Lee Newton

She reached out to the people she admired most and they actually wrote back. Country music recording artist Lee Newton joins us to share the real story behind her latest release “Silver Thread And Golden Needles,” including how she teamed up with Georgette Jones and Heidi Parton and why that classic song still lands like a punchline and a warning at the same time. Along the way, Lee reflects on the late Joe Bonsall and what true generosity looks like in the studio when a legend shows up, lifts you up, and expects nothing in return. 

We talk through the nuts and bolts of modern traditional country: how collaboration happens through social media, how a tight-knit Nashville community opens doors when you show up prepared, and what it feels like when the “yes” finally comes. Lee also breaks down the creative choices that shaped her version, from honoring the legacy of past recordings to carving out a sound with rockabilly spark, steel guitar, fiddle, and harmonies that let every voice shine. If you’re curious about music networking, recording a cover song, or building an independent country career with grit and taste, you’ll get practical insight here. 

The conversation widens into life beyond the single: performing the song live, meeting fans on the road, raising her son Cash, staying grounded in North Carolina, and giving back through veteran communities. We also swap stories about producers, session musicians, and those moments that feel like divine timing when everything lines up. 

Subscribe for more interviews with artists and creators, share this with a friend who loves classic country, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

Episode Links

• Lee Newton: https://leenewtonofficial.com/
• Chris Leusinger: https://jayfranze.com/episode17/
• William Lee Golden: https://jayfranze.com/episode72/
• Grayson Russell: https://jayfranze.com/episode106/

Transcript

Live Show Setup And Welcome

Jay Franze 0:48

And we are coming at you live. I am Jay Franzi, and uh with me tonight the Ros to my Frasier, my beautiful co-host, Miss Tiffany Mason.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

Present.

Remembering Joe Bonsall’s Kindness

Jay Franze 1:01

If you are new to the show, this is your source for the latest news, reviews, and interviews. And if you'd like to join in, comment, or fire off any questions, please head over to jfranzie.com. Alright, my friend. Tonight we have a very special guest. I said it once. I will say it again. We have a very special guest. We have country music recording artist hailing from the great state of North Carolina. We have Miss Lee Newton. Lee, my friend, thank you for joining us.

SPEAKER_06 1:28

I'm glad to be here.

Jay Franze 1:30

We are very excited for this. We look forward to talking with you tonight. But before we get started, can you just tell me what it was like working with Joe Bonzel?

SPEAKER_06 1:40

Oh my gosh. I was just talking about him yesterday when I was in Nashville. There was no other feeling than getting to not only become friends with him, but when he said that he would record with me, and he made a video actually driving to the studio to record with me. When he walked in, he just automatically made it so special, gave me the biggest hug. And my little boy there was there. His name is Cash. And he just talked little cash and was so good to him. And he told me he's like, you know, I just want to make you shine. And I'm like, Joe, you're you're just so awesome. And we recorded, and after we got done, I looked at him, I'm like, well, how much do I owe you, Joe? And he's like, you don't owe me a dime. And he just hugged my neck so big, and we texted up until about three weeks before he passed. And um it broke my heart. It really did when he passed. Good man, good man. Well, you know, he told me when I'd asked him to record with me on my gospel album at the studio. He's like, you know what? He said, Nobody's ever asked me to record with them without the Oaks. So I think I've got the only duet recording with him by himself, which is very I will cherish that and the memories for the rest of my life.

Jay Franze 3:09

So yeah, he's a great guy. He was a funny guy.

SPEAKER_06 3:13

Yeah.

Jay Franze 3:13

All right. Well, we're here to talk about you, though. I want to put the spotlight on you tonight. What is your most recent single?

SPEAKER_06 3:21

My recent single is Silver Thread and Golden Needles. That is with the amazing Georgia Jones, uh, Tammy Vynette, George Jones' daughter, and Heidi Parton, which is Dolly Parton's niece. And it is so amazing, and I'm so proud and honored to even get to work with those ladies. I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of amazing people, and with those two, I've really we've become very close, and a really great friendship has you know come from this that I think will last throughout our our lives. So um it was very special recording with them.

Jay Franze 3:59

How did you meet them in the first place? How did they come together?

