Hail to the Chief: What's Thomas Rhett's country song?

Big MachineThomas Rhett lays claim to his seventeenth career number one this week, as "What's Your Country Song" tops the radio airplay chart in a relatively short amount of time.

Released in November, the lead single from TR's upcoming fifth album made it to number one in four months, when it can often take a year for a song to top the chart.

So it certainly seems an appropriate time for the ACM Entertainer of the Year to answer the question he's been asking -- and he turns to the CMA Entertainer of the Year for the answer.

"I think if I had to pick my country song, it would probably be something by Eric Church," TR explains, "'cause I think going through middle school and high school, he was my idol in country music."

Narrowing it down further, Thomas Rhett picks a track from Eric's 2006 debut album, Sinners Like Me.

"I just remember listening to 'These Boots' over and over and over and over again," TR recalls. "I just loved how simple it was, how stripped-down it was, and the story that it told." 

"'Cause I think we all have been in those places where, whether we’re wearing boots or tennis shoes or whatever it is, you’re like, 'Dang, these things have seen a lot of life and a lot of crazy memories, a lot of sad memories, a lot of the good ones,'" he continues. "So, I think "These Boots" would be my country song."

Country Again: Side A, the first part of a double album by Thomas Rhett, comes out April 30. And if you're as big a fan of the Chief as TR is, you'll be interested to know that Eric starts releasing his three-part Heart & Soul project on April 16.

By Stephen Hubbard
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