November 25, 2003
USA Today profiles rising star - and Belmont alum - Josh Turner
USA Today has a profile of new and fast-rising country music singer Josh Turner, an alumnus of Belmont University's music program.
Turner's single Long Black Train, a country-gospel throwback written after listening to all 10 CDs in a Hank Williams box set, has spent six months chugging up Billboard's country singles chart. (It's now No. 28.) ... Turner made his public debut at age 5, singing Arky Arky at his home church. He began singing country in his teens and later enrolled in the music program at Belmont University in Nashville. ... Turner's ultra-traditional approach has made him a favorite at the Grand Ole Opry, where he has made some three dozen appearances.You can watch Turner's video for "Long Black Train" here. You'll need RealPlayer or Windows Media Player and a broadband connection.
According to his official bio:
Josh wrote the tune while still a student at Nashville's Belmont University, after listening to the entire Hank Sr. box set in the school's library."As I was walking home I noticed there was something unusually dark about that night “ says Josh. "All of a sudden, I got this vision of a wide open space, out on the plains. There was a train running out in the middle of nowhere, and people were standing beside the tracks, just watching it go by.
"I was thinking, 'What does this mean?' It dawned on me that the train was a physical metaphor for temptation. These people were standing there, deciding whether or not to get on it. That stuck with me. I was going through a tough time in my life at that time, and temptation was a subject that I knew a lot about. When I got home, I sat down on my bed with my guitar, and it just started pouring out of me."
Josh, a strong Christian, knew he had something special – but never thought "Long Black Train" would become his first signature song. "This song is odd," he admits. "It's old-timey” - it sounds like 1940’s gospel music. But I started playing it for people and they went crazy over it. It blew my mind. That song has opened so many doors for me. I'm glad it's the first track on the album, because it expresses my country upbringing and my Christian heritage."
Photos courtesy MCA Nashville and JoshTurner.com
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