Episode 065 - The Time Terri Clark Played Who’s Who with Kelly Clarkson

Terri Clark: Like anyone would do, I just texted Reba McEntire. I said, “Is this Kelly Clarkson's number?” She said, “Yep, that's Kelly's number. You can go ahead and text her back; it’s alright.” So I texted her back. 

Taylor McAdams: She said that in text, that's how she said it?

Terri Clark: No, actually, I called her.

Taylor McAdams: Hey, everybody and thank you for listening to another episode of the Kick Your Boots Up podcast. This episode is extra special. We're here in Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget Casino, where Terri Clark is performing tonight. And guess what? The guest today is Terri Clark herself. Terri, thank you for being on.

Terri Clark: Thanks for having me. Taylor. It's great to be here.

Taylor McAdams: Absolutely. And you know, there's a lot that I could introduce you with being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Music Hall of Fame having all the top 10 hits. But I think I'm going to introduce you as the one who has a ton of Canadian hockey jerseys in her closet. 

Terri Clark: I do. This is true. This is true every every market that I played in Canada in the early days, especially. And I still get them today, too as well. They would bring me a hockey jersey, and it was my encore outfit for many, many years. So I've got quite a few. I've probably got 50 of them. 

Taylor McAdams: Oh my goodness. And I love that. It's like a special, unique thing that you'll be able to carry with you forever and ever. And I think we're gonna start this episode off by just talking about your humble beginnings. That's kind of how we do it around here at the Kick Your Boots Up podcast. Thanks for tuning in. The first question is, what was it like for you growing up in Canada with a mom and grand or parents and grandparents that were both musicians, growing up musically? What was that like?

Terri Clark: Well, there was always a guitar in every corner, and I remember being really small, and just my grandfather even had an amp in the living room, and he would just pick up an electric guitar, and he played all the songs that he loved all the time, and I would just sit there on the rug like at his feet and watch him play, and just was mesmerized by his fingers and the fact that he was so good at it. And my grandfather and my grandmother played professionally. They played country music in bars and clubs in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, when my mom was a little girl and a teenager, and, you know, seeing as how there were always instruments laying around, my mom learned three chords on the guitar. And she was a kind of a hippie. She was a child of the 60s. So she grew up, you know, listening to a lot of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Buffy, sainte, Marie, Joni, Mitchell, the Beatles. So, you know, she instead of reading me bedtime stories when I was little, she'd sit on the edge of the bed with her harmony sovereign guitar that her parents gave her for her 15th birthday, and she would sing to me. And they included those songs, but they also included, you know, Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard, because that's what her parents taught her. So I got a really, a really broad palette of music growing up and things that I heard, and it was always music, like I said, not the bedtime stories that most parents read. She just sat on the edge of my bed with that guitar and would sing me to sleep at night.

Taylor McAdams: And when did you know then that you had the music bug, too? When did you realize it? 

Terri Clark: Well, I went to my mom when I was about nine, and I asked her if she would teach me the guitar. And she said I'm going to teach you your first three chords. And she drew out little lines on a piece of paper. Put little dots where my draw out the six lines where the strings were, and she would draw little dots on the strings where my fingers would go and lines where the frets were. And I learned my first three chords for my mom, it was CG and D, seventh. And from that point on, I kind of flew by the seat of my own pants and learned the rest on my own. I got one of those little books that showed me chords. My grandfather showed me a couple things. There were some local musicians in medicine. Had Alberta, where I really got steeped in country music and started playing in local bands when I was a teenager. They showed me a few things, too. I have a really weird way of playing guitar. It's not, I don't really do bar chords. I was not formally trained, so I'm very ear-motivated. So, if I heard something on the radio or on something that I was I was learning and I would, I would work with my fingers until it sounded right, and that's how I play some of my chords. They're not technically the right way of playing all of them, but it's always worked well for me.

Taylor McAdams: Yeah. 

Terri Clark: But yeah, I got into really getting into when I was about nine or 10 years old, and then as I went into my pre teen years, it amped up to the obsessive point for me when I started to discover country music artists of that time, that era, which were the early 80s to mid-80s. 

Taylor McAdams: Wow, I can only imagine. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall watching you learn and grow up. I'm a crazy horse girl myself, so I understand what it means to pour yourself into something so young. I love that I'm so in awe of that 

Terri Clark: It's easier to take care of a guitar than a horse. 

