So what's next on the horizon, after you finish this next tour?

I need to spend some time writing. So I might take a break and find a place that speaks to me and just spend some time writing. Then I'll think about an album. But you never know what's going to come up, so I'll just be open to the possibilities.

Writing really is what I love to do most. Taking an idea and turning it into a song, that then touches someone else's heart, is really what it's all about. I guess since I grew up around that, it's not surprising that it felt so comfortable to me. When Mom gave me that guitar, she told me that I should write down my feelings, and so that's what I did. I didn't realize how easily those musings could turn into real songs. But it was such a natural progression.

I have a writer friend, someone who writes actual novels, who told me once that one of the best things you can do as a writer is read as much as possible. Not just in your own genre, but a wide variety of genres. It helps to stretch your mind and your imagination and lets you imagine all the possibilities. You learn so much from looking at things through a different lens. So when I'm on a break and preparing to write or record, I try to do the same. I listen to all different kinds of music, not just country music – I make it a point to listen to jazz, blues, rock, pop, bluegrass, even hip hop. In fact, it was one night when I was at the Station Inn that I first heard Bird Barrett, singing bluegrass with her family. It wasn't long after that when she got discovered. Oh, and Mom still gives me grief that I didn't clue her in to how good Bird was. Clearly I didn't get the label head gene! LOL.

Anyway, I go to listening rooms around the country, I buy tickets to concerts, just try to soak in all these different influences. I love to listen to how someone puts a verse together or how they link it to a chorus or build a bridge. I love to hear the melody they create to support the words.

It's funny. Dad has probably had the most influence on me in terms of how I write a song. He was, of course, the one who really taught me the mechanics of songwriting, and he can always write a gorgeous song. But he doesn't really venture out into other genres. And he always gives me the oddest looks when I tell him I'm going to hear the latest pop sensation or boy band. He has no idea who they are, of course, but he just doesn't process music that way. As much as we are alike, we are also different, and I think we both appreciate those differences.

So, in my writing journal, I also keep a list of places I want to go, festivals I want to attend, and shows to go to. My assistant, bless her heart, takes all that and gets everything set up for me. Then all I have to do is go and soak it all in. I can't wait to see what she's put together for me this time!

So, Maddie, are you country royalty or just a down-to-earth girl?

(Maddie laughs.) I think it would be really presumptuous of me to say I'm country royalty, don't you? So, I think I'm pretty down-to-earth. My parents make sure I don't feel like I'm anything other than that. They keep me really grounded and I think that's a good thing.

I just try to work hard and get better at my craft, every day. I don't take anything for granted. Every bit of success I have could be taken away from me in a heartbeat. I've certainly seen it happen to others. I know where I want to go.

There's a song I love called 'Anywhere From Here' that starts off (Maddie sings) I wanna fly like birds in motion / I wanna dance like leaves in a tree / I wanna roll like waves on the ocean / So many places I wanna see And I see my life like that. So many rules are made to be broken / So many fences I wanna climb / So many doors that I wanna open / No sense in waiting, now is the time

I just want to make my own way. I appreciate the life I've had and the opportunities it's given me, but I'm not my Mom and I'm not my Dad. I'm just Maddie.

The whole country royalty thing bugs me. Juliette actually was the first one to say that to me, back right after I found out Deacon was my dad. It was kind of nice to have her say it, but it was a little embarrassing too. I really never did want to have something handed to me on a silver platter, although I did think Mom could have been more understanding of my desire to perform. It was why I thought really long and hard about signing with her, because I was really sensitive to that.

Mom didn't really talk to me much about what it was like for her, coming up in the business, until she really thought I was old enough to understand it. Which is why she didn't tell me all that when I was thirteen and bugging the crap out of her to let me get on stage. I remember, on my sixteenth birthday, we finally had a decent conversation about it. Since she got started at that age – actually a little younger – she thought she could finally explain what it had been like for her and what she was trying to help me avoid.

I didn't know until then that Papaw had kicked her out of the house because she wanted to play music. She told me she'd been scared to death, even though she knew she was meant to be an artist. She'd had no home, no money, nothing, at that moment. But she said she knew she wouldn't go crawling back to her father for help or tell him that she'd been wrong, just because she was scared. She decided to stand on her own and fight for what she wanted. I admire her a ton for that. And I appreciate that she didn't want me to go through that, not that she would have kicked me out, she was quick to tell me.

