The Beth McKee Interview is featured on The Paul Leslie Hour.
Are you here? If you’re here, I hope you’ll join in our excitement. Now, The Paul Leslie Hour is a place where we bring you interviews with interesting and creative people. This interview with singer-songwriter and recording artist Beth McKee is one that your host Paul has a lot of fondness for. It originally broadcast on the radio in January of 2010. It’s not been heard since then.
Now, some of you may know the name Bobby Charles. A Cajun man, Bobby was born in Louisiana and wrote some of the all-time classics “See You Later, Alligator,” “Walking to New Orleans,” and “I Don’t Know Why, But I Do.” Beth McKee covered all of these songs and more. The Bobby Charles songbook was excellently interpreted by Beth McKee.
Before we start, you should know that you can give yourself and others the gift of stories. We have a lot of interviews that we want to make available to the masses. Just go right here, and we thank you.
And with that, I think this interview with Beth McKee best be seeing the light of day once more. We thank you for listening. Let us know what you think.
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The Official Transcript
Introduction and Walk to New Orleans
[2:38] Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure we welcome our special guest Beth McKee. Thanks so much for doing this interview with me.
Oh, it’s my pleasure, Paul. And I have to tell you I’m excited about your walk to New Orleans.
Thank you very much. Well, when everybody hears this, I’ll actually be walking to New Orleans like the Bobby Charles song.
Yeah, we’ll be there right along with you in spirit. Myself and all your listeners, I’m sure. And I wish you the very best with that. I think it’s a really noble effort and I’m really impressed that you’re doing that.
Oh, well, thank you very much.
My first question, who is Beth McKee?
Well, let’s see, the abbreviated version. I’m originally from Jackson, Mississippi. As I started to play music, I moved to Austin, Texas, and from Austin, Texas to New Orleans where I was in a band, an all-female, country-Cajun band called Evangeline, that made a couple of records for MCA Records via Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville label, and then moved to Central Florida to be with my Cuban husband, Juan Perez. That’s a little bit of my history. I don’t know if that says who I am, but I guess who I am is sort of an amalgamation of all those places and all those experiences.
Great answer.
Musical Influences and Moving to Louisiana
[4:03] Well, I wanted to ask you about some of the music that you grew up listening to. What were you listening to?
Well, when I was growing up, like I said, I am from Jackson and at the home of the wonderful blues label Malico Records. And that certainly had a huge impact on me growing up listening to some of those artists, Dee Dee Hill and Johnny Taylor and great, great soul singers in thathat genre, but also growing up in the 70s and 80s, the same stuff everybody else was, you know. But I was definitely listening to a lot of Little Feat and stuff that had Southern roots through it.
Now, tell me about how you got down there to Louisiana.
Well, I had gotten a gig with my old friend from Jackson, Fingers Taylor who played at that time harmonica with Buffett.
And he called me, I was in Austin, and Fingers called and said, “look, I’m putting together an all-girl group to back me up to open for Jimmy’s summer tour, and I’d love for you to come play piano, keyboards.”
And I said, sure, I’d love to. And so I joined that band, which was a really wonderful group called the Lady Fingers.
Oh yeah, the Lady Fingers Review.
The Lady Fingers Review, yeah, that’s exactly right. it had some great great players in it. Debbie Davies was playing guitar and And Janiva Magnus was singing.
[5:31] So Nancy Wright, who had played sax with Boz Skaggs for a while, was in the band.
So that was my first big tour time to go out and play all these great sheds across the country.
The woman that was playing bass in that band was a woman named Joyce Zellinger, or Grimes, and she lived in New Orleans.
I told her, as the tour was winding up, “Joyce, I really want to move to New Orleans, so keep your ears open and if you hear anything about any gigs in New Orleans, think of me or pass my name on.”
I had not been home back in Austin after the tour, maybe a week or two, and I got a phone call from this band, Evangeline that was looking for a keyboard player. So that’s how I wound up in New Orleans.
[6:22] Just tell us a little bit about Evangeline, because I have to tell you, I am just an immense fan. those two albums. I know there was a third one, as you told me, but my favorite song that you all ever recorded was “French Quarter Moon.”
[6:38] Oh, that’s a beautiful song, yeah. The experience of being in Evangeline was a lot of fun, and that was the second album, yeah, “French Quarter Moon.” So, yeah, you talk about Evangeline?
Yeah, just talk about it a little bit.
That was an adventure, yeah. As I moved to New Orleans to join the band, ironically, I had just left the road touring opening for Jimmy Buffett. And then the first gig that I played with the girls, we actually had a gig in Panama City Beach, where you’re starting your walk from, right?
