John Rich Explains Story Behind ‘The Devil and the TVA’
American Thought Leaders
The Epoch Times
4.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 August 2025
⏱️ 68 minutes
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Summary
When an 88‑year‑old Tennessee woman confronted representatives of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) when they came to survey her land for a methane gas plant project, her words—“you think you own something, you don’t own nothing”—left a lasting impression on country artist John Rich.
That moment became the spark for his new song “The Devil and the TVA” and the starting point for this conversation on “American Thought Leaders.”
In this episode, Rich reflects on his journey from Texas family sing‑alongs to writing No. 1 hits with bands Lonestar and Big & Rich. He explains why he walked away from major record labels to protect his creative freedom, and he shares how songs like “Revelation” and “Earth to God” to connect present‑day turmoil with enduring spiritual truths.
Along the way, he opens up about the lessons he has learned about faith, fame, and standing firm in what matters most.
Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Warner Brothers Records started calling me into meetings and saying, hey, you can't say stuff like that. |
| 0:05.9 | You are causing radio programmers to not play your music because they don't agree with you. |
| 0:11.6 | And if we can't sell your music, and this is a no-go. |
| 0:14.2 | Today I sit down with multi-platinum country music artist John Rich. |
| 0:18.0 | We discuss his incredible career journey, his songwriting process, |
| 0:23.2 | and how he was able to remain successful without relying on record labels. |
| 0:26.9 | You're giving up all that big push that you get from a major company, but what are you |
| 0:31.3 | getting in return? You're able to say what you want to say exactly how you want to say it. |
| 0:36.5 | Your freedom of speech is invaluable. |
| 0:38.4 | We also discuss how John uses his music to be what he calls a citizen advocate. |
| 0:44.0 | They pull up on her property, people get out of the cars, bulletproof vest, loaded weapons, |
| 0:49.4 | and this lady's going, who are all these people? I told him, you got two weeks. If you don't get out of our county, I'm going to write a song about the TVA and you'll never be the same. Music is my weapon of choice, not being a politician, music. This is American Thought Leaders and I'm Yanya Kellick. John Rich, so good to have you on American Thought Leaders. Great to be here. Thanks for making the trip to Nashville, sitting right in the middle of my house. |
| 1:14.6 | Well, and an incredible performance venue, apparently. |
| 1:19.6 | Yeah. |
| 1:20.6 | You know, the truth is I have very little experience with country music, but a formative experience because my father was |
| 1:28.9 | really into Johnny Cash. It seems like only Johnny Cash and Edith Piaf, different genre. |
| 1:35.3 | But I still remember live from Folsom Prison, I can play it in my mind. So we listened to a cassette |
| 1:41.0 | tape so many times as a kid. It was very, very warm memories. |
| 1:45.8 | Let's just talk a little bit about how you got into this. |
| 1:49.3 | Before we get into the whole everything you've been doing, you know, |
| 1:53.5 | in American politics and the cult shaping culture and all that. |
| 1:57.0 | How did you even get into this in the first place? |
... |
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