Congrats To A Pair of Hoosier Who's-Whos

Forget everything you've previously heard about Georgia being the pipeline for massive Country music success. Sure, the Peach State has given us Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson, and countless others. But for one night – specifically, Wednesday, June 20th – Indiana takes center stage as Country Radio Seminar (CRS) honors a couple of Hoosier who's-whos.

During next week's Country Radio Hall Of Fame Dinner And Induction Ceremony, Steve Wariner and Charlie Morgan will be presented with the CRS Artist Career Achievement Award and Presidents Award, respectively. Wariner hails from Noblesville, Indiana, originally; Morgan, raised on the East side of Indianapolis, started his radio career in Noblesville, at WYIC-A and – as an air personality there – played Wariner's first-ever independent release way back in the day. Wariner and Morgan took totally different paths in Country music but ultimately will end up at the same place, at the same time, accepting awards from the same organization honoring their respective career accomplishments.

Wariner first played music with his dad, was soon discovered by 2018 Country Music Hall Of Fame inductee Dottie West when he was just 17, quickly became the protégée of the legendary Chet Atkins, and hobnobbed with the likes of – well, everybody – as he carved out a 40-plus year in music. He earned hits in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. He collaborated with Garth, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, and others. He wrote Keith Urban's early hit, "Where the Blacktop Ends;" produced numerous projects for other artists; and played guitar on a ton more.

While Wariner was creating the music, Morgan helped deliver it to radio listeners. Until 2016, his entire life and career were spent in his home state, first as an air talent, then a PD, and ultimately in a leadership role as VP/GM for both Indianapolis Country outlets, WFMS and WLHK. After first attending CRS in 1987, Morgan soon became involved with the event and the organization, serving first on the Agenda Committee, then two separate stints on the Country Radio Broadcasters (CRB) Board Of Directors. Morgan is being honored for the four years he provided steady leadership of the organization from 2013 to 2017 as CRB President.

The CRB Artist Career Achievement Award is presented to an individual artist or act who has made a significant contribution to the development and promotion of Country music and Country radio through their creativity, vision, performance, and/or leadership. That's heady stuff, so I asked Wariner: does he think of himself that way?

"No, not at all. Any kind of honor like this is so huge. I’m scratching my head going, 'Man, there are probably so many people that deserve this more than me,' but I’m grateful. I’ve always had a level of respect for radio folks for playing my music through the years. I do love Country music and Country radio. I’ve got so many friends that I’ve maintained through the years. Not trying to be overly humble, but I am absolutely floored by it."

Wariner met Dottie West when he was playing a club in Indianapolis prior to her set. She offered him a job on the spot. "I told her, 'Well, I'm only 17; I'm still a senior in high school.' She asked when I would get out. So, I graduated early, and a few weeks later, I was going to Europe." West will be inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame this Fall, due in part to Wariner's dogged persistence that she be recognized. "She was a great teacher for me, like a big sister," recalls Warner. "I lived with her and her husband for a while, too. Lord knows why she was so patient with me – I was gullible and naïve. She introduced me to a lot of people." One of them was Chet Atkins, who helped foster Wariner's career early on and became a close friend.

In what must be a rewarding, yet ironic twist, Wariner's CRS recognition places him in the same company as Haggard, Campbell, and Atkins, each of whom are previous CRS Artist Career Achievement honorees. "I have the utmost pride and buttons popping off my shirt," said Wariner. "That’s some really great company to be with. To stand on the stage at Glen Campbell’s memorial and sing ‘Gentle On My Mind’ was pretty incredible. I’ve got cold chills talking about it. I love Merle, and I cried when he died, but I knew Glen so well, and we talked a lot. To be named with those guys is unbelievable for me. Their music is where I come from."

I asked Wariner his advice for staking out the kind of long and consistent career he has managed to put together. "I think it’s really simple. Chet used to always say, 'You gotta find your own mark; be who you are.' I think that’s what I’ve always tried to do. At some point, I found my own niche. And, I was always working to become a better songwriter. You’re always going to be influenced by the ones before you, but you must stay true to yourself. I always looked for songs that were true to me. I think that’s why my writing – for my records, anyways – was successful, because I was singing what was real to me and really happening in my life. Find your own way, and be true to who you are. I know it’s cliché, but it’s true."

