Very interesting... If Byrd's going to cut a more "traditional" album, odds
are it's going to be very good.
>From Country Standard Time:
Multi-platinum selling artist Tracy Byrd announced Tuesday he split with
MCA over a desire to return to his traditional roots..
In a press release, Byrd's publicist said, "After a successful six-year
stint, Tracy Byrd and MCA Records Nashville believed it was time to make a
change and infuse new energy into his career. The departure is amicable."
Byrd released "Keepers: Greatest Hits" in late February. "I've never been
as excited about my career as I am right now," Byrd said.
MCA Records could not be reached for comment. ""We've just kind of looked
at where we've been going and decided we needed some new energy," said
Byrd's publicist Jackie Marushka in a telephone interview. "His camp is the
one who initiated this. We were not dropped. He's a traditional country
music singer. He was really wanting to get into that. He was going away form
that instead of getting deeper into that which is where he wanted to go.
That is really it."
"The product you hear on the radio - 'Mamma Ain't Happy' - that sort of the
product of what we're trying not to go with. If you listen to his earlier
stuff, he is definitely a traditional country singer. That is the material
he is really true to. That is where his heart is. He's very excited about
all that might be able to happen to him in the future. Change is good.
Change is always good. It was a very friendly, very amicable separation."
Marushka said Byrd and MCA had talked about direction for the past year.
As for the future, "There are a few labels who have approached him. Right
now, that is being handled in the management area. We feel confident that
Tracy is going to wind up in a positive place for him...People are
aggressively seeking working with him."
She refused to name any labels. Byrd could be in the studio "by late
spring, early summer," she said.
This will not affect Byrd's "Outdoor Obsession" tour.
"Byrd's "Not Ordinary Man" from 1995 was his best selling album, going
double platinum. Three other albums have gone gold.
