Trick Pony
Encyclopedia
Trick Pony was an American country music
group. It was formed in 1996 by Keith Burns (lead guitar
, vocals
), Ira Dean (bass guitar
, upright bass, vocals), and Heidi Newfield
(lead vocals, harmonica
, acoustic guitar
). The group recorded three studio album
s: Trick Pony
, On a Mission and R.I.D.E.
, released in 2001, 2002 and 2005, respectively. These albums produced eight charted singles
on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs
charts, including four Top 20 hits: "Pour Me," "On a Night Like This," "Just What I Do" and "On a Mission."
In 2006, Newfield departed for a solo career, with Aubrey Collins taking her place on lead vocals. The group disbanded after Collins and Dean left in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Newfield released a solo debut album, What Am I Waiting For
, in 2008 on Curb Records
, while Burns joined singer Michelle Poe to form a duo called Burns & Poe.
, and Dean with Tanya Tucker
. Keith and Ira decided to form a group composed of two men and a woman. Completing the lineup was lead singer Heidi Newfield
, a friend of Burns' then-wife. The trio began touring throughout the Southern United States
and performed regularly at 8 Seconds Saloon in Indianapolis, Indiana.
By 2000, Trick Pony was signed to a record deal with Warner Bros. Records
. The trio released its self-titled
debut album that year. Serving as its lead-off single was "Pour Me" which reached a peak of number 12 on the Billboard
country music charts. The album's next two singles were "On a Night Like This
" and "Just What I Do," which respectively reached numbers 4 and 13 on the country singles charts. In 2001, the trio also received the Artist of the Year award from the Country Music Association
.
On a Mission was the title of Trick Pony's second album. Although its David Lee Murphy
-penned title track reached Top 20 on the country charts, the second single (2003's "A Boy Like You") failed to enter Top 40, and the group was dropped from Warner Bros.' roster shortly afterward.
In 2004, Trick Pony was signed to its second record deal, this time with Asylum-Curb Records
. The group's sixth single overall, entitled "The Bride", was issued that year, serving as the lead-off to their third studio album, R.I.D.E.
, whose title is an abbreviation for "Rebellious Individuals Delivering Entertainment." The second single from R.I.D.E. was a cover of Bonnie Tyler
's "It's a Heartache
". Trick Pony's version of the song peaked at number 22 on the country music charts. The third single from R.I.D.E., "Ain't Wastin' Good Whiskey on You", featured guest vocals from Tracy Byrd, Joe Diffie
, Mel Tillis
, Tanya Tucker
and Darryl Worley
.
charted with "A Feelin' Like That," which Dean wrote with David Lee Murphy
. Newfield began recording her first solo album for Asylum-Curb in June 2007. She made her solo debut on Cledus T. Judd
's 2007 album Boogity, Boogity - A Tribute to the Comedic Genius of Ray Stevens
, on which she, Judd, and Keith Urban
performed a cover of Ray Stevens
' 1969 single "Gitarzan
."
Aubrey Collins, a singer-songwriter from Littleton, Colorado
who had previously been eliminated from ABC
's television program The One: Making a Music Star
, was chosen as Newfield's replacement in 2007. Collins made her official debut as lead singer in April 2007 at the Country Thunder festival in Arizona
. Collins left the group in October, saying that although she enjoyed working with the group's other two members, she and they "had different creative and musical visions." Dean announced his departure in February 2008, and Trick Pony was disbanded. In April 2009, Warner Bros. released The Best of Trick Pony, a compilation composed of songs from the trio's first two albums.
, via Curb Records in 2008. Burns, meanwhile, founded the duo Burns and Poe with former DreamWorks Records
Nashville artist Michelle Poe. Dean has begun writing songs for other artists, including Montgomery Gentry
's 2009 single "One in Every Crowd
". In July 2011, he signed to a recording contract with Average Joe's Entertainment
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
group. It was formed in 1996 by Keith Burns (lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
), Ira Dean (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, upright bass, vocals), and Heidi Newfield
Heidi Newfield
Heidi Newfield is an American country music artist. She was lead singer, rhythm guitarist and harmonica player for the group Trick Pony, alongside Keith Burns and Ira Dean from 1996 until 2006, when she left in pursuit of a solo career...
