This week, Outsider had the pleasure of welcoming country singer-songwriter Larry Fleet onto The Marty Smith Podcast as this week’s special guest. Fleet has been a songwriter in Nashville for years and has worked with some of the industry’s top acts, including his old friend Morgan Wallen. He joined our hosts to talk about his life and career in Music City as he gets ready to head out on his first headlining tour in September.
The blue-collar singer has had quite the ride over the years as he attempted to make a living in country music. Early on, Fleet worked with Wallen, but no one in Nashville was interested in what either of them were singing. That’s ironic to say the least, especially considering how huge Wallen is these days.
The “Whiskey Glasses” singer is one of the biggest acts in the music industry, not just in the country genre. And after Fleet opened up for Wallen on his “The Dangerous Tour” this past year, his career trajectory is heading nowhere but up.
It took persistence and believing in his own style of music to feel settled in amongst country music’s elite. Fleet used to write songs specifically chasing No. 1 hits on the radio in an attempt to emulate their modern sound. Eventually, he realized he was better off writing authentic songs that were true to himself, and it’s served him well ever since.
Yet part of Fleet’s success can also be attributed to certain changes he’s made in his everyday life. You could say he was being true to himself across the board when a few years back the musician chose to stop drinking alcohol. The country musician thinks he’s been better off for it since Fleet likes who he is even more so when he’s sober.
Larry Fleet Says He Wanted To Set a Good Example for His Children
While speaking during the podcast, host Marty Smith was picking Larry Fleet’s brain about his songwriting. They also got into his musical roots and his background working in the concrete business, which runs in his family and has for generations.
Smith was trying to get to the center of who Larry Fleet is as a person and as an artist. As their conversation continued, Smith knew that Fleet was sober and simply asked him about the decision.
“Why’d you quit drinking?” host Marty Smith asked.
“Well, honestly it was just I got tired of it. For me, it didn’t do anything for me. I couldn’t act right, you know?” Larry Fleet said on The Marty Smith Podcast. “Everybody’s always paying attention to ya. Not that I had to go to rehab or anything, I just kinda gave it up. Having kids and everything else – between having kids and wanting to set a good example.”
“And also, up until this year, I got my own bus and my own driver. So I drive my own bus the past two years. So you can’t be drinking and driving the bus,” he added as everyone laughed. “I started slacking off [the drinking] when I was driving so much and I noticed I felt way better. And I liked who I was when I wasn’t drinkin’.”
“I admire it. I admire it a ton,” Marty Smith responded.
Larry Fleet shares more about his life and music career on the newest episode of The Marty Smith Podcast. Make sure to check out his entire conversation in the video above, or listen to the full interview on Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you listen to your favorite podcasts.
