Donna Hughes
Pushing Piles of Words Together
Photo by Chasity Chen
In the Present
The singer/songwriter shared, “Some of the most impactful moments in my life included having people walk up to me after a set, with tears streaming down their faces, as they recounted the death of a loved one that I made them think about with a song I sang, or a lost love. To move someone to tears with a song you wrote, there is no bigger high. To confirm in this cruel world, where people have road rage and sometimes aren’t friendly, that we are all in this together; well, that’s just cool. To push a little old pile of words together and herd them around like sheep until they rhyme and someone feels something, it’s really one of my favorite things.”
If you live outside of NC, the name Donna Hughes may not be familiar. However, you may recognize songs that she has penned. Her original tunes have been recorded by some of the powerhouses in bluegrass.
Hughes reflected on her career. “Another impactful moment is when someone thinks enough of your song to record it. Hearing another artist do one of my songs is the other highest feeling in the world, especially if it is someone well-loved and respected like Alison, or The Seldom Scene, or Wyatt Rice.”
Lou Reid noted, “The Seldom Scene recorded one of Donna Hughes’ songs entitled ‘Sad Old Train’ (Scenechronized, Sugar Hill Records, 2007). When Donna writes a song, it’s a masterpiece!”
Darren Beachley, formerly with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, recorded Hughes’ tune, “Scattered To The Wind,” on his “I Love You To The Moon & Back” 2005 Blue Circle album. “I first heard Donna’s songwriting through her ‘Same Ole Me’ project. The material was heartfelt and well performed. She writes songs that folks relate to. I love her stuff!”
Kim Robins, who recorded Hughes’ song, “A Dream,” on her 2017 Pinecastle “Raining In Baltimore” album, stated. “I had the privilege of recording a Donna Hughes song on my last album. She is undoubtedly one of my favorite songwriters. Her album, ‘Hellos, Goodbyes and Butterflies,’ took my breath away and still does to this day. The beautiful songwriting on all of Donna’s projects has inspired me as a songwriter in so many ways. Each song takes me on a journey of life, love, and occasionally death, each time I listen. Her ability to channel the exact emotion I am feeling is a true gift from GOD. Her songs have made me cry, they’ve made me laugh and they’ve made me remember. Without Donna’s music, the world would be a darker place.”
In the Past
Hughes started playing music at age three. She got exposed to bluegrass at a local venue.
“We went to Eleazer (a music hall in the Uwharrie Mountains) every Friday night. Butch Reynolds and Racy Maness (local bluegrass musicians) would let me get up and sing. It was the best time ever!”
As she grew, Hughes realized she needed to develop her own style of music. “I remember feeling very self-conscious about my singing in front of people, still do. I was going to local places and open mics every week. I always felt so weird singing an Alison Krauss or a Dolly Parton song, thinking I was not doing the song justice, because it had already been done by the best.”
“I began writing my own songs to sing with the mindset that ‘If I screw this up, no one will know, and no one will compare me to the greats. I’ll just get them to thinking about things.’”
While creating her own repertoire, Hughes devised a plan. “My grandfather built a thriving dairy farm. I was heartbroken to see it fall into disrepair. It was my dream to restore the barn.”
So the singer/songwriter hit the road, playing some impressive places with hopes of restoring her beloved family barn. “I opened for Ricky Skaggs in Dollywood. I played the Bluebird Café (in Nashville) four times and the Station Inn three or four times. I would drive to Atlanta and play Eddie’s Attic, then drive home so I didn’t have to pay for a motel room.”
Hughes opened for Marty Stuart at The Birchmere and for Tony Rice at many venues, including BB Kings in NYC. The aspiring musical artist worked hard to get exposure of her brand of music.
“I mailed CDs to radio stations, promoters, bluegrass associations, you name it and I did it.”
Her efforts paid off.
“The late Dennis Jones of WNCW in Spindale, NC, was playing my songs. Barry Bales (bassist for Alison Krauss) was out washing his truck and heard. He called me and said, ‘We’re looking for material for our new album.’ He said he liked my stuff.”
Hughes jumped at the opportunity. She immediately contacted Clay Jones, a fellow NC bluegrass musician and former member of Mountain Heart, who was selling cars in Myrtle Beach at the time.
“I called Clay and said, ‘Meet me at Doobie Shea (recording studio in Boones Mill, VA)’.”
The friends labored to record a demo of Hughes’ original tunes.
Hughes recalled, “After that, I mailed Barry Bales 60 songs.”
Three to four months passed and the young songsmith had not gotten a response.
She thought, “Well, it was an honor to be called.”
Then she received a card from Krauss stating she had decided to record one of Hughes’ songs.
