My earliest musical memory is of my mother sitting at the dining table, sobbing to Dolly Parton's 'Letter to Heaven'. I would have been around 5 years old.

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I didn’t understand why she was crying, so she took the needle back to the start and I climbed up in her lap and listened. I cried right along with her, and fell in love with country music at that moment.

 

From that album, with its cover made to transfix a little girl (all rhinestones and Tressy doll hair and bright flowers and Dolly's name in bubblegum text), to the battered Tennessee Ernie Ford tapes in Dad's glovebox, I was raised on country music. And nowhere says country music quite like Nashville, Tennessee. Visiting the city has been a dream of mine since I understood where the Grand Old Opry was. 

 

At the time of writing this, I should be in Nashville,  for what was to be the 3rd attempt at Creation's 2020 convention, once again postponed by Covid. The previous aborted dates have each been marked somehow  - the first by Rich's acoustic take on "Living at Night",  the second by FanWorld's "Under The Covers" interview on Dick Jr & The Volunteers' debut album. 

 

This time, with my hopes of ever making it to Music City dwindling, I wanted Nashville itself to take centre stage. And not just any Nashville, but Richard's very own take on the best of his hometown. It was Rich’s suggestion that I also ask fans familiar with the city to weigh in with their picks.

 

So, because living vicariously is all we have right now, FanWorld proudly presents "Nashville - The Speight Way".

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Rain, 

April 10th, 2021