Josh Turner’s summer includes tributes to two country music titans

Josh Turner likes keeping country music traditional, and this summer, that has included paying tribute and respect to two of its titans.

The native of Hannah, midway between Conway and Sumter, will bring his signature baritone voice for a concert at 7 p.m. Friday at the Alabama Theatre, at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.

Known for such singles since 2003 as “Long Black Train,” “Why Don’t We Just Dance?” “Would You Go With Me?” and “Time Is Love,” Turner sang a medley of Randy Travis hits for the Country Radio Hall of Fame 2016 ceremony, where Travis was given the Country Radio Broadcasters Inc.’s Artist Career Achievement Award.

Speaking last month by phone, Turner said “I was honored” to deliver on a personal request from Travis’ wife, Mary Davis-Travis, especially because “I care about him and love him.”

Turner spoke about Travis’ “long road to hoe,” especially in recovering from a stroke in 2013, but that now, “things are going great” in improving his health, ahead of the 2016 inductions for the Country Music Hall of Fame, a class that includes Travis and another N.C.-born country star, Charlie Daniels.

Remembering ‘Dr. Ralph’

Ralph Stanley’s death 89 in June also took hold of Turner’s whole heart. More than a decade ago, “Dr. Ralph” and three members from Diamond Rio joined Turner for “Me and God,” on his “Your Man” CD, from 2005. Carrying on in Stanley’s memory and thinking back to playing Stanley Brothers vinyl LPs as a child, Turner said the feeling of loss and “grieving process” really hit several days after his passing at age 89.

He said he traveled to Virginia and spoke at a funeral home service. He saluted Stanley, a World War II veteran, as “a musical icon and great musician, singer and songwriter.”

“His music was, and is, such a big part of my life,” said Turner, describing a memory brought home to Tennessee after Stanley’s funeral.

“The best thing for me,” Turner said, “was that everybody I talked with who was a family member or friend of his, they all said the same thing: ‘Dr. Ralph’ thought a lot of you.’ That meant the world to me.”

Turner said that on stage since then, he has made “one little lyrical change” for performing his composition “Me and God” – recorded right after Stanley started his recovery from heart bypass surgery – and “I’ve been singing it his way ever since he died.”

With “Hometown Girl” hitting radio this past spring, Turner, on the MCA Nashville label all along, said he’s eager to complete his sixth studio CD, and that he’s recorded enough selections for two albums. Ultimately, he said, this package will reflect all the challenges of “where to take my music” and growing from the “learning process.”

Seeing Stapleton’s talents years ago

Asked about Chris Stapleton, who has co-written a couple of numbers recorded by Turner – including “Your Man” – he’s glad to see a colleague tap a “well-deserved,” new tier in popularity with a mantel of awards in the past year, including Male Vocalist, and Album, of the Year from both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music.

“He’s written a lot of great songs,” said Turner, a Grand Ole Opry member since 2007. “Everybody in Nashville has known for years he’s a great singer and performer. ... He’s an incredible artist. He has something to to say, and he sings with a lot of soul and movement.”

Folks who attended this 40th summer of “High Steppin’ Country” revues – for which a finale show will be at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 3 at Lakewood Camping Resort, between Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach – might have seen two photos of Turner on the lobby-side wall from his time as a teen in the troupe, 1994-96.

“I had a lot of good times there,” Turner said of the Theater by the Sea. “I learned a lot there as a singer and performer, ... and that’s where I started writing songs and playing guitar.”

Without any reference to the long, hot summer this year, Turner laughed about how he and show mates back then “sweated a lot, wearing the costumes there.”

Turner also has gone a new direction in writing, with a book: “Man Stuff: Thoughts on Faith, Family, and Fatherhood,” published in 2014 by Thomas Nelson.

A married father of three sons – ages 9, 7 and 5 – Turner said they’re “all crazy about baseball,” as well enjoying activities outdoors in general, as a team.

“They love being together,” Turner said, savoring the family lifestyle he grew up loving in South Carolina’s Pee Dee country.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Josh Turner’s summer includes tributes to two country music titans."