Home's Where Hampton's 'heart' Is

It's pretty much unheard of for fans to travel cross-country on vacation, stop in to see their favorite artist, and be welcomed in his home. But then, Western artists are an entirely different breed, and R.W. Hampton is a cut above the herd.

"I tell folks, 'If you are up in Northern New Mexico, the coffee is on and the dog is tied up, stop by and visit us,' " says Hampton, whose seventh album, Always in My Heart, marks his debut on Real West Productions. "We have people stopping by all the time. This summer, I was putting some shoes on a horse and some folks drove up and said, 'We're from Kentucky and we met you there. We are on vacation and we thought we'd stop in.' "

A real cowboy who began working on ranches as a teen and now owns his own, Hampton is an established star on the Western music circuit. He's been named entertainer of the year by the Academy of Western Artists and is a three-time male vocalist winner. He's also a recipient of a Wrangler Award for best Western recording from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

After six albums released on his own Mustang Music label, Hampton inked a deal with Real West, which has a joint venture with the Burbank, Calif.-based Paras Group. Booked and managed by his wife, Lisa, Hampton is a BMI-affiliated writer with his own publishing company, Cimarron Sounds.

Hampton's music evokes vivid images of the West—adobe walls, a dozin' pinto pony, and wide open spaces—but it's not all prairie, horses, and campfires. On this collection, Hampton's expressive baritone explores emotional landscapes as well. "I wanted to do an album primarily of romantic songs with a Western sound to them."

Produced by Rich O'Brien, Always in My Heart covers a variety of territory. "Shelly's Winter Love," penned by Merle Haggard, finds a man willing to settle for the seasonal affection of the woman he loves. "Living in far-off places in the ranch country, I've seen a lot of romances go that way," Hampton says, "where a gal will fall in love with a cowboy, but living that far away from town is pretty hard for them to do."

The most affecting cut is "For Only Loving You," which Hampton wrote for his wife. "It's just me and the guitar," he says. "It's just a guy that's so overwhelmed by the blessing he has to love a person who loves him back that he just can't sleep."

Hampton covers Luke Reed's beautiful "Adobe Walls" (also recently cut by Gary Allan and Michael Martin Murphey), Johnny Horton's classic "Whispering Pines," and provides a fresh take on the pop chestnut "Blue Spanish Eyes."

"His voice is so unique," says Jim Snowden, president of the Paras Group. "The record is a good showcase of who he is and what he does. He's passionate about a lot of things." Snowden says they plan to heavily promote the record to all the alternative Western retail outlets, such as Western wear stores, as well as mainstream retail. Music will be serviced to the Western specialty shows, and there will be a yet-to-be-determined single going to country radio via CDX.

Snowden says Hampton's music will be featured on a Real West sampler being used to help brand the label's roster, which also includes Joni Harms, Michael Martin Murphey, and Cowboy Nation.

Red Steagall, veteran recording artist and host of the syndicated radio show Cowboy Corner, features Hampton regularly on his show, which airs in 160 markets. Steagall thinks Hampton will be one of the artists who moves the Western genre forward. "For Western music to survive, we can't just keep recording 'Strawberry Roan,' 'Little Joe the Wrangler,' and Sons of the Pioneers songs over and over again. We need new songs," says Steagall, who just signed a recording deal with Real West. "R.W. is an outstanding singer and a great songwriter. He has the ability to help keep the Western genre alive."