June 30, 2026

Trace Adkins on Career, American Made & A Capitol Fourth 2026

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Country music icon Trace Adkins joins Kyle McMahon on Pop Culture Weekly for an exclusive, reflective conversation celebrating his remarkable 30-year career and the release of his brand new song American Made exclusively on A Capitol Fourth.

From the release of his debut single in 1996, "There's a Girl in Texas," to his current anniversary tour, Trace discusses the evolution of his music, the industry's shift toward streaming, and why his passion for performing live remains stronger than ever.In this episode, Trace also offers a sneak peek at his brand new single, "American Made." He shares the deeply personal inspiration behind the track - rooted in his own family’s genealogy and his recognition by the Daughters of the American Revolution - and discusses the honor of debuting it live at PBS’s A Capitol Fourth.Whether you’re a longtime fan of his chart-topping hits or interested in the craft behind his dual career as an acclaimed actor, Trace opens up about the "magic" of the creative process, his reverence for the Grand Ole Opry, and the tenacity of the American spirit.

In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly:

  • Reflecting on 30 Years: Trace shares what he would tell his younger self, the reality of the music business, and his "old jock" approach to his career longevity.
  • The Story Behind "American Made": Learn how Trace’s family history and genealogy research inspired his latest patriotic anthem.
  • Acting vs. Music: Trace discusses his unique acting methods - "one on a motorcycle, one on a horse" - and why he finds movie sets as stimulating as the recording studio.
  • The Grand Ole Opry: Trace explains why his induction into the Opry remains one of his proudest life achievements.
Let’s go.

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Welcome to Pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon, your pop

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culture news, views, reviews, and celebrity interviews on all the movies,

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TV music and pop culture u CRABE Weekly. Here's Kyle McMahon.

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All right, Well, first of all, thank you so much,

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Trace for speaking with me again, and welcome to oop

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Culture Weekly. You we're going to talk about PBS as

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a Capital fourth and your new single, But I'd like

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to you know, kind of look at as you're celebrating

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thirty years. You know, it's a long time in any career,

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let alone in the music industry. When you look back,

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you know, to ninety six, you release Dreaming out Loud.

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What is the biggest surprise? You know that you would

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say Trace back then would say to Trace today or

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the opposite.

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Well, uh, when Dreaming out Loud came out, my first

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single I think got in the teams in. My second

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single went top five, my third single went number one,

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my fourth single one number one. The album went platinum,

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and I thought, Wow, this is going to be easy,

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you know, and then thing and then reality, you know,

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sets in and it's not always going to be like that,

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you know, the sophomore slump and all that kind of stuff,

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and and uh, you know, I would just say to

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myself back then, just be patient. It's all going to

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be all right, you know, and everything's going to work

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itself out. But I you know, thirty years, I wouldn't

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have even allowed myself to dream that I would still

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be relevant after thirty years. You know, that's that's a

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long time. And I'm very grateful, and you know, it's

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it's been a dream come true, and dreams do come true.

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I love that.

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And you're you're on tour right now. Is there a

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particular moment, you know, where it really hit you that

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you've been doing this for three decades.

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Yeah. I think it was that first weekend that we

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went out on tour this year and I started setting

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up the first single that came out in ninety six,

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which was There's a Girl in Texas, and I was

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telling the story about it before I sang the song,

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and I started setting it up and it started to

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hit me. It was like, wow, you know, this was it,

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you know, this was the and it just happened to

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be a song that I wrote, and the president of

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the record label said, this is the one that I

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think will introduce you to everybody and the way that

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you should be introduced, and let's go with this one.

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And because it was personal to me and it still is.

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The lyrically that song it it means more to me

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now than it did when I wrote it. It means now,

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But but the lyrics really hit me hard, you know

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now when I do it. So Yeah, it was that

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first weekend out that it was. They dawned on me

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what this all meant.

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When you're putting I'm sorry, when you're putting together, you know,

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a set list that's looking over your entire career thus far.

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How do you.

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Balance playing you know, the hits and the songs that

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people want to see versus the songs that mean the

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most to you personally as an artist, or you know,

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have some specific you know reason that you want to

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do this song for this tour. How do you kind

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of balance that?

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Yeah, well, I do the greatest hits show. You know,

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I know what the fans want. They want to hear

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what they've heard on the radio. But since it is

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a little different, you know, thirty year anniversary tour, I

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do slip two or three in there, four mile gratification.

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You know, these deep album cuts that meant a lot

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to me. And uh, I don't do many of them.

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I do two or three, but I am putting two

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or three of those in there this year. That's great.

