You left my heart as empty as a Monday morning church / It used to be so full of faith and now it only hurts.
Those aching words recorded by Alan Jackson were co-written from the pen of Erin Enderlin—and years after Jackson recorded it during her time as a student at MTSU, she’s been blessed to take to the stage time and time again as she takes in a view of some very different sets of pews than the ones in that somber song: the very full ones that line the floor throughout the cherished Opry House or the affectionately dubbed “Mother Church” that is Nashville’s long-revered historic Ryman Auditorium.
But back to education: History was in the making when Arkansas native Enderlin made her way to MTSU, majoring in recording industry with minors in mass communication and entrepreneurship.
Erin Enderlin photo by Ryan Nolan
“I didn’t know much about the program beforehand; I just knew I wanted to be close to Nashville. There were a bunch of professors who had a huge impact on my career,” Enderlin says. “Beverly Keel, Amy Macy, Dr. John Dougan, Tom Hutchison, just to name a few. I was a part of a couple projects in the on-campus studios.” Also while on campus, Enderlin met Reese Faw, an industry pro who was speaking about artist development. “She agreed to meet with me and let me play her some songs,” Enderlin recalls. “Ultimately, she really liked ‘Monday Morning Church’ and introduced me to her boss, publisher Jeff Carlton. Jeff took money out of his own pocket to demo five of my songs, including ‘Church.’ He played it for Alan’s producer Keith Stegall and the story I heard is that Keith and Alan were at lunch and Keith said, ‘I’ve got one song to play for you back at the office’ . . . and the rest is history.”
Enderlin’s played the Opry seven times so far, met Terri Clark, Rhonda Vincent, Vince Gill, Bill Anderson and many more of her inspirations, but she still gets starstruck. One most recent example is when she got to meet her “celebrity crush,” Charlie, the Opry dog.
When asked who had her most in awe, she gushed, “Definitely Opry Charlie! I mean, have you seen those eyes?”
Her heroes, though, have always been cowboys—and they still are, it seems. She’s been a featured performer on Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown tour and has written songs about him (“World Without Willie,” which received heavy rotation on CMT). But she wasn’t always living high. So what’s it like to break on through to the other side?
“I love being able to connect with people more as an artist,” she says. “I’ve gotten some really great compliments from folks about my videos; it’s really cool to see my music connecting people. I love music videos and it’s really cool to get to see mine on CMT. I feel so lucky to be able to make records that I absolutely love, and to get to work with some of the most amazing writers, musicians and of course producers of our time. It’s the kind of thing that makes me feels like all the years, and miles and struggle have been worth it.”
Enderlin’s had songs recorded by Rhonda Vincent (the recent No. 1 “Like I Could”), Grand Ole Opry icon and multiple hall-of-fame member Bill Anderson, Lee Ann Womack (“Last Call”), on recent albums by Rodney Crowell, Reba McEntire, Terri Clark (for whom she’s also opened) and more. “I met Bill Anderson in his Fan Fair line in 1998. I was so nervous that I forgot to get a picture! That being said he did not immediately want to write songs with nerdy 16-year-old me even though I was carrying around a Trapper Keeper full of all the songs I’d written in case anyone did.”
Jeff Hanna, Matraca Berg, Erin Enderlin, Bill Anderson at Bluebird
Not only has Whisperin’ Bill since changed his tune and written with Erin, she even sweet-talked him into featuring her alongside him with the likes of Tanya Tucker and Opry star Jeannie Seely in his 2018 video for “Waffle House Christmas” (co-written by Enderlin).
“Bill got together with Alex Kline and me,” she says “and I had this crazy idea for a song about having Christmas at Waffle House. At the time I didn’t realize that Bill is from the home of Waffle House in Georgia—so I guess it was meant to be! I believe the video was the brainchild of Bill’s manager Lee Willard, and it was so cool that Bill let me sit right up next to him in it,” Enderlin says. “I think the best advice from Bill is more in what he does than what he says. For example, the first time I wrote with him he was still pushing for the right lines at 7 p.m. He doesn’t have to do that, but he loves the music and he takes a lot of pride in what he does. He’s one of a kind.”
