Billy Currington

Bio

Billy Currington has come a long way from working construction and living in a tiny attic apartment during his early days in Nashville. In the decade since he made his debut with the top ten hit “Walk a Little Straighter,” the Georgia native has parlayed his rich, emotion-laden tenor and unerring song sense into some of the country format’s most memorable hits, including such No. 1s as “We Are Tonight,” “Hey Girl, “Good Directions,” “Must Be Doin’ Something Right” and “People Are Crazy.”

Currington’s songs have always been snapshots of life. His music is steeped in truth and possesses a relatability that makes his audience feel like they could drink a beer or catch a few fish with the curly-haired country boy. Currington has that heartfelt everyman quality that lends emotional weight to whatever he’s singing whether it’s a tender ballad or a rollicking party anthem. He demonstrates his ability to render both those scenarios and all points between on his fifth studio album We Are Tonight.

Led by the fast-climbing No. 1 single “Hey Girl,” We Are Tonight is filled with songs that evoke both wistful reflection and boisterous revelry with equal conviction. Throughout the collection, Currington exudes the easy going charm that has become his trademark yet also possesses a maturity and confidence that comes from a decade of churning out hits and earning accolades. He won the “Hottest Video of the Year” honor at the fan-voted CMT Music Awards for “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right” in 2006, the same year he received an ACM nod for Top New Male Vocalist. His hit duet with Shania Twain, “Party For Two,” earned nominations from both the CMA and ACM, and “People Are Crazy” proved to be a career-defining hit that earned Grammy nominations for Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song in addition to being nominated for Single and Song of the Year from the Academy of Country Music, as well as Single, Song and Video of the Year from the Country Music Association.

Currington could have continued in the same hit-making groove he had established with producer Carson Chamberlain, yet on We Are Tonight he steps out of his comfort zone. “This album is the first time that I ever worked with three different producers,” says Currington, who again partnered with Chamberlain and also engaged Dann Huff and Shy Carter. “Carson is one of the greatest producers in Nashville. I still enjoy making music with him and always will, but there were a couple of songs that I didn’t feel like fit Carson and I. So I called on Dann Huff, one of the magic men in Nashville. He’s a great producer, great guitar player and he just fit a couple of the songs perfectly.”

Currington was introduced to Carter by his former landlord. “He ended up living in their attic after I did and that’s how we met,” he says of Carter, who has collaborated with Nelly, Ashanti, Rob Thomas and co-wrote Sugarland’s No. 1 hit “Stuck Like Glue.” Currington decided to pay a visit to Carter in Los Angeles and wound up recording the final track for We Are Tonight, a quirky, up-beat love song titled “Hallelujah.” “Shy started laying down the beat and we started putting some guitars to it and by six o’clock the next morning we were done with the song,” Currington relates. “I put it at the end of the album because I thought the energy in the song and everything about it would be perfect to end the record.”

Carter joins Currington on the clever “Banana Pancakes.” “That was written by Jack Johnson, one of my favorite singer/songwriters,” Currington says. “It’s such a great laid back song. We recorded it and then I started thinking about background harmonies so Shy came in. He and Karyn Rochelle put the harmonies on. And if you listen to the end of ‘Banana Pancakes,’ it’s got a rap to it that Shy just laid down out of the blue. He didn’t write it or think about it or anything. He just walked up to the mic and said what it says and that’s how we got that.”

Currington cites “Hey Girl” as one of his favorite songs he’s ever recorded. “I was drawn to that song because of the amped up energy it has,” he says. “It was written by a couple of friends of mine, Rhett Atkins being one. I love that guy and he’s from Georgia. I always wanted to record one of his songs. He’s one of the first concerts I ever went to in Nashville. When I got the song and I had a choice. I could choose any producer out there to work this song. I thought Dann Huff would be perfect for this song, and he was. You hear that guitar in it. You hear the power of the drums. Everything about that recording – I’ll take a little credit, not much – but Dann Huff is the reason.”

“Hard to Be a Hippie” is a song that Currington discovered when he was surfing You Tube and ran across an acoustic performance by his pal Scotty Emerick. “I saw the great fan reaction and it’s a song I couldn’t get out of my head,” Currington says. “I called him up and I’m like, ‘Man, you’ve got to send me that Hippie song.’ My first thought when I was listening to the demo was this would be perfect to record with Willie Nelson. I mentioned it to Scotty and he’s like ‘Well I know Willie pretty good’ so he mentioned it to Willie and I ended up meeting Willie on his bus one afternoon. We played it for him and he was in. We went to Texas and recorded his vocal and that’s how ‘Hard to Be a Hippie’ came about.”

The anthemic title track is the first tune Huff sent Currington after the two agreed to work together. “I listened to it 20 times,” Currington says excitedly. “About the third time, I called Dann saying, ‘Man, count me in!’ I couldn’t wait. I was really, really antsy to get in the studio with this song. There was something about it. I knew he would bring a really amped up production on it and make it sound like it was in an arena or stadium. And he did. It came out exactly like I wanted it to.”

“Wingman” is a fun up tempo tune about barroom camaraderie gone awry when the wingman actually steals the girl and takes her home. Currington’s personality-packed delivery makes each track on We Are Tonight a memorable event. Among the album’s many highlights is “23 Degrees and South,” a tune that has already become a fan favorite in his live shows. “It sounds like a song that I could have written because it’s so much about me,” says Currington. “It’s about Key West and I go there quite often. I’ve spent so many days in the sunshine down there fishing and spear fishing, paddle boarding and just being a part of Key West. Everything about ‘23 Degrees and South’ explains my life and down there.”

