NHL’s Theo Fleury is Releasing a Country Record
Bret Michaels of Poison, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Hulk Hogan’s daughter, Uncle Cracker, that guy from Better Than Ezra (forget his name, Kevin something, maybe), and now a professional hockey player?
But this is a story somewhat unique.
Some may recognize the name south of the Canadian border, especially if they understand the intricacies of hockey’s offsides and icing rules. But in the great frozen north, he’s considered a national treasure. Theo Fleury, a 1,000-point scorer in the NHL, Stanley Cup winner in 1989 with the Calgary Flames, Gold Medal winner in 2002 representing Canada, and a World Junior Champion, has decided he’s going country. Or according to him, has always been country, and is finally taking the time to sew those oats.
Beyond his specific hockey resume bullet points, Theo Fleury has been an inspiration to many both on and off the ice. At 5’6″, Theo beat all the odds to become a premier player in one of the most bruising sports on the planet, and earned the respect and admiration from his fellow players. In 2009, Fleury published a memoir where he detailed his battles with substance abuse, and how he was the victim of sexual molestation. Theo was given credit for his bravery, and the book went on to become a bestseller. Fleury is also known as a motivational speaker.
And now he’s a country music artist. Signed with eOne in Canada, he’s readying they release of his debut album I Am Who I Am October 23rd, with the first single, “My Life’s Been a Country Song” available now (listen below).
“I know that when people hear that Theo Fleury made a country album, they’ll go, ‘Well ”¦ OK,’ ” Fleury says in a press release. “And I wouldn’t say I’m the greatest singer in the world, but I’m a real singer. But I have a decent voice. I grew up around music. I’m a Metis person {a person of mixed American Indian and Euro-American ancestry}, and music is really part of our DNA. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were listening to my grandfather play the fiddle. My dad sang and played guitar, my uncle sang and played the guitar. Music was always a huge part of any gathering we had as a family. And it was all country stuff, you know Charley Pride, Buck Owens, Hank Snow, all those old guys. So that became my favorite genre of music. And making music was always in the back of my mind.”
So along with fellow songwriter and musician Phil Deschambault, Theo wrote a record of songs over a two-year span, and formed a backing band known as the Death Valley Rebels. And if you’re worried Fleury may try to hop on the latest country craze to win himself a big pile of cash, that doesn’t sound like his intentions.
“We wanted this to be a real grassroots album ‘Let’s get back to fiddles and steel guitars and accordions and honky-tonk pianos, but put our own stamp on it.’ We’re a bunch of guys who love that old-school country sound. The album is definitely dark. The songs are all about my life, my experience, my struggle. But they’re also about coming through that struggle. At the end of every song, there’s hope. That’s what the lyrics and music reflect: Hope and healing. If people listen to this and there’s a line or a word or a phrase that helps them get out of the situation they’re in or how they’re feeling, that’s really why we’re doing this. The message is that no matter how far we may fall, we can make it back.”
Fleury is not the only professional athlete to try his hand at country music. Terry Bradshaw actually had a fairly successful stint in country, and had a Top 20 hit with Hank’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” in 1976. Former NFL-er Kyle Turley also released a country record in 2010 called Anger Management.
Reminds me a bit of Charlie Robison.
September 12, 2015 @ 10:03 am
I could hear Bob Woodruff singing this.
September 12, 2015 @ 10:52 am
Don’t forget Kyle Turkey releasing a country album (or at least CD)…and, yes it was waaay more country than Sam Hunt.
September 12, 2015 @ 11:12 am
I’ll give this album a chance since I believe that he’s doing this for the love of the music.
And I guess I’ll be “that guy:” he didn’t score over 1,000 goals in the NHL, but he did score over 1,000 points (which is still impressive). Not even Gretzky reached the 1,000 goal milestone.
September 12, 2015 @ 11:15 am
Glad you were “that” guy before me… Thanks for the article. This seems like it is authentic even if it isn’t my cup-of-tea. I am interested to hear more.
September 12, 2015 @ 11:27 am
I agree – this isn’t the best song I’ve every heard. Not bad, but not my favourite. I will give the album a chance, though, given that he’s suggested it will have a more traditional sound.
September 12, 2015 @ 11:36 am
Sorry – this was supposed to be a response to ShadeGrown.
September 12, 2015 @ 11:29 am
I’ll be interested in hearing the entire record. I like this song. It’s not great, but sounds to me like it’s authentic.
