Hailing from Battle Creek, Michigan, about two hours west of Detroit, Frankie Ballard is one of country music’s biggest rock ‘n rollers. He grew up around rock ‘n roll and blues which he brought into his own sound. And that sound has been something that has separated Frankie from the pack in a world where the country genre has seemingly become the most popular. His greatest commercial success came with his 2014 album, titled ‘Sunshine & Whiskey.’ The album reached the top 5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and yielded three Number One songs (‘Helluva Life,’ the titled track, ‘Sunshine & Whiskey,’ and ‘Young & Crazy’). Last summer, Frankie released a new album, titled ‘El Rio.’
With the success that ‘Sunshine & Whiskey’ had, Frankie says that, naturally, he felt some pressure when he was creating ‘El Rio,’ and that’s something he did not want. “I think naturally you feel the pressure because you want to keep on the same path. You want to keep growing and keep going. But you try to stay focused on what you’re doing. I really didn’t want those types of feelings interfering with the creative process. I wanted to make sure we were creating from the right place and not just trying to have hits,” says Ballard. The 11-track album includes songs written by some of the best songwriters in country music. Writers like The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Johnston, Chris Stapleton, Lee Thomas Miller and many more. And for Frankie, songwriting is the key to any song he is considering when it comes to a record. He explained, “It’s the biggest deciding factor in any song I record. Not who wrote it but what it’s written about. The songs are everything. We can all put our production on and sing our butts off and do the track right but it has to be a great song. A song is a melody and a lyric. All the songs I record are from that thought.”
The first single off the record was ‘It All Started With A Beer’ and Frankie followed that up with ‘Cigarette,’ a song written by Kip Moore, Jaren Johnston and Chris Stapleton. But when it came to the third single, Frankie decided to release a track called ‘You’ll Accomp’ny Me,’ a song written and recorded by rock ‘n roll icon, Bob Seger, in 1980. “I’ve always loved Bob Seger. He’s always been a big influence in my life. I grew up in Michigan, he’s from Michigan. I’ve always looked up to him as another Detroit rock and roller. I loved his music and I think there’s a deep country influence and deep blues and rock ‘n roll influence, which is similar to what I like. I got to do a tour with him a couple years ago which was a really special time for me. And this song is something that I’ve always loved. It’s kind of a cult classic, it’s not a tune that everybody knows. I thought it would be a great tribute to Bob and everything he’s given to me musically to give this song another chance.“
The bluesy rock ‘n roll feel doesn’t stop with ‘You’ll Accomp’ny Me’ on the album. All-in-all, the album as a whole has a real Midwest influence with a major presence of blues and rock ‘n roll sounds. And as previously mentioned, that comes from Frankie’s upbringing. “I grew up listening to a lot of rock ‘n roll and a lot of blues… well, a lot of blues. And probably, blues is where a lot of that comes from. I’m a big Stevie Ray Vaughan fan and when I discovered Stevie Ray on guitar I went backwards and learned about all the people that influenced him and discovered Lightning Hopkins and Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy and all of these great bluesmen. I think that influence is what has trickled into what you’re hearing.” The unique sound definitely worked as ‘El Rio’ was named one of the best country albums of 2016 by various outlets, which Frankie says is the ultimate compliment. “When I am in the studio, I am trying to get things off my chest; be an honest musician and do my best and not really think about what people are going to think of it. You’re not supposed to be thinking of what people are going to think of it. You’re supposed to be just going for it. To have it come out and have people like it in that way, it’s the ultimate compliment, I am so thankful and blessed that it’s doing what we hoped it would.”
In many ways, Frankie Ballard is the king of country cool. He’s an incredible entertainer with great style, great music, a great personality and his own personal swagger. All of which, Frankie says comes out through his music. “From when I get up in the morning all the way through show time. I try to give people everything I got. I’m the same guy all the time. Whether I am hanging at Thanksgiving with my family or I’m about to hit the stage. I feel like an entertainer all the time. I’ve been entertaining my sisters since I was little. It comes natural for me.” He’s also one of the best guitar players in music. All of these reasons are why us here at New England Country Music, and The Harbor Agency, selected Frankie as the headliner for our 2017 festival, which will also feature Michael Ray, William Michael Morgan and more on August 6th in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Ballard exclaimed, “It’s an honor. Thank you for having me. I’m going to rock the house- guaranteed!”
You can get Frankie’s 2016 album, ‘El Rio,’ on iTunes here.
You can purchase tickets to see Frankie Ballard headline the 2017 NECM Festival, along with Michael Ray and William Michael Morgan, by clicking here.