The sea is in Currington’s soul and is a constant presence in his life and music. The Georgia born artist spent his early years on Tybee Island before his family moved inland to Rincon. He recalls his parents playing vinyl records by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kenny Rogers. His mom took him to see Rogers in concert when he was 10 and it proved to be a pivotal moment. “It was there that night I remember thinking, ‘man I’d love to be that guy. I’d love to be doing this,’” says Currington. “It was an amazing show, the energy in there and everything about it I never forgot.”

Like many country entertainers, Currington began singing in church. “I met this preacher when I was 17. I heard about this church and just went there. They had a rocking little band,” Currington remembers. The preacher invited him to sing the next week and Billy made quite an impression. Some of his musician friends from church asked him to sing with their band and then had to sneak the underage singer into clubs to perform. “It just started happening so fast,” he says. “The next thing you know I’m playing in a band and the preacher is taking me to Nashville.”

After that introductory visit, Currington decided Nashville was where he needed to be. He moved at 18 and began paying dues. He poured concrete and worked as a personal trainer at a gym during the day and played in bars at night. He began writing songs and singing on demos. “I was meeting all these songwriters. That led me into singing everybody’s songs. I was doing 10 demos a day,” he says. “Before you know it, I started getting deal offers from record labels.”

Currington signed with Mercury Records and released his self-titled debut in 2003. His first single, “Walk a Little Straighter,” quickly established Currington as a singer/songwriter of depth and substance. The song peaked at No. 8 and he followed with “I Got A Feelin,’” which became his first top five. From there, the hits continued as his sophomore album Doin’ Somethin’ Right spawned his first No. 1 with “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right” and his second No. 1 with “Good Directions.” Released in 2008, his third album, Little Bit of Everything, featured five songs co-written by Currington. The Bobby Braddock/Troy Jones penned “People Are Crazy” became his third No. 1 and he followed that with a song he co-wrote, “That’s How Country Boys Roll,” which also hit the top of the charts. In September 2010 Currington released Enjoy Yourself, which included the No. 1 hits “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer” and “Let Me Down Easy.”

We Are Tonight finds Billy Currington in peak form. The songs are sometimes whimsical, often poignant and always compelling. Seasoned by time and peppered with experience, his distinctive voice has never sounded better and he’s a young man who appreciates the road he’s traveled. He’s humbled by the successes of his past yet always looking forward. “It’s like you work so many years to get it and you finally got it,” says Currington, who once again makes his home on Tybee Island. “I feel so blessed.”

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UMG NASHVILLE CHRISTMAS CONTENT

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CHRISTMAS SOUNDBITES:

Dierks Bentley, who is the father of three children (Evie, Jordan, Knox), says you revert back to your childhood at Christmas when you start having a family of your own.

Dierks Bentley (Christmas is for kids) OC: …one again. :29
“You know, Christmas didn’t lose any of its real meaning, as far as its religious meaning with Jesus’ birthday. But as far as like the whole tree and all of the Christmas spirit stuff, the secular stuff, it just kind of goes away to be honest. But then you have a family, and all of a sudden, it’s like I’m all Clark Griswold out there decorating the tree, putting lights up around the house, you know. So, all of those things that you did as a kid and appreciated as a kid, you get a chance to do over again when you have kids, because you kinda become one again.”

Dierks Bentley (Christmas in the desert) OC: …in Arizona. :32
“I grew up in Arizona, so we didn’t have like a white winter kind of deal. It’s kinda…once you experience that, it’s hard to go back and like celebrate Christmas in the desert but…for us, we would…me and my family and a couple other families would go out to the desert and bring a big turkey and just kinda have a cookout in the middle of the desert…and drink beers and ride four-wheelers and…well, I wouldn’t drink beers, but they would. We’d ride four-wheelers and horses and just kind of spend it out in the middle of the desert, which was kind of a cool way to spend Christmas. So, whenever I think of Christmas, I always think of the desert, which is a little weird, but that’s just the way we did it out in Arizona.”

Dierks Bentley (Christmas tough for Jordan) OC: …for you! :21
“It’s tough kind of for Jordan because her birthday IS on Christmas, so it’s kind of one of those things where we try to give her an extra present or two. It’s kind of tough to share your birthday with Jesus. You can get a little overshadowed on that one, but she’s good about it, but we just tell her, ‘All these Christmas trees and lights, these are all for you.’”

Dierks Bentley (Christmas traditions) OC: …old ones, as well. :22
“One of our favorite Christmas traditions is just driving around looking at lights. Love seeing all the lights back in the valley, back in Arizona and Phoenix where I’m from, and that tradition is carried over to here for me in Nashville. We’ve got a lot of lights up on the house. We’ve got a Grinch in the front yard, as well as a talking Santa, so new traditions here in Nashville and some old ones, as well.”

Darius Rucker, who released his Christmas album Home for the Holidays in 2014, loves to take it easy during the holidays after being on the road all year long. One way he winds down is to watch Christmas movies…however, he can’t pick just one favorite.

Darius Rucker (favorite Christmas movies) OC: …favorite movies. :32
“That’s such a hard question, favorite Christmas movie, because there are so many great movies that I can think of just off the top of my head that are great Christmas movies. But it would be a tie between Miracle on 34^th Street, which is still just great acting, great movie. I just love it. I love watching it. I watch it probably four times every Christmas and cry at the end every time. And I love Elf. I just think Elf is one of the absolute great stories and just funniest movies I’ve ever seen and it just happens to be a Christmas movie. It’s one of my favorite movies.”

Darius Rucker (favorite Christmas song) OC: …listen to. :09
“Oh, ‘The Christmas Song,’ no doubt about it. There’s a reason it’s called, ‘The Christmas Song.’ That’s my favorite Christmas song to sing and my favorite Christmas song to listen to.”

Darius Rucker (Christmas dish) OC: …sweet potato pie. :17
“I’m a big food guy, as you can tell by looking at me up here. I like food a lot. But my favorite thing is my sister’s sweet potato pie. I love sweet potato pie so much, and I don’t get it very often. And my sisters always make sure I get a couple during Thanksgiving and Christmas, so that’s my favorite thing – sweet potato pie.”

