Not every father-and-son duo get to write songs together. But for Thomas Rhett and Rhett Akins, their shared love for the family business — country music — has been a major source of bonding.
When he first started out, Thomas says, his dad was his musical hero, and he leaned on him to come up with radio hits.
“In the beginning, it was like, ‘Dad, I need your help severely. We need a hit song. If you have any laying around, please send them my way.’” the singer remembers.
But now that Thomas is a superstar in his own right, he and his dad have been able to go into the writer’s room together as equal partners in songwriting. “…Maybe I’m just not a little kid anymore, trying to figure out how to rhyme words together,” the singer reflects. “It’s really cool to be able to use that craft with your dad.”
Even more special? The fact that they got to tour together when Rhett opened for Thomas’ Center Point Road Tour. They’ll keep the father-son dynamic going on select dates when Thomas’ tour resumes later in 2021.
“My dad is always my first phone call for a bus trip or a writing session. But it was really cool that my dad got to tour with me last year because it made it really easy,” Thomas recalls.
He adds, “Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, we would just wake up and write songs from 10 a.m. until showtime.”
Thomas is celebrating Father’s Day this year with a new song called “Things Dads Do,” which he wrote with — who else? — his songwriter dad.
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