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Billy Dean talks to Everything Nash about the 2027 Country Music Cruise, 90s country, new music, and more.
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0:00
Hey guys, it's Gail with Everything Nash
0:02
here with Billy Dean. I say this every
0:04
time I talk to you, but you really are
0:05
one of my most favorite humans. Like,
0:07
it's true.
0:08
A thank you so Thank you for saying
0:10
that. I Man, I try I try I work hard at
0:14
it.
0:14
How's your 2026?
0:17
Well, it was good. You know, actually, I
0:19
didn't do uh a whole lot of touring. I I
0:21
I worked on I figured, you know, I'm
0:24
getting older and if I'm going to finish
0:27
a couple of these projects I've been
0:28
working on for a long time, now is the
0:31
time to do it. So, in 2025,
0:34
um I kind of settled into our new house
0:36
here in Florida and uh I created me a
0:39
little studio here where I could work
0:42
and I started working on a a family
0:44
project. It's a it's a book that I'm
0:46
about my my dad and his brothers who
0:48
served in World War II. a bunch of
0:50
letters and I've been working on this
0:52
thing for like five years, you know,
0:54
just off and on. And um also, uh I
0:57
needed to I needed to do something for
1:00
the 35 year anniversary of being in this
1:02
crazy business. And so uh we I worked on
1:06
about seven kind of re-imagined songs of
1:09
my my hit songs, but kind of reimagined
1:11
them. And so we got a little EP coming
1:14
out in March uh called Looking Back that
1:17
uh that we did. So anyway, 2025 was just
1:20
busy staying home getting stuff done
1:22
because really in 2026 in the next two
1:25
or three years, I'd like to just stay
1:27
out on the road and and tour, you know,
1:30
and just kind of get reacquainted with
1:31
everybody again.
1:33
Well, I I love that idea. Um, I'm going
1:36
to get back to 2026, but I'm going to
1:37
start with 2027. I just finished talking
1:39
to Daryl Worley, actually, and I'm so
1:41
excited because you're both on the 2027
1:43
Country Music Cruise, and I cannot tell
1:46
you how excited I am that you're back
1:47
on. talk about that.
1:49
Well, I you know, I uh I I love cruises.
1:54
They're they're uh I don't do many of
1:57
them. I Here's the thing. I'm going to
2:00
try to not get sick on this one.
2:04
I seem like I I seem like I always get
2:06
seasick or so. I usually don't get
2:08
seasick, but uh I uh I'm looking forward
2:11
to to first of all to seeing everybody
2:14
again. And you know, Daryl and I are
2:15
good buddies. And uh I think it really
2:19
it's going to be nice to to uh get, you
2:22
know, to see all the 90 fans and '90s
2:24
country artist coming out because uh I
2:26
really have been trying to celebrate
2:28
this resurgence that the ' 90s has had.
2:31
And I'm really coming in on at the tail
2:33
end, you know. So, it was really nice to
2:35
be able to get, you know, 2026 I can get
2:39
that all u prepared and get my all the
2:42
new stuff ready to go. So, when we do do
2:43
the cruise in 27, we'll have a lot of
2:46
fresh, you know, merchandise and and
2:48
maybe fresh, you know, music and all
2:51
that kind of stuff. But, uh, it'll it'll
2:53
be a lot of fun just to kind of get
2:54
reacquainted with the fans out there.
2:56
Again,
2:57
I still think about when you played last
2:59
year. My husband talks about it too.
3:01
Like you just captivate a crowd unlike
3:04
almost anything I've ever seen before.
3:06
You just have a way of just getting up
3:08
there and just captivating the audience.
3:09
And I love that about you so much.
3:11
Oh, thank you. I, you know, I like
3:13
smaller, intimate settings. I like to be
3:16
able to see people's faces, you know. I
3:18
like to see when the songs and the
3:21
lyrics land, you know, when it when when
3:24
they land, I can see the reaction. Um,
3:27
it's it's more personable for me and
3:30
it's just more honest. I I just like the
3:32
smaller venues and kind of storytelling
3:35
and then and it's uh it's kind of like
3:37
music theater, you know, uh when when
3:40
you can see the people's faces and they
3:42
can see you, you know, it's it and it's
3:43
there's not, you know, you're not
3:45
depending on tricks and gags and and
3:48
like shows and this. It's just a real
3:50
honest uh two-way conversation that you
3:53
get to have a really special moments
3:55
with people in those kind of settings.
3:57
And so to pull that off, you know, you
4:00
just have to be really kind of real in
4:02
the moment and you don't I really don't
4:04
usually have a set list, you know, it's
4:06
just kind of feel my way through it as
4:08
as I go.
4:10
Um, speaking of gigs, you are playing I
4:13
just saw this next month at Nashville
4:15
Palace for the Daryl Singleary benefit.
4:17
Talk about that.
