Some careers can be described with a couple of words, but Shawn Camp’s isn’t one of them. A bold and distinctive singer, a songwriter who’s provided material for a multitude of singers, and a multi-instrumentalist who’s played with everyone from Alan Jackson to the Osborne Brothers, Camp’s music sprawls across the lines that divide mainstream country, Americana and bluegrass—many of his songs have been recorded by more popular artists.
Sixteen years ago, the revered songwriter delivered an early masterwork. The Arkansas native had fortified his second Reprise album with wit (“Near Mrs.”) and wisdom (“The Grandpa That I Know”) far beyond his 28 years. Camp had some early success with his debut self-titled album the year before, which garnered attention with singles “Fallin’ Never Felt So Good,” and “Confessin’ My Love,” so it was expected that the second album might be the breakthrough.
One problem: “The label said it didn’t sound like the latest hit,” Camp says. “They wanted me to change everything. Told me to take all the fiddles and dobros off and put electric guitars on. I got crossways and never did it.”
Curtains closed. Camp forever locked away the album. Artistic integrity tossed the key.
Cue serendipity. Warner Music Nashville President/CEO John Esposito happens into an impromptu guitar pull with Camp at the 2009 Leadership Music opening retreat. Esposito is “mesmerized by Shawn’s singing and finger-picking.”
Esposito swiftly unfastened the label’s vaults. Brushed neglect off his kindred spirit’s 16-year-old dusty diamond. “This stuff is magic,” Esposito says of first hearing the album. “There’s this sly, underlying sexiness to Shawn’s songwriting that I dig. I was trained to sign people who are magnificent and then to allow them show their magnificence. It shouldn’t be about trying to change what they do.” Voila: Witness the rebirth of Shawn Camp’s lost album, now simply titled
1994.
“This is an unchanged snapshot of that moment 16 years ago,” Camp says. “At least it’s getting out there for the folks to hear. It’s kind of a shock, but I’m awfully thrilled.”
Listeners will be, too. As a younger songwriter, the now 44-year-old had already crafted songs with a jeweler’s eye and they shine on 1994. Camp’s trademark lyrical fluidity (“Little Bitty Crack in Her Heart”) and buoyant melodies (“Clear As a Bell”) dot the album’s vibrant bluegrass-infused landscape.
Camp’s impact on modern country music already has been significant. While
1994 (produced by Emory Gordy, Jr.) remained shelved and Camp left Reprise Records, his songs were snapped up by other artists and Camp grew into a top-tier songwriter behind No. 1 Billboard hits for Garth Brooks (“Two Pina Coladas”), George Strait (“River of Love”), Josh Turner (“Would You Go With Me”) and Brooks & Dunn (“How Long Gone”). His boundless skill earned good company: Today, Camp splits pages with Americana songwriting legends including Guy Clark (“Sis Draper,” “Magnolia Wind”) and Jim Lauderdale (“Forever Ain’t No Trouble Now”).
