Craig Morgan: From The U.S. Army to Country Music Stardom 01:05:24

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Well, welcome to the Jason and the House podcast. I'm Jason Chaffetz, and thanks so much for joining us because we have just delighted. We're going to be dialing up Craig Morgan, who's a country-western superstar. For those of you that like country music, you know who Craig Morgan is. This guy is just an amazing human being, somebody I've had the honor and privilege to get to know a little bit. And we're going to dial him up in our Phone a Friend segment and have a conversation because

How is it that this guy does what he does in such a positive way? He's an inspirational person, and I think he epitomizes the American spirit. And I just, I think when you listen to him, like I've met with him in the past, you'll just be inspired by him. So we're going to do that. We're going to highlight the stupid because, of course, somebody's always doing something stupid somewhere. And we'll also start with highlighting a few things in the news that I just would love to share a little perspective on. So let's start with that.

You know, the president, President Biden, has indicated that the government was going to start knocking on people's doors and going door to door to talk to people about whether or not they've gotten vaccinated. And I feel fairly strongly about this, that that is not the proper role of government. I think the role of government is to.

Help in times of crisis, to provide the backdrop for those that need that type of help, to provide armies and navies so that we can protect our shores. But there comes a point, particularly as we look at COVID, is the example that's playing out in real time right in front of us, that there was, through Operation Warp Speed, a vaccine by multiple companies developed in rapid time.

And what President Trump did and Operation Warp Speed did was tore down all the barriers, all the red tape. You know, these things I think left in the normal trajectory would have taken years and years and years to develop.

But I think there was a recognition in the Trump administration that really, in order to develop this vaccination in rapid time, it wasn't going to be the government that did it, but it was going to be the private sector primarily that did it. And we needed to get out of their way, but also at the same time, have some checks and balances, make sure that it's safe.

But now that those vaccines are out there, and believe me, the pandemic is not over. Now, there are some people that choose to have a vaccine. My wife and I, we've had the vaccine. Our kids have had the vaccine.

But there are some people who choose not to do the vaccine. But you know what? This is the United States of America. They get to make that decision. I don't think they should be ridiculed. And I don't think they should be hailed one way or the other. It's really none of our business. You know, it's the approach I think the government should be taking is that we believe in self-determination. We believe in the right to make that type of decision for yourself.

And if you believe in that individual and their ability to make that type of decision as an adult, then you get to make that decision. Look, the promotion of this, the availability of this has been wide and far. There have been lots of encouragement. But I think it's a bridge too far to say that the government should then be going out hiring, using taxpayer dollars to knock on people's doors and

to really kind of lean on them. Now they say, oh, well, they're just going to have a discussion. They're going to let them know about availability. They're going to, you know what? That is not the proper role the federal government will be involved in engaging in. That's just my take on it. Other thing that I wanted to talk about is this multi-billion dollar bill that has been passed in the House that is sitting in the United States Senate dealing with the safety and security of the Capitol complex.

And specifically what I want to talk about, because I have some personal experience on this, is how do we secure the members of Congress? Senators, 100 of them, 435 members of the House, leadership in each of those bodies has had a security detail. There have been some that have proposed that we just expand exponentially the Capitol Hill Police.

I don't think that's right. I think that Capitol Hill Police, they should be there helping to make sure that continuity of government happens, that there is the freedom for the members and the public, by the way, to interact with those members of Congress.

but that the members of Congress can go to their committee rooms, can go to the floor of the House or the floor of the Senate and have good vigorous debate and be able to return to their offices and get back to their homes or their apartments or whatever it might be in a safe, secure, and orderly way. That, to me, is the role of the Capitol Hill police. They deal with all kinds of threats. They told us when I was elected,

that the United States Capitol was one of the biggest targets for terrorists on the face of the planet. So then the question is, what do these members, what should they do about all the online threats? And what should the members of Congress do when they go to their home districts? If you're going back to Tennessee or Florida or Iowa or wherever it is, how should they be protected? And those have suggested that what we need is the Capitol Hill Police to accompany them and do that. I don't think that's right.

I think the task should actually be done with the United States Marshals. The United States Marshals are tasked with, and they're one of the oldest law enforcement agencies that our country has formed there in the 1800s.

Really, what they should be doing is much like we secure the safety and security of federal prosecutors and federal judges, U.S. Marshals are set up to deal with this in all the states already. They already have personnel. They already know how to do threat assessment. They already know how to do transportation if need be.

And they should be the ones in those districts determining as a federal law enforcement official with a federal official, i.e. a member of Congress, what sort of threat assessment is there. Every member of Congress doesn't need a security detail. They don't need to ride in an armed car with armed guards everywhere. Some districts do. Some members of Congress do.

Some people are higher profile. Some have more important classified information and are targets more than others. But that should not be the purview of the Capitol Hill Police. This is something that should be done like we do with federal judges, like we do with federal prosecutors. That should be done with the United States Marshals. They're already set up to do it. They're very good at what they do. They would need to spend more money on this, no doubt about it.

But they need to be the ones that do this and then coordinate with people at the Capitol Hill Police as threats come in. That's my take on the news and what's going on today and the way things ought to be. Well, let's just go back and bring on the stupid because you know what? There's always somebody doing something stupid somewhere.

Well, I cannot get past the White House actually literally going out and touting the 16 cent savings at the people's barbecue. And as I think I heard Donald Trump Jr. point out, that didn't take into account like the almost a dollar more per gallon of gas that it's going to take to get to that barbecue that you could barely get to the end of your driveway without spending that 16 cents and

And the absurdity and the stupidity of trying to tell and convince Americans that their barbecue is going to save them and be 16 cents less is just... Come on, White House. That's pretty stupid.

