TOMMY RICE Interview for Museboat Live channel

After losing his wife to brain cancer Tommy Rice was told from his grief recovery class to write a short story which became a song. With no experience whatsoever he now has 102 recorded songs. His first song was promoted for radio play in September of 2021. He was nominated for breakthrough artist of the year in 2021, 2022 and he won country new group of the year award then Inspirational song of the year award, had two number one songs, and in the museboat annual gala I was number 6 in top 25 out of over 30000 radio played songs in 2022. His songs are about true love. He lived every day thanking God for sending his wife to him and blessing me with this great adventure in music he is living now. TOMMY RICE´s music was and is played by many Radio Stations including Museboat Live and we are happy to have the privilege to ask Tommy a few questions.

Taunjua: Hi Tommy and welcome to Museboat Live channel !

TOMMY RICE: Hi! Thank you all so much for allowing me to be a part of your channel!

Taunjua: Tell us about your wife and what made your marriage so strong?

TOMMY RICE: We became best friends. You didn’t see one of us without the other nearby. We married a year later and quickly became one. I have never met anyone like her before. Our love grew so strong so fast. We sometimes knew what the other was thinking. We would laugh knowing how dangerous this could be. She was my cheerleader and I was hers.

We never fused or fought. When issues in life arose we would hold hands and pray knowing God would show us how to handle any issue we faced. When she was given 3 months to live our lives were turned upside down. But as always, we would pray with God directing us to fight with all our might and that we did. Our love became stronger with each chemo and radiation treatment. Toward the end she was in a coma. I begged God to take me and leave her behind healthy. This is real love; the biggest sacrifice. I loved her more than myself. This is what made our marriage so strong. We both loved Jesus with all our heart, mind and soul.



Taunjua: How did you get to songwriting and what is your creative process?

TOMMY RICE: After Deborah passed, I started going to a grief recovery class. In this class, they told us to write a short story of our battles to keep our mates alive. When I read mine to the class, tears were flowing. One of my classmates told me to make a song out of it. I have never written a story or song in my life. The next morning I did the best I could. I went on the internet and randomly picked out a studio in Nashville and sent my very first song to them. I did not expect very much. I received what I now know as a MP3. Upon listening I was humbly shocked.

A little over a week later, song after song after song started coming to my mind. I was taken with surprise. I went upstairs to my office, with my golden retriever sleeping on my foot, and on wordpad and the title lyrics starting coming to my head. Hours went by as if I was in an out of body experience, knowing exactly how it felt after almost dying in a near fatal auto accident 20 years ago. A little over 2 years later and over 200 songs later, they are still coming to my head. This is a true life story that is my creative process.

Taunjua: What are your plans for the future? Especially the short-term ones?



TOMMY RICE: God willing, my short term plan is to get my songs in the hands of popular artists. I’d like to find singers like Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, etc…. I could go on and on with all the outstanding singers in country Christian music available today. I would like for them to take my music to the next level.

My long term plan once my music starts being played on the radio by these singers, is to keep writing songs for them and possibly for movies. I loved writing my first book, Miss Her More Today Than Yesterday. God willing, I would like to write another book. I have a great idea now for my next one.




Taunjua: What song that you have written, have you found the hardest to write?

TOMMY RICE: My song titled, Prayer for My Boys, was the hardest song I have ever written. My Mom left a note in her Bible for me and my brother telling of her love for us and how proud she was to be our Mom. I took the note and made a song out of it.

The lyrics tell of life in small town Alabama, with not having much money to spend, trying with all we had to pay our bills. We were very poor, but Mamma told us all one day all this will change, and that gave us courage to fight to make it happen. I went over and over this song many, many times trying to make it as perfect as I could, praying God would let her listen to it from Heaven above.




Taunjua: Most of your songs are slow-beat ones. Can you imagine the composition of the song in another genre?

TOMMY RICE: Most country Christian songs are slow beat ones, giving listeners time to fully hear the lyrics and let them sink into their minds. My songs are written with full intention to spread God’s love to many in lyrics and the real love my wife and I shared together, expressing in lyrics how that can be obtained. My song on the radio now, So Much Love to Give, is a pop Christian song. It is more upbeat and is doing very well. It lets listeners know things can change over night and to love every day like it is your last. As in my case when the greatest love I have ever known went to her Heavenly home.




Taunjua: We also know that you wrote a book. Can you tell us more about it?

TOMMY RICE: Yes! My first book is titled Miss Her More Today Than Yesterday. There are no truer words that have ever been spoken, and it all came about when my ENT attorney asked me if I could write a book to match the song. I was shocked, but suddenly I responded with a yes, not knowing where that answer came from. So I did what Deborah always taught me to do….Pray about it, and ask for God’s direction just like I do before I write any song. So I did.

The first day a pattern started happening. I would write until the words stopped coming to my head. I would rest, do work that needed to be done, and got a good night of sleep. When morning came, I had breakfast, prayed and roughly 4 hours later words stopped coming so I did the same thing every day. A month later the book was written, giving God the glory.

When you snooze you lose!

TOMMY RICE