Terri Clark: Happy to Be On Her Own

Terri Clark photo by Andrew Southam, courtesy of Sony BMG.

July 1, 2009 — Getting signed to a major record label is the dream of many singers and songwriters. But when it was time to make her new record, Terri Clark actually asked to be released from her contract with Sony/BMG Nashville.

She asked label president Joe Galante to let her go because Terri says she needed to take a different path.

"Joe was unbelievably gracious," says Terri. "I think he understood that this record I needed to make needed to be more personal, more country, more raw. He is an incredible artist guy, in that he knew where I was and needed, and he didn't hold me to (my contract)."

Terri produced the record and hand-picked her favorite Nashville musicians to create The Long Way Home, an album due in September. "I really tried to 'cast' these sessions," she says. "I needed a certain kind of burn from the guitars - so that's Kenny Greenburg. I needed a honky tonk, and then a steamy, but also a spiritual kind of keyboard on there - so that was John Hobbs. I tried to think about what these songs called for, and once I got the players, I wanted them to be able to really create, really dig inside and feel what was going on. So many of them have recorded with me over the years, so I trusted they'd know where to go."

Watching her mom's struggle with cancer three years ago also inspired Terri to strike out on her own when making The Long Way Home. "When you see someone fighting as hard as my Mom was, it strikes you the things that matter," she explains. "To her, life was everything. It was about personal integrity, her family, the things she loved about living. I realized I couldn't make my music for any less. My fans deserved that from me, especially after the stories they tell me about things my music's gotten them through over the years."