Since he’s been touring so much this year, Josh Ross says he’s barely spent any time at home with his family back in Canada, so he’s looking forward to having several days with his family.

Josh Ross (a favorite Christmas memory) OC: …from out West. :22
“I’d say as a kid, so my sister is 12 years older than myself, so she moved out West to go to school when I was like six-years-old. She used to always come home during Christmas. I never knew when because I was young and didn’t really understand how the calendar worked, but I always remembered that my sister would fly home and come wake me up and like would always surprise me. So, that’s definitely one of my favorite Christmas memories is when my sister would come home from out West.”

Josh Ross (Christmas present) OC: …front of a screen. :32
“All my friends had video games, and I was never very, very big into video games. I wasn’t really allowed. I was more like the go outside and play type, and honestly, this is really what speaks to me as a person now with different things in life, but I really wanted a PlayStation 2 and I remember like that was the big thing that I wanted. And I got a PlayStation 2, and I bet you I only played it for like a couple of weeks and then I was back to outside playing, and really just wasn’t super interested in it. I think that kind of still speaks to me today is I’d much rather be in the outdoors and not necessarily in front of a screen.”

Josh Ross (Christmas spirit) OC: …in the spirit. :35
“My mom would definitely always be playing Christmas music. She loved Christmas music, so that’s always playing when she’s decorating and things like that. I’m excited to go back and listen to her songs on repeat (laughs), but the thing for me that would always solidify that Christmas is happening is we’d go and cut a tree down. So, my mom, dad, myself and we used to take the dog that I had as a child, we’d all go out and cut a tree down, and that’s just like a Canadian thing. I think here we import the Northern trees, so the ornaments stay on them, but up there that’s what we got to do, so that’s something I’ll always remember as a kid year after year would get me in the spirit.”

Josh Ross (The Grinch story) OC: …freshman year boyfriend. :36
“We were talking about Christmas movies, and I think I said I watched Elf all the way through. Now I understand what the World’s Best Coffee Shop means and all this kind of stuff and people have all these jokes around Christmas time. It’s funny, The Grinch was one of my favorite movies, and that was one that I watched, and I got to fill people in, I was like, ‘Well, my mom used to date ‘The Grinch.’’ And everybody was like, ‘Wait! What do you mean?’ And my mom’s boyfriend in high school was Jim Carrey. So, it’s kind of a cool, I guess, fun fact that most people would not know is he grew up in Burlington, Ontario and went to Aldershot High School and he was my mom’s ninth grade, or freshman year, boyfriend.”

Kassi Ashton grew up in a rural town called California, Missouri, and she took ballet and other dance classes for many years. So, one of her favorite Christmas memories include being in The Nutcracker every year. “One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up was always being a part of The Nutcracker,” says Kassi. “[I took] ballet my entire life, and now that I’ve graduated and moved on, I go see The Nutcracker at the Nashville Ballet every year. I can’t wait to have a little girl some day and put her in ballet class.”

Kassi Ashton (Christmas traditions) OC: …ballet class. :21
“Hey, it’s Kassi Ashton. One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up was always being a part of The Nutcracker. [I took] ballet my entire life, and now that I’ve graduated and moved on, I go see The Nutcracker at the Nashville Ballet every year. I can’t wait to have a little girl some day and put her in ballet class.”

Kassi Ashton (Christmas song) OC: …along perfectly. [laughs] :11
“My favorite Christmas song is ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ by Judy Garland in the key of G, because that’s my key [laughs], and I can sing along perfectly.” [laughs]

Kassi Ashton (Christmas music) OC: …the best. :23
“Hey, it’s Kassi Ashton. My favorite thing about Christmas hands down is Christmas music. I start playing eh, the day after Thanksgiving usually, if not a little sooner. I love the classics – Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, anything that you know by heart and you don’t have to really think about. Christmas songs are the best.”

Keith Urban and his family, including wife Nicole Kidman and daughters Sunday and Faith, usually head Down Under for the holiday, visiting family and hitting the beach, which is what he did on Christmas Day when he was a kid.

Keith Urban (Christmas-beach) OC: …to the beach. :24
“I have great memories of getting up early and going and jumping on your parents’ bed and getting them up. You know, and then of course you tear open the presents and then it’s done and it’s like eight in the morning, and you’ve got all morning now to sort of wish you had more presents to open. We had great Christmases growing up. I really, really enjoyed them. Mostly, we’d go to the beach, you know, ’cause there it’s summertime. Load up the station wagon and head off to the beach.”

Keith Urban (Christmas—yellow Tonka truck) OC: …forever, too. :09
“I got a yellow Tonka truck when I was about 6, I think, and it’s probably still my favorite Christmas gift ever. Those things last forever, too.”

Keith Urban (what gets him in the Christmas spirit) OC: …goes away. :10
“The lights going up, uh, the lights, the music, all of that, the house sort of transforming into Christmas. I love it. It’s sad when it all has to go away.”

Keith Urban (still loves going to the beach at Christmas) OC: …explains a lot. :33
“Yeah, we still love going to the beach at Christmas time, as long as we’re in Australia, because it’s like the Fourth of July. It’s huge. Everybody’s out. It feels very celebratory. It’s in the ‘90s. It’s crazy, but having grown up with that, it feels very natural to me. Albeit it, we still had all of the same Christmas songs, so we’re in like 90-degree heat with shorts and tank tops singing ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland,’ and I remember getting Christmas cards of like Santa on a surfboard, so that probably explains a lot.”

Reba McEntire has graced us with a couple of Christmas collections, including 1995’s Merry Christmas to You and 2006’s Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection, as well as last year’s compilation, Ultimate Christmas Collection.