September 12, 2015 @ 11:41 am
It sounds like 90s alternative rock, like The Gin Blossoms, with a bit of country. That certainly isn’t a bad thing. This song is infinitely better than anything Rhett, Bryan, Aldean, Hunt, Rice et al have spewed out recently/ ever.
Who would have thought a former NHL spitfire would be chipping in to rescue country music from the ignoramus bro doldrums? Kudos, I say
On a side note, I would LOVE to see Theoren take Sam Hunt out onstage, hip check style. Hunt and Chase Rice are a couple of faux jocks…
September 12, 2015 @ 1:56 pm
Especially since the Gin Blossoms sound (up through the passing of Doug Hopkins) was in equal parts informed by country music and power pop (namely Big Star and Matthew Sweet).
They’ve since leaned much more heavily on the power pop side of their influences and both “Major Lodge Victory” and “No Chocolate Cake” struck me as a bit too polished, but they still write damn good power pop songs even without Hopkins like “Come On Hard”, “Collider”, “Jet Black Sunrise” and “Dead or Alive on the 405”. I’ve long been a Gin Blossoms fan and appreciate their respect of melody being at the forefront of composition.
If Fleury’s overall sound as a whole is anything like the Gin Blossoms when they lean more on the country side of their influences (like with “Cheatin'”, “Pieces of the Night”, “29”, “Until I Fall Away”, “Competition Smile”, etc.) I’ll be more than satisfied.
September 12, 2015 @ 3:34 pm
I was a big fan of the Gin Blossoms, as well as power pop band the Connells. I’d love to hear that kind of sound again, especially with a country bent.
September 12, 2015 @ 7:13 pm
I’m a massive Gin Blossoms fan. “Hold Me Down” is one of my favorite songs of all time.
If you like them you should check out some other bands from that Arizona scene including:
Dead Hot Workshop – These guys were the most popular band in Tempe at the time and the Gin Blossoms were very influenced by them. Many in Arizona were surprised Gin Blossoms hit it big instead of DHW. I’m a really big fan of their albums “1001” and “Karma Covered Apple.”
The Refreshments – Best known as the band that did the “King of the Hill” theme song. They had one moderate hit on alternative radio but were very popular in Arizona in the ’90s. They released two albums, “Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy” and “The Bottle & Fresh Horses.” I play both albums constantly even after all this time.
Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers – Clyne was the lead singer of The Refreshments and started this band afterwards with members of Gin Blossoms. They’re first album, “Honky Tonk Union” is awesome and has a strong country influence.
The Sidewinders/The Sand Rubies – This band was formed by Doug Hopkins’ brother, Rich. He has released some decent solo material as well. They initially were known as The Sidewinders but had to change their name due to legal reasons. They scored two moderate hits at alternative radio from their 1989 album “Witchdoctor.” Another one of my all time favorite songs is “Santa Maria Street” by this band. It gives me chills every time and just gets better with age.
The Persuaders – This band recently formed and features former members of AZ bands DHW, Gin Blossoms and The Pistoleros. They released a pretty cool album last year. Here’s a link to their Reverb Nation page https://www.reverbnation.com/azthepersuaders
The ’80s and ’90s Arizona scene is my favorite music scene. It’s really worth digging into. Tons of great bands with the right mix of in depth lyrics, melody and guitars.
September 12, 2015 @ 8:22 pm
Yeah, I’ve heard and love the first three bands you mentioned. Haven’t heard the Sand Rubies or the Persuaders yet, but I’ll look them up! ^__^
Tempe, Arizona has certainly been an electromagnet for musical talent over these past two decades. It’s a shame the famed studio recently closed (which Robin Wilson anchored a farewell concert in with other local talent) since the neighboring brewery requested an annexation, and gentrification has run amuck in Tempe as of late…………..but Tempe has reminded me of Athens, Georgia in how both smaller cities have spawned an exceptional amount of breakout, quality musicians (Athens, we’ll forgive you for Brantley Gilbert since you also brought us R.E M., Widespread Panic, Danger Mouse and the Indigo Girls! 😉 )
September 13, 2015 @ 10:38 am
Yes, both Tempe and Athens benefit from being home to major universities and being close to very large urban areas.
If I’m ever visiting a college town I like to try to find out who the big bands are in the area. I’ve been fairly impressed with some of the local college town bands I’ve seen in the Midwest and South in the past 5 or so years.
September 13, 2015 @ 8:38 pm
I couldn’t stand the Gin Blossoms. Every time I heard them on the radio in the 90’s Id change the station.
