Restless Heart
Restless Heart was an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band's longest-tenured lineup consisted of Larry Stewart, John Dittrich, Paul Gregg, Dave Innis, and Greg Jennings. Record producer Tim DuBois assembled the band in 1984 to record demos and chose Verlon Thompson as the original lead singer, but Thompson was replaced by Stewart in this role before the band had recorded any material. Between 1984 and 1998, Restless Heart recorded for RCA Records Nashville. They released the albums Restless Heart, Wheels, Big Dreams in a Small Town, and Fast Movin' Train in the 1980s.
Stewart departed for a solo career in late 1991, shortly before the band's fifth studio album Big Iron Horses; the other four members began alternating on lead vocals in his absence. Innis also left before 1993's Matters of the Heart, by which point keyboardist Dwain Rowe and guitarist Chris Hicks were added to their touring lineup. Restless Heart announced a hiatus in 1995, with Stewart continuing to record as a solo artist, Jennings joining Vince Gill's touring band, and Dittrich forming the Buffalo Club. Stewart, Jennings, Dittrich, and Gregg briefly reunited for a tour and greatest-hits album in 1998 before disbanding a second time. They and Innis re-established the band's full lineup in 2001, after which they resumed touring and released their final studio album Still Restless in 2004. The band continued to tour and perform until quietly disbanding in 2021, shortly after Stewart began touring as a member of the Frontmen.
Restless Heart has released seven studio albums and two greatest-hits albums. Their second through fifth albums are all certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. 26 of their singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including six that reached number one: "That Rock Won't Roll", "I'll Still Be Loving You", "Why Does It Have to Be ", "Wheels", "The Bluest Eyes in Texas", and "A Tender Lie". The band has also had crossover success on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, including a collaboration with saxophonist Warren Hill on "Tell Me What You Dream", which was a number one single on the latter. Restless Heart's sound is defined by their country pop arrangements and vocal harmony, with many critics comparing them favorably to the Eagles.
History
Formation and early years
, a Nashville, Tennessee-based record producer, songwriter, and industry executive, assembled the band in 1984 to record demos of songs he had written. The members he chose were drummer John Dittrich, bass guitarist Paul Gregg, keyboardist Dave Innis, guitarist and mandolinist Greg Jennings, and lead singer Verlon Thompson. All five members had experience as country music session musicians or touring musicians. In particular, Innis had played on various demos for DuBois prior to his decision to create a band, and Dittrich had been a backing musician for Gail Davies. Jennings and DuBois had known each other from attending Oklahoma State University in the 1970s; the two were also classmates of Scott Hendricks, who would serve as the band's sound engineer in addition to co-producing with DuBois.Thompson left before the band had officially been named or released a single because he did not feel comfortable with the country pop style that DuBois wanted the band to pursue. Replacing him on lead vocals was Larry Stewart, a college friend of Innis's. At the time, Stewart was working as a demo vocalist, in addition to working in the stockrooms of the Country Music Hall of Fame and mowing lawns at the Nashville offices of Broadcast Music, Inc.. After leaving the group, Thompson recorded both by himself and in collaboration with Guy Clark, in addition to writing several country hit singles in the 1990s. Stewart initially refused to join the band, as he did not think he was capable of serving as a lead singer; he rejected DuBois's offers to join the band twice before consulting with his mother and then-fiancée, both of whom encouraged him to join. The band then began rehearsing and recording demos with Stewart on lead vocals. As they had not officially selected a name yet, they referred to themselves as the Okie Project, due to three of the members and Hendricks all being natives of Oklahoma. One of the demos they recorded was for "Love in the First Degree", later a hit for Alabama. Due to the success of the demos, the members chose to become an official band, and they were signed to RCA Records Nashville in 1984.
