The calendar showed that it was time for another Billy Dean album. The gearing up process began, the song publishers got the word to find something for him. Producers were being considered. Studio time was booked. And then Billy Dean made a decision.
"Wait," he said.
"I didn't want to do another album in the traditional form, where you sit in song meetings and listen to songs that every other artist was listening to," Billy recalls. "I realized that my favorite records of my career were the ones I had written not because I'm a better songwriter than anyone out there, but because I had an emotional attachment to those songs. They were my words, and I felt I needed to get that back into my music. To write. That's what was missing. What was essential. What was my passion."
Dean disappeared from public view for a while to rediscover the songwriter in himself. The result: Real Man, a heartfelt, album that reveals the evolution, both musically and personally, of Billy Dean. "My dad told me, 'I don't care what you grow up to be, as long as you grow up to be a real man. One day you'll be old enough to know what that is.' That's been an issue I've dealt with for years," says Dean. He addresses it directly in the title song of the album, which anchors the whole album. Coproduced by the singer with former Bread frontman David Gates, Real Man's songs all came from Dean himself. He explored the hows and whys of his deepest feelings, his spirituality, his relationships.
"The song 'Real Man' is in some regard a salute to the women in my life, who have made a profound impact on me," says Dean. "But it addresses so many other issues fatherson relationships, sons and mothers, husbands and wives. It's also a response to all the malebashing that goes on now. I really wanted to point out the good qualities that most men have." Other songs tackle smaller, but still significant relationships. "Big Sister," cowritten with Bruce Burch, is a little brother's tribute to his sibling, despite her tendency to annoy him sometimes. The devastating "I'm Not Needed Here Now," cowritten with David Gates, accepts with regret the crumbling of a family. Gates also cowrote "Innocent Bystander" a playful celebration of unexpected love and "If I Can Find The Heart (To Love Again)," about taking the first step toward recovering from a shattered romance. Australian singer Gina Jefferys duets with Dean on the song.
Dean paired up with his "Somewhere In My Broken Heart" cowriter Richard Leigh on the spiritually uplifting "Voices Singing," a paean to the power of song. Its message came to life during the recording process when a onetime mentor of Dean's dropped by. "My high school music teacher, Robert Clark, gave me my first Bread album. I became a fan of David Gates's writing, his voice and the melodic structure of his songs. So it was a real treat when Mr. Clark came over with his class to hear us record "Voices Singing," and the three of us had the opportunity to collaborate on the song." Vocal contributions from Dean's young son Eli, as well as the St. Nicholas School Children's Choir of Chattanooga, added to the joyful atmosphere in the studio that day.
"My music teacher exposed me to the folk and pop/rock artists who influence my music. My father, a great singer and guitar player, introduced me to the real traditional country music, by Jim Reeves and Marty Robbins," says Dean. "This is the first time that both those influences have come together on one of my albums."
Dean, who grew up in Florida, started playing guitar with his father's band, The Country Rocks, when he was only eight years old. He continued playing and singing through his teens and built up his own following, separate from his father's band. At 19, Dean came to Nashville. Soon he found work as a jingle singer and backup vocalist. More importantly, he made his mark as a writer. The Oak Ridge Boys, Les Taylor and Shelley West all cut Billy Dean songs. Randy Travis recorded "Somewhere In My Broken Heart," a song Dean cowrote with Richard Leigh, at the same time that Dean got a record deal. His first single, "Only Here For a Little While" shot up to #2 on the country singles chart. Since Travis had never released his cut of "Somewhere In My Broken Heart," Dean made it his second single. It reached #1.
"Somewhere In My Broken Heart" won Song of the Year honors at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 1992. That same year, Dean won the ACM's Top New Male Vocalist award and received a Grammy nomination in the Best Male Country Performance category.