All right, so let's go to stories from the halls of Congress. Not a real humorous one, but I think one that's interesting that most people don't know about. You know, there's a lot of people out there that want to get rid of our national motto, the idea that in God we trust.

They don't like that there are religious symbols. They don't like that there's actually a depiction of Moses on the floor of the house. They don't think that religion has any place in our country. And they try to say, oh, separation of church and state. Separation of church and state is not a constitution. It doesn't say it in their founding documents.

It's really this idea that we were going to build and allow a country to be established where people had the freedom to worship what they wanted to worship. It didn't say that there would be no religion. It just said that we were not going to have the state admonish people and dictate that they had to practice one particular religion.

In fact, when I did tours with people that came from Utah's third congressional district and other parts of the state of Utah and other places, we'd take them on tours. There were two things that usually most people were surprised to learn that are there in the Capitol. One is a prayer room. If you go in between the House and the Senate, you walk that hallway, you can see the door of the House and the door of the Senate all the way down that hall. You can see those doors if it was unimpeded and you looked really far because it's pretty far.

But if you walk to the middle, if you were to walk to the rotunda, and then you actually turn to the west, and you were to go to the west, well, if you kind of veer left, there's actually a prayer room where members of Congress can lock the door and go in, in their own religion, in their own way, and actually have a peaceful prayer of their choice.

And also, if you were to go from the rotunda and head west, and you go down the stairs, then you would find that there is actually a hospital.

That there is an attending physician. Last I looked, it was Brian Monahan. I saw him for several things. I had a gallbladder, for instance, that I had trouble with, and all of a sudden they helped me out. There's a pharmacy in there. This is all done in the necessity for continuity of government. You get 535 people together, a lot of older people,

There's going to be some issues with prescriptions and seeing a doctor and you have to pay for it. As a member of Congress, it's not free, but you got to pay for it. But the continuity of government is so important and I do think it is the right public policy to have that there. You also have, at least back when I was there, when you had an open Congress, you have tens of thousands of visitors and people fall, they have heart attacks, they have all kinds of things.

And it's so good to have an attending physician there that's not just one doctor, but they have these medics. And if somebody runs into trouble, be a member of Congress or somebody in the public, they

These men and women literally have like running shoes on and they sprint to wherever you are. They can run anywhere in that capital. You tell them the room number, you tell them the door, you tell them the location, the office. They are trained to take their medical bags and sprint as fast as they can to get to that spot.

And every once in a while you'd see it happen. And it's inspirational that these men and women would take off and just bolt to where they needed to be. And if you haven't been there, haven't seen it, you wouldn't know about it. So I thought I'd share it. You're listening to Jason in the house. We'll be back with my conversation with country music superstar, Craig Morgan, right after this.

This is Jimmy Fallon inviting you to join me for Fox Across America, where we'll discuss every single one of the Democrats' dumb ideas. Just kidding. It's only a three-hour show. Listen live at noon Eastern or get the podcast at foxacrossamerica.com.

All right, I am thrilled that we're going to make this telephone call here to somebody I've gotten to know a little bit. His name is Craig Morgan. He's a country music superstar. He served in the United States military. He's got this wonderful family. He's super fit and he cares and loves this country. He was an EMT when he grew up at a young age.

And for those of you that are Craig Morgan fans, I think you're going to love this. And for those of you that don't know who Craig Morgan is, I think you're going to be inspired by this man who just loves his country and is an impact player in this country. So let's dial up Craig Morgan. Hello? Craig, hey, this is Jason Chaffetz. Hey, bud, what you doing?

Hey, thanks for letting me call you. For those listening, this is Craig Morgan. I got to tell you, it's an honor to be in his presence. It's a delight to hear him sing.

He's one of the great country music superstars out there. I know many of you listening probably already a huge fan and know his songs by heart. But for those of you that are kind of new to Craig, I want to take an opportunity just to kind of get to know him a little bit better. And because he's a great American, a great patriot, cares deeply about this country and touches a lot of lives along the way. So, Craig, thank you so much for joining us. Really a treat to have you on.

Thank you for having me, bud. Well, listen, last I saw you, I got to spend a few minutes with you. We were off in Utah, an event with Bo Jackson, which was kind of a treat to meet that superstar. Jim McMahon was there, but we also had some Patriots there, and

Share a little bit about what you talked to them about because you served in the military. We're going to go back and talk about how that came about, but what was the message you were sharing with those veterans who were just so thrilled to meet you and hear you? I think the biggest thing for me anytime I have the opportunity to talk to them is to let them know that they're not alone and that there are people out there who definitely had their six. So when they get to...

Get to that place where they feel alone or they feel like they have nowhere to go. I think it's important that they know that they do have support and there are people that care about them and what they're dealing with, going through. I think that's the most important thing because a lot of times when these service members come home, and I know this having been a service member myself and coming home, you know, you don't, it's really difficult to say you have a struggle of any kind.

because you're the person that is there to take care of everyone else and protect other people. So it's really difficult for them to share that. So I always let them know that, you know, it doesn't make you less a person, less a man or lady to share that and to let people know that you might need a little assistance or sometimes you just need somebody to talk to. And there are people there for that.

