ABC/Mark LevineThomas Rhett is opening up about the important lesson that his famous songwriting father, Rhett Atkins, taught him growing up that he hopes to pass on to his three daughters.
Ahead of Father’s Day on Sunday, the country superstar is reflecting on the way that his father — who’s penned hits for Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and more — gave him a sense of normalcy in spite of the fame that surrounded him as he broke into the country music scene in the 1990s with such hits as “That Ain’t My Truck.”
“Growing up with a dad that sang music, it felt normal to me, but looking back at it, it was kind of a strange upbringing,” Thomas says. “But my dad made life feel very normal even though his life was not. And so I would say that that has been instilled in me.”
Now that the “Life Changes” hitmaker is in that same position his father was, he hopes that his own children — four-year-old Willa, two-year-old Ada and four-month-old Lennon — grow up with that same sense of grounding.
“No matter what we get to do, whether traveling around the world and playing shows and then watching me sing, I do want them to stay as grounded and feel like they live as much of a normal life as they possibly can,” Thomas expresses. “And so I’m super thankful to my dad for helping me do that, too.”
Thomas was supposed to be on his Center Point Road Tour this summer. However, it’s been postponed to 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