September 12, 2015 @ 7:53 pm
In Rice’s defense he did play legit d1 football at unc hardly a faux jock
September 12, 2015 @ 12:37 pm
I liked what I heard, I’ll defiantly buy this album or digital download if available.
September 12, 2015 @ 1:44 pm
Fleury briefly played for the Colorado Avalanche during part of their first golden era while I was growing up in Arvada, so I came to appreciate his elastic style of play.
This is definitely a curveball on the surface, but I certainly doubt it’s a stretch to see him making a musical foray. In an era where mainstream country music has been mostly depressing, it has been a glorious year outside the mainstream. Hell, aside from Dallas Smith, mainstream Canadian country music is still a lot better than mainstream American country music as of late.
I’ll embrace Fleury’s efforts with an open mind and open ears.
September 12, 2015 @ 2:33 pm
Meh.
September 12, 2015 @ 3:14 pm
“Meh” is still a better reaction to have than “WHY IN THE HELL IS THIS IDIOT TRYING TO RAP?!”
September 12, 2015 @ 3:31 pm
That is very true.
September 12, 2015 @ 3:04 pm
The reason I wrote this article was not to recommend this song or this upcoming album. I’m not necessarily NOT recommending it either. I just thought it was an interesting story, and I’d received numerous emails and such from folks requesting that I talk about it, so I did.
September 12, 2015 @ 3:22 pm
You definitely don’t have to defend the article. For one, this beats the bro faux country. Secondly, it is very interesting indeed.
Junior from ‘Smokey & The Bandit’ was an NFL player, Garth Brooks “played” for the Mets organization, Terry Bradshaw, Kyle Turley (as you mentioned), and pitcher Bronson Arroyo made albums, Dwayne Johnson was a wrestler and college football player, Shaq made albums and movies, Jon Bon Jovi co-owned an arena football team. It’s kind of cool to me that sports and music/ acting can intertwine.
September 12, 2015 @ 4:31 pm
If there is one person in pro sports that I would like to see do a country album, it would be one of the pitchers from the San Francisco Giants, Jake Peavy. I’ve heard him sing and play guitar a little and he’s pretty good at it.
September 12, 2015 @ 3:24 pm
I wouldn’t have known about this otherwise, so thanks.
September 12, 2015 @ 4:03 pm
Blame me if you want. I was one that tweeted the article about Fleury recording an album to Trig. I thought it was interesting. I thought the story was interesting and I didn’t think it was a cash grab. Seemed authentic. As I said in my previous comment, I like it. Not great. But seems authentic. That is all.
September 12, 2015 @ 3:40 pm
I like this sound, kinda heartland country-rock. I’ll definitely check out the album.
September 12, 2015 @ 7:18 pm
Theo has been playing country music off & on a bit longer than 2 years. I do believe it’s authentic & probably better than the average top-40 tripe.
September 12, 2015 @ 8:55 pm
I’m a huge hockey fan and a huge Theo Fleury fan . I admire the man’s talents and passion on the ice , his achievements and his heart . He has brought many an hour of entertainment to my life and I’m grateful. Saying this , I can’t help feeling that trying to launch an entertainment ‘ career ‘ at this stage of his life borders on being either an act of desperation ( if , in fact , you NEED a career ) or a case of simply doing something like pursuing a hobby ‘cuz you are bored ( Jeff Bridges , Kevin Bacon, Juliette Lewis and others ). I hope this is a fun and spiritually rewarding adventure for Theo . I believe he deserves to get at least that from it . And , because the song is better and more listenable than most pop-country radio , I hope he gets some attention . I just don’t honestly believe it can happen on any long term artistic level for Theo and that this will likely be relegated to a novelty moment for Canadian country music fans . And if we believe what were are told about there being no money in country music in the U.S. any more you can only imagine how pointless it is trying to make a buck at it in Canada without American exposure and promotion and a HUGE song .
But again ….more power to you Theo
September 12, 2015 @ 9:03 pm
Canada’s country music is actually quite good, look up Dean Brody, his music is amazing. Also, Jason Blaine has some good songs, so does Derek Ruttan, Paul Brandt. There was a really good girl too, though her name escapes me.
Our country musicians seemed to start selling out a bit, but they are much better then their American counterparts. They actually made a shift back towards a more traditional sound lately.
People forget how much ‘country’ there is in Canada, apart from Southern Ontario and a few cities it is basically ONLY small towns and farms, especially out West, so there is a big legitimate country crowd.
