How to be a Visionary For this issue’s Girl Crush column BY ANASTASIA BROWN PHOTOS BY ALAINA MULLIN To get the writing juices flowing I looked up the word “visionary” in a thesaurus. I was surprised to find words like “starry-eyed” and “unrealistic” as synonyms. When I call someone a visionary, I think of words more along the lines of “bold,” “creative” and “fearless.” Two women immediately came to mind when I was pondering my focus for this column—I’ve known both for decades and watched them create from a front-row seat. When I asked both the Oscar and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Allison Moorer and the awardwinning celebrity interior designer Kathy Anderson how a person becomes a visionary, they had the same answer: “Practice.” I didn’t expect that answer, so I did a deep dive with both of them and learned a few things along the way.
I met Allison back in 1997 when she was A SURVIVOR, PUBLISHED AUTHOR a recording artist for & BRILLIANT SONGWRITER MCA. After Tony Brown signed her to the label, he introduced us for artist management consideration. I had been co-managing Keith Urban, Junior Brown, John Berry and Paul Jefferson and also working with Peter Frampton as his local day-to-day manager at the time. We had several great meetings and I felt positive that we’d be working together. Enter my brilliant partner at the time, Miles Copeland, who flew to town to meet Allison for the first time. We all decided to have lunch at Valentino’s, where he proceeded to interrupt Allison the entire time. As I felt her slipping away, I gently kicked Miles under the table. He boldly asked aloud why I kicked him, so I told him that he was interrupting an artist I wanted to work with! But it was too late. Allison didn’t vibe with Miles, and we lost her. That’s not to say that I didn’t love working with Miles for eight years—I did—but in hindsight I should have demanded he leave the business closing to the ladies. Thankfully, that experience didn’t squelch our mutual girl crush.
That alone would cause a person to become jaded, but no, God thinks she’s a bit stronger.
Now, let me give you some background on Allison. When she was 14 years old, her father shot her mother and himself while she and her older sister, Shelby Lynne, were all inside their small home in Alabama. I know she heard it, but I’ve never asked her what she saw.
I have watched Allison experience huge highs and lows over the last 22 years—from watching her perform the Oscar-nominated song she penned for Robert Redford on the biggest stage in the world in 1999 to hearing her concern about John Henry’s safety in their previous home
ALLISON MOORER
32 | NASHVILLEEDIT.COM
Fast forward 13 years and she welcomes a baby boy into the world. He’s got her vibrant blue eyes and a touch of her red tones in his hair. All is well until he approaches two, when his speech begins to regress until he doesn’t speak at all. Diagnosed with autism, Allison does what she always does. With grace and determination, she puts one foot in front of the other. She found the best doctors, schools and information to give John Henry his best life. When he was only six weeks old, Allison was asked to speak with Maya Angelou on her radio show. When Maya inquired about Allison’s upbringing and family, Allison explained, “I gave my answer that I always give: ‘My parents were troubled, but their lives were more important than the way they died.’ Then Maya asked me what I was going to tell John Henry.” That interview set her on the path to write her memoir and record a companion EP, both entitled BLOOD, which will be released in October of this year.
