Father’s Day is Sunday (June 21st), and we have audio with many of your favorite country stars! Download the soundbites below.
If you missed the new 2020 liners, click here.
Audio / Adam Hambrick talks about what he most admires about his father.
DownloadAdam Hambrick (Father’s Day-Dad) OC: …about my dad. :45
“When I was a kid, my dad always included me on what he was doing. I feel like I learned a lot from watching go about life and watching him treat people well and with kindness. My dad is a pastor and I watched, my whole growing up, I just watched him serve other people, like put other people’s needs in front of himself and show up in the hospital when Sister Jeanette had surgery or whatever that thing was like any given day, it could be anything. I watched him tile floors in a new Sunday School building. I watched him do literally everything for a ton of different people in a really selfless way. That’s one of the things I admire most about my dad.”
Audio / ALAN JACKSON ALLOWED HIS THREE DAUGHTERS TO LIVE AND LEARN.
DownloadAJ (parenting style) OC: …what they did. :19
“We try to be just not pushy hands-on parents. We let them live and be their own way. I’m not stern with them. You know, I’m funny and light, and try to give them guidance and let them live and learn their own ways. And that’s something, I think, my parents did. It was accidental, but that’s what they did.”
Audio / Brandon Lay celebrated his first Father’s Day last year with his then nine-month-old son, Ryder. His wife Nicole gave birth to their second child, daughter Lara June, nearly two weeks ago. Brandon explains some of his favorite moments as a dad.
DownloadBrandon Lay (Father’s Day 2020) OC: …to experience. :21
“Honestly, the best thing about fatherhood is just someone that looks up to you. My favorite moments are when (Ryder) is scared and I’m there or he wants to figure out something and I’m there, or he needs lifting up and I’m there. I think that’s a God-given gratification that’s really cool to experience.”
Audio / Brandon Lay is now a father of two since his wife gave birth to their second child, Lara June, last week.
DownloadBrandon Lay (father of two) OC: …embrace. :26
“Oh man! Now that I’m a father of two, it’s really it goes from more than just keeping one little guy alive and still having more me and Nicole time to wow, I’m actually a father. We’ve got a party of four now, not that I wasn’t before a father, but you know what I mean. I’m reaching real dad status. It’s a weird feeling, but it’s one I embrace.”
Audio / Brothers Osborne grew up in a musical family – both their parents wrote and performed music. Their father listened to a bunch of different artists which gave them their own foundation.
DownloadBrothers Osborne (Dad’s music) OC: (John) …anything else. :34
“Our dad listened to everything from Hank Williams to Willie Nelson to even pop music like Mariah Carey and Tom Petty to Bob Seger. You name it and he listened to it, so we really didn’t think about specific genres. We really just kind of soaked it all in, so we listened to it all at one time. It was just music to us. Th ere wasn’t a day in our house without the radio on or there wasn’t a weekend at our house that there wasn’t a party and people had their guitars out, so music to us is like eating and breathing. It’s just as essential as anything else.”
Audio / Caylee Hammack says her father is a good man.
DownloadCaylee Hammack (Dad) OC: …forget that. 1:19
“My dad has this really unnerving ability to be able to build anything at all just by thinking of it. He can look at something and build it in his mind and build it by hand, and it always works. I’ve always respected him for that. He’s a very hard worker. He’s worked every day of his life. He’s also kind, even when he doesn’t have to be. He’s the type of guy who always gives money at the light to whoever it is on the street. One of my favorite moments with my dad was when we were driving to Macon, Georgia. I was playing a show that night, and we were driving up and we saw this dog and I could tell she was a mama dog. I could tell she had babies somewhere that she was trying to nurse, and she was so skinny. And I’m a bleeding heart. I get it from my Mama, and I just start crying, and I’m like, ‘That poor dog. She’s starving trying to feed her babies.’ I thought, ‘Poor dog.” And my dad doesn’t say anything, goes up two more blocks and pulls into the McDonalds. And he goes through and he asks me if I wanted anything, and I say no. I just think he’s hungry. He goes and he buys three or four burgers, and then he goes back to that block and he drives around until we find that dog to feed it to ‘em. I just remember looking at him, being like this is what a man is; this is what a good man does, and I’ll never forget that.”
