Diamond Rio Bio

Experience doesn’t announce itself loudly. It creeps up on you, and before you know it, you’ve developed into a distinctive group of individuals who know how to get things done. That’s the way it is with Diamond Rio. After 10 years, six “Vocal Group of the Year” awards collectively from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association, and 19 Top Ten country hits, the group has created one of the most unique sounds in country music history. They have successfully combined stunning bluegrass harmonies with a driving beat, along with some of the most outstanding solo instrumental work this side of Chet Atkins.

Those qualities are on full display on their seventh album entitled One More Day, which contains 13 new tunes of startling variety. From the chilling tale of alcoholism, “I’m Trying,” to the rollicking, "Stuff," vocalist Marty Roe, guitarist Jimmy Olander, keyboardist Dan Truman, mandolinist Gene Johnson, bassist Dana Williams and drummer Brian Prout have demonstrated that Diamond Rio have reached the pinnacle of their trade. In addition to the numerous awards, sales records and fan support, they were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in April 1998, becoming the first band in 14 years to cross that honored threshold.

Acquiring such status gave the band the luxury of time to create their new album. Over the course of 18 months, they scoured the works of some of today’s finest songwriters, among them Trey Bruce, Neil Thrasher, Phil Vassar, Annie Roboff, J.D. Souther, Bob DiPiero, Skip Ewing and Al Anderson.

But the defining piece of the puzzle came from Diamond Rio. “We’ve just got to keep being ourselves,” says Dan Truman. “At the same time, we’ve got to be smart in our choices of songs. We just need to remind ourselves to be hard on each other, to not let a song slip by. In fact, there was a point where we thought we were almost done,” adds Dan, “and we went and cut four more songs!”

“We feel like we’ve got the best group of songs that we’ve ever had on record,” adds Dana Williams. “Every time we do a record, we feel that way – if you don’t, then there’s something wrong.”

The group made a conscious effort to conquer new musical territory with this project. “Part of what we set out to do on this record was to do something that we hadn’t done before, and try to approach things in a different manner,” says Gene Johnson. “Dana and I approached the harmony vocals differently. In fact, we did a lot of harmony vocals on this album; there’s not a whole lot of Marty by himself.”

Gene continues, “We have unique instrumentation, and we’re all distinctive players. So one of the things we didn’t want to do was get too much light material. We wanted it to be pretty serious.”

“People who have listened to Diamond Rio for 10 years know that we’re not going to do a bunch of ‘crying in my beer’ or ‘rowdy rampage’ types of songs,” laughs Dana Williams. “I think they expect to be touched emotionally, and I think they expect our songs to hit ‘em where it counts. I can’t tell you how many people have told us that ‘You’re Gone’ is the light at the end of the tunnel for them. So I think they’ve come to expect positive message type songs. These people are really listening!”

That rich tradition continues with emotionally gripping tunes like “Hearts Against the Wind,” title track, “One More Day” and “I’m Trying.” However, the familiar Diamond Rio party sound comes to the fore on the jaunty title tune and the rapid-fire delivery of “That’s Just That.”

It’s a long leap from their origins as the Tennessee River Boys, a group that played at Opryland amusement park starting in the early ‘80s. After numerous personnel changes, they evolved into Diamond Rio and settled into their current lineup in 1989. The following year they signed with the newly-formed Arista/Nashville label, and began a long string of hits that included “Meet in the Middle,” “Love a Little Stronger,” “Unbelievable,” and the multi-week chart-topping “How Your Love Makes Me Feel.”

Over the years, they have become known as musicians’ musicians who don’t depend on flash to get their due. “Nice guys don’t make for obvious media darlings,” says Jimmy Olander. “We’re not full of good rehab stories. We’ve got a super high work ethic, and people with high work ethics tend to have careers that seem to be relentless.”

