ARTIST INTERVIEW: RICHARD LYNCH
“He found his way back to Texas, between the red and the Rio Grande.” —Richard Lynch, “Supernaw”
The story of My Guitar Drips Country started from “Supernaw.” Actually, it started way before that.
Best known for hit songs “Reno” and “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” in the 90s, the iconic Doug Supernaw was a beloved country music hero widely appreciated by many country music lovers. “Supernaw” is of complex emotions stretching 20 years of knowing and understanding between Lynch and Supernaw. Behind the story are genuine friendship and the mutual love for traditional country music.
Let’s hear it from Richard Lynch:
“Well, back in the early 1990s, Doug Supernaw was a huge country music star. He had lots of songs on the radio. He charted and was playing all over the world. I was fortunate enough to meet him back then. And I actually did a show with him back in 1994. We only knew each other for a short time. At that point, we were just playing music together. But I felt a connection. We were actually genuine friends.
Life goes by, and twenty years passed before I’ve seen him again. We were going to do another show together. And we did that show. That was just like a reunion. It was so good to see my old friend again.
After that show was over, we decided we were going to do a country music cruise. So I reached out to Doug and his wife, and I said, ‘Doug, I’d love for you to join me and my guys. We were going to do this country music cruise.’ And he agreed to do it. Well, two weeks before the cruise was to depart, he was diagnosed with cancer, and he couldn’t do the show. From that day, he lived only about a year and a half after that time of diagnosis.
I have seen a lot of people reaching out to Doug and wanted to make sure that they have a conversation with him. A lot of his posts on the internet were being shared. I happened to see a post where he was sharing with another friend, a musician friend, and this other musician friend wanted to record one of Doug Supernaw’s songs, ‘Reno.’ The friend wanted Doug’s blessing, and of course, Doug gave his blessing.
He told his friend that, “Listen, my guitar drips country.”
When I read that, having known Doug for all those years, I realized he was saying exactly what I feel. My heart is with traditional country music. So I took that line and all the things that I know about Doug, and I wrote the song ‘Supernaw.’ As simple and as truthful as I possibly could with the anticipation that it would due respect for a man who was certainly a huge inspiration on me. I just love the fact that ‘Supernaw’ has been widely accepted around the world.”
Country music is more than a sound or a story. After years fighting his demons, in 2015, Doug Supernaw returned to stage in his home state Texas. He re-recorded his greatest hits with his matured, brittle voice before death took him away. Knowing Supernaw for over 20 years, Richard Lynch knew that dwelling in the past and sadness wouldn’t be what Supernaw would’ve wanted to see. The best way to remember his hero is through the music they both love and believe in — My Guitar Drips Country was born. It carries the love and remembering of an old friend as well as the weight of life.
Doug Supernaw is forever alive in the heart of country music lovers. His music and story continue to inspire and reach souls.
May he rest in peace.