Audio / DARIUS RUCKER SAYS HIS KIDS WOULD SAY HE WAS A FUN DAD, UNLESS THEY DID SOMETHING WRONG.
DownloadDarius Rucker (Father’s Day) OC: …loving dad. :41
“I think if you asked my kids what kind of Dad I was they would probably say…Dani would say that I was a fun Dad. My little daughter would say that I was a fun dad; she thinks I’m a lot of fun. I think if you caught them at the right moment they would say I was mean [laughs] because when I’m home I’m not afraid to discipline them. I’m all fun until it’s not fun anymore and then daddy’s not the fun guy. I think that they’d say that I was a fun Dad, I’m a loving Dad and I think they would say that. I’m gone so much that when I’m home, I just shower love upon my kids. I say ‘I love you’ probably fifty times a day. We hug, we kiss all the time. I’m always wanting them to know how much I love them. So I’d hope they’d say that I was a loving dad.”
Audio / DARIUS RUCKER SAYS HIS MOTHER MADE HIM A GOOD FATHER TO HIS THREE CHILDREN.
DownloadDarius Rucker (mother’s qualities makes him a great father) OC: …my mom. :45
“She had a lot great qualities, but she was always, family was first for her. She was always a rock and making sure she took care of us and making sure we had things we needed to have to survive – food and clothes and a home – and seeing that and seeing how hard she worked and all the things she did just really made me the father that I am today. I mean, I’m so crazy and hands-on with my kids. I think it all comes from watching my mom have to struggle so much to support us. And so now, I don’t want me or my wife to ever have to struggle, and I don’t want my kids to ever want or wonder where I am or where there mom is. I want them to always know where we are and always be taken care of, and that all comes from my mom.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley, a father of three, is very grateful to his own dad for turning him on to country music as a kid.
DownloadDierks (Father’s Day) OC: …that’s for sure. :10
“My dad was my biggest influence in country music because my dad loved country radio. So, we always drove around listening to country radio and George Strait, Hank Williams and Randy Travis and all these guys, so. Without him, I wouldn’t be doing this, that’s for sure.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley explains how being a father (to three children) has changed him.
DownloadDierks Bentley (how fatherhood has changed him) OC: …different. :07
“There’s a whole kind of different universe that has opened up that I never knew existed, and I’m not the center of it, which is really cool. It just makes you look at things totally different.”
Audio / Eric Church describes his father and the qualities he admires in him.
DownloadEric Church (Father’s Day) OC: …always admired. :29
“My dad is a, I’m trying to find the right words to describe him. My dad is a great guy, honest guy, very call it like he sees it, which is where I get a lot of that. No BS. I’m gonna tell you how I feel whether you like it or not. I’m that guy, I’m me…My dad’s that way, so I get a lot of that from him. There’s also an honesty and an integrity that my dad carries himself with that I’ve always admired. I think the both of them combined, and they’ve been married for I think 40 years, to be together that long in this day and time is a feat in itself.”
Audio / Jon Langston looks up to his father and hopes to become just like him.
DownloadJon Langston (Father’s Day) OC: …just fine. :16
“My Dad has been my hero all my life. He’s the man I want to be one day when I grow up. I’m thankful for all he’s done for me and the sacrifices he’s made for our family. If I’m half the man he is one day, I’ll be just fine.”
Audio / Jon Langston considers his dad his hero.
DownloadJon Langston (Father’s Day) 2 OC: …a great guy. :46
“My dad’s always been my biggest mentor and hero. He’s just been everything to me since I was a little kid. From taking me to every single football practice to being a coach in baseball and stuff to even when I couldn’t play sports anymore and I started doing music and traveling the country and he helped me by renting this family RV. Me and the boys would hop in. He drove us everywhere. He would like take us all over the country. He was taking off work every single week just so I could have a chance, a shot at tis dream. He’s the most selfless, humble human being ever, and if I’m half the man he is one day, then that’d be fine with me. He’s a great guy.”
