Hey MCA Nashville, Where’s The New Josh Turner Album?
There’s delays, and then there’s delays that stretch out so demonstrably long, there’s clearly something amiss.
2015 has been the “Year of the Delays” in country music. The Band Perry delayed the release of their new record Heart + Beat because of a struggling debut single. A similar story appears to be developing for Gary Allan, who had his debut single “Hangover Tonight” flop. Even the American Country Countdown Awards (which flopped in the ratings last year), have delayed their “annual” December presentation until next spring, if we even see another installment of the struggling awards show.
But none of them can top the ridiculous delays of the MCA Nashville-signed Josh Turner‘s long-anticipated and currently TBA sixth release. This thing was considered ploddingly long in coming and and potentially missing in action nearly a year ago. Now for many Josh Turner fans, the situation has reached a critical mass state, and folks are starting to demand answers. Is Josh and his music being held hostage? At this point, what plausible explanation could be given to justify all the delays?
Let’s first start by trying to construct a timeline of how we got here.
Josh Turner released what was supposed to be the debut single from the new album called “Lay Low” way back on September 15th of 2014. Appreciate that even when this single was released, Josh Turner fans were already a little restless. His last record Punching Bag was released way back in June of 2012, so at that point it had been over two years since a new album had been released—pretty unusual for a major label artist. The single did, well, okay. It hit #25 on the Airplay charts, and #28 on the Hot Songs chart, and this is where the seeds of the delay may have been sewn. Major labels like debut singles to blaze. Otherwise they can take it as a sign the career of an artist might be starting to fizzle.
Then on November 3rd of 2014, Josh Turner held a private event for select press and industry personnel at the SoundCheck rehearsal space in Nashville to preview the new record—a regular occurrence as part of the run up to a major label release. Turner played numerous songs from the still unnamed album, including a song written by Craig Wisemen called “Bench Seat,” a ballad called “Wonder,” and a potential radio single called “Where The Girls Are.” Later, refreshments were served as Randy Travis songs played in the background. Josh Turner told the assembled crowd at the time the album was, “a session or two away from being done,” with an estimated ETA in early 2015.
By January of 2015, though no official announcement was ever made, metadata readings from distributors had Josh Turner’s new album headed to market on March 31st according to HITS Daily Double and others. However March 31st came and went, and no official announcement was ever made, and no album ever arrived.
Then on April 30th, Josh was interviewed by radio.com where he admitted his new record was a “long time in the making,” but also said it included the best songs he could find in a two year span. But still, no release date, album title, or even a general ETA.
So what happened? How did an early 2015 album turn into an still TBA album heading into 2016? The answers might lie in an interview Josh Turner conducted in September.
“I think there’s too much gratuitous [music] out there right now. That’s what gets old to me,” Turner told The Boot. “I’ve always tried to make my music positive, but life is not always positive, so I’ve always just tried to write and record songs about real life. There’s some things I refuse to sing about, but overall, when I make a record, I want people to walk away from that record feeling better about life and about themselves than they did before they heard the record.”
These quotes, along with the under-performing single and other signs seem to point to a creative struggle potentially occurring between Josh Turner and his label, MCA Nashville. Josh also said in the interview, “I’ve been working on this record for about 60 years now, it seems like anyway. Nobody is more ready to get it out there than me. We’re hopefully going to have a new single out in the next month or two, and hopefully we’ll get it out sooner than later. I’ve been going back in, making some last-minute changes and making sure everything is right.”
Another month or two passed, and now three months, and still no new single, and no new news of when we might expect Josh’s new record. Also by Josh saying, “Nobody is more ready to get it out there than me,” he appears to be indicating the delays aren’t his doing.
Unfortunately all signs are pointing to the all-too-common occurrence of when a label doesn’t know what to do with an artist, and an artist doesn’t want to compromise, and an internal (and sometimes external) struggle ensues. We really don’t know what’s going on with Josh Turner’s new album, but we do have a pretty good indication the delays are not on his end.
After years of getting admonished publicly by artists who were either fed up with delays, or tired of being told what to do, labels began to write in non-defamation and non-disclosure clauses into contracts, tongue tying artists from speaking publicly. And even if such clauses don’t exist in Josh’s case, sometimes artists still can’t speak out or let their fans know what’s happening directly because it might jeopardize critical negotiations or potential legal proceedings moving forward.
