10 Questions with ... Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

We are career broadcasters. We met in 1983, and later that year launched as a team in nationwide television syndication with "This Week in Country Music." TNN recruited us in 1985, which led to a 16-year partnership with the network in which we produced a large percentage of TNN's prime-time programming, including "The Crook & Chase Show," "Music City Tonight," "Funny Business with Charlie Chase," "Celebrities Offstage with Lorianne Crook," plus numerous yearly specials. During this timeframe, TNN launched a radio division and made "The Crook & Chase Countdown" the flagship show. We are proud to say the radio show has remained on the air and evolved into one of the top national countdowns. Even after the departure of TNN from the airwaves, the Crook & Chase team has continued promoting Country music with shows on GAC, FOX, RFD-TV and now again in national syndication. As we enter our 28th year as a team, we are thrilled to be partnered with another strong team - Premiere Radio Networks.

1) You two have been together since 1983! That's longer than a lot of marriages. Can you tell us how you first got together?

Television producer Jim Owens saw each of us hosting a show on different Nashville affiliates. He thought we would be a good combination to host Country music's first weekly news and entertainment show, "This Week in Country Music." We all met for the first time in April 1983. Over drinks at the Opryland Hotel, the three of us discussed the possibility of doing the show. A few weeks later, we did a pilot, and we were on the air in September 1983. We always joke that Jim had to get us drunk to get us together! In truth, we've been like brother and sister from the first minute we met.

2) Your show was one of the most popular in the history of TNN. And the rise of your popularity also seemed to parallel the explosion in Country music's popularity. Your show had a big part to play in all of that. Why do you think that your show became so special to fans?

Lorianne: Wow, good question. You'd probably have to ask the fans. They tell us they appreciate the warmth and laughter that is so often a part of our interviews but Charlie and I credit the stars for allowing that to happen. The stars tell us the questions we ask are very different and often unusual. Sometimes they tell us they feel like they've been on a therapist's couch. Charlie is only too happy to charge them $350 an hour.

Charlie: I think we provided the first opportunity for fans to really get to know the stars away from the stage. We took our cameras around the world to show the stars in ways they had never been seen before and to help forge a stronger bond between the stars and their audience. For Country music, it was an all-new formula, and it really worked.

3) How did you launch your first radio countdown show years ago? Was it something that you had thought about doing a long time?

It was an extension of what we were doing for TNN. They saw our success on television and wanted to branch out into radio using the same formula. We immediately loved the idea! Charlie had come from a strong radio background, having been a DJ since the age of 13. I was thrilled for the opportunity to expand my broadcast career into radio. To this day, doing our radio show is great fun and hugely rewarding on many levels.

4) As versatile personalities who do both radio and television, what's one thing that you like better about radio and one thing that is better about television?

Lorianne: No doubt about it, our radio interviews are much more intimate and comfortable because the lights are low, and we are all closer together. It just feels more "friendly" than the glaring lights and big cameras required for television production. On the flip side, our television interviews have more energy and more "showbiz pizzazz" because of the lights and cameras, and the excitement of a live audience. It is so great to be able to talk with each star in both settings for a totally different experience.

Charlie: On radio you don't have to comb your hair! Radio was the greatest training ground for me in doing television. It helps you develop an internal sense of timing, which is kind of hard to explain but it's very valuable. I like television because it gave me the chance to meet Morgan Fairchild, who has never had a hit record and would have never been on radio with me.

5) "The Crook & Chase Countdown" is heard in well over 200 cities. Do you still hear from the listeners and fans today like you did years ago?

Absolutely, especially with all of the speedy social networking these days. It used to be that Alan Jackson, when he worked in the mailroom at TNN, brought us huge bags of fan letters! Today, we can e-mail, Facebook and Twitter in real time directly with the fans. In Country music, you develop a bond with them and with the stars, and that bond sticks! In other words, there's no reason for Alan Jackson to be lugging fan mail over to us anymore. Thank goodness he found other work!

6) Do you sometimes travel to different stations to do your show?

At this point we have not traveled the show, but we have had some discussions about it.

7) What do you think sets your show apart from other countdown shows?

The male-female thing, and the unusual way we each approach an interview. We never sit down together to write lists of questions. We both prep individually, then jump into the interviews cold. That's why we are often shocked at what the other one says. We are the only major countdown show that offers the male-female hosting situation, which opens the door for great fun and wildly different perspectives. Because of that, our interviews with the stars always take unexpected and very surprising turns - at least that's what the stars tell us! We have a blast doing our radio show, and we do everything we can to create the same experience for the stars and the listeners.

8) Do you own an iPod?

Charlie: Yep! I have everything on there, including all The Beatles, Classic Country, Oldies Pop music, even some Paul Simon.

Lorianne: The only reason I have an iPod is because it was a gift from Las Vegas real estate mogul Steve Wynn when I stayed at his Encore Resort. He programmed it, so right now it only contains Vegas nightclub music. But I love to disco, so it works for me!

9) What new Country music are you listening to in that iPod or radio or anywhere else?

Lorianne: Darius Rucker blows my mind with his phrasing and all the subtle twists and turns in his voice. He's so natural and so incredible. I feel the same way about the Zac Brown Band - killer vocals!

Charlie: I'm digging on The Secret Sisters. Just last week they came to our studios for an interview, and also did a private live acoustic performance for us. They are unbelievable!

10) What artist would you love to interview that you have not had the opportunity to do so yet?

Lorianne: We have interviewed everybody in Country music, and we are so honored to be able to say that. I once had the opportunity to meet and interview Robert Plant, but I froze! I sent another reporter because I am a HUGE Led Zeppelin fan and I think I love Robert and didn't want to embarrass myself. A few weeks ago, he walked by me in a Nashville recording studio, and I still was unable to look him in the eye or speak. Charlie, however, walked right up to him and said, "Hello, I dig your music, man" and shook his hand. Maybe one day I will unfreeze!

Charlie: That new Country music star Kid Rock. We have not crossed paths just yet!

1) You've been together longer than most married couples-what's your secret?

Lorianne: I think it's because neither one of us tries to be the "star" of Crook & Chase. Our styles naturally complement each other. Charlie has a wicked sense of humor, and I like to explore some of the deeper emotions. Because of that, our interviews are quite an emotional ride for everyone involved. Plus, Charlie and I are so comfortable together and have such an honest relationship. We often consult each other about life situations. He can tell me when I'm wrong and I appreciate the way he does it, and THAT he does it.

Charlie: People often ask about our secret. We don't want to know what it is. It's enough that it just works.

2) What do you like best about working with your partner?

Lorianne: Laughing all the time, and being in such a great groove that "feels so right," to quote Alabama.

Charlie: Always fun, entertaining and filled with laughs, and at the end of the day, a strong sense of accomplishment as a team.

3) What was the very first concert you ever attended?

Lorianne: Led Zeppelin, of course! I got grounded for a week because I was 16 and drove to Birmingham, Alabama with my boyfriend to see them, but didn't tell my parents. They were pretty upset when I arrived home at nearly 2 am! I also sneaked into a Peter Frampton outdoor concert without paying when I was in high school. Several years ago when Peter was on our show, I confessed and gave him 20 bucks to cover the ticket price plus interest! He forgave me as he took my $20. We all had such a great laugh out of it.

Charlie: The Lemon Pipers of "Green Tambourine" fame in Kingsport, TN, 1968. I was barely old enough to drive to the concert. The ticket set me back six bucks, but it was so much fun to see the band with the current #1 song playing right in front of me!