New Single With Georgette And Heidi

SPEAKER_06 4:02

Well, you know, I decided that I've always I grew up listening to Tammy and Loretta and I mean Dolly, all of them, you know, and um so I've always wanted to do that song, I've always loved it. So it came to me, I wanted to do it and include it on this album. And so I was like, the first person I thought about doing it with was Georgette, and I had never met Georgette before, and I told my husband that I wanted to do it, and so like two weeks later, I'm in Nashville doing an interview, and I'm sitting out there before I go in, and who walks out? Georgette Jones. I meant to be like getting to meet her, and so she walks out. We get our picture made, and we instantly just started talking. And I told her, I was like, you know, I said, I've been wanting to do this project, and I said, I actually just was talking about you, and she's like, Well, here's my number, you know, call me, you know, and we'll talk about it. So we instantly just hit it off, and she listened to my music, you know, my other my songs, and she says, I really want to be on this, you know. She said, I think it'd just be amazing to get to to honor the honky tonk angels and my mom and stuff. And so when it came time to to to reach out to the another person, I'm like racking my brain, and all of a sudden Heidi Parton came to my I'm like, that's it. So I reached out to her and she wrote me back and she's like, I would love to. She said, I've always wanted to do something of Aunt Dolly's, and she said, I'm in. And so we recorded it, and it just it was just pure magic when our voices come together.

Jay Franze 5:39

I love the fact they say I just reached out to her.

SPEAKER_03 5:43

I know. I was gonna say, so Jay is like very familiar with the you know, songwriter, recording, producing circle or whatever. I am not, and so how does this happen? Like, how do you just know about Heidi Parton and how do you just know about Georgette? I mean, how do you know them? How how did that person come to mind for you?

SPEAKER_06 6:06

Well, see, I I have been well, I've been in the music business for ever for years, but for the past six years when I started writing my songs going to Nashville, and I have been really surrounded by amazing people that are in Nashville. They have really, when they say that you need a good group of people around you, I have got that. I've got the most amazing group of people and friends, and those friends know friends, and I've ended up with a great group of friends, and Georgette was one of them. And I had followed her on there, and of course I knew her mom and dad. I mean, she stands by herself, she is super amazing. I love her voice, you know. Yes, she she has qualities that sound like both her mom and dad, I think, but she she has her own unique sound, and I love that about her, and I love her heart. Automatically, she was the first one. I love working with strong, independent women like that. That just and and I really wanted to work with her. So that was where that came from. Heidi, I had never met her, but I had I had been on the same interview. Like there were two other people that was on this interview, and they had put it out like four years ago, and that's the first time I had seen Heidi. But she just released her new album, Reflections, and I'll I'd been listening to it, so I already had her in my brain. It came about, and that's kind of how my whole five, six years have been, you know, you talk about reaching out, it's just kind of like something will hit my brain. I'm like, okay, and I'm gonna reach out if you know if they say yes, it's amazing. If it's not, then it's not meant to be right now.

SPEAKER_03 7:47

So yeah, wow, that's a that's impressive.

SPEAKER_06 7:51

You know, with Joe, I mean, we had met on Twitter or X or whatever you want to call it, and he had wrote me and said, Lee, I just wanted to let you know, I am so impressed with your social media and how you present yourself. And he said, You and he actually had shared one of my posts to a big magazine and had said, you know, this is one to watch for the next year, which I'm sitting there freaking out. Like I'm just a little girl from Kent, North Carolina, you know. I'm like, oh my gosh, is this real? Like I'm checking to make sure it's the right person. But some told me, like, reach out to him and just ask them. The worst thing they could do is say no, and you've not lost anything. So I maybe he liked my gutsy move. He wrote me back and gave me his number and had me send over the track.

Jay Franze 8:44

I think it's funny how he lived on Twitter.

SPEAKER_06 8:47

Yeah, yeah, him and Barney.

Jay Franze 8:49

So when you got the yeses, how did that make you feel?

Making Collaborations Through Social Media

SPEAKER_06 8:53

Oh man, I was doing the happy dance. Every time that something like that's happened to me, it's almost hard to believe. And I have people in Nashville all around, like, man, how are you doing this? Because I mean, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Pam Tellis, Leona Williams, LeRoy Parnell, and on my gospel album, I had Rhonda Vincent and Ben Isaacs and Deborah Allen and T Graham Brown, and I mean, so that's just who I've been able to record with, and that was me reaching out to them and asking them. And it's like I sit back sometimes, I'm like, wow, like I can't believe that for one that they would want to record with me. I mean, I'll just take that as such a huge honor. And and then I go into the studio going, oh my gosh, I hope that I'm proud, you know, because I mean they're like huge and amazing and talented.

Jay Franze 9:51

But so are you.

SPEAKER_06 9:52

Yeah, well, thank you.

Jay Franze 9:55

So when you're reaching out to them, are you doing it through social media or are you doing it through their their contacts?

