Country-proud Army veteran Craig Morgan releases new CD - Entertainment, Music - Navy Times

Country-proud Army veteran Craig Morgan releases new CD

Country music star and Grand Ole Opry member Craig Morgan is a high-energy kind of guy, wringing every drop of life from his allotted years.

The opening lyrics to “Being Alive and Living,” a song he wrote for his just-released sixth studio album “This Ole Boy” give a glimpse into his work-hard, play-hard lifestyle.

I ain’t a guy to just kick back and watch bikes race around the track,

I’m white-knuckles to the handlebars with both my hands.

No, I ain’t one to just stand around while a parachute falls to the ground.

I gotta be hanging underneath it when it lands.

I’m not a wonder-what-it-feels-like kind of man ...

There’s a difference between being alive and living.

Tennessee native Morgan served more than 10 years on active duty as a fire support specialist with the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions, with much of the time attached to 5th Special Forces Group. He also served as an air assault instructor in South Korea. Nearly seven years in the Army Reserve followed as he pursued country music.

With a load of hit songs over the past decade, Morgan also is hailed as one of the most grounded, humble guys in the business.

An enthusiastic hunter and gun rights advocate, Morgan’s creative and entertaining “All Access Outdoors” TV show on the Outdoor Channel was recognized in January with two of the channel’s coveted “Golden Moose” awards.

OFFduty caught up with Morgan in late February, just before a show in Knoxville, Tenn.

Q. Did you do much guitar playing and singing as a boy?

A. Not really. It wasn’t until I joined the Army that I began pursuing playing the guitar and singing. It was really more of a hobby, something to pass time.

Q. Were you a fire support specialist your whole career?

A. Yes, and being a 13 Fox, you had a chance to work with almost everybody. I was fortunate I got to go do a lot of the “hoo-ah” stuff. I was an artillery guy, but as a 13 Fox, we never really considered ourselves artillerymen (laughs). We always felt like, and this is terrible I know, but as a 13 Fox we felt we were just a little better than the gun guys (laughs). We thought we were special. We weren’t — we just thought we were!

Q. Who were some of your key mentors?

A. [Retired] Col. Bill Greer was a great mentor. In fact, Bill Greer and his wife, Karen, have become very dear friends over the years. After I got out, Karen Greer actually ran my fan club for a little while. They’ve become like family. Also, Gen. Hugh Shelton was a mentor and even became a friend afterwards.

Q. Any combat deployments?

A. I was in Panama in 1989 for the ousting of Noriega. I was actually stationed in Panama during that operation and assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. I was also with the 82nd during Desert Storm.

Q. Did you perform or play in a band while you were on active duty?

A. Shoot, no! Nothing like that. Just me and my guitar. For me, music was just a bit of an outlet, something I did to kill time. And every time I started singing, people would come by and hang out.

Q. Were you writing songs then?

A. Oh, yeah. I thought I was (laughs). I was writing at it. I’ve been writing songs and trying to be a songwriter since I was in high school, but when I was in the Army, I really wrote a lot because when you’re away from home, there are a lot of things that stimulate the writing.

Q. Have any of those early efforts been dusted off, updated?

A. Absolutely not! (laughs). There’s a lot that’s changed since then; not only in me and my personality, but I’ve learned a whole lot. I feel like I’m a songwriter now; back then I was writing at it. It’s really funny because that’s how great my friends were then; they thought they were all great songs.

Q. Was leaving active duty a tough decision?

A. It was. I loved the Army and enjoyed my career. I just felt that if we did well — and we ended up doing well, thank God — that financially I could do better for my family than I could do in the Army. That was the only reason I left. And it was a bit nerve-racking because I had a good career and the Army was a good fit for me.

Q. You entered the Reserve after leaving active duty. Did you have other jobs, too?

A. I was doing the one weekend a month, two weeks a year. I had to have other jobs. I was a sheriff’s deputy, plus other odd stuff. But sheriff’s deputy was my main source of employment. I was working three jobs, basically. As soon as I’d get off work as a deputy, I’d go do the music, sometimes staying out until 1 to 2 a.m., writing, doing songwriters’ nights, getting my feet wet, staying out and meeting people; then I’d go home, sleep for four to five hours, get up and go to work.