Taylor McAdams: Yeah, I will say that for sure, for sure, I've actually never even tried to play a guitar. I think when I was like, I don't even know how old, maybe too old to be doing this. I got a Hannah Montana electric guitar because I was going to be Hannah Montana. Never learned a chord.

Terri Clark: Awe, I love it. Awe.

Taylor McAdams: But anyways, I can't. Help but go back to the time and the stories that I've heard about you in tootsies. And was it seven years that you worked there until? 

Terri Clark:  Well, no, not necessarily so in 1987 I was I graduated from high school in 86, and the plan my mom was my biggest cheerleader, and she was my mentor, and my we were so close and we had a plan. We'd hatched the plan. We were going to take me to Nashville. So in 1987, after high school, my mom and her one of her very best friends that she had known since before I was born, Pat we we loaded a Honda Civic and drove down to Nashville and told the border official, the customs guard, that we were going to the Grand Ole Opry. He didn't know that one of us did not intend to come back. So, I was a little illegal back then, but I moved. I got to Nashville. Didn't stay that way, but we were kind of my mom had to go back home. She was there with me for like, about a week and a half. My brother was five years old. She had to get back to him. So we had a lot to do in a week and a half. 

Taylor McAdams: Yeah, you did.

Terri Clark: With this girl who couldn't get a waitressing job. I had to figure out I was going to babysit. We found me a place to live.

Taylor McAdams: You were a nanny, right?

Terri Clark: In the newspaper, yeah, and in the classified ads, there was a woman looking for a babysitter for her, for her son, when she was working the factory shift in the middle of the night, she was gone a lot at night, and so we got me a deal on rent, renting a room in a townhouse, and before Pat and my mom Linda left and had to go back. Now, just know that Alberta to Tennessee is about, it's over 2,000 miles. It wasn't like I could go home for Sunday dinner or any of that. It was a very and I was green and from the prairies of Alberta, so I was, I was pretty naive, but always had a pretty level head. So they had to leave after about a week. And before they left, we went to Tootsie’s orchid lounge as tourists, because I'd read all the history books. I was obsessed with country music. I always had my head in a biography or country music trivia book more than I did in my school books. So we went into tootsies, and there was a guy in there that was nobody there. Guy was singing, just with his guitar on stage, a solo thing. And so my mom and Pat were like, ask him if he can get up and sing. And I was really shy, and I was like, I don't want to do that. So they did, and I wound up on stage. The place started filling up with people. By that time, it was probably mid to late afternoon, and they had the door open because it was hot, and they offered me a job. So the music, the person in charge of music. His name was Toby Carr. Hired me, and he also did a shift as a musician there. Robert, who owns Robert's western world now, was the owner of tootsies at the time. So they hired me to play, and I played three days a week. Got a bus pass because I didn't have a car. I took the city bus about 10 miles from where I rented that room all the way down to Second Avenue. They dropped me off at the bus stop, and I carried my guitar with a shoestring wrapped around my wrist, because lower Broadway was not what it is. It was dangerous. It was seedy. There were bloodstains on the sidewalk. It was there were like adult peep shows and pawn shops. And it was not the, you know, the neon bars with all the country stars names on them, and the tourists. It was once in a while you'd get a bus from Florida full of, you know, their elderly passengers would come in. And so it was tough. It was tough, but I wouldn't trade it for the world, but that's that was my start at Tootsies. I did three days a week, and I did the 10am to 2pm shift in the afternoon, because I couldn't be standing at a bus stop in the dark. It was too dangerous down there, and I was forbidden by my mother. She said she'd drag me home by the ear if she found out I was going down there at night. 

Taylor McAdams: That is an incredible story, and to think that you made it playing arguably one of the harder shifts of the day. You know, not a lot of scouts are out during the day. Not a lot of no anybody, right? So that's incredible, and I love the story. Part of it where the door was open, people flooded. Yeah, they knew from the very beginning that had to have been cool, right? 