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And you've watched, you know, over your career thus far,

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you've watched the music music itself and the music industry change,

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you know, so much over the last thirty years. What's

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one thing today in the country music scene that excite

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excites you and what's the what's one thing that you

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hope never changes in the industry.

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Gosh, that's a loaded question. You're trying to get me intro.

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I would I would hope that vocal ability and that

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kind of talent never go was away. I don't. I

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don't care how much you can digitally massage things and

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make them sound right. I don't think that's what this

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business should be about. You know, it should be straight up,

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you know, just sing it and and it is what

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it is. But you know that's that's not the world

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we live in. Yeah. But the thing that I hope

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never goes away is just how big country music still

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is as a genre. I mean, there are more country

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music stations than any other genre in this country. That

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was true when I started and is still true thirty

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years later. And I think that's great.

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Do you have a new song that you know you're

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releasing American Made and you're gonna be debuting it live

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on a capital fourth. What is it about this song

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that made you say this is the one for this time?

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Well, I was thinking two fifty, you know when I

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wrote this, and I and I thought, you know, I'm

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going to personalize this. You know, this is how my

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family came here, and how long ago my family came here.

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I was fortunate enough a few years ago to receive

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an award from the Daughters of the American Revolution, but

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I didn't deserve but they gave it to me anyway,

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and they gave me my family tree, my genealogy, and

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was on a big board and I'd never seen that before.

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And they went all the way back to the Revolution,

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because that's what they're about. And if you had verifiable

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patriots in your family tree, they had a little American

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flag by each one of them. And on both sides

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of my family, you have to go back more than

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eight generations to find somebody that wasn't born in this country.

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And I just I wanted to celebrate that and So

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that's that's why I wrote this song, you know. And

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it's not to diminish anybody else's heritage or how long

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they've been here. This is just me. Yeah, You're a story. Yeah,

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and so that that's why I wrote it the way

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I did, and I celebrated that that's what American made.

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That's what this song means to me.

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It's a great it's a great song, and I can't

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wait to see you perform it live at a Capitol fourth.

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But you've recorded, you know, a number of songs about

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America and every day you know, everyday Americans and you know,

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blue collar people, hardworking people. Why has that been a

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theme for you?

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That's that's country music, I think, you know, it's just

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that goutry music was, you know, for the everyday guy,

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the working man. You know, That's how it was when

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it started, and it's still that way, and that's cool,

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and I'm happy about that. But I've I've always there's

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always been a spot or two or three on my

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albums for those kinds of songs, uh, patriotic, celebrating working

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man woman. You know, I've always had room on my

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albums for songs like that. And I've always had a

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deep appreciation for the men and women to serve in

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the military, and I've on just about every album I've

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done a song that pay tribute to them, at least

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in some small way. And I'm proud of.

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That, well, as you should be. When you're introducing a

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brand new song like you are with American Maid, you know,

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you have audiences that have known your catalog for decades. Uh,

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but you're putting a new kind of baby, if you will,

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out into the world. Does that Is that still nerve

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wracking for you too?

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Yeah? Yeah, oh gosh, And that's exactly what that's That's

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the analogy that I've used over the years too. People

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don't understand. You go into the studio and you have

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this raw piece of material and you try to turn

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it into a beautiful butterfly, you know, and you hope

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that it's going to going to speak to people the

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way it speaks to you. And and it's like having

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a baby and you think it's the most beautiful baby

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in the world, and the last thing you want is

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somebody to come up to you and say, oh my,

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what an ugly baby. You know, you just don't want

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to hear that, you know, Uh, and it's it's always

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been that way for me. I hate it when people

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tell me I've got an ugly baby. Smile them what

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I was?

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You know, lucky enough, you guys sent over the track

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so I could listen to it, and it really is

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a beautiful song. What do you hope people? And I

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love that I got to listen to it in my headphones,

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you know, I got to focus on it for four minutes.

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What do you hope people take away from it the

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first time they hear American?

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Mate? I just hope that they puff up a little

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bit and be proud, you know, be proud that you're

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in American. This is our two hundred and fiftieth of

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this grand experiment, you know, this democracy that we've tried

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so hard to keep for two hundred and fifty years.

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And we've been through rough times. And some people think

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we're going through rough times now, but we have the

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spine to get through it. We have the tenacity. We've

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proven it for two hundred and fifty years, and I

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think every now and then we should beat our chest

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little bit and be proud of it.

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That's great, and you will be performing this live on

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PBS as a Capital fourth, which is always such an

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incredible show, such a great celebration of America. You've performed,

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you know, a number of times for them. Why do

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you keep coming back.

