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Calling On Cherie: Q&A With Cherie Call
by Kelly L. Martinez
 Perhaps
you’ve heard of Cherie Call. If you follow the LDS music scene
at all, then you will recognize her name. If you’ve seen the movie
“Charly,” you’ve heard two of her songs.
If you’re really on top of things, then you know that
she is the recipient of seven PEARL Awards in the past three years.
In 2001, she earned a PEARL Award for “Female Vocalist”; in 2002,
she earned four for “Inspirational Recording” (“He Gives Flowers
to Everyone”), “Contemporary Album” (“He Gives Flowers to Everyone”),
“Female Recording Artist” and “Songwriter of the Year”; in 2003,
she earned two for “Songwriter of the Year” and for “Inspirational
Recording” (“One Good Woman”).
What you may not know about Cherie Call is that technically,
since April 8, 2003, she is Cherie Anderson. However, don’t rush
to your local LDS bookstore and look for a CD by Cherie Anderson.
Professionally, she is still known as Cherie Call. (Ed.
Note: Read Ron Simpson’s article for Meridian on Cherie’s
hubby here.
So why is Meridian’s sports writer doing an arts and
entertainment article? Geography, my friend.
Cherie, 29, moved into my ward in Springville, Utah,
when she got married and lives just a few blocks away. I must admit,
I don’t own any of Cherie’s music, but I do see enough pictures
on LDS websites to have thought that she looked familiar when she
moved in. It took me over six months to work up the courage to
risk looking foolish when, after an elders quorum meeting, I asked
her husband, Joe, if, indeed, his wife was Cherie Call the recording
artist. He affirmed my suspicions and, with the editor’s blessing
to step outside of the world of sports, I set up an interview.
Though I’m accustomed to interviewing athletes and coaches,
it was fun getting to talk to someone in the music industry.
 Has
singing LDS music always been what you’ve aspired to?
That’s actually changed
through the years for me. The first songs that I ever wrote were
religious songs. In my teens, they taught us the “I Walk By Faith”
songs by Janice Kapp Perry. I was struck by how amazing those songs
were.
I
wrote a lot of religious songs when I was younger. I think I learned
the basics of songwriting by writing that kind of music. When I
took songwriting courses at BYU, the nature of the way we studied
helped me branch out into more secular songwriting. I grew to love
that type of songwriting. When I was younger, I always thought
I would write LDS music. When I got to college, I began aspiring
to branch out and perform or write country music for singers in
Nashville.
I
guess I’ve gone through a lot of different phases. I’m really glad
I learned about songwriting from a different perspective because
I think that if you can write a song that’s about things that happen
in real life that people can relate to, then it’s easier to talk
about spiritual things in a way that helps people to attach it to
their own life. It’s been a challenge, but it’s something I’ve
grown to really love. To be able to apply the things I’ve learned
about songwriting in general to writing good songs that are religious.
Have you ever considered crossing over and doing secular
music?
Even now I write songs
that are not religious songs. I produced two CDs, before I started
doing religious songs, which were made up of folk-style love songs.
I still write that kind of music and, from time-to-time, pitch those
songs out in Nashville to see if any artists there would be interested
in cutting one of my songs. That’s the extent that I’ve considered
doing anything that crosses over into secular music. But, we’ll
see what the years bring. Right now, I’m really focused on LDS
spiritual music.
Have any artists in Nashville expressed interest in
your songs?
Not yet. But I think
what’s gotten the most attention by folks in Nashville are my inspirational
songs. Whenever I’ve played out there, the things people like the
most are my songs about Jesus and other inspirational songs. I’ve
always been extra careful to make things mainstream, but one time,
I just didn’t worry about it and played a lot of my religious songs
and people really liked it.
How far back do you remember wanting to be a professional
singer?
As long as I can remember,
being a singer has always been what I wanted to do. My older
sister used to teach me songs and I have a recording of me singing
“You Light Up My Life” when I was three years old. I copied all
of Debbie Boone’s inflections and would always show off and be pretty
much a big pain to everybody because I always wanted to sing for
them.