Terri Clark: It was cool. And I couldn't tell if it was because they let a bus off or if it was me. I didn't know. But for some reason, the the powers that be at the bar that day wanted to hire me, and I knew that something, something was clicking with them. And, you know, back then, there was, like a cast of characters living in their cars and hanging out. Yeah, I had a business card. I'll make you a star. You know, everybody had some sort of an angle, and it was just so 80’s Nashville. I mean, you hear like podcasts in that now about there's one called, I think, Once Upon a Time in Nashville, and then there's another one called Cocaine and Rhinestones. I think it's there's some really good ones that that really depict, like, what Nashville was like. And there was, there was always some shyster with a business card trying to take advantage of some young kid who came to town and get their parents to mortgage their house and give them money so they could record them and give them a record deal and make them a star. And I'm lucky I didn't fall for any of that, but I remember seeing a lot of them around at the time, but I just really I had a good, keen sensibility about me and intuition, so I kind of stayed away from that type of thing. And for some reason, I just always fell in the path of really good people that weren't those people. I'm lucky because I was pretty naive. Wow, job opening!

Taylor McAdams: And I would actually live there for a second. Just to go back one little bit, I would have died for my horse. We talked about me being a Crazy Horse. Girl, you're a crazy musician. At the time when you had the guitar strapped to your wrist? Would you have died for your guitar? 

Terri Clark: Oh, yeah. Because when I was 16 years old, my dad bought me 100 and 50th-anniversary edition herringbone Martin D 28 and it was 1983  And it was the best guitar I ever had. It still sits in my living room in a stand today, and it sounded so good, and I had a little pickup I'd put in the in the sound hole that was removable, and I just it was my prized possession, and I would take that thing down to Tootsies. I can't believe I took that to Tootsies, but I still have that guitar to this day. It's the same guitar I wrote better things to do on, and all the early hits so that the guitar has been Zach Brown actually has a song called Martin and Me. It's about his guitar, his Martin guitar, and I wept when I first heard it. So yeah, that guitar meant a lot to me. But I think that the biggest sacrifice for me and all of it was leaving my family and my little brother, who was five at the time, who I adored. He was born when I was 13, so I was like his second mother. That was the hardest goodbye out of all of all of that. And thank God, I made it, and things worked out because I, you know, that's a sacrifice. I didn't see him very often, you know, and we're close to this day. He's an adult now, but that was the hardest part of it. 

Taylor McAdams: I can only imagine, family is so important. And along those same lines, I think, I think it's a perfect segue to talk about this next thing, your record, your first record label, who soon became family. Everyone in the industry becomes family at some point, I'm sure, tell me about the moment when you were in Tootsies and you got discovered. And really, just like hearing the first phone call, did you believe it? 

Terri Clark:  Well, that was the Tootsies discovery was interesting, how that happened, and it led to me being on Mercury Records. So I think it was 1989 8080 89 a producer named George from Apopka, Florida, who did a lot of he had a thing called the sinclavier machine in his basement. He had a recording studio, and you could make all kinds of sounds with this thing. At the time, it was very cutting-edge. He could do bass lines, drums, keyboards, and everything else. He walked into tootsies looking for a hamburger, and I was playing and singing, and he sat down and listened to me. He just sat there and observed for two or three hours and said he wanted to record me. And for whatever reason, I got a good feeling about this guy. So he flew me down to Florida, and for about a month, we worked together, and we we did a demo tape of some of the songs that I had written, and he brought it up to Nashville and pitched it around, took it to ASCAP music, and it wound up on Tom Long's desk, who was Artist Relations for ASCAP, which is one of the performing rights organizations in Nashville, like ASCAP, BMI CSAC, so and Tom said, you need a manager. And he said, Do you know who Woody Bowles is? And I said, Of course, I know who woody Bowles is. He managed the Judd’s back in the day with Ken Stilts. So he said, Well, he's working with Bailey and the Boys, Mo Bandy. I think he would really dig, yeah. So he sent me over Woody's office with my guitar, and I played and sang for Woody live. I got everything just singing with my guitar in a room. That's how everything happened. And Woody said, his hair parted, and he wanted to work with me, so we worked together for a while. He helped guide me, and that demo tape wound up in somebody else's hands who took me in. I did an even better demo tape with Brian Kennedy, and that demo tape wound up on Keith Stegel's desk years later. So this, this took, this was, this was years of one thing leading to another. Meantime, I got married, got my green card, and got citizenship, but I was waiting tables and painting houses and bartending and doing everything I could to make a living as well as trying to write songs working with publishers, and yeah,, so it was a long it was a long road from that first minute that I walked into Tootsies to sing to when I actually got a record deal in 1994.

