Brooke Graham says people ask her how she started her career with Flying C Records and it is a heart-warming story.
Mary Lou Loehr’s parents, Flo and Bob Loehr, were good friends with Brooke’s grandparents, Jake and Dot Barfield. After Mary Lou’s parents passed away, she started thinking of the painting that had been hanging on her living room wall for many years. She knew that Dot Barfield had painted it and wanted to make sure the painting went to someone in the family.
Mary Lou tried for a couple of years through research looking to find a family member to give the painting back to. “Lucky me for so many reasons,” Graham said.
“The day Mar y Lou brought the painting to me, we discussed my music and thankfully that night she went home and listened to my songs on a CD that I had given her. Her next move literally changed my music career forever! She called Tex Whitson, Merle Haggard’s manager and lifelong friend, who Mary Lou had met through mutual friends, and sent him my music.”
Whitson then called Brooke and put her directly in the hands of Jimmy Collins and Heather McGovran Collins, who had been looking for a “female Jimmy Buffet act.”
“I think we’ve found our girl,” Whitson said.
The rest of the story is history in the making. In the two years since the painting was exchanged, Flying C Records was created specifically for Brooke Graham as their flagship artist. And she has released three singles with the record company including “Merryachi Christmas,” which was featured on Margaritaville Sirius XM and Willie’s Roadhouse Sirius XM.
The next single was “Easy Does It” which was No. 1 the week of its debut on Radio A1A in Florida and No. 18 on Texas Regional Radio, which Brooke says was a “big deal!”
“Hello Texas” was just released on Monday, and radio stations were “amazingly recept ive to it ,” according to Graham. “The charts come out next week and I can’t wait to see where we come in on the Texas Regional Radio report. Our publicist in Nashville says “Hello Texas” is going to be a career changer for me!”
In addition to the singles, Graham has been nominated for Female Vocalist in the Trop Rock Music Association in Florida and nominated for Texas Horizon Artist by the same group, as well as Video of the Year.
She was also nominated Best Female Vocalist by Texas Regional Radio, as well as Festival of the Year for the Brooke Graham Beach Bash which she’s been holding for seven years in Port Aransas. Graham says it was a big surprise because she is in the same category as the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, KOKEFEST, Steamboat Music Festival and Larry Joe Taylor Festival.
“I just got invited to headline for a Rendezvous Festival in Pensacola, Florida, which is a Jimmy Buffet Parrothead Festival,” Graham added.
Even though “Hello Texas” was just released on Monday, the National Line Dance Association has created a line dance for the song, which will be featured song at their convention in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for their 900 guests. Graham is attending for a meet and greet.
One of Brooke Graham’s favorite saying is, “Dream Big,” and it looks like her dreams are about to come true.
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