← Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Buzz Knight and Chris Young Explore Resilience in Country Music and the Stories Behind His Iconic Songs-Live and Legendary Encore
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- [00:01]
Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk There are voices in country music and then there is the voice of Chris Young. Rich, powerful and unmistakably his own. It's the kind of voice that was built for the big stage. This April, as we roll out our live and legendary series here on Taking A Walk celebrating the artists taking their music out on the road this spring and summer, there was no question that this walk had to come back. I sat down with Chris Young to talk about the songs that launched a career, the moments that shaped an artist, and the connection with fans that keeps him coming back to the road year after year. From his Nashville star breakthrough to a string of number one hits and sold out shows across the country, Chris Young is the real deal. A country traditionalist with staying power in a genre that doesn't always reward it. As the tour dates stack up and the stages get bigger, this is the perfect moment for us to revisit a conversation that reminds you exactly why Chris Young belongs in any discussion of the great voices of his generation. So check it out. Taking a Walk live and legendary coming up next with Chris Young.
- [01:20]
iHeart Podcast Announcer
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- [01:22]
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- [05:05]
Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk well, Chris Young, so awesome to be with you on the Taking a Walk podcast.
- [05:10]
Chris Young
Happy to be here, man. Happy to get to talk to you about life, music, Everything else and, you know, finally having a new album to
- [05:19]
Buzz Knight
give everybody, which I absolutely adore. We're going to get into talking about. I didn't come here to leave, but I am not going to let you escape. Our signature question that we open up this little podcast with Chris Young, and the question is, if you could take a walk with somebody, living or dead, who would you take a walk with? And where would you take that walk with them?
- [05:45]
Chris Young
Ooh. All right. This is a tough one. I am. I would probably say Elvis and I would take a walk through Nashville. And, like, I say this with the caveat of, like, no one knows that we're there. They can't see us. Right. We're just taking a walk through Nashville and looking at how much everything has changed. Because I would just ask him his opinion on life music, what he went through, what he, you know, what were his tribulations that he dealt with, what were his highs, what were his lows? And I think that's somebody that lived an incredibly complicated life as. As huge as he was as an artist. I feel like he would have a lot to say.
- [06:35]
Buzz Knight
No doubt. Yes, he would.
- [06:38]
Chris Young
You guys would.
- [06:39]
Buzz Knight
You'd both have you. I think you would be listening, and you would let Elvis.
- [06:43]
Chris Young
I would not be talking. I. I would not be able to tell him anything. So that. That would definite. A moment of, like, tell me. Feed me a little bit of information.
- [06:54]
Buzz Knight
Yeah, I would love to be a fly on the wall for. For sure. So what was the first moment you remember being connected with music, whether it be from a particular song or an artist? And. And what was that? How old were you?
- [07:12]
Chris Young
I would say I was really young, sitting in the back of the car. Randy Travis, just huge, huge fan of Randy Travis growing up, which obviously, when I was a kid, my voice was not this low. So I'm glad that it worked out this way that now I can, you know, be a fan of that music. But I would say if you ask my mom, probably the moment that she was like, oh, please stop singing, was she told me that one time she was in the grocery store and she left me in the magazine out because I was looking at comic books. I was, like, really excited because that's when you could pick up a comic book and just leaf through it. And I'm a nerd. I tell people that all the time. I just am. But she said all of a sudden, from about four rows over, she just hears me going, please, daddy, don't get drunk this Christmas, which is an Alan Jackson song. And she Was like, not that one. Don't sing that one. Somebody's gonna think something's horribly wrong. But, yeah, I definitely Randy Travis really, really early on in my life.
- [08:29]
Buzz Knight
I love it. I love it. So the new album, congratulations, it just jumps out so wonderfully, so heartfelt. There's so much variety on the new music. So congratulations on it. I really, really dig it. Tell me about the title. What does it mean to you, and why was it important to. To name the album?
- [08:53]
Chris Young
Well, it's funny because the song I didn't come here to leave sounds like we wrote it at 9pm, but we wrote it at 9am and we had a lot of fun writing it too. It was a very, very fast songwriting session. Brought in the idea. We probably spent maybe 40, 45 minutes writing the entire thing. Walked out of there, listened to the demo that afternoon, gave it, like, a little bit of breathing room. I was like, get out of my brain for a second listen to it. And I was like, this is gonna be something that's gonna be a lot of fun to play live. And then sort of naming the record that. It's obviously intentional, but it's more so from the perspective of I still have a lot that I want to say in my music. And so I thought that encapsulated this really well, because I've talked about things on this album that I haven't talked about before, or maybe I haven't said a specific way. And like, you were just saying, thank you very much for the compliment. But there's love songs, there's party songs, there's songs about my parents, there's songs about my faith. There's a whole lot that. That went into this huge shout out. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention him to Andy Sheridan for co producing this with me, because I think that was a big part of it as well.
- [10:17]
Buzz Knight
So I'm always fascinated by processes. So can you just take us inside for this particular project, what a songwriting session is like?
