Josh Turner Further Explores ‘This Country Music Thing’ On 10th Studio Album [Interview]

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Josh Turner. Photo: David McClister

Whether you’re a die-hard country music fan or not, Josh Turner‘s catchy classics, such as “Why Don’t We Just Dance” and “Your Man,” have most likely found their way to your ears.

With five No. 1 hits and 5.2 billion global streams to date, Turner has kept toes tapping for over two decades with his quintessential country tunes and hopes his 10th studio album, This Country Music Thing, has that same effect upon its release tomorrow (Aug. 16). The MCA Nashville artist recently sat down with MusicRow to discuss the making of the new collection.

His work seems to wash a wave of nostalgia over fans in the same way that records like Ralph Stanley’s A Distant Land To Roam: Songs Of The Carter Family, among others, wash over him. All kinds of music filled the Hannah, South Carolina native’s house growing up, and he began favoring the country format at a young age.

“When I started listening to my parents’ record collection, I didn’t know what a genre was,” recalled Turner. “Looking back, I’ve realized that all of the records I really gravitated towards were country—I was just too young to know it, and it’s shown me that my heart has always been in country music.”

The Grand Ole Opry member is constantly looking for new ways to craft traditional country music, as he tends to get bored easily.

“It can be done, I’ve seen [different ideas implemented] time and time again. I think having a [longtime] producer like Kenny Greenberg to help bring ideas to life is always helpful,” Turner tells MusicRow. “It also comes with experience and having a vision/plan before heading into the studio. I try to be prepared so that I can let my voice and the music lead the way once we get in there.”

On this new album, he and Greenberg revived a few old tunes that had been filed away, one of them being the title track. After reviewing a list of songs compiled by Turner, Greenberg came back with his favorites—”This Country Music Thing” being the first. Turner had penned it solo a while back and felt that it could be interpreted as arrogant. But Greenberg loved how it reflected the songsmith’s career thus far and had a vision, so they went for it and paid homage to greats like John Anderson, Randy Travis and Dolly Parton by incorporating their renowned hits.

Another one that was dusted off is “Whirlwind,” which Turner wrote with Mark Narmore and had tried to include on a previous project. He laughs when describing its initial worktape, which incorporated anticipatory, Wizard of Oz-like sounds, that was eventually nixed and has since been altered with an emphasis on the fiddle portion.

“Line for line, it’s just a super clever song and a fun one to sing. We’re talking about possibly adding it into live shows.”

The closing track, “Unsung Hero,” is the only other number to Turner’s writing credit, as the rest are all outside cuts.

“You never know what a record is going to consist of. There’s been times in the past where I’ve written eight of the 11,” he noted. “I wrote a lot for this record, and three old songs made the cut and none of the new stuff did. We let the best ones rise to the top, no matter who wrote them.

“There’s something spiritual about songs where they either have power or they don’t, and it’s crazy to watch certain ones rise to the top and achieve success and others sit on a shelf for years until they’re discovered one day.”

For Turner to cut an outside song, the musicality has to remain interesting and stand the test of time. If it passes that test, he’ll take a closer look at the lyrics, evaluating its message and analyzing how it was written, before determining if its the right track for him.

Previously-released singles “Heatin’ Things Up,” “Down In Georgia” and “Somewhere With Her” as well as “Pretty Please,” which features his wife Jennifer, and “Two Steppin’ On The Moon” checked all those boxes. Written by Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill and John Pierce, “Two Steppin’ On The Moon” is accompanied by a fun visual that takes place at a Texas-style honky-tonk in space with appearances by Anderson, Travis and Greenberg. The video, which Turner developed with Peter Zavadil, will be unveiled alongside the full album tomorrow and further showcases his creativity and devotion to traditional country elements.

“Yes this is a traditional country record, but there’s a lot of variety that I think will keep listeners engaged,” he concluded. “I always hope that somebody is moved or inspired by my work, and wants to do great things after hearing it because I remember what it felt like listening to my heroes growing up.”

Turner is currently on his “Greatest Hits Tour” and will continue to share This Country Music Thing and more live with crowds across the nation until mid-November.

Liza Anderson
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