In this candid edition of The Southern Chord, consistent '80s country music hitmaker LEON EVERETTE recalls his journey into and through the stormy seas of Nashville stardom. With 11 consecutive Top 10 records, this small-town South Carolina boy was on top of the music world for five years -- and then it all came crashing down. On the other side of a career implosion, Leon Everette shares that he found true redemption.

Support the show

In this installment of The Southern Chord, we are joined by SAMMY SADLER, who was a rising country music artist in March 1989 when he was caught in the crossfire of the execution-style killing of Cashbox Magazine chart editor Kevin Hughes. Sadler found himself under a cloud of suspicion -- even as he carried in his own body a .38-caliber slug from the slaying. Here, he discusses the fateful night that silenced his career in Nashville and his efforts to reconnect with the audience he was denied by this encounter with tragedy.

Support the show

For this edition of The Southern Chord, we sit down with BILL BENTLEY, a songwriter and guitarist in Aiken, South Carolina, who performs original "prog-rock" as leader of a trio called Under The Sonar. Their ethereal sound was captured in recent pilgrimages to the musical mecca of Macon, Georgia, where they recorded at the historic Capricorn Studios. Our chat goes inside those sessions at the home of Southern Rock. 

Support the show

In this episode, The Southern Chord goes on-location with members of the Singing Epps Family from the Upstate of South Carolina discuss the roots of their Southern Gospel trio, and we explore how family tradition and the singers' deep faith in the Lord inform their original country-gospel recordings and dynamic live performances. 

Support the show

In this premiere edition of The Southern Chord, jazz singer PAUL HUGHES discusses the musical journey that brought him from Manchester, England, to a new life in small-town South Carolina. This conversation explores the fateful circumstances that opened the doors to work with Hall of Fame songwriters and a celebrated Nashville producer on his very first American recording project. 

Support the show