Some people say they're an open book. Most aren't, no matter what they say. In the case of country superstar Josh Turner, he really is an open book and you can read all about the singer-songwriter in "Man Stuff: Thoughts on Faith, Family, and Fatherhood."
Turner's book is intimate look into his life, a touching and insightful portrait of Turner, his family and his friends as they experience all the joys and heartache life serves up. The book is also a celebration of his Christian faith and the role God has played – and continues to play – in his life.
"Man Stuff" features a collection of revealing stories and anecdotes that often provide a revealing a lesson or piece of advice that the singer/songwriter absorbed as he rolled through life. Focusing on his Christian faith, each of the chapters begins with a scripture verse that relates to the stories being told.
"I was raised in a strong Christian family in a tight-knit community in rural South Carolina. I was taught essential life lessons, like the value of a dollar, what hard work feels like, and how important an education is. I was taught why being thoughtful, respectful, and considerate of others makes life more fulfilling, and why trusting God with your life's decisions is wise," writes Turner in the book's introduction. "If all that sounds a little old-fashioned, well, that's because it is. And I'm okay with that."
He continues, "In this book you'll learn a little bit more about how God has shaped and continues to shape me. You'll also learn about my wife, my boys, and the family I grew up in. I hope you see that the everyday small things in this life really do add up to matter a great deal in the long run. And I hope you'll smile – even laugh – and gain a little wisdom along the way. Maybe even a lot."
Turner's music hits include "Your Man," "Time Is Love," "Why Don't We Just Dance," "Firecracker" and "Would You Go with Me." Since signing with MCA Nashville in 2003, he has sold more than five million albums, and was one of the youngest artists asked to join the Grand Ole Opry.
HNGN caught up with singer-songwriter-book author-family man for an exclusive interview just as he was arriving in Tulsa, Okla., to perform at a radio station show. Our first questions were about "Man Stuff" and how he came to write the book.
"The publisher, Thomas Nelson, had seen an article about me in a magazine and it got them to thinkin' about doing a project with me," notes Turner. "So they came to me with the idea of writing a book.
"At first it was pretty intimidating and terrifying to think of just the possibility of writing a book this early in my career and my life. All those thoughts kinda went running through my head, of whether or not I would even have anything to say.
"The more the publisher and I talked and the more we brainstormed the more I realized that this would probably be a really fun project to be a part of. So, I jumped in with both feet and just tackled it.
"I had a ball writing the book. Honestly, it allowed me the opportunity to open up about my life and the things that I have learned and the things that made me the man I am. To be truthful, it was a lot easier than songwriting, but it was also totally different than songwriting," and, he adds with a laugh, "I didn't have to get the whole story told in three and half minutes and it didn't have to rhyme."
Even though the book process for "Man Stuff" was officially launched with that initial contact from the publisher, the singer acknowledges that the book actually had its beginning in those life lessons he learned from his family growing up in South Carolina--the ones he detailed in the book's introduction.
"I've always been a very observant person," he says. "I've always been aware of what's going on around me. And I'm a good listener. I love to listen to people tell stories. I've never considered myself the best story teller, but when it came to time write this book, I realized, wow, I have a lot of stories of my own that I can tell-because of being observant and listening to people and just paying attention throughout my life. I had stories about learning from my mistakes and learning from other people's mistakes, too.
"After I wrote the chapters, we started matching up Bible verses to fit the stories in each chapter. Most of the Bible verses were easy to find, but the hardest one to match up in the whole book was for the chapter about my favorite movies. We said, 'What does the Bible say about favorite movies?' It took us a while the find the verse that related to that topic."
Here's the verse Turner matched up to his favorite movie chapter ("Rocky" and "The Princess Bride" are two of his faves):
Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise – dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8
Turner says the stories in the book came out of the life lessons he's learned as a son, brother, friend, husband and father. "All those relationships, lessons from my upbringing and opportunities that I had, including chasing my dream, gave me stories for the book. The relationships – and real friendships – I had with my parents, my grandparents, my siblings are in it, too.
"Some people didn't really believe in the dream that I was chasing. They didn't believe in me moving to Nashville to do what I'm doing now. I've had a lot of people who encouraged me, but I've had a lot of people who thought I was just flat out crazy to move to Nashville to chase my dreams. It's been quite a journey."
The singer says he's glad the book gave him a way to tell about what God has meant in his life from his early years right up to the present.
"People have always kind of known that my faith has been a big part of who I am, the main part of who I am, really. The book gave me the opportunity to explain a lot of the things that I do and why I do the things I do. And also how I do things, whether in my business or my personal life. And it allowed me chance to open up about some heartbreaking times. Times that haven't been so glamorous and I've pulled through them.
"I felt like the book is a good thing for my fans to be able sit down and read and to kind of fill them in on some things they may not have known about me."
