lacyj

Lacy J Dalton, born Jill Byrem, has one of the most distinct voices in Country Music and came to the notice of Country Music fans in 1979 with "Crazy Blue Eyes" which she co-wrote with Mary McFadden. Voted the ACM's Best New Female in 1979, Lacy J went on to have numerous hits throughout the 80's including "Tennessee Waltz" - "Losing Kind Of Love" - "Hard Times" - "Hillbilly Girl With The Blues" - "Whisper" - "Takin' It Easy" - "Everybody Makes Mistakes" - "Slow Down" - "16th Avenue" - "Dream Baby" and "Black Coffee". A talented singer/writer, Lacy J never really attained the commercial success which she deserved but is still in demand and regularly tours. For more information about Lacy J visit her website

CMF:-You must have one of the most distinctive voices, which has been described as husky, gravely, bluesy, gritty, smoky etc. How would you describe your voice and as does it sound today the same as in the 80's?
LACY J:-Thanks to modern hormone therapy, my voice sounds pretty much like it always has. It may, in fact, be somewhat stronger.

CMF:-Growing up in a small farming community in Pennsylvania, were your musical influences just those of your family, who were all musicians?
LACY J:-My family listened to and played country music. I grew up on Patsy Cline, Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, Patti Page and Brenda Lee. My mother also loved Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Vaughn Monroe, Nat King Cole and The Inkspots.

CMF:-Although a Country writer and performer you have sang a wide variety of genres - blues, jazz and even psychedelic rock but wasn't your first love the music of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez?
LACY J:-My tastes when I started buying music were a bit different. I loved Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Fred Neil, etc. I still love folk music of all kinds and also rockers like Tom Petty, Don Henley, Rod Stewart, Annie Lennox and many others.

CMF:-Times are not also easy and even when you attended University, you had to work to pay your way in a variety of jobs including cleaning toilets early in the mornings. Was it the strain of working and studying that led you to 'drop out' or, was it the love of music?
LACY J:-Actually, my janitorial job at college occurred from 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. Normally, I'd be up until midnight studying. I did not have a car, so many times I had to walk through hip-deep snow drifts to get to the Theater Arts department - All the way across the huge campus. As a result, I was very tired and could not stay awake for my classes which began at 8:00 a.m. Music was fun and seemed easier at the time and really was more a way to communicate and release feelings than a real career choice. In a way, it chose me. I just loved to sing.

CMF:-After spending time travelling you settled in L.A. playing clubs and it was during this period you fronted the 'Office' - a psychedelic rock band. Had you, at that time, considered singing country at all?
LACY J:-There was never a time when I didn't sing country. We even did some in my psychedelic rock band "Office".

CMF:-You are obviously a loyal person as when you were offered a record deal you turned it down as it was just for you and not the band. Was that a difficult decision to make?
LACY J:-Actually, turning down record deals in my early life because they were offered just to me (and not my band) was easy because I really felt I did not have a solid identity as a musician without my band. We wrote together, lived together - created the whole thing together, I was just a part of it. I didn't know what I'd do with strangers or, even if making music would be meaningful with people I did not know and care about.

CMF:-You start to get your life back together, following a personal tragedy, and record a 6 track demo tape. One of the copies you sent to a friend and this eventually resulted in your record contract with CBS. You must have not believed that at last your musical talents were being recognised.
LACY J:-I was very grateful for the recognition, but was somewhat jaded to the political nature of the music business - somewhat suspicious and untrusting, actually.

