Restless Heart is Still ‘Enjoying the Journey’ After More Than Three Decades
“I think we’re having more fun and enjoying the journey much more now than we ever did back then," the band tells us.
Restless Heart made a rare Nashville stop over the weekend to lend their talents to a great cause – the annual benefit concert for the Nashville Firefighters Association Local 140 unit. Before the show, lead singer Larry Stewart said anytime they can give back to a group of men and women who go above and beyond the call of duty, they try to do so.
“We’ve supported a lot of people who are in the line of duty – people who give service to our country,” he tells Sounds Like Nashville. “We’ve done a lot of shows for the troops, and this is the second time we’ve done something for the firefighters. They are heroes, as well. We’re tickled that they asked us. They’re first responders, and so brave. We appreciate them, and any chance we can give back and honor those folks, we will do it.”
The show – which also featured fan favorite Bucky Covington – took place at Nashville’s historic Municipal Auditorium. The site of Fan Fair for the decade of its’ existence, Stewart lamented that the group didn’t play there during their commercial peak in the late 1980s. “When we got started, for some reason we didn’t play here. We opened for Alabama at Murphy Center, then everyone went to Starwood. But, I’ve seen a lot of concerts here – Journey, Loverboy, and a couple of others. I’ve been here a few times.”
The concert featured many of the group’s biggest hits, such as “Wheels,” “A Tender Lie,” and a song that was climbing the charts three decades ago this month – “That Rock Won’t Roll.” Of the record that became their first number one, Stewart said “We came to the realization that Mondays are really crappy,” in reference to the day of the week that the Billboard airplay charts are finalized for the week. “Now, if you get those adds, it’s not that bad, but Mondays were always stressful for us.” Hearing that the record hit the pinnacle of the charts remains a great memory, said Stewart. “That was our fourth single, and what a thrill that was. We had no idea what we were doing. We were a little bit different than everyone else at the time, with the harmonies and the mullets. We had six or seven in a row. It was quite a run.”
Stewart said the band enjoyed success at a time in the industry when their sound was not necessarily in vogue. “The establishment wasn’t real happy with us at the time. We started at the same time as Randy Travis, and The Judds were hitting. We had more of a contemporary sound. Somehow, radio was blind to all of that, and didn’t really adhere to Music Row. They played our records, and kept playing them.”
In addition to their success on the Country charts, songs like “I’ll Still Be Loving You” and “New York (Hold Her Tight)” made the group a favorite at AC radio, as well. “That was a really cool time,” Stewart recalls, though he does say “I think there was confusion at that time. You have the establishment dealing with this Restless Heart band that is crossing over into Pop radio. It was good and bad. It was good because we gained a lot of fans, and brought new fans into Country Music. Looking back, I think the timing of our music was such that a lot of people in the industry didn’t know what to make of Restless Heart.”
Nowadays, the band still plays to packed houses every night, and Stewart says that they continue to enjoy the road. “I think we’re having more fun and enjoying the journey much more now than we ever did back then. That was the most important part of the journey, but it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable because of the pull, the tug, and the stress. We had to be here, then there, wondering if we got enough adds that week. That whole process was a grind, yet so important. But, to think that we could go out now after all these years, and still hit the stage for people who want to hear us – we’re very blessed to do that. We’ve never lost the love of playing music together. We all played and sang on our records, and to be able to still do that is a great thing. I have the best gig in the band. I stand in the middle of the stage, and get to hear these guys all playing around me. We’re not tired of it at all.”
Restless Heart has just released a new single, a cover of Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman,” which Stewart hopes will lead to a new album soon. “We’ve still got some more recording to do. I’m hoping that ‘Wichita Lineman’ will kind of put a fire under us to decide what we’re going to do. Hopefully, we can figure out what that looks like in 2017, and get some new music out to the fans. They’ve deserved it for a long time.”