Reba McEntire (Pake) OC: …down the hall. :22
“The funniest thing I can always remember about Christmastime is my older brother Pake, when we were kids at home, he’d always be the first one to jump out of bed and run down the hall, and he’d just run down the hall with his underwear on. And he’d say, ‘If y’all don’t hurry up and get up and get in here, I’m opening all the presents by myself.’ But he knew it was a standing rule we all had to be in there before anybody could open up a present, but I can still see Pake running down the hall.”

Reba McEntire (leaving Christmas tree up) OC: …really festive. :13
“How long do I leave my Christmas tree and decorations up? Well, after Christmas I am so in tune with the sparkly lights, I leave the lights on and take the Christmas ornaments off. It keeps it really festive.”

Reba McEntire (artificial tree) OC: …half the year. :24
“I definitely have an artificial tree, because when we were growing up, we’d all go out on the ranch and cut down a Christmas tree, bring it in and then we had to water it every other day – make sure the coffee can was full of water – and the cedar needles got everywhere, so nowadays I just go with an artificial tree…and two, I can leave it with the lights on half the year.”

Reba (Christmas memory of Shelby) OC: …he was so cute! :28
“I’ll never forget one (Christmas) morning I woke up and I was laying on my left side and I felt something, and I opened up my eyes, and Shelby was three inches away from my face. He said, ‘Mom, you’re not gonna beweive what Santy Claus weft for me.’ And so, he said you’ve got to come here. I got up out of bed and went in there and there was this little tractor trailer set that he had just fallen in love with at the store. He’s seen it, and he said, ‘I can’t beweive he bought this for me.’ He was so cute.”

Jordan Davis started a Christmas tradition when he moved to Nashville a few years ago. He goes to the historic Belcourt Theatre to catch a viewing of the classic It’s a Wonderful Life. “They play it at a theater here in town, and it’s something that I really look forward to going and seeing that movie,” he says.

Jordan Davis (favorite Christmas movie) OC: …a great movie. :19
“The one Christmas movie I have to watch, which Elf has slowly taken over that spot, but I would have to say It’s a Wonderful Life. Then moving to Nashville, they play it at a theater here in town, and it’s something that I really look forward to going and seeing that movie. Man, it’s just a great movie.”

Jordan Davis (favorite Christmas gift) OC: …great present. :41
“The one Christmas present that stands out to me – I can remember I asked for go-karts. Me and my brother asked for go-karts together. And I was actually worried that we weren’t going to get ‘em, because I knew my mom probably thought we were going to kill ourselves, but we woke up Christmas morning and me and Jacob, we run into the living room and don’t see a go-kart. I remember being like sad opening presents, and then my dad tells me he thought he heard some reindeer in the backyard. So, we jet to the back of the house and there’s two blue-and-white go-karts in the backyard. So, that’s the one I always remember. That was a great present.”

Jordan Davis (Christmas music) OC: …music on. :41
“My favorite Christmas song is Nat King Cole’s ‘Buon Natale.’ I don’t know the record it’s on it, [but] we would just play that song over and over and over. So, that’s by far my favorite, but anything by Nat King Cole. I mean Nat King Cole is Christmas to me, always playing, always having some type of Christmas music on. I remember growing up, my mom, she would start on Thanksgiving. We would start listening to Christmas music and anytime you’d walk into the house if Mom was home, there was Christmas music playing. It was just background music, and it’s something I’ve carried over like there’s Christmas music that is played all the time. If we’re home, there’s Christmas music on.”

Parker McCollum grew up in Conroe, Texas and he and all of his family and extended family would go to his grandmother’s house on Christmas. One of his favorite childhood memories on Christmas Day was playing football in the front yard. “Every year, we would all play football in my Grandma’s front yard probably until the time I was 15 or 16 years old, every Christmas morning,” he says.

Parker McCollum (Christmas childhood tradition) OC: …Christmas morning. :10
“As a kid, it was definitely football in the yard. Every year, we would all play football in my Grandma’s front yard probably until the time I was 15 or 16 years old, every Christmas morning.”

Parker McCollum (Christmas movies) OC: …newer ones. :21
“Favorite Christmas movie – this is gonna sound kind of goofy, but one of them is definitely Annabelle’s Wish, because Randy Travis narrates it. I used to watch that when I was really little with my mom, but I mean, Christmas Vacation is a phenomenal movie. And I always really liked the Santa Clause series with Tim Allen. I always thought those were really good, even the newer ones.”

Parker McCollum (favorite Christmas gift as a kid) OC: …son of a gun. :18
“It would be a Browning 270 Deer rifle I got when I was 13? So, I wanted it so bad, and I’d always had to use my older brothers’ or my Dad’s gun, you know? They wouldn’t even let me shoot anything then. So, I was probably 11 or 12 years old and a Browning 270 Deer rifle…bad son of a gun.”

Both Maddie and Tae have their favorite Christmas movies, and they are planning a Christmas movie night sometime soon, so Tae can see one of Maddie’s favorites. MADDIE: “Favorite Christmas movie? I know Tae’s.” TAE: “What?” MADDIE: “Polar Express!” TAE: “I do love me some Polar Express. Every time the kids do the duet, my heart breaks.” MADDIE: “I would say my favorite Christmas movie – I love Polar Express. I love Arthur Christmas.” TAE: “Arthur Christmas is great. People sleep on that one.” MADDIE: “And The Holiday! Ahhhhhh.” TAE: “I’ve never seen that one.” MADDIE: “Jude Law-It’s a rom-com, but it’s so heartwarming.” TAE: “Christmas movie night.” MADDIE: “YES!”

