Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis' Family Harmony

8/30/2007 “Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis could portray the everyday American married couple — if the average family had four children under age 6.” So says writer John Goodspeed of the San Antonio Express-News. Of course, as of today he could add “… and one of them has written a CMA-nominated single.” But the recent article on the couple does offer these insights into the family life of these two working musicians: “They rifle the fridge for snacks for hungry mouths … They worry the oldest is playing too much on his Game Boy … They complain about the high cost of soccer classes … They look forward to precious time together after putting the brood to bed.” The story reveals that during a difficult time before getting married 10 years ago, Bruce wrote “Wrapped,” about a love that burns beyond rejection. The song went to No. 1 for George Strait in July, is nominated for CMA Single of the Year, and is also featured on George’s nominated album, It Just Comes Natural. “It's like it's wonderful that my parents got divorced and I wrote ‘Angry All the Time’ (a No. 1 hit for Tim McGraw) and we broke up and I wrote ‘Wrapped.’ And wonderful for the Vietnam War and I got 'Travelin' Soldier' (the Dixie Chicks' No. 1 song),” Bruce notes sarcastically. “Thank goodness for all that horrible misery,” adds wife Kelly with a laugh. Although the two only perform special holiday shows together, they do work closely when it comes to their children - Dodie, 6; twins Abby and Ben, 4; and Joseph, 19 months. “When we're together,” says Kelly, “we just take care of the kids [and] try to keep the house clean.” Music is a big part of play time at their home in the historic Hyde Park neighborhood north of Austin’s University of Texas. Family game time includes freeze dancing - playing guitar and singing, with the kids having to stop with the music. “Abby writes songs all the time with her twin brother,” Kelly says. “Ben was saying today, I've got some bad news and some good news, Mommy.  “The bad news is I lost a game on my Game Boy. But the good news is I wrote this song you haven't heard yet.” “I used to listen to pop music and hate it,” says Bruce. “Then we were at the beach and my daughter and another girl were dancing to Fergie and Gwen Stefani. Now when I hear it on the radio, I go oh - there's that song the girls were dancing to. Now I'm open to different kinds of music and it's like this stuff is brand new. ‘Knock Three Times’ came on the radio and we've been singing it for three days.” “Our kids love it,” adds Kelly.  “They think Tony Orlando and Dawn are the coolest thing they ever heard,” says Bruce.