Craig Morgan was always meant to be a singer. While serving in the Army in South Korea in the 80’s he won competitions – not for marksmanship or for feats of physical aptitude, but for singing. He continued his military career serving for 10 years active and another 7 years in the reserves. He seemed almost like he was trying to avoid becoming a singer, but it was always calling his name.
When he returned home from the Army he took odd jobs to make ends meet and even spent time as a deputy sheriff and a security guard at a local Wal Mart. It wasn’t until he started singing demos for other songwriters that he finally was given the opportunity to cut his first self-titled debut album in 2000. It produced three singles, including his co-written song, “Something to Write Home About,” which made it’s way into the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart.
Since that time Morgan has gone on to chart such hits as “Almost Home,” “Redneck Yacht Club,” “International Harvester,” “Bonfire” and a #1 song with “That’s What I Love About Sunday.”
In 2016 Morgan lost his son, Jerry, 19, in a boating accident. One would think that a singer/songwriter would pick up his guitar and pour out his pain in the music. But instead Morgan found solace in his family and started whittling wood he found around his farm outside of Nashville.
“When we lost Jerry, I didn’t go to the guitar,” Morgan, 53, told People magazine in a recent interview. “I went to the shop. … For me, my therapy was to go cut wood.”
Morgan has turned that woodworking into a passion project that he shares with his wife Karen and their children Aly, 29, Kyle, 26, and Wyatt, 20. The Morgans sell those woodworks at The Gallery at Morgan Farms in downtown Dickson, Tennessee.
The singer and his family have also been signed on to star in a new television series on the UP TV network which made it’s premiere on March 1. Morgan Family Strong shares the journey of the country artist and his family as they open and run a family store.
“If I couldn’t sing or write songs, it wouldn’t be the end of my world,” he said. “I have God. I have my family. Even without Jerry, I know that I’ll see him again.”
Morgan has started writing again over the past few months and one can imagine that the music won’t stay silently within him for too long. After all, he was always meant to be a singer.
Craig Morgan will be performing at Thirsty Cowboy in Medina on Friday, March 9 at 10pm. NE Ohio native and recent Nashville transplant, Jacob Frish will open the show at 8:30pm. Tickets are $25/Advance and $30/Day of Show and are available at ThirstyCowboy.com.
