In one of the most heartfelt and emotional Business Side of Music interviews we’ve had to date, in the studio with us is GRAMMY Award-winning country star, John Berry. 

Celebrating 42 years as a Country music performer, during the 90’s and early 2000s, John placed 20 singles on the country charts, 6 of which went Top 5, with “Your Love Amazes Me”, scoring a #1 on the Billboard and Radio & Records Country Chart as well as “Standing on the Edge of Goodbye” and “She’s Taken a Shine” earning the #1 slot in Radio & Records. He has also earned multiple Gold and Platinum records over the years. John was nominated for the ACM Top New Male Vocalist in 1994, won a Grammy Award in 1996 for his participation in “Amazing Grace: A Country Salute to Gospel Vol. 1”, was nominated for another Grammy in 1995 for his smash hit “Your Love Amazes Me” and was nominated for the CMA Horizon Award and Top Male Vocalist Award in 1995. In 1997 he was nominated for Vocal Event of the Year (for “Long Haired Country Boy” with Charlie Daniels and Hal Ketchum) and in 2013 John was nominated for the Mainstream Country Male Artist by the ICM Awards.

In this episode, John shares stories on how he got his start, obtained his record deal, and lost his deal a few years later, but always on his own terms.

We talk with John regarding his 24th annual “Songs and Stories with John Berry Christmas Tour” which continually brightens the holidays for thousands. We take time to discuss his electrifying rendition of O’ Holy Night that he recorded in the studio with producer Chuck Howard in 1994, and the magical moment that came about during that recording process, having recovered from brain surgery only 30 days before. Segments of some of the songs he performs on the Christmas show are shared on this episode, along with the stories behind them.

Berry also tells how in 2019, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, requiring 35 treatments combined with radiation and chemotherapy. He has since fully recovered and has started his new podcast, Faith, Family & Friends that he produces with his wife Robin. One of his most recent episodes features the late Charlie Daniels, which was his final interview he gave just a few days before passing away.

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The music provided for this episode is from:

Artist: Joe Diffie

Single: “Ships That Don’t Come In” (written by Paul Nelson & Dave Gibson)

Album: “Regular Joe” (1992)

Artist: John Berry

Single: “O Holy Night” (produced by Chuck Howard)

Album: “O Holy Night” (1995)

Artist: John Berry

Single: “Blue Christmas” (written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson)

Album: “John Berry Christmas” (2016)

Artist: Jason Ahlbrandt

Single: “Little Drummer Boy” (written by Katherine Kennicott Davis)

Album: “Christmas Classics” (2013)

Website: www.jasonplaysguitars.com

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