Despite being signed, the band had yet to select a name. DuBois insisted the band members come up with a name before they released a single. He asked the members to submit potential names, which resulted in a list with "about fifty" entries; after this, he locked all five members in an office for seven hours until they agreed on a name. They narrowed the list down to five entries, on which they then voted by using a five-point scale, with five points for the names they liked most and one point for the ones they liked the least. This initially led to the name Heartbreak Kid getting the most votes, but after DuBois asked the band members if they were certain they liked the name, they voted a second time and chose the name Restless Heart due to it receiving one more point than the others. Once they had assumed the name Restless Heart, the band members began working on recording an album with DuBois and Hendricks as producers.
1984–1986: ''Restless Heart''
After assuming the name Restless Heart, the band released its self-titled debut album on RCA Nashville in 1985. It charted four singles on Billboard Hot Country Songs: "Let the Heartache Ride", "I Want Everyone to Cry", " Heartbreak Kid", and "Til I Loved You." DuBois co-wrote "Let the Heartache Ride" and " Heartbreak Kid" with Van Stephenson. According to Jennings, some stations refused to play "Let the Heartache Ride" due to its more country rock sound at a time when neotraditional country was beginning to rise in popularity. John Wooley of the Tulsa World reviewed the album favorably, praising the "intricate, tight harmonies and crisp instrumentation." After "I Want Everyone to Cry" became the band's first top-ten hit, DuBois and RCA promoted the band through radio showcases and music video rotation. This included a video for " Heartbreak Kid", which aired on VH-1. DuBois felt that touring was not a financial necessity for the band at the time, due to all five members also being session musicians and having songwriting contracts with Warner Music Group at the time. While under such a contract, Innis co-wrote "Dare Me", a hit single for the Pointer Sisters.1986–1988: ''Wheels''
Despite DuBois's statements about touring, the band began doing so in 1986. One of their first concerts was with Rita Coolidge in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Also that year, RCA released the band's second album Wheels. All four singles from the album went to number one on the country music charts. First was "That Rock Won't Roll", a song which Innis had initially thought was "too pop" to be a hit single on country radio until the song reached number one. The follow-up single "I'll Still Be Loving You" was a song that had been originally offered to Kenny Rogers, who turned it down. It was band's second number-one country hit and their first song to be successful outside the country music charts. The song peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first country song to be a top 40 pop hit since Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias' "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" in early 1984. Additionally, "I'll Still Be Loving You" reached number three on the Adult Contemporary charts.Released third and also reaching number one on the Billboard country charts was "Why Does It Have to Be ", co-written by Randy Sharp. This song had been rejected from the first album and had originally been rejected from Wheels as well, due to the band considering it too similar in sound to Exile. RCA executives insisted that the band record the song anyway in order to provide more up-tempo material for the album, and Gregg threatened to quit unless they recorded it. This song was a minor adult contemporary hit as well. "Hummingbird", the B-side of "Why Does It Have to Be ", was later recorded by Ricky Skaggs on his 1989 album Kentucky Thunder and was a top 20 country hit for him in 1990. The fourth and final country single from Wheels was the title track, which topped the country charts in 1987. This song was written by Dave Loggins and originally recorded by The Bellamy Brothers on their 1985 album Howard & David. The B-side, "New York ", accounted for Restless Heart's third chart entry on Billboards Adult Contemporary chart.
Wheels had favorable critical and commercial reception. James M. Tarbox of Knight Ridder thought the songs were stronger than those of the debut album, highlighting "Victim of the Game" and "New York " in particular. Tom Roland of AllMusic later wrote that "he guys found their niche with this project. Big, overpowering sound, heavy backbeats, and very tight harmonies are here." In the Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music, Colin Larkin noted that "I'll Still Be Loving You" became a popular song for fans to play at their weddings. The song was nominated at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards in 1988, in the category of Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. This nomination led to the band performing the song on the awards telecast. On March 2, 1988, Wheels was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. Also during this timespan, the band contributed the song "Don't Ask the Reason Why" to the soundtrack of the 1987 movie The Secret of My Success. Restless Heart's tour schedule at this point included concerts with other RCA Nashville artists such as Alabama, Juice Newton, Eddie Rabbitt, and Earl Thomas Conley.