SPEAKER_06 10:02

No, uh through social media. Uh she just yep, yep, social media. Now, great with like T Graham, I had done a show with him and I've been blessed. Oh my god, I have been so blessed to get to open for so many amazing icons and legends. I mean, Ronnie McDowell, Ronnie Milsap, Randy Travis, the Gatlin Brothers, T Graham Brown, TG Shepherd, Diamond Rico, Oak Ridge Boys. I found, you know, I got to open for the Oak Ridge Boys in December. I've been able to be around people, and then I've just took those opportunities, and like T Graham, he had made a video for my first album and said, Hey, on your next album, buddy. He called me buddy. He's like, I want to be on your album. And I'm like, Oh, cool. So I'm like, okay, T, you said you're just going to be on my next album. Okay, we're going to do it. Because we recorded uh Precious Lord to take my hand, and of course, we did a very bluesy version of it because it's T Graham Brown, you know, and I love blues too. And so we're driving around Nashville, and him and Sheila and myself and my husband, and we're trying to find the perfect place to do a picture for our cover art. And we're driving around, driving around, trying to figure it out, and we pull into this church in Nashville. And you might know it, I don't know exactly whereabouts it was at, but there is a huge hand with a hand like it's a sculpture reaching down, trying to grab the other hand, but it's huge. Like, okay, precious Lord, take my hand. This is where our picture gone out and done our picture for our cover art, and it was just beautiful. I mean, you could have found a better place for it. But him and Sheila are super amazing.

SPEAKER_03 11:47

Sounds like a lot of divine intervention for you.

SPEAKER_06 11:50

There's just so many things, great things. I think that I've always been in music my whole life, but I've had to take some breaks and you know, do this and that, and then I've, you know, I've always come back to music. I mean, it's in my blood. I love it, you know. And yeah, but I think now maybe God was making me go through different things to be able to write stuff and live and experiences, and then these past six years have just been incredible. There's no other words to describe it.

SPEAKER_03 12:20

Well, I know it's been recorded by other artists over the years. How does it feel to add your voice to that legacy? Like to be one of the people who have covered it.

SPEAKER_06 12:28

Yeah, I mean, just even having my name even mentioned with any of the people that have recorded, and there have been so many that have recorded that song. The main one was Wanda Jackson. I didn't plan it this way, but it it fell on the 70th anniversary of when Wanda Jackson recorded this song.

SPEAKER_03 12:48

No way.

SPEAKER_06 12:49

Yeah, and we released it, of course, on Dolly's birthday. So it was just a lot of cool things that was in with that, but we wanted to to honor what all the other people have done. We didn't want to take away from anything like that. We wanted to honor that, but we wanted to do our version. I believe that we did that because it's got more of a kind of a rockabilly sound, like a like Linda Ron's that maybe mixed in with a lot of steel guitar and fiddle, and and and I did want to add the second verse the way Wanda Jackson did. She had had a second verse in there, and nobody else that I had heard of has ever put that verse in there. They've only just sang the chorus over and over. So we did that, and I really wanted the girls, all of us to have the same amount of time to where their you know our voices shined, you know, it wasn't just one person and then our harmonies. I think that it really just it just it just turned out so amazing.

Jay Franze 13:51

What was it that you enjoyed the most about working with the two of them when you were in the studio?

Opening For Legends And Earning Trust

SPEAKER_06 13:55

Oh man, just making the memories on just all the texts back and forth and seeing them get so excited and acting like me, being so excited, um, that was probably the the the greatest because it it it just showed me that they are they love what they do just like I do. And and I think that with all three of us being our personalities the way it was. I mean, neither one of them, you know, acted like they were up here, oh my mama's this, or oh my aunts, it was never nothing like that. And they treated me so great, like I was just equal with them. So that was probably my favorite, just building that friendship, and of course, I mean the music, but building the friendship because I'm getting ready to open for Diamond Rio, and nobody don't know this until they watch the show. But Georgette is coming in from Alabama, and so the very last song of my set I'm going to introduce, and so the crowd will get to see us perform it live for the first time. So excited! And then two weeks later, I'm opening up for Confederate Railroad, and then I'm opening up for Shenandoah.

Jay Franze 15:13

You got a few things going on.

SPEAKER_06 15:14

I've got a f a few things going, yeah. A little bit busy.

Jay Franze 15:19

So when you're living your dream and you're in the studio recording with these guys, describe the relationship in the studio.

SPEAKER_06 15:26

Well, we didn't get to record all in the together in the same studio. So I know I know, but we are working, we're working towards a video that we're going to try to recreate the one that Tammy and uh Dolly and Loretta did. But yeah, I mean, getting to to not get in the street, that was hard. But going back and forth and sending the tracks here and and then send videos of them being in the studio. And I mean, so we try to make it as intimate as possible that we got to be together. It is what it is. Sometimes you get to do it in the studio, and sometimes the way their schedules are, it's just hard. Kent Wells, Dolly's producer, she he had recorded my last album. Uh, loved working with him. He is just super talented and amazing too. All my other ones I had recorded at Omni Studios.

Jay Franze 16:25

Yeah, took it down, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 16:26

Oh, it broke my heart. That was another one because I have so many memories of being in that studio recording, then it all tore down. It was just it was sad.

Jay Franze 16:36

Yeah, my my office was literally right around the corner from it.

SPEAKER_06 16:40

Oh, well, I was there a lot.

