Tim McGraw Honors Tug McGraw On A Special Day

Tim McGraw never misses a chance to honor his father, baseball legend Tug McGraw, and he did just that when he posted on Instagram this week, marking what would have been Tug's 79th birthday. McGraw captioned the sweet post, which included a photo of himself and his dad, "My dad would've been 79 today. Happy birthday, Tugger!! #yagottabelieve."

Tim's dad passed away in 2004. McGraw didn't know that Tug was his father until he was eleven years old. Tug didn't even acknowledge that he was his son until he was seventeen.

Tim writes about it in Esquire Magazine, where he talks about his daughters, his wife, his career, and his late father. The younger McGraw said, "People ask me, 'How could you have a relationship with your father? You were growing up in nothing. He was a millionaire baseball player. He knew you were there, and he didn't do anything.'"

Tim adds, "But when I found out Tug McGraw was my dad, it gave me something in my little town in Louisiana, something that I would have never reached for. How could I ever be angry?"

Tug McGraw recorded the final out of the 1980 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, striking out Willie Wilson to bring the Philadelphia Phillies their first World Series championship, ending the Phillies' 77-year drought.

McGraw released his new album, Standing Room Only, last week (8/25). As he told us, he's been working on the project for a while now. He said, "This album I've been working on, gosh, since COVID was going on. I had been collecting songs for a while, found some great songs that had a lot of meaning, a lot of depth to them."

McGraw says of the new work, "I think as an artist, if you're not improving, if you're not thinking you're getting better every time you make a record, then maybe it's time to quit. I think as an artist, if you're not improving, if you're not thinking you're getting better every time you make a record, then maybe it's time to quit. I think this record has some of the most emotional songs, some of the most thought-provoking songs, and life-affirming songs that I've ever recorded. I'm excited for everyone to hear 'em because I just really think this is one of the best projects we've ever made."

Tim McGraw has been a country superstar and for decades. On Friday (8/25), he will release a new album called Standing Room Only. Next year he will tour in support of the new work.

McGraw said when he announced the details of the album in June, "As an artist, I always want to dig deeper and get better every time I make a new record – it's a big part of what drives me, and I really believe this is one of the best projects we've made. I've been working on this album since 2020, and this collection of songs is some of the most emotional, thought-provoking, and life-affirming music I've ever recorded."

He added, "I'm excited to have 'Hey Whiskey' out so fans can start hearing more of what we're working on – and maybe even more before August…"

Standing Room Only Tracklist:

Hold On To It, Songwriters (Ryan Larkins, Seth Mosley, Jimmy Yeary)
Standing Room Only, Songwriters (Tommy Cecil, Patrick Murphy, Craig Wiseman)
Paper Umbrellas, Songwriters (Monty Criswell, Drake Milligan)
Remember Me Well, Songwriters (Heather Morgan, Jimmy Robbins)
Hey Whiskey, Songwriters (Brad Hutsell, Joel Hutsell, Brad Warren, Brett Warren)
Her, Songwriters (Jason Gantt, Tim Nichols, Jimmy Yeary)
Fool Me Again, Songwriters (Kameron Marlowe, Brad Warren, Brett Warren, Rob Williford)
Small Town King, Songwriters (Jaren Johnston, Jenn Schott, Jeremy Stover)
Beautiful Hurricane, Songwriters (Mike Lane, Tony Lane)
Cowboy Junkie, Songwriters (Bill Luther, Lance Miller, Justin Weaver)
Nashville CA/L.A. Tennessee, (Featuring Lori McKenna), Songwriters (Tim McGraw, Lori McKenna, Bob Minner)
Some Songs Change Your World, Songwriters (Mark Irwin, Josh Kear, Lance Miller)
Letter From Heaven, Songwriters (Chase McGill, Lori McKenna, Parker Welling)

I have had the pleasure of interviewing McGraw since the late 1990s, and he is always such a nice guy and fun to talk to. He puts you at ease immediately when you sit down to talk with his casual style and self-deprecating humor.

Over the years, we talked about a lot of things, including his love for his wife Faith Hill, his daughters as they have grown over the years to become adults pursuing careers of their own these days, and of course, his music.

Tim is known for picking the right songs at the right time, and it has served him well, having charted over forty number-one songs in his career. His latest single, "Standing Room Only," is marching up the charts this week, nearing the top ten. This guy knows how to pick hit songs, for sure.

I gathered some of my favorite quotes McGraw told me through the years, touching on how he told his mother he was leaving law school to move to Nashville, how much one song affects his fans each night that he sings it, and more.

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

"I love bein' an artist, and I love bein' an artist who can call these guys and be able to sing with great people like that. To be able to do that, be in a place in your career where you can call somebody, and they'll sing with you. I mean Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, [I get to] play guitar with my wife, and have people say, 'Yeah, I'll sing a song with you.' How cool is that? It's like I'm bein' a kid, you know, to ask your favorite artist to be able to sing with you, and they will."

"You see people cry every time we perform that song, and sometimes it gets to us, and it's tough. When we see those things, it affects us. I feel like for that song that I'm really sort of just a megaphone for that song that it's not really anything to do with me or the band or anything else. I think that it's just one of those songs that belongs to everybody in the room at the same time. And when you get a reaction like that from someone else, I think that everyone in the room feels it. Not only us (and) not only them. I think that everyone in the room feels it, and I think that that's just the power of a great song."

Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

"I sort of open myself up to some sort of visceral attack. I think that when you hear a song, it has to affect you, and usually right away, I know if it's gonna affect me or not. If it doesn't move me in some sort of way, it can be a physical chill bump reaction, or it can be somethin' that sort chokes you a bit, or it could be somethin' that makes you smile or somethin' that makes you feel happy, make you roll the window down. All those things, somethin' has to happen, and if somethin' doesn't happen, then there's no need listenin' to it anymore."

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

"You find more meaning in things for sure. Music is at the top of my list for stuff that's sort of soul food for your heart and for your soul and something that makes that can connect people in a lot of different ways. Music has always been there for me. That's been my sort of best friend. All throughout my life."

Michael Buckner/Getty Images

"I knew how hard she how bad she wanted me to go to college. And I was in pre-law. I was going to go to law school and do all that stuff. And it was a pretty good student coming out of high school. I knew how badly she wanted me to do that. And I remember calling her and getting up the nerve to call her, to tell her that I was going to quit college and move to Nashville. And it took me a while to do that. And when I told her. She just said, 'I'm surprised you hadn't done it already.' And that was her way of just telling me, go do it."