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

A lot of people said I was a rebel. I wasn't.

I grew up like a lot of country boys and girls do - amongst the pine trees, dirt roads, farms, mules and people who were real.

Life is a series of punches. It presents a lot of challenges. It presents a lot of hardship, but the people that are able to take those punches and able to move forward are the ones that really do have a lot of success and have a lot of joy in their life and have a lot of stories to tell, too.

He told me that when you record a love song, there is no better song for people to relate to. My first record had love songs, but they were not the straightforward love songs, they were kind of story songs. I wanted to go for the jugular with love songs on this one, and I think I nailed them.

I grew up going to a real small missionary baptist church. We would sing a lot of the old standards... the hymns and everything. Those songs are still my favorite and are pretty timeless.