MUSIC

Goode's Armadillo Palace is proud to welcome Candy Coburn.

Have you ever met a person who had such conviction in what she was doing, you felt moved? When you looked at this person, did you feel she was right where she needed to be, doing what she was supposed to be doing? Meet Candy Coburn. If you were to ask her many fans across the country how they would describe Candy, their response would be, “She is infectious!” From the moment she hits the stage, you sense Candy is not your run-of-the-mill chick singer. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t count on her good looks to engage the crowd, but relies on her energetic delivery, true-to-life lyrics, and a show that rocks. Perhaps it is the signature green guitars she uses for every performance. Whatever it is, it’s easy to see why Candy and her music are undeniably contagious.

Born in Kentucky then raised in southern Missouri while spending summers in Texas with her father, Candy’s introduction to music came from her grandmother’s old record player and 8-track player. While Candy was growing up, gospel music played along with the sounds of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Loretta Lynn and George Jones. She would listen as her grandmother sang along, encouraging Candy to do the same. Today, even at 91 years old her grandmother can still “belt it out,” says Candy, laughing. But when it came to rock and roll, that was a no-go. “Not in this house”!

“It was a big joke growing up with my friends in high school and in the school of music in college that I hardly knew anything about the Beatles or the Rolling Stones - anything normal or mainstream- because I wasn’t allowed to listen to it. My Grandma thought it was “the devil’s music,” says Candy. I didn’t listen to pop music until at least 6th grade. While she grew up on gospel and loved it as well as country music, it was country music that stole Candy’s heart. As a child, she remembers watching her first CMA Awards show and getting a certain feeling in her stomach, one that said, “Man, I want to do that!” But it would be years before she was able to do her own music her own way. As all life journeys go, there were a few bumps along the way, a few detours, and several wrong turns; but all of these are necessary to make the outcome so much richer.

After high school, Candy landed a music scholarship to the University of Missouri and enrolled as a music major with a minor in journalism. There she studied Opera, but a tenacious Candy wanted more. Her voice teacher told her that if she wasn’t doing Opera, she would be wasting her talent. It wasn’t long before the teacher made her life miserable. She did not want her to branch out in a new direction. Don’t ever tell Candy she cannot do something, because she will work it until it happens!

Discouraged at first, she quit school, got a job and played with a couple of bands, along with a killer worship team in church. But with that never-quit attitude that drives her, Candy went back and finished at the University of Missouri with a Theater degree. After college, Candy says, “I started playing guitar and wrote my first song. I was never told this entire time, ‘Hey, you need to learn to write a song and play an instrument.’ I tell everyone I know who wants to be in this crazy business, spread your wings….learn to play instruments, write, explore….go for it, reach out!!”

Candy will jokingly tell you she could write a book about how to not do things in the music business. She has been through every band drama you can think of; she has slept in cheap hotels where no normal person would dare step foot, she has driven all night to a gig only to find it had been canceled. She has lost more money than she cares to remember and she has been told “No” so many times that a normal person would have said “Yes,” to giving up sooner. But she keeps going.…

Candy’s story is distinctly hers and it is real. With as many hurdles as she has been through, one would have expected her to quit a long time ago. Fortunately, Candy doesn’t understand the concept of giving up. She has this innate ability to soften even the hardest of hearts. Candy’s music makes her fans believe with conviction and faith that dreams can and really do come true in God’s time.