[Music] what are you guys doing here what are you doing here wait are you doing a podcast right now welcome to the robin Holly Show podcast I was told that we have 20 minutes with you and I was like this is now 16 now 16 thanks to the other people right I don't even have 20 minutes worth of to talk about this will be easy oh come on no you have so much going on congratulations on the new song Texas can we get the story behind that song we asked three questions where what were you
thinking what were you drinking oh four questions just kidding and who were you with when that when you heard that song when you that song came to be when you know it got invented now now I'm lost which question are we going with a lot question were where was I when I heard Texas yes man I was uh uh I was in the the kitchen of my house which by the way I look at my background Gwen let me borrow her uh Zoom or Zoom meeting Studio that's what all the stuff is behind me this
is like her give makeup sign and and her whatever that is look fancy so yeah that's I think haris yuku is is the thing but I just thought you were rebranding yeah no look I don't think this goes together for some reason I don't know but uh you know uh well I think I was in the kitchen and I first heard the song and and I thought I love the song But there I don't think I could get away with doing that maybe that's the wrong way to say it I just had a hard time
picturing myself uh singing it and and because it's kind it's so different than anything that I've ever done before uh but then that's that's kind of what brought me back to it is that because I you know every time I make a record I try to take a step in some other direction you know whether it's a step forward sometimes a step backwards just something different than I did the last time and and I always loved Conway Twitty for that reason you know if you listen to his his entire catalog every every record you know
it's he's kind of all over the place with with what he did and and he kept it exciting he was a song guy more than he was anything else and so and and I try to I want to be that also and so but I'm getting sidetracked so Texas was one of those that the very thing that kind of uh had me uh a little bit nervous about it was also what drew me back to it and and man I'm glad uh and so was Scott Hendrick when I finally told Scott I said okay man
I said I I'm going to try Texas oh thank God holy Christ please thank you yes you know and we had a blast when we got in there uh and and made that record because uh we kept trying things you know we we messed with it so much that's why there's that Clint Eastwood good and bad and ugly whistle on it there's a there's a hawk if you listen closely there's a hawk screaming in the background a couple of times we we messed with it so much because we were having so much fun with it
and and we had to stop because they they've told us it was time to release the song so here we are you were about to put some more sound effects on there oh for sure man I mean why why not you know you get you know a baseball bat hitting the ball you know anything you can think of you know Skillets dropping in the kitchen everything so so what what lyrically jumped out most about that song to you well uh the the George Straight there's several George Straight references in the song and and it kind
of flew past me the first time I I heard it I heard them mention George straight but then you start going oh no there's amarill by morning there's All My Exes Live in Texas it's the song's super fun even though it's about a guy getting dumped uh you know but it it the song is is written and recorded in a way that it's just it's just fun that's really uh at the end of the day all it is people from your home state are are wondering you know your first big song is Austin and then
now you're circling back to Texas but the the people of Oklahoma are going when are we gonna get a song Blake well you know I I had a song on my Christmas album years ago called Oklahoma Christmas and I've never heard it once ever play played on the radio in Oklahoma so that was their chance they didn't they didn't play it and now here we are okay it was like you you have one chance you got one chance and you BW it no uh I I uh I feel like you're wrong about that uh but
I can't think of anything so I guess maybe you could be right about that we you were just in your hometown and you got uh you honored your high school um with musical interest I I was like that's great and I I saw the guy he's like everyone ever heard of Blake Shelton every's like yay um when I was probably related to most of the kids in that room so I'm sure it wasn't they all a really cool deal it's an organization called music wheel and and I guess they're doing this that thing all over
the country uh when they can uh and they asked if I could come be a part of it and and of course I I was I was happy to do it it's a really neat deal you know is I grew up uh there in a Oklahoma and they had music and band and all that but it was it was not the kind of music or band that that I was into you know it it was like marching band and I think there may have even been like a a jazz band or music theory something like
that you know but there wasn't anything that you could go sit down and and strum a guitar you know or or a bass guitar or or or play like a drum set you know and so I just think it's a really cool idea and and it's not necessarily for kids to try to become uh you know performers or or a star or songwriter but to have those skills I told them that day you know if you you learn how to play one of these guitars it'll change the rest of your life in in lots of
ways you know anytime you come home from work someday and you see your guitar sitting over in the corner and you sit down and beat out a song it's the greatest feeling and and stress Rel in the world you know it's just a it's just a great release and music's an incredible powerful thing you know do you remember well well that's the only way if you ask me that's all I had do you remember when when you were younger getting into music do you remember a time where you knew that that's what you wanted to
do when you grew up yeah I did I you know I I messed with music uh all through my childhood and stuff but when I was about probably 15 16 years old just something clicked you know I I got to where you know every single day I would come home from school and and I would put on at the time CMT was was uh uh all we had and and put on CMT I would record try to record my favorite videos I would record the Bob Kingsley uh countdown every Sunday I would record it I
