WEBVTT - ITS Home Edition: Craig Morgan 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:05.560 Welcome to Inside the Studio presented by I Heart Radio. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:18.800 I'm your host Joe Leave. When Craig Morgan, the guest 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:21.080 on this episode of the home edition of the show, 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:24.440 says he wants to make music that lets people know 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:28.400 there's sun in the future, he's not really talking about 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:32.720 the weather, or at least not the weather outside our heads. 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:36.120 You know, we started the home edition of Inside the 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:39.600 Studio to let you know how the pandemic has impacted 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:42.559 the lives of artists, how it's affecting the way they 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:46.600 make music. But Craig Morgan has a bigger story to tell. 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:51.239 He talked with our Quarantine correspondent Jordan Runtog about wondering 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:53.479 if he could even get up on stage and perform 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:57.520 music anymore after suffering a personal tragedy four years ago. 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:00.320 He thought about re enlisting in the arm me or 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:05.400 becoming a policeman. Instead, he's stuck with writing and singing 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:09.840 songs and concentrated on positive music that he really felt 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:15.200 people needed to hear right now. It's a moving conversation 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:18.240 and if you enjoy this episode, be sure to check 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:21.959 out the I Heart Radio podcast that Jordan's hosts. It's 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:26.760 called Rivals Music's greatest Feuds, and it's available wherever you 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:34.840 get your podcasts. Hello everybody, my name is Jordan run Tug, 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:37.320 but enough about me. My guest today. Served in the 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:40.679 SWO and First Airborne Divisions before making his mark on 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:43.240 the country music world. So it's early two thousand's. He 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:45.320 scored hits like That's what I Love About Sunday and 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:49.000 Redneck Yacht Club. In May, he released God Family Country, 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:51.320 his first album of new material since the death of 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:55.000 his son. He addresses the loss on the standout track 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:57.480 The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost, which is 0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:00.160 top download charts and inspired faith in an untold old 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:03.280 number of listeners. I'm happy to welcome Craig Morgan. Thank 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:06.720 you you hear the rain in the background. Oh, I 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:09.280 bet you the plants needed out there? Is it hot? Yes, 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:11.920 it is hot, so it's uh much needed rain. So 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:13.600 I wanted to check on you. First of all, I 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:15.160 saw you had a bit of an accident recently with 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:18.280 a machete. How are you doing. I'm good, it's healed up. 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:21.560 I've already started running again. I'm a big runner and biker. So, uh, 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:24.000 that was the worst part of that. Knowing that I 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:25.960 wasn't gonna be able to ride my bike or run 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:28.680 for a few weeks. Uh, but I'm I'm I'm fine. 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:31.480 I'm healed up and uh running and getting back in shape. 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:34.560 I'm actually headed back to Alaska, uh here pretty quick 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:36.560 to go back up there again for a couple more weeks. 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:39.200 Oh well, what were you doing up there? I have 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:42.280 a property, a place up there, cabin off grid. It's 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:46.360 about about three and a half hours from Anchorage, about 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:50.400 forty five minutes from the nearest town, about nine miles 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:54.320 from the nearest road. That's some training for the Idea Ride. 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:58.760 That sounds amazing. Uh, training for the Iron Dogs, similar 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:00.920 to the Idea Rod, but they do it on snow machine. 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:03.200 So so we get out there as much as we can, 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:05.120 and and mainly just to go up there and enjoy 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:07.040 our place in the piece. I mean, why not, it's 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.160 the best time for it. Oh my gosh, I I 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:11.560 have so many things to ask you, first and foremost, God, 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:14.640 family and country. Your first album in a number of years. 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:17.200 What's the story you wanted to tell on this album? 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:18.840 I don't know, if I really I gotta be honest, 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:20.880 I don't know if there was a story I just 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:24.240 try to record great music right and sing songs that 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:26.520 I think people want to hear. I will say in 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:28.480 this case, I felt like all of this music with 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:31.000 stuff that we need to hear. Uh. These are very 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:35.960 uh upsetting, troublesome, aggravating, angering times that we are dealing 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:40.080 with a lot brought on by the the introduction of COVID. 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:43.360 So I think it's important that we know that there 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:46.760 is sun in the future, there's light out there and 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:48.760 and I think these songs kind of portray that. Hence 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:50.920 the name God Family and Country. There is a song 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:53.000 on there called God Family and Country. It's an actually 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:55.360 an older song, but but I just wanted to have 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.160 some positive music, even though there might be some maybe 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:01.240 some dark undertones, like in on the song going Out 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:03.960 like This. You know, the music might lead you to 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:06.640 believe it's a little bit uh dark, but it's really 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:10.160 a positive song talking about making up and not giving up. 