From being born into a family of country royalty [she is the child of Mel Tillis] to performing on the Grand Ole Opry at age 8 to being trained as a classical pianist, it seems that Pam Tillis was always destined for a career in music. With mega hits like “Don’t Tell Me What To Do,” “Let That Pony Run” and what many argue is her signature song, “Maybe It Was Memphis,” Tillis made that destiny a reality in spades. Locals can catch her tonight [July 26th] at Village Park in Kannapolis, NC at 7pm. Admission is FREE so bring the whole family!
Pam Tillis On Airplay Equality, Musical Influences, Grits & Glamour
EPR: Before we get into it, happy birthday. [Pam’s birthday was 7/24] Did you get to have a good birthday or did you have to work all day?
Pam Tillis: Thank you! My husband took me to the tasting menu at the Hermitage Hotel and it was so good.
EPR: That sounds fun! So you’re going to be playing tomorrow night in Kannapolis. And it’s really cool because the town of Kannapolis puts on these shows every once awhile that are totally free. You’re also working on your Grits and Glamour tour with Lorrie Morgan. I know that you guys have a couple of albums. Together. Do you think you might do another album?
Pam Tillis: You know, I kind of don’t see that because they take a long time to do. You never say never but I take a long time with records. I haven’t released a solo project since 2020. So, if I work on anything, it will be material for myself.
EPR: Tell us about your last album, “Looking For A Feeling.”
Pam Tillis: Describing a record is definitely in the ears of the beholder, but to me, some of the influences on the record are sort of a little of the 70s sound that was on the radio when I was a kid. And I don’t think it’s very overt, you might not hear that. But that was the thought behind it. It’s a wide ranging record stylistically, and there’s actually some pretty rockin’ stuff on there. It’s an organic kind of rock. I guess like Americana, with an edge. There’s a little bit of a traditional sound….it’s a bit of a “crazy quilt,” for anybody out there who knows what that is.
EPR: Most people know you for your voice but you also play piano and guitar. Do you do any of your instrumentation on your albums or do you typically leave that to other people?
Pam Tillis: A little bit but I definitely play live. There are just so many better guitar players. [laughs] But I’m good live. I play with a lot of feeling. And the girls in my band are really accomplished. We’re bringing the full band [to the Kannapolis show]. I love my band.
EPR: How often do you do shows with just your trio?
Pam Tillis: It’s kind of a balance actually. We’re doing more band shows this year than we’ve done in quite some time. And I love that. It’s just apples and oranges. The acoustic show, I’ve played so many years. I promise you, there are some folks in the area that have seen the acoustic show. I really feel like there are people that gravitate towards that. They want that, more laid back, a lot of talking, stories…with the band, it’s a much more high energy kind of show.
EPR: I understand that. It’s interesting to see artists that you know and love in two vastly different experiences. It’s like seeing a completely different kind of concert.
Pam Tillis: And that was a reason behind the Grits and Glamour thing. When you have been out there a while, it is nice to change things up.
EPR: Tell us a little bit about the Grits and Glamour Tour. [The Grits and Glamour Tour features Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan]
Pam Tillis: We switch off. The whole thing is like a dialogue. We just kind of bounce back and forth for the most part.
Broadway & Favorite Acting Projects
EPR: Besides singing, you’ve had a pretty cool acting career, including Broadway. You were also in the show “Nashville.” Can we expect to see you doing any more acting any time soon?
Pam Tillis: You know, I don’t have anything in the works right now. But the phone rings randomly for TV stuff or movie stuff. There’s a movie out right now. It’s called “Neon Highway,” and it’s got Beau Bridges and I make a cameo. That was pretty cool.
EPR: What were some of your favorite projects that you acted in?
Pam Tillis: I did a run on Broadway, in “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” and that was just phenomenal. It was a revue. So, there was a lot of singing but, at the same time, there was acting involved. It’s not like we were just up there singing songs, there were vignettes. And that was incredible. Before “Jersey Boys” happened, “Smokey Joe’s” was the longest running musical in Broadway history. So anyway, I did 24 shows with them on that…just a limited run…but it was cool. They had different guest artists.
And I’ve made some appearances on “Nashville,” and that was always fun. I played myself and yeah, there again, there’s acting involved because you’re in a story and the other people that you’re interacting with are fictitious characters. I always enjoyed that because all the other actors and actresses were always so generous. They knew that wasn’t something that I did all the time and they were just really generous with advice, helping me make the scene the best it can be. Charles Esten is just a jewel of a guy.
EPR: I interviewed him not too long ago and I would agree with you. He’s definitely a really nice guy. Do you see any chance that you guys might ever do a duet or collaboration?
