Chris Stapleton: The Greatest Job In The World
Chris Stapleton is now a multiple GRAMMY Award-winning singer with a voice that makes people shiver, but being a singer was not his goal when he first moved from his…
Chris Stapleton is now a multiple GRAMMY Award-winning singer with a voice that makes people shiver, but being a singer was not his goal when he first moved from his home in Kentucky to Music City.
Chris told me in an interview a few years ago, "My goal when I moved to town was to be a songwriter. I met a songwriter and the instant that I found out it was somebody's job to get paid and sit in a room with a guitar and make things up, I thought that was the greatest thing in my life. I still think it's the greatest thing I've ever heard of in my life."
He added with a smile, "It has to be the best job in the world if you like to write songs. The first four or five years I was in town, I just kind of hung out with songwriters and made writing appointments and wrote day and night."
The country star said that working at a publishing company and hanging out in the lounge was big for him to make connections in Nashville. He offered, "You hang out and that becomes your pool of friends, and you learn from it. So, yeah, I wanted that to be my whole world when I moved here, and it was, and I loved every minute of it."
Stapleton recently said that he's finished singing the National Anthem after his memorable 2023 Super Bowl rendition. That performance still has people talking years after he did it.
Chris told Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his Dirty Mo Media podcast, "I would have people ask me to sing the National Anthem for various things. I jokingly always said, 'No, I'll just do it when it's time to do it at the Super Bowl.'"
He added, "I'd just turn it down a lot. And I do say now that I have officially retired from it as well."
Stapleton even noted that while he doesn't normally get nervous before performing, it was different before his Super Bowl performance. He said, "'That one, I was like, 'I was gonna make sure I'm as prepared as I can be.'"
His heartfelt performance really touched NFL players and personnel. Cameras caught Eagles coach Nick Sirianni wiping away tears. Both Patrick Mahomes and Jason Kelce got emotional during the song.
Chris gave credit where it was due, saying, "I'm not saying my version wasn't good, I think it was good, but all the TV editing that they did while I was doing it was just spot-on."