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:12.600 So there's a lot of that. And then of course 0:04:12.640 --> 0:04:15.040 we have the hits on there that we rerecorded, some 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:16.800 of the stuff that people are familiar with that I 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:19.240 felt like to have a have a positive message. I mean, 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:21.200 one of the standout tracks on the album is your 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.800 version of Gavin to Grass Soldier just incredible song. You 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:27.599 were in the armed forces for seventeen years. What is 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:30.040 it about Gavin song that really captures the spirit of 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:32.240 the men and women who serve well. I feel like 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:35.280 every line in that song is a stand a long 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:39.320 line that is descriptive of the moral character of a 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:42.320 service member. I mean, it's just so descriptive of the 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:46.240 way I feel that the military personnel are. I mean, 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:49.719 they have such a such a sense of gratitude for 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:51.880 the most part. Now I can't I can't speak on 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.880 behalf of every service member, but I can honestly speak 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:57.279 on every service member that I know, and I've met 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:59.719 a bunch, and they all tend to have this sense 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:03.880 of pride and humility which is really difficult to balance, 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:06.960 and they do it better than any other entity in 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:10.680 the in the world, I believe. And and again, that song, truly, 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:13.360 I feel like, represents the kind of people that service 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:15.320 members are, the people that are willing to put themselves 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:18.000 in harm's way. You know, I'll be the pain. I'll 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:20.640 take your pain. You know, I'll find I'll find the 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:22.680 things you need. Uh. And that's what they are, their 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:25.920 service people speaking of service people. Tell me about sipping 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:31.200 on the Simple life. Your co writers are to airborne rangers, Yeah, 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:34.560 just service people. You're right to everyone rangers the mike 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:36.480 and I wrote that with him in Washington, d C. 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:39.560 One night, after a few bottles of wine and literally 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:41.880 sipping on the simple life. You know, it's again another 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.479 positive song talking about even though these are difficult times, 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:49.240 I've been to places where the difficulties that we're experiencing 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:52.880 now are of no comparison to the difficulties we have 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:55.920 Christians being slaughtered all over the world as we speak, 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:58.760 the kind of stuff that they're experiencing. We truly have 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:01.720 a great life in this country, and I think it's 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:04.159 important that we appreciate it. And this song talks about 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:07.000 the simple life and how to enjoy it. How did 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.400 you first link up with Justin and Andrew? I mean, 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:11.400 it's it's so incredible. How did that all go down? 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:13.120 Did you start writing a song with him? After? What 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:16.119 was it a us O Gala? It wasn't us oh galla. 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:18.320 We were in Washington, d C. We finished it up 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:21.040 and and one of them actually approached me. Justin said, hey, 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:22.680 we want to write a song with you. We got 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:24.839 a great idea, and I kind of laughed and I said, well, 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:27.120 it don't work that way, but that's cool. I said, 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:29.440 I'm honored. I'm kind of honored, but you know, it 0:06:29.480 --> 0:06:31.280 really don't work that way. And he's, no, you gotta 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:33.320 write with us, and no, I don't. He goes, no, 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:36.919 you do. You're airborne where airborne? You know we gotta 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:38.760 you gotta write with us. And I'm like, now, so 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:41.000 does that happen often to you, Like people coming up 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:42.440 to you and being like, hey, we gotta write with you. 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:47.760 People say it, but generally not as insisted. I didn't 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.640 say forceful. I said it's insistent, but you know what 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:52.760 I thought about it. And we didn't have anything going 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:54.480 on the next day, we were leaving early to get 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:56.640 on a plane, so I thought I got nothing to lose. 0:06:56.920 --> 0:06:59.839 And they were their service members and we do share that, 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:02.080 and I thought, well, you know, I'm not going to 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:04.360 be an ass and not sit down with them. At 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:06.240 least want to enjoy their company. And we did. We 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:08.919 had a blast. I wouldn't say we've become like super 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:10.840 tight friends or nothing, but we stay in touch. I've 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.040 done a few things with Justin since doing some more 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:16.440 things with him and for the military where he's involved. Uh, 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:18.920 and Andrew, if he weren't in Germany, we're probably doing 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:21.000 more with him right now. So I look forward to 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:22.600 when he gets home and we get to spend more 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:25.480 time together. I've made friends because of that song. Oh 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:27.760 that's awesome, and yeah, that's quite a reason to get 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:31.040 into music making friends. Yeah. Justin says that they had 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:33.960 the majority of it written, but as I recall, they 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:36.320 didn't even have a really good idea. Mike and I 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:39.160 sit down and really helped him out. That's the case. 