Every artists should have the right to the free flow of their creative endeavors to their fans. Though Josh Turner may not be in a position to speak up, his fans are, and potentially should, and should start asking of MCA Nashville why there’s no movement, and no answers about Josh’s new music.
Josh Turner is an artist who resides in the mainstream world, but finds a lot of favorable sentiment in the traditional, classic, and independent country ranks. An artist like Josh Turner symbolizes a pragmatic performer who can bridge the commercial with the critically-minded. And with the recent success of Chris Stapleton, it’s clear consumers are looking for artists with greater authenticity. Country music needs artists like Josh Turner, and Josh Turner needs to enjoy the free flow of his music to thrive and grow as an artist.
November 17, 2015 @ 7:26 pm
Ha! It’s funny that CountryKnight mentioned this in the Bobby Bones thread just a few hours ago and now there is already an article about it.
You’re a fast writer, Trigger 😉
November 17, 2015 @ 7:41 pm
This has been a recurring topic for months now, especially with the delays of other artists. I’ve been working on this article for a while. Now that the CMA cycle is finally cycling down, I can get to some of these other topics. But yes, CountryKnight has been championing this topic for a while now, and good for him.
November 17, 2015 @ 10:16 pm
Thanks guys.
It is funny, Trigger. I was actually about to email you again regarding this topic.
This is just one reason why I constantly return to this site and recommend to other country fans.
God Bless.
November 17, 2015 @ 10:51 pm
Just wanted to add, I am off to share this on a Josh Turner Facebook page.
“Bench Seat” better be on the new CD.
It has been hard trying to restrain myself from listening to more new songs that he has played during his concert that have surfaced on YouTube.
EDIT: Someone beat me to it!
November 17, 2015 @ 7:32 pm
Just saw Josh Turner live at Clemson recently – he put on a great show. Definitely a bastion of traditional country instrumentation in the mainstream and impressive vocals for a live show! He’s a guy I’d be happy to continue supporting if he releases another solid album.
November 19, 2015 @ 1:54 pm
Go Tigers!
November 17, 2015 @ 7:33 pm
By the way, this is why it is useful for an artist to have a regular album release schedule. With Taylor Swift, for example, you know for sure that she will release an album in the fall of every even-numbered year.
Every artist should demand a 1-year or 2-year periodic cycle from his or her label.
November 17, 2015 @ 7:43 pm
Most album contracts do have stipulations on release cycles to protect both the artist and label, though many also have clauses or provisions that can get either party out of the obligations if it doesn’t suit their interests. This was the reason Curb kept releasing so many Greatest Hits albums from Tim McGraw near the end of his contract. They were contractually obligated to release records, but there was nothing saying they had to release original ones.
November 17, 2015 @ 8:06 pm
Hopefully, these experiences will teach new artists to seek better deals from their labels. For an artist, I am sure that nothing is worse careerwise than one’s own art being silenced.
November 18, 2015 @ 6:56 pm
As I recall it, the deal with McGraw and Curb was that he was tied to them for a fixed number of original albums. When McGraw wanted to go elsewhere but still had like two albums left on the deal, Curb came up with the brilliant idea that if they keep releasing Greatest Hits albums on him–“Greatest Hits,” “Greatest Hits Vol. 2,” “Greatest #1 Hits,” “Twenty Greatest Hits,” “A Decade of Hits,” “Hits That Made Him Great,”–then they could take maybe ten years to release those final two original albums and keep McGraw chained to them throughout that time. McGraw finally said, “This is bullspit” and signed somewhere else. Curb sued him, but the court told Curb to get lost.
November 18, 2015 @ 6:24 am
On its face, it seems ridiculous to me that art could or should be turned out on a schedule.
November 18, 2015 @ 11:08 pm
In an ideal world, that argument would be totally correct. However, the lack of some type of set schedule for releasing albums creates two major problems for artists:
1) It gives the labels the power to delay or block album releases, as is the case with Josh Turner (and of course countless Curb artists).
