Exclusive: How Chris Housman Turned His Broken Neck Into His Debut Album, ‘Blueneck’

Chris Housman grew up in such a rural area that his childhood home was a few miles outside of the nearest town – which had a population of about 200 people.

His parents have always been supportive of his country music aspirations. His sexuality? Not as much.
When he came out to his parents, Housman was the first openly gay person he’d ever known. And he’s sure he’s the first out person they’d ever met, too. They were never mean to him. They just wondered why he had to talk about his preferences.

“They said, ‘Does it have to be about you being gay?’” he recalled in an interview with American Songwriter. “‘Why can’t it just be about the music?’  And that type of thing? But, explaining representation matters doesn’t really work for people who have lived in the same county of 200 people their whole life.”

Housman moved to Nashville in 2008.  After 16 years in Music City and a broken neck that threatened his livelihood, the singer recently released his debut album. Blueneck is out now.

Chris Housman: “You Can’t Say This isn’t Country”

“In my head, there has yet to be somebody that was already out to make it from the beginning,” Housman said. “You can’t say this isn’t country. You can’t say this isn’t good. Unfortunately, I have to be part of it for the first time. I don’t want to water myself down.”

Housman’s album started with the title track, the idea for which came to him during quarantine while he was tripping on psychedelics. He scrawled the idea in his “mushroom notebook,” which he said he doesn’t use much these days.

“I just wrote a song about being a liberal redneck,” he said. “Then I drew an arrow. And then I wrote Blueneck and circled it a bunch.”

Later, Housman moved the idea to his song titles list on his phone where it sat for a while because he couldn’t find the right people to write the song. A few months later, he was in a songwriting appointment with another queer writer and a producer/writer Housman was comfortable with. When the producer shared a track idea, Housman knew it was perfect for “Blueneck.”

They wrote the chorus to “Blueneck” over Zoom, and Housman shared it on TikTok, where it went viral. He had 70 followers before the song blew up, and Housman didn’t expect the numbers he was seeing. The songwriters finished the song as quickly as they could. The more Housman posted about “Blueneck,” the more people engaged.

“Blueneck”: A Song About Being a Liberal Redneck

“That was so validating for me and important for me to see that,” he said, explaining it showed him there was an audience for queer country music. “There are people that need to hear this message. My number one thing I see all the time from that song is, ‘Oh my gosh, I grew up loving ’90s country. I gravitated away from the genre, but I’m back now. Or, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m a country music fan now.’ That’s my favorite thing to see.”

Housman’s original plan was to release an EP, but as time passed, he realized how important recording a full-length album was to him. He shifted his attention to that and, he believes, had enough songs to fill three projects. He chose his favorites, regardless of their age, because there are no rules for an independent artist recording his first album. And Blueneck was born.

“Blueneck changed everything for me,” he said. “It sums me up as best as a word could, probably. I feel like the collection of songs falls under that storytelling ‘Blueneck’ idea.’”

Housman is thrilled the album is out, but it likely would never have happened without the tragic accident that made the singer rethink his career and future. Eight years on July 6, Housman was watching a friend’s band play in East Nashville. An inflatable bouncy house with a slide was on the property to entertain guests. Housman had gone down the slide a couple of times with no issue before a man much larger than himself came down on top of him, slamming into the back of his head.

Chris Housman Calls Himself a “Dumb***” for Not Calling an Ambulance

“My forehead hit my chest,” Housman said, explaining he broke his neck in multiple places. “It just felt like my body was on fire, and then I walked with help to the car of my boyfriend at the time, and he drove me to the hospital.”

Housman calls himself a dumb*** for not taking an ambulance because he wanted to save money.
Once in the car, he leaned his seat back as far as it would go but still felt like his head would be in his lap. He endured a nine-hour surgery and was in ICU for one week. There was a but on his spinal column and it was leaking fluid.

“If it were a full tear, I wouldn’t be here talking right now,” he said. “I’m just really, really fortunate to be okay and walking and able to do music.”

At the time of the accident, he’d been working at Sony for more than four years doing licensing and copyright work. He had given up the idea of doing music professionally because he had already come out as gay. Housman didn’t have any successful role models to look to, as no queer artists had succeeded in the country space. But, the accident reignited his dedication to his art. He realized his job at Sony prevented him from co-writing songs, which was essential to him.

His dad had bought him an upright bass to help him strengthen his left side following the accident because he nearly lost all use of it during surgery. With the addition of the upright base to his repertoire, he joined a duo and started playing colleges. The new act was lucrative enough to allow him to leave Sony and focus on his music career.

Chris Housman Wants ‘Blueneck’ to Make People Feel Seen

“It was hard to leave that comfort and stability Sony,” he said. “But as awful as the accident was, I’m also so grateful for that shift in perspective.”

Housman wants Blueneck to be a combination of the ’90s country he grew up listening to with the music the singer wished he had when he was growing up listening to music. Blueneck is a “very queer” album for people who understand what they’re listening for. But he also wanted to keep the songs universal.

“More than anything, I hope people feel seen in a way they haven’t from a country album before,” he said.  “Music has a way of connecting on a deeper level with people. I think we all basically want to be seen and some semblance of understanding.”

Photo by Ford Fairchild