Sawyer Brown

But along the way, while all kinds of acts were racing by and then falling by the by, Mark Miller and company were amassing a string of hits that defined the worldview of regular people living between the coasts. ‘Betty’s Being Bad,’ ‘The Caf_ On the Corner,’ ‘All These Years,’ ‘Used To Blue,’ ‘Heart Don’t Fall Now,’ ‘This Thing Called Wanting (And Having It All),’ ‘This Night Won’t Last Forever,’ ‘Leona’ and ‘Treat Her Right’ as well as fearless attacks on classics like George Jones’ ‘The Race Is On’ and Dave Dudley’s truckers’ rallying cry ‘6 Days On The Road.’

Whether the little band who auditioned for ‘Star Search’ solely to get the videotape to send to prospective buyers, but then went on to win the whole thing – becoming the original ‘American Idols’ in the process — were unlikely country stars or not, they had a lot of heart and they never gave up. It’s been one of the defining truths of a career that’s always been about taking it to the people. And so it has. With the longest uninterrupted run as a band currently in country music, Sawyer Brown’s songs are an integral thread in the fabric of radio over the past 20 years.

Taking no prisoners and laying waste to the country fans who show up has given Sawyer Brown the reputation of being a band the other acts don’t want to follow, but it’s also built them a fan-base that shows up no matter what.