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9:30 pm
July 2009

20 Answers: Singer/Songwriter Marshall Chapman

Her songs have been recorded by Emmylou Harris, Joe Cocker, Tanya Tucker, Conway Twitty, Crystal Gayle, and Ronnie Milsap. She has opened for John Prine, Jimmy Buffett, Jerry Lee Lewis, and The Ramones, toured extensively on her own, and recorded four critically acclaimed albums. Her first book, Goodbye Little Rock and Roller, was published in 2003, and a second one is in the works. But when this Spartanburg native comes home to the Upstate, Marshall Chapman is still best known as her mother’s daughter.

Hometown: Spartanburg, SC
Born: January 7, 1949
Height: 6'1"
Notable: Her newest book, They Came to Nashville, will publish in early 2010.
Fun Fact: The S.C. General Assembly named April 22, 2005, Marshall Chapman Day.
Web site: tallgirl.com

1. The first time I saw Elvis Presley in concert was at the Carolina Theater in Spartanburg: February 9, 1956. I was seven years old. Our maid took me because my parents were out of town. We rode the city bus and saw the second matinée. It was a life-changing experience.

2. In the old days, I would’ve said I wanted to tour with The Rolling Stones. But now I’d like to headline venues like the Peace Center, in an in-the-round setting with a revolving door of songwriters/authors like Minton Sparks, Tim Krekel, Roy Blount Jr., Matraca Berg, R.B. Morris …

3. Other than the fact that we all performed at the Exit/In in Nashville, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and I are all performing songwriters who happened to be outside the mainstream. The ’70s press called us “Outlaws.” I’m flattered to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys.

4. Playing in Jimmy Buffett’s band was akin to being kidnapped by a band of lovable pirates.

5. I was playing this old theater in McDonough, Georgia, sometime in 1978, and I don’t know what went wrong. Maybe the show wasn’t promoted properly, but only three people showed up. Plus a dog with an infected ear.

6. I just handed in the first draft of my second book. It’s called They Came to Nashville. I’m also planning to record some songs with Tim Krekel. We’ve got one that’s called “Sick of Myself” that I can’t wait to hear!

7. Obviously, writing a book takes longer. Also, there’s less room for error when you write a song. One poorly turned phrase can throw the whole thing off, whereas a book might be able to absorb it. Also, music adds so much unspoken emotion, but I like doing both.

8. My mother once said that in Spartanburg, it’s OK to wear the same cocktail dress to more than one party, but you’d dare not do that in Greenville. When I think about the difference between the two cities, I think of Chip Smith (a Spartanburg man-about-town) who once had some T-shirts made up that said, “If Greenville’s a Little Atlanta, then Spartanburg’s a BIG GAFFNEY.”

9. When I do go home to Spartanburg, I’m less likely to be known as Marshall Chapman, the singer-songwriter, than Martha Chapman’s daughter! (Laughs.)

10. If I weren’t in music or writing, I’d be institutionalized or incarcerated!

11. I'd like to have Willie Nelson record one of my songs.

12. It was November 1979 at The Bottom Line, in NYC. My record label didn’t think I was ready to headline and wanted to co-bill me with Walter Egan. My manager and I disagreed and stood our ground. The night of the show, I pulled up in a taxi, and people were lined up around the block. It was a great feeling, and probably my best tour memory. We knocked them dead that night. Those New Yorkers didn’t know what hit them. Halfway through “Rock and Roll Clothes,” they were standing on the tables. I was so exhilarated afterward, I walked all the way back to my hotel.

13. High heels are dangerous!

14. At Camp Pinnacle up in Hendersonville, the best campfire song was “Tell Me Why.” (“Tell me why… the stars do shine/ tell me why… the ivy twines… etc.”)

15. The saying goes “you can never come home again.” Well, Thomas Wolfe said that. And for years, it may have been true for me. But the older I get, the more I feel like I could live anywhere: Fairhope, Alabama…Spartanburg…NYC…Sicily…it’s all planet Earth. The only place I could never live would be in a gated community. I like interacting with my fellow citizens. I’m planning to learn Spanish so I can better do that.

16. The greatest poet to put pen to paper was William Butler Yeats.

17. The decision to start my own record label came from a desire to present my music without having to talk to lawyers. (Laughs.) I’d already recorded three albums for a major label and one for Rounder, so having my own label seemed the next logical step. I’d been in the studio recording some new songs, and everybody was saying “Those sound pretty good. You should put them out.” So I did.

18. Southern girls are a breed unto themselves.

19. Opening for The Ramones, which I did in 1978, was like being caught in a wind tunnel.

20. Cowboy Jack Clement is one of my favorite people I’ve met through the music industry, because he’s funny, he writes great songs, he’s a complete original, he’s cute, he’s sweet, he’s a good dancer—he once taught at Arthur Murray Studios in Memphis—he’s produced some of my favorite acts (Jerry Lee Lewis, Waylon, Johnny Cash, John Prine), and he sang at my wedding.