Hoeing orange trees under the Florida sun was hardly John Anderson’s dream. Seeking something more, he took a job as a plumber’s helper. The steady work and pay were acceptable, but the vibrant pulse of music resonated deeply within the 17-year-old Anderson. However, the honky-tonks of Central Florida had a strict age limit – 21 to play, sing, or even drink. Restless and yearning for a different life, Anderson departed from his home, a place he viewed as a personal paradise until Disney transformed the landscape with Cinderella’s Castle, altering it from his vision of a father-son hunting ground. He set his sights 700 miles northwest, toward Nashville, the heart of country music.
Nashville in the summer of 1972 was a haven for songwriting icons, legends who walked the streets and frequented the local pinball arcades. John Anderson was determined to join their ranks, even if it meant scraping by on wages that barely covered necessities, let alone luxuries like fishing bait or shotgun shells. He found work as a construction laborer, contributing to the construction of a novel building project: the Grand Ole Opry House.
Shortly after starting, Anderson received a literal and figurative raise. He was elevated to roofing work, where the Nashville wind whipped around him, and he gazed down into a vast, deep pit bristling with rebars. This void, he learned, was destined to become a stage – the very stage where he envisioned himself performing.
And perform he did. The journey was arduous, but John Anderson reached the Opry stage and soared beyond. He carved his path with a voice that possessed a traditional timbre, so reminiscent of Lefty Frizzell that it prompted Emmylou Harris to wonder about a possible kinship, yet undeniably, distinctively John Anderson. His original songwriting earned him a place in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and his music produced a string of radio hits, including chart-toppers like “Swingin’,” “Straight Tequila Night,” “Wild and Blue,” “Black Sheep,” and “Money in the Bank.”
Before the rise of Ricky Skaggs, George Strait, and Randy Travis, John Anderson stood as Nashville’s youthful and dynamic traditionalist. He was committed to upholding the legacies of country music titans like Haggard, Jones, and Cash, unwavering in his artistic vision. And when it came to his music, John Anderson possessed an unshakeable conviction in his direction.
“Back then, it felt like there was a scarcity of authentic country music, at least in my perception,” Harris reflected. “Then John Anderson emerged. He was forging his own path, a singular force in the scene.”
Anderson’s signing with Warner Bros. in 1976 marked a pivotal moment. He dedicated himself to creating music that would capture the attention of his heroes. Merle Haggard took notice early on, inviting the young artist onto his tour bus for a profound conversation.
“He told me his guitar player, Roy Nichols, had brought him a 45 of ‘Your Lying Blue Eyes’,” Anderson recalls. “He said, ‘I’ve loved you ever since.’ Then he looked me straight in the eye and asked, ‘Do you love this, son?’ ‘Yessir, I really do.’ ‘No, do you really, really love it?’ I said, ‘Yessir. Hell, I’m talking to Merle Haggard, and I’m completely starstruck, but yes, I truly love it.’ That moment sparked a 40-year friendship between Merle and me.”
Around the release of “Your Lying Blue Eyes,” John Anderson was honing his craft playing with various house bands throughout the South. The song became his first Top 20 hit, and soon, simply seeing “John Anderson” advertised on a club sign was enough to pack the parking lot with Trans Ams and pickup trucks. A cascade of hits followed, with tracks like “1959,” “Chicken Truck,” “I Just Came Home To Count the Memories,” and “Would You Catch a Falling Star” building momentum toward his breakthrough single, “Wild and Blue,” penned by John Scott Sherrill. This song lent its name to an album that also featured Anderson’s first million-selling single, “Swingin’,” co-written with his longtime friend and running companion, Lionel Delmore.