Maddie & Tae (favorite Christmas movies) OC: …YES! :24
MADDIE: “Favorite Christmas movie? I know Tae’s.” TAE: “What?” MADDIE: “Polar Express!” TAE: “I do love me some Polar Express. Every time the kids do the duet, my heart breaks.” MADDIE: “I would say my favorite Christmas movie – I love Polar Express. I love Arthur Christmas.” TAE: “Arthur Christmas is great. People sleep on that one.” MADDIE: “And The Holiday! Ahhhhhh.” TAE: “I’ve never seen that one.” MADDIE: “Jude Law-It’s a rom-com, but it’s so heartwarming.” TAE: “Christmas movie night.” MADDIE: “YES!”

Maddie & Tae (Christmas movie character) OC: (Tae) …it’s so you. (both laugh) :28
MADDIE: “If we could be any movie character, who would we be? I think I would want to be a part of Clark Griswold’s vibe. Like, he’s so funny. I don’t know. I’d want to be Clark Griswold’s wife ‘cause I feel like Jonah is Clark Griswold, and that would be really funny, and she just allows his Christmas chaos happen and just embraces it.” TAE: “And you would totally do the fork thing where ‘Oh, this is so yummy.’ (laughs) It’s so you.” (both laugh)

Maddie & Tae (Maddie’s Christmas traditions) OC: …White Elephant. :31
“We always get a real tree every year, because Jonah’s a stickler for a real tree thing. We always shave off a little part of the bottom of the tree and make an ornament out of the little thing, so we’ll put the year on all of them and collect them. We’ve actually just started collecting nutcrackers, which is super weird, but we name them all. Oh, and White Elephant. We play White Elephant on the Font side of things, and I always end up with the best gift somehow, because Jonah and I tag team White Elephant.”

Maddie & Tae (Taylor’s Family Christmas) OC: …the fun stuff. 1:01
“My family has always done Christmas to the nines. My dad is a very big Christmas decorator. He would have the entire house decorated. We had this like life-sized, giant nutcracker, and at one point, we had like a talking Santa at our front door that my dad would talk through. But the decorations were always just like so much fun, really got us all in the Christmas spirit. And every Christmas, one of our traditions was the kids – me and my two brothers – we would all stay in the same room on Christmas Eve and then we’d wake up when it was time to wake up, and we’d go down the stairs my parents would have a sheet at the bottom of the stairs so we couldn’t see all the presents; not that we weren’t going to see them in two seconds, but to them it was just the magic of the big reveal, them showing us all the gifts that Santa had gotten us. I’m just so thankful that my parents really kept that magic alive. And for me, I’m already thinking about Elf on the Shelf. I’m going to do all of the fun stuff.”

CHRISTMAS LINERS:

“Hi! This is Alan Jackson, and I’m wishing y’all a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hi! Billy Currington here, wishing you and your family a safe and Happy Holiday Season.”

“Season’s Greetings, folks, it’s Brad Paisley, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. Happy Holidays.”

“Brad Paisley here. Happy Holidays!”

“Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. If I were to re-write the ’12 Days of Christmas,’ I would include things like chocolate, Bourbon, guitars and maybe not French Hens or Geese a’laying.”

“Hi, this is Brad Paisley. Make sure you’re good this Christmas, ‘cause Santa’s got a secret agent bird. Penguin James Penguin is watching.”

“Season’s Greetings. This is Brenda Lee, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hi, I’m Brenda Lee with wishes for a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hi, this is Brenda Lee, and here’s my favorite holiday song, ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

“Hey! This is T.J., and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

“Hey, it’s Carrie Underwood. From our house to yours – Merry Christmas.”

“Season’s Greetings! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman, wishing you a very Merry Christmas, y’all.”

“Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman. Merry Christmas.”

“Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman. Happy Holidays.”

“Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Merry Christmas!”

“Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Happy Holidays, everybody!”

“Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover. Merry Christmas.”

“Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

“Season’s Greetings. I’m Dalton Dover.”

“Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

“Hey! This is Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey everybody! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Happy Holiday season.”

“Hey everybody! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey everybody! This is George Strait, wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday season.”

“Hey Everybody, we’re Hootie & The Blowfish, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey! This is Jon Pardi, wishing you a Merry Christmas!”

“Season’s Greetings, everybody! I’m Jon Pardi, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey! This is Jon Pardi. Merry Christmas!”

“Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Happy, Happy, Happy Holidays, everybody. I’m Jordan Davis.”

“Hey, y’all, this is Josh Ross, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Season’s Greetings, I’m Josh Ross.”

“Hey! I’m Josh Turner, wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season.”

“Season’s Greetings—I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hi, I’m Josh Turner with wishes for a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey everybody, this is Josh Turner. May your days be merry and bright. Happy holidays from my family to yours!”

“Hey y’all, I’m Josh Turner. Wishing you peace, love and joy this holiday season.”

“Hey y’all, I’m Josh Turner. May all your sweaters be ugly and bright!”

“Hey! This is Kacey Musgraves, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey, it’s Kassi Ashton. I’d love to wish everyone listening a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hi folks, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hi everyone, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and all your family the very best this holiday season.”

“Hey! We’re Little Big Town, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey! We’re Little Big Town, and we just want to say Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Holidays!”

“Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

“Hey! It’s Luke Bryan. Happy Holidays!”

“Seasons Greetings, I’m Luke Bryan. Hope your holidays are filled with joy and happiness.”

“It’s Luke Bryan, and may your eggnog be spiked with plenty of rum to get you through this holiday season!”

“Hey y’all, it’s Luke Bryan, wishing you the gifts of the season — Peace, Joy, and a case of beer.”

“Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

“Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae. Happy Holidays.”

“Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”

“Hey, I’m Parker McCollum, and I’m wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.”

“Hi! This is Priscilla Block wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

“Hey-Reba here-hoping you have a very Merry Christmas. Ho, Ho, Ho.”

“Hey, this is Reba, wishing you a Happy Holiday Season.”

“Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Happy Holidays!”