And how, you know, you're doing such, you know, the people that serve in the military, they're out in their way, they're away from their families. They're in a tumultuous situation, dangerous situations. But they also get, I think, a lot of satisfaction from,

by joining their con you know the the other men and women they're fighting for something they're there in arms and even though the living conditions are rough and the temperature's not what you want it to be and everything else but then they come back and and maybe they don't have that same sort of adrenaline rush what do you what do you say to those people those warriors who go out and fight but then come back and and it's just so different than what they've been trained to do

The biggest thing I tell them is to keep moving. The problem that we have is exactly as you stated. You know, you have young men and women who go overseas in the military, young NCOs, young officers, and they have so much responsibility. They have such a sense of commitment and belonging. And then you come here and you also have this

I hate to use the word pride because pride can sometimes, you know, be a, have a negative connotation, but they're just proud of being a part of something so great. And when they come back home, they don't have that same sense. So I tell them, keep moving, find something to do. Uh,

Share with your fellow veterans, you know, because they're the people that are going to relate to you the best. But find activities, get involved in your community. And, you know, there's a sense of service that they have that never leaves.

So they have to they have to fulfill that sense of service. And so I tell them to, you know, get involved in their community, work with their I mean, work with their law enforcement, their first responders, EMS, get involved in their local government, whatever. But but keep moving and get involved.

Well, that's such an important message. And part of the way you convey that is your music. But I want to go back to, you know, young Craig, little Craig, Craig, Craig, that was, you know, that five year old, that six year old, what was life? You were born right in, in Tennessee. What was life felt like for you growing up?

I was a normal, I guess I feel like as I don't know, sometimes I think looking back, I might not have been so normal, but I grew up in a very normal, lower middle class American family, uh,

You know, my mother didn't work. Just my father was a sole income provider for the family for a long time. And then they both worked off at home. I guess things maybe got a little tighter. But, you know, I did all the things. It just seemed very normal. You go to school, you

You come home, you do your chores, you live a normal, very American life. And I grew up in middle Tennessee. I was born in Nashville. So I grew up in a very rural area. But like I said, we were lower middle class. You know, we weren't, we didn't have anything and everything we ever wanted. We managed to, you know, our parents fed us. We always ate. We always had the things that we needed for school for the most part. But anyway,

We weren't wealthy by any means. So growing up, I learned to really appreciate even the smaller things and then joined the military really to just try to experience life to a greater degree than I knew that I could in Kingston Springs, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. And I did. I had the great fortune of being in that, doing that and leaving that small town and

It was really weird because growing up, I thought, man, I just want to get away from this small town and go experience the world and life. And ironically enough, as I got away, all I could think about was getting back to that small town life. Yeah. But look, some people are growing up. Tell me what kind of jobs, what were chores and what was the first job you had? Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, sure. I was the oldest of four siblings. So I was primarily responsible for after school, making sure that my brother and my sisters did the things they were supposed to do. You know, when both parents were working, I made sure that we got started on their homework projects, make sure we didn't trash the house before mom and dad got home.

Those kind of things kind of kept an eye on the younger siblings. My very first job, I worked as a, I would say a stock boy, as a grocery stocker at a little store. It wasn't even a real grocery store. It was more of a convenience store. But this was back before the mass 7-Elevens and hot stops and all of those things. You know, they were mom and pop stores.

little gas station slash mini grocery stores. And I was a, I was a stalker there. Yeah. You know, it's actually one of the jobs our son had and it was such a great job because there was this, uh, uh, these chips and he had to go in all the time, stalker, make sure they look nice. It's just so good for young people to have jobs and responsibilities, I think at home, but also away from home where you have another boss and you got somebody else kind of

looking after you and you just learn things by doing that at a pretty young age. Oh, I think it's critical. And I think we, you know, that's part of the problem with our society. Now we've placed so much emphasis on,

Education and not noticing how our education system, not to be all political, but it seems to be a bit, it's gotten away from the basic learning that an individual needs to develop themselves and live in life.

We've gotten away from being able to work. Something as simple as, like you're saying with your son, putting potato chips, bags of chips on a shelf, knowing how many go there and being able to do the basic math for those things. It's important. There's a sense of responsibility that comes with having a job.

And not just the responsibility of doing your job, but the responsibility of having an impact in your society. I think it's just so important. And you tend to think about other people when you work. You know, you know, your son would have to say, I need someone like those chips. So I had to make sure they were there and in the right spot so the person would know where to get them.

You know, it's just little things like that. I feel like we've kind of gotten away from that in our society today. We're very self-oriented. We don't think about other people as much as a society, as a general rule. I think there are a lot of people in this country that do still feel that way, still care about other people. But, boy, it's scary how much we've gotten towards our own individual goals.

self-sustainment as opposed to a, you know, a social or societal sustainment. Yeah. But there's, there was also that time, you know, like, and I can't remember if it was our fault or his fault, but there was a time where he didn't do it. And then the impact of that and recognizing that what you do and what you don't do also affects other people. You can't just do it on your own timetable. Those little lessons in life, I think they stick with you that whole time, but yeah,

Craig, tell me. OK, so you're going through school. You're looking after your siblings. You're probably making, you know, bologna sandwiches and helping to feed them and do those types of things. Learning so many lessons by being the oldest child there. When did you actually like wake up and say, yeah, you know what I should do? I should join the army. How does that happen with with you?

