Lorrie Morgan's 2009 CD, A Moment In Time. Photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of Webster & Associates, LLC.

The idea of recording a "standards" album didn’t appeal to Lorrie Morgan until she came up with a way to make it different from any other.

"Wally Wilson called me, and I think he’s a wonderful producer," recalls Lorrie. "He said, ‘How would you feel about going into the studio with me and recording a standards album?’ I said, ‘You know what? Everybody and their brother is doing a standards album. I don’t want to do one unless we can figure out a way to make it different.’"

As the daughter of Country Music Hall of Fame member George Morgan, Lorrie has been attending recording sessions all her life. Over the next few days, her thoughts drifted back to what sessions were like when she was a little girl.

"A few days later, I called Wally back. I said, ‘I’ve got a great idea. How about if we do it the old-fashioned way? We won’t do any overdubs. We’ll go in with the best musicians there are in town. We’ll do it like I remember the industry being, going into the studio with my dad when I was little.’"

"Wally just flipped out. He said, ‘This would be awesome.’ So we called Harold Bradley, who was on so many of the original records of these songs. We called Jimmy Capps, who is also a classic player. We got Bergen White to do the vocal arrangements."

Classic "Nashville Sound" pickers were blended with stellar contemporary players such as bass player Glen Worf, steel guitarist Paul Franklin, drummer Eddie Bayers, pianist Gordon Mote, fiddler Larry Franklin and guitarists Kenny Greenberg, Joe Spivey and Billy Joe Walker Jr. Wally Wilson and co-producer Chip Voorhis captured the live performances as they occurred. The sessions were also filmed.

"I didn’t do any vocal overdubs," states Lorrie proudly. "There were no musical overdubs. Nothing. At one point, Jimmy Capps looked at me and said, ‘Please let me go back in and fix my part.’ I said, ‘Nope. You can’t. It’s over. It’s all done.’ As a matter of fact, I sang a wrong word in one of the songs, and we left it in.

"I was after the heart, the soul and the vibe. I wanted the listener to feel everything. It was pretty incredible. We did the whole thing in two days.

"After it was over, Harold Bradley said, ‘That is the most fun thing I have done in years.’ It was magic. People just don’t record like this anymore. Most people can’t. It’s so sad. They don’t know how."

Lorrie Morgan photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of Webster & Associates, LLC.

Today, a typical recording is done with each musician recording on a separate "track," correcting any errors by overdubbing until the part is played to perfection. Similarly, a singer’s "performance" is often assembled by having the vocal recorded several times and piecing together the best parts from each. Pitch errors or other mistakes are corrected with overdubbing.

For the sessions that became A Moment in Time, Lorrie Morgan was having none of that. She remembered that her favorite records by artists such as Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Elvis Presley and, yes, George Morgan were all created live in the studio. Back in the day, there was no such thing as overdubbing.

The catalogs of Nashville’s song publishing companies are crammed with beloved standards. For Lorrie, putting the repertoire together for A Moment in Time was beyond daunting.

"Are you kidding? I was going crazy. We went through, probably 200 songs trying to narrow it down. Finally, I gave Wally a list. I said, ‘You narrow it down. Any of these 50 are good with me. You pick them.’

"I listen to these kinds of songs all the time. I didn’t really have to learn any of them. I just went right in and sang them.

"I picked them because these were all songs that made me fall in love with music in the first place. My life has been all about music. I wanted to be able to sing songs that I remembered hearing and feeling a tingle in my skin or my heart beating faster. These are those songs."

Patsy’s "Leavin’ on Your Mind," Brenda’s "Break it to Me Gently," Elvis’ "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and George’s "All Right (I’ll Sign the Papers)" were all given new life on A Moment in Time. Lorrie has long cited the late Tammy Wynette as an inspiration, so "’Til I Get it Right" was a natural choice. Sometimes the selections had been gigantic hits – Glen Campbell’s "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," Merle Haggard’s "I’m Always on a Mountain" and Johnny Ray’s "Cry," for example. But Lorrie’s quest for songs also led her to material associated with the lesser known honky-tonk singer Mel Street, "Borrowed Angel" and "Lovin’ on Back Streets."

"Misty Blue" has been memorably sung by Eddy Arnold, Dorothy Moore, Joe Simon and hundreds of others. But Lorrie remembered it from its very first version, by 1960s country singer Wilma Burgess. She recalled Faron Young’s recording of "Wine Me Up," but really chose the rhythmic song for her album because she has recently become a wine connoisseur.

Lorrie hadn’t planned on having any guests on A Moment in Time. But singer Tracy Lawrence heard about the unusual recording sessions and dropped by to see what the folks on Music Row were talking about. As a result, he became her duet partner on "After the Fire Is Gone." Wally’s long friendship with former Mavericks front man Raul Malo led to an invitation for him to sing with Lorrie on "Easy Loving."

Record producer James Stroud also caught wind of this unique project. James produced such memorable Lorrie Morgan hits as "Watch Me," "What Part of No," "Something in Red" and "Except for Monday." So he asked her if he could listen to A Moment in Time. He not only purchased the album for his Country Crossing record label, but also reunited with her to produce its two bonus tracks, "The Next One" and "Just Over." Both are Lorrie Morgan originals.

Lorrie was just 13 when she made her Grand Ole Opry debut with her famous father. After he died at age 51 in 1975, she took over his band and hit the road. She performed at Opryland U.S.A. and at a number of Nashville nightspots before becoming the opening act on the road with George Jones.

As a songwriter, she was trained at the legendary Acuff-Rose publishing company. She began placing singles on the country popularity charts in the early 1980s. In 1984, she was inducted into the cast of the Grand Ole Opry.

She had her first top-10 hits in 1989, "Dear Me" and "Out of Your Shoes." But it was in the 1990s that she achieved true stardom with "Five Minutes," "A Picture of Me (Without You)," "I Didn’t Know My Own Strength" and other smashes. By 2003, Lorrie Morgan had earned more than 20 major radio hits, a CMA Award, seven Gold Records and four Platinum Records. In 1999, her Greatest Hits album was certified for sales of more than two million copies. She published a top-selling autobiography in 1997.

In recent years, she has blossomed as a songwriter. In addition to A Moment in Time, Lorrie has recorded an autobiographical CD of her own songs called I Walk Alone.

"It is the soundtrack of my life," she says. "It’s a beautiful album, very raw, very down to earth and very honest."

Next year, she will star on Broadway in "Pure Country." The musical is based on the hit 1992 George Strait movie of the same name. Hot country hit maker Joe Nichols will portray "Rusty," the Strait character. Lorrie will have the role of the devious manager "Lula," who was played by Lesley Ann Warren in the film.

"I can’t wait for that evil side of me to come out," Lorrie comments with a chuckle. "As soon as I read the script, I ‘got’ Lula right then and there.

"The stage is the place in my life where I am most comfortable. It’s my space, my happy place. Once I am on that stage, everything is fine. That is where I am truly at home.

"I’m finally ready to really spread my wings," says Lorrie Morgan. "I am so happy to be where I am today. How did I get so lucky to have a second chance at my career, at my life, at love, at everything? I couldn’t be in a better place."

And that place is A Moment in Time.