Exclusive Premiere: Shenandoah Recall How ‘Two Dozen Roses’ Set Career on Fire

It’s been 29 years since Shenandoah‘s “Two Dozen Roses” landed at the top of the charts. The song, from the band’s sophomore The Road Not Taken album, was written by Mac MacAnally and Robert Byrne. But it’s lead singer, Marty Raybon, who knew early on the song was one of the most important ones the band would ever record.

“The song, ‘Two Dozen Roses,’ it leaped out of the gate. It really did,” Raybon shares in an exclusive video. “At that particular time in our career, we literally were hotter than a firecracker. And, when ‘Two Dozen Roses’ came out, in the metroplex of Dallas–Ft. Worth, it was absolutely on fire. Of course, we had been doing the Billy Bob’s, we played Rockwall; in that probably 60-mile radius, we had been wearing it out, because we had been there earlier. We had a great deal of fans.”

But it wasn’t until they started playing “Two Dozen Roses” that Shenandoah realized how much the song resonated with their fans, all over the country.

“When we got down there, it was kind of the germination of figuring out literally just how big this song was going to be,” Raybon adds. “And to realize that literally at the intro, when we went into it, and to hear the excitement of how people had reacted to it was just absolutely killer. And since that time, it’s been a little bit of a nice way of a nice way of – if we’re going to send somebody a nice note, or if we’re going to try and express heartfelt feelings towards anybody, we do it with ‘Two Dozen Roses.’ It’s kind of like a trademark.”

“Two Dozen Roses” is on Shenandoah’s upcoming Reloaded album, celebrating the iconic group’s 30th anniversary. The 12-track record features live versions of some of their biggest hits, including “Moon Over Georgia,” “Sunday in the South” and “Church on Cumberland Road,” as well as three new songs, including their current single, “Noise,” with Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus producing the new tunes.

Reloaded will be available on March 16, and is available for pre-order on iTunes. Shenandoah will spend much of 2018 on the road. Dates are available at ShenandoahBand.com.

Photo Credit: Adkins Publicity