When you’ve worked in country music as long as Ira Dean, you’ve probably made a few friends. And, if you’ve built a reputation for being a decent guy and solid songwriter – they probably answer the phone when you call.
More than two-and-a-half decades after Dean started cranking out country radio songs with the trio Trick Pony, he released what he sees as his first solo album on April 11. Dean called many of his friends to participate. They said yes.
Artists including Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill, Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne, Gretchen Wilson, David Lee Murphy, Ted Nugent, Gary Allan, Uncle Kracker, and Jeffrey Steele make guest appearances on Dean’s 14-song I Got Roads project.
“It took two years to get this thing done,” Dean said, explaining it took considerable effort to get everyone’s schedules to align.
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Ira Dean’s Star-Packed ‘I Got Roads’ is Out Now
However, it was worth it. Dean didn’t want to make an album just for the sake of doing music. In the back of his mind, he thought this record might be his last, and he wanted to do what he could to ensure it was special.
“I wanted to write with all the guys that helped me hone my craft along the way,” Dean said, namedropping Dave Turnbull, Chris Wallen, Jeffrey Steele, and David Lee Murphy. “When I left Trick Pony, they still stuck with me when they didn’t have to. Plus, we just write great together.”
In addition, Dean wanted to work with other artists who influenced his career. That could mean he listened to them growing up, or they recorded one of his songs. Dunn and Nugent are among Dean’s influences, and Allan was one of the first singers to record a song Dean had written.
“Me and him became kindred spirits and just became really good friends,” Dean said. “I think we both battle light and darkness. We both have a smoky past. At least I do. He handles it better than me. I just feel like we’re both dented soup cans on the shelf.”
Dean remembers the first time he heard Dunn’s voice on the radio. He pulled over. It was about 1990, right after Dean moved to Nashville, and “Brand New Man” came on the radio.
Ronnie Dunn’s Voice Made Ira Dean Pull Over
“I was like, ‘Who the Hell is that singing?’” Dean said. “Everybody was trying to get George Strait cuts. I was trying to get Brooks & Dunn cuts. They were just my favorite group.”
Dean and Dunn became friends and writing buddies. Now Dean is touring with Brooks & Dunn as the duo’s bass player. Dean had never asked Dunn to record with him. Then Dunn heard Dean’s song “Tele-Man” and loved it. It was Dunn’s idea to ask Brent Mason, Gill, and Osborne to join the song.
“He was freaking out over it, and I was like, ‘You know, you could sing on it,’” Dean said. “It was just off to the races. I think that was the first song that made me think I could do this.”
Dunn added: “There’s a law in the music business that you can only use so many notes in a song. Well, this broke that law and words, too.”
Getting Nugent to appear on Dean’s ode to Charlie Daniels, “WWCD (What Would Charlie Daniels Do),” was more complicated. Dean and his producer had to drive the recording gear to Waco, Texas, and meet Nugent between deer hunts to get it done.
They drove more than 12 hours, arrived in Waco at 5 a.m., rented a room, and slept until it was time to go to Nugent’s house at 10 a.m. Nugent was still wearing his camouflage and told Dean he thought he was joking when he told him he was coming.
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“I said, ‘No, I told you. Pick up a guitar and let’s play,’” Dean recalls. “And he recorded it, and he recorded it quick.”
Nugent and his wife cooked him lunch – bacon-wrapped backstrap. And then Dean and his producer hopped back in the car and started the long drive back to Nashville. Dean’s producer asked to be dropped off in Dallas so he could fly the rest of the way home.
“We had a blast,” Dean said. “I said I looked at (my producer) on the way back. I said, ‘We’re definitely living up to ‘I Got Roads’ right now,” referencing the album title. “This is another road in the long list of roads I’ve taken in life.”
Dean said I Got Roads is “all about redemption.”
“It’s showing some people that there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “I definitely fought my demons most of my life. I just want to show people that if I can pull it off, anybody can. This is me, scars and all. I’m not dead yet.”
I Got Roads
- Tele-Man – Ira Dean & Ronnie Dunn (feat. Vince Gill, John Osborne & Brent Mason) (Written by: Tony Mullins & Jeffrey Steele)
- I Like It Like That – Ira Dean & David Lee Murphy (Written by: Ira Dean, David Lee Murphy)
- I Got Roads – Ira Dean & Gary Allan (Written by: Jeffrey Steele, Gary Allan, Ira Dean )
- Everything (feat. Gretchen Wilson) (Written by: Ira Dean, Dave Turnbull)
- Ted Nugent Introduction
- WWCD (What Would Charlie Daniels Do) [feat. Ted Nugent] (Written by: Jeffrey Steele, Ira Dean)
- Wreck Me (feat. Jeffrey Steele) (Written by: Ira Dean, David Lee Murphy, Justin Weaver)
- From 1 To Hank – Ira Dean & Uncle Kracker (Written by: Chris Wallin & Ira Dean)
- Amen To That (Written by: David Lee Murphy, Jessi Alexander, Ben Hayslip)
- Redneck Girl Like Mine (feat. Jeffrey Steele) (Written by: David Lee Murphy & Ira Dean, Justin Weaver)
- I Get High (feat. Shelly Fairchild) (Written by: Ira Dean, Gary Allan, Dave Turnbull)
- Raised On It (Written by: Ira Dean & David Lee Murphy, Justin Weaver)
- Mama’s Message
- Missin’ How It Used To Be (Written by: Ira Dean & Dave Turnbull)
Photo Credit: DavidMcClister
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