CMF:-A meeting with top producer Billy Sherrill, a name change and your first album "Lacy J Dalton" was released to critical acclaim. In fact on the sleeve notes, Billy Sherrill said "Record producers probably hear more aspiring singers in a week than most people hear in a lifetime. But we rarely hear a voice so unique it rises above the rest. Lacy J Dalton possesses that exciting quality that makes her special. That's what stars are made of." Can you remember what your feelings were at the time?
LACY J:-I loved Billy Sherrill. He and his partner Al Gallico believed in me completely. All I ever felt from them was support. Billy overlooked my many and deep insecurities (I was considered to be very old to be getting my first deal - I was 32). He helped me chose some really superb songs and went out on a limb for me for such songs as "Everybody Makes Mistakes," which was very unusual for a Nashville artist to record at that time. He found "16th Avenue" for me. I'll never forget him saying to me, "They're going to tell you a lot of things here, but don't you ever let them tell you that you can't write. That's why I signed you. Your voice is great, but I signed you for your writing - Remember that." I've been very grateful for that advice, though I have not chosen to write songs for Country Radio, I still love to write for myself and my friends.

CMF:-The album yielded 3 chart entries, two of which had been co-written by you "Losing Kind Of Love" and "Crazy Blue Eyes", the latter which had originally been included on the demo tape but as "Letter To Mama". What the reason behind the change to the title?
LACY J:-"Crazy Blues Eyes," being the hook line of the chorus, was a better way to remember the song we decided.

CMF:-Further hit albums and singles followed including "Hard Times" - "Hillbilly Girl With The Blues" - "Takin' It Easy" and the classic "16th Avenue". Out of all the songs you recorded at your time at CBS which one is your personal favourite and why?
LACY J:-I love "Everybody Makes Mistakes" and "16th Avenue" the best. "Everybody Makes Mistakes" is just so totally my kind of minor-key melody and folky rhythm. The lyric is nice and open with lots of holes for folks to fill in with their own imaginations. "16th Avenue" is just a wonderful, wonderful story song about so many of us troubadours.

CMF:-This year you have got together with some other great ladies of the 80's - Janie Fricke and Juice Newton for the "80's Ladies Tour". How did this come about? Were you friends with Janie and Juice in the 80's?
LACY J:-Juice and I go back to our folk singing days in the Santa Cruz mountains long before we both got record deals. I have always loved her voice and respected her work. Janie Fricke befriended me when I first went to Nashville. She was the award-winning best female vocalist at the time and was kind enough to sing gorgeous harmony parts on many of my early hits. She also helped me a bit with make-up tips for TV (I never wore make-up much before the record deal and was pretty awful at putting it on!). I've always loved Janie's voice.

CMF:-A change of direction for you earlier this year was taking the leading role in a stage production of the musical "Annie Oakley". Did you find it very challenging? Has your appetite been whetted to further your acting?
LACY J:-I loved doing Annie and was pleasantly surprised that I could remember that much stuff (singing and speaking parts). I'd love to do some more acting sometime.

CMF:-You are a lover of animals particularly wild ones and horses. This passion led to you forming "The Let 'Em Run Foundation". What is the aim of the organisation and what made you start it?
LACY J:-My husband, Aaron Anderson, our 5 dogs and I moved from our farm in Nashville, TN to the Virginia Highlands above Reno, NV during the first big blizzard of the winter of 1998. We came because we wanted to live where the sky goes on forever and the wild horses still run free. During our first summer, with the wild bands and their babies grazing a stone’s throw away from our front porch, Aaron and I wrote "Let 'Em Run." The song was intended to be a gift to the VRWPA — a small, dedicated and woefully under-funded group (mostly working women) who tirelessly devote every extra hour and more to the care and preservation of the wild horses and all other wildlife of the Virginia Range. Ultimately, we formed the Let 'Em Run Foundation to help raise funds for groups like the VRWPA.

CMF:-Like many fans you have seen changes to the music and the way it is sold, with vinyl, cassette, compact disc, mini-disc and now MP3 on the Internet. How much of a technophile are you and are you a regular user of the Internet?
LACY J:-I'm an absolute techno-peasant and would still be using 8-tracks if I were not shamed out of it by my technophile husband and son - both computer wizards who make their livings with the things. On my planet, we simply tap into the universal consciousness and go telepathic for all this stuff, okay? (laughs)

CMF:-Thank you so much Lacy J for taking the time to answer the questions and Good luck with future projects.
LACY J:-Thanks, Dave - All the best!