Vintage Album Review – Doug Supernaw’s “Red & Rio Grande”

Before 1993, if you mentioned the name “Doug Supernaw,” most folks would probably assume your were citing some sort of motorcycle daredevil in a flame retardant suit with racing stripes down the sleeves, not a straight-collared country music star in the making.
In truth, at that time Doug Supernaw had already been playing in bands for some 14 years, and had spent five years in Nashville trying to make it as a professional songwriter. But it wasn’t until he returned to his native Texas and started a band called Texas Steel that an A&R representative from RCA sniffed him out, and saw a future country star in the making.
More than anything else, it’s the songs on Doug Supernaw’s debut album Red and Rio Grande that makes it to hold up so well now 27 years later. Though Doug only wrote or co-wrote four of the songs, he sure knew how to pick ’em, and some of them went on to be the pick of the litter for early 90’s country compilations and retrospectives.
“Honky Tonkin’ Fool” about an old barstool cowboy whose last request was to have a jukebox replace his headstone failed to impress radio much, and the song flopped out at #50. From there, the fate of Supernaw and the album could have been sealed. But after selecting the spirited “Reno” as the second single, Doug Supernaw was racing up the charts. Equating a certain hard-to-land woman to the impossible odds one finds in the casinos of Sin City’s little cousin, this Supernaw co-write set his career in motion, and soon he was one of the most promising up-and-comers in the genre.

This led to “I Don’t Call Him Daddy,” which for many fans is Supernaw’s signature song. Divorce is such a common theme in country, but it had never been told from this particular perspective of a little boy assuring his dad that no matter who was sharing his mother’s bed, his real dad would still be #1.
Promising to not leave a dry eye in the house for anyone who’s been a party to a divorce in any capacity, “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” took a trope of country music and made it emotionally potent again. Written by Reed Neilsen, the song’s chorus and plot twist is a little reminiscent of Kenny Rogers and “Coward of the County.” That’s not surprising since The Gambler recorded the song in 1987 too, but failed to garner much interest with it. For Supernaw it became his first and only #1 hit.
Red and Rio Grande is a traditional country record with plenty of steel guitar and fiddle, which you couldn’t take as a given in 1993 as arena country was very much entering the fray and injecting a lot of rock influences in the genre. Supernaw offered a bit more twang compared to some of his contemporaries. It’s also a Texas record, with the title track hearkening to the two rivers that define the northern and southern border of his native state, and Supernaw’s style reminding you more of Mark Chesnutt and George Strait as opposed to Garth Brooks or Travis Tritt.
“The Perfect Picture (To Fit My Mind),” “Five Generations of Rock County Wilsons,” and “I Would Have Loved You All Night Long” are all great country songs for any era. And like Supernaw was apt to do, he would pay respects to many of the old artists and songs of country past in the lyrics, and signal his role as a traditionalist, like he did in “You’re Gonna Bring Back Cheatin’ Songs.”
“Daddy’s Girl” may be the album’s only soft spot. A fine profile of an archetype perhaps, but it fails to provide any compelling reason to be included on an otherwise heartbreaking country album. But it’s chased by “Carousel,” which is the only song written solely by Supernaw on the album. It speaks to the “holding on for dear life” aspect that would define his career as time went on.
Not knowing whether to be scared
Of all the ups and downs
By the face you could never tell
That inside I’m hurtin’
I’m always on the move
But never gainin’ ground
Not destined for country music superstardom, despite the success of Red and Rio Grande which ended up going Gold, the struggles Supernaw sings about in “Carousel” would result in eventually losing a record deal, and a lost decade-plus of his life as he struggled with personal issues.
When Doug Supernaw passed away on November 13th, it wasn’t some massive hole he left behind in country music that made us hurt. His career was fleeting, and fraught with trouble. But the songs of Red and Rio Grande, and others from his brief catalog hit you in ways no other country song could, and may never again.
1 3/4 Guns Up
November 19, 2020 @ 9:10 am
Great review of a great album, Trigger. It’s a real solid slice of neo-traditional country that compares favorably with the best of what was coming out then. I think I have mentioned this before, but this album is one of a handful that I have purchased in several different formats over the years — cassette, cd, and mp3. “Reno” was the reason for that. I still like it a lot, and the rest of that album (with the exception of “Daddy’s Girl”) has held up very well for me over the years. His versions of “Five Generations of Rock County Wilsons” and “I Would Have Loved You All Night Long” were great too. (I think Dan Seals and Keith Whitley did the originals but am not sure.)
The ending of the video to “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” got me good.
November 19, 2020 @ 9:35 am
Through the decades, there’s been lots of C(c)ountry singers that I loved, and held in the same or higher regard as the superstars of the era they operated in. Doug was one of those guys, and this album has never left my rotation (plastic sheeted cd case>mp3 player>IPhone) to this day, since it was released.
