Best In Texas

By Randy Cunningham

We Texans are a proud bunch. We have our own state bird, state flower, and - believe it or not - our very own dinosaur, the Pleuroccelus.

We also can brag about our very own State Musician. Since the 1970s. this country music icon has shared his love of everything Texas in dance halls and concert stages around the world, to the point that he was named Ambassador of Texas Music by the governor.

For more than 40 years, Gary P. Nunn has sung the praises of our state, and his latest album "Taking Texas To The Country" paints a picture of Texas that proves that Nunn is a master craftsman.

Positive responses are no accident. Nunn, a founding father of the progressive country movement, is also a forward thinker when it comes to choosing songs to record. His secret? The folks who scoot their boots across the dance floor each night.

Called a pioneer by his peers, Nunn ha never been afraid of blazing new music paths, a fact noticed and admired by Red Dirt and Texas musicians."I think they've learned from me that they can do it themselves" said Nunn. " I was one of the first people to make an independetly-produced record. I started a publishing company and a production company along with a independent label.

Being able to cut trugh a major mountain of red tape is now an opportunity for Nunn to get his songs to audiences quickly.
Who would have ever anticipated the way our business is now, and how it's changed so much through the years, Nunn said. Today we have a new standard. The great thing about iTunes is that we don't have to have the approval of the major record labels to get radio play or even to make record sales. We can go directly to our audience.

Nunn's fans understand, his music is a good fit, and they put it to good use. "Once I had a couple coming to me and say that when their son graduated high school and was living home the first time, they sat him down and played "Under My Hat". It's a song sort of like a father giving his son some good advice. They told him, were gonna leave you with this before you go out into the world".

"One of the things that really touches my heart, is to think that folks can use some of these songs to pass on to their children as good positive advice - something they can take with them for there entire life.

"That makes me real proud"