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Restless Heart was an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band's longest-tenured lineup consisted of Larry Stewart (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dave Innis (keyboards, vocals), and Greg Jennings (lead guitar, mandolin, vocals). Record producer Tim DuBois assembled the band in 1984 to record demos and chose Verlon Thompson as the original lead singer, but Thompson was replaced by Stewart in this role before the band had recorded any material. Between 1984 and 1998, Restless Heart recorded for RCA Records Nashville. They released the albums Restless Heart, Wheels, Big Dreams in a Small Town, and Fast Movin' Train in the 1980s.
Stewart departed for a solo career in late 1991, shortly before the band's fifth studio album Big Iron Horses; the other four members began alternating on lead vocals in his absence. Innis also left before 1993's Matters of the Heart, by which point keyboardist Dwain Rowe and guitarist Chris Hicks were added to their touring lineup. Restless Heart announced a hiatus in 1995, with Stewart continuing to record as a solo artist, Jennings joining Vince Gill's touring band, and Dittrich forming the Buffalo Club. Stewart, Jennings, Dittrich, and Gregg briefly reunited for a tour and greatest-hits album in 1998 before disbanding a second time. They and Innis re-established the band's full lineup in 2001, after which they resumed touring and released their final studio album Still Restless in 2004. The band continued to tour and perform until quietly disbanding in 2021, shortly after Stewart began touring as a member of the Frontmen.
Restless Heart has released seven studio albums and two greatest-hits albums. Their second through fifth albums are all certified gold album by the Recording Industry Association of America. 26 of their singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including six that reached number one: "That Rock Won't Roll", "I'll Still Be Loving You", "Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)", "Wheels", "The Bluest Eyes in Texas", and "A Tender Lie". The band has also had crossover success on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, including a collaboration with saxophonist Warren Hill on "Tell Me What You Dream", which was a number one single on the latter. Restless Heart's sound is defined by their country pop arrangements and vocal harmony, with many critics comparing them favorably to the Eagles.
Thompson left before the band had officially been named or released a single because he did not feel comfortable with the country pop style that DuBois wanted the band to pursue. Replacing him on lead vocals was Larry Stewart, a college friend of Innis's. At the time, Stewart was working as a demo vocalist, in addition to working in the stockrooms of the Country Music Hall of Fame and mowing lawns at the Nashville offices of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). After leaving the group, Thompson recorded both by himself and in collaboration with Guy Clark, in addition to writing several country hit singles in the 1990s. Stewart initially refused to join the band, as he did not think he was capable of serving as a lead singer; he rejected DuBois's offers to join the band twice before consulting with his mother and then-fiancée, both of whom encouraged him to join. The band then began rehearsing and recording demos with Stewart on lead vocals. As they had not officially selected a name yet, they referred to themselves as the Okie Project, due to three of the members and Hendricks all being natives of Oklahoma.Roland, p. 495 One of the demos they recorded was for "Love in the First Degree", later a hit for Alabama. Due to the success of the demos, the members chose to become an official band, and they were signed to RCA Records Nashville in 1984.
Despite being signed, the band had yet to select a name. DuBois insisted the band members come up with a name before they released a single. He asked the members to submit potential names, which resulted in a list with "about fifty" entries; after this, he locked all five members in an office for seven hours until they agreed on a name. They narrowed the list down to five entries, on which they then voted by using a five-point scale, with five points for the names they liked most and one point for the ones they liked the least. This initially led to the name Heartbreak Kid getting the most votes, but after DuBois asked the band members if they were certain they liked the name, they voted a second time and chose the name Restless Heart due to it receiving one more point than the others. Once they had assumed the name Restless Heart, the band members began working on recording an album with DuBois and Hendricks as producers.
Released third and also reaching number one on the Billboard country charts was "Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)", co-written by Randy Sharp. This song had been rejected from the first album and had originally been rejected from Wheels as well, due to the band considering it too similar in sound to Exile. RCA executives insisted that the band record the song anyway in order to provide more up-tempo material for the album, and Gregg threatened to quit unless they recorded it. This song was a minor adult contemporary hit as well. "Hummingbird", the B-side of "Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)", was later recorded by Ricky Skaggs on his 1989 album Kentucky Thunder and was a top 20 country hit for him in 1990.Whitburn, p. 307 The fourth and final country single from Wheels was the title track, which topped the country charts in 1987. This song was written by Dave Loggins and originally recorded by the Bellamy Brothers on their 1985 album Howard & David. The B-side, "New York (Hold Her Tight)", accounted for Restless Heart's third chart entry on Billboards Adult Contemporary chart.
