Friday, August 29, 2008

Darryl Worley Is a Happy Guy

Darryl Worley has many reasons to be happy. He has written a string of hit songs, including the patriotic anthem, "Have You Forgotten." He married his second wife a year ago, and they had their first child in March. And all of that happiness has come together in a new record. He told the Nashville media this week,"This could be the most different sounding record I've ever made, because I'm happy."

Some of us first heard about this in June when Darryl appeared at CMA Fest. He told the media that he had just signed a new recording deal with his longtime producer, James Stroud. In July, Stroud announced the formation of his own record label, Stroudavarious Records, with Worley as his first act. They released a new single from Darryl called "Tequila On Ice."

Stroud spoke at a Nashville luncheon, and recalled the first time he heard Darryl play: His publisher asked me if I'd ever heard of Savannah. I said in Georgia? He said, no, Tennessee. I hadn't. At the time, I owned a small private plane, so we flew down there. There wasn't an airport, but a landing strip. We land and I was looking to rent a car. I asked the lady at the landing strip where I could rent a car. She laughed and said they didn't have anything like that there. I told here I was there to see Darryl Worley. She knew all about him, and that he was playing at the VFW Hall. She tossed me the keys to her car, and said "Have a nice day." So we drove to the VFW Hall in Savannah Tennessee, saw Darryl, I knew I liked him the minute I saw him, and we signed the deal right there that night.

Darryl still lives in Savannah, although he lives in a nicer home. He started a local fundraiser, called the Tennessee River Run, to benefit an area hospital. He's raised millions of dollars and they named a wing of the hospital for him. Darryl's benefit takes place next week. Listen for his new single, "Tequila On Ice," from his new CD, which is expected to be released in February.