Thank you for chatting with us Pamela! What was the best piece of advice you've ever been given about pursuing a career in music? The best piece of advice I was given was to just keep moving forward. If you stop, then momentum stops too, then it’s like starting back over again. What song that you have recorded means the most to you and why? “Give Him Back to Us” means the most to me because everything in the song is very true. I wrote it after my husband came back from Iraq back in 2005 and I felt like others could relate to it as well. The song was written from the wife’s point-of-view, which I think is missed a lot of times. Spouses are very much affected by what the soldier went through because we are their support when they get home. Some of the trauma that my husband dealt with back then, is still an issue today. He’ll never be the way he was before he left.
Looking back, what was the first album or "Vinyl" you bought? If I am remembering right—because it was a long time ago—the very first full album I bought was Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” back in the 80’s. I saved my money up and bought that one because I loved that song at the time! You recently released your new single, "Little Things," that you also co-wrote. Tell us about the writing process and where the idea came from. My newest release, “Little Things,” was a co-write with my buddy Matt Dame and Trafton Harvey. I had this idea of doing a duet love song. My idea came from people-watching over the years. I just wondered what makes people stay together for so long. So I had a title, “Little Things,” and an idea of the direction I wanted to the song to go. I started looking for the perfect male voice to compliment my vocals. Through some mutual friends, I was lead to Matt Dame. I listened to a few of his songs and fell in love with his voice. He’s also from Arkansas but has been living in Nashville and doing studio vocal stuff for quite some time now.
I reached out to Matt and explained my idea and he said he would love to help me write it. So through a zoom meeting, we sat down and wrote this song. I had sent him my notes and list of things I love about my husband and obviously, I couldn’t speak for what a man would love about his wife, so that is where Matt and Trafton came in. Matt started playing a guitar lick that I loved and started with a melody line and we just flowed from there. It took us about an hour and a half to 2 hours from beginning to end (including our chatting about the idea) to complete the song. It’s one of my favorite co-writing experiences I’ve had.
Matt met me at Off the Row Studio in October 2020 to record our vocals to the song. It was our first time meeting face-to-face. We did our photoshoot and recorded the song in about a 2 hour time frame. He is an amazing vocalist and is so professional and just knows what extra little things to do with his vocals to make the song pop. I couldn’t be happier with how this song turned out.
If you could only perform one of your songs for someone who has never heard of you, what song would that be? I would probably perform my upcoming song, “Givin’ a Damn (Don’t Go With My Outfit).” I think it really fits who I am. This song will be release in late April/early May.
Best food that comes in can? Vienna Sausages—or as my husband says it,“VI-eenie Weenies”
Best food that deep fried? Lasagna—It’s a “Fair Food” and delicious!
Home cooking or going out for dinner? Going out for dinner
Where is your favorite place to eat in your hometown? El Rancho Mexican restaurant. We don’t have much to choose from, but I am a fan of their food and our local pizza place, Pizza Pro of Vilonia.
Southerners know good cookin'. What should every Southern kitchen be stocked with? Flour, salt and pepper, Cavender’s, oil/Crisco, milk, iron skillet, chicken for frying, gravy (both white and brown)
What's on your pizza? Do you fold your pizza or eat it straight on? Ranch or no ranch? Pepperoni, extra cheese, (jalapenos-if I’m feeling spicy), black olives and green olives
If I was a bartender, what would you order? Peanut Butter Whiskey on Ice
If you could be sponsored by one food/drink brand who would it be and why? I would love to be sponsored by Diet Pepsi. I really love the taste and just like their tagline says, “That’s what I like!”
Website: www.pamelahopkinsmusic.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/singerpamelahopkins Instagram: www.instagram.com/pamelahopkinsmusic Twitter: www.twitter.com/phopkinsmusic YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PamelaHopkins
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCepe2hU8LuKPQim3sC2PZhw ( this is my VEVO channel that has my “Official Music Videos”