From āThatās My Jobā and āA Boy Named Sueā to āDrive (For Daddy Gene)ā and āLove Without End, Amen,ā country artists have a long tradition of connecting with their dads in song.
In honor of Fatherās Day on June 17, Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Kip Moore, Sam Hunt, Lauren Alaina, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood weighed in on the impact their fathers had on them.
Eric Church
āMy dad is aāIām 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. Iām gonna tell you how I feel whether you like it or not. Iām that guy, Iām me . . . My dadās that way, so I get a lot of that from him. Thereās also an honesty and an integrity that my dad carries himself with that Iāve always admired.ā
Dierks Bentley
āMy 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. Without him, I wouldnāt be doing this, thatās for sure.ā
Kip Moore
āHe would just play all those classic recordsāLittle River Band, Jackson Browne, Springsteen, Seger, Willie Nelson, Kristofferson, Sam Cookālike classic music. Heād be singing the songs and telling us why it was such good music. And I looked up to him so much, thatās the music I gravitated towards and thatās what I continue to listen to. Whenever I think about those old fishing trips, thatās what I think about is on the way down there, him singing those songs and all of us singing āem.ā
Sam Hunt
āIām obviously biased about my parents, but Iāve been around a lot of great men of integrity, but he is by far the best man that I know. Heās just taught me so much about being a man, doing the right thing, knowing the difference between right and wrong. And even though I donāt always follow his lead, I definitely know better because of him, and that means a whole lot to me. I was just really fortunate to have him as a dad, and heās great.ā
Lauren Alaina
āOh my gosh. My dadās the best. Iām really proud of my daddy. āOctober 6th will be his five-year anniversary of being sober. So thatās a big one for us. And itās been really amazing the last few years with his recovery. Our relationship was a little rocky before he went into rehab and now we talk every single day. And he is my daddy and Iām so proud of him. Heās the hardest worker I know, and thatās why I work so hard because I grew up watching him do it. Iām proud of him and he moved to Alabama for work and he loves it, and heās like 30 minutes from the beach. So, Iām trying to hit that beach up every minute I can. But Iām really proud of him, and heās a great dad and he always has been.ā
Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum
āI definitely got my Type-A personality from my dad. Heās the same way, but one thing Iām so appreciative ofāespecially from a father-daughter relationshipāmy dad always, always talked to me, even when I didnāt want to talk to him. He would force me to communicate and talk through things, and not always the easy stuff, which is such a rare quality in a man, truthfully. And so, I am very, very thankful for that. I think it helped me find the right husband for me, and I also know that it will help me be that much of a better communicator to my children.ā āHillary Scott
āMy dad was a really hard worker growing up and was always great, however hard he worked, heād always make important time for family, important time to be home for dinner and be there for a lot of special moments for us growing up. For all the money he would make, he would always give a portion of it back to charity or to the church, and so that was always important for me to watch. We had a great relationship growing up. My dad plays guitar, heās very musical. I learned how to play acoustic guitar with him playing āDay Tripperā by the Beatles and all these old songs weād play together when heād show me how to play these James Taylor songs and things like that. So, definitely want to pass along music, of course, to my children, as well, like that.ā āDave Haywood
all photos by Jason Simanek