I think due to the way that my parents raised me, I always had this sense of service. Even before joining the Army, while in high school, my senior year of high school, I started a trade school. I went to EMT school to learn to be an EMT. When I graduated, I was the youngest certified EMT in the state of Tennessee at the time. In fact, you had to be 21 to drive the ambulance. I wasn't 21, so every shift that I worked,

I had to work the back of the ambulance because I wasn't old enough to drive it at the time. But I think I grew up with that sense of service. And I think as I graduated high school and I started college, I realized that college wasn't something that I was going to do and do, or at least at that point in my life, I wasn't going to be good at it. So I thought,

that sense of service in me kind of drove me to join the army. And I tell people, and I don't want to say this, I don't, I wouldn't want anybody to misinterpret this, but I always wanted to be that guy that helped other people that people, I'm not saying I wanted to be a hero, but I wanted to have heroic attributes within me. I wanted to be the person that did those things selflessly without even thinking about it. And,

And I wish I could tell you why or how, but I attribute those same attributes to all who serve in the military, who serve as law enforcement officers, first responders. They all have this gene. We all share this gene that is in us that we just can't help ourselves. In fact, we feed our own energy by doing that, by helping us. What makes us feel good?

It's by helping others. And I think it was in high school as an EMT, I realized I wanted to do those kind of things. And the Army just seemed to be the next step.

Yeah, this is what I think is core to the American spirit. You know, we talk about the ups and downs of the country and all the problems and all the challenges. And, you know, you watch Fox News and you see about all these problems and challenges. But every once in a while, you need to take a deep breath and say, you know what? By golly, this is the greatest country on the face of the planet. You're never going to break the American spirit. And I don't care what political

political issue of the day is coming up. Not everything is political. Not everything is, it's about neighbors and about friends and about individuals. And it's about people helping people. And I think your view on that is representative of the overwhelming majority of Americans. A lot of loud mouths get, you know, they get airtime for some of these other just crazy thoughts.

But that approach of people helping people and the satisfaction that comes with service, I think that's universal. But it's universal in the country. It's not necessarily universal around the world. And it is what makes America exceptional. Oh, 100% agree with everything that you said. Especially, I do believe that the majority of the people in our nation

feel that way. Like I said, I do not believe it is to the degree that it was say 10, 15, 20, 30 years ago. I don't know.

You know, you look back when when as a nation during the World Wars, we made sacrifices as a nation by not getting aluminum foil or whatever it may have been to ensure that our military had the things that we need. And I do believe that if we encountered a world war type scenario again, I'm confident that this nation would do that.

I don't know that the percentage of the nation would be the same as it was years ago, but I'm confident that we would be successful at it because there's still enough people in this nation. And I think those people that might not initially do it would get on board because they too would want to maintain their relationship with the rest of the people in the nation and maintain that status as the greatest nation in the world.

Amen to that. Now, okay, so let's go back. High school, EMT? I mean, EMT is a tough job, Craig. That's not like the easy ride. That's not the easy path forward. There's blood and accidents and hardship. Where did that come from? What gene in the family had that come together to say, man, blood doesn't bother me?

I really don't know. At a very young age, I was a volunteer fireman with their youth department. When I was 15, I was volunteering with the volunteer fire department to do whatever I could to be a part of that.

I don't know. Like I said, I don't think any of us have the answer. Every psychologist, psychiatrist, they've all tried to talk about it. There's all analogies of our different personality traits and subcategories of these traits and so on and so forth. But I think it just boils down to a sense of service. And there are people who have the ability to overcome any of those barriers

barriers that might bar them from being able to perform those jobs. And it's just that gene. I don't know where it came from. I don't know why it's there. And it's still in me today. I do believe this too. I don't think it's something that ever leaves, which is why I think a lot of military personnel, especially those that spend a large portion of their life in the military. I think that's why they struggle so much when they get out because they, they need that.

in order to keep their system operating properly. And I'm on their system. I'm talking about their bodies, their heads, their minds, their souls, their spirits. You know? Yeah, no. Look, the most inspirational people to me in my life as I look at it, it's ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things. It's those people that run into the fire when there's a need for help. There's a car crash and people are out there helping. And

And it's just amazing to me how many people are able and willing and wanting to do that and help others. It really is inspirational to me. I agree with you. You know, it's just like, I don't know if you noticed a real, I'm sure you did, but at the event, there was an elderly lady that fell. Yeah. Did you know that? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I didn't see it, but I, yeah. Yeah.

Everyone there was trying to help that woman. Do you know why everyone there was trying to help? Because every one of those people were service members. They all shared that gene. It was the most amazing thing. And it's exactly what you're talking about. People willing to just jump in and try to help. So much so that it was almost too much. A little smothering. Everyone there wanted to do that.

Well, that's good. That's good. All right. So, Craig, at what point in your life did you wake up one day or somebody say to you, you know, Craig, you can really sing. You know how to write a tune and you know how to sing a tune. Like, where did that, was there an event? Was there a time? Was there like a school musical or something? What happened in your life when you realized like, yeah, I think this comes pretty easy to me. I actually really enjoy it and I'm pretty good at it.

I'll tell you this, looking back, there were a lot of stepping stones in the path that brought me to this point.

All of which started, I believe, with my dad, who was a musician. So I grew up in and around the music. I can remember as a young child going and watching my dad play and even having my dad at some point when I was somewhere between the age of probably 8 and 12, bringing me up on stage and making me sing because kids singing are such a great gimmick, you know? Right, right.

But so it's always been a part of me. I didn't ever think that it was anything that I would pursue until later in my life. I will tell you that I was in the army and,

when I started, when I first started or ever considered pursuing music as a career. And even then it was only, I only considered it as a songwriter. I wanted to be a songwriter. I wasn't pursuing the artist thing as much. I just wanted to be able to write songs and make money at it because I had a wife and two kids and I knew that songwriters could make decent money and they could do it right off the bat. Whereas artists, I

A lot of times they don't make money in the, you know, in the very beginning, especially, I mean, sometimes it could be a year or two before they start making any money at all. So it can be a very difficult process for an artist. But, but there was a lot of steps. That was one, when I was in school, I remember going to a place in Nashville called Cheekwood and every,

Here at Christmas time, they would have decorated Christmas trees from all around the country. It's kind of a big display. I was asked for a volunteer to sing the national anthem. Again, I was eight years old or so, you know, elementary school, whatever, middle school. And we did a school field trip and I got there and I sang the national anthem. And this lady come over to me and she said, young man, someday you're going to be a famous singer.