Audio / Jordan Davis says he loves getting his daughter up in the mornings.
DownloadJordan Davis (fatherhood 2020) OC: …here myself. :46
“Fatherhood is something, it really is tough to put into words, but one of my favorite things to do is to go in and get Eloise up in the mornings, and I just see this little bundle of joy. She is just so happy. She’s got a smile just like Kristen, and so it really is just crazy to go in in the morning. She could be crying, screaming and then you walk in, and the second she sees you, it’s all smiles and laughs. I don’t know. I think the coolest thing with a kid like her age is just the innocence. You see just how happy she is to be here, and I’m very happy she’s here myself.”
Audio / JORDAN DAVIS TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVORITE QUALITIES OF HIS DAD.
DownloadJordan Davis (Father’s Day) OC: …my music. :45
“The thing I love most about my Dad is just his overall love of life. He’s a guy that’s worked hard and is now at a point where he can enjoy it, and he’s living every day to the fullest. That’s something that I’m very thankful that I’ve seen my Dad do and something to learn from. So, that’s probably my favorite quality about the old man, and just the hard work too. My dad ran a furniture business in Shreveport for a long time with his Dad. It was great to grow up and see a guy work hard and helped his Dad build a business from the ground up to a very successful business, and that’s something that I even try to carry over into my music.”
Audio / Jordan Davis talks about how life has changed for him since becoming a father to his daughter Eloise.
DownloadJordan Davis (how life changed when he became a dad) OC: …my daughter. :43
“I asked so many questions to Dads about what to expect and how my life was gonna change. I never really got a straight answer. It was just kinda like, ‘Dude, just do it and it’s gonna change for the better.’ It really is the most unbelievable, just the amount of love you have for this thing that just got into the world, it is indescribable. I can’t put that into words the first time you get a chance to hold your kid. And man, I’m very, very grateful for the blessing that is my daughter.”
Audio / PROUD DAD OF FOUR (HAMPTON, COLBY, MARION, HAWKE), JOSH TURNER TALKS ABOUT HOW HIS THREE OLDEST SONS ARE LEARNING THE FAMILY TRADE.
DownloadJosh Turner (Father’s Day) OC: …one of ‘em. 1:05
“As far as talent and potential, my oldest three, especially, they could do anything they wanted to do if they put their mind to it and their heart was there. My oldest [Hampton] is incredible at playing mandolin. Colby, we kind of noticed him turn the corner lately with the fiddle, and Marion is actually playing a ukulele that’s tuned like the top four strings on a guitar, so in essence, he’s learning how to play guitar. They’ve just kind of started incorporating some singing into some playing, so they’re starting the whole singing and playing at the same time kind of thing, and not only that, they’re even learning to play songs together on their individual instruments. So, it’s amazing to see how much they can learn in such a short amount of time. It makes me realize how much I missed out on when I was that age, ‘cause I did take some music lessons growing up and everything, but I think they feed off of each other honestly. I think that’s why they’re getting so good is because they’re all doing it, not just one of ‘em.”
Audio / Keith Urban – father to daughters Sunday and Faith -- says there are a number of things that are at the top of the list of being a dad.
DownloadKeith Urban (Father’s Day) OC: …experience that. :36
“The first thing is probably just having someone call you dad. I’m like, ‘Omigosh! I’m her dad! That’s amazing.’ That’s probably the first thing to me. I don’t know, I mean, the different personalities that our two daughters have, that’s amazing. It’s such a long list I think. I always say…I think for the people that haven’t had kids – which I hadn’t for a long, long time. I didn’t have kids ‘til later on, and being around it is not the same as having them, you know? I realize that it’s not something that can be explained until you actually sort of have it, so I’m glad I got to experience that.”