[7:09] That’s right. A beachside bar called Schooners. And Rhonda, the guitar player, who kind of was the business manager of the band, also got a phone call from Quint Davis, who is the local entrepreneur of music that produces the Jazz and Heritage Festival and he said, ”Rhonda, where are you guys playing? Because I’ve got Jimmy Buffet and I wanted to come hear you guys play because he’s starting a record label and I think you guys would be great for his record label.” So ironically, we wound up signing with that label and going out the next summer as the opening act for his show.
That was two summers in a row that I got to go do that really delightful tour and had a lot of fun.
And then we, as you know, made two records for MCA Nashville, and just had a great time, played a lot of shows, a lot of festivals, toured around pretty heavily for about three, four years.
[8:10] At one point, then we just decided that it was time for us to try some other things. Rhonda, the guitar player, had been away from children at home and it was really causing her a lot of agony to be away from them so much. So we kind of all shook hands and faded away for a bit.
Other than a reunion concert about five or six, seven years ago, we haven’t really played together again, but I’m kind of loosely in touch with all the girls, especially Sharon Leger.
Just tell us a little bit about what your impression of Jimmy Buffett was, just being on his label and what interaction you got to have with him.
[8:51] We were, you know, like I said, on the road with him, so we would see him pretty regularly and he was pretty involved with the band because I think he really liked the band and really wanted us to do well and he’s a great guy to work for. Just really personable and fun and open just like all his fans find him. He really is that way. He actually sang, I know you know, on one of the tracks on our first album with Kathleen. He sang a duet on “Gulf Coast Highway” which turned out really well.
Yeah, definitely a beautiful song. I thought this was very interesting. When you were with Evangeline, he made a suggestion to you that you sing a certain artist, maybe picking out one of his songs.
[9:37] Right! As you know, just freshly, as I just said, joined the band, and we signed with him pretty quickly. The decision was made to put together material for an album, just move on it right away.
And so they were selecting songs, and Jimmy, having seen me perform with the Ladyfingers Review all summer felt strongly that I should sing at least a couple of tracks on the Evangeline debut album. I was so freshly new in the band, there was really not any material that I had developed that I was singing lead vocals on, so they were saying that they wanted to find some of the good songs for me, and I was told that Jimmy really wanted me to sing a Bobby Charles song. And I knew who Bobby Charles was. He’s the wonderful, the [10:26] songwriter, South Louisiana songwriter that wrote, ironically, for our conversation, “Walking to New Orleans,” and so many other wonderful songs” “See You Later, Alligator,” “Small Town Talk,” “Tennessee Blues,” just a plethora of wonderful American music.
For some reason, it didn’t happen on that album. They picked out a Jesse Winchester song and a Van Morrison song for me to sing instead. But that little idea sat in the back of my brain for all these years.
[10:59] About a year ago my husband Juan, who plays drums in my band, and we do quite a bit of collaborating together on our recordings and writing and performing, we were deciding to do another recording project. Juan had suggested that I please, please sing a song called,” I Don’t Want to Know” that was written by Bobby Charles that we had heard covered by Johnny Adams, late great Johnny Adams, blues singer from New Orleans. So I said, yeah, definitely we should do that. It’s a great song. And then the more I started thinking about it, the more I decided that maybe we should just do a whole tribute to Bobby Charles because both Juan and I loved every Bobby Charles song we ever heard. We’re both huge fans of his. And so it wasn’t hard to sell that idea to Juan and so that’s what we did. The result is “I’m That Way.”
A Musical Journey: From Sentimental Country to Rockabilly
Tell us just a little bit about “I’m That Way.” How did you go about picking the songs? I mean a lot of them are the most popular of Bobby Charles songs and And like you said, there’s no shortage of great songs that he wrote.
[12:01] Oh, absolutely. We could do a volume of CDs. We could do one every year of another 10 or 12 of his songs. But what we really wanted to do since it was a salute to him and to his music, was we really wanted to choose songs that celebrated the breadth of his style. It also made sense to us to go ahead and cover songs that he had been so successful with because those were some of his best songs. We just kind of didn’t have any rules one way or another except that we wanted to. [12:38] span his career and his musical style from the kind of sentimental country feel of “Tennessee Blues” to the soul ballad of “I Don’t Want to Know” to almost a rockabilly version of and “See You Later Alligator.” That’s what we did.
I think my favorite song on the album is “Tennessee Blues.” It’s a darn good cover, but what is your favorite song on “I’m That Way”?
It’s probably a toss up between “I Don’t Want to Know” and “Small Town Talk.” I just love both of those songs so very much. But it’s hard because I love all of them.