Taylor McAdams: And that's kind of so different today. You know, today, someone can go viral on Tiktok and then get a call maybe the next day. Yeah. What do you think is your best piece of advice for someone out there that's trying to make it think back to the time that you were waiting tables, doing all the things, and maybe they haven't had their break yet. Maybe they are going to be like you or a Laney Wilson that have just tried it for years and years. 

Terri Clark: I love that about Laney, too and Ashley McBride, too. Like the van and bar to bar to bar. I just think, I think that that grassroots way, that that the way of making it to where it's just not easy. I think that just adds soul to your to your music. It gives you song ideas, the stories you hear from people, the the inspiration that happens and the hunger that builds in you. Because it didn't come easy, you want it more and more, and you work hard for it, yeah. And when you get it, you appreciate it so much, like I see Laney everywhere, and I'm like, we're friends, and I'm like, you taking your vitamins? Big sister, callin’ ya! Are you okay? And she's like, she just doesn't she her work ethic is insane, and so is Ashley's too. And they're both doing so well, and they're so talented. And it's just when you really scratch for it, and you really struggle for it, you finally get it. You're not You're not going to let go of it very easily, and you're going to do what you need to do, and you're not going to complain. You're going to be grateful for every opportunity that comes along, and you're going to do it. And that, to me, is the big difference. There's, there's just, there's just a real sturdy resilience about people who come up that way, who aren't just handed everything on a silver platter because they got a Tiktok video that went viral.  

Taylor McAdams: You're right. And you know what you're actually describing? The words that you used to describe a musician that worked hard as probably also a cowgirl or a cowboy. Absolutely. I remember hearing my dad say, my dad and mom both say, well, Taylor, you're just building character. Whenever I was having to clean a pig pen again, or whatever it was, and I'm so thankful that that's the way that I was raised.

Terri Clark: Yeah, well, Reba started out a cowgirl, and look at her, look at her work ethic is, is, I've never seen anything like it. She's gonna be 70 years old soon, and it's, it's, I'm like, Wow, I'm a hard worker, but I don't know anybody that works that hard.

Taylor McAdams: And she's still asking her team, what can we do more? What can I do? I've heard that about her, and that's what I respect.  

Terri Clark: Yeah, she's really she's got it going on. So those are three people I just talked about that came up the hard way, in whatever way it is, it's just, you know, you learn early on to work hard. And I grew up with a stepfather who was very, very, very strict and very hard on me about work ethic. And if you're not going to do something right, don't do it at all. Don't do it, you know, do it the right way. 

Taylor McAdams: Own it. Have pride.

Terri Clark:  Have pride. And so I even the simplest things, like we were digging ditches to lay foundation for a garage we added to the house when I was, you know, supposed to be in bed because I had school the next day and helping him, you know, dig out the foundation of a basement wall and things like that. Like we, he didn't treat me like a girl. 

Taylor McAdams:  Yes, definitely not. 

Terri Clark:  So, you know, I did that kind of stuff too, which I think all plays into it. 

Taylor McAdams: Oh, it does. I can relate to you. My My parents have two daughters, me and my sister, and I was raised like the son, so I joke about it all the time. I appreciate that humor extra hands. But speaking of signs, we gotta, we gotta move on, just really quick, because there is a story that you've told, and I want to hear the story on the podcast about Blake Shelton getting getting mistaken for you at some point in time. Tell us that story really fast.

Terri Clark:  Is that bad for him or bad for me? 

Taylor McAdams: No, it's definitely bad for him.

Terri Clark:  No, he remember when he had that- He had a mullet for longest time, like in the beginning of his career, first five years Blake's mullet. It's long, curly hair and and he was at Fanfair. He's really tall, and people were always talking about how tall I am, 

Taylor McAdams: You’re 5/11”?

Terri Clark:  Yes, I’m 5’11”. Okay, almost just a hair below. But I guess he was getting out of, I did not personally see this, but he told the story. He was getting out of a golf cart or a car or something, and there were fans lined up by this rope, and everybody would just yell your name. And he got out, and his back was facing the fans, and he was walking to the building. They're going, Terri, Terri, hey, Terri, can we get your picture? And he turned around and he says, that was it. That was that hair was gone. 

Taylor McAdams: And it was.

Terri Clark: I don't know if that's why he could. I like him better without it.

Taylor McAdams: You can claim it.I bet Gwen Staffani does, too.