And, you know, as a kid, you don't think nothing about it. And come to find out that that lady that told me that was Miss Minnie Pearl. Well, that's a pretty big name. That's not just some lady in the audience. That's she's a big name. Oh, my goodness. I was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on Miss Minnie Pearl's birthday.

Wow. And no one planned it. No one knew it except God. You know, I believe God had it all. So God knew where I was going to be the whole time. I never did. In fact, I think I avoided it for a long time. In Panama, prior to the invasion in 1989, I was stationed down there and I would sit around and play guitar. And my buddies would say, dude, man, you should pursue this. I was more focused on being a soldier than I ever was being a songwriter at that time.

So God knew you had a songwriter. You were writing your own songs, but who were you listening to? Who were you inspired by? Who did you look up to? And just, oh boy, I cannot get enough of that artist. Influences range from John Conley and Jim Ed Brown and Merle Haggard and Vern Gosden, Gene Watson to Lionel Richie, the Commodores, uh, Luther Vandross, CC Yness. Uh, I listened to the gamut of, of artistry, uh,

For me, it was always about the song and the story and the relationship between that and the melody. When those two things moved me in some way, that's what took me. And I always felt like those songs, those artists that I mentioned, they had such a great ability to either write or pick the songs that they delivered so well that you couldn't ignore it when it came on the radio.

Well, I know you put on a great show. You were over in Grand Junction recently at Country Jam, and Dani Christofferson, who's pretty close to our family here, oh my gosh, she just loved your show and what you did and how you did it. I don't know where the actual performance side of it. People can write, but people can also perform, and boy, you...

I mean, she was just loving it. And, um, but help me where, where and how did you get your big break? I mean, there are songwriters out there. There's probably a lot out there that never bumped into many Pearl or something like that, but where did, where and how did you get your break that, that really made it come alive and make it a reality? So here's the, here's the story. And it's almost, I mean, it's almost too good to be true. I, uh,

I was in Nashville and I was still in the army at the time and I was writing songs. So I'd come in every four day weekend that I had off. I would drive to Nashville and write with other songwriters, do writers nights and clubs, stuff like that. Well, it got to the process where I had written quite a few songs and my dad said, you need to go in and record some of these things so people can hear them. That way you can get, you know, probably get a publishing deal. And so I did, I recorded some stuff and every time I would record new music, I

I had a buddy just outside of Nashville who boarded horses and he, and he owned at the time, he owned a horse called Jogo quick, which is the world champion quarter horse.

And I would go over to his place after writing or after work or whatever. And I would play him some of my new music. He was a friend and he would like it and listen to it. Well, I ended up leaving cassette tapes with him and he was, he would play my music in his barn. One day he was playing my music. And one of the, one of the gentlemen whose horses he boarded asking who it was. And he told him, well, that guy called me. He happened to be the head of Atlantic records and they offered me a record deal. And,

From just leaving a cassette, playing in a barn there in Tennessee. That's it. You were, that was divine inspiration to get to where you got to. I don't know if you're okay. Up until that point, I had never played in a club in my life. That's amazing. That is absolutely. And so the head of Atlantic records, which is one of, I don't know, maybe they were the biggest. I,

And what does that deal kind of look like? I mean, you know, you can't, there's probably confidentiality. I'm not asking for the specifics, but do they say, all right, you owe us 30 songs or I don't, I have no idea how that works.

No, it was basically a multi-album deal initially. So I had to do one album, and then based on how the performance of that album did, we would do another one, up to three. I did the first album. And they also said this was in September, and they wanted a first single for Country Radio in January of the following year, and that was in 19...

um 99 so in 2000 that was my first single they wanted a single which one was that what was the single what was the single uh the first thing was called something to write home about and it was a top 20 uh in country my very first single so i thought heck we're done we're on this thing man we got this rocket you just thought you thought this was easy right

Yeah, I mean, everything was falling into place. And we came out with a second single, which was a song I wrote about my military experience in 1989 in Panama called Paradise. And it, too, was a top 20. We were getting ready for the third single, and I got the word that the record label was shutting down. Oh, so that'll change the trajectory of cranking out top 20 singles.

Bill's right. So what'd you do? I was thinking, the whole time all I was doing was thinking, hey, it's not a big deal. I'll go back in the Army. At that point, I had about 11 and a half years of service. So I thought, I'll just go back in the Army. And I stayed in the Army Reserves, the active reserves, because I thought, I didn't have much confidence in my ability. I really thought it wasn't going to work. And so I'd go back in the Army. So even then, after having two top 20s,

I said, you know, I'll go back in the army. It's not a big deal. And a couple of friends that I wrote with and my other friends outside of the business were like, man, don't just leave yet. You know, you've already had two top 20s. You can probably get another record deal. And it was within about 11 months, I had another record deal and we started working on the next album. Wow. You're listening to Jason in the House. We'll be back with more of my conversation with country music superstar Craig Morgan right after this.

All right. Two questions about that. What's the most satisfying thing in that whole process? And then what is the hardest part that maybe people like me and Danny and others would never realize that, man, that's tough?

