Before “Austin” launched his career, Blake Shelton was willing to do just about anything to land a record deal, even take up smoking.
Early on, the “Ol’ Red” singer attempted to jumpstart his music career with the help of a pack of Marlboro Ultra Lights, following some unconventional advice from a record producer. The five-time CMA Male Vocalist of the Year winner recently shared the story during a sit-down with Bobby Bones on The BobbyCast.
Shelton reveals on the show that after back-to-back meetings trying to score a record deal, he was eager to get his foot in the door in the music industry. In one of his first meetings with Byron Gallimore (Tim McGraw’s long-time producer), Gallimore told him, “‘Man, I really like these songs, and I like your voice,’ he goes, ‘but you just don’t really have like that, that bottom end, that base that you need, you know.” He then goes on to ask how old Shelton is to which he replies, “‘You know, I’m 20’ or how ever old I was, and he goes, ‘Yeah I mean it’s gonna be there, it’ll be there, you just need more wear and tear on your voice and your voice just isn’t quite developed.”
Of course, for a young developing artist with fresh vocal pipes, what better misguided advice to give than speeding up the process via alcohol and cigarettes. Shelton reveals,“This is what he’s gonna kill me about, he goes ‘Man do you smoke or do you drink whiskey or anything,’ and I go, ‘well I don’t smoke, I drink if I can get it.’” To which the guy responded, “Well maybe if you smoked or something.’”
Young Shelton took that off-the-rails suggestion to heart and revealed he ran home to start his smoking experiment. “I left his office, and I bought a pack of Marlboro Ultra Lights, and for three months I sat on my back porch over by Harding Mall, and I had an old apartment over there. And I was trying to smoke these cigarettes, and man, I would cough and gag. I finally got to where I could smoke them.”
The habit didn’t last long once he realized it probably wasn’t worth it, saying, “Finally, one day I was like, man, this is stupid.” Fortunately, despite his brief smoking stint, his lower vocal register still developed, and years of grinding through the Nashville scene eventually led to his first recording contract with Giant Records. He went on to release his now platinum-certified debut album, Austin.
Today, the Oklahoma native has 13 studio albums and 30 No. 1 hits to his name, none of which can probably be credited to three months of cigarettes. To watch the full interview, check out Shelton’s complete episode of The BobbyCast, now streaming on Netflix.
Watch the clip here: