These days, David Nail is as likely to be making music as he is to be listening to it…but when he was a kid, he was like a lot of us – waiting and watching for new music to arrive in stores so that he could make a purchase and take it home to enjoy. “We only had one record store, and that was WalMart,” the Missouri native recalls. “That was the only place you could get music where I grew up.”

At the time, David didn’t realize it, but his love of music was paving the way for his career as a recording artist. When new music appeared on the shelves, he wasn’t afraid to make a purchase even if he wasn’t necessarily familiar with the artist. “I bought so many CDs – or tapes at the time – just because there was nothing else to buy!” he admits. “That’s where I kind of got [that] the concept of a title became so important. And the packaging of the album, because I bought so many records based on that.”

The concept of an important or interesting title has worked well for David, since all of his album titles grab your attention, such as 2007’s I’m About to Come Alive; 2011’s The Sound of a Million Dreams and 2014’s I’m a Fire.

David’s latest, I’m A Fire, features his current single, “Kiss You Tonight,” as well as his recent No. 1 hit, “Whatever She’s Got.”

AUDIO: David Nail recalls being a music lover as a kid…and buying whatever country albums he could afford and get his hands on!

David Nail (buying music as a kid in MO) OC: …based on that. :36
“We only had one record store, and that was WalMart. That was the only place you could get music where I grew up. I didn’t know that records came out on Tuesday. I just assumed when someone wanted to release a record, they just – if it was a Thursday, it came out on Thursday. So I would go to WalMart every day, waiting for new music. And I bought so many CDs – or tapes at the time – just because there was nothing else to buy! So I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t really know this person or their music, but it’s in the country aisle and the CD looks pretty cool.’ There’s where I kind of got [that] the concept of a title became so important. And just the packaging of the album, because I bought so many records based on that.”