I Believe: Brian Duckworth
> From the Archives:
2016 August-September Issue: updated
The following is a conversation with Brian “Nashville” Duckworth in 2016, ten years before his untimely passing. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Brian from the band Taylor Made to discuss their upcoming CD, a return to their West Virginia roots, and Brian's heart for his church.
Growing up in a small town in Taylor County, West Virginia, Brian Duckworth and his six siblings were raised listening to country, bluegrass, and gospel music. His passion for music began very early on. His family would gather on the back porch with their single mother and a guitar, singing songs from Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, and rounding it out with some old-time gospel. You could regularly find them at church showcasing their family harmony. In fact, they were not tall enough for the microphones. Ladies in the congregation would stand and hold them as they sang for the Sunday service.
“I think we all sang before we could talk,” Brian remembered.
After pursuing solo careers, Brian, his sister Wendy, and older brother Greg formed the group I-79 to perform at the Colgate Country Showdown. To their surprise, they won. The experience led them to pursue their dreams of being singers. Their three-part harmony was unique, and winning the contest became the blessing they were looking for, so they went on to form the band Taylor Made.
Playing wherever they could and riding high on their song “Heavy Duty Beauty,” Dale Morris, a well-known manager of notable country acts like Kenny Chesney, Alabama, and Martina McBride, gave them their big break. The group signed with Little General Records out of Beckley and found increased exposure and airplay with their songs “Quiet Kind of Crazy” and “Good Love” from their EP release of the same name. In short order, they were winning awards: in 2012, they won Best New Vocal Group from New Music Weekly, and in 2013, they won Best New Independent Artist.
“We’ve never gotten away from our roots even as a band. I can probably count all the shows we’ve done, on my hands, where there were not a couple of gospel songs in it.”
Their hard work led to success, and after their last album, Taylor County Line, released in May 2013, things began to cool off; unfortunately, interest started to fade for the talented trio.
During that time, Greg seized a different career opportunity, and over the last year and a half, Brian and Wendy decided to regroup and chart a new course for the band.
Brian works full-time as a truck driver. A hard occupation for many, but he enjoys what he does and the ability it gives him to provide a good living for his family. Being behind the wheel and traveling also allows him the freedom to continue to write songs that stay focused on his traditional country and gospel upbringing.
“We’ve wanted to get away from the ‘Nashville sound,’” Brian stated.
“I always thought that we had our own sound, our own personality, and our own look. I always thought we were unique. We fell into the same pitfall that a lot of people who go to Nashville fall into–automatically start looking, acting, and sounding just like everybody else.
“I honestly feel we did that. So our new album, My Way, is going back to our original music and doing it my way.”
That initial sound, built on a foundation of gospel & bluegrass music, was the starting point. The songs Brian penned over the last year reflect his love for God, family, and where he grew up.
“I would call it a West Virginia sound,” Brian stated. “When we grew up, there were seven of us. We would set out on the porch and sing the gospel songs and some old Conway Twitty. All of our stuff, if you listen to what we have written, all kind of feeds off of that. It has that gospel, old country, bluegrass sound. All of them run together. It has a unique sound. That’s what I’ve always liked, and that’s where I have always wanted to be but, when you get to Nashville, you find out that you lose a lot of say-so in what you get to be and what you get to do. They want to go with what is marketable, or what they think is marketable, not what you think you want people to hear. I want people to hear my music, my way.”
As a father of three sons (at the time of the interview) and happily married to his wife, Tina, his face lights up when he talks about them, and it’s evident they are his world. When we asked Brian what the most memorable show since he started performing has been, he had no hesitation. He emphatically said, “My future wife showing up at the Friends of Coal event.”
Brian and Tina, a medical assistant (MA), have known each other their whole lives, but that particular day he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
“Someone asked me when we met, and I told them I don’t remember meeting her. I’ve always known her.
“When they started our church, she was two years old, and I was one year old. She’s older than me! I tease her about it all the time.”
One of his newest efforts, “I Believe in God,” is a heartfelt proclamation of Brian’s faith in God and how He is the strength he needs during these trying times. Brian watched in horror in 2016 as the Syrian Christians were and are still being persecuted and killed. God put on his heart to give the song to the non-profit charity Mercury One and the Nazarene Fund to help save Christians in the Middle East, but it never materialized.
"If somebody can listen to one song and say I can connect to that or that made me feel a little better, then I’ve done my job..."
In 2016, Brian attended church in Clarksburg. During the interview, we found out that the Sandys–Russell, Cheri, Rusty, and Zach–were all very close friends with the Duckworths. Zach’s story, featured in the October-November 2015 issue of Glory Magazine, told of how he survived a direct lightning strike and gives God the glory for it.
One day, Brian and the pastor were talking about running short on fundraising for the new church location. That’s when it hit Brian. Maybe the song was meant for the church in the first place and to bless his church family.
He immediately gave them the song, hoping it would help raise the funding needed to complete the new building. The song “I Believe in God” is no longer available online, however their album Taylor County Line and Good Love are both available on Spotify and the iTunes Music Store.
“We’ve never gotten away from our roots even as a band. I can probably count all the shows I’ve done, on my hands, where there were not a couple of gospel songs in it. That’s our roots. That’s where we came from, where we started, and where we’ll end up eventually. That’s where the harmonies started.
“God gave me a talent. He gave me ideas to do this, that, and the other, and I’ll just follow it along and see where it ends up.”
Taylor Made was excited to be back on stage August 18th, 2016, at Summerfest in South Charleston and was looking forward to performing their new songs, along with their hits, and getting back to what they love to do–sing.
When asked, “What would you like audiences to take away from your newest endeavor?” Brian replied, “If some-body can listen to one song and say I can connect to that or that made me feel a little better, then I’ve done my job. If someone walks away and says, ‘That’s good music,’ that’s good enough. I just don’t want anyone to buy it and be disappointed.”
Their music showcases their deep faith, their love for family and friends, and their pride in their home state. They have never shied away from hard work, and their commitment to standing on faith and doing their best in whatever they pursue shows in their performances as they continue their musical journey, always remembering their West Virginia roots.
Brian “Nashville” Duckworth was known by many. He was born on December 8, 1969, in the town of Grafton, in Taylor County, West Virginia, and later made his home in Clarksburg. When he passed away at home on September 7, 2026, he left behind memories that continue to speak to the kind of man he was.
What I remember most clearly about Brian is the way he came alive when he talked about all his family. He treasured every chance to sing and perform with his siblings as Taylor Made, and it was easy to see that music meant so much because it brought him close to the people he loved. His eyes would light up as he spoke of them, and in those moments, his deep love and pride were impossible to miss. Although a full-time musical career did not emerge, his passion for making others smile and forget the troubles of life continued in other ways.
Brian also spoke with genuine enthusiasm and passion about his work as a dump truck driver. And later as a driver and “Truck Boss” for Wolfe’s Excavating, I am sure others saw it too. During our 2016 interview, I could hear how much he valued the freedom of being outdoors. I also sensed how deeply he appreciated the brotherhood and friendships he had built on the job. Those connections were clearly an important part of his life.
I was especially moved by Brian’s love of God and the sincerity with which he shared that part of himself. It was a true honor to sit down with him and hear his story. Although our interview offered only a brief glimpse into his life, I came away understanding why he meant so much to so many. Our heartfelt prayers are with his family, his wife and children, his friends, and his work family as they remember Brian and feel the depth of his loss.
Godspeed “Nashville”
Feature Image: Highway to the sky GENAI Text to Image; Brian Duckworth, Submitted photo.
Comments