Jason Aldean Recalls Hard Times Early In His Career: ‘I Was Starving’

Photo byCourtesy of the ACM

Jason Aldean now owns multiple houses and cars, but his life wasn’t always full of excess luxuries. The 47-year-old recalls a time very early in his career, when he was struggling just to pay his bills.

“I was starving, I had a brand new baby. My oldest daughter had just been born,” Aldean recalls to Taste of Country, referring to his daughter, Keeley, who was born in early 2003. “I didn’t have any money.”

At the time, Aldean was trying desperately to get his music career off the ground, and doing whatever he could to make enough money to support his growing family. His debut single, “Hicktown,” was released in March of 2005.

“I wasn’t thinking long-term,” admits the singer. “It was like, ‘I need to get this song going just so I can generate some money to keep from losing my house and to be able to buy diapers.’ Those kind of things.”

Now, the father of four not only owns a home in Nashville, where he resides with his wife, Brittany and two young children, but homes in Florida, Turks and Caicos and Georgia. It’s almost more than he can comprehend.

“For it to turn into what it has, I never … I don't know, maybe I was just kind of naïve to the point of thinking that it could ever become this,” Aldean admits.

“I was very much small potatoes, going, ‘I need to make five grand, so I need to make five grand today somehow. How does this happen?’ It was more like survival,” he adds,

Aldean recently celebrated 19 years in country music. His eponymous freshman album was released on July 26, 2005, which included “Hicktown,” which reached the Top 10, and his first No. 1 hit with its follow-up single, “Why.”

“My first album dropped 19 years ago yesterday and what a wild ride it’s been,” Aldean posted on social media. “This album and this song changed my life forever. I appreciate [you] guys accepting this kid from Georgia back in 2005 and bearing with me while I figured this whole thing out. Thank you for the last two decades! It has been a dream come true for me, my family and my crew. Not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for everything you guys have given us. Much love and thanks for the ride!”

Aldean has achieved plenty in country music, including numerous awards, chart-topping singles, platinum-selling albums, sold-out tours and more. But for Aldean, of all that he has done, his proudest accomplishment is that he is still part of country music, almost two decades after his first single was released.

“I think longevity, really,” Aldean says on FOX & Friends, when asked what he is most proud of achieving. “The fact that my first single came out in 2005, and we didn’t have social media. We didn’t have all these ways to get your career up and running like these guys do now. It’s like we had to go out and do it grassroots style. We had to play every little bar, every little festival, every little everything to build it to this, and we were able to do that, and and been able to sustain it for this long and still coming out this many years later selling out tours.

“That’s been a pretty cool thing to watch,” he adds. “And every year we’re like, ‘Is this it? Is this the end of it? Maybe.’ And then every year we have another tour that blows out and people come and check it out. So it’s been great.”

Aldean is currently headlining his Highway Desperado Tour. Find music and upcoming shows at JasonAldean.com.