Keith Sweat News

In 2001, when Atlantic Records closed its Nashville office and put Craig Morgan and a half-dozen other artists on the street, the former Army Ranger says he was not afraid for his future.

"I honestly didn't freak out about it," Morgan says. "I was less freaked out than the promotion team and all those people who were losing jobs. I was a songwriter and had a publishing deal and felt that opportunities would come up for me to get another record deal."

Despite interest from major labels, the singer/songwriter signed with Broken Bow Records, a young independent, at a time when indie labels were having a hard time getting past the gatekeepers at country radio.

It seems to have been a smart move. Morgan and Broken Bow broke through together, leading the first broad-based wave of success by independent labels in country music in decades. Morgan's 2003 album "I Love It" produced the career-breaking hit "Almost Home" and sold nearly 300,000 copies. Then 2005's "My Kind of Livin' " sold 418,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan, on the strength of Morgan's first certified smash, the five-week No. 1 "That's What I Love About Sunday." The song was the most-played country single of 2005.

With a setup like that, Morgan and label officials are more than a little optimistic about the prospects for the new album "Little Bit of Life," due in stores Tuesday. Broken Bow is shipping more than 200,000 copies (twice as many as the last album) and enhancing the release with special exclusive editions for several retailers. Wal-Mart's package has a DVD with interviews, studio footage and four music videos. Target's has two road-tested songs by Morgan as hidden tracks.

In a bid to "raise the bar," Morgan says he and production partner Phil O'Donnell brought in Keith Stegall, veteran producer for Alan Jackson and others. But even with the new blood and the sense of mission, the themes and values that made "Sunday" such a huge record are embodied throughout the new

CD.

"What the fans say and what we hear is that I make a big deal out of the little things in life," Morgan says. "And that is who I am. It's those little things in life that are important to me. Simple things like the smell of fresh cut grass. That what 'Sunday' was (about)."

The title track, which has already reached the top 25, is not a Morgan song. It was written by Tony Mullins and Danny Wells, but it is full of the telling details that Morgan says he aims for in his own work. Morgan is eager to see one of his own songs, the declamatory "I Am," released as a single. It further builds on the artist's formula of traditional values and comfortable touchstones ("Am I just like you, baseball and apple pie," he sings).

Morgan began writing seriously during his 10-year term in the Army, especially during a deployment in Korea, where he had "a lot of free time to think on what I had left behind." Once out of the service, Morgan returned home to Tennessee and worked a string of day jobs while playing writers' nights and honing his songwriting.

Label VP of promotions Jon Loba (also an Atlantic refugee) says the closely held company is committed to taking on just one new artist per year and following through with focused promotion. It was one of the philosophies that attracted Morgan to the label, and one he thinks will ensure future growth.

Morgan says, "Knowing that when the history books come out in (later) years that Broken Bow Records and Craig Morgan and even (rookie labelmate) Jason (Aldean) will be in those books, that's a pretty neat thing."

Reuters/Billboard