Country Music
Singer Aaron Tippin is Ready to Rock the US Troops for Thanksgiving - An
Interview from the Academy of Country Music Awards
Country music singer
Aaron Tippin is spending this Thanksgiving holidays with the US Troops
overseas. This year’s trek is not Aaron’s first, as he visited troops
during the Golf War in 1990, went to Afghanistan in 2002 and his been making
annual troops to visit US troops since 2003.
“Those are the real
working men and women, and if I can repay even an ounce of what they are
doing for me, my family, and my country by taking their mind off of the
day-to-day risks…well, I can’t think of a better thing to do with my time,”
Tippin said. “They have been fighting for the rights we take for granted
every day, and I want to make sure they know we’re thankful.”
Tippin’s Top 10 debut
single in 1991, “You’ve Got to Stand for Something” became the anthem for
Operation Desert Storm. His new sound, rock, yet still undeniably country
is reflected in his latest “Ready to Rock in a Country Kind of Way.”
I remember meeting him
this past year at the Academy of Country Music Awards on the red carpet with
his wife Thea. Fortunate for me, Barry Rogers from a Sacramento country
radio station was standing next to me on the orange carpet, and became a key
part of the interview process.
Aaron flashed us
showing his “Ready to Rock in a country kind of way” black t-shirt beneath
his Oscar de la Renta khaki jacket. Aaron’s beautiful wife Thea, who is
also a singer, waited patiently admiring as he spoke with each person down
the carpet. She was in a gorgeous pink dress she had been saving for the
occasion.
And
from the orange carpet at the Academy of Country Music Awards with Aaron
Tippin…
Does it feel any
different now from when you hear your songs on the radio than in the
beginning? Do you ever become desensitized?
AT: Heck no, I’m
more thankful than ever these days. The coolest thing I ever hear is, is
when somebody comes up to me and says say, hey man I do your song in
Karaoke. That’s when I love it baby. That’s the best treat I know.
I always wondered how
artists felt about it…
AT: That’s the best
form of (trailing off). I’m a songwriter too, so when it’s one that I
wrote, and they love it enough to learn it and sing it. It’s as good as it
gets.
Is it still a passion
these days or does it still ever feel like work?
AT: The business
part of it, that’s work. The passion is knowing the fans are going to be
out there at the next show. It’s going to be cool and exciting. It’s
unbelievable how much excitement. That’s the wonder part of your life. I’m
so thankful to still be doing it.
How many days of the
year are you out on the road?
AT: If we do a 100
shows, that’s about 200 days or better out there on the highway. It’s easy
to rack up the days and not be home very much. But I’ve got her and 2
beautiful boys so when I’m not working I’m at home, hanging out with them.
You always seem to me
like a tonka kind of guy, like bulldozers. Do you still have all your toys?
AT: Absolutely. I
am the junk man of country music. I have one of everything, piece of
junk…airplanes, old trucks, guns, you name it. I’ve got to have one of
each.
Aaron, I love your
voice, I love your style and I thank you for talking to us.
And then Aaron
sang us some bars…. “I’m ready to rock,
ready to rock, in a country kind of way.” Can’t wait for you all to hear
it. Go to
www.aarontippin.com
and you’ll get a little sliver of it.
Aaron Tippin, thanks
for entertaining the troops and special thanks to Barry Rogers.