It had been important to her, though, that Daphne and I have as normal a life as possible. She knew that it would have been easy for us to get all caught up in the trappings of fame and fortune, if she'd let us, but she wanted us to have the normal childhood and teenage years that she hadn't had. Of course, she wasn't able to protect us from everything, and there was still TONS of drama that swirled around us.

I think, for the most part, she succeeded. She did let us do fun things, like go on tour with her and make our Opry debut and sing at the Bluebird. Stuff that "normal" kids didn't really do. And I appreciate, now more than ever, the way she handled those things.

I am very fortunate to have been born the daughter of Rayna Jaymes and Deacon Claybourne. They left a musical legacy for me that I was happy to take on, because I truly wanted that for myself. They gave great advice and helped me avoid some of the pitfalls that they went through when they were coming up. It doesn't mean I've never stumbled or that I do everything perfectly all the time, but I have tried to swallow my own pride long enough to listen to what they say and at least consider that they may know something I don't. But they also let me make my own mistakes and they don't make me feel bad when I do. They help me learn and I think that, more than anything, keeps me grounded and more down-to-earth than not.

I try never to take any of this for granted. I know that's how Mom and Dad have always been. They've always been grateful for whatever success they've had and they've always tried to live with integrity in everything they do. And if following in those footsteps means I'm country royalty, then I'll take on that mantle. But I really think it just means I was raised right, by people who loved me and worked hard to do just that. It wasn't all the way they'd planned, but I think it all worked out in the end.

The buzz on Maddie Claybourne is that she is, in fact, just what she appears to be. She's down-to-earth and approachable, grounded, and humble. For someone who's grown up in the spotlight, if not her own, at least that of the people who raised her, that's quite a feat. She has surely benefited from the wisdom of her parents, who have guided her every step of the way. And she's come by her success honestly, through hard work and never taking anything for granted.

But she is also country royalty. She has the blood of one of the legendary female country artists as well as one of the premiere country songwriters running through her veins. It was probably inevitable that she would have all the talent she has and that she would be able to turn that into a very successful solo career.

Maddie's latest album is 'On Point' and has risen as high as #5 on the charts. She's currently headlining a tour with Bird Barrett and Charlotte McQueen.


I sat back and closed my eyes, letting everything flow over me. I thought the article was solid. They hadn't pulled anything out of a hat to really surprise me, no gossipy nuggets added after the fact. My answers were good. Enough information to keep them from probing, but not some of the really personal facts. I knew I'd read it a hundred times in the next few days. I also knew Mom and Dad would buy the magazine and take it to Mexico with them.

I felt that little niggle of anxiety when I thought about them reading the article. I had told Dad what was in it and he'd been fine. He had bristled up a bit when he found out they asked about Colt, but that was just that old protective dad thing, I think. Mom hadn't really wanted to talk about it, especially after she found out I'd left in the question on Juliette. So I most nervous about her reaction.

I expected they would be like me, reading the article multiple times, digesting it and coming up with lots of questions and comments. I wanted to know what they thought and I hoped they were happy with what I'd said.

I was so glad they were taking this trip. It had been a long time since they'd taken a real vacation, really gone off the grid for a while. Mom said that the place they were going was a little beach town on the west coast of Mexico, a place she and Dad had gone to long ago. They'd written 'Postcard from Mexico' there, so it had special meaning for them. When I asked her if they were staying in the same place, she had laughed until she nearly cried. Oh, Lord, sweet girl, that place was probably a health hazard back then. But it was the only place we could afford. That was back when it was just your dad and me, on the road together, before I had a record deal. We were getting paid back in those days, but not a lot, because we were always playing these small places. It was just a long weekend, but it was heaven. Scratchy sheets and all.

I looked at the time and jumped up. I had five minutes to get to sound check. No more time to think about the article.

There's one more wrap up chapter and then I'll put this story to bed. I appreciate everyone who's read it and followed it, but would love to hear what you thought. Loved it? Hated it? Whatever's on your mind. Thanks.