I can't say that any of it's really tough and there are artists out there that'll tell you how difficult their job is, but I was a soldier been in 80 different countries and done a lot of stuff for the United States army. I've seen a lot of ugly things. I've witnessed a lot of, there's a lot of bad players in our world. Uh, so this job is not real hard. I'm just going to say that up front. And if it hurts a bunch of artists feelings, that's too bad. Um, um,

The reality is the difficult thing is the time that is required to do it.

especially when you're trying to tour, you're trying to write. The studio, and if you produce, I do produce my own records as well with other people, with other producers. I've worked with various other producers, but it just requires a lot of time. From the time you write the song until you get a good work tape or a demo of it, everyone agrees that the song should go on the record. Then you go in the studio and you produce it and you...

go through all the process of the studio and that can be anywhere from, you know, a week or two to a few months, depending on your, your, your schedule. Uh, and then everyone says, yes, okay, this is it. It's great. And they put it on the record. Then you got to figure out if it's going to be the single, then they got to work on the marketing of the single. So it's, it's not hard. It's just aggravating. And it's very time consuming. Uh,

I will say that was the way it was then. Things have changed a lot now. Now I can write a song. I can record it on my iPad and I can put it out on YouTube and we can have 10,000 downloads tomorrow. Yeah, no, it's life has changed that way, but it is hard, you know, and there are a lot of jobs in the world like this. You know, when you're waiting, when you love your spouse and

you know, your wife or your husband and you got kids and you got to be on the road and, you know, and those types of things I think are, are tough and tough on families, but finding the right balance and all that is a good,

That is a good point. The tough to say it when I say it's not tough, I think about the physical aspects of the job itself. But there it is very strenuous and difficult for the family because of because, again, as I alluded to earlier, the time commitment and what's required. So you're away from your family a whole lot. So it takes a very strong family bond.

uh and a lot of support from the family in order to be able to do it because you know you want to be in the right frame of mind when you're writing and when you're in the studio recording you don't want to have to think about oh my gosh my wife's pissed at me again and that stay that way so you have to have a good strong family chain i don't know there's been a lot of good country songs that have come from that very feeling right there i can tell you um

So, you know, one of the things, Craig, that I know you're into and that you've been involved with is the hunting and the hunting community. You know, and I've...

been involved somewhat. What it's fascinating to me is I find that some of the best conservationists in the world are the hunter hunting community. And for the people that have never actually been out and done a hunt and been involved and engaged in shooting guns, it's just a totally different world. They don't understand that the people that love the environment that want to have big healthy herds and do all these things,

They don't recognize that hunters are at the forefront of making sure that our world's left in a better shape than they found it.

100 percent. The greatest conservation conservationists in the world are outdoorsmen and that's because they appreciate it and they want to maintain that that act that they're able to perform that sport if you want to call it that whatever their desires to be in the outdoors they know that if they don't take care of it they won't have it and they know that so much better than the people who don't go out there and utilize those resources

I am involved. There's a great organization I'm involved with called Hunter Nation. And I believe they've become one of the greatest conservationist groups on the face of the earth, short of only and maybe second only behind the Namibian conservationists in the country of Namibia on the continent of Africa. They epitomize what conservation is about through their hunting skills.

um, uh, abilities and, and the, uh, the laws that govern their hunting and that the, uh, guides organizations up there, they've become like the premier, uh, conservationists in the world, uh,

I mean, this is a place where the white rhino had all but disappeared. And now they're not far from being able to show how that they, we're within years of taking them off the endangered species list. That's how well they've done.

That'd be great. But they're outdoorsmen. They're hunters that are doing that. And that's what we're doing. Uh, so it's imperative that anyone who appreciates the outdoors, even if you don't, I mean, I got a son that does not want to shoot an animal to say, you know, he wouldn't shoot an animal. I believe it, if it meant saving his life, um,

Me, on the other hand, I will eat that animal. But for me, it's important that we do it right. I don't just go out. I'm not one of these guys that just shoots any animal. We try to pick the animals that we know are going to be the least effective in the herd. And you know this. As you alluded to, you enjoy the outdoors as well. But it's not just hunting. It's fishing. It's also hunting.

You know, the person that wants to hike through the woods, ensuring that you're not leaving trash out there, ensuring that you're cleaning up, minimizing your footprint, all of those things. I do drive a truck, but I also try not to trash over every tree that I can. I cut trees down, but I plant trees as well. We're conservationists and we are. I do believe that it's just what I believe. Science.

Statistics show it and prove it over and over time and time again. The outdoorsmen are the conservationists, and we are the ones that will be responsible for the longevity of the resources of this nation. Well, I know it's a passion for you, and it's a passion for me as well. I like doing wildlife photography, and I like getting out and I figure, hey, I don't need a permit. And so I can get out there all the time and get after it.

But, you know, and it's funny because sometimes I get these people on, I don't know where they're from, but they have this radical view of the earth, in my opinion. But again, we won't get too political here, but I tell them, I said, I'm a conservative. I'm a conservative. I want to conserve these resources. But there's a really, there's a good, responsible way of doing this. And it's so hard for people who haven't done anything.

who haven't lived in maybe the West or the Midwest, you know, grew up in a big city to just comprehend that the hunting community, the fishing community, I mean, these are the people that want to preserve and take care of things and understand, you know, that we got to maintain things and manage things in a proper way. You get healthier, bigger herds. You get healthier forests. You get less fires. I mean, all these things really do come together. Yes.

Yeah, I have a kid that works for me who's completely vegan. And that's cool. We have lots of wonderful conversations and talk about it. But, you know, there's a kid who doesn't want to eat honey.