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It's just it's almost just an overwhelming experience when you

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walk out on that stage facing the capital and there's

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a hundred piece orchestra behind you. It's that is something

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that as a singer, those opportunities don't come around very often,

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and you'd be a fool to not take that opportunity.

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And anybody out there that has ever had the chance

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to do it and maybe turned it down for whatever reason,

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I would suggest if they offer you the chance to

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do it again, you should go, just for selfish reasons.

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It's awesome.

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Yeah, yeah, it really is.

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You know.

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I've been lucky enough to go the last probably eight

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or nine years, and every single time, whether it's rehearsals

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or during the live show, I get chills, you know,

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at one point or another, or multiple points, because it

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really is a sacred space. And then you have these

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incredible artists like yourself that are you know, either celebrating

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the troops or remembering our troops or the country or whatever,

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and it's very you know, and then for the live show.

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You have one hundred thousand people watching you on the

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lawn and around the Capitol and millions on television and online.

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You know, it really is something special, you know, it

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really truly is.

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Yeah. And the production, you know, I tipped my hat

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to the Capital fourth people. The production is always stellar,

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just incredible, and it's is it really is an overwhelming

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experience to go out on that stage with all the

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production and the orchestra is always just insanely perfect. And

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so it's a lifetime opportunity and I always enjoy it.

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I'm looking forward to seeing you. Of course, you have

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built a very impressive kind of I don't want to

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say side career, but you know, aside from your main gig,

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if you will, with acting right alongside your music career,

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what does acting.

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Do for you?

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You know what it's does it scratch that music may not?

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Well, I don't know that it scratches an itch that

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music can't. It's just what I've likened it to is

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when my favorite times in the music business really the

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times that you get most inspired and creative. It's when

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you're in the studio with some of the finest musicians

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in the world, which is the pool we have to

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draw from here in Nashville, the finest musicians in the

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world that can play anything that you can imagine. Those

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days in the studio are just magical and the creativity. Everybody

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in there is on top of their game. And that's

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the way I feel when I'm on a movie set

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or a television set. Everybody around you is a professional,

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and they're very good at what they do, and they're

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very talented, or they wouldn't be there. And I just

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find that environment stimulating and I just I enjoy it.

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It's just like being in the studio. You're surrounded by

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these incredibly talented and creative people and I just I

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get a kick out of it.

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And you've worked in everything from you know, in faith

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based to action to television. Is there a role that

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you've done that has surprised you? How much has fuck

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with you?

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I generally like playing surly gunfighters, but you know, and

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you know people know that, you know they when they

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want me, I'm probably gonna I have two two acting methods.

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One's on a motorcycle and the other one's on a horse,

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and those are my acting methods. And they pretty much

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know that. Every now and then they'll throw me a

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bone and let me do something else that I'm not

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supposed to do. But most of the time it's horses

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and motorcycles.

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I love that. What was the moment in your acting

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career that you realize like, okay, like I can do

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this too.

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I have never felt that. Really. I always said that

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my best acting job that I do is convincing the

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director that I know what I'm doing, because I don't.

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I haven't had any training. I don't know what I'm doing.

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You know, I'm saying, okay, you want me to say

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these words. Okay, that's about the depth of it for me.

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You know, I'm not you know, whoever you want to

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name that's an incredible actor that's not me.

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Has there been any dream roles or genres that you

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haven't tackled yet that you want to.

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No, I think I know what lane I'm supposed to

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be in, and I should probably stay there.

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Okay, So no no trace as a as a scream

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king in a horror or.

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A lawyer or a surgeon or nothing like that. It's

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probably gonna work. You know, they don't want me going

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in there going all right, what we're gonna do saw

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top your head off of dig get tumor out. They

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don't want to hear that.

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You performed at the Opry one hundred earlier this year,

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and you know you were obviously inducted or is that

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is that the word inductive?

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They make you a member. Yes, in the mob of guess.

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You were previously you know, had been made a member.

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What did that moment mean to you? At the Opry

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one hundred performing like that?

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It was just I wouldn't have been anywhere else on

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this planet that night. Yeah, it means that much to me.

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People ask me, you know, what's the biggest achievement that

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you think you've you've what's the biggest thing you've achieved

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in your career? And and I say, it's something that

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I don't even feel like I achieved. It's just for

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some reason, they decided to make me a member of

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the Grand Ole Opry. And and on my list of achievements,

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that's top five, that's the ta hole, that's one through five,

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and then everything else comes after that. You know, grew

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up as a kid. You could hear it on Saturday

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nights and on the radio even in Louisiana, and it

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was just something really really special, and it's such an

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historic institution. I have such reverence and respect for it,

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and I've never had a bad experience when I sang

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at the Opry, and I've been doing it now for

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thirty plus years.