- [10:31]
Chris Young
Everybody always asks, and I'm like, I have no way to explain to you, like, comprehensively how this works, because it could be something that someone next to me said when I was at dinner last night and I heard it and was like, ooh, a song. Or it could be like a melody or like, something that I'm playing. I've been in rooms before where there have been much more talented guitar players, and I was the one that picked up a guitar and we used my chord changes. I. I've been in other rooms where it's like, hey, does your back hurt from carrying this co write? Because you wrote most of this and I was just adding to it. And I think that anybody tells you differently, unless they wrote it 100% by themselves, is probably lying a little bit.
- [11:18]
Buzz Knight
How much does hijinks go into a writing session?
- [11:24]
Chris Young
That is probably the main reason why everybody is like, let's just come in and film you. And it would ruin a co WR is because we absolutely do mess with each other the entire time. And then there's like, there's other things that, like, go into it where maybe one person had a really crappy day and they just have to talk out like, hey, this happened to me. And this is why we end up writing the song that we write, especially if it's a breakup song. And you wouldn't want that on camera. And people would probably climb up and not just talk about their emotions. Like, you really do pour yourself into a song.
- [12:01]
Buzz Knight
And how much anxiety is it for you in terms of the ordering of an album? How things, you know, what begins, what's in the middle? I mean, tell me about that from an artist standpoint.
- [12:16]
Chris Young
Well, I can tell you on this one, I had a lot of anxiety, mainly because there were 14 songs. I was not thinking about the fact that there is a vinyl for this record, and that is highly important. Everybody is, like, started to get back into it, even if it's just like, I signed like 6,000 of these things, by the way. So if anybody wants to go, like, pick up a signed copy, they exist. But when I was doing it and we were making the vinyl, I sent in my initial, like, hey, this is the order. This is what we're doing. It's very. I, like, I already thought through, like, what comes first, second, third, fourth. And I do think about that. Like, a lot of thought process does go into to the sequencing of an album. And then they called me back and they're like, hey, so one. One side of this record is too long. They're like, you can only put so much time on each side of the. The actual record. And I was like, oh, yeah, I didn't think about that. So then I had to reorder a couple things where I'm like, okay, maybe some of this piece here. It was like playing Tetris with the album a little bit, but we got it. It's all on one record. And it. It worked out. And I do think the sequence is really, really strong, so.
- [13:38]
Buzz Knight
And it goes through. I do too. It goes through, you know, a beautiful tapestry that you. That you paint, the anthems kind of suddenly jump out and grab you. But certainly the heartfelt songs are really special. Those. Those in particular, I gravitate towards. And I know we've. We've talked on this podcast, in our other podcast on Music Save Me, and on Taking a Walk Nashville about some of the songs, and Just Keep Living has been a theme as a incredibly special song. And I want you to maybe talk about that one a little.
- [14:17]
Chris Young
Yeah. And I've spoken, like you said a little bit on this song already, but for this particular moment, it's a song about my dad. My dad is technically my stepdad, but I always refer to him as my dad and my old man. And he is. And that's how he looks at himself, which is amazing. And he, you know, is just one of those incredible human beings that, for whatever reason, has been through all these different health things, and he's just sort of walked through it like somebody walking through a piece of cardboard. And I know it was harder than that for him and on him, but everybody's always like, you guys look so much alike. And it always makes me laugh. And I. I sat next to him when he was going through cancer, which is what this song is about. When he's got, you know, multiple different things that he's taken. He's taken this huge cocktail of everything. And they're talking to him and he's like, I'll be fine. Just like old country guy. They learn her mustache and all. And he's like. They're like, you're going to lose your hair. During the process of going through all this, the entire time, he had a full head of hair and a full mustache. It's just. That's my dad, but he talked to me and my mom and my sister and told us he had cancer and he's beating it. They took a third of one of his lungs out, and he's still around kicking and doing everything else. But my mom and my sister started crying. I was like, I've got to stay, like, chill. And, like, totally, you know, I'm. I'm the other man of the family. Like, be. Be cool. And so they leave, and it's just me and him sitting there. And he's like, when they wheel me back when I had my heart attack because he had. Had a widowmaker heart attack, which is your lower left ventricle. 99 is blocked. He drove himself to the hospital. Like, again, this is the kind of man this guy is, and I wouldn't recommend anyone doing that by the way that's listening to this podcast, please don't do that. But he. He said, they wheel me back. They said, say your prayers, whatever God you believe in. And they say that to you in the hospital if they think you might not wake up. And he was like, I prayed for y' all to be okay. He goes, I felt a weight lift off to me, like, off of my shoulders. He goes, I knew y' all were going to be okay, and so I didn't care. I was like, I'm good. He goes, this is just another one of those things, kid. So I wrote this song about him, and then I had to call him and make sure it was okay to put the song on the record because it's very personal. But, yeah, I think this is a really powerful song. That's a part of the fabric of this album.