I raise bees. I raise honeybees. And I tell him I do harvest some of their honey. And that's part of the reason he don't eat honey, because he doesn't think that it's right for us to take that resource. But once I explained to him that by me harvesting that honey, I have actually increased the bee population. And I explained to him how it works.

And he gets it. So I love that. I love when I get to introduce people to why and how we do the things we do. You know, someone who don't hunt or fish, but they love going to the river. They don't understand that if fishermen weren't catching certain amount of fish or helping to manage the fisheries, you know,

that those fish wouldn't be eating certain things in the river that wouldn't be allowing another animal to do its job, which would change the flow of the river, which would eventually all these bad things happen. And it's really only through true conservation that we're able to maintain those resources.

Well, that's look, Hunter Nation is how I originally got to know you. And I know this is a passion for you. Craig, you're amazing person, right? I mean, look, you got a wonderful family.

You dedicate your life to serving and being an EMT and in the Army, sharing the passion that you have for music and feeling and touching people's lives in a really positive way with the music that you're writing and that you're also performing.

But, and I appreciate you sharing a part of your life and your perspective because I think just a lot of people need to know that they're just good, just people who love the country. They love the flag. They're patriotic in everything that they do. But you know what, Craig? I've also got to ask you the rapid questions because I don't care how many pushups you did in the Army. I'm not sure you can get through these questions. All right. All right. You ready for these questions?

Boy, I'm not real good at this. I'm not the sharpest. Yeah, we're about to find out because the judges are pretty tough on this one. Okay, you ready? All right. All right. What was your high school mascot? Bulldogs. The Bulldogs. Okay, that's legit. It's amazing. You go around the room and ask people with their mascots, you'd be amazed how silly some of them are. All right. First concert you attended? Charlie Daniels. Oh, you know what?

That is really cool. I had a chance to guest host, I think it was Fox and Friends, and one of the last interviews that Charlie Daniels did before he passed away, I got to interview him. And it was such an honor because what a man, what an impact player, if you will, and just a great American. I really do miss him. I'm glad that you got to see him in concert like that.

I love Charlie Dennis. You're right. He wasn't just a great American. He was a beautiful human being. Yeah, he's one to be missed. He was an American treasure. He really was. Yes, he was. All right, I'm glad you brought up his name. All right, Craig, what's your favorite vegetable? Broccoli. Broccoli.

All right. That's the first time we've heard broccoli, but you know, it's not what George H.W. Bush would say. You can eat it raw or steamed. Yeah. I like President Bush back in the day said, look, I'm the president. I don't have to eat broccoli. And what a controversy that was. So that's good. You're eating right there, Craig. That's good. All right. Favorite fast food restaurant? I don't do fast food. If I have to, it's Taco Bell. All right. What's your favorite Taco Bell menu item?

I get the whatever their bowl is. It's a keto thing. It's just the meat and stuff. No beans. Okay, now, I saw you. This is just like two weeks ago. And you're as fit as can be, and I can tell why. You're eating broccoli in the keto bowl at Taco Bell. Maybe I'm not quite as fit because I'm eating the chalupa. In fact, give me two of those. I love the chalupa. All right. Most embarrassing moment. I've had almost too many.

to mention. Probably, I'll tell you, I did the national anthem at the Army-Navy game about, oh gosh, maybe 12 years ago, 13 years ago. And I'm having a little brain thing here. Do you remember the movie about the coaches, the black and the white coach that was so controversial? You mean the Denzel Washington movie?

I think it was Denzel that played the role of the black coach. Right, right, right. Titans. Remember the Titans. Whatever it was. It was a movie about the two coaches and the white coach brought on the black coach and everybody was – and it was back in the – Yeah. Yeah. Those two gentlemen, the real coaches, were at the game. Uh-huh. And I was to sing the national anthem.

And right before I sang, the U.S. Army band was supposed to play Oh, Beautiful. Well, they started playing the Star-Spangled Banner, and then they went right into Oh, Beautiful. When I stepped up, I was so unsure of what it was I was supposed to do. I went, Oh, beautiful for spacious skies. Oh, say can you see.

I didn't get the link, but I about passed out. I was so sugar. Well, you know, it's kind of hard for the audience to follow along on that one. But all right. Well, that ain't necessarily your fault, but you're the one with the microphone and all the cameras are on you. So I understand that. All right. It was bad. All right. If you could be one person dead or alive, who would it be?

Oh, my gosh. Anybody? I don't know. I hope to be a saint in heaven, but if I had to pick someone, it would probably be St. Peter or St. Paul. Hey, it'd be an interesting conversation. Nice way to break bread and have a little meal, huh? Yes, sir. All right. Favorite teacher, and what did they teach you? My favorite teacher was, oh, my gosh. He was my FFA and ag teacher at high school.

And he taught me everything about, it's really ironic. You know, I was the, he taught me about speech. I was not, I was not a very public person at all. I grew up very bashful and shy and he convinced me to do public speaking for the FFA. And I was horrible at first, but I think that's, again, one of those stones that where God had laid it out there that brought me to this point where I'm at now and able to stand up and sing in front of thousands of people.

You know, it's amazing how in your life, and we've talked about this a lot on these different podcasts, how these little things in life, maybe where you're not as strong and then somebody steps up, challenges you and encourages you and gives you a little pat on the back and says, hey, try this, try that. How those little things in life just change the trajectory of your life. And that sounds like one of those moments. Yeah. Oh, that's neat. All right. Unique talent nobody knows about.