Jay Franze 16:43

That's that's where I met my wife.

SPEAKER_06 16:45

Oh.

Jay Franze 16:47

You say that.

SPEAKER_03 16:51

Where is the studio that you recorded in for this song? Where is that one? Is it by music row or it's no?

SPEAKER_06 16:58

No, uh it used to be across from Omni, and I had actually it's Erlene Mandrell, one of the Mandrell sisters, her husband. I had spoken with him actually at the interview that I did with Georgette. That same interview, and that's how, and he was like, Oh my gosh, I want to record y'all when you do it. I'm like, Okay, we're gonna do it. You hear when everything happens. So he's over, and I think it's in Berry Hill. Is that right? Yeah.

Jay Franze 17:27

So, how much involvement did you have in the studio when you were recording the track?

SPEAKER_06 17:32

Oh, full involvement. Like, I am one of those people that I love the whole process. I mean, I know this is a cover song, but fits from a song, even when I write it, going to the studio, the visual of the the art. I I do the photos, I do the videos, I love working hands-on with everything the way it sounds. I'm very, I love being in control of it, not in a bad way. Because I will tell you, I mean, you know, I I love hearing their input and I love that they the the producers I work with and have worked with, they have been so great about listening to my vision and and knowing what I like and what are the sounds that I love because I I do love that traditional country, but I do have that little bit of a twist. I I'm a little not a rocker, but a little I love southern rock and I love blues. I mean, that's just kind of my my thing. So yeah, but I love I love being hands-on.

Jay Franze 18:29

You mentioned the producers you get to work with. What was it like working with Bill? Bill McDermott.

SPEAKER_06 18:35

Oh my gosh. Bill, I'm working with him on my newest album called Beautifully Undone. And Bill did my first three albums, and so me and Bill have a very close tight relationship. I love Bill, and he gets me because he was he was the very first producer that I ever went with. And so he has watched me grow. And you know, I went with Kent Wells on my last one, and it was just to kind of maybe just have a different sound and uh uh just to challenge me a little bit. But Bill, he is just super amazing. I love Bill.

Jay Franze 19:10

Did Bill assemble the team of musicians?

Recording Logistics And Studio Choices

SPEAKER_06 19:13

Yes, yeah, he always um gets all the musicians, and it's crazy because some musicians that I've worked with with Bill have carried over hints, and then of course that Nashville sound when I recorded there, I'm like, hey, I know you. What was really crazy is on um well, on silver threads, I had been in Hiawassee that weekend prior to going to Nashville to record and uh there at Travis Trip. Well, I'm backstage and stuff, and and of course I was talking to everybody and stuff, and I didn't really, I didn't I don't think I met the steel player. And I get to Nashville and I'm in the studio, and him and I we ended up talking, and he's like, Yeah, I just came from Hiawasse, and I was like, wait a minute, you went, I was in Hiawassee, and he was like, Yeah, I'm Travis's steel player, and I'm like, no, I was like, I was just there, like you know, but he played on because Kyle Everson, he played on Silver Thread, so um, yeah, it was super, super cool, but it's amazing at how many people that you meet, and they're so flipping mega talented. I mean, they just come in there and they bring magic and they bring your songs to life, and it's like, oh, they're just beautiful, beautiful.

Jay Franze 20:37

Well, you all said Chris Losinger on that session.

SPEAKER_06 20:40

Yep.

Jay Franze 20:41

So again, what was it like working with Chris?

SPEAKER_06 20:43

Chris was absolutely phenomenal, and I actually recorded three songs there. Every song that he did. Wow. I I would just sit there watching him build because you know, we'd do the scratch track. Instead of going out to there, I sat in this the the room and looked out at Chris while he was playing, and he would add this, and then he'd go back and do this extra over top of it and hit add, and I'm like, wow, that's so beautiful! Like, oh my god. And just to think at all the people he has played with, like, you know, Garth, I mean, like, all he's playing on all those songs, and it's like he's playing on these songs, you know. Mine is super cool. But he was telling me, I think after every session he did with Garth, the guitar that he used in the studio, Garth would buy that guitar. Oh my goodness. That was kind of neat to hear. I thought that was pretty neat.

Jay Franze 21:43

He's got all sorts of stories about Garth. He's a previous guest of the show as well.

SPEAKER_06 21:47

Really?

Jay Franze 21:47

So he was on here and he was telling all the stories about Garth. It's definitely, if you have not checked out that episode, it's worth checking out. But as you mentioned, not only do you play on all of Garth's records, because he met Garth in the early days, before Garth was Garth. And he's not only gone in the studio, but he's gone on the road with him. So I mean he's been Garth's road guitar player for the entire time as well.

SPEAKER_06 22:11

That guy the way he even would compliment me and make me he was It's like, I'm like, wow, like, thank you so much. Like, I know who you've been around and you've heard. But he made it so easy in the studio.

