Steve Wariner
Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late 1970s. He has released eighteen studio albums and over fifty singles for several different record labels.
Not to be confused with Steve Warner.
Steve Wariner
- Singer
- songwriter
- guitarist
- record producer
1973–present
2
- Vocals
- acoustic guitar
- electric guitar
Wariner experienced his greatest chart successes in the 1980s, recording first for RCA Records Nashville and then MCA Nashville. While on these labels he sent a number of singles into the top ten of the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and received favorable critical reception for the amount of creative control he held over his body of work. Upon moving to Arista Nashville in 1991 he had his most commercially successful album I Am Ready, his first to be certified gold, but followups were less successful. After a period of commercial downfall, he experienced a second wave of success in the late 1990s which was spurred by co-writing the number-one singles "Longneck Bottle" by Garth Brooks and "Nothin' but the Taillights" by Clint Black. These songs led to him signing with Capitol Records Nashville and achieving two more gold albums with Burnin' the Roadhouse Down and Two Teardrops by decade's end. While his commercial success once again dwindled after these albums, he has continued to record independently on his own SelecTone label.
Ten of Wariner's singles have reached the number-one position on the Hot Country Songs charts: "All Roads Lead to You", "Some Fools Never Learn", "You Can Dream of Me", "Life's Highway", "Small Town Girl", "The Weekend", "Lynda", "Where Did I Go Wrong", "I Got Dreams", and "What If I Said" (a duet with Anita Cochran). Wariner holds several writing credits for both himself and other artists, and has collaborated with Nicolette Larson, Glen Campbell, Diamond Rio, Brad Paisley, Asleep at the Wheel, and Mark O'Connor among others. He has also won four Grammy Awards: one for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, and three for Best Country Instrumental. In addition to these he has won three Country Music Association awards and one Academy of Country Music award, and is a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Wariner's musical style is defined by his lead guitar work, lyrical content, and stylistic diversity.
Early life[edit]
Steven Noel Wariner was born on December 25, 1954, in Noblesville, Indiana,[1] but grew up in Russell Springs, Kentucky.[2] As a teenager, Wariner taught himself how to play several instruments, including acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums, banjo, and steel guitar.[3] Wariner performed locally in his father Roy Wariner's band, drawing influence from musical acts his father listened to such as George Jones and Chet Atkins.[1] When Wariner was 17, country singer Dottie West heard him performing at the Nashville Country Club in Indianapolis and recruited him to play bass guitar in her road band. Wariner completed his education through a correspondence course with his local high school, and went on to play in West's band for three years;[3] he also played on her 1973 single "Country Sunshine".[1]
Wariner also began writing songs at this point, and West attempted to secure him a record label contract by submitting demos of his work, but was unsuccessful.[3] He then left West's road band to put a greater focus on songwriting, and began touring with Bob Luman after he cut some of Wariner's songs.[4][3] While in recording sessions with Luman, Wariner encountered guitarist Paul Yandell, who was also working for Atkins at the time.[3] Yandell submitted some of Wariner's demos to Atkins, who was also vice-president of RCA Records Nashville at the time and was thus able to sign Wariner to a contract in 1976.[2]
Musical styles[edit]
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that "in the beginning, the low-tuned guitars and wide range of his singles brought frequent comparisons to the early Glen Campbell hits."[1] Richard Carlin of Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary similarly compared the RCA catalog to that of Glen Campbell, calling such songs "a pop-country backup that really wasn't suited to him". Carlin found the MCA albums more "progressive" and comparable to pop rock.[95] Thomas Goldsmith of The Tennessean noted that many of Wariner's mid-1980s hit singles were "personal, down-to-earth songs of daily life." He also wrote that by the release of Life's Highway, Wariner had developed a "leaner country style" compared to the "pop-oriented tunes" of his earlier days.[22] In a review of Faith in You also for AllMusic, Ruhlmann described Wariner's style by saying, "his abilities as a guitarist, understated but always apparent in the style of his mentor, Chet Atkins, provide a basic level of enjoyment no matter what else is going on."[80] Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time stated that "most of the time he releases pleasant music that is neither offensive nor exciting."[96] Writing for the Dallas Morning News, Jay Brakefield contrasted Wariner's style with that of Vince Gill, saying that "like Gill, Wariner has a reputation as a superb guitar player and a terrific vocalist."[50] Wariner noted that Atkins was influential in his early days as a recording artist, as Atkins encouraged Wariner to play his own lead guitar parts, and to emphasize the quality of a song over who wrote it.[97] Despite this, Wariner also said that he only chose to include his own guitar solos on songs where he felt that they were necessary.[22] Some of Wariner's songs employ scat singing over his solos, most notably "I Got Dreams".[95]
Wariner's guitar playing style includes fingerstyle guitar and classical guitar, both of which he claims were inspirations from the work of Jerry Reed.[61] In his early days when performing with Atkins, he recalls that Atkins would lend him a Gretsch guitar on which he was allowed to play solos.[61] Nash wrote of Wariner's vocal and lyrical style that "the majority of Wariner’s sweet-sad songs about lost opportunity forego front-page passion for little nuggets of long-term longing" and "his creamy tenor audibly caresses a lyric."[54] An article in The Los Angeles Times noted of Wariner's musical image in the 1990s that, unlike his peers, he did not wear a cowboy hat; the same article described him as "just plain good...Wariner has an angelic voice, some solid songs and a staggering facility on the guitar."[98] Many of his projects have been recorded in only one take, including Burnin' the Roadhouse Down,[24] the track "I Just Do" from Faith in You,[79] and the Atkins tribute album.[61]
Personal life[edit]
Wariner fathered his first son, Ryan, with Caryn Severs in 1984. After marrying in 1987, they had a second son, Ross.[99] He also has one stepdaughter, Holly, who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.[100] He has one sister, Barbara, and three brothers: Kenny, Dave, and Terry, the last of whom was a longtime member of his road band.[20] His mother Geneva Ilene Wariner died on June 19, 2012,[101] followed by his father, Roy Monroe Wariner, on July 7, 2017.[102]
For much of the 1980s, Wariner developed an interest in stage magic, and would often include magic acts as part of his concerts.[20] He also took up watercolor painting, and named his song "Like a River to the Sea" after one such painting.[56]