Already a huge fan of singer/songwriter Russell Dickerson's previous work, and his massive, record-breaking 2020 single "Love You Like I Used To," Audacy's Rockin' Country Saturday Night host Coop was over the moon when Dickerson's full, 10-song sophomore album Southern Symphony dropped at the end of December.
"Bar none" his favorite record of the year, Coop was sure to congratulate Russell on his successful release, which also features the hit "Home Sweet" and a collab with Florida Georgia Line among numerous others of Coop's favorites.
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While he's already gotten his newborn son's approval of the new record, Russell was genuinely grateful for the kind words from Coop. "Let's go! Thank you man. It really means a lot," Russell says smiling. "It was a tough year for music to come out but I was just like, 'Dude, we gotta go.' What better time, than when everybody's sitting inside listening and on their phones like crazy... Why not just drop a record? I'm so proud that we finally got it out."
Taking us with him on a stroll through his neighborhood joined by baby Remington who keeps cooing adorably throughout the interview, Russell admits that his confidence was high while recording his second full-length release. "We had 'Love You Like I Used To' written... and "Come To Jesus" we already had written," he says. "So it was just stuff like that, that I was like, 'Man, I'm stoked on album two' And then, what a way to kick off your sophomore album than with a two-week number one and the longest-running top ten in history," officially tying and ultimately beating "Amazed" by Lonestar.
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After a string of number-one's, "that's the flag in the ground of like, 'RD is here to stay,'" he says about the major milestone. "I ain't playing around, bro. I ain't here to just put out some songs and then go away. RD's gonna be around for a while."
Remembering back to the beginning stages of "Love Me Like I Used To," Russell says after completing the song and playing it for his wife Kailey, she gave her honest opinion that the title of the track was better than the song itself. "She was like, 'Nah dog. Nah,'" he admits. "And we knew she was right... the other writers agreed too. We didn't smash it." While on the road with Lady A and Darius Rucker in Detroit, he flew out his writing pals and re-worked the song from top to bottom on his tour bus. "We dug in. We got in there, ripped the song apart, put it back together and obviously, thank God, we smashed it!"
Going through some of the album's tracks, Russell explained that "Home Sweet" came to him after returning from a "pimped out" honeymoon to find he had lost his publishing deal, and with that his income. "'Home Sweet' is obviously a positive look back on that," he says, "because obviously we made it through."
The lyrics he says go on to explain their life on the road together, as Kailey has been a "huge part of that. She shot the 'Yours' music video, which was kind of the kick-off to my career... She drove the van, she sold the merch," he admits. Finally, Russell addresses the arrival of he and Kailey's first child at the end. "It was really the progression of our life the last... God we've been married eight years now."
Fans may notice a definite Michael Jackson vibe on some of the album's tunes, one of Coop's personal favorites being “Waiting For You.” Russell says that was a specific conversation he had with his producer, who wanted him to use less "percussive" sounds in favor of "smoother vocals," but he fought hard for his vision. "I was like, 'bro you just gotta let me do my thing on this.' Because all of those little intricacies is what sets my voice apart."
Looking ahead to performing his music once again in front of fans, Russell says he does have a plan although it hasn't been announced yet. "It's going to be massive, that's all I'm going to say!" His reason for writing the album, he says, was to perform the tracks for large audiences. "All these songs were done before quarantine... I wrote these songs to go play in arenas around the world, and then we had to pause for an entire year. Which is great, I got to be with my wife every day while she was pregnant, and this little guy maybe for the first year of his life."
"But it's like, I wrote this record 'Southern Symphony' for arenas and amphitheaters, so the fact that it's been on pause," Russell says, "is killin' me, dude. I just cannot wait to slam 'Waiting For You' and 'Home Sweet' and just hear everybody sing those songs... So jacked!"
Watch the full interview above to find out the last time RD got drunk (Spoiler: it was this past weekend with Thomas Rhett and the boys started drinking tequila at about 11AM). Plus, find out about that time actor Reese Witherspoon slid into RD's DMs after hearing him play Brooks & Dunn's "Red Dirt Road" at a private party.
Don't miss the party on Coop's Rockin' Country Saturday Night every Saturday, 7PM - Midnight, on your favorite Audacy Country stations.
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