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Well, what can I say. I love Steve Wariner! One of the industries most versatile performers who has been mostly
ignored for many many years and has not received nearly the credit he has due. At age 17, he caught the ear of Dottie
West, who persuaded him to join her band, and in that position he ended up playing bass on her classic 1973 single "Country
Sunshine." His career developed slowly, and in the beginning, the low-tuned guitars and wide range of his singles brought
frequent comparisons to the early Glen Campbell hits. In actuality I have always thought of Steve Wariner as a Glen Campbell
brother with the exact same style and flavor. In 1981 he signed with RCA and his career immediately took off with multiple
hits within two years with songs such as "All Roads Lead to You" ,"Midnight Fire" and "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers".
But Wariner's career really took off when he left RCA for MCA in late 1984. His first single for the new label, "What I Didn't
Do," made the country Top Five in early 1985, setting off a string of 18 consecutive Top Ten hits that included the chart-toppers
"Some Fools Never Learn," "You Can Dream of Me," "Life's Highway," "Small Town Girl," "The Weekend," "Lynda," "Where Did I
Go Wrong," and "I Got Dreams" (the last two Wariner compositions). In 1996 Wariner joined the Opry in 1996 and in 1997, he
sang with Anita Cochran on "What If I Said," and the single topped the country charts in early 1998, just after Garth Brooks'
recording of Wariner's composition "Longneck Bottle" had gone to number one. This twin success reinvigorated his career. He
signed to Capitol Records, and released "Holes in the Floor of Heaven," which made the country Top Five, winning the
Country Music Association's awards for Song of the Year and Single of the Year. "Burnin' the Roadhouse Down", his debut album
for Capitol, reached the country Top Ten, went gold, and crossed over to the Top 50 of the pop charts. He followed it with
1999's "Two Teardrops", which also went gold; the same year, he shared his second Grammy for Best Country Instrumental for
the "Asleep at the Wheel" track. Wariner is absolutely an amazing songwriter and an even more amazing performer. I just absolutely
love to hear him sing. I don't know that Wariner has a signature song but my favorite is toss up between "Kansas City Lights"
and "Some Fools Never Learn".
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