And I definitely ran from it for a minute. You can either embrace it, or you can run from it. Obviously, no one saw 2020 coming, and I think when you’re not prepared for something like that, you can kind of go one of two ways. With tours being halted this past year, there has certainly been more time for family and writing and reflecting. Many of the songs on Country Again: Side A, such as “More Time Fishin’” and “Growing Up,” focus on spending more time with family and loved ones. On that line, “That ain’t your truck in her drive,” and it started out somewhat of a joke, and my dad actually really liked it, and so we kind of went with that.Īnd so we started taking a poll of songwriters of what songs meant the most to us over the last 30 or 40 years and tried to really tell a story with song titles rather than sounding blatantly like song titles, and then getting into that hook of, “Everybody’s got one.” I love to start from the beginning and make my way, but this one, the chorus actually dropped out first, and we had a couple of different approaches for that verse. But we had written the chorus first, which I never do. I’m one of those writers that if we haven’t figured out the hook in a few hours, it’s time to move on. You also reference more than a dozen classic country hits on “What’s Your Country Song.” What was it like fitting all of those into one song? If I do have a bucket list, that would be on it for sure, to do a song with Eric. I’m like, “Hey man, how do you feel about this song? Would you sing on this?” And I think it’s just a matter of time before me and Eric get back in the room, and we actually do get to write something. Me and Eric and my buddy Luke Laird wrote a song that ended up never coming out, but we talk with every record that I put out. He’s been such a part of my life, and such a part of my career and somebody that I’ve really looked up to as a songwriter and an entertainer, and so it only felt natural to name drop him a couple of times. It was a true story.” And he said, “I’m honored.” That was a really, really cool text to get from one of my heroes. He just said, “Man, what a great song.” And I said, “Sorry I had to name drop you. Thomas Rhett: I actually got a text from him because “Country Again” came out, and I obviously dropped his name and that song. Thomas Rhett chatted with CMT via Zoom about his renewed focus on his family, writing during quarantine, the album’s plethora of Eric Church references, and what is ahead for his next project, Country Again: Side B, which releases later this year.ĬMT: There are a lot of Eric Church references on this album. Thomas Rhett co-wrote every track on the 11-song album, and as he sings on another track from the project, “Growing Up,” this singer, songwriter, husband, and father of three has done a lot of living and maturing since he put out his first single nearly a decade ago. I think it’s just kind of a breath of fresh air for me, because I haven’t really recorded music like that in quite awhile, so it felt not only nostalgic, but it felt fresh for me to do something like that.”
Even songs on the new album like ‘Blame It On A Backroad,’ that I feel like was definitely yanked right out of 1997. “I was born in 1990, and I grew up in a household with a dad that was a big part of the ’90s country era and there was just something so cool about ’90s country to me. And, as the reigning ACM Male Artist of the Year tells CMT, those influences include plenty of ‘90s country and Eric Church songs. For an artist who has become known for polished, pop-country smashes like “Die A Happy Man” and “Craving You,” the phrase encompasses an ethos of returning to his emotional and creative center, and delving into the musical influences that first inspired him to pursue music. For Thomas Rhett, Country Again is more than just the title of a two-part project (the first of which, Country Again: Side A, releases today).
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