Sawyer Brown to treat Lancaster Fair crowd

footwork.

Originally, the band Sawyer Brown was known for their country pop sound; by 1991, however, the band began to showcase a more serious side to its music, by adding ballads to its repertoire.

Most of the original members are still part of the band. Bobby Randall left the band in 1991, and was replaced by Duncan Cameron. Cameron subsequently left in 2004, with Shayne Hill assuming the role of lead guitarist.

The group is now comprised of lead singer Mark Miller, keyboardist Gregg Hubbard, Drummer Joe Smyth, Jim Scholten on bass guitar, and Shane Hill on lead guitar. They have been on the road for a long time and they are still packing venues everywhere they perform.

To date, Sawyer Brown has released 20 studio albums, of which three have been certified gold in the United States for sales of 500,000 copies. More than 50 of their singles have entered the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including three No. 1 singles.

Sawyer Brown also received a Horizon Award from the Country Music Association in 1985, as well as a Vocal Group of the Year award in 1997 from the Academy of Country Music, and five Vocal Band Of The Year Awards from the TNN Music City News Country Awards.

The guys were originally part of country pop singer Don King’s road band. When King stopped touring in 1981, the group decided they would stay together, taking the name Sawyer Brown after Sawyer Brown Road, the street where they rehearsed.

The band played up to five sets a night, six days a week, until they auditioned for the TV show Star Search in 1983. They auditioned just to get the videotape to promote the band, yet ended up winning the $100,000 grand prize and recording contract.

The band signed with Capitol Records and scored a Top 20 hit with their first single, “Leona,” in 1984. That success was quickly followed by their first No. 1 hit, “Step That Step.”

The band had their highs and lows on the charts throughout the 1980s, landing only a few Top 10 hits, however, they had accumulated enough hits for a Greatest Hits package by 1990, and were extremely successful on tour.

In 1991, after the release of their album Buick, guitarist Bobby Randall left the group to remain close to his family and host a short-lived TV talent show, “Be A Star.” Duncan Cameron, formerly of The Amazing Rhythm Aces, was chosen as his replacement just as Sawyer Brown was about to become country music’s “it” vocal group.

The band then switched labels, moving to Curb Records and releasing the albums The Dirt Road, Café On The Corner, and Outskirts Of Town which brought hit after hit for the band in the early- to mid-’90s.

Part of the band’s newfound success was due to singer-songwriter Mac Mcanally, who penned several songs for the group. “The Walk,” the final single off the Buick album, was the turning point for the group.

Following “The Walk,” the band scored a number of Top 5 and Top 10 hits, including two more Billboard No. 1’s with 1992’s “Some Girls Do” and 1993’s “Thank God For You,” which Mark Miller co-wrote with Mac Mcanally.

By 1995 Sawyer Brown had enough hits for a second Greatest Hits package. The album, titled, Greatest Hits 1990 to 1995, included two new singles, “This Time” and “I Don’t Believe in Goodbye,” which became Top 5 hits.

In the latter half of the 1990s, the group seemed to gradually fall out of favour with country radio, despite a crossover hit in 1999 with “Drive Me Wild.” They parted ways with Curb in 2003 and signed with Lyric Street Records.

One single was released on Lyric Street before Sawyer Brown left that label as well. 2004 saw the group returning to Curb Records, just as Duncan Cameron decided to leave the group to pursue a lifelong dream of flying for Southwest Airlines.

Guitarist Shayne Hill replaced Duncan on lead guitar, although both Cameron and Hill are in the credits on Mission Temple Fireworks Stand. The album’s title track, featuring Robert Randolph, peaked at No. 55. The second single off that album, “They Don’t Understand,” was a minor Top 40 hit on the country charts, and Top 20 on the Christian single charts.

In the early 2000s, Mark Miller formed Christian music label Beach Street Records. One of the first acts he began producing for the label was Casting Crowns. Sawyer Brown keeps touring, bringing their excellent music and hi-energy shows all around the country.

They offer one of the best shows I have ever seen.