|
Share this Page
Billy Currington longs for love and a life on the beach
By: Steve Wildsmith
of The Daily Times Staff
Perhaps years from now, he'll be sitting on the sand of Tybee Island, Ga., holding hands with a simple girl who still has his heart, reflecting on a long career of music and travel.
For now, though, country star Billy Currington has other things to keep him occupied -- a career star that continues to rise, new album ("Little Bit of Everything," which hits stores Tuesday) and a tour that brings him to downtown Maryville's Foothills Fall Festival on Sunday.
The house on the beach in South Georgia ... the girl he has yet to find love with ... the settling down and enjoying the fruits of his labors ... all those things are yet to come. And while he thinks about them, he's also grateful for the here and now.
"I'm a musician -- no matter how old I am, I still want to be touring on the road, like Willie (Nelson) or George Strait," Currington told The Daily Times during a recent interview. "I don't know if I'll ever get tired of that. Whether it's a big gig or a small gig, I love it, and I never get tired of it. I want to continue until I can't anymore to record albums. I want to keep putting it down on digital, or laying it down however music can be laid down."
Currington's Georgia twang is, no doubt, as endearing to the ladies as his charm and good looks. He's part of a new generation of country stars, a guy who looks just as good on a pin-up calendar or in Playgirl magazine (which he graced the cover of in March 2005 -- albeit fully clothed) as he sounds on a record.
His fans, especially his female ones, have responded in kind. As a small-town boy from Rincon, Ga., he finds the attention a little baffling -- but all in good fun.
"The most private part you can picture on a girl, I've been asked to sign that before," he said with a laugh. "But it's all in fun. They don't mean anything by it. They just want to get it signed, take a picture and go home."
Of course, given Currington's status as a single guy, there are those who want something more. He's gotten his fair share of marriage proposals and date solicitations.
"I'd like to be in a relationship," he said. "I see so many pretty girls on the road, and when I get home and I'm washing clothes or doing the dishes, it's not as much fun as doing it with someone else. The older I've gotten, I'm really attracted to the simplicity of some girls.
"I like a girl who's not all made up with makeup and perfume and the old crazy, fake hair. I want the most natural girl I can find, because I love natural beauty. For me, the ideal relationship would be where we had a lot in common. She'd have to love the beach and love seafood, and love the fact that her man is always on the run and ain't ever gonna complain."
Currington grew up with a love of music, and in high school he auditioned for a slot as a performer at Nashville's Opryland theme park. He didn't get the role, but after graduation, he left Rincon and moved to Nashville anyway to pursue a career as a country singer-songwriter.
He took odd jobs around Music City, and one -- as a personal trainer -- introduced him to a guy who worked for one of the Music Row publishing companies. The man asked Currington to play some music for him, and shortly thereafter he was signed to a publishing deal.
A demo he recorded shortly thereafter made the rounds, and Currington soon found himself signed to Mercury Nashville. He released his self-titled debut in 2003, and two singles cracked the Top 10 on the country charts -- "Walk a Little Straighter," about his relationship with his alcoholic stepfather, and "I Got a Feelin'."
A year later, country goddess Shania Twain tapped Currington to record a duet, "Party for Two," for her "Greatest Hits" album; it also made the Top 10. In 2005, his sophomore album, "Doin' Something Right," gave him two No. 1 singles -- the title track and "Good Directions," as well as a No. 13 hit with "Why, Why, Why." In 2007, he was sidelined by a throat ailment, but the bulk of this year has seen him working hard on "Little Bit of Everything," his third album.
"For me, it's just what the title says -- a little bit of everything," he said. "Country, rock, pop -- there's a little of all of it on there. In the future, I want to continue to record country albums, but I want to do a soulful album, too. When I write, I tend to write toward that, and I'd like to accomplish that goal in the next five years."
Short-term goals, long-term dreams -- Currington is living the former and thinking about the latter. He doesn't get a lot of time off, but he thinks fondly about his childhood trips to South Georgia, and always, he added, there's a longing to return there -- to the sand and the ocean and the beach.
"I definitely see myself getting back down to Georgia and living there," he said. "I want to travel and see as many countries as I can and as many islands as I can, but in the end, I want to be in South Georgia, staring out at the ocean. I just want to stay grounded, and it's the little things that keep me that way.
"It all starts in the mind. You can let this fame thing take you over, or you can stop it. I see a lot of people let that go so fast. So many things come out about them in magazines and stuff, and they start believing their own publicity That's a dangerous thing. I never read stuff that's written about me, and I've never watched a TV show with me on it.
"I like to stay connected to my home -- to my grandmother, to the best friend I used to roof houses with," he added. "To them, I'm just Billy."
|