2) Without a deadline, those artists who have a natural tendency to procrastinate would not have any incentive to deliver results in a timely manner. Now, imagine that the label executives want to find an excuse to drop an artist that they don’t like. They can simply lay back while the artist procrastinates. Then, after some years have passed, they can suddenly fire him using “underperformance” as the basis.
Good management always begins with setting clear goals and at least some general deadlines. The album release schedule does not have to be exactly 2 years, for example, but rather 2 years +/- 6 months.
November 19, 2015 @ 12:45 am
“Viva Terlingua!” basically came about because Jerry Jeff Walker owed his label a record a year, but he didn’t really have much material for one. He sort of spells that out in “Gettin’ By,” then got a bunch of friends together and recorded some songs at Luckenbach. The result was an iconic record, and it all came about from trying to meet a deadline and having no clue what to do. Of course, this is an extreme case.
Some artists need deadlines, others flounder under them. But the point of contracts is to make sure neither party gets screwed. Hopefully there’s the right language to make sure the creative process is not hindered by time in either direction.
November 17, 2015 @ 7:44 pm
They probably wanted him to record an album like Chris Young’s latest stinker that sounds nothing like his previous records. Good for Josh Turner for not wanting to compromise if that is indeed the issue here.
November 17, 2015 @ 8:28 pm
Sad to see how badly Chris Young has sold out. I had a lot of hope for him until that piece of trash “Aw Naw” came out. Glad to see that Turner doesn’t seem to want to go down that road, if that is in fact what’s going on.
November 17, 2015 @ 9:40 pm
Zac Brown: “YOU WILL BE THE SHAWN MENDES OF COUNTRY, JUST LIKE I FORCED CHRIS YOUNG TO BE THE DAUGHTRY OF COUNTRY!”
Josh Turner: “Never! I’m going to remain true to myself and not settle for interchangeable mediocrity!”
Zac Brown: “AAAAARRRGHGHHH!”
(blasts Auto-Tuba at Turner, which he dodges)
Josh Turner: “Ha ha!”
(Zac Brown tosses substance-shattering grenade his way, which Turner also successfully escapes)
Zac Brown: “AAAAARRRGHGHHH!”
(tosses “You’re too old to be relevant!” fishing net at him, which Turner effortlessly slices through)
Zac Brown: (seething with disgust) “You watch, foolish boy! You WILL answer to me soon enough! Until then, I’ll be at least sure you get nowhere near the top of the charts!”
(presses switch activating force field between Turner and the Airplay Chart Elevator)
Zac Brown: “We will meet again, soon!”
(vanishes)
Josh Turner: “………..and I will be ready!”
November 17, 2015 @ 7:47 pm
I’ve been wondering this myself for quite a while. Good to see it in print.
November 17, 2015 @ 7:58 pm
A Josh Turner show was the first concert I ever attended when I was a tiny tiny kid who didn’t know a Bflat from a platypus on a unicycle. He opened for Sara Evans but for the life of me I don’t even remember if she even performed or not.
I still have the autographed shirt I got, even though all the diet pills in the world won’t make me fit into it again.
There was a phase in my life in which I listened to the “Your Man” album every night before going to bed. I also watched the season 2 finale of “Mattimeo” every day (I was ten or eleven,) and this was before I could even understand “Loretta Lynn’s Lincoln.”
I wrote a paper in High School (ninth grade, for a teacher who couldn’t spell my name right even though she saw it in the computer every day) about “Everything is Fine.”
I would say there isn’t a single artist I’ve been a fan of for longer than Josh Turner.
November 17, 2015 @ 8:03 pm
Thanks for the anecdotes!
Going back to my point that I made about generations, this era should have been the career peak for Josh Turner. Here is an artist in his late 30s making music for people in his age group. Sadly, his career ended up as roadkill due to the rise of bro-country.
November 18, 2015 @ 12:43 pm
“Sadly, his career ended up as roadkill due to the rise of bro-country. ”
Josh , Easton Corbin , possibly Mo Pitney at this point and a long list of other GREAT trad country singers have suffered similar fates thanks to the Bro-shit .
November 18, 2015 @ 1:28 pm
Thankfully, Mo Pitney still has a chance. He is only 22, and he probably has a good 15 or so years left until he hits his career peak.