4:17
I am. I just, in fact, I was just
4:19
texting Holly. Um, man, you know, he was
4:22
ju he was from u I think he was a
4:25
Georgia boy just up the road uh from
4:27
here from where I'm from. And he I just
4:30
thought he was one of the greatest
4:32
country singers and probably one of the
4:33
greatest or most underrated country
4:36
singers uh that we had out there for
4:39
what he could do, you know, with his
4:41
talent and his voice. and and he uh I I
4:45
did a couple of shows with him down in
4:47
in North Florida area and it was really
4:51
sad when he left this world because I
4:53
really felt like in a lot of ways kind
4:54
of like Keith Whitley. I I felt like his
4:57
style was was coming back and people
5:00
were having an appreciation for it and I
5:02
just felt like he was right on the edge
5:04
of of having this second wave of uh
5:07
success and really bigger than he'd ever
5:10
been just because he was one of the few
5:13
that could do what he could sing like
5:15
that, you know, and so it was really a
5:16
tragedy to to lose him. And so I was I
5:20
was hanging out with Red Akens a couple
5:22
of months ago at the Ryman and he told
5:25
me he was going to be there at the
5:26
palace that he was part of this tribute
5:29
and I said, "Man, I want to be there.
5:30
I'd love, you know, I love Daryl and um
5:32
and I'd love to be a part of it." So I'm
5:34
I'm coming up for that for sure and kind
5:37
of celebrate that style of country music
5:40
singing because not many people can can
5:41
do it like that.
5:43
Well, Billy Dean Kent, I mean he Carol
5:44
Daryl could, but Billy Dean can too. Um,
5:47
um, you talked about being in your new
5:50
home. So, did you just move? Because I
5:51
was stalking you on Instagram last night
5:53
and you have this beautiful home right
5:55
on the water. What happened, Billy Dean?
5:57
Oh, well, I'm I'm from in this I'm from
6:01
this part of the world. This is uh St.
6:03
George Island, Florida. It's uh just
6:05
south of Tallahassee, the the capital of
6:07
Florida. And I've always had a place
6:10
down here since the 90s off and on. And
6:14
I I don't know back about six or seven
6:16
years ago, um you know, my mom, she was
6:20
in her 90s and my sisters were having to
6:22
do a lot of the kind of the heavy
6:24
lifting, caretaking, and I I thought it
6:26
was time to come home and and and help
6:28
my sisters and spend that time with my
6:30
mom. And and that's when I when I did, I
6:34
uh I ran into the old high school
6:36
buddies that's that were moving back
6:38
home and bringing their kids back to
6:40
this area. And
6:42
so I I I just always had a place down
6:44
here and I decided to make it permanent
6:46
uh just a few years ago and and we built
6:50
this house. This this one is uh it's
6:52
it's only a year old and it's right on
6:55
the bay and uh it you know I I can go
6:58
out and fish off the dock and I can uh
7:00
you know see dolphins coming in on my in
7:03
the in the little canal and everything
7:04
and it's just it's just a really it's
7:06
always been a very special place for me
7:09
ever since I was a little boy and and
7:11
actually it was my it was my childhood
7:13
dream was just to play enough music so I
7:15
could live down here. So, I thought it
7:18
would be in a trailer somewhere.
7:22
That's been good to you. And you're
7:23
doing a daily workout this year, too?
7:26
Yes. I skipped yesterday because it was
7:28
so cold. I'm doing it today. I'm I'm I'm
7:30
going to get out there and and freeze my
7:32
But I've been doing a cold plunge in the
7:34
uh in the Gulf every afternoon and it
7:37
was like 60°. The water's kind of cold,
7:40
but man, it's like it's like 30
7:42
something out here right now. So, I
7:44
don't think there'll be a cold plunge at
7:45
the end of the workout today. But I'm
7:47
I'm gonna get on it, man. I'm I'm
7:49
trying. I'm no Daryl Whley, though.
7:53
I'm gonna tell him you said that 90s
7:55
country is coming back. You I've talked
7:57
to so many artists who of your decade,
8:00
of your era, who say they're busier than
8:02
ever now. Talk about that.
8:04
That's what, you know, that's what I've
8:05
been hearing as well. And and I that's
8:08
why I want to I wanted to get a lot of
8:10
this these projects done so that I could
8:13
just get out on the road and stay out
8:14
there for a while. You know, I I I uh in
8:18
some ways I wish I never, you know, took
8:20
a break in touring. You know, kind of
8:22
like Willie Nelson, all those guys just
8:23
they just kept James Taylor, all those
8:25
guys, they just keep going, keep going.
