Rascal Flatts have been building a career in country music for over 15 years, and one of the ways they remain grounded is by never forgetting their roots and where they came from. For Joe Don Rooney, that place is a tiny town called Picher, Oklahoma, and even though there’s not much left in Picher, he still makes a point to go back there from time to time to remember where it all started. Joe Don says, “It’s quite a bit smaller than Columbus Ohio or the outskirts of Columbus Ohio. But Jay and Gary have actually got to go back to my hometown before in the past. It was really nice to bring those guys to my hometown to get to see it firsthand cause there’s not much of my hometown left. Picher’s moved on and people had to kind of move away and for other reasons. But any time I get around that home town area you can’t help but feel the old memories kind of ooze up and think about your old friends and the places you used to visit and the high school football field, I still go back there as much as I can just to check it out.”
It’s visits to their hometown and remembering where they came from that help them continue to be humbled by things like their ACM Vocal Group of the Year nomination at this Sunday’s awards, and their fast-rising single, “Yours If You Want It,” which will be on their next album, coming out on May 19th.
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Rascal Flatts – Joe Don going to Pitcher :34
Joe Don Rooney – “The small town, Picher Oklahoma, I grew up in, it’s quite a bit smaller than Columbus Ohio or the outskirts of Columbus Ohio. But Jay and Gary have actually got to go back to my hometown before in the past. It was really nice to bring those guys to my hometown to get to see it firsthand cause there’s not much of my hometown left. Picher’s moved on and people had to kind of move away and for other reasons. But any time I get around that home town area you can’t help but feel the old memories kind of ooze up and think about your old friends and the places you used to visit and the high school football field, I still go back there as much as I can just to check it out.”