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.640 He watches, say we cut that part out now, I 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:45.400 leave it there. I pick on him all the time. Oh, 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:49.280 incredible series of songs in there, of course stand out 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:50.920 for me one of my favorites. And I know other 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:52.640 people have said this too, and I understand if it's 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:54.200 difficulty to talk about, but I wanted to ask you 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:56.880 about the Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost song 0:07:56.960 --> 0:07:59.040 written for your son, Jerry. How did that song come 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:01.040 to be? It sounds like it was divine intervention in 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:03.120 a way. It was in fact divine intervention. It was 0:08:03.160 --> 0:08:04.880 a god thing. I tell people that all the time. 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:08.200 I think I'm a decent writer, but I wouldn't consider 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:10.720 myself a Harley Allen or any of the great Dean 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:14.000 Dylan's or nothing. But this was very much the caliber 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.400 of that. I would say, even greater than anything, but 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:18.440 not because of me, but because of God. It was 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:20.800 a difficult song to write. It took me about four hours, 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:23.560 which in that in and of itself, is not normal. 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:26.000 It normally takes sometimes days to write a song of 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:29.680 that caliber. Again, I attribute that to God and his intervention. 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:32.559 I was just the vessel. I held the pen and 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:35.240 cried the tears and heard while He put those words 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:37.280 out there for me. And I quite honestly, when I 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:38.959 wrote it, I didn't think it would ever be something 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:41.120 that I would ever sing in public. But I also 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:44.160 appreciate that God did that, and it's important that I 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:47.959 do sing it because the response has been overwhelming, and 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:51.400 seeing it now hindsight, I now see why he did it. 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:54.960 Because this song has helped so many other people. I 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:56.560 wish I could tell you that it's helped me, but 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:58.560 it doesn't help me to sing this. In fact, it 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:00.719 hurts every time I sing it. But that's okay. That's 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:02.840 the cross that I must bear, and I do it 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:04.920 because I know that it does help other people, and 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:07.040 I think it's important that we do that as a society. 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.160 You know, in our human race, we've kind of gotten 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:11.240 away from that. We've kind of gotten away from caring 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:14.320 about other people and kind of thinking focusing more on 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.600 ourselves and how we feel. You know, you see it 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:19.680 on all the social media platforms. I don't like this. 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:22.240 I don't like that instead of thinking about how we're 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:24.720 impacting other people's lives. And I think it's important that 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.280 we do that, and this song does. That's incredible song. 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:29.559 As you said, it means so much to so many people. 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:31.280 Has there been anything that a fan has said to 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:33.960 you that's it's really stuck with you and and and 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:39.080 been particularly meaningful in sponsor the song, Oh gosh, numerous 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:41.839 numerous stories. The one thing that I noticed when people 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.480 would Facebook me, send me on Facebook message, or send 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.440 me on Instagram message or whatever, however I get these 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:50.760 messages through all of the platforms, they said that. I 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:53.200 love how most of them start out with I know 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:57.000 you will probably never read this, but and they tell 0:09:57.040 --> 0:09:59.240 me their story. And after reading a few of them, 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.600 I was adam about ensuring that people knew that I 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:06.600 do read every one of those. I read them everyone myself. 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:09.720 In fact, on a plane coming home from somewhere, I 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:11.480 was with my wife and I was reading them, and 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:13.679 my wife said, what's wrong? And I said, nothing wrong. 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:15.679 She said, you got tears running down your face. I 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:17.719 said nothing, and I sure enough did. I had been 0:10:17.760 --> 0:10:19.880 reading those and my wife said, why do you do that. 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:22.960 I said, because they told me they wanted to tell somebody, 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:25.120 and I think it's important that I hear it. Uh, 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:27.560 And they know that I read them. I might not respond. 0:10:27.840 --> 0:10:29.960 In fact, I don't respond to most of them, because 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.560 that entails a long conversation usually, and I just don't 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:36.680 have the heart, the hurt, the pain, it's a lot 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:38.960 more so. But I do read them all, and I 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:41.360 bear their pain and I share it. And that's something 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.400 that we don't like. Parents that have lost the child 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:45.480 say that, you know, we're part of a group of 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:47.000 people that we don't want to be a part of, 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:49.200 but we are so. But I do read them all, 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:52.400 and and there have been a lot of very impacting stories. 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:55.400 The one that has hung with me today still, and 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:57.439 it was early on in the life of the song. 0:10:57.679 --> 0:11:00.400 In fact, I think it was after the Kelly arcs 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:02.800 and airing, and that was like the second or third 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.559 time that it became the most downloaded song of all 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:08.160 genres on there. But a man said something. He said 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:09.880 he was taking his daughter's school and said, I've never 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.520 lost a child. I can't imagine what that pain must be. 