Jay Franze 22:24

And so soft spoken, just a nice guy.

SPEAKER_06 22:28

So sweet. And and even after that, we become Facebook friends and sending each other messages, and I would send him like the the the takes of the song, and he'd be like so excited, and he was like, Oh man, they sound so great. And I'm like, Yeah, well, thank you.

Jay Franze 22:44

You're the one that made them sound great.

SPEAKER_06 22:46

Yeah, so yeah, it's I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of great musicians too.

SPEAKER_03 22:52

There's nothing cooler than being a fan of country music, and then finding out that, you know, there's this tight-knit community that y'all are helping each other out and y'all are doing each other solids, and you know, really supporting one another, and then somebody as accomplished as Chris just comes in and he's just the same as you guys, puts his pants on one leg at a time and treats y'all like that.

Jay Franze 23:17

He actually puts his pants on two legs at a time.

SPEAKER_03 23:20

Two legs at a time. Wow. So you guys share like inside secrets how you're even getting dressed.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Well, I'll leave it there. He's a nice guy. Let's just leave it at that. He's just a nice guy.

Jay Franze 23:35

All right. So you went in the studio, you had an opportunity to work with some of the people you looked up to, the people that you wanted to meet. You had the opportunity to go in the studio and work with great producers and, as we mentioned, great musicians. Now that it's complete, what do you want to do with it? What's the next step?

Producers Musicians And Nashville Magic

SPEAKER_06 23:53

Oh man, get it to as many ears as possible. It's always been that's the whole hope of when you write songs and you you want as many people to hear it, and I want to be able to perform it, and I want to be able to meet people, more people out on the road. I love, love getting to meet people. I don't care where it's at. At a show, uh if I stop at a rest area, a gas station.

SPEAKER_03 24:17

Lee, why this song? Are there like specific lyrics that stick out to you? You know, how did this song get chosen among any of the songs that you could have recreated?

SPEAKER_06 24:26

Well, I think with this one, it's such like an anthem. I've, you know, I've had heartbreak before and I've had, you know, I've had a relationship where they treated me bad and then trying to suck up and make up, and you know, and I guess this one's just kind of like, huh, you know, no. You know, whatever you do, it ain't gonna, it ain't gonna, it ain't gonna work. You can't mend no heart with no silver thread and gold needles, you know, trying to be a certain way and then treat me a certain way. So I guess I've always just liked it because of the gutsiness of it, I guess, and just kind of like the huh, take that, you know, because it's not like poor pitiful me. That's the one thing I don't like the poor pitiful. I like at least even in my songwriting, I like turning them out. It might start poor pitiful me, but I turn them around to where you're not just sitting there like, you know.

SPEAKER_03 25:20

So don't cross you.

unknown 25:22

No.

SPEAKER_06 25:24

Not that bad. I'll just say if you I'll write a song about you.

SPEAKER_03 25:29

Okay, Taylor. That feels fair.

SPEAKER_06 25:34

But that's the one thing about songwriting is because you you get to put your feelings out there. I mean, some are more deeper than others, and that's what you have to do when you're a songwriter. I mean, you put it all out there, you know, and but the reward of it is so amazing when you see it come full circle and you see how it affects people. Okay, that's why I do what I do. You know, I just I want to keep continuing to make great music and be able to keep performing and meeting people because I I love to sing. I've loved it ever since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, and the first time I ever got to perform live on a stage when I was 14 years old, I sang a Lori Morgan song. And I knew right then and there there was nothing else that could touch that feeling. There was nothing else. Like I I knew right then that's what I wanted to be.

Jay Franze 26:32

So how are you gonna perform this song live?

SPEAKER_06 26:35

Well, um, I will just of course I perform it by myself a lot of times because Georgette and and Heidi will not be there, but I I've already got it included in my set list to perform on my you know for Shannon Doah and the upcoming shows. So I'll just do it solo. I will do it solo. It's just on certain ones like that uh where they are there, I'll get to actually bring them out, which will be very special. Very special.

Jay Franze 27:06

Have you had any reaction to the song so far?

SPEAKER_06 27:09

Oh my gosh, yeah. People have sent me messages. Um, it's getting played everywhere. People are just picking it up, loving it. I was just in eating breakfast on the way to Nashville and then spoke with, and it was crazy because it's the one of the DJs from my hometown. Uh he walked out and he was like, you know, and it's always hard to get them to play it in your hometown, you know. I don't know why, but something about being in your hometown. He sent me a text like I was walking out of the lunchbox cafe a whistling silver thread and golden needles. He said, Send me every bit of it, I want to play it, you know. So that was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03 27:46

Well, it's gotta be pretty fun because it's been recorded multiple times. So people know the song, and nothing's better than when an oldie but a goodie gets recreated and then it just infuses new life into that song again.

