Turner Nichols was an American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
duo composed of singer-songwriters Zack Turner and
Tim Nichols
Tim Nichols (born in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since the late 1980s, Nichols has written for several country music singers, including Keith Whitley, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, ...
. Signed to
BNA Records
BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, was a label group that shared ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashvil ...
in 1993, the duo recorded a self-titled debut album for the label that year, with two of that album's singles charting on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now
Hot Country Songs) charts. Although it was their only recording together, both members of the duo wrote several songs together in the 1990s, including hit singles for
Keith Whitley
Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music singer and songwriter. During his career, Whitley released only two albums but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and 7 more after his death.
...
and
Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Marie Messina (born August 25, 1970) is an American country music artist. She has charted six number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country ...
.
History
Since the late 1980s, both Zack Turner and Tim Nichols had written hits for other artists, including "I'm Over You", a Top Five hit for
Keith Whitley
Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music singer and songwriter. During his career, Whitley released only two albums but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and 7 more after his death.
...
in 1990,
as well as a cut on
Travis Tritt
James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...
's debut album ''
Country Club
A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...
''.
Turner and Nichols signed to BNA Entertainment (now known as
BNA Records
BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, was a label group that shared ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashvil ...
) in 1993 as the duo Turner Nichols.
Their self-titled debut album was released that year, with two of its singles reaching the ''Billboard'' country charts.
''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
'' reviewer
Alanna Nash
Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1950, Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books. She is a 1972 graduat ...
gave the album a "B" rating, noting the "soulful lyrics and real emotional connections" on cuts such as "Moonlight Drive-In", the first single.
"Moonlight Drive-In" peaked at No. 51 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' country charts, and was followed by "She Loves to Hear Me Rock" at No. 49. These songs respectively reached No. 36 and No. 39 on the ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimension ...
'' Country Tracks charts in Canada.
In 1994, Turner Nichols got a nomination for Vocal Duo of the Year by the TNN/Music City News Country Awards (which is now knows as the
CMT Music Awards
The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting take ...
), losing to
Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were solo ...
.
After exiting BNA in 1993, both members of the duo continued to write songs for other artists, including
Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Marie Messina (born August 25, 1970) is an American country music artist. She has charted six number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country ...
's 1996 hit "You're Not in Kansas Anymore." Nichols went on to win a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
for co-writing
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albu ...
's single "
Live Like You Were Dying
''Live Like You Were Dying'' is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released on August 24, 2004, by Curb Records and was recorded in a mountaintop studio in upstate New York. It entered the ''Billboard'' 20 ...
."
''Turner Nichols'' (1993)
Track listing
All tracks co-written by Zack Turner and Tim Nichols; other co-writers in parentheses.
#"Moonlight Drive-In" (
Billy Kirsch
Billy Kirsch is an American songwriter and consultant.
Early life
Billy Kirsch attended Wesleyan University before leaving college to become a musician, focusing on a career as a jazz musician. After living in New York City, he moved to Nashvill ...
) – 3:19
#"Come Saturday Night" – 2:59
#"She Loves to Hear Me Rock" – 2:39
#"Stop Right There" – 3:22
#"You Can't Hurt Me Anymore" – 3:56
#"She Needs a Lover" (
Keith Stegall
Robert Keith Stegall (born November 1, 1955) is an American country music recording artist and record producer. Active since 1980, Stegall has recorded two major-label studio albums: 1985's ''Keith Stegall'' and 1996's ''Passages'', although he ...
) – 3:35
#"Harleys and Horses" – 3:49
#"Rose Tattoo" – 3:24
#"Just So You Know It" (Mike Lawler) – 4:03
#"Anything" (Lawler) – 3:00
Personnel
Turner Nichols
*Tim Nichols – lead vocals, background vocals
*Zack Turner – lead vocals, background vocals
Additional musicians
*
Eddie Bayers
Eddie Bayers (born January 28, 1949) is an American session drummer who has played on 300 gold and platinum albums. He received the Academy of Country Music 'Drummer of the Year Award' for fourteen years, has three times won the Nashville Music ...
– drums
*
Paul Franklin –
pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...
*Rob Hajacos –
fiddle
*
David Hungate
William David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his T ...
– bass guitar
*
Brent Mason
Brent Mason (born July 13, 1959) is an American, Nashville, Tennessee-based recording studio guitarist and songwriter, performing primarily country music. Guitar World Magazine listed him as one of the "Top Ten Session Guitarists of All Time". ...
– electric guitar
*Gary Prim – piano, keyboards
*
Hargus "Pig" Robbins
Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Loret ...
– piano, keyboards
*
John Wesley Ryles
John Wesley Ryles (born December 2, 1950) is an American country music artist. Ryles recorded a string of hit country songs, beginning in 1968 when he was still a teenager, and continuing through the 1980s. He no longer records as a headline ar ...
– background vocals
*Ronny "Hellbilly" Scaife – background vocals
*
Biff Watson
Fletcher Bangs "Biff" Watson is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. His musicianship has been a part of recording sessions for many artists.
Biography Early years
Raised in Chatham, Virginia, Watson learned how to play guitar at ...
– acoustic guitar
Singles
Music videos
Awards and nominations
References
{{Reflist
Country music groups from Tennessee
Country music duos
Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee
BNA Records artists
Musical groups established in 1988