Craig Campbell’s phone has rung quite a bit, since his debut single “Family Man,” hit radio a couple of years ago. But, sometimes, the phone call is for the other Craig Campbell in Music City — one of the town’s most respected publicists. The singer relates a story about the confusion to Billboard.
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“One day, John Rich called me by mistake. I answered the phone, and he said ‘I am not doing a TV interview today. I’ll do an audio interview, but not a TV interview.’ I said ‘Wait a minute, who do you think you’re talking to?’ He asked who it was, and I said ‘Craig Campbell, the singer.’ He said ‘Ok, I’ll call you later. Bye.’ He hung up the phone, but we get calls for each other all the time.”
Needless to say, a lot of people are ringing Campbell’s line these days to discuss his newest single, “Outta My Head,” currently at No. 47 on the Country Airplay chart. It’s the title cut from his new EP, which will be released on December 4. “I’ve waited a long time for it,” he said. “It’s been almost two years since the first album came out, so it’s definitely time.”
“Outta My Head” almost was recorded by another artist, Campbell says. “When we were getting ready to cut the new album, we put the word out that we were looking for hit songs, and this one made its’ way to my email. But, it actually was sent to me by mistake. It was on hold by Scotty McCreery, but we ‘sweet-talked’ him into letting us have it. We went in, recorded it, and got it out as fast as we could.”
The past couple of years have seen some incredible highlights for the singer, including seeing “Family Man” being included in an episode of “True Blood.”
“My first thought was ‘How in the world is this song going to fit into a ‘True Blood’ episode? But, as soon as it aired, I got a lot of Twitter and Facebook messages saying ‘Oh, my God! I just watched ‘True Blood,’ and heard your song.’ That was very cool.”
His music has definitely made a connection with fans, especially the single “When I Get It,” which he admits a lot of fans identify with. “If there’s a song on the album that is true to life, it’s that one. I actually had a guy call me one day because I was late on a payment, and I told him when I get it, you’ll get it. I thought ‘That sounds like a pretty good song title, so we ended up writing it.”
Over the past few years, he has shared the stage with superstars like Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. He says he has learned from both them, as well as a couple of his past employers. “I played piano for Tracy Byrd for about a year and a half, and also played piano for Luke Bryan. Being able to watch those guys interact with the audience, the way they carry themselves, and the way they respond to the fans has been invaluable. Just being on the road myself the past couple of years, I have seen my stage presence and my show itself is getting better, as well,” he says.
With the EP out, he will also continue to work on his full-length sophomore album, scheduled for next year. But, first things are first. After all, the holidays are just around the corner. “This Christmas, we’re going to stay home and open up presents at my house,” he said. “I think my little girls are going to have a really good time!”