Yeah, I definitely like Small Town Talk too. and the lyrics of the song, it’s so true.
Oh it is, yeah, anybody from the South can relate to that song, and probably from many other places too.
Corresponding with Bobby Charles: A Chance Encounter
I got to see a letter that Bobby Charles had written. You actually got to correspond with him.
[13:39] I actually did. As we were finishing up the album, I knew I needed to handle some of the business details as far as publishing and stuff. I looked up a phone number, or found a phone number, through BMI Music for his publishing company and called that number. And lo and behold, Bobby answered the phone. And so we just began a friendship right then and there. He was just so thrilled to hear that I had done a whole album of his songs, and insisted that I please send him a copy, which I happily did. And about a week later, the phone rang and it was him. And he’s like, “Oh, I can’t believe I found you. I found you. I’ve been looking everywhere. You didn’t give me your phone number and I didn’t know how to find you. I love the album. I love it so much. Oh man, you just did it.” I mean, you know, he just was glowing and so gracious and so happy and you know, it’s just a wonderful really wonderful phone call to get.
A Friendship Begins: Bobby Charles’ Appreciation for the Album
[14:40] So that began a friendship and You know, I guess as you know, he passed away last Thursday morning and uh, been a really sad weekend dealing with that loss, for myself and a lot of music lovers around the world.
Our special guest is Beth McKee, and we’re talking about her album, I’m That Way, which, is an album consisting of covers of Bobby Charles songs. I’m going to read the letter that the late Bobby Charles wrote to her.
[15:09] Beth, thank you so much for doing my songs on your new CD. You make me feel so proud. You really do. I love your voice. It’s so easy on your mind to listen to.
Bobby Charles Letter to Beth McKee
I wish you nothing but the best. Take care and God bless you.
Bobby Charles. Stay in touch. Great band also. You are one talented lady.
Bobby Charles, a Down-Home Cajun Musician
What was Mr. Charles like from your communication with him?
He was just a real down-home guy. You know, he’s actually born a Cajun. His real born name was Robert Charles Guidry. So he’s South Louisiana, Cajun persona all the way. Sentimental. He kept pretty much to himself, but very passionate about his country and his music. Real sweetheart.
If you could put it into words, what is it that you like about music?
I think it would have to be the way it touches people. Bobby Charles is the perfect example because his music is so simple and straightforward and honest. It just really reaches people in a deep part of themselves and everybody can relate to his lyrics and his message and it can make you feel better when you feel down or it can you know cheer you up or it can also kind of make you sad. And I just love that it can reach out.
The Power of Music to Reach and Impact People
[16:41] just a sound way something you can’t even see, you know Across such a distance and have an impact on someone’s state of mind or their life even, You mentioned the the favorite cuts from your album, I’m that Way of songs that Bobby Charles wrote but just in general whether you recorded it or not.
[17:01] Do you have a favorite Bobby Charles song?
Well, I surely do love “The Jealous Kind.” Jealous Kind that a lot of people recorded.
Delbert McClinton, Etta James. It’s just a beautiful song. And Bobby was curious that I didn’t record “Jealous Kind” because when he heard my voice.
[17:22] He thought I would have done it really well. He’s like, “why didn’t you do Jealous Kind? I just wish you’d done Jealous Kind.”
I was like, “Bobby, Etta James tore that up.” You know, out of respect for Etta James and for Delbert McClinton, I think I better just leave it alone.
He said,” well, I think you should have done it, you’d do it, you’d do it good too.”
So when last, last September, when our good friend Tommy Malone from the Subdudes came to do a show with us here in Central Florida, Tommy and I worked up a duet, Tommy suggested “Jealous Kind.”
He said the same thing” Why didn’t you do Jealous Kind? That’s such a great song.” I said, well, Tommy, I was intimidated, you know? And then I told Bobby that, when I was having a conversation with Bobby, I said, Bobby, Tommy said the same thing as you about “Jealous Kind.” And I said, I think he wants to do it for our show, which we called Pan Fried. It’s just sort of a little event name. And Bobby said, y’all should do it together. Y’all should do it as a duet. So we did. And we did record it.
But I never got a chance to get it to Bobby, and I regret now that I didn’t do what I needed to do to get him a copy of that.
[18:36] I wanted to ask you just as you were saying, you know It’s sometimes this can be intimidating to approach a song that’s been done by so many different people, Or not necessarily so many different people but has been made into a version that people know and respect and enjoy. How did you go about approaching a song like “Walking to New Orleans”? Was that intimidating?