(lead vocals, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
). The group recorded three studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
s: Trick Pony
Trick Pony (album)
Trick Pony is the eponymous debut from the American country music group Trick Pony, released in 2001 on Warner Bros. Records Nashville. The album produced three singles in "Pour Me", "On a Night Like This", and "Just What I Do", which respectively reached #12, #4, and #13 on the Billboard Hot...
, On a Mission and R.I.D.E.
R.I.D.E.
R.I.D.E. is the third and final studio album by American country music group Trick Pony. It is also the group's only recording for the Asylum-Curb label. The album's name is an abbreviation for "Rebellious Individuals Delivering Entertainment"....
, released in 2001, 2002 and 2005, respectively. These albums produced eight charted singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts, including four Top 20 hits: "Pour Me," "On a Night Like This," "Just What I Do" and "On a Mission."
In 2006, Newfield departed for a solo career, with Aubrey Collins taking her place on lead vocals. The group disbanded after Collins and Dean left in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Newfield released a solo debut album, What Am I Waiting For
What Am I Waiting For
What Am I Waiting For is the debut solo album from American country music singer Heidi Newfield, formerly the lead vocalist in the group Trick Pony. It was released on August 5, 2008 on Curb Records and produced by Tony Brown. The album's lead-off single, "Johnny & June", peaked at number 11 on the...
, in 2008 on Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
, while Burns joined singer Michelle Poe to form a duo called Burns & Poe.
History
Trick Pony was formed in 1996 by guitarist Keith Burns and bass guitarist Ira Dean. Both musicians had experience as backing musicians for other country music acts; Burns had previously worked with Joe DiffieJoe Diffie
Joe Logan Diffie is an American country music singer known for his ballads and novelty songs. Between 1990 and 2004, Diffie charted 35 cuts on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including five number one singles: his debut release "Home", "If the Devil Danced ", "Third Rock from the Sun",...
, and Dean with Tanya Tucker
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...
. Keith and Ira decided to form a group composed of two men and a woman. Completing the lineup was lead singer Heidi Newfield
Heidi Newfield
Heidi Newfield is an American country music artist. She was lead singer, rhythm guitarist and harmonica player for the group Trick Pony, alongside Keith Burns and Ira Dean from 1996 until 2006, when she left in pursuit of a solo career...
, a friend of Burns' then-wife. The trio began touring throughout the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and performed regularly at 8 Seconds Saloon in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Musical career
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. The trio released its self-titled
Trick Pony (album)
Trick Pony is the eponymous debut from the American country music group Trick Pony, released in 2001 on Warner Bros. Records Nashville. The album produced three singles in "Pour Me", "On a Night Like This", and "Just What I Do", which respectively reached #12, #4, and #13 on the Billboard Hot...
debut album that year. Serving as its lead-off single was "Pour Me" which reached a peak of number 12 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country music charts. The album's next two singles were "On a Night Like This
On a Night like This
"On a Night Like This" is a song by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue, taken from her seventh studio album Light Years . The song was released as a CD Single on 25 September 2000, and was released digitally after the physical release date...
" and "Just What I Do," which respectively reached numbers 4 and 13 on the country singles charts. In 2001, the trio also received the Artist of the Year award from the Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
.
On a Mission was the title of Trick Pony's second album. Although its David Lee Murphy
David Lee Murphy
David Lee Murphy is an American country music artist. Signed to MCA Nashville Records in 1994, Murphy made his first appearance on the Billboard country charts that year with "Just Once", a song from the soundtrack to the 1994 film 8 Seconds. A year later, Murphy's debut album Out with a Bang was...
-penned title track reached Top 20 on the country charts, the second single (2003's "A Boy Like You") failed to enter Top 40, and the group was dropped from Warner Bros.' roster shortly afterward.
