Little Big Town photo courtesy of Equity Music Group
January 14, 2008 — The story of Little Big Town is now well known among country fans: They made a lot of compromises with their first record company when they recorded their first album; it didn't represent them very well, and they soon split with the label. All of that changed with their last album, The Road To Here.
As it turns out, one of the important factors in their success was the support of their record producer, Wayne Kirkpatrick, who was a bit of an odd choice for the group. Most of his success had come in pop music, as the writer of a couple of Amy Grant hits, plus Eric Clapton's "Change The World" and "Lost In You," the first single by Garth Brooks' alter ego, Chris Gaines.
"You want to surround yourself with people who are like-minded, and with Wayne, we had a natural chemistry," Little Big Town's Jimi Westbrook tells The Birmingham News. "He's great at pulling things out of you, getting in your head and knowing the direction you want to go. We joke about whether we're his muse or he's our muse."
Apparently, things have worked both ways. Since connecting with Little Big Town, Kirkpatrick earned another country hit as a songwriter on The Wreckers' single "My, Oh My." And Little Big Town picked up its first two hits, with "Boondocks" and "Bring It On Home." They also picked up a choice spot on tour: They're currently opening for George Strait.
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