Pam Tillis: I don’t know. I’ll have to call him up and ask him. That would be great! I think I could call him up. I think he’s the kind of guy that if I call him up tomorrow he’d show up.
EPR: Oh, yeah, I agree. Totally.
Editor’s Note: If this collaboration ever happens, dear readers, you can thank me later for putting it out into the universe. 😉
EPR: You were on the Opry stage at 8 years old. And you’ve dealt with stage fright. Basically everything you have done professionally has been in front of other people. How have you managed that?
Pam Tillis: In my career, it’s been a little bit of that thing for sure. I guess there is just something about my sheer obstinence. I don’t care whether I’m uncomfortable or not, I’m doing this because I want to do it. I don’t know, it’s strange wiring. It’s very contradictory because I want to do it and I want to be there. If I didn’t want to be there I would stop. But, at the same time, there’s these kinds of bodily sensations, my pulse quickens, adrenaline, and I get butterflies. It’s a little bit uncomfortable, but live television is the most nerve wracking because there’s no do over if anything goes wrong. I guess that’s the perfectionist in me. As far as live [shows] go, generally, once I get past a song or two, sometimes it takes three to really feel easy with it, it’s all good after that. It’s not like I’m just sweating bullets the whole show. And I will say, it’s getting a little bit better as I’ve gotten older and I’ve done it for so long. In fact, most of the time, I just enjoy performing now more than ever did. It’s definitely interesting how that’s progressed.
EPR: You’ve had a lot of versatility in your career. You’ve written songs for other people. You’ve produced your own music. You owned your own record label.
Pam Tillis: We did that for a good long while [Tillis’ Stellar Cat record label] and it really was a great experience. And, you know, a lot of artists are doing indie stuff. It’s not at all unusual but, at the time, it kind of was for mainstream country artists. I just enjoyed the freedom and my husband was willing to do the paperwork and there’s a lot to it. I mean, he really worked his butt off there for two or three years with it. And we did well with that, but we’ve done some partnerships the last few records so he wouldn’t have to do all that because he kind of went off in another direction with restaurants here and the hospitality side of things. I was gonna keep making records but the amount of money that you really make on records now is different. Sometimes we sell as much vinyl as we do CDs.
EPR: Vinyl has definitely made a really big comeback.
Pam Tillis: The streaming has really, I think it’s hurt so many artists and writers.
Editor’s Note: I agree whole-heartedly with Pam Tillis on this. And to take this point further, so much music is being downloaded for free [do we still use the term pirated?] that artists definitely aren’t compensated the same as they used to be for their art.
Airplay Equality
EPR: That’s an interesting take. On the other side, I know a lot of people who have mentioned how they like streaming because it gave them an opportunity that maybe a record label wouldn’t.
Pam Tillis: That’s exactly right. And you can put it out there but then [it’s hard to] get paid for it. However, as a form of advertising, [with] streaming you can build a live audience. And so that’s where you go and hopefully make a living as an artist. It opens the door for a lot of people who wouldn’t be out there otherwise. The interesting thing with streaming… on a record label, they’re gonna focus on one or two singles a year. That’s just an eternity with the way people’s attention span is. Many artists, and what I’ve contemplated doing, is they’re continually releasing things. They might release four singles a year, they might release a single once a month. I mean, they’re just constantly pumping it out. And, I think in today’s world, that’s kind of what people like.
EPR: From an outsider’s perspective, it seems like a lot of times, the record labels just make the total decision of what gets released and maybe that’s not the artist’s favorite song. Maybe that’s not what you want to represent you. Speaking of the record industry, a lot of it is or has been unfair to women in regards to airplay equality between men and women. Do you feel like it’s becoming a more fair playing field? Or do you think there’s more work left to do?
Pam Tillis: To mandate anything, it’s so tricky to do that with art. I’ll just have to have a big question mark. I’m going to answer that with a big “I don’t know either,” because I don’t understand. It was really a great time for me at that particular moment in time and country music was a great time for women. And I do not get it. I really for the life of me can’t understand why there is such a masculine point of view. I mean, come on, I love the guys. I love them. I hear some really good stuff. But women have a different point of view. In my era, women wanted to talk to other women. They want the conversation. They want to feel reflected. And there’s some really wonderful women artists out there that just aren’t getting a break. And I have no idea why that’s happening. I really don’t.
So record companies get gun shy. I will say, it’s this way in all media. People chase success. There’s Morgan Wallen and he’s the biggest global streaming artist in the world. They’re gonna pour money into any artist that [they] think could have any fraction of Morgan Wallen’s success. And they might not pay so much attention to the young lady that they’ve got and they’re developing on their roster. They’re like, well, she’s really great. We all believe in her. But we got to pump this, because this is what’s working. That’s just show business.
