Listen to country music legend T. Graham Brown talk about his life and career. In just a few minutes, the Nashville-based star and newest member of the Grand Ole Opry shares his faith in God, his unwavering belief in America, and his overwhelming love for his wife and partner, Sheila Brown, who helped him overcome his problems with drug and alcohol addiction many years ago.
“My wife, Sheila, is my best friend. She’s taken care of me for 46 years,” he said in an on-camera interview for Fox News Digital.
“She’s seen me going up and down and moving around.” (See the video at the beginning of this article and the other videos in this article.)
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He added that he was “thankful to God for helping me set everything straight.”
“Without the grace of God and the love of Sheila Brown, I wouldn’t be here, but I’ve made it through all of this craziness and I want to let people know there is a way out,” Brown said, speaking via Zoom video from her Nashville home.
Grammy-nominated and CMA Award-winning country star T. Graham Brown is based in Nashville. Pictured to the right is him at the Grand Ole Opry, where he frequently performs and where he recently joined the lineup. (Alexa Campbell/Chris Hollo)
Brown told Fox News Digital that after overcoming his own hardships, his desire to help others during difficult times has been a constant theme for him and stems from an underlying desire to do the right thing.
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He has released three songs so far, including a rendition of the Al Green song “Take Me to the River” with his longtime friend Wynonna.
Below are edited excerpts from Fox News Digital’s original interview with Grammy nominee and CMA Award winner Brown on five key areas of his life and work.
1. Defeat your demons and help others defeat theirs too.
“Sheila didn’t really know what was wrong with me,” Brown said of a problem she experienced several years ago. “One day, Sheila was watching TV and saw a doctor talking about bipolar disorder and immediately thought, ‘Oh, that’s Tony.'”
“And she said, ‘That’s Tony’ (Graham’s real name is Anthony). So she tracked down this doctor, but it took a while to get on the waiting list because he’s a world-renowned doctor.”
“Sheila and I make our living primarily through performing music,” Brown told Fox News Digital, referring to his wife and longtime partner, “but our real drive in life, our mission, our personal mission (if you want to call it that) is to help people get sober and stay sober and to educate people about mental illness.” (Fox News Digital)
“So I was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and thankfully there are medications that can ease the symptoms quite a bit.”
“And I always like to remind everyone at every show that Sheila and I make a living primarily from performing live. But our real drive in life, our mission, our personal mission (if you want to call it that) is to help people get sober and stay sober and to educate people about mental illness.”
“That’s really what we care about most. We’re just trying to help some people.”
2. “Make people happy”
“It’s pretty simple,” Graham said. “I was talking to a guy. [had just done] I was onstage at the Grand Ole Opry talking about my faith, and afterwards one of the security guards came up to me and said, ‘Oh, I’m so glad you shared that with me.'”
“Every time I do a show I tell people my whole history. My life is an open book.”
“And I feel like that’s really helping people,” he said. “Every time I do a show, I tell people my whole story. My life is an open book. I just want to give people hope and to know that there’s nothing to be ashamed of, especially when it comes to mental illness.”
“I think there’s still a lot of negative stigma out there about this, but I would ask everyone, if you are suffering from any mental illness or if someone close to you is suffering from any illness, please make the effort to go see a doctor and get diagnosed.”
Recording artist T. Graham Brown performs in Nashville, Tennessee on February 25, 2015. “I think I’ve finally figured out what’s really important in life,” Brown said in a video interview with Fox News Digital a few days ago. (Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
He continued: “There are medications now that can ease the symptoms. You know, there’s no cure, but you can live a pretty normal life and you don’t have to live that way anymore.”
“I just want people to know this. I’m not some great guy or a genius or anything. I’m just, like I said, trying to get people out of trouble.”
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He added: “My job is to make people happy, you know? I’m so blessed to be able to do that. I think I’ve finally figured out what’s really important. Ultimately, that’s what matters.”
3. “I asked God for help.”
“I grew up in the church. I always went to church. My mom and dad made sure I went to church, so I guess I’ve always been a Christian,” Brown said.
“I felt like I was prepared and I remember it like it was yesterday.”
He added: “I was baptized when I was young and I’ve always believed in Jesus, but I think I just drifted away.”
“One morning, as cliché as it sounds, I was trying to quit drinking. I got on a horse, rode for a while, then fell off. I got on a horse, rode for a while, then fell off. I went to rehab, but it didn’t work.”
“But then one morning, I finally felt like I had come to my senses, both mentally and emotionally.
“I felt prepared and I remember it like it was yesterday, looking in the mirror and actually talking to myself, like, ‘Dude, what are you doing? You’re going to screw everything up. You’ve got to pull yourself together and do something about this. You’re supposed to be smarter than this.'”
“And I asked God for help.
“And from that moment on, I never craved anything again.”
“It’s nice to have someone that you can rely on who takes you seriously,” T. Graham Brown told Fox News Digital about his wife and best friend, Sheila Brown. (Justin Hammond)
“I went from wanting excitement 24/7 to not even thinking about it,” he said. “So I call it a miracle. It’s really amazing.”
“I’m 69 now, but I think I was 54 or 55 when it happened. So a lot of my life I was manic-depressive, drinking, using drugs, living like that. But now I have a clear head. Everything’s OK.”
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“Sheila and I are happier than we’ve ever been. She’s my best friend. And one more thing: it’s nice to have someone you can rely on who takes you seriously.”
“It’s really a blessing to have someone you can rely on.”
4. Greatest “career achievement”
“It’s awesome. It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me,” Brown said of being recently selected as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“I’ve been making a living singing for 51 years. I was on the Opry for 40 years and I think I’ve performed about 400 times.”
“Then finally, a few months ago, Vince Gill asked me if I wanted to be a member, and I cried like a baby.
“It’s something I wanted to do my whole career… It’s a pretty exclusive fraternity there. [aren’t] Many members have participated throughout the history of the Grand Ole Opry.
On this day in history, November 28, 1925, the Grand Ole Opry made its debut on Nashville’s WSN radio.
“And just being able to be one of them is amazing,” he added.
“I’ve won awards and everything, but being a member of the Grand Ole Opry is the greatest achievement of my career.”
5. America is “the only place I belong”
As the country celebrates Independence Day this week, Fox News Digital asked Brown what America means to him.
“Well, I’ve traveled all over the world, I’ve been everywhere the grass is green, and I can honestly say, the United States is the only place for me.
“I think I can go anywhere I want to go, but I like being in the United States,” he said.
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“And I had great hopes for America.”
T. Graham Brown performs at the “Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis” at Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama on October 24, 2023. “I guess there are lots of places I’d love to be, but I love being in the United States of America,” Brown said in a video interview with Fox News Digital. (David A. Smith/Getty Images)
“So there’s something weird going on, right? But here’s what I think.”
“I think God is in control of everything. I think God is great and in charge and pulling the strings, and everything will work out just the way God wants it to.”
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And I think that’s a fact