As I predicted in another thread, there may well be a neotraditional revival beginning in the 2020s due to the Millennials hitting middle age en masse, just like the last neotraditional movement in the late 80s and early 90s was fueled by the then early – middle-aged Boomers.
When that happens, artists like Mo Pitney will be the prime beneficiaries.
November 18, 2015 @ 7:37 pm
Easton Corbin brought it upon himself my recording some truly terrible music. Otherwise I think he’d still have a great chance.
As for Mo, I really wanted to like him. So far, I just can not get behind the guy for whatever reason. Not my thing, I guess.
Josh Turner could still peak. There’s clearly an ever-growing demand for traditional leaning music on the radio, but not many mainstream artists trying to meet that demand.
December 6, 2015 @ 2:46 pm
I can’t believe what you’re saying dude! you’re really buying Josh Turner albums (and so allowing Sam Hunt to release music)????
November 17, 2015 @ 8:03 pm
Josh Turner is one of the best in country music today. Some of his videos with Randy Travis available online are a great showcasing of his talent – an uncommon and beautiful voice. And everything I’ve read about him indicates him to be highly principled and it comes through in his body of work. Looking forward to an album someday soon
November 17, 2015 @ 9:17 pm
Josh Turner needs to release a Greatest Hits cd with “Lay Low” in Spring 2016 and a new cd later next year.
November 17, 2015 @ 9:21 pm
Really sad to see how bro-country/ metro-bro country made people forget all about one of the best talents to come out of Nashville, to the point that I heard somewhere that one of his albums five copies on the first day or something like that. Could be wrong info, but you get the point. And the media thinks guys like Sam Hunt are good for country music…
November 17, 2015 @ 9:28 pm
Zac Brown, who was kidnapped by Mikel Knight and a coalition of disgruntled country rappers who have failed to ever achieve measurable mainstream success and thus are committing revenge on Music Row and has since been re-programmed as Anti-Christ of Country Music Scott Borchetta’s fearsome but charismatic leading henchman via his microchipped Varvatos tophat………………..ensnared Josh Turner while he was out on one of his morning jogs and sent him through a trapdoor into an oubilette 75 feet beneath Nashville’s City Center six months ago.
Turner, being as resilient as he is, has thus far been immune to Zac Brown’s hat hypnosis to selling out. However, Josh Turner also has failed to escape this oubilette nor one-up Zac Brown. Zac Brown, in fits of primal rage failing to break Turner to date, is hell-bent determined to decipher his Achilles’ heel and make him submit to something even worse than metro-bro.
November 18, 2015 @ 8:26 am
Rescue mission?
Should we get the team together? We have a Triggerman and a Knight. How many more do we need? A hero named Steel Guitar?
Country Music Avengers!
November 18, 2015 @ 12:19 pm
Enlist DoBro: the sole bro you can count on to make traditional country thrive! ^__^
November 18, 2015 @ 1:03 pm
We should phone in Steve Martin. I hear he did wonders solving murder mysteries in France… Hmm, maybe we should send him back over there…
I’ve heard rumors that Josh Turner studied the art of Occlumency under Professor Snape, which he uses to protect his mind… I understand that he focuses on a picture of Macklemore and Roy Clark riding a battleship in a sea of mashed potatoes to keep Zac Brown’s hat hypnosis from getting inside his mind.
November 18, 2015 @ 12:45 pm
“..oubilette .”
THAT’S the reason I love coming to this site …
November 17, 2015 @ 10:11 pm
What a coincidence! I was actually just reading an article on him and listening to his debut album. Hell of a man from what I can tell and it’s being demonstrated from his fight with his label. He is obviously going to stick to his roots. Being a younger guy, I have often looked up to him as a role model as I know he has great values and I always feel great when listening to his music. So sad to see this happen.
November 17, 2015 @ 10:18 pm
My dream album is a team-up between Randy Travis and Josh Turner.
A Christmas album from Josh would be nice too, but at this point, I just want the promised album.
“Bench Seat” is on YouTube. Great, clean twist on the classic truck song, but that is Josh for you.
November 17, 2015 @ 10:48 pm
Three major events have derailed (train pun!) Josh Turner”™s career.