PS I would recommend Blue Rodeo, they are a country rock/Americana/ roots group who are AMAZING I would really recommend checking them out.
September 13, 2015 @ 4:56 am
I agree that Blue Rodeo is fantastic!
September 13, 2015 @ 11:45 am
“Our country musicians seemed to start selling out a bit, but they are much better then their American counterparts.”
Yes …it seems that the bro/hip hop influence has crept into the Canadian Country scene . What is so ironic is that Canadian ‘ country’ radio is basically modeled after American country music going back to the 50’s or further . REAL Canadian country music is more closely represented by the Maritime /Celtic songs, or people like Lightfoot , Corb Lund , Ian Tyson’s cowboy catalogue, arguably folks like Lindi Ortega and indies like Madison Violet and many, many other artists who more accurately reflect the Canadian experience in their work .NOT the Shanias and the Shania wannabes . The Canadian acts did seem to hang on to a more ‘traditional” sound until very recently when, I’m sure , the powers that be leaned on them to adapt to what radio was playing from the U.S. artists . Dallas , Kira Isabella , and others have ‘adapted’ to the realities of mainstream country radio and sound very ‘bro-ish’ suddenly .So the aforementioned artists stand an even smaller chance of getting mainstream exposure even though they play more rootsy traditional songs of substance .
September 13, 2015 @ 12:45 pm
Well, yes there are those two. But apart from them, things actually seem to be getting better and moving AWAY from bro country.
Radios must play a certain amount of Canadian content, so our country stations must give the more traditional sounding artists airtime to comply with the rules.
Blue Rodeo is a legend, and they are not losing traction.
September 15, 2015 @ 10:03 am
The thing is that the budget for a Chase Rice song is somewhere around half a million dollars. With such a small audience because of our small population, Canadian mainstream artists have always had a slightly more traditional sound simply because they couldn’t afford it. But now a rich rock star (Smith) heads down to Nashville & afford all that cheesy production, so it changes the game. Even Gord Bamford has horrid beats in his new single.
We have lots of great country/roots music, but just like in the US it doesn’t get much radio play. I’ve never heard The Sadies or Blackie & the Rodeo Kings on anything but public radio. Corby only gets play for his corny songs, which don’t represent 90% of the songs he writes.
September 13, 2015 @ 8:44 pm
Brandt is so Vanilla. And Brody’s music is pretty corny as well. Corb Lund runs circles around them both. Theres lots of bad mainstream Canadian country too.
September 15, 2015 @ 9:58 am
Most of those groups are just as cheesy as their southern mainstream counterparts. But Blue Rodeo are a great roots band and Corb Lund is one of our best. We have 10% of the population of the US, so less artists too choose from. But there are few great ones. Brody, Brandt & Blaine are definitely NOT ones that we should brag about…
September 12, 2015 @ 10:26 pm
Good song. Solid melody and down-home lyrics, reminiscent of country radio in the 90s and much of the 00s.
September 13, 2015 @ 8:48 pm
Wow, I am quite surprised by this. Not that Im going to buy it but Im rather impressed that an ex hockey puck can put something as Okay as this out while the Bro country Morons continue to dumb country down. I give old Theo 6/10 hockey sticks and a gold medal for making career ” country ” posers look even worse.
September 14, 2015 @ 1:57 pm
From what I’ve heard of Theo’s music (living in the Rockies near Calgary, where he has long been worshipped as a hockey god), it’s ok. Something like Kevin Costner’s band, a little bit of rock edge and raspy vocals. His book about childhood sexual abuse (along with his buddy Sheldon Kennedy) has done way more good than his hockey career ever did, wonderful read.
I’m not sure how a Metis guy can be “American Indian” though. Half French Canadian + Half Aboriginal = Metis. Nothing American about that…
September 15, 2015 @ 10:03 am
Great story, thanks.
If he wants it, he’ll get lots of gigs, and do well with this. Partly because he’s really well liked and admired.
but also cause this is a good tune with a great band; he’s easily a good enough singer to perform live. No doubt he’d be entertaining.
September 15, 2015 @ 10:28 am
Theo’s been playing music for years now, always under the radar. But there’s another Canadian NHL player (although not as famous for his on ice skills) who has a much higher profile. For those who like the more mainstream country sound, check out Chad Brownlee, who was a former Vancouver Canuck turned country artist. He’s not my cup of tea, but some folks seem to be into that sort of sound, so check out his The Fighters album.