I’m never able to understand why folks like Doug never really took off (good voice, good songs, handsome).
There was a book that came out about a dozen or so years ago called, “Roadkill On The 3 Chord Highway”. It was about singers like Doug, who despite having what it takes, never really hit the big time. Doug wasn’t specifically mentioned in the book, but he could’ve been.
I’m rambling, but what I’m trying to say, is that Doug was great, this album is a top-100 all time in my opinion, and it’s a shame that the only reason we’re talking about him, is that he died young, in obscurity.
November 19, 2020 @ 9:56 am
Hmmm, I might have to check out that book.
November 19, 2020 @ 10:52 am
The book is well- intended, and it’s well-written; I believe Colin Escott is the author. But the book falls short in couple of ways.
It includes singers that were definitely not underrated, for example I think there’s a chapter on Jim Reeves, who’s in the CMHOF, though he may have been included because of his short life, and what might have been.
Also, what makes the book so sad, aside from it’s obviously sad premise, are all the singers that the book does not include. The thought of so many great C(c)ountry performers, that were too obscure or underappreciated to be included in a book about great C(c)ountry performers that were obscure or underappreciated just seemed sad to me.
November 20, 2020 @ 6:35 am
Yeah that is kind of sad.
November 19, 2020 @ 10:24 am
As has been pointed out, Supernaw had several hits and impact records. That’s taking off, as far as I’m concerned. That he didn’t do even better is partly due to the fact that there were a glut of neo-traditional “hat acts” at the time: Clint, Alan, Travis, Mark, Joe, Sammy, Clay, Tim, Kenny, Toby, Aaron, a resurgent John, Wade, Marty, 2 Tracy’s and one Trace, Daryle, et al. Most of them were slightly better or more distinctive singers than Supernaw and/or they were on bigger labels with better promotional backing. There were some other similarly good baritone neo-trad singers who didn’t do nearly as well as Supernaw or failed, entirely, in terms of commercial success. Wesley Dennis comes to mind. There’s only so much room on radio playlists. Then, of course, there was Doug’s mental breakdown, though we have no way to know whether it was completely sudden or affected him well before it exploded.
November 19, 2020 @ 10:51 am
You’ve been bringing some good insight into Doug Supernaw’s place in country with your comments, Luckyoldsun.
November 23, 2020 @ 11:50 pm
Thanks T–I just noticed the shout-out.
November 19, 2020 @ 11:05 am
We’ve talked about this elsewhere, but I sure wish Wesley Dennis had had success. “Don’t Make Me Feel At Home” was a damn fine song.
November 19, 2020 @ 10:40 am
Dan Seals (earlier) and John Anderson (later) both also recorded Five Generations of Rock County Wilsons.
November 19, 2020 @ 10:47 am
I was just listening to this album this morning. I forgot how fantastic this was. I’d love to see a review for his second album
November 19, 2020 @ 11:29 am
Nice, I’m glad you’re reviewing classic albums along with new stuff.
I think it would be cool if you took your annual nominations and awards back in time and did a kind of “alternate CMA’s”. This film buff did that for the Oscars and published a book on it:
http://filmfanatic.org/reviews/wp-static/AlternateOscars.html
November 19, 2020 @ 12:38 pm
This was meant to be a standalone comment!
November 20, 2020 @ 6:10 pm
I may actually like “Deep Thoughts from a Shallow Mind” more than “Red and Rio Grande”. And State Fair is such a great song.
November 19, 2020 @ 12:41 pm
When “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” was popular, down here, on the radio, it was my youngest son’s favorite song on the radio- he was between 4 and 10, don’t remember exactly- but, it still effects me the same way- he’s the one who sent me a text message; And now fucking Doug Supernaw- 2020 sucks!
November 19, 2020 @ 1:47 pm
My favourite song of his was Honky Tonkin Fool. Pure country
November 19, 2020 @ 2:36 pm
I always liked the title track ‘Red and Rio Grande’ it was the third single and only peaked at #23 (maybe too Texas centric for a national artist) but just always struck me. When I saw he died that was the first song I listened to on YouTube.
November 20, 2020 @ 4:44 pm
That’s one of my all time favorites of his, too. You make a good point about it probably being too Texas centric to gain as much national airplay, but I also always thought that by the time it was released as a single (early 1994), that’s when rock influenced, line dance ready ditties were really becoming more popular, and not as many traditional flavored songs were having success like the years before.
November 19, 2020 @ 2:46 pm
I know you got enough on your plate reviewing new music but I’ve always enjoyed your classic album reviews. Listening to something from the past with fresh ears can really lead you to appreciate the music from another era.