In 2004, Trick Pony was signed to its second record deal, this time with Asylum-Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
. The group's sixth single overall, entitled "The Bride", was issued that year, serving as the lead-off to their third studio album, R.I.D.E.
R.I.D.E.
R.I.D.E. is the third and final studio album by American country music group Trick Pony. It is also the group's only recording for the Asylum-Curb label. The album's name is an abbreviation for "Rebellious Individuals Delivering Entertainment"....
, whose title is an abbreviation for "Rebellious Individuals Delivering Entertainment." The second single from R.I.D.E. was a cover of Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
's "It's a Heartache
It's a Heartache
"It's a Heartache" is a country rock song that was recorded separately by Bonnie Tyler and Juice Newton in 1977. Tyler's version charted in the UK in November 1977 and both versions charted in the United States in 1978. The song was also recorded by Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes in 1978, but it...
". Trick Pony's version of the song peaked at number 22 on the country music charts. The third single from R.I.D.E., "Ain't Wastin' Good Whiskey on You", featured guest vocals from Tracy Byrd, Joe Diffie
Joe Diffie
Joe Logan Diffie is an American country music singer known for his ballads and novelty songs. Between 1990 and 2004, Diffie charted 35 cuts on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including five number one singles: his debut release "Home", "If the Devil Danced ", "Third Rock from the Sun",...
, Mel Tillis
Mel Tillis
Lonnie Melvin Tillis , known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits....
, Tanya Tucker
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...
and Darryl Worley
Darryl Worley
Darryl Wade Worley is an American country music artist. Signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville in 2000, Worley released four albums for the label: Hard Rain Don't Last , I Miss My Friend , Have You Forgotten? , and Darryl Worley in 2004...
.
Departure of Heidi Newfield and subsequent disbanding
In October 2006, lead singer Heidi Newfield announced that she would be leaving Trick Pony in pursuit of a solo career. She made her official departure at the end of the group's December 2006 tour. The same month, Gary AllanGary Allan
Gary Allan Herzberg is an American country music artist, known professionally as Gary Allan.Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his debut on the United States country music scene with the release of his single "Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album Used Heart for Sale,...
charted with "A Feelin' Like That," which Dean wrote with David Lee Murphy
David Lee Murphy
David Lee Murphy is an American country music artist. Signed to MCA Nashville Records in 1994, Murphy made his first appearance on the Billboard country charts that year with "Just Once", a song from the soundtrack to the 1994 film 8 Seconds. A year later, Murphy's debut album Out with a Bang was...
. Newfield began recording her first solo album for Asylum-Curb in June 2007. She made her solo debut on Cledus T. Judd
Cledus T. Judd
Barry Poole is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country music songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and his albums are usually an equal mix of original comedy songs and parodies...
's 2007 album Boogity, Boogity - A Tribute to the Comedic Genius of Ray Stevens
Boogity, Boogity - A Tribute to the Comedic Genius of Ray Stevens
Boogity, Boogity – A Tribute to the Comic Genius of Ray Stevens is a tribute album recorded by country music singer/parodist Cledus T. Judd. It contains Judd's renditions of twelve songs previously recorded by country music artist Ray Stevens, largely with duet partners. Stevens himself is featured...
, on which she, Judd, and Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
performed a cover of Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...
' 1969 single "Gitarzan
Gitarzan
"Gitarzan" is a novelty song released by Ray Stevens in 1969, about a character who lives in a jungle and forms a musical band with his female partner, Jane, and their pet monkey. The song features Tarzan Yells, scat singing, and a funky Boogie Woogie, as well as a quote from the song "Swinging on...
."
Aubrey Collins, a singer-songwriter from Littleton, Colorado
Littleton, Colorado
Littleton is a Home Rule Municipality contained in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Littleton is a suburb of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and the 20th most populous city in the state of...
who had previously been eliminated from ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's television program The One: Making a Music Star
The One: Making a Music Star
The One: Making a Music Star was an American reality television series that aired in July 2006 on ABC in the United States, and CBC Television in Canada. The show was hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos, known to Canadian viewers as the host of CBC's The Hour...
