(AUDIO) RASCAL FLATTS REMEMBERS THE IMPACT CHICAGO, MICHAEL JACKSON AND VINCE GILL HAD ON THEM

CURRENT SINGLE: “How They Remember You”

As Rascal Flatts prepares to release Twenty Years of Rascal Flatts – The Greatest Hits, they’ve been reflecting back on a lot of musical memories.  Recently they went way back and remembered the first time they heard a song or an album that inspired them to want to become an artist.  Without hesitation, Jay DeMarcus says,  “Chicago 17 shaped my whole vision of music from that point on out.  It blew my mind, and I knew, I want to make that kind of music that makes me feel the way that music does when I hear it.  ‘You’re the Inspiration,’ ‘Hard Habit to Break,’ ‘Stay the Night’ … c’mon!”

Gary LeVox says the first music he heard that had a huge impact on him wasn’t about the kind of music he wanted to make, but it was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”  He says, “It just changed my whole view of music.”

Joe Don Rooney was deeply moved and inspired by Vince Gill’s Pocketful of Gold album.  The first time he heard it, he thought, “My gosh, this guy can do it all.  And he says, “It had that bluegrass, high lonesome sound to it, and had straight down the middle country and it had a little edge of rock through it.  It had all the stuff I loved about music on one album.”

Rascal Flatts fans will soon be able to get all the songs they love from the band on their 20-song collection, Twenty Years of Rascal Flatts – The Greatest Hits, which will be released on October 2nd.

Rascal Flatts – inspiring song or album  :46

Jay DeMarcus – “Chicago 17 shaped my whole vision of music from that point on out.  It blew my mind, and I knew, I want to make that kind of music that makes me feel the way that music does when I hear it.  ‘You’re the Inspiration,’ ‘Hard Habit to Break,’ ‘Stay the Night’ … c’mon!”

Gary LeVox – “You know, I don’t know about musically, like this is what I want to do, but something that probably had the biggest impact was ‘Thriller.’

Jay – “That’s a good one.”

Gary – “It just changed my whole view of music.”

Jay – (over-affected singlng) ‘Out of my liiiife.”

Joe Don Rooney – “Oh man, for me, there’s so many of ‘em.  I think Vince Gill’s Pocketful of Gold, though, was one of ‘em I remember hearing for the first time, thinkin’ my gosh, this guy can do it all.  And it had that bluegrass, high lonesome sound to it, and had straight down the middle country and it had a little edge of rock through it.  It had all the stuff I loved about music on one album.”

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