Terri Clark: Oh, gosh, yeah, yeah, it's it. That was, it's a pretty funny story. Oh, yeah. And I'm like, I'm not, I mean, he's, like, a man. He's huge, tall, like, my shoulders are not that broad.

Taylor McAdams: Yeah, you're like, wait, what does that say about me?  

Terri Clark: No, I don't know. What are people thinking? They're reading the press that I'm like, eight feet tall and, you know, weigh 300 pounds or something. I don't know.

Taylor McAdams:  This is how rumors get started, too. Because if Blake went and did something crazy, they're like, did you see Terri Clark? She was at the bar last night. Girls all around her, yeah.

Terri Clark: And she can grow a beard too, right? She has some sideburns on her.

Taylor McAdams: Oh my gosh. Well, speaking of fun memories like that, your career has spanned over several. The kids now and–

Terri Clark: Oh, God, 

Taylor McAdams: There are– no, no! I did not mean to make you feel old. No, no. But what I want to know is the true stories that you've lived to tell, some that you have lived not to tell, and that's okay, too. What has been some of your fondest memories throughout your entire career? Were they highs, lows? Were they big moments? Were they small moments? 

Terri Clark: Oh, you know, some of my fondest memories, honestly, involve my road crew and band and hanging out on the bus. We just, you know, we're like-minded people. We're music nerds and lovers, and I've made lifelong friends on the road. You know, there have been people that that were hired early on in my band and crew that I'm still in touch with to this day, that were out there with me when I was 26, 27 years seven years old, that come over and cook dinner and have taught me so much. You know, I think that that sense of community and having people around you that have experienced things maybe you haven't can really lift you and help you, and they've exposed me to music. I might not have been I love music. I love all kinds of music and, and those are some of my good times. I I've got memories of playing Billy Bob's and watching the sun come up the next day. I've got memories of being on tour with Toby Keith, hanging out on his bus after the shows, picking his brain about business and music, and him just treating me like a little sister, you know, you know, swapping cans of dip with him, and God, the parties after the Toby shows were always so much fun. I'm hanging out with Reba McEntire. And you know, one story is really funny. When I was touring with George Strait, he was I was in one of the bathrooms that were between, like, the big or locker rooms in these arenas, and I was in a locker room in between the stage, and when he was coming in, and he I didn't realize his whole entourage was coming through the and I was so starstruck by him, I went into one of the stalls and stood up on the toilet and just been was really quiet when they were coming through, as I didn't want them to see me. And somebody saw me. They're like, who's in there? And George Strait goes, “Terri, what the hell are you doing in there?” I'm just trying to be, trying to be, you know, not in your way. And, oh man, I was just, I was just, you know, I was such a kid, I almost feel like I've had two lifetimes since that girl, but I'm still the same girl. But boy, I wish I knew then what I know now, if I'd had the wisdom, and I could just talk to her and tell her everything was going to be okay, and she'd still be doing this when she was something years old, and then she maybe would have calmed down just a little bit, because I was very excited back then. It was excitable. I was excited, excited, excitable, grateful, terrified of losing it. I was really worried that my last hit was going to be my last hit, and I would disappear into the ether forever and be aone-hit-wonderr. And oh, so you know, you can have a bigger career, but there isn't a better career than one where I can go to the grocery store and still shop for groceries, and nobody, nobody knows I'm even there. I don't wear this. I can disappear, but I can come to the Golden Nugget during NFR and fill that room, and people are are having a good time. That is, to me, the balance the best of both worlds.

Taylor McAdams: Maybe you're actually Hannah Montana. I said I wanted to be, but it sounds like Terri Clark is Hannah Montana. That is so, so true. And I think that's the coolest part for you. You've done such a good job, over time, maintaining your image, maintaining your brand. And okay, we have to speak about that for a second, because so many of our listeners, myself included, are terrified of what's next. What's Next, we live in a world where everyone gets served something so fast. So, what do you think is your best piece of advice in terms of taking in every moment and living in the moment?

