Q&A: A Little Bit About Billy Currington’s Non-Coffee Album

In the wake of his third studio release, Billy Currington called up The 9513 to talk about a Little Bit of Everything, his influences, what he was looking for when choosing songs, my mischaracterization of the album, and what he thinks about it being leaked before it was released.

Alright, I guess we’re gonna wing this. If you do your part and and maybe do my part, too, this might actually turn out alright. Sound good?

Yeah man, no problem.

You’ve said people kept asking what kind of music they could expect to hear on your new album, whether is was going to be R&B, pop, country, or rock, and you seemed to keep saying the same thing, “It’s going to be a little bit of everything.” Is that how you came up with the title for the album?

Exactly man. Yeah, the whole process of recording, you know, writers were asking what kind of songs do you want us to pitch you and have you already recorded? That same question kept popping up over and over. So, I kept thinking about those things and they were all over the map. I guess they were really derived from my influences as a kid. I love all that country stuff like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, but I loved all the R&B stuff, too. I was a big fan of all the soul singers out there. That’s how all the music came about for this project. I didn’t really plan it, it just happened that way.

So you think the album does reflect all those influences?

Oh, for sure man, definitely.

You’ve said you wanted to do an R&B record here in the future. When do you think you’ll get around to that?

Well, as far as R&B, I’ve always had it in the back of my mind, at least for the past two or three years, I’m just not exactly sure when that’ll happen or who it’ll be with. I’m always searching for the right producer for that project and the right writers to write with, but I’ve just been so focused on everything at the moment, I haven’t really gotten to that it. Hopefully, I can say within the next two to three years.

Going back to the first question about the questions you were receiving about what kind of music would be on this album; why were you getting those kinds of questions, aren’t you a country artist?

Well, following behind that question, they kept asking, “Well, you know, is it gonna be like “Must Be Doin’ Something Right,” ’cause we know you love that R&B flavored stuff, or is it gonna be like “Turnip Greens,” cause that was the total opposite of “Must Be Doin’ Something Right.” They were just kinda curious which pocket and style of music that I love the most and see myself doing in the future. And I’m just gonna keep it the same, you know. I’m just gonna record what I feel like are good songs, no matter what flavor it is.

So, when you were looking for songs for this record, were you looking for songs that were personal, or ones that would make people think, or just stuff that was fun to listen to?

I was just looking for mostly positive type songs this go ’round. I got pitched a lot of sad songs and songs that those country writers write about their dog leaving and their wife leaving. I got sent plenty of those, but I just wasn’t in to that. I just wanted for everyone to feel the positive energy that I was feeling at the time I recorded.

Is it safe to say that if you could record any album you wanted, that at this time, this is the exact record you’d make?

For sure, at this moment in time, this is it for me. These are the best songs I could come up with and the best songs I could write for it. All the above. I don’t regret anything. I enjoy this record and I’m very proud of it.

There have been a lot of songs like “That’s How Country Boys Roll” recently and some people would say they mischaracterize country life or perpetuate stereotypes. Do you think that’s true?

I don’t think so. In a song like “That’s How Country Boys Roll,” that’s how people grow up in the country, even still today. That’s how we were back then. I have a couple buddies of mine that still live back in the country that say that’s their favorite song because it reminds them of them and how they’re still living their life.

Another song on the album that seems to have been done a lot recently is the words-of-wisdom song, which is how you described “People Are Crazy.” You know, the old man leaves you a lot of money in the song, I don’t know if I’d be calling him crazy, I think I’d be calling him a genius.

Yeah man, that’s one of my favorite songs. That song was written by Bobby Braddock. He’s a great crafter of story songs, really good country songs. He wrote “He Stopped Loving Her Today” and “Time Marches On.” That was one song that just thinkin’ about a young guy and an old man just sittin’ and having a conversation and in the end the old man gives up all his money to the young guy. I mean, what a great ending. I wish it was true for myself.

Yeah, me too. A couple of the songs open up talking about coffee and in the video for “Don’t,” you’re running around with a couple cups of coffee. It’s kind of a coffee album, huh?

Umm, I don’t think it’s a coffee album at all. It just happened to have that in the video for “Don’t.” What other song had coffee in it?

You opened up “Everything” and “That’s How Country Boys Roll” talking about coffee. I don’t mean to suggest that the album revolves around coffee, that it just pops up a few times.

I wouldn’t really describe this album as a coffee album, but I mean, it’s such a part of people’s daily life, maybe that’s why it’d end up a song here and there.

A lot of things have changed in the industry since your last release. Are you confident that you’ll be able to have a Gold record this time around?

I really guess I’m not too concerned if it’s a Gold record or anything like that. I just want people to enjoy it. I don’t ever really think of stats anymore. I enjoyed making the album and it’s gonna do what it’s gonna do as far as sales. I’m not really concerned, but hey, if it gets there, I’ll be thankful.

I did a search on Google a couple weeks ago and it showed that your album had already been leaked before it was released. That’s got to be pretty frustrating, doesn’t it?

Yeah man, that’s part of life these days. There ain’t a lot that we can do to control that. I guess in the earlier days when it was happening, like the last album, it was a little frustrating. But with this album, I moved past that. It’s just music and the more people that can get it, whether they got it or not, let ‘em have it.