County music star Craig Morgan performs 'God, Family, Country' at Brown County Music Center
More than 2 billion. That's how many times Craig Morgan's music has been streamed. This country music figure, TV personality, author, outdoorsman and U.S. Army veteran comes to the Brown County Music Center to perform Oct. 20.
A Grand Ole Opry member since 2008, Morgan has more than 25 songs on Billboard, including hits “Bonfire,” “Almost Home,” “Redneck Yacht Club,” “International Harvester,” “This Ole Boy,” “Soldier,” “That's What I Love About Sunday” and his tribute to his son Jerry, “The Father, My Son and The Holy Ghost.” Jerry, drowned in 2016 in a lake accident.
"After my son died (I decided) I wasn't doing anything that was not beneficial to every party involved. I don't do it just for me anymore.
"Grand Ole Opry is one of greatest honors that can be bestowed on a country singer.," Morgan said over the phone.
Morgan’s shows sell out, so hurry
Tickets to this Brown County show have ben selling quickly. “How You Make a Man,” from his "His God, Family, Country" (deluxe edition) album hit the stores on Veterans Day last year. That was also the day Morgan headlined a no-tickets-left show at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Before country music stardom and TV appearances, Morgan served 17 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve. This year he enlisted in the Army Reserve, to extend his military service. A champion of America's military, he has traveled overseas more than 16 times to perform for our troops.
Military life has shaped his music. "Any writer is influenced by life experiences," he said. "My life has been 3-D, multicolor with much experience.”
Fighting child prostitution
One experience that has stayed with him more that any other is his battle against child prostitution in Thailand. His new memoir, "God, Family, Country: A Memoir" (September 2022), delves into details from his life, revealing newly revealed stories such as challenging sex traffickers in Thailand as an undercover agent, collaboration with the CIA as a soldier in Panama, carving his way into country music fame, and living by his values: God, family, country.
Morgan is a member of the U.S. Field Artillery Hall of Fame and received the USO Merit Award. In 2018 he won the Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, one of the highest honors the Department of the Army can give a civilian. The award recognized his commitment to our military men and women throughout the world. Through work with Operation Finally Home, the USO and others, Morgan continues to aid active-duty and veteran members of the U. S. military.
This September he began reprising his successful “God, Family, Country Tour 2023,” working with Operation Finally Home.
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Yes, it is about the money (and the joy of entertaining people)
Interestingly, and perhaps cautionary for aspiring music stars, Morgan said he never sought a performance career as a road to fame. "I had to make a living," he said. "I had a wife and kids. I was in it for the money. It's called the music— business. And, also, I love entertaining people."
He said one possible reason for his success is that he writes songs to which listeners can relate. That's how he entered the industry — writing songs.
"Writing was my passion, and I was fortunate early on that I got songs recorded."
Morgan knew what it was like to need cash, to be uncertain of what will, or won't, come next month. "I've never been homeless, but I've been hungry," he said. From "Almost Home" (2002), come his and co-writer Kerry Kurt Phillips' lyrics about a man with no home:
"He had plastic bags wrapped around his shoes
He was covered with the evening news
Had a pair of old wool socks on his hands
The bank sign was flashing five below
It was freezing rain an' spittin' snow
He was curled up behind some garbage cans"
Boating unites economic strata — and inspired a song
Morgan's "Red Neck Yacht Club" emerged from his imagination after he spent many pleasant days among boat lovers of varying economic strata. In a place called "party cove" in the Midwest and another in Florida, boats ranging from pontoons to multimillion-dollar yachts gather. The mixed-group partiers all got along, he said, some of the billionaires wishing they were the pontoon boaters. Boating can unite people, he said, and music, in particular, "does that better than anything."
If you go
WHAT: Craig Morgan on his God, Family, Country Tour 2023WHEN: 8 p.m. Oct. 20WHERE: Brown County Music Center, 200 Maple Leaf Blvd., NashvilleTICKETS: $24-$71 at ticketmaster.com/brown-county-music-center-tickets-nashville/venue/42187 and hurry — tickets are going quickly.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Craig Morgan's 'God, Family, Country' show Oct. 20 in Brown County
