Country Crossing Grand Opening Kick-Off Celebration In Dothan, AL - Day 1
Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Webster & Associates
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Today's focus is on one of the top Country groups of the '80, who came together in Nashville in 1984, put together by a Nashville producer who needed someone to record demos of the songs he was writing.

Song writer and producer Tim DuBois created Restless Heart in 1984, bringing together some of the best session musicians Nashville had to offer. Drummer John Dittrich, bass player Paul Gregg, keyboard player Dave Innis, guitarist Greg Jennings and singer Verlon Thompson, who shared lead vocals with Jennings came together and were intended as just a studio group, recording demos of songs DuBois wrote to send out to other singers to consider for recording. But the group was better than they originally thought and were signed by RCA Records Nashville before the group had a chance to name the band.

Before the group recorded what would become their self-titled debut album, singer Larry Stewart, a friend of Dave Innis from the days when they both attended Belmont University in Nashville, to replace Thompson and take over lead vocals. The album was released late in 1984, featuring 4 singles, of which 3 ( "I Want Everyone to Cry", "(Back to the) Heartbreak Kid", and "Til I Loved You") landed in the top 10.

photo courtesy of http://restlessheartband.com/
photo courtesy of http://restlessheartband.com/
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It's been a bumpy ride for Restless Heart ever since. They've experienced the highs (six number 1 singles between 1986 and 1988) and the lows (Larry Stewart left the group in 1992 for a "less than successful" solo career, which led to not one, but two band break ups between then and his return in 1998), and everything in between.

Between 1984 and Stewart's departure in 1992, Restless Heart recorded 5 albums for RCA, which featured 15 top-10 singles and 6 number-1's. When their lead singer left, the group "circled the wagons", releasing the album Big Iron Horses in 1992, with Dittrich, Gregg and Innis sharing lead vocals duties. The album was a sales success, reaching gold certification, but it failed to send any of it's four singles to the top-10 on the country charts. By 1994, only the three singers were left in the group, and after the release of Matters of the Heart, they disbanded.

In 1998, the original group, less keyboard player Dave Innis, re-united to record three new songs for a Greatest Hits album, but after a year of touring, the band once again went on hiatus. After 4 years away, Gregg called Innis (with whom he hadn't spoken since the group's first break) and the entire group came back together in 2002, touring and recording a single that failed to make the country charts. Signed by Koch Records in 2004, Restless Heart released the album Still Restless, the first album of new music to feature the band's original lineup since 1990. The lone single on the album, "Feel My Way To You" peaked at #29 on the country charts, shortly before Koch closed its Nashville division in 2006.

9th Annual ACM Honors - Red Carpet
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The group has been without a record deal, releasing two live albums (2007's 25 & Live and Greatest Hits: Live in 2009) as well as a third Greatest hits package, 2013's Playlist: The Very Best of Restless Heart, independently. To support the album, the band launched its 30th anniversary tour, in 2013. They have recently returned to the studio, looking to record the group's first album of new music since 2004. The first new single from that project is in our spotlight today. Restless Heart, with an incredible tribute to Glen Campbell as today's Catch of the Day. Their version of "Wichita Lineman" is new music you haven't heard, but you're going to want to hear it again.

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