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.160 Never heard of, you didn't know your music. Was listening 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:19.840 to the airing of Kelly Clarkson and I heard this 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:21.760 song and it made me pull over to the side 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.480 of the road and cry, thinking about my daughter, who 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:27.040 I had just dropped off at school. And I thought, man, 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.000 this song is impacting someone who can't even relate to 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:33.320 what the song was truly about. And and he told 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.719 me went on to say that he had gotten out 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:37.880 of church and gotten away from him, but he prayed 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:40.440 this song caused him to think that way. And I 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:43.079 think that's exactly why I did it. That's what God 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:45.760 wanted to happen, and it did happen, and if I don't, 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:49.360 And it's numerous stories like that, but that one really 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:52.199 stuck with me because it made me realize that it's 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:55.520 not about me. It's not about my hurt, my cross, 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:58.160 my pain, and maybe not even his it's what God 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:01.000 intended and to hear him say that, and how it 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.480 caused him to praying and he's thinking about that and 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:06.160 his daughter. And I mean, that's that's what music does, 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.080 and that's what we as entertainers and singers and songwriters, 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:11.480 that's what we really should be striving for, is to 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:14.240 have that kind of an impact and less about trying 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:16.800 to have a number one song on country radio, which 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:19.280 is important. I don't undervalue that at all, but I 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:22.280 think we should focus more on trying to do again, 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:38.360 do something good with what Earth Collins gives. Was there 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:40.720 ever a moment when you considered stepping back from music 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:42.480 and maybe not not doing it anymore in the midst 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:44.880 of all this, or did you always know music was 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:48.160 always that was gonna be your north star? Oh? I'm 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:53.160 still not sure really, No, no, no, I mean you know, 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:55.520 when I first left the military and started pursuing the music, 0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:57.440 there was about three or four years that I had 0:12:57.520 --> 0:12:59.600 songs that were hits on the radio. I mean almost 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.120 Home was a huge hit, And even then I was 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:04.440 unsure if this was what I was intended to do 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:06.719 or what I really thought I should be doing. So 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.680 to speak, it wasn't until about two thousand and eight, 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:11.360 when I was made a member of the Grand Old 0:13:11.360 --> 0:13:14.280 Lobry that I felt like, this is what I'm supposed 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:16.920 to do, and I've made my mark and I'm here 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:19.640 to stay. It's a pretty good sign being made a member, 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:24.560 but it took something so huge for someone like myself 0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:26.679 to accept it. I kept saying, you know, maybe I 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:28.599 should go back in the army, maybe I should be 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:31.160 a policeman, maybe I should do this. This isn't really 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.560 you know, I didn't. I wasn't sure. But then fast 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.880 forward to two thousand sixteen, when when our son died, 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:41.319 I really considered not going back at all. I didn't 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:43.200 know if I just didn't know if I had the 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:45.120 ability to do it. I didn't know if I could 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:48.040 get on stage and sing without being emotional. And I'm 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:50.000 a man's man, and I, you know, if all I'm 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.679 gonna end up fighting with somebody, you know, or whatever. 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:54.840 There's lots of thoughts that ran through my mind, and 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.160 I really was contemplating whether or not I should even 0:13:57.520 --> 0:14:00.800 get back. And after you know, taking some time off 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.400 and looking at it, I realized my son would want 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:06.080 me to do this. He loved me doing this, and 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:07.800 I knew that he would want me to do this, 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:10.960 especially if it meant by doing this, I'm able to 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:13.440 do more for other people. And that is the reality. 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:15.680 If I weren't doing this, we couldn't do the things 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.480 that we're doing in our in our life outside of 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:21.160 the music. Yeah, and as you said, your music itself 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.040 helped so many people. And I want to talk to 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.160 you about a song it didn't make the album, but 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:27.640 you shared it on social media recently, the Mask, which 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.440 you you dedicated to the frontline workers. And it's funny 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:32.560 the title seems like it was inspired by the pandemic, 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:35.120 but you had that one around for a while, right. Yeah, 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:38.160 we actually we actually wrote this song before the pandemic. 