Wheels had favorable critical and commercial reception. James M. Tarbox of Knight Ridder thought the songs were stronger than those of the debut album, highlighting "Victim of the Game" and "New York (Hold Her Tight)" in particular. Tom Roland of AllMusic later wrote that "the guys found their niche with this project. Big, overpowering sound, heavy backbeats, and very tight harmonies are here." In the Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music, Colin Larkin noted that "I'll Still Be Loving You" became a popular song for fans to play at their weddings. The song was nominated at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards in 1988, in the category of Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. This nomination led to the band performing the song on the awards telecast. On March 2, 1988, Wheels was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. Also during this timespan, the band contributed the song "Don't Ask the Reason Why" to the soundtrack of the 1987 movie The Secret of My Success. Restless Heart's tour schedule at this point included concerts with other RCA Nashville artists such as Alabama, Juice Newton, Eddie Rabbitt, and Earl Thomas Conley.
Restless Heart's fourth album, Fast Movin' Train, was released in 1990. Its title track (also written by Loggins) and "Dancy's Dream" were top-five hits, while "When Somebody Loves You" and "Long Lost Friend" were less successful. Robert K. Oermann of The Tennessean found this album superior to the ones before it, praising the "direct approach" of the singles' lyrics, while also noting a roots rock influence in the increased use of acoustic instruments over the preceding albums. David J. Remondini, writing for The Indianapolis Star, thought the album's title track had an "attractive melody and gripping lyrics", also considering the album to have "the right balance of tempos" and influences of bluegrass music in tracks such as "Dancy's Dream". Tim Darragh of the Allentown, Pennsylvania, Morning Call was less favorable, criticizing the album for "prefab harmonies" and formulaic lyrics. Fast Movin' Train became the band's third gold album in 1991, and the title track accounted for the band's fourth Grammy nomination. During this timespan, Stewart sang backing vocals on "They Just Don't Make 'em Like You Anymore", a track from Kenny Rogers' 1991 album Back Home Again. A greatest hits package, The Best of Restless Heart, followed in 1991. It included two new recordings, both of which were released as singles: "You Can Depend on Me" was a top-five hit, while "Familiar Pain" was less successful. As DuBois had become president of Arista Nashville by this point, his production duties for the new songs were taken over by Josh Leo. The release of this compilation also led to "Til I Loved You" being re-issued for adult contemporary, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard chart for that format.
The remaining four members decided to rotate lead vocal duties amongst themselves instead of hiring a new lead vocalist, as they thought Stewart was the "most conservative" member of the group and that alternating the lead vocal would allow the band to become "more adventurous". In addition, they thought this arrangement was tenable due to their admiration of other bands with more than one lead vocalist, such as the Eagles, Chicago, and the Beatles. They first performed without Stewart at a concert in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in early 1992, followed by a series of dates throughout Canada. To accommodate for Stewart's departure, the other band members assumed the vocal duties when singing their existing singles in concert. Innis sang "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" and "Fast Movin' Train", Dittrich sang "Dancy's Dream" and "Big Dreams in a Small Town", Jennings sang "A Tender Lie", and Gregg sang everything else. The only song omitted from their set lists was "Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)", due to it having a more complex vocal arrangement which they felt could not be achieved with only four voices.
Innis also left the band in January 1993, with the other band members citing "erratic behavior" that resulted in the cancellation of five concerts a month prior as the reason behind his departure. Jennings also noted that Innis wanted to "assume a bigger role" after Stewart's departure and that there were unsubstantiated rumors among the other band members that Innis was subject to drug and alcohol abuse. In response to Innis's departure, they hired Dwain Rowe as touring keyboardist and Chris Hicks as touring guitarist. Three months later, the band reached the top of the Billboard adult contemporary charts as guest vocalists on Canadian smooth jazz saxophonist Warren Hill's single "Tell Me What You Dream".
Due to the commercial failure of Matters of the Heart, Restless Heart was dropped by RCA Nashville at the end of 1994. In response to this, the three remaining band members announced they would go on hiatus in January 1995. Stewart, Jennings, Dittrich, and Gregg reunited for one performance in June 1996 which included acoustic renditions of "Big Dreams in a Small Town", "The Bluest Eyes in Texas", "Fast Movin' Train", and "Amazing Grace". This was not considered a formal reunion, as the band members had done so to honor the wishes of a terminally ill member of their fan club. At the time, Stewart was continuing to record as a solo artist, Jennings had joined Vince Gill's road band, and Gregg was managing a chain of owned by his family.
In late 1996, Dittrich founded another band called the Buffalo Club with guitarist Charlie Kelley and lead vocalist Ron Hemby, a former member of the Imperials. The Buffalo Club recorded one album for Rising Tide Records and charted three singles, including the top ten "If She Don't Love You" in early 1997.Whitburn, p. 62 This song had previously been offered to Restless Heart by its co-writer Marc Beeson (who also co-wrote "When She Cries"), but they had declined to record it. Dittrich resigned from the Buffalo Club in August 1997, and the other two members separated by year's end. According to a former Rising Tide executive, Dittrich's departure and the Buffalo Club's disbanding were due to Dittrich expressing interest in a Restless Heart reunion tour, which created conflict among him, the other two band members, and label executives.
