‘Anyway’ marks McBride’s first foray into songwriting

The country superstar says she might try writing songs again but won’t give up
singing for it.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

It’s no wonder Martina McBride titled her most recent album “Waking up Laughing.”

Considering this country music superstar has sold over 16 million albums, scored six No. 1 hits and 22 top-10 singles, there’s plenty of joy in the life of this Kansas native and Nashville resident.

However, there is one aspect to the music business that McBride never broached — songwriting. Though this is a somewhat common occurrence in pop and country music, things changed for McBride in a big way on “Waking Up Laughing,” which found the artist known for such hits as “Independence Day,” “Wild Angels,” “A Broken Wing” and “This One’s for the Girls” adding songwriter to her résumé.

“This is my ninth album but it’s the first time I’ve written songs,” said McBride, calling from Nashville. “Honestly, all through the years people have asked me to write, and I’ve always said, ‘I’m not a songwriter, I don’t really care to write songs.’ I think people either have it or they don’t, and I’ve always felt like if I write a song, I’m committed to put it on the record.

“That’s awkward for me, so I’ve just always kind of ignored it and really stayed away from it.”

Staying away from songwriting may have been her intention but fate had different plans for McBride when she was touring her 2005 effort “Timeless” with the Warren Brothers. One night, Brett and Brad Warren came to her with an idea, and after plenty of nagging, McBride acquiesced. An hour later she had co-written “Anyway,” which ended up being the lead single on “Waking up Laughing.”

Despite the fact the song went to No. 5 on the country charts, McBride is tempering her songwriting future.

“I definitely don’t think I’m going to give up what I do and start being a songwriter,” McBride said. “I enjoy the process of doing it, but it’s still not my passion. I enjoy it and love so much interpreting songs and the challenge of finding songs that sound like me and fit.

“And we have the most amazing songwriters here in Nashville that I just love that process of getting in 800 or 900 songs and trying to find the right ones. So I’m not ready to give that up yet, but I do think I probably will write more in the future. I think it was interesting and adds a new depth to what I do.”

At age 41, McBride is doing what she does to the tune of one platinum album after another dating back to 1997’s “Evolution.” Even though “Waking up Laughing” has yet to cross that threshold, her current tour, which comes to Cleveland for a Saturday date at the Wolstein Center at CSU, has received rave reviews and was named the No. 1 solo-female country tour of 2007.

That’s pretty impressive for this performer, who 15 years ago was starting out as an up-and-coming artist opening for Garth Brooks.

“I think when you get into a career, especially the music business, you hope for a 10-year-career,” McBride said. “I don’t know why some careers last and some don’t. I’ve made some smart decisions touring-wise and some smart opening acts slots in the past, and I’ve also chosen songs rightly, so that was certainly a factor.”

She quickly added, “And then a lot of it was just luck.”