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I guess that's incredible. You know. What's interesting to me

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is that you have earned You have had over a

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billion streams with your music on Pandora alone, which is incredibly,

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in my opinion, remarkable considering your career started when you

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had to go to Walmart or best Buy or whatever

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and buy an album. You know, to me, that really

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says something about your music and how it doesn't matter

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that the time frame that we are in, how we

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consume music, people still relate to that. What does that

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mean to you?

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Uh? Nothing. I don't even know if that's a lot.

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I don't know anything about the stream and stuff. I

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don't know, you know, is that a lot? I guess?

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I you know, I you know, I can't stream anything.

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I don't know. It's not my thing. I don't, I don't.

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I don't get into that world very often. So yeah,

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I'm grateful, and it's and I'm honored that that there's

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even a hundred that have streamed it. That's great and

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moren I thought they would.

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What does that say, you know to you as an

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artist as you see the way or maybe don't see

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the way.

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Uh.

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People's consumption of music has changed over your career.

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Yeah, and that has completely changed, it does. It's not

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even in the A zip code anymore the way it

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was when I first came out. I mean, my first

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album came out on a cassette. You know, how long

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has it mentioned? She saw one of those? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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So things have definitely changed the way people get music.

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It's a lot easier to get music to people these days.

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And I'm really grateful, you know that, that I've been

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able to take advantage of that. And I've got a

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team of people that make sure that my music is

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available and the places that it should be, and you know,

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our Heart Radio being one of the many. And I

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still I'm so grateful and thankful that people are still

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playing it.

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What, you know, kind of winding down thirty years. What

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gets you excited day after day in this in your.

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Career, Well, there's still there's nothing like getting up there

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and singing a song and hearing the crowds singing it

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back to you. You know, that's just so special, you know,

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and they have to have been or they have to

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have familiarized themselves with your music. To do that, they

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have to know you, and they've heard that song countless

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times and then they just sing it with you. I mean,

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that's a really special thing, and I'm I'm glad that

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they still do that.

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When we're tall all in ten years, for your fortieth

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anniversary tour, what do you think, what do you think

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people will be saying about your legacy?

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Then for my fortieth, if I'm still doing this, they'll

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probably say, boy, I hope he gets the urs paid off,

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you know, because I don't expect to still be doing

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this ten years from now. To be honest with you,

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you know, I look at it like an old jock.

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You know. This is a muscle, just like everything else.

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And I quit playing bolved whenever I couldn't play at

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one hundred percent anymore. You know, I had to walk

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away from the game of football because I couldn't go.

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I wasn't even ninety percent anymore. If I was so

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banged up. And once this doesn't perform the way that

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I want to be able to perform every night, I'm

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gonna walk away from it. I don't know when that's

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going to happen. So far, I can still sing every

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song that I recorded in the same key that I

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recorded them in. I'd actually like the sound of my

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voice better now. I think it's smoother. I listen to

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that first record and I think, man, that sounds kind

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of thin, you know. Now, I think my voice sounds warmer,

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and the high is still there and the bottom's gotten

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even better. So, you know, as long as I can

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still perform, I'll keep doing it. But I just don't

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know how much longer that's gonna hold up.

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Well, hopefully for us. You know, we are discussing this

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in ten more years selling.

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If we are, that's great.

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Finally, what does success mean to Trace Adkins?

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It happened twenty years ago. You know, I'm content. I'm

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happy with the way my career turned out. I wouldn't

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change a thing. Everything's been great, man. I mean, even

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the ones that didn't work at radio or whatever, those

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were all it didn't matter, you know. Yeah, people aren't

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always going to lack everything you do, you know, but

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I can't complain about anything. I know how fortunate and

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how blessed I am to be where I am, and

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it's because I've had a lot of very competent people

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working with me over the years have steered this ship

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and made it into port when I was just floundering.

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But you know, it's been great. I'm just I'm very

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pleased with all of it.

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Trace, Thank you so much for taking the time with me.

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You are a legend. You're an incredible artist, an incredible guy.

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I can't wait for everybody to hear American Maid, and

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I can't wait to see you on PBS as a

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capital fourth.

392
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Thank you man, I've enjoyed it.

393
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:41.160
Thank you, cal, thank you, thank you very much.

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Thank you for listening to pop Culture Weekly. You're all

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the latest at pop culturewekly dot com.