Former Lonestar frontman Richie McDonald caused a stir when he left the band. His former bandmates vented in the media, sharing their frustration that McDonald had insisted they move in the direction of domestic songs like “My Front Porch Looking In” and “Mr. Mom.”
To be fair, those songs were huge hits, and there's always been a place for such records in country music, as Donna Fargo and Barbara Fairchild could easily attest.
“Six-Foot Teddy Bear” continues in the same vein as those Lonestar hits. It's the tale of a man who leads with his chest at work, a Harley-driving tough guy who turns into a mush once he gets home. He wonders what the guys at work would think of him if they knew that he let his little girls outfit him in Mickey Mouse ears and paint his toenails red.
McDonald's performance is a mixed bag. He's never fully convincing as the tough guy, but he's fully believable as the family man who puts his children's enjoyment before his own dignity. It's a pretty realistic portrait of modern day fatherhood, and his joy in playing the role is palpable.
The end result is a fun record overflowing with sincerity. Good stuff.
Grade: B
I thought it was BNA that was pushing Lonestar to do all the domestic songs. Wasn’t that one of the gripes they had when they left the label — that the songs the group wanted to release as singles were never the ones the label ended up going with?
I read the same interview that Kevin’s referring to. The other Lonestar members said that it was McDonald who pushed them to record the family themed songs, even though they didn’t want to. Even their producer advised them not to release “Mr. Mom”, but Richie insisted. From what I read and I’ll have to back and find on CMT.com, that’s why the group thinks they lost their record deal.
I agree with the review. I personally find the song nauseating and never want to hear it again, but there’s a place for songs like this and this one does its job fine.
As not a Lonestar fan, I can’t get into this song, since it pretty much just sounds like a Lonestar song, which just shows how much McDonald controlled the group at the end.
I posted a much less complimentary review of this song earlier this week. I see where there might be a place for it, but it just sounds so dated. My main problem with it was accepting Richie as the chest-out, tattoed type. Just way too much of a stretch for me to remotely enjoy the song. I actually enjoyed some of Lonestar’s early work.