Audio / Kip Moore talks about his late father’s influence on his music career, and how he’d play classics on their fishing trips.
DownloadKip Moore (Father’s Day-dad’s influence) OC: …of us singin’ ‘em. :29
“He would just play all those classic records – Little River Band, Jackson Brown, Springsteen, Seeger, Willie Nelson, the Red-Headed Stranger, Kristofferson, Sam Cook – like classic music. He’d be singing the songs and telling us why it was such good music. And I looked up to him so much, that’s the music I gravitated towards and that’s what I continue to listen to. Whenever I think about those old fishing trips, that’s what I think about is on the way down there, him singing those songs and all of us singin’ ‘em.”
Audio / Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook says fatherhood is absolutely beautiful. He and wife Karen Fairchild became parents to Elijah Dylan on March 5, 2010.
DownloadLittle Big Town (Jimi-Father’s Day) OC: …beautiful. :32
“It’s still such a new experience for us, and man, I’m telling you, people can tell you all day long how great it’s going to be, but it still never touches it. That little man looking back at me, it’s the most unbelievable feeling. And every day, for me who hates mornings [laughs], waking up to a slap in the face; he’s like pounding on me, then he’s like kissing on me and stuff. It’s unbelievable. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
Audio / Luke Bryan talks about the life lessons he learned from his father.
DownloadLuke Bryan (Father’s Day-life lessons) OC: …live by that. :46
“Well, my dad was, I always just go back to the life lessons that always started either in a fishing boat or hunting somewhere, and that’s why I’ve always kind of been a champion of those types of behaviors certainly with your boys and your children because you get to spend time and hand down values. My dad was always big on just hard work and being good to people and a handshake is the contract. A handshake is your bond, your word. His famous saying always was, ‘Do something right the first time and you won’t have to go back and do it over again.’ I won’t say I batted a thousand perfectly on that, but I’ve kind of tried to live by that.”
Audio / MADDIE MARLOW TALKS ABOUT HER FATHER’S FAVORITE GIFT SHE’S EVER GIVEN HIM FOR FATHER’S DAY.
DownloadMaddie & Tae (Father’s Day) OC: …for Father’s Day. :26
“So, for Father’s Day, I made my Dad – I think it was right before I moved to Nashville – I made my Dad this little photo book where it had like his quotes that have stuck with me my whole life and then some pictures, and it was really funky. It looks horrible. It’s not put together, but that’s one of his favorite gifts that he’s ever gotten, and I cherish that ugly photo book thing that I made for him for Father’s Day.”
Audio / Travis Denning says his father is his best friend.
DownloadTravis Denning (Father’s Day) OC: …for sure. :43
“My dad – I call him ‘Diamond Dave’ and a lot of other people do too. Honestly, I don’t know if I drink more with anybody else more than my Dad. I think a super cool thing now is getting older and knowing that I’m starting to get more and more sustained as a human that it’s like my parents get to be friends now with me and my sister, which is such a cool thing. And so, yeah, me and my Dad – we love music and we love heavy metal and we love all that. We get to go to concerts and football games and drink beer and just enjoy that cool part of a father and a son and a mother and a son where now we get to be friends and it’s really cool. My Dad is my best friend, for sure.”
Audio / Vince Gill talks about what he hopes he passes to his kids and his grandkids.
DownloadVince Gill (Father’s Day) OC: …feels like. :40
“Kind, hopefully make them kind. It’s all we got. We’ve got five kids, a couple of grandkids. These grandkids are the complete light of my life. They show up and the rest of the world can kiss my youknowwhat (laughs). I say we’re just gonna go swing in the backyard, we’re gonna wrestle on the bed, we’re gonna eat those Goldfish, you know? And nothing else kinda seems to matter. And then I think what I love seeing more than anything is for my kid to finally understand what it means to love. Man, it’s awesome to see my kid finally get it what that unconditional love really looks like and feels like.”
