Darryl Worley

99.5 WYCD supports Country Music phenomenon Darryl Worley in his rally behind the troops of the Armed Forces, which is evident in his music and even moreso in his life.  Take a look at the video that Darryl recorded us during 99.5 WYCD's 2006 Operation Yellow Ribbon.

Darryl Worley has never sounded so good. Not only that – he’s never sounded so much like Darryl Worley.

Not, at least, since the world started listening. If we could go back a few years, back to before his name became synonymous with charisma, soulful vocals, American pride, and killer live shows, we might have heard something like these songs during his sets in the local clubs, dances, and lodges around Pyburn, Tennessee. His music was raw back then, just like country music is supposed to be. He sang for working men and women – people who didn’t like being told what to do.

People, that is, like Darryl Worley was back then and still is to this day.

This is the secret of HERE AND NOW, released in November 2006.  Worley today is his own man, in control of his music and his life. He looks the way he wants to look. He’s writing and singing the songs he wants to sing. He’s hooked up with 903 Music, an artist-friendly label.

The music I’m doing now gives me a sense of freedom. It’s about going out and having a good time. It’s about lifting the audience up. I mean, everybody knows that I’ve done songs that deal with very serious subject matter. I’ve meant every word of those songs. They’ll always be a huge part of who I am. But there’s more to me than that."

He leans back, smiling, and the impression is undeniable: For all that he has accomplished, from the wistfully romantic "I Miss My Friend" to the defiant anthem "Have You Forgotten?," both of which topped the singles charts, his work up to this point offers just one perspective on who he is and what he has to offer. On HERE AND NOW Worley reveals himself fully, for the first time, as both an artist and an individual.

There’s a new exuberance in his declarations of personal and professional independence with titles like "Jumpin’ Off the Wagon," "Free," "Living In the Here and Now" and "Nothin’ To Lose."

There’s honesty, too, and compassion, in stories he pulls from life on songs like "Slow Dancing with a Memory."

Then there’s that steamy tale on "Love Thang" and more surprises to boot – all of which leads back to the "what’s got into you" question.

Worley laughs. "Well, I’ve changed. I don’t care as much anymore – I mean that in a positive way. I don’t have anybody telling me who I am, how I should look, or what I can sing about. Again, I stand behind every song I’ve ever sung, but if all you knew about me was what you’ve already heard, then you wouldn’t know that when I’m out with friends – say, at a biker bar in New York – I’m the life of the party. Only my friends know that I’m that guy too. And now I feel free to let everyone know who I am."

But while there’s an abundance of fun, party songs on HERE AND NOW the album’s emotional centerpiece is the riveting, "I Just Came Back (from a War)," written and sung from the perspective of a soldier newly arrived home. Worley’s writing once again touches the heartbeat of the country by spotlighting something quietly happening every day.

Worley offers, "This song is a true story, related to me by a young Marine about some problems he and his friends sometimes have as they readjust to American society. It was so intense and heartfelt that this kid got tears in his eyes and I did too. I’m not going to go into specifics, though, because this song isn’t just one story; it’s a million. With this song I just want these people to know that we’ll never forget them, we’ll always appreciate and love them, and we’ll stand by their side, whatever they have to go through."

There’s no question over what Darryl Worley is – namely, a country music phenomenon, a preacher’s son and a moonshiner’s grandson from Pyburn, Tennessee, who won academic honors in high school and at the University of North Alabama even while blowing off steam singing and partying hard on the honky-tonk circuit. His songwriting skills earned him a deal with Fame Publishing in Muscle Shoals, Alabama; a number of artists, including George Jones, cut some of his early tunes. After two years EMI Publishing signed him to their songwriting team, and in 1994 Worley moved to Nashville.

Shortly after his arrival he met Frank Rogers, whose production career was just taking off but would go on to produce big name acts. From the moment Rogers agreed to help Worley cut his first demo, they formed a creative partnership that’s flourished through four releases on a four-year major-label run.

Success came quickly. The Academy of Country Music nominated Worley for Top New Male Vocalist in 2002. He also earned nominations from the Country Music Association for its Horizon Award in 2002 and ‘03 and Single of the Year and Song of the Year in 2003 for "Have You Forgotten?." The Tennessee House of Representatives cited him that same year for his contributions to country music. His fan base kept growing and his concerts regularly sold out.

Perhaps the high point of this period, though, involved Worley’s visit in 2002 to meet and entertain our troops stationed in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Uzbekistan. Transformed by the experience, he wrote and recorded "Have You Forgotten?," one of the most controversial and inspirational records of our time. Worley hasn’t wavered in his support
for those who put their lives on the line for democracy; over the past few years he’s repeated his trip and expanded it to include performances in Iraq. On the home front, he played a key role in organizing the annual American Freedom Festival to raise funds for our veterans. 

Country star Darryl Worley knew he’d written something powerful when he created “Have You Forgotten?? But it was his performance of the song on the Opry stage that made it a phenomenon.

“I literally had soldiers come up to me and say, ‘You know, we’re over here fighting for you and your family, and we need for you to go back home and fight for us,’? Worley recalls. “And I knew exactly what they meant. It became a mission to me, a duty to come back here and do something to honor them. I didn’t even think the song would get recorded – I just had something to say.?

“I had a feeling "Have You Forgotten?" might affect my life, but I guess I didn’t realize how drastically,? he reflects. “I can’t give credit for this to anyone but the military and the good Lord. It’s all just been incredible. The only thing I regret is that I couldn’t go right back to Afghanistan and play it for the troops the day after we finished writing it.?

Then there is his commitment to the Darryl Worley Foundation and its annual fundraiser, the Tennessee River Run, which benefit various local and national charities. The foundation recently provided funds for the establishment of a cancer treatment center named for Worley at the Hardin Medical Center in West Tennessee. In recognition of his charity work, the City of Savannah and the State of Tennessee recently named a stretch of highway near his hometown, "Darryl Worley Way."

While giving back so much of himself, Worley has pursued and seized his opportunity to break from the constraints of his image. A key step was to hook up with 903 Music, whose artist-driven mission fit Worley’s needs like a tight T-shirt in the Tennessee rain.  Almost immediately, Worley says, 903 "started looking like home." And it was there that Worley’s new attitude and creativity were finally fully realized.

"This whole thing has been an experience I didn’t think I could ever really have in the music business," he says of his new label home. "It’s like a family. I love the feeling of being smaller and maybe perceived as less powerful, but the power is in the music.

"If people don’t believe that," he adds, "well, just watch us."

Official Darryl Worley Website