#295 – Craig Morgan on from Going to The Military to Country Artist + His Friendship with Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani + Living In A Remote Part of Alaska - Bobbycast

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to episode. To Craig Morgan, it's just a fantastic interview.
He talks about going to the military, talks about being
a country artist, his friendship with Blake, It's friendship with Gwen,
living in a remote part of Alaska. It's just fantastic.
So I do want to get to that pretty quick.
But the top five releases this week in my mind,
let's do this. At number five, cold Play has a

(00:23):
new song out called Higher Power. Listen. I love cold Play.
Here's the clip of that song. But You've gotten higher?
Got to sing in every second? Don't sing everyhow got
At number four, Miranda Lambert has released her album The

(00:44):
Marfa Tapes. Here's a new song called Waxa Hatchie. Is
that your hometown? That is my hometown? Yeah, so walk
is out of wax I said it wrong. How does
it feel to have a song about your hometown? I
love it? Dang, how can be there? What is there

(01:08):
to do in Walsa Hatchie? Nothing? Basically what she says
in the song go buy a thirty five? It's it. Well,
why do they make us write a song about it?
I don't know. It's a funny, funny name of a town.
Funny name. It's if you're coming from Dallas, you go
right through it. But other than that, there's not much
to do there. And that's crazy that you're twing. Got
a song at number three, The Black Keys have a
new song They're back. It's called Going Down South Song.

(01:56):
And number two Brandon Ray has a new song out
called hold On Here you Go, hold On Still a
little bit longer, hold On you gotta be stronger, hold
On You're not hold On It's gonna get better. And

(02:17):
the number one Weezer has a new album called Band Wheezer.
It's their fifteenth album, and, as its title implies, band
Weezer is Weezer's take on hard rock, drawn from Van
Halen Ozzie Aerosmith. Here's a new song called I Need
Some of That, I Need Some of It's just I

(02:42):
do love Weezer so much so that I went on
a podcast recently as Weezer Expert. Really, what did you
talk about Weezer and my love of them and why
and the difference between the Blue Album and Pinkerton and
why people don't like Pinkerton and which is your favorite?
The Blue album? But I liked what Pinkerton anyway, just
because everybody hated it when it came out, and I
was like, you guys are stupid. I love Weezer and

(03:03):
I really didn't like it as much, but I said
I did. But now I like it even more, I
think because it's different than the Blue So but anyway,
we talked about that. Yeah, let's see albums out. Kenny
Chesney's got a deluxe edition of Here and now Mighty
Mighty boss Tones have one. Van Morrison has latest record
project Volume one. We were in their names ran out,

(03:26):
bb Rex has Better Mistakes, Stained has Live. It's been
a while, get it there as once it's been uh
tickets to Bobby Fester on sell. Now we're doing one
day festivals in two different cities, Whitewater Amphitheater, New Brombls, Texas,
which is between San Antonio and Austin, and then Wave
and which Tack Kansas. It will be us, the Raging Idiots,

(03:50):
Russell Dickerson's gonna play God, Maddie and Tay. It's gonna
be a big fun event for all day family. If
you want tickets, ticketmaster dot Com get tickets there. Ever,
Clearer is hitting the road with Living Color, Hubba Stank
and wedis love ever clire so ourt Alex's play recently
by himself songwriter show his voice is just not there.

(04:12):
I've seen him too recently. He just wasn't there. Thankfully,
thank Yeah, it was really cool. Thankful the crowd knew
the songs. We'd sing them loud enough to help him.
But I would still go to this. It sounds fun.
Hooba Stank has the reason which is this song? Yeah,
crawling in the dark. Um we just had I'm just

(04:32):
a teenage Yeah. Do you have anything from Living Color?
I do cult the personality, I know that, but I
didn't know that. I mean i'd probably skip out. I'd
skip out in the Living Color part. There you go,
let's see. I think that's it. Thank you all. I

(04:56):
hope you enjoyed this interview with Craig Morrigan. It was fantastic.
If if you don't mind, go rate this thing all
the stars five five stars please. It helps us so much.
You rate at five stars and you write some feedback.
It really does boost us up the charts, and we're grateful.
Thank you. Enjoy I walked out of my house and
there was like a massive army jeep out there. If

(05:19):
I were to see you drive up beside me and
that thing, I would I would be scared because it
looks like that, like about four guys. A better start
peeling out of the back to fix a problem. That
that's a jeep you drive somewhere when it's something to
fix a problem, or unless you're sitting in a ditch,
then you're happy to see me and pull I would
agree with unless you have the problem. It's getting fixed.
If you're the problem getting fixed, it's a great vehicle

(05:40):
to see. If you're the problem, you don't want to
see that truck and those guys. Is that a truck
that you did special stuff too? Or would you buy
it like that? We do a few special things. Man,
it's awesome. Like I was jealous. I saw it, and
I don't think I could pull off like a big man,
even when you pulled up, even you pulled up to
the gate. Here, Mike, you know, the camera looks out

(06:00):
and I was looking over some notes for this here
and it goes. I got a little note and I
hit it and it's Craig. But you don't see him
because it's so tall. You literally just see a black door.
It's like Bobby, I guess so you are. Okay, let
me let you know whatever. My wife can't hardly stand it, though,
she says, actually she calls it the wobbly shopping cart.

(06:24):
I was like, a wobble I think it drives like
a Cadillac, but but I've driven wobbly shopping carts, so yeah,
you know. I was coming over here a minute ago
and I told Caitlin, who you met my fiance. I
was like, hey, I'm going over to see ye like
we're both more than Bobby. Yeah, I said, um let
going over to see Craig. And she goes, hey, check
with him and see if that shirt he told me

(06:45):
about was real. And I was like which one. She
goes the one that said I'm the guy that had
all these songs? In fact, yes, she said, if he's
still making those, can you get me one? Oh, we
can definitely gets. But I told us that I think
he was joking. No, I really did a shirt that way.
You have a shirt that says, well, on the on
the front, it's got my picture I think is that
my picture on it's got a silhouette? I mean on

(07:05):
the back it has a list of all the hits,
well not all of but this was early on, but
there's like ten hit songs and it says the guy
Craig Morgan, the guy who sings, and it lists the
songs she was because at that point in my career,
you know, a lot of people know the music, but
they still didn't really know who Craig Morgan was. So well,
was it, by the way, one of those shirts. I

(07:26):
want two of those shirts for me. I want for
her because we're both massive fans, and she, as much
as I like you, she may be a bigger fan
I was. I'm definitely gonna get you a shirt if
if you don't have to send one assuming that someone
wants something, because then it's to me, and then it
seems a little arrogant. Hey, I got you both of

(07:47):
you guys who have one. The how I found out,
I told you this story. But we were I think
we're in Arkansas. We were staying at the cabin over
that we have. We're there, like deep in the woods,
and we were listening to the conversation that I'm on
there and that's what I about. Sundays comes on and
she's singing it and I look over and she's still
singing it, and I look over and I'm like, you
know every word? She goes, oh, I know everywhere all
versus all that. And I was like, I said, you

(08:08):
know every word? She goes, yeah, everywhere. So I hit
record on my phone and say you her singing the
whole song? And I was like, do you like Craig Morgan?
And she goes, this is my favorite songs ever. I remember.
I remember when you said that, I think I may
have been an Alaska. You were an Alaska. Yeah. And
then because you followed up with a future you and
some huge animal in the snow, that was your response back.
You're like, and here I am with a big dead animal.

(08:31):
What was it for you that actually started having people
pay attention to who Craig Morgan the artist? Wash It
had to be, man, it was like four or five
hits into it. Um. I mean, you know, obviously Almost
Home got the attention of the industry, but it wasn't

(08:54):
like I could go after even Almost Home. Um, that's
what I love about Sunday read at Yacht Club. Almost Home, though,
if I remember correctly, wasn't a number one. No. It
was like it went to number three on the charts
on one five on another. But it was a song
that got a lot of attention. It was just a
real country song. It was very long at the time.

