They Didn't Make It Big (Part 2)

In my post of November 22nd, I mentioned some very talented artists who didn't make it big - Yankee Grey, Big House and Jamie O'Neal. Here are some other acts that I thought would be very successful:

The group Pinmonkey, formed by lead singer Michael Reynolds, had a great debut song, cool with attitude. "Barbed Wire and Roses", written by Tia Sillers, Mark Selby and Sean Locke, reached #25 in '02. The song was from their 2nd album, "Pinmonkey" on BNA. Their debut album was "Speak No Evil", released on an indy label, Drifter's Church. A Matraca Berg/Gary Harrison single, "That Train Don't Run", from their 3rd and last album, "Big Shiny Cars", failed to chart in 2006. I saw them open for Lee Roy Parnell at B.B.King's Blues Club in NYC in March of '06. They sounded great. Here's the cool chorus from BW&R:

"Barbed wire, barbed wire and roses
Cut me so deep you don’t even know
Every time I take a step closer
I wind up tangled, it’s all over
Ain’t worth the pain of tryin’ to hold ya
You’re like, barbed wire, barbed wire and roses"

There must be an interesting story as to how the group chose the name "Pinmonkey". A "pinmonkey" was the person who reset the pins in a bowling alley after each frame. My first experience with bowling was around 1960 and even then all the lanes I patronized had automatic pinsetting machines.

A soccer player from North Carolina, Mark McGuinn had a #6 song in '01 with the uptempo "Mrs. Steven Rudy". His third single, "She Doesn't Dance", peaked at #29 in '02. Both were from his self-titled debut album. The latter song tells of a man who catches his wife in a bar with a stranger and tries to convince himself that it couldn't be her - she doesn't dance ...  great country story song.

The scene is set in the first four lines of the opening verses:

"She was in the middle of an empty dance floor
Wrapped up in a tall dark stranger's arms
They didn't see me slip in through the shadows
And sit down at the end of the bar"

McGuinn's second album, "One Man's Crazy", was released in '06 and failed to produce any hit singles. It included a 9/11 tribute song, "More Beautiful Today".

Cancer survivor Kevin Sharp's 1996 debut cd, "Measure of a Man", included a cover (didn't know it was a cover at the time) of R&B artist Tony Rich's "Nobody Knows". It went to #1. Follow-up singles, "She's Sure Taking It Well" made it to 3 and "If You Love Somebody" to 4. After such a promising start, Kevin's country music chart success came to an abrubt halt. His next two albums and the singles from them went nowhere.

My favorite Sharp song was not a single. The title track, "Measure of a Man", really grew on me. The song was written by Larry Boone and Rick Bowles. Here's the chorus of this mid-tempo tune:

"It ain’t how far you go
It ain’t how much you make
Son, it’s what you give
Not what you take
It’s being strong and true
To those counting on you
It’s lendin’ a hand, makin’ a stand
That’s the measure of a man."

Kevin is a motivational speaker and spokesperson for the Make A Wish foundation. Sounds like he measures up just fine.

I never got so see the last two artists in concert or even hear them sing live on TV so I can't comment with any certainty on their vocal ability or their ability to connect with an audience. If they excelled at both, it would still be no guarantee of commercial success.

 

 

Comments

[melissa]

It's sure nice to come across this blog and see some of my music thoughts almost exactly echoed by someone who seems to know what they're talking about. But maybe that's just because you share my opinion, ha. I feel like I've seen Mark McGuinn play before but if I have it's been years and it definitely wasn't just him on the bill. So I wouldn't want to swear to that. But I've long been a fan of his too. I HAVE, however, been lucky enough to see Kevin Sharp play. For awhile there he was a regular at Fan Fair (now CMA Fest, unfortunately) in Nashville, playing on the Riverfront. When CMA re-organized the way things worked a lot of artists I used to depend on getting to see there weren't so much a part of it. That being the case I believe I last saw him play in 2010...it may have been 2008 but I'm pretty positive it wasn't longer ago than that. I saw him at least three years in a row there and EVERY time his was a performance that I looked forward to - and not just because of the songs but also the energy. Very energetic performer and I hope you get to see him soon! (BTW, noticed a small error in your note about one song: it's "When You Love Somebody" not "When You Love Someone.") Interesting additional note - the same person, Tim Buppert (not Bumpert) co-wrote both "Another Nine Minutes" and "She's Sure Taking It Well." Funny you'd mention both! He actual plays out at songwriter shows quite often and has written a song called "My One Elvis Moment" as sort of a shout-out to "She's Sure Taking It Well." It's quite amusing.

[bob]

Melissa, thank you so much for your comments and corrections (I made them), and also for pointing out that Tim Buppert co-wrote "Another Nine Minutes" and "She's Sure Taking It Well". I enjoyed watching him sing "My One Elvis Moment" on You-Tube. Thanks for that too. Maybe he'll play the Bluebird Cafe here in Nashville someday. It's a venue primarily for songwriters. My wife and I generally see a show there about once a month.