Chapter One
Do you remember the first song that you ever heard? Think long and hard about this. I'm not talking about a nursery rhyme that your mom used to sing or one that you heard from a children's program on television. I'm talking about a song that you first heard that meant something to you. I can remember this moment clearly. It's funny how when we're older, we can remember things that happened so many years ago. We can remember how we felt at that exact moment in time when we heard the lyrics to the songs that would soon represent a part of our lives. It's a day that will forever stand out in my mind and be embedded in my heart. The year was 1988. I was six years old, and it was well past my bedtime on a snowy Christmas Eve. Our annual party had ended hours ago and most of my parent's family and friends cleared out except a few of my uncles. They were all sitting around our wooden bar in the basement playing a game of poker, having a few drinks, and shooting the shit with one another. A haze of smoke coveted the atmosphere from the cigarettes and by now, most of my family was drunk. My dad seemed to be the only sober one, and he was kicking everyone's ass. The muffled sounds of older country music came out of the speakers of our jukebox in the corner. Once my dad heard the beginning chords of this song come on, however he rushed over to turn it up with me in his arms.
"This, Aubs. This is real, true, American country music" he had told me, and I would never forget those words or the way that he looked at me. It was George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and I soaked every word, every chord, and every melody of the song in. Everything about that song began to capture the moment for me. Is this what George had intended when he wrote the song? Did he intend for it to symbolize a part of my childhood? Did he set out to sing it to make the entire room scream the lyrics? You're damn right he did. He had every intention on doing that. Even as a child, I knew that lyrics had to mean something to these artists. From that point on, I had fallen in love with country music and had begged my dad to play the song over again until I caught onto the words and could sing along just like he was doing. From that moment on, I knew what I wanted to do in life. I knew that I had to be a part of this culture and be able to write a song that would mean something one day to the little girl that sat on her father's lap that late December night. I wanted to change the world one lyric at a time.
It may seem crazy, but most of us have wild dreams when we are children. We dream of being doctors or firefighters or superheroes, for that matter. My dad bought me my first guitar when I was 10 and from then on, I knew that I had it in me to become the next greatest singer/songwriter in country music history. My dad introduced me to a huge part of my life and made the decision of wanting to be a country music singer an easy one for me. When I told people my dream, all they could do was laugh. Sure, we grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere. We weren't a poor family but we did have our struggles like all families do. But it was a dream. When I told my counselor that I wanted to pursue a career in county music, she laughed right in my face. I did it, and I am where I am today because of the laughing and the doubts. 15 years later, I have managed to score 21 top ten hits, 18 number one singles, 11 albums, 14 CMA and ACM awards. I've been inducted into two huge museums of the country music industry and managed to also receive 5 Grammys along the way. Blessed is an easy way to put it. Hard work and dedication are two of the words that I would pick to use though. When I was just 18, my band had a record deal lined up for us in Nashville but I decided to go to school instead to avoid the laughing and the fear of falling flat on my face. It hasn't been an easy ride that's for damn sure. It's good to look back on the memories and all of the times that you have failed. Sometimes, when I have a tough day I take a step back and ask myself this question: whose laughing now?
Nashville, Tennessee has been my home for the past 15 years. It's the only place that I probably ever could ever see myself calling home at one point in my life. It has always held a special place in my heart. The hustle and bustle of the big city is just something that I have always yearned for. I grew up in two small towns so it was a huge adjustment when I moved here when I was eighteen. My entire future had played out here right before my very eyes. However, tomorrow I am making one of the biggest changes of my life. I'm moving again, and that scares the shit out of me. I'm thirty three years old and have been around the world a hundred times, it feels like. Being a single mom, I think it is best though to move out of such a toxic area. Nashville is beautiful, don't get me wrong. The place comes alive at night and you meet so many people that are beyond talented and have the same goals, dreams, and aspirations that you have. Just like my dad had done all those years ago, he put his daughters ahead of the life that he was living in West Virginia to get us out of a toxic environment. I'm doing the same for my girls. Being a parent comes first before being a musician and a songwriter and I was just naive to realize that so many years ago.