(09:16):
Everyone thought it was too long for country radio. It
came on the charts, fell off the charts, came back
on the charts, and that's rare. Yeah, it was real rare.
And they said and in fact they changed after that
happened with that song is when they changed the whole
chart process because of that song. Was the chart process.
You now that you can't come back on the chart.
Can't you lose your bullet. You can't come back even

(09:40):
if you regain if you have the potential to regain
the bullet. And that's that was kind of what changed that.
So um and we had Redneck Yacht Club. I mean
it was a number one, you know, so I had
these huge hit and I think it was the following
single after Redneck. I remember walking through the airport and
Nashville people were looking at me. Uh. And I had
done at this point, we've done videos for all these

(10:01):
songs as well, so you know, those were marketing tools
in the time, especially, but I was I had done
some TV stuff and I remember walking through the airport
and these people are looking at me, and I was
with my wife and I I mean after about the
fourth or fifth I literally looked down and I'm like,
what is everyone looking at? And my wife looked at me,

(10:23):
and she says, you're Craig Morgan, you idiot. Like That's
when it hit me. He's like, Wow. Do you think
it was people seeing you on something else and matching it,
matching the artist with the person they saw on TV?
Or do you think it was just so many hits
that you were just present enough for people to start
paying attention. I really don't know. I think it may

(10:44):
have been a combination of things. Uh. You know, I've
been very fortunate to have hits over the years, label
after label, um, but but I also managed to do
a lot of other things too. I'm always fascinated when
I do a show, especially now, you know, twenty almost
twenty years later, and go how many people see me
for the first time and all these people raise their hands.

(11:04):
I'm like, holy cow, man, I've been in this twenty years.
And and and then I'll talk to people and they go, yeah, man,
I've never heard of you, and I've seen you on
Risolian isles and I googled you or I seen you
on Nowadays now it's like, you know, I've seen you
on Facebook or I've seen you with something. It's always
weird they see me in a different um arena of

(11:26):
some sort and then they google me and they find out, oh, well,
I'm I like this song, I like country, this was
my What's really weird is when they find you and
they go, oh my gosh, Almost Home was my favorite song,
always has been. But they never knew that they get
didn't match it. Yeah, So it's taken a long time
for me, unlike a lot of people who it happens

(11:46):
right up front, you know, for me, it's taken a
long time to put it all together. Did you ever
have those meetings? I'm sure you had the meetings, but
I guess what were those meetings like early on because
I've had them too. Where they go, all right, we
need to front face you with what people are gonna
know about you the most, Like are you gonna be
the redneck guy, You're gonna be a military guy, You're
gonna be the dad like where they kind of go,
all right, who what are we shooting for here? Early on?

(12:07):
What were those meetings like for you? Uh? Do you
wear a hat. Uh, there was a lot of calcoy
hat ball cap you know. I I mean I got a
ball cap on now, but I don't always wear a cap.
In fact, I used to be the anti hat guy
because I wanted everyone to know that I had hair,
you know, and you still do. Yeah, and I still
do have hair, um and you know, but still to

(12:27):
this day, we still have those conversations. The management that
I'm with and have been with now for about six years. Uh.
That was the one thing I told them up front,
your job is gonna be very difficult because I'm not
one guy. This is not my whole life. My whole
life don't revolve around singing country music. I love singing

(12:47):
and writing music. I love it, and I love country
music with everything fiber that's in me. But I also
love riding dirt bikes. I also love being in the outdoors.
I also of working with law enforcement. These are things
that I do and I'm going to continue to do.
So I'm not gonna not do those things in order
to make your job easier. So that I am that

(13:09):
one guy. Uh. So they you know, it's it's tough.
It's tough for them, and I respect that. I understand it,
but I don't care. It's I'm not gonna stop being
who I am in order that I might become more famous,
you know what I mean. Did they ever try to
make you a hat act? Oh? Yeah, I got pictures
of me in the cowboy hat? Was that because they said, hey,
we think you should wear one, or you're like, you

(13:29):
know what, Sometimes I wear one? Uh? It was a
little bit of both. They asked me if I would
wear it, and I'm like, yeah, you don't do it
the house. Sometimes. It ain't really a cowboy hat because
I ain't no cowboy, but it's a western hat that
I use on the farm. If I'm on my tractor,
sometimes I'll wear it. Uh. And it's dirty and nasty,
But okay, well what if we got you a new one?

(13:52):
So I mean I tried. I did some of those
things early in my career. I wanted to do what
I needed to do, uh, and not just to be successful,
but but I wanted to I wanted to do the
right things, you know. And I didn't know. So I
trusted the opinions of all of these supposedly smart people.
And and I ain't gonna say that I I didn't
compromise any of my beliefs or values. I mean, it's

(14:13):
like putting on a different pair of genes, you know.
I mean, if you think those genes look better on me,
that's the ones I'm gonna wear. I can't see my ass,
So if you think my ass looks good and those,
that's the ones I wear. Yeah. And it's not like
you don't own the genes. Yeah, they just think those
genes are appropriate genes to wear for this in the
season of your life. Same with the hat, you know.
And and I don't like I see guys now that

(14:35):
you know that I've watched some of these acts that
have come up. You know, that's why I love some
of these guys that they just don't care. Man. I
love that because I was kind of that guy. I
didn't really care, but I did enough to to try
to do what they would ask me to do. You know,
instead of saying no, I wasn't a no, I'm this
guy and I'm not stray from you know, because I'm like,

(14:55):
I don't know who am I to tell these people
that have been in business for twenty years that that
I'm not wearing It's not good for me to wear
a hat in a photo. I don't have to wear
it all the time, And that's what they said, don't
wear it all the time, don't. You don't have to
wear these shoes all the time. You have to wear
this whatever. But we'd like you to try these things. Sure,
I'll try, you know. But some of these guys, now, man, whatever,

(15:16):
you know, I'm just gonna sing yea, you know, and
I love that, and that ends up kind of being
their thing, it really. I mean, Luke Holmes and his
Dan whatever them holy shoes are the Crocs. I hate Crocs, man,
I'll never have a Croc deal now that I've said that,
you know, I actually wear Crocs, but I don't wear
the rubbering ones. They make some really cool looking uh like, yeah,

(15:39):
I have Croc slides. Yeah. When you were a kid,
who was it that you listened to a lot that
made you go, dang, like music is actually cool. Not
I don't want to pursue music, but you're just like, damn,
I'd really like listening to this person. Uh well, I
mean I listened to a lot of different things, but
there there was a couple of in particular that really
influenced me that I heard him and I went, man,

(15:59):
I love this line. Ritchie always loved listening to Lina Richie,
Luther Van Dross, John Connley. I know there's a big spectrum,
they're a big change, but uh uh and then later
on like Garth, you know. But I also loved Randy Travis.
I loved. Uh. I like Jim ed Brown. I love

(16:19):
some of some of the Jim ed Brown stuff that
I heard my dad listening to. I enjoyed that. But
for me personally, it was James Taylor, Luther Van dross
Um and then in the country round John Connley, Lee Greenwood,
some of that Randy Travis. I just loved Randy Travis stuff.
You know. So it was a little bit of everything.

(16:41):
I loved music, but it had to be a song
that I that uh told a great story. Uh, I
don't know. I liked and and melodies were important to me.
I liked a good melody, um, but it had to
tell a story. I wasn't just a you know, you're
just like a a hook. I wasn't looking for a hook.

(17:01):
You want to catch a chorus, you need to catch Yeah,
But I didn't know. I mean, I was just a
guy listening to music. Did you ever have a chance
to meet Lionel I did. It was I was very
nice man. Yeah, I work with a now in American idol. Yeah,
I spent for you and he is lovelier than he
should have to be. Yeah, you know, I'm I got
so frustrated because I love Lina Richie and I only

(17:23):
met him in Passing in an award show and he
was very polite, very kind. Uh. But it's like I
I grew up listening and loving Lina Richie. Like for me,
music is impacting at different times in our life in
different people. Like I'm a big fan of Skip Youing.
A lot of people don't even know who Skip Youing is,
but I loved his music and it was important to
me because it came to me at the time of

(17:45):
life when I was in Panama in nineteen nine for
the outsting of Manuel Antonio Noriega. So after the war
was over, you know, we were riding around through this
battered up country and I'm listening to Skip Youing records.
So that music stuck with me because of what was
going on in my life. The same thing with Lina
Richie a little later on in my life, and I
sang liner reachings, why I'm e And you know, I

(18:09):
felt like I love to sing that kind of stuff,
and all of a sudden, everybody's freaking singing with line Richie.
But me, I like the skegee, Come on, this is
my thing. You know. Well, he he is a wonderful yes,
and it's pulled me aside and giving me advice privately
so many times that you're like, he's also a guy
that's been famous for so long he doesn't know what

(18:30):
it's like to not be famous anymore. Yeah, but still
just a wonderful guy. But I'll be frustrated to it
became to talent and he's like your guy, and then
he's like, I'm gonna do a song with my girl.
I'm gonna do a song with it. You know, um
what I get it. You know, I went at a
point in my career where you know that could should
or could happen. You know, you did maybe on our
show you did easy Yeah, I think you played that.