EPR: Speaking of other female artists, you are featured on a song with Grace West from “The Voice.”
Pam Tillis: Yeah, it’s great. And I’m just trying to be supportive. And it was a nice sounding record. She’s got a great voice and a great sound. I hope to heck it does something for her. She’s a nice young lady and I love singing harmony. I was a session singer, a demo singer and a backup singer and on other people’s records, a jingle singer and so I love the studio. And she called and I said, “Yes, sure.”
Musical Influences
EPR: You just really kind of hustled your way up. As you mentioned, you did all kinds of music, even jingles, you’ve dabbled in pretty much everything and you even sold AVON at one point to get to where you are. I think there is a common misconception when people hear of an artist who was born into a musical successful family. They might think that the child had an easier way up or it got handed to them. What do you think?
Pam Tillis: Yeah I did. I know what they call them now, there wasn’t this term when I was coming up, but “nepo babies.” I hate that. You know, I just had a fierce independent streak. And Daddy [Mel Tillis], in his defense, he wanted to help me do something while I was working at his publishing company in high school. And he knew that I got the songwriting bug and that really tickled him because I was around all his other songwriters and everything and the creative atmosphere. I got really excited about that. And everybody there knew I sang and they started giving me the opportunity to, you know, some of these writers said, “Oh, will you sing this demo for me? Will you sing that demo for me?” So that was really something that for me, them to like my singing well enough to sing their songs. That was a big deal. But I just quickly caught on to the fact that maybe Daddy and I weren’t seeing things artistically the same way. He was not just wanting to give me a leg up but he was wanting to steer me in the directions, musically, that he thought I should go. And of course, looking back now, I would be so open to what he had to say. It would be wonderful to collaborate as older adults.
Here’s the truth of the matter. Music is always changing and evolving. Daddy’s sound and all his influences and what he grew on was just different than what I grew up with. His influences were Hank Thompson and Lefty Frizzell and Ernest Tubb. His influences were artists of the 50s. My influences were artists of the 70s for the most part. He would bring home the country artists of the 60s and that’s also what I grew up listening to. The Patsys and Lorettas and Tammys, early Don Williams and Kenny Rogers was still in a group. Conway Twitty, all of those people. But I was also in my coming of age [era] or, like I said, the early 70s: the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris. And it was interesting because, in a weird way, some of that music was a little more traditional country than the pop country of the late 60s and early 70s. Sometimes I would find myself falling out of love with some of the country that was on the radio. I wasn’t really great on some of the Top 40 Country. And it’s interesting because a lot of young artists today, they feel the same way. They’re not always in tune with what’s on the Top 40 Country. That’s where Americana is coming from, with this very strong bluegrass: Billy Strings and Sierra Ferrell, and Molly Tuttle. They are very aware of traditional country and traditional music styles. Sometimes modern country doesn’t always incorporate that. It’s interesting how there’s a push and pull, or whatever you call it. Country’s just a big umbrella. Now it’s a lot more inclusive. And I like that.
I’m just very grateful to be out here. You’re always like, “Oh, I wish I’d done that.” Or, “I wish I had done this.” I’m not saying I haven’t made any mistakes in my career or anything but I think I’ve come through it relatively unscathed. And I find it really flattering when young artists say that my music was influential to them, or somehow I made an impression on them. And it’s really exciting now to play for three generations. It’s nice to look out to an audience and, I’m at that age where I see grandparents and parents and people are bringing their kids. I’ll get three generations at shows and I’m like, “This is fantastic!” It just makes you feel so great.
EPR: That’s the thing about [most] country music in general. You really can bring your kids and have a nice family experience together.
Pam Tillis: We do that kind of show. And what’s interesting is that I do have a very young band, I think there’s one guy in there now that’s like 52 but he’s really useful, you wouldn’t know at all. And the rest of them are in their 20s and 30s. I’m showing them the ropes and how I grew up doing it and they keep me young. They put new music in front of me and I put old music in front of them and we’re all happy and we all find something enriching from that.
EPR: I feel like there’s so much good music out there. I can never possibly know it all. So I try to just keep exposing myself to as much music as I can. When you do that, and not limit yourself to one style or genre, you get more of a real idea of what you actually like, you know?
Pam Tillis: That’s right. I mentor young artists and I always tell them, “Don’t get stuck in the Top 40. Go back. Learn a song from the 60s, Learn a song from the 70s. Learn a song from the 80s.” Country is interesting in that way. I feel like sometimes, they will only know the latest trend and that’s it and I go, “No. You need to know the roots of everything.” In classical you learn Beethoven. In bluegrass you learn Bill Monroe. In Broadway you learn the “Great American Songbook,” I really encourage country artists go back, go back, dig, dig, dig, dig. So that’s the lesson I know.