After a year of soul-searching, country star Billy Dean regroups

Friday, April 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

It's not what Billy Dean does anymore, it's how he does it.

After years of submersing himself in his singing career -- and finally having it pay off -- something wasn't right.

In the early '90s, Dean's first two albums went gold and produced three No. 1 hits, "Somewhere in My Broken Heart," "Billy the Kid" and "If There Hadn't Been You." On top of that, the industry piled on the awards: Song of the Year, Top New Male Vocalist, a Grammy nomination for Best Male Country Performance.

Still, "It came to a point last year when I wasn't having fun anymore," the Florida native says. "I didn't have balance in my life. I had been working so hard that my vocal cords were in bad shape, and I knew I needed to give my voice a long-term rest."

After a year of rest and reprioritizing -- putting woman and children first -- he emerged from his self-made pressure cooker with his life and music under control.

And he had the perfect song for the occasion: "It's What I Do," about a career-obsessed man who measured his worth by his business success alone -- until he finds a reason to put his work into perspective.

"This song captures everything that I've felt and thought during my time off," says Dean, who will perform at Boulder Station's Railhead saloon at 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday. "I knew that my family mattered most, but I was also trying to decide where my career fit in. ... This ended up being more than a song, it's a statement."

As well as the title of his comeback album, which has featured the Top 40 hits "I Wouldn't Be a Man," "That Girl's Been Spyin' on Me" and the title song.

He also recently recorded duets with Linda Davis and "Wings" actress/budding country songstress Crystal Bernard.

Tickets for Dean's show are $15 and available at the hotel's front desk or TicketMaster, 474-4000.