urban, Martina McBride, and Toby Keith began recording their material. This would lead to them having some of their biggest success within the industry, and they even scored a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. More recently, both Brett and Brad, they've been opening up about their sobriety, their family, and their faith. I encourage you to look all of that up on YouTube and their Facebook page. They have some really great video interviews on there. There are a lot of tragic, sad stories in there, but you will take away some powerful, meaningful, and insightful messages from those videos.
You can stream “Better Man” which was written by the Warren Brothers and Gary Nicholson. It hit number 32 on the charts in 1999 and you can find it on all major platforms.