Lady A are one of the most successful country groups of all time. They have won multiple CMA Awards and ACM Awards, and have even been recognized with multiple Grammy Awards in their nearly 20-year history as a band.
Their birth story is fairly typical: Hillary Scott spotted Charles Kelley inside a bar and recognized him from his Myspace profile. Yes, Myspace — it was the early 2000s. On a new episode of Taste of Country Nights, On Demand we deep dive that history together in a chat about their career and how far they’ve traveled in a relatively short period of time.
I asked the trio to tell me their best and worst days in country music, and their answers didn’t disappoint. Kelley was first to respond:
“The first time we got to perform on the CMAs, we did ‘Love Don’t Live Here.’ I don’t think I’ll ever feel as just like … ‘Holy moly, this is really happening,'” he says.
Scott had a really fond best memory, too:
She says their best day “was getting invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.”
Dave Haywood piggybacked off of Scott’s response, agreeing with her:
“That first time we played the Opry — our families all came into town, it was really special. That was an emotional, like, wow!”
But it hasn’t always been sunshine and roses. Kelley recalls a particular “worst” day when they were stranded on what could have been one of the best days:
“Ugh, finding out ‘Run to You’ went No. 1 and our bus broke down on the side of the road.”
Scott remembers a particularly painful worst day, when the group — and many artists in country music — learned of the death of producer and Lady A co-writer Busbee. “That was the lowest,” she admits.
Haywood says his worst day in country music was when Kelley accidentally hit Scott in the mouth with the microphone — something that didn’t even happen to him.
“He busted my lip, accidentally,” Scott explains, chiming in. “We were at the San Antonio Rodeo, and it’s a rotating stage, and somehow we got crossways, and your elbow or your wrist [Charles Kelley’s] hit the bottom of my mic, and the mic hit my lip.”
“Next thing you know we were singing ‘Need You Now,'” she continues, “so it’s like this dramatic … we’re getting into the performance and he’s like, ‘You have blood on your teeth.'”
All three members of Lady A laughed at this particular story, so maybe it has become a fond memory with time. You can hear the full, unedited interview here, or wherever you get your podcasts from. Just search for Taste of Country Nights, On Demand.
Evan Paul is the host of Taste of Country Nights, a syndicated radio show heard on more than 120 country radio stations nationwide, every night from 7PM to midnight. He plays the best new country music and interviews today’s top stars, like Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Lady A, Morgan Wallen, + more!
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