CleveRock: In addition to your streaming success, you’ve been kicking soma major butt on the FM airwaves as well. You had two #1 singles that landed in the top spot in a span of three weeks! This is second in the history books only to Willie Nelson! Can you discuss those two singles, “Truth About You” and “At the End of a Bar” and why you think those songs were so successful?
Tenpenny: I’m pretty honored by that one! It’s a lot of stars lining up. It’s a lot of hard work for my radio team Both songs resonate with people. They make people feel something, for sure. We had our first #1 with a song called “Drunk Me.” It took over two years for me to get another one.
I went back and I realized that when I did “Drunk Me,” it was just me being honest. I was telling a story about real-life things. I wrote “Truth About You” in that kind of same vein. I wanted something that people could connect to.
And then, “End of a Bar” was just me and Chris Young being honest about where we met. We met right there at a bar in Nashville, Tennessee; right there at the end of it. I just talk about all the things that we do in Nashville, that you meet at the end of a bar, like songwriter friends; best friends, I met my wife there; I met Chris there. There’s just so much that happens, networking-wise there. It was just a perfect, real song that I know a lot of people could resonate with.
And those songs, that’s what happened. That’s what I get the most, people telling this at meet & greets and DMs on Instagram and stuff, saying, ‘Man, I’ve lived this story,
I’ve done that.’With “Drunk Me,” “Truth About You”, and “At the End of a Bar,” I think that’s what the similarity is. They are relatable. I think that’s what works for me as far as my artist side is writing songs that relate to people that are true, that are true stories.
CleveRock: Your new album, ‘This Is the Heavy’ is 20 songs in length. Putting your Music Business degree hat on, what are the advantages of putting out a record with so many tunes on it?
Tenpenny: I don’t know if there’s an advantage. I think it’s just this time, this day and time, the way we consume music, people want a lot of it, and we write every day. The advantage is more for the soul of the artist than anything, just because it takes so long to put records out and we write so many songs. I just want more music out there. I guess business-wise, you could stream more. From the business side, sure, there’s that, but like the guy from a songwriter and an artist, you just want more songs out to the world and people consume music quicker these days. That’s why you’re seeing some records that are more than the normal 11 to 12 tracks.
CleveRock: Turning back to the clock a few years to 2019, you were nominated for both a CMT and ACM award and you were in a class of stellar nominees. What did it mean to you to be recognized alongside some of the best in the business?
Tenpenny: It’s always just so humbling when you get to go to those award shows and sit down next to people that you’ve grown up being inspired by and just respecting them so much. The CMT one was me, Morgan Wallen, and like Ashley McBryde, and those are people that I just respect musically so much This year with Chris [Young] got the chance to collaborate I don’t know, I always have to pinch myself because you’re walking down the hallway and you’re seeing your true idol and thinking, ‘How do I even belong in this room?’ Or, ‘How are they even letting me into this building?’ I don’t know, it’s always so humbling and just inspires you to want to get back there and keep doing it.
CleveRock: I almost forgot! Congratulations are in order because you got married this past October! Does marriage change your perspective on life? Will that influence your songwriting?
Tenpenny: I guess, a little bit. She’s a songwriter and artist, too. She travels and does the same thing. So we’ve always been kind of writing songs. I mean, we, we dated for four years before we got married, so basically we just got the government involved. We like to write love songs about each other, but I don’t think the marriage thing changed anything. It just solidified what we’ve already been doing. She’s the greatest woman in the world, man. And, and when you’re writing your love songs, she definitely makes it easier when you’re thinking about really trying to really hit those heartstrings. That is the one thing marriage does that’s solidifying. We’re here forever. When you’re writing those songs, I guess I can see it definitely helps on some of those lyrics when you’re really thinking about it. How do you portray that forever feeling?
CleveRock: On the flip side, you both spend a lot of time separately touring. What are the challenges, especially being newlyweds, to spend so much time distanced from each other as part of your jobs.
Tenpenny: That’s been our whole careers. She’s been a major label artist within Canada while I was here in Nashville getting my deal done. We’re always passing in the wind, but we had a good talk at the beginning. We both fell in love with music first. We love each other more, but we fell in love with music first. And we want each other to pursue that passion. We understand it. We just make the time worth it when we get to see each other. And that’s the key. I mean, we work great. We’re very independent people. We’re on the road, we do our things, and when we’re home, we’re husband and wife and we make time for each other. It works for us. It works great. I never thought I’d date another musician because of that, but she doesn’t make me feel guilty when I’m doing my job and neither do I. That’s the one different thing cuz it is hard. You’re gonna miss your people, but when you understand that they’re out there doing what they love, it makes it a lot easier.
CleveRock: I have ready about your 10Penny fund that helps out people fighting cancer. Can you tell me more about your mission and the great things you are doing with that?
I hate cancer. I lost my dad to it. My mom has it; my aunt has it. jI just hate it. The second we got the opportunity to start our own charity, I wanted to do something that attacked cancer, but not on the drug side. We have tons of money going into research and the drugs, and the doctors. What I saw with my dad was, and, and a lot of people, and that we know now through research that stress accentuates cancer; it makes it grow faster. Keeping your stress down is so important. So having a mental coach available when you hear the doctor say those words is so important and someone that you have access to, to talk to. Mental health is so important just all around the board with everything, but specifically with cancer, It’s very important. So the 10Penny fund really hones in on that, trying to give you a stress-free chance at beating that disease. It’s been amazing. It’s been such a light in my life, just hoping that we can continue to help people until we can get rid of this crap, man.
CleveRock: What is coming up for you after your tour with Jason Aldean? What are your goals for the foreseeable future? Are we going to see you headlining these big amphitheaters in the coming summers?
Tenpenny: It’s gotta be a goal, right? That’s the goal. We’ve been very blessed to continue to grow every single year and continue to grow and get these amazing opportunities. I’ve had phone calls last week for some really, really awesome stuff, and I can’t say what it is yet. I hate that!
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