“Hi! This is Shania Twain, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

“Hey, this is Taylor Swift, wishing you a very Happy Holiday Season.”

“Hey what’s goin’ on guys it’s Tucker Wetmore. I just want to say Merry Christmas from my family to yours. Have a happy and safe holidays.”

“Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard. Merry Christmas.”

“Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”

HALLOWEEN AUDIO FROM UMG ARTISTS

Audio

Billy Currington / Brothers Osborne / Dalton Dover / Darius Rucker / Dierks Bentley / Eric Church / Jon Langston / Jon Pardi / Jordan Davis / Josh Turner / Luke Bryan / Maddie & Tae / Mickey Guyton / Parker McCollum / Priscilla Block / Reba McEntire / Travis Denning / Tyler Hubbard

Halloween is Thursday, October 31st, and the spooky, eerie holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costume, while others are recalling their favorite Halloween candy or memories of Halloweens past.

Click HERE to download Halloween liners.

Billy Currington (Halloween) OC: …Halloween. :17
“You know, when I was a kid, I loved the trick and the treat. I loved dressing up. I was always wanting to be Dracula. That was my favorite guy. But, of course, who doesn’t love going door-to-door and getting these buckets of candy? [laughs] So, love, love Halloween.”

Brothers Osborne (Halloween) OC: …I love it! :20
“Halloween’s awesome! Halloween reminds you of when you’re a kid. Every year when it starts getting cold and the leaves start turning, and I think it’s just something that we carry from childhood, is carrying around that bag of candy and carving pumpkins and dressing up like whatever in the world you want to dress up as and walking around. I love it!”

Brothers Osborne (zombie costume) OC: (John) …was so fun! :29
TJ: “Literally, you can dress up like a zombie and drag your foot behind you all day and make weird noises, and everyone finds that completely acceptable.” [laughs] JOHN: “One year I dressed up as a ‘90s redneck zombie with a mullet wig and an Alan Jackson denim coat. I never once broke character. That’s part of the thing — you can actually not break character and get away with it. And everywhere I went, even when I ordered a drink, I ordered it like a zombie that was falling apart. [laughs] It was so fun!”

Brothers Osborne (carving pumpkins) OC: …or something. :25
“With our dad every year, we would go looking for pumpkins, and we would all get our own pumpkin to carve, and he would buy the biggest pumpkin that they had. It was huge. I mean, it was way too big for any one person, but he would love carving. He’s kind of an artsy guy. He was a great drawer and stuff, and he would carve the most terrifying, vicious looking, scary pumpkin you’d ever seen in your life, and it would be massive. It would be like on a 50-pound pumpkin or something.”

Brothers Osborne (Halloween candy) OC: (John) …go stale. [laughs] :34
TJ: “I would say, Snickers, Baby Ruth, Kit Kat and Reese’s too.” JOHN: “I always hated those houses that would give you bad candy, though. You’re like, ‘C’mon. Step it up.’ Spend the extra dollar on a bag, you know?” TJ: “A house when we were growing up used to give out whole candy bars. It was the best. You were like, ‘That house – that’s the honey hole of candy.’” JOHN: “I love it, and I love like at the end, like three or four days after Halloween you would see what candy was left, and it was always like those crappy cheap candies, and they would just go stale.” [laughs]

Dalton Dover (Halloween costume) OC: …and everything. :09
“One year I dressed up as a Whoopie Cushion, and like I just walked around. I had the tongue up here and the body was all round and stuff. It was really cool. I had fart noises and everything.”

Dalton Dover (Halloween candy) OC: …for sure. :10
“My favorite Halloween candy…hmmmm…I don’t like candy corn, but I would have to say probably I love when I find Reece’s Cups in my kids’ baskets. For sure.”

Darius Rucker (Halloween costumes) OC: …was very funny. (laughs) :41
“My favorite costume was easy, and I bet, from the time I was six to the time I was 13, of those seven years, I went as a football player because you’re coming from football practice to go out (laughs) and trick-or-treat. So, instead of like, you know, putting on some other costume. Just put your pads back on and go as a football player. So, most years I went as a football player. And I don’t dress much anymore, but my favorite costume I ever had was (son) Jack dressed up as Darth Vader and I was Luke Skywalker. And he just, I guess he was six and he was walking along telling everybody I’m his father. It was very funny. (laughs) It was very funny.” (laughs)

Dierks Bentley (Halloween) OC: … …around home. [laughs] :23
“Oh, when I was a kid, I was all into fireworks. Growing up in Arizona, we couldn’t get ’em, so we’d have ’em shipped in illegally. I still remember the name of the guy we’d call. His name was Joe, and he’d bring in, ship ’em in a package with no writing on ’em. We were all about M-80s in the mailboxes and bottle rocket wars. To me, as a kid, Halloween was fireworks, was blowing up stuff around home. [laughs]”

Eric Church (Halloween) OC: …Franklin Street. 1:18
“My favorite Halloween costume really came, I remember when I got a little older my first year of college, there’s this thing they do every year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Halloween on Franklin Street. We drove down from Boone, North Carolina. I had a bunch of friends that went to University of North Carolina, and we didn’t have costumes and didn’t realize until we were on the way that we had to have costumes. So, we stopped at a costume place in Greensboro, North Carolina. It’s Halloween, so there’s a run on everything and couldn’t find anything. And we end up getting sent around, driving around town. We end up finding this hole in the wall place, but they had the full costume, Sesame Street outfits. The real deal. The real ones [with] feathers and fur. We were Elmo, Cookie Monster and I was Big Bird, and the Big Bird was the actual Big Bird. It’s about 7-foot-4, and yiou looked out of the body and then you had these straps that went on since the head was a lot higher. There’s a lot of beer involved in Franklin Street, so we get down there and as the night went on, my straps broke, so the head would pivot. And so, I would be walking one way and the head would be facing the other, and it just became this funny…I didn’t know the head was on backwards. I had no idea. I see out of the body, so I’m just kinda walking around and people were talking to my ass-end. [laughs] The whole time peiople’d come up and start talking and go, ‘Hey, turn around.’ And I’d turn around, and they’d go, ‘No turn around.’ It was a mess. That year, there was no other Big Bird on Franklin Street.”

Jon Langston (Halloween) OC: …memorable Halloween. :59
“So we played a show a few years ago in Baton Rouge and I go off stage and I come back on stage for the encore. I don’t know this until midway through the song, I’m just into the crowd, like I’m engaged. I’m in the zone, and I just see everyone, like everybody else behind me but me and I’m like what’s going on. I turn around and each of them has a different huge mask on, like one of those stuffed animal masks, like my drummer has a dinosaur head on. My guitar players, one of ‘em has monkey head on, the other has a unicorn head on. And my bass player has like a, I think a dog or cat head or something like that. I couldn’t finish the song I was laughing so hard just seeing them playing with these like oversized huge mask heads on Halloween night. That was funny. It was a good prank, so that was probably the most memorable Halloween.”

Jon Pardi (Halloween) 1 OC: …the Superman. :15
“Man, I went through phases of costumes – the Superman costume, then it was a ninja, then I was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one year. I remember rockin’ the Superman.”

Jon Pardi (Halloween candy) OC: …during Halloween. :06
“Man! The candy corn is pretty good, and that’s seasonal, so it only kinda pops out during Halloween.”

Jordan Davis (Halloween) OC: …jet black. :49
“I can remember being really big into Power Rangers. I always liked the Red Ranger. I remember being Red Ranger one Halloween. I remember me and my br4other being big into the Ninja Turtles. I was Donatello one year, which I think was the purple turtle. I think, though, my favorite Halloween was I was in college and I went as Luigi from Mario and Luigi, and I actually grew a legit mustache and dyed it jet black and ran into an ex-girlfriend at the costume shop and completely forgot I had the mustache on. So, when Is saw her, she was like, ‘So, you’re going with a mustache nowadays, huh?’ [laughs] I remember being like, ‘I swear this is part of my Halloween costume.’ [laughs] When I dyed my mustache, my top lip was black for a week. Like I really did dye it jet black.”

Jordan Davis (Halloween candy) OC: …some Starbursts. :21
“My favorite Halloween candy [is] probably Reese’s or M&M’s, although I love the variety of Starburst. It’s one that I feel like I only eat at Halloween, because I feel like at Halloween one of the popular ones is the two-piece Starburst things. So, probably Reese’s, M&Ms and throw in some Starbursts.”

Jordan Davis (no candy corn) OC: …they’re awful. :05
“You know what I never got? The candy corns. I’ve never been a candy corn guy. I think they’re awful.”

Josh Turner (Halloween costumes) OC: …pretty classic. :27
“My favorite family costume was from a couple of years ago when I had my six-and-a-half-month-old beard going, and me and the whole family dressed up as Star Wars characters. So, I was a young Obi Wan Kenobi, Jennifer was Princess Leia, Colby and Marion were Storm Troopers, Hampton was Darth Vadar and Hawk was, I guess, pretty much still a baby, and he dressed up as Yoda. It was pretty classic.”

Josh Turner (Halloween candy) OC: …can’t beat ‘em. :09
“My favorite Halloween candy…hmmmm…that’s a tricky one. I’m going to have to go with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Can’t beat ‘em.”

Luke Bryan (Halloween) OC: …your teeth. :21
“You can find out a lot about your neighbors by what kind of candy they put out. So, well, like full bars of Snickers bars, that’s what, and Reese’s cups, [but] the old chocolate popcorn ball of stuff, that’s no good either, like Dots – you get Dots one time of year and they pull your teeth.”

Luke Bryan (Halloween) 2 OC: …with all that. :33
“My tradition for Halloween is Caroline picks the outfit. I never know what I’m wearing. So that day, I’ll talk to the neighbors ‘cause I have a tractor back there and I’ll go get my tractor and get a big long trailer, and then I’ll run down to…a couple miles from the farm, we’ve got a big hay farmer that keeps hay and you run in there and pay him for his hay bales. And I’ll load the hay up and get the hayride ready and we’ll take all the kids behind the tractor and have a fun Halloween with all that.”

Luke Bryan (Halloween costumes) OC: …always has. :20
“Me and Caroline did one year where I dressed up as the old lady, and she dressed up as, she called herself a dirty old man. So, she went around acting like an old man saying snide comments to everybody. That was a fun one. The main thing is Caroline is a big, she loves Halloween and always has.”

Maddie & Tae (Halloween 2023) OC: …in that costume. :56
“Halloween is my favorite season of all-time. I live in spooky season all year round. I’m like a scary movie fanatic. If you need a good horror movie recommendation, I’m your girl. So, I have a lot of fun with costumes and stuff. One year my husband and I were Dwight and Angela (from The Office) for Halloween, and then we just like have so much fun with our costumes. So, last year, actually for Halloween we were a little family of hedgehogs (laughs) ‘cause we put a little hedgehog costume on Leighton, at the time she loved hedgehogs, so Josh and I got hedgehog onesies. And this year, Josh and I are gonna be park rangers because Leighton is going to be a pink dinosaur. She’s going through a major dino phase; she calls ‘em dinos. And it’s gonna be adorable. And Maddie actually just told me her family’s costume theme. Forrest is going to be little E.T., and then Jonah’s gonna be Elliott and Maddie’s going to be Gertie. I cannot wait to see them in that costume.”

