Musician Buddy Jewell finally gets a break

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- After winning the Nashville Star television contest and a high-profile record deal, Buddy Jewell suddenly found himself in a position to dish out some payback to the Music Row establishment that snubbed him for 10 years.

It came while sifting through dozens of songs music publishing companies were pitching him for his debut CD on Sony Music -- and Jewell admits it felt darned good.

"For years I had been taking them songs that they said were too country," Jewell, a large, soft-spoken man with a goatee, said before a recent performance. "Now, they were bringing me songs and I was telling them they were too pop."

The story is just one part of Jewell's rags-to-riches tale.

The Arkansas native has driven a beer truck, washed cars and bagged groceries. He's been a nightclub bouncer, door-to-door salesman and UPS worker. He's played bar after bar, won national talent shows and opened concerts for big-name acts. He's kicked drinking and drugs, been divorced and remarried, sung demo tapes and chased record deals.

"They all passed me by, for whatever reason," he said of the record labels.

Until now. Nashville Star, the viewer-voted talent show, followed a dozen contestants living in a house on Music Row as they competed for the Sony contract. It ran for nine weeks on the USA Network, until only Jewell and his guitar were left.

Despite his talents, Jewell was no shoo-in. A 41-year-old father of three, he was considered too old for video and his sound too traditional for radio. He was vying against attractive women half his age and a young man with earrings and spiky hair.

But viewers liked him.

"I think he won because America saw itself in Buddy," said country music journalist Robert K. Oermann, one of the show's three judges. "They said, 'You know what, I've been struggling at my job for 10 years and I need a break."'

Ironically, the day of the audition, Jewell called his wife and said he didn't want to go. "I was concerned about getting on the show, moving into the house and spending that much time away from my family," he said.

His wife encouraged him, saying, "Just go do it, and if it's supposed to happen, it will."

When the show ended, Jewell had an unusual level of exposure for a new act. Sony wanted to capitalize by releasing the album as soon as possible.

He went into the studio with producer Clint Black and finished in eight days -- a quick turnaround by any standard.

"It usually takes months," said Sony President John Grady. "Of course, if you have to make a record in eight days, it's nice to do it with a demo singer who is used to singing every day of his life."

Still, there was an element of uncertainty.

"It was a unique situation," Grady said. "The show could have been successful ratings-wise but maybe the artist wouldn't have connected on the record. But this is a case of the artist visually connecting on television and also hitting it out of the park in the studio."

Reviews and sales have been positive. The 11 songs include three written by Jewell: the sentimental "Help Pour Out the Rain," the weepy "One in a Row" and the up-tempo "Abilene."

Simply titled "Buddy Jewell," the album entered the Billboard country chart at No. 1 -- the first rookie act in seven years to do so.

The single, "Help Pour Out the Rain," is at No. 18 and climbing. It's inspired by Jewell's daughter, Lacey, who once asked her father if he thought God would let her help pour out the rain when she got to heaven. Jewell said he has received a lot of fan mail about the song from people with terminally ill or deceased children.

Two former Nashville Star contestants make guest appearances on the album. Miranda Lambert duets with Jewell on the Merle Haggard classic "Today I Started Loving You Again," and Jamey Garner plays harmonica on "Sweet Southern Comfort."

"I talk to just about all of them on a weekly basis," he said. "The guys especially got to be close."

The most fitting song on the album might be the opening track, "I Wanna Thank Everyone." Jewell didn't write it, but he should have. The song is a backhanded compliment to naysayers with the lyrics, "You know who you are, You all played the part in pushing me on to my dreams."

"It's really my story in a nutshell," Jewell said.