Charlie Worsham Fell Back in Love With Music While Making ‘Beginning of Things’
Don't let the title of Charlie Worsham's second studio album fool you: Beginning of Things is really a record born out of countless years in the country music industry, and the raw honesty and bold wisdom that only comes from a long history of fighting to "make it" as an artist.
Released on Friday (April 21), Beginning of Things is Worsham's sophomore album, the follow-up project to his 2013 solo debut, Rubberband. In many ways, the singer-songwriter says, his new album is a return to the love he had for music in his youth, and the beginning of a new chapter in his journey to find his true voice and sound as an artist.
"This is a lonesome record, and I think the inspiration was reclaiming my musical geography," Worsham tells The Boot. "I grew up in [Mississippi], the most musically rich part of the entire country -- I mean, we gave the world Elvis [Presley], BB King, Tammy Wynette, Charley Pride -- and just taking my place in that ...
"This is 'Charlie' music. It's me. It doesn't sound like anybody else," Worsham adds. "Of course there are influences, but it's not so much about other artists and songs as it is, I took my place. I found my place."
Born in Jackson, Miss., Worsham began finding his way as a musician at a young age: He was recognized in his hometown as an exceptional musician and made his Grand Ole Opry debut at just 12 years old, playing banjo for bluegrass great Jimmy Martin. After graduating from high school, Worsham attended Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music, and eventually made his way to Nashville. Following a stint playing fiddle with the popular Nashville band KingBilly, Worsham struck out on his own and has spent the majority of his career on the road, sharing the stage with everyone from Taylor Swift to Eric Church, and relentlessly pursuing a solo career.
"To be honest, I was between tours, pretty burned out, had a couple days to spend in Austin, Texas, and sort of recharge," Worsham says of the beginning of Beginning of Things. "I got these three notebooks and wrote on the cover 'Tell the truth,' [and I] promised myself I'd fill a page everyday with whatever truth was on my heart. And the more I did that, the more I made sense of it all ...
"I started to figure out that life is about embracing it all," Worsham continues. "Not just the happiness -- which is a great thing, but we can't all be happy at the same time and all the time. Sorrow and anger and all these other things are important, too; they're here to tell us something. So [it was about] embracing that, getting my confidence back and falling back in love with music."
Although Worsham has collaborated with many artists in the past -- and will continue to do so -- Beginning of Things needed to be his, and his alone. The artist penned 10 of the album's 13 tracks and opted out of bringing in any big-name guests.
"This album was about my truth -- those notebooks started it off -- so I wanted it to be a lonely record," Worsham says. The singer-songwriter notes that, in many ways, Beginning of Things' title track is his own anthem ... even though it is one of the few songs on the record that he didn't write: "We called the record Beginning of Things because I think it took me getting back to the beginning of this journey, being in love with music the first time, to figure it all out and get back in love with it."
Beginning of Things is available for purchase on iTunes. Worhsam is currently out on the road with Brandy Clark for a special spring tour, visiting more than 25 cities through June 18. For more information on Worhsam, his new album and his upcoming tour dates, visit CharlieWorsham.com.
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