8:28
And I kind of toured some, took some
8:30
time off, tour, take some time off. But
8:33
I just decided that uh since this 90s is
8:36
making this comeback and everybody's
8:38
working that, man, I better go make hay
8:40
while I can make it. And so the goal is
8:43
to have enough, you know, material and
8:45
enough u kind of new things to talk
8:48
about that I don't have to take time off
8:50
from the road to do that. So I'm I'm
8:52
excited to to have these fairs and
8:54
casinos are asking for 90s art. We're
8:57
looking for good packages, you know, to
8:59
I think the the key is to package up
9:02
with, you know, I've talked to Colin Ray
9:04
about doing some stuff. Shannonoa and I
9:06
have done some packaging. U but it's
9:08
it's it's finding that right
9:10
combination. Pam Tillis and I have
9:11
talked about it uh back in the uh late
9:15
90s. Uh Susie Boggas and John Barry and
9:18
I did a did a package show called Barry
9:20
Boggas and Dean. And man, it was it was
9:23
big. We we were able to, you know, you
9:25
don't you don't have to sing as many
9:27
songs, but you sing all your top top
9:29
hits. I think it's a better better
9:30
quality show and a better value for the
9:32
for the fans out there as well.
9:35
I love that. I want to talk about one of
9:36
your songs. I'm Somewhere in my broken
9:38
heart. So, you wrote throughout your
9:40
career some of your songs. You didn't
9:41
write all of them. You wrote Somewhere
9:43
in My Broken Heart. Give me the story
9:44
behind that.
9:46
Wow. That was a that was a big that was
9:48
a big deal. I uh the day I I was a new
9:51
songwriter at EMI music and um I was I
9:54
had a kind of a production deal. I
9:55
didn't quite have a record deal yet, but
9:58
I was I was the new guy. And and at this
10:00
at this publishing company, it had all
10:02
these incredible Hall of Fame
10:04
songwriters. And Richard Lee, the guy
10:06
that wrote Donut Make My Brown Eyes
10:08
Blue, um, Cold Day in July, he written a
10:12
bunch of hits, he was there one day and
10:15
he had a cancellation and he said, "Hey,
10:17
u, I know you're new here and and I had
10:20
a cancellation. Would you like to to
10:21
write?" And I I was like, "Absolutely."
10:24
Because I knew who he was. And we
10:26
immediately struck a up a great
10:28
friendship. And uh he played me songs
10:31
like Only Here for a Little While that
10:32
he had just written, which ended up
10:35
being my first single and the song that
10:36
that broke my career open. But that day,
10:40
he said, "I'm going to I'm going to play
10:41
a melody for you on the on the piano and
10:44
see if you like it." He said, "It's
10:45
probably his it's probably a melody
10:48
nobody in this town will want to write
10:50
because it's kind of like a movie theme,
10:52
you But he played me the somewhere my
10:54
broken heart melody on the on the piano
10:57
and it was it was so pretty and every
10:59
time it came to thea
11:02
I kept going somewhere in my broke I
11:06
kept saying like somewhere in my broken
11:08
heart I said I don't even know I don't
11:09
know what that means you know somewhere
11:12
in my broken what does that mean and
11:14
then we thought well if a heart could if
11:16
a metaphorically a heart could could
11:19
break into pieces you know and shatter
11:22
what would all what would you find?
11:24
You'd find pieces of forgiveness. You
11:27
the will to keep going. You'd still find
11:29
the love you have for that person. And
11:31
we uh we immediately thought that was a
11:33
really kind of cool uh concept,
11:36
especially uh pieces of forgiveness
11:38
somewhere in my broken heart. And we
11:40
wrote it. It was kind of hard because we
11:43
didn't want to change a note of that
11:44
melody that we thought the melody was
11:46
perfect. So a word, you know, had to
11:48
fall on every note of that melody. So,
11:51
it was a hard song to write, but Richard
11:53
had written Grammy award-winning songs
11:56
before, and I that day I got an
11:58
education on uh what it takes to to to
12:01
write one of those.
12:03
Still writing songs today.
12:05
Still writing songs today. I think I'm
12:06
writing some of the best stuff I've ever
12:08
written. I think I really do. I think
12:09
I'm sitting on some of the best work. I
12:12
don't know if anybody will care, but uh
12:13
it's hard to beat the old stuff, though.
12:16
I agree. All right, I'm gonna switch
12:17
gears with you. 11 questions for Billy
12:19
Dean. Okay. Rapid fire. Just give me
12:21
your answers. Uh, favorite meal.
12:23
Favorite what
12:24
meal?
12:25
Oh, favorite meal? Chicken and rice.
12:28
Really? Okay. Didn't expect that. Least
12:30
favorite food.
12:32
Least favorite food? Uh, tofu.
12:36
Really?
12:37
Not Not one of those soy guys.
12:40
Dream collaboration.
12:42
Dream collaboration. Your dream duet
12:44
partner.
12:45
Oh, oh god. Probably be James Taylor,
12:48
man. I just met him at the opery uh few
12:51
weeks ago and I know it'll never happen
12:53
but boy he's one of my favorite.
