Charles Kelley Interview - Lady A, Songs For A New Moon Album

For almost two decades, Charles Kelley has been a founding member of the multi-platinum trio Lady A, and one of its lead singers & songwriters. Known for his powerful, soulful vocals, Kelley has been a main contributor to the success of Lady A, which has had numerous country & pop hits including “Need You Now,” “Just a Kiss,” “I Run To You” and “American Honey.”

Impressively, Kelley has won seven Grammy Awards with Lady A. These awards include Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Need You Now,” and Best Country Album for both Need You Now (in 2011) and Own the Night (2012). In addition, the trio has won many CMA Awards, ACM Awards, American Music Awards and CMT Awards.

This week (on June 27), Kelley is releasing a new solo album called Songs For A New Moon. It’s his second solo album, and his first since releasing his debut solo album, The Driver, in 2016. This new album marks a shift in musical direction for Kelley. Inspired by his love of ‘80s pop music when he was growing up, he has written & recorded an appealing collection of songs that are upbeat, fresh, and influenced by the sounds and styles of ‘80s pop.

Kelly discussses the music on his new album. “Songs For A New Moon is the beginning of a new chapter, a new cycle, and that’s what this is to me,” he explains. “I feel like we need a little feel-good music in the world—I need some feel good music. And I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited, because everything feels so different. Let’s just have some fun with no fear.”

On the new album, Kelley collaborates with several hit songwriters & producers such as Josh Kear, Lindsay Rimes, Sam Ellis and Dann Huff. The album includes the first single “Can’t Lose You,” which is a melodic, uptempo tune that echoes TOTO and other bands of the ‘80s. Another key song is “Here With Me,” a song by The Killers that Kelley turns into a heartfelt ballad. Other highlights are “Covering My Tracks” and “Can’t Be Alone Tonight.”

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Kelley. But before we get started, here’s a list of the hit songs that he has co-written, which includes writing hits for other artists besides Lady A.

For Lady A, besides the big hits “Need You Know” and “Just a Kiss,” Kelley co-wrote the number one or Top 10 hits “Love Don’t Live Here,” “I Run To You,” “Our Kind of Love,” “We Owned the Night,” “Dancin’ Away with My Heart,” “Goodbye Town,” “Compass,” “Bartender,” “What If I Never Get Over You” and “Champagne Night.”

Here’s the video of Charles Kelley’s song, “Can’t Lose You.”

In addition to his hits with Lady A, Kelley also co-wrote the hit “Do I” with Luke Bryan, and “Homegrown Honey” with Darius Rucker. He’s also co-written songs for Miranda Lambert, Brett Young and other artists.

Here’s our interview with Charles Kelley:

DK: I read that you’re from Augusta, Georgia. How did you get started with music, and how you form Lady A with Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood?

Charles Kelley: I started playing drums when I was about 11, and I played in cover bands through middle school and high school. I fell in love with making music, and in the cover bands, we played songs from every genre—country, pop, R&B, blues…all of it. So I think that’s where a lot of my ‘80s influence comes from, playing a lot of those songs live.

For college, I went to the University of Georgia, and then I moved to Nashville after that. I talked to my buddy Dave (Haywood), who’s from Augusta as well. He was in a different band, and when I moved to Nashville, I called him up and said, “Hey man, I’m writing some songs here in Nashville, I think you should move up here and give it a shot with me, and see if we can get something going.”

Then after six months of being in town, with Dave and I writing songs, I was lucky enough to run across Hillary (Scott) in a bar. She was singing with a band, and we sparked up a conversation and we got together the next week. Then the three of us wrote music together, and we were off to the races. We started talking about putting the band together.

There’s obviously a lot of details that go with that—there were a lot of bad songs written and some good songs. We were in our early 20s and learning how to write songs, and we were lucky enough to get in the room with a lot of great songwriters that helped teach us the craft of songwriting. I think that’s important being around other artists that understand the craft of writing a great song. So there was a lot of development in that area, and we were lucky enough to get a record deal early on. So we were off to the races and it’s been a fun journey. We’ve been a band for almost two decades now.