(18:53):
Could you sing that back? It just kind of hits me.
I think you can't play that on the radio show
one time. But I just love it. Man, all of
his stuff, I mean, there wasn't much that he did that,
I did like and he was he was really good
whether at delivering the material. Those songs were great. They
told stories and the melodies were phenomenal. So I remember.
It's funny you mentioned certain music that reminds you of

(19:15):
certain times. And I read this book once. It talks about,
you know, if we were at in a traumatic part
of life and there's a certain album or song that
we're hearing a lot, it triggers a chemical in the
brain just for a split second. It gives us that
feeling like we're in that spot. And when you mentioned that,

(19:36):
I think back to, like I read ho Chili Peppers
album more like getting kicked out of a trailer, but
we know we're getting we're basically getting evicted of a trailer.
But I remember listening to that album so much, that
Blood Sugar, Sex Magic album Chili Peppers that when you
said that, I was like, oh yeah, I mean right now,
I can think of Red Hot Chili Peppers. I can
think of moving in with my grandma in like sixth

(19:57):
grade when Don't Take the Girl was this was a
and I would turn like Kissing Night he said to
be on all the time. But like when I hear
that song. It triggers that spot again, like moving back
here with my grandma. Yeah, six years sixth grade. What
a wonderful thing. Huh yeah, not so wonderful sometimes, no,
but wonderful that music can do. Yes, it can. Because
I'll hear Accounting Crows album and think about being in
college when I was broke. But I was it was

(20:18):
the greatest time in my life because I was going
I have my whole feature ahead of me. I know
what I don't want to do. I'm gonna go tackle this,
but would go play Ken Good junior baseball and not
all night long with this Counting Crows album on. But
music has the ability to do that almost transcend us
in a way. Yeah, and you know being on this
side of it now, because I remember being on that side.
I remember being on the side of listening to music
and then in my life time would pass and hear

(20:40):
a song and go oh, and like you said, it
just instantly, I can vividly see everything that's going on
in that time that passed. Now I'm on the other side,
and it's super weird for me to have people come
up and talk about how songs that I have sang
take them to certain places and how it triggers them
and emotionally, you know. And for me, that's just fascinating,

(21:03):
and I'm always a little taken back by it and
a little dumbfounded by it. Like, you know, I'm not
that guy. I'm not the memory maker. I'm not the
you know, but I am. Yeah, I gotta imagine too.
That's what I love about Sunday does that with a
lot of people, because even with me, it makes me
think about Mountain Pine, Arkansas. Maybe the characters aren't exactly

(21:23):
the same, but you know, when you're from a small town, yeah,
the characters are kind of all the same because that's
just life in a rural part of America. Dude. I
sing that song, and I have sang it for many years,
but to this day, I can sing that song and
if I close my eyes, I can see my house, uh,
you know, with the swing on the front porch, kids
in the yard. I can see all of those things,

(21:46):
my mom next door, you know. I mean, there's things
in that song for me too, and I'm the guy
that's saying there. But that's those are rare. I gotta
be honest. I think those songs that are that impacting, uh,
they're just not That's not every song And that doesn't
mean that every song is that you know, that's the
number one isn't a great song, but but not every

(22:06):
number one does that, right, well, not every number one
is actually good and lasts more than you know, a
chart run. That's why when we talk about you know,
almost Home, a song that I just thinking, you're sending
that writer's room and you're all right, I'm a homeless guy.
I'm asleep, I'm dreaming about almost being back home, you know,
a guy in a bad situation. You wake me up.
It's like, oh God, I go like, how does that

(22:27):
concept even come up? And then it's fruition to get
recorded to be a single, Like there's so many steps
for that song, but it all starts with somebody in
the room going all right, like what what what happened
in that room with that song? Uh? Me and carry
Kurt Phillips, I was actually this song started. I was
on the road and uh we were doing a lot

(22:48):
of shows that year, and my wife had called me.
And this was early on, you know, early on in
my career. But we were doing so and and and
at this time, they weren't like big paying shows. But
we're doing a lot of radio stuff to promote not
just the music but Craig Morgan and let people know
who I am, because, by the way, it doesn't pay
at all. No, so we're literally doing visiting radio station

(23:09):
three sometimes three a day. Uh. And I was calling
her on the way home and she said, you know,
she was actually griping because I early on I thought
for some reason, I told her. She says, I told
her this. I don't recall it. She said, I told her, Look,
I promise you I won't do over ten days at
a time. I'll come home for a few days. I mean,
we had kids, you know, we had a life and everything.
And I guess I've been gone for more than ten days.

(23:29):
And she was complaining. I said, look, just relaxed, it
won't be long. I'm almost I'm like, oh, that's a
great idea. So I remember writing it down and thinking
about it, and I come back, had a writing session
with Carrie and I told carry the idea and we
started writing on it. And three months. It literally took
a long time because I was going in and out
of town so much. But every time I would come
in and we would write, we would write on it,

(23:50):
and I was coming. I was going over there one
day and I've seen an old guy on the side
of the road. Then they're holding up a sign, literally
was holding up a sign that uh, A lady was
holding up to sign for said pregnant it need food
something like that, and he had marked out pregnant need food.
And I told Carry and I said, I've seen this guy.
Would the sign And I said that guy was almost home,
and Carry said stop the boat and we finished that song.

(24:13):
It was it took that long and that actual thing
happening in the situation. Okay, so the song is written,
but now you gotta decide what you're gonna cut. So
here's the favorite thing about this song from me, for
of all the stories of any song I've written there
yet we've had. I was leaving the session and I

(24:34):
felt really good about this song and I'm just kind
of singing it to myself. When we did a work tape, uh,
and you know then I think it was a cassette.
And so I had the cassette tape and I had
a jeep, I had an O wrangler, and I was
playing it back and forth and going down the highway
and Phil o'donn'll Phil Billy called me and he goes, hey,
how did it go with Carrie? And I said, man,
we finished the song and he said, well, tell me

(24:54):
about it. So I read him the verse, read him,
didn't sing it to him. I read no reality spoken,
or the verse and the course. And he said, well,
how does it going? Does it? You know? I just
climbed out of a cotton woods tree. I was running
from some honeyy and I kind of sang a little
bit of the melony a little different than what I

(25:15):
ended up with. And he goes, hey, let's hear. He goes,
you know that forty acres that I have that you've
been wanting over in Hickman County. I said, yea. He said,
I'll give you that forty acres for half of your publishing.
I'm not making any of this up half of your
publishing period, of everything or that for that song, that song.
He said, I'll give you that forty acres for half
of the publishing on that song. And I said, Phil,

(25:38):
I can't do that to you, dude. There ain't no way, man.
Uh you know it's I just I can't do that
to you. It wouldn't be fair, thank God. So you know,
low and behold, we end up tracking it. I remember
taking it the label, and the label tells a completely
different story. They say that I came in and played
it for him, and they're like, oh, this is gonna

(25:58):
be a hit. That is not what happened. Revision his
history on their part. Yeah, So I go in, I
play it for him, and they're like, I don't know,
it's awful long, that it's extremely country. I will say,
in John Loebe's defense, the head of Broken Boat or
actually was head of a and rn't Broken Boath at
the time. He promotions, he was head of promotion. Just
you know, this is two thousand two two because this

(26:22):
was all three when it came out late oh two.
And he says, uh, man, I think I think we
can make this work. It's just just country and just
different enough that I think, you know, And he was
he was confident song. But others at the labor like,
it's too long, it's too country. You know, We've got
other things, other songs that we think will do better,

(26:43):
and blah blah blah. And I'm like, hey, look, you know,
I mean a Nanim's decision kind of guy, you know,
there's no way I'm gonna say this is it, and
everyone else says it ain't, so we have to collectively agree.
So we fought around about it, and finally John's with
not telling anyone. He took this song and he went
to Ooxville to w i v K hitting w V kid,

(27:04):
I don't know some one of the country stations out
in Knoxville, not the one I'm on, an I suppose
I'm not gonna come in so uh, but this is
a long time ago too, you know, and he literally, uh,
they wouldn't even see. So he sets up a tent
in the front yard of the radio station. He set

(27:25):
up a tent in the front yard. He camped out
there for three days. Well, he literally came there, literally
camped out. Three days later, they finally talked to him
and they played the song, and that was the beginning
of the history making of that song. He believed in
that song so much he camped out for three days
three days. So, like I said, I gotta give John

(27:46):
Lobo credit because he's the one that really fought for
that in the beginning. And then it just became it
just blew up, and I remember thinking, oh cool, we
gotta hit you know, what's the next song gonna be?
And that's kind of what I mean. It's terrible, but
it's kind of where my head was, you know, and
and it is, it's already work at this And then
it fell off the charts, or it didn't really fall
off the charts. It had an increase in spins, but
for some reason it lost its bullet and there was

