I didn’t realize until I was older what a huge music fan my daddy really was, and actually that my grandma played banjo at one time, and I didn’t even know that until a year...

We had about 30 songs. I picked some I thought my mom would really like and some I liked. We went in with piano and acoustic guitar, and overdubbed organ on some of them, and...

I’ve had to live with women all my life. I grew up with four older sisters, and I was the baby and the only boy.

Hee Haw was probably my biggest exposure to live music at a young age, because there wasn’t any live music around my town and no one in my family played instruments.

My mother kept asking me, ‘When are you going to do a gospel album?’ And I’ve always wanted to do a gospel album. Everybody was going on about it, so mom started hounding me more.

I’ve always said that if you have songs on the radio and get played, you’ve got to have a tour to support that.

I’ve played this thing as long as I can remember, I guess. I’ll tell you what ? this building sounds a lot better than the other one.

If you just do 50 to 60 shows a year, it’s not that much time away from home.

What I enjoy doing more than anything is, I have my little antique car collection, and when the weather is pretty I like to get out one of my old cars. I have a little...

Probably some of the songs I never even really listened to the lyrics. Half of them I’d hear off the radio and was probably singing the wrong words and didn’t even know it.

I’ve had several working-man songs that I like.

…they’re thinking about putting me on the cover of the USA Today, story of heartbreaking pain, picture of the loneliest man they claim, in the U.S.A. today.

It’s a scary word, ‘cancer.’

Growing up in Georgia, I used to think people up north or out west were so different. They’re really not. They’re just regular people who live in small towns. They grow up and try to...

The fan base that I’ve had all these years has come along. Some of them are not as plugged into the digital world, so they want to go out and buy the CD at Walmart...

If you can last until you’re 40 years old, hopefully you’ll be mature enough to figure out the rest of the years.

It’s not their problem – it’s our problem.

If anything good came out of 9/11, to me, was that people were so cynical about the world – all you hear about on the news is all the bad stuff everyday, but what was...

The music business doesn’t take up that much of my time. I probably should put a little more energy into it.

You have to be tough-skinned and willing to accept criticism, and at the same time, just try to do music that you like and you are proud of and not just whatever you think it’s...

You think a lot of people get to be big stars and get a little crazy, but most of the ones I’ve ever met have always been surprisingly normal, and I’ve enjoyed that.

As long as I’m still able to have a hit on the radio and sell a few albums and some tickets, I don’t see that it would be worth retiring.

He’s written some great songs. I thought that “Blues Man” was a perfect song for me to do as a tribute.

A country song is a song about life.

A lot of times when songwriters get together and write a song… somebody will come in with a hook and a lot of times they come out with something that sounds a little crafty.

I’m usually just enjoying life.

Country Music: The Spirit of America

He’s written some great songs. I thought that ‘Blues Man’ was a perfect song for me to do as a tribute.

I just always remembered that, not that it pushed me to be a singer, but I don’t know why he said that. Hee Haw was a big part of my life, musically.

I think if you retire from touring then people think you are retired.

‘After 17’ is a song I wrote when my first daughter went to college, so that’s kind of where I’m at in that part of my life. If you listen to that song and knew...

I think every album you have, especially if it’s done well, you feel like you’re competing with yourself.

Country Reaches Out: An Opry Benefit for the American Red Cross,

I always try to make the music that I like and think my fans will like.

I like to write sad songs. They’re much easier to write and you get a lot more emotion into them. But people don’t want to hear them as much. And radio definitely doesn’t; they want...

I could have done a hundred songs, really. It was hard to narrow them down, because I tried to pick songs for the most part that actually did have some effect on me or influenced...

I’ve always wanted to make a bluegrass album.

Here In The Real World

I mean, my girls are very sweet; I’m very proud of all of of them.

I grew up with nothing, so whenever I got to where I could have something I felt like I needed to have everything I couldn’t have when I was young.

I don’t write all my stuff. Everybody always thinks that. But in just about every album I’ve ever had has been about 50-50 songs I’ve written or co-written and other people’s songs.

Making music is still what keeps a fire going on in me.

Walk Tall.

I mean, my voice has gotten a little deeper sounding as I’ve gotten older, I think. I noticed that.

I mean, I am driven and laid-back at the same time.

I really was a fan of his and always have been – his writing especially, you know? I think people a lot of times overlook that part, because he kind of got into that party...

Oklahoma’s always been good to me.

We have made an excellent start to the year with a 20 pct increase in profits in the first half and are well placed to build further on this performance, … I am confident that...

I’ve always stood up for country music.

The older you are, I think you realize what you enjoy and what you don’t need, what wears you out and what’s important.