Pam Tillis Shares Details of 1st Solo Album in 12 Years

Pam Tillis will be back in a solo capacity for the first time in a dozen years when she releases her eleventh studio record Looking for a Feeling on April 24th. Influenced not just by her country roots that run deep from her performing father and songwriter Mel Tillis, Pam is also looking to bring her classic rock and soul influences to the table after moving to East Nashville in 2016 to reignite her creative juices.
Cut mostly to analog tape and produced by Jimmy Ritchey at Nashville’s “Welcome to 1979” studio, the idea is to instill a retro vibe into this new record. Helping Pam along the way are noted musicians Jim Moose Brown on keys, steel guitar legend Dan Dugmore, and Glenn Whorf. Songwriting contributors include Waylon Payne, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, Tia Sillers, Mark Selby, Bob Regan, and Matraca Berg.
Though you can expect some rock and soul vibes on the record, there will be plenty of country too, including the twin fiddle song “Dark Turn of Mind,” and a song inspired by Dolly Parton. “I met Dolly as a little girl, and you could see that drive,” says Tillis. “The legends I grew up around taught me that it takes nothing less than a fire to make it in this business. Even if that fire causes a little collateral damage along the way, you know nothing’s going to stop that burning to create music.”

Pam Tillis fans haven’t been completely lost for music over the last dozen years. She’s released a few live records in that time, as well as a couple of collaborative albums with Lorrie Morgan, including Come See Me and Come Lonely in 2017, and Dos Divas in 2013, which include some Pam Tillis solo efforts as well. But you have to go all the way back to RhineStoned from 2007 to find Pam’s last proper solo album.
“Stylistically, there’s so much here that’s always been a part of me,” she says of the 12 tracks. “It’s a story I haven’t told on any of my records so far. I wanted work that’s as close to true and unselfconscious as possible, to provide access to my heart.”
Pam Tillis made her Grand Ole Opry debut with her father Mel when she was just eight-years-old. She later would put a career together all her own, winning three CMA Awards, including the 1994 CMA Female Vocalist of the Year. Now that 90’s country is enjoying a resurgence if interest, Pam Tillis songs such as “Maybe It Was Memphis,” “Spilled Perfume,” “Shake the Sugar Tree,” and “Cleopatra, Queen of Denial” are making it back in the rotation of many country fans, bringing the contributions of Pam Tillis back to mind. What better time to bring a new record to the public.
Hear the title track below.
March 4, 2020 @ 10:43 am
this is a bit off-topic ( however I love pam tillis’s voice and look forward to hearing this ) but perhaps you , Trigger , or others in this or a totally different thread could discuss this:
so many people are recording and releasing music these days from new artists to ‘veterans’ and yet all we ever hear or read about is the state of the business in terms of generating a revenue ……making a living . and there also seems to be so many ‘songwriters’ around who are attempting to make a living at writing . everything we read suggests that the business is nowhere close to what it once was . i feel as though many of these are simply vanity projects that mutate into something more ….calling cards , if you will .?…advertisements ? ..a way to get people out to a show ? … and yet even many of the shows are very very small venues .
with , arguably , more people than ever involved or wanting to be involved in a business where physical sales of product is reportedly the worst its ever been and , as we all know , streaming royalties are laughable numbers …what’s up ? specifically , why would an artist like pam tillis ..or ANY artist release product, in these supposedly dismal times , economically speaking, for music , knowing the competition has increased exponentially since ‘the old days ‘ and airplay for older artists is virtually non-existent ? is this just a case of gambling on success ?…..ego ..? or is there money to be made in ways i’m just not familiar with ?? i’m feeling naive/ignorant/bewildered and , somehow , out of touch with the logic , if any exists .
March 4, 2020 @ 12:07 pm
Honestly in today’s world, the bulk of any revenue is made from touring (however small) and also endorsements. So I guess it doesn’t hurt if one is going out on the road to have new music to perform as well as previous hits. New contracts now take into consideration the fact that there isn’t that much revenue to be made from music sales so they now incorporate some percentage from touring.
With regards to songwriters, they make more money eventually especially in today’s world (where there is little originality among the so called A-listers) through sampling.
March 4, 2020 @ 12:43 pm
I think your hunch about new music is kind of a PR move is spot on. New music is attractive to a fan base. Keep in mind Pam probably has an intact fan base that will buy the album. Look at what Tanya Tucker is doing, she’s got merch packages for 200 bucks that include a color vinyl Lp autographed and bundled with pictures, shirts, CDs and other goodies. Probably generating some income. Stapleton has merch packages, it seems to be the current strategy, give fans something tangible that they might enjoy rather than simply streaming.
Then of course you got the artists that give cds away as part of a concert bundle. I was just at an album release party for Billy Don Burns in Nashville and everybody got the new album on CD for free. Stray Cats gave away the new one at their reunion tour recently, as did Bob Seger.
Pam Tillis is great. She has a decent catalog to draw from when playing live. Good for her.
March 4, 2020 @ 3:36 pm
When people bought physical records, they got the money up front. With the streaming model, the money trickles in slowly over time, unless you have a super hit. The same money is being made, actually more now in the streaming era. That’s why major labels are making record profits, and labels are signing more artists than ever before. But that money gets splayed out longer as opposed to coming in as one lump sum. This also affects songwriters more because they’re only making fractions to begin with. But a lot of people complaining about how you can’t make money in the streaming era would not be making money anyway. If you have a decent audience, you’re making money. You’re probably making more money than you did before. It just may take longer to accrue, and this has been verified in many studies and reports.
March 6, 2020 @ 11:36 am
Curious though who gets the biggest cut of that trickle. The song publishers, the songwriters, the artist, or the label or the streaming service. I’m not saying they all don’t make more I just feel like who ever puts in the most hours on a recording should get the biggest cut and it always seems that is NOT the artist and why exactly do we still need record labels if you can cut a record yourself and put up on streaming yourself?
The business side of the business always confused me.
March 4, 2020 @ 11:25 am
Is that Pam, with an Oreo?
Love Oreo’s & red wine.
Last bag of Oreo’s i had, tore up with my cousin Kim, as we were flying across Alligator Alley, West to East, in the wee hours of the morn, so we could make her flight, out of Miami, Jan. ’19.
We were telling stories, & laughing so hard, thought we would choke to death on those things.
Ah, good times …
Hope Pam has great success with this new album
March 4, 2020 @ 12:15 pm
Love her. Love the song.
March 4, 2020 @ 12:28 pm
She’s a favorite from times past.
March 4, 2020 @ 3:24 pm
Can’t wait for the album.
“Looking For A Feeling” was not the single i expected…but it’s a good song.
March 4, 2020 @ 3:58 pm
I hope this album does for Pam what Tanya Tucker experienced last year. I have always thought Pam had one of the best COUNTRY voices and was under-appreciated in Nashville.
March 4, 2020 @ 4:55 pm
this song doesn’t really do it for me . sorta the way lee ann womack’s last record didn’t really do it for me . i found it a bit generic and tedious overall but with a few absolute gems song-wise . love both of these singers but i want to hear them on material that better showcases their respective vocal talents .
March 5, 2020 @ 9:25 am
Reminds me of LeeAnn Womack’s last album. It eventually grew on me. I just was wanting some vintage Pam, tho.
March 5, 2020 @ 10:53 am
Not bad.
March 8, 2020 @ 8:22 pm
Pam Tillis would be in my list of favorite women country artists from that ’90s era. My others would be Patty Loveless, MCC, Wynonna, Carlene Carter, Bobbie Cryner and Rosie Flores. Glad Pam has something new out.