No, because you know at my gigs I’ve been doing “Walking to New Orleans” for [19:09] many years. So I’ve been singing that song at my shows for so long now That it’s kind of like mashed potatoes. It’s just a comfortable, comfort song for me. First of all, I’m very emotionally attached to the song I mean I get sentimental every time I sing it so it was just going to be an easy one to deliver and to be feel sincere about and I didn’t have been doing it so long. I don’t do very well imitating other people and so I just don’t try so the fact that I’m not trying kind of liberates me and I just kind of whenever I hear a song I just kind of remember how the song goes and then I forget how it really, really goes and just kind of go off in my own little world and do my own interpretation of it so that I’m not worried about. [20:06] how Fats Domino sounded doing it or how Neil Young sounded doing it or how Bobby sounded doing it, you know.
You managed to record it and do a fresh version of it. It was, you know, it was refreshing to hear it. You know, you did it your own way, but you mentioned that it was kind of a sentimental song for you. [20:24] Is there any particular reason why?
Well, it’s just the words, you know, ever since I left New Orleans, I’ve been heart sick to be back there.
I’ve missed it. I feel like it’s where my soul resides, so to speak, and although I love my home here in Florida, I think about New Orleans constantly and think of it as home. And so every time I’m playing it, I’m thinking, I wish I was walking to New Orleans.
Working on an Original Material Album
And I understand you have an album that you’re working on.
[20:55] Absolutely, yeah. We’re in pre-production now for our next project, yet to be named, but this one’s going to be original material. So we’ve been doing a lot of songwriting and of course, it’s super duper intimidating to think about recording an album of songs written by me or by us. My husband Juan and I, after doing an album of Bobby Charles songs, but we’re really hoping that we can take what we learned from the experience of digesting all these wonderful songs of his and translate it into our style of songwriting, and have good quality songs, again, good production, and we have the talent as far as players here. We have wonderful access to brilliant players, so we’re not worried about that end of it.
Favorite New Orleans Meal and Musical Accomplishments
[21:42] I gotta ask you because of, you know, having lived in New Orleans, and also just out of my own personal curiosity, What is your all-time favorite meal?
[21:55] My all-time favorite meal. I like so many ones. You know what? I think it’s gonna have to be a half-and-half, Shrimp and oyster po’boy.
Oh, okay.
In a particular way, you know, it has to be dressed dressed with tomatoes lemon juice and hot sauce.
Oh, that sounds good.
And a bag of Zapp’s.
When you look back on your musical career and and just your life in general, what are you most proud of?
I think it would have to be “I’m That Way.” I’m most proud of the fact that I was able to do that and that it’s been so well received and that it touched Bobby in such a way. I’m also very proud of the fact that he just finished an album himself and he liked my singing so much that he asked me to sing with him a song or two on his album. And that album will be out at the end of February, and it’s going to be called “Timeless.”
So I hope everybody will keep an eye out for that. He felt it was his best project, you know, when he finished it. He said, “this is the best one yet.” And he, Dr. John co-produced it with him. And it is, the tracks that I heard that I got to sing on are just unbelievable.
[23:12] Very exciting. Our special guest has been Beth McKee. I hope everyone out there visits her online. If you could tell everyone out there the web address where they can find out more about you.
Certainly. Simple. www.bethmckee.com
Thank you so much, Paul, for giving me a call and for letting me talk about Bobby and about the music.
And I totally wish you a wonderful journey when you’re walking to New Orleans.
It’s been a great pleasure. I have one final question before we part ways. This broadcast goes out all over the world. What would you like to say to all the people who are listening in?
Well, keep the music alive. Keep Roots music alive. American Roots music is so important to me, and I think it is a wonderful genre of music, and I hope that music buyers and music appreciators all around the world will continue to support it in the wonderful way that they have. Look for more of it.
Thank you so much. Ladies and gentlemen, Beth McKee.
Thank you, Paul.
All right. You have a good one.
Well, thank you too. And are you going to be sending out any email blasts from the road?
I’m going to be updating with pictures and just stories. And then also [24:39] I’m not carrying it on me, but there’s going to be someone who’s taking their vacation, thankfully, around the same time, and I’m going to upload videos to YouTube. And then on the way, I’m going to be interviewing a couple people.
I’m going to have a cassette recorder. Like Benny Spellman invited me to stop by his retirement home in Pensacola.
Awww.
[25:01] So that’ll be exciting.
Very exciting. Yeah, so definitely.
And this special with you will actually air when I’m walking. I’ll make sure that you get, it’s like a little press release. It’ll tell everybody what time and how they can tune into it.
Wonderful. And I’ll share that on Facebook and other places, too, so.
All right.
Thank you so much. And you have a safe journey, and we’ll be following you.
All right. Thanks so much.
All right. Take care.