Terri Clark: That's That's advice I wish I could have given myself, yeah, when I was younger because all you really have is right now. And I'm not going to sound like a bumper sticker, I'm trying not to, but the past is gone, and the future hasn't happened yet. Be the best version of yourself that you can be in, the most authentic self that you can be. Don't chase anybody else. Don't try to be anything you're not because people see through that. Yeah, and you're going to hear about it on social media, and I didn't have to worry about social media when I was coming up. Thank god. I'm so glad I was able to just write songs focus on quality, and I was able to focus on writing and being create, creativity, not content. I mean, a lot of these younger artists, and I have to do it too, yes, they're so focused on getting content for social media. Now that's that's become the job, so don't get too caught up in it, I guess. And just really appreciate your MO, your the now

Taylor McAdams: That is such solid advice. And actually it goes back to one of the questions I asked our listeners. They don't know who is going to be on the podcast, but I said, anyone that was a famous 90’s country artist, what would you like to ask them? One of the questions, since you brought it up, I'll ask you is, what's it like then singing out to a crowd of phones that didn't used to have to happen.

Terri Clark: It's really strange. I'm okay with it if people are taking the picture with it, but when somebody's watching the entire show through their screen, I'm like, Why did you. Buy a ticket to come and see somebody live. And the one piece of advice I can offer, and you know, is go buy the ticket, be present and watch the show. Yes, because you don't know, especially if it's an artist that's been around for a while. You don't know if you're ever going to get a chance to see that person again. People get sick, people die. I mean like, how many people watched their last Toby Keith show through a phone and wish they had been more present to watch him do his last show or the last show that they didn't know they were going to see him do. So I think it's important to remember to really just take it all in  

Taylor McAdams: That is so good. And I actually that reminds me of Cody Johnson song till you can't if you have a chance, take it, because the chance the dream will chase you back. Yeah. So we got to talk about Cody Johnson a little bit then, because your guys's song together that you did on Terri Clark Take Two, I just want to be mad. I felt like that song was supposed to be a duet. I felt like I heard that for the first time. Yeah, okay, you

Terri Clark: You took the words out of my mouth. It's we. We went back and forth about what song we were going to do, and I kind of left it up to him, and he circled back to that one, and I said, I'm so glad you said that, because this could really be a conversation between two people. We talked about the melody. Cody's got an amazing range.

Taylor McAdams:  Heck yes

Terri Clark: He's just one of the best singers out there. And he we altered the melody enough that we had one key change, but we were able to trade off lines through the entire song.

Taylor McAdams: And I didn't even notice that the key, I'm deaf, tone deaf.

Terri Clark: Oh, that's okay. I know plenty of people that are. 

Taylor McAdams: You’re like they’re still trying to make it. I didn't even notice that. I'll have to go back and listen to it.

Terri Clark: It's the biggest streaming song off the Take Two project. It's the one that streamed the most, and I think it's a testament to the arrangement and the fresh take that we did on it. It's really like some of those songs are what they are. It's hard to take girls like two and turn it into anything, but what it is, you know what I mean, and Better Things, is rocking sonically. They're updated, they're freshened up. But that one really took on a life of its own, as did the Kelly Clarkson, if I were you that one too, and

Taylor McAdams: Please tell that story, because I was just like going through social media, and I heard her story of how she got to be on the album with you, which she was starstruck, by the way. But what is your what is your take on how Kelly Clarkson got to be on the album with you? 

Terri Clark: Well, I I went to my managers when we were discussing who was going to be, you know, who was I was going to ask to finish out the album with. And I said Kelly Clarkson would be amazing. She's always name-checking 90’s ladies in her interviews and how much she loves it. She even individually talked about me one time and did better things to do on her Kelly Okie portion of her show, which I was like, Oh, my God, she's doing my song! Yeah, you were the favorite girl. So excited. Oh, she is just, she's an otherworldly singer. It's crazy. And so my manager was like, well, the writer strikes over, and she's going back to where it's gonna be almost impossible to get her to commit to doing this. She's just really busy. She does a lot of charity. Where I'm like, I know, I know also, I'll move on. And he was like, Yeah, I wouldn't. We can try. But so I kind of put her down to my mind. And two weeks later, I get a random text, a number is not in my phone, and it's somebody asking somebody else a question and name someone else's name, and it was Tricia. And I'm like, I don't know who this is. No idea. And I thought, Who could this possibly be? And then she's she's like, Wait, is this Terri Clark? And I'm like, some random person's got my number, and I'm like, I can't, I can't answer this text. So I did this. I tried to act like it was an auto response, and I went driving right now, I'll text you back when I get to where I'm going. And so then she starts sending. She's like, going, it says it's Terri Clark. I looked it up, and it says it's your number, and I'm still not knowing who this is. I said. I said, Well, who is this? And she said, Well, I can't tell you who this because she didn't know if it was me for sure, not. So we're both, like, playing this game, and she's sending hints that I would only know that it would be her hints and pictures of betting lines and things that she's, you know, got brands everywhere. And then she said something that only she did when I was hosting a radio show. And I said, this has got to be Kelly. But I still wasn't buying it, so I texted Reba, like anyone would do. I just texted Reba McEntire. She said, Yep, that's Kelly's number. You can go ahead and text her back it’s alright. So I texted her back. 