don't even know why I would record it but I just felt like it was something that needed to I needed to have a record of I would buy albums and andig learn who the musicians were and who the songwriters were I started figuring out hey Paul over stre is an artist but he's also a writer on all these Randy Travis records and Keith Whitley and I just started getting so into it it it was my Xbox back then you know it was it was my life you know and so somewhere in there it just became
an obsession and anybody that knew me knew hey this kid is moving to Nashville I don't know if he's going to make it as an artist or he's going to do something in country music industry though and so by the time I was 17 I I graduated high school I was still 17 when I moved to Nashville I hadn't even turned 18 yet I had to have some friends uh co-sign with me to get my electricity turned on and gas and water and I wasn't even old enough so it was there was no stopping me
I I was too dumb to know that the odds were stacked way against anybody making it I just went for it you know thank God do you think that that's the secret to success is like a little bit of delusion yeah and then like Obsession as well or like like what do you think how do you think you got here I think you have to be for me I was absolutely willing to fail and make an ass of myself in front of people because I just I just wanted to do it so bad you know
I just uh yeah um I think just just a willingness to to not be too cool for school and and just swing for the fence and and be open-minded and and learn and not think you know at all you know that was one of the frustrating things for me as a coach on the voice over the years is you know I I worked with Incredible talent and but then every now and then there would be somebody that's so talented that it would just blow your mind but they thought they knew it all and they wouldn't
listen to anybody around them and not that you're trying to change who they are as as an artist but everybody has room to I feel like grow and listen and learn and if you can't do that that may be what the reason you never make it someday and I've saw it a hundred times on that show and uh I don't know I was I never you know I definitely was stubborn in a lot of ways but I was always felt like who am I you know to to I I always wanted to learn and and
try to get better do you think that uh if like say you were just getting into country music at this point if you're because the world the industry has changed so much and it's so heavily revolves around social media and everything how do you feel like you would deal with that now if you were if you were Blake Shelton at 17 and it's it's 2024 tiktock dances is that it you Tik Tock dances you hey Holly I mean I I'm telling you I was willing to make an ass of myself no I you know uh
social media for me was was uh that was a bad combination for me back in the day I never knew where the where the line was you especially after I would get you know after midnight I'd be you know be drinking all night and think it was a good idea to to get on Twitter and and get an arguments with people so it may have social media I don't know it could have worked for me or against me I don't know but I definitely would have been all about being a part of it you know
because I I I love to to entertain that's all I ever really wanted to do was I never loved being in the studio or or loved being in writing sessions I always loved being on stage and being in front of people and trying to get a reaction out of them in one way or another so social media is perfect for that right and you can edit and make things exactly how you want them uh uh but luckily I made it when I did and I don't I don't have do any of that stuff really if
I do a social media post it goes through like four people that go okay this is acceptable yeah I think you can say that you know somebody started managing that a little bit more for you after the the late night drunk tweets yeah it's uh yeah exactly it's a good idea we're just trying to maintain at this point I'm happy they let that Kabota uh video go through because I line that's right on the line Holly yeah it's I was like this is this has got to be K Cabot's new commercial forther like why don't
they have this up why don't they putting this out what's going this is literally what they should you made a song you had all you had all the things they should they should I couldn't agree more um you know what I I saw that you did the song for the best Christmas p ever it'll be playing in the credits um but I wanted to know is there a cameo of you in the movie I didn't get on board until it was too late I because I thought the same thing too like when they came at
me I was like okay but I want to be you know in it somewhere in the movie that would be so fun I'm such a fan of Dallas Jenkins anyway uh but by the time they asked me the they were already going hey we need and by the way we need it next week you know uh but I've gotten to do that a lot over the years especially since working uh on in television it kind of opens doors to a lot of different Avenues you know the we did the Fall Guy too earlier uh this
year the the theme song for that show uh and I didn't get to be in that movie either I don't know why to me I'm stunt man material but I guess they they didn't see it that way I think you should start in your own in your own movie We're yeah you can you I feel like we need to I don't a petition I don't know what we need to do but I would watch a full movie with you as the star I've done some I've done some voice over work for for some cartoons over
the years uh ugly dolls and Angry Birds I got to work in that but I did one movie uh called the ridiculous six uh years ago uh it was a Netflix movie with Adam Sandler and I played wi her in that movie and I think I was there for like three days and then my part in the movie is probably about five minutes and I said okay I see what this is now that's I'm good I'm good not doing movies so wait are you are you a golfer like the rest of uh everybody in Nashville
now no not really I don't because so you wouldn't you wouldn't want to do a cameo and with Adam again and Happy Gilmore too well you know again it's it depends on what what the ask would be now a movie like that it would be hard to say no to you know yeah uh but it's it's normally those aren't the offers that come well plus I think it's hard with your schedule because you got a Vegas residency coming up which is going to be exciting we're all going to take a trip to Vegas to see
