Josh Turner‘s most challenging season turned out to be his biggest blessing. The South Carolina native recalls when he thought his career was over, before it ever really even began.
“I injured my voice right at the time that I was expecting to move to Nashville,” Turner said, in an interview with Rory O’Connor, sharing a clip on social media. “I thought my dreams were crushed. I was just completely deflated and discouraged. But what I learned from getting over the injury, about how to take care of the voice, how to sing properly, how to maintain it, how to take care of it — that’s been the greatest asset for me as a singer over the last 20+ years.”
As ironic as it sounds, Turner now feels profoundly grateful for that challenging season in the beginning of his career.
“Had I not injured my voice, and done everything that was required to get over that, and heal from that, who knows where I would have been,” Turner says. “I probably would have blown my voice out, or had surgery. And a lot of times when you have surgery, that changes the way you sound. I’m very thankful that I had to go through that. Some people would be kind of shocked to hear me say that, but I’m glad my voice was injured, because I learned valuable lessons after that.”
The older I get the more I see how God always works things out for our good, even if it hurts in the moment.
Watch my interview with @RoryOConnorTV here: https://t.co/saIwokrg9l#joshturner #joshturnerinterview #storytime #countrymusic pic.twitter.com/Kaa6Ng6AVE
— Josh Turner (@joshturnermusic) March 6, 2024
Elsewhere in the interview, Turner reflected on his career, which has spanned more than 20 years, and is still going strong.
“I’ve always wanted to have longevity in this business,” Turner shares. “That’s always been my goal, is to have a long career. I didn’t really know what to expect when it comes to that, but I always knew what it took to get there, and that basically is patience, consistency, recording music that’s timeless. I’ve always said that recording real songs about real life with real musicians playing real instruments, and a real singer behind the microphone, is never going to go out of style.
“I don’t care what anybody says,” he continues. “That will never go out ot style. If all that comes together and is done well, fans are going to grab onto it because it’s something that will never fade and go out of style. So that’s what I’ve tried to do. It’s hard to continue to try to reinvent the wheel, but I try to find music and write songs that excite me and interest me. And if it’s intriguing to me then my fans will be intrigued.”
Turner’s Greatest Hits album was released in September. The record includes his first hit single, “Long Black Train,” plus “Your Man,” “Would You Go With Me” and more. A Grand Ole Opry member since 2007, Turner will return the favor next month, when he inducts Scotty McCreery on April 20. Find all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at JoshTurner.com.