Parker McCollum, who just released his self-titled album last week, is Elaina Smith’s Backstage Country co-host for the week of June 30-July 4. McCollum will not only be in charge of the airwaves and play good country music, but he will also be sharing the stories behind the songs included on his latest album, Parker McCollum.
Parker McCollum Songs
“New York Is On Fire”
With an interesting song title like that, Smith wanted to know more about the story behind the song, including if he wrote it while in New York. McCollum replied, “I did write this in New York. We had finished the Burn It Down Tour in South Lake Tahoe. I wanted to go to Newark City at that time of year when all the foliage and the trees are changing colors and it's a gorgeous time to be in that city. We were flying in, and I was looking out the window of the plane and all the trees were just electric yellow and orange.”
He added, “We just started throwing all these things out and then we cut that song and it took a long time. I think we cut it probably 20 or 30 times and it felt like to the point where I was like, ‘I hate this song and I don't ever want to hear this song again.’ I actually took a walk around the block to get out of there and stop thinking about this. Then when you put the record together, that might be my favorite song on the record.”
“Hope That I’m Enough”
McCollum originally wanted “Hope That I’m Enough” to be a single: “When I wrote this song, I just knew it was something that I was going to be playing for a long time, just the melody and it's so me, I feel like I've tried to write a thousand songs that sound just like this song, and I've never written one that I think quite accomplishes my goal as much as this one does.”
He also credited his wife for inspiring him. He said, “My wife Hallie Ray is just as good as God can make them. Just an unbelievable human being and a great subject to write songs about. A great, easy person to write songs about. This song came about when she was sitting on the couch; dog was breathing on her neck, she said ‘I can feel you breathing.’ I sang that and it was the first line and just kind of spitballed those first couple verses.”