As a final hoorah, my manager had asked myself and my former band mates if we would perform at the Opry's 80th anniversary show. A lot of press and hype had surrounded us for the past few years even after we decided to break up and move on with our own lives. Our local country television station had decided to do an interview with me too, this morning and I couldn't say no. Some of these things you just can't back out of, no matter how hard you try. I had recently written and published a book about the history and behind the scenes details of the band. I had been keeping a lot of these things bottled up for the past few years and it felt good to let it all out. I've always been a writer before I was a musician. That will never change. My band mates, too thought it would be a great idea. It's a way to tell our our story to the world around us that watched us blossom under a microscope the past 15 years. In it, I set the record straight about a lot of things too. It's a funny thing. Press, I mean. They're nice and ask you all of these questions because they are just doing their job but then they decide that they didn't like something that you had said or what you stand for and your words get twisted. Everything that you thought no one knew about is suddenly the talk and gossip with the world. It comes with the fame, I guess is the way that you have to look about things.
Arriving at the television studio this morning was very nostalgic. CMT has been a huge staple here in Nashville since I could remember. You were an instant hit if your video was aired on the station. I had been here countless times but this time: this time it felt different. Even after being one fourth of one of the biggest bands in country music for so long, I felt like I no longer belonged to this world. The receptionist, Terri, had told me to wait in the lobby and one of the interviewers would be ready to meet with me soon to get my prepped for camera. I was used to it by now, and sat patiently in one of the red leather seats in the secluded waiting room. A few minutes had passed before a tall, slim, brunette made her way into the area.
"You must be Aubrey Header," she exclaimed, her accent holding onto every word that escaped her mouth.
I looked up at her, a little baffled and timid. "That's me," I said as I stood up and met her halfway. "It's actually Aubrey Williamson, now" I explained.
"It's really nice to finally meet you," she told me, sticking out her hand for me to shake. "I'm Brittani, I'll be the one interviewing you about your book today,"
I nodded my head in reply as she told me to follow her this way. I was whisked off to hair and makeup and soon after, led into the room that we would be conducting the interview in.
"Make yourself at home," she told me. "Off the record, I read the entire book. I couldn't put it down. I've been a Third String fan my entire life. You guys got me through some tough times," she said, as we took our seats across from each other.
"Thank you. That means a lot actually," I told her. The camera men turned all of the devices on and got us situated. After that, Brittani introduced herself and me. I had done thousands of interviews in this room, it's felt like. None were more frightening than this one though.
"So, I'll just get right to it. How long did it take you to write the book?" She asked me.
"It took me about two and a half years to sort everything out and finally put it all on paper," I said. "Although I have been writing songs since I was a kid, with this it just felt like I was pouring the last 15 years of my life out to people that have gotten me through some of the hard times. A big part of country music is the fan base that we make. We develop new fans all of the time even when the old ones stick around through it all. I felt like I owed it to them to get the record straight about a lot of things that most people had just assumed happened,"
"I've been a Third String fan my entire life so I got really excited when I heard that this book was coming out. I think I read it all in the span of three days. I couldn't put it down. You have inspired a lot of us to follow our dreams whatever that may be. So I do appreciate that more than you'll ever know," she took a pause for a moment. "You are the only band member here today and you were the front girl for a lot of years with the band. Not always in the beginning though, right?"
"Right. My best friend, Jackson Header was the front man for a few years when we were just starting out. Forming a band was always his idea and I don't know how we would have even got started if it wasn't for him,"
"What was it like, the first time that you met Jax? Did you guys click right away?"
"Kind of. Jax is a very difficult person to read most of the time but when we met that night, I knew that there was something magical there," I had explained. Thinking about that moment truly did bring a tear to my eye. Jackson Header. A confused yet delicate man with a heart of gold. He was my first friend that I had made during my move to Ohio. Thinking about to the day that we met takes me back to a simpler time in my life. I was seventeen, naive, and hadn't set out to do anything that night but line dance. God had other plans for me though and that's okay.