you are you coming um well uh yes hopefully why not we haven't been to Vegas in a long time probably since the AC since the acm's moved out of I love Vegas I I have a horse named Vegas I love Vegas so much so you should come out uh you'll probably be out there for the NFR and now that you say you have a horse named Vegas You Must Be a Cowgirl uh yeah I think it's uh I think it's a going to be fun Gwen gets it frustrated that it's called a residency because she
she did a residency that was like 602 or three shows and my residency is literally six shows she's like that is such bull craap that you're calling it a red that makes me so mad that is such bull crap uh but you know it's more like it staying just staying over uh you know a little bit longer than a tour stop but it's it's yeah it's hard to call it like an a like a vacation you know what I mean like everyone's a vacationy did I see they gave you uh the key to the city
as well in Vegas uh if they did I I must have misplaced it um but I I think they did when I came uh and I did a uh we did the grand opening for for o red and they did now that you say that oh my God I feel terrible uh I did they did give me a plaque and they did give me the key to the city and I have no clue uh where that is now that you say that I better yeah so you didn't you didn't you didn't have to go to
test which doors it opens or anything you know no in my defense that was a that was a that was a night I I'm glad I wasn't on Twitter that night also are you are you losing things all the time I'm always losing like my driver's license my credit card like I can't find my phone people give me things out on tour it's sometimes I don't know where where it ends up you know and it's a shame because some of the coolest gifts and I'm sure people steal the stuff you know it'll be like a
you know a football helmet from the team you know whatever Stadium or I mean not Stadium but Arena or whatever you're in and and uh and then you're going hey what happened to my helmet and they're like I I don't know you know you left it in the dressing room it's like Jesus so that H that does happen a lot out on tour and I try to keep up with that stuff cuz I I've got a room in my house where I try to put cool things from over the years and most of it's in
probably in the dumpster somewhere or in some intern's house somewhere well it's got to be hard to keep up I'm sure that people are constantly gifting you things so it's like where do you put not as much as they used to but I'm sure words gotten out as like hey man we gave Blake the key to the city and he literally lost in the bathroom we found it that night so I wouldn't wasit my time well I'm excited for the tour because the last time that we saw you um you had Emily Anne Roberts on
with you and that's when I discovered her and then I started following her on Tic Tac and now I'm like obsessed with her and her music's so good uh she's like a she's like she has the dolly quality to her personality and voice I I just love that kid I I know you do too I mean she's just I you when when we were on the she was on my team on The Voice and I can't remember what season it been a long time ago she's still a little kid to me uh when I see
her because that's she was when she was on the show but uh she's she's always had this this fun infectious personality and she's just I don't know they just broke the mold when they made Emily and and her her bit her moment's coming I I know it is and and I'm proud to have her out on tour with me yeah get there early so you can see see body including her yeah um well no we you mentioned all red the bar but I don't think can we can we go back in time a little bit
to get the story behind the song all red sure that's uh you know I I moved to Nashville when I was 17 and my first job when I got to town was I was painting mayborn axton's house and and just so you guys know mayborn Axton is a co- Rider on Heartbreak Hotel and and her son was a guy named Hoy Axton who was an artist songwriter and actor he was in the Gremlins movie he was the dad that was the inventor in the in the Gremlins movie and so and I was this kid uh
sitting out on the curb it she hired me to paint her house and and so I would go to Burger King or something you know for lunchtime and get a burger and set out on the driveway and eat my lunch and and Hoy happened to be in town during that time living on his tour bus in in her driveway and one day you know his tour bus he had an old Eagle bus and it was painted like the Montana Sky I remember that and and he opened the tour uh bus door and he said hey
boy come up here with me and I walked onto his bus I was you know just super excited and scared and and I mean this guy was like in my favorite movie as a kid growing up and and I sat on the on on the bus with him and he all he did was tell me stories asked me what I was doing in town was I a singer you know and and we had this moment pretty much like three days in a row when I was there working he would bring me onto the bus and
and one day I turned 18 years old and he gave me this big I still have I did not lose this he gave me this big buoy knife that somebody had made him and it for my 18th birthday and and that day he said listen to this song and started tapping on the table there on his tour bus and he and he sang me oh red and and without a guitar or anything just his voice and you know looking back it's pretty amazing it's is like a meant to be moment I was a kid I'd
been in Nashville for two weeks and and I'd already found my what would go on to be Pro probably my signature song one of them at least uh within 2 weeks of of of moving to town and and it was Hy who said man you if you ever get a record deal you ought to record that song I think people would like it you know and he was right he was he was absolutely right that that probably that's probably one of the best stories behind the songs that we've uh that we've heard that's I've never
heard it before I'm so sorry I've never heard it yeah it it was a crazy moment what a gift that is absolutely amazing I love it well well we're done now that was the best that was that was that was it that it the bread and butter I was like we can only go downhill from here well congratulations on the on the new song Texas and uh thanks for spending some time with us man we appreciate thank you guys this was this was a lot of fun I appreciate you taking time for me you bet
appreciate all the good music so thank you and then we'll see you in Vegas okay the road all right see y'all see thanks for listening to the robin Holly Show podcast follow us at Robin Holly show and listen week nights on Odyssey Country and the free Odyssey app audacy