Stewart, Jennings, Dittrich, and Gregg reunited to record three new tracks for their second greatest-hits compilation in 1998, Greatest Hits. According to Stewart, this reunion and album were done at the request of RCA executives. In addition to their previous hit singles, the album included the new songs "No End to This Road", "For Lack of Better Words", and "Somebody's Gonna Get That Girl", the former two of which were issued as singles. The band promoted this project the same year by touring with Gill before disbanding a second time. Following this second disbanding, Stewart released a fourth solo album for Windham Hill Records in 1999.
After they had all reunited, the five members decided to record a new album. As both Hendricks and DuBois were involved in other projects at the time, the band selected a different set of producers. One of the producers was Kyle Lehning, best known for his work with Randy Travis. Lehning shared duties with Mac McAnally, a singer-songwriter and producer who is also a member of Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. The recordings with Lehning and McAnally became the band's 2004 album Still Restless, released on the Nashville division of Koch Records (now MNRK Music Group). In addition to co-producing, McAnally sang background vocals and played guitar, piano, mandola, and the Papoose, a custom-made guitar created by Tacoma Guitars. He also wrote three of the album's songs including "Down the Road", which was previously a single for him in 1990, and would later be re-released in 2008 as a duet between him and Kenny Chesney. Dittrich sang another one of McAnally's compositions, "Looking Back", as well as a cover of the Beatles's "The Night Before", while Gregg sang "Yesterday's News". Lead single "Feel My Way to You" peaked at number 29 on the country music charts and was the album's only single before Koch Records closed its Nashville division in 2005.
In 2018, Stewart began recording with the Frontmen, a group which also includes Richie McDonald and Tim Rushlow, respectively former lead singers of Lonestar and Little Texas. Despite the foundation of this group, Stewart continued to tour with Restless Heart at the time. A year later, Restless Heart joined the Triple Threat Tour, which included Blackhawk and Shenandoah. One of this tour's first stops was at MontanaFair in Billings, Montana.
Restless Heart officially retired in 2021, although little announcement was made of this. Stewart said that factors in their retirement included disagreements over a proposed album to honor the band's 35th anniversary, as well as his own commitments to the Frontmen and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following their retirement, Innis moved to Waco, Texas, and began various music projects there. Stewart continued to record with the Frontmen, who signed a recording contract with BBR Music Group in mid-2023.
Restless Heart's sound draws influences from mainstream country music, as well as from pop and rock. Because of the band's layered harmonies, many critics have drawn comparisons to the Eagles. Sterling Whitaker of Taste of Country describes Stewart as having a "clear, strong tenor". Stewart said that his affinity for vocal harmony was influenced by the music he listened to as a child, which included The Jordanaires and various gospel music groups, and that the band cited a variety of musicians from Buck Owens to Eric Clapton as individual influences. He thought that the band members having varied influences outside of country was a factor in their sound. A 1985 article in Billboard wrote that debut single "Let the Heartache Ride" "introduced the band's razor-edged vocal harmonies and scorching instrumentals." Writing for Knight Ridder, James M. Tarbox found the band's vocal harmonies comparable to both the Eagles and to Exile. Colin Larkin in the Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music wrote that the band was "continuing with the soft rock sounds and harmonies" of the Eagles. He thought the track "Wheels" had a similar sound and concept to the Eagles's 1972 debut single "Take It Easy". Mario Tarradell of The Miami News noted the band's ability to record both "rockers" and ballads, contrasting the "heavy guitar and keyboard action" on tracks such as "Jenny Come Back" and "The Storm" and the "up-tempo beat" of "Big Dreams in a Small Town", while noting "tender" vocal delivery on tracks such as "A Tender Lie" and "The Bluest Eyes in Texas". Reviewing their debut album, John Wooley of the Tulsa World thought the band's harmonies and rock influences were comparable to both the Eagles and Poco. He furthered the comparison to the Eagles by noting that both bands performed songs with "bittersweet imagery about quicksilver women".
Because of their pop and rock influences, the band members initially had doubts as to their success at a time when neotraditional country acts such as Randy Travis were beginning to gain in popularity. Stewart later said their doubts about success were assuaged when "That Rock Won't Roll" became a number one single. Joe Edwards of the Associated Press noted that the band initially faced resistance due to the lack of traditional country instrumentation such as fiddle and steel guitar, or typical country lyrical content such as heartbreak or consumption of alcohol. In response to this, Stewart said he considered "lyrics that touch people's heart" more important by comparison. Gregg stated in June 1994 that, due to the crossover success of "When She Cries" and "Tell Me What You Dream" in the early 1990s, some radio station executives in the United States thought the band was attempting to abandon the country format and thus refused to play their later singles.
The band members have noted their influence on subsequent generations of country musicians such as Brad Paisley and Little Big Town, both of whom have covered Restless Heart songs in concert. A cappella country group Home Free has also cited Restless Heart as a major influence on their vocal harmonies, and the group covered "Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)" in 2019.
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