After three independent albums that helped them garner a substantial
following, Bill and Bonnie Hearne are enjoying their major label debut,
"Diamonds in the Rough," on Warner Western. The husband-and-wife
duo were joined by several guests on the set, including Nanci Griffith,
Lyle Lovett, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Tish Hinojosa. Among the songs they've
recorded is a cover of Lovett's "Walk Through the Bottomland."
"Lyle has been a friend for a long time and we love his songwriting,"
Bill Hearne says. "He's been out here to Santa Fe two or three times,
and he's invited us to sit in and do a cameo song or two [during his shows]
at the outdoor amphitheater here. We wanted Lyle on the album because he's
a friend and we wanted to pay him homage as a songwriter....We thought
that song would be a perfect song for Lyle to sing with us." Adds
Bonnie, "And we also thought the song lent itself to our harmony,
our male-female harmony we like to do so much of. That's another reason
we did it." "I think the story is beautiful," Bill says.
"The story of lasting love is really nice. You hear so many negative
songs in country music today. I think that song says something about genuine
love." "The differences between the two people are pointed out
in the song," Bill continues. "But it says you don't have to
be from the same background or sociological or economic background to make
relationship work. That's what the song means to us, and Bonnie and I have
been married 26 years. So we understand that."
--Billboard, May 17, 1997
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