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Sun, The
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May 2, 2007

Famous Nicoma Park native performs in Oklahoma City

As the recorded music played “The Bluest Eyes in Texas,” the live music took over and Restless Heart began a night of performing at a Toby Keith sponsored fundraiser on Friday. And with the band was Nicoma Park native Greg Jennings.

Jennings, who has been with Restless Heart since the band was formed in 1983, said he and the other native Oklahomans in the band were glad to be playing in Oklahoma City.

“It’s good for us to get home and do something for a good cause,” Jennings said. “Toby Keith has done a lot of work with Ally’s House and we were glad to help out.”

Jennings attended Choctaw High School and then attended Oklahoma State University in 1972. Jennings said he played in bands all through high school and college. He took lessons at around age 10 on acoustic and electric guitar and learned most from copying records, he said.

In 1978 he moved to Nashville where he performed at Opryland theme park and recorded some demos for other songwriters. He was friends with Tim DuBois, a songwriter that moved from Stillwater to Nasvhille. Through a series of introductions through DuBois with other future band members, Restless Heart was eventually formed.

“We all moved to Nashville with a common goal in mind,” Jennings said about each band member. “We all payed our dues individually.”

This common goal is what contributes to the fact that the band is still together after 20 years, Jennings said.

Jennings said DuBois had written a group of songs too pop for Nashville and too country for anything on the West Coast. The instrumentation and vocals made members of Restless Heart the perfect group to record these songs. The group was completely self-contained, Jennings said. At that time, many of the performing artits recorded with other musicians playing the instruments, he said. Then a live performance by those artists would be different from the record.

“But we could actually pull it off, because we actually played on the records,” Jennings said.

The name Restless Heart came from a song by that title off the band’s first album, Jennings said.

Jennings has also written songs for the group, Dancy’s Dream and Hummingbird being two of the most popular.

Future plans include a Christmas CD the group hopes to release by the holidays this year.

“We’re also putting the finishing touches on a live record from last year,” he said.

The band is also taking part in a Gene Autry tribute record to be released in June.

http://www.restlessheartband.com/index.php?content=news  

Net Music Countdown
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May 4, 2007

The original is still the greatest. Restless Heart is back.

Restless Heart was one of RCA's greatest band success stories of the late '80s and early'90s, turning out a series of gold-selling albums, garnering a host of award nominations, and crossing over to the adult contemporary charts before dissolving in 1996. Their hits included "I'll Still Be Loving You," "Tender Lie," "Why Does It Have To Be (Wrong or Right)," "When She Cries," "Bluest Eyes In Texas," and "Dancy's Dream."

The Restless Heart story began when Larry Stewart, who had moved from Paducah, Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee and enrolled in Belmont College, met fellow, future Restless Heart member Dave Innis at a recording studio on campus. The two became friends, and Innis asked Stewart, who was much in demand as a demo singer, to demo some songs for him. Innis later introduced him to producer/songwriter Tim Dubois. Innis and Dubois invited Stewart to audition for the band they and some other friends from Oklahoma were putting together, the band which eventually became Restless Heart. From the start, there was intensity and conviction in the sound made by Stewart, drummer John Dittrich, guitarist Greg Jennings, pianist Dave Innis and bassist Paul Gregg. The group blended its back roads country training with the punch of contemporary pop, the layered harmonies of West Coast country-rock. During their ten year history, Restless Heart scored three gold-selling albums which produced seven number one singles in a row; they received a dozen Grammy, CMA, and ACM nominations and were named ACM's Vocal Group of the Year in 1990. Larry Stewart left in 1990 to pursue a solo career. He released three solo LPs and had a Top 5 Country song with, "Alright Already," but nothing matched the impact of his years with Restless Heart.

When Stewart departed, Restless Heart continued with four, then three, of the original members and were successful with their crossover hit, the catchy yet haunting "When She Cries," with John Dittrich singing lead. "When She Cries" was named BMI song of the Year for 1993 and it was followed by another top ten crossover single "Tell Me What
You Dream." Still it wasn't the same and in 1996 the group disbanded with Greg Jennings to tour with Vince Gill and John Dittrich to work with The Buffalo Club.

Through it all, the guys stayed in touch. In 1996, four of the original members of Restless Heart ? Larry Stewart, Greg Jennings, John Dittrich and Paul Gregg ? reassembled in Jennings' studio to make a tape for a fan who was ill. It sounded great and they hadn't lost a thing. That good-will gesture "planted a seed" for a reunion. In 1998 the four reunited for a greatest hits package that was released by RCA that summer. Larry Stewart was recording a new album at that time so he appeared courtesy of Windham Hill Records. The tour began in Denver, Colorado in mid-January and they joined Vince Gill on his tour beginning that summer and continued touring with Vince through the end of the year 1998.

Restless Heart has earned its place in music as a consistent No. 1 chart act, as a strong record seller and as a committed touring attraction with a strong fan following. Restless Heart will be touring again with all the original members; Larry Stewart, Paul Gregg, John Dittrich, Dave Innis and Greg Jennings.

May 4, 2007
Restless Heart: Biography
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Backstage at Pandora
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Playing a pop-friendly brand of country-rock indebted to the Eagles, Restless Heart was one of the most popular country bands of the late '80s and early '90s, scoring numerous hits on the country charts and a few major successes on adult contemporary radio as well. The band first got together in 1984 at the behest of producer/songwriter Tim DuBois, who wanted some musicians to demo a batch of material that walked the line between country and pop. Drummer/vocalist John Dittrich, pianist Dave Innis, bassist/vocalist Paul Gregg, and guitarist Greg Jennings were initially joined by singer Verlon Thompson, and the demo sessions went so well that the group decided to stay together and pursue a record deal. They signed with RCA in 1983, at which point Thompson was replaced by lead singer Larry Stewart, a demo vocalist Innis knew from Belmont College in Nashville.

Restless Heart's self-titled debut album was released in 1985 and contained three Top Ten hits: "I Want Everyone to Cry," "(Back to The) Heartbreak Kid," and "Til I Loved You." The 1986 follow-up, Wheels, was their true breakthrough release, topping the country charts and producing four number one hits...

Stewart left the group for a solo career in 1990; he later scored a big hit with "Alright Already," but never quite matched it. Meanwhile, Gregg and Dittrich split lead vocal duties... 1998 saw a Restless Heart reunion -- minus Innis -- that resulted in four new tracks for that year's Greatest Hits compilation, as well as a tour with Gill.

Restless Heart is a part of the Oklahoma Rising: A Salute to the Artists and Music of OK CD, a compilation of the best of native Oklahoma talent in celebration of the state's centennial.