"The Mission is Intoxicating"

Criteria for the CRB President's Award includes honoring "an individual who has made a significant contribution to the marketing, production, growth, and development of the Country Radio Seminar." When you think of Morgan's four years as CRB President, your first response to the above list of contributions is: check, check, check, and, check.

One of the key moments under Morgan's watch was moving Country Radio Seminar – the actual event, not the physical offices – from the Renaissance in downtown Nashville to the newly-opened Omni Hotel – also in downtown – in 2016. You might think changing venues, especially when both were downtown, is not that daunting, but it was extremely challenging. The Omni move was only the third location for CRS in more than 40 years and followed two decades at the Renaissance. Adding to the degree of difficulty was the short notice CRS received about the status of the Renaissance. Even in 2014, its fate as a convention site was in doubt, as Nashville was already in a radical construction revolution downtown. If you are on Lower Broadway anytime soon, check out the corner of 5th and Broadway, where the Nashville Convention Center – home of CRS for 20 years – once stood. Today, it's a gigantic hole in the ground.

Morgan vividly remembers, "That moment when we were in an executive session before a Board meeting, and we couldn’t process what we were hearing; that they couldn’t promise us next year’s contract … there was no pre-warning. Suddenly, our guaranteed home may not be available to us. I remember how that felt, and I remember thinking, 'Holy crap. We can’t be victims to this. Next year has to be about what options we have.’ So, I think our quick response and plan to examine all options and have the retreat where we weighed pros and cons with the entire Executive Committee turned out to be a really good decision. If we had waited and assumed that things would be okay, we wouldn’t have had such a smooth transition."

Oversight of that move was, indeed, a biggie for Morgan, but he is also very proud of what he calls "the sort of rather non-sexy things that we’ve done. A bit more discipline on process; recognizing ourselves as an employer, not just as an event producer; ensuring proper transitions of leadership; and continuing to attract really solid humans to our Board. If you do those things well, they’re invisible, and – to me – that’s a compliment."

Morgan first got involved with CRS as an attendee in 1987. The late Tom Rivers, who famously programmed WQYK/Tampa and WUSN/Chicago, encouraged Morgan to get involved with the organization, first as an Agenda Committee member, and soon after on the CRB Board. "You’re blown away in your first couple experiences. For me, it was overwhelming. I felt out of place, and I just hoped no one discovered the fraud that I was, because I was occupying the same meetings as these legends that were bigger-than-life at Country radio and music. I never intended to be on the Board or a Chairman, but it pulls you in. The mission is intoxicating, and once you’ve had a taste of that, you’re committed to it. There are people on the Board that serve on many, many boards and much higher-profile boards, but you have people coming back saying this is the board that’s felt the most meaningful; the work has been the most gratifying; and it has had the biggest impact on their professional and personal careers."

Still on the Board, but a year removed from the Presidential role, I asked Morgan what CRS will face as the radio and music business is rapidly evolving. "The issues 20 years ago are different than the issues 20 years from now, but the essence of why the organization exists, why the event is so powerful, and why people connect to it is because it’s the place where are those changes are discussed and explored with people that we wouldn’t usually interact with within our business. I think that’s the essence of power and magic of the organization and the predictor of what it will be like."

And, what exactly is it about Indiana that it produced two high-profile, high achievers in Country music? Laughing, Morgan says, "I’m not sure that it represents a hot bed; you just have a couple guys at the same age that grew up in the business at the same time, and you decided to recognize it in the same year. You’re selling tables to the 317-area code. It is meaningful to me that I get some acknowledgement in the same year as the guy whose very first 45 I played on the station in Noblesville, Indiana – my first radio job. We grew up parallel, and how can you not love Steve Wariner? If he represents all that is good to be a Hoosier, then I am proud to be a Hoosier."

Wariner and Morgan will be honored Wednesday night, June 20th, at the Vanderbilt Marriot in Nashville during the Country Radio Hall Of Fame Dinner And Induction Ceremony. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.