CMP: What is your favorite hymn?
Bart: The first hymn that just stopped me was Merle Haggard’s recording of “What A Friend We Have in Jesus.” I just thought, “What in the world?” There’s nothing to it, just him and a Wurlitzer piano. I listen to it over and over.
We did a tour with Phil Wickham, and there would be nights where he would end “Divine Romance” with a part of “What a Friend.” I would just melt. There’s something about that song.
CMP: How did you decide to include the song “Jesus Cares for Me” on the record?
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Bart: Thad Cockrell, who is an independent country/folk artist, made a gospel record that circulated around Nashville. A friend of mine gave it to me, and I fell in love with it. His writing definitely has an old soul, and I wanted to do one original that felt like it could’ve been written 50, 60 years ago.
He sent me the chorus for “Jesus Cares for Me,” and I wrote the verses to it. It has this hymn vibe, an old spirit about it that fits with the record. Thad and I did a scratch recording of it, but Thad nails everything that he sings, so we were moving ahead with it as a duet.
In the meantime, I was calling Vince Gill to do background vocals on another song. Vince heard “Jesus Cares for Me” and was like, “What is that? I love it.” So I called Thad and said, “Here’s the deal, would you rather write a song Vince Gill sang, or do you wanna’ sing on my record?” He said, “Are you crazy?” So we pulled Thad’s part and had Vince Gill sing it. It’s a home run.
CMP: Did you ever think that you’d be singing a duet with Vince Gill?
Bart: No. I’ve been a Vince Gill fan since the late ’80s. He’s one of the few guys I get star struck over.
I’m a friend of Amy’s, and I’m an acquaintance of Vince. So I called Amy and said, “Could you ask Vince to sing on my record?” She said, “No, you’re going to have to do that.” I was so scared to talk to him. I waited until after midnight so I would definitely get his voicemail. He called the next day and said, “Hey man, this is Vinny-bobarino. Anything you need from me, you got it.” He was great the entire time. The first time he sings, he nails it.
CMP: Do you ever feel pressure to take a more modern position on the hymns projects?
Bart: Not on [the hymns projects]. That’s a pressure I feel a hundred times over with MercyMe, whether it’s writing a follow-up to “I Can Only Imagine,” or the label’s on top of you because it’s time to make a new record, or sales are up or sales are down.
So on this it’s almost therapeutic, a chance to let go. The label says, “Tell us when it’s finished. We’ll put it out.” They don’t even get involved. We just lock ourselves in [the studio] and get as crazy as we want. As long as we’re cool with it, we keep it on there.
I’ll never look at scans to see how many it sells. I’ll never see if it plays on radio. Because MercyMe has been successful enough, I’m able to throw that out the window and make this record just because it’s something I want to make, which ends up making it a really creative album. Unfortunately, more artists can’t work under those rules.
All logic says I should have no opportunity to do this kind of stuff, to do New Orleans-type jazz and Dixieland. It’s a dream come true. This is the kind of music I’ve loved my whole life.
Visit bartmillard.org for more information.