That just about sums up Diamond Rio: a relentless pursuit of excellence. Perhaps Marty Roe describes them best. “I feel good about our sound, about what we’ve become and about what we can do to a song. I still feel like that’s a unique place in our industry, and that we have a niche. We’ve been around 10 years, which is a long time in industry terms. But when it comes to choosing material, learning how to work in the studio efficiently, and just doing what we do, we’ve just now started to come into our own. I feel like we just hit our stride!”

In other words, Diamond Rio breaks into a full gallop on their newest collection, One More Day – the sound of six masters at work.

Current Album: One More Day
RIAA Certified Gold
Produced by Michael D. Clute and Diamond Rio
One More Day recently debuted at #5 on Billboard's country album sales chart.

Unbelievable	RIAA Certified Gold
Greatest Hits	RIAA Certified Gold
Diamond Rio IV	RIAA Certified Gold
Love A Little Stronger	RIAA Certified Platinum
Close To The Edge	RIAA Certified Gold
Diamond Rio	RIAA Certified Platinum

1991
Top Vocal Group, ACM
“Meet in the Middle” makes history as the first single by a country band to hit #1 on all 3 national charts
Launch of “Diamond Rio Celebrity Golf Classic” charity event benefiting PDE and American Lung
Association
CMA Nomination, Vocal Group of the Year
Debut on the “Grand Ole Opry” October 4, 1991
Diamond Rio released

1992
Vocal Group of the Year, CMA
Group of the Year, Radio & Records
Top Vocal Group, ACM
Best New Touring Artist nomination, SRO Convention
Grammy Award nomination, NARAS, “Meet in the Middle”
Grammy Award nomination, NARAS, “Poultry Promenade”
Tour with Alan Jackson
Gold Record, RIAA, Diamond Rio
Radio & Records #1 Song of the Year, “Norma Jean Riley”
Close To The Edge released

1993
Vocal Group of the Year, CMA
Group of the Year, Radio & Records
Top Vocal Group, ACM
Platinum Record, RIAA, Diamond Rio
Tour with Alabama named #1 “Country Tour of the Year” boasting 23 sell outs
Performed “Lyin’ Eyes” on the multi-platinum tribute album Common Thread: The Songs Of The
Eagles

1994
Vocal Group of the Year, Radio & Records
Album of the Year, Radio & Records
Grammy Award nomination, NARAS, “Appalachian Dream”
Grammy Award nomination, NARAS, “In A Week Or Two”
TNN/Music City News Awards nomination for Vocal Group of the Year
TNN/Music City News Awards nomination for Instrumentalist – Jimmy Olander
Gold Record, RIAA, Close To The Edge
Vocal Group of the Year, CMA
Love A Little Stronger released
Album of the Year, CMA, Common Thread: The Songs Of The Eagles
Teamed with labelmates Steve Wariner and Lee Roy Parnell under the name “Jed Zeppelin” to record
“Workin’ Man Blues” for the Merle Haggard tribute album Mama’s Hungry Eyes

1995
Vocal Group of the Year, Radio & Records
Gold Record, RIAA, Love A Little Stronger
Platinum Record, RIAA, Love A Little Stronger
Top Vocal Group nomination, CMA
“Diamond Rio Racing” team was launched, with its own NASCAR Winston Cup car
TV special “Diamond Rio Celebrates Red Wing” (TNN)
“Jed Zeppelin” wins CMT Video Event of the Year for Workin’ Man’s Blues

1996
IV released
Gold Record, RIAA, IV
Grammy Award nomination, NARAS, “Big”
Grammy Award nomination, NARAS, “That’s What I Get For Lovin’ You”
Group becomes spokesmen for Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization
Hollywood’s Martin Sheen and Ramon Estevez star in video for “It’s All in Your Head”
Vocal Group of the Year nomination, CMA
Favorite Group of the Year, Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards
Star of Wonder: A Country Christmas Collection released for the holidays on
Arista/Nashville features the Diamond Rio song “Christmas Spirit”

