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Jimmy Fortune talks to Everything Nash about the Country Music Cruise, performing with Brothers of the Heart, his 2026 plans for new music, and more.
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0:00
Hey guys, it's Gail with Everything Nash
0:02
here with Jimmy Fortune on the Country
0:03
Music Cruise. Thank you for joining us.
0:05
Good to be with you, Gail.
0:06
We were just talking off camerara about
0:08
the country music cruise. How many have
0:09
you done?
0:10
I really don't know. I I probably around
0:13
10, I think, something like that.
0:14
And why do you love it so much?
0:16
Well, it's all I know is the the people
0:20
that come on here, the I always call
0:21
them the heart of America. Uh, and
0:25
everybody's just uh I don't know, they
0:28
want to hear some good country music and
0:30
and uh and this is a place to come to
0:32
hear it cuz man, there's so many great
0:33
artists on here every year.
0:35
Every year. And I The fans are the best.
0:38
They are. I mean, and and we've gotten
0:40
to know a lot of them over the years,
0:41
become like family. I mean, we really
0:43
do. We And we just walk around the ship
0:45
and they'll all stop and tell you, you
0:47
know, just how wonderful you are or
0:49
whatever, you know, or either they won't
0:50
say nothing. So, you know what they mean
0:52
by that, but they're being respectful,
0:54
you know, but no, this seems like
0:57
everybody just enjoys it and um it's
1:00
just a lot of people getting together
1:01
that that have the same heart and the
1:04
same love for country music and and for
1:06
each other and for what this country is
1:09
all about. You know, it's what America I
1:10
always think is America's all about, you
1:12
know, togetherness and and uh and just
1:15
loving on each other. And boy, this is
1:17
they ought to call it the love boat cuz
1:19
by golly, it's it is like a love boat
1:21
out here. And uh not only just with the
1:24
with the people, with the fans, but with
1:26
the artists, too.
1:27
Um everybody genuinely respects one
1:29
another.
1:30
We cheer for one another.
1:32
One one's down, we we'll try to pick
1:34
them up or somebody will try to if I'm
1:35
feeling bad, somebody will try to pick
1:37
me up. And and it's just u it's an
1:39
uplifting thing spiritually, mentally,
1:41
physically, everything. Uh we love it.
1:44
and non-stop music. Like legitimately
1:45
non-stop music, which is as a music fan,
1:47
that's amazing.
1:48
Yeah. I mean, you if you want to hear
1:50
something, if you don't get to hear what
1:52
you want to hear, it's your own fault
1:54
because that's true.
1:54
Because they go all out to make sure
1:57
that the schedules are done and the work
2:00
behind all this is incredible. um you
2:02
know from Star Vista uh to to everyone
2:05
on the ship um to everybody with the CMA
2:08
Country Music Hall of Fame to the Grand
2:10
Opry, you can hear all the stars uh and
2:14
also a lot of new talent. We bring a lot
2:16
of new talent on the on the cruises,
2:18
too. And you hear people that you're
2:20
going to probably hear down the road
2:22
years from now. Your children will hear
2:23
from years from now. They'll carry on a
2:25
tradition. Um, but I feel like this
2:28
country music cruise will go on forever
2:31
and for us to be have been a part of
2:33
this for as long as we have. It's it's
2:36
an honor. It really is. Um, and it's one
2:39
of my favorite things to do every year.
2:41
And people love seeing you. I always
2:42
tell people, you make my husband cry.
2:45
Well, I don't know if that's a good
2:47
thing or bad thing, but I hope it's a
2:50
good thing.
2:51
It's a good thing.
2:52
What a voice. But I have people tell me
2:54
that, you know, you make me cry when you
2:55
when I hear you sing. I said, "Well, I
2:57
don't mean to do that. I you know, but
2:59
uh you know, I feel like God gave me uh
3:03
a talent." And my daddy used to say,
3:05
"Jimmy, it's a good thing you can sing
3:06
and play guitar a little bit because you
3:08
can't do nothing else." So, and I can't
3:10
do anything else. And so, that's why I
3:13
do what I do. But I do feel like it's
3:15
something that God gave me to share with
3:18
the world. And my biggest gift is loving
3:20
on people. And boy, I get to do it on
3:23
this cruise and uh and I love them when
3:25
they come up and love on us, too, cuz it
3:28
makes everything worthwhile.
3:29
Now, you're doing solo stuff, but you're
3:30
also singing with Brothers of the Heart.
3:32
Talk about that.
3:32
Brothers of the Heart with uh Mike
3:35
Rogers, Bradley Walker, and Ben Isacs.
