‘Raised on Country’
Chris Young’s album paints authentic portrait of musician
When Chris Young lets you know, with a twang, that “my upbringin’ sounds like George Strait singin’” in the chorus of his latest single, “Raised on Country,” yes, that is a stellar rhyme. But it’s a stellar rhyme that has the added benefit of authenticity.
The country star is drawing on the details of his life when he opens that chorus with “I was raised on Merle, raised on Willie / Got my honky-tonk attitude from Joe Diffie.”
The song for which his latest tour is named was written on his bus with the help of two songwriting friends, Corey Crowder and Cary Barlowe.
“They saw the show and they were like, ‘Man, we’ve gotta encompass the energy of what this is.’ And I thought it was awesome what we ended up on because it’s not only a lot of fun and kind of an anthem, it’s also very autobiographical. I mean, it’s what I grew up doing, listening to those guys on the radio. That’s why I sing what I do and why I love the music I love. It was just kind of awesome that it worked out as a song that everybody’s out there singing along with on this tour.”
He grew up listening to every name he mentions in that single, Young says. “But I think the first record I actually bought with my own money was ‘L.A. to Miami’ by Keith Whitley. He was just a huge, huge influence on me.”
It’s pointed out that former tourmate Jason Aldean also mentions Diffie in the chorus of his own hit, “1994.”
Asked if he has any thoughts on how Diffie rates shout-outs in two recent country hits, Young says, “He has just one of the best voices. Even going to watch him at the Opry when I was younger, I’d be like, ‘Good this guy’s got range.’ And obviously, a lot of hits that a lot of people identify with. So I think that’s probably why.”
As soon as he wrote “Raised on Country,” Young says, “I was like, ‘OK, this thematically is what I want to do for the rest of this album.’ And, you know, if I had a point and counterpoint for the album, it would probably be ‘Raised on Country’ and ‘Drowning.’”
Young first sang “Drowning” at the Grand Ole Opry on June 10, giving a very emotional reading of a song that was partly inspired by the death of one of his best friends.
“It’s a song that means a lot to me,” he says, “that I wrote about a buddy of mine that passed away unexpectedly. It’s just awesome to see other people loving it.”
There are also a pair of duets on the album, one of which – “Town Ain’t Big Enough” featuring Lauren Alaina – was shared on streaming services last month.
“I love that we’re at a point where the way that people are consuming music kind of dictates for us to put out more faster,” Young says. “I just think the ability to put out more music before you get to an album exists now like it hasn’t really before.”
He and Alaina have more than a bittersweet duet in common. They both got their start on reality-TV singing competitions — “American Idol” in her case, “Nashville Star” in his.
Was “Nashville Star,” which he won in 2006, a good experience for Young?
“I don’t remember,” he says, with a laugh. “No, I remember. I’m just kidding. It’s just been so long ago. It’s funny, a lot of people don’t even remember I was on that show. There’s so many people that follow me now that don’t know that’s how I got my deal and maybe don’t even remember that show.”
Those who do remember “Nashville Star” have been known to assume that Young’s career took off immediately after winning.
“I’m like, ‘Nope, that’s actually the opposite of what happened,’” he says with a laugh. “You know, the first three and a half years that I was on RCA, I had a song go to 37, a song go to 52 another song go to 37. I was like, ‘Good lord. I hate the number 37’ and then I ended up having ‘Gettin’ You Home.’”
The second single released from a second album called “The Man I Want to Be,” “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song)” topped Billboard’s country song chart in 2009, the first of five consecutive chart-topping singles on that chart for Young.
“The fact that the label kept me around that long and that people kept following me that long without a radio hit has always stuck with me,” he says.
As to why that single was the one to set the wheels in motion, Young says, “I think it was just a timing thing. And that’s something an artist can never control. So it was up to me and my label and my team to just keep putting in the work. And obviously, once it broke through, it was a pretty good run after that. But I think it took a couple hits before I was like, ‘All right, I’ve got more than one song I can play. I don’t have to play like the same song at the beginning, the middle and the end of the show.’”
That second album also found him singing a duet with Willie Nelson and covering the classic Tony Joe White ballad “Rainy Night in Georgia.”
Young says he always had a deep appreciation of the history of music.
“It’s one of the reasons why I’m really, really proud to be an Opry member and that they asked me to be there,” he says. “The history of music that’s come before us, even if I don’t necessarily sound like some of it, I’ve still got a love and respect for it. So being able to pull out a song like that – we covered an older song on the record that no one’s heard yet, on this album coming out – it’s fun for me to be able to do that every now and then and just call back some of my memories and hopefully, maybe if people haven’t heard that song for some reason, make some memories for them of that song.”
The older song on his upcoming album is “I Like Beer” by Tom T. Hall, which features guest appearances by Brad Paisley and Riley Green.
He’s been doing “Drowning,” “Raised on Country” and one song he hasn’t released yet from the album on the Raised on Country Tour.
“But you don’t want to put too many new songs in the set,” he says. “I mean, first of all, I can’t. I’d have to cut too much stuff out. Second, you don’t want to be like, ‘Hey, guys, here’s a new record that you’ve never heard before.’”
Getting to the point where he can headline an Ak-Chin Pavilion has been “incredible,” Young says. “A big part of that for me is going from 12 people in a bar to ‘All right, we can do small theaters’ up to arenas, and now I’m out in amphitheaters. I’m lucky enough to continue to be still growing my touring. But it’s been a process of ‘OK, now we’re moving from the van and trailer to a bus to two buses to two buses and a trucks’ but also learning about how that’s done and evolving my show to be as big as it is.”
The best part of touring, he says, is “just that instant reaction you get from a crowd. Being able to be in the studio is amazing. It’s one of my favorite things. But the thing you don’t get is that instant gratification of seeing people just excited that you’re playing a song they love. There’s nothing like that, having a crowd sing back to you and actually seeing people having excitement because of what you’re doing on stage.”
He doesn’t have a title for the album yet, but Young says he’s been thinking “Raised on Country” is a pretty strong contender.
“It’s worked for the tour,” he says. “So why not?”