I can breakdance. It didn't take you long to come up with that answer, but all right. It's a true story. Judges really like this answer, I can tell you. Breakdancing Craig Morgan. I don't know if we're going to see that at another Country Jam, but that would certainly, people's eyes would open, that's for sure. That is quite a talent. I can't say I've ever really tried.

I did it for a while. I toured it. I'm part of a little dance group. No kidding. Wait a second. When I was in college. You toured doing break dancing in college? Hey, bro, I went out with Weird Al Yankovich. I loved Weird Al. I would listen to Weird Al on the radio late at night. This show was like, I can't remember, Sunday night or something. Yeah, yeah.

You did. Weird. That's not your most embarrassing moment. That says a lot. Yeah. I told you I had a bunch of them. All right. There's got to be video of that somewhere. We're going to get our hands on that one. All right. Pineapple on pizza. Yes or no? Yes. If I ate it, I would, but I don't do much pizza anymore, but it's not too healthy for these questions. Yeah.

all right and i will eat a little pineapple that's just a lot of sugar in a pineapple man yeah well you just got to know that pineapple on pizza is just not right just that that's the right answer you just don't put something wet like that on a good old slice of pizza but anyway all right um what's that other thing for craig morgan and what i mean by that other thing is

What's that thing that you do to kind of clear your head, get away? You know, you love your family, your kids, you know, all that. And you're out on the road and you're singing and doing things. But if you want to just say, hey, I need a little Craig time and I'm going to do this and just kind of forget about the world, what is it that you do? Well, if I'm on the road, like while we're touring, it's run. I go run. I try to run every day. And I might do three miles. I might do seven. It depends on how busy my head is and how much clearing I need to do. Yeah, that's good.

Yeah. Probably why you're so fit. I mean, those performances you put on that, that's, there's a lot of energy in that. So the running every day probably pays off in a big way. Yeah. I give it all I got out there. So I run out there a lot. Maybe I have, if I got my bike with me, I'll do some riding at home. I get on a piece of equipment and just mess around on the farm. Good for you. All right. Best James Bond.

You mean who played the best one? I don't know. They played it or the movie, whatever one comes to mind. Goldfinger, probably. That is a, you know, I said this last week or the week before I, when they play those James Bond marathons at Christmas time and all, I love those things. Those are great. Man, I can't stop watching them. I know they just, they keep rolling and I, you know, and I just keep watching them. Exactly. All right. Best advice you ever got.

When I got married, a dear friend of mine told me to say yes. And I said, what do you mean? He said, say yes, no matter what the question is, because you're going to eventually anyway. Was this like your spouse's dad or something? No, it was just a buddy of mine.

Say yes, because you're going to eventually anyway. That's great advice. All right. Listen, Craig Morgan is just one of the country music superstars out there. And I hope everybody out there at some point has a chance to see you perform, listen to your music. And, you know, if you're fortunate enough as I have been to

shake your hand and get to know you a little bit uh all the better because you do a lot of inspirational stuff and a lot of people love you out there craig and i appreciate you joining us today buddy i'm honored to be here i know that a lot of people feel the same about you uh let's stay in touch and i look forward to seeing you again down the road very good craig morgan everybody thanks again for joining us

Again, I can't thank Craig Morgan enough. Just a great, great human being. I hope you have a chance to check him out. Check out his website and go see him in concert because I think you'll love him. He's a great performer and great American, loves his country. And Craig, thanks again for joining us. Really do appreciate it.

All right, I got two bits of inspiration here, two little bit of stories as we kind of wrap up the podcast today because here in Utah, we had a family. And what they did is they thought it would be fun in the midst of COVID to take $5,000 and create a treasure hunt in the mountains of Utah.

And that went over so well that they did it again this year. And a huge swatch of land. I mean, this is not like a city park. Hey, go find the treasure. I'm talking miles. I don't know how many square miles. And they said here on the Wasatch Front, we're going to bury $10,000 in treasure here.

And, um, so they put it out there and they wrote a poem and they gave some clues and it took a few days. Uh, but Andy Swanger, uh, went up this place called Hughes Canyon on Monday afternoon. Um, and, um, I gotta tell you, he's a father of three. He's a veteran.

And it worked out. I mean, the quote was, it just worked out perfectly with the 4th of July. I'm just so stoked for him. But you know what? Thanks for that family for putting this together. And so glad to see a father of three, a veteran, go out there and actually find $10,000 in this treasure chest. So,

I just love people that pay it forward and do it for all the right reasons and have a lot of fun with it. The other thing I want to talk about is Bonita Gibson in Michigan. She just celebrated an incredible birthday, 110 years old. 110 years old.

And for what I saw on FoxNews.com, she's believed to be the second oldest woman in the state of Michigan. She's not even number one yet at 110. She's number two. But think about what she lived through. Think about what she saw. Two world wars, the Great Depression, the pandemic.

and she celebrated the 4th of july with friends and family and i just a few weeks ago and you know what she had this deep red lipstick on i saw a picture of her and these cat frame glasses you know the old school glasses bonita i just happy birthday to you you're an inspiration 110 years young

Happy birthday to you. I get inspired by these types of stories. Always love them. Well, thanks for listening to the Jason in the House podcast. You can find more podcasts at foxnewspodcast.com or wherever you listen to podcasts. Need you to click on those stars. Give us those stars. That's important. Subscribe to the podcast and hope you tune in next week when we'll be back with somebody inspirational. I'm Jason Chaffetz and this has been Jason in the House.

Jason in the House, the Jason Chaffetz podcast. Dive deeper than the headlines and the party lines as I take on American life, politics and entertainment. Subscribe now on Fox News podcast dot com or wherever you download podcasts.