Atkins touts importance of family

The singer, now the father of a son, says he feels blessed.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- When Rodney Atkins came to Nashville, people told him he should change his name to avoid confusion with fellow country singers Trace Adkins and Rhett Akins.
But Atkins, who was adopted from a children's home as a baby, was adamant. He told his record label, "I'm pretty lucky to have a last name, so I'm not going to change my name."
These days, family is a big part of the singer's life and his music. His latest No. 1, "Watching You," was inspired by his 5-year-old son, Elijah, the only blood relative he's ever known.
The song is about a little boy who learns things from watching his dad -- but not always what his dad wants him to learn. Atkins, 37, wrote it after his son's preschool teachers told him Elijah was serenading his classmates with the No. 1 title track to his dad's sophomore album, "If You're Going Through Hell."
"I went and had a talk with him about that, that it might not be appropriate for him to be singing that in school," Atkins said. "That night, I started writing 'Watching You."'
Atkins' recent success has made him one of country music's new stars. He's performed on the Grand Ole Opry, and this spring he'll launch a major tour with Martina McBride.
Dressed in beat-up jeans and a ball cap for a recent interview, comes across as soft-spoken, humble and a little shy.
"My fear was that I could never do this in front of people," he said. "I had such a fear of getting in front of people and singing. People will tell you -- people I grew up with -- that they can't believe I'm doing what I'm doing."
His background
At birth, Atkins was placed with the Holston United Methodist Home for Children in Greeneville, Tenn. During the first year of his life, Atkins was taken in by three families.
But the first two families decided his poor health (he had a lung infection) was too much for them to handle and returned him to the children's home.
The third family had lost a baby about six months earlier to an illness similar to Atkins'. "It never crossed their mind to take me back," Atkins said.
Last year, he returned to the children's home in Greeneville to give a private Christmas concert. It was, in a way, a gift to the kids, showing them that tough beginnings can have happy endings.
It was meaningful because it was genuine, said Holston's director of development Charles Hutchins.
"He purposely did it not as a publicity stunt or anything like that," Hutchins said. "He did it because he wanted to make some difference in their lives and to give part of himself."
It was Hutchins who placed Atkins with his family all those years ago. The two men reunited a few years back for the first time in 20 years.
Like so many things that have happened to him, Atkins believes it was fate.
"I think God can have his hand on you putting you where you're supposed to be," he said.
Today Atkins lives with his wife and their son about 80 miles east of Nashville. As a parent, he often finds himself drawing on lessons learned from his parents.
Most of all, he feels blessed.
"I've really realized through adoption that love is thicker than blood," he said.
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