John Schneider has graced television screens, made an impact in the film community, and delighted the country music world for decades by eloquently delivering stories in a way no one has before. He landed his television debut in 1978 as Bo Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard, starred as Jonathan Kent on the hit TV series Smallville, and is now playing the role of Judge Jim Cryer in the smash Tyler Perry hit, The Haves and the Have Nots.
Today, Schneider is gearing up for his triumphant return to the country music scene with Ruffled Skirts, a near and dear album to him after his community was devastated by flooding twice in one year. In a matter of 6 months, the floods ravaged his studio which took in 4 ft of water destroying much of his film/recording studio. Sitting in the recording studio with no furniture, Schneider began arranging songs like “How Do You Stop The Water,” “The Cajun Navy, ” and “Every Friday Night” before enlisting in songwriters Scott Innis, Phil Redrow, and Clifton Brown to help bring the songs to life. Instead of sitting in songwriting sessions, Schneider and producing partner Alicia Allain sent photos and video to each songwriter of the devastation that Louisiana endured to eloquently capture the monstrosity of the flooding through music. The songs came to life when Schneider recorded each track in his bare studio creating a perfect space to take in the right sound. Schneider then enlisted in LeRoux’s keyboardist/vocalist Nelson Blanchard to mix and master the 10-track album. In addition to Blanchard, the album also features Louisiana’s royalty including LeRoux (‘New Orleans Lady’), Jo-El Sonnier, Doug Kershaw, David Hyde and Randy Carpenter. Ruffled Skirts, which Schneider so eloquently named in reference to the single-wide and double-wide trailers that came through after the flood, is expected to drop January 27, 2017.
John Schneider had this to say about Ruffled Skirts:
“This is the most raw, emotional and in your face music I have ever had the pleasure of singing.”
Outside of Schneider’s tumultuous acting career, he has swooned the country music world with hits like, “It’s Now or Never,” which still to do this day remains the top charting Elvis cover of all time, “I’ve Been Around Enough to Know,” “Country Girls,” “Last Thing I Needed Tonight” and “What’s A Memory Like You (Doing In A Love Like This)” which all charted number one on the US Country charts. In addition, Schneider’s Memory Like You his first album to debut at number one on the US Country chart and still a classic to this day. His latest album, Home For Christmas released in 2010 features The Dukes of Hazzard co-star, Tom Wopat inan 18-track holiday album that mixes seasonal standards like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Silver Bells” alongside humorous, left-field tracks like “Johnny, It’s Cold Outside,” a bromantic reinterpretation of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