(28:07):
a big discussion, you know about the chart about oh,
it's got to not come off, it's got to stay
on and all this stuff. And so I didn't really
pay much attention. I'm just like, I just let me
know where we're at, let me know what's going on,
what I need to do. You know, I'm here for
the job. Uh, anything I can do support it, that
kind of thing. And all of a sudden they tell me, hey,
it's got his bullet back, and um, it never lost spins,

(28:27):
but I don't know, something weird happened. I would imagine
a big deal. I would imagine that audience went down
because there are a couple of big stations that probably
played it less, but other stations played it more. So
spins went up and a bit of audience went down. Yes,
it was one of those, was one of those, and
back then it was there was a lot of questions
as to what, you know, how that managed to stay
on the charts. And because it's different, you know, songs

(28:48):
went on the charts and up and down. Back then,
they didn't stay like you know, all of a sudden
between that song and uh International Harvester, where a song
would be on the Church Art for you know, oh
my gosh, forty weeks. It was insane. You know, it
was terrible how long the song would stay on UM.
But it ended up, you know, going back up again,

(29:11):
and it just became this huge, huge hit which today
is probably still one of my biggest songs. When I
do a show, I'm I'm fascinated to look out to
the crowd and there's a kids singing every lyric to
the song that wasn't alive when that song was released. Yeah,
that song. That's what I love about Sunday. To me,
I see more than that song. But that song hits

(29:33):
me harder than than anything you've ever done, you know,
and they all have different It's funny. What's really funny too,
from what I've experienced, is it can be different regionally.
You know, International Harvester in the Midwest maybe one of
my biggest songs. It's crazy out there. I mean there's
people riding around with you know, my name on their

(29:53):
tractors and crap because they're so into that song, you know.
But of all the songs, the song that I personally
received the most response from through all that, and I
think a lot of that has to do with the
fact that we now have a social media platform that
we didn't have in two thousand two. You know, all
of the outlets that we now have, we didn't have them,

(30:14):
so we didn't have the opportunity to give utilize that
and to communicate that way. Uh and now we do.
But The Father and Son the Holy Ghost, I have
experienced more response, more stories than any song I've ever released.
It's just been amazing. I would imagine the more you
put yourself out there, the more people relate. And because

(30:37):
tragedy lead to that song and so you going. And
I learned a bit about this when I wrote my
first book, because I talked before my mom died in
a forties from you know, drug addiction and alcohol, and
I wrote on my first book a lot of struggle
before she died that I had, and I was very
vulnerable about my situation, her situation, in our situation, and
I thought, no one's going to relate to this. People

(31:00):
if I don't, people fel sorry for me. But I don't.
I don't want that. But what happened was people went hey,
like I felt that, Like I'm glad you said that
because I feel that, and it was that to me
was such an awakening. And I have to imagine with
you being extremely vulnerable with the song about something so
close to you that people had to go I felt like,
thank you, because I feel the same way about something

(31:21):
in my life, almost verbatim what you're saying. That's the
that's the verbiage they use. I feel exactly what you're
saying in my life, and I'm glad that you were
able to do that. It helps me in the same
way that you're talking about doing it with your book.
And that's that's difficult. It's really hard for any of
us as humans to be so vulnerable because it hurts,

(31:41):
and it hurts every time. It's scary. It is. It's
scary to be so vulnerable. But at the same time,
when you I know I can say this now having
done it in that situation and I'm not I'm not
doing it and everything that's happened in my life, but
I'm able to do it with that for whatever reason,

(32:01):
and I can say I feel like I did the
right thing it even though it hurts and the story's
hammer me, man, I mean it just it breaks my
heart to hear them sometimes. But but I know that
I know that, I know that, I know that it
was the right thing because it helped that person and
my pain, it's my whatever I may be dealing with

(32:24):
at that time when I'm reading it is what I'm
supposed to experience in order to help other people. I
think that's the way it is. You know, we're as
a human race. Sometimes we have to hurt to help others.
That's just the way it is, and we should do that.
We should be willing to do that. That's what I think.
That's the problem with our society now. Nobody is willing
to hurt to help. And it's okay, it's okay to

(32:45):
hurt to help a little bit. And when I say hurt,
be hungry, uh to help those who are more hungry
or you know, do a lot without something. And everybody
that's listing with probably, so it's easy for you to
say you know you've been you're successful, but you don't know.
I don't know where where are we hurt? And so
I don't question anyone else's hurt. You know the I
know billionaires, but I know they have pain, and I

(33:06):
know they hurt, and I know that they help others
through that sometimes. So you know, because I'm gonna asking
really dumb question in a second to make up for this,
but you know, I've seen you perform that song alive
a couple of times. And I know at times when
I'm speaking and I have to speak about my mom
or my grandmother or tragedy in my life, like every time,

(33:28):
I have to fight off the hurt. And sometimes I'm
good at it, and honestly, sometimes I'm not. Amen. And
so when you have to sing this song and it's
about your son that passed away, does it feel different
every time? Are you fighting it off every time? Or
is it does it like how just in your mind,
in your head, what what's happening? I have to fight

(33:50):
it every time, even now I'm discussing it. My chest hurt.
The same thing. Everyone has a t everybody that has
experienced some sort of tragedy, has that same I think
has that same feeling. Our feelings, our emotions, our reactions,
all those things are a little different. But that physical,
that literal physical feeling is I think kind of the
same for all us. It makes your chest hurt, Like

(34:12):
talking about it, my chest hurt, and you have to
breathe a little deeper, you know, to kind of calm
that heartache or whatever. Um. But I have to fight
all time. Sometimes I can't, I reckon. I've gotten to
the point now I can recognize that I know that
if I'm really tired, if I haven't rested well before show,
there's no way I'll be able to do it. And
so there's times I won't. I just don't do the

(34:32):
song because I know there's no way I'll finish it.
And and and my guys have they they know me
well enough now to know that there's no way he's
gonna do it. He's just not in the emotional and
not that I'm not in a good state. You know,
we all have the ability to overcome and adapt and improvise.
And I can throw a lot of military terms at you, um,
But for me, in that particularly, I don't have to.

(34:54):
So I'm not going to force myself to, uh, to
endure that when I know the the outcome is outcome
of it is. I don't think we'll accomplish anything for
anybody out there. Um, I gotta finish the song in
order for it to be what that person who's there
needs to hear. And if I can't, even if I
struggle at the end, I gotta get to the end anyway.

(35:16):
But there's times I recognize that I know I won't
make it to the end. I mean, dude, there's other
songs that have absolutely nothing to do with my son,
and I have to scratch him from the show. Sometimes
depending on my mental state, you know, my my where
my headspace is and how I'm thinking about it. There's
good days and bad days. Uh. And even on the
good days, it's you know, it can be a struggle. Um,
I just I have to find a good place, you know,

(35:37):
And and and and some days I just can't do
certain songs because I can't help but think about him
and or my wife, you know. And and I hurt
from my wife, I hurt from my kids. I hurt
from my dad. My dad and my son Jerry had
such a great relationship that it it impacted my dad,
you know, and it's made it it's really tough on him.
So I have to think about it sometimes when I

(35:58):
go see my dad and how I'm talking about and fishing.
That's what they did together. That was their thing, going fishing.
My wife and Jerry's thing was going to the beast.
They both loved the beast. You know. I have to
be real sensitive and we have a place on the beach.
Have to think about it when I'm there and how
I approached that, you know, and and sometimes just freaking
sitting back trying to think about what it is you
gotta say. And dude, can be struggle, a struggle, you

(36:20):
know what I mean. There's a lot like you know so,
but everybody else has to deal with something like that
as well. Uh, And I can't help when I talked
to somebody, I remember that that, Oh it's been all
over all the socials everybody talked about. You know, you
never know what someone else is going through at that
time in their life when you're there, and I try

(36:41):
to keep that in mind. Um, and I would hope
that as a human race, we all try to do
a better job at that as we moved forward in life. Well,
my really dumb question now is about a song. How
many people were like me and thought that you were
harvesting in other countries international Harvester not the actual brand you. Yeah,

(37:08):
I did, and I'm embarrassed to say it. And you
know what, we had, your honesty, there were a lot
of and it wasn't just obviously harvested internationals a brand
we had all around us growing. Never I was such
an it that I would be like, he's international, hard Like,
what other countries is he harvesting in? What am I
missing about this song? And I mean, you know I

(37:29):
have harvested in other countries. Well, I'm a different product,
hasn't Am I the only idiot that's ever said that
to you? I wouldn't say idiot, but I will heard that.
I would say that because I would hear I'm and
I'd be like, all right, but why are you going
to other countries? Crag like do you do your family prows?

