I don't feel like God called me to be a Gospel singer. He didn't call me to be a Christian singer, he called me to be a country singer, and I just happen to be a Christian.

It's so cool for me to do what I love to do for a living and meet people from all over the world.

There were only 75 people in my graduating class at the school I attended in Hannah, S.C. It was a small school and that translated into not a lot of opportunities when it came to music. We had academic and sports programs but we never had a consistent music program. We would have a band one year, and a chorus one year, but nothing ever lasted.

I care about my legacy that I'm leaving, not only for my fans, but for my wife and my children and my grandchildren. I want them to look back and say, 'He did it right and he stood up for what is right.'

When a copier sales person cold calls a purchasing manager whom he has never met is it any surprise that the purchasing manager will most likely never return that call?

The life that I live and the experiences that I have always affect what comes out of me creatively. I think that's what makes music real.

I didn't rebel in the way a lot of people do.