Taylor McAdams: She said that in text, that's how she said it 

Terri Clark: No, actually, I called her. So I called Reba. Reba said that. She said, Yeah, be sure to, and then she Reba said, you could text Kelly back. You're all right. So I texted Kelly, blah, blah, blah. We go back and forth. And so I cornered Kelly, and I'm like, rather than talk to 5 million people that are between me and her, I asked her if she would do me the honor, and asked her what song she would want to do. And she said she wanted to do if I were you. So that's how that happened. And it's a little bit of a long and drawn-out story. I'm trying to shorten it during my show because I tell it, but oh yeah, it's it's it. That was what That's fate happening, falling in my lap right there. It was meant to happen.

Taylor McAdams: It truly was, and honestly matters back. For you, because I would have probably given up and blocked the number immediately or something that could have almost not happened. 

Terri Clark: You know, there's so many scammers and people calling random, not even if you're an artist. Just like, I get calls from Dubai or something, and I'm just like, Who is this person? So-

Taylor McAdams: They definitely don't know me. 

Terri Clark: Yeah. So I didn't believe it was her, until Reba told me it was her. And then I was like, Okay, well, if you say so freeba says if Reba says, yeah.

Taylor McAdams: Well, another artist that I want to talk about is Ashley. You mentioned her, and you guys are very close. Were you close before the album? 

Terri Clark:  Yeah. 

Taylor McAdams: Okay.

Terri Clark: Yeah. I met Ashley in 2017 at a CMA after-party. She just got her deal with Warner Brothers. She didn't have, she really didn't have much out yet. Nobody really knew who she was. And she walked up to me and at the after party, and was so sweet, and so she's just, she's so, actually, so whip-smart, polite, just well spoken, and she was so respectful and sweet. She walked up and introduced herself, and said, Ma'am, I know she ma’med me. Yeah, I just want to let you know how much your records meant to me, and you've really influenced me growing up, and it's meant what it's meant to me. And I hadn't had a lot of that up to that point happen, and it blew me away. And so we ended up exchanging numbers and got getting together tco-writete, and we wrote a song. We haven't written anything since, but we are scheduled for one January 6, but we've had a lot of dinners. We've had a lot of a lot of sing songs with the guitars and playing old songs and covers. And she's, she's gotten up on stage with me, and I've gotten up on stage with her, and we're just really close. Yeah, she's like a little sister to me at this point, and I adore her, everything about her. And she's so talented, so talented. 

Taylor McAdams: And that comes through whenever you guys are singing together, truly, some of the videos that I've seen, I'm like, wow, this is an awesome boss babe duo. You know-

Terri Clark: It's so much fun. 

Taylor McAdams: Supporting each other. And kind of going back to that a little bit 90’s fashion is so big right now, I know. And you're like, I made that. 

Terri Clark: Everybody's making you wearing a hat. I mean, Shania is wearing a hat. That was my thing. I'm like, wait a minute, weren't you the one in that cut-off denim midriff showing I'm not doing that, though you.

Taylor McAdams: You won’t?! C’mon! Maybe some, like camo fishing gear. Maybe you can make that cool, right.

Terri Clark: Well, you're a cowgirl you but yeah, and everyone's wearing, everyone's wearing a cowgirl hat now, which, which is cool.

Taylor McAdams: Well, the one question, like I said, I asked some of the fans, or that some of the listeners, what they would ask a 90’s artist. And so I have to ask you this question while we're here: how did you fit into those Wrangler Jeans?

Terri Clark: The ones I don't fit into anymore. God, I think the biggest thing was fitting into those Wrangler Jeans. Is how I used to take them to the dry cleaners and order heavy starch, extra heavy starch.

Taylor McAdams: Cuz who didn’t?!

Terri Clark: I think I still do. Sometimes they end up on theirown in the corner.

Taylor McAdams: In Texas, it's worse!