(37:52):
But I did think that that's the truth. I'm making
your word, you own them. I'm being honest. I appreciate that. Um,
what other what? What other songs? Like I was talking
about international harvester. I gotta tell you something and this
is worth the Google for you. So there is a
guy in another country that apparently in this country they're

(38:14):
not allowed to do music videos or something, so they
kind of sneak around and and go to other places
and do videos. It is my favorite version of International Harvester.
Oh he's singing it, yes, yeah, him and his girl
and it is. The video is do this prices what country?

(38:35):
I don't know, but he says, I'm the son of
a third generation farm and they got the they got
the harvester, they got the corn fields. The girl in
the denim shorts and boots and tank top kind of Oh,
it's great you're talking. Definitely, I'll find it for you
in Texas. Get to see it. Yeah. Most things I
get from you are dead animals. I'll take. It's always like, hey,

(38:58):
look what I killed. It's a it's a nine headed platypus,
three horns coming out trying to get you to go.
Hunts attached to it. You know what I was the
song I was talking about in my show. I've never
heard it, but I was playing them corn star Oh please,
oh good? And that's what I said, i'mnna be honest

(39:19):
to I was like, you know what, I said, I'm
the biggest Craig fan as a person. And I said,
but the one song that he where did you why
did you do that? That he's ever put out? This
is a couple of days ago, right, I said, the
one song he's ever put out. But I was like,
I don't know, man, it's corn Star. And you know,
at the beginning, we're like, I look at her boys,
you know she's in the aisle of the store. Tell

(39:39):
me about corn Star because I need to know the
conversation about cutting and putting this song out. Okay, I'm
gonna be honest, I thought, and I still do this day.
I think that's a hit song. I don't think it's
not catchy. I think to me, it was a rid
solo cup kind of thing. Okay, just a catchy, goofy
fun but a play on words. Any time you can

(40:00):
do something, you can play on words like that and
and it and it worked, and I felt like that
word it was just a matter of timing. And I
told them I did say, they were like, this is
the next song, Like, no, we are not ready for
this yet. We need a much bigger hit on this
album before we released this as a single and I

(40:23):
and I still stand by that to this day. I
still think that it is a great, funny, fun play
on words. All of that is true. I compared it
to a song like Honkey Donk, but Donkey Donk because
without the big hits, I said, that song doesn't make
sense by itself. Yeah, you gotta have you gotta have

(40:43):
the train really on all engines running full speed for
that one to stay on the tracks. And it didn't.
The rest of the show. I didn't even hadn't even
heard of before, and I was like, what do you
mean it was? I had to be like top ten?
And then I look, it wasn't. Wasn't. I guess the
stations just don't want to play it because of the
uh yeah, they just do want to play it. It was.

(41:05):
It was a timing thing, you know. And and even
they said the same thing, you know, which I'm glad
because it made me look like a genius with the label,
Oh well, we should have listened to you. Maybe you'll
listen next time. You know that the song that I
have I always liked and sang along to it, but
I didn't quite understand. Until I, uh, I had met Caitlin,

(41:25):
who's my fiancee, was this old boy. I didn't ever
quite feel it in my gut until you actually have
and yep, and and and you know, and the songs
about you know what, this old boy. You can't believe
you have her. You know, she's the best. And finally,
because she loves to listen to your music. And sometimes
I'm like, we just change it from Craig Morgan for
a minute, but that song, I would hear it and

(41:49):
I would be like, yeah, I know all the words
of the song from on the radio, I said, But
now I kind of get it, Like I finally feel
like this old you know who gets you? This old
boy right here? You make me look good? Yeah. Yeah.
We were at a restaurant last night is True Food.
It's a little healthy place, um, a little chain about
six seven miles away. We were in there eating and

(42:12):
there was a couple and Caitlin's way prettier than I am,
even on a scale like points wise, I like, I don't,
it just isn't and so but people look at her
and then they look at me and they're confused. I
get that every time. And with mamie. Yeah, they're just
like and they go, there's something. There must be something
about him that we're not seeing because she's so pretty

(42:33):
and funny and smart. Everything I'm good at, she's actually
better at, which is weird, Like she's funnier than I am,
smarter than I am everything. But people look at me.
But but it's like that song. I'm like, yeah, but
you know who gets it? This guy right here like
that I won. Yeah, that's the way I feel most
of my life, and I get the same thing. People
looking they go, oh, that's a great woman. Oh look

(42:53):
at his wife. Oh I get it. Country singer. I
don't know married, she married the guy. I think. They
look at me and like, like U a surgeon. I mean,
it's such a nerd. It's gotta be something like that.
Play a little bit. Do you have this old boy
cute up there? My go shent. We go to the
river and get in the water, and buddy, she's hotter

(43:13):
than South Georgia and jew Lave and we're not whether
I can get another. I gotta kiss her and I
gotta hug your brother. She is mine. Oh my, that's
a you know the songwriter. The guys Georgia peach peach pickers,

(43:34):
that's who that wrote that. Really, Yeah, read I got
that from one yet so you got uh so, what's
up with the Craig Morgan Camo hats right on your website,
Craig Morgan. Yeah, have you seen the Craig Morgan Camo
hats you have up there? Twenty five bucks? I look good.
Oh yeah, I've just seen those. In fact, I'm flying
up the shelves. Yeah. They've done real well. It's not
it's just like a military and old military pattern or something. Yeah,

(43:57):
I saw that when it came over here. I don't
tell people they need to get one of these, you
know some of the you know, we have merchandise guys
and all these people again that are smarter than me,
and they just they come up with a bunch of
stuff and go to you like this. It's like, yeah,
that's cool, and they go, we think it of somemody,
let's try it. Sure. You know. COVID was ironically enough
was I hate to use say that it was good

(44:19):
for our merchandise sales, because you don't want to think
COVID was good for anything. But we did really well
during the pandemic I want to thank everyone that went
and bought stuff, the merchandise, um, but I was kind
of mind boggled by it, Like I can't believe. I
feel like nobody's working and everybody's buying merchandise and CDs

(44:42):
and stuff. So it's kind of weird maybe, but that's
the joy is getting a package. Like that's only joy
we were getting. People are leaving in her house, some
things had to come to us. We're like ordered something online.
Oh yeah, I should on stock at Amazon. My wife.
Did you stay in Alaska for a lot of the shutdown?
We did? Yeah? Why Alaska? I've been going up there

(45:05):
for about twenty five years for everything from and I
only ask because it's far because of any other I don't.
I don't like cold either, but some people do. But
it's far from it's it's far from Tennis, it's along
it's I mean, it's quite an endeavor just to get
up there, especially where I'm at. It's one thing to
go to Anchorage or Fairbanks, one of the major cities,
but I'm off the grid. So you know, you fly
into one of the cities and then you either drive

(45:27):
to a spot and then either walk in or float
plane in walk in. What do you mean, I mean
my my My place is about nine miles from the
nearest road, So you have to you would want, so
you drive for three hours, park your vehicle and then
I parked near a big lake and I can either

(45:48):
have the foat plane pick me up there and fly
over to our lake, or I can walk in. Or
in the winter we snow machine and you can walk
nine miles. You you will walk nine miles to your place.
Oh yeah, with a gun of course. But you're a
country stars. Why are you walking nine miles? Well, I
mean in the summertime. If if I can't get the
plane up the weather, inclement weather, and they can't fly. Uh,

(46:10):
there's not a landing strip there, you know, they have
to land on the water. Why even have place out
that far man? Because when you get there, Bobby, I
gotta tell you you got the experience that you need
to come up one. I always tell people to to
come in the winter because getting there and getting out
of there is so much easier. In the winter. I
can literally get from where I part my truck to
the cabin in about fifteen minutes on a snowmobile. So

(46:31):
and we have a property on the road as well,
So that's where I store everything. So you'll just leave
your truck on the road. Well, on our property there
near the road, and it's a gravel road, so it's
not improved. It's not uh, it's they do great during
the all the snow. Uh. They do kind of get
the snow off the road kinda um, and then we
park it on our property and we hop on our

(46:52):
snow machines and ride in. But when you get there, man,
or if you're not real keen on, try srying the
snow machine. And if somebody's worried about that, I just
have the plane pick them up an anchorage and land
on the skis on the lake, on the on the ice.
You know which sounds scarier walking down miles are getting
one of their plants with the things on. Walking is
a little freaky, I gotta say, especially at that time

(47:13):
of year, because you know that uh, you know the
moose are out, you know that bear are out. Anything
ever tracking you, the bear will uh. The greasy black
bears are kind of like cats. Uh. And this is
the my personal experience. Um, A black bear is a
lot like a cat. They're skittish and they'll run from you,

(47:35):
and they don't really come around the fires and stuff
too much. But if you corner them, or if it's
a sow with cubs, they get real ignorant quick. Or
if they're really hungry and you're between them and their food,
will you ever be their food? You could be? Yeah, yeah, easily.
That's why we we don't go in without a weapon.
What about the grizzlies though, Compare that to the black bear? Uh?

