Luke Bryan: ‘I’m Proud Of My Climb To Get Here’

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

August 9th, 2023 10:09 AM

Luke Bryan is featured on the cover of the upcoming issue of People magazine. In the cover story, he talks about the beginning of his career when he moved to Nashville at age 25. He’d originally planned to make the move a few years earlier but stayed with his family in Georgia after his brother Chris died in a car accident at age 30.

Bryan said it was a good thing to start in Nashville older. He noted that when he was younger, he wouldn’t have really known who he was as an artist. Luke admitted, “Back then, I was just singing other people’s songs and trying to figure out what I want to be.” He now knows that the “main thing” is to do your best and “tell your story in the most authentic and relatable way.”

Bryan added, “I can’t go back and question any of the stars or fate at how it all shaped out. I look back, and I’m proud of my climb to get here.”

He also told the publication that for most of his career, he was trying to prove himself and that his success is “liberating and gratifying to just go, ‘I am what I am.'” Luke said he earned his rise to the top the “old-fashioned way: working my butt off.”

RELATED: Luke Bryan Releases 'Beer In My Hand' Music Video

After a brief bout with illness and losing his voice, Bryan is back on his “Country On Tour” playing for tens of thousands of fans this week. He had to scrap a couple of shows over the weekend and then canceled his headlining Watershed Festival performance slot Sunday (8/6). Luke posted the bad news to his fans on X (formerly Twitter).

He wrote, “This is such a frustrating weekend. ‘Shedders, I am sorry to let you down, but I am not back singing – can hardly even talk still. This festival is one of the most beautiful places we perform and one of the most fun crowds always. I know my friends on the show will bring a great time for you! Show them all what you got. Love ya – Luke.”

Bryan told People that he has a blast on stage whether he has 100 people in the crowd or tens of thousands. He said, “The day you quit loving it, it’s time to move on. Thankfully I’ve never had those feelings. It’s pretty hard for being in front of 20,000 people to get old.”

17 Songs That Made Luke Bryan A True Superstar

• 17. “Rain Is a Good Thing” (2010)

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  Okay, the lyrics to this song are quite simple and give a simple recipe for making whiskey, but it’s a catchy tune and infectious. Luke also released the song during Nashville’s huge 2010 flood. At the flood relief concert Bryan told the press, “Okay, rain is a good thing but maybe not 17 inches of it.”

• 16. “Drink a Beer” (2013)

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  Written by Jim Beavers and Chris Stapleton, the song tells the story of a character who honors the recent passing of a loved one by watching the sunset on the edge of a pier; he drinks a beer, which is something they would have done together. Luke lost two siblings, who each passed away at a tragically young age. So Luke brings a lot of gravitas to this song.

• 15. “Kick the Dust Up” (2015)

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  Another party song for Bryan and it is also his thirteenth number-one single and his tenth consecutive chart-topper.
• 14. “What She Wants Tonight” (2019)

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  Luke was a co-writer on this song, which he felt would appeal to female listeners because the girl in the song “controls the dynamic of the situation." He added, "I've been wanting to get a big, rocking tempo out for some time, and this is certainly it."

• 13. “The Only Way I Know” with Jason Aldean and Eric Church (2012)

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  This collaborative song is about hard work, loyalty, small-town values, and southern work ethic. The singers explain that they were raised in a small-town southern atmosphere and were taught to work hard to earn a living.

• 12. “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” (2015)

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  This song reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, giving Bryan his fourteenth number-one hit on that chart. Thematically, the song is about a rural lifestyle in Luke's home state of Georgia.
• 11. “This Is How We Roll” (2014)

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  A great collaboration. The final single from Florida Georgia Line's debut album. The video of the song shows a biker named Kenny losing a bet and having to jump a tree. He fails, resulting in his dirt bike being stuck in the tree. When he, Travis Pastrana (a professional motorsports competitor), and some other guys are found stranded by Hubbard, Kelley, and Bryan as a result of the failed dirt bike trick, Kelley invites them to a party in the back of their semi-truck, which is revealed throughout the video to consist of dancing women and beer.

• 10. “Crash My Party” (2013)

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  Luke debuted the song at the Academy of Country Music Awards in April 2013, which he hosted with Blake Shelton. It was released the same month as the first single and title track from Bryan's fourth studio album of the same name.

• 9. “All My Friends Say” (2007)

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  Our introduction to Luke when it was released in January 2007 as his debut single and the first for his 2007 debut album ‘I'll Stay Me.’ The song became Bryan's first chart entry, spending more than 30 weeks on US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, where it reached number 5.
• 8. “Someone Else Calling You Baby” (2010)

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  In the song, the male narrator sees his lover in someone else's truck and wonders if she has left him for someone else. The song became Bryan's second number one hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in February 2011.

• 7. “Drunk on You” (2012)

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  It was released in February 2012 as the third single from his album ‘Tailgates & Tanlines.’ It was also his first single that Luke did not have a hand in writing.

• 6. “Most People Are Good” (2017)

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  In the song, Bryan sings about making "uplifting" statements about positive things in the world. At the time, Luke said that he was "captivated" the first time he heard the song, and that "It was something that I felt like that people always need to be reassured that there's way more good going on than negative."
• 5. “One Margarita” (2020)

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  The song we all needed to hear during quarantine and what fun it brought to so many. Bryan’s wife Caroline and mother appeared with him in the video.

• 4. “Home Alone Tonight” with Karen Fairchild (2015)

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  Bryan and Karen Fairchild performed the song live at the 2015 American Music Awards. The song was a groovy kind of ballad in which a man and woman meet in a bar and plot revenge on their former lovers together.

• 3. “That’s My Kind of Night” (2013)

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  This tune is all about the beat and has a great one talking about catfish dinners, the Flint River, and where the corn rows grow. Oh, and love.
• 2. “Play It Again” (2014)

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  In the song, Luke sings about approaching a girl at a tailgate party. Suddenly, the girl's favorite song comes on, causing her to ask the protagonist to dance with her, and they both exclaim "play it again" when the song is finished. He drives her home that night, when the song comes on the radio, triggering a similar reaction."

• 1.”Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” (2011)

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  Roy Acuff (Grand Ole Opry star and considered one of the fathers of country music) had a saying, “Dance with the one who brought ya.” Acuff told many artists on the Grand Ole Opry to do just that when they performed. And like it or hate this catchy song is the one that brought Luke to the country music dance.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

Category:

• Country 102.5
• Music

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Luke Bryan