Justin Moore has seen so much success over the last decade since he first signed his record deal, but it wasn’t always easy. Moore sat down with Bobby Bones and the rest of The Bobby Bones Show, where he shared the struggles of being a new artist in Nashville. The Arkansas native told Bones that you have to be here in Nashville to get your career off the ground and even when you start making it, you haven’t made it. “Small Town USA” was Moore’s first single to go big and even when it hit top 15, he was still driving around in a beat up van until he started making enough money to rent a weekly tour bus.
Although Moore said you need to live in Nashville, Tennessee to start your career, he feels comfortable enough to not live here anymore. Moore moved back to Arkansas with his wife and kids, he actually bought the land he grew up on. Bones asked why he wanted to move back to such a small area, especially since his wife wanted to be in a bigger city. Moore said it took some compromising at first, but now that he’s back in a small town him and his family love it. Lots of small town feels that his daughter even had the same first grade teacher that he did.
Moore laughed and told Bones that when he first moved back, people would show up at his house asking if Justin Moore lived there. He would tell people “Oh yeah he’s planning on it… by the way how did you get in here?” Then he upped his security and people stopped showing up. For the most part, no one cares that he’s a celebrity everyone treats him and his family like normal people/
Bones was surprised to hear that Moore helped write every single song on his new album, Late Nights and Longnecks. Moore created this album a little differently that his previous few. Back in 2002 before he was signed, Moore and his producer would drive down to Destin, Florida to write songs on the beach. Most of his songs off his first two albums were written by the beach. Moore wanted to get back to that so they decided to do that again for this album.
“The Ones Who Didn’t Make It Back Home” off Moore’s new album Late Nights and Longnecks has taken the country by storm. Bones asked who came up with the idea for this song in particular and Moore confessed he thought of this song while on the road. He always plays “If Heaven Weren’t So Far Away” and before he plays it he says “And this next one goes out to the ones who didn’t make it back home.” One night on the road, Moore said it hit him just how powerful that line is; after the show he ran back to his bus and started writing. This song is so special to Moore because it touches so many people.
Watch the full interview with Justin Moore below featuring his wife and two daughters.