, was chosen as Newfield's replacement in 2007. Collins made her official debut as lead singer in April 2007 at the Country Thunder festival in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. Collins left the group in October, saying that although she enjoyed working with the group's other two members, she and they "had different creative and musical visions." Dean announced his departure in February 2008, and Trick Pony was disbanded. In April 2009, Warner Bros. released The Best of Trick Pony, a compilation composed of songs from the trio's first two albums.
Status of former members
Newfield released her solo debut album, What Am I Waiting ForWhat Am I Waiting For
What Am I Waiting For is the debut solo album from American country music singer Heidi Newfield, formerly the lead vocalist in the group Trick Pony. It was released on August 5, 2008 on Curb Records and produced by Tony Brown. The album's lead-off single, "Johnny & June", peaked at number 11 on the...
, via Curb Records in 2008. Burns, meanwhile, founded the duo Burns and Poe with former DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...
Nashville artist Michelle Poe. Dean has begun writing songs for other artists, including Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo composed of vocalists Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry. The two began performing in the 1990s as part of a band which also included Eddie Montgomery's brother John Michael Montgomery, and founded the existing duo in 1999.Signed to Columbia Records,...
's 2009 single "One in Every Crowd
One in Every Crowd
"One in Every Crowd" is a song recorded by American country music duo Montgomery Gentry. It is the third single released from their sixth studio album, Back When I Knew It All...
". In July 2011, he signed to a recording contract with Average Joe's Entertainment
Average Joe's Entertainment
Average Joe's Entertainment Group is an American record label specializing in country music. The label was founded in 2010 by country rap artist Colt Ford and Shannon Houchins...
.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||
| Trick Pony Trick Pony (album) Trick Pony is the eponymous debut from the American country music group Trick Pony, released in 2001 on Warner Bros. Records Nashville. The album produced three singles in "Pour Me", "On a Night Like This", and "Just What I Do", which respectively reached #12, #4, and #13 on the Billboard Hot... |
|
12 | 91 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : Gold |
| On a Mission |
|
13 | 61 | |
| R.I.D.E. R.I.D.E. R.I.D.E. is the third and final studio album by American country music group Trick Pony. It is also the group's only recording for the Asylum-Curb label. The album's name is an abbreviation for "Rebellious Individuals Delivering Entertainment".... |
Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell... -Curb Records Curb Records Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963... |
4 | 20 | |
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country |
||
| The Best of Trick Pony |
|
58 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|||
| 2000 | "Pour Me" | 12 | 71 | Trick Pony |
| 2001 | "On a Night like This On a Night Like This (Trick Pony song) "On a Night like This" is the title of a song written by Doug Kahan and Karen Staley, and recorded by American country music group Trick Pony. Released in April 2001, it was the second single from the album Trick Pony... " |
4 | 47 | |
| 2002 | "Just What I Do" | 13 | 103 | |
| "On a Mission" | 19 | 110 | On a Mission | |
| 2003 | "A Boy Like You" | 47 | — | |
| 2004 | "The Bride" | 27 | — | R.I.D.E. |
| 2005 | "It's a Heartache It's a Heartache "It's a Heartache" is a country rock song that was recorded separately by Bonnie Tyler and Juice Newton in 1977. Tyler's version charted in the UK in November 1977 and both versions charted in the United States in 1978. The song was also recorded by Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes in 1978, but it... " |
22 | — | |
| "Ain't Wastin' Good Whiskey on You" | 42 | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Pour Me" | Peter Zavadil Peter Zavadil Peter Zavadil is a music video director who works primarily in the field of country music. He has directed many music videos since the late 1990s.-Music videos directed:109 music videos are currently listed here.-References:... |
| 2001 | "On a Night Like This" | |
| 2002 | "Just What I Do" | |
| "On a Mission" | Gerry Wenner | |
| 2004 | "The Bride" | Peter Zavadil |
| 2005 | "It's a Heartache" | Jeffrey Phillips |