Page 167 - Reason To Sing by Kelita Haverland

Chapter Twenty-Eight

that’s how it worked with the smaller labels. My producer,
Grammy songwriter Glenn Sutton (once married to Lynn
Anderson of “Rose Garden” fame) and a famous group of
musicians (who had played for Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley,
Dolly Parton and Bob Dylan) were flown up from Nashville
to record several Canadian artists over a week’s time. My self-
titled album was done on a shoestring budget - live off the
floor, no second chances, ten hours to be exact!
I was a nervous wreck upon completion and immediately
lost five lbs. Would this thing fly? I didn’t like some of my
vocal performances. What the hell did we just do with all
that money? And I hated the album artwork; looked like it
was designed by someone who was colour blind. (Speaking of
blind, my favourite song on the album is an original called “My
Only.” It featured just me accompanied by the legendary blind
piano player, Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins. That song was the closest
I got to Carole King and I knew I so needed to do more songs
just like that. One day.)
Once we released the record, Hudson and I embarked on
a cross Canada tour. We drove thousands of miles in our white
t-roof Camaro coupe with our two dogs in tow. We slept in
our car on the roadside many a night and tapped our supply
of bennies to ward off sleep when we needed to get to our
next destination. Thank God for MacDonald’s bathroom blow
dryers, coffee and Visine.
We introduced ourselves to all the radio stations and retail
outlets that would agree to see us. I’ll never forget the first time
I heard myself on the radio. As we drove away from the station,
the announcer said, “And here’s a new artist who actually
stopped by the station today to promote her brand-new single.
This is Kelita Haverland with “Where Is Love.” Thank you,
Taber, Alberta!

153