I still have no idea, but I do know one thing: "Mrs. Steven Rudy" is still a great song. The lyrics paint an interesting picture of the male narrator coveting his neighbor's wife, and dreaming about being with her someday. Lines like "Just to get the paper that I never read," "Every night, I dream one day of being with you," and "That wedding ring's as ugly as your husband is to you" show that McGuinn knows his way around a lyric. He's also a smart producer, letting a steady drum loop/banjo mix underscore the catchy melody. The rest of McGuinn's debut found most of its songs in the same vein: sturdy melodies, interesting turns of phrase, and lyrical smarts. (It's interesting to note that the combination of drum loop and banjo has cropped up again in recent years through "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" and "Cruise." Perhaps Mark was ahead of his time.)
VFR had originally planned for "That's a Plan" to be McGuinn's debut, with "Mrs. Steven Rudy" on the B-side, but a DJ at KPLX in Dallas began playing that B-side. By May 2001, "Mrs. Steven Rudy" was the top selling country single, and a #6 hit on the country charts. He notched two more songs in the lower half of the Top 40 ("Plan" and "She Doesn't Dance"), then made one last bow in 2002 with the 9/11 tribute "More Beautiful Today," which he made available as a download from his website. Lonestar also took his "Unusually Unusual" to #12. (And yes, it also had a drum loop.)
The week that "Rudy" peaked, the Top 10 heralded change. Brooks & Dunn had finally recovered from their Tight Rope nadir with the thundrous, bracing "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You" (which would go on to be the biggest hit of the year); Tim McGraw was solidly in the middle of an introspective streak with "Grown Men Don't Cry"; and "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" found the always-underrated Travis Tritt in a far-too-short revival period. Right underneath it, Lonestar was beginning a streak of sappy, soccer-mom-friendly fare with "I'm Already There", and George Strait and Alan Jackson made little impact with "If You Can Do Anything Else" and "When Somebody Loves You". And yet Mark stood out even among that.
"Rudy" stood out not only because of its fresh sound, but also because Mark managed success on an independent label. While many indies rule the roost today (mainly Big Machine and Broken Bow), that certainly wasn't the case back then. Unfortunately, McGuinn's success was extremely short-lived, as the label was struck with financial issues, and ended up releasing only three other albums. McGuinn self-released another disc in 2006, but aside from a few spins of "Deep" (which was also great) on small-market stations, it got next to no attention. It's a shame that Mark didn't do better, because he clearly had the goods to make a huge impact. Perhaps he could've ridden that wave of change that I mentioned.
You can follow Bobby Peacock on Twitter at @10lbhammerbp
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