The Women That Make It Happen

Rock ‘n Roll history is littered with broken guitars, broken contracts and oftentimes broken people. The lucky few survive it all.

The even luckier few have someone in their corner who is part bulldog, part therapist, part CEO. A partner in all things.

Sharon Osbourne wrote the playbook when she took Ozzy’s glorious chaos, wrapped it in a business plan and literally kept him alive long enough to become a legend.

In the Texas/Red Dirt world, we’ve got our own versions of Sharon. Two of the most noteworthy are Shannon Canada and Judy Hubbard.

Cody Canada is a hell of a songwriter and performer. Cody Canada, the one who spent years running hard with Cross Canadian Ragweed before moving forward with The Departed has been burning the candle at both ends until there was nothing left but smoke for three decades. Shannon has been there for all of it. Long before record deals and sell out stadiums. She’s not just his wife, she’s the filter, the fixer, the one who will tell him the truth no matter how hard it might be to hear.

Since Ragweed, she’s helped steer The Departed through an ever-changing music industry without losing the soul of what Cody does. You think those tours line up, those records come out that merch table stays stocked by accident? Nope. That and so much more is Shannon. She is loyal, fierce and loving. She has had an indelible impact on the music we all love.

Then there’s Ray Wylie Hubbard. Ray’s been the wise outlaw poet for decades, but even the wise need someone to keep the snakes off the porch. Judy Hubbard has been that and more. Making smart decisions, cutting through the industry BS and keeping Ray exactly where he needs to be: creating (and posting rambles on his socials).

His late-career run, collabs with everyone from Eric Church to Ringo freakin’ Starr, has Judy’s fingerprints all over it. Ray will tell you himself: without Judy, some of those songs might still be sitting on scraps of paper in a guitar case instead of in your headphones.

These women have, quite literally, kept the music alive. Sometimes that has meant keeping the artist alive too.

And they’re not alone. Britni Hood is a constant force pushing Adam Hood’s music into more ears. Melinda Donahew has been part of Casey Donahew’s journey from loading into smoky bars to selling out arenas. Chase Harmeier has been right there with Mike Harmeier helping navigate one of the most respected, road-tested careers in the country. There are countless other examples.

Behind so many of the names you love, there’s someone just like those named above. Handling business, navigating unscrupulous music biz landmines and protecting the art (and the artist) from themselves.

Sharon Osbourne once said the only reason Ozzy’s still here is because she was too damn stubborn to let him self destruct.

Shannon and Judy et al? Same energy. Same grit. Same results. And if you’re a fan of this music, you owe them more thanks than you probably realize.