Maddie & Tae (Halloween) OC: …princesses. :24
TAE: “Oooooh, Halloween [is] my favorite holiday. Anyone who knows me knows I love all things scary and gory, so especially on Halloween all the scary movies that come out in theaters, I am there every single time.” MADDIE: “And I never go with her because I hate scary things.” TAE: “You know what’s funny? As little girls, everyone wants to dress up as princesses, and I think I was a witch like six years in a row. I just wanted to be scary.” MADDIE: “Girl, I was like Jasmine and you know [other] princesses.”

Mickey Guyton (Halloween) OC: …the costumes. :50
“Growing up, my parents were very, very conservative Christian, and so they viewed Halloween as a pagan holiday. BUT, I got to go trick-or-treating once in my life, and I dressed as a clown because my mom made me this clown suit and that was the best. We were in Moody, Texas. It was all three of my siblings and myself and we had so much candy that it lasted for months and months. My parents eventually had to throw it away because we had so much candy. And it was one of the most amazing, magical experiences I’ve ever had, because I never got to celebrate freaking Halloween. I tell you what, this son of mine is gonna definitely going to be celebrating trick-or-treating. Like I can’t wait to dress him up in all of the costumes.”

Parker McCollum (favorite Halloween candy) OC: …so good. :07
“What I can eat like 6,000 of are Tootsie Rolls. If I eat one Tootsie Roll, I’m gonna eat 30. Man, they’re so good.”

Priscilla Block (Halloween) OC: …you’re cooking. :52
“You know what’s so funny about me? I’m not a huge candy girl. Is that shocking? Hit me with all the carbs! Hit me with all the pasta! Don’t love treats. It’s really crazy. I’m not a huge chocolate girl. I would say my favorite candy is a Cow Tail. I love to get them from the gas station. Yeah, it’s usually in a little long package and there’s like cream on the inside. Love it! That’s my favorite candy. Give me that and a piece of pizza. Trick or Treat do you have any pizza ‘cause it smells like pizza in this house. (laughs) That’s me going to the door. It smells like steak. Don’t want the Twizzler. Want the steak that you’re cooking!”

Reba McEntire (Halloween as a child) OC: …right there. :35
“The way we used to celebrate it when we were kids – we were out in the country; our nearest neighbor was a couple of miles away from us, so we’d gotta get dressed up and put on lipstick or whatever we could. We didn’t have Halloween costumes, and we’d walk down in the dark to Mr. and Mrs. Winslet’s house, and she’d feed us cookies and milk and then we’d walk back up in the dark. But Alice, Susie and I weren’t attentive enough to realize that Pake wasn’t with us in the group, and Pake would get up on the road going to the house and crawl up in a tree and scare the crap out of us. So, that was my Halloween memories right there.”

PLAYER ERROR

Tyler Hubbard (Halloween candy) OC: …of childhood. :20
“Ooooohhh—I’m a chocolate guy, so I do love just a good ole Reese’s or a good ole Snickers, but when it comes to classic Halloween candy, I still, I like ole candy corn. I do. I like candy corn. Well, it only comes around once or twice a year, well I guess once a year. Maybe it’s nostalgic, all that sugar, a couple of good cavities, remind you of childhood.”

HALLOWEEN LINERS (AUDIO)

Audio

“Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. Happy Halloween!”

“Hey! This is TJ, and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne. Happy Halloween.”

“Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

“Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

“Hey y’all, I’m Caylee Hammack, wishing all of y’all a Happy Halloween. Boo!”

“Hey y’all! I’m Caylee Hammack, wishing all you goblins and gremlins out there a Happy Halloween.”

Hey, y’all, this is Dalton Dover. Happy Halloween!

“Hey! What’s up, y’all? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

“Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

“Hey! This is Eric Church, wishing you a very Happy Halloween.”

“Hey y’all! I’m Jon Langston. Happy Halloween.”

“Hey it’s Jon Pardi. Happy Halloween.”

“Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

“Hey y’all, this is Josh Ross. Happy Halloween!”

“Hey Y’all, I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

“Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, and I hope you have a Happy Halloween.”

“Hey everyone, this is Keith Urban, wishing you a very spooky, happy Halloween. Boo!”

“Hey y’all, this is Kylie Morgan, wishing you a Happy Halloween. BOO!”

“Hey! What’s up, y’all? I’m Luke Bryan, wishing you a very Happy Halloween. Boo!”

“Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae. Happy Halloween.”

“Hey everybody, I’m Parker McCollum. Happy Halloween.”

“Hey y’all, this is Priscilla Block, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

“Hey everybody, this is Reba McEntire. Happy Halloween. Ooooooh”

“Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt. Happy Halloween!”

Hey everybody. The War And Treaty here. Happy Halloween!

“Hey y’all, it’s Travis Denning. Happy Halloween.”

“Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard, wishing you a Happy Halloween.”

Hey what’s going on guys, it’s Tucker Wetmore and I’m fixing to be Super Troopers for Halloween with me and my band. I hope you guys have a happy Halloween, be safe, be smart and get that candy.

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We have compiled an array of content — a variety of liners and soundbites – from BILLY CURRINGTON to equip you with everything you might need to put together your own album radio special; roll-out tracks leading up to –and following — the release of his new album, SUMMER FOREVER, to use in news feeds, specials and much more. Check out all of details below (including audio liners and soundbites, as well as transcriptions) to create your own content surrounding BILLY’S album release.

Billy Currington releases his new album, Summer Forever, Tuesday, June 2^nd, and it features his recent No. 1 hit, “Don’t It,” his 10^th chart-topper. The 12-track album also includes songs by hitmakers like Shane McAnally, Chris Lindsey, Josh Osborne, Ashley Gorley and Aimee Mayo-Lindsey.
The title cut was written by Cole Swindell, Jaren Johnston of the Cadillac Three, Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line and Jesse Frasure. Currington also co-wrote one song, “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To,” on the project.

“Summer Forever, for me, represents a positive, happy, good-time lifestyle, and that’s what I hope the fans feel when they hear this record.”

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