Why The Song’s Message Resonates

SPEAKER_06 27:58

Yeah, and you know, and that's my hope. I hope that people that have heard it, I hope that they fall in love with it again and fall in love with our version of it. But then I hope, okay, well, if nobody hasn't heard it and they hear our version, it turns them on to not only our version, but all the other amazing people that have recorded it before. And how many genres of music have recorded this song? But I will tell you something really cool that I did in my 20s. I actually got to go and sing with three original members of Leonard Skinner in New York City for like two shows. So that right there was the first time that this small town girl got to get on an airplane. Oh, and I got to stand in between the original Honkass, Leslie Hawkins and Jojo Billensley and Artemis Pyle, and I got to meet Ed King, and and I actually was in the middle and I sang the part that Cassie Gain sang. So that was so amazing. And then hearing all their stories, and and Jojo, me and her hung out a lot during that time, and they had done some interviews with Spin Magazine and Melton Pot. And we were we actually did this thing where they pulled the General Lee. Now, this is in Manhattan, bells of hay there, and we're all up there singing, and um just being next to Jojo was super amazing. And we got back to our hotel room and we were going up in the elevator, and I'll never forget it because we started singing Proud Mary together. And that was just a moment, I just always remember that, and all the stories that they told me about how she got started with Skinner, just all kinds of cool things, and then they even come into my hotel room and they were talking about how I had everything like in its perfect place, and they were talking about how that's how Cassie Gaines did.

Jay Franze 29:56

Yeah, to me, that's what all the cool kids do.

SPEAKER_03 29:58

Yep, all the cool kids are very organized. Yes, of course they are.

SPEAKER_06 30:04

But now, as much as I travel and I go and I'm like, yeah, you don't want to see my hotel room now. Back then I'm cool, and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm in New York, you know, and I'm fitting everything up right, really cool, and now I'm just like opening up a suitcase and being like, oh my gosh, I'm finally here at the hotel.

Jay Franze 30:21

What was the craziest thing that went on during those shows?

SPEAKER_06 30:24

Oh my gosh. Well, I I'll I'll tell you this one story. So we were in the tour bus and we're going from Long Island into Manhattan, and and I don't know because it's been a long time ago, but there's like a I guess you can go underneath like like a bridge, like to go somewhere. Well, anyway, the cops had stopped us back years ago. I used to smoke, and they wouldn't let me smoke on the the um tour bus. But they would all go back in the very back and do something else. Um Billy Nelson back there, and we got stopped. And I remember them coming up to there going, Light up a secret, Lee. Light up a secret. But the tour manager was an ex, uh he had retired from the NYPD, and it was not long after 9-11. And he knew, I guess, or he talked to him out there, and we ended up going through, but that was like pretty cool. And getting to see the they took me to see the Statue of Liberty for the first time, and I cried. We pulled the tour bus like over the thing and got out, and all of us were standing there, and that was super amazing. That was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03 31:32

First time I saw the Statue of Liberty, I was just with my mom and my dad.

SPEAKER_06 31:36

Oh really? But that was no rock band.

SPEAKER_03 31:41

Leah, it sounds like you have kind of had the best of both worlds. Like you've got to rub elbows with all these people that you look up to, you've got to create the music, you've got to release the albums, but you you haven't had to deal with like the paparazzi or becoming so famous that like you can't go to dinner or you can't go to the store and grab something quick. There's probably a pretty good balance there. You talk about being blessed. I mean, I think you are the epitome of being blessed.

SPEAKER_06 32:11

I told my husband the other day I was on a radio interview, and I said, I can't go to the grocery store now because I was just on this radio interview, and they will recognize my boys.

unknown 32:21

Yeah.

Live Performance Plans And Listener Reactions

SPEAKER_06 32:22

They're going to know me. I can't go in, they're going to know. No, I'm just kidding. Um, but it's true though. I mean, and the people that do recognize me in any way, you know, it it's it's flattering, it's sweet and stuff, but it's nothing on that scale. And I'm I love living here in North Carolina because I feel like that keeps me grounded in in my roots. And I get I get to and I don't know it, and I don't really listen to a lot of the new stuff that's on radio. And it's not because I don't like it, it's just because I don't want anything to influence my songwriting. I listen to a lot of other I mean, I listen to the 50s and I loved, I mean, I listen to everything, but I I will not turn on radio and really listen to a lot of stuff now because I don't want anything to influence me. But yeah, I mean, I, you know, I'm a hands-on mom. I I volunteer a lot, I volunteer a lot with the veterans. They made me an honorary member of the Marine Corps League, work with music amplifies for the kids. I mean, I anytime I can give back, I feel like God give me this gift, and I just I share it with people, and I know that God blesses me and he keeps me going forward in this journey, and I know that the songs that he gives me is meant to be heard by people that might need them. So yeah.

