Charlie Worsham Answers the Country Call

Charlie Worsham is walking around with a perma-grin on his face these days. The Mississippi native is living his dream, touring the country in support of his first Top 40 hit, "Could it Be." His full debut album is expected to follow later this year, after years of honing his craft playing in various bands (including KingBilly) and playing as a studio musician for other artists.

Charlie remembers getting the call from Warner Music Nashville CEO John Esposito -- the somewhat ironic call that turned it all around. "I was at Calypso Cafe in East Nashville, on my way to play on a Dierks Bentley demo at my friend's studio," he tells The Boot. "I got a phone call, and it was John Esposito, and he said, 'We love you, and we want you to be a part of the Warner family.' It was wild, because a couple of years before that, I was in that same restaurant -- the only other time I'd been there -- and a guy, who will remain nameless, called me about a song that my band was going to record. He kinda dressed me down and said, 'You're just a speck of dust in this town. We could replace you any minute.' It was one of the most hurtful moments of my life, and then to get the call from John in that same place, it was a really cool, full circle moment."

Charlie has no hard feelings for the guy who belittled him all those years ago. He's just grateful to have found that most Nashville music industry folks are quite the opposite.

"People are really welcoming and have always taken me under their wing," says the multi-instrumentalist. "Some of the session players in town, they'd bring me into sessions that I wasn't quite ready to be on, but they gave me a shot. They'd kindly tell me that my guitar was out of tune [laughs] but in an encouraging way ...The hard parts, you forget. It's the cool stuff you remember."

The 27-year-old singer recalls another very cool phone call that was not only a career-booster, but also one that would surely multiply his fan base. "I was at Home Depot with my dad looking for paint when I got the call to open for Taylor Swift. That was wild, because I was crying in Home Depot and people were looking at me funny. [laughs]"

Watch the "Could It Be" video below, and read Part 1 of our interview with Charlie here.