Exclusive: 5 Country Singers Share Lessons They Learned From Entertaining Troops

Country singers make a living touring and playing shows for their fans, but some of the most memorable concerts country singers play are for the men and women in the United States military. Sometimes, the memory happens on the way to the show. Other times, the best part for the country singers is meeting the troops after their performance. However, the artists agree that playing for the U.S. troops is a duty and a privilege they don’t take for granted.

In an exclusive with American Songwriter, Craig Morgan, Darryl Worley, Kristian Bush, Michael Ray, and Doug Gray of the Marshall Tucker Band share their favorite memories and lessons learned from playing for the United States Military.

Craig Morgan

Craig Morgan has spent the better part of two decades in the Army – including now. He re-enlisted last year in the reserves. But, his first visit to a war zone as a country singer and not a soldier is one for the record books – or at least Morgan’s book.

His memoir “God, Family, Country” is out now.

He shared the story of his 2003 Stars for Stripes tour to Kuwait and Iraq.

The U.S. had invaded Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein from power just a few months before Morgan’s arrival. However, a few of Hussein’s army members were still left. They had joined Al-Qaeda, and Morgan said they were building armies of terrorists to oust the U.S. and overthrow the new democratic government.

“I Grabbed an M-16 That Belonged to the Driver and Scanned the Road”

Morgan wrote that he and a couple of support staff he brought with him got out of a helicopter and into a ground support vehicle when an Army general told them that if trouble arose, Morgan was in charge.
“That got everybody’s attention, including mine,” Morgan said. “It was real life as opposed to real military recognition of my resume, I suppose.”

He wrote that nobody in the Army takes orders from a singer. But along the drive, there was commotion and people yelling on the radio.

“A guy had run out in front of the convoy, and somebody shot him,” Morgan wrote. “Apparently, he had a bomb or planned to detonate one. The convoy started to stop. I started yelling, don’t stop the convoy. Move, move, move, move, move, which is what you do in that situation. I can’t say why they would’ve stopped. Maybe for some reason, they felt they were safe. I grabbed an M-16 that belonged to the driver and scanned the road, ready to use the gun if I needed to.”

When they drove by, the terrorist was lying in the road, bleeding into the dirt.

“We whipped on by without stopping to investigate further,” Morgan said.

Darryl Worley

Darryl Worley was raised in a military family and says growing up with that set of values and understanding “puts a different sense of responsibility in a person.”

“We owe a great debt to those who are willing to die for our way of life,” said the “Have You Forgotten?” singer. “So many have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and so many enjoy the freedom and liberties without ever giving that a second thought.”

Because of that, Worley sees going to pay for the military as his duty – not merely a choice.
“Who would not do that given the opportunity?” he said. “I grew up seeing what that way of life does to family, and I would never refuse to give back. We should all feel like one big, huge family when it comes to our military. They would all die for us, and that’s what family does. Who loves you more than that?”

Worley describes his performances for the U.S. military in war zones as “intense and especially memorable.”

“Being in theater with them was the most surreal thing I’ve ever done,” he said, recalling there had been some close calls in war zones in which he’s been embedded.

“A lot of people would think we are crazy, but I cherish every single one of those experiences,” he said. “It gave me a little taste of what our men and women do to protect us, and we all should strive to find a way to give something back.”

Michael Ray

Michael Ray’s favorite memory isn’t playing for the troops as much as playing with them. Ray anchored a Circle TV reality show called “Inside The Base,” on which he and other country singers trained alongside the American military.

Ray’s most memorable experience came at West Point where he worked out with the troops. He did pullups and pushups, ran sprints, repelled, and even participated in their miles-long march carrying a heavy pack.

“I did the march with them; I just didn’t have a weapon,” the country singer explained. “To march beside the men and women was such an honor. I got to really step into not only their day-to-day but also their minds.”

Following the march, Ray performed for the soldiers.

Kristian Bush

In 2015, Kristian Bush spent Memorial Day playing for troops stationed at Pearl Harbor. Entertainers and soldiers both frequently work on holidays, but Bush said it’s a “different level of conversation” to play a base in Hawaii on Memorial Day.  

“There’s something magic about it because not only are you doing what you do anyway, but you’re doing it for people who really need a day off and whose jobs not only do they care about, but you care about deeply,” he said. “We had gone over to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial earlier in the day. It’s sort of an agreed, respectful silence that you carry with you when you go over on the ferry and then walk around and come back.”

Bush said walking through the memorial is a sobering experience, so to leave there and go play for troops at the same base highlights the reason everyone is there.

“It carries the extreme weight of what you would imagine it carries,” said the country singer. “But it also carries this … you’re so far away from home that while you’re waking up, other people are sleeping. One of the most amazing experiences is helping them to find the comfort of family joy without having those things. If I could play something they know, they’re not there. And, maybe I’m not either. Maybe I’m with them in some other beautiful sort of celebration of what this country is.”

Doug Gray (Marshall Tucker Band)

Doug Gray was a Sergeant in the Vietnam War, which he explains changed his perspective when the band played for troops.

Famous for songs including “Can’t You See” and “Heard It In A Love Song,” The Marshall Tucker Band played for troops in Iraq in 2011.

“I was awakened to the fact there were so many women who were instrumental in fighting for our freedom,” Gray said. “Things were different when I served in Vietnam. I am so incredibly proud of all of our brave women and men in uniform.”

Gray said it’s deeply important to him to play for the troops because of his previous service and commitment to protecting my country.

“Without the military, we cease to exist as a free nation,” he said. “God Bless America.”

Courtesy of The Valory Music Co.