3:37
Uh we started this group about 5 years
3:39
ago now, and we've done our third
3:41
project together. Getting ready to start
3:43
working on some more actually, some new
3:45
things. Teamed up with Bill Gaither um
3:48
some years back. And uh Ben and um Ben
3:53
and Mike and myself and Bradley thought
3:55
we put this thing together and uh
3:58
because we love each other first and
4:00
foremost and respect each other so much
4:02
and um and we just started throwing
4:05
songs out there and then we let the
4:07
Gaither organization hear what we were
4:09
doing and uh they loved it and they
4:11
said, "Hey, let's let's start doing a
4:13
project on you." And it's it's not just
4:15
quartet, but it's a quartet. There's
4:17
trios uh situations in each song.
4:21
There's uh duos, duets, and and there's
4:24
also solo work in in every in their
4:26
songs as well where we feature uh each
4:28
artist. And uh and you just don't get
4:31
any better than, you know, Bradley
4:33
Walker, what a great guy. Uh a big old
4:35
voice. And and Mike Rogers,
4:38
multi-talented, of course, Ben Isaac's,
4:40
he's been with the Isaacs, his family. I
4:42
don't know why he's singing with with
4:44
three beautiful women and he wants to
4:46
sing with three ugly old men,
4:49
but but he he he loves it and we love it
4:52
and we could we do about we can only do
4:55
about 10 shows a year on average because
4:57
we all have our own careers. But it
5:00
gives people uh it's like an event. and
5:02
makes we make an event out of it and
5:03
then people come from all usually sold
5:06
out shows everywhere we go and that's a
5:08
great thing and um it just gives people
5:12
uh something to see us in a little bit
5:14
different light than when they do when
5:15
they come see us as a solo artist but
5:18
it's kind of we we get the best best of
5:20
both worlds
5:20
and you started with the Satler brothers
5:22
and then when the Satler brothers ended
5:24
you went to a solo career and it worked
5:26
which it doesn't always work it worked
5:28
for you
5:28
well um yeah they retired the group
5:31
retired in 2002 and uh I knew that uh
5:37
you know I was about 47 years old at
5:39
that time and I thought I mean I could
5:41
have retired at the time and thought but
5:43
I said you know it was like a good Lord
5:45
speaking to me and said hey man I gave
5:47
you that talent and you if you love
5:48
doing it keep doing it and so I said I
5:50
do love doing it and I said I'm just
5:52
going to start from scratch and um I
5:55
just went with it and it took a while.
5:58
It did take a while. I'm not going to
5:59
say it was easy because it wasn't
6:01
because you got to come through whenever
6:03
you've heard the stories about someone
6:05
leaving a group and they go out and you
6:07
just never hear from them again or they
6:09
just fade off into the sunset. You
6:11
you're right about that sometime and
6:12
that scared me to be honest with you.
6:15
But um I trusted the good Lord above and
6:18
um he took care of me and uh and all all
6:22
he wanted me to do was just do what I do
6:25
and go out and try to uh make people
6:28
cry, put a smile on her face, every once
6:32
in a while hopefully. And uh and so
6:35
that's what I did. I put one foot in
6:36
front of the other and uh I'm still out
6:38
here touring as much as I want to.
6:41
Okay, last question. What is happening
6:43
with you music this year? You're with
6:44
Brothers of the Heart. I know you got
6:45
some solo shows. Fill us in on what 2026
6:47
looks like.
6:49
2026 is going to be I just released a
6:52
new project called Stories of American
6:54
Dreamer. It's uh actually uh Songs of
6:56
American Dreamer is a CD and a DVD,
6:58
which coincides with a book that I just
7:00
released called Stories of an American
7:02
Dreamer, which is about my life before
7:05
the Statler Brothers and when the Stat
7:06
Brothers hired me all the way up until
7:08
now. And so there's a lot in in that
7:12
book, but um I'm kind of promoting that
7:14
right now. And then we're getting ready
7:16
to do some new things with Brothers of
7:17
the Heart, which will be uh we're
7:19
talking about putting together a a
7:21
gospel album and then a Christmas album
7:24
maybe uh coming and then all and
7:27
eventually we're getting together uh for
7:29
an all original album like uh all
7:31
original songs. And so the group will be
7:34
uh kind of recreating itself with its
7:38
original with whatever we feel, you
7:40
know, and I'm looking forward to that
7:42
because uh uh I I love doing other
7:44
people's songs, but I do think that we
7:47
need to um let people know uh just who
7:51
we are and and they already know who we
7:53
are, but uh with with our music can take
7:56
another step forward in creating
7:59
something new.
8:00
Well, we know you're a great songwriter,
8:02
too. So,
8:02
well, thank you for that. I appreciate
8:04
that more than you ever know. Thank you,
8:06
Jimmy Fortune friends.
8:08
Thank you all. God bless you.