Texas country singer Aaron Watson just reached a career milestone of sorts: His first Top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country charts.
“If I said I didn’t do a double back flip with excitement, I’d be lying,” he said last week from a concert stop somewhere in Kansas.
In late December, “Outta Style,” off his 11th independently released studio album “Vaquero,” climbed to No. 10. The album itself spent four weeks on the charts, peaking at No. 2.
It wasn’t Watson’s first trip up the Billboard charts: He has seen three of his albums, released on his own Big Label Records, land on Billboard’s Top 10. His 2015 album “The Underdog,” which includes two songs co-written by Tucson’s own Troy Olsen, debuted at No. 1.
“It became the first independent album in the history of country music to chart No. 1,” said Watson, who will play the unofficial Tucson Rodeo concert on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Desert Diamond Casino.
So why the fuss over a single that peaked at No. 10?
Watson doesn’t get mainstream radio play too often. He’s not the Nashville guy whose music is in steady rotation on stations owned by conglomerates whose names start with the letter “C.”
He’s just that guy who’s been doing country music longer than he can account for and never once got discouraged because he didn’t become the next George Strait or Tim McGraw.
“I was never bitter, and I’m still not bitter. God has blessed me in lots of other ways,” he says in his deliberate Texas drawl that punctuates everything he says with an awe-shucks sense of sincerity.
“Life’s too short to be bitter.”
So what changed over the course of a 20-year career that has seen him perform 2,500 shows and counting?
For starters, his prolific touring, including hitting 40 states and 10 countries over the past three years.
“Before we started getting any mainstream radio play, our touring schedule became very, very diverse, playing tours over in Europe and all across the U.S.,” he said. “But I think ‘Real Good Time’ album charted 10, ‘Underdog’ charts No. 1, ‘Vaquero’ sells nearly double what ‘Underdog’ did and becomes the ninth- or 10th-most-successful album release in all of country music last year. I think it was a combination of people finally started listening as well as we’re making better music and writing better songs. ... I think at some point, too, they realized, ‘Man this guy loves country music and he’s not going away.’”
And then there’s his fans, a devoted base of folks including in Tucson, a regular tour stop. They like their country on the neo-trad side, with references to cowboys and rodeos — which will play well with Saturday’s Tucson Rodeo audience — and getting the girl and keeping the home fires burning.
“We have a fun show. It’s a family friendly show so mamas can have peace of mind that they can bring their kiddos and there’s not going to be any dirty words or things like that,” said Watson, who refers to his fans as family.
“We always treat our fans like family, and they have taken such good care of me,” he said. “I’ve always said music is not an industry, it’s a family business.”
With his newfound mainstream radio success, it’s fair to ask Watson if he’d ever consider jumping to a major Nashville label.
“Why would I? There’s a lot of major label artists whose last three albums haven’t charted,” he said. “I’m an independent artist who has grown his label to be a force to be dealt with.”
And besides, he has an 8-year-old daughter who’s already put her daddy on notice: She’s entering the family business. She wants to be an actress and a singer.
“So my job as her dad is, I need to continue growing my record label so that in 10 years, it’s ready for her,” he said.
