photo by Mike Carroll
Rodney Atkins is best known for his rockin’ hits such as “If You’re Goin’ Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows),” “Watching You,” “These are my People,” “Cleaning This Gun (Come On in Boy),” “It’s America,” “Farmer’s Daughter,” and “Take a Back Road.”
Before he released the platinum selling “If You’re Going Through Hell” album, he was a struggling artist trying to find consistent chart success. His debut album “Honesty” was released in 2003, and featured Rodney in an unfamiliar cowboy hat look, which was forced upon him by the powers-that-be. It wasn’t until he was allowed to be himself with the ball cap look that he became a well-known star.
While His debut album “Honesty” had plenty of great songs on it such as “Sing Along” and “Someone to Share it With,” only one of them cracked the top 35 on the charts. Below you will be taken back in time to his first Top 5 hit, “Honesty (Write Me a List)”, which peaked at #4 on the charts. I remember when this song first came out, I thought it was a new Tim McGraw song…take a listen and see if you agree!
It is unknown why Rodney doesn’t play this song live at his shows, as do many stars with their “first” hit(s), but hopefully we’ll get to convince him to play it the next time he’s in town for a smaller show!