Andthewayhewantstodothemisatfull
throttle.Makenomistake:Despitehis vet-
eran status,McGrawhasn’t let off the gas
any;he’sashardworkingnowashewaswhen
hemoved toNashville24 years ago at the
ageof21.“It isn’tacompetitionoranything,
butI thinkeverybody looks tootherartists
and thinks, ‘Thatwas really good. I really
likethat.NowI’vegottostep itupanotch,’”
hesays. “IheardBlakeShelton’salbumyes-
terday,and itwas like, ‘Wow, that’sgood!’”
His admirable drive and fierce com-
petitiveness developed during an often-
dicult childhood innorthLouisiana.He
was conceivedduring a summer romance
betweenhismother and baseball pitcher
TugMcGraw, buthismother raisedhim to
believe thathis stepfather, a long-distance
truckerwhowas anabusivealcoholic,was
hisdad.Hedidn’t learnof his father’s true
identity until he accidentally discovered
hisbirthcertificatewhenhewas 11, andhe
didn’testablishareal relationshipwith the
WANTTOSEETIMMcGRAWIN
CONCERT?
AmericanWay
isgivingaway
twoticketstohisJuly27showinVirginia
Beach,Va.,
aswellas
50,000AAdvantage
miles
andhotelaccommodationsatthe
Hilton
VirginiaBeachOceanfront
.Toenter,visit
aa.com/americanway
andclickonthecontest
banner.
Deadlinetoenter isJune14at11:59p.m.
CT.Visit
aa.com/americanway/rules
for
termsandconditions.
THECOUPLETHATPLAYSTOGETHER:
Since2000,
McGrawandhiswifeof 16years, FaithHill, have
co-headlined three “Soul2Soul” concert series.
JUNE 01, 2013
53
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