November 19, 2020 @ 3:40 pm
After he had died, I revisited all 4 of his regular Album releases, and TBH, they are all very strong. The only horrible mis-step was BNA having him remake “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.” It’s a shame the media killed his momentum when they had to jump on “What’ll You Do About Me,” and label it a ‘stalker’ song….hey wait Randy Travis recorded it on his Always and Forever Album which sold a ba-gillion copies and no one complained about it then. Get busy and search out these cd’s on ebay or discogs….especially “Fadin’ Renegade” which is excellent.
November 19, 2020 @ 5:02 pm
Yeah Cory, it’s ridiculous that Doug got bad press for “What’ll You Do…” but Randy didn’t years earlier. I’m not defending the content of the song, I absolutely think it’s weird. But the difference is that for Randy it was a deep cut on a blockbuster album with legendary hit singles, while for Doug they tried to push it as his next big hit. “Underrated” is a word that gets thrown around all the freaking time nowadays but Doug 100% deserved better during his run.
November 20, 2020 @ 4:17 pm
His cover of “What’ll You Do About Me” was the version that hit the biggest, and even in his most recent shows, he would often open up with that tune, in spite of what it did for his upward trajectory back when. But then again, when that hit radio was about the time of the whole OJ Simpson ordeal. Doug deserved 100% better, indeed, but he didn’t care for a lot of the hoops the music business required of its stars. That guy was as real as the day is long, and was one of the nicest guys period, not just in the music business.
He re-recorded all of his hits a few years ago, as well as a couple of new songs, which Trigger reported on here, for a “Greatest Hits” album. That album is worth your while. His voice was still incredible but took on a little deeper/rougher timbre with age, and in my opinion, sells some of those songs even better than in their original versions.
November 20, 2020 @ 9:22 pm
And 20 years later, Tyler Farr had a No. 2 hit with “Redneck Crazy,” and it seems no one blinked an eye.
November 19, 2020 @ 7:46 pm
Great album!! I finally founded me a signed copy of it a few years back. His final album of all new tunes, Fadin Renegade is stellar too. The song Me and The Drummer on it is a personal favorite of mine, and probably in the top 5 in all songs for me. Doug has always been one of my favorites.
November 20, 2020 @ 4:40 am
Thanks Trigger. I enjoy your vintage reviews immensely. So many great, old artists/albums that i’ve never heard.
November 20, 2020 @ 4:37 pm
Great review of a great album! I love all of the singles, especially the title track, which definitely should’ve been a bigger hit. My favorite non singles are “Five Generations Of Rock County Wilsons” and “I Would’ve Loved You All Night Long.” His version of “Five Generations….” is actually my favorite of all who’s recorded it. As I mentioned before, it’s hard to believe these days that there was actually a time when an album this country sounding was considered mainstream country.
Btw, I also definitely wouldn’t mind seeing more vintage album reviews like this, but I know you’re surely busy enough covering the recent releases.
November 20, 2020 @ 6:15 pm
Made my Day seein’ this. I’ve carried that cassette tape around with me in every ride I’ve had since the Summer of 1900 & 93. By far, my favorite album review you’ve done yet. It’s already been mentioned but, do em’ all. There’s 3 more plus a few singles. It’d mighty kewl if ya did.
November 21, 2020 @ 8:14 am
The songs that didn’t do great on the charts in the 80’s & 90’s are still better than the stuff on today’s charts. I always seemed to gravitate to the songs that didn’t go very high or even chart. Doug is pure Country and a great entertainer.
November 21, 2020 @ 2:31 pm
I had the pleasure an opportunity to hang out and be friends with Doug for a few yrs. And, the man had songs that he wrote and played for me that noone else has ever heard. They were excellent. But, it had to be on his terms when and if he’d play them for someone. We even wrote a few songs together. I don’t know if it was the past experience he encountered in the life of a country music entertainer or just his hard headed ornery way. He had a few bad habits and skeleton’s in his closet of life. Some inherited, some acquired through the lifestyle he lived. I think he could have been bigger if he would have been promoted more and if he could stay focused on his career. He was bi-polar for one thing. Be the nicest guy one minute but throw in a couple of shots of liquor and he turned into the biggest ass you’ve ever seen. I’m not trying to bash Douglas (that’s what I called him). We all have our faults. His compromising attributes were often compromised. It was his way or no way. It’s hard to say what exactly causes human behavior to bounce from one end of the spectrum to the other. I know he was a great country singer and a fun friend that I consider myself blessed to have come into my life. He was one of those people that come into your life that added some great memories that make great stories to tell through the years. He will definitely be missed.
November 22, 2020 @ 7:15 pm
I was a kid when “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” was released and loved that song. Now I have a little boy about the age of the one in the video. I couldn’t make it through the video.