Bobby Tomberlin, Jeannie Seely, Rhonda Vincent and Erin Enderlin
Those days of carrying around a Trapper Keeper led Enderlin to be somewhat of a dream weaver—literally. She can add co-writer on a number-one-charting bluegrass song to her credit, as her dreams recently became even more vivid when Opry star Jeannie Seely (“after bugging her for years to write with her”) rang Enderlin up one night to inform her, “Okay, I had a dream we were writing so I guess we better do it!”
It just so happened that Enderlin was working with hit writer Bobby Tomberlin (a Grammy, ACM, CMA nominee) when the call came in. So, soon making good on her promise, the three—Enderlin, Tomberlin and Seely—gathered together and out came “If I Could.”
“She had that great idea and we wrote it in an hour or less,” recalls Enderlin. “Jeannie ended up with Rhonda Vincent at an event and told her about the song. She ended up playing it for her and Rhonda loved it and said ‘I’m cutting that!’ I actually got the call from Jeannie that Rhonda was cutting it on my birthday, which was extra special,” Enderlin adds. “I just love how Rhonda did it, she’s just amazing and has been so kind to have us all out at the Opry and places when she’s been singing it.”
Known to many as the “Queen of Bluegrass,” Vincent and her band, The Rage, often take the stage at Uncle Dave Macon Days, where she was awarded the festival’s Heritage Award in 2006 and in 2018 hosted an album release party for her Bluegrass Legends project. Most around Murfreesboro are aware that Vincent’s a woman of many talents.
Following Enderlin’s self-titled release, 2013’s I Let Her Talk, 2017’s concept record, Whiskeytown Crier, and a quartet of passion-project EPs, Enderlin’s much-anticipated full-length 14-track project, Faulkner County, will be available Nov. 1. Produced by Jamey Johnson and Jim “Moose” Brown, it features the songs from her EPs plus two new to Faulkner.
“[With the EPs] my fans get new music more often, and I get to be putting out new music. I’ve enjoyed getting to spread it out and kinda savor it a little at a time.”
Enderlin wrote Faulkner’s two new tracks, “Hell Coming Down” and “Run, Baby, Run” with Ryan Tyndell and Felix McTeigue and (album co-producer) Jim “Moose” Brown, respectively. “I love both songs—lots of fiddle and steel and some great harmonies too,” she says. Among the special guests to appear on the album are Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Terri Clark and Cody Jinks.
Enderlin was a featured act on Jamey Johnson’s SiriusXM Outlaw Country Tour, AmericanaFest and CMA Fest, and crossed the Atlantic for her first UK run (“There are some great people over there . . . and I’m never driving on the left side of the road, ever!” she says). In June, she took home three Arkansas Country Music Awards including Female Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. From Whiskeytown to Faulkner County, the local world traveler continues to create just the right mix of strong songs to savor.
Erin with Ronnie Milsap
“I gravitate towards songs and production that make me feel something—and like Reba says, if it speaks to you, it will probably speak to someone else.”
Oh, and her entrepreneurship minor is proving its worth as Erin’s company, Black Crow Productions, has prominent placement front and center on the cover of Faulkner. Take a look at the artwork and you’ll see the creature perched atop the album’s title. She’s a rare bird for sure.
She encourages dream-seekers of today to “Be out there working! Write, play shows, take advantage of opportunities to meet and learn from industry professionals.” As for the demands of road work, she laughs and says, “I am a very gifted sleeper—I can sleep in cars, on planes, catnaps between meetings. It’s one of my best skills.”
___
Enderlin is excited to be a part of the 3rd Annual Dottie West Birthday Bash on Oct. 9 at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville. Hosted by Jeannie Seely, this year they’ll be honoring Bill Anderson. And on Oct. 18 she’ll open in her hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, for Texas country “Outlaw” artist Sunny Sweeney (a sometime-co-writer who inspired “Waffle House Christmas” after Enderlin once spent Thanksgiving with Sweeney at the beloved breakfast bungalow).
Album pre-orders and bundles are available at erinenderlin.com; also find Enderlin on YouTube at youtube.com/user/arkansassy42.
___