Jay Franze 33:43

All right, you just mentioned being a parent. What does your son think about you being an artist and how excited does he get when he gets to go backstage and meet people, or does he at all?

SPEAKER_06 33:56

Well, you know, at first he's always grew up in in this as far as me singing and writing, and and his name's Cash. He was named after Johnny Cash, you know, and he is a cool dude. I mean, like he he and everybody knows him. Like when we when I opened up for the Oak Ridge Boys, William Lee comes out there and he's like, Hey, Cash, I see you're on your mother's Facebook page, you know. And he's been out there with Randy Travis and Deborah Allen's, you know, in the studio taking pictures with him and pinching his cheeks, you know. And at first, I kept saying, Cash, one day you're gonna realize how many legends you've got to be around.

Jay Franze 34:40

You're gonna realize just what's truly going on here. Yeah, yeah.

Lynyrd Skynyrd New York Memories

SPEAKER_06 34:43

He see Riley commenting on a post of you at school, you know, Miss Harper Valley PTA is Ash, you know. I'm like, this is insane. And and how old is he? He he's almost 10 years old, and I think he knows, like he knows these people because he, you know, he's he's he hears me talk about them all the time, and and we went. I'll tell you, this is how much he knows like the importance of certain things. We were at the Opry, we were backstage, and the other half of the show, we went, we were in the front row, and he got to go up on the stage and sing with riders in the sky. Cool. He comes off the stage. It was for their Christmas show when he sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, but it was on the Opry, and he gets off the stage, and after like he was jumping up and down. I sang on the grand allower, I sang on the and he like he knows the importance.

SPEAKER_03 35:45

Do you think that he had that same feeling that you had at 14?

SPEAKER_06 35:51

Oh, I I sure hope so. I truly do. I know that he he loves music and he loves entertaining, he loves comedy, he loves inventing things. He's going to be in some sort of uh entertainment flash something. I just know it. Uh I feel it. He because he's just he he he just he's just so great.

Jay Franze 36:19

Well, I I asked you that question because my daughter, I have uh I have three daughters, but my middle daughter is roughly the same age, she's eleven. And she's the only one that'll go to see shows with me. So she goes to all the shows that I get to go to, and she actually got to go backstage and meet William Lee Golden as well. He was super nice to her. I've told the story to Miss Tiffany before that we were backstage and we were saying hi to him and everything was great, and then he started to walk on stage to to perform, and he stopped and walked back to my daughter and told her, he said, Look, I know you don't know who I am, but I can't thank you enough for giving me the chance and for you coming here to to see me perform tonight. And then he turned around late now to walk out and and perform. And then my daughter and I we stood at front of house and watched the show. So not only does she not realize what it's like to be backstage and get to talk to somebody like that, but then to stand in front of house to watch a show. And then we did the same thing with Brooks and Dunn and a few others, and she just gets all this special treatment, and I can't take her to her normal performance now for anything. You can't just go sit in the crowd, everything's gonna be a big deal.

SPEAKER_06 37:32

Oh, that's awesome. She has something that she'll never forget. She's never gonna forget that. And and that how cool is that of William? Man, that's that's William Lee Gold and that's the Oak Ridge boys.

Jay Franze 37:45

That's how cool they are.

SPEAKER_03 37:48

Do Georgia and Heidi have kids? I was thinking that that was maybe one of the planes that you guys had connected on.

SPEAKER_06 37:55

Yeah, I mean, we of course, you know, we we have, but we've really not discussed kids or anything or wow. I mean, it's all been pretty much business as far as singing. It's been what we're gonna wear.

SPEAKER_03 38:11

It's an important question, man.

SPEAKER_06 38:13

That's important. I mean, you know, like you know, what are we gonna wear for the show? Uh we haven't figured it out yet, but uh but yeah, it's uh it's not really. I mean, we've not got a chance to really hang out. I'm hoping that at this show we're gonna get more time to get to hang out. Pretty excited about that.

Jay Franze 38:31

Does Cash realize that you're a rock star?

SPEAKER_06 38:35

He tells me I am. It's so sweet. He does. He'll go in, he'll be especially when somebody talks to him or he says to him, he'll go, see, mama, you're famous. And I'm like, Cash, famous. He's like, Yes, you are famous. You're famous, mama. I'm like, no, I'm not, Cash.

SPEAKER_03 38:53

And you'll say from everybody, and I'm like, Does he know he's named after Johnny Cash?

SPEAKER_06 38:58

He does. And my husband and I, well, I had my my CD release party at Johnny Cash Farm in Bon Aqua.

SPEAKER_05 39:08

Cool.

SPEAKER_06 39:08

It was super amazing. I actually had Grayson, the one that played uh on Talladay Good Night.

Jay Franze 39:16

Grayson Russell.

SPEAKER_06 39:17

Yes, yes, he was at my CD release party, and him and I went down to the other part and actually sang Jackson together.

