by: Danny Davenport

of Travis Tritt's Career

One thing most aspiring young ( or old ) new artists will find when they make the decision to jump in with
both feet to find their pot of gold at the end of the music business rainbow is that, nothing comes without
a price attached to it ... WORK AND WORRY !! Indeed, if it ever comes at all. Even if it ( success )
doesn't come, the price tag is still there. The decisions you make can take you to the next level or tear
your career apart. Those decisions can and do take a toll.

Most things worth persuing in our lives are difficult to achieve at best, if not impossible. Travis and I
decided the only thing which would satisfy either of us in this dream of ours would be to go for what we
had held inside for most of our lives. Altho we didn't know each other prior to the woodshed, we shared
the same vision. Even when we didn't know this could actually be achieved, we still had the dreams, we
still wanted it. Wanted it so bad its pretty much all we did with our lives during this period of time when
we launched our efforts toward that star. Nothing was gonna stop us, NOTHING.

Skipping forward just a bit ( like maybe ... oh ... 6 or 7 years after the decision to go for it had been
made ) the above mentioned event came at a time when we could not afford to make a mistake. We had
to be right with every decision we made. You see, the dream was happening. I mean to the letter.
Everything we had done together to make this career happen, was coming to fruition. We had
accomplished the near impossible and the dreams were not only now reachable, they were happening,
and in a big way too. It was in fact, laughable how big it was.

It was time to choose our next single release to keep the career moving with another hit record and we
were all in a frenzy over which cut to choose. We both wanted " Quarter ", but would it be too much like
a novelty song which always comes with a double edged sward attached. If it hits, thats great. If it hits
and your looked at as something less than a serious artist or writer, it can have a really devastating
impact on your career as far as a contender to be taken seriously for the long haul.

We labored over it night and day in my woodshed for weeks. What if this and what if that, on and on and
on, until one day Charla ( my wife and Travis' biggest fan ever ), lost it. Whats the problem!!*%$#!!?
Whats wrong with you two? This is one of your best songs ... EVER .... JUST RELEASE IT !!

With that little outburst, she had opened our eyes to how silly we must have sounded and looked as we
totally over analyzed the material at hand. She was SOOOO right, and we both knew it. The song
smoked all other possibilities we had at the time. Maybe ever. It had it all. Humor, a certain smart ass
attitude, a real " in your face flip off " air to it. The melody was strong. In other words, this song could be
looked at as a novelty alright, but a novelty which had the undeniable work of a song craftsman all over it.

It was strong enough to get your attention and make you laugh but still hold your attention too as only a
real true hit can do. In other words, this was a smash, and no matter how you try to pigeon hole it, it
was the PERFECT song to continue the meteoric rise to the top of the talent base in country music. In
my humble opinion, this was the song which put us square in the middle of the long haul. This was a
career song released at the perfect time and I think everyone involved in country music at the time knew
it. This career was now in ink on the map of country music history, and we had accomplished everything
we set out to do in .........

" The Beginning " !

This is just a tiny tid bit of what to expect from my new book which I hope to finish and release sometime
next summer. With all thats going on in my life, finding the time has been a challenge. I have learned a
great deal about what it takes to write a piece of history which only one other person can tell, and even
he can only tell you a part of it. If you enjoyed this short piece of history, then get ready for a ride you
didn't expect. It might even remind you of yourself in places. Why? Because its true, real and in more
ways than you know, we're just like you. More than that, it'll show you that Dreams aren't limited to just
the successful entertainers you see on tv and at the movies everyday. They are real and attainable by
any of us. Dreams are for everyone.

One of my favorite songs as a child was " When you wish upon a star " from the Disney movie

" Pinochio ". I took it to heart. Sometimes the innocence of a child when he or she dreams has power.
As Ken Kragen said to Travis and I in his office in Hollywood when we first went out to meet with him as
our new manager to be, ... " Be careful what you wish for .... it just might come true ". You see, Ken had
NEVER managed an artist who didn't achieve platinum status. Not one, and he was asking us to allow
him to be our manager of choice. We had the pleasure of choosing almost any manager we wanted. I'll
say it again, DREAMS ARE FOR EVERYONE !

I'd love to hear from you !! Let me know your thoughts if you want. I'm all ears. After all,
you are the very people we were trying to reach. Let me know what you'd like to know as
I finish my book. Who knows? Maybe I can answer some questions that I might not
otherwise do. Please email me at firstake@bellsouth.net or just click the button.

Thanks for stopping by, and stay in touch,

Danny

We were just BEGINNING to experience the success
we'd found through our efforts of the past 7 or 8 years.
It's kinda funny but, sometimes it was the series of
events which led to some critical decisions which bring
back such special memories that no one could possibly
ever know but us. This time, it was the release of
perhaps the most notable of any of our hit records ...

" Heres a Quarter "

( call someone who cares )

( The Proud of The Country Story )