Jesus and Elvis with sultry-voiced Kelly Lang

Urban Cowboy trailblazer T.G. Sheppard’s wife spills the beans on serendipitous love, composing ‘I Think It’s Jesus’ for her ‘Dragonfly’ record, bagpipes and Rod Stewart, friendship with Priscilla Presley, and ‘Elvis Country’ standout ‘It’s Your Baby, You Rock It’

The Kelly Lang Interview

How long did you and T.G. Sheppard date before tying the knot?

Seven years [laughs]. We married in 2007 and have been together so long that it’s like a miracle in the music business.

Your dad Velton Lang counted Conway Twitty as a close pal and spent decades as his road manager. Before his 1998 passing at age 57 from a brain aneurysm, did he know T.G. liked you?

Dad had no idea. He died two years before T.G. and I started dating. They actually had a T-shirt business together and were really good friends. They made celebrity country artist T-shirts that T.G. sold on the road, which were designed by my brother Mike. From what I recall, Conway and Loretta Lynn also used their shirts as concert merchandise.

I would see T.G. at a function in Nashville, and then it might be four years before we saw or spoke to each other again. He lived in Knoxville, while Hendersonville was my home. I ran into T.G.’s first wife at a party and said, “Hi.” I hadn’t seen Diana in over a decade. She wanted to know, “How are you doing?” “It’s been a rough year. I went through a divorce after 15 years of marriage. I’ve got two little girls” [Payton and Kennedy].

Diana goes, “Did you know T.G.’s single?” I thought that was so weird. Like, why are you telling me this? Ironically, Diana told T.G. I was single. A couple of weeks later he called my mom Nancy’s house looking for me, and I happened to be there. T.G. claims he was calling to tell me he was sorry about my dad, but my dad had been gone two years at that point. We’ve been together a long time.

Does a higher power explain how you ultimately bonded with T.G.?

That’s a great segue way into my new single, “I Think It’s Jesus.” There’s no way on earth with all of the history that T.G. and I’ve had. We were looking at pictures back when I was a 15-year-old opening act for him and Mickey Gilley [Jerry Lee Lewis’ first cousin and a pianist in his own right who shot to fame with the elegant honky tonk of “Room Full of Roses”]. We looked at one image more closely, and I realized that my dad was standing behind T.G. and his dad [Billy Browder] was standing behind me. They have both since passed away. T.G. was like, “That is divine intervention.”

There’s so many little twists and things that have happened that I’m like, “Somebody has done this. It couldn’t have been a coincidence by any means.” I look at everything in my life as there’s a reason behind it, or God has a great sense of humor and guides us in directions in strange ways. That’s the reason why I wrote the song.

Who are the musicians on “I Think It’s Jesus?”

There is a very talented man named Tre’ Corley. He’s the bandleader and keyboardist for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s TBN show. I brought “I Think It’s Jesus” to Tre’, and he played every instrument and directed everything. I produced the project because I knew the sounds that I wanted, but thank goodness Tre’ could read my mind [laughs].

T.G. and I had just seen Rod Stewart in concert, and I thought it was so clever when Rod featured bagpipes on “Rhythm of My Heart” [a Top Five hit off 1991’s Vagabond Heart]. Bagpipes seemed to fit “I Think It’s Jesus” and gave it a European, universal flare. I’m also proud of the music video.

I’m a Glen Campbell fan, and he was also known to bust out the bagpipes on live renditions of the gospel standard “Amazing Grace” and Paul McCartney’s “Mull of Kintyre.” Bagpipes aren’t a common sight in country, pop, or rock.

True. Bagpipes are either super tasteless or super tasteful [laughs]. It depends on the player’s talent. I love ’em. They were actually played at our wedding, so it was really sentimental for T.G. and I to have bagpipes in “I Think It’s Jesus.”

What’s one of your favorite Elvis Presley songs or albums that the general public is unfamiliar with?