“I had breakfast with Alison at IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) in Louisville (KY). I wanted to jump up in the restaurant and shout, ‘Look who I’m having breakfast with!”
In 2004, Alison Krauss & Union Station released the album, “Lonely Runs Both Ways”. The project included Hughes’ original composition, “My Poor Ole Heart”.
More doors started to open.
“Tony Rice called and asked if he could produce my next album. I thought it was a prank at first,” she readily admitted.
Rice brought Hughes to record at Bias Studio in Washington, DC (and Hilltop Studios in Nashville, TN). He even arranged for Mary Chapin Carpenter to sing on several cuts. Carpenter joined Krauss to sing harmony on “One More Time” from the project. Rice also recruited Sam Bush to play on some of the tracks. The end result was Hughes’ album, “Gaining Wisdom”, also released in 2004.
Following that project, Hughes connected with the late KY banjo icon, JD Crowe.
“He produced my next album (‘Hellos, Goodbyes, and Butterflies’ in 2010) at Hilltop Studio in Nashville (with an impressive cast of musicians: Scott Vestal, Aubrey Haynie, J.D. Crowe, Barry Bales, Brian Stephens, Maggie Stephens, Steve Chandler, Adam Steffey, Joel Keys, and Rob Ickes). I remember we finished up on Super Bowl Sunday and we sat there and watched the game on a little TV about the size of a microwave. I thought, ‘For a man to give up the chance to watch a Super Bowl on a decent TV for my little record is pretty cool.’
“Carl Jackson played a huge role, too. He sang a lot of harmonies and helped stand in to co-produce on days when Tony had a show and couldn’t be there. He was the one who got Sonya Isaacs and Alecia Nugent (to sing harmonies on the album).”
Those three events: Krauss recording her song, then Rice and Crowe producing her albums, have been the highlights of her career.
Hughes saw her dreams come to fruition. “We watched Alison sing on the CMAs. I told my dad wouldn’t it be cool if she sang my song. The next year she did, but Dad had a brain tumor and never knew it happened.”
It was still a thrill. “A songwriter’s greatest high is when someone else does your song,” she readily admitted.
Music instructor, Tim Moon of Asheboro, reflected on Hughes’ success in the music industry. “Donna is a good singer and rhythm guitarist, but songwriting is a whole other talent! She is outstanding writing lyrics and seems to always find the chord progression that enhances the story in those lyrics! She is very talented in music! I remember how excited she was when Alison Krauss wanted her song. I said you have worked hard at writing and you deserve it.”
Although good things were happening for Hughes in the music business, she was not raking in tons of revenue.
“I didn’t get a main-stream hit, but I got my name out. I received the key to the city of Trinity (her hometown) from the mayor.”
So Hughes embarked on another career, selling real estate. She eventually opened her own firm, Top Dog Realty.
“I got a lot of business through people recognizing my name.”
Her lucrative new venture allowed her to follow her dream and restore her granddaddy’s dairy barn.
“I’m working to make it better and better. I believe in preserving the past. I think my granddaddy would be proud.”
Back to the Present
Her latest musical venture, which included a music video in 2021, sprang from Hughes’ interest in the legend of Naomi Wise.
“My song is about the young girl who lived and died in Randleman, NC, in 1808. She was an outcast, but is still talked about 200 years later. Both Doc Watson and Bob Dylan also wrote songs about her.”
Filmed in Burlington, NC, the music video reenacts the life of Naomi Wise.
Hughes shared, “It was quite an ordeal with costumes.”
Young vocalist/guitarist and UNC-Asheville Music Business/Management major, Chris Poole of Thomasville, NC, portrayed the villain in Hughes’ video. He shared, “Working with Donna was an honor. It was such a unique experience and one that I won’t soon forget. She was adamant that I should be involved and play a part from the very beginning and I’m thankful for that.”
Hughes has recorded other music videos including one entitled “Red Oak Tree” that was filmed in part at Denton FarmPark (site of Doyle Lawson’s festival) and aired on CMT in 2016.
In the Future
When asked what’s her best song that she has ever written, the songsmith shared, “’I Want to Grow Old with You’. It would be perfect for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill to sing. The song makes it seem ok to get old, something people dread, but getting old is an honor, to make it that far. With the disease our world faces now, so many people are missing the chance to get to grow old, and grow old together.”
To date, Donna Hughes has written over 500 songs and recorded six albums. She has had her material recorded by numerous bluegrass artists including those already mentioned plus Amanda Cook, Samantha Snyder, and Wilson Banjo Company.
“I’ve done more than I ever thought I would. I want to do another bluegrass CD. I’m not done writing songs,” the lover of lyrics concluded.
With her drive and ambition, Donna Hughes definitely has more piles of words to push together to stir our emotions.