1. Traditional country sound being supplanted by a rock and roll/hip-hop beat. Josh is very traditional, especially for mainstream country. In addition, his lyrics are based on older country music themes. Josh respects ladies and his songs simply aren”™t shallow tunes about a headlight hottie. That isn”™t going to sell in these new times.
2. Bro country changing the demographics of the genre. Turner”™s main fan base, from my observation, consists of many middle aged women, who fit the typical Christian housewife subgroup. His music doesn”™t have the appeal for drunken college kids.
3. Poor single selection from his Punching Bag album. Instead of choosing “Whatcha Reckon” for the next single after “Time is Love”, MCA or Josh selected “Find Me a Baby.” Now, “Find Me a Baby” is a fine song and very sweet and genuine, but 2012 was the beginning of bro-country reign on the country throne and a song about a man whose goal in life is to a find a girl, marry said girl and have babies was not going to raise among the multitude of tailgate pickup songs. Why? Because the age group for bro country simply, on the whole (just because I am an exception doesn”™t mean everyone is), has little interest in listening to a song espousing traditional dating and marriage habits when they are shooting Fireball and trying to woo a Daisy Duke wearing college gal. Plus, the album version of the song has an adorable interlude where Josh”™s family sings. The radio version cuts out this section to the punishment of the song. When Josh sings: “Well now me and my baby are on baby number three/ When we all get warmed up, you oughta hear us sing ”, the family”™s inclusion is removed, leaving just Josh to na, na, na by himself. Frankly, it sounds silly. The song died outside the top 40 and the album faded away without another release. Turner fans were left tied to the railroad tracks until “Lay Low” was sent out.
4. Would “Whatcha Reckon” been a radio hit? Hard to tell. “Time is Love” slowly climbed up the charts, but it reached #2 and was the most played song that year according to Billboard. “Whatcha Reckon” shares many similarities to “Getaway Truck” by Aaron Watson. Both songs have elements hijacked by bro country of a truck and a girl. However, there are key differences in the presentations. Neither Josh nor Aaron are leeches. “Whatcha Reckon” sang about getting away in a truck with a girl in a happy, safe way. It had enough bro country similarities to appeal to both traditional and bro country fans to keep Josh”™s name circulating. I think it could have been a hit. Alas, they went with a 1990”™s single. That is the same reason why I didn”™t think Garth Brooks”™ comeback would be a success. The venue and its audience changed.
As I have said before, if Josh could have started his career in the 1990”™s, his stardom would have been huge. Instead like an Old Testament prophet, he got placed in a land where his message is needed, but the people won”™t listen. But this knight will continue to listen.
November 18, 2015 @ 7:03 am
I’ts my personal opinion that “Find Me a Baby” is the weakest song off of “Punching Bag.” I think “Deeper Than My Love” or the titular “Punching Bag” would have been better single choices. “Deeper Than” is totally unlike anything else melodically or lyrically, and that distinctiveness could have proven very powerful when it came to chart performance, and “Punching Bag” is loud enough, and rock-ish enough to compete with Bro Country, and it’s still a quality song.
November 18, 2015 @ 8:22 am
I found “Left Hand Man” to be the least needed track on the album. Good, but superfluous.
But I think we can both agree that “Find Me a Baby” was not a good single selection.
Like I have said, “Whatcha Reckon'” would have been my choice. However, your picks are just as good.
November 18, 2015 @ 2:04 am
Was “Punching Bag” really released in 2012? Wow, don’t time fly! Loved that album, and thought “Cold Shoulder” and “Pallbearer” were two of the best country songs that year. Yeah, bring on that new album Josh!
November 18, 2015 @ 8:19 am
It is crazy. I was a junior in high school when “Punching Bag” came out of the corner and now I am a junior in college when his next album (hopefully) will be released.
November 18, 2015 @ 3:45 am
Thank God we’ll have new music from Scotty McCreery! Same voice and good shitty music especially for mainstream radio.Who cares for Josh Turner? Nobody listen to songs like Long Black Train anymore. We need more songs about girls and party all night.
November 18, 2015 @ 3:15 pm
I understand this comment was sarcastic, but Scotty doesn’t come close to having the same voice as Josh in terms of range (both levels), tone, control, or overall quality. (and I think Scotty has one of the very best in the industry).
