Easton Corbin has hit the top of both the Mediabase/Country Aircheck and the Billboard country charts with his debut single, 'A Little More Country Than That.' According to his label, it's the first time a male solo act has taken his debut single to No. 1 since 2003 when Dierks Bentley topped the charts with 'What Was I Thinkin'.' Although Darius Rucker accomplished the feat with his solo country album, he had previously released a solo R&B project titled 'Back to Then' in 2002.


Easton's single, which was written by Rory Feek, Don Poythress and Wynn Varble, talks about rural life, which appealed to the singer, who hails from a very small town in Florida. "Even though I didn't write it, this song identifies who I am," says the newcomer. "It shows character and that's important where I'm from. You learn to say, 'Yes, ma'am' and 'No sir,' and to open the door for the ladies."

The young man, whose influences include Merle Haggard and George Jones, moved to Nashville in 2006, newly married and looking for a job. He found a day gig at Ace Hardware, so he could play music at night. And when he started making his self-titled debut album, Easton wanted to make it with the type of songs he likes. "The goal was to keep it traditional, but yet keep it fresh," says Easton. 'I feel like we're filling a slot that probably isn't being filled out there right now. Who am I to say? I just do what I know and love what I do."

Easton Corbin's self-titled debut album hit stores on March 2. Now comes the hard part: maintaining and sustaining what he hopes will be a long, successful career as a country music artist.

Easton's first song from his new album, 'A Little More Country Than That,' has been a commercial and creative success, climbing to No. 10 on the charts. Starting out can be tough, but Easton feels like he's getting his 'sea legs' pretty quickly.

"I think I'm doing a pretty good job getting to know myself and the audience," Easton tells The Boot. "It's just a learning experience, and you've just got to get out there. It helps when you've got good people on your side, and I feel like I have great people on my side."

Easton has been preparing for this moment his whole life. Growing up in rural Gilchrist County, Fla., he spent Saturday nights with his grandparents watching their favorite country TV shows. "My grandparents liked to watch the Opry," remembers Easton. "We'd start Saturday night off with 'Hee Haw' and then 'Opry Backstage' and then 'Opry Live.'

At 15, he began taking guitar lessons from a local musician who had at one time played on sessions in Nashville. Easton would come home from school every day and practice the guitar for hours, sometimes until his fingers were raw, then help his grandfather around the farm.

Easton put Plan B into action by earning a business degree through the College of Agriculture at the University of Florida. He got married in Sept. 2006, and less than a month after their wedding, the singer and his new bride moved to Music City. "I always knew I wanted to move to [Nashville]," Easton says. "There was never any question about it. I didn't want to wake up one day and wish I would have tried it."

Easton took a day job at a local hardware store and his wife found work at a doctor's office. Then came the "timing is everything" break he needed to jump start his music career. A distant cousin, also a professor of music management at the University of Montana, heard Easton's music and asked permission to send it to some of his Nashville contacts. Bingo. The senior director of A&R (artists and repertoire) at Universal Music Group quickly signed him to the label.

Easton continues to prepare himself for the uncertainty of what's ahead, so in that spirit we decided to throw a few random questions his way.

Do you ever get nervous before you go out to perform?

I always have some butterflies in my stomach a little bit. It's just an honor to get to go out there and do that for a living. Once you get out there and get in the first song, [the nerves] kind of go away, and you get into the rhythm, and it's great.

Have you ever forgotten the words to a song?

Oh, yes, I've done that! We were playing a radio show, and I actually forgot the second verse on "A Little More Country Than That." I had sung this song hundreds of times, but for some reason -- I guess it's just human nature -- it just wouldn't come to me. I was in the middle of the song, and I just stopped. So I said, 'Folks, we've come here to do this show for you, and I don't want to leave here not getting the words right. Y'all paid money to get in here, so I want y'all to get your money's worth.' So I started the song over again. And the second time through, we got it right [Laughs] As long as you're having fun and enjoying it, I think everybody else does too.