- [17:24]
Buzz Knight
It's wonderful. It made me envision being on a front porch, like reflecting on. On life and what's important. And it just really took me to a place personally, you know, in that regard. So thank you for sharing, you know, your personal reflections on it. And it wouldn't be the right thing to leave a song off about your mother. So. Talk about a different take on the world.
- [17:55]
Chris Young
Yeah. With your. With your mom happier. Have your. Yeah. Jesus, mama. Country radio. Enough said. It's pretty self explanatory, but also I. I do say this in a lot of interviews, but it's the truth. If I had put a song about my dad on there and didn't put a song about my mom. She knows where I live.
- [18:17]
Buzz Knight
And watch out.
- [18:18]
Chris Young
Yeah, for sure.
- [18:21]
Buzz Knight
What's your favorite thing that your mom cooks for you?
- [18:25]
Chris Young
You know what? Probably she makes a great chicken chili that is just Chef's Kiss. That's. It's perfect.
- [18:37]
Buzz Knight
I love it. Talk about some of your other other favorites off of the new album.
- [18:44]
Chris Young
Yeah, I would say 10 roof is one that comes up a lot. That's. That's one of my faves. I obviously, I love the single, which is weird because now I've called out two songs that are two of the three that I didn't write. But till the last one Dies is very important. Boots on the Ground to me is a lot of fun. And what's funny is the guy that wrote Tin Roof, one of the guys is actually signed in my publishing company. His name's Ty Graham. He's a good friend of mine. We've written a bunch of songs that are on the record together. But he is very much like if John Mayer, like, slammed into country Music, like, that's how I imagine him. Just insane guitar player. Like, that's very much. He's very raspy, breathy, like, but still, like, powerful vocally, I would say, where I'm like, hey, I can play this song with two chords. He's like, yeah, but I can play it with 14. Watch this. I did not expect him to like this song. And Boots on the Ground, specifically, it is, it is a. Like, we made a line dance to this song. It is. When I was writing it, that was the entire purpose of the chorus. I mean, obviously, there's a. There's another hook to it if you listen to all the lyrics. But we made the video with everybody doing the line dance. We get to make, like, a really cool bar scene. That was very vibey. And he called me, and he goes, I love Boots on the Ground, man. I'm like, that's the one that you like. You, you gravitated towards that one because, well, I didn't want to call out my own song. So he goes, yeah, that was the one that I love.
- [20:30]
Buzz Knight
I hear a lot of hits on it. And it's just, It's. That's my opinion. I, I, that's, that's what I'm hoping and believing. And there's a lot of hits on this, on this one, Chris, for sure, you know.
- [20:42]
Chris Young
Thank you, ma'.
- [20:42]
Buzz Knight
Am.
- [20:43]
Chris Young
Hope you're right. You're mouth to God's ears.
- [20:45]
Buzz Knight
Yes, sir. So, in closing, what's something you learned about yourself as an artist that you wish you'd known when you started?
- [20:53]
Chris Young
Who? That's a. That's a heavy question. So if I was going to say anything, it's that you can fail and still come back from it. I get that everybody knows, like, nobody's perfect, but I remember the very first time after I'd finally started having number ones and finals. Just any hit of any kind, and I had five in a row. And then the sixth song didn't work. We didn't even make a video for it. There was a period where I had a number one, and then, like, the next song only went to 23. And it was just sort of like, okay, where. Where am I in the landscape of music? It like, did I pick the wrong songs? Do I need to, like, change up my team? Do I need to change up something about me? I remember I sat down, I had a conversation with someone, and I changed management, and I had this whole album ready to go. I had written all these songs. I was like, what am I going to do with it? And oddly enough, that's sort of the same situation I'm in with this project. But that project was recorded at the same studio that my record label now owns. It was at Soundstage and it's Black River Entertainment owned that studio. I recorded this whole album with a friend of mine, Corey Crowder, and it was I'm coming over. And then I had three straight number ones again. So even if you think like, ah, man, that last one didn't work, try, try again. And it, it sucks to have heard that all of your life. And everybody always says it to you and you have that in your brain and you know that it's just a saying that everybody uses, but that's why it sticks around as a saying. You never know.
- [22:49]
Buzz Knight
You know, resilience is a theme often in this show in terms of an artist sticking with it and believing and people believing in. So that's an important theme for you to pass on to everybody, no matter what walk of life that they're in. Chris Absolutely. I really want to thank the folks at Black River Entertainment and Cindy Hunt from Monarch for connecting us great people. So grateful to have you on. Chris Young, it's an honor. Congratulations on the new music and thank you for being on Takin a Walk.
- [23:21]
Chris Young
Hey, thank you for talking with me, thank you for talking about the album and very much appreciate your time.
- [23:29]
Buzz Knight
I'm Buzz Knight and thanks for listening to the Taking a Walk podcast. Now please check out our companion podcasts produced by BuzzKnight Media Productions with your host, Lynn Hoffman. Music Save Me Showcasing the healing power of music and comedy. Save Me Shining a light on how laughter is the best medicine. All shows are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and are part of the I Heart Podcast Network
- [23:59]
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