Terri Clark: Oh yeah, it's, it's a lot of starch. So I don't, I would have to lay down, get a coat hanger and pull up the zipper.

Taylor McAdams: You quite literally put your pants on the same way that I do. You know that saying treat them like they just put their pants on one leg at a time?

Terri Clark: Well, you don't, yes, that

Taylor McAdams: is the old rodeo Queen trick. And if you couldn't ever do it, did you ever take a hair tie?

Terri Clark: Yes.

Taylor McAdams: Okay.

Terri Clark: I did. Yeah, it was, it was interesting. I don't wear the starch anymore. I wear wranglers still, but I don't, I don't starch them like I used to. I go for comfort. Now, good for you, comfortable. That's just not comfortable.

Taylor McAdams: And you know, everything's baggy nowadays, so you can settle for a little extra bag, and it'll be fine, absolutely. And okay, I've taken so much of your time, so I appreciate this, but I have one final question because you can't be on a Justin podcast and not talk about some things you have going on with Justin. So I want to compliment your hat. Thank you always for wearing Justin hats. A lot of people didn't even realize we even sold hats.

Terri Clark:  I didn't realize you sold hats until I went into a store in Colorado looking for hats, and Justin, I put on a hat. You know, I just randomly picked a hat. I'm very picky about my crown height. I don't like super tall hats, and I have an oval-shaped head, so I can't really wear a round one without shoving stuff in between it.

Taylor McAdams:  And having a headache 

Terri Clark: And having a headache. Yeah. So I found the perfect hat, and I looked inside, I was like, Justin's making cowboy hat. Justin cowboys there. So now that I'm now, I'm hitting them up for some hats. You guys up for hats, but I've always worn Justin boots too in my whole career.

Taylor McAdams: Yeah, that is so, so cool. We found a an art an ad in our archives of a photo shoot you had done with Justin. Do you remember that?

Terri Clark: Yes, and my feet up on the Yes, and denim on denim? Yeah? Yeah. I remember that very, very well, but yeah, I've got closet fulls of closets, closets full of Justin Boots, and I've got it's just lined but I always, I seem to wear the same three pair all the time. Do you notice that, like when you have a lot of boots or whatever, you just end up wearing the same thing every time.

Taylor McAdams: They’re Broken in. They know your feet.

Terri Clark: Yeah, they're just, they go with everything. Like these ones are 25 years old, I guess. But I ordered three pairs back then because I figured they eventually stopped making them, and they did. So I'm glad I have them,

Taylor McAdams: and now they're kind of working on something special for you. You get to have your own custom pair of Justin boots. Finally,yes, it's about time, right?

Terri Clark: Yeah, they're gonna make me some, a lot like that. I think that go a little higher, and

Taylor McAdams: That'll be so good, yeah, and there's a lot of functionality with that too. You can maybe, if you decide you want to start wearing some denim shorts, you could wear those. 

Terri Clark: Nobody needs to see that there's an age limit to certain things. Ladies, just saying, Put it away.

Taylor McAdams: Right. Modest is HOTTEST.

Terri Clark: Age gracefully. Button it up! No, I’m just kidding. 

Taylor McAdams: Well, Terri, it's fun cover it all the things. It's been so good, getting to talk with you and hear your story, and I wish you the best on your album. Terri Clark, Take Two you guys. You need to go listen to it. I've been streaming it on repeat since I heard about the opportunity of this. And quite honestly, it feels like, and I mean this in no disrespect, this is a good way. It feels like it's even better than before. Your energy is there, your passion. I can hear it in your voice, and you've done such a good job of keeping that momentum going. So I'm so excited to hear and see what you have in 2025.

Terri Clark: Thank you, Taylor. I appreciate you having me on the podcast.

Taylor McAdams:  And I wish you the best. Thank you again. And if you guys are out there listening, don't forget, as always, you can use code “KYBU15” at Justinboots.com to ensure you get an extra 15% off your purchase. And if you have any questions or if you have any comments about this episode or anything you'd like to ask, Terri, feel free to comment below and like, subscribe, and share this with your friends. Get notified when we have another episode, and we will see you down the road the next time we kick your boots up. Thanks for joining us on Kick Your Boots Up. I'm your host, Taylor McAdams, and we can't wait to share the next story of the West. Until then, feel free to like, subscribe, and leave us a review. Follow us on social media at Justin Boots to keep up with our next episode, and we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up.