John Rich Calls Raising Kids ‘The Most Important Job’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Country music star John Rich believes that being a father is the most important job he could have and is grateful for the strong male role models he had growing up.
“Raising your kids is the most important job a man or a woman has if they have kids,” Rich told Fox News Digital. “Spending time with my two boys…teaching them about the world they’re looking at today, getting them ready for what they’re going to run into when they become young men, that is job No. 1.”
“I would never sing another note if you said, ‘Give up your music, [or] give up your kids.’ Are you kidding? Not even a question,” he continued. “There’s nothing I would not do for my two kids.”
Rich shares sons Colt, 12, and Cash, 13, with wife Joan.
While the singer spent many of his younger years pursuing fame, his heart shifted when his sons were born, and he made his family his priority.
“I spent…all of my…20s and 30s, that’s all I cared about was just getting out, having hit songs, selling millions of records, doing big concerts. That was my focus, my American dream,” Rich said. “But then my kids were born, and I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m still going to go do those things. But that is no longer my main focus.”
Part of Rich’s desire to put his kids first comes from having strong male role models in his life growing up. He recently honored his grandfather, a World War II veteran, through his song “The Man.”
“I had the great pleasure and really the advantage, in my opinion, of spending a lot of my life around this old man, World War II veteran,” he said. “Quite the stories that he told.”
“I grew up knowing the gritty details of what he did in World War II…That’s become a big part of why I feel so strongly about our military, knowing what he went through. I mean, it was awful,” Rich continued.
“I wrote this [song] about my grandfather’s service in WWII, but also for ALL our Veterans who have served over the decades on behalf of our nation. I hope this song reminds every one of their family heroes who served and brings a sense of American pride and honor to their hearts,” he said on Instagram.
Rich hopes that his song can help listeners understand what it means to be an American and why our country has fought for the things that it values.
“I think this song is very important,” he said. “I think it reminds people again of what true American greatness looks like. After World War II, that is arguably the strongest America has ever been in its history…probably the decade following World War II.”
“Now it’s our turn to be the strong shoulders for future Americans,” Rich continued. “The bar has been set, it’s time to rise to the occasion.”
The singer has long been outspoken about America’s values dying out. He hopes the younger generation will wake up to what is happening and fight to save their country.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Rich sang the chorus of “End of the World” which highlighted the past and contemplated the future.
“We stood on top of mountains, we’ve been to space before/We had our dogs and houses, we dug up dinosaurs/We built those bombs they’re droppin’, we’ve fought in all their wars/Now that the sky is fallin’, what did we do it for?” he sang.
In fact, Rich told Fox News Digital, “We see how our country is being dismantled piece by piece right in front of our eyes. I mean, it doesn’t look like the country that we used to know, and everybody is very concerned about [it]: ‘Man, what’s it look like in another year or five years or, God forbid, 10 years? What does it look like?’”
“I said, ‘I got to tell you, that’s kind of how I feel about it,’” he added. “Is this it? Like, is this how it ends? Is this how America, you know, rides off into the sunset? I hope not. But he asked me to come sing on the song, and I did. I think it was a pretty incredible mashup. It actually went to the No. 1 position there on the sales chart for about a week.”
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