Craig Morgan Greer is a former fire support specialist who served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions before becoming a country music star with seven songs that reached Billboard’s Top 10 most-played country tracks. His top hit, “That’s What I Love About Sundays,” spent six weeks at number 1.
The veteran, who performs under the name Craig Morgan, is releasing a new album but still finds plenty of time to go on USO tours and stop by military bases to visit troops, an activity he says is near and dear to his heart. I mean, who doesn’t like country music?
The tours can feel strange for him though, since he’s treated like a VIP while he still thinks of himself as a soldier. This is especially true when he visits his former duty stations like Fort Campbell or Fort Bragg.
“It’s super odd, even still to this day, many years later,” he told WATM. “I’m not a VIP, I’m a soldier. It’s emotional. I mean, I had children born on both of those bases.”
While Morgan is very proud of his veteran status and open about it, he’s surprised that many of his fans and peers in the industry don’t know that he served. His new album’s title track, “A Whole Lot More To Me,” is partially about the fact that he wasn’t always a performer.
“I find it amazing that having been in the music industry for this long, there are still people who don’t know I was in the military,” he said. “That’s crazy to me. That’s what this record is about. There’s a whole lot more to me than country music and pickup trucks.”
The music video for a new song on the album even includes shots of his time in uniform as well as video of Morgan visiting troops and conducting activities, like PT, with them.
While the new album contains direct references to Craig Morgan’s time in the military, he says that most of his songs have ties to the service.
“The music always reflects back, at some point for me, to my experiences in my life, and since most of my life was in the military, they all relate back to it.”
One standout hit has a surprise military connection. “Redneck Yacht Club,” a 2005 song about a bunch of country boys taking their boats onto the lake for a party, is tied to his time slipping away from the post during downtime in the Army.
“I remember being at Fort Bragg and going to the lake or to Louisiana to get on the water,” he said.
Morgan, who spent over six years in the Reserves after serving for nearly 10 on active duty, says that he still misses the military from time-to-time, especially after USO tours.
“When I come home I pout around a little bit because I feel like I should be back in the Army,” he said.
Craig Morgan’s new album is available for pre-order on his website. It comes out on Jun. 3 nationwide.