McGRAWANDMcCREERY: KEVINWINTER/GETTY IMAGES;OTHERS: EVERETTCOLLECTION (3)
The titleofMcGraw’snew album,
Two
Lanes of Freedom
, is an apt descriptionof
wherehe’s at inhis life. This ishisfirst re-
leasewithhis new label, BigMachineRe-
cords, which boasts an all-star roster of
industryheavyweights that includesSwift
andRascal Flatts.He alsohas anewman-
ager,severalnewbandmembersandasvelte
newphysique, thanks to the40poundshe
droppedafterhestoppeddrinking.“There’s
a lot of freshness inmy career, inmy life,”
hesays.
Thetitletrackwasamongthefirstsongs
he recorded for theproject, and its energy,
accelerationandsenseofreleasesetthetone
forthealbum,withtherestofthesongsflow-
ingnaturally thereafter. A loveof theopen
roadhasbeenapopular theme throughout
thecourseof countrymusic, and it’snodif-
ferent forMcGraw,who’s in themidst of a
30-citysummertourthatstartedlastmonth
and runs through July. Although touring
means that he’s often away fromhis fam-
ily,McGraw, theonlymale in ahousehold
of four females,welcomes the routineand
malebonding the roadoers. “Someof the
guysworkouttogetherandtalkaboutmusic
alldayandgoonthebusand listentomusic
andcomeupwithdierent ideasof how to
CAN’TGETENOUGHTIMMcGRAW?
Tuneto
Channel11
onyourentertainment
system inflighttohear
morethan30ofTim’sgreatesthits(including23No.1songs)
,andwatch
forhishitfilms
TheBlindSide
and
CountryStrong
,whichwillplayonselectflightsuntilJune14.
FromSongtoScreen
TIMMcGRAW isoneof thebiggest
names inmusicbut, fol-
lowing in the footstepsofmultitalented country stars such
asKrisKristofferson,WillieNelson, RebaMcEntireandDolly
Parton, he’s enjoyed success at theboxofficeaswell as atop
the charts.
Hemadehis first national splash in the2004Texashigh-
school football drama
FridayNight Lights
, quickly silencing
anydoubterswithhis convincingportrayal of anabusive
fatherwhoseglorydayswerebehindhim. He tookonhis
first lead role in2006’s
Flicka
, then followedupwithparts in
TheKingdom
(2007),
FourChristmases
(2008) and
DirtyGirl
(2010). Heevenbecameoneof the few countryartists tohost
SaturdayNight Live,
in2008.
But hisbest-known role is in
TheBlindSide,
the2009,
based-on-a-true-storyhit.McGrawplayedSeanTuohy, the
husbandof LeighAnneTuohy (playedbySandraBullock),whose family takes inadestituteyoungman
withaknack for football. Thenext year, hehadanother high-profilepart, oppositeGwynethPaltrow, in
CountryStrong
, andhis song, “SouthernVoices,”was featuredduring the film’s closingcredits.
Sowhenwillwe seehimon thebig screenagain?
“In fact, I just got a script today,” saysMcGraw, amovie fanhimself. “There is something I’m reading
all the time. Finding time seems impossible. That being said, if I cameacross something that I abso-
lutely inmygut felt therewasnoway I could turndown, Iwould find time todo it. Therehavebeen
a few things that havebeen close, and therehavebeena few things thatmight comebackaround—
but so far nothinghasmademe say, ‘Iwant to clearmy schedule todo this.’”
—B.K.
56
JUNE 01, 2013
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