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:39.960 Had nothing to do with the physical mask you where 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:42.160 I was talking about the mass that we all put 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:44.960 on to sometimes get through our day. In particular, I 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:47.520 was particularly thinking about soldiers at the time, and law 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:50.560 enforcement officers and whoever, people that go out and put 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:53.400 themselves in harm's way or sometimes that to put on 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:55.360 a brave front. That was the mass that I was 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:58.200 referring to, and it did not make the album cut 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:00.440 for whatever reason. And I think a lot of that, 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:02.440 because when we're working on the album, I just felt 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:04.800 like it didn't kind of fit in, and I'm not 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.520 sure that I had it tweaked to the sweetness that 0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:09.440 it is now. I think there was a few things 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:12.080 that I did after the fact, after the album came out, 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:14.800 and I felt like this was a strong song, especially 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:17.200 in light of all that was going on with our 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:21.440 frontline warriors out there are doctors, nurses, e m t s, 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:24.160 and law enforcement, of all these people out there who 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:28.440 were taking a chance on getting this virus but still 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:30.680 doing their jobs. And so then we have not only 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.440 the invisible mask that they put on, but the actual 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:36.280 physical mask that they were wearing. And so we released 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:38.480 it out as an individual single for people, with a 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:40.640 portion of the proceeds going to help our frontline people. 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:44.360 Great track, and your album also revisits five songs from 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.560 earlier in your career. Um, what was it like revisiting 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:50.040 some of those? Had the meetings changed for songs like 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:51.720 you know, that's what about Sunday? Or a Lot of 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:54.240 Man and that Little Boy? Oh yeah, for sure, a 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:55.760 Lot of Man. That Little Boy was a song that 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:57.760 I had not even listened to or thought about. For 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:00.920 a long time and now that song as as as 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:03.960 compounded emotionally for me based on everything that's happened in 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:05.880 my life. And that little man that I wrote that 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.720 song about has grown up. That was my firstborn son, 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:12.480 who is now right, yeah, so he's a lot older, 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:14.960 he's a grown young man. So it really allowed me 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:17.840 to reminisce about that time in our life. That song 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:20.040 did for me, And it's a great song. I thought, 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:22.800 it's I just really loved what that song said, and 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.360 it's a positive message, and I think we need to 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:28.760 be teaching our children these same messages today and for 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.840 me upcoming grandchildren, you know, we need to be instilling. 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.120 And because I had a dear friend, you know, you say, 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:38.000 we're not raising boys, we're training future young men. And 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:40.600 same with our daughters. You know, we're not training daughters. 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:43.720 Were raising future young women. This is the future of 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:46.040 our world. So we need to be teaching them the 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:49.720 right things, great ethics and kindness and love and those 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:51.680 things that we should be doing. But anyway, so that's 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:53.120 what that song kind of was for me. That's what 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:55.720 I love about. Sonny was such a huge hit, still 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:58.400 a big hit, still played a lot, and that song 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.320 still holds everything that it held for me the day 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.160 that we recorded. It still holds true for me today. 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:06.120 I still get the same images in my mind. That's 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:07.720 good to hear. What was it? Was it hard to 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:09.800 choose what songs you were gonna revisit for this? I mean, 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:11.879 you've got so many? Is it hard to pick the five? 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:15.600 It was? Uh? And I will say that process involved 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:19.200 more than just myself. We collectively, between myself management label, 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:22.080 everybody kind of pitched in there two cents worth, and 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:25.000 the songs that received the most attention were the songs 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:27.879 that ended up getting recorded done by committee. That's a 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.199 good way to do it. Lots of people's inut I 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:32.479 see you you're in lockdown now. I'm glad to hear 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:34.320 you've been. You've been going up to Alaska bit. But 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:37.000 I see people reacting the lockdown in so many different ways. 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:39.560 You've got some people who are are doing every home 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:41.920 improvement thing they possibly can and are bacon bread and 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:44.679 they're teaching themselves to make all sorts of stuff. And 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:46.440 then you've got the people that are just really having 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:49.080 a hard time getting motivated and feeling really kind of like, 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:51.720 oh I got another day. How have you been feeling. 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.040 You've been feeling really productive or the other the other way? 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:57.560 You covered both. I cover the gamut. They're literally days 0:17:57.600 --> 0:18:00.119 I wake up and go I just don't want sh 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:02.040 It's got to be over soon. I don't want to 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:05.159 do nothing. I'm gonna light here. I'm not a video gamer, 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:07.280 but like I might put a game on and play 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:09.480 for like four hours and just numb my brain to 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:11.919 nothing mush, you know. But then the next day I 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:13.960 go out and I'll be able to set up stairs 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:18.159 and I go bushog. I spent yesterday. I was on 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:23.200 a tractor pulling a bushog cutting brush for nine hours. 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:26.200 That's all I did for nine hours. I burned from 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:28.639 the sun. How are you awake right now? Yeah? So 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:31.560 I cover the gamut so I can relate to what 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:34.440 anyone out there might be going through. I'm very fortunate. 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:36.360 We have a lot of property, so I can get 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.960