Oh my goodness. I wouldn’t say this is a deep cut in particular, but I love the “Country Boy” album [officially titled Elvis Country (I’m 10,000 Years Old) upon its January 1971 launch by RCA Victor, the 12-track loose concept LP found the “Kentucky Rain” song stylist masterfully maneuvering through his Nashville influences for the first time on a full-blown project; on the sepia-tinged cover a two-year-old Elvis forlornly sports overalls and a broad hat in Depression-era Tupelo].

I thought it was super fascinating and creative how they [Elvis and producer Felton Jarvis] connected each cut on “Country Boy” with a little bitty song [the gospel-inspired “I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago,” a folk standard composed in the late 19th century, was eventually released in its entirety on 1972’s Elvis Now]. As a writer and a producer, I’m like, ‘Wow, what were they thinking?’ I love Elvis’ cover of Anne Murray’s “Snowbird” that kicks off “Country Boy.” Two more of my go-to Elvis songs are “The Wonder of You” and “Always on My Mind,” even though they don’t fit the deep cut criteria [although Willie Nelson’s intimate, definitive rendition of the latter garnered more acclaim].

Elvis was so before his time. I found it very interesting that he did songs in a faster tempo onstage than most people would have. It’s almost like he was rushing through the songs because he had too many to sing. I also found it fascinating how many cover tunes Elvis sang to audiences. You would’ve thought he would have showcased more of his original hits, but that wasn’t the case.

Maybe Elvis was afraid he would be pigeon-holed as an oldies act like so many of his contemporaries who were stuck playing fairs and ’50s revival package tours.

Mm-hmm. Let me ask you something. What is your favorite Elvis deep cut?

It changes from day to day, but sticking with Elvis Country, “It’s Your Baby, You Rock It” sure is catchy [written by Shirl Milete and based on a line uttered by an exasperated Elvis to long-running punching bag and Memphis Mafioso Lamar Fike, who ran the Tupelo entertainer’s Hill and Range song publishing office in Nashville; Milete generously credited Fike’s wife Nora Fowler as a co-writer after Fike refused to have his name listed for divulging the song title Elvis offhandedly told him].

[Lang gently sings, “Oh, it’s your baby, you rock it”]. That is a great song. Like you, my favorites change every day. Elvis is a tremendous influence [Lang has distributed two Elvis covers so far. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”, which drove the Righteous Brothers into the pop stratosphere and Elvis later conquered during That’s the Way It Is, can be found on her 2013 Iconic Duets collaboration with Sheppard. Elvis’ ubiquitous Blue Hawaii finale “Can’t Help Falling in Love” found its way onto 2016’s Throwback].

My sister Traci was a huge fan of his when we were kids. My appreciation came later, especially once I met T.G. and learned more inside things about Elvis since T.G. was friends with Elvis [going by his birth name of Bill Browder, Sheppard originally worked in RCA Victor’s promo department and pushed Elvis and John Denver’s singles to radio before stepping out of the shadows and singing the number one smash “Devil in the Bottle,” issued on a Motown subsidiary label in 1974; Elvis eventually gifted Sheppard a tour bus].

Fast forward all these years later, and I’m really close with Priscilla. It’s like I have the curtain pulled back and see the land of Oz. I have a deeper, more appreciative love for Elvis’ family. When Priscilla calls and is talking to me, we’re truly just girlfriends. T.G. will walk through the house and comment, “What are the chances of me being friends with Priscilla’s husband 50 years ago and now you’re friends with her?” It’s super strange, but Priscilla is wonderful. I do see why Elvis loved her. She’s the kindest person I’ve ever known.

As “I Think It’s Jesus” makes it plain, God’s in the details.

It’s totally a God thing. I met Lisa Marie Presley and hung out with her for awhile. Supposedly happenstance, I encountered Priscilla through Lisa. You think I would’ve been closer to Lisa since she was closer to my age. But no, I ended up being friends with her mom.

© Jeremy Roberts, 2023. All rights reserved. The Kelly Lang interview was edited for clarity, brevity, and sequenced cohesively. To touch base, email [email protected] and mention which story led you my way. I appreciate it sincerely.