About Justin

As a child, Justin Ryan learned from and performed with Southern Gospel greats like Vestal Goodman. After his family abandoned him at 17, groundbreaking contemporary Christian songwriter Marsha Stevens-Pino (“Come To The Water (For Those Tears I Died)”) took him under her wing. As an in-demand Nashville session singer, he recorded with the likes of Porter Wagoner, George Jones, Lynn Anderson, LuLu Roman and Dottie Rambo. Now, with the release of his first mainstream country album, Justin Ryan steps out front to chart the course for where he’s going.

Produced by Music Row veteran Mark Moseley, Where I’m Goin’ features Justin backed by Music City’s finest players, from CMA Musician of the Year Brent Mason to Gaither Homecoming favorite Gordon Mote. While this group of songs may not be what you’d find on a typical country CD on the shelves of Wal-Mart, it’s not hard to believe this eclectic mix of styles and songs was hand-picked by a native of Paducah, Kentucky who’s made a name for himself in the church world.

“I did this country project, first of all, because the fans wanted me to, plus it’s a way for me to break out of my box a little bit. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m gonna come out wearing Porter Wagoner’s rhinestone suit that says ‘Hi’ on the inside lining though,” Justin adds with a laugh.

“Watchin’ Robin Like A Hawk,” “Backwards” and “Workin’ Man’s Weekend” all tip their proverbial hat to contemporary radio-friendly fare, while stone country tunes like “Everybody’s Talkin’” and “When The Vow Breaks” owe a debt of gratitude to classic icons like George & Tammy and Conway & Loretta.

“I thought it would be great to go back and do the kind of country music that Porter or someone in that era would’ve done. It’s definitely not in the vein of what you’d flip on the radio and hear on a country station today.”

“Lonely Comin’ Down” and “Love Pays It All” may lie at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, but both commemorate Justin’s close relationship with the “Thin Man from West Plains.”

“Porter Wagoner really took an interest in me and made the time to make me feel like somebody important. I really got to know him and sang on some of his gospel stuff toward the end. We’d talk about different things and he’d ask my opinion and even take my advice sometimes. He was the person who discovered Dolly Parton, so as a relatively new singer in town, that really carried a lot of weight with me. When we first started talking about this project I knew we had to pay tribute to Porter, because he’s one of the main reasons I’m singing country music in the first place.”

Photo Courtesy of Stephen Evans Photography

Justin with adopted grandfather Porter Wagoner

Originally recorded by Dolly on the Jolene album, Justin’s take on “Lonely Comin’ Down” was originally intended as a demo to introduce the tune to a new generation of country stars.

“One day Porter had some demos he wanted me to listen to and he played one song that really stuck out, just full of universal emotion that I think we’ve all experienced before. I said ‘Wow, who wrote that?’ and Porter said ‘I did’ and I was floored.”

The second composition from the Wagonmaster, “Love Pays It All” is a never-before-heard collaboration between the Opry legend and Randy Vanwarmer, the man behind the seventies pop smash “Just When I Needed You Most.”

Justin drifts between genres and shows off his soul side with an amped up version of Delbert McClinton’s “Givin’ It Up For Your Love” and a retooling of a 1986 Georgia Satellites hit.

“I remember when ‘Keep Your Hands To Yourself’ came out I was a little kid and it would come on the radio I would sing the ‘no hug-ee, no kiss-ee part’ and my folks thought that was just the funniest thing in the world. When we started this project something inside my head went off and I said I have to do that song because it’s probably one of the first ones I ever remember singing.”

The album’s closer has its roots in Justin’s early professional career. “I used to do ‘Giving It Up For Your Love’ with the Terry Mike Jeffrey Band in Paducah and I really liked it. I didn’t know then that it was a Delbert McClinton song but when I moved to Nashville I had a jukebox that played 45’s in my apartment and it was one of the records that happened to be in there and I would play that song over and over again. I started thinking that nobody’s ever recut it, so we had Angie Primm come in and we let her wail at the end of it like never before, so we really put a whole new spin on it.”

Even on his first official foray into the country field, Justin doesn’t stray far from his Christian music roots. In the title track, he re-imagines the Brad Paisley smash “When I Get Where I’m Goin’” as a full-fledged gospel number, complete with traditional church choir and piano. The album finds its emotional center as Justin alters the lyric to memorialize his beloved grandmother who first encouraged him to step in front of an audience.

“I’ve been singing since I was 8-years-old and it was only by chance, because my grandmother overheard me singing along in the car with my Walkman. She was the one who pushed me to sing and when I was 16, we found out she had cancer. Losing her was one of the hardest things in the world for me, because I felt like she was the only person in my whole family who understood me and believed in what I was trying to do. She was my favorite and I’ll always believe I was hers.”

“I decided to do ‘When I Get Where I’m Going’ because it’s such a perfect way to honor her. Porter carried the torch for my grandmother by being that grandparent figure when I came to Nashville, so not only was it important to pay tribute to him but also to the person who is the whole reason I started singing to begin with, to remember a special lady who was absolutely always there for me. Without her, I wouldn’t be doing this today.”

With the release of Where I’m Goin’, Justin renews his commitment to extend a hand to those who’ve traveled a path similar to his. “What I’ve always tried to do is reach out to those folks who may have been the outcasts and have a sense that they don’t belong. There have been so many times in my own life and there are still times when I feel like I don’t belong.” “Music was what saved me in all the things that I went through, with getting kicked out and not knowing where I was gonna be tomorrow. If it hadn’t been for the music, I don’t think I would have made it. So I took that gift that I had been given and I’ve tried to use that to help other people.”

As Justin Ryan plots the path to where he’s going, he vows to remember the legacies of both Porter Wagoner and his beloved grandmother and pay their kindness forward.

“I’ve been able to turn some things in my life that weren’t so great into something good for someone else. That’s always been my mission and it’s turned out to be the greatest blessing as well. Reaching out to people through my church work has been my focus all along and that’s where my heart is still. So I see this country CD not as a new direction, but hopefully as a stepping stone to an even greater avenue of ministry.”