After six Top 10 singles, one Top 5 single, one #2 single, three #1 singles and sales of 5 million
albums over the life of his career, Aaron Tippin still sings what he knows about most—strong family ties and hard work.
Aaron's career was launched when his debut single, "You've Got to Stand for
Something", reached the Top Ten in 1991
and became an anthem for a nation embroiled in the conflict of Desert Storm. Aaron quickly became a voice of patriotism,
a badge he wears proudly and has carried with him throughout his career. Ten years later, he cut the track,
"Where The Stars
And Stripes And The Eagle Fly", immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and donated proceeds from the
commercial single, which zoomed to No. 2 on the Billboard chart, to the Disaster Relief Fund of the
Nashville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. "Country fans went out and bought the record to help other
Americans who needed help at the time," Aaron says. "That's common of what real country fans are like."
Aaron's wife Thea, daughter Charla, and sons Teddy and Thomas are the focus of his life. "It's important to me to
concentrate on my family," Aaron says. "When I'm at home, I'm going to be with my wife and kids. It's precious and
important and life is too fragile to live any other way."
Family has always been important to Aaron, who cites his late father as his biggest hero. Aaron was raised on a
farm in South Carolina; his chief influences included Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Thompson and Lefty Frizzell. He began
playing guitar and performing when he was ten. By the time Aaron was 20, he was working as a commercial pilot.
In 1986, he moved to Nashville, where he eventually became a staff writer at Acuff-Rose. He signed his first
recording contract with RCA in 1990.
Aaron's hard-edged twang is one of the more distinctive sounds in today's country music. Hits like
"There Ain't
Nothin' Wrong With The Radio", "Working Man's Ph.D.", "Kiss
This", "Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly"
and "Come Friday" have earned him a solid following and have established Aaron's identity
on the ever changing country scene.
"I don't try to write a book when I'm cutting records," Aaron says. "I just try to find a lot of great songs and
cut them. Each album creates itself. There are a lot of great writers that I like to keep up with, but I'm always
looking for that next guy in town that ain't had a hit yet. I never turn my nose up at anything. It doesn't matter
to me who wrote it if it's a great song."
"I've changed since the beginning of my career," Aaron says. "I've learned to relax and quit thinking that
everything's gotta happen right now. I was probably sometimes a little overbearing to people. I was from a world of aviation where pilots bark orders across the cockpit at each other and there's nothing wrong with that, it's how it goes. You don't have time to say please much -- when you tell somebody to put the landing gear down, you mean right now. It's a different world. Now I try to relax about things that are out of my control. I appreciate what has happened and appreciate the things that are the most important to me in life."
One thing that hasn't changed in Aaron's life is the consistent support of his fans.
"The fans are my mainstay," Aaron says. "If I have hits, don't have hits, or ain't had a record in three years,
they appreciate me anyhow. When I'm in town and they come out to see my play, I know that's why I do it ... for those folks
... who have remained with me through all of it.
AARON TIPPIN