Here’s the video of Charles Kelley’s single, “Here With Me.”

DK: You’ve written many hits with Lady A. Can you talk about co-writing your two biggest hits: “Need You Now” and “Just a Kiss”?

Kelley: “Need You Now” is hands down our biggest song, and I think the cool thing about my current project is that I wrote half the songs with Josh Kear, who we wrote “Need You Now” with. “Need You Now” and “Just a Kiss” are very pop-driven songs, so I think with my new project, it’s not a giant leap to think that I’ve gone from a pop-country sound to a very ‘80s-inspired sound, because this music has always spoken to me.

Back when we wrote that “Need You Now,” we never dreamed of it crossing over and reaching such a global audience. But because it had such a pop-driven sound and melodic sense, I think it connected on so many different formats. Then we followed it up on our next record with “Just a Kiss.” And those two songs were career-changing songs for us.

DK: Besides those two big hits, what are your other favorite Lady A songs that you co-wrote?

Kelley: Oh gosh, there’s so many. I’d say the song that lyrically I’m most proud is“I Run To You.” That was our first number one, and we wrote that with Tom Douglas. He’s such a great lyricist. But for me as a songwriter, I’ve also been lucky enough to have a few cuts with other artists that I’ve gotten number ones with. Luke Bryan had this song called “Do I,” which was his first number one. Dave and I sat on the porch way back in the beginning of our career and we wrote that song with Luke.

There’s something gratifying about having a song that another artist is putting their vocal on. When I first moved to town, I probably just wanted to be a songwriter. I didn’t really think that being an artist was in the cards, and it’s nice to fulfill that dream. I’ve also had a number one with Darius Rucker that he sang as well. I feel proud to be able to call myself a working songwriter, outside of being in the band.

DK: In 2016 you released your first solo album, The Driver. Can you talk about making that album?

Here’s the video of Charles Kelley’s song, “Can’t Be Alone Tonight.”

Kelley: It was a fun journey. It was much more of a singer/songwriter, Americana-sounding record. And I think that’s why I wanted to change the sound up so much for new record, because musically The Driver was a bit more of a somber-sounding record. You know, I’ve been through the sobriety journey. I’m coming up close to three years (being sober), and I had this new perspective and lease on life and positivity that was running through my veins. And I wanted the music to reflect that. So I didn’t want to make a heavy record that felt like it brought you down. I wanted to make something that felt good and felt inspiring. And musically too, it started leading much more to a fun. ‘80s feel-good record. But I was super proud of The Driver. On that record I got to work with Paul Worley, who produced our first Lady A records with us.

DK: Your new album, Songs for a New Moon, is musically different with an ‘80s pop sound. Can you talk about your love for pop music and ‘80s music?

Kelley: I’ve always been drawn to it. I grew up a kid in the ‘80s; I was born in 1981. So some of my first memories is listening to Bryan Adams, the Doobie Brothers, Gladys Knight & The Pips, all that stuff. I think of all those sounds, all the different flavors that were coming out of the ‘80s. It soaked into my musical DNA. You know, Lady A’s always had a thread of that as well; a lot of Fleetwood Mac influences going through our band. So it felt natural for me to give this kind of music a try. In the beginning, don’t think I set out to make an ‘80s record. But the more I kept writing these songs, the more I wanted to throw some of these little synth sounds and throwback electric guitars on it. It j started developing into a nod to the ‘80s genre.

DK: On your new album, you collaborated with (songwriters & producers) Lindsay Rimes, Sam Ellis, Josh Keir and Dan Huff. Can you talk about these collaborations?

