The Wilkinsons

It’s “been a whirlwind,” Steve Wilkinson told POLLSTAR. “Everybody has said to us a million times down here, ‘This is not the way it happens.’ And I know. We understand the realities. Maybe we’re the anomaly to the rule.”

However, Wilkinson does not believe in overnight successes. He and the kids have been singing professionally for about nine years. “We had sung for record labels before and whether it was timing or whether we needed to polish what we were doing or whatever the reason was, it never really clicked until this year,” he said. “And then it just sort of clicked in a huge way.”

The Wilkinsons cultivated their talent singing together around the kitchen table and performing for relatives. “The kids joke about it,” Wilkinson said. “They say, ‘We would bring the guitar because after dinner, if you brought the guitar, you got to sing and didn’t have to do the dishes.'”

The “getting-out-of-dishes” performances evolved into playing parties, anniversaries and weddings which led to offers to perform at fairs, restaurants and clubs. “That evolved into opening for Canadian acts and U.S. acts when they would come to Canada,” Wilkinson said.

Though he worked hard on a songwriting career in Canada, Wilkinson considered it more of a hobby while his carpentry work paid the bills. Even though he scored some Top 10 singles with other artists recording his music, he said, “It’s very hard to make a living as a songwriter in Canada or for that matter down here [in Nashville]. The old joke down here is, ‘What’s the difference between a large pepperoni pizza and a songwriter? A large pepperoni pizza can feed a family of four.’ That pretty much sums it up.”

When Wilkinson moved the family to Nashville to further his songwriting career, he had no idea what they were in for. Two weeks after arriving, they went to a songwriter’s night to see a friend and were asked to take the stage and sing a few. That was on a Friday night. By Monday, seven record labels were calling.

To make the fairy tale complete, “Fairy Godfather” Vince Gill entered the picture. The family met Gill and sang for him at the management offices of The Fitzgerald-Hartley Company. About a week later, The Wilkinsons were invited backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and visited Gill in his dressing room.

Wilkinson said as they were sitting around with the star, singing and playing guitar, “somebody came in and said, ‘It’s time for your 9:30 spot Vince.’ And he stood up and turned to us and said, ‘Well, let’s go kids.’ And we went, ‘What?’ And he said, ‘Listen, are you telling me you’re not ready to sing at the Opry?’ And we went, ‘Uhhhh.’ He says, ‘Let’s go. Do you know what you want to sing?'”

They had been in Nashville barely a month and The Wilkinsons were on stage at the Grand Ole Opry singing with one of their heroes. Wilkinson said he’ll never forget what Gill said when introduced the family: “‘Every once in awhile I see something that reminds me of why I got in this business. This week, it happened to be a family — a father, a son and a daughter that captures the magic of why we all love country music.'”

In speaking with Wilkinson, there’s no question as to how extremely proud he is of his family. He brags about how professional Amanda and Tyler are while managing to remain normal children, doing the things kids their age do. He talks about how his wife, Chris, and his 8-year-old daughter, Kiaya, are “200 percent” behind the project, as well.

This career is definitely a family affair and the group’s business team is sensitive to that. That’s a big reason why The Wilkinsons signed to Giant Records. “Doug Johnson, who runs Giant Records, took me aside one day and he said, ‘Don’t let us eat up all your time because we will,'” Wilkinson remembered. “He said, ‘Back away from it… Don’t feel bad about doing it.'”

Wilkinson takes that advice to heart because he and his wife are careful to not let stardom negatively affect their children. But so far, it looks like everyone’s got their head firmly planted on their shoulders. “I think Amanda said it best,” Wilkinson said. “She said, ‘Just because you have a record deal doesn’t mean you have to get goofy. There’s already enough idiots in the world that the population doesn’t need to be increased by three.’ And I said, ‘That’s right on!'”

With that in mind, The Wilkinsons are hitting the big time on their current tour. All five members of the family will be on the road with Alan Jackson through November. The group has been asked to join Tim McGraw, Collin Raye and Patty Loveless on several dates as well.