Randy Houser

“There's certain things as a songwriter that I don't really care to write about, and there are certain things I won't sing about anymore. There are just so many things that I probably thought was OK for me, or have been in the past, that I would never want my son to think was OK.”

“I've been playing music for over 20 years now. I started playing when I was 14 years old. To everyone who has said I was an overnight success... where have you been the last 20 years?”

“I've made music since I was a kid so I've always gotten joy out of that.”

“There is a big difference between No. 1 and No. 2. I don't care who wrote it. I'd love to one day have a No. 1 that I wrote, but if that ain't in the cards, whatever. My job is right now is to make the best music I can and try to get it to the people, whether it be something that I wrote or not. It's my job to be the best I can for the fans.”

“First time I walked out on the Opry stage, Vince Gill was there. He kind of 'daddied' me through the whole thing. My knees were knocking. I walked out there, and I was literally shaking. They say it's the spirits or the ghosts. And out of respect for that whole establishment, I was really really nervous.”

“I find it hard to talk and say things, but I can always sing about them.”

“I remember when I met my wife and that she could just grab my hand and I would just ease. I don't know how to say that but it was one of the coolest things. It was strange, but it definitely changed my life.”

“When I first met my wife, I really just settled down quite a bit and I started living a much cleaner lifestyle. I was able to concentrate on things that I neglected in the past a little more and I was spending a lot more time at home than I normally would.”

“I started playing guitar before I can really remember, and I started writing really early, too.”

“I was always going to make music, but I cleaned up my act a lot just to be a good dad and a husband. That sort of changed my career professionally, too.”

“I feel like a younger man, and I'm sure having a child and all that has to do with that.”

“One of the most important times in my life was the first time that I remember seeing my daddy get onstage and play music with a bunch of guys. All of them playing something different at the same time and all becoming one, and me soaking that in at 5 years old and going, 'That's my daddy up there, and he's a part of something.'”

“The first single I released, 'Anything Goes,' is probably one of the best-written songs I've heard in a long time. It takes somebody knowing who you are. Sometimes writers know who an artist is and what they want to say and how they sing. I will never be opposed to cutting a song if somebody nails my life and what I'm going through.”

“I'm not Mr. Mom, but there's just certain things I won't say anymore.”

“Any of the rewards or accolades or any of that are very nice and everything but the music is what saves me. And it did. I would write my way out of any kind of depressing period.”

“I want to let fans know how much I appreciate them and how much I appreciate them showing interest in our music and me personally.”

“I love Darius Rucker. He's a true artist, a great songwriter who can play his instrument, sing and write about his life.”

“I started playing in bars when I was about 15 years old, and there are things that I saw early on that really shaped who I am.”

“I never felt like I wanted to have kids until I could be home and be a daddy, and those are the things that I didn't have.”

“I'm a songwriter; that's where it starts. I love writing with someone that shares that same feeling of accomplishment. I'll play music for my fans as long as they'll listen, but I fancy myself as a writer first.”