SPEAKER_03 39:26

It was so cool. So cool. Yeah, he's been on the show.

Motherhood Staying Grounded And Giving Back

SPEAKER_06 39:29

Yeah, he's super amazing. And then so fast forward, and my my husband, we've been married for almost three years now. This June will be three years, and um, and we got married at the Johnny Cash Farm. Oh wow, they had the um convertible red Cadillac that had an Elvis tag or play. Our preacher was an Elvis impersonator, and and we had like over 500 people at our wedding, and we had moonshiners, we had people from England and China, and it was insane. We had a band there. We could we meet my husband sing together. It was just super amazing.

SPEAKER_03 40:11

Lee, is your husband in the music industry or is he like a banker or something?

SPEAKER_06 40:16

No, no, not a banker. No, he has got long blonde hair like me. He looks like he kind of looks like Dwayne Almond, I swear. But he has long blonde hair and he sings, and he actually had a record duel back in the day, and he uh his producer was Hank Cochrane. If you're familiar with Mr. Hank Cochrane, you know, and so he was on the road with Merle Haggard and Charlie Daniels and Whalen and all of them. He got to hang out with him when he so he had a lot of stuff, like he is he's done a lot of stuff, and so he just released his album a couple years ago, and him and I have done duets together as well. So we've uh done great. So he's actually on the road now. He actually drives two, like he just got off the road with L Langley, and now he's on the road with Stephen Curtis Chapman.

SPEAKER_03 41:10

Oh wow, yeah, good for him. Yeah, it sounds like he's played you know different roles in the music industry, so that's nice.

SPEAKER_06 41:19

Yeah, he sure has.

Jay Franze 41:20

Is he driving buses or trucks?

SPEAKER_06 41:23

Uh buses. Yep, he does the buses, and we actually have uh the super cheap bus, which we we actually own Merle Haggard's bus. Yeah, so it's actually in California getting painted now. Oh wow, yeah.

Jay Franze 41:37

Miss Lee, before we before we start wrapping this up here, you've got a a shelf of awards behind you. What kind of awards are back there?

SPEAKER_06 41:45

Oh my gosh. Um, they've been for album of the year, EP of the year. Uh, I've won for traditional country female artists of the year. And then this one right here, I just won that one in Jacksonville, Florida at the uh holiday music awards for my Christmas song. I won Best Country Christmas song for Christmas Moon. It was so cool because the people who awarded gave me my award was the guy who played Jack Devereaux on the Days of Our Lives. Oh my gosh! Barney Fife's daughter.

SPEAKER_03 42:20

What a combination.

SPEAKER_06 42:22

It was so cool. Like, I'm like Don Knotz's daughter gave me the awards. That was pretty cool. Even a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bakersfield Country Music Awards. That's kind of pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

That's very cool, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 42:37

Yeah, so I but but as well, as far as like the the other ones with the albums, I've been recognized as far as the EP albums and my albums for being for traditional country, and that just means so much. Just even be recognized because that's your whole project, you know, that's your songwriting, your it's everything, the whole creative process.

Awards Unsung Heroes And Farewell

Jay Franze 42:57

Well, as we mentioned, your awards is probably a good segue to this. We do this thing here we call Unsung Heroes, where we take a moment to shine the light on somebody who's worked behind the scenes or somebody who may have supported you along the way. Do you have somebody you would like to shine a little light on?

SPEAKER_06 43:12

Oh my gosh. The Marine Corps League that's in Forest City, they have for six years, they have literally just been such a a shining light for me, just hearing their stories, and they've always let me come and and sing my songs for them. And I I I thank the world of those guys and everything that they've they've sacrificed and done over you know their years, and they're veterans, and I just love them so much. So I give a huge shout out to them.

Jay Franze 43:43

That's awesome. Well, on that note, we have done it. We have reached the top of the hour, which doesn't mean we have reached the end of the show. If you've enjoyed the show, please tell a friend and Miss Tiffany if you have not.

SPEAKER_03 43:55

Tell two.

Jay Franze 43:56

Miss Lee, we cannot thank you enough for joining us tonight. And we would like to leave the final words to you.

SPEAKER_06 44:05

Oh man, final words. Well, just thank you guys for tuning in and listening to my story and about music and motherhood and um just everything. I mean, because it just means a lot to me to be able to continue to get to to sing and perform for you guys. So just check out my music, uh blee newtonofficial.com and my books. I have I have books on Amazon. So yeah.

Jay Franze 44:30

He's your PR firm.

SPEAKER_06 44:32

I was gonna say he is my PR.

Jay Franze 44:35

That's awesome. On that note, have a good night.

SPEAKER_06 44:38

Thank you.

Jay Franze 44:39

Thanks for listening to the Jay Franzi Show. Make sure you visit us at Jayfranzi.com. Follow, connect, and say hello.