November 18, 2015 @ 5:41 am
Meanwhile Jason Isbell smiles, and Sturgill Simpson looks worried.
November 18, 2015 @ 7:09 am
I saw him several years back. “One woman man” brought the house down. I was very impressed with him and his band. Great show.
November 18, 2015 @ 8:20 am
Link to “Bench Seat”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JEjycfBxC4
The comments section, regarding his supposed album release date, is a depressing read.
November 18, 2015 @ 12:37 pm
I’m hiding under my covers with my eyes and ears closed cautiously awaiting the next Josh Turner record . After all of the disappointments we’ve been through with the mostly reliable and dependable country music stalwarts this past year ( Easton Corbin , Gary Allen , Joe Nichols etc… ) , I fear for what Josh will give us .
I am learning to keep my hopes in check as a form of emotional self defense when it comes to awaiting ANYBODY’S record in these times . A sad way for a country music fan to have to live. Where’s Don Williams when you need him ?
November 18, 2015 @ 3:11 pm
Josh Turner is the person who turned me on to country music circa 2010. Needless to say, a couple of years later I quit listening to the radio. Thank heaven that YouTube is around. From Turner I started listening to his hero, Randy Travis. Then I started listening to Travis’s heroes like George Jones and Merle Haggard. It has been a great journey back in time.
At the end of the day though, Josh is still my favorite. He has been blessed with the best voice to grace country music in my opinion. He’s a good person and does things the right way in an industry that tries to push artists in the other direction. (Read his book, Man Stuff, you will love it).
I pray he can resurrect his career and get the attention he truly deserves. (This, too, applies to Jamey Johnson, who really got the shaft).
November 18, 2015 @ 7:23 pm
His book is an excellent guide to being a real man. Because you don’t need to be a faux outlaw to be a man.
November 18, 2015 @ 7:29 pm
Very interesting article. I’ve always been a little afraid of what his new music will sound like given that he’s on the exact same label as Sam Hunt. These quotes give me hope. Any chance that the recent success of Chris Stapleton will work in Josh’s favor at all?
November 18, 2015 @ 9:27 pm
It could if MCA is convinced in needs folks like Josh. Being on the same label as Sam Hunt I really don’t think will be a factor. Most label groups want there to be clear separation between their artists so none of them compete with each other. The last think MCA wants is another Sam Hunt, because that can only diminish Sam Hunt’s value.
November 18, 2015 @ 8:40 pm
I really like most songs that Josh Turner’s released singles but Find Me a baby was his weakest song (peaked at #42 in 2012-13). Long Black Train is my favorite song (peaked at #13 in 2003-04).
November 19, 2015 @ 11:18 am
I’m starting to think David Nail is going to suffer this same fate, even as an artist who will give his label one throw-away single, nowadays. “Whatever She’s Got” may not have been what we wanted to hear but it sounds I’m a Fire only had chance to see the light of day because of the success of that song. The problem is, his throw-away single from Fighter, a song called “Night’s on Fire” seems to have flopped, for some reason. It isn’t even that bad of a song–the chorus is great. For some reason, it hasn’t caught on at radio.
Here’s to hoping we can get a release date for Josh Turner’s album, and that other great mainstream artists like David Nail don’t have to go through this exact same thing.
January 9, 2016 @ 9:53 am
MCA’s refusing to release Josh’s latest album is just another sign of how the record companies are trying to totally eradicate any semblance of true country music and replace it with what they call today’s country. If an artist is true to country music, then he usually doesn’t last very long, unless he converts to the kind of junk they are putting out today, that sounds like some form of rap… with no tune, no meaning and is in no way similar to true country. Blake Shelton is a good example of what has happened to country music. His last good ‘country’ song was Hillbilly Bone, with Trace Adkins. (What has happened to Trace by the way? Is he in the same situation as Josh?) Why are true country fans not uniting together to demand the restoration of the true country genre that is still very much in demand but is being morphed into something totally different? Some so-called ‘country fans’ don’t even know what country music really is.
February 17, 2016 @ 10:38 am
You just get to know that MCA, which had signed Sam Hunt who claimed himself as a so-called ‘country singer’ and wrote so-called ‘country songs’, and here the answer comes. Everything went wrong. Both sucks