Garrott’s single goes national
Published 7:20 pm Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Anna Garrott is beginning to believe that dreams really do come true.
Sometimes, she thought her dream of making it in the country music industry might be just that. But with hard work and perseverance, things started to fall into place for the Troy native.
On Sept. 8, the realization of the dream became a real possibility when her CD single, “What a Way to Go,” was released to radio stations across the nation.
“Each quarter a compilation of 10 new singles is put on a CD by a recording company and sent to major radio stations around the country,” Garrott said. “The radio stations listen to the CD and decide which songs they want to add to their play list.”
Garrott said there’s a code on the singles that record the number of spins it gets and that number determines where a song is ranked on the national charts, Billboard and Music Row, at the end of each week.
Although she is featured on country music charts, Garrott describes her music as country with a Southern rock edge. “Patsy Cline meets Bonnie Raitt.”
“Actually, ‘What a Way to Go’ is doing fantastic out of the gate,” Garrott said. “It’s been added to the play list at radio stations in Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Colorado, Georgia, Texas and New Mexico. And, it’s moving up. In one week it has jumped 90 spots to 211 and that’s exciting. The life of song is 20 weeks, so hopefully, we’ll keep crawling on up there.”
The more spins a song gets, the better it will sell and the more doors of opportunity that will be opened for the aspiring country music singer.
“I’m slam busy right now and that’s good,” Garrott said. “I’m on the road a lot. I travel with my band that includes guys on keyboard, electric guitar, bass and drums. I just got back from Mississippi where I opened for Jeff Bates and I’ll be leaving Thursday (today) for Bloomington, Ill. where I’ll play for Kenny Chesney’s Tailgate Party. And, Saturday, I’ll be in Troy for Troy University’s first home football game.”
While in town Garrott will be on stage at the Double Branch and all friends and fans are invited to see her show Saturday night.
“When I was in college at Troy, the Double Branch is where I played,” Garrott said. “I spent time there tending bar, and I just slipped into the band and fell in love with live music. So it will be good to be back where I started.”
Garrott is living in Nashville, which is the base for her road trips. She is writing some of her own songs.
“I’m writing, recording, promoting – eating, sleeping and breathing music,” she said. “It’s all very exciting, and I enjoy every minute of it.”