12:55
He is a dream come true. Uh best career
12:58
moment so far.
13:00
Best career moment so far? Um it's
13:04
always not it's it's always nice playing
13:07
the oper. Speaking of the opy um I best
13:10
career moment so far you know it it was
13:13
winning the awards man. Winning a couple
13:15
awards. U you know I think that you know
13:18
uh song of the year with somewhere in my
13:20
broken heart would have to be the
13:22
highlight.
13:23
That's a good highlight. Um what item is
13:25
on your bucket list that you haven't
13:26
done yet?
13:28
Item on the Oh. Um I I would like to uh
13:32
I'd like to go and travel to uh I want
13:37
to go
13:39
where my dad fought in World War II over
13:41
in France and Germany. Uh he was a
13:43
paratrooper
13:45
and I'm I'm mapping out all the little
13:49
battles and areas where he fought in the
13:51
little towns. I would like to go visit
13:53
each and every one of those over in
13:55
France.
13:56
Oh my gosh. Do that and post all your
13:58
photos on Instagram.
14:00
Favorite vacation spot.
14:03
Man,
14:05
right here where I live. I don't want to
14:07
go anywhere. I want to be right here.
14:10
Um, favorite, you know, uh, I would say
14:14
probably like Wyoming. I I I think
14:16
Wyoming going up to the uh to the park
14:19
up in Wyoming is is unbelievable.
14:22
I agree with you. Uh, most starruck.
14:25
Oh, most starruck.
14:28
Man, I was kind of starruck meeting
14:30
Kevin Cosner. I got I got to meet him
14:33
and uh I was, you know, big fan and uh
14:37
and got to meet him and I I was like,
14:39
man, I'm nervous. I I'm like I'm like
14:41
Starruck,
14:43
especially
14:44
got Starruck. I love that. What's your I
14:46
mean, this is kind of a hard question
14:48
because I feel like you're always
14:49
positive, but what's your biggest pet
14:50
peeve?
14:52
Oh, biggest pet peeve, man. Oh, you hit
14:55
one here. I hate it when technology does
14:59
not work and it never works right.
15:01
There's always something not opening,
15:03
not closing, not navigating it. Man,
15:07
digital the digital technology world
15:10
drives me
15:12
bonkers, man. I I could be on an
15:14
airplane and everybody else's TV is
15:17
working on the back of the seat, you
15:18
know, except mine.
15:21
That happened to me flying to India of
15:23
all places and my TV didn't work and I
15:25
wasn't happy. But it's fine. We can do
15:26
whatever.
15:27
Exactly.
15:27
Uh what's your biggest fear?
15:30
Oh, my biggest fear um man is probably
15:34
going to be facing old age, you know,
15:37
and facing doctor's appointments and
15:39
losing friends and family. You know, I'm
15:42
coming up on that. I've already, you
15:44
know, I got friends that are getting
15:46
sick and things like that. And um that's
15:49
going to be that's gonna be tough, but
15:50
but I'm gonna I'm gonna do it with my
15:52
chin up.
15:53
Yeah. You are. If you weren't a singer,
15:54
what would you be?
15:57
You know, I would be uh probably doing
15:59
something outdoors like a like a game
16:01
warden or I'd be I'd probably be out in
16:03
the woods somewhere on a boat, you know,
16:05
like a you know, doing biology. I I I
16:07
did I was really interested in like
16:09
marine biology because I had a great
16:11
biology teacher and we'd snorkel out
16:14
here in the Gulf and uh in a lot of the
16:16
springs in Florida. I always just kind
16:18
of wanted to be in the water.
16:20
All right, last question. What's
16:22
something that nobody knows about you or
16:23
very few people know about you?
16:26
Very few people would know about me. Um,
16:30
I'm kind of a uh uh I am a sort of a I
16:36
guess you could say u kind of a truth
16:39
seeker, a spiritual seeker. I I do a lot
16:42
of deep dive on uh different religions
16:44
and things like that. I don't talk about
16:46
it much, but uh I'm uh I'm kind of a and
16:50
I'm kind of obsessed with with history
16:52
on some of that. And I was a horrible
16:54
student growing up, but now being older
16:57
and uh I'm u I a lot of a lot of
17:02
religious philosophies I I try to study
17:04
and and I'm and kind of eastern a lot of
17:07
Eastern philosophy, believe it or not.
17:09
like I met the Daly Lama and uh some of
17:12
these things I do on my little spiritual
17:14
quest that not a lot of people see or
17:16
know about.
17:17
Interesting. Interesting. I'm going to
17:19
end there. Good to see you, Billy Dean.
17:21
Thank you very much. It's so good to see
17:23
you and I hope I'll see you on the
17:24
cruise.
17:25
You will.
17:27
All right, dear.