That was also the song that brought Dean and David Gates together for the first time, in 1992. Impressed with the song, Gates called Dean to cowrite with him. They came up with three songs for Gates's solo album. A friendship formed instantly and the two stayed in touch. Dean continued to rack up country hits, including "Billy the Kid," "We Just Disagree" and "It's What I Do," though he put songwriting on the back burner while he concentrated on touring and all that goes with it.
When Dean turned his attention toward writing again for this album, he naturally turned to Gates as a cowriter. They wrote four songs together. "David is brutally honest and I respect his opinion," says Dean. "After talking for a while, I asked him to coproduce the album with me."
In the studio, Gates emphasized the emotional aspects of Dean's work. "Where I would want to make my vocals perfect, so that I would sound like an awesome singer, David would choose the more emotional performance," says Dean. They weren't necessarily perfect, but they made you listen to the story. He constantly reminded me, 'Don't try to sing. Just tell the story."' Gates further brought out the emotions of certain songs by writing and arranging the strings, a task he performed as a member of Bread.
With Real Man Billy Dean has found his way. "I approached this album as if it were the last album I would ever make. I wanted to deliver the best that I can do, and I feel I did that here. No matter what happens with it commercially, I know I can live with this album. I'm proud of this album."
Previous Bio Information Follows
Everyone has had that feeling, that moment of recognition, when a song starts playing and the words coming from the singer echo their exact thoughts and experience. It's the response Billy Dean felt when he heard "It's What I Do," the title song of his latest album.
The song, written by Tom Shapiro and Chuck Jones, tells the tale of a career-obsessed man who measured his worth by his business success alone--until he finds a reason to put his work into perspective. "That song captures everything I've felt and thought in the past year," Billy says. "I'm very competitive and I spent the last few years focused on my career. But I came to a point last year when I wasn't having fun anymore. I didn't have balance in my life anymore. I had been working so hard that my vocal cords were in bad shape and I knew I needed to give my voice a long-term rest. My wife and I were about to have our second child. It seemed like the right time to step back, have fun with my family and get control of my life."
Downshifting his career gave Dean a chance to reflect. Though he stepped back from full-force performing and career building, he didn't completely abandon music. In fact, the rest allowed him to enjoy making music once more. He spent some of his time writing songs and eventually ventured out to ply his craft. "I started doing acoustic sets around town once in a while and discovered my voice coming back. Before, I always put pressure on myself in performing situations, but I stopped doing that. With the pressure off, I was able to get excited about singing again." Billy says. The time was right to get back into a recording studio.
On It's What I Do, Billy is reunited with Tom Shapiro, the producer of his first three albums (Fire In The Dark, Young Man and Billy Dean), which have all gone gold. Three #1 hits, "Somewhere In My Broken Heart," Billy The Kid" and "If There Hadn't Been You" emerged from those records. "Tom and I have known each other for more than ten years. We understand each other both personally and professionally," Billy says. "When we were making this record, we were at the same point in our lives. The songs that we chose for the album were the ones that hit home for both of us." And yes, it is that same Tom Shapiro who co-penned the title song that spoke so emphatically to Dean.
Dean, who grew up in Florida, started playing guitar with his father's band, The Country Rocks, when he was only eight years old. "We did a lot of Charley Pride, Hank Williams, Elvis, Chuck Berry and Bob Seger," Dean says. "I knew all the old rock and roll performers because of my dad's influence, and country singers like Jim Reeves were popular when I was growing up. Dean says, "I was exposed to some great singers, and my dad always encouraged me to work on my voice. When he passed my room and saw me practicing my guitar he would always say, 'Son, good guitar players are a dime a dozen. Not many good singers out there.'"
Dean followed his dad's advice and worked on his singing, as well as his songwriting. Soon he had a following in Florida, separate from his father's band. At 19 he made his first appearance in Nashville. A few years later Dean moved to Nashville
This year, he's touring with Reba McEntire. Billy approaches this next phase in his career with confidence and certainty. "I know now what my priorities are," he says. "My family matters above all else, but I know that my music is a part of me just like my family is. I'm really enjoying myself now. I love what I'm doing."
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