biography
Some men are just born to be country singers. It has nothing to do with chart positions, signed deals or marketing plans. It has everything to do with a rowdy Friday night crowd singing along to a song you just wrote because they’ve immediately embraced the words. You’ve written about your life and theirs and the connection has nothing to do with music industry politics and everything to do with honest communication and gut reaction.
Just ask Rhett Akins. The talented singer/songwriter is back with a new collection of songs, People Like Me, that reflect the life he leads on stage and off as a loving father, avid outdoorsman and a quintessential everyman who has much in common with the audiences he’s been singing to for more than a decade.
Akins moved to Nashville in 1992 and landed a songwriting deal with Sony Tree Publishing. Like many other Music Row newcomers, he began writing songs and singing demos. Those demos caught the attention of an executive at Decca Records and Akins was signed to a deal in 1994. From there, the young artist became one of country music’s hottest acts, well known for such hits as “That Ain’t My Truck,” “She Said Yes” and the No. 1 “Don’t Get Me Started.” His boyish good looks, warm evocative voice and energetic stage shows made him a favorite with fans of all ages.
His new record, People Like Me, encapsulates the things that are most important to the artist. “My whole life seriously is music, the great outdoors and my kids,” says Akins, who is the proud father of an 11-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son. When not spending time with his children, Akins loves the outdoors and is an avid history buff with an impressive knowledge of the Civil War.
It’s that element of reality coupled with his willingness to be emotionally honest, even vulnerable, that are the hallmarks of the music Rhett Akins is writing today. “These songs right now are about the truest I’ve ever written,” says Akins. “There is no filter in between what I want to say and what goes on paper.”
On People Like Me, Akins says he tried to forge an emotional connection with the listener much like his musical heroes Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels and Hank Williams Jr. have done. He recalls the impact listening to Williams had on him as a young boy. “‘Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound’ is the song that changed my life and made me want to do this,” he says. “When I first started getting into Hank, I didn’t drink or smoke and hadn’t been with a girl or nothing, but it was like they were just true songs. I knew somehow at 12 or 13 years old that this guy was telling the truth.”
Akins has felt the impact of an honest song and he’s seen his songs impact others. “I just think that after 10 years I know who I am and I know what I want to do and I’m not a slicked-up, polished artist,” he says. “I wear a hat, T-shirt, boots and ragged blue jeans and I want to sing real songs. People have so many emotions. What I’ve tried to do on People Like Me is just try to tell the truth in many, many different ways.”