(47:57):
Different story. Yeah, yeah, there are a lot brave uh,
and they're very territorial, much more so than a black bear.
But honestly, the bear don't scare me as much as
a moose. A cow moose with the calf will fight you.
And and there's more people injured, harmed or killed by
moose up there than all the other animals combined. What
will the moose do and talk you to death? And

(48:18):
why will it do it? Because it's threatened to buy
you in any way, it's protecting its territory. It's calves.
If it's a female, she's protecting her calves. If it's
a bull moose and heat, he's protecting his territory. Uh,
to keep you away from his cows. Kind of thing
you ever had to kill an animal to save yourself. No,
thank god, I have allowed a uh, I have had

(48:43):
to allow. I harvested a a blacktail deer on the
island of Kodiak, and I did not get to go
get that because the bear got there before I did.
And we set for six hours and watch that sal
and her three calves eat, my dear, because if the
animal gets if the bear gets to the harvest before

(49:06):
you do, you can't do anything about it. It's there's
at that point. You can't shoot them, you can't scare
them off of it or anything like that. By all,
it becomes their food. And so she got there first
and she owned it. Now, if I'd got there there
before she did and then she came up, I could
have shot her and protect him myself. But I don't
really want to do that, you know, it's not that's

(49:26):
not my that's not my not the way I want
to do It was up in Montana about at this
point six months ago, and this was from my my
na Geo show that's come out a few weeks that. Um.
We were protecting sheep. There's sheep herders and there are
two thousand of them and they move around. It's all
government land and they're all plots, and you know, you
lease the land, you move the sheep around. They can

(49:48):
only eat certain parts in certain orders. They but at
night the bears will come and try to or not
just the bears, coyotes, you know, occasionally a wolf depending
on what part and so. But you know they had
My job was to make sure the sheep didn't get
eaten all night. I had to. I had to watch
the sheep and with uh you know, these night vision scopes,

(50:12):
you'd see like a little bears, you'd see the coyotes
and um. But they were like, hey, you can't. You know,
you can't shoot a bear. Like what you do is
you you have your bear spray and that what they
told me to do is if a bear comes out,
you spray the spright into the ground and it lifts
and then the bear won't come through the bear spray.
I was like, you gotta be kidding me. I've got

(50:35):
a rifle. If I feel like a bear is coming
at me, I'm not grabbing the bears, but I'll just
go to jail for a couple of days. If a
bear is gonna attag me. Do you travel with bear
spray at all or is it just I've never taken
bear spray. Um, because I just tried to. I will.
I will avoid the circumstance of putting myself in a position.
Now having said that, I always have a side arm,

(50:56):
and it's a very large side arm. So if I'm
deer hunting, I got a rifle, but also keep my
bear gun with me. Um, I will just try to.
I don't want to shoot a bear. Now this is
people are gonna god. I'm sure I catch fight, but
I don't want to shoot a bear in defense. I
want to hunt the bear. Does that make sense? If
I'm gonna hunt it, It's like running over a squirrel

(51:18):
in the road. I will hit the ditch in an
attempt to not run a squirrel over because that's not
the way I want to do it. But I do
go squirrel hunting rights an analogy though, But I also
I also don't want to shoot anything that I'm not
gonna eat or someone's not gonna eat or prosper from that.
And I don't mean financially, but I mean you know

(51:40):
that someone's gonna get that meat. And so I have
a real issue with people who go out and just
shoot crap like that just dropped. Makes the hair on
the back of my neck stand up and I want
to shoot them. Yeah. I get it because as someone
who had to hunt to eat the first same fifteen
years of my life age one through six, I didn't
really after that it was squirrel and it graduates up

(52:03):
slowly and we had to eat. Yeah, and we had
to catch fish to eat. Same here. It would piss
me off when people would be out just hunting to
shoot and kill just to have the just just for
the trophy. Yeah, I get really aggravated. And I've been
on some hunts in in some places, in nice places,
and we go out and I work hard, even though
I might not be the guy that did the work

(52:24):
to prepare the hunt. You know, there's other guys that
do the food plots and do that stuff. And I'm
I'm fortunate enough that and because of my scheduled demperment,
I get to go there and hunt. And I'll go
there and hunt, and I'll be there and camp and
see a guy go out and do it and the
shoot the animal, go over and take a picture and
then go back to the lone. It's like, aren't you
gonna clean that animal, or help them at least. I mean,
it's one thing to get your picture with your bigger act,

(52:46):
but I mean and they're like, ah, you know, no,
I just wanted to hunt, you know, and they're going
to give the meat to charity and not not that's cool,
but at least help them harvest it so you can
appreciate what that animal is viding. You know, I don't know.
It just kind of drives me nuts. Man. You know,
your story into country music and I just touched on

(53:06):
this briefly, is really cool because you were in the
military and like, weren't your superiors going, hey man, you
gotta go chase this music thing. Uh. That's the reason
I'm here today. I would not have left, man. And
I'm from Nashville, but I was born in General Hospital
down here. My mama used to always say I was
supposed to be born at Baptist, but they didn't make it.

(53:27):
They had to stop at General. Um Um. Grew up
in and around the music business my whole life. My
dad was a musician. Kingston Springs was home. I graduated
in Cheatham County High School. I went to m Tissue.
You know, so music it was always part of it
avoided it. Uh, went in the military, and I think
being in the military really made me a really miss

(53:50):
and appreciate not just music but home in Nashville. Um
So it was always a big part of my life,
you know what I mean? Uh, what was it not?
You didn't realize it was as valuable to you until
you got away from it. Yeah, I think so. Again,
it's what my dad did. But my dad also had

(54:10):
another job, and I thought, I don't want to do
something that that. I got to do something else to
be able to do it. Of course, then I got
out of the army and uh and did everything else
while I was trying to make it in the business. Uh.
But if it, to get back to your question, it
was a you know, I didn't. I was always nervous
about it. I'm like my wife and I would talk.

(54:31):
I was writing songs and kind of writing at while
you were in the army. While I was in the
arm and you're playing fun you know, were you playing around?
I mean, were you playing around the other guy? Dude?
Like in Panama. I just did a I just did
a show, a TV show, and I brought in five
of my buddies that I served with in Panama in
nineteen eighty nine. It was my team. The guys worked
for me, and we sat around and talked about it,

(54:53):
and they talked about how I used to play music,
and like, I don't even really remember that. You don't
remember we should sent her into racks and drink beer
and you would play in tim My buddy was like, man, men,
you played all the time together, like a vague memories
of that. I more remember all of the stuff that
we went through it and they're like, yeah, but when
we weren't doing all those things, this is what we did,

(55:14):
you know. Like so they were all very encouraging, and
it came to a point in my career. I was
ten and a half years of active duty. You have
to make a decision. I was gonna realist again or
I was going to pursue the music. Uh. And I
was just nervous about it. I didn't have near the
confidence that a lot of people. You know, I talked
to Blake about it a lot, especially early on in
our careers. You know, Blake left everything. Man comes here

(55:37):
A lot of musicians that try this. Excuse me, They
come here with nothing or no one, And so in
my head, I'm going well. At least it's where I'm from.
I got family. I can you know, I can work
with dad. I can at least have that so and
then if it don't work, I can go back in
the army. I'm gonna stay in the active reserve so

(55:59):
I don't lose any of my time and service, my rank,
any of those things. I never would have done it.
I gotta be honest. If I had been a guy
from Arkansas, from Missouri or Texas or Oklahoma, I didn't,
I would never be I would not be a country
singer today. It's only because I was from Nashville and
my family was here and it was home to me.