Tell me about your family.
I’m the third of four
children in my immediate family. My sister, Julie, 36, is married
with two children (a boy and a girl) and is a physical therapist
for handicapped children at an elementary school district in the
Dallas area. Ron, 35, is married with three sons, is a mechanical
engineer for Intel, and lives in Gilbert, Arizona. David, 26, lives
in Mesa, Arizona, with his new wife and is studying to be a physical
therapist. He got married just three months after I did. My father
has two younger sons (my half brothers) from his second marriage:
Kevin, 11, and Kyle, 9; my parents divorced when I was in my late
teens.
Are any of your siblings musically inclined?
We all took lessons,
but I was the one that was most serious about it. Our house would
always have music in it in one form or another. My older brother,
Ron, would try to learn Van Halen solos on his electric guitar,
so we all would get to listen to him playing for hours at a time.
My sister enjoyed singing and was the one that got me interested
in singing when I was a little girl. We all took piano lessons
and I think my younger brother would have been a really good musician
but he was more interested in sports.
Since you’ve mentioned sports (which I am a bit familiar
with), did you ever play a sport?
I’m horrible at
sports. I think it could best be described as a handicap of mine.
(laughs) It’s embarrassing. I will never play sports in public.
My sister is the same way. I think all of the sports got sucked
out of us and given to our brothers. It’s ironic that you, the
Meridian Sports guy, would be the one interviewing me, the furthest
thing from sports that you could write about.
Who were your musical role models? Who did you listen
to growing up?
There are so many. As
far as LDS music goes, I love Janice Kapp Perry’s and Michael McLean’s
music; I would spend hours with my friends singing those songs.
Kenneth Cope’s “Greater Than Us All” CD was a favorite of mine in
high school.
As
far as regular music goes, I used to listen to Top 40 radio a lot.
I love James Taylor and am a big fan of Sting, especially his early
solo work. I really liked a 80s group called Crowded House which
sang a song called “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” I love all different
styles and different kinds of music.
I
also really like Sarah McLachlen’s music. I’m not always sure what
it is that she’s trying to say with her lyrics, but I really enjoy
her style.
Is it important to you that your songs have meaningful
lyrics?
I think it is. Seldom
will there be a case where I am more into the sound of a song I
write than I am into the lyrics. I focus more on the lyrics than
I do the music. I think it’s really important to listen to music
that has good lyrics.
What drives you to write and make music?
It’s just a part of what
makes me who I am. It’s the way that I make sense of things that
are around me. I love to take things that I see and things that
happen to me and make them into a song. In some cases, it helps
me to get through things that are really difficult. In other cases,
it’s just a way to celebrate things that I think are really neat.
What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to
you on stage?
I forget lyrics to songs
when I’m really nervous. To forget the words to your own song is
usually pretty embarrassing.
What’s next for Cherie Call?
Well, I’ve been doing
a lot of songwriting for the past couple of months. I have a lot
of songs done and hope to do another recording soon. I don’t have
a specific release date or anything, but Deseret Book has expressed
interest in doing another CD with me. I still have to meet with
them to set up a timetable when such a thing might happen. I’ll
be playing some of my new music at the Provo Arts Center on January
24. I’m pretty excited about that.
Is there anyone that’s had a big impact on the way you
write songs?
I can’t say enough about
the influence that Ron Simpson had on my songwriting skills. His
classes at BYU really switched a light on in my head about the way
songwriting should be done.
Do you have any advice for aspiring LDS musicians and
songwriters?
Don’t worry so much about
being competitive. Music is something that should uplift you and
uplift others. It should be something that brings joy into your
life and the lives of others. Write and sing about the things that
you know. Make it something real and honest. I think a lot of
people worry about making something really profound or spiritual
that they miss the simple things that can carry the most powerful
message.
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