Kelley: Dan Huff is a big producer in town, and he played electric guitar on so many ‘80s hits. When we did this record, the majority of it was produced by Sam Ellis and Lindsay Rimes. But I said, “Man, we need a big, soaring Dan Huff guitar. I’m going to call Dann up and see if he’ll play on it.” I sent him a few songs and, he absolutely took the songs to the next level because he’s the guy that played on those records. And I remember when we were in the studio and hearing it back, it was like…my goodness, I couldn’t think of anybody better than having him play on it. So it was really cool to have Dann be a part of it.

Here’s the video of Brian Kelley’s song, “Driving And Listening
To Music.”

DK: I like your new song, “Can’t Lose You.” Can you tell the story behind writing that song?

Kelley: This is the song that kicked the project off and sparked it. That’s why I wanted it as the first single and the first track on the record. I mean, it has all the themes in there. After what I’ve gone through getting sober a few years ago, I started looking at my life and where I wanted to go moving forward, and putting my priorities in the right place. And at the top of that is…I can’t lose my family. I can’t lose my wife and the relationship and the love that we’ve built. So that’s the theme throughout the whole record…a lot of redemption, forgiveness, hope and gratitude. “Can’t Lose You” feels hopeful to me, lyrically. When we finished the song and we left the studio that day, I thought…I don’t know if people are going to love this or hate this, but I can’t get enough of it and it feels so good. So it was an exciting moment for me.

DK: I also like your ballad, “Here With Me,” which was written by The Killers. How did you decide to record that song?

Kelley: I just love that song—I’m a huge Brandon Flowers fan. I think he is such a genius. I remember at some point, thinking it could have been a cool Lady A cover. And “Here With Me” felt like a big ol’ monster ballad. I thought…this sounds like something Aerosmith or Bryan Adams could have done back in the day. So I was proud to put my voice on that song, and we tried to make it slightly different than The Killers’ original version.

DK: On your new album, besides the songs we’ve discussed, what are your other favorite songs?

Kelley: One of my favorites is “Covering My Tracks.” It’s a fun song—it’s about moving forward and never wanting to go back to the past and the mistakes you’ve made in the past. So your covering your tracks, so to speak. I think it exudes a bit of that positivity, and I wanted it to be a common thread throughout the record, Another song I love is called “Can’t Be Alone Tonight,” which is a longing ballad. Anybody that listens to it and is a fan of Lady A, is gonna draw some comparisons because it has a similar kind of longing feel to me. And I love writing songs with that kind of feel to it.

Here’s the lyric video of Charles Kelley’s song, “Take Back
Goodbye.”

DK: Now that your album is being released, do you have plans to play shows as a solo artist and go on tour?

Kelley: We’re working on it—we’re trying to take it one step at a time. I’m going to be doing a handful of shows, maybe some release shows coming up. But I really want the record to soak in first. In a perfect world, I would love some word of mouth to start developing about it first. That way when I get out there, people have consumed the music. There’s nothing more fun than playing a show. After the record’s been out there for enough time, the dream scenario would be for fans to sing along to it. That this thing has a life to it where it can build a nice fanbase Then you’re able to have a show where you can really celebrate the moment, and have everybody sing along and enjoy it. So we’re going to see where this goes. I’m cautiously optimistic about this project. It’s a fresh feeling for me, being able to make this music, and I hope that comes through to the fans.

DK: I know you still play shows with Lady A. Do you have plans down the road to record a new album with Lady A?

Kelley: Yeah for sure. You know, Hillary (Scott) having another child in July, so it’s been nice while we have a little time off the road, to be able to focus on this solo project. But in my perfect world scenario, I’m able to do both these things, and dip in and out of both worlds. With Lady A, we’ll be starting to work on new music next year, and we’re already talking about what our tour plans will be. So I think that’s the fun thing. We’ve been a band now for two decades, and we don’t feel the same pressure we used to feel. We can enjoy making music when it feels like we have it ready, and tour when we want to. It’s not having that pressure, to feel like you’ve got to be on the hamster wheel as much as we used to (laughs). To be able to balance life with career…that’s where we’re at. But we’re always talking about making new music. Lady A is always going to be one of my main focuses.