(56:19):
So I felt like my worst case was at least
I'm around my family, and if it don't work, I'll
go back in the army. How long until you came
back home? But also you're kind of venturing into this
new world of country music. How long until you realize, Hey,
I kind of do deserve to be here, Like maybe
I'm not as good as I'm going to be, but
like I I can compete. How long was it in

(56:41):
the country music before he started to feel that way?
I'm working on it. Yeah, Well, who told then who
told you because we talked to it before we came
on the air here. Like people, when people invest in you,
that means they believe in you, and I believe you're
going to make them eventually down the road some money,
right because business and friendship, there's there's a lot of
friendship in business. But you know, if someone's gonna spend
money on you that they believe in you, wasn't know

(57:04):
what that means. They believe you're gonna help them make money. Yeah,
and that was who believed in you, Uh, you know
early only it was a bunch of different people. Ironically enough,
it wasn't. One of the guys was the guy that
wasn't even in the business. Uh. He was a contractor
um and he wanted to be in the business. And
he had done very well with his business, made a

(57:24):
lot of money, and he's like, you know, you gotta
do this. You know, I'll if if I will pay
for your house. If it doesn't work, give it a year.
And he's one of the guys that convinced me to
get out of the army because and that was the
reason why he said, if you get out of the
army and you try it after a year. If it
don't work, I'll pay your house off and you can

(57:45):
go back in the army. I got nothing to lose here,
you know. And there was also a couple of guys
that had a small publishing company. Uh West Mayor's was
one of those guys, and they said, we'll sign you
to a publishing deal. And they've paid me money. You know,
it wasn't much, but it was enough and they believed
in me, which led to uh Maypop Publishing, which was
owned by Alabama, which led to Sony Publishing. So it

(58:07):
was a lot of those little pieces. Um. But back
the other the commander, my my colonel at Fort pot Louisiana,
when I was at that deciding point, I'll never forget
setting down with him in the general and both of
those gentlemen said, we believe that if you stay in
the army, you will be the sergeant major of the

(58:27):
army someday. You're you're fast tracking, you know, you're you're
good at what you do, but we also think that
you should at least try this. It was that conversation
that led to me pursuing, you know, taking those forty
weekends when I was off and come into Nashville, meeting
with the West mayors, meeting with the Brian Schweitzer's and

(58:50):
all of these different people, and and literally within a
year of me leaving the army, almost of the day
when I was ready to cash in on my buddies,
come it and go back into the army, Brian Schweitzer
called me from Atlantic Records and said, I want to
offer your record deal. And how did that make you feel? Nervous?
Because I was wanting the publishing. I had those small

(59:14):
publishing deals. At this point. I was writing from may Pop,
so I had I was getting a little more money
which allowed me to not have to work in vinyl sighting.
And I was working as a sheriff's deputy as well,
So I was doing vinyl sighting on the side working
as a sheriff's deputy and then doing security as a
Sharff off duty shaff's deputy, you know what I mean.
And for doing writers nights every weekend, and you know

(59:37):
what I mean. There was a lot going on. So
it gave me a little bit more confidence, but it
also made me very nervous because I knew, based on
everything everybody told me as an artist in the beginning
you make nothing man on shows and stuff. Uh, in fact,
everybody else will be making money and you want. But
I was also making a little bit in the publishing,
and I started started getting a lot of interest in

(59:57):
a lot of the songs that I was writing, so
I thought, in I might try Uh, this is at
that point, so I'm going to try it. When I
left the Army to come here to pursue the music,
it was not to pursue it as an artist. It
was to pursue it as a songwriter because I had
a wife and two kids, and I knew that you
could make money writing songs, and I could still do

(01:00:17):
other things to make more money, you know. And then
in the process of writing my songs and doing that,
I was doing my own demos, and then I started
doing other people's demos, and in that one year's time,
it turned into that phone call. But which was really
weird the way that phone call came from where he
heard my music. It wasn't through an A and R team,
It wasn't through a publicist or a publisher. It came

(01:00:40):
from a guy who boarded his horses, who I knew
who every time I would demo my music, I would
take it to him, and Jeff would play it. And
this guy, Brian Sweitzer happened to be boarding his horses
at Jeff's stables and heard it and asked him who
is that? And he told him and he called me
and he made a decision that he wanted to sign
you from just listening to a demo. Wow, call me

(01:01:03):
and said can you come in. I was on my
way home from a writing session. Had had the third
shift with the Sheriff's department at that time. I said, Jen,
and he said where are you? And I said, I'm
on Interstate forty, but I can turn around. I had
a jeep wrangler and I'll never forget a cuss across
cut across the inter state, right in the middle of
Inner State, and turned around and came right back. Fifteen minutes.
I was in the office and they asked me to
sing something, and I said, well, I mean, you know

(01:01:24):
they heard one of the demonists singing I want to
hear you sing it live like well, I don't really
play as a pianist, it's just and Al Cooley was there.
Al Cooley was one of the most horrendous A and
R guys, A brutally feastfully honest, a and r guy.
Looking back, he was one of the best. But I
just remember he had this reputation of being like mean, terrible, mean,

(01:01:47):
you know, but what it was, he was honest and
he probably saved a lot of people's lives. Um And
they had me sing a song, uh called three or
two South Maple Avenue Acapello and so I sang it
and uh literally right setting like this right here? Do
you too? Sound me but ivenue? And I sing a
little bit and he says, we'd like to sign you

(01:02:07):
to a record Yeah, just like that strangest thing ever.
So I'm like, oh yeah, sure, he goes you ever turning,
I'm like yeah, how about management? I'm like yeah, yeah.
So I walked out of the office and I called
my wife. Uh no, I did not call my wife.
I did not cause I got home and I said
I just got offered a record deal And she said
what did they say? I'm like, I said, they asked
me if I had managers and attorney and what did

(01:02:29):
you say? As I told him yeah, And She's like, well,
you got a manager? Like and I'm like, no, I
gotta find a manager. I didn't have nothing. You know
that's wild that it all came from a horse, from
from a guy who boarded horses. Crazy. He owned Joe
go Quick, the world champion quarter horse at the time,
and I would take him music and if Jeff liked it,

(01:02:50):
he would let me ride Joe, and if he didn't
like song, he put me. Well. How did you and
Blake become friends? How did you? Because it seems like
he got pretty close we were and are we still are? Um?
You know, I don't. Blake had got here before I did.
Blake was working on his career long before, not long before,
but a few years before I got here, and so

(01:03:11):
he had started having some radio success. And we we
literally met at a some event in Nashville and just
started hanging out. And then he had lived in Hittman
County and I was in Dixon, so we weren't that
far apart. Uh both realized that we liked hunting. I
invited him on a hunting trip on a trip that

(01:03:31):
I was doing in Kansas. I'm sorry, yeah, in Kansas.
And at that trip we became like we we were buddies.
I knew right then that I liked the guy. Uh
and and and and we were both kind of like
I said, he had already had a couple of songs
on the radio, and and then I started having some

(01:03:55):
success at Broken Bow. Uh. And then we just stayed
in touch. I mean at one point we were we
were with each other all the time. Every time we
could do something together we would uh. And then he
got divorced from Cat and he and Miranda got married.

(01:04:15):
And I had known Miranda a little bit uh, and
really thought that Miranda and I had a decent relationship. Um.
And she used to tell a story about how she
came to Fanfare and it was one of my early
on first to or three years of fan Fair when
he still called it fan Fair, you know. And she
tells the story, and I remember her telling me that
how she waited after the show to meet some of

(01:04:38):
the artists and and that I came out and was
the only one that came out afterwards and gave her
an autograph. Uh. And so I thought, man, this is
gonna be awesome. You know, my buddies marrying this girl
who's turned into an artist of her own right and
turned in this you know, it's great. But something happened
with them too, got married, and it I don't know
she she was no longer a Craig Morgan fan for

(01:05:00):
some reason. You know, I don't know, um, but you
know that's history. And here we are now. I remember
when you can do in the opery Blake when him
I think him and Gwen were playing from his ranch.
I think, yeah, I was there. I've just I've done
opery shows in the past year. But was he setting

(01:05:21):
you up? Are you setting him up? Are you going
back and forth? Always? It's yeah, it's horrible. I will
tell you though. We Uh, when my son died a
lot of my friends in this business came out there
and and I had, man, I gained so much respect
and admiration. Already loved all these people. But it's really weird. Uh,

(01:05:45):
And Jerry was with me. It's it's weird when I
know them and I love them and they're I consider
them friends. But when I got like Trace Atkins, Blake Shelton,
Jim N. Brown and John Colley, these guys show up
at at my son's funeral and they stand in line
with everyone else out there, asked nothing. I didn't want

(01:06:08):
to come in early. You know, it just meant it
just floored me. And when I'll never forget we were
we were downstairs and Cec had come in and was talking.
She's saying, at my son's funeral, and uh, you know,
I'm trying to trying to I don't know have a
sense of I wanted to comprehend my people and and

(01:06:34):
and them to know that I appreciate them being there.
But I remember Blake coming in and we cried, you know,
we cried together, and he hugged me, and I felt
such an embrace of friendship from him. Uh, And I knew.
I knew then that there was nothing that Blake or
I could do that would sever that friendship. It wouldn't happen.

