Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Bucky Covington finished just eighth on American Idol. But after the show he released one of the most successful country albums by a former contestant not named Carrie Underwood.

The year was 2007 and three Bucky Covington singles — “A Different World,” “It’s Good to Be Us” and “I’ll Walk” — wound up at number 11 or higher on Billboard’s country singles chart.

As for the followup album … thanks to what Bucky calls a contractual “catch-22” and a record label that no longer exists, fans are still waiting.

But the wait is almost over. “Good Guys,” his second album,” landed today on his new label, eOne Nashville.

And on Sept. 23, Bucky will perform at Cousler Park in Manchester Township at a Muscular Dystrophy Association benefit event hosted by the township’s career firefighters.

The show is free, but donations for MDA will be collected. Bucky’s appearance is part of his involvement in Help the Good Guys, a charity that assists firefighters injured in the line of duty.

Last week, I talked to Bucky about the new album, his new video and his involvement in that cause.

Idol Chatter: “So, what’s it feel like to be on the verge of releasing your second album?”

Bucky: “Finally. I hated how long it took. It absolutely sucked every which way. But there’s a bright side. When I listened to it (the album he was supposed to release, circa 2009), I thought to myself, ‘This isn’t me. This is someone’s perception of me.’ So I was very happy to be able to go back in and revamp that whole project.”

Idol Chatter: “Now, tell me about the album. It’s not all new material, is it?”

Bucky: “There were a handful of songs (between CDs) — ‘I Want My Life Back,’ ‘A Father’s Love’ — that went out to radio. It did take some time to work it out with the old label to get those songs to put on the album, but I wanted to do that because people do know them. The day you get this album, there should be four to six songs that you already know. I’m very proud about that.

“I’ve also got a song on there that I wrote and produced. It’s a duet with Shooter Jennings called ‘Drinkin’ Side of Country.’ It’s been making a lot of noise for us. We put the video on the Internet first and we got a million hits in 24 hours. That was a great way to start things off. Of course, we’ve got Kellie Pickler in the video to play Daisy Duke. She did an absolutely wonderful job with that.”

Idol Chatter: “Tell me how that all came together.”

Bucky: “You know something, man, after all the stuff I’ve been through with the business end of it, I think I found myself where I was ready to have fun again. You get tied up with a bunch of lawyers and it will suck the fun right out of it. I was ready to just get down and have fun. I’ve sat on this song for a while and I finally said, ‘I’m pulling the trigger on this thing and we’re going to make it happen.’

“I like collaborations as a country music fan, especially a collaboration that you wouldn’t expect. Like Shooter Jennings and Bucky Covington. We’ve actually been buddies for about six years. He’s a great guy. Then I wanted to make a video, so I started calling my friends up.

“I called Kellie Pickler. I had a good feeling Kellie was going to do the video with me, but I wasn’t really sure she would (agree to) be Daisy Duke. She agreed to come out. My buddy ‘Cowboy’ Kenny Bartram, a motorcross freestyle rider, he came out. And female wrestler Mickie James. I put in the calls to a bunch of buddies and they all said, ‘Yeah.’ So we came out to Greensburg, Kentucky, and shot a video.

“It’s a fun, upbeat song. Kind of bluegrass rockabilly style. Country, of course. It’s a song about being on the road, getting in trouble, then it’s time to roll.”

Idol Chatter: “Tell me about your involvement in Help the Good Guys.”

Bucky: “In country music, you do a lot of different charity work — for children, pets, whatever it may be. But I also found out that I was showing up (at the benefits), throwing on the guitar and singing seven to 12 songs, and then I was on the road. I was headed to the next town. I did help someone out, but other than the name of the project, I didn’t really know what was going on.

“So if I was going to do charity work, I decided I wanted to be more involved, more hands on. So I hooked up with a guy named Mickey Milam with an organization called Help the Good Guys. Now what Help the Good Guys is, we raise awareness and immediate financial relief for firefighters who have been injured in the line of duty and their families.

“These guys were making the right decision going into a burning building helping someone or something, they get burned up, and they can’t pay the mortgage. They’re losing their home for making the right decision, and I thought that was just absolute crap. It’s a great organization. We got to conventions all over the place. I’ll be going to New York on 9/11 to do a big thing with the firefighters.”

Idol Chatter: “Now, the upcoming album is called ‘Good Guys.’ Is that because of your involvement with the organization?”

Bucky: “We went out to a bunch of fans and asked them to help name the album and a couple of people suggested ‘Good Guys’ and it just made sense. I like to consider myself a good guy. When push comes to shove, I like to make the right decision no matter what. We’re going to help out of a bunch of good guys, firefighters all over the United States and Canada.

“The album is coming out on Sept. 11 in part to raise awareness for the program. A portion of the proceeds from the first week’s sale will be going to Help the Good Guys. And if you order the album from that site, you’ll get two bonus songs — ‘Evel Knieval’ and ‘Old Kentuck’.”

Idol Chatter: “Now, I have to ask one Idol question. The show seems intent on getting a country judge. If they could get absolutely anyone from country music they wanted, who would you suggest?”

Bucky: “I’d almost go with someone who’s been in country music for a while, someone older, someone a little jaded, someone not scared to speak their mind. We keep picking people that are new and upcoming. And when you do that, they’re going to be worried about themselves and their careers so they can’t be completely honest, as opposed to someone who’s toward the end of their career and might not be that worried about it anymore.

“You know what? Hank (Williams) Jr. would be a perfect judge. Not that he’s at the end of his career. But Hank Williams Jr. has no problem speaking his mind. I think he would be an amazing choice.”

The Sept. 23 show at Cousler Park starts at 11:30 a.m., and will also include performances by singer-songwriters Kayla Kroh, Brittany Opperman and Lindsey Erin.

It won’t be Bucky’s first appearance locally. He played the WGTY stage at the York Fair in 2009 and put on a rousing, rocking performance, even singing a couple of songs — “Mexicoma” and “Gotta Be That Feeling” — that will be on the upcoming album.

Check back for coverage on the night of the show.

Meanwhile, here’s the video for “Drinking Side of Country.”