Hey, at least he owns it.
These days, John Rich is best known as one half of the “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy” duo Big & Rich, but a lot of country music fans may not even realize that he used to be a member of another country group back in the ’90s.
Rich was a founding member of Lonestar, which got its start in 1992 after the five members, who were all from Texas, met at Opryland theme park here in Nashville.
Along with lead singer Richie McDonald, lead guitarist Michael Britt, drummer Keech Rainwater, and keyboard player Dean Sams, Rich served as the bass player, background vocalist and occasional lead vocalist for the powerhouse group from 1992-1998. During that time, Lonestar had hits with songs like “Tequila Talkin’,” “No News,” “Come Cryin’ To Me,” and “You Walked In.”
But in 1998, it was announced that Rich would be leaving the band, with the official story being that it was “too confusing” to fans for Lonestar to have two lead singers.
According to Rich though, that might not have been the whole reason for his departure…
The outspoken country music star recently joined the Try That In A Small Town podcast, where he was asked about his time with Lonestar and his abrupt departure from the band. And Rich revealed that it wasn’t exactly a mutual decision:
“They fired me. I deserved to be fired.”
Rich, who’s never been afraid to speak his mind, acknowledges that he was in a different place creatively and in his personal life than the rest of his bandmates. And given Rich’s outspoken nature, that led to conflicts with the rest of the group:
“You know how I am at 51, I’m a rather intense individual. You can imagine me in my early to mid 20s, what that was all about…
They were all married, kids and all that, I’m totally single and I’m writing #1 songs. I got money, I’m running around. I’m wanting to record songs like ‘Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy,’ they’re wanting to record ‘Mr. Mom.’ Completely opposite views.
And the more aggravated I got, the more aggravated they got. They’re like, ‘Hey, sit down, you’re the junior member.’ Which I was. And eventually that just became unsustainable.
They had a meeting, called in a meeting, I didn’t know what it was about. It was about me.
They said, ‘New Year’s Eve, the gig we just did…yeah that was your last gig.’ This was like January 6th or something… They said, ‘So you need to get your stuff off the bus, I’m sorry.’ And I went, ‘That’s it?’ They go, ‘That’s it.'”
Rich said it was a big thing because not only did he lose his spot in the band and the income that came with touring, but he lost his publishing deal and his phone stopped ringing – and shortly after he was fired, he had to watch from the sidelines as the band released their biggest hit of their career with “Amazed.”
“I’m sitting at home, can’t afford the rent, watching the CMA Awards, watching these boys sing ‘Amazed,’ the biggest song that had been out in 20 years, and there’s four of them and not five of them because I’m sitting at home.”
He admits that he had kind of an “I’ll show them” attitude, but initially things weren’t going so hot. He managed to get a solo deal, but the singles didn’t do well and he was soon dropped from that too.
Things would finally turn around for him though. He says that not long after losing his solo deal, he met Big Kenny, his eventual partner in Big & Rich. And the rest, as they say, is history.
And I’ve gotta say, I hear “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy” a lot more than I hear “Mr. Mom” these days.