(01:06:58):
And I also, at that moment, became Gwen's biggest fan.
I had met Gwen via FaceTime a few times when
Blake and I were together, and he was like giddy,
silly and love FaceTime and her and we would, uh,
we would lay there together and sit and talk to
Gwen her own FaceTime, you know. And and I really

(01:07:18):
liked her, but I didn't really know her. But when
he came in the room and I said, where's Gwynn?
And you know, was she not able to come? He said, no,
she's outside. Uh she was being respectful and she did
not want to come in until she was invited in,
and I just men, I thought, my lord, you know,
she came in and she too like cried and hugged

(01:07:39):
my wife and showed her such an embrace of friendship
and kindness and warmth, and it just absolutely hammred me.
And I've never experienced anything from her but that since,
you know, when we're at the award shows and he's like,
let's get out of here for a few minutes, and
we got out the bus and hang out, and they're
just He's in such a beautiful place with her that

(01:07:59):
I've never seen and I love that. I love it. Now.
Having said all that, I can text Blake on Monday,
April the first, and it might be Monday June one
when I heard from he is the worst man. Uh,
And then I'll get nothing a picture of him flipping
me a bird or something, you know. Um. But yeah,

(01:08:21):
so we've been friends for a long time. I mean
he came out when I did read net y'all club, uh.
And I remember when we did read net Yall Club,
he had a huge hit and even you know, just
to show you how weird this business is, I remember
talking to Blake, him going, man, I don't know if
this is gonna work. I don't know what's gonna happen.
I'm like, you got a big, huge hit, are you kidding?
You know? And he's like yeah, but you just don't know.

(01:08:44):
And now you look where he's at. You know, it's
just it's wonderful. What is there left for you to do?
You're just thinking about everything that you are doing, have done,
are doing more than have done, between the music, the TV,
the passions, walking nine mile to your house and everything,
the opera, everything you stand for, all of the philanthropic

(01:09:05):
work that you do, Like what what, What's what's happening? What?
What is your vision for the next ten fifteen years?
Like what what do you want to do? Um? I
want to do good And I know it sounds super cheesy,
but if you talk to anybody in my camp, they'll
tell you. And if as long as I'm doing things
that afford me the opportunities to do good things, I'm

(01:09:27):
gonna keep doing it. And I also want to. I
don't want to be in this business when I'm no
longer relevant. I don't want to. I don't want to
do it just because I want to do it. I
want to do it because people want me to do it,
because they want to hear it, and because when when
I do some of these things. For example, I just
did a military benefit UH to raise money for a

(01:09:52):
organization that provides trips for not only the veteran the warrior,
but for his family. And after that event, when I
got a text the next day from the guy who's
over that said, we raised this much money, which is
so much more than I had ever expected. Thank you
for being a part of that. When I can no
longer do those things, or when my impact at those

(01:10:13):
events is not impacting, I'm gonna do something else and
know that something else it's just spend more time in
Alaska with my wife, in Florida with my wife and Dixon,
Tennessee fishing and hunting and you know the kids. Um,
I've already kind of transitioned into trying to do more

(01:10:33):
of that. But I just want to do more of
the good things. I wanna. I wanna transition my life's
efforts into providing for those other things, not me. I mean,
I got all I need, man, I've got more than
I deserved. That is the truth. I want the people

(01:10:55):
around me to prosper I liked it when I like
to see that when guys that worked for me go
on and are having success of their own, that's cool
man to me. Yeah. Final question, have you been recording music?
Are you going? Are you gonna have new music? What?
What's happening here? Because it's been it's been a minute.

(01:11:17):
I'm as excited about what I'm doing is anything I've
ever done. So my wife is a big fan of
me singing certain music life. He's not a big fan
of my kindry music. Uh I love all music. If
I mean, I can go all the way back to
the very beginning of our conversation. Who is Lina Richie Luther?

(01:11:40):
I love I love, love love music with the emotion, energy, soul.
You know I love that. Uh So, my next project
that I am in the process of working on is
gonna I'm gonna sing with those people whose music I love.
I'm trying to cool. I wanna, I wanna. You know,

(01:12:03):
I'm a huge Kelly Clarkson fan. I love to hear
her sing. She's a monster in my opinion, and I
want to I want to sing something with Kelly. I
want to sing something with that Sharon. I want to
sing something with c C. Juannas. I want to sing
something with Liona Ritchie. I want to do those and
it might be one of their songs, maybe one of
my songs, maybe something that we write, maybe something I'm writing.

(01:12:24):
I just wrote a song. I think it's one of
the better songs I've ever written, and it's it's not
a straight up country. I'm sure it probably sounds country, um,
but to me, it's not a country song. It's more
of a soul song. And I want to record that
kind of stuff. And the label is all about so
that's exciting. Well, listen, we've we've been talking for over

(01:12:44):
an hour. I hope this wasn't too long. I could
sit here and do another hour. I could too with you, dude.
I love talking to you, you know, and I'm sorry. Uh.
You know we shared a label relationship there for a
minute on Black Yeah, and I remember thinking, uh, I mean,
and I'm not gonna make stuff up. TOLDJ I said, really,

(01:13:05):
I think I'd like to get to know this guy
better because I think there's something there that I can't see.
Because you know, you were a national syndicated show host
and you had your own band thing, so you were
super busy doing all these other things. But I felt
like there was a person there that I that I
would probably do more with if I got to know.

(01:13:28):
And in this business, it's it's weird. Man. Everybody, especially
early in my career, would try to encourage me, you
need to get to know this guy, spend some time
with this guy. I'm like, okay, cool, I found you know,
and I try, but there was nothing men this guy
had in time. It's like, look, if me and this guy,
that's why I love Blake, Blake and I. If we

(01:13:49):
weren't in this business, Blake and I would still be
hanging out on a Friday night having a beer, talking
about certain things or wine, or we'd be making fun
of each other, like we do. You know what I'm saying.
That's why that worked. It's now actual. I've never forced
an issue on a I've never forced a relationship in
this business. Not one of the people that I know
and love and hang out with when we're not doing
this is someone that I wouldn't be doing that if

(01:14:11):
I weren't in this business. And I found out long
after the fact that Bobby Bones is one of those guys.
That I probably would even if we weren't in this business.
And it's taken a long time to get to that point,
so which is why I can talk to you forever. Well,
that's nice to me to say. I think you're a
lot cooler, stronger, tougher worldly. Now you play that wimpy guy,
all of that whatever, but playing the act, buddy, Listen,

(01:14:34):
sell the books, get the TV shows, play the geek whatever, Craig.
Good to talk to you, my friend. It's been fantastic.
I'm so grateful that you cant. You know, I'm a fan.
So I'll Alaska in February. You guys are coming up.
I'm more of a Florida guy. It's just a long way.

(01:14:57):
It's just a long ways up there. It is. What
if I flew you up on a plane. It's just
a long ways up there. Privately, I hear you. It
just a long ways up there, Like that's I gonna
hug me. I'll be honest with you. I mean you everywhere.
I just you're gonna do it. You're probably she would

(01:15:17):
love it. You get the fun gear and you're warm,
and you set out in a like semi iglue around
the fire and then at night, you watch Netflix movies
on a big screen electricity. How do you have WiFi?
Nine walk. I actually do have this little WiFi box
thing that we started using and I put it in

(01:15:40):
the window and you get enough WiFi that you can
send emails and text messages. And I've literally been able
to depend on the weather download Netflix from it. We
in our cabin in Arkansas, we did had one of
those little boxing and wife I went out, so we
used it for three days and I got my bills
like seven oh no. We did stream, just stream shows.

(01:16:02):
It was like here's your mill seven and eighteen dollars
for a while. Five box. You guys follow and follow
Craig on TikTok. Uh on TikTok, It's Craig Morgan eighty five.
Uh see Morgan music on Instagram. You have all these
different names. Tell your people, I know you have them.
They need to unify that thing. You know, I know,
and they should. I don't even know. Problem. You see

(01:16:24):
they do that stuff and then I go, I got
this man, I can do it. And then I end
up starting Craig Morgan eighty five. I like, why did
you do that? Why didn't you do? See them all
access like everything, like I have no clue about and
now they're like can you do this? And they're like what, man,
you gotta show me what button to push? Just give

(01:16:44):
My wife hates that stuff, man, she absolutely hates me
trying to get her to do something with me, Like
I want to do the thing. I'm afraid my wife
would leave me though, Like if this is terrible, I
don't know if we should say this, but like there's
something trending on talk. It's so bad, y'all, Like these
guys fart in a bag and then like tell them

(01:17:05):
that it's gas and get him to snippet or to
inhale it. Like I'm afraid if I did that, she
would diforce, she would leave me. Listen, we've gone off
the rails. Alright, alright, but thank you, thank you, thank you.
It's been fantastic here

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#295 – Craig Morgan on from Going to The Military to Country Artist + His Friendship with Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani + Living In A Remote Part of Alaska

Episode Transcript

Host

Bobby Bones

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