Q. What was your “big break?”

A. I was writing songs for a publishing company that was pitching my songs. In the process of doing all my demos, I’d take the stuff I sang and wrote to a buddy of mine, Jeff Avaritte, who boarded horses. Jeff would listen to it. If he really liked it, he’d let me ride one of the good horses. He owned Joe Go Quick, a world champion quarterhorse at the time, and if he really liked a song, he’d let me ride Joe. If he didn’t like it, he’d let me ride some crappy horse (laughs). One day a gentleman who boarded horses with him was there and heard one of the songs I had written. He asked Jeff who I was. That gentleman was the guy running Atlantic Records at the time, and he offered me a record deal. It was a God thing.

Q. John Conlee invited you to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry at a show at Fort Bragg, N.C., in September 2008. What was that like?

A. We were doing a concert and filming a TV show about my life called “Back to Bragg.” It was a very cool moment for me and my family. John Conlee, who had a son in the Army, showed up. I was singing one of his songs [“Rose Colored Glasses”] and John comes up and sings. When the song was over, he invited me to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. I had buddies from the Special Forces world, Delta Force, and every paratrooper I know there. I was onstage crying, and every one of them was crying, but I said, “Ain’t nobody going to say anything to any of us.”

Q. Any philosophy from your Army days still influencing who you are today?

A. I learned in the Army — and I hate to use that freaking term — to improvise and overcome. But, that’s reality. In that world, you learn to do that. After serving in some environments I served in, you realize how fortunate we have it. People say I’m always smiling. That’s because I’m so content and grateful for how good we have it here. I truly am. I’ve been to a lot of places, seen a lot of [stuff] in my life. I’ve got a healthy family, and it is a wonderful thing.

Q. Your songs range from lighthearted like “Redneck Yacht Club” and “International Harvester” to powerful and emotional like “Almost Home,” “Tough“ and “This Ain’t Nothing.” Where do you get the inspiration for the songs you write, and what inspires you as you select songs from other writers?

A. “Almost Home” was rated as one of the top 10 songs of the decade. That was a big old hit for us. All of my songs cover the gamut. Life covers the gamut! When people buy my records, they can hear everything. One day you’re in a “Redneck Yacht Club” mood, and the other day you’re in a “Tough” mood. Music is a wonderful thing to help you get through or enjoy those types of days. Every day isn’t a “Redneck Yacht Club” day. I try to cover the way life is.

Q. What song is your personal favorite?

A. “Almost Home” has to be the biggest song of my career. That’s the one that kicked down doors, broke every barrier and let everyone who were doubters say, “OK, I believe it now.” But, I just wrote a song that was the most fun for me. The song is “Love Loves a Long Night.” I’m not a guy that walks around singing my music. But, I’ll catch myself humming that song during the day. It’s just such a great song to sing. It’s just so good for me to sing, and I love it.

Q. I also liked “Fish Weren’t Bitin’” on the new record — great payoff at the end.

A. Yeah, I didn’t write that song, but it feels like something I did write. The only problem with that song is you have to wait for the payoff. Sometimes people’s attention span on the radio isn’t that long (laughs).

Q. You’re obviously in great shape. What’s your workout, and do you still race motocross?

A. I have an Enduro race on Sunday, down in Georgia. I work out regularly. When I’m on the road touring, I have a great routine. It’s a lot tougher [to work out] when I’m home. The schedule is tougher. I still work out, just differently. At home, I work out more with the tractor, on the bikes, that kind of stuff. I eat well; that’s probably the key to my health. Then, pushups, situps and running are all you really have to do. I learned that in the Army.

Q. How did your “All Access Outdoors” TV show come about?

A. My co-producer and buddy, Marc Womack, talked to me about it eight years ago, and I wasn’t interested. But years passed, circumstances changed and he came back with the idea again, and I said, “Let’s do it.” I grew up hunting and fishing.

Q. What’s a great day in the outdoors for Craig Morgan?

A. There’s no such thing as a bad day in the outdoors. Whether we’re hunting or camping, it’s just being out there, man! One of the things I enjoy about the TV show is I’ve always got a buddy with me. That’s fun. The great thing about the outdoors, for me, has been being able to share it with family and friends.

Ken Perrotte is a Military Times outdoors writer.