So, how did Jase Robertson of the "Duck Dynasty" Robertsons come to write the forward for "Man Stuff?" Did he and Jase meet last year when Turner sang a duet with Jase's wife Missy on the platinum-certified holiday album, "Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas?"
"We met before the duet," shares Turner. "When the Robertson's were shopping around for a label to do their Christmas record, they met with my label. In that meeting, they were going through the roster of artists on the label. When they came across my name, I was told later, that Jase just kind of jumped out of seat and said, 'Josh Turner. He is one of my favorite artists.'
"Somebody called and told me that after the meeting and I said, "Really? Well, he's always been my favorite character on the show.'
"A little later I got to meet Jase and Missy at a charity event down in Florida. That's where Missy and I started talking about the possibility of doing a duet. I told her I wish I had five or six songs to throw at you, but I only have one. It's a song I wrote called 'Why I Love Christmas.' I played it for her and she said, 'Oh, I love it, let's do it.' It was just that easy.
"That's how I got to know Jase and Missy and that whole family. Well, we did the duet. It was cool getting to know them. And I thought Jase writing the forward would be really appropriate. So, I called him up one day and asked him. He agreed to do it right then and there. He said he'd love to do it."
As it turns out, Jase Robertson is as good at crafting words as he is at crafting some of the best duck calls on the planet.
"What was crazy was when we actually got the forward from Jase," remembers Turner. "My publisher, my management and everybody who read it said nothing needs to be changed on it. It was absolutely perfect. So what you read in the forward was Jase's first draft. Not a word was changed."
Here's how Jase started his forward:
"I was introduced to Josh Turner one winter day while driving the back roads of my family's hunting property. My radio was blaring when the song "Long Black Train" by Josh came on. I immediately fell in love with the tune, and Josh's deep bass voice was impressive. However, I was surprised and delighted to discover the lyrics of the song had a spiritual connotation and dealt with overcoming various forms of temptation."
A little later in the forward, Jase adds, "I am honored that Josh asked me to be a part of this book because the principles of faith, family and fatherhood are qualities that bring joy to our homes, communities, and ultimately heaven. I am proud to call Josh my friend and brother, and this book inspires me to be a spiritual leader through Christ."
In addition to adding book author to his resume, Turner has kept his focus on his music. He has a new single that is now climbing the charts. The song is "Lay Low" and it has as timely message for everyone who is caught up in this fast-paced, technology-driven world. The song had an instant real-life connection to the singer.
"One day I was riding down the road and I threw a comp CD in that had a bunch of songs on it," he recalls. "When I heard that song it got me thinking about my cabin that I have in South Carolina where we go to get away. It's a cabin with no phone. No computer. No Wi-Fi or anything like that. It's a place that we go to literally disconnect. The song took me to that cabin, which has a special place in my heart, and that's all I could think about listening to the words.
Here are some of the lines that took Turner to that "special place":
I wanna drive until my cell phone
Runs out of range and every bar is gone
Cut through the woods another hundred miles
And disappear for a while
I wanna end up nowhere on a map
A little cabin sittin' so far back
Out in the country
Just the moon and stars
Are gonna know where we are
Check out the "Lay Low" video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=924Ryk0jW7g
Turner says "Lay Low" is also making a strong connection to others who hear it. "What I have found since we release the song and started playing it live is that, whether or not my fans or the listeners have that cabin in the woods, everybody kind of yearns for that kind of escape. I think we all yearn for that time to disconnect and get off our phones and computers. We want to just let our brain rest and we just want to be with the ones we love. I think that is a lot of the appeal of this song."
"Lay Low" is the lead single off of Turner's new album, due out around the middle of 2015.
"We're going back into the studio the middle of this month (December) to finish up. I've had songs being thrown at me from every direction. And I've written as often as I can, which hasn't been that often lately, because we've been so busy on the road and doing other stuff. Our goal is to have the album turned in to the label by February."
Once the album is done, Turner may need to start gathering up new stories in case he wants to write another book. After all, his three sons--Hampton, 8, Colby, 5, and Marion, who'll be 4 on Dec. 13--played significant roles in "Man Stuff." And now, as of Sept. 4, Turner and his wife, Jennifer, have a fourth son, Samuel Hawke.
"You know, in the hospital they told us he was 8 pounds and 6 ounces, and 201/2 inches long," notes Turner. "Turns out, we found out that they miss-measured him at the hospital. He was actually 22 two inches long. He's pretty long."
"He's doing great," adds the singer, pride noticeably lacing his words. "I can't believe he's almost three months old."
As he grows up and embraces his dad's love of family and faith, Samuel Hawke will no doubt be able to contribute a number of his own chapters to a hypothetical (for now, anyway) "Man Stuff II." Wonder at what age he'll start plunkin' around on a computer keyboard?