1997
Performed at NFL Sega/Superbowl in January
Instrumental of the Year nomination, ACM (Jimmy/lead guitar, Dana/bass, Brian/drums)
CMT April “Showcase Artist of the Month”
TNN/Music City News Awards nomination for Top Vocal Group,
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards nomination for Favorite Country Group or Duo
TV special “‘Hello Darlin’: A Conway Twitty Tribute” (TNN)
Greatest Hits album released
Image featured on 480,000 Pepsi Cola cans distributed throughout northern California to
promote regional tour
Peace In The Valley: A Country Music Journey Through Gospel released on
Arista/Nashville features the Diamond Rio song “Walkin’ in Jerusalem.” The band
participated in an accompanying television special on TNN
Vocal Group of the Year, CMA

1998
Grammy Award nomination, NARAS, “How Your Love Makes Me Feel”
ACM nominations, Academy of Country Music: Vocal Duo/Group, Single and Video for
“How Your Love Makes Me Feel”
Inducted into the Grand Ole Opry (the first group in 14 years)
CMA nomination, Vocal Group of the Year
Unbelievable album released
Musical Guests, “Penn & Teller’s Sin City Spectacular” (FX Network)(more)

1999
Gold Record, RIAA, Unbelievable
CMA Nomination, Vocal Group of the Year
TNN/Music City News Awards nomination, Vocal Band
TNN/Music City News Awards performance of the song, “Unbelievable”
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards nomination, Favorite Duo or Group – Country, “Unbelievable”
Creativity 29, Award of Distinction (Unbelievable CD packaging) – presented in recognition of work
selected out of 7000 entries for inclusion in the 29th “Creativity Annual”
Special episode of “Prime Time Country” – Diamond Rio & Friends (TNN)
TV Special “The Life & Times of Diamond Rio” (TNN)
Musical Guests, “G. Gordon Liddy Show” (nationally syndicated radio program)
Musical Guests, “Donny & Marie”
Musical Guests, “Live with Regis & Kathie Lee” at Disney World in Orlando, FL (ABC)
Musical Guests, “The Dini Petty Show” (Canada)
Musical Guests, “Open Mike with Mike Bullard” (CTV-TV & Cable Comedy Network/Canada)
Diamond Rio celebrates 10 years of performing together!

2000
Grammy Award nomination, NARAS, Best Country Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal,
“Unbelievable”
American Music Awards nomination, Favorite Country Band, Duo or Group
ACM nominations, Instrumentalist Categories: Gene Johnson for Specialty Instrument (mandolin), Jimmy Olander for Guitar, Dana Williams for Bass and Dan Truman for Keyboard
CMA Nomination, Vocal Group of the Year
CMT September "Showcase Artist of the Month"
Musical Guest, CMA 75th Birthday Celebration
TV appearance by Jimmy Olander and Dana Williams, “Call For Help” (Tech TV)
The Rio at Hermitage, the annual golf tournament and charity event benefiting the American Lung Association (formerly entitled The Diamond Rio Celebrity Golf Classic)
TV Special "The Rio at Hermitage", a one hour special featuring celebrity golf highlights, skydiving and concert footage (The Golf Channel)

2001
One More Day album release (February 6th)
Highest Career Album Debut, One More Day, # 5 on Billboard Album Charts
ACM nomination, Vocal Group of the Year
ACM nominations, Instrumentalist Categories: Jimmy Olander for Guitar, Dana Williams for Bass, Dan Truman for Keyboard and Brian Prout for drums
TV appearance with performance, CNN
TV appearance with performance, "Live with Regis and Kelly"
TV appearance by Marty Roe on “Politically Incorrect”, ABC
TV appearance by Marty Roe on “The Test”, FX
The Rio @ Hermitage, hosted by Diamond Rio (10th annual celebrity golf tournament to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters)
CMA nomination, Vocal Group of the Year
CMA nomination, Song of the Year “One More Day”
CMA nomination, Single of the Year “One More Day”
CMA Performance (“One More Day”)
Larry King Live Performance (“One More Day”)
One More Day certified Gold (August 2001)
Radio Music Awards nomination, Song of the Year “One More Day”
Diamond Rio celebrates 10 years of hits!