Do you have an unlisted phone number yet?

Well, I use my cell phone, so I don't have anything listed in a phone book.

What was the most shocking "news" to you when you were a kid? 1) There is no Santa Claus. 2) There is no tooth fairy. 3) The birds and the bees?

Number 3 -- the birds and the bees. The other two were already kind of suspect.

Who told you?

My dad, actually. I was shocked! [laughs]

What can you just not live without?

My guitar. I take it everywhere I go ... when I go home on vacation, it goes there.

Have you set a goal for yourself to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry?

That would be an honor to be able to do that. Overall my goal at this point in my career is to just make the right decisions and make the right moves just to build a foundation to have a career.

What television program is just a waste of your time to watch?

A lot of these reality shows. I don't get it. I feel like they're a waste of my time.

What's your favorite television show that you just hate to miss?

I can't say a certain show but I really like the Discovery Channel and the History Channel.

What would your wife say you need to improve on when it comes to romance?

Probably just being more spontaneous, I guess ... like little surprises here and there.

Which artist would you just kill to open for?

Anybody at this point!

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Easton Corbin admits he has wanted to be a country singer since he was a rug rat. "One of my earliest memories is from when I was three or four. I was sitting between my parents in the car and a song came on the radio. It was Mel McDaniel's 'Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On.' I began using the gearshift as my microphone."

Twenty-three years later, Easton is now using a real microphone on stage, making a good living as a musician. He talks to The Boot about hearing his first record on the radio for the first time.

"We were doing an appearance at a Gainesville, Fla., radio station. That was August or Sept. of '09. This is the first official time I can remember hearing ['A Little More Country Than That']. We had just got through doing a little radio show down there in Gainesville for 93.7, and it was just me -- it was kind of like a hometown gig ... I'm from Trenton, Fla., about 35 miles west. Gainesville is the big radio station, so they had me come in there and do something kind of like for the hometown crowd.

"We did an acoustic show. So after that was over, I was going to stay home for a few days with my folks. I got in the truck with my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law, and I mean, right after the gig, sure enough, my song came on. In fact, it was the minute they cranked up the truck to leave the venue parking lot, that's when it came on. Perfect timing. I felt great. I thought: 'I'm actually getting heard on the radio!' That's a dream come true! It was one of those moments when you sit back and say, 'Wow!'"

Easton Corbin is having a lot of beginner's luck! His debut single, 'A Little More Country Than That,' has been steadily climbing the charts -- closing in on the Top 10, with praise from fans and critics alike. One country station on Sirius satellite radio recently acknowledged that people were calling in asking the deejay to play the song by "that artist who sounds like George Strait."

Easton, who has wanted to be a country singer since he could crawl, admits that King George has been one of his heroes along the way, but is somewhat cautious about the comparison. "It's a great, great compliment to be mentioned with him," Easton tells The Boot. "But like I tell most folks, there will never be another George Strait. I'm not trying to be like him or sound like him, that's just kind of how it comes out. My biggest influences on my singing and artistry - including George - are Merle Haggard, Keith Whitley and George Jones. I tell folks there'll never be another one of those guys either. I just take those influences, and that's who I learned to sing from as far as my style."

So has Easton ever met George Strait?


"I did meet George," confesses Easton. "I met him in Austin (Texas) at a show, and it was one of those things ... It's different before you meet him, but when you actually meet him and start talking to him, it's kind of like, 'Wow! He's an icon!' I thought it would be easy to talk to him at first, but when I actually got up there and met him, it was like, what do I say? [laughs] I just told him the usual. I wasn't real original, but I was like, 'Man, I love your music, and I've always been a fan.' We didn't have much time to talk. He was going through the meet-n-greet stuff, but it was such an honor to get to meet him ... When you first think about it before you meet him, you think he's just a person like anybody else. But when you get up there and actually meet him, it's kind of like, 'Wow! ... this is George Strait!' He wished me luck. He was a real nice guy!"

Easton's self-titled debut album is scheduled to be released on March 2.